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I am hoping that this page will serve a few purposes. Hopefully, to remember Youngstown as a place that we loved and still have fond memories of today and also to help those of you who live out of Youngstown with addresses and links to help with your research in Genealogy. I hope that you will let me know if you want an address or a link added and also share your memories of Youngstown with us!(This site is dedicated to my grandfather, Frank G. "Skeets" Timlin)
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My Memories by: Cathie
I was inspired to make this page because of the memories that people were talking about on the OHMAHONI-L@rootsweb.com mailing list. I couldn't help but to get caught up in it all! I grew up for the first 8 years of my life, on the north side of Youngstown. I had an uncle that was All City for Rayen HS, and sports were a big part of our family. I was somewhat of a tomboy and wanted to be where my uncles were. I spent much of my time at the Youngstown Parks. The playgrounds had a male an a female playground counselor and they organized activites for the kids. I spent my summers at Parmalee playground, Evans Field, Wick and Crandall Park. What a great area back then. The lawns were manicured and taken care of with such pride! I remember walking to Northside swimming pool and stopping at the bakery on the way home for a warm glazed donut which cost 3 cents! I would sneak off to the Liberty Plaza where the Five & Dimes held my next toy! The "MOO SHOP" & the "DOG HOUSE" were the two places that I could find someone from my family sitting so I was sure of a ride back home after a day of adventure. Going to Jay's Hot Dog Shop was a big deal to me! I can remember seeing hot dog buns lined up the man's arm, as he slapped the mustard on with a paintbrush, put on the chili and sprinkled the onions on then wrapped them in the waxed paper! They had to be the best, ever!
We all attended St. Ann's Church on W. Federal St. and I remember looking forward to stopping at Isaly's for breakfast after mass! The saddest memory of my early childhood was when we watched St. Ann's being torn down! I moved to the south side and grew up there. What a great place Market St. was! I can remember the kids cruising in their cars up and down the street, all night long! (I did the same thing when I got my chance!) We would go from the traffic circle downtown to 224 in Boardman and cut through McDonald's to see our friends then start all over, again!
Where did it all go? Why? What happened to this town where Idora Park and the Canfield Fair were what the kids looked forward to all summer? When the families leave and crime come to every street corner? Where are the beautiful theatres that downtown had? The Palace, Warner, Paramount, the neighborhood theatres? The downtown area where we all had memories of the Strouss malts or the Italian Restaurant? I guess for me they are still as real as if they still existed because they live in my heart and in my memories! Thanks to all of you who shared your memories with me! They are something that will always live on and on!
Cathie
Cardinal Moooney ' 71
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Cathie, A great idea! I hope we haven't worn out our fervor for memories of the old city. I also remember Idora Park, particularly a few dances in the old ballroom. I went to a Stan Kenton concert there. Not too many people probably remember his band - noted for his "screaming" brass section. I enjoyed the free day paid for by the unions; everything was free so you could ride all day. I also remember the french fries in the cone-shaped paper holders with vinegar sprinkled on them.
As I mentioned in the OHMAHONI list, I attended Sacred Heart school on the east side until the third grade, moved to Colonial Drive just inside Trumbull Co (behind the North Side Hospital and the golf course) and then attended St. Edward School and St. Edward Jr. High before going to Ursuline and Youngstown U. (before it was YSU and the basketball team was much better than the football team).I moved away from Youngstown (for good, I guess) when I graduated from YU. I visited recently and sadly noticed the deterioration which has occurred in the city.
My family put steel in several buildings in Youngstown, including some wings of St. Elizabeth Hospital, St. Columba Cathedral, a few small bridges around the city as well as some school buildings. In 1961, to help with the fund raising for the new cathedral, the Hagan Bros. Co. put the cross on the bell tower with a helicopter, something which was not as routine as it is today.
As you pointed out, Jay's hot dogs were almost a late night staple in quite a few homes. Guaranteed to give you the scariest nightmares! North Side Pool, the Belmont theater, Crandall Park, Wick Park, Stambaugh Auditorium where I heard for the first time a live orchestra, the State, Palace, and Warner theaters downtown, Strouss's, McKelveys - all those are names that come easily to my mind while I can't remember where I left my glasses last.
I'll ask my uncle to contribute. He now lives in Madison and has some very interesting and funny recollections of life in Youngstown during the depression. Good luck with the page, and I hope others join in.
