...while his name is still spoken: Grandpa Reese

Ninety-nine years ago today, Grandpa Robert Reese was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania.  As I am thinking of him this very bright, very cold February morning, one thing that comes to my mind is that as he got older he would wear so many layers of clothing, including a down vest, because he was always cold.  I am smiling as I realize that I have begun layering my clothing and just yesterday was complaining about being cold
sitting in my house.  I haven't quite gotten to the point where I am wearing a down vest over my flannel shirt and long underwear will sitting in my living room, but I am thinking that it is only a matter of time!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Reese!


Take a look back at the blog entry I added in March 2010 titled Raising Robert...

Sentimental Sunday: Easter and Eating Eggs

Coloring hard boiled eggs is a well established tradition for Easter, but what about eating lots of eggs at Easter.  I found a curious reference to eating eggs at Easter on a post card sent to my great-grandmother Mary (Walker) Reese in April 1909.  The sender (whose identity is not clear) asks Mary, "how many eggs are you going to eat on Sunday," presumably a reference to Easter. Then the sender states, "I am going to eat for [sic] or fiv [sic], dozen I mean"  I found that to be an odd reference, so I turned to the internet for answers.  The Wikipedia page for Easter Eggs points out that there is an old tradition of not eating eggs or dairy during Lent.  But because hens don't stop laying eggs during Lent, a larger number of eggs would be available by Easter if the eggs had not been allowed to hatch. So after 40 days without eating eggs and an excess store of eggs, eating a ridiculous number of eggs would be in order--although I don't think eating four or five dozen in one day would be advisable for anyone!

Easter Greetings--Eat some Eggs!

Terry and the Pirates

Well of course today is Terry's birthday.  I hope it is a great one!  The note on the back of this photo says that it captured the very day you took your first steps--at 11 months!

Named Terry Albert--of course Albert after Grandpa Redmond, but I have always heard tell that the name Terry came from Terry and the Pirates which was a very popular comic strip from the 30s-50s.  It was also a radio program and much later a television program.  Since I didn't find the comic strip in the Derrick at the time Terry was born, it is my guess that Bob and Ethel got the name from the radio program.  I did some looking into the story line of Terry and the Pirates and was very interested to find out just how popular it was and it is now considered the first of the many action-adventure comics that would follow over the years.  The basic story is of an American boy named Terry who goes to China with a journalist named Pat Ryan in search of a lost gold mine.  They meet a number of interesting and sometimes questionable characters that develop into endless exploits.  During the second world war the characters, especially the Chinese characters, take on increasingly evil personnas.  The term "Dragon Lady" to describe a ruthless woman in today's society came from the name of one of the enduring, evil characters in the Terry and the Pirates story line. 

Take a look at the strip below.  What popular cartoon would you guess was greatly influenced by Terry and the Pirates?

Happy Birthday Uncle Terry!

Raising Robert

I was born at 11 A.M. on February 17, 1916 on Oil City's Southside. I was given the name Robert Norman Reese. I was named after my two uncles; one was my great-uncle Robert Reese, a Civil War veteran who died ten year before I was born; my middle name came from my mother's brother Norman Walker who was said to have been kicked in the head by a horse [I think that he was actually born with something like Down syndrome]. My father was Edward Aaron Reese, a tailor by trade, and hard-working, but like his father Samuel, Eddie, as he was called, was always looking for a quick path to wealth. My mother was Mary Elizabeth Walker from Cochranton, Pennsylvania. She was 4 years older than my father and 40 years old when I was born. 

I lived with my parents at 201 East Front Street, in Southside Oil City. This was located roughly were the Riverside grocery story and Southside Post Office are now located on the four-lanes today. Next door lived my Grandpa and Grandmother Reese, my widowed Aunt Minnie Hookins, and her two children, my older cousins, Arthur and Lucille. This was a wonderful place to grow up, surrounded by family and a close knit neighborhood. Mrs. Dale lived on one side and next door to her was Mrs. McCollum, aunt of my lifelong friend Leroy Blair.

I was an only child and was undoubtedly doted on by my family. Grandmother Reese saw my first smile when I was 1 week old. Mother discovered my first tooth when I was 22 weeks. And my first word was papa. I got my first hair cut in August 1917 at the barber shop--I sat very still. I could count to 10 before I was 2 years old--Mother was so proud.

