Memoirs of Norbert E. Gnadinger, Sr. Volume 1

1925

I am now four years old and I am beginning to remember more that is happening about me. Not a whole lot but those things which made an impression on me. What really made a big impression on me was mention of the Klue Klux Klan, a radical group and carry over from the post Civil War in the south. It was being revived in our area and was talked about around the dinner table. I knew the Klan was bad and every time I was naughty, everyone would tell me the Klan was just up the street on Reutlinger and they would come down and get me. I didn’t know what they would do with me if they got me but I wasn’t taking any chances by continuing to be bad. You will have to do your own research on the Klan and form your own opinion. My opinion is all negative.

I mentioned earlier that most of the streets were made of paving bricks in our neighborhood. Some were not paved at all and most of the alleys were mud and cinders. Out in the county and throughout all the state, the roads were unmade except for the Federal Highways. Once you got off these super, two lane roads you were in trouble. They were rough and you mostly had to follow in the ruts that previous cars and wagons had made. Also, after leaving the Federal Highways, there were few bridges over creeks and other small streams. I can remember when we approached a stream and if it had rained recently, some of us would take off our shoes and stockings (yes stockings) and walk across the water to test how deep it was so Pop would be sure he could make it across. In hot weather we didn’t mind walking in the cool water.

Most of our automobile trips through the countryside were made to visit my Aunt Rose Gnadinger (I had three Aunt Roses’ and we named our daughter, Rosie, after all three). “Tante” Rose was married to Pop’s brother, Joseph. When Uncle Joseph died in 1917, Aunt Rose moved into our home and worked at odd jobs before finally being hired as a cook and housekeeper for Rev. E.J. Menke who was being reassigned to the Catholic church, St. Ambrose, in Cecilia, Ky. Fr. Menke was later pastor of the church in Stanley, Ky. just west of Owensboro, Ky. and Aunt Rose went there with him, also.

Here I go off on a tangent again but this period of time was interesting for me. I will get back to the roads and automobiles again after I bring out these points. Most of our visits to see Aunt Rose and Fr. Menke were at the time of the annual church picnics. My sister, Mary Catherine, and my brother Stanley who hitch-hiked down there, spent a lot more time with them than the rest of us did. First of all, all the kids slept in the Sister’s House for the good Sisters were off to colleges to improve there general knowledge and I’m sure there were several “Retreats” thrown in. I would guess we visited for at least a week.

In that part of the state, Barbecue and Burgoo were the foods of choice and the local farmers were very good at preparing them. For the Barbecue, a long pit was dug. A metal mesh cover was placed about two feet above the pit. The pit was loaded with hickory logs and set aflame. After the logs had begun to turn into hot coals, the various cuts of meat from many different animals were placed on the mesh and the cooking began. This took up most of the night and while it was happening, there were others who were preparing the Barbecue Sauce with vinegar and whatever else made up their secret recipe. The Burgoo was now begun and made from fresh produce from the surrounding farms. I always try Burgoo today at various Church Picnics but I am always disappointed. The modern Burgoo lacks something which the old timers knew and used. Probably old time lard for seasoning.

The picnic itself was quite similar to our modern ones. The main difference was that most of the items raffled off were home made. The home made cakes and candy would make a little boys’ mouth water. There was the usual sit down dinner, cold water- melon was sold by the slice and you could get an ice-cream cone for a nickel if you had a nickel. There was a fishing booth for children. You gave the lady your money, she handed you a cane fishing pole with a heavy string attached. You lowered the string over and behind a tarpaulin which concealed the fish and you called out, “Boy” or “Girl”. Someone behind the tarpaulin tied a prize to the end of your string and you reeled in your fish. A boy might even receive a tiny knife with bright celluloid (plastic) sides.(10-09-2000)
Later, after the picnic was over, Fr. Menke would let me go through the left over gifts from the fishing booth and pick out a free gift for myself. All the good stuff was gone but I usually managed to find something I liked and appreciated.

From the church itself we would take walks through the countryside to visit the farms. All of the farms had a large bell which was rung to bring in the field hands for dinner and was also used as an alarm system to call for help. I later made a point to buy a similar bell for my property when we lived in the country on Budd Road in Indiana. We could also walk to the north and would soon be at the Ohio River. I wasn’t allowed to go that way by myself.

