Ethnic Memories of Yesteryear
Potatoes airing on the steps of the Miller home on Pine Avenue, circa 1921.
Alma Miller Miller was the daughter of William D. Miller and is the widow of Wilfred Miller. Her father-in-law was William H. Miller. She was born in 1918. The Miller family lived on Pine Street in North Tonawanda in her early years; then moved to a farm on Beach Ridge Road in Pendleton, where she still lives. They lived in “the last house on the right hand side of the old part of Pine Street,” per Alma. Although she is almost 86 at this time, Alma is still active with both the Niagara County Historical Society and the Pendleton Historical Society. She is one of the founders of the Pendleton Historical Society. Her son, Terry, was President of the Niagara County Historical Society for a period of time. Alma still serves as a docent. At one time, she put in a lot of time caring for the Bond House for the Niagara County Historical Society.
Alma ’s next door neighbor is Donald Degenhart. His mother is Norma Sommer. His uncle was Sterling Sommer, according to Alma.
Alma attended Country School in Pendleton until Grammar School. She remembers they paid $15 a semester for her to attend Felton Grammar (Junior High) School.
Alma attended North Tonawanda High School from 1932 to 1936, graduating in 1936. Her father had to bring her into North Tonawanda from their farm in Pendleton on the way to his work at R. T. Jones Lumber Co. in the mornings. She had to wait until school opened each day. After school, she had to wait until her father finished work so he could pick her up for the return trip home. Her aunt lived at Schenck and Vandervoort so she spent quite a bit of time in that neighborhood before and after school while waiting for her father to pick her up.
Alma, about 2 years old, on Pine Avenue.
Alma ’s daughter, Susan Miller Wendler, was born in 1942, and was a playmate of Donna Jeanne Keppen (now Donna Zellner Neal).
Credit: Memories shared by Alma Miller Miller, as told to Donna Zellner Neal and Stephen Gaca - September 2003 and January 24, 2004
William D. Miller was Yard Foreman for R. T. Jones Lumber Co., Inc. and worked for the company for 72 years!
According to Alma, her father, William D. Miller, who was born in 1886, played ball with Sterling Sommer as a youngster. Alma was also a friend of Norma Sommer. Sterling Sommer was the grandfather of Brett Sommer. William D. Miller died in 1975 at the age of 89. William D. Miller was a friend of Allan Herschell, then also of Mr. Spillman. A Spillman boy was killed when Alma was a child.
Lewis Adolph Keppen, father of Donna (Keppen) Zellner Neal, often visited them and stayed at their farm in Pendleton before his marriage in 1936. His original Underwood typewriter was given to Alma when Lewis got a new one. Lewis Keppen wrote detective stories as an avocation.
William D. Miller didn’t own a car until 1920. One day he took the family to Olcott Beach on the trolley from North Tonawanda. There were no seats left so he had to carry Alma the whole trip from Pine Street to Olcott Beach. The next day, he went to a car dealer and paid $600 for a 1920 Oakland car with side curtains that snapped shut when it rained. He didn’t have a driver’s license; had never driven a car. The dealer gave him the car and told him to drive it around the block a few times and he would get the hang of it. That is how he learned to drive!
Credit: Memories shared by Alma Miller Miller, as told to Donna Zellner Neal and Stephen Gaca - September 2003 and January 24, 2004
Alma Miller at the age of 4 when her father had purchased his first car.