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For Houk family, the name ‘Fred’ always generates a smileBy Louise CarrollNews CorrespondentMost families have at least one eccentric member; some have more.In the Houk family, it was uncle Fred Houk. Just the mention of his name made those who knew him smile in fond remembrance.While photos of him have all but disappeared, his nephew, Jim Houk of Ell wood City, remembers his uncle as “a strong ox of a man who was an individual you couldn’t forget. He was funny. He didn’t have to tell jokes; it was his mannerisms.”Uncle Fred was Frederick D. Houk, bom in 1884, a self-employed farmer who was known as a hard-working, fair man.“Uncle Fred was a Wayne Township supervisor. He wasn’t that good, but no one could ever beat him because there were so many Houks who voted, he always won,” Houk said.Sandlot baseball was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Houk reported that uncle Fred played on a team in Castle-wood that was so tough, “We never threw away the broken bats. We saved them for the fight after the game, and there was sure to be one.”Uncle Fred also played on the baseball field in Chewton. After the Saturday ballgames, they’d go to a dance at a building nearby “next to where Richie Allen’s house was.”Uncle Fred wore bib overalls and his trademark big boots. One mannerismwas his cache of half-smoked cigars that he left everywhere and would gather up as needed. He’d often offer a friend a cigar, then rummage around in his overalls pocket and pull out half-smoked cigars along with corn husks and farm seeds. No one ever accepted his offer of a cigar.Going with him in his truck was an adventure. He usually stopped at 9 or 10 a.m. for lunch, “So we don't get hungry,” uncle Fred would say.He also had an insatiable sweet tooth. Bucky Weingartner, a friend of Jim Houk’s brother, remembers that uncle Fred always ate his dessert first.Fred’s daughter, Doris Sicard, confirmed this trait. She said, “Dad always ate his dessert first. He said, ‘If you eat the best first, you will always have the best.’ ”When Weingartner or others would bring their lunch along, uncle Fred would hint broadly as he looked at their desserts, “Boy! Those aren’t too hard to take. Did your mother make them?” They were glad to share with him.Going with uncle Fred to farm sales and auctions was interesting and fun, and frequently involved stopping at Isaly’s in Wampum for some goodies, including doughnuts.Weingartner said, “He was an interesting man. He had a farm in Wayne Township on Bridge Street, by where Del Mar Golf Coursers now. I smile when I remember him'”Sicard lives on a section of the original farm. Her brother, Allan, died in 1970. thesame year their father also died.Houk said there’s a hat still sitting in the basement of Slippery Rock Presbyterian Church that belongs to uncle Fred.“They keep trying to give it to me, but I don’t take it.”Although Houk now lives in the Orchard Avenue house in which he was bom, his family moved to a farm one mile south of Castlewood when he was 6 months old.“The area was called Houky-Newton Hollow because so many Houks and Newtons lived there.... If you saw a man walking by, you said, ‘Hello, Mr. Newton.’ If he didn’t answer, you said, ‘Hello, Mr. Houk.’ ”His grandmother, Mary Melissa, was married to William Houk and always used snuff. Houk remembers her sitting on the rocking chair in her dust cap with a spittoon next to the chair. He said the grandchildren competed for the round snuff tin after she emptied it, to keep their treasures in. Married at 16, his grandmother had 15 children who lived, including Fred and Harry, Jim Houk’s father.Houk and the former Evelyn Kaye Iseman have been married 39 years and have four children and five grandchildren.He retired from teaching special education and fifth grade at Hartman Elementary School after 33 years with the Ellwood City Area School District. Now, five years later, he’s a self-employed painter.
Newspaper Details
New Castle News Weekend
New Castle, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Apr 10, 1999
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Mark B.
USA 07 Mar 2019
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