Friday's Faces from the Past - Wedding Day!

Fifty years. It's hard to fathom, yet not too hard to believe. Fifty years ago today, my parents were married at New Providence Presbyterian Church in New Providence, New Jersey. They had met in the church youth group a few years earlier.

My mother, the only daughter of Adolf Haberkern and Elise Gegenheimer, got ready at her parents' house in New Providence. 

It was a windy March day ... just look at the bridesmaids' veils!

I LOVE this picture of my grandmother, Agnes Speck, hugging her son after the wedding. The bride is kissing her new father-in-law, Art Cubbage. Looking on is Agnes' mother, Elizabeth Linneman. 

 They look so young! Well they were only in their early 20's.

The newlyweds spent their honeymoon in Jamaica before returning to New Jersey.

The next fifty years brought them three children ...

... two son-in-laws, one daughter-in-law, and six grandchildren!

They have ridden the waves of life's ups and downs over fifty years. We are looking forward to celebrating this summer! Happy 50th Anniversary Dad and Mom!

Sentimental Sunday - Playing "Hearts" Through the Mail

I was raised by some serious card-playing Cubbages! Family favorites included Hearts, Poker and "Aw $hit" (also know as Oh Hell or Oh Pshaw). If there were Cubbages gathered together, there was always card game. We even had an honorary game of "Aw $shit" after my grandfather's funeral.

My grandfather Art was an avid card player. He played Hearts regularly with his friends Bob and Ralph.They would get together every year or so for a Hearts weekend. "Easter Sunday 1952" was typed on the back of the pictures above and below. Easter Sunday!

My grandfather Art and friend Bob Lewis

They had a flag and a medal that was passed to the winner of the weekend to keep until the next tournament. In later years they also had matching shirts.

"Hearts Tour April 1953"

"Hearts Tour April 1954"

"Hearts Tour 1958, Zanesville OH"

In between the "Hearts Tours," Art, Bob and Ralph would play cards by mail. One of them would deal out the cards and mail them to the other two players. The person who was to the "left of the dealer" would mail his card to the next player, who would add his card and mail all three to the next. The last one would mail the "trick" to the winner, who would then play a card to his "left" and so on. The games would last weeks and months! Those were some serious card players!

Later in the 1960s and 1970s, my grandfather hosted a Poker game in his cellar twice a month with some friends from his neighborhood in New Providence. This picture is probably from the late 1960s and my grandfather is in the middle with all of the poker chips. The young fellow to the left is my father, who was probably sitting in for one of the guys.

Fast forward another 20 years and the weekend card playing returned! This time Art played "Aw $hit" (notice the matching sweatshirts for the occasion!) near the Poconos with his sons Jeff and Corky, and his friend Willie.

My older son is already good at Hearts, Poker and "Aw Pshaw" (we have renamed it for the kids) and my younger one is learning Poker, with the others to follow as he gets older. This family tradition will be passed down to another generation of Cubbage descendants!

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!

Happy Birthday and Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday Pop-Pop! 

I love this picture of my grandfather, Art Cubbage, taken on New Year's Eve 1959. This was probably taken at a neighbor's house in New Providence, NJ. Art's mother-in-law, Elizabeth Linneman Speck Merz is on the far left and I believe the other two women lived on the same street. My grandfather was born on December 31, 1912 in Swissvale, PA. Since his birthday was on New Year's Eve, he always had a party!

Thankful Thursday - Art's Slide Collection

"Mom, Cork, Jeff Christmas 1953"

This is one of the many images from the slide collection of my grandfather, Art Cubbage. A few years ago, I scanned all of my grandfather's slides, as well as those of my parents and my maternal grandfather. Art had just under 600 images that he took from 1953 (right as they moved into their new home in New Providence) through 1974.

While I am thankful for these wonderful images of my father's childhood and my grandparent's home and lives, I am most thankful that he labeled almost every slide. That's right, my grandfather labeled most of the slides with the name of the person, the location if it wasn't at their home, the month and the year! What a blessing! This has been so helpful as I piece together our family history. Many of the images in my posts are from his collection. Here are a few more of my favorites ...

"July 1955"

This was their home in New Providence, NJ.

 

"Mem & Pap, Pittsburgh, July 1954"

My grandmother Agnes' parents in their backyard on Thelma Street.

"Min's August 1959"

Art and his family were enjoying Maryland crab at his sister Minnie's house in Baltimore.

"Jeff & Cork Thanksgiving 1954"

My father and his brother, ages 13 and 10.

"Harry, Janet, Barbara, Cork June 1959"

My father and friends before their senior prom.

Friday's Faces from the Past ... and Present!

This is my father, Corky, when he graduated from New Providence Junior High School (9th grade) in 1956.

Fast forward 57 years ... Corky's grandson (my son) graduated from middle school (8th grade) this week! See any resemblance?? Congratulations!!

Sentimental Sunday - Happy Father's Day!

I posted a few pictures on Mother's Day last month and last year. Now it's time for the Dads! I did find that we don't have many pictures of our family's fathers. Many were behind the camera, and several died before their spouses. Here are a few from the family collection:

 This is the only picture of my grandmother, Agnes Speck, with her father, Frank F. Speck. This was taken in or near Monessen, PA in the late 1920's.

 

 

My father, Corky, and his brother Jeff pose with their father, Art Cubbage before the Memorial Day Parade in New Providence, NJ in 1954.

My mother and her father Adolf in 1959.

