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Grist for the MillA bimonthly Publication of the Freeport Area Historical Society - August/September, 2007 |
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MEETINGS OPEN HOUSE AT THE MILL MEMORIES Grist: Rod, you've always lived in Freeport and you know so much about the history of the area. We'd like to know some of your history. Rod: I like this town; I've really enjoyed my life here. Some of my earliest memories are of July 4 th picnics in the backyard. There were cousins there; we had a great time. You know, we didn't have burgers or hot dogs (no charcoal grills, either), but we did have sandwiches – bologna and pickles ground up – poor man's ham salad! We also had lemonade, but it was the real thing, not from a mix; it had pieces of lemon in it, too. And on at least one 4 th we had fireworks. I can even remember hitching posts on 5 th Street from Cherry Way to High Street. On Saturday mornings, farmers would come in to purchase feed, etc. The Laux family lived out on Ralston Road, and they would come in with a beautiful bucket of gladiolas and sell them – they had regular customers. And I remember Mr. Cornell, one of the 5 millionaires in town. He lived next door (where the VFW is now). In the summer his grandson, Eddie, would come to visit and we neighborhood kids would play with him. He had an Irish nanny with quite a brogue. Once each summer the Cornell's would host a big party and I'd be included. The big treat was ice cream – of course there were no electric refrigerators, so it had to have been packed in ice. Mr. Seitz made it at his bakery, located below the Seitz apartments. This was the first ice cream I had. Grist: You lived on Water Street (Riverside Drive) so the river must have been enticing. Rod: Yes, the family would go wading in the river. Later on there was a beach there. Sand was boated down from Todd's Island in a paddleboat owned by the McKee's (Freeport Journal owners). It was probably 6 to 8 inches deep and covered a wide area. Paul Flemm was the first lifeguard. He sat on a platform out in the river to keep an eye on the swimmers. At times there might be 300 kids at the beach, but I don't know of a single drowning. The 1936 flood destroyed our beach. Grist: Do you remember Christmas in the old days? Rod: We never left Freeport to shop when I was young, there were stores here, and we could buy what we wanted. Later on when I was older, we might catch a train and go to the 5 & 10 in Tarentum. Believe it or not there were no Christmas Eve services in my earliest days – churches began to do that in the 1930s. But there were parties at Ralston's – they had an auditorium above the tailor shop and the Methodist Church Party was there. I remember a couple gifts, when I was 8 I got an electric train with a circular track. This was quite a gift, especially considering the tight financial circumstances of my mother who was widowed at age 35, with 3 children. Another year when I was 12 or 13 I got an erector set and still have some pieces from it. Grist: We know your mother was custodian and truant officer at the school. Did she do other jobs? Rod: She baked pies; she'd make an apple pie and sell it for 75 cents and figured she made a 50-cent profit. Mom also made lemon meringue pies and others. I did some odd jobs during school – ran errands, mowed lawns, and would get a few cents here and there – enough to go see a cowboy show on Wednesday night. Grist: What did you do in the winter for fun? Rod: Sledding and ice-skating. High Street between Fourth and Second was closed off for the kids to sled. Sometimes they flew down Franklin Street, too – not many cars on the street in those days, but it was hard to stop at the bottom. The Borough put ashes at the bottom to stop the sleds from going out on Fifth. I was told back in horse and buggy days, some would ride a bobsled from around where Community Park road is the whole way down High Street to the bottom. They'd throw a chain off the back end; it would drag in the snow and act as a brake. Ice-skating on Buffalo Creek was very popular. There were benches set up under the bridge and people would change to skates there. The boys would sweep or shovel snow off as needed. The water was only 3 ft. deep in that area, so it was pretty safe. Some fires would be lit so people could warm up. Kids also skied then and a popular place for that was up behind the brickyard office. You'd get a good run down the hill – but no ski lift to get back up! Grist: How did you and Mary meet? Rod: Well, she was always around, younger than I, but of course a town girl so I knew her. These younger girls were always around, generally getting in the way! We'd see each other roller-skating around the school and at the Picket