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  Memories of Old South Fairmount

 This is one of those publications that simply starts with one memory and then grows and grows until it is out of control. Jotting down one idea opens other doors into other areas and probably the limit can never be reached.

 Actually it all began with an e-mail address in a newsletter. Two former classmates began exchanging memories of their personal days in the South Fairmount of the twenties and thirties. That exchange of letters grew to hundreds of pages of personal memories intertwined with the basic elements of life in South Fairmount . This book is a distillation of those letters.

The major points of interest of all kinds of businesses, schools, churches, and gathering places are included  It will list social events, festivals, parades, picnics, venison dinners and many others.

 Some areas are one liners and others are more expanded.

 To the young people, South Fairmount had no night life aside from the few local bars. Apart from the back room at Gus Simon’s Family Grill, on Queen City next to the sisters’ house, and the bowling alleys at St Bonaventure, there was little provision made for night life. Couples went to Carley’s Grill on Glenway at Beech, the French Villa and the HofBrau. The Alpine Inn was out on Bridgetown Road and for those who did not mind travel, the Nine Mile house on Harrison in Dent and the Venice Pavilion In Venice, beckoned.

 The downtown movies were wonderful entertainment palaces of glass and mirrors and brass and plush carpeting to take a date.  After the show, first run movies, there was also a prized visit to the Cricket, or the  Purple Cow (Do you remember the poem on the wall ? “I’ve never seen a purple cow,  I never hope to see one. But I can really tell you now,  I’d rather see than be one”),  or  to Wiggins (with the invisible glass window) for a delicious snack and a soft drink.

 There were no suburban shopping malls. Delfair and Western Hills were still farmland. So you had to go downtown to buy most of the non grocery items. Downtown had at least ten department stores and hundreds of  smaller ones. The nearest thing to a shopping mall was the business strip on Harrison where Westwood ended. It included the Valley Theater , shoe stores, fruit and vegetable, a grocery, restaurant and a fire house.

 The reader no doubt will recognize many of the places described and he will also be disappointed to note that perhaps his favorite, or secret places, are not mentioned.. Admittedly this is almost a two sided view of old history and there are probably many and gross errors and omissions.

Today, the ravages of time and a changing, shifting population have dealt harshly with most of South Fairmount. St Bonaventure’s school has been closed for decades and it is becoming dilapidated to where it is reputed to be unsafe. The former sisters’ house was converted to apartments and their well kept lawn has become a parking area. The old hospital is now a retirement home and the block of homes and businesses between Westwood and Queen City, Quebec and Van Hart is largely emptied of the old structures to be replaced by fast food centers. There is a general impression of age and decay and lack of paint and poor maintenance….

 You can never go back except in your memories and precious old photographs. And after awhile, no one will be around to care…..

 Now go on to a recapitulation of the various major points of South Fairmount.

 MAJOR STREETS, SECONDARY STREETS, ALLEYS AND STEPS.

The area was largely a valley with Queen City Avenue as the low point and a slight rise to Westwood Avenue to the south. Then the hills took over and the secondary streets were steeper and climbed the hills. White Street was a nose bleeder climb up to Harrison and Fairmount Avenues. There were also alleys and at the dead ends of most of them were shortcut steps to higher streets.

 As the major highway, Queen City Avenue followed the course of the old Lick Run creek which was covered over into a huge conduit that drained the area down into the mill creek. Queen City Avenue started somewhere over in Brighton, across the viaduct and then came through South Fairmount. It snaked its way past the hospital into the old German settlement once known to us as Little Italy, past Metz’s wine garden, one of the old end-of-the line houses, and out past Kenning’s Gas station. It continued, passing the farm which was known as death valley due to its recorded connection with the bootleg trade, to where Queen City ended at Werk Road.  Werk Road continued out, crossing Glenmore and then Glenway and it ran out into the country beyond the city limits. Glenway and Werk later became the site of the second shopping center in the area, Western Hills Plaza. The first was Delfair on Delhi and Anderson Ferry. But that is really out of our jurisdiction…

HILLS

In the twenties and thirties one of the more famous hills, Bald Knob, was attacked by heavy excavating machines and much material was removed and hauled to the hollows where the new Union Terminal train yards and service areas were to be built. The blasting caused enormous damage to homes in the adjacent area.

In winter there was ice skating on the frozen rain water in the Knob hollows. Some affluent kids had shoe skates. Others had the old strap on kind that demanded strong ankles to skate upright. For awhile there was a police target range on the other side of the knob.

There were other hills . The one to the north was climbed by Harrison Avenue which eventually passed through Westwood on its way to Cheviot and beyond, out to where the old Nine Mile House stood.  The one to the south was a literal playground for a number of the South Fairmount children. Its top was a marshy place where springs abounded. There were little cliffs and valleys and flat spots for baseball.

 Now Quebec Heights school has intruded on much of the upper hill and then, on the Grand Avenue side, Mickey and Patrick Avenues had pushed houses into former secret places loved by the children. The top of the hill overlooking the valley was a good spot for kite flying. Several of the local  men used to fly huge box kites. In the dusk they would attach carriers to the cord and carrying a lighted lantern, the little vehicles would sail out to the kite location where they would shine like miniature, close at hand, stars.

