|
|
Post by kit on Mar 24, 2011 9:36:21 GMT -5
Yes, I know both places. When I was growing up, the house near the firehouse was lived in by the Mellon family and I went to school with the kids. It's the original McLean residence and was later lived in by Dr. Clark and his family. The big house up the road a ways past Sherman St. was lived in by the Doherty family when we moved here in 1952. In 1906 it was referred to as 'The Roberts Residence' and Dr. Brady and his family lived there for a while but as I understand, they let it fall into disrepair. A fellow I know is a professor at Utica College and one of his specialties is The Underground Railroad in New York State. He says there are tunnels under both houses but apparently they were either filled in or at least made inaccessible, many years ago.
Chances are I'm the guy who took your senior photos, but of course I don't know your names. I'd be interested to find out because I probably still have your negatives and maybe the proofs. You can email me at kit.temple40@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you.
My aunt, uncle and cousin lived on West St. in east Utica and we visited them many times a long time ago. I remember driving down to Rutger St. and looking at the beautiful old homes there. One can only imagine what life was like back in the mid 1800s and I'm sure it was a lot different on Rutger St. than it was in my great great grandmother's little house on Warren St. in west utica.
|
|
|
|
Post by stoney on Mar 24, 2011 11:06:54 GMT -5
To all you Blessed Sacrament people, I've mentioned before that Jim went to parochial school there up until 8th grade & still has nightmares of Sister Immaculate Mary & her staple-puller. You might have gone to school with his older siblings who also attended B.S.: Last name of O'Toole & they lived on Dudley Ave. His mom was a crossing guard for years, & Jim was also a paperboy in Cornhill, Dave.
|
|
|
|
Post by stoney on Mar 24, 2011 11:10:10 GMT -5
Kit, you're talking about Jan Damecis, aren't you? He was my advisor (& mentor) when I was at UC, & one hell of a professor!! I remember going to his house for dinner one time. I'm following his Underground Railroad study.
|
|
urbanhermit
Milkshake
"Domine,miserere nobis"
Posts: 212
|
Post by urbanhermit on Mar 24, 2011 13:40:50 GMT -5
To all you Blessed Sacrament people, I've mentioned before that Jim went to parochial school there up until 8th grade & still has nightmares of Sister Immaculate Mary & her staple-puller. You might have gone to school with his older siblings who also attended B.S.: Last name of O'Toole & they lived on Dudley Ave. His mom was a crossing guard for years, & Jim was also a paperboy in Cornhill, Dave. My Dad use to be fond of saying, "those Nuns will screw you up for life!"  |
|
|
|
Post by stoney on Mar 24, 2011 13:47:51 GMT -5
Fiskie, before Jim moved in here I had a staple puller that I'd had for years. One day after he moved in, I noticed it just disappeared.  Staple pullers, rulers, pointy-stick thingies, you name it, he felt them all. lol! If he even sees a nun in habit he gets all nervous. When we were just at St. E's for his Carpal Tunnel surgery, one came around offering ashes (it was Ash Wednesday, March 9th). She pulled back his curtain & his mouth just opened up & his eyes bugged out. Too funny!!! |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2011 14:25:22 GMT -5
God bless those Sister's of St. Frances of Allegany. I knew a Sister Veronica, nice lady. She eventually went to St. Frances de Sales with Father Daley. He did a lot of good in Utica. He now is in Syracuse. I wonder if there are anymore communities of Sisters or Nuns who are teaching today.
|
|
urbanhermit
Milkshake
"Domine,miserere nobis"
Posts: 212
|
Post by urbanhermit on Mar 24, 2011 16:36:33 GMT -5
God bless those Sister's of St. Frances of Allegany. I knew a Sister Veronica, nice lady. She eventually went to St. Frances de Sales with Father Daley. He did a lot of good in Utica. He now is in Syracuse. I wonder if there are anymore communities of Sisters or Nuns who are teaching today. Father Daley is probably the nicest person that I have ever met in my life! He was instrumental in creating an inter-faith based Ministry in the poor section of Utica known as "Hospitality Row" and I consider him a role model and a friend. There are many good Nuns, including Sr. Ellen Spellman that I knew from St. Francis too. However, like many faiths, vocations and professions, there are a lot of bad apples amongst the group as well. Many of the Nuns were physically and mentally abusive, and we all know about the sexual abuse scandal involving many Priests that faces the Church. I'm a Catholic, but I'll speak out against my Church when I see an injustice. |
|
|
|
Post by dgriffin on Mar 24, 2011 16:50:28 GMT -5
To all you Blessed Sacrament people, I've mentioned before that Jim went to parochial school there up until 8th grade & still has nightmares of Sister Immaculate Mary & her staple-puller. You might have gone to school with his older siblings who also attended B.S.: Last name of O'Toole & they lived on Dudley Ave. His mom was a crossing guard for years, & Jim was also a paperboy in Cornhill, Dave. I'm 67. How far behind me was Jim? I got my papers along with other newsboys on the steps of a closed up store on the southwest corner of James and Dudley. |
|
|
|
Post by dgriffin on Mar 24, 2011 17:02:15 GMT -5
Fiskie, it's true that groups of nuns, brothers, etc. could be quite different from school to school. I never witnessed any strange, bizarre, abusive or otherwise bad behavior on the part of the religious in my 12 years of Catholic schools. (But I did in my church.) Batty, yes, sometimes, but never abusive. My wife on the other hand, while not reporting abuse, thinks she was treated terribly at times by the nuns. However, my recollection is the girls got worse treatment from the nuns than the boys. Also, she was in a kind of convent school where discipline was exercised at a bit higher level.
