A strange flash

I wrote this in 2013 soon after talking with my brother Tommy about it.

Tommy and I remember an incident in the early 50's when there was a flash that went through our house and Anna's house.  There must have been a party going on, as there were a lot of people in our kitchen and in Anna's kitchen.  I was at home and Tommy says he was at Anna's, when a flash came  through a window in Anna's closet, which was off the kitchen.  It then went through her kitchen and out the kitchen window, and then into our kitchen window and across the kitchen and down the long narrow closet off the kitchen, and out that window.

I remember that everyone came over to our house from Anna's to tell us what happened over there, and we said that the same thing happened here.  I remember that they all decided that it was a flash of lightning.

As years have gone by, I have begun to wonder if this really happened or was it a dream or something, but Tommy confirms my recognition.

I remember that it passed within inches of us in our kitchen.

This picture of my brother David, which was NOT taken at that time, shows the closet off the kitchen.  The second picture shows the kitchen window at Anna's house.

The last time I saw Grandma

I think that the last time I saw grandma was probably in August 1950. I remember that she had been in the hospital, and had just returned home. It was late afternoon or early evening, and she was in the bedroom off the dining room at 505. A number of the family was there to see her. I can remember thinking that she looked so yellow. Later I heard someone say "yellow jaundice", which has always stuck with me. I think as a way of trying to cheer her up, someone asked if she'd like to have a beer. I don't think she did, but we didn't stay very long. I was eight years old.

Her death certificate states that a carcinoma gallbladder lead directly to her death.  She died on September 4, 1950.

This picture was taken in 1944.

An Erie Irish family

Taken from an article published in the April 1987 edition of the magazine "The Erie Story".

509

I recently went to a presentation Erie Insurance held for the retirees.  They discussed the new Technical Learning Center, which they will be building on East 7th Street.  They also discussed plans to restore the building  on the southeast corner of 6th and French, which was the Erie office from 1938 to 1956.  Another building to be restored is the Armory on 6th and Parade.  It will be used for offices.  They also had many pictures of the  restored mansions at 502 and 510 Parade Street.  After the presentation I hung around and talked to the program presenter.  I told him that I lived at 501 when I was a kid, and that my great-grandmother built 509 and the five "cottages".  I told him that 509 was my grandparents house.  He then told me that Erie Insurance is buying 509 and that it will be demolished this year.  

For more information see the September 2007 blog posting that Nancy made called "The Big House"  The house was built in 1892.  The wraparound front porch was removed in the late 1940's when the gray shingles were installed.                

Then and Now

The year was 1964, it was the first day for the introduction of the Mustang. Much fanfare and publicity about it compelled me to visit the local Ford dealership that evening. There was cake and soft drinks being served and balloons all about. Lots of people and good prices for the new offering. Prices starting at around $2400 stick in my mind.

Serving in the Air Force at the time, near a community called Newburgh New York, $2400 may as well have been $60,000, because military pay was next to nothing then.

After my visit to the Ford dealer, I thought I would stop at the local Studebaker dealer and see my favorite marque’s offerings. My memory is still very vivid of that evening 49 years ago. It was a dark side street, that reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes movie scene. I was greeted by a very well dressed elderly gentleman. On display in a one vehicle showroom, that looked more like a converted horse shed, was a black 63 Hawk. This was the only vehicle they had, and it was way more than the new Mustang. Needless to say there was not going to be a purchase that evening or ever for a new Studebaker.

Like so many things in life, when you would really like to have something, you can’t have it and when you can have it, it’s no longer available or it’s not important anymore. I knew it was just a matter of time before there would be no new Studies forever!

Now to the present time as I look at Hawk’s for sale on the internet, you read ads that say was running when parked 30 years ago, ready for restoration, good glass or has small rust hole in trunk. Don’t forget that galvanized sheet metal claim. One look at the photos of these cars means there will be no new purchase in 2013 either!
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Blogged by By Tom Barron

A very special 100th birthday…

On November 20, 2012, it was the 100th anniversary of the most loved, and loving aunt for all of us. Anna would have been 100 on this day!