HOLLOWS

There was a deep hollow between Westwood and Queen City east and west of Shadwell. The part east was filled in to be used for the WPA constructed park. The other remained open for many years. It was an indicator of coming floods to see the water rising in that hollow.. Later, when the Railroad removed some of the old concrete piers during the rebuilding of the main Quebec road trestle, huge chunks of concrete were hauled down to that hollow and dropped into the hole.

CEMETERIES. None known.

GROCERIES

Schneider's, Kroger’s, Westendorf’s,. and John Bauer's on Westwood Avenue , Montgomery's (two stores – one at Westwood and Quebec and the other at Seegar and Queen City), Nichting’s on Queen City at Merton Street, Scalea's, out on Queen City in Little Italy, and Gus Simon’s White Villa across from St. Bonnie's. Zoz’s deli on Quebec, almost under the trestle, had the best home baked ham in town. Later there was a saloon in back. There were others in  the area but names escape at this time..

BUTCHERS

Bolling's at Quebec and Queen City

Sickman's at Quebec and Westwood.

John Bauer's on Westwood

POULTRY DEALERS

There were several on Westwood across from the playground. Not stores per se but large sheds in the back of houses where the business was carried on.

BAKERIES

Lupps,  on Westwood across from the Margaret street steps.  One next to Hellman’s, Yaeger’s next to Scalea’s grocery on Queen City beyond Quebec and White Street, and Bates's next to Weiler's on Westwood at Shadwell. Bread and rolls and cinnamon cake and strawberry short cake and cream puffs, pie and buns and doughnuts. Apfle Strudel was a delicacy. Wrapping cakes and pies and bread in paper from the old roll dispensers and tied with string from an overhead supply.

DRUGS

Wieteki’s on Queen City, Ralph’s Hy Pure on Quebec at Westwood. Some had soda fountains, magazine racks, photo developing services. Drug stores were the sources of the spices needed for the Christmas springerlees. Cream of tarter and anise seed. Comic books, ten cent pulp magazines, Big Little books, movie fans, and many other kinds were available on the magazine racks in the drug stores.

TAVERNS   We called them saloons.

Heuers, on Quebec at Westwood. Weiler's on Westwood at Shadwell, Ernie Hammann's in the "mini mall" on Harrison. It later became Bessie's, Tony’s café, on Queen City next to the mysterious Error alley, Gus’ Family Grill, on Queen City across from the school. Zoz’s, on Quebec, Hoffman's at Westwood and Selim. Most would serve some kind of food, perhaps hamburgers and ham or cheese sandwiches, pretzels and salted peanuts to stimulate the thirst. The free lunch was dying fast. Fishbowls and beer mugs.

CANDY, ICE CREAM AND CONFECTIONERS

Hellman's,  Schum's,  Peterson's, and a little unnamed store on Queen City west of the Italian church. Most of them sold novelties. These stores were heavily involved in fireworks at the Fourth. A large variety of penny candy was available at Frank's, next to Bates's bakery on Westwood Ave. And, for a penny extra, Frank would dip your ice cream cone in “jimmie”, the little colored sprinkles.

Hellman’s was the one most kids frequented. On Queen City directly across from St. Bonnie’s church. The old hand cranked, penny, movie machine chained to the front of the store, their three seat fountain, the little post office substation behind the screen in the back,  etc. Penny candy and chewing gum. Penny, three cent and nickel candy bars. Single, double and triple dip ice cream cones. Tobacco, cigarettes, matches and pipes and little spring power guns that shot match sticks. There was a shakedown at school one dreadful day and all of the weapons were confiscated.. What about our constitutional rights against search and seizure? We did not complain because we knew that the parents would back the teachers .

BARBERS

Nick Lash at Queen City and White, Pete Sanders on Queen City near Seegar, one at Forbus and Quebec, one on Westwood near Westendorf’s Grocery. One on Westwood east of Shadwell, another on Queen city near Harrison . Pete Sanders had a mechanical barber pole that he used to wind up with a special crank each morning before he started business and it probably ran all day on one winding. At least he was never seen winding it later in the day.

GASOLINE STATIONS,

Egner’s on Quebec at Thinnes, Foxe’s on Quebec on the south side of the trestle, Gulf, Sunoco, Kennings’, out on Queen City Avenue where LaFuelle would eventually be cut through. Charlie Meyer's at Quebec and Queen City.  And others.

The very early stations had pumps hand operated by a long lever that pumped gas into the big glass tank and then drained into the car tanks. Later the pumps were electrified.

The Gulf station at Shadwell and Westwood also dispensed the first Archie comics. These were supposed to be reserved for the gasoline customers, but the operators gave them to the kids on their way to the Shadwell Park swimming pool.

CHURCHES

St Bonnies, the  central force in South Fairmount.

St Anthonio’s was also referred to as the Italian church.

The chimes from the Protestant church up on the northern hill, echoing out the Old Rugged Cross and others favorite hymns, every evening .

SCHOOLS

St Bonnie’s, Roosevelt, Central Fairmount

St Bonnie’s school days.  No snow days, the kids all walked to school, long "drillies" tucked in stockings against the cold  (at least the girls did), and the teachers lived across the street. No buses. What snow problems?

Other school stories. Sister Viola was the principal and she was a mysterious  figure lurking in her second floor office of the new building.. Fear of the mythical paddling machine in the principal’s office. Also, the elite privilege of ringing the dismissal bell and operating the victrola that played the marching songs as we stomped down the hall