Obituary of Dr. Frank Kane

Died Monday November, 1916 age 32 years

Great Throng Attends Dr. J.F. Kane’s Funeral

All walks of life represented at obsequies of Minooka physician

Large delegations from the Lackawanna County Medical Society, the Young Men’s Institute of Minooka, both organizations of which he was an active member. Hundreds and relatives and friends, as well as people prominent in the various professions, city and county officials, were in attendance this morning at the funeral of Dr. John F. Kane, one of the best known young physicians of the valley, which took place at 9:30 o’clock from the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kane of Birney Avenue, Minooka. It was one of the largest funerals that Minooka ever witnessed, and showed the love and esteem in which the doctor was held.

Out of respect to the memory of Dr. Kane, many of the business houses of the town closed their doors during the time of services were being conducted at the church.

The solemn high mass of requiem in St. Joseph’s church at 10 o’clock was celebrated by the Rev. J.J, Ruddy, of Dunmore. The Rev. P.E. Lavelle was deacon and the Rev. E.J. Melley subdeacon. The Rev. Charles Murray was the master of ceremonies. During the mass the choir of St. Joseph’s Church under the direction of Miss Helen Gibbons, organist sang the responses. At the offertory Ned Connolly, a cousin of the doctor, sang “O Jesu Clementissmi,” and as the body was being taken from the church Miss Theresa Gibbons sang “Absent.” The mass was composed by Joseph Ohnewald.

Minooka, Pa. - Famous for Baseball

Boston Sunday Post - February 16, 1919

Scranton, Pa. – Columns have been written about Ireland’s saints and scholars, and columns can be penned about Minooka’s Big League players and sailors. Each place has been given fame and honor through its particular products.

TOWN IS FAMOUS

Steve O'Neill

Through its famous sons, the name of Ireland will always be known throughout the world, and through the boys, Minooka has sent to the baseball circuits and the patriotic young men it has given to Uncle Sam’s service, especially the navy, it has gained a reputation that makes it foremost among the small towns that dot the United States from coast to coast.

Minooka is a mining town. Mining is its one real industry. It is part of Lackawanna Township and is located a short way from Scranton. Three quarters of the population is of Irish descent and it is a real family town. Every person knows the other. In it, one’s troubles become his neighbor’s troubles, and the same with joys and pleasures. It is an extraordinary town in more than one respect, but of course, its chief claim to fame rests in its baseball products, its large representation in the U.S. Navy, and while it may sound peculiar, in some of the freakiest mine caves that the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania turn out. That’s going some, too.

The town we speak of is the home of Steve O’Neill, crack catcher of the Cleveland Indians, of Chick Shorten, who recently moved to Detroit from Boston in a trade, and of Mike McNally, the Red Sox infielder who shook mitts and talked with King George. It is a town that sent the famous O’Neill brothers’ battery to the majors; the town that developed Tom Philbin, former professional catcher and more recently a Detroit scout.

Within a few miles of it, Hughie Jennings, manager of the Detroit Tigers, was born, and on its lots, the present boss of the Bengals played many a game that helped fit him for fame and fortune on the diamond.

Civil War Record of William Mahady

William Mahady is the great, great grandfather of Mary Lydon Simonsen. Mahady was captured at the Battle of Petersburg in the Civil War and was made a prisoner of war at the notorious Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Because of malnutrition, his health was ruined, and he successfully petitioned the U.S. government for a pension. He lived in the Five Points section of Miner Hill, Minooka from the late 1850s until his death in 1901. Mahady was born near Killala, County Mayo, in 1830. He had emigrated to the U.S. as a ten-year-old boy with his older sister. His son, John, married Hannah Shea from County Cork. Here is his pension record:

Civil War Record of William Mahady

Feb. 8, 1864 - Joins 53^rd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, age 34.  He is married with two children.  He had been a laborer in a coal mine in Minooka.

Mar. 21, 1864 - “Enrolled” at Scranton, PA

May 1864 - Shows up on muster rolls

June 1864 - Regiment engages enemy in a futile charge at Cold Harbor.

June 16, 1864 - Regiment arrives in front of Petersburg (Army of the Potomac, 1^st Div., 2^nd Army, 4^th Brigade, 53^rd Regiment).  Mahady is captured with 15 other soldiers; only he survives.

Oct. 27, 1864 - Admitted to hospital at Andersonville, Ga. With “Scorbutus.”  Returned to Quarters on Nov. 2, 1864.

Nov. 11, 1864 -Sent to Millen, South Carolina.

Nov. 24, 1864 - Paroled at Savannah, Georgia.

