Gervase Phyllis Hoover Stonebraker is a special person with an unusual name. Come follow with me through her life and learn how she got her name along with other stories from her past.
Gervase, the daughter of John S. Hoover and Mae Coulter, was born on December 5, 1910 at a maternity clinic in Altoona. The proud parents resided in Tyrone at R.F.D. 2, Hoover’s Lane on the Hoover homestead farm, which they shared with John’s brother Henry.
The homestead was where Gervase’s paternal grandparents Henry and Elizabeth Hoover had lived and farmed. Their families, with roots throughout Europe, came to America in the middle 1800s.
Brothers John and Henry owned and operated the Sprankle Brothers Meat Market, at 13 E. 10th St. in Tyrone. In the beginning the market was owned by Michael, David, and Henry Sprankle and was originally located at 34 W. Juniata St. John joined the business after the death of David, and in 1910 Henry Sprankle moved to Tyrone on Logan Ave.
From the farm, John traveled by trolley car to and from the meat market every working day. Coming home, as they would approach John’s stop, the trolley operator would call out, “Hoover’s Lane!” And that’s how Hoover’s Lane got its name. Today, the beginning of the lane is known as 3rd St., which extends into the old Hoover’s Lane.
Since her parents could not agree on a name, Gervase was called ‘Baby’ until after she was one year old. Her father wanted to name her Kathleen, after his two sisters. Mae wanted the name Gervase, after one brother and Phyllis after her brother Phillip. The story goes that her parents had written the names they wanted on pieces of paper and placed them in a bowl on the floor. Then they placed ‘Baby’ on the floor to crawl over to pick a name out of the bowl. Gervase was told she had picked out the name Kathleen, but Mae was determined and the little girl got her mother’s choice. Gervase was a name that had been passed down through the Coulter family.
When Gervase was three years old, her parents moved to 112 E. 10th St. into the Gray Apartments. John and Henry operated the meat market together until Uncle Henry was struck and killed by the streetcar he was waiting for. After Henry’s death, John’s brother-in-law, Shed Stanley, joined the business. They renamed the market Hoover & Stanley Meat Market.
The market provided meat for local hotels and List’s Restaurant. When telephones became available, customers would call in their orders from the Nealmont and Ironville areas. Gervase often would go on deliveries with her father — in the early years by horse-drawn wagon and later in her dad’s Ford automobile. The Hoover & Stanley Meat Market bought Shaffer’s Slaughterhouse on Muncy St.
The neighborhood children played many games — one in particular was hide-and-seek in reverse. Some of her playmates were Marge, Bob, and Ann Marthouse; Bernice, Mildred, and Wilson Gates; Frank and Florence Fleck; and Annabelle Bridenbaugh.
Gervase remembers the roller-skating rink on 12th St., near John Bayer’s Tyrone Laundry business. This same area was where many religious tent meeting revivals were held.
Gervase would roller-skate to Logan School, which she attended from first through eighth grades. The route she took was from Bald Eagle Ave. up and over the 11th St. bridge to Pennsylvania Ave., up to 14th St. and on to Logan Ave. She noted that the 11th St. bridge was washed away during the 1936 flood and was never replaced.
Although Gervase loved to roller-skate, she never was allowed to ice-skate because her mother was afraid she might break through the ice and drown. Mae was very protective of her only child, but this did not keep this girl from doing risky things. On one occasion she and some girlfriends went to a cliff near Nealmont and climbed it. They got up fine but could not get back down. Gervase’s father went looking for the girls. He found them on the cliff and rescued them by helping each girl down one-by-one.
Another pastime of Gervase’s was with her friend Bernice Gates. Bernice’s grandfather was the operator of the trolley, and no matter where the girls were they would just wave him down. Mr. Gates permitted the girls to ride as long as they wanted all over the trolley route. Gervase said it was the best fun.
The neighborhood kids also benefitted from Gervase’s father having the market. The kids would go to the store with her, where they all would be treated with bananas or other fruit he had on hand.
Gervase remembers seeing her first airplane around 1918. She had been at her father’s market and was walking across the 10th St. bridge when she heard a sound from the sky. When she looked up, there was an airplane flying above her.
