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My
parents, (Hugh and Alice McCartney), moved
our family to this house, in the Mountain
House Grounds, in September 1932. They had
10 children at the time--Mildred, William,
Rose Mary, Margaret, Veronica, Cecelia, Louise,
Loretta, Mary Ellen, and Lillian. James Brady
was born 2 years later (1934), and that same
year Mildred, married to Gorman Pritchard,
gave birth to her first child, (my first nephew),
James.
The house was much larger than our previous
home and it scared us a little at first. My
first impression, as I recall, was seeing
a huge front porch and then opening the front
door and finding 14 spacious rooms to explore.
On our first night in this gigantic house
we slept on the floor because our beds had
not been assembled yet.
Mamma told us that the house once belonged
to Andrew Carnegie, the great Steel Baron.
Mr. Shields, at Cresson High School, told
the same story to some of my older siblings.
I remember that there was a frame from an
old sink in the cellar, with Andrew Carnegie's
name inside. This served as some proof that
the story was true. Mamma most likely burned
it for firewood at some point. Too bad, for
surely it would be worth some money these
days.
After paying a very reasonable rent for a
number of years, the Gallitzin Savings &
Loan notified us that they had a buyer for
the house. However, Mr. Cosgrove (from the
bank), told my mother that he would sell it
to us if we could afford the $300 down payment.
Brother Bill had been working at Wilkinsons
Garage and saving money for a car. He took
his savings ($150), combined it with money
he borrowed from our Aunt Elnora (Mamma's
sister), and used it for the down payment.
During the 1930's our home was shared with
other families who had fallen on hard times.
Different cousins shared our home at different
times - Rose Olson (Eckenrode), Regis Eckenrode,
Suse (Eckenrode) Glass, to name a few. Also
the McDermott family and our Uncle Ed (Unk),
called this place home for many years.
Another memory of my youth is of the times
when our Uncle Ed Sharp (Unk), would recruit
us to gather fallen tree limbs from the woods.
These, we would drag to the back yard to be
chopped for fire wood. The kitchen, which
is now used as a bedroom, was equipped with
a big cook stove. We had fireplaces in the
living room and in the room across from the
kitchen (currently my bedroom). There was
a furnace directly below the front of the
hall with one big register. A trap door in
the living room was used to go to the cellar
and fire the furnace. These were our only
sources of heat for the whole house. As you
can imagine, with eleven children in the house,
space around these "heaters" was
limited on cold winter mornings.
Today
the house is equipped with a gas furnace which
provides a central heating system and we no
longer have to fight for the space around
the register. I treasure all the memories
of this big old house and the loving family
members who occupied it over the past seventy
years. I enjoy frequent visits from many relatives
and friends, both near and far. The door is
always open.
Louise
A. (McCartney) Frederick 2002
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