The Mail-Journal, Volume 26, Number 20, Milford, Kosciusko County, 1 July 1987 — Page 50

THE MAIL-JOURNAL —Wed., July 1,1987

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Growing up in Syracuse with many friends

By ELOISE HOLLOWAY KLINK ROGERS A Granddaughter of Syracuse Pioneer Families Os Miles, Holloway, And Strieby Settlers I think that perhaps I am discovering why I have always had a persistent measure of fear of being alone in any strange large city. I have even had recurring dreams of being in this miserable circumstance where all were too busy and uncaring to even give me instructions how to get back to my own home. It surely must be because I had the good fortune to grow up in a little town where in most every block there was a familiar friend or relative — and where a big share of the uptown merchants were related to my families. This was easy to understand since so many of my ancestors had been early settlers of this region and had come from large families. My mother, Lulu Strieby Holloway, used to tell me that her father, Henry Strieby, used to play with some of the native Indians across Syracuse Lake at Indian Hill. He had remembered seeing how they disposed of their deceased relatives by stretching them across high limbs of the trees. He had also observed that their little babies, tucked in their papoose boards, were of such a stoic nature, that he never heard one cry when he was around. I’m sure Grandpa Henry must have known our Syracuse founders, Mr. Crosson and Mr. Ward, very well, for I found his name on the abstract for the house my husband, Dial Rogers, and I bought at 200 So. Lake Street about 1956. It verified some facts about either Mr. Crosson or Mr. Ward. It was also interesting to note that this lot had once been sold for a price of only $4 in that early time — quite a contrast to prices of lake lots of this time. On my father, Everton Eugene “Gene” Holloway’s side, there were many early settlers also. In fact, his father, Edwin Forrest Holloway wed to Barbara Ellen Miles, was elected the very first clerk or secretary of the town board when it was incorporated. He even drew up the incorporation papers. He was such a beautiful penman, that our later clerk, Ernest Breckholtz, used to meet my sister, Jessie Holloway Zerbe, often on the -street and remark about the beautiful penmanship of our grandpa, with all the artistic flourishes he used. This artistic talent was used in painting and decorating buggies of that era. He was also a musician who used to play the violin for all night square dances in a big bar at “Cranberry Hill” north

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of town. I faintly remember hearing that he had played the bugle and the drums, also, during the Civil War, as did his brother, Eli Holloway. First Officers The first officers of the newly incorporated Syracuse was sort of a family affair for my father, for his grandfather, Evan Miles, was elected as the first president of the town board. It is interesting to read in the Syracuse History Volumes, written by Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Sharpy-how one of their urgent problems to be solved by these new board members was to find Solomon-like solutions to unrestrained farm animals running over people’s property. Incidentally, these Miles and Holloway officers and their families all lived in the historic house at 200 E. Pearl St., which I still presently maintain and cherish for memories of all the many loved ones of both ancestors and progeny who have walked in, and out, of its doors for so many generations up to this time. I’d like to know how old this house is and who built it, but as so often happens, I didn’t ask enough questions when I had the chance. There is no abstract, just a quit claim deed, which I’ve heard had something to do with Grandma Ellen’s more opulent brother, Preston Miles of Milford in owning it and turning it over to her. However, our town’s present outstanding genealogist, Jack Elam, has found indications that this (dear) house might have been , the one that once stood where the first brick schoolhouse was built across from the Church of God. Neither do I know who built my parents’ home next door at 206 E. Pearl St., where my sister, Jessie, brothers, Hallie and Burdette, and I were born. But I did know that when I was sent from this house to go uptown as a little girl, I would meet a lot of friendly faces. First I would pass the Landis house (the present Grieger house) then the houses of my closest neighborhood playmates, Nellie, Harry, and Alice Mann, and across the street the house of Waneta and Frederick Beery. The library was not yet on the comer, for a house was still in that place: Then I was up to Main Street and facing the new beautiful school house with the older one still back of it. Going west past the drugstore (I think Mr. Mann or Mr. Green ran it) and later the post office, then Mr. Hoffman’s jewelry store. Then I’m not sure if “Henny” Sloan’s friendly little restaurant was next or not but I do remember coming to a vacant lot and section of sidewalk which

