Nickname--Charles Stark

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to give a try for the second year. 

     The prompt for week # 3 is Nickname.

     Last year the ancestor challenge also had a nickname theme and I blogged about mine.  

     I have always been a person who assigned nicknames to folks, both family and friends.  My grandparents--Teek, Grams and Pop Pop; my sons--Big Ar and Bucky Bee or Buck; my pledge in college--Lutterbein became Lima Bean; children I babysat and on and on......

     I have countless blogs about the Civil War soldier in the tin type pictured above.  My maternal great grandfather, Charles Stark, was born in Germany, immigrated to America in 1860, traveled to Pittsburgh and was mustered into service in 1861.  After the end of the war he re-enlisted and went west to the Dakota's probably to fight Native Americans.  This is a capsulized version.  A more detailed blog about Charles Stark is on Flipside as well as several other items about his life.  

     When my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark, died, my Mom found a large box with a collection of "old" stuff in her apartment.  It was a collection of all sorts of items.  Turn of the 20th century jewelry, old metal opera purses, sterling silver initialed teaspoons, Dresden Christmas ornaments and a tin type of a Civil War soldier.  This box of Stark/Frederick memorabilia came into my possession.   

     When I began my genealogical research, I remembered "the box" and was able to locate it in the attic.  Questioning my Mother about her roots was pretty much a blank.  She had no knowledge of her grandparents on either side.  

     The tin type of the Civil War soldier took me by surprise.  He was the first one I found in my family to be in the Civil War in my early discovery years.  

     Who was this fellow?  I knew of my Frederick great grandparents from census reports.  It was not my maternal great grandfather, Alfred Frederick.  My Stark great grandfather?  I didn't even know his name.  After more research, I found my maternal grandfather's death certificate and saw he and his father had the same name, Charles Stark.  

     During these early years I had to send in a form to get a copy of his Civil War pension file.  (so much easier today).  When it arrived it proved to be quite a bonanza.  

From Charles Stark Pension File
Assignment of a male guardian
Jacob Colmer
September 30, 1890

     The tin type was most definitely my maternal great grandfather.  Also part of the file were copies of the five Stark kids birth certificates and a surprise.  Apparently my Great Grandfather was hospitalized in the Allegheny City Home in 1890 at age forty-five as a lunatic.  Now it was apparent why no one ever talked about him or knew of him among my Mother's generation.  

1890 Pittsburgh Daily Post,
Sep 15, 1890,
page 3

1895 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 27 April 1895
  Page 2

     We speculated that perhaps his lunacy was caused by his long military service today known as PTSD.  I held on to this theory until I subscribed to the newspaper website through Ancestry.  Charles Stark obituaries told the tale of a man who was financially well off; however, through some poor financial choices, lost all his money causing his mental downfall.

    And where does this all lead to the topic of this blog--Nickname?  Not made by me.  One day my husband made the flip comment, "That must be where the term stark raving mad came from".  And a nickname was born--Stark Raving. 

Also on Flipside:

Charles and Wilhelmine Stark Part 1

 Numerous individual blogs about Charles Stark are on Flipside

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.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Step--Mom Stepping Out of Her Comfort Zone

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to join.  I am hoping it may help me to pinpoint someone or something that I have researched and not blogged about on Flipside.  AND push me to blog about family each week in 2024.  Sometimes I get lazy. 😁  Let's see how well I keep up.

     Week # 16 (April 15-April 21) is Step. 

     Several decades ago, before she passed, I had my Mom stay overnight for a genealogy sleepover.  I wanted to interview her about her memories of family.  Two items she brought up, that thoroughly shocked me, was that she had always been an introvert and when she was in elementary school she had a speech impairment--she stuttered. 

     My mother was a very outgoing woman and one area in which she excelled was theater.  I knew about her life "on the boards".  She was active in community theater when I was in elementary school.  Following her death I was able to go through many photographs and school yearbooks that were part of her estate.  If her statement regarding her shyness and lack of confidence speaking in front of a group due to her stutter is true, in many areas of her life, my Mom stepped out of her comfort zone.

  

     Early in her elementary school years, it was decided that my Mom should take elocution lessons to improve her speech.  She had an aunt, Emily Stark Miller, who was a well regarded elocution teacher and performer.  Aunt Emily lived nearby in the Borough of Avalon, outside Pittsburgh.  She became my Mom's teacher.  

The Pittsburgh Press,
December 20, 1931,
page 33

     At age 10, my mother, Martha Jean Stark, began presenting oral readings at the local Parent Teacher Association meetings. 

