Category: <span>Genealogy</span>

Category: Genealogy

Genealogy

Many Happy Returns of the Day – 1911

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This is another in the series of “Maher Postcards” that are explained in this post.  The front of this card shows purple irises surrounding a birthday message, transcribed below.

Many Happy Returns of the Day
May your days from now be brighter
May your load grow ever lighter
May this birthday be the first of days
When ill luck flies away, and good luck stays.

The card is addressed to Mrs. Bernard Maher, the former Miss Hattie Braniff, born 28 May 1886 in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.  The sender is Catherine Maher, her mother-in-law, who wrote out the address putting little hearts at the front of each letter in her name and in “Buffalo” and “NY” which is just too charming.  The postmark date is 26 May 1911, so it likely arrived on Hattie’s 25th birthday which is fantastic timing and close to this post date, albeit over a hundred years earlier.  The one cent Benjamin Franklin stamp is still affixed.  The message reads, “Hello Hattie, how are and all the rest.  We are all well here at present, tell Bernard Aunt Annie Garrity is getting married to a Bernard Duigon of Hastings.  Wishing you a happy birthday.”

The Annie Garrity mentioned in the message is Annie McCann (1865-1936) who married Catherine’s brother, William.  William passed away in 1904, so the news being passed on is that Annie, Catherine’s sister-in-law, is marrying a second time.  It’s great that she was able to slip in a little bit of family news along with the birthday greetings as it helps to cement exactly who we’re talking about here!

Genealogy

Sunoco Nu-Blue Advertisement

Yet another random odd bit of history tucked into a box of grandma’s correspondence.  Not exactly sure why she saved this, but it’s advertising Sunoco’s gasoline product, “Nu-Blue” as “Quick Starting” and “A Hero Even Below Zero.”  The “Fill Up Today At …” line is blank – there should be a stamp showing the gas station’s name in that spot.  In the image, Donald Duck is dressed up in a hat, ear muffs, scarf, and mittens, holding a medal that says, “Quick Starting,” in front of a smiling, sunny gas pump.  Via some search results, Nu-Blue started to be manufactured in about 1937, and there are bunches of advertisements from the 1940s all the way through about 1963.  I find it pretty interesting to see a Disney character on an advertisement for gasoline though which is why I’m posting this here!

Genealogy

Dick Reed Political Advertisement – 1951

Tucked into a box of one of my grandmothers’ things, I found this political advertisement for Dick Reed from Houtzdale, PA, running for Register & Recorder in 1951 for Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.  This little slip of cardboard is advertising him for the primary election on Tuesday, July 24, 1951, an election that he won.  He was running on the primary against two others, George A. Lukehart, and Ralph J Smith.  Here’s a clipping from the newspaper, announcing his candidacy.

During the election on Tuesday, November 6, 1951, his name appears on the sample ballot printed in the newspaper, and the final, official count posted a few weeks later shows he won his election.

He served four terms as Register & Recorder for the county until he lost his election in 1967 to Louise Mahaffey.  Searching through Ancestry.com shows he passed away in October of 1986, and his full name was Richard George Reed (born 31 Oct 1904).  Dick Reed doesn’t appear to be related to any branch of my own family, but I found it interesting that this little piece of advertising was tucked away for over 70 years in a box of correspondence that grandma saved.

Genealogy

Beccaria Township High School Commencement 1942

Saved in Grandma’s scrapbook is this commencement program from 1942 for the Beccaria Township High School in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.  I don’t recognize any of the names as being relatives, but they were possibly friends from the nearby area where she grew up.  The text of the program is below, mostly typed out for search indexing, in case anyone is searching for these ancestors of theirs – click through any page to see the full size.