was not made of cement yet, but was still made of boards, before reaching the Grand Hotel on the corner. Here was an inviting door with an intriguing little bell on it to announce the customer and to summon the dear Jittle lady with the white hair ana the protruding goiter on her neck who lived in the back room. She would show us the most beautiful array of penny candy that young eyes had ever looked upon. And with her infinite patience, she would help us figure out how our few pennies would stretch the farthest. I’m sure I always included my favorite choice of the stick candy with a ring on it. Going past the Grand Hotel and across Huntington Street on the corner was Uncle Will Strieby’s big general store. Besides being a practical shopping center, this was one of the most popular social centers of the town. Every Saturday night, some of the country folks would bring in their butter and eggs, etc., to sell to the grocery department in the rear, look around, or buy something in the front dry goods department and then park on the long benches up front and visit for hours. These gatherings were also popular on band concert nights, usually on a Wednesday. As a little girl, I was always very impressed with all the tinsel Uncle Will used on his constructed arch to display his Christmas handkerchiefs and other store items. Another happy memory of him and the store is that of my mother asking him to bring back a pair of black patent leather button shoes with white suede tops for me when he went to Chicago on a buying trip. In a day when most of us always wore black buttoned shoes, the white ones were kept just for Sunday school, where I would proudly walk down Harrison Street to the Trinity Evangelical Church where we attended. Opera House The upper floor of Uncle Will’s store also holds many memories. I remember it as first being an opera house where I have a faint recollection of my sister, Jessie, receiving a prize for the “most popular lady” contest. And another time of seeing her on the stage singing “Carolina In The Morning” in a home talent minstrel show, which was so popular in that day. I think I was five or six years old when our school class dressed as fairy dancers in a school program held there and I was awe stricken by the size of such a big room. Later, the upstairs became the meeting place of the Knights of Pythias Lodge. Their yearly banquets, with entertainment and dancing, became one of the social events of the year. Sometimes my sister, Jessie, would play the piano and either her husband, Wade Zerbe, or Ken Harkless would play the drums for these dances. At this later time, I didn’t think these upstair rooms seemed nearly as big as when I was a little tot. First Drugstore Still going west in the middle of this block (north side) even before I was born, there had been one of our first drugstores owned by Grandpa Ed’s brother, Eli Holloway (Millard Hire’s grandfather). This had been another popular meeting place in earlier days. Ken Harkless had an early photo showing this block of the 1800 s. In an early issue of the Syracuse Journal, an item entitled “The Musical Holloways” told how my Grandpa Ed and Uncle Eli (both Civil War veterans) and my father, “Gene,” would often play their musical instruments (between drug sales) and indulge in many a songfest which included songs like “Marching Through Georgia” and “Listen To The

Mocking Bird.” At times, my Aunt Elizabeth Holloway Haney was said to charm the gathering with cute little dances. Sadly, Uncle Eli did not live very long (so I can remember only Aunt Joan). It was said that his health had been ruined by the terrible ordeals of the Civil War. His son, Roy Holloway, had died young also, a hero aboard a ship in the Spanish American War. But these Holloways were progenitors of many descendants of varying musical talents that have developed down through the years. In the article by Ira Howard, I believe, included some of the following names: Sarah Holloway Potter McLaughlin of Milford, sister of Uncle Eli and Grandpa Ed, had a daughter, Maude McLaughlin, who became Milford’s talented music teacher for many years before retiring and helping our present outstanding publishers of the present The Mail-Journal, Arch and Della Baumgartner. I can’t resist mentioning another Milford cousin, Aunt Alice Miles Felkner’s daughter, Esther, who was so well known for her piano playing for the Warsaw and Milford early theaters for many years. Uncle Eli’s musical talent was also passed on through his daughters, Chloe Hires and Winifred Riddle. Millard Hire was the recipient of many national honors for leading superior bands and bugle corps and his daughter, Sasha, was trained as a singer. Winifred’s grandson, George Riddle, is an outstanding musician, actor, and dancer of New York City, who at the present time as been receiving “rave reviews” in the eastern papers for his clever characterizations, singing, and dancing. Grandpa Ed’s musical talent sifted down through the generations of their daughter, Elizabeth, and my father, “Gene.” Aunt Elizabeth and husband, Otto Haney, moved to Florida in the 1900 s where many of their children carved out musical careers. Daughters Prudence and Maxine were pianists. In fact, Prudence just recently retired as pianist and organigt for her church after some 70 years. Her brother, Ralph, had the distinction of being hired to tune the piano of our famous inventor, Thomas A. Edison, at his estate in Ft. Myers, Fla. My father was a talented cornet player. He can be seen in the early pictures of our Syracuse band. I can remember being held up in Mother’s and Grandmother’s arms to get a glimpse of him on the high platform of the bandstand in the main square. He was also adept at doing a soft shoe dance and singing clever little songs while accompanying himself on the guitar. One of my favorite’s was “Brian O’Lynn,” which he used to sing to amuse me. There were many other clever songs in his repertory, along with the more serious ones my mother and grandmother used to sing to us, such as “The Three Babes in the Woods Who Were Lost,” “Twenty Froggies Went to School,” and “After The Ball Was Over.” Professional Guide My father had held various jobs, including work in the town’s early barf’d factory or “cooper shop,” working on a cement dredge, owning the early theater. But he always returned to his real vocation of being a professional * guide on Lake Wawasee for wealthy fishermen. Some of these included the Colonel Eli Lilly families of pharmaceutical fame; J. C. Penney, originator of the present chain of stores; and John Ellsworth, whose big store flourished so many years in South

