Cruver Manufacturing Company

 
Larry McIntyre worked for Cruver Manufacturing in the 1940s and early 1950s.  This document was found on the Internet at the Time Passages Nostalgia Company.   It shows the manufacturing plant located at 2456-2460 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago.  The president was Curt Cruver, whom Larry knew quite well.  The company made specialty items, mostly out of celluloid.  Larry would bring home all sorts of playing cards, cowboys and Indians, and dice.  Great toys for the kids.

Lawrence F. McIntyre, SS# Application, 1936

Lawrence applied for his Social Security Number on November 23, 1936. At the time he was living at 4737 Gladys, Chicago with his parents Thomas Joseph McIntyre and Helen Agnes Walsh. He was working at Allied Radio Corporation located at 833 W. Jackson Boulevard also in Chicago. His SS# is 319-09-6049.

McIntyre-Sullivan Marriage Certificate, 1937

Lawrence F. McIntyre and Helen May Sullivan were married on November 26, 1937, the day after Thanksgiving, and the same day they got their marriage license. They were 24 and 23 years old, respectively. Helen lived at 18 N. Latrobe at the time and they married in her home parish.  They were married by Fr. Matthew J. Mulligan at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, located at 5112 W. Washington Boulevard.

Lawrence McIntyre, Death Certificate 1995

Larry McIntyre died at St. Joseph Hospital on February 28, 1995. He was 82 years old. A year and a half before he died, he had fallen and broken a hip. His recovery was slow but he mended well enough to buy a new car several months after his fall. Unfortunately, he again fell and broke his other hip. He never really recovered from this event and died several months later.

He was a heavy smoker and had been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease many years earlier. He also had renal insufficiency which was probably caused by treatments for prostate cancer.

Prior to retirement he worked for Weil Pump Company as a production manager. He was buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois on March 2, 1995 in the same location as his in-laws, Alex and Nell Sullivan.

Helen Sullivan McIntyre, Death Certificate 2008

Helen had carcinoids in her lungs for nearly 40 years. Although technically cancerous, they grow so slowly they are not treated like cancer. She fell in her bathroom in 1972, thinking she might have cracked a rib, she went to the hospital for an X-ray. There were no broken bones, but growths in her lungs were found. She had surgery, removing the lower part of her right lung. Although she didn't seem to have any noticeable breathing problems from the cardinoid growths for a long time, by 2006 she was starting to use oxygen at home. She died on September 29, 2008 of acute respiratory failure at Weiss Memorial Hospital.

Helen is buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois with her husband Larry and her parents Alex and Nell Sullivan.

McIntyre Everyday Meals - 1950s

I suppose we had typical meals at home for the mid-twentieth century.  The menu didn’t change much week to week, but it was always good, especially the gravy.  Some classic meals include:

-        Center cut pork chops with bone, applesauce was always served with it

-        Hamburger patties, ketchup on the side

-        Ham slice, with pineapple rings occasionally

-        Meat loaf

-        Chicken breasts on the bone

These entrees were almost always served with mashed potatoes, gravy and frozen vegetables.  The reason the gravy was so important is the meat was always well done so the flavor was in the gravy.   In the 1950s and 1960s, we didn’t eat much canned or fresh vegetables.

On Fridays, we always had a meatless meal.  Some regulars included:

-        Spaghetti made with Campbell’s tomato soup and Velveeta cheese

-        Tuna-noodle casserole with peas and cream of mushroom soup

-        Fish sticks

-        Salmon patties

On the weekends, when there was more time to cook, we would sometimes have:

-        Ground beef, tomato sauce, and noodle casserole – with the ubiquitous Velveeta cheese

-        Boiled smoked butt with sauerkraut or cabbage and boiled potatoes

-        An occasional roast beef

Except for company, I don’t remember ever having a salad before a meal, but we ALWAYS had some sort of dessert.  Helen wasn’t a baker, so it was mostly store bought cookies and cakes, not many pies.  Favorites were:

-        Chocolate chip cookies

-        Sara Lee banana cake with cream cheese frosting

-        Chocolate pudding, often with nuts

-        Ice cream on occasion

All of the above, except for fish sticks and salmon patties, are still favorites!

Who or What was "Seedy"?

From the time Helen was in grammar school, she liked to “play” with names.  Once when her teacher asked her what her Father’s name was she replied “Albert.”  When her Mother asked why she had told the Nun her father’s name was “Albert” she said she thought Alexander was an awful name!

