MEETINGS
Meetings continue on the second Thursday of each month, meeting in the Community Room of King’s Restaurant in Buffalo Plaza at 7 p.m. Next meeting dates are December 9 and January 13.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING, ANYONE?
The Historical Society can help you out. We have available The Weather Book (Jacob Shoop, 1848-1870, as transcribed and edited by Gary Link) for $25, Oral Histories of Freeport, South Buffalo and Buffalo for $20 each, Oral History of Winfield for $25, cookbooks for $9 and wooden replicas of the Mill and the Episcopal Church each for $19. Contact the society.
FREEPORT CHRISTMAS IN THE PAST
By Rod Chapman
One of the events that ushered in the Christmas Season was the Candlelight Service held at the high school on Fourth Street. It was under the direction of Mrs. Elizabeth Hurrell Shaffer, music teacher, and had its origin in the early 1930s. All of the high school girls were dressed in white and carried a lighted candle in the procession through the aisles of the auditorium singing O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles.) A concert of carols by the high school choir followed and it ended with a live nativity. The entire community looked forward to this evening. This type of religious presentation is no longer permissible as a public school activity due to the separation of church and state.
Most homes had a wreath in the window with an electric candle or candelabra. Outdoor lighting was not as popular as it is today.
In the 1950s a unique decoration was introduced to Freeport. I don’t know who had the idea, but Christmas trees were mounted on metal posts. The trees were about 4 ft. tall with 3 strings of large colored outdoor lights. A sign naming the sponsor was displayed on each post. What a beautiful sight the first night of “Light Up” was with all the trees lining Market, Fifth and High Streets. Each evening carloads of people from neighboring towns came to enjoy the sights.
Since that time outdoor lighting of homes has expanded along with a variety of lawn ornaments: nativity, angels, Santa, snowmen to name a few. Some residences have beautiful decorations. What a wonderful way it is to ring in the holiday season.
Thank you for your memories of Christmas past, Rod.
HOMETOWN MEMORIES
This will conclude an article, begun in the last Grist for the Mill, and written in 1992 by Mandy Buechner Allen.
Like most small towns along the Allegheny, Freeport flourished through the last half of the 19th century and the early part of this. Its proximity to clay mines, gristmills, brickyards, and farms made it a bustling community. A regular meeting place was H. W. Rowley's newsstand. Located at the corner of Fifth St. and Cherry Way, it sold "books, stationary, fancy goods, and toys.” It also had a soda fountain. I know because Henry Rowley was my great grandfather. My mother, Jean, grew up above his store. I’ve often heard the stories of the farmers filling the streets on Saturday mornings, trading goods and stories. And of the numerous newspapers for sale and how anyone could come in out of the rain and spend their time if not their money. In fact, that’s how my parents got together. The building is still standing. I worked there while I was in high school when it was Ebig’s Pharmacy. It’s now owned and operated by Earl’s brother-in-law, Alan Lee.* I mention all this because it’s the people, more than anything else, that make Freeport a very special place. Even having left there 22 years ago, I can walk into any store, business or home and find someone who knew my father, George, or my mother or my aunt, Betty McKnight, or who might have gone to school with one of my brothers. You see, my family has lived in Freeport since before it was Freeport and in a way, the story of Freeport is the story of my family. My father’s father had a farm outside of town, my mother’s father worked on the railroad and her mother at Schenley. My father worked at Alcoa and my great uncle, Mirl Mickey, owned Mickey’s Mill, the last water-powered gristmill in the state before it closed in 1965. The land beside the mill was given over as a sort of swimming hole and people came as far as New Kensington to swim there. The mill is now part of the Freeport walking tour.
