Saturday, December 13, 2008

Springerle Cookies



A part of Christmas when we were young was making Springerle Cookies, which we would do about a month or so before Christmas. Mom would go to the drug store to get the secret ingredient, which I now realize was Anise Oil. After mom mixed the dough, it was rolled out to about 1/8 inch in thickness. We had a Springerle board which was made by my grandmother's father, Karl Froess. This board was placed on the dough, and pressed down to emboss the pictures into the dough. We then cut out the cookies and arranged them on the dining room table to set over night. The next day mom would bake them, and we would put them in tins to age until Christmas. I remember that the cookies were very hard, and were puffed up with air pockets, which we called caves.



Sunday, December 7, 2008

Grandpa Crotty

Today is Grandpa Crotty's birthday. He was born December 7, 1874. He would be 134 years old.

From Tom Barron

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Knight of Saint Patrick

Dad was bestowed the distinction of KNIGHT OF ST. PATRICK on March 17, 1982. This honor was in rightful recognition of his service to God, church, and the community.
Click on the images to enlarge.









Saturday, November 22, 2008

Nov 22, 1963

I had been stationed at Karamursel Air Station in Turkey for about 17 months. I was now a 'short-timer' with less than a month remaining in my tour at this semi-remote site. I was working the swing-shift that Friday, and after I had been at work awhile the sergeant came over and told me that it was my turn to have the night off. After going back to the barracks and changing, I decided to take a book that I was studying, and go to the snack-bar. It was sometime after 7PM (1PM Erie time) and I was sitting there with my book and snack, when several guys came in and announced that Kennedy had been shot. I thought to myself - they don't know what they're talking about - I would go back to the barracks to try to verify this, but when I got there everyone was heading to the Airman's Club. The club was packed and the Voice of America on the radio was being piped over the loudspeaker. Everyone was quiet and just listened to the news. I don't remember too much more about that night or even how long I stayed at the club. It had seemed like a family member had died. It had been a little over three years when I had seen the future president speak at a rally at the Lawrence Hotel on 10th and Peach Street in Erie in 1960. See http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=74256

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Halloween


It seems that Halloween wasn't such a big deal when we were kids. Actually I can't remember anything about Halloween in my younger years. Maybe it was because David had a costume, that the subject came up at supper that Halloween in 1955. Mom said that she could make up some costumes for Tommy and I. She blackened our faces with a charred cork. I was made up as a hobo and Tommy became Aunt Jemima. When we went to a house we didn't say 'Trick or Treat'; we said 'Do you have any handouts?'.


Notice the headline on the newspaper 'Big 3 Fear Middle East War'. Some things don't change.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Grandma Smith


My mother (Lucille) related the following anecdotes to me about her grandmother Lucy Horrigan Crotty Smith.


Once when my mother and her brother John were pretty young, their grandmother gave Johnny some money to go up to the corner store to get a half dozen of some kind of sweet treat. On the way back from the store, Johnny was so excited that he ran down the street saying "We each get two! We each get two!"


In her later years, grandma Smith's room at 509 was at the front of the house, which was originally the living room. Whenever one of her grandchildren would go by in the dining room, and she saw them, she'd tap her cane on something and exclaim "Oy-ye! Oy-ye! Come here". So, being little kids, they tried to avoid going through the dining room.


There was a Mrs. Riley who lived in the neighborhood. She was hired to come each evening and get grandma ready for bed. She'd stay with her through the night, and then help her get dressed in the morning.


P.S. The "We each get two" phrase stuck with my mother, and she often used it throughout her life. For example, if she made cookies for desert, she'd say that "We each get two".
P.S.S. Grandma Smith was a businesswoman. She owned a tavern on State Street between 4th and 5th, and then I believe the tavern just east of State Street on East 5th. She built the big house at 509 Parade as well as the five look-a-like 'cottages' on 5th and Parade, which she rented out. I also believe she owned a house near 7th and Parade.





Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The cherry tree





I thought that because I have a couple of pictures that show the cherry tree in the yard at 509 Parade, and because I have a block of wood from that tree, that I should put it in the blog. I can remember eating the cherries, but it was probably when the Filipkowski family lived there.

The B&W pictures were taken about 1939. With the bench (which Dede has in Houston) are Lucille, Nancy, Betty, grandma (Julia) and Anna.


About 1980 the tree succumbed to old age, and the man that owned 509 at that time told my dad that I could cut it up for my wood stove. I saved one piece for posterity.







P.S. After talking with Nancy, we've decided that the tree in the second picture is a different tree. It would have been taken from about where the bench was.


















Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Summer time in the 1950's....

What was it like in July in the 1940’s or 1950’s??

My earliest memories are of picnics at Lucy Crotty’s Cottage (former schoolhouse) in North East. This is now the home of Lucy’s niece, Judy Hart Coughlin and her husband Mike. I remember the cherry tree, the porch and I recall a big open area in the house.

I remember later years with picnics at Turnwald. There was always a constant theme to the food. My mother would make her baked beans, Julia would make potato salad and Anna brought the Planters Peanuts in the shell. Plenty of beer and Ox Roast and of course pop for us kids.

Other fond memories are of taking Nolan’s ferry to the peninsula to swim, and also going to Chestnut Street Pool to swim. Julia and Harry’s house was our ‘home base’ for these excursions.

I seem to recall that the stores in downtown Erie were closed on Wednesday afternoons.

Each July, my parents and I would hop in the ole family jalopy and head east to Avoca, Pa. To visit my grandparents, the Jacksons. It was a trip I looked forward to every year.

Johnny and Norma would have family picnics at the house on Charlotte Street. Norma always made sure us kids had plenty of treats.

Conneaut Lake Park……..nickel day……..spaghetti dinners aftewards. I also remember the trip we took with the Callahans and Anna to Niagara Falls. David and Bumpy and I had a good time buying souvenirs and enjoying a picnic lunch that our Moms had made.

I guess the most significant memories of summers past were just the families getting together…

Monday, June 30, 2008

Birthday party




My grandmother, Madeline Froess Barron Yorke, had her birthday on June 15th, and mine was on June 16th, and so we often celebrated together. These pictures are from my 4th birthday in 1946. The party was in the yard at 509, and were taken by my dad's cousin Jim Barron.

Party goers in the first picture are Judy Hart, Betty, me (Richie), Grandma, Tommy, Diane, Julia, Eileen (my cousin Diane's mother), Pat, Nancy and Mary Ann. Anna and my mother (Lucille) show up in the second picture.






The tradition continues - My grand-daughter Meghan was also born on June 16th. Each year as the day approaches, we discuss the kind of birthday cake we want. Meghan always says she wants chocolate, and to be contrary I say I want cherry. In this picture she was 8 and I was 64.


Saturday, May 24, 2008

Decoration Day...

Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day, brings back memories. In my youth, Decoration Day was always celebrated on May 30 (until 1968). Since then, it is now observed on the last Monday in May.

Decoration Day always started out for my family by a visit to Trinity Cemetery to visit the Crotty graves. I remember my mother telling me about her father being in the Spanish American War. The family urn was there (Richie has this now) and I remember it always being filled with geraniums. My mother would then tell me that the cemetery bench that we had at our house was originally at the cemetery. This bench now resides in Houston. She then told me that it was considered an "outing" when she was a kid to go to the cemetery, place flowers, and neaten up the grave sites.

As a kid, the day progressed to a family picnic at Turnwald. It also symbolized the beginning of summer, even though we had more school before the end of the year.

It always made me proud to see a flag on my grandfather's grave...still does.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Butchie Dog - submitted by Tom


His name was Butch, but we often called him Butchie Dog.


