Mike Jackson

Mike occasionally stopped by Anna's to have a quick beer when he was out and about. Whenever he saw Tommy, he'd say "What do you know, Moe?", and Tommy would reply "Not much, Joe". He always called me Long-John.

Memories of Johnny and Norma....

I cannot recall memories of Johnny and Norma without going into the recent past. In February of 2006, Rick and I were in Florida with his brother. I called Little Ann and Mike to arrange to meet for lunch.

While driving to our lunch spot, I was trying to think of how long it had been since I had seen Mike. I pictured him as a much younger man with reddish hair....It had been 20 years plus since we had seen each other. We got out of our car, and a man was walking toward me and said "Hello, Dede"........my heart skipped a beat.......he reminded me so much of Uncle Johnny. If he had greeted me with "Hiya Kid" (the typical Johnny greeting), I probably woul have fainted. More on this later.

Johnny and Norma............the house on Charlotte Street.....I remember Christmas....Norma made doll clothes for Patty's dolls...........and Norma made the best fudge!! What was it called?? Here I go with the food thing again. As Richie mentioned in his blog, Johnny would go into his 'when I was the durango kid...' routine.

Patty and Mike were such quiet kids compared to the rest of us hooligans......

Norma....so assured, red nails, hair kinda swept back in a 1940's style. I remember picnics in that big back yard......Norma made popsicles that were yummy (food thing again). I remember that she liked to play cards.

Their collie..........what a beautiful dog. Why do I think his name was Mike, but then changed to Bummy when Mike was born??

I remember Gooie.........didn't she live on East 5th Street? Again, I also thought she was a relative of mine.

Fast forward to 2006.......when Rick, Mike, Ann and I met for lunch, I couldn't help but wonder what we would talk about........boy was I wrong!! The hours melted away as we all caught up on our lives, and reminsced about our past.

The idea for a cousins reunion started after Jack Mozart died. When we had lunch that day in Florida, we really decided to go forward and do it. It was a wonderful afternoon that we all hated to see end.....but it started a beautiful connection with all of the cousins.

Memories of Betty and Willie...

When I think about Betty and Willie, I immediately picture Betty of the 1950's era. Black hair pulled back in a bun, dressed to the nines, and very high heels....always the character. And her laugh!!! Willie.......just being Willie, now the last of the aunts and uncles.

I remember their house on East Lake Road........first with just Lucy and Mike, and then little Ann made her debut. I was going to St. Pat's then and rode the bus. I would stop after school, just to see the baby, and Betty would let me hold her. Such a big thrill!!

At Christmas time, the room off the living room (sun room?) would have a huge tree......in my child's mind it was the biggest tree ever. When I would go over there, they had no backyard, so Lucy, Mike, and I would run through the house like wild indians!

When I made my first communion, the Rastatters came to it....Lucy and Mike were dressed up so cute. We have a picture (attached)of the 3 of us on Eagle Point on that day. My dress was scratchy and Lucy and Mike looked uncomfortable in their church clothes.

Betty and Willie moved alot....it was always an adventure to see where they moved next. I remember the downstairs flat across from St. Pat's church. Also the house on 5th st next to St. Pat's school....little Ann would stand and peek through the fence at the kids on the playground....she was such a solemn child!! I think she was trying to figure out the world and her place in it.

I also remember the flat on Parade Street between 6th and 7th.

I remember the picture of little Ann and butchy dog looking out the front window....like they were waiting for someone to come home. Did uncle Tom take that one?

When I was a freshman at St. Ben's we were allowed to bring a younger child to school one day...I think it was for a Christmas program and we were encouraged to bring little ones. Betty let me take Ann to school. I was so proud of her. She would have been around 4 yrs old.

Turnwald (aka Turners Farm) I remember Mike falling in the creek and me pulling him out. I don't think any of us were supposed to be down there.

I remember Mrs. Razanauskas and Stanley in the house on Ash between 5th and 6th. Mrs. R made the best pickles ever.......every time I eat a dill pickle, I mentally compare it to those. I remember Lucy and I made dill pickles and peanut butter sandwiches at our house on Eagle Point. They were pretty tasty.

I also remember that when Lucy ate, she either ate one thing all at once OR she had to make sure no food was touching another...not sure which it was.

My mother loved pickled pigs feet (yuck). She would get them from Betty....did Mrs. R. do those also??

I remember Madeline and Paul Eighmy.....for years I thought I was related to them!!

When I was in my teens or early 20's, they lived on East 6th st. During their later years, they moved to Florida and then back to what little Pat refers to as 'the center of the universe, Erie'.

Dear Uncle Willie.........I can't wait until he gets online again to get his wonderful jokes and his prayers for all of us.

Has anyone noticed...

Most of my memories seem centered around food??

