In this week’s Faces of Northeast we spotlight not one but three Northeast natives, two of which should be no strangers to anyone who frequented the Northeast Post Office at St. John and Hardesty from the mid 1980’s through roughly 2009 when the brother-sister team retired. Janice Gill, Chuck House and his sister Debby House-Sherwood grew up in a small, working class house near the corner of Scarritt Avenue & Hardesty. All three graduated from James Elementary School and Northeast High School, then went on to careers with the Post Office for Chuck and Jan and for Debby, over forty years of service with United Parcel Service.
We caught up with the siblings outside of Northeast Realty on a warm Valentine’s Day afternoon after they sold the long-time family house, closing a chapter in the family that spans over eighty years. “Our parents grew up in Northeast, mostly on Garner Avenue” said Chuck. “I grew up playing baseball at the fields behind Wards”. “Our dad spent a lot of time in Lykins Park and our mom worked at Wards for a time” said Jan.
Chuck’s athletic prowess was mentioned in a July 15, 1965 edition of the Northeast News for a “fielding gem” that saved a 3-2 baseball league game between the Armco Steelers and the Hale Trailer team. For his efforts he was awarded with a chrome bolt from Armco with the date of the play stamped on the bolt.
All three carry fond memories of growing up in Northeast and all echoed the same sentiment, “It was an awesome place to grow up” Check out our website for more on this long-time Northeast family and what Northeast means to them.