The floor mat that is in the picture with Butchie Dog came from Mike Jackson when he worked at Continental Rubber. It was made out of some kind of scrap material from one of the rubber molds they had at Continental. Butchie Dog never liked to step on the floor mat for some reason, so he walked around it whenever he went in or out of the house. Hmm, wonder where the rubber mat ever went?


Do you remember milkmen and milk boxes? The milk box in the picture was from either Dairyland or Bernie Cosgrove's Dairy (we had two different milkmen - one delivered early in the week and the other later in the week). Trish still had a milk box when her children were in their early years. She thinks that she had a milkman (Meadowbrook) until the twins were 5 or 6 years old. She hated to see that go as she really liked having a milkman. She misses the personal touch, and still remembers it fondly.

Friday, April 25, 2008

1956 Thanksgiving snowstorm

No matter how many snowstorms Erie has had over the years, none of them seem to measure up to the 1956 Thanksgiving storm. I remember that on Thanksgiving morning we started to notice the surprise snowstorm outside. The Wednesday newspaper had said that 'Erie was due for flurries, rain and snow squalls, and a wet Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving Day's paper said that 'High winds and low temperature under an overcast sky promised dismal conditions for those who venture outside'. I really don't remember too much about that Thanksgiving, except that we seemed cozy in the house and there was a snowstorm outside.

By sometime Friday, after 36 hours of snowing, there was two feet of snow on the ground. The mayor declared a state of emergency and called out the Pennsylvania National Guard Army, which was across the street from our house. Many of the Army trucks and a couple of the tanks were put into use for emergencies around the city, and to make paths through the streets. I remember that evening there was a knock at the door. It was Johnny! Boy were we surprised, as he lived up on Charlotte Street. It seems like he said that he hitched a ride on one of the Army vehicles. Anyway, after a short visit he left. I thought at the time, boy what an adventure and wished I could go with him.

On Saturday morning the city was starting to dig out. Late that morning my dad, Tommy and I went for a walk up town, to see what we could see. My dad took his camera, but I don't think that he took any pictures. Therefore, the accompanying picture is from a similar snowstorm that occurred on December 12, 1944.

Monday, March 31, 2008

65th Wedding Anniversary...

Today, March 31, would have been Virginia and Mike's 65th wedding anniversary.

As I think about my parents on this day, I recall little vignettes of that day as told to me by my parents.

It was during World War II, and the 'rules' for getting married to a serviceman were liberal. No waiting period was required, and this was before the days of the Pre Cana marriage counseling. Basically, a couple could get married whenever the military person made it home. I believe Dad was stationed in Texas (how ironic!) at that time, and was scheduled to arrive in Erie by train. When my mother knew his arrival was imminent, she called St. Patrick's (Fr. Hastings, I believe) to schedule the wedding.

When Dad came home, he went to the jewelry store to buy my mother's ring. It was a narrow white gold band with orange blossom engravings on it. It cost the princely sum of $10.00. My mother never had that ring off her finger, and was buried with it at my Dad's request.

The Crotty clan then called the 'family'.....aunts, uncles, and cousins to attend the ceremony. They were married at 5:00 on a Wednesday afternoon...Julia and Harry were their attendants. If I remember the telling of this information correctly,they had a family dinner at the Antlers Club.

Dad always like to joke that they almost got married on April Fools Day...and he wondered aloud that if they DID get married on April Fools day, would the marriage
be valid or not??

I have the newspaper clipping and will add it to this posting.

Ya got to love Mike's sense of humor. Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

In my Easter Bonnet; Easter Sunday in the 1950's...


As Easter Sunday approaches, I remember back to my childhood. I always had a new outfit for Easter Sunday...didn't we all?

One time when Kevin was little, he and I were looking through the album of pictures from when I was a kid.

There is a picture of me taken on Easter Sunday in our backyard on Eagle Point, Anna by my side. I was happy and grinning in my new clothes. This would have been around 1955, and I would have been about 9. I had a dress (with a crinoline underneath), patent leather shoes, white anklets, and a short white jacket that was called a topper. To cap off the ensemble, I had a hat on my head that looked like a dinner plate with a flower on top!! My hair was kinda fuzzy (permanent from Lucille??).

