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Grist for the MillA bimonthly Publication of the Freeport Area Historical Society - June/July, 2008 |
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MEETINGS OPEN HOUSE BACK IN THE DAY It's too bad the river towns are in a dying mode. They need the old pioneer spirit from the original days of Freeport when it was really tough to survive. Thanks to Richard Ned Sweeny for his reminiscing. He tells us that Ned is his middle name, and what he went by during his life in Freeport. His dad's name was Richard and his mom didn't want a Jr. tied on to his name. He didn't have any say in this matter but when he went into the Air Force THEY said, your first name is Richard, start getting used to it. So he did! He lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois, with his wife, Betty. The two married in Scotland 52 years ago. GRIST DELIVERED ELECTRONICALLY MEMORIES You can call him Dyke or Forrester, his most common monikers, or you could call him James or Van or Jim. At one time or another he's been known by all these names. But what you can't do is guess his age if you didn't already know. He could easily pass for 20 to 25 years younger than he is and we don't think any botox is involved! Dyke was born on the Arner Farm, known as the Hill Farm in those days, in South Buffalo Township. His parents were James M. and Mamie A. Van Dyke. Their house was surrounded by a picket fence. His earliest memory, when he was old enough to walk and knee high to a duck, was going around sampling all the pickets to find a loose one so he could get out. One day he did get out and decided he would walk to his grandparents. Before he could get there, a Mr. Beale came along, in a horse and buggy, and asked him where he was going. He said, I guess I'm going to my grandparents' place. But instead, Mr. Beale picked him up and returned him to his home. When Dyke was about 5 or 6 the family moved to Vandergrift because his dad got a job working at the steel mill there. The first residence there was pretty primitive. Electricity was just a bare bulb in the ceiling with a cord attached to it. While living there he started school his teacher was Miss or Mrs. Whitehouse. One winter the weather was really bad with a lot of ice. Dyke can remember trying to crawl up an alleyway to get to school, but he slid down as fast as he tried to get up. He remembers in those days the milkman came around with a horse and wagon and carried two or three cans of milk. Customers went out with their own can or bucket and the milk was dipped out. This predated the milkman delivering bottles to customers' doorstops which many readers will remember. Eventually they moved to a nicer house in Vandergrift but his dad didn't like working at the mill too much, so they moved back to South Buffalo to McVille. The McVille Methodist church there was built on property given by his grandfather Stephen Forrester. For a while they lived with his grandmother, later lived in a divided house with his uncle and his family. While back in South Buffalo he attended both McVille and Iseman schools. Dyke's dad looked for a place to buy and went as far as Ohio at one time, but around 1920 or 1921, they moved to the farm in Buffalo Township that ran from Cole Road north to the foot of the hill beyond Sarver True Value (or Westerman's as many of us still call it.) The house was located where Kings Restaurant now sits. His parents lived there until the late 1950s when they sold the bulk of the farm to Walters and Haas and the Grandview Estates plan of houses was created. When Dyke and Grace were married, they lived on the farm where Rosebrook now is. Later they built their current house on a portion of the Van Dyke farm that wasn't sold, up on the hill to the right of the Buffalo Plaza. In Buffalo Township he attended Doyle School and of course he walked except in the fiercest weather when his Dad might hitch up the team and take them to school. Dyke graduated from Freeport in the same class as Ruth Hale and Louise Stewart who he believes are the only other surviving members. In high school he walked to school most of the time. Occasionally someone would give him a ride. There was a teacher by the name of Gibson at the Kelley elementary school, north along 356, who had children going to Freeport and sometimes Mr. Gibson would pick him up and take him on down. There was a period of time when a man from South Buffalo fixed a Pierce Arrow up as sort of a bus and ran out into Buffalo Township and picked students up and hauled them in. Dyke doesn't remember what he paid for this. As a kid he doesn't remember toys, but does remember roaming all over the country side, swimming down at Kepple Station, hunting, going to the movies in Freeport and later Butler when he had a car. With a car he was able to get up to Conneaut and even Erie once in awhile. Saxonburg he remembers the first carnival held there not on fire hall grounds, but on Main Street. He's been buying tickets on the cars they give away for 70 some years and hasn't won yet! He still belongs to the Saxonburg Fire Department and the Saxonburg American Legion, where he was a post commander; but his status is currently inactive in both. Another experience he remembers he and a friend, Jim Frantz, drove to CA and back in a Model A Ford. This was in about 1936 or 37. They didn't have any money they survived on cornflakes and milk. The rumble seat was packed full of junk and they had a tent which they only used once at the Grand Canyon. They would just set up their cots along the road. One night they slept in an alley in Los Angeles. Imagine doing that today!! They were gone about a month on this trip. Spending his early youth on one farm or another, obviously his first job was driving a team of horses, probably as young as 11 or 12. And the cows insisted on