Carl Martin Gundlach had an eighth grade education. All of his life he regretted his lack of schooling. He had a remarkable memory and did prodigious reading. History came alive for him and he could always remember the dates of memorable historic happenings (much to our disgust as we went through school and history classes.

He worked in the "shop" (Gundlach Sheet Metal Works) for his father after leaving school but this did not last too long as his father was not prompt with the weeks pay (nor overly generous). Like most young men of the time, Carl went west and lived and worked in California for several years.

As a youngster playing with friends he had a stick poked into one of his eyes and ever after had only partial vision in that eye. He also had broken his arm as a youngster and was not taken to the doctor until it had partially set. When he heard the doctor say it would have to be re-broken before it could be set properly, he took off and the arm had to heal by itself. So, that arm he could not bend too well or lift too high. Also, as a youngster on a summer day, he was sitting on the back stoop when his own dog for some reason, turned on him and tore one side of his face quite badly. He had only a partial eyebrow on the right side. His scars were not noticeable to us as his children for in our memories he has many folds in his face - as many of us do as we get older. But they must have been quite bad when he was young. No plastic surgery then, either. We were never allowed to have a dog for a pet; cats and birds but no dog.

On coming back to Sandusky after his sojourn in the west, he met, courted and married Anna Barbara Schlottag, the oldest daughter of Frank and Anna Schlottag. Grandmother Schlottag (who was the 'boss') did not allow her daughter to go on a 'date' without a chaperone so either Anna's older brother Fred, or her younger sister, Pauline, went with them wherever they went. At this time public dance halls were very popular and the one I remember father speaking of mostly was Heslet's.

Carl and Anna were married in the parlor of the Schlottag home on the corner of Campbell and Osborne Streets. Schlottag's grocery was for years a landmark on that spot and the kitchen and dining rooms were behind the store with three bedrooms and a large parlor and living room on the second floor. The second floor also had the bath and a generous attic room where the laundry was hung to dry in inclement weather. This portion of land was acquired by Frank and Anna Schlottag after their marriage in January 1886, from Anna's Uncle Adam Feick. This was a portion of what was called the Feick Farm. The Feick children each received a portion and other relatives purchased parcels. Frank and Anna were to receive their land in return for groceries the Adam Feick family would consume form the store. Not long after this Anna decided this was not such a great bargain as the Feick family was large and also had numerous guests and the grocery bill was enormous.

Adam Feick was Anna Schlottag's uncle. Her mother Elizabeth Feick Riedel was his sister. Adam and George Feick were the sponsors for the four Riedel girls when they came to the United States. Anna Riedel Schlottag being age 15 when she arrived. Her other sisters were Kate Riedel Zimmerman, Barbara Riedel Sohl and Marie Riedel Zimmerman (she married Kate's widower).

Anna Barbara Schlottag attended the German Lutheran school in Sandusky and after the 8th grade she went to work for the Mahala Laundry earning the sum of $3.00 per week. Before she went to work in the mornings she had to do the cleanup around the house (floors, etc.) and of the $3.00 she earned, half of it had to go to her younger sister, Pauline, because "Pauline stayed at home". Yet out of this princely stipend, Anna B. managed to save enough money to buy the upright piano she yearned for. When Anna and Carl Gundlach married, she wanted her piano, and rather than move the piano out of the house, the Schlottag's kept it and purchased another for the newly-weds. Anna and Carl lived first on Fulton Street in a small home that belonged to Mr. Rudolph, her brother Fred's father-in-law. They then moved to Lindsley Street where Doris was born. They built a house on Cable Street and here Wesley, Anita, Charles and baby daughter (who died in the birthing) were born. The Graefe's, the Stangs's, the Holzaepfel's, the McCrystal's were the close neighbors and the children with whom we played. In 1926, they built the house at 234 Finch Street and here they stayed until their deaths.

At the time of their marriage Carl was again working for his father in the "shop". He was making the sum of $12.00 a week. (A baby buggy cost $1.98; corn flakes were 10 cents a package; dill pickles 15 cents for a quart jar. )