Massillon Athletic Club: A Link to Massillon’s Early Football Days
Author: Lois McHugh, Museum Volunteer

Massillon Athletic Club, c.1906
Digital positive of the original glass plate negative
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Dan Douglass (90.25.939)

One of my favorite jobs as a volunteer in the Massillon Museum is scanning old photographs and entering them in the Museum’s collection database under the supervision of Archivist Mandy Altimus Pond.  I love the pictures of old buildings, many of them long gone; grand theaters, grand homes, and long-forgotten stores.

One historic building caught my attention recently: the Massillon Athletic Club, located at 136 North Avenue, N.E.  This building always seemed strange to me, a huge multi-storied brick building with a small house, sort of attached to the front of it.  The Massillon Museum has several pictures of the building throughout the years, showing no real changes on the outside.

The Massillon Athletic Association with H.A. Croxton as president, and the Massillon Athletic Club, with J.W. McClymonds as president, raised $20,000 and built the large facility standing on North Street N.E. in 1906. The house in front of it became the offices of the two groups.  The house was built in the 1840s for Dr. Abraham Metz, famous optometrist. Part of that house still exists today, while some sections of the house have been moved to other locations.

According to a 1981 Independent article, the building was the result of the early popularity of the Massillon Tiger and other semi-professional football teams, and a physical fitness trend.  The Massillon Professional Tigers practiced in the Athletic Club facility.

1904 Professional Massillon Tigers Team
Collection of the Massillon Museum (BC 763.5)

Towpath to Towpath, Margy Vogt’s  book on Massillon history, states that it contained a fully equipped gym, a running track, the largest swimming pool in the area, two bowling alleys, and wooden lockers.  The Museum has only one picture of the interior of the Athletic Club showing the track and open basketball area.

In 1910, according to the Independent, the buildings were given to the Massillon Schools and became classroom and gym facilities for North Avenue School, a few blocks away.  The school district absorbed the unpaid debt of the Massillon Athletic Club of about $9,500. With use of the Massillon Athletic Club facilities, the school system was able to establish its first basketball team in 1910. When the new high school was finished, the equipment was moved to the new gym.

Washington High School, c.1915
Collection of the Massillon Museum (96.36.45)

The school system decided to sell the Athletic Club building about the time the United States entered World War I (1917).  According to Ruth Kane’s book, Trolley Car Days,  the 114 men recruited for the war in Massillon’s Company K were quartered in the building, sleeping on cots, with a few of the local soldiers allowed to live at home due to overcrowding.  Soon, the newly formed Young Peoples Christian Organization began feeding the recruits in an army mess tent on vacant land adjacent to the Massillon Athletic Club.   Less than a year later, the Massillon Athletic Club was used as a hospital facility during the “Spanish Influenza” epidemic of 1918.

Company K Soldiers in front of old City Hall, 1917
Collection of the Massillon Museum (82.48)

Company K of the 10th Division, Ohio Volunteers, 1917
Postcard created by Stan Baltzly
Digital positive from the original Baltzly glass plate negative
Gift of Dan Douglass (90.25.842)
Collection of the Massillon Museum

During the following years, the building was used for sporting events, dances, movies and other types of gatherings.  In 1930 it began its career as a storage facility for the Hall Casket Company, and later a casket finishing business. During this time, the pool was cemented over and flooring covered the track. The casket finishing plant was closed in 1977.  The building later served a carpet company and was rented out as storage.  In the 1981 Independent article, the author notes that the gym floor, with its markings and center circle, was still in good condition.

In 2014, the building seems to be near its end, as the back half of the building’s roof collapsed in on September 1.  According to an online Independent article dated September 1 the building is currently owned by Mrs. Millie Kowell.  For ten years, until August of 2014, the building housed the dance school of her daughter, Keely Beebe.  She moved out when her father noticed the roof was sagging.  Since there are residences close to the building, neighbors thought it fortunate that no one was injured in the roof collapse, although one car was damaged.   While the majority of the building is still standing, neighbors hoped that it will be torn down.   Any action is up to the property owner, according to Fire Chief Burgasser, as quoted in a follow up article in the Independent on September 2, 2014. We are pleased that early in 2015 the roof was replaced, and hope for saving the building was restored.