Mike Crotty and I talked about the anniversary of her birth, and felt that it should be noted in our blog for November.  Life, as it usually does, got in the way of our good intentions to make sure this was properly noted and honored.

I cannot think of one of us, living or not, that did not benefit from Anna’s unconditional love and extreme generosity. She truly was our ‘Auntie Mame’.

Where else but Anna’s house could kids of the ‘50’s enjoy such exotic and expensive food items such as boiled shrimp, lobster tails, pheasant, duck, and tenderloin roast. Plus you cannot forget the endless supply of Rola Cola!  Ours for the taking from the back shed!  All kinds of flavors too!  She always had peanuts for munching and the block of moldy Swiss cheese sitting in the covered cheese dish. She taught me just to slice off the mold and the cheese was even sweeter underneath!

When I turned 14 or so, Anna gave me a key to her house…as she did for several of us. She always wanted to make sure we knew we always welcome.

Anna, from all of us to you, thank you for making our ‘growing years’ ones of great memories. Love you and think of you often.

***


Blogged by Dede

Christmas when we were little (1947)

We never got our Christmas tree until the day before Christmas.  It seems like there were a lot of places on Parade Street that sold them.  Dad had a wooden box about two feet square which was turned upside down and had a hole in it for the tree trunk.  After he put the lights on, Tommy and I would put the other decorations on along with mom's help.

Another decoration we had was our "fireplace".  They sold rolls of paper that had a brick design, and that was taped to our desk, which made it look like a fireplace.  Did we think that Santa came down the chimney through it?  I don't remember, but we did have a place to hang a couple of stockings.

On the night before Christmas I remember being unable to fall asleep for a very long time, and that Tommy didn't have this problem.  It then seemed like I had just fallen asleep, when Tommy was waking me up saying 'Santa Clause came!'.  We would get up and go to the living room to see.  Mom and Dad would hear us and get up, and then we opened our presents.  When all was done, it was time to play.  Mom and Dad would sometimes go back to bed as it was still dark outside.  As I remember it now, it seems like it was a long time before it got light out. 

Richie
         

Another Cousin has Retired....

On July 1, 2012, Mike Crotty officially began his retirement after 27 years as City Manager of Satellite Beach, Florida. In his honor, the city fathers have decided to name a ocean side park in his honor. The park, which is on the Atlantic ocean, will be called Michael P. Crotty Park.

On July 27, the city held a retirement party for Mike. As Mike told me, the dress was ‘Crotty casual’ or ‘Satellite Beach formal’….which interprets to shorts and T shirts! I proudly wore my Erie, Pa. T shirt.(thanks for getting this for me Rich and Barb!) I was able to go to the 2 days of the festivities, as was Patty from Dayton, Ohio and cousin Ann and her partner Claire from Jupiter Florida. Attached are: A copy of the Retirement party sign outside City Hall, a copy of the article that appeared in Florida Today, the picture of the proposed sign for the park, the stunning picture of the beautiful park area, and the picture of the four of us cousins that were there. Truly a mini reunion!

Lastly I include a portion of a letter written by Mike on the occasion of his retirement. His accomplishments are many. Wouldn’t his parents and all the aunts and uncles be proud of him?? I know I am. Enjoy your retirement Mike! Like I told you, as a retiree I don’t know what I accomplish all day but it takes me all day to do it! Enjoy! Thanks so much for letting me be part of this.

Satellite Beach park named for Michael Crotty



FLORIDA TODAY article:

Wednesday night, the Satellite Beach City Council unanimously voted to name a park in honor of retiring City Manager Michael Crotty.

City Hall staffers refer to the undeveloped site as the “Sunrise property.” This oceanfront, city-owned property is located at the end of Sunrise Avenue.

Crotty stepped down during the meeting after serving since 1985. He will take administrative leave until his July 1 retirement date.

A public reception honoring Crotty's retirement takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. July 27 at the Civic Center, 565 Cassia Blvd.

Written by

Rick Neale

FLORIDA TODAY

June 20, 2012




Portion of a letter written by Mike as he retired


A defining moment in my professional life occurred on July 1, 1985 when I interviewed for the Satellite Beach City Manager position. Exactly twenty-seven years later—July 1, 2012, I am retiring as City Manager. What an incredible 27 years it has been!

