Friday's Faces From the Past: Fearless Females Alyce Frances Salerno and Elizabeth Florence Massmann Pape, ABT 1937

The photo above is of my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Florence Massmann Pape (1902-2000), on the right, with her friend Alyce Frances Salerno (1914-1985) on the left.  I'm not sure where the photo was taken, but on the back, it is stamped "A Richards Photo Print" and "Feb 8 1937," so it must have been taken on or before that date, and around the same time as another of my grandmother and great-grandmother.

I knew my grandmother was friends with the Salerno family, who owned the Salerno Megowen Biscuit Company.  They made butter cookies, famous for their 1935-1967 radio slogan, "Mommy...I want a Salerno butter cookie," and a jingle that went like this:

"You can lookie, lookie, lookie,
But you'll never find a cookie
With a better butter batter than Salerno."

They also made an anise-flavored Christmas cookie (in various holiday shapes) that were originally called Jingles and later Santa's Favorites.  They even made Girl Scout cookies for a while in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Alyce Frances Salerno was born on October 1, 1914, in Chicago, the third and youngest child and second daughter of Italian immigrants Fred George Salerno (1877-1968) and Frances E. Noto (ABT 1878-1938).

According to a University of Illinois at Chicago history project website, Fred Salerno, who began as a "greasy pans boy" in 1889, went on to become the general manager and vice-president of the Sawyer Biscuit Company, one of the largest baking firms in the country. In 1933, with R. Lee Megowen, he founded the Salerno-Megowen Biscuit Company at 4500 W. Division in Chicago (demolished in 2015).

On the 1910 Census, before Alyce's birth, the Salerno family was living at 1013 N. Claremont Avenue in Chicago.  It's hard to read, but it looks like Fred's occupation was journeyman baker.  On his September 1918 World War I draft registration card, he is now superintendent and vice-president of the Sawyer Baking Company at 1029 W. Harrison Street in Chicago, and living not far away at 3500 W. Congress.

I couldn't find the family in the 1920 Census, but by 1929 (based on an England-to-New York City passenger list), they are living in a fine house at 501 Lake Avenue in the north-of-Chicago suburb of Wilmette.  The family is also at this address in the 1930 Census and in Evanston/Wilmette city directories the next few years.  Alyce's mother Frances appears in the 1937 directory but not in 1939; and on the 1940 Census, Fred is listed as a widower.  Alyce is still single and living with him at the family home on Lake Avenue.

The 1940 Census also lists Fred as president of the Salerno Biscuit Company, and Alyce's older brother George Fred Salerno (1909-1970), who lives nearby at 217 Third Street in Wilmette with his wife Sylvia and daughter Gay, is vice-president of a bakery, presumably the same one.  Fred's 1942 World War II draft registration card indicates the Salerno-Megowen Biscuit Company is still at 4500 Division Street.  However, by September 1961, the company had moved to 7777 North Caldwell Avenue in the Niles area, and George was now president of the company.

Sometime between 1940 and George's death in 1970, Alyce had become a vice-president and member of the board of the company.  According to her obituary in the November 24, 1985, Chicago Tribune, she

...became known as the "cookie queen of the United States" for her reign over the Salerno cookie company...In 1971, Miss Salerno was elected chairman of the Salerno-Megowen Biscuit Co. in Niles. She had been its chairman emeritus for several years.  Miss Salerno, 71, of Wilmette, had been with the firm all her life, serving as vice president and as a member of its board, among other roles.  Five years after she took over as chairman, the firm expanded its sales to about 30 states and was selling $40 million worth of sweets and crackers a year.

An Associated Press story dated November 23, 1985, the day of her death, said she "died at Evanston Hospital following a brief illness....Although the family sold the company in 1982, Miss Salerno remained associated with it, frequently representing it at international and national conventions. Miss Salerno was one of the first women members of the Economic Club of Chicago. She also was a member of the Executive Club of Chicago and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations."

Alyce Frances Salerno is buried at All Saints Catholic Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.


© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

(Not-So-) Wordless Wedding Wednesday: More on Frederick Massmann's Second Wife

It was bugging me that I couldn't find any more information about my paternal great-grandfather Frederick Henry Massmann's second wife, Ruth L. Metculf, who he married seven months before he died in 1948. So, I spent $16.75 to download the marriage record from the Cook County (Illinois) Clerk's Office Genealogy Online site:

As I'd hoped, this gave me a little more information.  Her name was, according to this, Ruth L. Metcalf, and she was (supposedly) 49 when the marriage was issued.  Both the county clerk and the priest who married them (at Our Lady of Lourdes [Catholic] Church at 4640 N. Ashland in Chicago, on March 30) list her as "Miss," indicating she's never been married.

