The Old Armed Forces Military Honor Roll Austin Pennsylvania

 

The Armed Services Military Honor Roll Monument

How many of you remember the Armed Services Honor Roll Monument that was located in what is now known as the Town Square in Austin, Pennsylvania.  As a kid, my friends and I would frequently stop by the monument and look at all the names that appeared inside the glass window.  My uncle Fred J. VanWhy's name appeared therein as he was killed in action during the Korean War.

Thanks to Mr. Gary Jeffers, most, if not all, of those name plates were saved. Kudos to Nancy Glover for arranging and gluing the name plates to the wall  in the Armed Forces room located on the second floor of the E.O. Austin Home/Historical Society Museum.

The Old Community Building, Austin, Pennsylvania

 

Photo of the old Community Building from the Doris VanWhy Fowler Collection

Edward Ritsick KIA Vietnam War

 

Edward Ritsick

Veterans Memorial Austin Pennsylvania

 

Caretaker Nancy Glover

Captain Edgar E Nuschke KIA Vietnam War

 

Captain Edgar E. Nuschke was killed-in-action during the Vietnam War. Additional information on Captain Nuschke can be found at the E.O. Austin Home Historical Society Museum, Austin, Pennsylvania. Read More

Henry Christian Rukgaber Austin, Pennsylvania

 

Rugaber Street, Austin, Pennsylvania, Updated

The founder of Austin, Pennsylvania, E.O. Austin, was a surveyor and engineer. He surveyed and named the first streets in Austin.

On page 13 of her book Community Growth in Freeman Run, Marie Kathern Nuschke indicates that many of the streets were named after people who built houses on them. On page 23 she states that Rukgaber Street was named after Henry Christian Rukgaber.

Henry and his wife, Mary, migrated to Austin, Pennsylvania, from Middlebury, Pennsylvania, in 1886.

Henry was a blacksmith and Mary was a surgeon.

Henry Christian Rukgaber

He would build their home north of the intersection of Main Street and Route 872. This property would later become L. Nuschke's Store and then Cooney's Hardware Store before the building was tore down. Today, this lot is vacant.

 The Rukgaber property would transfer to L. Nuschke's sometime prior to the 1911 Flood

Picture of the former Rukgaber property In background, 1918

The property Is vacant today and It Is hard to imagine a building ever being located there

Prior to divorcing, Henry and Mary would have two children, Harry John and Pansy Rose, who are pictured below:

Pansy Rose and Harry John Rukgaber

After divorcing, Henry Christian Rukgaber would leave Austin  in 1903 and remarry, He died on December 17, 1927, in Northport, Washington.

I was unable to locate a picture of  Mary Lentz Rukgaber.

Note: At some point in time the k in Rukgaber was dropped and became Rugaber Street.

Due to the substantial growth In the late 1800's and early 1900's, north Rukgaber above Elliott was referred to as Upper Rukgaber Street.

The Bayless Pulp and Paper Company would build houses on Rukgaber Street for their key employees which was referred to as Bayless Row:

Only 9 of the original Bayless Row Homes remain.

One of the homes was destroyed in the 1942 flood.

Here is how Rugaber Street looks today:

I have recently learned that the house I now live in at 167 Rugaber Street was the home of Stanley Bayless at one time:

167 Rugaber Street

Paul W. Bennett, a former resident of Austin, Pennsylvania, and graduate of Austin High School assisted in the research for this article.

Denise Owens, the Resident Genealogist here in the Austin Area, has also provided invaluable assistance.

Marie Kathern Nuschke's book Community Growth in Freeman Run can be purchased at the E.O.Austin Home/Historical Society Museum on Main Street in Austin, or, by calling the museum at 814-647-8358 and placing your order.

Note: This article was originally posted to the Austin Boro News Blog on Saturday, August 6, 2016

Oliver S Garretson Connection To Austin, Pennsylvania

 

Garretson Street, Austin, Pennsylvania

One of the most interesting individuals in the early history of Austin, Pennsylvania, is Oliver S. Garretson.

Prior to becoming a boomtown in the late 1800s, people from Buffalo came to Austin to fish. Mr. Garretson was one of those people. Austin was known as Freeman Run at the time.

He was a wealthy businessman who invested in Austin by building two sawmills and a store here  In her book Industry Comes To Freeman Run, Marie Kathern Nuschke states that the store was the biggest in Potter County at the time.

Marie also states that although he never lived in Austin, his brother's  Cyrus and Issac did, and Mr. Garretson and his family would visit them often.

Garretson Street is named after him.

Garretson Street. View from Main Street/Route 607 looking west

It is believed that Mr. Garretson was born in 1843 and died in 1908.

He founded The Buffalo School Furniture Company in Buffalo, New York and also owned other businesses there.

The picture of Oliver S. Garretson is found on page 17 of Industry Comes To Freeman Run which can be purchased at the E.O. Austin Home/Historical Society Museum. Their telephone number is 814-647-8358.

The Old Community Building, Austin, Pennsylvania

 

Photo of the old Community Building from the Doris VanWhy Fowler Collection

Austin High School's First Girls' Basketball Team

 

YN2 Fowler Reports To ComFive Law Center, Norfork, Virginia

 Norfolk is the largest Naval Base in the USA.

The ComFive Law Center was located in the same building as the Commander of the Fifth Naval District on the 2nd floor.

I would initially be assigned to the court reporting pool.

I am pictured in 2nd row, 2nd person from the left, wearing a mustache.

Command Logo

Old Uniform. Hair does not conform to military standards.

I would be eligible for the E-6 exam at the five (5) year point in the USN.

Wearing winter uniform with the LN1/paygrade E-6 patch.

As soon as I made LN1. I would also report to the Claims Office for training and experience.

When the Chief Petty Officer retired in the Legal Assistance Office, I was assigned to take his place.

The Norfolk Legal Assistance Office was the largest in the USN. I had a minority working for me and that would be a plus noted in my performance evaluation.

Reenlisting for orders to Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines. Summer uniform.