Helen used many names growing up.  There was Claire Sherwood.   She thought that sounded like a classy name.  Her Aunt May's mother-in-law, who was an Eastern Star, had the last name of Sherwood and so, when she was pretending to be someone “classy,” she called herself Claire Sherwood.  Helen liked to write and since writers often had a nom-de-plume she decided that Velda Shapiro had that certain author-sounding ring about it.

When her first granddaughter, Catherine, was born, she made a scrapbook with pictures and stories to welcome her.  She signed it “KG” for Kookie Grandma.  The family thought this was pretty funny so we all started to call Helen “KG.”  As Catherine started to learn the alphabet and speak, she couldn’t say “KG” but said “CD” instead.  We all thought this was even funnier, so we also called her “CD” which eventually became “Seedy.”

The extended family of Helen’s daughter-in-law couldn’t bring themselves to let their children call Helen, “Seedy,” so instead, they nicknamed her Sweetie.   She liked that name too.

Not satisfied with her accumulation of names, when her first twin great-granddaughters were born she signed their card “Gigi” for Great-Grandmother.  That name stuck.

Marcy Koenig's Popcorn Recipe, 1987

Marcy Koenig cared for Helen and Larry's granddaughters after their mother, Patti White McIntyre, died in 1971. Marcy was a wonderful cook and the family always enjoyed the visit to Larry McIntyre, Jr.'s home to savor the fine meals. Everything was always so fresh because Marcy made everything from scratch. In Helen McIntyre's recipe box, I found this recipe sent to Helen from Marcy in 1987. It made my mouth water, I'll have to try the recipe.

Chop Suey Recipe

At the McIntyre house, the most requested and most served at holidays was Helen's Chop Suey. We all loved it and when asked what we wanted prepared to celebrate our birthdays, it was always Chop Suey. Though this "recipe" is a little short on directions, what I remember follows:

Cut the meat into cubes.  Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan.  Brown the meat in batches.  After the meat is browned, place in a Dutch oven.  Continue this process until all the meat has been browned.  Add the chopped onions and celery and enough water to cover the contents of the Dutch oven.  Stir in the molasses and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil and then simmer slowly for an hour or so, adding the canned mushrooms and drained water chestnuts (optional) toward the end.  Flavor seems to be enhanced if prepared the day before serving.   Prepare rice per directions, do not use any butter.  Helen always used Minute Rice.  And voila, you have a meal fit for a king or queen.

When Helen served the Chop Suey for company, she often also prepared a lime jello mold which included crushed pineapple and maraschino cherries, sometimes adding Cool Whip.  Ah, those were REAL meals.

Once Helen served this meal to her sister-in-law, Mary Garrity, when she invited her over to see the new condo. When Mary called the next day to say thank you to her for the invite, she informed Helen that she had told her friends that the new 2-bedroom condo was beautiful (Helen only had a one-bedroom) and that she had served an amazing Hawaiian meal. When Helen asked why she told her friends this, Mary replied with "I couldn't tell my friends that you and Larry had only bought a one-bedroom condo; and, "no one" serves Chop Suey to company!" Ah, families.

Lake Lawn Lodge, Delavan, 1955

The McIntyres spent most summers at Lake Lawn Lodge, Delavan, Wisconsin. The cottages had electric meters which you had to put quarters into to keep the lights on. The "kitchen," which was really the screened porch, had an icebox and a two-burner hot plate. The cottages had toilets and cold running water, but if you wanted to take a shower, you had to go to the "shower house." Larry Sr. would rent a speed boat and take everyone out on the water.  He could stay out all day long.  Despite his pale Irish skin, Larry Sr., could acquire the deepest tan imaginable by the end of the vacation.  We all loved the place.  Larry Sr., Elaine and Larry, Jr., 1955.

Russell's Barbeque, 1948

Opened in 1931, Russell's Barbeque, located in Elmwood Park, Illinois was a favorite eating place of the McIntyres. In this 1948 photo, Elaine and Larry are sitting at one of the outside benches that ringed the parking lot. On hot weekend evenings, Larry Sr. would drive the family to Russell's, pick up dinner, always served on paper plates and enjoy it on the picnic bench.  Helen was in High School when Russell's opened. She remembers going there to lunch until the nuns at Trinity H. S. decided the girls shouldn't go off campus to eat. Helen and Elaine celebrated at Russell's 75th anniversary in 2006 eating their favorite meal:
Pork sandwiches with all the"trimmings," sauce on the side.