Bend. So I am sure that these noted tycoons had heard the very same amusing songs that my ears had heard. It would have been natural for him, when the fish weren’t biting for a long spell, to occasionally burst out with a few of his little choice ditties to fill in those hills. To follow through with his musical talent being passed on in varying degrees, mention should first be made of my sister, Jessie. When no more than about 15 years old, she played the piano for the early Wawasee hotels, such as Vawter Park, Sargents, and later The Spink Wawasee Hotel for dinner music and dances. She also played for The Theatorium, the first Syracuse movie house. Like her cousin, Esther Felkner, she was very adapt at quickly changing the theme of her piano music from a sad scene to the tempo of the galloping scene of the horses. My brother Hallie’s daughters, Marilyn and Maxine, were both excellent piano players. With a lesser talent, I hesitate to mention that as a girl I was able to fill in as a pianist and soloist for a number of years at our Trinity Evangelical Church. I tried to nurture this talent in my daughter, Beverly Klink Lockwitz, who might have excelled in it, but like many others, became more interested in other pursuits. Her two sons, John Albert Lockwitz 111 (wed to Katherine Lakner), and Miles Eugene Lockwitz, (wed to Linda Smith), wanted no part of music lessons. So if any remainder of Holloway musical talent in my direct family line eVer comes to fruition, it will have to come t h r o u g h my greatgranddaughters, Lisa Ann or Jennifer Sue, daughters of John Albert or Kristy Lynn, daughter of Miles Eugene Lockwitz. Purchases Theatorium To go back to the uptown business scene of my childhood days, just west of Uncle Will’s . store was the Beckman Furniture / Store, then next was the movie z house. It’s front entrance. Was reserved for papers, magazines, tobacco, candy, and of course, a popcorn machine. Here is where my future brother-in-law, Wade Zerbe, worked (before he later became a manager of the telephone office). This is how my father was influenced to buy this “Theatorium” around the year 1911,1 think. My mother then sold tickets, my father collected them, my brothers, who both later became rural mail carriers, were taught to run the movie projector, rewind the reels, and splice the broken films together with a smelly mixture of ether and banana oil. This was sometimes done while an impatient audience would start to stomp their feet because of the delay. Os course, Wade was the experienced operator, while Jessie played the piano. The movie crowds were usually quite large because this was in the era of the prosperous days of the cement factory boom on Medusa Street. A large number of Hungarian people had moved into town to work in this plant and they helped to “swell the crowds.” At this time of their infancy, the movies were very entertaining. It was the day of the “tworeefers” of comedians, such as Charlie Chaplin and the weekly installments of breath-taking serials, such as “The Perils of Pauline,” featuring Pearl White and “The Red Circle,” starring Ruth Roland, I believe. I can remember watching the audiences laughing or wondering what the next episode would do to rescue poor Pauline. This serial was the catalyst (Continued on page 3)