LOOKING BACK
–by Gayleen Gindy
PUBLICATION DATE: Feb 15, 2021

Moving further east on Maplewood Avenue, the next house that is 100 years old or older is on Lot 35 in the Burnham Addition subdivision with an address of 6809 Maplewood Ave. Records show that this house was constructed in 1917. The first owner was Albert Randall who, in 1902, had built and lived in the home next door to the west. Since he purchased this lot in 1916 we can assume that he either built this home or had the home built by 1917. Here are the recorded owners of this lot:

• 1916 – Albert H. Randall
• 1922 – Paul W. and Goldie M. Peugeot
• 1922 – Earl and LaVerne Clark
• 1923 – Earl S. Clark
• 1961 – Roland Clark and Helen Haas
• 1971 – Augustus W. Haas and Roland Clark
• 1971 – Judith (Clark) Rhodus
• 1973 – Gilbert Y. Jr. and Valerie I. Whitten
• 1974 – Ticor Relocation Management Co.
• 1974 – Bruce and Judith Spang
• 1983 – Judith Spang
• 1993 – Gregory S and Jessica Thome
• 1995 – Troy M. and Elizabeth A. Lutz
• 2001 – Denise S. Glass
• 2003 – Jeffrey P. Blood
• 2007 – Irene Rose
• 2016 – Irene Rose, Trustee

The list of owners is long for this property so there will not be space to share information on all of them, therefore I will focus on the Clark family who owned it from 1922 until 1973. From 1917 to 1922, Randall was renting this house out, but using the 1920 census I was unable to determine which family was renting the home because the families were listed by street name only, with no addresses. Randall sold the home in 1922 to Paul and Goldie Peugeot. They lived on Summit Street in Sylvania at the time and only owned this home for two weeks before selling it to Earl and LaVerne Clark. Then in 1923 Earl Clark purchased part of Lot 36 to the east.

Earl Clark was born in Sylvania in 1881 and LaVerne Smith was born in Sylvania in 1883. They were married in 1899. In the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census they were living on Brint Road in Sylvania Township, near her parents, William and Mary (Highland) Smith, and they were all listed as farmers. While living in the township they had three children: Mary – born 1903; Helen – born 1906; and Roland – born 1911.
They retired from farming life in 1922 and moved into the village of Sylvania, purchasing this home on Maplewood Avenue. LaVern died in 1929 at 47 years old. At that time their two daughters were listed as Mrs. Mary Fisher and Mrs. Helen Haas, both of Sylvania, and son Roland still living at home.
In the 1930 census Earl Clark was listed living at this address, valued at $7,000, 50 years old, widowed and employed as assistant manager of an automobile sales and service business. Also living here was his son Roland S. Clark, 18 years old, attending school; Augustus W. Haas, son-in-law, 24 years old, employed as a plumber; and Helen B. Haas, daughter, 24 years old.
In September of 1930 Earl Clark married his second wife, Mary E. Bachofner-Engel. They continued to live in this home and by the time the 1940 census was taken they were renting out their extra rooms in the house to the teachers from either Maplewood or Burnham High School. The 1940 census shows the following occupying this home:
• Earl Clark – 58 years old – employed as a bus driver for the board of education;
• Mary Clark – wife – 58 years old – boarding out at home – born in Switzerland;
• Ida Hulda Buhrow – lodger – 38 years old – employed as a teacher at the public school;
• Beryl Jean Follette – lodger – 26 years old – single – employed as a teacher at the public school;
• Helen Grace Westenbarger – lodger – 24 years old – single – employed as a teacher at the public school;
• Ruth Jean Reasoner – lodger – 23 years old – grade school teacher – public school.
In 1942 when Earl completed his World War II registration card he was listed living at this address. He was 60 years old and still employed by the Sylvania Board of Education as a bus driver.
According to the Sylvania Sentinel newspaper dated April 11, 1946, Mrs. Mary L Fisher, daughter of Earl Clark, died in Toledo Hospital after a brief illness. She was 43 years old. She was survived by her husband John Fisher, daughter Marjorie, son Robert, all of Sylvania; sister Mrs. Helen Haas of Toledo; and brother, Roland Clark of Sylvania.
Earl Clark passed away in 1956 at the age of 75 while still living in this home. His obituary notice said that he retired five years ago after he had been a gardener for 10 years on the estate of Robert A. Stranahan. Before that, for 20 years, he had worked for the Sylvania Auto Company. He was survived by his wife, Mary, his daughter Mrs. Helen Haas and his son Roland Clark, both of Sylvania.
After Earl died his wife Mary re-married Ellsworth Kiff, and in 1961 the house transferred into Earl’s two surviving children’s names, but Mary and Ellsworth continued to live in the home. When Ellsworth Kiff died in 1965 his obituary indicated that he was living at 6809 Maplewood Ave. and Mary survived him. Mary died in 1969 and two years later, in 1971, the house transferred to Earl’s son-in-law Augustus Haas and his son Roland Clark. They sold the home to Judith Rhodus, daughter of Roland and Mae Clark in 1971.
In 1973 the house sold out of the Clark family and from that time, until the current owners, it appears that all of the owners of the house lived in the home while they owned it.
In 1976 Bruce Spang obtained a building permit to add a 16-foot by 20-foot family room addition. In 1988 Judith Spang was issued a building permit to make repairs to the home because of a fire. In 2009 a building permit was issued to Irene Rose to demolish the original garage and replace it with an 18-foot by 20-foot garage. David Webb was the builder.