East-Palestine-Great-Depression-Era-Stories

Great Grand Father WittenBerger

• tinner / slater / furnace / did most of the slate roofs in East Palestine -
• said "I bet I can give you something perfectly good and you will not eat it" then put donuts in a brand new bedpan full of cider - the fellow did not eat it
• one guy put a bit of pumpkin pie on his shoe and waited for friend to come ...then used his finger to wipe the pie from his shoe and eat it....friend was aghast
• Was very good with horses - bought a troubled horse - seller sarcastically asked "how is that horse?" ....he answered "my wife uses him...he's great!" .... you could tell alot about a person by how they treated their horse
• Horse named Joe - would follow voice commmands - including backing up...

Wheelbarrow bet

What the bet was who knows? - loser had to wheel the other to Washington D.C. from East Palestine

McGraw Tire and Rubber

• McGraw was on his way west on a train when someone talked him into getting off in East Palestine and starting his company there
• X will go back to work when McGraw starts up again - was not very ambitious
• Y would get your a job if you payed him - he was a son of a bitch

Mental Deficient

• saw an ad of a lady in the south wanting a husband ( year?) --- bought him a ticket
• he walked back and when he returned had holes worn in the bottom of his shoes

Mathew Lyons - lived in house immediately to the west of fathers

• Mathiew Lyons - Big beard - never ever shaved - trimmed with shears
• wife was a relation of the Firestones
• First Person I voted for was Abe Lincoln

Firestone Farms

• Brother came out 1 year in advance to start the farm - 1800
• Katy said "might have trouble getting out of Germany" - name appeared too Jewish when Hitler came to power

Drunk who painted

• painted landscape scenes - lady mentioned that it would be good place in the lake to fish from if there was a stump - 15 seconds later there was a stump

Meyer Paiser

• Daughter was paying Pete Blosco to screw here - she was quite ugly
• Meyer has a scrap iron dealership
• owned part of a company in Pa .. city?
• jewish community in East Palestine? - had no synagogue

John Blosco

• Bought up houses during the depression

Boot Legger

• killed rival and took him down into the coal mine that stretched 6 miles between E.P. and Negley.

Single Guy Suicide

• slit wrists and bled out over a bucket to avoid making a mess

Great Uncle Charlie Woods

• Had a feed store
• cart with horse - father would hop on the back and ride out to where delivery was made

Lady robber with the dress shop

• would shoplift in Youngstown and sell dresses in East Palestine

George Rockenberger

• 1932 he received a call from a friend / supplier in Cleveland - "George the banks are closing in Cleveland...you better go get your money out"....he kept his money in his shirt pocket the rest of the depression

Mothers Father

• Farmer got sick and sold a field of cucumbers site unseen - weeds were deep - leave garden unweeded after a time
• sold baskets -
• tore up will after mothers mother died

John Remish

• Ham Radio - heard him on the broadcast band radio - spurious -
• work 1938 - worked for Taylor radio that sold appliances - west side of Market street - south of main
• ruin TV reception with oscillator near clients house
• Arecibo antenna - walked out over wooden walkway 500 feet over antenna - Sam Harris - ham radio operator - built antennas for them / employee - wrote for QST column - early 70's - Junky Car
• Father walked in thru knee deep snow to operate John's radio because son did not have license to operate rig. Radio was spread out and dangerous to start

Italian complainers

• Saldos - no matter what you gave them they would bitch it was not better

Italian construction equipment theives

• Dinsio - would steal anything
• bank - blew the top of the safe : packed stuff on the top of explosive to muffle sound - several banks on the east coast and one on the west - M.O. was theirs...
• route 46 place - loading a bulldozer - fan from the radiator cut his neck and killed him - no hood on Bulldozer - brother fell onto fan and was decapitated because it was running
• Jack Davis' brother - wife knew a guy who knew them -
• 2 or 3 brothers
• slick
• trained by federal government to go behind enemy lines to get intelligence

The Bum Trade

• The train riding bums had a camp near mile pond on a high spot
• one of them set up a sandwich shop on the corner of Taggart and James south east corner
• Guys would sometimes knock on doors to beg a sandwich
• Some people would put croton oil in their milk - to give the milk thief severe diahrea

RailRoad

• had crossing guards to man the switches
• bums would make a board to ride under car in suspension

Johnny Monk

• John Monk and his brother lived on Main street - south side of street between Methodist church and city building
• chickens roosting on on the headboard of the bed
• brother needed help moving
• Johnny putting cock to wife - brother walked in and asked for help - John said " he'll be over when he's done"
• between fathers and grandfathers age
• Johnny's son was in Texas - checked with railway express - freight agent in ( 1960 ) - how much to cost to get son from Texas if he had him crated up. Railway express agent told father.

Walked - Jack's Age

• zipper did not work - hit the ball / ran for 1st - pecker flipped out as he ran - Audience member " Hey Alex you do not take your bat to first base with you!"

Condom Recycling

• fish out of sewer plant / wash / dry on broom poles
• Kleiner
• had a small pickup store later
• had an adopted son: Petey - ( sisters age )
• owned / controlled Mile Pond - nothing but carp

Movie Theatre

• Brother Jack would go to theatre - could tell how many friends were with because of the number of piss streams on sidewalk by lumber company afterwards
• Farted in theatre - second time when he lifted rump to fart lady hit him on the head with a handbag
• was a big drinker and rolled 2 cars
• put a big rudder on a small fishing boat and ended up tipping it over in Canada and drowning. - Father saw Jack putting on bigger rudder and thought "mistake" but said nothing
• Alot of his friends met untimely ends
• knights of columbus
• minstrel show
• very popular

Background

• few people had horses
• few people had cars
• notice all the small store front / houses around town - was more of a community
• many lodges - Eagles - Odd Fellows - Masons - knights of columbus what else?
• Many churches considering only 5000 people
• Industries - pottery / furniture / refractories / tires / ...outsized for size of city