Gervase talked about other fun events such as when the circus came to town. She would watch them parade in all their splendor on 10th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. Her cousin Elizabeth, who was 13 years older than she, took her to all the parades and then out to the Athletic Park in East Tyrone to see a performance.
Gervase told me of the great parade that was held in Tyrone in the summer of 1928. It was part of the celebration for the new Stultz Airfield, in Tipton. She recalls the parade going past her porch and a young female pilot, named Amelia Earhart, looked right at her and waved.
Gervase and her mother were treated like queens by her father. Mae had a cook and housekeeper — one was Olive Goss. Gervase and Mae would go to Altoona shopping every week and buy the latest styles. The two shopped so much that Gervase to this day still hates to shop for anything.
John Hoover did not completely exclude his daughter from the business though. He would take her on buying trips to Warriors Mark area farms, where he purchased cattle to be butchered for the meat market. On other business trips she remembers going to the out-of-town farm of John Hagg, who also dealt with cattle but for their milk, not the meat. With a smile, Gervase recalls riding a horse-drawn sleigh in the snow to the farm.
In 1929 Gervase had a year filled with life-changing events. First, she graduated from Tyrone High School. A few days after graduation, her Mother Mae went into the Altoona Hospital for surgery. Mae had complications after her surgery and was ordered to bed to rest. A nurse, named Sarah Cowher, was hired to care for Mae. John would not allow his Mae to over-do, so she did not recover like most would have. She passed away under the care of her later nurse, Gervase, in 1939.
Also in 1929 the stock market crashed. John had money invested in stock, and Mae had pleaded with him to sell it when it started to go down but he would not. He lost all the money he had invested. John still had his meat market and slaughterhouse, so they were able to survive despite his losses.
On August 14, 1931, Gervase married her true love, Paul Stonebraker, who also was born in 1910. Paul’s parents were Ward and Amanda Stonebraker, who lived at 1808 Columbia Ave. in East Tyrone.
Paul worked for a short time for John at the meat market. Later he got a job at the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. He was put in the “black plant” division, located in an area where the soot was so thick one would be covered black at shift’s end, thus the name. He later became the foreman of the “black plant.”
The Stonebraker family was blessed with four children — John in 1933, Catherine in 1934, Lois in 1939, and Daniel in 1946.
In October 1942 the family moved to 1808 Columbia Ave., after the death of Paul’s father, to help Amanda. During World War II Gervase recalls the “blackouts.” When one occurred, which was signaled by the air-raid whistle, everyone had to shut off all lights, pull the blinds and drapes, and not even burn a candle.
Gervase was always a very active member of the Presbyterian Church on Logan Ave. However, after moving to Columbia Ave. she began attending the Methodist Church next door. She was sitting in church one Sunday morning listening to the minister make his announcements. Gervase was surprised when he welcomed her to their church as a transfer member from the Presbyterian Church. When Gervase got home, she learned Amanda had her letter of membership transferred without her knowledge. Today that church is known as The Church of the Good Shepherd, on Clay Ave. in Tyrone.
In April 1952 Gervase was hit with a terrible tragedy. Paul was killed in a car accident in Northwood. Gervase still had two children in school and was taking care of her mother-in-law, Amanda. She remained at the Stonebraker homestead caring for Amanda until her death in 1959.
Gervase remained at 1808 Columbia Ave. until 1963 when she moved to her daughter Boots’ home in the Ridgemont Development at Matternville, near State College. Boots married Jackson ‘Jack’ Sleeth on October 21, 1961. Gervase moved there to baby-sit their son Tim, who was born in 1963.
In October 1968 the Sleeth family moved from Matternville to Tyrone. A home that Boots had always admired was for sale. It was located at the end of today’s Reservoir Dr. and was owned by Mrs. Irene Kanet. This was the same home that belonged to her father’s friend, John Hagg. Gervase laughs when she thinks of now living in the former home of her “secret boyfriend,” Johnny Hagg Jr.
Gervase shares her life experiences with a true light of love from within. She is an extra-special person who came through her years as a compassionate but humble woman who filled her life with serving everyone who needed her.
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