One of the Massillon Museum staff’s favorite pieces in the collection is the c. 1869 wedding dress Mrs. J.P. Burton (Mary Zerbe). This year we were excited to find a photograph of Mary in her wedding dress, taken at the Fletcher Studio (likely taken by Mrs. Martha M. Fletcher). Unfortunately the glass plate negative is damaged and the image of Mrs. Burton is difficult to see.

Since we have the dress in the collection, Archivist Mandy Altimus Pond wanted to digitally cleanup the photograph by combining the digitized glass plate negative (BC 2316.6) and overlay the digital image of the Mrs. J.P. Burton’s wedding dress (BC 1209).

Here are the results for your enjoyment!

2006 photograph of the second Mrs. J.P. (Mary Zerbe) Burton’s wedding dress (BC 1209), c.1869

Portrait of the second Mrs. J.P. Burton (Mary Zerbe) in her wedding dress, c.1869
Contact print from the original glass plate negative (BC 2316.6)
Attributed to the Fletcher Studio, likely taken by Mrs. Abel (Martha) Fletcher

Portrait of the second Mrs. J.P. Burton (Mary Zerbe) in her wedding dress, c.1869
Contact print from the original glass plate negative (BC 2316.6)
Attributed to the Fletcher Studio, likely taken by Mrs. Abel (Martha) Fletcher

Archivist Mandy Altimus Pond’s 2015 digital cleanup, combination of digitized glass plate negative (BC 2316.6) and overlay of digital image of the Mrs. J.P. Burton’s wedding dress (BC 1209)

(left) Portrait of the second Mrs. J.P. Burton (Mary Zerbe) in her wedding dress, c.1869
Contact print from the original glass plate negative (BC 2316.6)
Attributed to the Fletcher Studio, likely taken by Mrs. Abel (Martha) Fletcher

(right) Archivist Mandy Altimus Pond’s 2015 digital cleanup, combination of digitized glass plate negative (BC 2316.6) and overlay of digital image of the Mrs. J.P. Burton’s wedding dress (BC 1209)

By Kelly Murphy, Walsh Museum Studies Intern

As a Museum Studies intern from Walsh University I have the pleasure of working within the collections at the Massillon Museum.  Currently I am assisting with their extensive garment collection by rehousing the more delicate items into archival boxes and organizing all of the garments by era.  I have seen items representing every era since the 1850s with many interesting designs and styles. It is wonderful to be able to see the progression of fashion over time and to have the opportunity to work closely with all of them.

Last week I came across a very interesting two-piece wedding gown from 1898.  The bodice is a blue and white striped “pussy willow” taffeta, with leg-o-mutton sleeves trimmed with beige colored lace, and a beige colored silk high collar.  The floor length skirt is also blue and white striped taffeta.  The gown was made by Ottilie E Miller for her marriage to William R. Wise on July 19, 1898.  The wedding took place at the Miller’s home at 33 N. Hill Street, now 2^nd St. NE.

BC3966.1a&b

What made this piece stand out was not the design or cut of the fabric, but a small stamp that was placed on the inside.  The top of the stamp reads “Fair & Square, Brooklyn Shield Company, M’F’R Trademark, Columbian Exposition Medal 1893.”

The Columbian Exposition was a Fair held in Chicago in 1893.  Several volumes describing all of the winners’ products was published in 1901.  The book explains the various awards they presented to goods and services industries.  Several examples of their numerous categories were bread-making and machinery, Nova-Scotia fruits and fruit making, and transportation.  The Brooklyn Shield Co. received an award under the “corsets and dress-cutting etc.” category for their rubber shields.  The judge remarked that for their rubber shields “the specific points of excellence are that their shields are light weight, soft, impervious, odorless, and finely finished.”

