| Name |
Bastress, Chester Jay |
| Born |
25 Feb 1917 |
Northumberland, PA  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
17 May 1998 |
Stonington, PA |
| Buried |
Northumberland Memorial Park, Stonington, PA |
| Notes |
- Notes for CHESTER JAY BASTRESS:
Chester worked for 27 years as a drop forger at the Keystone Forge, Northumberland, PA. He had the gift of
"water witching" or "dousing." Chester was a member of the August Baptist Church and was a bell ringer for
years.
Chester and Lester were twin brothers.
The brother's got to watch President Herbert Hoover's motorcade come through Northumberland on Duke Street.
While working for Keystone Forging the brothers got to go see President Harry S. Truman's Presidential train. The President's daughter, Margaret, came out on the platform on the back of the train and waived to everyone.
Edible treats were sassafras root, birch bark, and yellow May apples.
The twins earned spending money by selling moleskins for five cents a bundle. At the Blue Hill canal bed, moles were stomped on. A hollow tree was laid on top of canal lock. A wire was strung across inside the tree with fire lot on one end to dry moleskins. Licorice root was bought at a store for one cent a piece with their earnings.
Memories....
The farmhouse was on RD#2, Sunbury.
The large shrub bush at side porch
Dog Trixie laying behind the coal stove
Bags of beans lying around house
Big rocking chair in the Kitchen
Large maple trees lining the front yard
All ages of people sitting and talking on the front porch.
Poplar trees lining the road to the barn
cousins playing hide n' seek among the lilacs and a favorite place for the chickens as well.
trudging through the woods to find the "perfect" Christmas tree and setting it up in the parlor.
Friday night visits with the men sitting in the kitchen and the women sitting in the living room and the cousins outside playing or inside listening to whichever conversation was liveliest.
Watching Ray Bolger, Lawrence Welk, & Friday night fights.
|
| Person ID |
I305 |
Philip Basters (Bastress) Family Tree - b. 1735 |
| Last Modified |
16 Jul 2018 |
| Father |
Bastress, Clark Edwin, b. 23 May 1892, Northumberland, PA , d. 5 Oct 1957 (Age 65 years) |
| Mother |
Leitzel, Mossie Eva, b. 7 Mar 1894, Kratzerville, PA , d. 20 Mar 1956, Sunbury. PA (Age 62 years) |
| Married |
9 Aug 1913 |
Rolling Green, Hummelswarf, PA |
| Notes |
- Notes for CLARK EDWIN BASTRESS:
Clark was raised in Shamrock and met Mossie at the Aldine Hotel in Sunbury across from the train station where
she was a cook.
Mossie later baked pies at Keithan's Bakery in Sunbury. They lived in Kratzerville, where Clark worked in a sawmill. Most of the men spoke Dutch and Clark had a hard time understanding them. Mossie tried to help him understand the language.
They moved to Sunbury where Clark was born. They lived in New York where they farmed for a period of time. They return to PA and moved to Northumberland in time for the twins to be born. They moved to Island Park for awhile and then back to Northumberland. Their last home was a 21 acre farm in RD #2, Black Mill Road, Sunbury.
Clark worked for 38 years at the Keystone Forge, Duke Street, Northumberland, as a Heater and then became a hammer man in the foundry. He also worked at the Danville Iron Works and on a threshing crew that was owned by Thomas J. Leitzel ( Mossie Leitzel's Father).
|
| Headstones |
 | Clark & Mossie Bastress Tombstone
Clark & Mossie Bastress Tombstone
|
| Family ID |
F83 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
1917 - 1998 (81 years)
