Paulding County offers photo history book

VW independent/submitted information

PAULDING — A new pictorial history book to help commemorate Paulding County’s 200th birthday is being published by the John Paulding Historical Society.

This high-quality, hardbound book will be available later this fall.

The historical society felt it is important to have a special project to celebrate the bicentennial, said Kim Sutton, historical society president and a member of the county bicentennial committee. They chose to produce a third volume of the popular pictorial histories previously published.

“For many years, people have been asking me, ‘When are you going to do a Volume III?’ I talked to Bob Iler, who said he was willing to ‘get the band back together’ and do it,” according to Sutton. “Most of the original committee members were asked and agreed to come back together.”

In addition to Sutton and Iler, the book committee members include Melinda Krick, Sue LaFountain and Walter Lang.

JPHS has entered into a contract with M.T. Publishing, which printed the first two books. The 9-inch by 12-inch coffee table-size edition will be beautifully bound in a hard cover with a color dust jacket designed by Krick.

With a minimum 112 black-and-white pages, the final book page count will depend on the number of book orders and photographs received.

Paulding County, Ohio: A Pictorial History Volume III will contain historical highlights and hundreds of historical photos from the county, past and present.

“Volume III will bring us up to the present date,” said Sutton.

“It will show how much progress had been made in its 200 years,” added LaFountain. “It also will have some ‘Now & Then’ photo comparisons of local buildings. It will take a forward step in time to include a newer generation from the last book.”

Plans are to include some photos from bicentennial events, including the kickoff in February.

County photos – including maps and drawings – from circa 1820 to 2020 are needed in the following subject areas:

• Agriculture — Tractors, farming, harvesting equipment, farms, livestock, crops, methods and practices, buildings & outbuildings, drainage, etc.

• Buildings — Log cabins, homes from all eras, public buildings, post offices, pools, commercial buildings, interiors, demolition, abandoned structures, etc.

• Businesses — Interiors, people at work, drug stores, general stores, blacksmiths, livery stables, banks, print shops, professional offices (doctors, dentists, lawyers etc.), photographers, feed mills, sawmills, tile mills, retail shops, restaurants, drive-ins, factories, etc.

• Churches — Buildings, church picnics, baptisms, revivals, Sunday school groups, church anniversaries, ice cream socials, activities, etc.

• Disasters — Floods, tornadoes, fires, blizzards, train wrecks, storms, droughts, derecho, etc.

• Organizations — Social clubs, 4-H, Scouts, youth ball teams, fraternal, volunteer, professional, veteran, community bands, Grange, alumni, etc.

• Events/Activities — Parades, political rallies, strikes, barn raisings, county fairs, picnics, class reunions, festivals, dances, holidays, recreational activities (fishing, boating, bowling, hunting, adult softball, parks etc.), theaters, concerts, gatherings, ribbon cuttings, street scenes, etc.

• Military — Military units, veteran organizations, soldiers from all eras and conflicts, reunions, etc.

• Families — Ancestors, pioneers, father & mother, children, weddings, family picnics, people & groups, etc.

• Schools — Buildings, classrooms, school activities, playgrounds, graduating classes, school buses, school sports, cafeterias, etc.

• Transportation — Horse or mule teams, buggies and other horse-drawn vehicles, automobiles, road construction, rivers, bridges, canals, railroads, depots, trains, boats, trucks, ambulances, airplanes, passenger buses, police cars, bicycles, bookmobiles, etc.

Paintings, printed memorabilia, and important artifacts also will be considered.

“All photos of interest are needed,” Sutton said. “From wagon wheels to windmills, we are trying to capture the progress of our county through the past 200 years.”

What kinds of treasures are the committee hoping to find?

“On our wish list, we would love to see any photos of the Reservoir War (1887) dynamiters. We know this picture is out there, but cannot locate anyone who has it,” said Sutton. “Also anything picturing the canal towns or railroad towns that are now considered ‘ghost towns.’ Photos of the canals and railroads that used to run through Paulding County are pretty rare. We urge everyone to search through your grandmother’s photo albums or box of photos.”

“We know that some photos exist, because of mentions in old newspapers, but we haven’t seen them and hope they turn up for this book,” added Krick. “There should be photos of the courthouse during construction and when it was completed in 1888. We would love to find some of the courthouse interior, especially the old courtroom and the center hallway balcony before it was closed up in the 1970s.”

Some other “wish list” items are old photos of the Curtis trading post and other early pioneer-era homes, the courthouse and jail in Charloe, covered bridges, “vanished” buildings and structures, the Maumee and Auglaize rivers, the county fair and fair buildings, and pictures showing the pre-drainage Black Swamp.

“Another at the top of my list is the interiors of buildings – stores, restaurants, homes and public buildings, especially movie theaters,” Krick said. “It would be great to see a soda fountain, the inside of a bowling alley, the hospital or a dress shop. Interior shots seem to be rare, probably because of needing flash equipment or additional lighting. There might be some snapshots out there, taken by store owners or family members. They may not think the photo is important, but it really helps tell the story of how residents lived. I hope we will have some interiors for all the categories.”

The book committee noted that residents are welcome to submit any photos or images they think are interesting or unique. However, due to limited space and to keep the sections balanced, not all photos are guaranteed to be published. The committee will make the final selections.

The deadline to submit photos was set for May 15; however, due to coronavirus restrictions, the committee may extend the deadline.

Individuals may scan their photos and email them as an attachment to Iler at ethanm@twc.com, Sutton at dkmax@windstream.net or Krick at tmekrick@yahoo.com. Be sure to include caption information indicating who/what is depicted, when the photo was taken and who is submitting the image.

Low-resolution images, website images, images embedded in a text document and computer printouts will not be accepted.

The committee recommends that images 8 by 10 inches or larger be scanned at 300 dpi. Images smaller than 8 by 10 inches must be scanned to at least 600 dpi. Files should be saved in either .jpg or .tiff format, or contact a committee member for questions or to arrange to have a photo scanned.

Soon, a “photo of the week” selected from submitted images will be shared with local newspapers and posted online.

Because only a limited number of books will be printed, book orders must be collected in advance. The preorder deadline is June 30. Order forms for the discounted preorder price of $44.95 plus tax are currently available on the Paulding County Bicentennial Facebook page facebook.com/PauldingCounty200 under “About” then “See Menu.”

“Response so far has been wonderful,” Sutton noted. “People are excited about it. Many are doing their Christmas shopping early and ordering for their family members as gifts.”

“I already have family, friends and organization members who are waiting to order. They are excited to see another volume come out,” LaFountain said.

Volume I is completely sold out and there are no plans to reprint it, according to Sutton.

Copies of Volume II are available to purchase for $50. “The publisher happened to find 75 copies in their warehouse. The Paulding Chamber of Commerce and JPHS purchased those 75 copies and they are available at the museum and also at the chamber office,” she said.

Another way to participate in the book project and preserve memories for future generations is with a patron page. Patron pages are available to purchase to document the history of a business, church, school, organization or family. Text and photos may be submitted. The cost for a full-page black-and-white page is $240 and for a half-page is $185. Color pages are available for $500 for a full page or $400 for a half page. Any full-page purchase includes a complimentary copy of the book.

The deadline for submitting patron page material currently is May 15. For details on guidelines, email one of the committee members.