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Grandpa Del Gallo
A work in progress
Pitures of places
Grandpa Del Gallo
Mingo Jct to Claremore
Is this a real trip or a figment of my imagination? Sometimes it is hard to decide if I remember things or fabrication of my mind. What is real and what is not? Like, I think I remember my first day in first grade. My teacher was Miss Aderian. I did not want to go to school. I think it was a fear of failing or because I would rather play. Anyway I remember Miss Adrian would set up in little groups and teach us. She really seemed to love her job. Our second grade teacher was Mrs Didee. I will have to check the spelling. She was another very good teacher. I remember her as a younger teacher where Miss Adrein was older. I have some information on both and will find it and add it later.
Growing up on Parr Avenue was great. We had as far as I could tell great neighbors. For the first few years it was just Steve and mself. We were and are good friends. I remember our many trips to BAB(Bare Ass Beach) as we called it. It was our place to swim in Cross Creek behind the slag piles. It was also known as the Poles. There was a line of poles, maybe 20 or 30, used to do what I am not sure. The creek and poles were at the bottom of a 10 or 15 foof cliff. Maybe closer to 10 foot but there goes the memory. We would spend long hours with many of our friends swimming andhaving a good time. One time we had an old wooden boat that had more holes then wood. We resolved the problem by patching the holes with mud. Of course this worked but for just a short time.
Steve and I would walk to BAB walking through the railroad yard. BAB was maybe a mile from home. There was a side track that would have all kinds of train cars parked along our walk. Many times we would climb up on a caboose. They were great for two boys to play in. The roundhouse and rail yard hold a lot of memories. Like the time our neighbor Carlly who was Greek Orthodox bought three little pigs for their Easter. They got loose and were running around the roundhouse parking lot. Have you ever tried to catch a pig. Or the time they had an Army tank parked at the bottom of our hill. It was on a train car. What fun that was.
Paddy's diner that was located at the right of the roundhouse. This has many great memories for me. Paddy's was built using a diner car and later expanded. Paddy had an agreement with the railroad the stay open 24 hours a day to serve the three shifts working in the roundhouse. In the early 50's the roundhouse was working to max and they doubled it in size.
Mingo Bottom
To start off if you are reading this and have any pictures of the Bottom please let me know. I will pay to have them copied of if you can scan then into the computer and e-mail the to me that to is good
As one of the very few that still remember the Bottom I feel like the end of an era. I lived on the Bottom for some time as a baby to four years of age. It was not the whole four years but some of it. I remember my grandmothers wake at their house on State Street. Strange how well I remember it.
I remember Sam Blind Mans store on the corner and how the steps into the store were on the corner.
I remember (HMMM I can not remember the name just now) the beer joint on the other side of the bottom from my grandparents. After the Bottom was torn down the bar was re opened at the corner of State Street and Commerical and was used in the filming of The Deer Hunter. Several of the seens also showed a car driving along the wall just below the rail road tracks. For some reason I just remembered it as Pete Lawlick's. I remember my dad taking me there and ordering two beers, one for him and one for me. I was around five and my beer came in a shot glass. Sure felt like a big guy sitting at the bar and drinking my beer. It was a far better time than it is now.
I remember walking with my dad and mom down State Street and having to wait for a train. They had crossing gaurds. As we were heading into the Bottom at the crossing, over to the right there was an ore dump setup. The ore car was pushed int0 the car dump and it wound turn the car upside down to empty it.
Walking on over the tracks and under a trestle and down State a little ways further was the mill hospital up on the left. I just talked to my Uncle Tony and he helped to fill in some of the blanks. the sidewalks were paved and the roads were dirt. The citywouldcome with oil trucks every once in a while and oil the streets to help keep the dust down. I remember one time before they tore it down I had to take my dad there. This was before I had a driver's license he had been at work that day and someone was welding and he looked at the welding. It made his eyes feel like there was sand in them. He could not drive because of it. My Uncle told me that when he was little they would go to the mill hospital for free. They would have to give them grandpa's bage number. Also at Christmas time they would give out a box of candy, an orange and an apple. He said the lines to get the candy and fruit were long.
My Aunt Mary lived in one of the houses just before the river. I rememberwalking along the what would have been a sidewalk but I don't think it was like what we have now. I can not even remember if the roads were paved. I have an update, the sidewalks were paved and the roads were dirt. OH by the way I just called my mother and she said there were sidewalks but could not remember if the roads were paved or if the sidewalks were cement or brick.
I don't remember all of the Bottom being torn down but I do remember my Aunt Mary's house, I remember helping my dad take it down. At this time I was around 4 or 5(about 1943 or 44.
A couple of notes for me to add later. The outhouse was not like what we know today, just a hole with a seat, it had like a regular tolit. Not the flush knid. There was a water tank on top and when you sat down water would run down and help clean the tolit part. My Uncle told me that it broke one time and never worked again.
My Grandmother and Grandfather lived at 224 State Street. When I was born y Mother and Father rented 2 rooms from then for $10 a month. It was one bedroon and a kitchen. We had access to the basement but my Grandparents had to go outside and use the outside entrance.
As one of the very few that still remember the Bottom I feel like the end of an era. I lived on the Bottom for some time as a baby to four years of age. It was not the whole four years but some of it. I remember my grandmothers wake at their house on State Street. Strange how well I remember it.
I remember Sam Blind Mans store on the corner and how the steps into the store were on the corner.
