McGuan recognized for all of his great work

It's ironic that when the name "McGuan" is front and center in the news after the time and money the city Park & Recreation recently spent on making the Hester Street Park one of the finest facilities of its kind in the area. The name Andy McGuan pops up on the front page of an early-summer edition of the 1949 Reflector. Mr. McGuan, even then, was being recognized for what he was doing for Norwalk youth. In this case it was the Norwalk Eagles Club, who were putting him on a pedestal in presenting him with their May Civic Service Award. The story goes on to read that because of his generosity in "presenting" the land on which the park department laid out two softball diamonds and a play-area for the neighborhood, the city now has a state-of-the-art facility which youth of all ages can enjoy. It also reads that Mr. McGuan defrayed the cost of the lights for night games on Diamond No. 1. The certificate, read by Past Worthy President Francis Coll read: "This certificate is presented to you, Mr. McGuan, by our organization, in recognition of your generous and untiring effort in behalf of the youth of the city. "The presentation of McGuan Park not only has been a definite factor in minimizing juvenile delinquency in the city but has provided the children of the city a playground for wholesome recreation." In addition to a large number of aerie members, others present for the presentation included Aerie President Howard Wilde, Park Board members George Cameron and Russell Gfell, as well as Park Board Director George Lepper. Special guests at the presentation were members of the McGuan Tiger baseball team that McGuan sponsored. Those players on hand were Mike Sweet, John and Clarence Schaffer, Bob Beveridge, Chuck Frey, Billy Spencer, Bob Seitz, Larry Gfell, Bob Lippert and Jim Spettle. Heading the Norwalk Reflector-Herald The paper has changed names many times over the years, and so have prices. But, the editorial page read on Friday, June 17, 1949 read "Norwalk Reflector-Herald." It made note that R.C. Snyder had been the publisher from 1912-41. Directly below were the names of the present rank and file. Dudley A. White, Sr. (the man that hired this writer right out of high school) was the present publisher, and a gentleman who went on politically to become a U.S. Congressman. The Business Manager was Russell A. Fisher. On the second floor of the Hester Street building sat the City Editor Jay Greulich and the Wire Editor John Malcolm. That same John Malcolm went on to become the long-time sports editor of the Sandusky Register. Livestock, Grain Markets Choice steers brought $28, good $24.50, low grade $18. Heifers choice $24, good $23, common $19-21. Cows: choice $19.50, medium $16.50. Cutter cows $15.50 to $16.50. Canners $13.50. Bulls: choice $22.50 to $24.50. Calves: Receipts on 350 sold: Choice $25-28, Common $12-17. Hogs: Receipts on 1,000 offered. Heavyweights (300 lbs) $18-19, butchers and porkers $21.25, roughs $13-15.50, stags $12-13. Wheat: July $1.93. Corn $1.29. Oats .58. Soybeans $2.21 Others: Asparagus (8-quarter basket) — .75 to .90. Beets (24-quarter basket) — .85 to $1. Cabbage (1 3/4 bushel) — .75 to $1. Green onions-bundle (1 dz.) — $2. to $2.50. Lettuce (1 lb.basket) — .65. Tomatoes (8 lbs.) — $2. Strawberry 24 qt. crate — $6.50 to $7.00. Moose/Durkees Top Teams When the Moose Club squared off with Durkee's in the city fastpitch league, a large crowd was assured to gather. On this particular night at McGuan Park the two played the next best opponents. The Moose bested Paper Box 7-1 in the first game while in the nightcap it was the Durkee's handling the Eagles, 5-3. Elmer Dials tossed a two-hitter for the Moose with the Gordon brothers, Harry and Vern, ruining Dials no-hit bid. Harry gave up 10 hits in accepting the loss while Harry Shadle, Jim Stewart and Red Hauler got two each. Parshall and White worked on the mound for Durkee's. Ralph Colvin for the Eagles. Each team had seven hits. Playing at Theatre The "Bad Men of Tombstone" was the headliner with those three hombres reputed to be deadlier than the James Boys and wilder than the Daltons. Those three actors were Barry Sullivan, Melvin Reynolds and Broderick Crawford. The second hit featured the Bowery Boys headed by Leo Gorcey. Laycock Makes Call The long-time head of the Norwalk High music department, Paul Laycock, made his early-summer call to his former musicians to join him for the summer concert series. But, first of all, some practice sessions are needed. Fairfield Bank Heist The State Patrol and the Huron County Sheriff's office abandoned an all-night search of the area for two men that held up the North Fairfield Bank the previous afternoon. Shockingly, the State Patrol had their men in hand when they made a routine traffic stop four miles from the bank. The two robbers didn't wait to see what would come back on the police radio. They jumped out of the car and headed for the woods, leaving behind $176 of the $2,731 they got in the heist. The pair managed to get another car, a 1938 Pontiac sedan, one registered to a Rittman, Ohio resident. No one knew at the time how they managed to get this particular get-away car. What was known was that bank manager C.A. Leak was alone at the bank when the robbers entered and asked for change for a dollar. (You can't make this up). They then said, "This is a hold-up." They made their way into the teller's cage and grabbed the cash and change. They then tied Leak up and shoved a rag in his mouth. Miss Norma Conaway was unfortunate enough to enter the bank as they were on their way out. She was quickly bound and joined Leak on the floor of the back room. As it turned out, that Rittman car had a lot to do with the bandits. The two, a 55-year-old and 18-year old, were both from Rittman. This was learned after that city's police department got to work on the case. They caught members of that family in a lie and they ended up admitting members of their family were the two involved in the robbery. As of a week after, the two robbers were still on the run. (Perhaps more on this later.) Don Hohler is a longtime reporter and correspondent for the Norwalk Reflector.