Grandpa Eddie: Christmas 1906

When I first found the piece pictured below a month or so ago, my initial thought was that this was some type of work I.D. badge. Unlike many of the family mementos I am finding that others feel date back to as far as ~1780, but are not inscribed with an actual date, this item is clearly dated 1906, which would have made my great-grandfather Edward C. Williams 26 at the time.

 

I also remembered that E.C.W. worked for the Wales Adding Machine Company at one point, so everything fit together nicely as far as I was concerned.

 

I misplaced the "badge" for a few weeks, and had just about given up on looking for it when it resurfaced yesterday while looking for something else in our car's glove compartment.
   

When I showed it to my wife, and explained the significance of "Adder", she commented that it "looked like a Christmas ornament" and was probably a 1906 Christmas gift for the employees of WAMC. 

 

So much for my idea.....

 

Going forward, this century-old+ Christmas ornament will hang on our tree until it's time to pass it along to the great-great grandchildren of "Grandpa Eddie".
 

 

 

 

Wishing everyone all the best in 2014

 

Happy New Year!

 

с Новым годом

 

Peace

 

мир

     

Th Williams Family Santa Claus

 

My uncle Bill Connelly was a printer by profession, but come late November and December every year, he became - at least to the children of upstate New York and areas in central-northern PA...and my sister and I, the jolly old elf the world knows as Santa Claus.

 

 

He was a true professional, and graduated from the famous Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School. I can't find the pics right now, but I believe he was voted "Santa Claus of the Year" in ~1964, and at one point was in the running to be riding the sleigh with Ms. Claus in the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade itself.

 

He enjoyed life to the fullest, and wherever he was at whatever time of the year, my Uncle Bill added plenty of energy & excitement to the occasion. 

 

 

 

 

Below: When he knew he was dying and had only a brief time left, this was one of the pictures that my Uncle Bill "Santa Claus" Connelly selected to be given to his nieces and nephews after he passed.

 

R.I.P., Uncle Bill.

 

Merry Christmas

 

B & W CO. : PEERLESS ( & OLD )

It's a busy time of year both at work and home. The posts on this blog will be far and few between until we get past the holidays.

 

Here's a recent find from the back room of the basement @ my home in W-B. It's a very old hand-cranked grinding/sharpening wheel, still in operable condition. I cleaned off the nameplate enough to see it was made by a company in Boston, Mass. I haven't been able to spend too much time researching this company to get an idea how old this contraption is but when I get the time...I will.

  

 

Pretty darn cool!

 

  

Eulogy for my Father - 11/16/2012

http://srs444.blogspot.com/2013/11/aionio-eulogy.html

Comment: NASE / NAPE

I received the following comment yesterday in response to this post:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,
Your relative, Edward Charles Williams, must have been very dedicated to the field of stationary engineering and to his fellow engineers, in order to be chosen to serve as president of the local NASE chapter.
When NASE was founded in 1882 they had to deal with accusations and concerns that the organization was a union or in some way opposed to the concerns of the companies that employed their members.
But the NASE preamble stated that they were never to work against the interest of their employers, other than NASE was committed to having boiler and steam engine license laws enacted.
NASE members were leaders in the effort to make steam power plants safer. Their successes contributed to the formation of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code in 1914.
NASE changed its name in 1928 to NAPE-the National Association of Power Engineers. They are still in existence today. I believe Pennsylvania has two active chapters Pittsburg 18, and Philadelphia 76.
The Past-President is typically honored at the Past-Presidents dinner, which may be where he was given his pen.
NASE/NAPE members are committed to helping one another, so it would be an honor if I could assist a Past Presidents family with anything related to his service or NASE.
Chris Marcella
NAPE 17 Lowell, MA President
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you, Chris. I will be in touch.


Don Williams
Great-grandson of Edward Charles Williams
    

Feb. 9, 1961: Advance Planning by G'Pa Eddie

Another of the many finds in boxes, files and folders.

 

More in the days ahead.

1948 Kingston Huskies

Yet another recently discovered photo of the 1948 Kingston (PA) High School Football team.

 

 

 

More to follow.

 

Korean War: 34th Dragons Football

More original pics from my Dad's stint playing football during his time in the Army. 

 

The original pic directly below is one I've seen copies of many times before.

 

The team pic below that is a first for me. 

 

More to follow.

 

  

 

 

 

Brothers of the Brush

I first mentioned the "Brothers of the Brush" contest held by the Kingston (PA) Cake Company in this post. To my knowledge, I had never seen those words in print, but have seen many photos of my Dad as Abe Lincoln.

 

I have a pretty good recall about many of the older pictures or newspaper clippings that I've been finding over the past few months, but the item below is one I've never seen before.

 

I was happy to find it, regardless of its condition.

 

 I've got a lot more "stuff" to post over the coming weeks.

 

Stay tuned.

  

Football: Kingston Huskies and Korea

As I continue to rifle through boxes and the last remaining corners of the basement, I am finding more photos tucked away in places containing - basically - stuff that should have been pitched years ago.

 

Here are but a few of the latest.

 

Above: My dad and unknown teammate from Kingston (PA) Huskies

Below: My dad and favorite receiver ( Korean War ), Steve Bosick

 

 

 

And finally, a pic of Diana and I from May 11, 1964

 

 

This was taken on S. Loveland Avenue in Kingston, PA.

 

Why am I carrying all the books?

 

  

Glimpses from Korea

Found this photo of my Dad taken in Korea, which has seen better days, in one of the many boxes we brought up from the basement.

 

Kinda surreal, if you ask me.

 

More to follow.

  

Fountain Pens & Generals

We continue to discover Williams family mementos tucked away in the last few boxes we recently retrieved from my father’s basement. The fountain pen below was one of our latest finds.

