Memorial
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Maumee, Ohio

Garden Wall Niche 1B

HAROLD and RUTH LEATHERMAN, 1986
20th Century Publications

HAROLD E. LEATHERMAN

first-Harold
last-Leatherman
born-1912
died-2008
location-garden
interred-niche

Bostwick-Braun Hardware
Purchaser and Salesman

Harold Leatherman was born on October 21, 1912 in Delphos, Ohio to Cleo and Frank H. Leatherman. His sisters are Frances Dowling and Midred Bowersock.

He graduated from Perrysburg High School in 1930.

After graduating, Harold worked at the Bostwick-Braun Company, a hardware distrution center in Toledo, Ohio. He worked there for 46 years as a purchaser and salesman.

Fin & Flame

At Bostwick-Braun, Harold met Ruth McDonald (Garden Wall Niche 1A). They were married on October 12, 1940. Their daughters are Susan Bush, Mary Pope, and Carol Kabakoff.

After retiring from Bostwick-Braun, he was a sales representative for Allied Fasteners until the mid 1980's.

Harold accumulated 64 years of experience in the hardware and industrial supply business.

He served on the Waterville Village Council and the Board of Public Affairs in the 1950's. He was a member of the Anthony Wayne School Board in the 1960's.

Harold was a member of the Waterville Rotary for 49 years, the Waterville Historic Society, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Maumee, Ohio.

He loved restoring classic cars, attending car shows, and a spirited game of cards.

Harold died at home on September 27, 2008 in Waterville, Ohio.

Obituary Summary on December 12, 2021

Download the Toledo Blade Obituary
HAROLD E LEATHERMAN 2008-10-19
obtained from the Toledo Library.

"I came to know Harold and Ruth Leatherman toward the end of their lives. We shared Holy Communion. I discovered that we also shared working at the old Bostwick-Braun Warehouse in downtown Toledo.

Harold had worked at the Bostwick-Braun Company, a wholesale hardware product distributor, for 46 years as a purchaser and salesman - the art of warehouse distribution. He met Ruth there and they were married.

Later at Bostwick-Braun, I started my career in Warehousing Information Technology - the mechanics of warehouse distribution.

Viewed from the corner of North Summit and Monroe Streets the building was the majestic eight story brick warehouse shown above.

Bostwick-Braun Warehouse, South
Library of Congress

Viewed from the building's other end, its unusual shape is revealed. While one length of the building was parallel to North Summit Street, the other length was angled differently to follow the shore of Swan Creek as it widens into the Maumee River.

In 1908, the warehouse was built right on the edge of the water, requiring a retainment wall, when direct water access may have still been considered advantageous to product distribution. The warehouse was also engineered using just developed reinforced concrete to specifically support the heavier weight of the hardware products to be stored.

Boeschenstein Park
Google Maps

Bostwick-Braun still has offices elsewhere in Toledo but they moved their Toledo warehousing to Indiana. The massive brick warehouse was removed in 1995 and replaced by Harold Boeschenstein Park, named after the founder of the nearby Owens‐Corning Fiberglass Corporation of Toledo, Ohio.

Bostwick-Braun and David Watts, 1980

Those now standing on the corner of North Summit and Monroe Streets will view a peaceful green park, while Harold, Ruth, and I remember that grand old Bostwick-Braun warehouse."
David Stephen Watts, 3/14/2021

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