John Henry Casper Small

  General Notes:

I was almost seven years old when "Pa" Small died. To me, he was a very tall man. But to a 7 year old, everybody was tall. I can remember staying with the neighbors while Mother and Dad would join the search with the neighbors when Pa would leave the house. At that time, he was in the early stages of dementia and could not be left alone. Sometimes he left the house and no one knew he was gone.
My mother had other memories of Pa. When she was about 6 or 7 years old, he would take her with him in his truck when he delivered clean clothes to the neighbors. He worked for Footer's Dye Works, a cleaning establishment, on South Main Street. During his delivery, he would stop at the local bar in South Greensburg (now the Spitfire Grille) and join the boys in a brew or two while my mother waited outside for him in his truck.
As the manager of Footer's Dye Works, he always carried a wad of money with him at all times. This wallet of money was very visible, sticking out of his back pocket. However, when the accountants for the company came to Greensburg to audit the store, the money was always short. The responsibility of managing the store was then transferred to my great-grandmother and Henry's wife, Emma Small.
My Mother recalled when Henry's sister, Martha, and her husband, Harmen Lottig, (from McKeesport) would visit on Saturday evenings, they would prepare "cannibal" sandwiches. Cannibal sandwiches were made of raw ground beef, chopped onions with a dash of salt and pepper, and spread on bread. This sandwich was quite popular with the Smalls in the old days.

John married Emma Jane Porter, daughter of Henry Porter and Mary Jane Smith, on 29 Jan 1896 in McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. (Emma Jane Porter was born on 23 Feb 1871 in Wellersburg PA, died on 6 Oct 1958 in Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and was buried in Hillview Cemetery, Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., PA.)