Category: Genealogy

Presumably given to the family of my great grandmother, Olga, this photo postcard was from Marie Greinader, marked with a check and standing on the front right in the photo.  The year on the back would indicate this was from 1912-1913 for the school year at the Williams School.  I couldn’t quite figure out which school that might mean, but I know there is a Marie Greinader who lived in/around Coalport and Beccaria, PA in Clearfield County which is how she probably knew the family who also lived in Beccaria (they’re also only 3 pages apart on the 1910 census).  Marie was 6 years older than great grandma Olga, so in 1913, Marie would’ve been 19 which was definitely old enough to be a teacher back then.  The kids in the photo are holding a baseball bat, and are the 8th grade class that year.  The class consists of 7 kids – 4 girls and 3 boys.  I was able to find someone else who researched Marie on Ancestry.com which filled in more information about her life.  It’s neat to be able to find the connection to people who aren’t related by blood in the photos great grandma saved.  Neighbors and friends become part of a “found family,” especially as immigrants separated from their biological family by an ocean.

Another neat little piece of saved paper – something that’s usually thrown away, but grandma tucked into her box of correspondence.  The ticket date is May 11, 1962 and lines up with a trip she made to Detroit for a nursing conference.  This is supported by mention of the American Nurses Association conference being held in Detroit from May 14-18 in 1962 on this document found on the internet.  Grandma was in nursing school at the Coatesville Nursing school during that time, and there are even photos of her trip there on some rather degraded slides.  Still, it’s neat to have all those pieces of data to back up the timing and reason for her trip.  So many times in preserving family history, I come across unmarked, undated photos, so it’s pretty incredible to be able to string together an event, a ticket stub, AND photos altogether into one little package.  For me, it’s the little bits of throw-away stuff like train tickets that people saved that really pull the whole thing together, and I love finding items like this!

As a follow-up to a prior post with the graduation program, it appears grandma also saved the program for her Baccalaureate Service.

Again, this was a folded program scanned flat, so the front of the program is the right side of the first scan, and the back in the left side of the first scan.  I didn’t have a Baccalaureate service when I graduated high school, but it seems to be a religious service for the graduates, celebrating their graduation from a secular, public school with a Christian service (I don’t get it either, it’s fine).  The text is transcribed below for search indexing purposes, and the pages are clickable to see a larger version.

Baccalaureate Services for The Class of 1949 of Coalport-Irvona Joint High School, Coalport, PA.
Sunday, May 22, 1949, 4:00 P.M.
Program
Processional – Mrs. Jean Salem
Invocation – Rev. U. J. Terry
Hymn – Fairest Lord Jesus – Audience
Scripture Reading – Rev. R. U. Jones
Prayer – Rev. R. U. Jones
Offertory – “Path of Prayer” – Class
Address – Rev. R. U. Jones
Hymn – Be Still My Soul – Audience
Benediction – Rev. U. J. Terry
Recessional – Mrs. Jean Salem
Fairest Lord Jesus
Fairest Lord Je-sus, ruler of all
Nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherihs, Thee will I
Honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.
Fair is the sunshine, Fairer still
the moonlight,
And all the twinkling star-ry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines
purer,
Than all the angels heav’n can boast.
Be Still, My Soul
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on
thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief
or pain;
Leave to they God to order and pro-
vide;
In every change He faithful will
remain
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy
heavenly Friend,
Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joy-
ful end.  Amen

Just so you know, when you graduate, someone saves all of your commencement programs for someone else to find over half a century later.  This is the commencement program for one of my grandmothers’ graduations, so it’s neat to see her name printed in the program.  The scan is the program laid flat, and then scanned the front/back side and then the interior.  Click through to see any image full size – text inserted below mostly for search indexing purposes so that folks looking for their ancestors can find the data!

Commencement Exercises, Class of 1949, Coalport-Irvona High School, Monday, May 23, 1949, 8:00 P.M.
Class Roll
Betty Mae Beers
Robert Bell
Della Bloom
Blanche Bratton
Evelyn Brink *
Ida Dixon *
Joann Dixon
Barbara Hegarty *
LeRoy Kizina
Paulene McGarvey
Robert Morris
Connie Nelson *
Philip Plottel *
Madelyn Ponce
Kenneth Rydbom
Claire E. Spicher
Clarice Spicher
Ed. Traveny
* – Graduate With Honor
Class Officers
President – Le Roy Kizina
Vice President – Ida Dixon
Secretary – Claire E. Spicher
Treasurer – Connie Nelson
Class Motto – Honor Lies at Labor’s Gate
Class Color – Green and Gray
Class Advisor – Mr. Whittaker
Student Association Officers
President – Barbara Hegarty
Vice President – Ken Rydbom
Secretary – Germaine Flynn
Treasurer – Joann Dixon
Class Reporter – Ida Dixon
Council Representatives – Betty M. Beers, Bob Bell
Program
Processional – Mrs. Jean Salem
Invocation – Rev. H. R. Welliver
Piano Solo – Barbara Hegarty, Rachmaninof’s Prelude in C Minor
“Strive for a Star”
An original study by the honor students of the class of 1949
Star of Hope – Evelyn Brink
Star of Success – Phil Plottel
Star of Happiness – Connie Nelson
Vocal Duet – Clarice and Claire Spicher, Harbor Bell
Star of Peace – Ida Dixon
Star of Fulfillment – Barbara Hegarty
Vocal Solo – Ave Maria, Blanche Bratten
Presentation of the Class – George E. Fitch
Presentation of Diplomas – L. A. Lord, President, Board of Education
Musical Selection – Donna and Keith Bloom
Awards and Announcements – George E. Fitch
Choral Selection – Class of 1949
Benediction – Rev. H. R. Welliver
Recessional – Mrs. Jean Salem
Coalport-Irvona Joint High School Board of Education
L. A. Lord – President
Dr. C. L. Owens – Vice President
H. C. Newcomb – Secretary
D. S. Braucht, Fred A. Dubler, F. C. Andrew, John B. Holman, Dr. A. M. Gates, O. A. McGarvey, James Spade
Faculty
George E. Fitch – Supervising Principal
Hazel H. Fluke – Languages, Dramatics, Speech
Russell E. Whittaker – Commercial
Eugene M. Brady – Mathematics, Athletics
Mary E. Russell – Science, English, Dramatics
H. Richard Welliver – Social Studies, English, Library