Spring Hill * Cityview Times Community Newsletter
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SPRING HILL * CITYVIEW TIMES COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER September - October 2005 Vol. 5 No. 43 “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower “ Albert Camus COMING EVENTS FOR Spring Hill Civic League FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT... 2005 Mission Statement “To everything there is a season, a time for everything under heaven” General Meetings are With the continuing goal of Ecc 3:1 scheduled at the Spring hill community strength & Many fine neighbors have Elementary School auditorium enrichment, and encouraging served the Spring Hill/Cityview at 7 PM on the following dates: the participation of all community throughout the years Monday, September 12 community residents & business that the Spring Hill Civic League Monday, October 3 leaders, the Spring Hill Civic has been in existence. One of Monday, November 7 (Election League accepts as its defining those, Jean Vogel, chose to serve mtg.) mission the responsibility to as our newsletter editor over the serve its neighborhood by past several years. The Fall Flowergarden Clean assisting in the achievement of Jean and her husband Ed up is scheduled for Saturday, its many common goals raised their family on Itin St., October 1 from 9 - 12 noon at remaining there after their children the Homer St. firehouse. Board of Directors were grown and after they had Lunch will be provided. President: Diane Schmitt retired from their jobs at Heinz. The Halloween Parade is Vice President: Joe Seskey Ed joined the Civic League Board scheduled for Saturday, Secretary: Vacant of Directors in 1996 and Jean October 15. Please see last Treasurer: Mary Herman became the blockworker for Itin page for details Directors St. Shortly thereafter, Ed and . Donna Allison Stephen Brady Jean volunteered to publish our Dianne Burns Megan Soltesz community newsletter. The Christmas Tree Lighting Under their able is scheduled for Sunday, Newsletter Articles supervision, the newsletter December 4th. The Santa Truck will drive throughout the Please submit articles for the evolved from a 2-page typewritten flier published 4 times a year (if community between 5:30 & November/December edition by 7PM, ending at the Rockledge October 15th to: we were lucky), to a bi-monthly, professional publication with St. lot where the ceremony will Diane Schmitt nearly 100 paid subscriptions take place. Refreshments & 1214 Yetta Ave. throughout the United States. visits with Santa will follow. Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Even after Ed’s death in 2003, 412-231-7948 Jean continued to edit the [email protected] newsletter faithfully, both to honor her husband’s memory and to You can access the newsletter online by going to www.shcl.org serve her community. Jean quietly slipped away on Mail Delivery Sunday, July 24th, passing into At this time, we are not accepting eternity as she lived. subscriptions. Please watch future Continued on page 2 editions for updates. ... A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALLEGHENY GENERAL HOSPITAL FOR PRINTING OUR NEWSLETTER ... Sept - Oct 2005 Page 2 ...DESK OF THE PRESIDENT (con’t) She was one of the “good guys”; LIFE IN THE 1500S (where odd sayings come from) people who become involved to The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the make a difference in the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used community, and she will be to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s: sorely missed. Most people got married in June because they took their yearly Today’s Spring bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were Hill/Cityview Times is a living starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body testament to the love of a one odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting neighbor who volunteered her married. time and talent to provide a Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the service to her neighbors, even house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons with failing health and broken and men, then the women, and finally the children, last of all the babies. heart. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Thank you, Jean, on Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water". behalf of all of the neighbors of Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw-piled high, with no wood Spring Hill/Cityview. May you be underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm so all the cats always be counted among those and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it who care for other people, even became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off the roof. those you did not know... Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs". In Service to God & the There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. Community- This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big Diane Schmitt, posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's President how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than WILL You Serve? dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor". The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) The Spring Hill Civic League will on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added be holding board elections on more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping the evening of November 7th. outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence, the There are offices and general term "thresh hold (threshold)". seats that need to be filled. (Getting quite an education, aren't you?) If you are interested in serving In those old days, people cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle your neighbors and have skills that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added that you are willing to use, things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much please contact Diane Schmitt at meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to 412/231-7948 or get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew [email protected]. Offices had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, to be elected that evening are "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine President, Vice President, days old". Treasurer, Secretary, and 2 Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite General Director seats. special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat". Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. continued on page 4 Sept - Oct 2005 Page 3 WELCOME NEW HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! HAPPY 25thANNIVERSARY ! NEIGHBORS ! To Ann Schad and Dorothy Dauer who celebrate September Bill & Terry Gerst Welcome to the following new birthdays! celebrated their 25th neighbors: Nick Yetsko of wedding anniversary Admiral St.… James and on the 4th of July, Brenda Sue Thornton of Damas beginning with a mass at St. St.… Michelle Harrison of Boniface Church on the 3rd of Haslage Ave.… David and July, then flying to Las Vegas to Shannon Smith of Noster St.… remarry at the Elvis Chapel on Benjamin Kaiser and Amy To Lillian McFadden, Wilma the 4th of July. Blessings to you Bender of Rhine St.…Michael Lersch, Cookie Beatty, Anne both! Schrecengost of Romanhoff Hollberg, Jim Clokey, and to St.…Dennis Bourbeau and Alex & Charlotte Soltesz who Catherine MacLeod of Shreve are all October babies! St.… Nancy Eder of Yetta Ave. OUR DEEPEST If you would like to welcome a SYMPATHY… neighbor on your street, submit the announcement to Diane To the Snyder & Harris families Family, neighbors, and Schmitt using the contact friends gathered with Gertrude on the passing of Lou "Buddy" th information found on the front Karolyi at Merz Hall on June 12 Snyder in July…To the friends th page of the newsletter. tand family of Virginia “Jean” to celebrate her 90 birthday. Vogel, our newsletter editor, in Gert, who was born on June 3, New neighbors, if you would late July…to the family and 1915, is a life-long Spring Hill like to be informed of meetings friends of Ann Pattonrick of resident. Joining in the and other community Damas St. who recently celebration was her brother, Bill information via e-mail, please passed…To Ann Schad and Deutsch of West Deer and contact Diane Schmitt, family on the passing of her sister, Evelyn (Deutsch) President at sister, Mary Kutschbach of Bellevue. [email protected]. We (Sister Miriam Joseph) Nephew, Tony Duetsch of look forward to hearing from Dolmovich, a former Spring Hill Virginia and niece, Virginia you! neighbor, in late July. Sister Burkett of Homer City, PA Miriam was part of the Sisters of organized the gathering. Gert is Divine Providence and spent one of 6 children of Frank and Anna Deutsch who moved to GET WELL WISHES her life teaching, then administering business and Spring Hill in 1921.