Pearl Ellen Moore

  General Notes:

These notes were given by loving family members!

My grandmother Pearl Ellen (Moore) Esch was our favorite. Whenever we visited (usually at Christmas and summertime) she would always have a bedtime story for us. I don't remember her reading stories to us, but she could recite these from memory. She was a people person, and always knew who was doing what in her community. A faithful church member, she also studied her Bible religiously, and could cite favorite passages by chapter and verse.

As kids, we remember how special it was to go with her to the barn when she milked the cow. She also took care of the chickens, which was not one of our favorite things to do. She did all her cooking on an old Kalamazoo wood/coal stove, and when she made bread or pies, the aromas permeated the room and our memories. The warmth of that stove (which matched the warmth of her heart) filtered it no adjacent rooms, and so was also a source of energy. It was most appreciated during the winter time, but it was used year round.

After the even meal, we followed her to the basement, where she stored the milk in crock pots covered with pieces of wood. This was a storage area but it was also a place for the milk to be cool, and the cream to rise to the top. We watched her "skim the milk," in preparation for making butter. The butter and egg money was hers to keep. She used it to buy clothes for the family gifts for the grand kids, and a fine upright piano, which she played. It was also used to buy my violin. That piano is now in the home of my daughter, and the musical heritage has been transferred to still another generation.

One day, we kids asked her about our ancestors. She rolled out a large piece of brown wrapping paper on the kitchen floor and proceeded to draw the lines from one generation to another. She always had many stories to tell us about each family. I still have that piece of wrapping paper today

Pearl married Perry Adam Esch, son of Adam Esch and Hannah Glass, on 6 Aug 1902 in The Brides Home, Coalport, Cambria Co., PA. (Perry Adam Esch was born on 26 Feb 1879 in Beaver Valley, Cambria County, PA and died on 10 Nov 1964 in Amherst Nursing Home Williamsville, N.Y..)