Wedding Bells.......

We have pictures of some of the happy couples when they married. Hopefully we will be able to add the rest of them, or just add a nice picture with all the info.


Julia and Harry Callahan - St. Patrick's - June 26, 1939

Lucille and Tom Barron - St. Patrick's - July 15, 1939

Johnny and Norma Crotty - July 4, 1942 in Wilmington, NC

Betty and Willie Rastatter - St. Patrick's - October 31, 1942

Virginia and Mike Jackson - St. Patrick's - March 31, 1943

Our gang....

These pictures speak for themselves......









Rich & Pat - First Holy Communion May 25, 1950

New Contributor

Lucy will be contributing shortly.

Random thoughts continue...

Does anyone remember the light switches in Anna's house that you pushed a button to turn off and another button to turn on?

Remember the door bell that you turned/cranked?

Above Anna's doorbell she had hung a crucifix? When she went to St. Mary's that was hanging either outside her door or was in her room. Richard Barron now has the cross and sent this picture.

In my very early years, I recall a huge radio in the middle room. There was also a desk that had a 'kidney' shape..........also an etagere or curio shelf. On this shelf, there was a 'silver' cocktail service with a pitcher and silver goblets.

Anna's 'modern' bathroom with the very high vanity and sink..........the high vanities are now coming into style.........we have one in our house. After it was in, I remembered the one Anna had.

More Random Thoughts

Who remembers a davenport – a/k/a couch or sofa?

Who remembers a purse being called a pocketbook?

Being told that girls shouldn't whistle because it made the Blessed Mother cry. My mother, Julia, told me that all the time.

How many of the cousins have the gene – drinking beer in small glasses?

The five Crotty sisters all wearing dresses or skirts, nylons & high heels. Only remember Betty occasionally wearing slacks.

Why did Anna use the name Ann instead of Anna? Anna is a great name!!

What did Grandpa Crotty do for a living?

I have often wondered what Grandpa Crotty did for a living. We do know that he ran several taverns. That he served in the Army during the Spanish American War. And I believe that he was a Deputy Sheriff at one time.

Does anyone know more?

Crotty’s West Third St. Residence

Grandpa & Grandma Crotty had lived on West Third St. between Myrtle & Chestnut Streets sometime before moving to 509 Parade St. Grandpa Crotty ran the tavern that sometime later became Sophia’s Tavern. Some may remember that Sophia’s Tavern was across & down the street from where we, the Callahan’s, lived.

The tavern had a residence connected to the back. My mother, Julia, was born there. Her uncle, probably Dr. Wilson, delivered her. She was baptized immediately after birth. There must have been a problem because she was the only one of the nine children that was born at home.

I’m not sure how long they had lived on West Third St. My mom said that the drivers of the beer trucks use to give her & Pierre rides on their trucks until one day Pierre fell off and was seriously hurt.

I wonder if Grandpa Crotty had owned that tavern.

Does anyone know of any other places they may have lived?

Richard may have some resources to help answer my questions.

Mike Rastatter - SpeechEasy

The following is from Willie - as told to Dede, and posted by Rich.

As we look to our past to recall fond memories, it is important to acknowledge where we are going. We come from families that were part of the wave of immigrants that made this country what it is. A lot of family members did not even complete high school, and college was only a far reaching dream.

I have been blessed to be a part of the Crotty clan and want to preserve in this blog the accomplishments of my children. Mike is my second child, and only son. He is currently a professor at East Carolina University.

Mike is part of a team that designed the SpeechEasy device, which has allowed stutterers to speak fluently almost immediately. Mike has been interviewed by ABC News, NBC News, British Broadcasting Corp, and People Magazine about the device.

If you do a Google search on SPEECH EASY, you can see testimonials from people that this has helped. You can also do a Google search on U S Patent 5961443.

A person can have no better legacy that helping others.