Satellite Beach has a rich history of collaboration among its citizens and community groups resulting in the city we know today. As manager, I have had the good fortune to play a part in so many of the projects that make our City unique and a desired place to call home. Highlights are many but a few of the memorable ones include:

* Preserving in public ownership 40% of the City’s oceanfront which will be a major part of the City’s legacy for current and future generations;

* Development of the 52 acre Samsons Island nature preserve;

* Elimination of the major drainage problems throughout the City. Long time residents will remember pictures in Florida Today of the long ago practice of canoes traversing many of our streets following even moderate rains;

* Development of the 35 acre Sports and Recreation Park which provided many firsts for Brevard County including a municipal dog park and skate park;

* Development of the 25,000+ sq. ft. David R. Schechter Community Center that serves as the hub for many of the activities that provide unique quality of life for toddlers through seniors; and

* Partnership with Brevard County on numerous projects especially the recent transfers of Pelican Beach Park and Hightower Beach to City ownership. These parks are now entrusted to our citizens to operate, maintain and preserve the fragile eco-system of the beach environment.

Anna's house

Anna's house was almost green!  I had remembered that she had ordered red shingles that summer day in the early 50's when the contractor was putting up green shingles on the front of the house.  I was outside playing when I saw the green, and I knew it was the wrong color.  I ran in and told my mom, and she went into Anna's house to use her telephone to call her at work.  I remember that the siding men weren't too happy about the mistake.

In the spring of 1959 Anna had me install the yellow plastic wall tiles.  If you look closely you can see that the job was less than professional.  On the wall by the telephone is the buzzer button.  If someone called my mom, Anna would buzz twice, and mom would go over to answer the phone (See the brick walk in the first picture).  It looks like there is a church missal, as well as a cigarette lighter and ash tray on the red cart.  Notice the moldy piece of cheese on the table.  The chair on the left at the end of the table was the usual place a visitor would sit and have a beer or two.  It was usually two, as Anna would insist that you can't "stand on one leg".   Anna would sit on the chair not shown in front of the sink and stove.

This room was originally intended as the dining room.  Anna had a kidney shaped desk in one corner, and in the opposite corner was an antique table on which sat a chrome cocktail pitcher and goblets.  The corner of the room pictured was probably used by visiting kids.  Anna liked to do crosswords  She sometimes had me go down to Eddy's on 4th and Parade and pick one out for her.

In the living room Anna had two yellow chairs of which the visitor chair is shown.  The chair she used had a higher back and a foot stool.  Sometime after this picture was taken the table lamp was replaced with a fiber optic lamp, which was the latest thing.  Anna spent many a quiet evening watching TV in her easy chair with her beer and peanuts.  I don't think there were ever any pictures on the walls.



Thanks dad for taking the pictures, and having the foresight to know that one day they would be enjoyed and appreciated.
 

The Ivy League

From the "NEW YORK OBSERVER"

Daniel Cappello’s The Ivy League: The Book Party That Threw Itself

It’s not every book party where you end up in a 5th Avenue estate, listening to a Columbia a capella group sing doo-wop classics.

But such a scene was fitting for Quest Magazine‘s Daniel Cappello, who was signing copies of his beautiful clothbound coffee table book, The Ivy League (Assouline), in the parlor of Candace and Rick Beinecke.

“They are old family friends of Daniel’s,” said Martine Assouline, co-founder of the luxury publishing house. Ms. Assouline was wearing her signature Balenciaga sunglasses indoors, which you are allowed to do apparently, as long as you don’t bump into one of the century-old portraits in the foyer or make the faux-pas of trying to put your drink down on a table without a coaster.

Photographer and recent documentary subject Bill Cunningham mingled among the Upper East Side revelers which included Allison and Jay Aston, Charles Rockefeller, Punch Hutton and Chris Rovzar from Vanity Fair, Anne Vincent from Vogue, Robert Burke, Kelly Rutherford, and The New Yorker‘s Ben McGrath.

