From the Akron Beacon Herald, March 5, 1966.
Sporting what can only be described as a very space-age sounding name, Zoid Zephyr Morgan was a lifelong Ohioan who first entered politics at age 68, winning the first of two terms as mayor of Seville. A popular figure in Medina County, Morgan was, in addition to his mayoralty, a gas company superintendent, Boy Scout leader, educational leader, and a professional photographer. Born in Shreve, Ohio on April 26, 1887, Zoid Zephyr Morgan was the son of Frank L. (1865-1896) and Ella (Bonham) Morgan (1871-1932).
The backstory behind Morgan's unusual name remains unknown, but in the context of 1887 (the year of his birth), his name can certainly be described as futuristic! His early life was spent in the town of his birth and attended Shreve high school. Following graduation, he was affiliated with the Shreve orchestra, a local musical company of which he was the leader. Morgan married in Wayne County on November 8, 1911, to Florence Elmira Eddy (1884-1947). The couple were wed for thirty-five years and had two sons who died in infancy.
In the late 1910s, Morgan took work with the Ohio Fuel and Gas Co. for its Medina district. He would advance to the posts of production foreman and after 33 years retired in 1952 as production superintendent. Sources also note his operating a photography studio in Shreve, but no mention is given as to its dates of operation. Around 1945 he and his wife removed from Shreve to Seville, where they resided for the remainder of their lives. Following retirement, he was affiliated with the Seville Sand and Gravel Co.
After the death of his wife Florence in 1947 Morgan remarried in July 1948 to Mabel Riedel (1907-1998), who survived him upon his death. Morgan's residency in Seville saw him as president of the local Parent-Teacher Association and was a past master of the Medina Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. He was also affiliated with the Chippewa District Boy Scouts and attended the Seville Presbyterian Church. A well-known photographer in both Shreve and Seville, Morgan's interest in photography extended back to early in his life, and in a 1957 newspaper write-up on his hobby was revealed to own "an arsenal of cameras", including:
"A 16 mm movie, a 4 by 5 Pressman's camera, two thirty-five mm cameras, a 2 1/4 by 3 1/4 camera and a big movie camera. Morgan has a photo mural of local pictorial views in the lobby of the Old Phoenix National Bank."
From the Akron Beacon Journal, September 8, 1957.
Prior to his election as mayor Zoid Morgan had never held elective office, and won his first term as Seville's mayor in November 1955. Late in his first term, Morgan joined two other Medina County mayors (Don Merriman and L.J. Reynolds) in their fight to prevent the establishment of a municipal court that would serve not only the county seat of Medina but 17 other townships. These mayors would circulate petitions decrying the court's construction, which would cost Lodi, Seville, and Wadsworth thousands of dollars in fees. In March 1957 the three would appear before the Ohio legislature's house judiciary committee to argue against the measure.
In November 1957 Morgan won a second term as mayor, and two years later was defeated in his bid for a third term. One year after his defeat he was named Seville's local inspector of pipeline construction, taking part in overseeing the construction of a $361,750 sewage disposal system. He continued residence in Seville until he suffered a heart attack in early 1966, whereafter he was transported to the Rittman-Wadsworth Hospital. He died there on March 4, aged 78, and was survived by his wife Mabel and stepsons Nelson, Roy, and David. Following funeral arrangements, Morgan was interred alongside his wife Florence at the Fairview Cemetery in Craigton, Ohio.
From the Medina County Gazette, March 5, 1966.
Portrait from the Ohio Division of Reclamation.
It may seem improbable, but Ohio fielded not one but two men named Zoid/Zoyd who attained distinction through public service. In addition to Zoid Morgan, Zoyd Martin Flaler made an impact in Buckeye State government, being appointed as the first chief of the state division of reclamation. As a high ranking figure in the state department of agriculture, Flaler served several years in that post and in 1954 was named as Ohio state director of public works. The son of William H. Flaler and the former Flora Painter, Zoyd Martin Flaler was born in Mercer County, Ohio on July 31, 1904.
Zoyd Flaler would reside on a farm near Fort Recovery, Ohio during his childhood and studied at the Anthony Wayne Business College and at the Tri-State College. He earned a degree in civil engineering from the latter school and soon established a career as a civil engineer and surveyor, being employed by General Electric as a construction engineer. He would marry in 1936 to Elizabeth Margaret Sherman (1909-2005). The couple's sixty-three-year marriage produced one daughter, Martha Flaler Avant.
Following his marriage, Flaler was named city engineer and service director for Coldwater, Ohio, and also engaged in highway construction in his region. In the 1930s he served as assistant surveyor and engineer for Mercer County, under F.D. Kuckuk, and in 1939 was appointed to succeed him as county surveyor. He would win election to a term of his own in that office in November 1940 and served several more years. While still the incumbent Flaler was named a trustee of the Ohio County Engineer's Association in 1945, and in that same year was elected vice president of the Mid-west Ohio Society of Professional Engineers.
In April 1946 Flaler continued political advancement when he was named as city manager for Coldwater, serving until at least 1948. In the following year, Ohio Governor Frank Lausche signed into law the Coal Strip Mine Land Reclamation Act, legislation that provided for the regulation of surface coal mining in Ohio. This new law also created the need for a "new regulatory agency" in the state department of agriculture that would oversee its administration. In July 1949 Governor Lausche appointed Flaler as the inaugural holder of this post, titled Chief of the State Division of Reclamation. In a Dayton Daily News writeup concerning his appointment, Flaler's new duties were detailed:
"Under the new law, the desolation left behind by the huge stripping shovels now becomes the problem of Zoyd M. Flaler, of Coldwater...Flaler will have the responsibilty in his $6500 a year post of setting up the rules and regulations for the law's administration...The new law requires strip mining operations to obtain $50-a-year license. It also requires them to deposit bond of $10 for each acre to be mined. Minimum deposit is $1000."
From the Dayton Daily News, July 24, 1949.
Flaler's time as chief of the division of reclamation extended until December 1954, when Governor Lausche appointed him as state director of public works. This office saw Flaler responsible for overseeing public works projects in the state and was reappointed to that post in January 1957. Major projects that began during his tenure were the construction of a 150 bed receiving center at the Juvenile Diagnostic Center in Columbus (at a cost of $1,500,000); a $1,500,000 100-bed psychiatric institution for delinquent children located in Columbus; and a food unit at the Columbus state school.
Zoyd Flaler was succeeded as public works director by Richard Larimer in January 1958, and in that year was named chief of planning and construction for the Ohio Department of Mental Hygeine and Correction. His full dates of service remain unknown at this time and he later headed the Bureau of Planning and Grants in Columbus in the late 1960s. He continued in that post until at least 1971, and in that year is recorded as head of the Community Facilities Construction and Implementation section of the Department of Mental Hygiene. Little else is known of Flaler's life after the 1970s, excepting note of his residency in Raleigh, North Carolina. He died in that city on November 7, 1999, aged 95, and was survived by his wife and daughter. Both husband and wife were interred at the Spring Hill Cemetery in Fort Recovery, Ohio.
Flaler as he appeared in 1954.
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