Rubber shields were used in the making of corsets as a protectant against perspiration on the inside underarm of a corset or top.  Dress shields have been in use since at least the 1840s.  They were an important addition to women’s garments to not only help prevent perspiration and odors coming through the material, but also to keep the material from becoming ruined and discolored.  Dress shields are still in use today and are marketed to both men and women.  Modern shields, or guards, are typically disposable and come in a variety of styles and sizes.  A quick look through the US Patent Office records shows many improvements on shield design since the early 1900s.

The A.J. Humberger and Sons Company was a dry goods store located in the Warwick Block on North Erie Street, which opened in the late 1880s.  Of the original owners were William Humberger, who ran the store until his death in 1904, and Charles Wise. The name of the store was changed in 1913 to A.J. Humberger’s Sons Dry Goods Company.  In 1916, Jacob J. Wise was the director and vice-president of the store.  He had been elected mayor of Massillon in 1896, at the age of twenty-nine, and served two full terms. Wise was also the manager for the Massillon Tigers from 1904-1905.  In November, 1925, the Gensemer Brothers, another successful dry goods corporation purchased the stock and acquired the lease of the A. J. Humberger & Sons store.

The Warwick Block, c.1880s
Collection of the Massillon Museum

By Sadie Koehler, Walsh University Museum Studies Intern

My name is Sadie and I am a museum studies intern from Walsh University. I am organizing the Massillon Museum’s Blueprint collection. The collections storage facility was renovated in 2010 to accommodate many of the 100,000 items, but the staff had not found a way to accommodate the hundreds of blueprints in the collection, as a collection of 900 blueprints was donated to the Museum. Over the last 4 years, several other volunteers have inventoried the blueprints to initially understand the scope of the collection.

I am working to unpack these blueprints from their temporary storage during the collection storage renovation. There are about 500 blueprints that will be kept in the museum’s collection, which come from the Massillon area, including the canal, railroads, houses, businesses, and other buildings, as well as blueprints from nearby cities and towns that do not have a historical society to properly care for them. My job is to sort through the ones specific to Mallalieu, Ross, Roberts, and Doll architectural firm. Their blueprints were created from the 1950s through the 1980s. I am assisting Archivist Mandy Altimus Pond to evaluate which blueprints are to be kept in the museum collection and which blueprints need to go to the appropriate historical society that would serve as a better home for them. For example, there is a blueprint for a home in Pueblo, Colorado. The likelihood of someone knowing to research that home in the Massillon Museum’s collection is slim. So this blueprint will be better served by a historical society in Colorado.

The blueprints that are kept here at the museum include: Massillon, Dover, Beach City, and New Philadelphia. All the other blueprints go to their respective historical societies including cities like: Canton, Coshocton, Elyria, and North Canton. There are even some blueprints from out of state, including places as distant as Texas, California, Florida, and Colorado. Once evaluated, the blueprints are labeled with their architectural number (assigned by Mallalieu, Ross, Roberts, and Doll by their year and project number), the subject of the blueprint, and the location of the structures. These will then be properly stored by subject, such as churches, houses, or businesses.

All the blueprints with unknown locations or only the name of the building are kept here at the museum and are added to the inventory. With these unknowns, I take as much information from them as I can and add them to the document. Soon we will be reappropriate blueprints from other towns to their proper destination, as well as properly housing those that will be added to the Museum’s collection. Proper storage will allow us to preserve, conserve, and protect these priceless documents for the future generations to come.

Pictures by: Sadie Koehler

Author: Megan Smeznik, Archival Intern

Charity Rotch School of Kendal, c.1920
Collection of the Massillon Museum (BC 2295.1)

Education has been at the heart of communities throughout the United States. From controversial cases such as Brown v. Board of Education to schools founded by religious groups, education has shaped communities. Education has also been seen as a tool by community leaders to serve the working poor and indigent. Concerns about the poor have been an issue that societies continue to confront. In 19th century America, education reforms opened a new door to providing to these disadvantaged individuals. Massillon, Ohio has been no exception to this. Operating from 1829 to 1906, the Charity Rotch School of Kendal worked to serve in the education of those children who were “destitute orphans,” “indigent children,” and “particularly whose parents were of depraved morals.” Named for Charity Rotch, the wife of Thomas Rotch founder of Kendal, the school was one the first vocational schools in Ohio.