When Kevin saw the picture (he was around 5 at the time) he looked at it very carefully, then looked up at me with a very solemn look, and said, "Mommy, were you poor when you were little? " In his mind, I looked like an urchin!! At that time,1955, I thought I looked gorgeous. Now when I look at it, I see only the happy little girl that day.

I laughed so hard, tears were coming to my eyes. Out of the mouths of babes...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

St Patrick's School, Erie, PA

During Lent at St Pat's the kids were given a little cardboard box about the size of an individual serving cereal box. It was our 'miter box', and during Lent our mission was to fill it with coins - pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters, and possibly fifty-cent pieces. At the end of Lent we brought our miter boxes to school, and the nun and some of the kids counted the money. I think that for each $25 the class collected, we could buy a 'pagan baby'. The class also got to name the 'pagan baby'. Each student would write a name on a slip of paper and put it in a box. I remember one year Pat and I got the idea that we should get a 'good' name. We came up with Casper, and got a few of the other boys to also submit Casper. As the names were pulled from the box, they were announced and totaled. Casper got a chuckle the first time it was read. At the end, Casper was the winning name. The nun tried to get us to select another name, but the class united, and Casper it was.

A few notes:
St. Patrick's Day was always a 'no school' day, as was St. Joseph's Day (March 19).
It seems that we also had March 18th off (why go to school for 1 day?).
Whatever we gave up for Lent we were allowed to have on St. Patrick's Day.
Sr. Marie Sylvia was the principal.

My Teachers:
1st grade - Sr. Mercedes
2nd grade - Miss Burgoyne
3rd grade - Sr. Genevieve
4th grade - Sr. Mary Edmund
5th grade - Sr. Teresita
6th grade - Sr. Leonie
7th grade - Sr. Leonie
8th grade - Sr. Genevieve

The Class:

Friday, February 29, 2008

Crotty, Erie, PA




In 1924 our grandfather's brother, P.D. Crotty, opened a store at 6th & Parade Street (P.D. Crotty's Confectionery). He sold penny candy. I can remember going there with a nickel or dime and spending a lot of time choosing the candy I wanted. The candy was in display cases. You pointed to the pieces that you wanted, and the clerk, possibly Lucy Crotty, put them in a little white bag. The other thing I remember about the store was the large pendulum clock that hung on the wall.


Sometime after P.D. died in 1947, his wife Mayme (grandma's sister) sold the store, and it became Vine's Cut-rate. About 1952 it was bought by the Filipkowski's, who had also bought grandma and grandpa's house in 1946 at 509 Parade Street.  The Filipkowski's named the store Harriet's Dairy Bar. The Filipkowski's also had a place called Harriett's Ice Cream on Glenwood Park Ave. Ext., and also Harriet's Confectionery at 1435 Parade St.

In 1955 the store became Bernie's Dairy Bar, and in 1956 it became Dan Borden's PX.
Many years later the location became the Emmaus Soup Kitchen.

A few years ago, the large front windows at the store were removed, and the dark red brick was painted a light green. This is how the place looks at this writing. 


Bricks and mortar from our past...

Places made of brick and mortar, but forever in my memories. Those of you that still live in Erie, still see some of these places that have not been torn down or ‘re-purposed’.