The walking tour is one of Armstrong Co.’s best kept secrets. A pamphlet distributed by the county, it highlights the numerous houses and businesses of special interest. Trinity Episcopal Church at 6th and High Street was constructed in 1837 and is the oldest church building in town. Around the corner on High Street is St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church formed by families of Irish descent and built in 1849 by David Putney, an owner of the local brickyard. Across the street is the Dempster house, built prior to 1832 and possibly the oldest house still standing in Freeport. Over on Market Street is The Escape (1852)*, built as a store and residence and standing diagonally to the Seitz Building, a former opera house. At 512 Market St is a building erected sometime between 1861 and 1876. It is believed to have served as the kitchen for the Guckenheimer Brothers Distrillery. By 1912 they were the largest producers of rye whiskey in the United States. During prohibition, a bootleg operation was established in the basement. Buffalo Street is the site of the Lindell House at 104. Built during the 1840s, a turret and three-tier veranda were added about 40 years later. The Freeport United Methodist Church on 4th Street was built in 1877 and combines 4 architectural styles, Romanesque, Gothic, Second Empire and Jacobethan. Fourth Street is also home to two of the most beautiful houses in Freeport. At 317 is the Schrott House, built by a riverboat captain in the early 1900s. It boasts Palladian windows, double wood doors, leaded glass transoms and a 2-tier portico. Next to it is the DeBlasio House, built in 1875, one of the best examples of Second Empire Architecture in Armstrong Co. And don’t forget to stop in at Shoop’s Mens’ Store. Located on the corner of Market and Fifth, it is the oldest family-owned mens’ store in the United States. Begun in 1830, it moved to its present location in 1898. These are just a few of the places of interest found on the Freeport walking tour. To receive a pamphlet, call the Armstrong Co. Tourist Bureau at 724/548-3226.
My oldest brother, George, who moved to West Virginia in the early 60s, and I took the walking tour in July (Editor’s Note – this would be about 12 years ago.) After he got over the fact that he had to take a tour of his hometown, he, too, began to see it with different eyes. These were the homes and churches of our childhood, but put in their historical context, they took on a special glow. On our tour we ran into so many friendly people, all of who, if they didn’t know us, knew a member of our family. Perhaps the loveliest part of our journey was along the river. Beautifully maintained, it boasts memorials to all Freeport veterans including those of WWII and the Persian Gulf War. On a Norfolk Beach I might be dive-bombed by those rats with wings – seagulls, or see a sailboat silhouetted against an air craft carrier. Here I saw a half dozen hawks gliding silently over the valley while pleasure craft enjoyed a hot summer’s night on the river.
If you continue your tour along the river, you’ll come to lock #5, rather isolated from the rest of town but worth your time. On the evening we were there, the lock opened to let a motorboat through. Across the river you can see the railroad bridge leading to Schenley and the mouth of the Kiski River. It’s all quite pretty and serene.
Overlooking the town and river is Laube Community Park. With baseball diamonds, basketball and tennis courts and numerous swings, slides and rides, it’s the gathering spot for the town’s youth. There are also plenty of picnic tables for their parents.
As much as Freeport has changed in the past 22 years, the more it has stayed the same. Thompson’s Drugstore* still has a soda fountain, Camerlo’s Grocery Store* is still in business and you can still get a haircut at the same place. New things have come along, like a video store* and the banks have consolidated, but it still looks like home.
If you cross the Buffalo Creek into Laneville, you’ll see Mickey’s Mill, now called the Laneville Grist Mill. You might also see my mother and half a dozen cousins. If you do, be sure to say hello. It’s the kind of place where they will all great you in return. And tell them to expect me next summer. I would never miss my annual visit to the greenest, friendliest part of the country. Maybe my dad was right – Freeport is the garden spot of the state.
*Editor’s Note: In the 12 years since Mandy wrote her memories some changes have occurred. Alan Lee’s drugstore is now Athletic Looks, Thompson’s Drug Store and Camerlo’s Grocery Store are both gone as is the video store. The Schrott House on 4th Street is now owned by the Murtlands who also own what was formerly known as The Escape. Rumor has it that it may open as a restaurant and gift shop. The DeBlasio House is still owned by a member of that family. Atty. Gerald DeAngelis has his offices in the former Guckenheimer kitchen; this building now has a very charming appearance. And, finally, one correction: Mickey’s Mill is known also as Valley Mills but has not been called the Laneville Grist Mill as far as long-time members of the Historical Society can recall. Mandy, thanks so much for these wonderful memories.
MOVING ON TO WEST WINFIELD
The Historical Society recently had a request, through the Web Page, for information relating to the Winfield Railroad which ran from West Winfield to Winfield Junction and on to Butler Junction. Eugene Collins was born in West Winfield and would like to build an HO model train layout as it relates to the Winfield Railroad. He is particularly interested in the locomotives and cabooses that ran on the railroad. Pictures would be of great benefit to him. He can be reached at Genehayraker@AOL.com.