So, with that data, I did some searching in Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and FindAGrave.com, and was able to piece together this biography in just a couple hours:

Ruth Luella Metcalf was born August 31, 1898, in Des Moines County, Iowa (probably in Burlington), the second and last child and only daughter of Iowa natives James Edward "Ed" Metcalf and Louise/Louisa Lofstrom.

Ruth shows up in the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. Censuses (and the 1915 and 1925 Iowa state censuses) in her parents' home at 1522 Grove Street in Burlington, Iowa.  The 1915 record says she is a Methodist.  In 1920, she is working as a saleslady in a hotel.  The 1925 record shows she attended college for one year.  The 1930 Census shows she is working as a saleslady in a retail drug store.

Sometime between 1930 and 1935, Ruth moved to Chicago.  On the 1940 Census, she is a lodger at 932 W. Cullom Avenue.  She had been unemployed for 13 weeks at the time the census was taken, but had previously worked as a typist at a department store.  That census also showed she was living in the same place (Chicago, but not the same address) on April 1, 1935.

Based on her older brother Raymond's obituary in the Burlington Hawkeye on December 17, 1965, she was still living in Chicago at that time, and had not remarried after my great-grandfather's death.  The Social Security death index says she died in July 1975.  She is buried in Aspen Grove Cemetery in Burlington, Ohio, in the same plot as her parents and Lofstrom grandparents, aunts, and uncles.


© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

Matrilineal Monday: Fearless Female Elizabeth Dienes Massmann and her husband, Frederick Henry Massmann, ABT mid-1930s

Above is a photo of my paternal great-grandmother Elizabeth Camilla Dienes Massmann (1876-1946), on the left, and her husband, Frederick Henry Massmann (1875-1948).  I realized that although  I've written about his investiture in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great for his works and generosity in the Roman Catholic Church, I haven't written much else about his life.

Frederick was born December 1, 1875, in Hannover, Germany, the oldest son and second of five children that survived to adulthood of Carl Wilhelm Heinrich Massmann (1847-1929) and Wilhelmine "Minna" Auguste Fricke Massmann (1847-1919). Three older daughters, born in 1870, 1871, and 1873, all died before the rest of the family immigrated in 1883 or 1884.  If it was on the Elbe around November 20 as Carl stated on a 1911 passport application, then it would have been 1883, when the Elbe arrived in New York City from Bremen on November 19; although it is also possible that Carl came first and the rest of the family later.  I haven't found any of them on passenger lists, as many from that time period are in poor condition, unindexed, and nearly unreadable.  Carl was naturalized in Chicago on October 17, 1891, by court order, and Frederick was through him as he was still a minor.

According to a biography in The American Catholic Who's Who, Volume 7 (1946 and 1947, page 300), Frederick "began as boy in retail grocery; with Brookman M[anu]f[acturin]g Co., 1890-95; Durand & Kasper Co. [wholesale grocers], 1895-1913; Nat[iona]l Tea Co., [19]18-[19]39, retiring as pres[ident]; with Peter Fox Brewing Co., [19]39-[to date]."

Frederick married Elizabeth Dienes on June 5, 1900, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.  The 1901 Chicago city directory shows the family living at 311 (2047 after 1909) Cuyler Avenue, with Frederick working as a salesman at 22 N. Union in Chicago (this was an address for Durand & Kasper).  The 1910 Census shows him to be a superintendent in the grocery industry.

On his World War I draft registration card dated September 12, 1918, he gives his address as 2082 Estes Avenue in Chicago, and says he is working as a general manager for Geo[rge] Rasmussen at 615 W. Randolph in Chicago.  Rasmussen was the founder and first president of National Tea.

On the 1920 Census, Frederick is still listed as a general manager in the wholesale groceries industy, and on the 1930 Census, he is now listed as a vice-president, and living in a house worth $50,000 (a lot in those days!) at 7000 Ridge Avenue in the Rogers Park area of north Chicago.  National Tea Company's number of locations had peaked in 1929 at 1,627.  A May 29, 1931, article in The New World, a newspaper published by the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, said he was then "a director of the Central Trust Company of Illinois and a director of the Philip State Bank and Trust Company."  A May 1, 1936, article in the New York Times said Frederick's 1935 salary as vice-president of National Tea was $21,400.  