|
|
|
|
Post by stoney on Mar 24, 2011 17:21:26 GMT -5
To all you Blessed Sacrament people, I've mentioned before that Jim went to parochial school there up until 8th grade & still has nightmares of Sister Immaculate Mary & her staple-puller. You might have gone to school with his older siblings who also attended B.S.: Last name of O'Toole & they lived on Dudley Ave. His mom was a crossing guard for years, & Jim was also a paperboy in Cornhill, Dave. I'm 67. How far behind me was Jim? I got my papers along with other newsboys on the steps of a closed up store on the southwest corner of James and Dudley. Jim was 10 years behind you, & his siblings 4 or 5 years behind. He enjoyed that picture you posted, though! The little boy is sleeping right now (due to his pain pill; lucky dog) but I will ask him where he picked up the papers. |
|
urbanhermit
Milkshake
"Domine,miserere nobis"
Posts: 212
|
Post by urbanhermit on Mar 24, 2011 17:25:16 GMT -5
Fiskie, it's true that groups of nuns, brothers, etc. could be quite different from school to school. I never witnessed any strange, bizarre, abusive or otherwise bad behavior on the part of the religious in my 12 years of Catholic schools. (But I did in my church.) Batty, yes, sometimes, but never abusive. My wife on the other hand, while not reporting abuse, thinks she was treated terribly at times by the nuns. However, my recollection is the girls got worse treatment from the nuns than the boys. Also, she was in a kind of convent school where discipline was exercised at a bit higher level. My sister was enrolled in St. John's in NH and my Father went up there and pulled her out of there and we went to public schools (Oxford Rd.) It does seem to be a matter of perspective when it comes to "discipline" and "physical abuse". There's no gray area where sexual abuse is concerned. While my Dad said that the Nuns slapped his fingers, punched him because he wrote left-handed and told him that looking at girls was "evil", he also stated that to the best of his recollection he never recalled a Priest committing an act of sexual abuse in his era. Of course, things were covered up more back then and he always said that if he or his siblings ever made a derogatory comment about a Priest or Nun, they were quickly told to be quiet. I'm glad that we went to Public Schools and had the chance to mix with people of all faiths. It was quite the "scandal" in our family, as we were the first kids to ever attend a public school. No wonder I turned out to be such a "rebel"  I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the Church, but I have to remember that I'm there for what's on the Cross and my own Spiritual needs, and I have no control over the hierarchy and the acts of individuals within the Church. It's disheartening at times to say the least! |
|
urbanhermit
Milkshake
"Domine,miserere nobis"
Posts: 212
|
Post by urbanhermit on Mar 24, 2011 17:36:38 GMT -5
I see what Dave means about one thread leading to an entirely different subject. I laughed like hell on MoreStories when I read that a thread on local history turned in to a conversation on baby strollers! Maybe we could at least talk about favorite Church Architecture? There are many that I have not been in and would like to see including ( Mount Carmel, Holy Trinity and St. Joe's/ St. Pat's) My heart is with Old St. John's Downtown because it's the oldest Catholic Church in the city, but I also thought that St. Francis DeSales and Blessed Sacrament were nice. I just don't care for the modern architecture no matter what type of building, but particularly in a "house of worship." I've always wanted to go inside Grace Church too. I love to hear the Church Bells chime when I'm downtown.
|
|
|
|
Post by dgriffin on Mar 24, 2011 21:20:08 GMT -5
There are a number of beautiful old churches in Utica. I can't think of any beautiful new ones, but I haven't lived there in a long time. I suppose churches today are built with multi-functions at least somewhat in mind, if not to the extent of the "beer hall" architecture of the church near me down here. A century and more ago churches were evidently built "for the glory of God." But I have to say I've been in beautiful old churches where the richness of the statuary, altar and other appointments pointed to what seemed a race between God and Mammon. And I think God often lost. Brother Jesse saw the same (surprisingly) in St. Johns, as he writes in LXXXVII. To The Church On Time monkinthecellar.blogspot.com/2010/12/lxxxvii-to-church-on-time.html |
|
|
|
Post by kit on Mar 25, 2011 8:00:17 GMT -5
Stoney... yes, it's Jan DeAmicis. Jan is not only a very smart professor, but he's a nice guy as well. A win-win combination. His wife Linda (a real spark plug) and I both play in the Utica College Concert Band as well as the New Hartford Citizens Band in the sumertime. She blows reeds and I blow drums.
I've spoken with Jan about the two houses here on Oxford Rd. but don't know if he's visited them or not in reference to the Underground Railroad.
|
|
|
|
Post by stoney on Mar 25, 2011 10:46:59 GMT -5
When you see Jan, tell him Tauni Stone says hello. He had a big influence on me & my life, as did his partner in crime, John Johnsen. I probably am what I am today because of those two (whether or not that's a good thing, is up for interpretation..  ). Does he still make his own clothes & say, "juxtaposition" all the time?? |
|
I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the Church, but I have to remember that I'm there for what's on the Cross and my own Spiritual needs, and I have no control over the hierarchy and the acts of individuals within the Church. It's disheartening at times to say the least!
).