Remembering Mary Ann...

September 25, 2009 marks the passing of the second oldest of the Crotty 15 cousins. Our dear cousin, Mary Ann Callahan Niedzielski died early that morning surrounded by her children.

Mary Ann….I remember one time asking Julia why she named her Mary Ann as it seemed kind of ‘rhymey’ with Callahan. She said she was named for the Blessed Mother, and her mother, Saint Ann. ‘Nuff said. That was Julia.

As a kid, I used to spend the night at the house on west Third street…. I remember that she was always sewing, LOVED to sleep late and was so pretty. I aspired to be as talented and pretty as she was. When I had my first dance at St. Pat’s in the 8th grade, Mary Ann let me wear one of her dresses. (I was a whole lot skinnier then!) I felt like a princess.

Mary Ann gave me my first year St. Ben’s uniforms. We knew they were going to change uniforms between my freshman and sophomore year and it made the most sense for me to wear her ‘hand me downs’. Kids today would be appalled….but that is the way it was.

When I graduated from St. Ben’s, she was my sponsor (don’t remember exactly what it was called, but she attended a luncheon with me)


Mary Ann was Miss Industry of Erie in 1963. See the picture of her attached on the float in the parade.

When I got out of high school, Mary Ann was already working at Hammermill, and I was working at Westinghouse on Hess Ave. About once a month we would go to our house on Eagle Point and Mom would fix us lunch. We would talk away the hour….

After Kim was born, I would go over to their house on 7th street to play with Kim and visit with Mary Ann and Stan. Funny story, I met Rick on Memorial Day, 1968. (May 30). On that weekend, Mary Ann and Stan were going to go out and had asked me to babysit. Rick really wanted to come over or call me while I was there. I wouldn’t tell him where she lived, but I did tell him that Stan’s name was Niedzielski…I figured he would never be able to spell it. He did, looked up the phone number, called me and we talked the night away after Kim was asleep! He reminded me that he too grew up in Erie and knew how to spell Polish names! The rest of Rick and I are history…we were married 6 months later.

When Mary Ann was expecting daughter number two, we all had the biggest shock when David died. A truly tragic time that we will all never forget. But then sadness turned to joy, when little Karen was born and I was asked to be her godmother!! What a thrill!!

I kept up with Mary Ann intermittently through the years…mostly keeping up with Karen.

We have all kind of gone our separate ways through the years, marrying the loves of our life, some getting divorced and then finding that special someone again to share their life with. Some of us have lost our spouses due to death. We mourn that loss with each other, but celebrate lives well lived. We raised our families, watched them grow, excel, and then marry and have families of their own. Some of our children now have grandchildren of their own.

The 14 remaining cousins have reconnected in recent years and it has been wonderful. We sit down to talk and the years just melt away.

In October, 2007, Rick and I were in Erie to attend his nephews wedding. I had been emailing Mike Crotty and found out he was going to be in Erie that weekend. We took a ‘mug shot’ of the gang of us at Nunzi’s Restaurant.








Also attached is a picture that was taken at Kristin’s on June 7, 2009. On July 3, Rick died, and now Mary Ann on September 25. May you both rest in peace and know no more pain.

I feel very fortunate to have been her cousin. The joy and happiness we have had in our lives far out shadows our sadness. Through it all, our life and our legacy lives on.

My better half...

On July 3, 2009, I lost my best friend and husband Rick to Cancer. He was envious of the way that I grew up....all the aunts, uncles, cousins that were a part of all of our lives.

His memories of growing up in Erie were not as memorable as mine, but he truly loved going back to Erie and sharing with our children the way it was 'growing up Crotty'....the many times sitting around the kitchen table at Anna's.

He was so supportive of the time and energy that I spent on our reunion in 2006. He was an incredible help with the genealogy program, working on favors, encouraging me that it was all going to work out and we would all walk away with memories for the rest of our lives. ...and that we did!

We were able to come away from that reunion, reconnected with each other as we all march into this next phase of our life.

True adversity and heartache show all of us how strong we all are. We are a strong family and even stronger individuals and I truly have all the Crotty, Sullivan, Jackson, and Queeney families to thank for this. God Bless the Irish!!

