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Walter Edgar Minerd |
Walter
Edgar Minerd was born on April 19, 1873 in
Bullskin Twp., Fayette County, PA, the son of Calvin
and Mary (Means) Minerd Sr. He is seen here with his second wife, Kathryn.
As a young adult, Walter resided in Scottdale, Westmoreland County, PA. In November 1896, said the Connellsville Courier, he came home and "enjoyed his Thanksgiving dinner with his parents."
On Aug. 14, 1898, Walter married Esther Gertrude Conliff (1870- ? ), a native of England. They were wed at the home of Mr. and Mrs. B.F. Crall in Uniontown, PA. They had six children -- twins Mary Ellen Hough and Margaret Reiland Berkey, Walter "Albert" Minerd, Dorothy Williams Josephine Cramer and Wilbert Minerd.
Walter was a butcher who worked in meat
shops in Connellsville and Uniontown, PA. In
1927, he was one of the few family members to have a telephone number listed in
the phone directory -- "340." Seen here, a rare old postcard
photo of Connellsville's Main Street.
Sadly, Esther died in Fairchance in January 1908. She is said to be buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Braddock, near Pittsburgh. Afterward, daughter Josephine was sent to live with her grandparents, Calvin and Mary Minerd, where she was raised to adulthood.
In about 1911, Walter married widow Kathryn Jane Ann (McMullen) Orwig (1884-1972). She was the daughter of John Benjamin and Henrietta (Prinzler) McMullen and had been married once before, to George Orwig. Kathryn brought a son, Charles K. Orwig, to the marriage. Walter and Kathryn then went on to have two children of their own -- Dorothy Funk and Helen Fassett. Kathryn thus helped to raise her son, two daughters and five step-children, totaling eight young lives.
Walter registered for the military draft during World War I, and listed his occupation as butcher for F.P. Goodwin of Fairchance, where the Minerds resided. He maintained his membership in the First Baptist Church of Fairchance. In 1930, he agreed to serve as an alumni superintendent for the Fayette County Christian Endeavor convention, held on June 12-13.
When the federal census was taken in 1920, Walter and Katherine made their home in Fairchance. Walter's seven children, and Katherine's son, were in the household, as was Katherine's 75-year-old father, John B. McMullen. Walter's occupation was listed as butcher in a meat shop.
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Early view of unpaved Morgantown Street in Fairchance |
In November 1921, when daughter Josephine
married Russell Cramer, "the bride and groom were guests of honor at a
wedding dinner served at the home of the bride's parents…," said the Uniontown
Morning Herald.
Walter and Kathryn are seen here with granddaughter Pauline in 1946.
They suffered various injuries over the years due to freak accidents. In July 1927, they were "severely cut and bruised when they were thrown from their automobile as they attempted to miss striking a lightness car parked on the main highway near Bethelboro," said the Uniontown Morning Herald. The following year, in winter of 1928, Kathryn was injured in a fall, with the news reported in the Daily Courier. While walking with Mrs. Clarence Gruver to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station to board a train for Uniontown, she tripped on a broken step on North Arch Street. She was taken to the home of Mrs. James Quinn on Arch Street, and when she was stable enough to move again, was brought to her home on 509 Johnson Avenue.
Initially, Walter's business -- the Minerd Meat Market at 306 North Pittsburgh Street in Connellsville -- met with success and public acclaim. The business was featured in a Sept. 26, 1928 "Who's Who" special edition of the Daily Courier, which said it was:
... the people's favorite store for fresh meats and one of the best in Connellsville... this market has built up a wonderful reputation and is entitled to its well earned recognition. At this Meat Market you get the best of meats -- all kinds -- and they are fresh, juicy and tender, and in many instances you pay the lowest prices in town. It makes no difference how you want it -- broiled, baked, fried or stewed -- there's a tang of delicious flavor when you use their quality meats, and their modern equipment and display refrigerator counters keep meats fresh and fine at all times. The owner, W.E. Minerd, is to be congratulated on the success of his business. In this business Mr. Minerd finds both his work and his hobby, having chosen this line when a small boy and beginning in the slaughter house where he worked for 15 years. We recommend this place because the proprietor truly is living up to the reputation of the establishment and believe that "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." He treats all customers with unfailing courtesy and gives them their money's worth. He has cheery "good morning" and "good evening" for you.
In the long run, however, the meat market went out of business. A nephew once said that Walter did well when working for others, but just could not make a go when in business for himself.
