Back to the 50's--The Woods

     

Our Woods--1955
Mom's writing
Not as inviting in the winter ☃⛄

     When TV was in its infancy, no internet, cell phones, video games, kids had to make their own entertainment.  We were fortunate to have a magical playground right behind our house--The Woods.  

Ours at last!!--Mom's writing
Dad out front getting ready to plant some grass

     We moved into a housing plan called North Hills Estates in 1950 when I was only three.  Estates is somewhat of a misnomer, the residences were houses, not mansions.  The allure of the woods began when I was in elementary school.  Of course it was always behind our house, it simply was not a place I explored as a youngster.  

Steigerwaldt's back yard today
There was no fence in the 50's
Our path down would have been to the left of the small pine tree
Thank you Zillow

     Then came the day when my neighborhood bestie, Ruthie, and I made our way down the steep slopping hillside behind the Steigerwaldt house.  That became our pathway over the years into our enchanted playground.  At the bottom of the hill a creek trickled through.  Usually, it was not too full of water, unless we had a torrential downpour, although there were a few deep spots.  This area was a valley.  Our street, Washington Drive up the hill on one side and Harden Drive up on the other.  

     It never occurred to me that this area had any name other than the Woods.  When I was blogging about Washington Drive, and did a deep dive into the history of the area, I was surprised to find an old map with the plans for development of North Hills Estates.  Our house was just a lot.  The woods actually had a proper name, Thompson Drive Park.  The creek, nameless, was a feeder stream into Girtys Run at the corner of Rochester Road and Evergreen Heights Drive almost to Babcock Boulevard.

   The creek supplied an endless amount of play.  There were a few deep areas that Ruthie and I would step into and splash around to cool off in the summer.  Slowly flipping stones, looking for aquatic life provided thrills.  There was usually some form of crawfish that backed up when we uncovered them.  Frogs, salamanders, turtles and very small fish, probably minnows, hung out in the cool creek.  We would even visit the creek in winter and skate on the icy surface in our boots.  

     Day tripping in the woods, Ruthie and I would spend entire days down there.  We set up a camp downstream on the creek.  It was past a hill that we named violet hill.  In early spring the area was covered in lovely purple violets.  We picked baskets full, made small violet bouquets tied with ribbon and sold them to neighbors for a nickel.

     Our camp had a fireplace, a dirt ring enclosed by stones.  We would pack food and cart it down the hill and along the creek to our campsite.  Often we had a fire and made hot dogs and s'mores.  As far as I knew, no other neighborhood kids went as far as we did nor did they know of our camp.  So many summer days were spent at our private camp, eating, talking, playing board games and just exploring.  Two girls just having fun.

     The younger boys in the neighborhood, primarily my brother and his friends, had their area the opposite way along the creek--toward Thompson Drive.  Their hideouts were up on the hill.  When Ruthie and I would wander up that way, they would occasionally "bomb" us with pulled weeds, roots and dirt still attached.  Bombs away.......

     I can admit at now age seventy-five, we would sneak cigarettes down there.  Smoking at elementary school age!  All of our parents smoked, so lifting a couple out of their packs was not a problem.  Later in life, I learned that my brother was also doing this.  😀

     There was a time in 1985, when my sons were young, that we, along with my Dad went to Washington Drive to visit the Steigerwaldt's.  I took my kids down the, now over grown path, into the Woods.  We did not get very far.  The markers were long gone and frankly my boys were not interested.  

     There are few photos, only memories.

     I have lucked out finding current pictures of The Woods out on Zillow.  Primarily due to the fact that at the back of both the Steigerwaldt and "our" old property, decks have been built overlooking the woods.  Areas behind both properties have been cleared; however the depth of those beloved woods can be seen behind the fencing.