Ed Hagan
Ursuline '58
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Memories by Marie What a great idea for this homepage! All this reminiscing is really making me terribly homesick and I live too far away to run right back there. Ed's memories were just too familiar and I read them with glee. I went to St. Edward's grade school, shopped in the Isaly store (remember those giant shyscraper ice cream cones?) and went to Belmont Theater every Saturday afternoon with my friends. Those were the days when a kid could watch a double feature plus a cartoon, and not hear one cuz word or see anythng immoral all afternoon. Every Saturday, the movies were different and if I remember correctly, it only cost $.35 for the childrens' matinee.
Yes, we ate Jays hotdogs too. My dad would leave the family out in the car when he went inside and we were safe sitting there. To this day, my husband who is also from Youngstwon, and I sometimes wish that we could still get a Jay's hotdog. None before and none since can compare to Jay's hotdogs. It was always a special Sunday afternoon treat, to drive over to the South side to get a cone at Handels. Their ice cream was the best in the world and they had every flavor that a kid could imagine.
Wick Park was by our house and there was always planned activities for the kids in the summer. We used to take our lunch and play all day there. . On Wednesday summer evenings people would sit around the bandstand and listen to the live band concerts. We could always go to Crandall Park and feed the swans during the warm months and skate on the best ice during the cold winter months. All of these activities never cost a dime and we never worried about our safty. Beautiful Mill Creek Park was a place for the end of the year school picnics, girl scout day camp, senior picnics, or a place for a nice relaxing family hike.
Idora Park was always so much fun. Does anyone remember Disc Jockey Day, usually the first Saturday in May, where you could ride all of the rides all day long for only a couple of dollars? I especially loved the ethnic days at Idora. One could see people dressed in their native costumes and taste delicious ethnic foods. Idora had something for everyone. Who from Youngstown can ever forget the beautiful fireworks display on the 4th of July? I remember having to park the car blocks away from the park just to see the fireworks, but the 4th didn't seem complete without going there. As teens we attended sock hops in the ballroom and as young adults we danced away the hours to Louie Armstrong, Pete Fontaine, and other big name bands that regularly played at beautiful Idora.
Youngstown also had the most beautiful theaters downtown. The Palace, Paramont, Warner and the State. When I was in high school I worked as an usherette for the State Theater. The seats were reserved for movies such as Ten Commandments, Around the World in Eighty Days, etc. The usheretts wore tea lenght formals. We had the most wonderful boss, Mr. Petritch. He made out a schedule so that each girl worked mostly walk-ins and two or three intermissions a week. The walk-ins only meant that we worked for an hour and after the people were escorted to their seats we could go home. For intermission, we had to stay and work through intermission at the refreshment stand. What was so unique about this job, was his concern about our education. There were desks set up in the dressing room and a typewriter was available so that we could study while waiting for intermission. When report cards were due, Mr. Petrich expected to see them. If our grades weren't as he expected then we didn't work until the grades were back up. At least that is what he told us would happen. With a role model like him, I don't think anyone working for him ever took their education for granted. All kids should be so lucky to work in a place like State Theater.
Youngstown was a steel mill town that welcomed the immigrants from various countries and made the American dream a possibility. Because of these hard working people Youngstown thrived on cultural diversity and made it a wonderful place to grow up in. I will always be proud to say, "I am from Youngstown".
Marie
Ursuline '59'
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I didn't grow up in Youngstown, but my Mother did so started going there with her when I was little. We lived in Meadville, PA, and my father was a Railroad Engineer, so in my teens, lucky me (and my best friend) had passes. We used to get on the morning train to Youngstown, spend the day in the big stores, Strous-Hirshberg? And McKelvies ?...dreaming of the clothes we would buy someday, the furniture we would purchase for our future homes, and having just barely enough money for a light lunch, would eventually get back on the train in the late afternoon for home. Youngstown was a lot of fun for a couple young girls.....wouldn't want my granddaughters to do that in this day and age. Times have changed everywhere.
Dee in Erie, PA
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This is so wonderful! I'm so glad you were inspired to start the Youngstown Homepage. I didn't exactly grow up in Youngstown but I have so many fond memories, too. Every August my aunt would drive my mother, my sister and I into Youngstown to shop for school clothes--this was very exciting when growing up in the fifties. We would always have lunch at some small diner; I have no idea where that diner was located, but it was part of the thrill of going into Youngstown.
Another aunt would take me across town on a bus to spend the day at Idora Park. Later, I was working at the advertising agency that handled the Idora Park account. My friends and I watched the tv in dismay when the park, sadly, went up in smoke. Best Wishes,
Elizabeth
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