 

 

It has the following inscription on the solid gold band encircling the cap:

E. C. WILLIAMS  

PAST. PRES.  No. 24

N.A.S.E.    W.B.  PA. 

 

 

 

 

 

 According to the various websites I found, in addition to the information etched on the pen's barrel, this is a Waterman's "Ideal" fountain pen manufactured in the USA. The last date etched on the barrel is August 4, 1903. The 0854V etched in the end of the barrel tells a lot about the pen as detailed on this website.

Although there’s not a lot of information online about the N.A.S.E., I did find that the National Association of Stationary Engineers was organized in NYC on the 25th of October 1882, and they had a lodge #24 in Wilkes-Barre, PA in the early 1900’s. Without ordering a book I found at Amazon, I don’t know much more about them to share at the moment other than this old newspaper clipping I found online.
 
 My great-grandfather, Edward Charles Williams, was an engineer at the Kingston Cake Co./Blue Ribbon Bakery for at least the last half of his working career, and he was always nattily dressed in 99% of the photos we’ve found so far. And it appears, much like my maternal grandfather of almost the same era, he definitely enjoyed a good cigar or pipe now and then.

Edward C. Williams and son, Samuel circa ~1930
Nicholson, PA

"Grandpa Eddie" circa ~1955

 

Up next:

Brigadier General Edward Charles Williams

 

Could this Civil War and Mexican War hero be my great-great-great grandfather?
 

 

Samuel Williams - My great-great grandfather

 

Sarah M. and Edward C. Williams

My paternal great-grandparents circa ~1900

 

 

And we all know the story about the Civil War fife pictured below being given to young Eddie prior to Memorial Day 1891. And the hand-painted shaving mug in the photo below is definitely very old.

 

I'm now wondering which "ECW" the mug and fife originally belonged to?

 

 

 

More in a few.

 

1921: Wyoming Tire and Rubber Co.

 

My great-grandfather Edward Charles Williams invested $320.00 in this company in 1921.

 

I wonder what happened to them?

 

Can I retire now?

  

Memorial Day 1933

To date, this is the oldest pic I've found of my great-grandfather Edward C. Williams playing the fife and, in this photo, dressed up in portrayal of the Spirit of 1776 by A. M. Willard.

 

I'm guessing it was on Memorial Day in 1933.

 

Check out the crowds.

 

 

I could spend hours studying the people and things in the pic above.

 

Above: Eddie and unknown drummer.

  

Another Letter from Aunt Elvira

Some interesting family facts that, until this letter,  I never knew.

 

 

 

 

 

1790-1830: Holding History

According to the two octogenarian watchmakers that have been giving the watch below a long overdue lube and tune-up, the "movement" ( their term for the internal gears, springs and such ) of the pocket watch below was manufactured between 1790 and 1830, with an absolute hard stop at 1830.

Evidently, one of the two gents that had to tag team working on the watch because of its age and internal complexity is a history buff and horologist extraordinaire. According to our conversation yesterday afternoon, its internal workings include a fusee, a chain-type mechanism which has been around since the 1500's, and it is definitely one of the oldest watches either of them can remember working on.

All I can say at this point is: WOW! To think this watch possibly dates back to the late 1700's and has been passed down through ~five or more generations  of the Williams, Stewart or Clemow families just boggles my mind. My great-grandfather Edward C. Williams was born in 1880, and his father Samuel in 1855. The history buff claims with absolute certainty that they stopped making this watch's specific type of movement in 1830.

Other than being made in the USA, I have little more to go on at this point. When I get some time, I will track down one of those Antique Roadshow-type folks and see if I can learn some more about this second piece of family history ( so far ) that possibly dates to the late 1700's. For those that would be inclined to convert this watch to cash on the open market, suffice it to say that this gem's fate is to be passed down to many yet-to-be-born future generations of the Williams family.

Tempus fugit indeed.
  

Kingston H.S. Buddies meet in Japan

 

More boxes...more finds.

 

 

 

Ummm...49,000 miles from home? Not possible on this planet...

  

 

 

Above: My Dad is on the left. The original "ham & egger".

 

 

The Letter "K"

Tucked away in boxes and closets, and sometimes underfoot, I continue to find pieces of family history. Trash to some...treasure to others. 

This paper was on the floor in the basement. It was folded so the text and border was not visible, and didn't look much like anything of importance. I do not recall it falling from any of the boxes I was moving, and it looks like it had been stepped on more than a few times over the years.

 

And yes, I have the "K" letter my Dad was awarded for football some ~65 years ago.

 

 

And, tucked away in a box or album somewhere,  I know I've seen at least one photo of my Dad wearing this sweater when he was a senior @ Kingston High School in Kingston, Pennsylvania. 

 

Many more days of discovery lie ahead.

 

I cannot wait.

 

Another Memorial Day Frozen in Time

Found this pic in a bag of other photos in the bottom of a metal closet.

 

Memorial Day @ Kingston Corners, PA circa 1955

 

Date stamped on back says "Enlargement 1955".

 

The Harris Hardware & Supply building was torn down many years ago. The drummer is unknown, my father is in the middle in his khakis, and my great-grandfather is on the right. It's the first photo I've seen with Eddie using a cane.  

 

More to follow, I'm sure.

  

Another Spirit of '76 Newspaper Clipping

  

This article was from 1951.

 

 

More boxes...more finds

 

Above: Memorial Day 1958. My father, Grandpa Eddie and ( I believe ) Bill Thorne on drums can be seen behind the Color Guard as they parade on Wyoming Avenue.

 

Below: The original deed to Cedar Crest Cemetery in Trucksville.

 

 

More to follow.

  

And the Spirit of '76 Marched On...

 

Memorial Day 2013

Forty-Fort Cemetery

Forty-Fort, PA

 

   Photo by D. LeVasseur