Here I am with my Dad at around one year old.

 

 

Sentimental Sunday - A Belated Happy Easter!

I'm back after a hectic few weeks - a spring break trip to Washington, DC, Easter and Little League opening day! So here is a belated Happy Easter!

"Sandy, Cork, Jeff, Sue, Easter 1955"

My grandfather took this picture of my father Corky and his brother Jeff, along with neighbors Sandy and Sue on Easter Sunday. They are sitting on the front steps of the Cubbage home in New Providence, NJ and are all in their "Sunday best". If you look closely, there are three dogs! Skippy and Topper were Cork and Jeff's dogs; the other must be a neighbor's dog. There are also baseball gloves on the grass and Sue's lap. Maybe the Corky and Jeff were playing catch before church?? Boys will be boys!

Workday Wednesday - Nurses

 

 

In 1926, my great-grandmother Elizabeth Linnemann Speck graduated from the Memorial Hospital Training School for nurses, located in Monongahela, just north of Monessen. The Charerloi Mail (left and The Monessen Daily Independent (right) both ran articles about the commencement ceremony. Elizabeth was 29 years old and her children were 11 (Agnes) and 8 (Frank).

 

This is the only time I find any mention of her nursing background. In both the 1930 and 1940 census, Elizabeth has no occupation listed. In 1942 when she married her second husband, her occupation is listed as "Manager, Specks Transfer". This was her first husband's business. I don't know if Elizabeth ever worked as a nurse, or did and it was never recorded anywhere. In 1931, the newspaper reported that a nursing student from the Cannonsburg Hospital was recuperating from surgery at the home of Elizabeth and her husband Frank.

 

In 1963, Agnes Speck Cubbage (Elizabeth's daughter) became a nurse at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ. Agnes and her family had been living in New Providence for about 10 years. She was 48 years old and both of her children had graduated from high school.

 

 

Here is Agnes receiving her nurse's cap at Overlook Hospital.

 



Matrilineal Monday - Elisabeth Maria Linnemann

Elisabeth Maria Linnemann is my great-grandmother on my paternal side. She was the only grandparent that my father knew - his other grandparents died in 1938, 1939 and 1940, shortly before he was born.

Elisabeth was born on 12 June 1897 in Schalke, Germany which is a part of Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia. Elisabeth was the fifth of six children, and the only daughter born to Elisabeth Barbara Nilkowski and Gerhard Linnemann. Two of those children, both named Rudolph, died in Germany. Elisabeth Barbara also had another son with her first husband who died before the baby was born.

In 1904, when Elisabeth was seven years old, her mother and five children boarded the SS Cassel in Bremen and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland on August 31st. This photo was probably taken in the year before they left Germany.

Elisabeth's father Gerhard arrived in Baltimore in December 1903. The family was meeting him in Windber, Pennsylvania. At some point over the next ten years, the family lived in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and settled in Monessen, PA around 1915.

Elisabeth (who was now Elizabeth Linneman) married Frank Friedrich Speck on 18 January 1915 in Pittsburgh. Her marriage license application states that "Lizzie" was 22 (she was 18) and that she was living in Sprigg, WV. I do not know how she and Frank met. This picture was probably taken around the time of their wedding.

Elizabeth and Frank had a daughter just nine months later. Agnes Elizabeth Speck was born on 26 September 1915 in Monessen. A son, Frank Rudolph was born on 2 May 1918. This is a picture of Elizabeth with one of her newborn children. Just six weeks after Frank's birth, Elizabeth's father Gerhard committed suicide.

The Speck family raised their children in Monessen and lived on Donner Avenue for about 20 years. Elizabeth's mother and three of her brothers lived in Monessen as well. Frank owned a moving and storage company and they were active in the community. Their travels, parties and life events were often listed in the "Locals" section of The Monessen Daily Independent.

On 7 April 1940, Elizabeth's husband Frank died suddenly of a heart attack. She continued to run Franks' moving business for a few years until she remarried. On 18 July 1942 she married Charles August Merz, also widowed, in Winchester, Virginia. She moved from Monessen to the North Side of Pittsburgh to Charles' home on Thelma Street.

 

Elizabeth's daughter Agnes married William Arthur (Art) Cubbage, moved to Ohio and had two children (Corky and Jeff). In 1944, not long after Jeff was born, Agnes and her boys moved to Pittsburgh to live with Elizabeth and Charles while Art was in the Navy. Agnes and her children would move back in with Elizabeth again around 1950 while Art was working in New York and living in New Jersey.

 

 

During this time, Elizabeth's son Frank married Elizabeth (Libby) O'Brien. They lived in the the same neighborhood on the North Side and eventually bought the home next to Elizabeth and Charles. In 1953, Agnes, Art, Corky and Jeff moved to New Jersey permanently.

 

 

Over the next ten years, Elizabeth and Charles would live for long periods of time in New Providence with Agnes and her family, and then return to Pittsburgh. They had a room upstairs in the Cubbage home and enjoyed being close with their grandsons. This is a picture of Elizabeth and her grandson Corky working on a tree in the yard!

 

 

On 30 June 1964, Charles Merz died in New Jersey and was buried at the Presbyterian Church Cemetery in New Providence. Less than two years later on 20 April 1966, Elizabeth died in Pittsburgh. She was buried next to her husband in New Providence. This is a picture of her (far left) at her grandson Corky's wedding in March of 1965 - one of the last pictures taken of her.