Additional Blogs on Flipside

745 Washington Drive Where My Childhood Memories Live

 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2022, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Back to the 50's--Hiland Presbyterian Church

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     As I have mentioned in the other Hiland Church blogs, that it was an integral part of our lives when we lived on Washington Drive (1951-1961).  Dad was on the Session and Mom was involved in a Circle and was an actor with with The Hiland Players.  We kids annually wanted the perfect attendance award.

     Located on a hillside along Perry Highway, the historic building was within walking distance of our house. I have vague memories as a young child going to Sunday School in the church building and that there were small rooms behind the sanctuary, and perhaps in the basement.  We were members when the Fellowship Hall was built.  All church school was moved there and with the huge hall, numerous events were hosted there.  

Dr. Harry William Pedicord

     

     Dr. Harry William Pedicord was at the helm the entire time we attended.  An energetic, charismatic man, church life was busy and all week long.  I have read an interesting article written in The Pittsburgh Post Gazette in 1961.  Dr. Pedicord was involved in theater when he attended Washington& Jefferson College.  He translated that love of theater into church life at Hiland.  

I think this was my last year in Bible School
1958--5th grader going into 6th in the fall

     Every summer there were two weeks of Bible School. At the start of every day, Dr. Pedicord would open school with a prayer and songs. I can still see him, now some 65 years ago, standing up front leading a rollicking song version of "The Books of the Bible." As an adult, I am certain that he made up the song and the lyrics. 😃 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.... I can still say them decades later.

    I attended from first through fifth grade.   Frankly, the religious foundation laid at Hiland, was the basis of me minoring in religion when I was in college.

     My mother was very involved in The Hiland Players.  I believe there may have been two performances annually.  Selling tickets to the shows somehow unhappily fell into my domain.  I absolutely hated going from door to door trying to sell those tickets.  The other church members who were actively involved in the shows became close friends of my parents.  Oddly, none of them had children.  They became the crowd that would gather at our house on Christmas Eve every year to eat, drink and set up our gifts.  I know they all have made Hiland Cemetery their final resting place.  

     Pancake Dinner.  Racially inappropriate, Aunt Jemima was there.....and she was my Sunday School teacher in black face.  When boomers harken back to the good old days, this is not a good old days picture and yet, sadly, it was so accepted.  I do not believe that any Black families lived in the area.  

     We moved to a new house in 1961 and became members of a new church.  The youth leader there was personally involved, with other ministers, on marches in the south.  It was in the new church, I moved into a more progressive thought process (a child of the 60's).  I wonder if Hiland also acknowledged the social and racial issues of the 60's and addressed them.  Both areas in the North Hills of Pittsburgh where I grew up were very white.  My high school was still not racially diverse when my youngest brother graduated in 1973.

     Twelfth Night is covered in another blog.  The burning of the Christmas trees beside the church building out back and then the celebration in Fellowship Hall.  Huge frosted spice cakes with twelve gold crosses baked inside.  The lucky finders kept the cross for a year, then returned it to be cleaned and baked into the next years cakes.  I would starve myself so I could eat cake.  The last year we attended Hiland, before our move, I finally got a cross.  To this day, spice cake is one of my favorites.  

   

My neighborhood friend and I at Crestview
Seriously, I wore a dress 😁

      I imagine my week at Camp Crestview was a springboard of Hiland Church.  My first camp experience and week away from home was at a Presbyterian Church camp in Slippery Rock, PA in 1957.  Ruthie and I attended for two years 1957 & 1958.  Pleasant memories.  We slept in cabins, each cabin had a daily duty i.e., kitchen duty, setting and cleaning tables in the mess hall, cleaning the pool in the morning, etc. Each cabin set up a campsite, which Ruthie and I certainly had experience 😃.  Evening vespers were held every night at the individual cabin campsites and at the end of the week, there was a large site for the final night vesper.  It was at camp I first had cooked cereal.  Although it was pretty lumpy and thick, I loved it and still is a favorite winter breakfast.  Also, it is my first remembered crush on a camp counselor. LOL    

     I was confirmed at Hiland.  Took the classes, passed the test and became a member.  I was now able to take part in the monthly communion church service and was a member.  

