Bio-Minerd, AlbertWard

Albert "Ward" Minerd
(1895-1972)

Albert "Ward" Minerd was born on Sept. 2, 1895 near Mill Run, Fayette County, PA, the son of Lawson and Lutitia (Steyer) Minerd. His family has been very active and visible in the public eye for many years, both locally and nationally.

Ward grew up on his parents' farm in Maple Summit, a mountainous area about three miles from Mill Run, near where his great-great grandparents had settled as pioneers in 1791, and to where his grandparents had returned in 1867.

On Jan. 15, 1917, in Uniontown, Fayette County, Ward married Ada Whipkey (1895-1971). She was the daughter of Albert S. Whipkey of Mill Run. They had five children – Ferne Lucille Work, Delbert Minerd, Ruth Cunningham, Dalton 'Dale' Minerd and Byron 'Kenneth' Minerd.

Seen here is a three-generation photograph taken on the Maple Summit farm in March 1917, when the trees were bare and the shadows strong. Ward proudly holds their firstborn baby Ferne, posing with Ada (right) and mother Lutitia (at left, in profile). The picture was taken as part of a series of photographic views of the farm made by Ward's brother Freed.

That same year, in October, Ada wrote a short postcard to her mother in law, who apparently was residing in the nearby town of Mill Run, down in the valley:

Ward has the coal out. You can get it any time. If you bring some of our buckwheat please bring our mail.... Come down when you can.

Ward was a custodian at the Mill Run School. He also is said to have helped install electrical wiring during construction of Fallingwater.

Circa 1940, Ward served as assistant secretary of the Hampton Church of God in Mill Run, a congregation his father had helped to found. Later, the Minerds were members of the Mill Run Evangelical United Brethren Church, where Ada served as Sunday School teacher for many years.

Circa 1945-1946, Ward was a foreman with Region Electric and Machine Co. in Mill Run.

When Ward’s parents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1940, Ada and several cousins served a plate lunch for 61 guests.

During World War II, Ada made a financial donation to assist their daughter Ferne in her volunteer work as an editor of The Messenger (seen at left). The newspaper was church-oriented, "published in the interest of Christ and the Communities of Mill Run, Ohiopyle and Hickman Chapel." It was sent to local servicemen and women deployed around the globe, and designed to maintain their morale as well as that of of local residents. Its mission was to keep readers informed of the whereabouts and activities of their fighting husbands, brothers, sons and friends overseas. Copies of nine issues of this fascinating newspaper are in the Minerd-Miner-Minor Archives (October 1944, November 1944, January 1945, June 1945, October 1945, December 1945, January 1946, February 1946 and March 1946).

In January 1967, Ward and Ada marked their 50th wedding anniversary. They celebrated with an afternoon dinner in the dining room of their church. Said an article in the Connellsville Daily Courier newspaper, "The buffet-style dinner was served [to] approximately fifty relatives and guests, including a number of out-of-town persons… The celebrants were recipients of many gifts and flowers."

Ward outlived her by on a few months, and passed away on July 2, 1972, at age 77. They are buried together at the Indian Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Mill Run.

Ward and all five of their children are mentioned in the 1970 book, A History of Mill Run, a landmark history of their community.

Daughter Ferne Minerd (1917-1997) married Graydon Work (1917-2001 ), the son of Grover Cleveland and Mabel Marie (Friend) Work. They were the longtime owners of the "Working Acres Farms" in Mill Run, a "'Dairy of Distinction" with a prominent sign in Mill Run. Said the Uniontown Herald-Standard, Graydon "was a former Committeeman of the Fayette County ASCA office, former board member of the Fayette County F.H.A., and a member of Mill Run Grange 1109..." He was also "a charter member of the Springfield Township Volunteer Hose Company." Ferne served as a post office employee, as clerk of the Indian Creek Baptist Church and taught Sunday School there for 40 years. In mid-August 1956, when Connellsville, Fayette County celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary, Graydon served on the Agricultural Day Committee along with distant cousins Lawrence Leonard and Emmett Newell. Graydon was named in the official program booklet, today preserved in the Minerd- Minard- Miner- Minor Archives. A number of other cousins were active volunteers with the celebration, including former Connellsville Mayors Dr. H. Daniel Minerd and Ira David Younkin who were members of the Executive Committee. Ferne and Graydon and their children are listed in the 1975 book, Brooks Family History. Ferne passed away at the age of 80 on May 6, 1997. Graydon outlived her by four years. He died on Dec. 4, 2001. They rest for eternity at the Indian Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

The Works' grandson John Warrick is a science teacher at Connellsville Junior High East.