     Mom was active in junior high school and high school.  Her 1939 Yearbook featured some of her interests and accomplishments among them the Editor-in-chief of the school yearbook, acting in two plays, producing a Christmas play, feature writer on the school newspaper and class vice president.  She and Dad, George VanGilder Hughes, were both Commencement speakers.  Frankly, she does not appear to be either an introvert or have any residual speech problems by her senior year in high school.  

Mom modeling college fashions
Kaufmann's Department Store
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mom with her pearls
College of Wooster
Senior Year 1943

     Off to the College of Wooster.  By her junior year, she had pledged, was performing in the school's theater and member of the honorary, was on the debate seminar and a department head of the school newspaper.  In her senior year she was elected to the Big Four Cabinet, Debate and member of the honorary and member of the Student Senate. 

     Following graduation, Mom and Dad married and in 1947 I was born.  After my brother Ken's birth in 1952, Dad spent a year and a half in Korea.  Mom was now in charge.  Two young children, maintenance of the house and finances plus she had to learn how to drive!  

Sight Unseen Program
1957

The Allegheny Journal
Thursday, May, 25, 1957

Royal Family Program
1958

Pittsburgh Post Gazette
May 13, 1959
page 12

     In the mid 1950's into 1962, Mom joined church and local organizations, entertained and became very active in the church's theater group, The Hiland Players.  

Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Thursday, March 24, 1966
page 35

     The move to a new home in a new neighborhood ended Mom's theater days for a decade.  Instead she now turned to leadership in the Boy Scouts, church circles and hospital organizations.  

     Back to the boards in the 1970's for some community theater.  Mom and her son, Jeff, were cast in Kismet and she did makeup for Carousel.

     In the 1980's and until her death in 1999, Mom was active in the Cleveland, Ohio area where she moved.  Church circles and activities, volunteer at the local hospital, College Club West, The Women's Board of a local hospital and Women's Committee of Great Lakes Theater Festival.  

     Introvert?  If she was, she stepped out of her comfort zone for decades.  I am an introvert and strive to push myself out of my comfort zone daily.....just like Mom.     

 

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.

© 2024, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Out Junkin' and a Find

     There was a time that I frequented local antique shops, actively engaged in "the hunt".  I playfully called it "out junkin".  Most times this was a singular activity.  Not too many of my friends enjoyed old memorabilia. However, today I had a friend and it was her idea to visit a local resale shop.   I love finding old memories from my childhood and unusual, unique stuff.  

     I am a collector.  I joked that these collections would be my retirement money, reselling them.  Sadly, the joke is on me.  Current generations with any disposable incomes are traveling light.  Simply put, they don't want the old "junk".

     To be fair, I haven't been in an antique store in ages.  I have enough stuff in my home to set up my own shop.  Some purchased, some given to me from friends and older family members as well as items I kept from closing three family estates.  The most precious and valued are antiques previously owned by my maternal and paternal grandparents.  Which leads me to the subject of this blog.

     My mother was an only child.  Consequently, she inherited everything she wanted to keep when her mother died.  Mom loved glass and kept some beautiful old pieces of functional brilliant glass, pressed glass and crystal pieces.  When Mom died, many of the pieces came to me. 😇

     

       When I saw the glass candlesticks in the resale shop (photo at the beginning of the blog), I knew they looked familiar.  And, indeed they are an exact match to ones in a cabinet in my kitchen.  Candlesticks from my maternal grandmother's (Martha Frederick Stark) and Mother's estates.

     The seller at the resale shop listed them as Duncan Miller.  There were no visible markings on the shop's candlesticks, nor are there any on mine.  The Duncan Miller Glass Company went through several incarnations over it's existence.  Formed in 1865, George Duncan purchased a factory on the South Side area of Pittsburgh.  Along with his sons, the company was known as George Duncan & Sons.  In 1877 George Duncan died and his son, James Duncan became the head.  In 1892 the factory on the South Side burned.  James rebuilt in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1893 and the company was renamed George Duncan's Sons & Company.  In 1900, following James Duncan's death, the company became Duncan and Miller Glass Company.  The company ended the production of glass in 1955.  Wikipedia has a very informative article on the Duncan & Son's Company.

     I was surprised to learn that the molds and equipment were sold to the US Glass Division in Tiffin, Ohio in what was called their Duncan Division.  That would be the old Tiffin Glass Factory where I would visit and purchase glass in the late 1960's while a student at Heidelberg College.  Small world!

