Halloween Costumes of Yesteryear

by Michele Yamamoto

This week there are many Bay Village families planning what to wear for Halloween. From parties to trick-or-treating, there will be many opportunities to show off costumes. The following photos are a glimpse into some Halloween costumes of Bay Village past. May they take you back to your childhood or inspire you to recreate one today!

The first Kindergarten class in Bay Village Schools, October 1941. The kids pose for a group photo in their costumes. More on this class can be found in the Bay Blue Book from 1954, which can be viewed virtually on the Bay Village Historical Society website.

*Two photos of* Betsy Andrews leading a 1975 Halloween Story Time program at the old Bay Library building where the Bay Board of Education is currently located. Although this is slightly before my time, I did wear that same Casper mask one year and remember well the plastic bib costume and mask sets that continued to be sold well into the 1980s. 2022.P.08.14.02.03.1.3 & 4

A Halloween event circa the early 1990s at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. I see a Mario brother but no Ninja Turtles here. 2021.P.FIC.295

If you are concerned about preserving Bay Village’s past (even our more recent past) consider donating to the Bay Village Historical Society. You may visit our website Support Us Page, contact us by phone at (216) 319-4634 or email info@bayhistorical.com. Also, feel free to contact us if you know any of the unnamed people in the photos.

Lutheran Mission Grounds Bell

The following piece was researched using articles written by Bay Village Historical Society historians George Serb and Kay Laughlin, who shared their knowledge of the subject in 1997 and 2013, respectively.

The next time you visit the grounds of the Rose Hill Museum, you will notice near the south porch a cast iron bell now hanging near the staircase down to the Cahoon cabin. This bell has historical significance as it used to hang next to the pulpit of the old Lutheran Mission Grounds.

A map of Bay Village’s west side from sometime in the 1930s or 1940s, showing the location of the Lutheran Mission Grounds, 2018.FIC.0017

The Lutheran Mission Grounds was an outdoor gathering spot in Bay Village, used by various Lutheran churches from the west side of Cleveland during summers from June to September. It was located between Bassett and Bradley Roads, reaching south to the railroad tracks, with a road north to Ashton Lane (formerly Link Road). The 10-acre site was purchased from farmer David Sites in 1886 by the churches who were looking for a wooded piece of land out in the country. They eventually erected buildings to house mission festivals, school picnics and other church gatherings. Those attending could ride the train from Cleveland to the site, later driving when automobiles became the preferred mode of transportation.

George Serb remembered visiting the grounds in the late 1930s. Serb’s Lakeshore Ice Company delivered to Lutheran Mission Grounds on Sunday mornings for the refrigerators and coolers located in the large kitchen. A single lane bowling alley (built in 1904), upon which the pins had to be set by hand, was one unique feature Serb recalled using with his classmates. He mentions that a Mr. William Toensing, who lived near the property with his son Leonard, was the caretaker.

Carl Meilander and Victor Toensing play at the bowling alley on the Lutheran Mission Church Grounds, circa the 1930s, RP.01.009.03

The bell has served different purposes over the years. The original bell of the Lutheran Mission Grounds was stolen at some point and replaced with the steam engine bell you see at Rose Hill. It was donated to the church by the New York Central & St. Louis Railroad. When the Lutheran Mission Grounds closed in 1964, that bell was given to the Victor Toensing family for safe keeping. Janet Toensing Bremke took it with her when she moved to Amherst. Janet and her brother Carl Toensing then gifted the bell to the Bay Village Historical Society in 2011, in memory of their brother Robert.

You may see the Lutheran Mission Grounds bell anytime outside of the Rose Hill Museum in Cahoon Memorial Park. Tours of the inside of the home are given Sundays in April through December from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (excluding holiday weekends). Our temporary exhibition, Beadwork: The Beauty of Small Things is currently on display, along with our permanent collection of early American artifacts. You may also contact us at (216) 319-4634 / info@bayhistorical.com.

Women’s Fashions: 1860s-1920s

(Feature image above: 1860s – A fashion fold-out from the Godey’s Lady’s book, 1863, Vol. 66, part of the Rose Hill Museum library collection.)

In anticipation of our upcoming benefit fashion show being held this September (details below), we at the Bay Village Historical Society would like to share some pictures of interesting women’s fashions from the 1860s-1920s, that we have found in our collections. You may see quite a few fashionable dresses and accessories any Sunday at the Rose Hill Museum, especially with our current exhibition, Beadwork: The Beauty of Small Things. The following pictures are not always on display and many are tucked away in our library and archives. Enjoy!

1870s – The Cahoon sisters, left to right: Lydia (b. 1835, d. 1917), Laura (b. 1841, d. 1917), Martha (b. 1844, d. 1903) and Ida (b. 1852, d. 1917), 1996.P.016. The photograph is undated but we can guess at the time period, in part, by the dress of the four sisters. The abundance of ruffles and trim on both the skirts and bodices, the bustles and the cascade of hair curls seem to indicate this photo was taken sometime in the early to mid-1870s.

