A dear friend, Myrtle McNeal Adams, will share her memories with us in this issue. Myrtle has lived and worked in Tyrone all of her life, and on August 8, 1999 she will celebrate her 100th birthday. She always has lived in the “Stoney Point” area of Tyrone.
Myrtle’s father, Isaac Brintsley McNeal, came to Tyrone in the early 1890s from an area called Trough Creek Valley, near Cassville in Huntingdon County. Isaac and his wife Bertha Griffith had lived in the Trough Creek Valley area all of their lives. Isaac’s family roots can be traced back to the 1750s when his family arrived in America from Ireland. Bertha’s family had lived in the Trough Creek Valley since the early 1850s.
When Isaac came to Tyrone he purchased a 100 x 100-yard lot on Stoney Point from Sam Beyer. The young couple already had their first child, Bernard Leroy, born on August 2, 1890. “Leroy” was left in the care of his grandparents, in Huntingdon County, while Isaac and Bertha built their home in Tyrone.
The original house they built had just four rooms — two up and two down. Later, it was made into a double house with eleven rooms. The expansion was done to make room for the Griffith grandparents. The home is still standing, just two doors up 13th St. from Myrtle’s home. The street was not named 13th then; it was Margaret Ave., named in honor of Mr. Beyer’s wife. The address today is 612 W. 13th St., home of the David Fike family.
The McNeal family also built a barn for their animals and used the top floor of the barn as the McNeal wood shop. Isaac was a railroader, carpenter, cabinet maker, designer of floor plans for homes, fruit grower, artist, and photographer. Bertha was a homemaker.
The couple had seven more children after moving into their home. The second child was Martin Allen, born May 29, 1895, who later married Isabel Wolfe and lived in Tyrone. Next was Orris Leslie, born September 4, 1897; he was killed during World War I on September 26, 1918 at the age of 21. Myrtle Belle, born on August 8, 1899, was the first daughter; she married Lee “Earl” Adams, of Tyrone. The fifth child was Dorothy Marden, born December 26, 1901. The baby girl was Mary Jane, born February 10, 1905. The seventh child was Isaac Griffith, born April 10, 1910. The last of the children was Royer Corbin, born June 30, 1917.
The McNeal family lived a simple life full of hard work. The girls did various household chores at a very young age. Myrtle recalls doing the dishes with her sister Dorothy while standing on stools at the kitchen table. They also scrubbed the kitchen floor.
Myrtle smiles as she tells me a story about her and her sister Dorothy. They didn’t like the crust on the bread, so they hid it under the table at mealtime. Later, they’d retrieve the bread crusts while scrubbing the floors. Now she admits she loves bread crusts most of all and has not yet found homemade bread tasting as good as that of her mother’s.
Other chores included washing clothes by hand in tubs. One knew that when the large copper boiler was heating water on the stove, it was wash day. They used scrub brushes and washboards with homemade soap to get the clothes clean; however, they later got a washing machine, which made wash day much easier. The clothes were always hung out even in the dead of winter.
Remembering the churning of the butter in the round, wooden churn in the kitchen while the bread was baking, brought back the tastes and smells of Myrtle’s childhood. There always was a large, iron pot of soup on the back of the coal-burning stove. When lunchtime came, hot bread with melted butter on it and soup were served.
The boys did all of the outside chores. They tended to the horses, cows, chickens, and hogs. They’d help in the wood shop and in the fruit orchard. The whole family helped in the garden, but the planting and tilling was done by Isaac and his sons. They hunted and fished for sport as well as providing additional food for the family.
Isaac bought eighty-five acres of ground from John Hagg, about four miles from their home. Isaac started an orchard on this property — growing apples, pears, grapes, and berries. Martin and Orris would walk up to the orchard after school to help their father. They worked together pruning the trees and picking the fruit, which they sold in the Tyrone area. Isaac bought a Ford truck to help transport his fruit. He taught himself to drive the truck by running it through the orchard.
Isaac worked at the railroad roundhouse in Tyrone. He amazed his co-workers with his drive and abilities. He was very mechanically minded, plus he had an artistic eye.
The wood shop, where Isaac did much of his creative work, was located at the back of the McNeal lot near where the alley is today. He would draw up plans for homes that he later built in the area.
With only hand tools at first, he made many one-of-a-kind wooden pieces. Myrtle has a dry sink and a desk made by her father that are extraordinary. The desk was made in 1897. Isaac put his and his father-in-law’s initials on this piece as well as the date. Another unique piece Isaac made was a weather vane that sat on top of the McCamant Planing Mill, on W. 15th St., for approximately fifty years. The weather vane was carved out of wood and stood on a two-foot-high pedestal. On the top of the pedestal “Uncle Sam” sat on a bicycle. The spokes of the wheels on the bike were angled in such a way that when the wind blew it would turn them. This looked as if “Sam” was really peddling the bike. In one hand Sam held an American flag that waved in the wind. The entire mechanism was painted red, white, and blue.
Isaac drew landscapes from all over Tyrone and framed them. He also took photographs of the area’s different scenery. The cabin on the cliff’s edge was built by Isaac for the superintendent of the railroad, J.K. Johnson, who owned the home that is now the Howard Gardner American Legion Post 281. Mr. Johnson had a son who was sickly and needed a lot of sun and exercise. The cliff was a place the nurse took this young boy on nice days for walks and sunshine.