Program of the Commencement Exercises of the Beccaria Township High School
May twentieth and June first Nineteen Hundred and Forty Two, 8:00 P.M.
Board of Directors: David Marshall, Pres., Merle Myers, Vice-Pres., W. T. Jasper, Sec’y., Edgar Schenley, John McGill, William Spangle
Faculty: E. M. Hess, Supv. Prin., Harry G. Heil, Prin., George E. Fitch, Acting Prin., Grace E Kovach, Vernon Williams, Lynn Bland, Kathryn Maloney, Fred Schenley, Gabriel Chiodo, Beatrice Berkey

Class Day – Wednesday, May 20, 1942, 8:00 P.M.
Welcome Address – George Weakland
Play – “The Graduate’s Choice” By Edith Painton
Mr. Wise – Lewis Fulare
Dr. Solomon – Gale Thomas
Miss Hobson – Mary Ann McIntyre
Miss Prim – Esther Schenley
Mr. Knowitall – Robert Lesher
Mr. Haulemin – Robert Hooper
Tony – George Kozak
Mrs. Schimelovitch – Mora Collins
Mrs. Littlewit – Margaret Bellotti
Mrs. O’Flannigan – Vera Lutchko
Rachel Schimelovitch – Gloria Baer
Ikey Schimelovitch – Frank Welker
Bridget O’Flannigan – Ruth Johnston
Patrick O’Flannigan – Fred Montour
Tommy Terror – Harold Godin
Susie Dauby – Lucy Shank
Fatty Drake – Al Smith
Silas Shrewd – Bob Walker
Grace Brown – Kay Nevling
Peter Stuffer – George Weakland
Amy Littlewit – Jean Skonier
Place – Principal’s Office
Class Poem – Written by Lucy Shank, read by Gloria Baer
Play, “Happy School Days” by Jessie A Kelly
Youth – Gloria Baer
Faith – Ann Mondy
Charity – Rita Kruise
Humility – Ruth Johnston
Purity – Margaret Bellotti
Zeal – Betty Andrew
Pride – Chester Machen
Sloth – Gale Thomas
Deceit – Harold Godin
Hatred – Richard Jacobson
Greed – Lewis Fulare
Fancy – Marie Radomsky
Class Donors: Ruth Johnston and Lewis Fulare
Song – Senior Class
Song – Junior Class
Alma Mater – Senior Class

Commencement Exercises – Tuesday, June 1, 1942
Processional – Orchestra
Invocation – Rev. C. C. Cowder
Salutatory Address – Mary Ann McIntyre
Oration – Esther Schenley
Trumpet Quintet – Selections to be announced – Bill Copenhaver, Clair Robison, Mike Wosiw, Dick Caskey, Glen Shore
Oration – Margaret Bellotti
Valedictory Address – Marie Rodomsky
Selection – Orchestra or Mixed Chorus
Address – William S. Livengood, Jr., Secretary of Internal Affairs, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Presentation of Diplomas – Mr. David Marshall, President of the Board of Education
Presentation of Awards – Mrs. A. L. Hegarty, Ten Dollar Award to Valedictorian
D. A. R Good Citizenship Medal
S. A. R. Good Citizenship Award
School Good Citizenship Medal – Boys
Athletic Medals (Gold and Silver)
Dramatic Medals (Gold and Silver)
Attendance Medals (Silver)
Recessional – Orchestra

Class Roll
Betty Andrew
Gloria Baer
Margaret Bellotti
Mora Mae Collins
Lewis Fulare
Harold E. Godin
Robert Hooper
Anna Lorene Irwin
Richard Jacobson
Ruth Gloria Johnston
George Kozak
Rita M. Kruise
Robert D. Lesher
Vera Lutchko
Chester T. Machen
Ann M. Mondy
Fred Montour
Mary Ann McIntyre
Kathleen Louise Nevling
Marie Radomsky
Esther Martha Schenley
Lucy H. Shank
Jean F. Skonier
Alfred E. Smith
Gale W. Thomas
Robert F. Walker
George A. Weakland
Frank Welker
Honor Roll
Marie Radomsky
Mary Ann McIntyre
Esther Schenley
Margaret Bellotti
Rita Kruise
Mora Mae Collins
Harold Godin
Ruth Johnston
Class Officers
President – George Weakland
Vice Pres. – Marie Radomsky
Secretary – Betty Andrew
Treasurer – Rita Kruise
Student Association Officers
Pres. – Harold Godin
Vice Pres. – George Kozak
Sec’y. – Ann Mondy
Treas. – Margaret Bellotti
Class Colors – Crimson and White
Class Flower – Yellow Tea Rose
Class Motto – “Our aim, success; our hope, to win.”