Later, in 1929, the Minerds moved to Cuyahoga County, OH, where Walter established a store in Cleveland, assisted by his stepson Charles Orwig. During their years in Cleveland, Kathryn was an active volunteer in Republican Party activities for more than two decades.
The Minerds frequently returned to the
Connellsville and Fairchance areas to see relatives and friends. They are known to have visited over
the years with Walter's married daughter Josephine Cramer (1949), married sister
Gertrude Ullery (1936 and 1937),
and second cousins James
C. Minerd Jr. and Etta McDowell,
and also with the family of Walter's aunt, Minerva
Inks. In August 1920, while still residing at Fairchance, they attended a
family reunion held at the home of Walter's aunt, Mrs. Henry McLaughlin, in West
Newton, Westmoreland County. During many of these visits, they brought stepson
Charles Orwig and his young son Robert Orwig.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Sheering and their
daughter Thelma, who lived in South Connellsville, visited the Minerds in
Cleveland for several weeks in July 1931.
Little is known of Walter's last years. They resided at 10520-F Mt. Carmel Avenue in Cleveland. When Walter celebrated his 80th birthday, on April 19, 1953, just a few months before his death, their photograph was published in the Daily Courier.
Walter passed away in June 1953. His remains were returned to Connellsville for burial at Green Ridge Cemetery. At his death, he was survived by 18 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. His bronze grave marker is seen here.
Kathryn survived her husband by five years. On Sept. 3, 1955, she celebrated her 70th birthday with a party at the home of her married daughter Helen Fassett in Cleveland.
Kathryn died at the age of 72, on June 16, 1958, also in Cleveland. The Uniontown Morning Herald said she "had been ill for several years." They are buried together at Green Ridge Memorial Park in Connellsville. Daughter Helen also rests for eternity in the family plot.
Daughter Mary Ellen Minerd (1899-1977) married
World War I veteran John
W. Hough Sr. ( ? - ? ), the son of Joseph L. Hough of Connellsville. The wedding took place on March 12, 1921. The Houghs had four children -- Esther Turner, John W. Hough
Jr., Harold Joseph Hough and Donald Ray Hough. They were
residents of Snydertown near Connellsville, at 619 Snyder Street, for more than
half a century. John labored locally with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
retiring in 1959 after working there for 43 years. He belonged to the World War
One Veterans Association, Barracks 2773, and Lodge 1049 of the Maintenance of
Way of the B&O Railroad. They were members of the Otterbein
United Methodist Church and its Win One class for more than 50 years. Mary Ellen
enjoyed visiting her relatives and in April 1947 is known to have traveled to
Cleveland with her sister Josephine Cramer to visit their father, who had been
ill but recovered. During the trip, they also made a stop in Titusville to see
daughter Esther Turner and sister Margaret Berkey. In March 1971, the couple
celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, which generated headlines in the Uniontown
Morning Herald-Evening Standard. Mary died
at the age of 78 at Connellsville State General Hospital on Nov. 18, 1977.
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Daughter Esther Hough married William Turner and resided in Titusville, Pa circa 1977.
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Son John W. Hough Jr. lived in Connellsville in 1977.
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Son Harold Joseph Hough resided in Connellsville.
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Son Donald Ray Hough also lived in Connellsville.
Daughter Margaret Minerd (1899- ? ) first married Elmer J. Reiland ( ? - ? ), and lived in McKeesport, near Pittsburgh. They divorced a short time later, and she married sawyer Lloyd L. Berkey ( ? - ? ), the son of Lewis and Mary (Dietrich) Berkey. They lived in Titusville circa 1947-1953. She is buried in the Titusville, PA area.
Daughter Josephine Minerd (1901- ? ) married Russell Cramer ( ? - ? ) in November 1921 at the parsonage of the First Baptist Church at Fairchance. Following the ceremony, led by Rev. G.M. Riley, a wedding dinner was served at her parents' home. The Cramers made their home in Morgan Station near Connellsville.
Seen
here are daughters Josephine (holding the baby) and Margaret.
