I purchased the 2-volume Functional Method by Leslie on eBay and when the books arrived was amazed at their immaculate condition. The only markings in each book are the name and address of the original owner and the price at the time of purchase on the inside front cover: 75 cents! Both volumes only show their age by the slight yellowing of pages. Covers are excellent and binding is tight. i presume owner Naomi was either in high school in 1936 or she was a shorthand teacher who kept the books for reference in her library. This is a long shot but I wonder if anyone in this group may know something about the lady, If she has “gone to her great reward”, she should receive bonus points for treating her books so well!
(by Philip for everyone)
She's the one! Although I didn't mention the street address in my initial post, it was Eighth Avenue! McBud, do you make extra money as a private investigator? What an interesting fluke, like the beginning of a novel to, through the purchase of books from an estate, stumble upon a family which may have a very intriguing history. Thank you for answering the question so quickly!
I think she's watching us from up above. Read the following excerpt from ancestry.com, on the death of her brother:
Leon "Hermie" Herman, 90, of Eighth Avenue, Clarion, died unexpectedly early Sunday morning, Sept. 14, 2003, at his residence. Born April 14, 1913, in Clarion, he was the son of Paul and Elizabeth S. Seitz Herman. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army. Mr. Herman was a partner and operator of the former Herman's Grocery Store, corner of Eighth and Wood streets, Clarion. He was a member of the Immaculate Conception Church, Clarion. Mr. Herman's hobbies were collecting bottles, stamps and coins. Surviving are one nephew and his wife, John and Jenny Selker of Erie; and several great-nieces. In addition to his parents, Mr. Herman was preceded in death by two sisters, Eleanor Selker and Naomi Herman. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Robert V. Burns Funeral Home, Clarion. A Christian wake service will be held at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the funeral home. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Immaculate Conception Church with Msgr. Joseph Riccardo, pastor, presiding. Interment will be in Immaculate Conception Church Cemetery, Clarion.
Hehe, I should consider making an extra buck doing this, LOL. Nothing fancy, the name and the town are somewhat unusual. I wouldn't have been as lucky if it would've been Jane Smith from Philadelphia, PA.
After discovering the name of the family business thanks to your fine work, I learned more of Naomi:
Naomi M. Herman, 90, a resident of Beverly Healthcare-Clarion, formerly of South Eighth Avenue, Clarion, died at 6:37 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, in the healthcare facility. Born Aug. 18, 1911, in Clarion, she was a daughter of Paul A. and Elizabeth Tierney Herman. In her early years, Miss Herman worked for Owens-Illinois Glass Plant in Clarion and then worked at the family business, Herman's Grocery, in Clarion. She was a member of the Immaculate Conception Church in Clarion. Miss Herman was an avid bingo and card player. She enjoyed crafts, flowers and traveling. Surviving are a brother, Leon Herman of Clarion; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Miss Herman was preceded in death by a sister, Eleanor Selker. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today in the Robert V. Burns Funeral Home, Clarion. A wake service will be held at 8:30 p.m. today in the funeral home. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Immaculate Conception Church, Clarion, with Msgr. Joseph Riccardo, pastor, presiding. Interment will be in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery.
Checking the survivors" names and relationships, there may very well be good material for a novel in the family history! Anyway, Naomi kept her books immaculately. Too bad she didn't survive long enough to become a member of this Gregg Group!
Hmm … ???
If Naomi was born Aug. 18, 1911, and died at age of 90 on November 3 … the year of her passing is 2001. Assuming the books are 1936 First Edition (which I believe since there is no reprint indication as occured with later texts, she must have taken a shorthand course when a Junior or Senior in high school … or gone to a business college after high school. I suspect she would have been a feisty lady who'd be fun to know. The Herman family must have been like Judge Hardy's family, several generations living under one roof … or could they have had an apartment over the grocery store?
What year did she die?
Hi, I'm one of Naomi's great nieces. Check out my FB page called "Grandpa's Chair" for photos of "Aunt Noni". I'm currently looking for a publisher for the follow-up book called "Herman's Store".
Cool. I'll bet she was a pleasure to know!
Wow, thanks for the info! Here is Aunt Noni.
The "Aunt Noni" link doesn't seem to work anymore, and it looks to me like photos are not accessible on the FB page. I was somewhat interested in this person who previously owned the copy of Reporting Shortcuts I got off ebay the other day. I'm not into handwriting analysis, per se, but he has a slightly dramatic, yet uniformly neat, signature in the front of his book. (I have a theory that people who studied shorthand back when were "immaculate" types. hahaha) He has shorthand notes and alternate outlines for many of the phrases. It intrigued me that he had obviously succeeded through his previous study of shorthand, so I wondered if he had done anything of import with his shorthand. Had he been part of a law firm, a journalist? There was no address in the book, but it came from Omaha, NE and there aren't very many Gordon Harmans in the U.S. I found this Gordon Harman was last living in a senior only apt building in Omaha, and one free site showed him as being 105, but something else I found made it seem like he had died in the 1990s at the age of 90 or 91. I couldn't find an obituary anywhere and I think the reason for that is that the Omaha World Herald doesn't have much in the way of archives before the year 2000-something.
"Inquiring minds want to know!"
It seems that many interesting stories could be written about some original book owners. I sometimes wonder about these people who penned or penciled their names in the front of my used books. A couple of years ago I got a Spanish Reader from the 1930s that contained between the pages a condescending letter from an older sister, written with perfectly lovely penmanship, to her 14 year-old sister why she would not be chosen to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming wedding. I think she thought she was too young and wanted to fill the available slots with her age-mates. I fumed about that note for awhile 🙂 but now I've misplaced it, so I can't quote from it exactly.