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Married:
- Words of Gold
Page Liked · January 27, 2016 ·
They were truly from another time, although I didn’t recognize that fact until many years later. All four of them were born before the turn of the twentieth century. By the time we knew them, they had watched the country go through two world wars not to mention one or two lesser ones. They had known great love and great loss and they could still laugh and enjoy a good meal sitting around the table with loved ones.
Recently, during some e-mail visits with a couple of cousins, we found ourselves reminiscing about those good people, who were so much a part of our childhood.
Ike and Chloe VanEtten and Dorr and Hazel Lehman lived in Ulysses. They were my mother’s aunts and uncles but that was just a formality. Along with our cousins my sisters and brother and I grew up knowing that anytime they came to visit our homes we could anticipate a very good time.
Uncle Dorr and Aunt Hazel owned Lehman’s General Store on the corner in Ulysses, selling everything from groceries to dry goods. Their home was just up the street, pristine and beautifully maintained.
Uncle Ike was the local barber. His shop was on one end of their home which was a short way up main street from the Lehman‘s, right next door to the Post Office. For many years, Aunt Chloe worked in the Post Office.
Uncle Dorr and Aunt Hazel had one son, Keith, who married my dad’s sister, Marg. So my mother’s cousin became her brother-in-law and her sister-in-law became her cousin. Confused yet?
The VanEttens had no children of their own, although their nephew Bill Fry grew up in their home. They loved children and “made a fuss”, as my mother used to say, over all of us. A visit to Ulysses when I was a kid was nothing but fun as we shopped in Lehman’s store and often got invited to the house for some cookies. Then we would head for the barbershop where Dad got his ears lowered and we headed into the house for some more cookies and fun. Now and then, one or two of us girls climbed up into the barber chair and uncle trimmed our hair into a ‘bob”.
Uncle Ike never owned a car as far as any of us can remember. If it was necessary to travel, the VanEttens rode in the back seat of the Lehman’s Lincoln; a car that would cause today’s collectors to drool all over their pocketbooks.
“Ahhh! That beautiful old Gold Lincoln” wrote cousin John, “(flathead V-8 and three on the tree). That car was awesome. The back seat was as big as a dance hall.”
The Lehmans and VanEttens were often guests at our mother’s holiday dinners for as far back as I can remember; driving sedately up our road in the later years in that huge Lincoln. The men were always dressed in suits complete with ties and Uncle Ike was never without his fedora. They were town men, after all, and dressed the part. The women, as well, dressed as if for morning services at the Methodist Church. If one of the aunts had appeared wearing a pair of slacks we would have all been struck completely speechless.
However, as staid as they may have appeared, all four of them enjoyed a good time. They loved to eat, they loved to visit and they loved to laugh. Although we kids could be rowdy at times, I never felt any hint of disapproval. They enjoyed the fun as much as we did; maybe even more. One day, after I was married and expecting my second child, we had all enjoyed one of Mom’s good Thanksgiving dinners. As Mom got up to get the pies for dessert, Aunt Hazel stood up at her place. “Well,” she said, “If I’m going to have room for dessert I’m going to have to shake some of this down.” And she proceeded to hop up and down. We laughed until we cried. But when I mimicked her, bouncing my baby belly, poor Aunt H nearly went in to shock.
The years went by. We grew up and in time age caught up with those good people. In some ways, it is true, they were from another time. But they knew how to enjoy where they were at a any given moment. Our memories keep them always alive in our hearts.
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headstone joint:
- Dorr Arlington Lehman
Birth: Dec. 25, 1889
Potter County, Pennsylvania, USA
Death: Apr. 24, 1968
Potter County, Pennsylvania, USA
Family links:
Parents: Almon G. Lehman (1858 - 1933)
Lelia Bartlett Lehman (1859 - 1934)
Spouse: Hazel Young Lehman (1886 - 1977)*
Children: Keith Lehman (1917 - 1972)*
Burial: Ulysses Cemetery
Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania, USA
Created by: June Howard
Record added: Jun 05, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 70886809
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Hazel Young Lehman
Birth: Nov. 16, 1886
Pennsylvania, USA
Death: Sep., 1977
Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania, USA
Family links:
Spouse: Dorr Arlington Lehman (1889 - 1968)
Children: Keith Lehman (1917 - 1972)*
Burial: Ulysses Cemetery
Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania, USA
Created by: June Howard
Record added: Jun 05, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 70886977
residence jt:
- 20180928HAv-
From: Jeannette Buck
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2018 3:15 PM
Subject: This Week
I made a quick grocery run recently, as I usually do about once a week. I drove to the nearest town, picked up a few of my regular items, which always includes at least one package of Oreos and enjoyed a visit with a couple of friends. As I turned down main street on my way home my mind and heart were suddenly filled with memories.
Since there was a well-stocked general store in Gold when I was growing up, my parents rarely had a reason to go any farther away to shop. However, now and then, Mom would want to look for something at her Uncle Dorr Lehman’s store over in Ulysses and usually Dad was in need of a hair cut.
Aunt Hazel Lehman helped her husband run their store that sat on the corner of Main Street and Rt. 49. Aunt Chloe VanEtten was Aunt Hazel’s sister and her husband Ike was the town barber. His shop and their home stood just up the street. Aunt Chloe worked in the post office, which was right next door to the barber shop.
So, although there were practical reasons for making the trip we referred to as “going over town”, the best part of all, of course, were the visits we all anticipated.
The store that was once filled with a fascinating mix of almost anyone’s wants and necessaries has been a restaurant for years. The home that belonged to the Lehmans was purchased by others. On those long ago visits however, we were welcomed there as we ran up onto the porch with hugs and laughter as well as the fresh cookies that Aunt Hazel always seemed to have waiting in her kitchen.
The barber shop and the house to which it was adjoined has been gone, lost in a fire, for some time. I have no knowledge of architecture, but I suspect that the VanEtten home was one of the earlier buildings in town. The shop was on the right of the building with the living area extended to the left. The front steps led to a broad porch that was as welcoming as open arms. The wide front door with narrow windowed panels on either side opened into a cozy and comforting living room. To the left was a parlor, although it was not as formal or as imposing as parlors in other homes often seemed to be.
To the right of the entrance was the dining room from which a wide staircase led to the second floor. For some reason, it always surprised me as a child that from the kitchen one could slip through a door and enter the barber shop and what seemed to me to be an entirely different world.
The VanEttens had no children of their own and we were always welcomed with warmth and laughter. While Uncle Ike trimmed Dad’s hair in the shop Mom would enjoy the visit with her aunt. Uncle Ike was almost always laughing and teasing as he brought Dad into the living room from the shop.
I can not remember one word that was spoken during any of those visits with either couple. However, I can see each of the aunts as well as the uncles slap their knees with delight when something struck them funny and I can hear their unrestrained laughter.
I took them so much for granted when I was a child. However, as time has gone by, I have come to deeply cherish the memories and the love those wonderful people shared each time we made the trip “over town”.
occupation,jt:
- 16 Jan 2016 in Gold, Ulysses, Potter, Pennsylvania, USA; They were truly from another time, although I didn’t recognize that fact until many years later.
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