Author: <span>Sheetar</span>
Genealogy

1942 Reade Township High School Graduation

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I’ve been trying to keep a good mix of posts coming so that it’s not 100% knitting all the time, but also because the most recent genealogical scanning project has a bunch of gems that should probably be put somewhere on the internet in case someone might be searching for this stuff.  This one is probably a little obscure since Reade Township is a tiny township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.  The program for the 1942 Reade Township commencement wasn’t for grandma’s graduation, but that of her cousin, Nellie Gasparri which is probably why she tucked it into her scrapbook.  It has a red construction paper cover and is hand tied with a red ribbon.  The program date is Tuesday, June 16, 1942 at 8 o’clock and was conducted at the Reade Township High School in Mountaindale, Pennsylvania (now the “Mountaindale Conference Center”).  For a history of the school, the Cambria County page at CamGenPA has a good write up as well as a listing of graduates.  A list of the graduates in this program is typed out here for search engine indexing purposes, and the images from the program are below.  Click any image to link to the full size scan.

Academic Course:
Emma Babbits, Margaret Bennett, Henry Colwell, Robert Duke, Mardell Eakins, Anna Frank, Wilda Hollis, Margaret Kost, Marjorie McCartney, Harold Metzger, beatrice Morrow, Donald Yingling

Commercial Course:
Lee Ammerman, Martha Braniff, Lavonne Davis, Nellie Gasparri, Marcella Gates, Calvin Gregg, Leroy Hollen, Jack Kough, Emma Letcher, Lorraine Miller, Nancy Mulhollem (Mulhollen), Matthew Valent

General Course:
John Gates, Betty Gill, Ruth Glass, John Hollen, Florian Tomchek, Milton Zupon, Madolin Beck

Finished Objects, Socks

Beekeeper Socks

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Beekeeper Socks
Started: 18 Feb 2021
Finished: 3 March 2021
Pattern: “His Last Bow” by Lotta Groeger
Yarn: Haldecraft Yarns Andre in colorway, “None of your Beeswax” (80% SW Merino, 20% Nylon)
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: You know that a beekeeper who is also a knitter is contractually obligated to knit these, right?  Read the fine print, it’s in there.  These are toe-up socks which is something I try to avoid since I find the cast on fussy and, really, I’m just way more comfortable with cuff down.  The little bee detail in some of the cells means they really do need to be knit toe-up, and they’re bees (!!!) so it was 100% worth forging ahead with a method that isn’t my favorite but produces a beautiful set of socks.  As is usual with toe-up socks, I can never seem to gauge where to start the heel, so the foot is just a tiny bit too long.  Then I got overzealous and knit the leg a bit too long, so it’s a little tight near the cuff.  In hindsight, I could’ve added a few extra stitches around to accommodate my calves, but by the time one was done, I wasn’t going back to fix it since it wasn’t too-too bad.  Can we appreciate though, the beauty of lining up the sock pattern and the yarn color and colorway name here?  I’m absolutely delighted with how these came out and obviously am going to bee wearing them a bunch!

Photography

Brownie Starmite II

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A few years ago, I came across a camera at a little vintage market.  Usually cameras like this aren’t worth much now since they were mass produced and inexpensive, and not very complicated, making them pretty accessible.  For whatever reason, it sparked my eye, and I picked it up only to find that it was still full of undeveloped film.  Well, it obviously had to come home with me.  The camera is a Brownie Starmite II and I’ll leave the folks at the Camerapedia to go into the details if you want them.  The film inside was 127 film, probably still from the 1960s when the camera was made, so I knew the folks at Old School Photo Lab could handle it just fine.  I saw there was a frame left, so I shot that off (last photo below), then wound up the film and sent it off for processing.  In a matter of days, the scrappy Lab Rats at the film lab had emailed me the scans and popped the negatives (and reel) in the mail.  The images are below.  I don’t know anything about who owned the camera prior to my finding it or where it might have been used, but judging by the clothing, it’s probably about 1960s, and somewhere that it gets cold enough to ice skate, so it’s entirely possible the photos are of a family in the Philadelphia area where the camera was purchased.  Maybe some day I might be able to reconnect these photos with the family who left them behind in the camera!  Click any photo to see the full size.  The camera is probably still usable since there’s not much to it in terms of moving parts, no battery, etc, and you can still find 127 film albeit at ~$13/roll.  It would be fun to run a roll of film through this just for kicks someday.

Finished Objects, Socks

Sock Knitting Catch-up – Part 4

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Blue & Purple Speckle Socks
Started: ??
Finished: 26 Jul 2021
Yarn: Skein band missing, though I think it’s from Mountain Laurel Yarns
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I absolutely love the colors of this yarn.  I think I had originally bought it to make a hat, but it makes a mighty fine pair of pretty socks.

Dutch Vacation Socks
Started: Sep 2021
Finished: Oct 2021
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock yarn in colorway, “Indiecita”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Started these on the plain on the way home from a brief vacation to the Netherlands while the husband was actually home, before he left for the UK for 2 years (that’s a whole ‘nother story) and while there was a lull in Coronavirus cases.  Yep, pandemic vacation socks.

Plain Old Socks
Started: Oct 2021
Finished: 23 Oct 2021
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in colorway “Good Luck Jade”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: This is one of those yarns that looked really heavy variegated in the skein but actually knit up in a pretty even set of color values (light/dark) and probably could’ve handled a simple pattern pretty well.

Purple Storm Socks
Started: 29 Oct 2021
Finished: 4 Nov 2021
Yarn: Wullenstudio Superwash Sock in colorway “Wooly Bully”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I picked up this yarn at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival in 2009, so it’s definitely on the older end of the stash spectrum.  I really dug the purple and grey together and they pooled up every so slightly around the leg in wide stripes.

That wraps up the plain old socks catch-up!  There’s one more that I need to post, but it deserves its own post since it’s actually a really neat design.  There are other knits to post too that aren’t socks, so I’ll be busy getting caught up for the rest of the year probably!