This is a photo of my paternal grandparents taken the Christmas of 1956 at my dad's and stepmother's new house. Grandmother would have turned 64 in January, 1957, and Grandfather, 67, in February.
Pearl Miller and Oliver Rice grew up on neighboring farms in Crider's Corners in Cranberry Township, PA. Oliver was the youngest of nine or ten children. Pearl was the oldest of three. She had a sister, Ruth, and a brother, Jay. Pearl and Oliver left school after 8th grade. Pearl worked by cleaning, cooking, and caring for children in the neighborhood. She and Oliver were married on November 2nd, probably in 1911. Oliver chose the date to coincide with the opening of deer season. Pearl was 18 years old.
After Kenneth (my dad) was born in Ambridge, PA in January 1913, Pearl went back home to her parents (14 miles away). Oliver came to bring her back. She said she didn't want a houseful of children. Oliver convinced her to return. My Uncle Dale was born in May, 1914. There were no more children after that. My maternal grandmother told me it was much easier to get an abortion back in those days, if you knew which local doctor to approach.
Pearl and Oliver were determined that both boys would go to college. Pearl claimed that Kenneth always wanted to be a lawyer and that Dale always wanted to be a doctor. Dale made "candy pills" as a little boy, she said. However, when the boys grew up, both claimed they'd had other ideas. Kenneth said he'd always wanted to be a businessman. His high school year book characterized him as "a wee business man." During a holiday dinner at Pearl and Oliver's house, I clearly remember Dale saying he had always wanted to be a teacher.
The young family settled in Meadville, PA, a small town 90 miles north of Ambridge. Oliver tried running a grocery store, a small "Red and White." He lost money until he began making a little during his going-out-of-business sale, but by then it was too late. He tried life as a fireman, but he was a small man who had trouble managing the fire hose. He tried life as a police man. His happiest moment came during one cold night during Prohibition. Patrolling West Street, where the Blacks lived at the time, he entered an abandoned house through a jimmied window to get warm. Inside he found bottles of bootleg liquor, which he quietly took home.
I wonder how Oliver convinced Pearl to come back with him. And I wonder if Pearl ever regretted it.
ReplyDeletePearl strike me as a very strong woman and the alpha in the couple, but that is just a guess. It is hard to believe that your dad and his brother did all that hard work to achieve Pearl's dreams not there own.
DeleteA step grandma of mine was name Pearl.
ReplyDeleteStay Safe and Coffee is on
Planning a wedding to coincide with deer season sounds like a very Pennsylvania thing to do...lol Looking forward to the rest of the story
ReplyDeleteI fine it odd but humorous.
Deletethis story made me think that everyone keeps saying how much better times were back in the 50's and back even further like during our grandparents time of life. it was the same or worse, but not better. i did not know it was easy to get abortions back then, but i know my dad's brother was married and she had an abortion. and then could never have children which they were upset about. life is life no matter what years they are lived in.... Beau doesn't mind storms, but he refuses to pee in the rain. held it for 20 hours
ReplyDeleteHard times, hard lives back in those days.
ReplyDeleteThe age of my grandparents. Life was so difficult then. Labor unions were not entrenched, being an entrepreneur was equally hard as working in a shop or factory. Interesting story and time.
ReplyDeleteRural Pennsylvania life was probably similar to life in rural upstate New York - hard. Reading this, and knowing the 1918 flu pandemic was ahead for these people....onward now to Part 2. Your parents would have been about the same age as my father.
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