Charity Rotch School of Kendal, c.1920
Collection of the Massillon Museum (BC 2295.2)

Charity schools can be described as benevolent institutions funded by charitable persons that teach children the basic fundamentals of education that can include instructions in a particular faith and trades. Industrialized countries like England pioneered the charity school in the 18th and 19th centuries to educate the children of the poor and industrial workers. America developed its own charity schools in the image of their counterparts in England and Europe. The Charity Rotch School was founded with $20,000 bequeathed by Charity Rotch. Although Charity Rotch was a practicing Quaker, the school was not formed on any basis of religion. Instead, the school was meant to instruct the children in a “good common English education” that was structured around morals. Children admitted to the school spent half of their days studying and the other half learning about particular trades. The children were to be instructed in the principles of farming, agriculture, housewifery, culinary employment and much more. These domestic and agricultural ideologies were meant to be the foundations for “useful” citizens by the time the children left the school.
As with many institutions, financial troubles plagued the Charity Rotch School in its later years. Nevertheless, the trustees of the organization were dedicated to their duty of providing for the indigent children. A lasting memory to the institution is recognizable through the Charity School of Kendal Scholarship for Stark county students at the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. While the Charity Rotch School no longer stands, its influence still continues to impact the Massillon area.

Copy of School Application:
School application printed copy on onion skin paper.
Date: c. 1850
Gift of the Gates Estate (85.70.58)

Indenture Agreement
Indenture agreement to be signed by student and guardians
Date: c. 1880
Gift of the Gates Estate (85.70.60)

Scholarship Letter
Letter typed on paper with printed letterhead to N. W. Wales for Mary Jane Richeimer
re: Scholarship checks
Date: 1949
Gift of the Gates Estate (85.70.331)

Photograph of Charity Rotch School of Kendal, c.1920
Image from Massillon Museum brochure, clipping file
Collection of the Massillon Museum

Part I: Presidential Items

Part of the American Dream is having a voice in how our country, states, and cities are run.  The right to vote is one guaranteed to all Americans, regardless of race, religion, age or sex.  This was not always the case, however, as African Americans and women were two major groups excluded from this fundamental right.  Thousands of important movers and shakers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries fought for all Americans to possess this right.

This article features items from the permanent collection, which are on display at the Massillon Museum October 4, 2014 – May 24, 2015. These political buttons, pamphlets, and posters communicate a message to the voters and shed light on particular candidates and the issues of the era in which they were created.

Be sure that your voice is heard in local, state, and national issues by exercising your right to vote on November 4, 2014!

“Happy Landin’ with Landon” Sheet Music
1936
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Karl Spuhler Estate (91.7.3634)

Landon/Knox Campaign Pin
1936
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Miss Edna and Bess Spuhler (59.31.3)

McKinley and Hobart, “National Wheelmen’s Club” button
Collection of the Massillon Museum (3813.2)

Herbert Hoover Presidential Campaign Poster
c. 1920
Collection of the Massillon Museum (BC723.6.4)

McKinley and Hobart Campaign Poster
c. 1896
Collection of the Massillon Museum

Handkerchief campaigning for McKinley and Hobart
c. 1896
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Albert Hise (58.9)

Invitation to the Inaugural Ceremonies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
1961
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Al Brinham (69.69)

President Eisenhower
c.1960
Salt and pepper shakes
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Mrs. Rohr (90.42.489)

“No Third Term” Stamps
1940
Wendell Wilkie produced these stamps for his campaign, asking the American voting public not to re-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt to a third term as president.
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of William L. Bennett (59.42)

The city of Massillon flooded every year, with the worst floods occurring in 1904, 1913, and 1935. The Tuscarawas River took a natural course that curved into the downtown (where McDonald’s is today), which increased the reach of the flood.

In 1936, the Massillon Chamber of Commerce formed a committee to work on flood control, officially called the Massillon Conservancy District. The project consisted of moving the Tuscarawas River, moving the railroad tracks, and creating 3 new viaduct bridges.