Fr. Menke owned an automobile, maker unknown, which was of the Coupe design and it contained a “Rumble” seat. When he had to travel into Owensboro or Henderson and if I was allowed to go along, he let me sit in the “Rumble” seat. It was quite an experience for a little boy sitting out in the open with the wind blowing you away. I guess you now want me to explain what is a Coupe and a “Rumble” seat. A Coupe was a sporty type of car. Just two doors and one seat enclosed with roll-down windows, which were rare at that time and a small air vent which you could open, on each side down near your feet. Outside and in the back was an enclosure you could open with a single, ordinary car-door handle. When you turned the handle and lifted up, the panel contained the back rest and the seat was below and to the front. There was room for your feet and the compartment would hold two. Why was it called a “Rumble” seat? I was too young to know but I have heard that dating couples would fight over who would get the “Rumble” seat when they were double-dating and the couple who got this seat could really “Rumble”(?). Don’t let your imagination run away with you. It has also been suggested that the “Rumble” came from the noise of the auto traveling over the rough country roads. Take your pick.

I don’t know what happened to the business relationship between Aunt Rose and Fr. Menke. They separated when he was transferred back to Louisville. He was assigned to St. Terese parish and possibly the church already had a permanent Housekeeper. Aunt Rose did continue as a Housekeeper-Cook though. (10-12-2000)

Since I am discussing automobiles, at length, I believe I should now head north. Pop’s sister, Elizabeth (Aunt Lizzie), married a man named Peter Klein(Uncle Pete). He had various jobs before settling-in with the Otis Elevator Co. He was listed as a foreman of the shop and then superintendent at the time the plant was closed and it and he and Aunt Lissie moved to Chicago in 1917. They bought a home on Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois, now a suburb in the west section of Chicago. During the 1920’s we would visit with them every year. I was impressed with and remember many things about these trips. First, I was so small and there were so many of us in the car that I spent a lot of my time on the floor in the back seat under the legs of the others, usually napping. There was much more leg room in the back seat of those old cars. Along the way we would continually pass over the Interurban and railroad tracks. I remember this because of the comment that the Coopers used these tracks in taking the Interurban Car to visit Uncle Harry’s relatives in Indianapolis. In those days, along the highways, were restaurants for the traveling public. I only recall one and it was shaped like a giant coffee pot. Boy, was that something to see. There were many more but that is the only one that stuck in my mind. I’ll never forget the Veterans Monument in downtown Indianapolis (it was Huge) and we road by Butler College (now University).(10-15-2000)

From our home base in Oak Park, we traveled all over Chicago by car and by a branch of the Elevated Train. One trip I recall was a visit to Mundelein, Ill. to the north of Chicago to visit a cousin, George Stober, who was enrolled at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, a Catholic Seminary located there. I only remember that it was a beautiful place with lots of water, trees and marble. George did not become a priest. George Stober was related to me through my aunt and Pop’s sister, Mary Catherine Gnadinger who married Jacob Stober who was George’s grandfather. Clear?

When sight-seeing, we could drive down Roosevelt Road which cut through Oak Park on its way to the heart of downtown or by using the elevated which followed the same path to downtown. There were so many things to do downtown. One time we had a swimming party in a lagoon which opened off Lake Michigan. The water was cold. We visited the Zoo. There was a tremendous park, Grant Park, just back from the lake. In its center was Buckingham Fountain, the greatest thing I had seen up to then. It was lit up with colored lights at night. A common-place today but great then. Nearby, just off the elevated “loop” of downtown, were the Field Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Science and Industry. We also visited the Adler Planetarium, the Chicago Stock Yards, the largest in the world at that time, and the Navy Pier which jutted out into Lake Michigan. We took boat rides from the pier.

Another event that made a tremendous impression on me was a visit to the new Chicago Midway Airport. We rode all around the perimeter of the field and finally stopped to watch small airplanes land and take-off. We were in the country. Years later, I landed and took off from this field on a commercial air-liner. We were concerned that we were going to scrape the roofs of tall buildings lining the airport. What a change! Now for the coup de grace: Near the intersection of Oak Park Avenue and Roosevelt Road was a very interesting ice cream parlor. Their special at this point in time was a seven (7) scoop ice cream cone for about 15 or 20 cents. I remember having eaten only one, with mixed flavors. Wouldn’t that make your mouth water? After the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929 we did not visit Chicago again even though my brother Stanley hitch-hiked to there several times. Stanley was a roamer at that time.

Aunt Lizzie died in 1943 and Uncle Pete Klein died in 1945. They are buried in Calvary Cemetery in Louisville in the same plot with Uncle John and Aunt Agnes Gnadinger. (Mom’s Aunt Frances (Von Bossum) Droppelman died Aug. 27, 1925) (10-16-2000)