I remember (HMMM I can not remember the name just now) the beer joint on the other side of the bottom from my grandparents. After the Bottom was torn down the bar was re opened at the corner of State Street and Commerical and was used in the filming of The Deer Hunter. Several of the seens also showed a car driving along the wall just below the rail road tracks. For some reason I just remembered it as Pete Lawlick's. I remember my dad taking me there and ordering two beers, one for him and one for me. I was around five and my beer came in a shot glass. Sure felt like a big guy sitting at the bar and drinking my beer. It was a far better time than it is now.
I remember walking with my dad and mom down State Street and having to wait for a train. They had crossing gaurds. As we were heading into the Bottom at the crossing, over to the right there was an ore dump setup. The ore car was pushed int0 the car dump and it wound turn the car upside down to empty it.
Walking on over the tracks and under a trestle and down State a little ways further was the mill hospital up on the left. I just talked to my Uncle Tony and he helped to fill in some of the blanks. the sidewalks were paved and the roads were dirt. The citywouldcome with oil trucks every once in a while and oil the streets to help keep the dust down. I remember one time before they tore it down I had to take my dad there. This was before I had a driver's license he had been at work that day and someone was welding and he looked at the welding. It made his eyes feel like there was sand in them. He could not drive because of it. My Uncle told me that when he was little they would go to the mill hospital for free. They would have to give them grandpa's bage number. Also at Christmas time they would give out a box of candy, an orange and an apple. He said the lines to get the candy and fruit were long.
My Aunt Mary lived in one of the houses just before the river. I rememberwalking along the what would have been a sidewalk but I don't think it was like what we have now. I can not even remember if the roads were paved. I have an update, the sidewalks were paved and the roads were dirt. OH by the way I just called my mother and she said there were sidewalks but could not remember if the roads were paved or if the sidewalks were cement or brick.
I don't remember all of the Bottom being torn down but I do remember my Aunt Mary's house, I remember helping my dad take it down. At this time I was around 4 or 5(about 1943 or 44.
A couple of notes for me to add later. The outhouse was not like what we know today, just a hole with a seat, it had like a regular tolit. Not the flush knid. There was a water tank on top and when you sat down water would run down and help clean the tolit part. My Uncle told me that it broke one time and never worked again.
My Grandmother and Grandfather lived at 224 State Street. When I was born y Mother and Father rented 2 rooms from then for $10 a month. It was one bedroon and a kitchen. We had access to the basement but my Grandparents had to go outside and use the outside entrance.
Georges Run
After living on the Bottom and the House in the Hole my mom and dad bought a house on Parr Avenue just south of Mingo known as Georges Run. Seems that they spent less than $2000 for the house and had to get my grandmother to co-sign. We did not move in until 1943. They had bought the house before that and rented it out. There was an old garage up behind the house which my dad tore down early on. My dad and I were at the house working on a side door exit from the basement when we learned that my grandmother had passed away.
I do not remember moving in to the house but I do remember being there when my grandmother passed away and the garage.
I do not remember moving in to the house but I do remember being there when my grandmother passed away and the garage.
Magnolia, DE
Where did this come from? Now lets see. Born in Steubenville OH and grew up in Mingo Junction, married and lived in Washington DC for almost 2 years, moved to Maryland and lived in Gaithersburg MD for 37 years. Magnolia DE??? OK let me squeeze it in. Well in 2006 Cathy and I started to think about where we wanted to retire to. We did something we dont normally do. Researched. And than with all of the research very little of it helped with Delaware except that it was one of the top 5 or 6 places.
One day just for something to do we drove to Delaware. It only takes about two hours and is a very nice drive.
A little more info about Delaware is that our good friends Sam and Dee had moved there about six plus months before our trip. On this trip we did not have them in mind or even remember what city they had moved to. Of course on our way we did talk about them. After entering Delaware we came to an Aumish looking place and decided we would stop. It was not Aumish but a combination small supper markert and gift shop and an ice cream place. We had an ice cream and headed out.
About one and a half miles we saw a housing development and thought we would look to see what if any houses were for sell. It was not a very big development and there were just a few houses for sell and all of them were two story. We did not want a two story house. As we made a couple of turns and I saw a van that looked like Sam's. I said to Cathy that it just could not be. In all of Delaware and a just by chance turn it could not be their van. Cathy dug into her address book but did not have their new address. I said that I just had to go nock on the door. Well it was their house. Now what are the odds. We had a very nice visit.
We had contacted a real estate lady and she had scheduled a few placeses for us to see. Another trip to Delaware, this time to look at somr houses.
One day just for something to do we drove to Delaware. It only takes about two hours and is a very nice drive.
A little more info about Delaware is that our good friends Sam and Dee had moved there about six plus months before our trip. On this trip we did not have them in mind or even remember what city they had moved to. Of course on our way we did talk about them. After entering Delaware we came to an Aumish looking place and decided we would stop. It was not Aumish but a combination small supper markert and gift shop and an ice cream place. We had an ice cream and headed out.
About one and a half miles we saw a housing development and thought we would look to see what if any houses were for sell. It was not a very big development and there were just a few houses for sell and all of them were two story. We did not want a two story house. As we made a couple of turns and I saw a van that looked like Sam's. I said to Cathy that it just could not be. In all of Delaware and a just by chance turn it could not be their van. Cathy dug into her address book but did not have their new address. I said that I just had to go nock on the door. Well it was their house. Now what are the odds. We had a very nice visit.
We had contacted a real estate lady and she had scheduled a few placeses for us to see. Another trip to Delaware, this time to look at somr houses.
Mingo Junction to Claremore
This is my first BLOG and being new to bloging and writing anything more than e-mails I hope this is worth your reading. I wish I had done better in school so that my writing skills were much better. I do send out longer than normal e-mails and have been advised that I should write short stories or children books. HMMMM now that I am retired is this a new calling or am I to old to call anything.? Let see where this goes or flops.