Can anybody help him?
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT
Marti Moore has shared letters from the wedding trunk of her great grandmother, Emily Hill Weaver. Marti recently came across another gem in this trunk – a charming wedding announcement addressed to Emily and her husband. It reads:
Felia Hill
And
Frank Rupp
Married
Tuesday June fifteenth
At Hillside Schenley
Pennsylvania
1886
Marti reports that it is in beautiful formal writing and the announcement is in excellent condition. It would look beautiful in a frame and she would consider giving it to any direct descents of the couple. Marti said, “Have you noticed how people in those days were always married during the week instead of on Saturday.” With regard to the month, she said “My dad once told me that mid summer was somewhat of a break for the farmers. It’s pretty much routine work at that time, between the back-breaking efforts of the planting and the harvest seasons.” She continues “Almost all of the 14 children born to my great great grandparents were born in the fall of the year. The children were conceived in the winter when there was little work to do around their large farm. Isn’t it interesting how much more closely people lived to the rhythms of the Earth just 150 years ago? For everything we have gained, there is something we have lost.
TIDBITS IN TIME
January 21, 1954 – Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower smashed a bottle of champagne across the bow of the USS Nautilus today and launched the world’s first atomic-powered submarine into a new era of war or peace. The Nautilus will mark the first practical use of atomic energy for propulsion.
Thanks to the Dayton Area Local History Society, September, 04 Newsletter.
We are always open to content suggestions – Email Carol – pchale@salsgiver.com.
FROM JACOB SHOOP’S WEATHER BOOK 1848-1870
Link, Gary, ed., “Weather Book 1848-1870; The Diary of Jacob Shoop”
The first Freeport Packet boat Started out March 20 in the Spring of 1861…the Edy frose over March 21 1861 & it was very cold hevy sno storm all Day…the Equenox Storm on 21 March 1861 was very cold & goodeal of snow fel…On the 27 March 1861 their was snow & stormy all day it was bad wether on the first Day of April 1861 Easter…Monday we had a very (hevy) snow storm all day it was tremendious stormy cold slush & rain…on the 8 of April 1861 was the colest Day I ever saw for Apr the wind blew so hard you could not keep your hat on your head it snowed a little cloudy all day…on 16 of April 1861 their was the hevest snow storm I ever see in April it was cold & very disagreable wether…the equedock at Pittsburgh broke down April 16th 1861 som boats were left on the Pittsburgh side…Fort Sumter was taken April 13th 1861…their was smart ice frose on our tubs April 20 1861 it was very cold…the snow lay on Millers hill ontel the 20 April 1861 it was a late Spring…We had so hevy wind on the 22 april 1861 that rafts were crouded in thick & 1 raft amongst them had 5 hundred Barrels of oil on it also stopt here…on the22 of April 1861 their was a large company of volunteers left here most of time com from Butler they ar4 bound for South Carolina…on the night April 22 `1861 there was very hevy thunder som rain…on the 23 April 1861 the first Whippowill holowed that spring…on the 1 Day of May 1861 their was Snow all day & very cold I was in Pittsburgh the Same day ice froze in tubs…Mrs. Barr Died April 30th 1861.
Editor’s note: Spelling, punctuation and grammar are as written by Jacob Shoop.
HEIRLOOM RECIPES
The Civil War has begun in the above excerpt from Jacob Shoop’s Weather Book. It would seem appropriate to include this Civil War recipe submitted by Robin Bennett.
Pickled Eggs
10 dozen eggs, hard boiled and peeled
Sliced onions, to taste
Handful bay leaves
1 dozen whole peppercorns
1 dozen whole allspice
1 red hot pepper
Brine: 1 gallon white vinegar, 1 cup sugar, ¼1/4 Cup salt.
Make brine, bring to boil. Layer eggs and sliced onions in crock. Pour in brine. If not enough to cover add sufficient white vinegar. If you want a nippier egg add cayenne pepper to brine while boiling. The eggs will be ready in approximately a week, but get better with age. Doesn’t have to be refrigerated. These eggs are excellent in homemade potato or macaroni salad.