Jane Idella Polliard

1922 - 1982  (59 years)

• Name	Jane Idella Polliard
  Born	22 Apr 1922	New Bethlehem, Clarion County, Pennsylvania
  Gender	Female
  Died	08 Mar 1982	Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
  Notes	Jane was born on April 22, 1922 in New Bethlehem, PA. Some of Jane's chores were doing the milking and driving the tractor when they were bringing in the hay. Jane and her sister Ethel Maye would make faces at each other so Lulu would sit them down and tell them to make faces at each other till she told them to quit. George, her brother, always enjoyed teasing Jane. Jane attended the Porter Township High School in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania. She walked to school and graduated in the Class of 1939. Jane's first job was working at a gas station that had a store in it. She helped with the station and also took care of the owner's children because he had lost his wife and needed the help. Jane loved to roller skate and would go all the time. One particular night she was skating and came over to talk to someone she knew. His back was towards her so she put her hand on his shoulder and started to say something. When he turned around she was surprised it was someone else because she thought it was a "Bob" she knew. She apologized for it and continued skating. The person she tapped on the shoulder happened to be Harry Blair and he went up to her later on and asked her if she had wanted something. Jane and Harry began dating after that. She was a very good skater and she taught Harry to skate backwards. One night after double dating Harry and Jane were dropped off at Jane's house by Harry's Uncle Shorty Blair. Shorty was going to take his date home and then come back for Harry. There was a bad snowstorm and it was getting late and Shorty had not returned yet so Harry told Jane to go upstairs and go to bed and he would wait for his ride. Jane told him that the hired hand was not there and that he could go up and sleep there but he said he couldn't do that and that he would just sit on the couch and wait. Well, he laid down on the couch and was smoking a cigarette with his ashtray sitting on his chest and he fell asleep. A short time later he was awaken by Lulu Polliard throwing a bucket of water on him. The couch had started smoldering and burnt the Indian blanket and a hole in the center cushion of the couch. Lulu said, "Now you get upstairs and get to bed." Needless to say Harry felt really embarrassed to come downstairs the next morning. Frank Polliard always carried that blanket in his car after that. Harry always thought it was for a reminder. Another time Jane and Harry went to the Stoneboro Fair with Jane's parents. Harry and Frank were outside and Frank handed him a twenty-dollar bill. Harry said he had money, but Frank said, "If you are going to the Fair you have to treat your date to a good time." One of Jane's teachers was Miss Florence (Ruth) King. A church activity came up and Jane and her sister Ethel Maye thought they would fix their brother George up with Miss King. When George heard what Jane and Ethel Maye was trying to do he said, "If I wanted to make any dates I will make them myself." Needless to say he kept that date and she later became his wife. Jane had a pen pal from 1939 to 1945. Her name was Ria de Ruiter and she was from Leiden, Holland. Jane had asthma all her adult life. Her father also had a very bad case of it. While Harry was in the service Jane did ironing at home. In later years when the children were in school she worked at Montgomery Wards, Sears and then Social Security. From Obituary: Mrs. Jane Idella Blair, 59, of 107 Chippewa Drive, Butler, a former New Bethlehem resident, died at 7:55 PM Monday in Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh. Born, April 22, 1922, in New Bethlehem, she was a daughter of Frank and Lulu McDonald Polliard. She was employed as a clerk with the Social Security Administration at National Underground Storage in Boyers. Mrs. Blair was a member of Hill United Presbyterian Church and Gamble Sunday School Class of the church. She was also a member of Maqueda Chapter Order of Eastern Star of Butler. Surviving are her husband, Harry E. Blair; four daughters, Mrs. Raymond (Janet) Campbell and Marilyn Blair, both of Butler, Mrs. Joseph (Elaine) Stephenson of Prospect, and Linda Blair of Firestone, Col.; one son, Larry Blair of Phoenix, Arizona; and six grandchildren. Also surviving are: her mother, Mrs. Lulu Polliard of Rimersburg; a brother, George T. Polliard of Fredonia; a sister, Mrs. Jay (Ethel Maye) Myers of Sligo; and several nieces and nephews. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 P.M. and 7 to 9 PM today at the Thompson-Miller Funeral Home Inc., 124 E. North Street, Butler. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 am Thursday at the funeral home with Rev. C. Kenneth Hall of Hill United Presbyterian Church officiating. Private committal services will be held in Squirrel Hill Cemetery in New Bethlehem. The family requests memorial contributions be made to Butler County Unit of the American Cancer Society, North McKean Street, Butler, Pa. 16001
  Person ID	I3928	McKinney and Stewart of Clarion County, Pennsylvania
  Last Modified	8 Feb 2008