The project began in 1939 and was finally completed in 1951, costing more than $10 million. The Tremont viaduct opened on October 8, 1948; the Lincoln Way viaduct opened on November 11, 1949, and the Cherry Road viaduct opened on September 14, 1951.

Seen here are the Tremont, Lincoln Way, and Cherry Road viaducts being built, the river being moved, and the dedication from the Lincoln Way viaduct dedication ceremony in 1949, and parade and dedication ceremony for the Cherry Road viaduct in 1951.

Digitized from the original Independent negatives, taken by Jack Worthington.
From the collection of the Massillon Museum, gift of the Evening Independent (91.47)

Demolition of the Tremont Bridge, 1938

Lincoln Way Viaduct under construction, 1949

Lincoln Way Viaduct under construction, 1949

New waterways were built to divert the water from the river, to prevent flooding

New waterways were built to divert the water from the river, to prevent flooding

Completed Lincoln Way Viaduct

Completed Lincoln Way Viaduct

Lincoln Way Viaduct before its official opening, 1949

A large dedication ceremony took place on November 11, 1949 for the finished Lincoln Way Viaduct

A large dedication ceremony took place on November 11, 1949 for the finished Lincoln Way Viaduct

A large dedication ceremony took place on November 11, 1949 for the finished Lincoln Way Viaduct

A large dedication ceremony took place on November 11, 1949 for the finished Lincoln Way Viaduct

Christening the Lincoln Way Viaduct

A large dedication ceremony took place on November 11, 1949 for the finished Lincoln Way Viaduct

Cherry Road Viaduct under construction, 1950

Cherry Road Viaduct under construction, 1950

Celebration, parade, and dedication ceremony for the completed Flood Control Project, September 14, 1951

Celebration, parade, and dedication ceremony for the completed Flood Control Project, September 14, 1951

Celebration, parade, and dedication ceremony for the completed Flood Control Project, September 14, 1951

Celebration, parade, and dedication ceremony for the completed Flood Control Project, September 14, 1951

Mayor Robert Weirich gives a speech at the dedication ceremony for the completed Flood Control Project, September 14, 1951

Silent film actress Lillian Gish throws a wreath from the completed Cherry Road Viaduct as part of the dedication ceremony for the completed Flood Control Project, September 14, 1951

Article by Jessica Shoemaker, Registration Assistant at the Massillon Museum. Nan McAllister Ream recently donated photos from Fidelity Motor Bus Lines, Inc. to the collection of the Massillon Museum. C.I. McAllister, Sr. chartered Fidelity Motor Bus Lines, Inc. in 1926. The initial two bus routes were laid out by McAllister and Mayor Irving Ferrell.

West Park and Kendal buses in front of a hotel
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Nan Ream (2014.022.19)

McAllister opened the first office of Fidelity in the old Arcade building on Lincoln Way W, just west of the Weslin Theater.

Six men standing in front of arcade
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Nan Ream (2014.022.12)

After some time, Fidelity moved its offices to 15 Lincoln Way E, above Linde’s Women’s Apparel. During World War II, Fidelity advertised for war bonds and stamps in effort to support the war effort, and men overseas, as well as promote patriotism.

Buy War Bonds & Stamps decal on Fidelity Bus, c.1946
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Nan Ream (2014.022.06)

Mac McAllister, Rogers, and man in front of West Park Bus
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Nan Ream (2014.022.07)

Fred Ebner, Charlie Sebus, Mac McAllister, Leonard, Dallas Moritz, and Myers
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Nan Ream (2014.022.11)

Les Mason, Norm Smith, Peck Smith, Gus Heiman and three men in front of Goodyear Tires
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of Nan Ream (2014.022.13)

In 1956, Fidelity was collecting over one million fares a year and was running seven routes. C.I. McAllister retired in 1968 and passed the business on to his son, C.I. “Mac” McAllister, Jr. By 1970, bus patronage had dropped due to an increase in private car ownership. As a result, in 1970 Fidelity reduced to four bus routes. The company cancelled its city bus line on September 30, 1970. It became a charter service traveling all over the United States, supervised by Mac McAllister. Fidelity continued to expand and became Fidelity Tours, thanks to Nanette McAllister Ream, the third generation. Fidelity Tours was acquired by US Coach Tours in 2008.