Above: Ferne and Graydon Work, 1988. Below: Working Acres Dairy Farm along Route 381 near Mill Run

Daughter Roberta "Ruth" Minerd (1924-2009) married Jack Rush Cunningham (1923-2009), the son of Mathew Ross and Helen Irene (Rush) Cunningham of Ohiopyle. They had four children -- Larry Cunningham, John "Jack" Cunningham, Joy Miller and Deborah Inks. During World War II, Jack served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, was shot down over Germany and held as a prisoner of war in the Stalag B prison camp. Following marriage, the Cunninghams resided for a period of years in Beaver County, PA. They later divorced, with Ruth residing in Mill Run and Jack in McDonald, Washington County, PA. Ruth was "a very active member of the Mill Run United Methodist Church," said the Connellsville Daily Courier, "and a former member of the Mill Run Senior Citizens Club." Ruth passed away on Aug. 8, 2009, at the age of 85. Jack died at the age of 86 on Nov. 13, 2009. At the time of their deaths, they had produced 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Tragedy struck this family twice with the accidental deaths of son in law Roger Wesley Miller (1993) and Daniel A. "Poke" Inks (2009).

Daughter Joy Cunningham married Roger Wesley Miller, who briefly pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers in the Major Leagues in September 1974. He stood six feet, three inches tall, with brown eyes and brown hair. Baseball Digest once called him "stocky, a good pitching prospect in his third year of organized ball. In one game last June, he did something nobody else had done all season -- allowed no homers" in Sacramento's Hughes Stadium, where the left-field fence was only 232 ft away from home plate. Roger was a pitcher at the minor league level for the Newark Co-Pilots of the New York Pennsylvania League (1972); Danville Warriors of the Midwest League (1973); and Sacramento Solons (1974-1975) and Spokane Indians (1977) of the Pacific Coast League. In an entry featuring Roger in the Brewers' 1975 media guide, it says he was an "All-Pacific Coast League performer in 1974 ... tied teammate Tom Hausman for league lead in most complete games with 11 for Sacramento ... 4.48 earned run average was low on Sacramento club ... struckout 101 batters in 185 innings pitched in '74 ... was 8-4 with 3.32 ERA at Danville in 1973..." He wore uniform no. 27 with the Brewers. In only his first big league game, at Boston's Fenway Park on Sept. 8, 1974, he surrendered a two-run home run to Dwight Evans, with Bernie Carbo on base. In his second and final game, he again pitched against the Red Sox, in Milwaukee County Stadium. In all, he appeared in two Major League games, he pitched 2.1 innings, struck out two, hit one batter, gave up three runs on three hits, and compiled an 11.57 ERA. Following retirement from baseball, Roger returned to Mill Run, and pursued a career as a welder. Tragically, he was killed in an industrial accident in Connellsville on April 26, 1993. Today Joy is employed at Fallingwater -- the world famous house designed over a waterfall by Frank Lloyd Wright -- and was the guest speaker at our 2004 National Minerd-Miner-Minor Reunion.

Daughter Debra G. Cunningham (1959-2012) was born on Jan. 8, 1959 in Rochester, Beaver County, PA. She married Daniel "Poke" Inks ( ? -2009) and they had two children -- Danielle Inks and Dustin Inks. Danielle was employed with Image Time in Perryopolis, Fayette County. For seven years, she worked in visitor services at Fallingwater, and also performed music in her church. Daniel died in Uniontown on Sept. 13, 2009. Debra survived him only by a little more than two years. She passed away at the age of 53 on Jan. 27, 2012.

Son Dalton D. Minerd Sr. was married twice. His first wife was Delores Seamen (1928-1994). They had two sons -- Dalton D. Minerd Jr. and Dean Minerd. Dalton Sr. was employed in the funeral industry for many years, working in Pittsburgh's North Hills. Sadly, Dolores died at age 66 on July 31, 1994, at Passavant Hospital in McCandless Township. Dalton later married again, to Marcia Hyde ( ? -2004). They resided near Wexford, PA and were members of Memorial Park United Presbyterian Church. Marcia passed away on May 10, 2004.

