Ashland Memories (Girard, Bath, Girardville: apartments, attorney, townhouse)

[moose31]

Hi...I'm curious about Ashland.

My mom, Ruth Casey, was from Ashland, and she was a graduate of a Catholic HS, probably around 1933...I believe it might have been St. Joseph's...they were the 'Black Diamonds.' She went on to become a nurse.

Her father was a doctor, Thomas D. Casey (he passed away in the 1930's), and her mom, Mary Perrong Casey (Mamie),and the family lived on Center St. directly across the street from the Roxy theater where my uncle worked as a projectionist. Their house was, I believe, a four story townhouse with several apartments on the upper floors and a storefront on the downhill side of the front door. Their neighbors on the uphill side of the house were the Fenstermackers...I believe they had a furniture store.

The family had the first and part of the second floors. My mom's brother Thomas D. Casey Jr. was killed 12/24/1944 in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, and her older sister, Helen Casey Davis presently is in her 90's and lives in St. Petersburg Florida. Her husband was the projectionist at the Roxy. During the 1940's and for several years into the fifties, Helen and Carl Davis lived on the top floor of my grandmother's house with their daughter, Carlen..they moved to Gorden in the 1950's and then to St. Pete in the early 1960's.

My uncle, Louis Perrong, was a mining engineer who lived with his wife and daughter on Race Street.

I am 65, and I have fond memories of taking trains from Bath, Maine to Ashland during the mid-1940's to visit while my dad was in the Navy and to attend my Uncle Tom's funeral...a very sad time for my grandmother.

My memories include finding out from cousin Carlen one afternoon at the Roxy that there was no Santa Claus. I remember Pepper's Ginger Ale, and I remember the American Legion Hall on the side street where the Whistler's Mother statue stood. My dad took me in there while he had a few beers. I remember an ice cream shop that was on the Roxy side of Center St..a couple doorways up the hill.

My grandmother passed away in 1963, and my mom went to Ashland to settle the estate and bury her. I do know she sold the townhouse to, I believe, an attorney, for a very small sum. Mom just wanted to unload the house.

I can still remember smelling coal burning in her furnace, and some tortoises that lived in the yard next store. Every time we visited, the tortoises were still there. They hibernated during the winter.

If anyone has memories that touch on some of these places and times, I would love to hear them. The last time I visited Ashland was 1958.

Thank you.

[Dirk Bonner]

I remember the Roxy Theater and the Whistler's Mother memorial. I don't remember much else about Ashland.

[bobconan]

I dont have anything to say about ashland but I am curious about the people that moved out of the area in the 40s and 50's . Up to that point we still had very large jpopulations and Im intrested in the differences between the people that stayed and the people that left. Did your family move away for work?
Its very intresting that the whole area currently leads the nation in the amount of people that never even move from the town they were born in and yet half the population moved between 1940 and 1960. I know in my own family alot of those that moved out of state were trained in the service for a specific task and then had the opporunity to move away.

[Dirk Bonner]

Is Ashland becoming a lot less populated? Are there jobs there?

[robnoon2005]

Hi, Dad was born in Ashland, Pa, 1919. His parents, John E, Noon and Mary (Masie) Devitt Noon were wed in 1904, and in the wedding photo is Dr. Thomas D Casey, best man! Sister of the bride was Mary's sister, Sue P Devitt, a schoolteacher in the old Ashland High School, til about 1940. The Noons and Devitts lived at 214/216/218 Centre Street, only a few short blocks down from the Roxy, and the Casey residence, I still have several Noon relatives who live in town.
I would be so happy to send you a copy of the photo for your records. along with what is written on the reverse side. Also pictured is the celebrant, the Rev. Hugh McGettigan, of St. Joes. Dr. Casey name also appears on another document I have in my possession. a death cert for Michael Madden, who's daughter married a Noon cousin of my father. Dr Casey was Mr. Madden's personal physician and signed the death cert in 1912.

Your uncle must have known the music professor, Mickey Carey from Girardville, who played the organ at the Roxy... Mickey's brother the dentist William B. Carey married Ellen Devitt, my grandmother's niece.

Last time I was in Ashland was in 1973. But I do remeber the Roxy, which we frequented every year when we were children visiting over the Labor Day weekend. In fact I hope to et to Ashland next week, fror the Pioneer Day celebration, Sat. Aug 15.

I often wondered if Dr. Casey might be related to my family in some way.
I think we might have Perrongs in the family tree. Lots of family and history to relate if you are interested. Please email me and we shall connect, I am sure. Robnoon2003@yahoo.com I will sent that picture as well, so nice to meet you.

-Robert Noon