Soda Grill. One funny story – Jake McClure, Earl Hutton, Bob Neubert, Bernard Burns and I were at a basketball game and Mary and some friends, like Sarah Jane McDivit, Mary Ann Fullerton, Jean Carson, Virginia Burns and others came in and sat behind us. It wasn't long before they were getting into devilment. Mary started playing around with my hair (yes, I DID have hair in those days!) and Jake McClure took her tassel hat. We passed it from boy to boy and Mary was getting pretty upset. She said, “If I go home without my hat, my mother will kill me!” Jake said, “Don't worry, Mary, we'll come to the funeral.” She punched him one in the shoulder. She was a feisty little redhead! One night at the Picket I saw her dancing and I thought, boy, she's smooth. I'd like to dance with her. One night they were playing a Glenn Miller number and I asked her to dance. She looked a little startled at first, but then said, yes, she would. Another time I asked her to dance and she said, “Oh, I have to get home by 10.” I said, “Oh, come on, we have a few minutes yet.” So we waltzed around some and she said again, “I've got to get home by 10 or I won't be allowed out.” So we hustled over to the house, ran down the last block or so, up the steps and into the house. Her mother was sitting in a chair in the corner with the clock up on the mantelpiece (it sits there still today). I said, “Mrs. Brown, I kept Mary late, we were dancing and it won't happen again.” She said, “I know it won't.” The thing was, she didn't know me, hadn't seen me for a long time. Mary said, “Well, you know Mrs. Chapman – that's her boy.” That patched things up. Grist: How did you come to work at the Post Office? Rod: When I came home from the service I went to work at PPG. In 1949 there was a notice in the Freeport Journal that someone was retiring at the post office and they would be hiring. So I talked with Winnie Kerr, the postmistress, and she gave me an application. A couple months went by before I heard they would give the Civil Service exam at the Borough Building at a specific time. You had to take your own pencils and scratch paper. And believe it or not, I was the only one there! I took the exam – got 5 extra points for being in the service, would have got 10 if I'd been wounded. Some months later I was notified I'd passed and I stopped in to see Winnie again. She told me I'd be a part timer at first and I would learn to carry mail on one of the routes through town. I worked with Charlie Newell and learned the route. I'd carry mail every Saturday. If I was 4 -12 at PPG, I'd work a couple hours in the morning and deliver parcel post. Eventually Charlie's retirement came through and he left. I talked with the general manager at PPG and asked for a leave of absence at PPG until I knew for sure I'd have the job. He was agreeable to that and it was 18 months before they contacted me about possibly returning, and of course the answer was no. I carried mail for a while, but then Hulda Schreckengost retired and I had the option of giving up in the route and going into the office, which was what I did. I'd handle money orders and stamps and learned to dispatch mail. This involved getting it packed up in a pouch. Someone else with a contract to do so would haul it to the train station in town and then haul back whatever mail came in. I worked 32 years at the post office, under 3 postmasters – Winne, Joe Ponteri, and Ted Kaltwasser. Even after I left and Willie Golembesky had taken over as postmaster, I'd get called some to go in and fix the canceling machine. Grist: You have relatives many years ago who were in the ministry and you are well known as an active Christian and staunch Methodist. Did you ever think about going into the ministry? Rod: I had thought about it. But when I came home from the service I was in no condition to go to college, that's all there was to it. You really have to go into it with the thought it would be your life's work. I don't think at that time I could have handled parts of it, things like funerals. Grist: Is there anything people might not know about you? Rod: Some people might not know my first name is Joseph. That was also my Dad's name, so I was called by my middle name. My mom registered me as Rodney Chapman when I began first grade. When I was a senior we had to turn in a slip with our full name on it for the diploma. They called me in and said “Joseph??” And I said, “Yes.” They said, “You should have been registered as Joseph.” I said, “It's a little late now!” We do some traveling on bus tours. Some months ago we went on a bus tour out to Lancaster to the Sight and Sound Theater to see The Christmas Story. They were naming us before the bus left and they called out Chapman. I said “Joseph and Mary.” That got a laugh and they