It has been almost five years since my father’s passing and we are approaching the two year mark since my mother passed. There are many everyday occurrences that make me think of one or both of them. Ronald and Grace Schafer were very instrumental in my life and will be remembered by all their family members.

I started this blog in 2015 and at the time was very interested in the collection of Showalter items that was amassed in my house. That collection has held steady for many years but my pursuit waned a bit. Life steered me in different directions, but I do not forget the impact that Showalter’s Dairy has had on my life. It is part of me.

I have “run into” many people who remember fondly Showalter’s Dairy. I love to talk about the “old days” (most before I was born). Recently, a viewer of this blog messaged me and would be interested in Showalter memorabilia. This has prompted me to write this entry and reinvigorate my interest in the matter.

I hope to post more often on this blog as I near my retirement in just a few months. Until then, enjoy.

Recently, I was able to visit my parents’ attic and find some older photos of the Showalter family, The Whitby Family, and more. I have been updating my family tree on Ancestry and want to identify as many people in pictures as possible. The Showalter family is dwindling in remembrances. The Whitby family is even smaller. It is time to get ID’s on pictures and to document them for others.

Another interesting find featuring a Showalter cousin: Philip S. Hench.  Hench won the 1950 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work with cortisone.  This postal card, envelope, and enclosed mini medal comes from Portugal in April 1977.  It features an envelope with four stamps from Portugal and a mini size medal (front shown on front and back of medal shown on back).  It’s a thick envelope.  Cool item measures 4 1/2″ x 6 1/4″.  Only one I’ve ever seen.

Added 7/28/20–I opened it! Curiosity won out and I found that there is a card stock inside with a place for coin.  There is a black and white photo of Hench inside on the card stock and some description in thee languages.  Again, this was limited to 172 pieces.  Mine is #37.  I still have not found any others like mine.  Maybe they all stayed in Portugal–with only a few slipping past the border.

With over 25 years of collecting Showalter items, this is a new one for me!  A gold Showalter’s Dairy ball point pen.  To our knowledge, this is a one-of-a-kind.  It was found in a collection of old papers.  It is a beauty.

Added:  July 28, 2020.  When looking through my parents’ house, I found another single example of a Showalter pen.  It is black and will be photographed and posted soon.

My wife and I visited Morris Cemetary in Pheonixville, PA today.  We were in search of Davis Williams’ grave.  We found it!  Davis is my grandfather’s grandfather.  He was born in 1838, served in the US Civil War, and died in 1912.  His wife’s grave was next in line.  She was born in 1847 and died in 1922.  There was a child’s gravestone there for what appeared to be Franklin.  His birthdate appears to be April 11, 1881 and death date appears to be August 15th 1881.  I have never found him on a census (btn 1880–1890) because of his short lifespan.

 

Here is Franklin and a perspective picture of where we found the graves.

 

John F. Whitby served in France during World War I.  He is pictured here after the armistice of November 11, 1918.  In the picture with him are five soldier buddies and a woman who is referred to on the back as one of the “Lorraine girls.” The pen points to Uncle John at age 25.

this picture shows Uncle John second from left.  He is pictured with three other US soldiers and one German Soldier (2nd from right).

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Uncle John on left with three Army buddies: writing on back tells the reader :Chester Gover (painter), Edwin Echin (plow manufacturing), and Frank Harevy (lawyer).  Whitby lists himself as having no profession.  This is from March 23, 1919.

John served in St. Mihiel–a battle that was led by Gen. Pershing from 12-15 Sept. 1918

John fought in the Battle of the Argonne forest from 26 Sept 1918 to 11 Nov. 1918.  This battle ended the war (known as 100 Days Offeensive)

All three pictures were take in Moulins France.

John F. Whitby’s Application for War Service Compensation (he eventually was paid $10 a month for 15 months of service).  $150.  How often was he paid this or was it a one-time amount?

I found more report cards for Gertrude and John Whitby.  These are printed on card stock from Phoenixville High School.  Gertrude’s are dated 1913-1915 and for some reason stop at her sophomore year.  Her daughter Grace (my mother) has stated that Gertrude did not finish high school.  The cards for John are not dated but do reflect his sophomore, junior and senior years.  John did go on to further his education at Pennsylvania State College (now Penn State Univ.) and in the US Army.

Pictured below is a personalized certificate in the name of Frank Showalter of Williams Corner, PA.  The certificate looks quite fancy and is printed on heavy weight paper.  However, in doing research, I found that over two million of the certificates were printed from 1898 until 1935.  Each certificate was given as a “thank you” for supporting the preservation of The Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia.  How much was given to receive this is unknown.  How many survive today?  Several are offered on eBay and the price is $15 to $100.  The Betsy Ross House website states the real value is in the fact that the owner of the certificate knows that their relative/family helped preserve the Ross House.  Added: We visited the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia and saw one of these on the wall leading up the stairs.  I remarked to the family members that were visiting that I had one at home.  I showed it to them and they thought it was so cool!! A real piece of American History.

The sports card industry has turned a corner in collecting in the 21st century.  When I was young, it was quite a find to pull a baseball hero like Pete Rose or Reggie Jackson from a pack of baseball cards.  In 2020, a card is just not enough.  Major sports card companies have been including authentic signatures and uniform swatches into their high-end collector cards.

I have taken that one step further with my own invented company THE CUTTING EDGE.  I create one-of-a-kind family collectibles that I call Family Tree Signatures.  I insert authentic signatures of my relatives onto personally created cards.  I have created six so far:  Frank Showalter Sr., James Showalter, Jacob Showalter, William Whitby, Sarah Whitby, and John F. Whitby.

I enjoy making these and love to show them to family members.  Call me eccentric–I am!  This melds two of my hobbies–sports card/autograph collecting and my own ancestry.  Each card is pressed between lucite plastic to preserve the signature.  I have shown the front, but a look at the back would give you more information about the person and where the signature was obtained.

Check them out!

Frank Showalter 1870-1940

James Showalter 1825-1901

Jacob Showalter 1824-1888 Died from a fall on a ladder.  Rare signature in my collection.  

William Whitby (Gertrude Showalter’s father) 1873-1952

Sarah A. Whitby (Sadie) 1875-1943

John Franklin Whitby (Gerturde’s brother) 1893-1974–my favorite card. John usually signed his letters John or Jack.  This hard to obtain full  signature was from an early 1918 envelope addressed to his mother from a military base in Maryland.  Notice the Pvt. denoting his rank.

Great care is taken to obtain the autograph and maintain the origin of each.

A few more interesting tidbits from today’s research:

I uncovered four Commencement Programs from Schuylkill Township Schools/Phoenixville HS.  The first is from June 1909 where my great uncle John Whitby delivered an essay entitled “Wordsworth, A Poet of Nature.”  Through further research, John attended Oak Grove School in 1909 and was a stellar student.  He scored high marks in reading, writing and spelling.  (Ironically: he scored 70’s and 80’s in math and he would eventually work for the gov’t in inspections and used numbers all the time).

The second program is from June 191.  My grandmother (listed as Gertrude Whitby) would have been in 7th or 8th grade and was “graduating” on this program.  She delivered a recitation at the beginning of the event.

 

The third program is from Phoenixville HS Class of 1912.  37 graduates including my great uncle John Franklin Whitby.  Interesting to note:  only 8 faculty members listed.

 

The final program is from 1918 at Phoenixville HS.  I cannot find a connection to any of my relatives for this one.