One of the most unusual paintings Isaac did was a full-room mural of the Griffith homestead in Trough Creek Valley. Myrtle described it as so real I thought that I was in front of the homestead. Isaac had put the picket fence outlining the property in the foreground and added a rooster sitting on the fence.
The family had a huge garden, and like everyone in those days, they canned vegetables and fruit. With the small farm, everyone had all they needed to live on.
Myrtle recalls the children did have time to play. They went sledding down Hamilton Ave. to 15th St. Everyone ice-skated on the Stevens Park pond, and in the warmer months the area children played ball, hide-and-seek, and tag. On the lot where Myrtle’s home is located today they’d build a fire and roast potatoes. Myrtle said, “the potatoes would be burnt black but were the best tasting inside.”
Church was a must in Myrtle’s home and considered as important as school to her parents. The McNeals attended the local Presbyterian Chapel, located on Columbia Ave. where the Grace Baptist church is today. Myrtle later joined the church in 1912 when she was thirteen years old. At that time, the church had a new building built on its present location at Logan Ave. and 13th St. Myrtle has remained a member of this church for eighty-eight years.
Holidays at the McNeals’ were a little different from those in some homes. Father Isaac portrayed Santa Claus and brought gifts. The McNeals had a tradition of going around the area hanging bags of fruit on the neighbors’ doorknobs during the Christmas season.
The McNeal children attended the Adams School for grades 1–8 and then Tyrone High School, on Lincoln Ave. Myrtle was enrolled in the commercial course and was graduated in June 1918.
After completing high school, Myrtle and another girl were chosen from the commercial department to work at the Blair County Bank, in downtown Tyrone. Both girls began working on a trial basis for one job that would be available. Myrtle was very surprised when she got the job because the other girl’s father was a board member of the bank. She worked there for five years.
Myrtle was not involved in a lot of social activities. She recalls that dances were forbidden by her father. However, she did go to some parties in the homes of close friends. One party in particular was held at the Snyder family home on Logan Ave. where she met Earl, the young man she later married.
With a grin she tells me how they became acquainted. It seems at this party a popular game called “spin the pan” was played by taking turns spinning a pan with an arrow marked on it. Whomever the arrow pointed to, the spinner got up and kissed that person. Earl spun the pan and it pointed to Myrtle. Earl got up and was so flustered that when he leaned over to kiss her, he fell on her. All they could do was laugh.
Earl had grown up in an area known as Flat Rock, in Centre County near Port Matilda. He was one of five children born to Ralph Roy and Esther Williams Adams. Ralph moved his family to Tyrone around 1915.
The young couple went to church together on some of their dates. They also took many walks to Stevens Park and in the McNeal orchard. Myrtle was a very quiet girl, and Earl worked hard to bring her out of her shell. They dated about six years and on February 10, 1922 they were married. Their vows were exchanged in the Presbyterian manse on Columbia Ave., with Rev. Francis Downs officiating. Myrtle and Earl remained married for fifty-eight years.
After marrying, Myrtle quit her job at the bank to become a homemaker. They bought the lot next to her parents, which now had a better road beside it called the “new road” — now known as Clay Ave.
Earl worked at the post office as a mail carrier, covering Thomastown and Warriors Mark. He was employed there until he retired.
While building their home, the young couple resided with Isaac and Bertha in the homestead. During that time the couple was blessed with their first and only child — a boy born on August 31, 1923. They named him Lee Earl Adams Jr., after his father, but they called him Lee.
It took two summers to complete their home, which was designed by Myrtle’s father. In 1924 Myrtle and Earl moved in.
Young Lee went to Adams School and Tyrone High like his parents. After completing high school, Lee went to World War II in the 1940s and served in Italy. He was wounded, but came home safely. Her sister Dorothy’s only child, Bruce, was not so lucky — he lost his life in battle.
Myrtle went to work at the John R. Wald plant located in the Wilson Chemical building to help the war effort. First, she worked on the cup machine line and later was promoted to inspector. When they learned of her secretarial skills, she was put in charge of the one-person office. Myrtle did everything from time cards to shipping.
After the war, Myrtle went to work in the office of the Chicago Rivet and Machine Co. as the secretary. She was the only one in the beginning, but as the plant grew so did the office staff. Myrtle was promoted to head secretary and was put in charge of five people. Myrtle retired from the “Rivet” in 1964 with seventeen years’ service.
The years went by, and both Myrtle and Earl retired. While enjoying their days of unemployment they kept active — especially in the Howard Gardner Post 281 American Legion. All in the same year, Myrtle served as the Auxiliary president, Earl served as Legion commander, and Lee was president of the Sons of the Legion. Myrtle was very active in Eastern Star and served as its Worthy Matron.
Their son Lee went to work for the railroad when he returned home from the war. Later on, he worked at the post office as a mail carrier like his father. Lee married a local girl, Ruth Elizabeth Ray and they had four children: David Lee, Nancy Jane, Philip Jon, and Bruce Ray. Lee built their home behind his parents at 1306 Clay Ave.
Earl passed away on July 20, 1980. Myrtle’s life today is a quiet one. She still lives in her own home with her family and friends close by.
Myrtle showed me many clippings and pictures to study for this interview. A reading I want to share with you is one she had written: “Every step we take in the future leaves behind a footprint in the sands of time, so may we be proud of our heritage and be worthy of the many blessings that have been ours to enjoy as a family.”
Isaac McNeal, Myrtle’s father, was noted for his unique work done with high quality. I believe his greatest work was the family he and Bertha molded. Myrtle is living proof of that. Thank you, Myrtle, for sharing with us.
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