     At some point in time, my Father must have switched his church membership back to Hiland.  In 2004, my brothers and I spent Easter with Dad and Edna and we attended Easter Sunday service at Hiland.  It was soothing to be back in the sanctuary.  

     The beautiful stained glass windows, the white painted pews....nothing changed.      

     When I attend a church service, it is in a Presbyterian Church.  The hymns and liturgy take me back to the church of my youth.  It is very comforting and familiar.

     ********************

     My brother, Jeff, emailed me this last night.  I had never seen it before.  A gift to my parents from Dr. Pedicord.

  

Additional Hiland Presbyterian Church Blogs on Flipside

 Advent at Hiland Presbyterian Church--Twelfth Night

Junior Choir at Hiland

Hiland Presbyterian Church--Ken's Memories

On the Web

The Hiland Presbyterian Congregation of Ross Township 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2022, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Back to the Fifties: The Grandpa Snazzy House

     I was three or four when Grams and Pop Pop moved from Monaca to 168 Lincoln Avenue in Bellevue, a borough in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh. There are not too many memories from that time frame. Following my fifth birthday in 1952, when we moved back to our Washington Drive house near Perrysville from Camp Carson, Colorado and Dad was serving in Korea, my memories do creep back.

     Spending time with my paternal grandparents was always a joy.  Whether it was simply an afternoon and evening for dinner or a weekend overnight, the time was always a welcoming, fun filled experience.

      Grams and Pop Pop's area in the apartment was huge.  I never realized that the house was an apartment.  Perhaps that is just the memory of a young elementary school kid.  I would love to wander through the space today.  

     Walking through the front door was a vestibule.  I remember there was a somewhat large oval framed picture on the wall.  Pop Pop once told me that the man in the picture was Grandpa Snazzy.   I now wonder if that strange looking man was actually a relation.  That picture seemed to loom over the vestibule watching the comings and goings of the family, hence, I always referred to 168 Lincoln Avenue as "the Grandpa Snazzy" house. 

The Hughes brothers as coal dealers in West Hartlepool, England.
I believe this photo was taken after John George Hughes had
immigrated to the states.  The two unidentified me are probably
Samuel Hughes and Thomas or William Hughes

     There was a door leading down to the basement where the coal was delivered and Pop Pop would shovel coal into the furnace.  Often I would accompany him into that dark, spooky area and help with the coal.  Little did I know then that Pop Pop would have been very familiar with coal and stoking a furnace.  His father, John George Hughes, along with his brothers, were coal dealers back in Hartlepool, England.    

Talk about craftsmanship. 
 Just look at that wood!

     There was a long winding dark wooden staircase leading up to the second floor where a bathroom, bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen and large pantry were located.  In fact, there was also a dark wooden winding staircase leading up to the third floor, too.  You can imagine the fun Ken and I had running up and down all those stairs. 😁

     Once up the stairs there was a room to the right.  Great Grandma Hughes stayed there.  It always seemed dark and somewhat foreboding to me.  Beside that room to the right, at the hall, was the living room, next the dining room and then the kitchen.  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with Grams.  There was a pantry attached, which provided me with many playful hours.  In those days, the women always hung out in the kitchen.  

J. Chein Tin Litho Wind-up Roller Coaster

     I do not remember many toys to play with at Grams and Pop Pop's; however, I do remember this one.  Ken and I would wind it up and send the little roller coasters down the ramps.

     There must have been a bathroom, or a powder room on that floor.  To the left of Great Grandma Hughes' room was another flight of winding wooden stairs leading to the bedrooms.

     There were three bedrooms, Aunt Faith's, where I would sleep.  She must have been at Wooster College then.  Uncle John's room, always empty.  He was either at the University of Michigan or playing in a band and traveling.  His room had a single metal bed with a blue and white stripped mattress.  Isn't it amazing what memories are stored in one's mind. 😉

     Then there was Grams and Pop Pop's room.  I spent time in there with Grams.  She would let me sort through her jewelry and try it on.  She even gave me a ring with a huge green stone, telling me it was an emerald.  Grams would brush and style my hair and let me use her Jergens hand lotion.  To this day, I love the aroma of it.

