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Show OLIVE O'MARA J 22 20 2 And she thought, well I'll let her skip this grade then and that way w 11 b thr ugh a year earlier. So I finished eighth grade at twelve and started high school at tw lve and because of that, we went to Scottdale like, permanently, till I finished high school because in the mining town, I would have had to drive five miles to get to Uniontown to go to high school. In fact, I was enrolled in Uniontown, but with the commotion in the family, we ended up in going back to Scottdale. So my life was both in the mining town, which I loved very much, but it was ultimately Scottdale where I was born, and where I was married, and where I taught school. So, actually, that little town, Scottdale became my home. My grandparents moved there when my dad was three. BEC: Where did your grandparents come from? OLI: Connellsville, is where they ended up when they were married. Granddad was born and raised, oh, I would say, about fifteen miles away, in a little town called Middletown; in Hempville Township. And Grandmother was raised in Connellsville. See, her dad, George W. Hill, was a railroad engineer and they had more money. Granddad Osterwise was raised on a farm in Hempville Township, with a larger family. But somewhere they got together and when they married, they lived in Connellsville, where Grandmother's home had always been. She was born there. And Connellsville was about five or six miles from Scottdale. I'm not sure, but somewhere like that. I have a little history of Dad's remembrance of going there when he was three. It was a big excitement to him to leave from Connellsville and ride on a wagon. Granddad then was a blacksmith. I remember well when I was three of seeing Grandad hammer horseshoes on an anvil, and heat them in the fire. I remember because they had to reassure me this wasn't hurting the horse. I was frightened. It was a very vivid memory. Eventually, I realized that 3 |
