No matter how hard God tried he couldn’t make a better
couple than Ann DeMary Eates and Joe Eates, both Class of 1945.
Ann’s parents were
Anthony and Lucy Damico DeMary.
Ann's siblings include Jimmy DeMary, Virginia DeMary
Rossi and Anthony “Plumber” DeMary, Jr., all deceased.
Joe's siblings include Mike Eates; Dominick Eates, Class
of 1946, who married the late Mary Larry Eates from Carolina; Nick Eates,
Class of 1935; Mary Eates, Angie Eates all deceased; and Tony Eates, in my
Class of 1950, who lives in Fairmont with wife Lucy Cann Eates.
Ann and Joe live at the bottom of Bridge Street hill. Ann
DeMary Eates and Joe Eates are the godparents of John Larry Olesky of
Tallmadge, Ohio, the only son of John Olesky, Jr., Class of 1950, who also
lives in Tallmadge.
Virginia
DeMary Rossi and Christine “Tina” Tartell Arnett, both Class of 1953, were born
on the same day – April 24, 1935 -- and died two hours apart on the same day –
August 20, 1982 -- and were best friends for life. At Monongah High, they were
Student Council representatives together for their senior class in 1953.
Tina
was the maid of honor at Virginia’s wedding to James Rossi. David Tartell was a pallbearer at Michael
DeMary’s funeral in 2007. Tina was Paula Rossi Wiley’s godmother.
Virginia DeMary Rossi is buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery
on Park Avenue in Monongah. Nearby are the side-by-side graves of Lee and
Josephine Tartell, Tina’s parents, and Lucy and Anthony DeMary, Virginia’s
father’s brother.
As for Ann and Joe, St. Peter already has their angel
wings and special halos prepared for them in Heaven.
I call Ramona Fullen Michalski, Class of 1949, Monongah
High’s de facto historian, the head of the “Monongah High Alumni blog Monongah
Bureau” because I couldn’t do my Monongah High Alumni blog without Ramona’s
help. She provided me with Monongah High graduation lists for every year from
the first class in 1918 through the final class in 1979.
Whenever I don’t know the connections of former Lions I’m
writing about, I call Ramona, whose memory is excellent. When I visit her home
every room was filled with Monongah High memorabilia, down to the MHS Lion with
water spitting out of its mouth.
Ramona also is the hostest with the mostest. Her home and
pool are party central for nearly any Lions passing through Monongah.
Ramona
is the widow of Frank Michalski, who was in the Class of 1949 but dropped out
after the 1948 football season. Frank was my playground protector at Sts.
Peter and Paul School. When I was bullied over my cleft palate speech defect,
Frank stepped in and made it clear that if they did it they would have to deal
with him. It never happened again during my eight years under the nuns’
tutelage.
Frank
and Ramona had six children.
Marcia
Michalski Westfall, Class of 1974, of Kilarm, married Dave Westfall, Class of
1948. The others were Mike Michalski (wife Jan) and Jay Michalski (wife
Debbie), both of Monongah, Carol Michalski Drake (husband Bob) of Shinnston and
Monie Michalski, who lives with Ramona Fullen Michalski on Bridge Street
Extension just outside the Monongah town
limits.
Another child, Mary Frances Michalski Gapen, Class of 1968, married to Rick
Gapen, passed away in 2012. Mary was a super teacher at Barrackville Middle
School and Monongah Elementary.
Ramona's grandson, Tony Michalski, is Marion County Parks and Recreation
Comission executive director.
Ramona's grandfather was the half-brother
of the father of Shirley Fullen, Class of 1954. The late Jim Fullen, Class of 1962; Dan Fullen, Class of
1961, who lives in Four States; Connie Fullen Cantrell, Class of 1966,
who lives in Jasper, Alabama; and Charlotte Fullen Lloyd, Class of 1968, who lives in Bear, Delaware, are
siblings
I call Susan Staron Sanders, Class of 1971, the Angel of
Thomas Street. She has earned the title.
Susan is on the Monongah Town Council, the founder and
chairman of the Monongah Friends of the Christmas Lights Committee that raised
enough money for 61 Christmas street lights in a town of 900+ people and helps
care for Amelia Shenasky Zentz, the daughter of Nell and Pete Shenasky of P.P.
Shenasky Grocery fame in Monongah who will celebrate her 100th
birthday January 11 in the Monongah Town Hall with the townsfolk gathered
around the legendary grande dame of Monongah.
The
committee’s current lineup:
President
- Susan Sanders, Class of 1971.
Vice
President - Shelly Yankie, 2002 North Marion grad.
Treasurer
- Linda McCullough.
Secretary
- Kitty Morrison, Class of 1968.
Alternates
- Josh Scritchfield, North Marion grad; Breanna Stewart, Bill McCullough, 1988
North Marion grad Amanda Morgan, another North Marion grad Amber Efaw.
