Refrigerators, Porches and Televisions: Knowing Curryville Inside and Out

Next on the Curryville memory road were the Mocks. Their daughter Joyce and I played in their home and garage a lot. Joyce and I played dress up. I thought she was a very lucky girl to be able to have her own play area in their garage.

Next was Mrs. Edith Strasser. She was our Curryville school teacher for grades four through eight. She was an excellent teacher — even saw that we had hot lunches, making Campbell soup for all of us in the one room of that two-room school house. She often sat in her back porch and sometimes told me to check the refrigerator — she had an extra piece of lemon pie or something. I think I knew every porch and refrigerator in Curryville.

Next was Levi and Susie Sollenberger and then the Howard Guyer house. Dukemans lived at the very top of the hill. That was way up there from my house – that hill that we pulled our sleds up so that we could then ride the whole way down. If all conditions and sleds were right, we made it the whole way to our house. When I look at it now, I notice that it has shrunk quite a bit. It is barely a slight grade. Amazing!

Carl and Florence Dukeman had a daughter, Anna Mary. My Uncle Don Smith married her. I remember watching T.V. with the Dukemans in the evenings. They served popcorn. They usually gave me a tip when they paid me for their Altoona Mirror. They also bought the most subscriptions of magazines when I sold them for the school. Because I knew everyone in Curryville, I won many prizes for selling the most candy or magazines when our schools had fundraisers. I even won a watch one time.

Betty Wineland lived in the house across the road from the Dukemans. I spent many hours with her watching television. She had the best television in Curryville next to Bill Wineland’s and the Clappers’. Her favorite show was The Amateur Hour. Maybe I knew all the televisions in addition to the refrigerators and porches?

Next coming down the hill was the Robert and Mae Brumbaugh home (top photo). They had two sons, Don and Clair. They had a farm and a barn (bottom photo). We often played in the hay loft. I never milked a cow, but I felt very comfortable in barns and fields. I spent many hours in the Brumbaugh fields because they spanned behind our house for as far as I could see. My dog and I loved to run through the fields there. Mrs. Brumbaugh always had good things brewing in her big kitchen. One day their dog bit me. My dad took me to the doctor. I was terrified, but dad was my protector and he said the doctor might give me a shot, but it would only hurt for a second. To both of our surprises, the doctor just put powder on the bite. That scar stayed on my leg for many years. However, the loving and the giving of Curryville imprinted me forever.