In early October, 1932, Frederick was elected president for one year.of the National Chain Store Association (which dissolved at the end of that yer).  He later became president of the Food and Grocery Chain Stores of America, Inc., and dealt with such issues during the depression as the minimum number of operating hours per week for stores (63), quality grade labeling of canned goods, and implementing a food distribution program for the needy.  

In early 1936, Frederick became president of the National Tea Company when its founder, George Rasmussen, became chairman of the board.  When Rasmussen died in late August of that year, a Chicago Tribune article stated that Frederick was living at 1123 Hull Terrace in Evanston.

Frederick resigned from the National Tea Company in 1939 and became vice-president and sales manager of the Peter Fox Brewing Company.  He and Elizabeth were living at 5920 N. Kilpatrick in Chicago when The American Catholic Who's Who for 1946-47 was published.  

According to his nephew, George Massmann, Frederick became a Catholic about 1916.  He then became very involved in the church, as a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Holy Name Society, and the Catholic Salvage Bureau. He helped organize the Catholic Youth Organization.  He contributed $5,000 towards the building of the Holy Name Technical School (now Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois), and celebrated his investiture in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (for his works and generosity in the Roman Catholic Church) at the school's dedication on May 30, 1932.

Frederick also became involved with the Boy Scouts.  After my great-grandmother Elizabeth died in December 1946, he met a woman who worked for them named Ruth L. Metcalf.  They married on March 25, 1948, but Frederick died seven months later, on November 3, 1948 - without a will.  Frederick was buried next to Elizabeth at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.

ETA (April 2018):  I now think this photo was taken outside 7000 Ridge Boulevard, which I know they lived in from at least May 1927 (but not during the 1920 Census) to at least April 1932 (but they'd moved by August 1936).


© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Fearless Females Elizabeth Dienes Massmann and Elizabeth Massmann Pape, February 1937

The photo above was among many my parents have.  It is of my paternal great-grandmother Elizabeth Camilla Dienes Massmann (1976-1946), on the left, and her daughter, my paternal grandmother Elizabeth Florence Massmann Pape (1902-2000), on the right.  A handwritten note on the back says "Feb[ruary] 1937."  Another copy of the photo is stamped "A Richards Photo Print" and "Feb 8 1937."

It appears to me that the two Elizabeths are on a ship.  You can see a body of water in the background, plus railings typical of early cruise ships.   As I mentioned in an earlier post, the elder Elizabeth and her husband, my great-grandfather Frederick Henry Massmann, went on three ocean cruises (that I know of) from 1927 to 1932.  I had not found either of them on a passenger list from 1937, though, and had not found my grandmother on any passenger lists.

Then it occurred to me - they lived in Chicago at this time.  Weren't there cruises on Lake Michigan?

As it turns out, cruising on the Great Lakes was rather popular in the late 1930s - there were a number of passenger ships available.  From the photo above, it looks like this particular ship had a small swimming pool.  So far, I haven't been able to determine what ship this might be, even with that information.

Below is an enlargement from the photo above, showing just my great-grandmother and grandmother.

© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

(Almost-) Wordless Wednesday: Fearless Female Addilee Harris' 84th Birthday, March 4, 1974

My maternal great-grandmother, Addilee Tennessee Shelton Wolfe Odom Harris, was born on this date, March 4,  in 1890, in Sardis, Winn Parish, Louisiana, and died in Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, on August 22, 1977,  at the age of 87.  This photograph was taken when she was living with/near her son Lloyd L. Wolfe at Crystal Lakes Estates near Lake Livingston, Texas, where she lived at least 1973-1974.

© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

Fearless Females and Matrilineal Monday: Elizabeth Regina Dienes Massmann, 1876-1946

Lisa Azlo over at The Accidental Genealogist came up with a blogging prompt for each day of March to celebrate National Women's History Month. While I can't promise to do every one of these "Fearless Females" prompts, I'm going to try to do as many as I can.

The prompt for March 2 is:  Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo? 

The photo at right is of one of my paternal grandmothers, Elizabeth Regina Dienes Massmann, 1876-1946.  I think the photo was taken sometime around 1900, about the time she married my great-grandfather Frederick Henry Massmann.  I selected this photo because I have not posted many photographs of her (none of her alone) and have not written about her much.

