Bio-Overholt, ClaudeC

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Claude C. Overholt
(1890-1958)

Claude C. Overholt was born in May 1890 in Greensburg, Westmoreland County, PA, the son of James W. and Almira (Minerd) Overholt.

Circa 1915, Claude resided in Nyack, Rockland County, NY, while enrolled at Nyack on the Hudson Alliance Missionary College. There, he met and courted his future bride, Avis J. Halsey (1891-1974). She was a native of Mexico, Oswego County, NY. At the time, they were among the many students who were being prepared for the mission field in China.

Throughout this time, he remained a member of the First Church of the United Brethren in Christ in Youngwood, Westmoreland County.

A rare old postcard of the church, which Claude's parents and brothers also attended, is seen at right. Claude's brothers were leaders in the church's Sunday School program.

After Claude and Avis married, they resided in Pearl River, Rockland County, NY, where their first child, Sylvia R. (Overholt) Fridley, was born in 1915. Later, they returned to the Youngwood area, where Claude and a partner were owners of an Oldsmobile dealership. They had four children in all, adding Claude Overholt Jr. in 1921, Kathleen (Overholt) Hungerford in 1925 and Orra Jean (Overholt) Ames in 1927.

Circa 1927, Claude resided at 11 South Third Street in Youngwood, where his telephone number was "306-R." In 1929, he was working as an insurance agent.

Claude moved his family to Kane, McKean County, PA from 1927 to 1943. During that time, he worked for Holgate Toys in Kane and later became a traveling salesman for an innovative check writing company.

In 1943, with son Claude (nicknamed "Junior") serving as a cargo pilot in the Army Air Corps, Sylvia already married, and Kathleen away attending Wheaton College in Illinois, Claude moved with Avis and Orra Jean to St. Louis, MO. There, Claude pursued the manufacture of his building toy blocks marketed as "Monkey Blocks" which he gifted to all of his grandchildren. Other children and grandchildren of his relatives in his hometown area, near Pittsburgh, PA, also remember fondly playing with the Monkey Blocks. He sold them to progressive schools, primarily throughout the Eastern United States, as creative educational tools for early childhood development.

When Claude and Avis divorced in 1944, Avis moved to Syracuse, Onondaga County, NY, where she founded a very successful nursing home. Claude remained in St. Louis, where he later married again for a short time. He continued the manufacture and marketing of his Monkey Blocks throughout the remainder of his life. While on such a marketing trip to Washington, DC in 1958, Claude was struck with an aneurysm and died in an area hospital. Avis and their eldest daughter Sylvia were en route to be at his side when he passed away.

He was laid to rest at Hillview Cemetery near his parents and siblings in Greensburg.

Avis died in 1974 of a stroke, leaving behind four adult children, 12 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

~ Grandson John Fridley ~

Grandson John Fridley (1939-1997) was a high school and college basketball star, standing six feet, six and a half inches tall. Born in Kane, he was the center on Sharon (PA) High School's 1957 state championship team, and went on to play first string center for the University of Pittsburgh from 1957 to 1961. In one notable game for Pitt in 1960, he scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an upset of Purdue. In three seasons, he scored 850 points and averaged double figures in both scoring and rebounds. Today, he is pictured on the official Pitt basketball website.

John and teammate Dick Falenski made news headlines coast to coast when they were juniors at Pitt. In 1959, they approached a local dentist, who formerly was a part-time faculty member in the university's School of Dentistry, and asked for his help with their grades. In turn, the dentist made them an offer of cash bribes and/or dental school scholarships to "shave" the point spread of future games. John and Falenski reported the incident to Pitt officials who in turn notified the local district attorney. The dentist was arrested and indicted by an Allegheny County grand jury.

Apparently non-plussed by the turn of events, John finished his basketball career with stellar results. In a Feb. 21, 1961 column in the Pittsburgh Press, headlined "Pitt's John Fridley Can Take It -- So He Dishes It Out," sportswriter Roy McHugh wrote:

Fridley does look belligerent on the basketball court -- maybe not belligerent, but grim. Fridley never smiles before the tipoff, or during time-outs. He is tall, sharp-featured, gaunt. But dressed for the street, wearing horn-rimmed glasses instead of contact lenses, Fridley gives an impression of genial urbanity. "I can take any kind of criticism," Fridley said.

He went on to graduate from Pitt's Schools of Dentistry and Medicine, and became a periodontist, practicing in Sharon and New Castle. He passed away in 1997, at the age of 58.

For more information about this family, please contact Stacia (Fridley) Thomas-Andagan, who has established an e-business on the internet.