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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!

Art

Open Print Exchange – Take 2

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I had SO much fun with the original Open Press Project Print Exchange that when they opened it up for round 2, I immediately jumped on board.  The idea is you send in ten prints made with an Open Press Project mini printing press – one stays with the project and gets sent out on exhibitions, and you receive nine random prints in return.

Inspired by this past year’s holiday card, I did another drypoint etching on a plastic plate.  Go with what you know, right?  The deadline to be received in Germany was February 1, so I had them out mid January which was a bit of a list minute rush after a busy holiday season, and partly why I went a little easier on myself with this one instead of trying something new.  Still, I’m REALLY happy with how it came out and can’t wait to see the nine prints I receive in return!  To see all the prints from both exchanges, check out their openprintexchange.com website.

Print Details:
Backer #536
Drypoint Etching on plastic plate
Speedball Akua Ink in Mars Black
Printed on Legion Stonehenge paper in Steel Grey

Update 1/24/2024 – Exchange prints have been received and that post is at the following link – https://www.sheetar.com/2024/01/24/open-print-exchange-2-prints-received/

Home

Recycled Sheets Doily Rug

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Doily Rug
Started: 14 March 2022
Finished: 15 March 2022
Pattern: Rag Doily Rug by Coco Knits
Yarn: Recycled sheets
Needle: US 19 / 15 mm
Notes:  I have a few sets of old sheets lying around that  I keep meaning to upcycle into something usable.  Well, it was finally time!  This set of sheets, I actually ripped a hole in the middle when I got into bed, that’s how thin they had gotten.  So, first step was to cut them into size.  These were for a California King bed, so I folded them over a few times to make it a shorter pass and went to town with my rotary cutter, cutting 1.5″ strips.  To join strips together, I want to say I used the looped hole technique shown here, but it’s also been over a year and I can’t quite remember? I don’t think I bothered sewing the ends together, but my strips were pretty long.  The needles were something I grabbed from online since I definitely didn’t have a size that large on hand, and I’m not going to lie, I’m used to knitting socks, so knitting something this big on needles that large was a full arm workout and definitely tiring on the hands.  Thankfully, it was a pretty small project and went rather quickly!  The fabric, IIRC, was some kind of microfiber fabric, so the weave is SUPER messy – it split and frayed all over the place while I was knitting and there was just no way to control it – it was nothing like ripping/cutting a plain old cotton sheet.  In the end, things came together well and the resulting rug does look a little fuzzy, but it hasn’t shed anymore.  I did wash and lay this out to shape it before placing it at our back door, and I think that helped a bunch.  SUPER fun to do this and I’m happy with the final result!  I still have a bunch of this ‘yarn’ leftover too, so I should be able to make another one too.

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.

Socks

Sparkly Socks

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Sparkly Socks
Started: 09 Feb 2022
Finished: 01 Mar 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Super Sparkle in colorway “Supreme Black Dalek”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I have written down that I knit these on the plane to and from going to visit my husband while he was stationed in the UK, and interestingly enough, I wore them back to the UK for this last trip just a few months ago.  Yes, late posting is late.  Every year I swear I’m going to get on top of things and post on a regular schedule and then beekeeping season happens, and well, blogging isn’t as important.  Anyway, I absolutely love the color and the sparkle in these, and BMFA yarn has always been a huge favorite.

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.