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.

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!!

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...

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:

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.

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.