Manufacturer: Maddock Pottery
User: Laughery Club
Date of examples: circa 1900 – 1911
Notes: The Laughery Club was located on the Indiana side of the Ohio River about halfway between Rising Sun and Aurora, almost opposite Laughery Island and near Laughery Creek. In actuality, the closest big city is Cincinnati, Ohio, about 40 miles to the northeast. The property was purchased from the O. H. Pate family in 1900, by George B. Cox, political boss of Cincinnati, and August Garry Herman, then owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.
The club was on 22 acres with a luxurious 32-room clubhouse, built by Herman in 1901. The first clubhouse was destroyed by fire in 1912, but a second was erected on the site of the O. H. Pate home, using the cellar for the club rathskeller.
In 1919, a full-sized baseball field was added and used by the Cincinnati Reds for spring training. The club became famous for its parties given for members from Cincinnati, Covington, and surrounding cities.
In the June 1907 issue of Ohio Magazine, Herman described the club's membership as follows: "The Laughery Club is Cincinnati's most famous organization. It is not in any sense a political club, but as all of the big political leaders of one or the other of the dominant parties are prominent members, there is little doubt that many a political deal has been arranged on the grounds of the Laughery Club. But it is with the social side of the organization that this article is to deal. There are two hundred and fifty members of the club. Nearly all of them are men of means."
After the death of Herman, the club was sold to Harvey Langdon of Cincinnati, who used it mostly as a hunting lodge and for his own private parties. In 1926, J. W. Whitlock of Rising Sun purchased the property, and after renovating the buildings and improving the grounds, he operated it as a public place of entertainment with dining room service, dancing, picnicking, and cabin rentals, until his death in 1935. His family continued to run the business until 1937 when it was almost completely destroyed by the worst Ohio River flood in history at that time.
In 1938, Harry Baker of Covington, Kentucky, bought the club for his own private use and in 1945 sold it to a Jewish organization from Cincinnati. The new owners renamed it Camp Shor and restored the clubhouse, cabins and grounds, adding new facilities that included a large swimming pool.
In the 1970s, Camp Shor was purchased by Lawrence I. Noland of Aurora, Indiana (originally from Cincinnati), who moved there with his family. He also operated a water hauling business. However, in September 1977, Noland was shot and killed by his 14-year-old son Jeffery after a family argument. But Noland was an abusive father and husband, and his son was not indicted for his murder.
White body cup with green border pattern #48 Victoria, consisting of scrolling leaves and vines. The pattern is broken on the left side by the club's logo – what seems to be a feather-adorned drawing of a Native American. The drawing is encompassed by two circles containing the words "Laughery Club" in green block letters.
As an aside, the Native American seems like an awkward image to have adopted for the club's logo, given that Laughery Island, after which the club was named, was, according to the Wikipedia, "named after Archibald Lochry, the leader of an ill-fated group of Pennsylvania militiamen who were attacked near the island by Native Americans in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, a battle known as Lochry's Defeat."
Sources:
NKYviews.com – from a talk by Clarence Woods – history of the club
Cincinnatimagazine.com – Oct. 2016 article by Greg Hand – description of club members
Historical Marker Database – history of the club
Cincinnati Post Sept. 23, 1977 – story about murder and no indictment
The Wikipedia – Laughery Island
Contributors:
Robin Wheeler Carnill: ID and cup photos
Ed Phillips: author