Passing through: Book explores historic figures who spent time in Toledo

TOLEDO — Robert E. Lee. Harry Houdini. Al Capone. Mother Teresa. What could connect such a disparate collection of historically significant figures? Toledo, actually, according to a recently released book by a local historian. In "Forgotten Visitors: Northwest Ohio's Notable Guests," Tedd Long dives into the stories of these and others who passed through the Glass City, beginning at the end of the 18th century and continuing through the beginning of the 21st. Long recounts lectures in White's Hall, addresses to thousands at outdoor venues like Metcalf Field and at least one ill-advised surgery in the Boody House, which can't have left the Detroit Tigers' Ty Cobb feeling good about Toledo. Others spoke well of their time in the city, as recounted in "Forgotten Visitors." Amelia Earhart opined that she didn't believe she'd seen "anything more lovely" than the bird's-eye view of "the river, the bay, and Lake Erie," and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called Toledo as "a very rising and beautifully wooded town"; his accommodations at the Hotel Secor in 1922, he wrote, "would compare for elegance with any in London." Long thinks of their words as a "shot in the harm" to locals who are hard on Toledo. "Toledo is a great place," he said, "and when you read this history and think about all these famous people who came through, it's a reason to be proud of Toledo." Long draws on an extensive background in local history for this, his first book, which is published through the University of Toledo Press. It's available online at holytoledohistory.com or utoledopress.com and at two area retailers, Gathering Volumes and the Fort Meigs gift shop, both in Perrysburg. A history hobbyist with a flair for storytelling, he blogs at Holy Toledo History, and just earlier this year he published four self-guided tours that wind his audiences — historically and geographically — through northwest Ohio. He's preparing to release a three-part walking tour of the Old West End in the spring. In addition to "Forgotten Visitors," for which he's already begun compiling notes for a second volume, he has two additional books currently in the works: "100 Things to Do in Toledo Before You Die," anticipated in the spring through the St. Louis-based Reedy Press; it's a local edition of their popular series of visitors' guides. And he's also working on a coffee table book, "Remarkable Spaces," anticipated in 2022. Long is preparing the historical essays to be paired with photographs of local architecture shot by local photographer Matthew McNulty. Long said he had long been interested in writing a book, but didn't know what specifically he would write about. Inspiration struck in the lead-up to the 100th anniversary of Toledo's "Day in the Sun," the historic fight between Jess Willard and Jack Dempsey staged at a 80,000-seat temporary arena in Bay View Park on July 4, 1919. As he was researching the match, he recalled, he came across a recollection of Dempsey: As the boxer was preparing for his match, he looked out to see Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson working security in the crowd. "I was blown away. I had no idea Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson were ever in Toledo," Long said. "It suddenly just dawned on me: What were the other forgotten visitors to Toledo, that we've somehow managed to lose sight of? That became the theme of the book." In the year or so of research that followed — including plenty of time digging through old newspapers, including The Blade, at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library — Long was selective in which visitors he did and didn't include. Earp and Masterson don't actually get a chapter to themselves, although they do make a cameo in a chapter on Al Capone. (Long writes that the Willard-Dempsey fight was actually the only known appearance of the gangster in Toledo, despite local lore about some of his favorite purported haunts.) The author focused on visitors whose time in the city was interesting or influential. "It's not just that someone showed up and visited here," he said, "but there's an interesting backstory to what happened." Think Frederick Douglass, for example. An influential figure in his own right, Douglass was invited to speak for a cornerstone ceremony at Warren AME Church in 1864. Long explores how his address in town indirectly caught the attention of President Abraham Lincoln, by way of a listener who later relayed the thrust of it to the sitting president. Upon hearing that Douglass was wavering in his support, Lincoln arranged a meeting. "They had a real frank get-together, and it changed their relationship, and it changed Douglass' opinion of Lincoln," Long said. "All that came from that visit in Toledo." For Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, a warm reception in White's Hall in 1869 was a boost of confidence. In letters he sent during his time in Toledo, he'd expressed reservations about speaking in a community already warm to resident humorist David Ross Locke, better known as Petroleum V. Nasby of The Blade. For Harry Houdini, Toledo would be the site of what he considered his greatest escape. And for Houdini and for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it would be a source of tension in their friendship. Doyle visited Toledo multiple times, drawn for seances held by Toledo's Ada Besinnet. Houdini publicly sought to expose spiritualists, including Besinnet, as frauds. "Forgotten Visitors" covers plenty of lesser known celebrities, too, some of whom passed through on national speaking or publicity tours. There was Blanche Scott, who rolled into Toledo in 1910 amid a cross-country publicity stunt for the Overland Motor Co., and Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan, who had just weeks before returned from a bold and unauthorized transatlantic flight in 1938. Even Jumbo the elephant stepped off a circus train in Toledoin 1883. Could such a book be written about any city the size of Toledo? Long doesn't think so. Geography likely played one unique factor in drawing so many notable visitors to the city, he pointed out: Toledo was strategically positioned along the railroads. "If you were going from Chicago to New York, you were going through Toledo. If you were going from Detroit to Pittsburgh, you were going to go through Toledo. So we were at a crossroads, and we still are today. It's one of our big pluses as a community," he said. "And that certainly played out with all these famous people who came through Toledo." For years, the city didn't have a large-scale venue or classic stage to host the performances or lectures of its high-profile visitors. Douglass spoke at College Hall; Twain's White's Hall was the third floor of a retail building on Summit Street, near what is today Jackson Street, and intimate venues like these were the norm until 1871, when Toledo opened the Wheeler Opera House. The accommodations didn't dissuade an impressive roster of guests. "Because of where it was located and because it was a growing community," Long said, "people made their way." ___ (c)2021 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) Visit The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) at www.toledoblade.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.