Nov. 28, 1864 - Admitted to Camp Parole Med. near Annapolis, Md. with “chronic diarrhoea.”  [sic]

Rev. P. F. Cusick Dies

Rev. P. F. Cusick Dies in New York Hospital

Minooka Native

He Served in Jesuit Order Thirty Years

Funeral Will Take Place on Thursday

Rev. Peter F. Cusick, S.J., a priest of the Jesuit Order for the past thirty years and native of Minooka, died early this morning in St. Francis Hospital, New York City, where he had been a medical patient since Friday afternoon.

Stricken with a heart attack while giving a retreat at St. Ignatius Loyola Church Park Avenue and Eighty-Fourth Street, New York, Father Cusick was rushed to the hospital. His brother, M.G. Cusick, his sister, Mrs. Thomas J. Grogan, and niece, Miss Celestine Grogan, all of Minooka, spent a few hours at his bedside Sunday.

The funeral of Father Cusick will take place Thursday morning from St. Ignatius Loyola Church. Burial will be in the Jesuit cemetery at St. Andrew’s-on-the-Hudson, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Friends may view the body in the church up to the time for the funeral mass.

Had Father Cusick lived until next June 28, he would have observed his sixty-fourth birthday anniversary. His parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Cusick, were among the early settlers of Minooka. As a youth, Father Cusick worked in the mines. His early education was received in the Minooka public school under the supervision of the late Prof. Thomas Joyce. Later he attended St. Thomas’ College, then under the direction of priests of the diocese. After finishing his studies at St. Thomas’ College, in preparation for the priesthood, he entered Holy Cross College, Worchester, Mass., and after a four-year course, there went to Innsbrook, Austria, where after several years of study, he was ordained as a priest of the Jesuit Order.

Obituary of Patrick J. Higgins

Patrick J. Higgins Is Laid at Final Rest

Rev. Peter Cusick, S.J., Celebrant of Requiem Mass

In St. Joseph’s Church, Minooka

People prominent in the political, civic, fraternal and religious life of the community and hundreds of friends and acquaintances were present in large numbers this morning and paid their tribute to the memory of Patrick J. Higgins, prominent resident of Minooka, whose funeral was held from the family home, 2906 Birney Avenue. It was one of the largest corteges that Lackawanna township has witnessed in many months and was an evidence of the high regard in which Mr. Higgins was held by all.

Mr. Higgins was a resident of Minooka since a child. For years, he conducted a grocery business in Birney Avenue, retiring from activities several years ago. During the term of the late Martin Judge as recorder of deeds of Lackawanna county, Mr. Higgins served as chief deputy.

From the Higgins home the cortege moved to St. Joseph’s church, of which he had been a life long communicant and active worker, where a solemn high mass of requiem was celebrated by Rev. Peter J. Cusick, S.J., a brother-in-law of Mr. Higgins. Rev. Walter A. Gorman was subdeacon, and Mr. James Lowry, a seminarian, was master of ceremonies. The church choir sang the responses of the mass. Miss Helen Vernal was at the organ. As the body entered the church, Joseph Schofield sang “Jesus I Come”; at the offertory Mrs. Helen O’Neill McKinney sang an “Ave Maria” and at the recessional she gave “Mother At Your Feet I’m Kneeling.” At the conclusion of the mass Father Cusick read the prayers for the dead and pronounced final absolution of the body.

A Taste of Old Minooka by Dr. Joe Lydon

In our years of corresponding by e-mail, Dr. Joe (Minooka Joe) Lydon shared stories with me so that I might savor a taste of Old Minooka. Dr. Joe grew up in the 1920's and 1930's, when a spade was called a spade. People went to the "nut house," bodies were viewed at the "corpse house," and physical impairments might earn you a nickname, such as "Peg Leg Jack." Dr. Joe had no wish to sanitize these sayings by being politically correct; the purpose of the exercise would have been lost. So here are a few of Dr. Joe's musings. There will be more.

John "Fifty" King lived with his maiden sisters next door to the little house your grandfather (Michael Lydon) bought at the top of the hill (on Davis Street). One fine day, Fifty died on the throne in the toilet (actually an outhouse). My brother went back to help the undertaker move him. As they took in the scene, the thought occurred to them, "Well, when you gotta go, ya gotta go!"

Gray Jack Donovan was asking Jim Nallin, the manager of the A & P store for "tick" (credit in Minooka). Jim fussed and fumed, spoke of inventory, etc., etc. "Hold it!" said Jack. "You don't have to whistle for me to dance!!" as he strolled majestically out. I was there and always thought that it was a great line.

