The game of life

Yes, they really are dominoes. And so much more.

These little wooden tiles represented every Marianist placed by the Cincinnati Province during the early 1900s. Provincial inspector Brother George Sauer would match men to the needs of parishes and schools from Dayton to Japan and keep track of their assignments on two boards, 75 tiles per row, four rows wide.

(You can read more about Sauer's personnel listing system in the summer 2009 University of Dayton Magazine Hidden Treasure feature.)

While some tiles are plain, planed pieces of wood, many are actual playing tiles issued with advertising printed on the underside:

John A. Mayer & Co.
Druggists
16 N. Main St. Dayton O

(For those familiar with downtown Dayton, that's roughly the location of the alley next to The Main Stoppe paper shop in the Key Bank Building across from Courthouse Square.)

How the druggists' dominoes made their way to Sauer (inset) is unknown, but their presence gives us a window into Marianist life from 1909 to 1938.

A quick scroll of the roster under "U. of DAYTON" reveals names from our past. There's Brother Arnold Klug, the longtime postmaster and confidant of the students. Brother Walter Roesch was head of the library. Brother Paul Omlor took care of the snack bar. "The talk was that if you didn't eat all your sandwich he came out and recycled it," said Father Paul Vieson, S.M. ’62, Marianist Archives director and keeper of both tiles and tales.

To look for names you recognize, click on the photos at right (the larger images can be downloaded for more careful scrutiny). And if you'd like to see the flip side — and discover that Brother Louis Rose's domino was a 2-3, for example — you'll have to visit Vieson in the archives in Roesch Library. He'd love to have you. And don't leave without signing the guest book, Vieson's personal listing system.

by Michelle Tedford 6-26-09