Memories of Anna...

Memories of Anna....505 Parade Street. We all have many Anna stories to share......sitting around her kitchen table.......lots of beer for the grown ups and Rola pop for the kids. Planters peanuts, swiss cheese in a dish with mold on it.........you just scraped off the mold and ate the good parts (I still do this). She introduced all of us to epicurean delights....boiled shrimp, lobster tails, good cuts of steak. I remember one time when she cooked duck....I remember not liking it. Does anyone remember when she would bake a whole roaster pan of chicken wings?
Going to Turnwald (aka Turners Farm) in the summer....Anna always brought the huge bag of Planters peanuts in the shell. When we had our reunion last year, little Pat and I tried to figure out a way we could have the peanuts in the shell......but made a grown up decision that it would be too much of a mess that we would have to clean up.
Anna was always ready and raring to go for any adventure or for a chance to visit her sisters, brothers, and nieces and nephews. She made many trips to our home in Houston.
I have in my house the bottle opener that she had at 505. Most beer bottles now are twist off, but the opener will always be here.
When I learned how to knit when I was about 10, Anna wanted me to knit her an afghan. She and I went to Trasks and bought pink and green yarn, and I proceeded to make a bunch of little squares. My mother sewed them together. While Anna was still in the house, she gave it back to me.....my daughter Robin has already called dibs on it.
On Christmas eve, after I was married and gone from Erie, I waited that night for the call from the gang at Anna's. After saying hi to everyone, I knew that the Christmas tradition was still alive and she made sure Iwas still part of it.

Remember the glass of dimes she collected and kept in her cupboard? When you reached a certain age, you were given a key to Anna's house....a rite of passage that you eagerly looked forward to......you were welcome at Anna's any time.

Anna loved her 15 nieces and nephews unconditionally.

Memories of Julia and Harry....

My memories of Julia and Harry center around the house on West 3rd St. Kids always running through the house...the glider on the front porch...and Leo Tormey going into the back shed and swiping Harry's beer!! The boys all shared a big bedroom at the front of the house...it was like a dormitory.

One very clear memory was a time when David was lost. Julia was frantic and calling everyone. She finally called later and said that David had crawled under one of the beds and was back in the corner sound asleep.

I remember Julia sitting in her rocker in the living room. I also have a very early recollection of a very old lady (Harry's mother?) also being in the room.

Every summer, we would go with the Callahans (and Anna) to Conneaut Lake Park for 'nickel day'. It was looked forward to before the event, and remembered after. After the return from Conneaut Lake, we would go to an Italian restaurant on Liberty street.

The Callahan's house was the place to be to go down to Chestnut Street Pool. Girls and boys had separate days...Boys: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Girls: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Thinking back, I can't believe we actually went in that water! We would take our lunch and spend the whole day there....then trek back up the hill to Julia's.

In the early 50's, Julia had to be hospitalized. During that time, David stayed with us. Nancy and I slept in our double bed, and David slept on Dad's old army cot, all in that little bedroom on Eagle Point. Harry would make his rounds in the evening to visit his farmed out kids. He brought Da Da and I coloring books.

Trains in the Attic...

Remember Tom's wonderful train set that took up about 1/3 of the attic? I remember it from from my childhood. It wa still there when Kevin and Robin were little...not quite as big, but still there. They remember this also. I also remember all the National Geographic magazines he had up there.

Lucille used to joke that when she moved out of 501 she could take everything she owned in a paper bag, all the rest of the stuff was Tom's!!

Richard Crotty

Born October 25, 1905, died June 16, 1981.

You were a part of this family yet none of us knew you. We all wondered about you often...where you were, what you looked like.

Whatever reason compelled you to leave, I hope that it gave you peace in your life.

Uncle Willie and the Pope

Does anyone think that Uncle Willie looks like Pope Benedict or is it just me?

"The Big House"

I remember living at 509 Parade St. with grandma and grandpa and 8 of my aunts and uncles (all of whom were in their twenties) for the first 7 years of my life. What an experience! There were 4 bedrooms and a bath on the second floor with radiators in the hall not in the rooms. In the morning I remember rushing down to the kitchen to stand shivering in front of the wood stove to warm up. The hot steamy kitchen was a place I spent a lot of time with grandma, "helping' her bake lemon pie or iron with my toy ironing board and iron.

On the first floor there was a front parlor with glass French doors, a fireplace and a piano which I used to play with great abandon. Uncle Pierre claimed it sounded like I was really playing something. Next was a living room with a room attached which was used as an extra bedroom or for whatever was needed. The dining room was a good size with what seemed to me like an enormous dining room set. The stairway to the second floor was off the dining room. The kitchen was large with a long table. I remember grandma making her own noodles for Sunday chicken soup. She would have these large sheets of pasta on towels draped over the chairs which she would later roll up and slice into thin noodles. The soup mainly consisted of noodles and broth, and she always gave me the heart. I liked chicken hearts...strange kid! Off the kitchen was a large walk-in pantry with the sink and many cupboards.

