This article appeared in the Summer, 1994 edition of The Enterprise. ©1994, The Berea Area Historical Society. Berea's Deliverymen & Peddlers Remembered (Individuals) Pat Cirigliano...Ice, Coal, Milkman by Patricia Cirigliano Ciancutti As I listen to people recount the hard times they experienced in the thirties and early forties of this century, I feel a little ashamed that all of my memories of those years were conversely happy, filled with parental love, and what I considered prosperity. My Dad worked every day during those hard times, and he worked hard for his small wages, but my dear Mother made the most of what he brought home, and presented us with beautiful, sumptuous meals every day of our lives. My Father was employed by the Meilander Ice and Fuel Company which was on the site which presently houses the BW Annex and Copy Center West. He delivered coal in the winter and ice in the summer. He would awaken at 4:00 A.M. and have his truck loaded with coal by 5:30 A.M. (by hand) and then would be on his way delivering all day until after dark. When he would return at suppertime, he would be covered in coal dust, so he would bathe, always put on a freshly ironed clean shirt,and come to the supper table, squeaky clean! In the summer, he carried fifty pound blocks of ice on his shoulder which had strapped to it a leather cover to keep him dry, and in many homes, the "icebox" was not on the first floor, so he ascended many staircases carrying his heavy burden for years. The kids in the neighborhood would hitch a ride on the running board of his truck, begging for a chunk of ice he would chip just for them. I know, because he took me on that truck a couple of times a week, and it was wonderful! In later years, he suffered many painful days and nights with that shoulder, as a result of carrying the ice and shoveling tons of coal with his own two hands into waiting coal chutes of residents all over Berea. After gas furnaces replaced the coal burners, he was hired to deliver milk for Baesel Dairy which was on the property just across from Dorland Drive on Prospect Street. Arthur and Wesley Baesel ran the dairy with assistance from the Phillips Family and they were like family to their delivery men. In the 1940's they gave each driver a parcel of land on which was a tin building, to use as he wished. My Dad chose to raise chickens in his. Each spring our hundreds of "peeps" would hatch in our improvised incubator, and our Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds would grow into someone's Sunday dinner. It was my job to gather and scrub the eggs for sale, and on Saturdays, Dad would chop off the heads of a couple of dozen beauties, and Mother and I would dip them into our huge cauldron of boiling water, take off the feathers, make a neat incision above "the parson's nose" and draw out everything that was inside. Pin feathers were singed off over an outside gas burner, we scrubbed them white and clean, and wrapped them for sale. People came to the house each Saturday afternoon to purchase their Sunday dinner chicken and dozens of eggs. The dairy was a wonderful playground for us; my brother and Johnny Baesel, and myself with Barbara Baesel and Marge Baesel Bush. We often were permitted to ride the truck, so I delivered the small bottles of cream while Dad carried the clinking big bottles in a wire carrier. I remember being frightened at 6:00 A.M. one morning as I took the cream around to someone's back door. The family laundry was on the line, and someone's red long johns were frozen stiff. I thought they were a person and ran screaming back to the truck! Many, many high school and college boys were milk peddlers with my Dad on his truck. At his wake, several big strapping fellows wept as they told me of the happy, carefree, wonderful times they shared with Dad on the milk truck. He was a delivery man to all the Berea restaurants, Baldwin-Wallace dorms, and hundreds of homes in Berea until 1952 when Dr. Hankinson told him he'd have to work indoors if he wanted to use his arms for the rest of his life, so he enrolled in barber college when he was in his mid forties, and remained a barber until just a few weeks before his death at age 79. Even when customers called the barber shop for a haircut appointment, they still asked for "Pat" the milkman! His infectious smile and kindly manner will always be treasured by his fortunate and generously loved daughter. John Turton by his granddaughter, Peggy Mordarski Wagner John Turton, born and raised in Berea, devoted most of his life as a bakery driver in the Berea area. He began his bakery career with the National Biscuit Company in 1914 delivering bread in the area by horse and buggy. He was so excited when he was employed by the Laub Baking Company and was able to drive his new truck! His route included many area businesses and institutions, including Baldwin-Wallace College and the old Berea Hospital. During the depression he would help those in need with "day old bread". Many have said he delivered the most delicious ladylock pastries in town! His route included Berea and ranged from Cleveland to Strongsville to Chippewa Lake. He was always proud of his position as a bakery delivery man, and he became well known and respected around Berea. [Enterprise] [Go to Part 1] [Go to Part 2]