The younger men displayed a disproportionate amount of pink and/or ascots, the women wore cocktail dresses. We were sure that what most of the guests shared, besides good genes and old money, was a degree from one of the eight Ivies that Mr. Cappello lushly illustrates in his new book. (Mr. Cappello, a New Yorker alum himself, also graduated from the Ivy’s Ivy: Harvard.)

We overheard Assouline’s Cara Buscaglia and Mimi Crume Sterling proudly telling party-goers how the event basically threw itself.

“We barely had to do anything…Daniel had everything planned out, down to what glee group he wanted.”

And Mr. Cappello did strike us as the type of man who never forgets a detail. When we mentioned that a Cornell alum friend had never heard of Dragon Day–which the book explained as a tradition involving a giant dragon created by architectural students– Mr. Cappello nodded.

“Right, well the dragon is only marched around part of campus as part of Architecture’s traditional rivalry with the School of Engineering.”

“Was your friend a law graduate student?” He asked.

We felt like we were talking to one of those TV psychics. How did he know?

“Law grad students live off-campus and are generally too busy to notice these types of things,” Mr. Cappello smiled. Neat trick!

When we asked Ms. Assouline why she approached Quest‘s fashion director for a book about the top colleges in the country, she admitted that it was partly for personal reasons.

“We were trying to find the best university for our son in the states when we moved here,” The Frenchwoman told us. “But there were so many schools to choose from! We wanted to see something you wouldn’t get from the brochures…something more like stepping on to a campus.”

Ironically Ms. Assouline’s son ended up going up to college in Montreal, since his French was (at the time) better than his English.

Full of history and trivia about each of the top-tier schools, Mr. Cappello does spend extra attention extolling the virtues of his alma mater.

“Well, Harvard is a brand,” Ms. Assouline smiled. “It’s like Chanel.”

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By Drew Grant
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Nancy.....

This past Sunday, March 25, marked my sister Nancy’s 75th birthday. I was fortunate to be able to share part of my time in Ohio these past weeks with her and we celebrated her birthday

Not much can be said, but a lot is said about Nancy….She is gentle, kind, soft spoken, very spiritual and truly loves everyone and has a huge heart.

As we were growing up, I really didn’t feel like I had a sister….she was just an older person who lived with us. During the years, we both married the loves of our lives, I had children and now grand children and a great grand child!

As we lost our parents and I finally grew up (that is still debatable!) we realized that the 9 years difference in our ages was not an issue any more…we were becoming equals….even though she still refers to me as her ‘baby sister’!

The attached picture was taken approximately March 12 of this year with her ‘kids’….Benji and Angel….they both bring her so much joy.

I am so grateful to have you to be my sister….I truly wish I were more like you. I love you more than you will ever know.


Happy 75th birthday to the cousin that Pat Callahan referred to as ‘the boss of the cousins’!!

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Blogged by Dede

My Dad.....

My Dad…..

March 17, 2012 marked the 100th birthday of my father, Michael Patrick Jackson! He was always so proud of the fact that he was born on that day.

Memories of ‘back in the day’ is Dad and Leo Tormey (born on March 16) always celebrated their birthdays together….by usually going to Sullivans, Sophies, and probably the East Erie Turners and other watering holes whose names long ago slipped from my memory. I think John Tormey, Bill Henry, and Harry Callahan tagged along on those ventures too!

I was fortunate this year to get to spend St. Paddy’s day with a bunch of the Tormey cousins….we all met up in Dublin Ohio. And as the Irish are prone to say ‘ a grand time was had by all!! The Tormeys and their kids and grandkids were my only relatives on my Dad’s side of the family in Erie.

This weekend we did them all proud….We had Pat Tormey from New Hampshire, Pete Tormey from California, Margie Wegelin, Amy Cross Lombardo, Judy Cross Murphy and husband Jim, Mary Dale Anthony Rzymek and husband John from Erie. Rick Cross and wife Darcie came from Tennessee. Sherry Wilt Tortora and husband Chuck, and Kelly Wilt Shooltz and husband Duane from Michigan. Roberta Cross Nesbit and husband John from Washington, Pa, and Guy Anthony and wife Jodi from Pleasantville, Pa. Jan Schoen Scopel and husband Drew came from Erie also (Kelly family relatives) and John Rzymek’s brother and his family joined us on Saturday. And of course me from Florida!

