F. M. Ranck - Otterbein Janitor to Mayor of Westerville - by Alan Borer

            In my almost twenty years working for Otterbein, I have met many janitors, maintenance men, and women, and cleaning staff.  On the whole, they are a competent and good-natured crew, do their work well, and I salute them. 

            Janitors have been part of the landscape at Otterbein as long as it has had buildings.  Tracing the life stories of these workers is problematic.  Workers in the era before World War I rarely had credentials, certifications, or licenses, nor did they get news write-ups.  Sometimes we have to rely on folklore.  Alfred Henry Moon (1860-1936), nicknamed “Dad,” was a much beloved janitor at Otterbein for 26 years, survives in the institutional memories of Otterbein for that very reason.  He was well-liked, and lived at a time when the facilities for capturing memories were growing.

            A short entry in the Philophronean Literary Society ledgers leads down the trail of another Otterbein janitor, a near contemporary of Dad Moon.  Like Dad, he did not get rich working there:

                                                                        “Westerville, O. May 29th 1885

Philophronean Literary Society

                                                To F. M. Ranck

To care of Hall for the term ending June 11th 1885

11 weeks at 40 c per week                  $4.40

                                                                                    F. M. Ranck”[i]

            Francis Marion Ranck (1853-1924) was born in Kingston, Ross County, Ohio.“In 1858 they removed with their family to Delaware County, settling near Westerville,” Africa, Orange Township to be exact, where he “led the life of quiet, farming people.” His youth included service in the Ohio National Guard, fourth regiment of infantry in 1877. Ranck lived on his parents’ farm until 1881, when he moved into Westerville and became a carpenter. In 1880, the Census showed that he was a farmer in Delaware County’s Orange Township. [ii]

“After his removal to Westerville he worked for a short time at the Everall tile works and then became janitor of the Otterbein University, where he remained from the first of June, 1881, until 1888.”[iii]

This is confirmed in the September 1881 issue of The Otterbein Record, by a laconic note in the “Locals” section:

“O. U. has a new janitor, Mr. F. W. Rank [sic].”[iv]

And

“On moving to Westerville he was elected janitor of the college which position he held for seven years, loved and respected by faculty and students.”[v]

As the years went by, Ranck held a variety of jobs, some political and some not.  He worked as assistant postmaster until 1889, then sold real estate and insurance, and Singer sewing machines, until 1893.  Ranck then went back to public service. He was building superintendent of the Franklin County Courthouse in 1893; and served as Postmaster of Westerville from 1893 to 1897.  That year, Ranck went back to private life.  He ran a real estate, insurance, and abstract office, and opened a drug store.  Still interested in service, he served off and on as Village Councilman and Clerk. 

In November 1911, Ranck won election as Mayor of Westerville.  At a time when Westerville was reliably Republican, Ranck achieved a comfortable Democratic majority.  He served one term as mayor, during which he enthusiastically researched changing the structure of the Village Council.

Ranck mixed service with fun by joining several lodge organizations.  He belonged to the Odd Fellows, the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and several others.  Ranck was ill the last four years of his life, suffering from paralysis that left him nearly helpless.  F. M. Ranck died in 1924.   Despite the sad ending, Francis Marion Ranck[vi] lived a life of service.  No statue of him exists, yet his good works and care for his community left a happy mark on Westerville.

[i][Recording Secretary, Philophronea Literary Society, 1876-1890,, p. 411.]

[ii]https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&offset=20&q.anyDate.from=1853&q.anyPlace=ross%20county%20ohio&q.givenName=Francis&q.surname=Ranck

[iii]William A. Taylor, Centennial History of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio (Chicago, 1909), p. 698)

[iv] The Otterbein Record, September 1881, p. 9.

[v]https://cdm15800.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15800coll1/id/72948/rec/58

[vi] Ranck usually went by his initials, F. M.  Franklin County sources list him as “Francis Marion,” after the hero of the Revolution.  Yet at least one obituary named him as Frederick Merrick Ranck, Frederick Merrick being a composer of hymns at Ohio Wesleyan.