Schumm Store Ad, 1904 Willshire Herald

There seems to be no end to the information in the 5 May 1904 edition of the Willshire Herald, William G. Hoffer, publisher. Not only were there personal items and business ads from Willshire, a few other local communities were mentioned.   

Featured on page two of that 1904 Willshire Herald was an ad for the Schumm Store:

THE SCHUMM STORE
GENERAL MERCANTILE STOCK
Farm produce a specialty—cash or trade.

Our wagon is on the road every day except Saturday. We pay the highest market price for produce and poultry, and meet all competition on goods we have to sell. Can fill any special order in any line.

HERBERT L. HILEMAN,
Proprietor,
Schumm, Ohio

Schumm Store, 1904 Willshire Herald

I did a little research to find out a little about the store’s proprietor, Herbert L. Hileman.

Herbert Loyd Hileman was born in 1878, the son of Harvey Ervin (1853-1928) and Isaveria (Shamel) (1857-1922) Hileman. In 1880 the Hileman family lived in or near Willshire and Harvey was a farmer. [1]

Herbert Hileman married Ada McClure around 1898 and by 1900 they had one child, a son named Jimmie B, who was born around March 1900. According to the 1900 census enumeration everyone in the family was born in Ohio. Herbert and Ada Hileman lived in or near Willshire and Herbert farmed. [2]

In 1910 the Herbert Hileman family lived in or near Willshire and Herbert’s occupation was farmer. Herbert and Ada had three children by this time: James, 10; Archie, 8; and Theah Vera, 3. The 1910 census indicates that Ada was born in Indiana. [3]

A person I knew! I remember Herbert’s son Archie Hileman. Archie was my school bus driver when I was in grade school at Willshire. I remember him as being a very nice man, who on the last day of school took a little detour from the normal bus route and drove to the Frosty Zip in Willshire, where he bought all the kids on the bus an ice cream cone. What a treat for all of us on a warm spring day, the last day of school. He was the best! Archie passed away in 1974 and is buried in Willshire Cemetery.

Below is a photo of the Willshire school bus drivers in 1960, when I was in the second grade. My bus driver Archie Hileman is on the left but I also knew Doyle Stetler and Jack August. Jack August was from Chatt and he was also our TV repairman.

Willshire school bus drivers, Archie Hileman, far left, 1960.

Back to the Schumm Store. It appears that Henry Schumm ran the Schumm Store in 1900 and was the postmaster there, too. Having both positions at the same time seemed to be common in other small villages as well. William A. Colter was appointed postmaster 23 September 1903. Herbert Hileman was appointed postmaster at Schumm on 18 June 1904 and probably began running the Schumm Store at same time. The Schumm Store had a huckster wagon and maybe Herbert drove that, too.

Brick building that once stood by the railroad tracks in Schumm, Ohio.

Wm. O Tickle was appointed Schumm’s postmaster on 27 February 1905, so Herbert Hileman was not the postmaster very long. Logan Wolfe was appointed postmaster 29 March 1906 and by 1910 Logan Wolfe and Gustav Schumm ran the Schumm Store. [4]  

Schumm Postmasters, Herbert Hileman, 1904; William Tickle, 1905; George Weinman, 1916.

Schumm Postmasters, Henry Schumm, 1886; Wm Colter, 1903; & Logan Wolfe, 1906.

Such interesting histories about these little towns.

 

[1] 1880 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 154, p.28 (penned), family 256, H.E. Hileman; digital image by subscription Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1880usfedcen/ : viewed 10 Apr 2019).

[2] 1900 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 97, p.8, dwelling 156, family 170, Herbert Hilerman; digital image by subscription Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1900usfedcen/ : viewed 10 Apr 2019).

[3] 1910 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 114, p.1A, dwelling, family, H.L. Hileman; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com  (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1910uscenindex/ : viewed 10 Apr 2019).

[4] U.S. Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971, Vol. 79, 1891-1930, p.576; database, Ancestry.com.

Find a Grave sources: Find a Grave memorial no. 91867047, Harvey Ervin Hileman, Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Wert, Van Wert County, Ohio. And Find a Grave memorial no. 146910401, Herbert L. Hileman, Willshire Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. And Find a Grave memorial no. 144825191, Ada A. (McClure) Hileman, Willshire Cemetery, Van Wet County, Ohio. And Find a Grave memorial no. 147026093, Archie C. Hileman, Willshire Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio.

4 comments

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    • Brian Siefring on April 12, 2019 at 9:21 am
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    I absolutely love reading your articles and I’m not even from that area. Thank you for taking the time to save and share history!

    1. Well, thank you! I am so glad you enjoy the posts and it is nice to hear that others also enjoy the local history. It certainly is worth sharing and saving. Thanks for reading and for writing!

    • Karen Casey on July 20, 2019 at 7:38 pm
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    Archie’s Hileman drove the band bus in the 1960’s when I was in the Parkway band. When we got back to Willshire after being at a football game, he would drop everyone off at the school and I would ride w him to the bus barn which was right behind our house. He would always stand there until I was safely in the house. He was such a dear man.

    1. That is how I remember Archie, as such a nice man and a super bus driver. Thanks for writing and sharing your memories of school days.

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