Treasure Chest Thursday - Art's Pictures of Agnes

My grandfather, Art Cubbage, was the photographer of his family. He wasn't in many of the pictures, so I am thinking that he was the one behind the camera most of the time. Art took pictures of his family and friends on holidays and at family events. I have written about his awesome slide collection (dated and labeled!), but the black-and-white earlier prints were just a great (but not labeled). While Art's posed pictures of family in front of the Christmas tree were nice, it was his candid shots of his wife Agnes that I love the most.

I absolutely love this picture! It's in these candid shots of Agnes that I feel I get to know her better (she died when I was six years old). Some of the older pictures (like the one above) have the date that the picture was developed printed on it, so it gives me an approximate date that it was taken.

I like this one because it shows their kitchen in New Providence in the 1950s. I remember visiting in the 1970s, but some things had been updated by then. I wonder what she was saying when Art took this one.

This series of pictures isn't labeled at all, but by the background I think that they were taken in their backyard in New Providence, so it was probably taken in the 1950s.  

Clearly something happened after the first two shots and Agnes is now smiling and going towards Art. This one really shows a more playful side ... different from the posed pictures.

Many of Art's pictures are of Agnes doing everyday activities ... cooking, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper. I love these snapshots of their life together.

This is one from the slide collection. Obviously it was double exposed with another picture on the bottom. Even with that, I like her seriousness and expressive hands while she is talking. Agnes almost looks a little sad, but there are poker chips in front of her. Maybe she lost! Again, I would love to know what she was talking about.

Another picture of everyday life ... talking on the phone. I can remember where the phone was in the hallway. I like the glimpse of the bedroom in the background.

Even in this posed shot, I love Agnes' expression and the way her sons, Corky and Jeff, are looking at her.

A more serious, pensive picture of Agnes. The red lipstick is a contrast to the simple housecoat.

I am so thankful for all of the pictures that my grandfather took, especially the ones of my grandmother. I wish I had seen them years ago so I could have asked him about them. Lesson learned ... ask your family about pictures now so that we aren't leaving it up to speculation years later!

Surname Saturday - Cubbages at a Wedding

Here are all of the Cubbages who were at my parents wedding on March 27, 1965 in New Providence, NJ. My parents are in the middle and are surrounded by my father's family:

Back Row:
Elizabeth Linneman Speck Merz (his grandmother), Art Cubbage (his father), Mom, Dad, Agnes Speck Cubbage (his mother), Jeff Cubbage (his brother), Marna Reabe McCarthy (his cousin, Minnie's daughter).

Front Row:
Lester Cubbage (his uncle), Marge Cubbage Cenkner (his aunt), Kathy Cenkner (his cousin, Marge's daughter), "Babe" Cubbage Martin (his aunt), Bill Martin (his uncle, babe's husband).

Sentimental Sunday - Speck Family Photo

The Speck Family
Elizabeth (Linneman) and Frank F.
Frank R. and Agnes

This is the only family picture that we have of my grandmother, Agnes, and her parents and brother. We do have other pictures of the Specks, but this is the only one with all four of them. I'm guessing that it was taken in the late 1920s. Frank R. looks to be about 8 or 9 years old, and Agnes about 12 or 13. It was probably taken in Monessen, PA where they lived.

My grandmother wrote on the front of many of her pictures. This one says "Um! Um!", "Hungry!" and "Let's eat!" and then "Specks" at the bottom. They are dressed in shorts and Frank R. looks to be eating some watermelon or some other food.

Wordless Wednesday - My Grandparents

Agnes Speck and Art Cubbage
circa 1938

Scout Saturday

My father Corky and his brother Jeff spent a few years as Boy Scouts after they moved from Pittsburgh to New Providence, NJ. This is a picture of Corky's Bobcat pin. Their father, Art, was a Boy Scout for many years in Monessen, PA and was a Life Scout (the second highest scouting rank).










Below are some pictures of Corky (age 13), Jeff (age 10) and their parents Art and Agnes Cubbage in front of their home in New Providence before the Memorial Day parade in 1954. They had just moved to New Jersey about eight months before.

Above is a picture of Corky at Scout Camp in the summer of 1954. He is in the back row, the third boy from the right.

Military Monday - Art's Discharge from the Navy

This is the last in a recent series of posts about my grandfather's Naval service during World War II. William Arthur (Art) Cubbage received his Honorable Discharge from the US Navy on April 9, 1946, just short of two years from when he was inducted. At the time of his discharge, art was a Yeoman Second Class.


Art's Naval Separation paper's had a wealth of information about him at the time, including his address and occupation, both before and after his service, schooling, and Naval insurance and pay.
Art's wife Agnes went to Norfolk at the time of his discharge. Here are pictures of Art's Naval housing and a picture of Agnes in front of his home during his service.


I love this picture of Agnes and Art (except that his eyes are closed!). I found it in a folder from The Windsor House, a restaurant in Norfolk, VA. The date written on the back of the photo is April 9, 1946 - the date of Art's discharge. I can imagine them enjoying a nice dinner together after being apart for two years.
After his discharge, Art, went to Pittsburgh and then back to Akron, OH with his family. They lived at Hillwood Homes which was housing for Veterans, and Art worked for the Railroad again.