Birthdays were family affairs. On my first birthday, my Grandmother Walker was visiting from Cochranton. We had cake and father gave me a "kiddie kar" and I got stockings from Uncle John Walker. On my second birthday, Uncle John Walker got me 2 pair of stockings; from Aunt Bessie, Uncle John's wife, a silver spoon; Harry Reese Jr. gave me a toy and his brother Gerald gave me a handkerchief. Grandpa Reese gave me 5 cents for my bank and Daddy and Mother gave me a rocking chair and new shoes. On my 4th birthday in 1920, we had a chicken dinner with cake. Grandpa and Grandmother Reese, Grandmother Reese's sister Aunt Sarah Smith, and Uncle John Walker were there. Daddy gave me a bowling alley and from Mother 2 pair of stockings. Uncle John gave me $1 (guess he figured I had enough stockings); Grandpa Reese gave me another 5 cents for my bank; cousins Gerald and Harry Jr. gave me 4 pennies, 2 handkerchiefs and a card; cousin Lucille gave me a little cake; and Grandma Reese and Aunt Sarah gave me cards.

My father operated a tailor shop and a dry cleaning service, first out of our house, but later from a shop down Front Street closer to the State Street Bridge. He provided for mother and me very well. On a sunny day in June 1923 when I was 7 years old, my father was sitting on the front porch when he had an aneurysm and died. It would be years before I realized fully how that changed things, especially for my mother. This happened before social security, before insurance, and other programs that are now in place to take care of widows and orphans who lost their sole source of income. 

Widowed at the age of 47 with a young son and no income meant that mother had to find a way to support us. Besides income she received from renting the garages in the alley behind out house, mother earned money making pies, dressings (sauces such as ketchup), and mayonnaise for Cribbs Grocery store on the Southside. At first, mother would make all of the pies and dressing in our kitchen and a delivery boy would take them to Cribbs. Later she worked in the kitchen at the grocery. Remember that this was in the early days of modern conveniences. Refrigeration was still being developed and preservatives that are in food today to prolong shelf life did not exist. That meant that mother would work everyday to supply the grocery store with the fresh pies and dressings for its customers. Mother worked hard and all of our needs were met. Even during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, we managed better than most because the wealthy families from Oil City's West End still wanted fresh pies and dressings for their tables.

As a boy, I remember the trains pulling endless lines of oil tankers, coal cars, and flatcars loaded with timber which would pass in front of our house on the tracks across the street. My mother would complain about the soot that was left behind by the steam locomotives. She would have to sweep the front porch after each train passed to keep it from being tracked into the house. From the train station across the river, we would take the train to visit my mother's family in Cochranton. During the summer 1927, I took the train to Cochranton to stay with Mother's family on the farm outside Cochranton. That was with Mother's brother's Uncle Will and Uncle Wilson and their family. That was a big deal for this 11-year-old city kid and my first time away from my Mother. Uncle Will and Uncle Wilson raised draft horses--the biggest animals I had ever seen. 

I attended elementary school in the Central Avenue School which was an imposing stone structure on Central Avenue where the firehouse now stands. This was the school that John Dewey, Father of Modern Education, kicked off his teaching career. The school was several blocks away and uphill in the morning. I attended the South Side Junior High before going to the Senior High school on the north side. Crossing the bridge and walking up the hill to the senior high during the winter or rainy weather was miserable. I was well behaved and had perfect attendance in 1926, 1928, 1930, and 1931. The most days I missed were in March 1922 when I was in First Grade. I got the chickenpox and was quarantined for 16 days, missing 10 days of school. Book wise, I was just an ok student, and struggled through junior high. I excelled at what was called industrial or manual arts and I was very good at fine art. I was especially good at drawing and my favorite subjects to draw were cowboys.  

Mother and I attended the Grace Methodist Church, just a short walk up to the corner of Central Avenue and West First Street. Mother was a praying mother who made sure I knew the importance of living a good clean life. But she also knew that without a father, I still needed a male influence in my life. A Godly man [I can't recall his name] from the church stepped in to take on that role. He made sure that I was involved in activities that would help me learn a sense of duty and hard work. I also developed a strong group of friends from my neighborhood where our favorite past times were playing marbles or stick ball in the alley behind our houses.

I was a very active member of the Sea Scouts which was an offshoot of the Boy Scouts--but with cooler uniforms! I was on the crew of the good ship "Crusher," local Sea Scout Troop 3 from the Grace Church. I was an active member of the Sea Scouts until I graduated from high school. 