Obituary of Ann Mulkerin Ryan - April 13, 1906

Mrs. Ann Ryan, one of Minooka’s most estimable women, who has been a resident of that town for the past fifty years, died at 9 o’clock last evening as a result of the bursting of a blood vessel near the brain. Yesterday morning the deceased arose feeling well and began to dress to attend the 8 o’clock mass in St. Joseph’s Church. While walking about the kitchen of her home she became suddenly dizzy and, calling to her son, Edward, who was close by, asked him to help her back to bed. These were the last words she spoke, for when she was placed on the bed she lapsed into unconsciousness, in which condition she remained until the end came last evening. Dr. Haggerty was hurriedly summoned, but could do nothing to stay the hand of the Grim Reaper, who turned Easter, the season of joy, into one of heartfelt sorrow for the children of the deceased. There was grief in the Ryan household yesterday, when the members of the family, with tear be-dimmed eyes and aching harts, (sic) sat watching the one who guided their infant footsteps, as she lay unmindful of her surrounding in the battle of death. The deceased was one of the pioneering residents of Minooka, she having taken up her home there when it was practically a wilderness. She was a woman of many noble traits of character, and was a devout member of St. Joseph’s church. In her death Minooka parts with one of her most respected residents, and the members of her family a mother whose kind words and good advice will forever live in their memory. Her life is worthy of emulation as she was all that her Creator expected and has now departed for the celestial throne to reap the harvest of her good deeds in this world. She is survived by the following sons and daughters: Mrs. John Gorman, of New Mexico; Thomas, of South Scranton; Mrs. Patrick Joyce, of Minooka; Ella and Edward, at home; and James Ryan, of Main street; also the following sisters, Mrs. Michael Lacey, Mrs. Michael Walsh, of Minooka, and Mrs. Patrick Powell, of the west. Funeral announcement later.

Mrs. Patrick Joyce: Mary Ann Ryan Joyce

Mrs. Michael Lacey: Bridgit Mulkerin Lacey - Great, great grandmother of Mary Lydon Simonsen

Mrs. Michael Walsh: Nora Mulkerin Walsh of Pittston Avenue

Contributed by James V. Ryan

Early Days of Minooka Recalled by Michael G. Cusick

The Scranton Republican, August 1925 “Old Home Week"

Early Days of Minooka Recalled by Michael G. Cusick (b. 1871)

M.J. Cusick [sic] writer of the following article was born in Minooka and has been prominent in that place for many years. He is a member of the Minooka School Board and for the past ten years has been secretary of that body. He has been connected with the Prudential Insurance Company for twenty-five years, is now holding the responsible position of special assistant superintendent.

Mr. Cusick has been long active in civil affairs. He is brother of Rev. Peter F. Cusick, S.J. President of Canisius College., Buffalo, N.Y. – Editor’s Note.

M.G. Cusick, Bridgit Flaherty Mulkerin Cusick, Ann Cusick,
 Anthony Cusick,  Father Peter Cusick, S.J.

The early inhabitants of Minooka came from the west coast of Ireland, principally from Galway, Mayo and Cork, and truthfully it can be called the Ireland of America.

A Glossary of Minooka-isms by Dr. Joe Lydon

Dr. Joseph Francis "Minooka Joe" Lydon passed away in September 2011 at the age of 88 years. He was a friend of my father's as they lived two houses apart on Pittston Avenue. Although our last names were the same, we were not related. He belonged to the "Sharkey Lydon" clan, while I was a "Black Tom." I only know this because he told me. My aunt, who grew up just inside the Scranton line, went to school with Dr. Joe at St. John the Evangelist, and she introduced us. That introduction began a friendship that lasted for eight years. In that time, he shared so much about the town he loved, including what he called "Minooka-isms." There will be more about Dr. Joe in a future post, but to kick off the blog, I wanted to share his glossary with you.

Arrah! - To begin any conversation. The suffix of "bee-gawd" was for emphasis, and the suffix "Musha" was for contempt.

The Bug - The Magnet Theater in Minooka, run by Nick Sciartelli, that had no restrooms. Once, during the Depression, Nick offered two tickets for a bag of coal or one ticket for a bushel of wood. The offer was rescinded in a week or two later when all of the back fences in the town began to disappear.

Blaggard - Like boys who put mirrors on the floors where the girls stood up to recite.

Chimbley - That's where the smoke goes up!

Corpse House - The home where a body was laid out. It was generally considered bad form to use a funeral home.

Crown - Hit over the head.

Cuppa - A cup of tea.

Welcome to Minooka Memories

The purpose of this blog is for those who grew up in Minooka or whose parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. lived there to share memories. Minooka has a rich history, and it is important that people know about the individuals who made Minooka unique. If you have a story to share, please let me know. I can be reached at quailcreekpub@hotmail.com. Thank you. Mary Lydon Simonsen