  
  

  Father	William Frank Polliard,   b. 15 Aug 1894, Squirrel Hill, Porter Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania ,   d. 16 Apr 1959, Butler, Butler County, Pennsylvania  (Age 64 years)
  Mother	Lulu Ethel McDonald,   b. 18 Aug 1893, Climax, Armstrong County, Pennsylvanai ,   d. 15 Sep 1989, Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania  (Age 96 years)
  Notes	Marriage Notes for William Polliard and Lulu McDonald: Lulu and Frank probably saw each other at many community events before they started dating. Lulu was a member of the Methodist Church at Squirrel Hill and Frank was a member of the Presbyterian Church which merged with the Squirrel Hill church. Frank and Lulu's brothers played baseball on an informal baseball team. Also, Frank never seemed to mind going on errands to the Leatherwood Post Office because it required him to go past Lulu's family farm. Frank and Lulu were married at her parents' farm and started housekeeping on the "Fox" farm, just down the road from the Polliard farm. They rented the farm until after George was born and Carm (Frank's father) turned 50 and decided to retire from the farm. Carm's sale was held March 8, 1918. Idella (Frank's mother) did not want to sell the farm so Frank and Lulu rented the farm from Carm until Frank retired from farming in 1943 and moved to Butler. Frank's sale at the farm was on March 18, 1943. Frank traded horses and cows for extra income on the farm and Lulu raised chickens and turkeys. Frank would attend "sales" during the winter months to purchase the horses or cattle. As the days got colder he just kept adding layers of clothes to stay warm while attending these sales. Sometimes he ended up wearing 3 pairs of pants at a time! After Lulu raised the turkeys they would slaughter 40 to 50 of them, pack them in ice and ship them by train to Pittsburgh. They sold eggs and butter when they went "into town" (usually New Bethlehem) on Saturday night. Frank enjoyed playing baseball with Lulu's brothers but Lulu's father did not like them playing baseball on a Sunday. One time after Lulu and Frank were married Lulu's father made a surprise visit and caught everybody playing baseball. Saturday night was a big event for the entire community. Most families went in to town to shop and socialize with their neighbors. In the Polliard family each child received $.25 to spend on these outings. George usually bought a coconut with his money. Ethel Maye saved her money and bought a hat. Jane =must have saved her money for shoes because George got so tired of hearing her clomping around in her shoes that on one occasion he threw them over the hill. He also had a hard time understanding why Jane and Ethel Maye would "waste" their money on hats and shoes and could keep them to themselves but he had to "share" his coconut with everybody. Apparently a big treat for the family was to purchase "ground meat" on these Saturday night excursions. They would take it home to cook it that night for supper. Frank and Lulu "set a good table". Lulu always had two kinds of jelly or preserves, homemade bread,homemade butter, fresh or canned vegetables, home grown potatoes and either beef, ham or chicken. They would butcher a "beef" in the late fall and let it hang frozen in the "Spring House" all winter. When it started to thaw in the spring, Lulu would can the meat. They had ham they had cured themselves. They raised their own chickens and turkeys. For dessert there was usually two kinds of pie or a cake and canned fruit. Frank and Lulu were very active in the Grange. They were both members of the Initiating Committee which traveled to other Granges in the area to help initiate new members. Lulu played the piano for these ceremonies.
  Photos		Wedding of William Frank Polliard and Lulu McDonald. October 28, 1914
  Family ID	F1109	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Squirrel Hill Cemetery, Porter Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania A mixture of Polliards and McDonalds. No one is clearly in rows. Back row, left to right; Lloyd Phillips, Henry Benn Phillips, Paul Phillips, Frank Polliard (behind this group), Don Phillips, Bud McKrell, young man, George Polliard, Ralph McDonald,?,? and ?. Front row, left to right; Flo Phillips, Robert Polliard, Sr., Ethel Polliard, Mary Lou Polliard (little girl), Dorothy Phillips, ?, Earl and Elsie McDonald, Lulu Polliard, Geraldine McKrell, Byron McDonald, Maude McDonald, ?,?, Jane Polliard. Frank Polliard is behind the back row.