Son Dalton D. Minerd Jr. and his wife ran a small business, "Miniatures by Minerd," which operated a booth at Northway Mall along Pittsburgh's busy McKnight Road during holiday seasons. The founder of this website spoke with them at the mall while Christmas shopping in about 1984.

Grandson Dean Minerd is an actor, director, producer, author and entrepreneur based in Hollywood. Early in his career, he appeared in such films as Demolition Man (with Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock) and The Arrival. He once was a contestant on Dick Clark's hit TV show, $25,000 Pyramid, and helped publicize the smash TV show, X-Files, when it made its cable premier on the FX Network. Currently, Dean is a partner in a TV production company, Evolution Film & Tape, where he is executive producer for shows the company creates and produces. His clients have included ABC, Comedy Central, FX, Lifetime, HBO, Paramount Television and TLC (The Learning Channel) in addition to Norman Lear's Declaration of Independence Road Trip, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and the Academy of Television Arts and Science. He has created, developed and managed the productions of Clean Sweep for TLC, The Mansion and House Rules for TBS, King of the Jungle II for Animal Planet and Boy Meets Boy for Bravo, among others. In late 2007, he was named executive producer for "Battle of the Bods" on the Fox Reality Channel. His work puts him in regular contact with such superstars as Matt Damon, Cher, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon and John Travolta. Dean and co-author Christine Ecklund published a book in 2004, entitled Fixed Mix Seeks Same - The First Book of Dog Personal Ads.

Son Byron Kendall "Ken" Minerd married Carol Mitchell. They resided in Chalk Hill, Fayette County, and had two sons -- Kenneth Tilghman "Tim" Minerd and Byron "Scott" Minerd. Ken was a longtime railroader.

Seen at left, grandson Kenneth Tilghman Minerd (1955-2011) served on the Regional Trail Corporation (reappointed in 2005) and the Zoning Hearing Board of the City of Uniontown, PA (2001), and was involved with the Penn State Alumni Association. Professionally, he was a senior commercial lines analyst with the Barnett Inc. insurance agency in Pittsburgh. Ken and his son at one time ran a golf-equipment website, MinerdGolf.com, an information resource about golf tournaments, products, services and member benefits. In 2003, Ken graciously chaired our "Jacob Minerd Weekend Proclamation Committee." Ken and his first wife, Laura Lee (Juriga) Minerd, had one son, Matthew Minerd. Laura was a longtime reporter for the Connellsville Daily Courier. Later, Ken married Yvonne "Cherrie" (Hettenschuller) Chambers, and became a father figure for her four daughters -- Nikki, Amber, Kim and Beth. In 2010, Ken and Cherrie moved from Uniontown to a new home in Somerset, Somerset County, PA. Tragically, he died at home on Feb. 20, 2011, at the age of 55. He was laid to rest in the Green Ridge Memorial Park near Connellsville.

Grandson B. Scott Minerd is CEO and chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners Asset Management. In April 2006, he was a guest speaker at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on "Expanding Opportunities in the Global Marketplace." Previously, he was chairman of Hedgefund.net. He also has been a managing director for Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, where he oversaw fixed-income credit trading in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and has made contributions to the development of derivative securities in the global capital markets.

Son Delbert Minerd married Minnie "Gail" King. They had one daughter, Mary Ellen Hoover.

He served in action with the 305th Infantry of the 77th Division of the Army during World War II. Stationed in the Philippines, Delbert was an admirer of famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle, whose stories about common soldiers on the front lines were seen in newspapers coast to coast -- before Pyle was felled by a Japanese bullet in 1945. As reported in The Messenger, "the 77th Division ... was with Ernie Pyle when he fell. Delbert said they lost a great friend when Pyle was killed, [and] that he had done many things for them." In a letter to his grandmother Minerd, Delbert also penned these words:

I know you have been praying for all of us who [are] over here doing our little bit to win this war. I don't want you to quit for one minute because it looks like it is about over, but just keep right on. I'm sure that is the reason we are making such progress.

His wife Gail and daughter Mary Ellen and grandchildren have been exceptionally kind to the founder of this website for many years dating to initial meetings in the early 1990s.

Daughter Mary Ellen Hoover is a librarian at Rockwood (PA) High School and has coached junior high athletics for many years. Her husband Harry was a member of the Rockwood school board in the mid-1980s.

Other grandchildren have been very active in the nursing, coaching, community and church activities in Western Pennsylvania.