The Garvick Family
By Patricia Garvick Nemeth
In my childhood years, people tended to "stay put." And so pretty much my entire life, from age one until I married at twenty-two, was spent in the quaint, secluded area of Marshall County known as Boggs Run. My earliest memories are of living in the "Big House" in Orum Lane. When the owner, Dorothea Orum, decided she wanted to live in the house, we moved to the "Little House" at the front of the lane. At that time, our family consisted of Dad (Stanley), Mom (Evelyn), my sister Carole and myself. Completing the family was a dog, part-Collie, named Fuzzy, and I always had a kitten or two. I remember my dad bringing home Coleman's fish sandwiches on rare occasions. At that time, they cost twenty cents apiece!
Carole & Pat Garvick - Orum's Lane
Carole & Pat Garvick, with Scott Orum; Carole & Pat at the smaller house on Orum's Lane
When the rent on the little house went up to $50 a month, Mom and Dad decided they should be putting "that amount of money" into their own home. So in 1948 they bought a house about a mile "down the run" from Orum Lane. I believe the house was built by Walter and Anna Jablinske. Soon after we moved there, my brother Chuck was born, and now the family really was complete.
Stanley & Evelyn Garvick, with children Carole, Pat, & Chuck
My dad was one of the original recyclers, then commonly referred to as "junk men." We weren't rich in worldly goods, though we did have the first television set in the area. I remember several of the neighbors coming to spend the evening to see what it was like to watch tv. Some prime time shows that I remember were "Ed Sullivan and His Toast of the Town" and "You Asked for it!" And Bishop Fulton Sheen was one of our favorites. The kid shows I remember were Howdy Doody, and a Pittsburgh-based production called Happy's Party. There of course was no cable tv at the time, and since we were in a valley, "rabbit ears" weren't of any use. So Dad strung 1000 feet of cable up to the top of the hill (the Jablinske property) where it was connected to an antenna and pointed toward Pittsburgh, so that we could get a picture on the only channel available to us, WDTV. When we would have a windstorm, the antenna would get turned in the wrong direction and our picture would become fuzzy or disappear completely. So Dad would go up to Jablinske's, someone there would get on the phone to us, and we had to help him get it re-positioned by letting him know if the picture was better or worse with each adjustment.
My best friend through grade school was Janie Calmbacher, who lived two doors up from us. We spent a lot of time together, and I preferred for her to come to my house, because her family had a mean old rooster who would fly at me when I went to theirs. When we stayed at each others' houses until after dark, we would have to promise to walk each other half-way home, to Reed's bridge. That way we could be scared together - it was quite dark with no street lights and only the light of the moon. In the summertime, we enjoyed damming up the creek where there was a small waterfall, and we would have a nice little swimming (wading) hole. Another favorite pastime was catching crawfish - only we called it "catching crabs!" We also enjoyed rolling up in an old blanket and then rolling from the top of our hilly yard to the bottom.
My mom was a homemaker. She was the old-fashioned kind who did laundry on Monday (an all day job with a wringer-washer). We did have an electric dryer, but most of the laundry was hung outside to dry. Tuesday was ironing day, Wednesday mending day, and Friday was reserved for cleaning.
All kids in the area went to Boggs Run Elementary, grades one through eight - no kindergarten at that time. I remember our principal, Dorotha Dean, getting on the intercom once a week, announcing in her sternest voice, "Safety Court." She would then read the names of any students who had misbehaved during the week, by fighting, running on the playground, going into the creek, etc. Funny, I don't remember when or how anyone was punished.
When I was in the sixth grade, I was allowed to become part of Union High School's marching band. This meant I had to leave school twice a week or so to go to the high school for practice. A family friend would pick me up at the grade school on his way to work (my mom didn't drive), and drop me off at the Tunnel - the shortcut through the hillside to Marshall Street, Benwood. I would then walk through the tunnel, which most times was pitch-black because neighborhood boys liked making a game of breaking the lightbulbs. On the other side of the tunnel, I would cross Marshall Street and catch a bus to the high school. I think the fare was ten cents!
Though living on Boggs Run sometimes made it complicated getting to and from various activities, I don't think I would have traded life there for any other location. My sister, Carole, married in 1959, and I married in 1963. Even after my brother went off to college, Mom and Dad continued living on Boggs Run until the late '60s, when Dad had a heart attack that very nearly took his life, and put some strict limitations on his activities. No more shoveling coal for the coal furnace, no more mowing the lawn with a push mower, no more shoveling snow from the driveway. How painful it must have been for them to leave - but they took with them (as did everyone in the family) lifelong friendships and wonderful memories of this very special place called Boggs Run.
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