The weather was great….we all decided we would go out to lunch to and to an Irish Pub or two on Saturday and do our ‘pubbing’ in the afternoon and then head back to the Marriott. The Marriott had a courtyard that we kind of took over as our meeting and imbibing place. They had an outdoor grill and the guys collected $ and bought and cooked a prime rib on the grill! Outstanding!!

The attached picture shows that table ‘centerpieces’ that we had. We dined al fresco and had a wonderful dinner!

It was a great weekend filled with laughs and lots of toasts!! It always amazes me though that every time the Callahan name is brought up, Pat Tormey is amazed that I am related to the Callahans.

The Crotty connection just keeps going! Happy Birthday Dad!! (we toasted you by the way!!)


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Blogged by Dede

A Good Hair (and Care) Day with Lucille

Beauty is as beauty does. And, yes, we all want a good hair day. Sometimes today it takes the better part of a day at a chic beauty salon or spa. Many women will contend that not only is their visit ‘beautifying’ in the true sense of the word, but also therapeutic and nurturing. If you were lucky growing up, you received it all in our dear Aunt Lucille Barron’s kitchen.

Imagine, living with her husband Tom, her sons Rich, Tommy and Dave and having a quasi beauty parlor right there in her kitchen with all of her guys coming and going all afternoon! Mind you, in the 50’s and 60’s one way to ‘glamour’ was the ‘permanent wave.’ This was no short nor fragrant process. Lucille sectioned your hair with row upon row of pink, blue and purple curlers followed with a solution that rivaled ammonia. Your head was then wrapped in a plastic cap for an hour, and rinsed with a second solution. At the end, the curlers came out to allow the recipient a flock of curls that made you the envy of your friends. You could set your hair in rollers and have waves, or use bobby pins and see tight locks. Yes, for about 6 months you sported your look until 4 or 5 haircuts sent your curls walking. Then, of course, you came back for your next beauty treatment.

Certainly in-style hair was great. However, longer lasting was the therapeutic element of having your hair done at Lucille’s. Throughout the process, you spent the day together. You shared news, exchanged ideas, and discussed fashion with Lucille, the iconic fashion role model. We talked about the state of the state, vented, and chuckled during this bonding process.

I always watched how Lucille did hair. I was fascinated with it all. As the years passed, I stepped in with some of our relatives, including my mother Betty, doing many cuts and perms. I have an especially fond memory of a night I spent with our dear Aunt Virginia Jackson, giving her a cut and curl, following a great dinner she cooked. I’ll never forget how pleased she was when she looked in the mirror and said, “Is that me?” After all these years, I still remember her pleasure.

As I moved on with my life in New Jersey, I continued to give cuts and perms. I bonded with friends and their daughters. To this day, I have great relationships, based upon our quality ‘hair time together.’

I had a great teacher. Thank you, Lucille, for your beauty shop at home, and the inspiration you so generously gave to all of us. Believe me, it lives on. What greater tribute can I give you, beautiful hair designs and forever bonding! Thank you, again, our dear Aunt Lucille.


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Blogged by Lucy

Sister Mary Augustine

Our great-grandmother Lucy Horrigan Crotty Smith had a sister Johannah. She married Dyer Colgrove and they lived in Meadville. Anna was the first child of five. Both her mother and the fifth child died soon after his birth in 1883. By 1890 Anna was living with her cousins Pierre and Richard at 14 East 5th. Lucy and Michael Smith had their saloon at 12 East 5th. In 1896 Anna became a Sister of St. Joseph and took the name Sister Mary Augustine.

I remember my mother saying that a few times when she was young, she would go over to the nun house on East 3rd, and walk back to 509 with Sister (nuns weren't allowed to walk alone), so as Sister and her father could visit. Mom said that Sister was a jolly person and a good conversationalist.