I helped mother around the house and helped with her work at Cribbs which allowed her to get done early. After I learned to drive, I also earned money driving for women from Oil City. I would take them to town to help with shopping, take them to visit relatives and friends in other towns like Titusville or Mercer. The longest drive I made was in 1936 when I took Miss Phillips and Mrs. Lee of Oil City on a two week driving tour to Bangor, Maine.

I graduated from High School in 1935. I was glad to be done with school. In fact, my yearbook says “Bob is mostly an outdoor man who has little use for school or other commonplace activities.” I did not really have a plan for what to do after I graduated, but I liked to work with my hands and solve problems so I toyed with the idea of going to engineering school and even took a few engineering and chemical correspondence courses. But I lost interest in that. I would rather spend my time racing my new Harley Davidson motorcycle and finding the girl of my dreams—and that is just what I did. But that story is for another time…

February Birthdays in the Redmond-Reese Family

February is a unique month for the Redmond-Reese Family.  In this one month of the year, we celebrate five birthdays in our family, but what makes it unique is that all five generations of our family are represented in these five February birthdays.  A special shout out to Kim who celebrated her birthday on the 4th.  Kim's daughter Katie will be 15 on the 20th of February!  Sharyn will celebrate her birthday on 24 February.  And in between those special days, our family remembers Grandpa (Al) Redmond's birthday on the 15th and Grandpa (Bob) Reese's on the 17th.  If you consider that Grandpa Redmond, the originator of our Redmond family, was born in 1897, these five generations represent 113 years of our family.  Below are baby pictures of Bob, Sharyn, Kim, and Katie.  While I don't have a baby picture of Al, the earliest picture I have is from a class photograph taked in 1909 when he would have been about 13.

Albert Redmond, b. Feb. 15, 1897

taken 1909

Robert Norman Reese, born February 17, 1916

Sharyn Colleen, born February 24

Kimberly Jane, born February 4

Katie Nicole, born February 20

So whose birthday is January 6th?

Ninety-one years ago on January 6, 1919, Ethel Geraldine Redmond was born in the small village of Volant, near New Castle, Pennsylvania, the oldest daughter of Albert and Myrtle Redmond. Gone from our lives way too early, we are left with many memories. Whether daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, sister-in-law, aunt, or friend, I would say that Ethel was a very special person. I remember many things about her from her great smile, her amazing laugh, her love for her family, her dedication to her friends, her church, and her community, or positive outlook wherever life or Bob would take her. Not that she didn't have disappointments, troubles, or hardships, because she surely did, but often times she was a model of how to come through the difficulties of life with grace and dignity. What I remember and loved so much about her was how she treated each one of us as uniquely special, worthy, and loveable--what I would say is the true picture of how Christ taught us to love each other. And I think that was the rare gift that she had.

It would be great to hear your memories of Ethel, what she meant to you, and what impact she might have had on your life. Take a look at the attached collage of photos of her life, roughly in chonological order going clockwise, starting in the upper left-hand corner. Also, I have tried my hand at my first "multi-media" video, a slideshow of those pictures which you can find at the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0XzW1TsKM (or go to youtube.com and search on Ethel Redmond Reese; it is also on my Facebook page and I think it looks better there). The music might not be the best choice, but everytime I hear the song I can still hear her voice singing it. I will probably be refining the slideshow so if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. I hope you enjoy the photos and the slideshow!

Give someone special a yellow rose in memory of Ethel...

Ghost of Christmas at Rocky Grove

Well, it has been quite a jouney, from Grandma Redmond's house on Grandview Road; Grandma Redmond's silver Christmas Tree on Park Avenue; opening presents at Grandma Reese's house in Seneca; the family gathering in 1979 at Bobbie's in Seneca which began the tradition of the neighborhood open house on Christmas Day. But that is not where is ended. Our family Christmas gatherings continued when Bobbie moved to Rocky Grove and it was there that we ushered in the next generation of our family. And while the 4th picture was not technically taken on Christmas Day--it was Christmas time as evidenced by the tree in the background.

Our family has come along way and while many are no longer with us, those memories remain, and we now have the hope of a new generation. So Merry Christmas Eve to all of you!