1880s – Effie Cahoon Ellis (b.1861, d.1888). This portrait photograph was most likely taken on her wedding day in 1883. 2000.P.FIC.014

1890s – Puffed sleeves were all the rage in the mid-1890s, the time period in when we believe this picture was taken of Annabelle Aldrich Terry (b. 1873, d. 1950). 2021.01.1.007

1900s – Mabel Peters (b. 1884) is wearing the “S-bend” style dress, popular in the early 1900s. 2018.P.03.03.84

1910s – Wedding fashion from the 1910s. This group photo was taken for the 1914 wedding of Meta Stark Hinz (b. 1890, d. 1955) and Arthur Hinz (b. 1890, d. 1956). Meta’s wedding dress is part of The Bay Village Historical Society’s costume collection (2005.P.01).

1920s – Martha Bassett Beaucock (born Aldrich) (b.1865, d.1957), 2021.P.FIC.228.08. With her cloche hat, Mary Jane shoes and drop waist dress, Martha screams the 1920s.

If you love historical fashions from the 1860s-1920s, then you’ll want to attend the Bay Village Historical Society’s benefit fashion show. Silhouettes of Style, co-chaired by Monica Thomas and Pamela Ebert, will be held September 24, 2023 at the Lakewood Country Club. Models will be showcasing both historical and reproduced pieces from private collections. Tickets for this luncheon are $45 a person. Checks payable to the Bay Village Historical Society may be mailed to Pamela Ebert, 153 Kensington Circle, Bay Village, OH 44140. The deadline for reservations is September 19. Details can be found at www.bayhistorical.com.

Frame #01: Emeline “Emma” Hackett Cahoon

b. 1808
d. 1876, Elyria, Ohio
Emeline “Emma” Hackett Cahoon was born in 1808. She married Benjamin Cahoon on December 1, 1835. They had at least eight children together. Their daughters can be seen in a group portrait at Rose Hill in frames #8 and #22. She was described by Ida Cahoon, in her book History of the Cahoon Family, as “…a most excellent wife and model mother.” Emma lived to be 68 years old and is buried in Ridgelawn Cemetery, Elyria, Ohio.

Frame #02: Joel Butler Cahoon

Joel Butler Cahoon, along with his family, were the first settlers of Bay Village. He sat for a few different portraits over the years. This portrait was painted in his old age, after he had let his beard grow long. To read more about Joel and view a portrait of him as a young man, go to frame #5.

Frame #03: Benjamin Reynolds Cahoon

b. 14 July 1805, Montgomery County, New York
d. 29 Sept. 1872, Elyria, Ohio
Benjamin Reynolds Cahoon was the eighth child of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon and came with the family to Dover in 1810. Benjamin worked as a stone cutter in Cincinnati and Elyria. He married Emeline Hackett on December 1, 1835. They had at least eight children together. Benjamin and Emma’s daughters can be seen in a group portrait at Rose Hill in frames #8 and #22.
According to Ida Cahoon, in her book History of the Cahoon Family, “…Uncle Benjamin was very fond of flowers, fruits and all the beautiful objects he could have about him and was excellent company among his many friends.” Benjamin passed away at the age of 67. He is buried in Ridgelawn Cemetery, Elyria, Ohio.

Frame #04: Abigail Cahoon Johnson

b. 6 May 1796, Salisbury, Herkimer, New York d. 3 May 1869, Dover Township, Ohio
Abigail was the daughter of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon. She came to Dover with her parents when she was twelve years old. She married Leverett H. Johnson in July of 1814, which was the first marriage in Dover. The couple had nine children.

Frame #05: Joel Butler Cahoon

b. 27 Aug. 1793, Salisbury, New York
d. 28 Sept. 1882, Rose Hill, Dover Township, Ohio
Joel Butler Cahoon was the third son of Joseph and Lydia Cahoon. He moved to Dover with his parents and siblings in 1810. Joel and his brother Daniel started a contracting business building public works such as canals, aqueducts, viaducts, and railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Maryland.
While in Maryland he married Margaret Van Allen Dickson on July 14, 1831. They would move into Rose Hill in 1842. In 1881, they celebrated their golden anniversary. A photo was taken of the couple with the many guests who visited them at Rose Hill for the occasion. Joel passed away the next year at the age of 89 and is buried in Lakeside Cemetery.
He likely sat for this portrait soon after his marriage to Margaret. You can view other portraits of him in frames #2 and #26.

Frame #06: Margaret Van Allen Dickson Cahoon

b. 8 Feb. 1810, Washington D. C.
d. 21 June 1894, Cleveland, Ohio
Margaret Van Allen Dickson Cahoon married John Douglas Van Allen on August 16, 1827, who passed away two years later in March 1829. She met Joel in Maryland in 1830 while staying with an aunt. They married a year later and had eleven children together, eventually settling at Rose Hill. In 1881, they celebrated their golden anniversary. A photo was taken of the couple with the many guests who visited them at Rose Hill for the occasion. Margaret passed away at the age of 84, outliving her husband and all but six of her children. She is buried in Lakeside Cemetery.

Frame #07: Leverett Johnson

b. 17 July 1793, Woodbridge, New Haven, Connecticut d. 19 April 1856, Dover Township, Ohio
Leverett traveled to Dover Township with his sister, Rebecca Porter’s family, and brother-in-law, Reuben Osborn, arriving the same day as the Cahoon’s in 1810. He was Westlake’s first settler, a Justice of the Peace, Cuyahoga County Commissioner, five-term Ohio state legislator. He donated land for Evergreen Cemetery.