Thanksgiving back in the day…

At the close of yet another Thanksgiving day, I am drawn back to my childhood memories.

We came from a large ‘clan’, but always seemed to celebrate Thanksgiving with our own little family units. The exception was Anna who was always free to choose where she went for the day. My memory is that she always went to Julia and Harry’s, but I could be wrong. I think she had Thanksgiving with us one year, but I am not sure.

One of the strangest memories was watching my mother ‘singe’ the pin feathers off of the turkey. No nicely prepared, ready to cook Butterball Turkeys in the 50’s!! The birds back then were always scrawny! (Remember Donna Reed pulling her Turkey out of the oven in "It’s a wonderful life"). Back in those days most of our meal was the veggies, not as much meat as we eat now.

The kitchen table at our house on Eagle Point was always set with a tablecloth for the meal. When we lived on Fifth Street, we had a dining room, but I don’t remember ever eating in there….but then I was only 4 ½ when we moved from there!

My mom always stuffed the turkey--and none of us died from it! We would have mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (Southerners call it dressing and make it with cornbread ). I think our vegetable was always parsnips or turnips, and for the life of me, I can’t remember which it was…maybe it was both. Parker House rolls too! I think we always had sweet potatoes (not the canned with marshmallows, but real ones that she would scoop out and put butter and brown sugar on them and of course, pumpkin pie. My mother also made a pudding with ‘hard sauce’. It was delicious, but I can’t remember what it was called.

A staple that I loved was we always had black olives and green olives on the table. A tradition that I continued with my family and they now have for theirs.

When I was little, I used to like to pull the meat off the turkey neck and eat it. I think I was a weird, picky eater. As my scales can attest to, I got over that pickiness!

The best Thanksgiving for a kid was the horrendous snowstorm of 1956!!

Cousin Rich shares the following Barron memories:

I don't remember Anna ever coming for Thanksgiving, but sometimes my grandmother would be with us. I remember that one year my Dad said that he thought that turkey was always dry, and suggested that we have duck instead. It seems that it was all dark meat and we kids didn't really like it. It also seems that for the next few years we'd vote on it, and so sometimes we would have duck. I haven't had duck since.

We always had Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room around 5 o'clock. I remember Thanksgiving 1956, as that was the year of the big snowstorm. It was dark and snowy outside, and we were warm and cozy inside.

This is one thing I remember about Thanksgiving afternoon in 1954. The kitchen radio was on while mom was setting the dining room table. The song playing was 'Hey There' by Rosemary Clooney. About half way through the song, Rosemary says in a talking voice, "Are you talking to me?". Four year old David, playing on the floor, spoke right up and answered her. Wish I could remember what he said, but whatever it was, mom got a big kick out of it.

Happy thanksgiving to all….may our fond memories continue!

Posted by Dede and Rich

David Crotty

Our David Crotty was born in April, 1848. He married Lucy Horrigan in Saint Patrick Church on January 4, 1872. They had two children - Pierre and Richard. David died at the age of 28 years and 8 months on December 10, 1876.

From the 1871 City Directory:
Crotty David Jr., Saloon, 410State. Boards at Wm. Power

From the List of Deaths in the 1877 City Directory:
David Crotty, Heart disease, Dec 10, 1876

Also in the 1871 City Directory is an entry for another David Crotty:
Crotty David, Blacksmith helper, Erie Car Works. Boards at Wm. Power

So here's the mystery. Is this David the father or is he a cousin? This possible cousin was also born in April 1848, but he lived until 1923. He married an Ellen Osborn in 1881. The other mystery is who was William Power, and is Grandma Powers connected with him?

The following newspaper clipping is from the weekly newspaper. December 10th was a Sunday.

Confirmation

Pat and I were confirmed when we were in the 8th grade. The nuns had us terrified that we would not be able to answer a question that the bishop may ask us. But as it turned out very few, if any, questions were asked. At Confirmation you could pick or change your middle name, so Pat and I made a pact to use each other's name. Thus my middle name became Patrick, but Pat reneged. My high school and Social Security records are P. When I joined the Air Force I explained why I had two middle names, but they said I had to choose one or the other, so I reverted to John (I was named after uncle Johnny).