State Hospital, c.1948
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Evening Independent (91.47.3069)

How do I find my relatives who lived at the Massillon State Hospital?

Unfortunately those records do not appear to exist any longer. The former State Hospital grounds are owned in part by the City of Massillon and by Heartland Behavioral Center. Heartland retains patient records for the last 10 years, and are not available to the public. The Massillon Museum does not have any records of residents.

Another way to track down your relatives’ information is through the Stark County Recorder’s Office. They retain vital information, including birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates. Please click here to visit their site.

Photographs of the State Hospital:

The Massillon Museum preserves a small collection of photos of the Massillon State Hospital, which may be viewed here. Reproductions of these images are available upon request. Prices may be found here.

Postcards showing the interior of McKinley Hall (top, BC 3919.20) and the dining hall (bottom 89.13).Collection of the Massillon Museum

History of the Massillon State Hospital

The grounds where the State Hospital exists originally was owned by James Duncan, founder of Massillon. In 1817, he and his wife Eliza moved into a cottage on the land called “Estramadura Farm,” or “The Plains.” The home was built by William R. Dickinson to raise Merino sheep, and Estramadura was the name of the region in Spain where the sheep originated. By 1821, the Duncan family moved to Kendal, Ohio, and later built homes in Massillon.

State Hospital water tower, c.1899
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Karl Spuhler Estate (91.7.574)

During William McKinley’s first term as the governor of Ohio, the city of Massillon was chosen for the very first state hospital in the United States and Canada in 1892. The Massillon Board of Trade purchased the Kegler and Smith farms to complete the 400 acres needed for the hospital. Construction of the hospital began in 1893 with the groundbreaking for McKinley Hall. The hospital opened on September 6, 1898, housing 300 patients from 21 different counties.

Even though it holds the name Massillon, it was not really owned by Massillon itself. This is because there was no money collected from the city in taxes, and the hospital supported itself with patients’ payments and the farm grounds.

State Hospital fields
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Karl Spuhler Estate (91.7.575)

The hospital was both a member of the American and Ohio Hospital Associations and it functions through the Board of Trustees (consisting of nine local men). The hospital was originally the Eastern Ohio Mental Asylum, but was later changed to the Massillon State Hospital.

Dr. A.B. Richardson was the first superintendent for one year. Patients were housed in cottages across the grounds, instead of large dormitories that were previously used in other state hospitals. Richardson was followed by Dr. Henry C. Eyman. He made sure that the grounds were beautiful for all to enjoy. He created a patient work program to work on grounds beautification and farming to help sustain the operation of the hospital, and give the patients real jobs.

Gardens of the State Hospital, c.1920
Collection of the Massillon Museum (06.22.4 top, 06.22.2 bottom)

The Massillon Street Railway Company began service in 1891, with Main Street (now Lincoln Way) being the main thoroughfare. The tracks went as far south as Erie Street with a turn-around at the State Hospital. Many Massillonians enjoyed a ride to the state hospital, where they enjoyed picnics on Sundays on the hospital grounds, as the lush gardens and expansive fields made for a wonderful setting. Friday night dances held at the state hospital were popular entertainment.

Streetcars leaving the State Hospital Grounds, c.1900
Collection of the Massillon Museum (06.22.11)

By 1950, the hospital housed 3,100 patients with approximately 365 full and part time employees and nurses. The expanse of the land was so beautiful that many family picnics took place on the lawn, as well as the Massillon football and baseball games at Sunnyside Field.

Dr. Arthur G. Hyde served as superintendent from 1918-1954. Throughout his tenure, more than 250,000 patients had been admitted. One of the major problems that patients were admitted for was alcoholism. They strove to treat them and release them with the hope that they would not return. Dr. Hyde called each patient by name to make the experience more personal. Judge John H. Lamneck said that Hyde did more for the mentally ill than any other individual in the State of Ohio.