     I have many questions and theories regarding the candlesticks.  If they are pieces of pressed glass from the Duncan factory, they probably are Duncan and Miller circa 1900 and after.  My maternal grandparents married in 1914.  They could have been a wedding present or purchased by them.  Another possibility is that the candlesticks were owned by my maternal great grandmother (Lucinda Orr Frederick) and following her death in 1909, they were given to my grandmother.

     I have blogged about other Duncan glass pieces that my maternal great grandmother, Lucinda Frederick, owned.  She had Three Face glassware which following her death was given to her son, Robert Frederick.  The story I was told was that Robert's wife was not a fan of the glassware and gave it all to the Goodwill or whatever charity organization was in operation in Pittsburgh in the early 1900's. 

     Will I ever get the answers to my questions regarding these candlesticks?  Probably not; however, I do know they are over 100 years old and a precious piece of my family history.

P.S.  I was able to junk today and didn't buy a thing. 😀

 

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.

© 2023, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Mont Mettie Munger Vaudevillian

   

     I have touched on my maternal grand uncle's (through marriage) time on stage, singing and dancing in vaudeville shows.   Curiosity and fascination with the subject have driven me down the proverbial rabbit hole looking for additional vaudeville information.   Subscribing to the historical newspaper option through ancestry has given me the material I needed.  

     I have covered Mont's family life with his parents, wife and children.  Also his two composed, copywritten songs and his book, Song of Heaven in other blogs.  This one focuses on his vaudeville year from June 1907 to June 1908.

     To date I have no known knowledge as to whether Mont sang in the school or church choir, played an instrument in the school or town band or entertained his family, friends or schoolmates with singing and dancing.  At age twenty-two he made the decision to go on the vaudeville circuit, first as a solo act and then joining Charles Hasty's Vaudeville Company for several months.  I have culled the information from various newspaper articles and The Billboard.  I had hoped to add a photo of each theater; however, have not been too successful.  The venues have either burned down or have been renamed.  

     I have mentioned this story my mother told me in a previous blog.  Back in the 1930's, the Stark family would gather at Mom's Aunt Dorothy's apartment and Uncle Mont would entertain singing and running is fingers up and down the player piano while a piano roll was playing.  As a kid, she thought this to be hilarious.  Little did she know Mont WAS an entertainer when he was 22 and 23.

     This is probably a slim outline of Mont's vaudeville career.  He undoubtedly performed in many other venues and most weeks during the year.  This is what I was able to find researching in newspapers and on line.

1907

The Elwood Daily Record, Elwood, Indiana

     Mont Mettie Munger, performing high class singing and dancing at the Crystal Theatre, June 20, 21 and 22, 1907.

The Republic, Columbus, Indiana

July 24, 1907

The Orpheum--A New Bill

     The new bill at The Orpheum tonight will contain some good things.  Mont Mettie Munger, a refined singer and dancer, will be one of the big drawing cards.

The Republic, Columbus, Indiana

June 26, 1907

Identified as The Orpheum Theatre in Columbus, Indiana

Opened as a vaudeville theater on September 3, 1906

     Mont Munger, high class vocalist, performing at The Orpheum Theatre, Columbus, Indiana on June 24, 25 and 26, 1907.

The Billboard

Volume XIX, Number 27

July 6, 1907

Identified as the Opera House in Shelbyville, Indiana

Name changed to The Alhambra

     Mont M. Munger appearing at the City Opera House in Shelbyville, Indiana on July 13, 1907.

     This is the last article I found Mont appearing on his own without a company.  He joined Charles Hasty's Vaudeville Company sometime in July or August, 1907.

The Call Leader

Elwood, Indiana

August 15, 1907

     This article outlines Charles Hasty's vision for his vaudeville company and the first performance at the Crystal Theatre began on August 26, 1907.  Mont Mettie Munger was a featured act.

The Call-Leader, Elwood, Indiana

August 27, 1907

     "The company consists of the following well known vaudeville artists......Mont Munger, he phenomenal baritone singer, comedian and dancer....."

"The novelty number of the bill is the great sermon song, Pictures From the Book of Life, introduced by Mont Munger, the famous baritone.  A complete set of scenery and effects is carried especially for this allegorical production.  Nothing like it ever seen in vaudeville or elsewhere, before.  It is positively new and original."

The Call-Leader, Elwood, Indiana

August 27, 1907

The Call-Leader

Elwood, Indiana

August 28, 1907

     "......and Mont Munger sings Hasty's original song creation, Pictures From the Book or Life, with great success."

The Reporter-Times

Martinsville, Indiana

September 6, 1907

 

     Mont Munger in Charlie Hasty's all feature vaudeville company appearing at the Star Theatre in Martinsville, Indiana all week, Friday, September 6-Friday, September 13, 1907.