figured they'd be okay on that trip. Ed. Note: Rod and Mary have two children, Tom and Arlene, who both live out of state, 4 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Rod's experiences in the military, including his time as a POW in Germany, were written about in detail in the Freeport Oral History Interviews, a publication of FAHS. Copies are available for $25. If you live in town, you may read a copy at the Freeport Library. We appreciate Rod spending some time with us this summer. FROM JACOB SHOOP'S WEATHER BOOK 1846-1870 I got a letter from bob Sept 1861 ritten from Danver City ritten Augt 21d 1861 by him he has inlisted to new mexico for 3 years …the river raised 2 feet Sept 14 th 1861…we had very hevy rain & storm Sept 17 th 1861…their was one hundred solgers com from Butler on 18 Sept 1861 to go to the Kittanning Camp the staid here all afternoon & went up in Evining …on the 17 & 18 Sept 1861 the river raised 4 feet…the water was let in the new equedock over Buffalow Creek on 20 Sept 1861 – they ware only 21 Days rebuiling it as they commenced it on 28 Augt…on the night of 27 Sept 1861 the river rased 12 feet…on the 28 Sept 1861 the river was hier then it was since 1832 their was more lumber went down adrift then ever went down before 40 years their was houses stables nils haystacks corn fother pumpkins rafts shingle & the Leechburgh Bridge was swept away – it was estamated that two hundred thousend Dollars worth of lumber went down that day of 28 Sept 1861 their was 11 rafts in site at one time adrift it was distressing times the most of this lumber was from Clarion hole rafts loded with shingle the like of this never was seen on the Allegheny – the water was to the top of the bank before my house & below my house it was over the street. GOLF OUTING FUNDRAISER Freeport Area Historical Society – New Home We should give you some background on the building. We do not know the name of the original owner or the date of construction. We do know that J. H. Shoop had his store there in the 1800s. This would have been his second establishment; the first site was on Water Street (Riverside Drive) where the High Rise is currently located. On New Year's Eve in about 1897, the Keystone Hotel at the corner of Fifth and Market burned to the ground. There was no fire department to speak of, and a bucket brigade couldn't put out the burning 3-story building. The Hotel was owned by J. H. Shoop, son of the original founder of J. H. Shoop and Sons. He owned the ground from Market St. up to Mulberry Way. Some of the lots he didn't need, he sold to others. Brenneman's had a business in that location for some 90 years. The Post Office was also located in this area – in the location where the Kiwanis currently have a display. The post office moved around the corner to the location of Freeport Auto Supply in 1915. After the fire, J. H. Shoop built another building and moved his establishment there. Louie Villeto next owned our building. He sold hot dogs, hamburgers, candy, and other miscellaneous articles. When prohibition ended, in 1932, they acquired a license to sell liquor and it became a beer garden. Some time later he moved his business next door. Pete Rover opened a barbershop and was there a short while before moving to High Street. In those days, if a guy wanted a hair cut, he needed to get there early. There would be standing room only by 7a.m., and the barber would be busy all day long. Next Mr. George Cogley started a jewelry store and was there for several years before moving to Tarentum. Oswald (Buckets) Gardina had a cleaning and pressing business in our building for many years. John Shoop remembers, as a boy, taking any garments sold at J. H. Shoop, and needing shortened or other adjustments, over to Buckets at the end of each business day. The business was taken over by Jay, a Korean fellow. He and his family lived upstairs. They later closed the shop and moved to Vandergrift. Evangel Heights acquired the building next and deeded it over to FAHS this spring. Now we have a home for Freeport Historical Society. It needs lots of work to get it up to date, but we have already begun to display some antiques in the windows. We once again thank Evangel Heights for the gift. Ed. Note: And we thank Rod Chapman for the historical background on the building. Danver City” is probably Denver, first settled in 1858. In 1861 Colorado Territory was formed with Golden as its capital. In 1867 Denver became the capital of the territory. In 1876 Colorado became a state. The camp at Kittanning was Camp Orr, established in 1861. The 78th and 103rd Regiments Pennsylvania Volunteers were created and trained there; see Robert Smith, A History of Armstrong County , p. 60. |
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