Gayleen Gindy

This house was built on Lot No. 4 of the Briggs Place subdivision in 1910 by George and Lottie (Chandler) Cook. They were married in 1894. Lottie’s brother was Dana Chandler who owned and operated a cement block manufacturing company in Sylvania. In 1910, each brother-in-law built the exterior of their homes on Summit Street entirely of “Chandler” block. These blocks were made to give the effect of cut stone, and just about every house in Sylvania, built before 1930, has a foundation built of this Sylvania-made block.

In the 1910 census the Cook family was listed living on Summit Street. George was 47 years old, married for 16 years and listed as a salesman at a coal yard. Lottie was 43 years old. Living at home was their sons Tracy, 14 years old, and Wayland, 10 years old (this is John Wayland Cook).

By the 1920 census George was 57 years old, and was listed as a retail coal dealer, owning his own business. Lottie was 53 years old and still living at home was J. W. Cook – son – 22 years old.

In 1921, their son Tracy married Helen Eisele and in 1922, their son Wayland married Mildred Peugeot. Family records said that in the early 1920s George was forced to retire, and was given six months to live, following surgery to his larynx for cancer.

In 1922 the house sold to Doris and Ethel Follas. Doris and Ethel were married in 1909 and had nine children: Helen – born 1910; Gertrude – born 1911; John C – born 1912; Kathryn – born 1915; James T. – born 1917; Joseph B. – born 1919; Jerome R. – born 1921; Junior R. – born 1923; and Baby – born stillborn 1925.

The Follas family was listed living here in the 1930 census and Doris was 44 years old and employed as an auditor for the railroad. He is listed as owning the home valued at $10,000. Ethel was 41 years old. Living at home at this time were Gertrude, 18; John, 17; James, 13; Joseph, 10; and Jerome, 8.

In the 1940 census they are listed living here and his employment was listed as auditor and secretary for a steam railway company. He was 54 years old and Ethel was 51. Living at home were James, Jerome, Junior and their married daughter Gertrude Mickens and her daughter Mary Mickens. By this time their son James B. Follas was living in the cement block home to the north that had been owned by Dana Chandler.

In 1941 Doris Follas passed away. He was only 55 years old and employed as the secretary-auditor for the Toledo Terminal Railroad. His obituary said he was a lifelong resident of Sylvania, president of the village council and served as general chairman for Sylvania’s centennial celebration in 1933. That same year the home transferred to his widow, Ethel Follas. She continued to own the home until 1945 when she sold it to Frederick H. and Marguerite E. Wood. They only owned it for three years and in 1948 sold to Lionel B. Rexroad. Mr. Rexroad died in 1950 and when the 1950 census was taken his widow Barbara Rexroad, age 29 years, was living in this house with her son John G., 8 , and daughter Mary A., 6. Two years later, in 1952, the home transferred to Barbara Ellen Rexroad. She owned it for another four years.

In 1956 Herman J. and Neva B. Lang purchased the home and owned it for 23 years. They built a new detached two-car garage in 1960. Herman Lang grew up in Sylvania and married Neva Lloyd in 1942. The Toledo Blade said he was a legendary figure in the local golf community who was a club professional and teaching pro during portions of eight decades. He started as a caddy at the age of 11 at Sylvania Country Club, then went on to caddy at Highland Meadows, and worked in the pro shop there where he became the club’s head pro at the age of 20. In 1941 he went to Inverness Club as assistant pro. From 1942 to 1946, during World War II, he served in the Army as a Staff Sergeant. He returned to Highland Meadows and stayed until 1966, when he took the position of head pro at The Inverness Club. He retired in 1980, but continued to give lessons until 2000, and then taught at The Legacy in Ottawa Lake, Mich. He was a two-time Toledo Open winner and a member of the Toledo Golf Hall of Fame, and received many golf awards during his life-time. He had a golf “classic” named after him at the Legacy, where the dining room was also named in his honor. When he died in 2007, at the age of 93, he was survived by his wife Neva, and they had been married for 65 years. They had one child, Debbie, who lived in Sylvania at the time. She had been playing golf since she was four years old. Neva Lang died in 2010 at the age of 92. She also was an avid and accomplished golfer.

The owners after the Langs were all short term owners as follows:

• 1979 – John and Betty Ann Hobbs
• 1983 – Betty Ann Hobbs
• 1983 – Mary Marshall Grube
• 1987 – Danny E. and Pamela K. Rodehaver
• 1991 – Pamela K. Rodehaver
• 1996 – Lori A. Kritzell
• 2002 – Gregory E. Stone

Mr. Stone owned the house for 20 years before selling it to Karen Adams in 2022. While he owned it building permits were issued for a new detached garage in 2018, and a deck.