…do you remember the Josephinum on 5th & Peach Street?
…Old, old St. Joseph's orphanage on 3rd between German and Holland? When I went to St. Pat's the nuns lived there during that time (I think it was torn down in the late 50's)
...The old orphanage on West 6th which is now where Willie lives. I went with some of the girls in my 8th grade class to the orphanage to deliver presents to kids that had gone to St. Pat’s. I remember that the kids were always dirty and hungry, and the nuns would feed them lunch as it was their only meal. I have thought of the two of them through the years and I wonder what happened to them.
…Intrieri's drug store at 4th and German
....Sullivan's tavern……3rd and French……old time tin ceiling…
…Koehler brewery on state street……
...The library on South Park Row.
…Warner Theater!! How I would love to see it again!
…Other theaters…Strand, Shea's, Columbia and Colonial. When I was a kid, Nancy used to work at Shea’s candy counter. She took me to the movies and I had to sit in the last row (behind the candy counter) so she could keep an eye on me. One night I went with Dad to go pick her up. Walking down 10th street was Archbishop Gannon and another priest. I guess they walked every night.
…The Old Customs House on State Street.
…The Brig Niagara and part of the hull of another ship (the Wolverine)
…The restored tall ship Niagara…….I have a 16 x 20 picture of this in my house…courtesy of Uncle Tom.
…Dickson's Tavern at 2nd and French.
....Rayl's drug store on Parade Street between 6th and 7th. (straight out of 'It's a Wonderful Life').
…There was also a store on the SE corner of 4th and Parade (shoe repair shop). Anna told me a very sad little story about that place.......she was a little girl and it was Valentines Day. She had made valentines for everyone in her class and she did not get one in return!! On the way home from school she stood on the porch and cried and cried, her heart was broken. As a child my heart broke for her and even now it makes me incredibly sad for her.
…I also remember the store (Eddy's, later Ronnie's) at SW corner of 4th and parade. The store was owned by the mother of a kid in my class at St. Pat’s.
...The store by St. Pat’s at 4th and Holland (now an insurance agency for Erie Insurance),
…Sophies down the street from Julia's.
…The top of the dock (when it was larger)
…Riders on the bay.
…Nolan’s ferries to the peninsula.
…Who could forget Kraus' dept store on Parade St?
…East Erie Turners, Turnwald.......(AKA Turner's Farm).
…The Boston store and it's fancy clock, nice dining room at the top and the cafeteria in the basement........such a fascinating place. Maybe I will move there!
…The real old city hall…looked like a castle and I just knew there was a dungeon in the basement!
…Candy stores with home made chocolate—Stefanelli's…...Chacona's.........Pulako's.
…Mr. Peanut walking outside the peanut store at 10th and State.
…Anthony Wayne blockhouse
…The armory at 6th and Parade
…Our collective recalled vague memories (or remembrances from our parents) of Shug's (always regret that I never went into the place......I think maybe it was still Shug's back in my day..but, maybe had changed names)
…The train station. Another classic piece of architecture.
…New York Lunch (the Greeks).
…Rainbow Gardens at Waldemeer.
…The schoolhouse owned by Lucy C in North East and the 4th of July picnics there. Per our cousin Judy: The schoolhouse was built in 1898 and closed in 1946 or 1947 and Lucy bought it that fall and it took 2 years to remodel it to what you knew. She designed the whole thing. No one lived here full time until we moved in in 1998.

…Last, but certainly not least, the incredible beauty of St. Patrick's church!! The magnificent Stations of the Cross. Does everyone have a set of the pictures that Uncle Tom took? I have been in a lot of churches (believe it or not!) and it is hands down the most beautiful.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Early TV



WICU began broadcasting on March 15, 1949. By the fall of that year the Jackson's became the first Crotty family to own a TV. I remember one Sunday in the early Fall that there was a baseball game on - maybe it was a World Series game - and there was a family gathering at the Jackson's on East 5th Street to see this new wonder.


Tommy and I were soon going over to Dede's every evening after supper at 5:30 to watch the Howdy Doody Show. The picture of Dede shows that TV set.


Anna told me that grandpa really liked TV after he had seen it for the first time at a tavern at 24th and Parade St. She said that because Papa liked it so much, that she just went up to 12th and Parade St., and bought one. In those early days the station didn't come on the air until the late afternoon. Anna related the following story to me many times when she was at St. Mary's. One afternoon, she, my mother and their mother were leaving to go some place. Because grandpa had a very hard time getting around he told Anna "Don't leave here without turning that thing on!", and Anna said, "but Papa, there's nothing on until 4 o'clock", and Papa replied "I don't care, turn it on". She did, and they smiled at each other being so pleased that grandpa so enjoyed the TV.