Life at 509 was always exciting. Irish aunts and uncles know how to have fun as we all know. Someone was always coming or going, putting on makeup, buying new clothes, or having poker parties in the kitchen. I was the waitress. I even had a tray to carry the beer to the table and carry away the empties or empty ashtrays. They tied a towel around my waist as an apron. They all thought it was a hoot to have free labor. No tips either. They would let me stay up till all hours. I loved it.

Grandpa used to take me to his neighborhood "pub", Calvano's, on the corner of either 3rd or 4th and Parade and put me on the bar. He would visit and I would have pretzels and pop. I would say we were going "calavantin"


With 11 plus people in the house, using the bathroom was a challenge. There were no daily showers. In fact there was no shower. Just a big tub. Anna told me one time that our great grandmother had the first indoor plumbing installed in the city? Maybe someone else knows more about this. I don't know how they managed it. I guess everyone had to be patient.

Then WW II came along and things began to change. I found it all very scary. Going to the depot with Johnnie, Willie, Mike and Anna was a very sad time. Before, during and after this time everyone was getting married and moving out leaving my mother and me (Mike was in the army also) grandma, grandpa. I was at all of your parents' weddings. When you all started arriving, I was so excited to see and love all the new babies.

When Mike came home we moved to 411 East 5th. This house was like Anna's. The move was like culture shock for me after being surrounded with all of these people for most of my young life. But I soon adjusted.

Memories of David and Mary....

The most significant thing I remember about David and Mary, was that I always called him Uncle David, and Mary always called him Dave. As a kid I thought that calling him Dave was funny! I guess I thought Dave was a name for a kid. The house on East 5th st was a fascinating little place..........the bathroom before they remodeled it was huge and Mary had a vanity table with all sorts of perfumes, etc on it. As a little girl, I wanted a vanity with all of the foo foo stuff on it....I think I still am waiting for that!

At Christmas, I recall Mary knitting hats, mittens, or scarfs for me. I don't know if this was every year or just one or two years.

When the Crotty caravan made its way to David and Mary's on Christmas day, she would have the dining room table set up with food. She would have a ham on a platter and you could slice some and help yourself. Having a huge ham on the table, just waiting for you to help yourself.........that was so cool!! I remember Mary's son Tommy Schrenk and his wife Betty........they had several kids. I was confused at that tender age as to how he could be Mary's son, but not really my cousin. Boy, how times have changed.

I also remember Mary's father........we always called him Mr. Sinnott. I remember Mary Lou Sinnott also.

Crotty Stats...

Just a thought for you..........Richard and Julia Sullivan Crotty had:

9 children
15 Grandchildren
25 great grandchildren
21 great great grandchildren
2 great great great grandchildren


That is 72 people!!!

Julia Callahan has the most descendants. This doesn't include any spouses............

And we are still growing!!

Memories of Lucillle and Tom....

Lucille was my official 'hair cutter' while I was growing up. When I needed a haircut, I would sit on the high stool in the kitchen at 501 and get my hair cut........I think she may have also given me a perm!! She would refer to her and I as "Dede and Cici, the soap suds twins".

I remember the blackboard just inside the kitchen and the pictures of Santa that she would draw on it.

She made the absolute BEST maple breakfast rolls. When I smell maple sticky buns, I am 10 again and in Lucille's kitchen. I also remember her making burnt toast and scraping the burned part off.

Uncle Tom....always doing something, and always anxious to share with you what he was doing. Every important picture that was ever taken of me while I lived in Erie was by Tom....right up to my wedding! I sure hope one of the Barron boys has all those pictures.

As a young adult, I went with Lucille and Tom to the Kenley Players and we would go for dinner. It opened up a whole new world.

I also remember manhattans made by Uncle Tom.....the next time I go to Rich and Barb's, I am gonna have one and toast all the relatives!!

Santa

Anna always had a party on Christmas Eve. Some years Santa would show up. You could hear him tramping across the attic floor above. He'd come down the stairs into the back shed, through the kitchen and into the next room.

Phone Number 77-106

I remember that Anna's phone number in the early 50's was
77-106
I looked in an old phone book from the 40's, and this was also the number for 509 Parade, except it was written as
7-7106
Before we had a phone, my dad strung a wire between 505 and 501 for a buzzer. If Pat called me, he'd call Anna, and she'd press the buzzer 3 times, and I'd go over to Anna's to answer the phone. If Harry called Tommy, it was 4 buzzes, and if David called David, it was 5 buzzes.