Ghost of Christmas at Bobbie's in Seneca

In 1979, the family Christmas celebration transitioned to Bobbie's house. That Christmas, the three Redmond sisters and their husband were together, possibly for the last time. We started the day opening presents at Grandma Reese's house and then later in the day reconvened at Bobbie's for a meal and a great time together. In the first picture, back, left to right, Ethel, Bob, Lois, and Dick; front, Hazel and Paul.

The other three pictures are snap shots of the family throughout the day. Note that Grandpa Green was there.

Ghost of Christmas in Seneca

Bob and Ethel moved to Main Street, Seneca in 1942. A lot of Christmas' where celebrated in that house over the years. So many memories. One of my favorite Christmas pictures is the one of Bob, Betsy, Todd, Bobbie, and Terry at the Christmas Tree, taken around 1956.

Jumping to a Christmas which I guess was in 1973 with Grandpa and Grandma Redmond. Around the table from left to right, Bob, Dick, Lois, Ethel, Betsy, Todd, Grandma Redmond (Grandpa Redmond must have taken the picture). The second picture is of Grandpa Redmond, Todd, Ethel and Grandma Redmond.

Next we move ahead to about 1977 (based on how old Kory was); it was the advent of the artificial Christmas tree with the gold silk ornaments; remember the silver velour couch and love seat (although it looks gold in the picture); the "cherry picker" picker lamps that Grandma Reese made; and the fire place which had the changing season's picture above it--although it looks like Grandpa didn't change to the winter scene that year; and Betsy's dog Buffy and Todd's dog--what was his name? Was it Dusty--not to be confused with Dukie, that black dog of Todd's which as I remember it only snared at us kids...

Ah, memories...

Ghost of Christmas on Park Avenue

In the 1950's Al and Myrtle built a new house on Park Avenue in Oil City. That house always held a great deal of interest for me, from the pink flamengos in the bathroom; the lake scene with the girl in the bikini in Grandpa's bedroom; the great basement with the pine paneling, and the ping pong table; the satin pillows on the back of the gold sofa in the living room; and at Christmas the amazing silver Christmas Tree with the rotating multi-color spot light! It is funny that I have seen those silver trees for sale in stores this year. Like bell-bottoms, I never thought I would see those come back into style! But the sight of them brought back very fond memories of Grandpa and Grandma Redmond!

The pictures of the Christmas meal at Grandpa and Grandma Redmond's house probably took place in the early 60s after Terry and Bobbie were married. Going around the table from left to right, Grandma Redmond, Ethel, Todd, Sharyn, Betsy, Dale, Lois, Dick, Grandpa Redmond or Bob.

This wouldn't be complete without pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Redmond's silver Christmas Tree.

Childhood Memories of Thanksgiving

I have looked through all of the photographs that I have for the perfect Thanksgiving picture to share with all of you. I have lots of family birthday parties, picnics, Christmases, but only one that is of a Thanksgiving gathering taken in 1993 at Aunt Lois and Uncle Dick's. Cherie and I did not make it home that year and Aunt Lois noted on the back of the picture that Gregg and Malinda were there but had not arrived when the picture was taken. I have also included one of my favorite family pictures, a picture of a Redmond family gathering taken probably about 1957. I don't really know the occasion or were the picture was taken--Great-grandma Redmond's? But everyone was there (Grandpa Reese must have taken the picture). Enjoy!

I thought the lack of Thanksgiving pictures strange because when you think of Thanksgiving, I believe that more than any other holiday--even Christmas, we think of family. So why so precious few pictures? I didn't really have an answer to that, but it got me thinking of the Thanksgivings of my childhood. I have lots of memories, but surprisingly, they don't seem to be of any one Thanksgiving, but collective of all of them:
I remember Thanksgivings at Grandma Reese's--always at Grandma Reese's;

I remember Great-granddad and Grandma Redmond being there, and Aunt Lois and Uncle Dick, Todd, Betsy, Terry, Donna, Gregg, Brian, Kim, and later Kory;

I remember sitting at the kids' table in the living room or at that old light green picnic table and benches placed at the end of the dining room table (it was crowded but we were all together so it didn't seem to matter);

I remember Grandpa saying the prayer "...bless this food to the good of our bodies", but Thanksgiving was special so unlike every other Sunday dinner prayer, we held hands;

I remember Grandma's homemade rolls and pies (I don't recall anything specific about the turkey or the stuffing or the potatoes--Brian, didn't you like the stuffing?);