As philosophies for mental health treatment shifted by the mid-1970s, more than half of the patients were transferred to other facilities. The state hospital changed its name to Massillon Psychiatric Center and then to Heartland Behavioral Health Center, which remains its name today, with only a few hundred patients remain. Other community organizations and mental health agencies have stepped in to help and make services available to the community.

Aerial view of the State Hospital, c.1970
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce (92.98.756)

Many patrons wish to donate or sell their historic newspapers to the Massillon Museum. These newspapers are often from historic events, such as the moon landing or Kennedy’s assassination. The Museum archives contain thousands of newspapers and  clippings relating to local history, significant individuals, and Museum history.

Why does the Museum not typically accept donations of newspapers?
Newspapers are incredibly difficult to care for. They are made of acidic paper made from wood pulp and are typically fragile, as they were only meant to inform people of the day’s events and then be thrown away. To keep costs down, printers often used cheap, thin, wood pulp-based paper. Earlier newspapers in the 1800s were made from rag paper and are more durable and less acidic. Many of those rag-based newspapers are still in great shape in the Museum archives.
Above: Plain Dealer, July 21, 1969
Collection of the Massillon Museum

This rag-based newspaper from New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1823 is in good shape, considering its age. This newspaper contains the announcement of Thomas Rotch’s death.
Collection of the Massillon Museum (BC 1825)

There are exceptions to accepting newspapers. Publications from rare newspapers that were only in business for a few years like the Massillon Gleaner, the Massillonian, the City Item, the Massillon News, the Massillon Gazette, Massillon Telegraph, the Massillon Weekly American, and the Massillon Morning News are very important. These newspapers contain information on our city’s history that we cannot find anywhere else. These have not been scanned or been made available online.

The Massillon Telegraph, January 5, 1848. (BC 3894.2)

An April 16, 1884 edition of the Massillon Weekly American is laminated to protect this rare piece.
Collection of the Massillon Museum

Most of our small newspaper clippings about a certain person or business are laminated, to save the information, but make them usable for researchers. The other solution is to make a photocopy of the clipping onto archival paper.

Another reason we do not need to save every newspapers is that many newspapers have already been digitized and are available online, and are searchable. If you live in Massillon, you may access hundreds of newspapers across the world through the Massillon Public Library’s website.

The Gleaner is a rare publication, often with only one copy of certain days is known to exist. Some are in the Museum’s collection, and several football-related editions are in possession of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club.
March 29, 1895
Collection of the Massillon Museum (68.86.2)

Why are newspapers important?
When thinking of newspapers as historic objects, it is often the information they contain that is important, not the newspaper itself.  Articles on local events, local perspective on world events, obituaries, and advertisements from local businesses are just some of the important features of a newspaper. Even if you do not have the original paper in front of you, you can still read about this information.

This clipping shows an ad for Bloomberg’s shoes, a Massillon business.

How do I care for my newspapers?
Do not put in plastic bags. This will trap moisture and dust inside.
If you store them in extremely dry locations, they will become brittle.
Do not store them in direct sunlight. Newspapers will yellow after just a few days.
If you clip a particular article from a newspaper, be sure to record the newspaper it came from and the date it was published.
As with all items of importance, do not use scotch tape. See photo below.

This newspaper was held together by scotch tape, which yellows and damages documents over time. The Evening Independent, March 5, 1897
Collection of the Massillon Museum

The Northeast Document Conservation Center explains, “Newsprint paper is of extremely poor quality and will continue to deteriorate even if it is deacidified or washed… If a clipping is retained solely for informational purposes, the most efficient preservation strategy is to make a photocopy on archival-quality paper.”

For more frequently asked preservation questions, such as how to care for wet photographs, musty books, and insect infestations, visit the Northeast Document Conservation Center’s website.

The Massillon Independent, October 17, 1884
Collection of the Massillon Museum (BC 3839.2)

This 1940s newspaper is split in two, and continues to crumble as it is handled by staff and researchers.
Collection of the Massillon Museum