Letter to Humphrey Sullivan

This is a letter to Humphrey Sullivan from his brother, Michael Sullivan in Ireland, dated December 28. 1928. John Sullivan was also a brother. Tom (mentioned in the letter) died in Queensland, Australia - he was a gold miner.

The following is my decipher. Click on either image to enlarge.

The Crotty kitchen table

This is the old kitchen table from 509 Parade. I think I remember mom saying that just the kids sat at the table at supper time, and 'mama and papa' sat off at the side somewhere. Mom also said that the kitchen was unheated in the winter, and any warmth came from the kitchen stove. She said that her father would be the first one up in the morning, and would fix oatmeal for the kids for breakfast.

The table was then in Anna's shed for almost 50 years. Anna always had pop, and that is where she kept it. Whenever Anna had a party that required a keg of beer, the tap sat on the table.

I've now had the table for about 15 years. It's in the basement and has laundry stuff on it and can goods and a lot of junk. Some day I need to fix it up. It has casters on the legs, but one of them is missing.

Market at 10th and Parade Streets

When we were kids we always went grocery shopping with mom and dad on Friday evenings. It was a popular time to shop as the store was always crowded. I remember that the floor in the store was just bare concrete, and that it wasn't level. As soon as we arrived at the store mom would tell Tommy and me to go and pick out our cereal. This took a fair amount of time as we had to look at the back of the boxes to see what would be interesting to look at when we ate breakfast. When we made our selection we'd find mom and put our cereal in the cart. Then it was time to wander around the isles and play. I don't remember what we played, but we didn't get too rambunctious as no one ever said anything to us. At that time the store was known as Loblaw.

One time I remember mom giving the man in the meat department a can of cooking grease that she had saved. I think people did this during WWII.

I remember mom saying that when she was a kid that she and Johnny would take their wagon and go to the same market with their mother. In those days it was known as the Parade Street Market. It was made up of many stalls operated by different people. I think that they sold meat, fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, bread, etc. - everything except packaged items.

Here's a coincidence. This picture of the market was taken 53 years ago today - May 29, 1956. I remember when it was taken. They were going to start demolishing the building the next day, but my dad had a problem with his camera or didn't have any film. Being historically minded he wanted to photograph the building. Mom suggested that he use my Brownie. He reluctantly agreed and we went up to 10th and Parade after supper. As you can see it's not very sharp.

Toilets and Bridges

When Tommy and I were very young we called them Woody and Betty, and Betty called us Ditchard and Tow-wow (say like bow-wow). I can remember when Woody got out of the Army, that he and Betty lived upstairs in the front room at Anna's. I can remember that one summer evening they took me down to the foot of Wallace Street to watch a baseball game. Sometimes mom and dad would go for a Sunday afternoon drive, and invite them along. I can remember sitting in the back seat, and Betty would sing the song "Sentimental Journey". She also liked to sing the Irish lullaby "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra". Now, this reminds me of something my mother used to talk about - that when they were kids, it was her and Betty's job to do the supper dishes, and as they did, they sometimes would sing in harmony the traditional folk song "Down in the Valley".

Now for the Toilets and Bridges - one time Tommy and I were having a dish of ice cream, and as kids like to do, we'd stir it up. Betty saw us doing this and asked us what we were doing, "building toilets and bridges?" For years whenever she saw us, she'd asked about the Toilets and Bridges.

Addendum: Willie reminded me of the day that my dad and I and Willie and his friend Paul went over to the peninsula to see the USS Wolverine. It was the first iron-hulled warship and was launched in 1843. It sat on a sand bar in Misery Bay from 1927 to 1949 when it was cut up for scrap.

Guess that's it. So, as Betty always said when she was leaving, "We're off, like a herd of turtles".

P.S. The little girl is Nancy.

Lucille Crotty Barron

Mom marched with the Ave Maria Society in the annual St. Patrick's Day parade for years. Here she is - the classy lady in the tan coat - in the 1986 parade. Mom was very active in the Ave Maria Society at St. Patrick church for many years. She participated in the card parties, style shows and other fund raising activities, and one year she was the president of the Society.

In 1980 she was knighted a Lady of the St. Patrick Church Knights and Ladies for her dedication and work for St. Patrick Church.