Fearless Female Friday - Agnes Speck Cubbage

In going through the pictures of my grandfather's time in the Navy during World War II, I often think about how hard it must have been for his wife, Agnes. I am sure that she was thankful that Art stayed stateside during the war and was only stationed in Illinois and Virgina. Art was 31 years old and had two young children, which is probably why he ended up as a Yeoman.

Art was inducted into the Navy in April of 1944, just a few weeks after their second son, Jeff, was born. Art, Agnes, Jeff and older brother Corky (almost 3 years old) were living in Akron. When Art left for Basic Training, Agnes and the boys moved to Pittsburgh to live with her mother and stepfather (Elizabeth and Charles Merz).

I think of what is must have been like for Agnes, with an infant and young boy, her husband away for two years, and living with her mother during a war. D-Day would be just a few months into Art's time of service. It's hard to imagine her life and the uncertainty of that time.

Here are some pictures of Agnes with Corky and Jeff during that time, both probably taken in 1945. I can guess that these were sent to Art while he was in the Navy.

Those Places Thursday - New Providence, NJ

The blogging prompt "Those Places Thursday" challenges us to write about those places that we have lived, or places where our ancestors have spent time. The first "place" that I am writing about is New Providence, NJ.

My grandfather, William Arthur Cubbage, Sr. (Art) took these pictures in the spring of 1953. He had been living in an apartment in South Orange for a couple of years after taking a job in New York City. His wife, Agnes, and sons, Corky and Jeff, were still living in Pittsburgh with Agnes' mother while they saved money to buy a house. Art would take the train out to Pittsburgh once a month or so to visit them.

Art and Agnes eventually saved enough to have a house built in New Providence and Art would visit the lot to take pictures of the progress. These are some pictures that Art took of New Providence:

This is the New Providence Presbyterian Church, which looks much different today! My parents were married in this church and my great-grandmother Mem (Elizabeth Linneman Speck Merz) is buried in the church cemetery with her second husband (Charles Merz). I can remember sitting in front of this church on the curb in the late 1970's and early 1980's and watching the Memorial Day Parade.

These pictures are of drug store across the street from the church and the Acme, diagonally across from the church. I love the old cars in these pictures! They really help set the time period.

This is the back of one of the pictures. Art made a drawing of the intersection, the buildings he had taken a picture of, and where he was standing. I love how it shows directions to home, the train station, and the local "beer joint". That sounds just like my grandfather!

This last one is of the train station in Murray Hill, which is where Art got the train to New York for the next 30 years until he retired. Again, I love the car! I am guessing that Art sent these pictures to Agnes and the boys in Pittsburgh to show them their new town. They moved into their new home in the fall of 1953 and planted Cubbage family roots that have been in New Jersey ever since.

Wordless Wednesday - Agnes Elizabeth Speck

Here are some pictures of my grandmother, probably taken around 1934 or 1935 in Monessen, PA, when she was about 19 or 20 years old. They are still on one strip from the "photo booth". It's too bad the last one was folded - it looks like she had a nice smile in that one. Click on the image for a closer look.

The Marriage of Art and Agnes

So after the questions and jokes about Pop-Pop and Nanny's wedding while we were in Pittsburgh, I did some more searching. We had looked for a marriage license while we were in Greensburg (Westmoreland County) and found nothing, and all we had was this newspaper announcement. It was in the Monsessen Daily Independent on August 31, 1940 and announced the marriage of Arthur Cubbage and Agnes Speck on May 26, 1939 in Connellsville, PA. Connellsvile is about 25 miles from Monessen, and as far as I could find, there was no family in Connellsville. This newspaper article also says that Agnes was given away by her father Frank Speck, who died in April of 1940 ... after the wedding, but before the announcement was made.

The first thing that I found was that Connellsville is in Fayette County (not Westmoreland) so I sent away for a copy of their marriage license. I received a letter back from the County Courthouse that there was no marriage certificate on file for Cubbage and Speck. I then sent a letter to the Wesley Methodist Church in Connellsville. I received a letter from the church that said that Rev Elliot was the pastor from 1935 to 1939, and that although they have a membership book with a section on marriages, there is nothing documented during the years of 1929 through 1944. So there is no official record of their marriage ... just the announcement in the paper.

There are some things that we know and a few other things that I did find. Both of Arthur's parents died less than a year before his marriage to Agnes (Maine died in August of 1938 and Charles died in April of 1939). I did find this in Maine's obituary: "Funeral services ... with Rev. L.S. Elliott, of Connellsville, former pastor of the local Methodist Episcopal church officiating." This is the same pastor that married Arthur and Agnes the following year, which may explain why they went to Connellsville. The last newspaper article that I found was in the May 29, 1939 Uniontown Herald in the Perryopolis section: "Mr. and Mrs. Frank Speck and son Frank, Jr, and Miss Marian Cubbage, all of Monessen spent Friday evening with Miss Ada Buttermore." Perryopolis is about 14 miles from Connellsville and Friday night was the night of the wedding and they were in the annoucement as being in the wedding party. So here is a picture of Art & Agnes on Easter in 1938 ... the closest we have to their wedding date.