Elkhart Daily Review

Elkhart, Indiana

September 14, 1907

     Mont M. Munger at the Crystal Vaudeville Theatre the week of September 15-September 10, 1907.  Mont continues to be a member of Charles Hasty's company.  Although the internet only provided this small clip of the newspaper article, "Southern Reminscence's" was one of the mentioned acts in another newspaper article.

     There is almost a month and a half from September 10- November 4, 1907, where I was unable to find any mention of Mont and vaudeville.  Perhaps he took a break from the circuit.  Perhaps he left the Hasty Company and was reestablishing himself as a single act.  The next newspaper mention of him is as an act; however, not with the Hasty Company.

The Chattanooga News

Chattanooga, Tennessee

November 4, 1907

page 3

     Mont M. Munger appearing at Automatic Vaudeville in Chattanooga, Tennessee from Monday, November 4-Thursday November 7, 1907, two shows daily.  Mont Munger a cleaver singing and dancing comedian who is real funny.

Pensacola News Journal

Pensacola, Florida

December 15, 1907

     Mont M. Munger, singing and dancing comedian, appearing at the Crescent Theater in Pensacola, Florida, December 15, 1907.

     This is the last article I was able to locate for 1907.  The newspaper subscription from ancestry does not cover all papers in the US; however, it does have a large selection and a good search engine.  Mont could have been performing in small towns, their newspapers not in my subscription or he may have been off the circuit and looking for a more permanent full time job.

     There are two additional shows in 1908 in which he has an act,  both in Ohio.   He is slowly moving east from his mother's home in Frankfort, Indiana to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he will spend the remainder of his life.  

1908

     

Dayton Herald

Dayton, Ohio

April 2, 1908

     Mr. Mont Mettie Munger, trinier, singing and dancing artist, appearing April 2, 3 and 4 at the Pastime Theatre in Dayton, Ohio

   

News-Journal

Mansfield, Ohio

June 16, 1908

page 10

     

     Mont M. Munger, refined singing and dancing performed at the Alvin in Mansfield, Ohio June 15, 16 and 17, 1908.

     Mont made his way to Pittsburgh and in October, 1908, he married my maternal grandaunt, Lucy Wilma Stark.  How and where they met is a story that is lost to the ages.  By 1909, Mont was employed in Pittsburgh as a stenographer.  His vaudeville days were behind him.

Additional Blogs on Flipside for Mont Mettie Munger:

 Mont Mettie Munger and Lucy Wilma Stark Munger

Mont Mettie Munger--Writer, Composer, Musician and Vaudevillian

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.

© 2021, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Smile for the Camera, 18th Edition--Travel

The word prompt for the 18th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "Travel." Planes, trains and automobiles. Horses, mules, carts, and wagons. Bikes or on foot. Show us your family and how they traveled. This is going to be a good one, I feel it in my luggage. Admission is free with every photograph! Thank you to footnote MAVEN over at Shades of the Departed for hosting.

     What a “buggy!” There are numerous notes throughout my maternal grandmother’s photo albums and notes that refer to a car as a “buggy” or "the machine." I know next to nothing about cars, so I can’t identify the make and model of this one, however the folks standing in front of it include my mother, her parents, her aunt and her grandmother.


     This was an extensive family motor trip traveling from Avalon, Pennsylvania to Washington D.C. and Mt. Vernon; then into New York during August 1928. My mother was 6 ½ years old. From the photos and captions the itinerary for this trip covered Washington, DC., and Mt. Vernon, and then up the Hudson River through the Adirondack Mountains visiting West Point, Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls and the Ausable Chasm near Plattsburg. Then into the Finger Lake area—Ithaca and Watkins Glen, before returning to Avalon. The West Point portion of the Hudson River adventure was on the Old Storm King Highway.

The StarksCharles Edward, Wilhelmina, Frances, Martha Jean, Martha Marie

Stopping for lunch outside Mt. Vernon
Close-up of the "buggy"
The Starks at West Point, New YorkFrances, Walter, Martha Jean, Martha Marie and Wilhelmina

     The car belonged to my mother’s Uncle Walter. Mom's father my maternal grandfather, Charles Edward Stark, never owned a car.

Travelers on this family holiday were:

My mother: Martha Jean Stark
Her father, my grandfather: Charles Edward Stark
Her mother, my grandmother: Martha Marie Frederick Stark
Her uncle, my granduncle: Alfred Walter Stark
Her aunt, my grandaunt: Frances Stark
Her grand mother, my great grandmother: Wilhelmina Catherine Schwarz Stark and a second blog