I remember that there was always a big deal made by the bottle of Heinz ketchup on the table for my dad to put on his mashed potatoes;

I remember coffee being served with the meal and Grandma's white teapot "with the diamonds" that was on the table for dessert (and how the tea was never strong enough--the first cup always got poured back in);

I remember how the women cleaned up in the kitchen afterward, while the men went to the living room to watch football--but it wasn't too long before they were asleep in the recliners (now we know that triptephan in the turkey is a natural sedative so they couldn't help it, right?);

I remember how Grandpa fell asleep with a cigar in his mouth;

I remember how Kim, Gregg, Brian and I would find something to do whether it be games, climbing through the closet in the living room that went into Grandma and Grandpa's bedroom, or "exploring" in the upstairs (I don't remember ever going outside?);

I remember picking at the leftovers when we eventually got hungry later in the day--I always went for another piece of pumpkin pie.
Thanks for indulging me while I recount of my childhood Thanksgiving memories. I would really love to hear your memories of Thanksgivings whether they be from Great-grandma Redmond's, Grandma Reese's, or elsewhere. Feel free to share with everyone on the email--it might bring back a good memory to someone else in the family.

I pray that you all have a most blessed Thanksgiving with pleasant memories from the past and future memory-making moments this year!

It's Rabbit Season...

November in Pennsylvania can mean only one thing--men and women alike don blaze orange and take to the fields and woods in search of furry or feathered creatures to bring home for dinner. It reminds me of my favorite Warner Bros. cartoon where Daffy schemes to have Bugs taken out by the fiercest of hunters Elmer Fudd by placing signs all over the forest that it is "Rabbit Season"; Bugs retaliates by convincing Fudd that Daffy is actually the target of his pursuits and Daffy get blasted by Elmer's rifle over and over and over again. Of course this cartoon is no longer deemed appropriate so it is no longer on TV and rarely found in the Warner Bros. Box Sets (of which I admit have several).

But I digress... Here are a couple photos of those mighty hunters Bob and Ethel in their Pennsylvania Tuxedos in search of what's for dinner. My guess it was the pheasant which was stuffed and hung on the wall in their dining room all the years I was growing up. Hey Gregg or Brian, do either of you have the pheasant? Did anyone ever give it a name?

Cheers

Seventy Years Ago--November 9, 1939

November 9 [2009] is the 70th Anniversary of Bob and Ethel Reese' wedding. The first picture is their wedding picture and the second is a picture taken for their 30th Wedding Anniversary. They were married in the home of Grandpa and Grandma Redmond by Rev. Hazlett of the Hasson Heights United Presbyterian Church at 12 noon. The second photo includes the attendants Aunt Hazel and Bob's cousin Don Reese. Grandma's wedding dress was "wine transparent velvet" and her flowers were yellow rosebuds and trailing arbutus. (Somewhere there is a colorized copy of the wedding picture--if anyone has it I would really like to get a copy of it!)

The photo below was taken for Bob and Ethel's 30th Wedding Anniversary.

At the time of their marriage in 1939, Ethel worked at W. T. Grant's in Oil City. For those who remember old northside Oil City, Grants was the "5 and 10" store that was located where Northwest Saving building is now, next to Woolworth, the other "5 and 10" in town. Bob started our post-high school life as a chemist at the United Refinery located just outside Oil City on Route 8 going to Rouseville. Yes a chemist. Going through Grandpa's papers when we cleaned out his house, I found several certificates for correspondence courses he had taken. It appears that he was interested in going to school (a college or some technical school) for chemistry or engineering. But as we know he established a very successful radiator repair business in Franklin.

It's almost Holloween...

It is almost Halloween and I have a couple very scary pictures to send you in a few days, but to get you in the spirit, here are a few of Halloween's past. Actually the focus is on an Uncle Sam outfit that Bob's mother made, most likely for a 4th of July parade/celebration. That costume has now been used for three generations. The first picture is of Bob, wearing the costume, again most likely for a 4th of July event, the second picture is a scary group which can't really identify, but one is wearing the costume--Aunt Betsy, is that you?; and the last one is Gregg, Brian, Kim and myself wearing the costume. I still have the costume, but missed the opportunity for Perry to wear is (he grew too fast); but I will have to get it out and see it Chloe can wear it... I will let you know.

Enjoy, and stay tune for the most frightening pictures you have ever seen...