being milked twice a day, whether he wanted to or not. He would continue to do farm work off and on, even while employed elsewhere. He worked for Cramers Dairy. Sheetz sits on the spot where the third Cramers' building sat. He did a little bit of everything worked in the plant, made deliveries. Sometimes he would go to New Kensington where there was a bottle exchange. Back in those days customers would end up with bottles from different dairies. So once in awhile he would gather up the odd ones and take them down to the exchange and retrieve Cramers' own bottles. He'll jokingly tell you that he started on his way to becoming a millionaire on this job sure at 30 cents an hour when he began! In 1936 he was on the milk run in Freeport and delivered there for about a year. Dyke would get up about 2 or 3 a.m., load the truck and go into town to deliver to the residences first. Then by 7 or 8, he'd deliver to the stores, the wholesale customers. On St. Patrick's Day that year he was over in Butler Junction about 8 or 9 and then went back over into Freeport to deliver to stores there. By 10 or 11 he was ready to head back out to the plant, but he couldn't get across the bridge. So, he left the truck in town, crossed Buffalo Creek in a canoe and they picked him up and took him back out to the plant. About 10 or 11 that night they went back in. The water was down and they were able to get the truck across the bridge. The next day was difficult. It was sometimes hard to find customers. When he did, each would want him to come in and check out their houses. There was muck everywhere, pianos on their sides, etc. The water rose most of the way up Hammer's hill (High Street) nearly to Fourth Street. Some time later he worked for Conte Eastwood when they built 356. That road had originally run down Bear Creek and at the foot of the hill, beyond Sarver True Value, came back out to the current 356. The new 356 cut the neighborhood off and took about 8 to 10 acres off the farm. He would work for them from 6 to noon and then in the afternoon work on the farm. In the evening from maybe 9 to 2 or 3 he would work for Harold Cramer helping to make ice cream. When did he sleep? That was the problem, sometimes at the breakfast table! That was a rough summer and he was able to fall asleep any place! He worked for the Butler County Mushroom Mine a couple times. It was handwork then and in the winter you'd never see daylight. It was still pretty dark when you went to work and getting dark when you headed home. He next went to work for Hoffman Auto Parts in Butler and worked there until he entered the service in 1941 or 1942. Dyke enlisted in the Marines and spent most of his four years in the South Pacific. He was on air transport ships, C46s, and they would deliver freight, etc. all around to the islands, such as Guam and Okinawa. He was stationed in Hawaii for 5 months and loved the weather there. He was sent back to the states from Guam and that was the only time he was on a ship. It was an old Liberty Ship that he later learned had a habit of breaking in half. Stateside he landed in San Francisco, then transferred to El Centro and was there for about 5 or 6 months before being discharged. The men were given travel money, about $300. He thought that would be better in his pocket so he hitch hiked home. He traveled through Huston, Texas, and visited a cousin there. Then on to Columbus, Ohio, then from Columbus home. Wearing his uniform there wasn't much trouble in getting rides and it was safe. When he came out of the service he returned to Hoffman's. But his dad got sick, so he went back to working on the farm full time. Many houses were being built and farming became more difficult. He got a job at Gulf Research in Harmarville and was there about 20 years. They began downsizing and he was in the second group that got dumped. He went from there to Pittsburgh Corning in Holiday Park and worked there for about 5 years and then retired. Many Buffalo residents will remember that Grace was tax collector for 28 years. But Dyke was elected first and served a 4-year term but he'll tell you Grace did the work. He'll also explain, with a wink, that he picked Grace up on the streets of Butler. And he did sort of. He sometimes gave one of his co-workers a ride up Center Avenue to her home. One evening they were driving by Main and Jefferson and stopped at a light. There was a bunch of girls on the corner and the co-worker said, That blonde over there is my sister. He did later give her a ride and after dating just a few short months, they were married in November of 1946. Dyke's family is part of a study being done on longevity by the University of Pittsburgh. They came out and gave him an exam, as they did with his sister and her children, and took blood for studies about what is in their genes to give them such a long life. His mother lived to the age of 94. His dad was just shy of 80 when he passed away (a real youngster.) A lot of his spare time is spent at Freeport United Methodist Church, doing various jobs around the building. He'll tell you, with a chuckle, in his younger days he hung out more at the Presbyterian Church located where the Eye Care Center is, along Fourth Street. Why? Because the girls were prettier! So, how old is he? James Forrester Van Dyke was born December 27, 1912, which makes him 95 a really, REALLY young 95. BIRTH CERTIFICATES RESEARCH ON LUCESCO New member Don Venturini is doing some research on the town of Lucesco. He has learned that Robert M. James was born in 1831 and was Postmaster at Lucesco from 1/19/1859 until 1862. He lived in Freeport and he owned 700 shares in the Lucesco Oil Co. which started in 1858. Perhaps readers know more about him and would be willing to share the information. Contact Don via email. THANKS SO MUCH |
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