I visited my Christmas street light, the pearl in a
seashell outside my childhood Church Street home representing the Resurrection
of Christ (the pearl) rising from his tomb (the seashell), with my daughter
LaQuita and her husband, Tom Timberlake, who took most of the photos in this
blog article. My contribution mainly was photos of my great-granddaughter,
Eliza Frances Timberlake, who lives in Canal Winchester, a suburb of Columbus,
Ohio, with her parents, Dr. Dylan Timberlake and Casey Benedetti Timberlake.
Susan’s husband, Ron Sanders, is a Vietnam veteran. Susan’s brother, the
late Bob Staron, Class of 1967, fought in Vietnam, too. Susan and Ron met at a night club on Morgantown Avenue in
Fairmont.
Susan
and Ron’s son, Tommy Sanders, is a WVU computer engineering graduate.
Susan’s
parents were Stanley Staron and Alice Staron. Her siblings are Jack Staron,
Bill Staron and the late Tom Staron and Bob Staron.
Susan grew up with Becky Urish Anderson, who today lives
in Clarksburg, and went to Monongah High with Becky. They are both Class of
1971.
Susan is a Personnel retiree. Susan and Ron live on
Thomas Street, where the Mangino family lived when the Olesky family was in the
last Thomas Street rental before the Church Street intersection till my parents
bought the Church Street home that Angelo and Mary Dudash Raymond were renting
in the mid-1940s.
On the other side of the Sanders house is the former
Catania house, before Angelo Catania, Class of 1943, convinced his siblings and
father Mandala Catania to move to Covina, California, where Angelo was
stationed at a military base. Mary Catania Heywood, Class of 1945, still lives
there. Angelo, Alex Catania, Class of 1944, Josephine
Catania, Class of 1952, and Mandala, widower of Schiro Catania, passed away.
Carmella Catania Allard, Class of 1947, are in San
Antonio because her husband, Omer Allard, still was in the Air Force when the
Catania migration took place. When Omer retired, he and Carmella remained in
San Antonio.
The trip
included Olesky family reunions in Fairmont, at the Say Boy Restaurant where my
father introduced me to my first ribeye steak when I was a teenager, and in the
Columbus suburb Canal Winchester, home of my 4th great-grandchild,
Eliza Frances Timberlake, daughter of Dr. Dylan Timberlake and wife Casey
Timberlake and granddaughter of LaQuita Olesky Timberlake and Tom Timberlake.
At Say
Boy, where I returned for another ribeye 75 years after my first taste of what
became my #1 choice in steaks, were my sister, Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of
1955, of Rivesville; Jackie’s daughter, Belinda Straight Morris; Belinda’s
husband, Dave Morris; Jackie’s daughter, Renee Straight; John Olesky, Class of
1950; John’s daughter, LaQuita Olesky Timberlake; LaQuita’s husband, Tom
Timberlake.
Also at
Say Boy was Linda McCullough, part of Susan Staron Sanders’ Charge of the
Lights Brigade, as I call them, the committee that raised money for 31
Christmas street lights brightening Monongah’s streets during the holiday
period.
So
was her sister Christy Hamilton, who lives in Butler, Pennsylvnia, and their
mom Joyce Locke. Christy lived with Linda in Monongah for a couple years in
high school before graduating from North Marion. Their Mom is from Fairmont.
Their late father was Larry Lee Hamilton, Class of 1969.
The
family was having a family dinner after a memorial service for another sister, Lori
Morris.
In Canal
Winchester for an Olesky-ish reunion were Dylan, Case, Eliza, LaQuita, Tom and
John.
Jackie’s
other daughter is Lea Ann Straight Barnes, married to David Barnes.
Monnie Elizabeth Turkette Olesky was
named for her grandmother, Monte Compton Turkette, and Elizabeth Fugett Brooks.
The busy doctor who delivered Monnie waited a
week to fill out a stack of birth certificates in Williamson. He spelled her
name Monia.
Monnie’s mother called her Monie. Monnie
signed her photo she gave me during our two courtship years as Mona. We were
married 48 years when Monnie passed away in 2004. The name on her grave in
Northlawn Memorial Gardens is Monnie, which is what the doctor should have
written down and what everyone called her throughout her life.
Monnie’s mother, Virginia Belle
Turkette, was the daughter of Elizabeth Fugett Brooks, who married Charlie
Brooks.
Monnie’s daughter is Monnie Ann
Olesky Johnston, who lives in Brunswick, Ohio.
One of Monnie Ann’s daughters is
Monnie Lynn Johnston, who lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Monnie Ann’s other daughter is Beth
Johnston, who lives in Cleveland area.
So Monte Compton Turkette and
Elizabeth Fugett Brooks gave Monnie her names of Monnie Elizabeth.
Monnie and I named our youngster
daughter Monnie Ann Olesky, now a Johnston.
Monnie Ann named her daughters Monnie
Lynn and Beth, both using my beloved late wife Monnie Elizabeth’s names.
Dr. Dylan Timberlake, son of Monnie’s
daughter Dawn LaQuita Olesky Timberlake, and Dylan’s wife Casey named their
daughter Eliza Frances. So Eliza and Beth make Elizabeth, my late wife Monnie’s
middle name.