Elizabeth was born September 10, 1876, in Springfield, Illinois, the ninth of ten children of German immigrants Friederich "Fred" Wilhelm Dienes (1827 – 1896) and Regina Matheis (1837 – 1916).  Seven of the children lived to adulthood.  In 1877-78, the family was living at 730 N. 8th in Springfield, and her father's hat store was at 105 N. 5th.  However, by the 1880 Census, the family was living at 193 (1031 after 1909) N. Sedgwick Street in Chicago, and the 1882 Chicago city directory lists the hat store at 287 Division.  By the time Fred died in 1896, the family had moved to 476 (1329 after 1909) N. Wells Street in Chicago.  

Elizabeth married Frederick Massmann on June 5, 1900, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.  The 1900 Census was taken in the month of June, and that is probably why Elizabeth and Frederick don't show up on it - they were likely on their honeymoon.  Ten months later, their first child, Alfred John Massmann, was born on April 1, 1901, and  baptized at St. Matthias Catholic Church in Chicago (on Ainslie Street).

The 1901 Chicago city directory shows the family living at 311 (2047 after 1909) Cuyler Avenue, with Frederick working as a salesman at 22 N. Union in Chicago.  Their second and last child, my grandmother, Elizabeth Florence Massmann, was born on December 23, 1902.  She was baptized at the nearby St. Benedict Catholic Church on January 4, 1903.

As Frederick became more successful in business, the family moved, first to 1938 Morse Avenue (1910 Census), and then 1833 Morse Avenue (1920 Census), followed by a mansion at 7000 Ridge Avenue from at least 1927 to at least 1932, all in the Rogers Park area of north Chicago.  During this time, Frederick and Elizabeth went on a number of cruises:  from New York City to Southampton, England, and back in May 1927; from San Francisco to Honolulu and back in April 1929; and from New Orleans to Havana, Cuba, and back in April 1932.

However, Frederick suffered some losses in the Depression, and on the 1940 Census, he and Elizabeth are renting a duplex at 6620 N. Maplewood Avenue in Chicago.  Elizabeth died December 3, 1946, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is buried at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.

© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Happy Anniversary, Paige & Brian!

My brother and sister-in-law on their wedding day, March 1, 2003, at the Hamilton Twelve near Austin, Texas.

© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: "Looking west down tent alley" - Korea, 1952

Here is another photo from my dad Fred Pape's military scrapbook, of the K-1 Pusan West Air Base in Korea in late 1952:

On the back of this photo, Dad wrote, "Looking west down tent alley to flight line.  Note casual character on left" - that's Dad.


© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

(Not-So-) Wordless Wednesday: "All the Conveniences of Home" - Korea, 1952

Another photo from my dad Fred Pape's military scrapbook - this is from the inside of the "Sans Nookee Teepee":

 

On the back of the photo, Dad wrote, "My hand shook slightly as I took this scene inside the tent.  Milt* and I built the table.  Milt is setting up a pillowcase on the far right to show some of our color pictures.  Dick Parks* [is] standing at the table."  You can also see a stove for heat in the foreground.

* Milt is Captain Milton C. Royles, the pilot of Dad's B-26.  Richard Robert "Dick" Parks is a fellow navigator from Dad's class at Ellington Air Force Base who was also assigned to this squadron.



© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Monday Memories: "Sans Nookee Teepee" in Korea, Late 1952

Here is another photo from my dad Fred Pape's military scrapbook:

My dad, a Second Lieutenant navigator at the time, is kneeling in the center, with Paul Marks standing on the left and Al Nolan standing on the right.  On the back of the photograph, Dad wrote that Paul and Al were also navigators and "two great guys."  Unfortunately, I was unable to find out any additional information about either gentleman.

This photo was taken outside their tent at K-1, the Pusan West Air Base in South Korea (Their regular base, K-9 or Pusan East, was closed for rebuilding of a runway).  The back of the photograph is stamped "Kodacolor Print...Week of November 24, 1952," so the photo was taken sometime before that date.  Dad had been in Korea for just a couple months at that point.  Dad said they had the only tent with a red door, because his pilot partner, Captain Milton C. "Milt" Royles, had painted it that color (I posted a photo of him and my dad in front of this tent in May 2014).  If you look closely, you can see the words "Sans Nookee Teepee" also painted on the door.

There will be more about K-1 and tent alley in future posts.


© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.