Johnny and Norma were also one of the first to get a TV. All us kids thought that their TV was neat because the screen was round instead of rectangular.


After Dede moved to Eagle Point Blvd., Tommy and I went over to Anna's to watch TV. I think we got a TV about 1951.

Monday, January 14, 2008

When they were young


























Her father called her Lucy ------- Johnny









--------------Betty with their dog Pat----




























David -----------------------------Julia---

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Godparents...


Who are your godparents? I think a lot of us have Crotty Godparents...

Dede: Lucille and Tom
Rich: Anna and Jimmy Barron
Patty: Aunt Mary and Uncle Dave
Mike: Mary LaVerne Chellis (Gooie) and Uncle Pierre
Dave: Anna Mae (Barron) Yorke and Charles (Barron) Sullivan
Tom: Julia and Harry
Nancy: Julia and Johnny
Anne: John Razanauskas and Anna
Mike: Johnny and Norma
Lucy: Stan and Florence Razanauskas (brother and sister of Willie)
Mary Ann: Johnny and Virginia
Patrick: Pierre and Lucille
Harry: Willie and Betty
David: David and Mary
Bill: Uncle Bill Callahan and Anna

As a child, I remember being told that Uncle Pierre (1909) was the
first to be baptized in the family christening dress. This gown was then used for the siblings that came after him and all the grandkids (I think).See attached picture of Richard Barron and his godparents. Is that the family heirloom?

According to the Barrons, we believe that the last baby in this dress was great grandson Jeff Barron (1985) The dress is now long gone due to age.

If you can shed any light on this, or have a detailed picture of the gown, please share it with all of us.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

People I thought I was related to....

As I mentioned in previous posts, as a kid there was extended family/friends that I assumed must be relatives and who also figured into the tapestry of our lives. These are some of these people:

Anna Mae and Paul Yorke
Mrs. Yorke
Charlie Barron Sullivan
Madeline and Paul Eighmy
Mrs. Razanauskas and son Stanley
Gooie Chellis
Jean and Bill Callahan and Alice
Mr. Sinnott
Mary Lou Sinnott
Tommy and Betty Schrenk and kids
Jocko and Izzy Maloney


As I recall others, I will add them...

Monday, January 7, 2008

Uncle Richard

Just over 102 years ago, Richard was born on October 22, 1905. He was the second son, and according to Anna, was born at home, which was near 3rd and Myrtle Streets. My mother, Lucille, said that he went to grade school at Lafayette School, which was located at 2nd and French Streets. I remember mom and Anna describing him as always moving about the house at 509 Parade Street in a quite stealthy manner, that you hardly noticed his presence. He shows in the 1930 census as living at home.  I think that my mother said that he left home at the age of 24. She said that when different members of the family returned home and asked about where Richard was, that they were given no answer, and it has always remained a mystery.

Through the Social Security records, I have found where Richard went to live. He signed up for Social Security in 1936 because of the Social Security Act of 1935. His application shows that he lived at 160 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village in New York City. He was employed at the Reuben H. Donnelley Corp., which is still in existence today as a publisher of telephone directories.

I've discovered that Richard enlisted in the Army on Dec 1, 1942, and that his Army Serial Number was 32650806, and that he was a private.

I have a copy of his Death Certificate, and it shows that he died on June 16, 1981. It gives his occupation as a retired hotel clerk, and the final resting place as Calverton National Cemetery, Long Island, New York.

At this time the only other information I have is from Willie - he says that Richard resembled his father in looks, and that his hair was red. He also mentioned that Richard had left home once before. The family had found out that he had gone to Buffalo, and so his father went there on the train, and brought him home.



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