Genealogy

Easter Greetings from 1910

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Timely, given the upcoming holiday!  I found an interesting set of postcards in my one grandmother’s box of correspondence which included this postcard.  It doesn’t appear to be sent by or received by anyone related to us, and while I did at one point connect to a living relative of the recipient, we weren’t able to figure out how on earth grandma came into possession of these postcards.  Patton, Pennsylvania isn’t far from where she lived, but the recipient was in Buffalo, New York, so it’s all a little confusing.  Either way, it’s an interesting postcard, over 100 years old.  The front has an image of a blue egg filled with pink flowers and two little yellow chicks, with gilded decoration on the egg and a message that says, “Easter Greetings.”

The back is postmarked Patton, PA, Feb 25, 1910 at 3am, and is sent to Master Lee Maher at 113 Aldrick Ave, Buffalo, NY.  Immediately, I hit the census records for 1910 since looking up an address should be pretty easy.  I did find a Lee Maher at 103 Aldrick Ave, living with his parents, Bernard and Hattie and younger brothers, James and William.

The message on the postcard says, “Hello Lee.  How are you and James and Baby.  When are you coming to Grandma’s, I would like to see you.  Is the Easter Bunnie coming to your house.  From Aunt Sara.”

The message lines up with the census record that shows a James and an 8 month old child (William) as of the census date in April, so that checks out pretty well!  Aunt Sara is probably Bernard’s sister Sara who was still living at home in Patton, PA on the 1910 census.  Lee appears to have passed away in 1966 in New Jersey (born 1903).

As far as the postcard itself, the only identifying marks on it are “Made in Germany” and “Serie 742” printed on the back, and in a quick search, I wasn’t able to turn up one exactly like it, though it’s definitely in the same style as postcards of the time.  You can see from the back of the postcard, it’s also a pretty heavily embossed design.

Genealogy

Christmas Dinner Menu – Victoria Field, 1941

Yet another find from grandma’s scrapbook was this menu that grandpa sent home to her.  He was stationed at Victoria Field in Texas for the Army Air Force, and this was the menu distributed to them for their Christmas meal on December 25, 1941.  An airplane decorates the front and the back has the menu which includes a pretty decent spread as well as desserts, cigars, and cigarettes.  The whole thing has a red cord tied around it and the inside is blank, maybe to save time/ink by just printing on one side of the paper and folding it in half.  Grandpa sent back lots of these, and it’s neat to see meals served to troops training to leave for war soon.

 

Genealogy

Old Postcard – .. and send me home

 

Grandpa sent dozens of postcards to grandma while he was away with the Army Air Force, and it was neat to watch them go from being addressed to Miss and then Mrs after they got married.  This one was sent July 22, 1942 from Foster Field, Texas and there’s no stamp because postage was (and still is, in some places) free for the military.  Grandpa just wrote “Free” over the stamp box and it got straight to grandma, no problem.  I’m only posting the front of the card, not the back with the message since that feels a little too personal, but the back indicates the postcard was published by “Southern Card Co., Sa. Antonio, Texas.”  It’s a pretty funny postcard and seems to have a number of variations I saw on a quick google search.  The postcard has an image of a donkey and says, “I’m Out On a H.. of a time! When I can’t stand, tie this to my buttonhole, steal my pocketbook, wind my watch, and sponge my clothes, tie this tag to my [ass] and send me home.” There’s a space for name/address, then at the bottom, “Keep this out of the newspapers, and tell my wife it was an old stomach trouble.”

Postcard with a donkey that says, "I'm Out On a H.. of a time! When I can't stand, tie this to my buttonhole, steal my pocketbook, wind my watch, and sponge my clothes, tie this tag to my (image of donkey) and send me home." There's a space for name/address, then at the bottom, "Keep this out of the newspapers, and tell my wife it was an old stomach trouble."

Genealogy

Christmas Menu 1943

Another find from grandma’s scrapbook was a series of holiday mess menus grandpa had sent home from various posts.  This one in particular was from 25 December 1943 at Foster Field, Texas and featured a message from John J. Glennon, the post chaplain.  The menu also mentions the mess officer, Lt. Ned N Sweitzer and Mess Sergeant M-Sgt. H. E. Anderson, and there’s what might be a cover design credit to Pvt. Stanley S. Karafin.  It seems like a pretty standard menu with a turkey dinner, vegetables, and desserts, but notably missing from this one, at least when compared with others, is a mention of cigarettes and cigars below the desserts!  Short and sweet today – I have a few more of these to post, but I’ll line those up for future posts.  Click any image to see the full size.