Son Walter "Albert" Minerd (1903-1975) served with the US Army during World War II, but never married. He lived in Connellsville during the 1950s, making his residence at 225 Water Street. In 1945, after his discharge from the Army, he lived on McCoy Hollow Road. In April that year, he made news when he was injured in an automobile accident while a passenger in a vehicle driven by Mrs. Hazel Schroyer of Scottdale. The Daily Courier said the automobile was struck by another car on the Springfield Pike and that Walter "sustained contusions of the left elbow and laceration and contusions of his left leg and knee." In December 1946, he lived at Moyer near Connellsville, and made news again when he was robbed of $150 in cash while "asleep on a street car as he was going home Wednesday evening and rode beyond his stop to Murphy Siding. What happened during the intervening time is quite a mystery and [police] officers declared they need considerable information to help solve the case," reported the Daily Courier. He passed away at the age of 72 in the Connellsville State General Hospital on Sept. 15, 1975. He was laid to rest in the Normalville Cemetery in Fayette County.
Son
Wilbert Minerd (1904-1989) also served
in World War II. Before the war, Wilbert had moved to New
York City, where he worked for the Electrolux Corporation. Then, when the war
broke out, he enlisted, and was assigned to the Third Army, serving in France
under General George Patton. After the war, Wilbert moved to Cleveland. He died
there on Dec. 1,
1989, at the age of 85. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Cleveland, OH. His funeral
arrangements were handled by Berry's Funeral Home. During the war, as an Army private, Wilbert won a Purple Heart and
made headlines when he stayed on duty for two days to care for an injured comrade
despite being wounded himself. In a letter to his sister Mary Ellen, later
reprinted in the Connellsville Daily Courier, Wilbert wrote:
A few Jerries flew down on us and started firing on us… Well, about 11:30 they came over and dropped flares which hit the field like daylight. Then they started to drop their bombs. Well I thought it was the end. Some of the men that ride with me got under my M-4 … I pulled them out, of course, cause the Jerries wanted to hit it. They got over one hedge fence. I then heard someone on the other side of the field calling 'please help me.' I could hear him saying 'help me' so then I double-timed across the field to get him. As I was putting him over the hedge fence they (the German planes) got (machine -gunned) me. I then stopped for a while. I mean I kissed the ground till they flew over the field. Then I picked this fellow up again and carried him to another hedge fence. I had to have help to put him over that fence after me being hit. Then two other fellows that were on the other side of the fence helped and they took care of him. No one knew I was hit … Then we started again, leaving the ones that we would not see again behind. I drove all that day until about 8 P.M. I was so tired that I fell asleep as I sat down to look at my wound.
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| Top headline, Connellsville Daily Courier, Oct. 4, 1944 |
Daughter
Helen E. Minerd (1911- ? ) -- also known as "Muriel E.," was
"widely known" during her high school years in Fairchance and
Connellsville, a newspaper once said. She married Merle E. Fassett
( ? - ? ) on Jan. 7, 1935 at Ripley, Chautauqua County, NY, following a custom
set by her sister Dorothy a few years earlier. In reporting on the wedding, the Uniontown
Morning Herald said that while the groom was from Cleveland, he "has
visited Uniontown a number of times." At the time, Helen was
"associated with a beauty parlor" in Cleveland, while Merle was
"employed as a printer." They had at least one son, Junior
Fassett. The Fassetts made their first home in Cleveland.
An August 1946 edition of the Connellsville Daily Courier reported that
Helen and Junior spent a visit with Helen's sister, Josephine Cramer, of near
Broad Ford, Fayette County. Later, the Fassetts moved
to Pittsburgh. Nothing more is known.
Daughter Dorothy Minerd (1914- ? ) married James Williams ( ? - ? ) of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH on Oct. 8, 1933. The ceremony took place in Ripley, Chautauqua County, NY. They made their first home in Cleveland, where James was manager of the Zanol Company. Later, she married Lester E. ("James") Funk ( ? - ? ). They resided in Macedonia (1950s) and Warren, Trumbull County, OH. The Funks traveled to Connellsville in the summer of 1953, in company with Dorothy's mother and step-brother Charles Orwig, to visit the Fassetts on East Fairview Avenue. Said the Courier, "The Clevelanders are also spending some time with other relatives and friends in Fayette county during July." The Funks resided in Warren in 1977.
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Park Avenue in Warren, OH, looking south |
Stepson
Charles Orwig (1908- ? ) is seen here posing proudly with his gold-colored
automobile, circa 1972. He was a graduate of the Uniontown High School Class of
1927, and resided in Connellsville in 1927. The following year, he accepted
employment in Toledo, OH with the Kroger Grocery and Baking Company. By 1935, he
was manager of the Fishers Company store in Cleveland. Circa 1977, he made his
home in Florida.
For more information, contact granddaughter Pauline (Cramer) Meloni.
Copyright © 2001-2002, 2008-2009 Mark A. Miner