Now my mother wasn't given a middle name at birth. At Confirmation she choose Frances after a neighbor lady who she liked very much.

The picture was taken after the services. I don't know why I'm not in it.

Number 5 Crotty child….Virginia

On Wednesday, August 30, 1911 , mine and Nancy’s mother, Virginia, was the 5th child born, second daughter. of the 9 children that Richard and Julia Sullivan Crotty had. I believe my mother told me that she was the first child in the family born in a hospital.

Today marks the 100th birthday of my mother, Virginia.

She has been gone now almost 36 years……gone for more of my life than she was in it. I still have recipes that she wrote in her own hand…..most of them I don’t make anymore….foolish to cook that much food for one person, but I will never part with them. Hopefully they will be carried through to the next generation! (I know they will)

She was a wonderful mother and loved Dad, Nancy and I… there was never any doubt. She also loved her brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.

The picture attached was take by the family photographer, Tom Barron. The date on the picture was November, 1942. At that time she was a 31 year old widow with a 5 year old daughter. I would assume that she had already met my father, as they were married in March, 1943, in St. Patrick’s Church. He was off fighting in WWII. Maybe it is just me, but this picture has a ‘Mona Lisa’ quality about it.

She was thrilled when I made her a grandmother. A little boy was finally in our family!! She had two years to enjoy being with him before she died. It brought her such joy!!

Not a day goes by that I do not think of her and Daddy with loving memories. Mama, I will always miss you and love you and Daddy both.

Bob Hope

This picture of me was taken off the TV by my mom. The camera was set up on a tripod all ready to go by my dad. He was not home at the time of the airing of this Bob Hope Show from Vietnam. Lucky for me that guy in front lowered his head at just the right moment! That's what mom always said about this picture. Great timing, mom.

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Blogged by Tom

Summertime fun

Written by Dede -

During the summers, many a carefree Sunday afternoon was spent by a lot of us at “Turner’s Farm”. The actual name of the place was Turnwald. Turnwald was owned by the East Erie Turners, 9th and Parade Streets.

As you made the right turn on to the property, there was a dual stand of pine trees on the left that curved towards the entrance. On holidays, they had either a wagon or an old firetruck (? Not clear on this) that would take kids for rides thru the trees. They always had a police man (state or
county??) checking membership cards at the entrance. It
was the same man for all the years I can remember going
there.

Another thing that they had on Holidays was the clown,
Rusty Rusterholtz and his calliope! My goodness….I can’t
remember how many cups of coffee I had this am, but I
remember that!!

Going to the Turners farm usually were, at best, semi-
planned. It was a good inexpensive way to pass a Sunday
afternoon. The grown ups would sometimes get a ¼ keg
of beer…..Anna ALWAYS brought Planters peanuts in
the shell that she bought at 10th and State. Julia’s specialty
was Potato Salad, my mom’s was baked beans. I can’t
remember what Lucille and Betty brought. Gosh…..all that
mayonnaise in the sun and we all lived thru it!

As people say now…’back in the day…’ All of us kids
could run all over and play and be adventurous. There was
the standard playground equipment and those wonderful
woods that you can run around and play in….I think we
were junior explorers before somebody decided you had to
be organized to be ‘allowed’ to do that.

They had a food stand that sold things if you did not bring
your own picnic equipment; and the also had a room full
of gas burners so you could warm up your baked beans!
Outside they had charcoal grills to do your hamburgers and
hot dogs.

Of the few buildings they had, to me the most fascinating
was the barn (aka the bar), where there was a GIGANTIC moose
head hanging from the wall!! You could buy your beverages
there if you had not arranged for a ‘keg’. They had a fair
amount of covered picnic areas, but in the event of rain,
you could also run to the barn for cover.

As kids, we didn't (at least I don’t think we did!) complain
of being bored. We were our own entertainment….I don’t
really ever remember any of us fighting….we just played.

So sad that as the years have gone by, Turnwald has long
been sold. And the East Erie Turners is now gone.

We were indeed the ‘fortunate generation’

...................... Blogged by Dede ...................