Thanksgiving

     Family Thanksgiving was always celebrated at Grams and Pop Pop's.  Sometimes the family visited on a weekend afternoon or it was just me spending the weekend or a few days in the summer by myself.  

   

     The streetcar line ran directly in front of their house taking passengers into Bellevue, Avalon,  Ben Avon and probably further down the Ohio River and through the North Side and into the City of Pittsburgh.  Very convenient for Grams who never drove a car and Pop Pop who could take public transportation to work.  Grams and I took the streetcar into Bellevue to grocery shop and occasionally into Pittsburgh.

     Grams and Pop Pop moved from the Grandpa Snazzy apartment circa 1956-1957.  They stayed in the borough of Bellevue and I continued to visit.  Treasured times spent with them, and in particular Grams, nurtured a close relationship which carried on until their deaths.   

     BTW.  I do not remember that Grandpa Snazzy moved to the new apartment with Grams and Pop Pop. 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2022, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Back to the Fifties: Waffles

  

     This past Christmas, 2021, my waffle iron bit the proverbial dust.  About once a month I make a batch of waffles and pancakes, freeze them and have them for breakfast for a couple of months.  The Linda Eggo Waffle...😂 

    

 Last week, while in Walmart, I saw the exact waffle maker I wanted.  Today was its maiden voyage.

     My inner maternal great grandmother, Jessie Pool VanGilder, kicked in and I decided to make the waffles from scratch.  No premade mix this time.  As the waffles were baking away and as each one, done and stacking up on a plate for later freezing, my mind traveled to a memory from my early years.

     In the early 1950's, there were special times that I would spend a weekend at my paternal grandparents, George Henry Hughes aka "Pop Pop" and Sarah (Sara) VanGilder Hughes aka "Grams".  

     From 1950-1956 they lived in a duplex apartment at 168 Lincoln Avenue in Bellevue, a town outside Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. As an elementary aged kid, I called this place the Grandpa Snazzy House.  More about that in another blog.  I have so many cherished memories of this home.  The waffle story is one of them.

     When I stayed at 168 Lincoln, I slept in Aunt Faith's bedroom.  She was attending school at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.  My mother's alma mater. Later in life, Aunt Faith told me that her bedroom set formerly belonged to her maternal grandmother, Jessie Pool VanGilder.  Holy Toledo!  I slept in Great Grandma VanGilder's bed.

     One Saturday morning I awoke and hurried downstairs following the aroma of breakfast that was filling the apartment.  When I entered the kitchen, Grams was busy at the stove and Pop Pop was at the kitchen table reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee nearby.  

     I need to add here that my Grams was a wonderful cook.  Nothing fancy....just delicious.plain.home cooked food.  It was mostly made from scratch.  She was well schooled in food preparation.  Her mother ran boarding houses and then was the cook on several different steamboats.     

My brother at the home breakfast table 
Talk about a choice of cereal.😉

     To my delight, the breakfast menu that morning consisted of waffles, bacon and orange juice.  I want to interject here that my Mom was not a morning person or a cook.  I don't think I had ever seen or eaten French toast until I spent an overnight with my elementary school best friend and neighbor, Ruthie Arthur, circa 1956.  Breakfast at home in the 1950's was a collection of different cereal boxes to choose from on the kitchen table.  Waffles and bacon was the breakfast of kings or a princess 😂   

     And now the cherished memory.  Grams plated my breakfast and placed it before me on the kitchen table.  As I was about to dig in, Pop Pop stopped me.  He took the little metal log cabin syrup container (Remember them?  The container shaped like a log cabin) and poured a small amount of syrup in each little square in the waffle.  💕

   

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2022, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser