Pearl Vida (Stephens) Blecke
Photo property of Lavaeda Graening
The eldest son of Henry & Emma Blecke was Frederick “Fred” H. Blecke born 10 Apr 1884. Fred married Pearl Vida Stephens born 1888. Fred owned his own farm on Devils Hole road. Fred and Pearl had no children. Fred hired several local men as farm hands. Fred and Pearl are both buried in Troy Township Cemetery. Next to Pearl and Fred’s tombstone in the Troy Township Cemetery is buried “Ada Stephens 1870 – 1924”. Ada is the mother of Pearl. Ada’s father is not buried in this location. Ada died at the young age of 54. Her husband John Stephens remarried, his second wife being Rhetta Harter. Both John and Rhetta are buried in Troy Township Cemetery in section A1. Ada owned a 40 acre farm in Webster township on Devils Hole Road. The property being located at the south west corner of the intersection of Luckey Rd and Devils hole road. The Blecke farm was also located on Devils Hole road but farther east and in Troy Township. The Wlecke/Blecke farm was located on the south side of Devils Hole and surrounded the Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad. We can assume if dates are correct that prior to marriage, Fred and Pearl lived less than a mile from each other on their respective family farms on Devils hole road.
Pearl was known for her beautiful music she created with her piano. Pearl learned to play at a very young age. Pearl was the first graduate of the Toledo Conservatory of Music and was considered a talented musician. In 1905 at the age of 17, she was chosen as the piano soloist at the concert in Toledo of the Cincinnati Symphony orchestra. This was a very high honor. At a early age she was confined to a wheel chair for unknown reasons but continued to share her musical talent with many of her piano students in the area. Pearl died Oct. 17th, 1938.
December 2nd, 1905 Toledo Blade December 5th, 1908