Mengle family 1905: First row, Sallie Mengle Dasher, Elwood Mengle, Daniel Mengle, Lucy Hehn Mengle, Kathryn Mengle Grabey Berger; second row, Ivy Mengle Kershner, John Mengle, Lula Mengle Pfiefer, Harry Mengle, Hattie Mengle Bechtold, Bishop Charles H. Mengle, Frank Mengle.       (Evening Herald, Frackville Edition, October 3, 1975)  Mrs. Ivy Kershner was born and raised in Frackville. Her parents came to town in 1882 and lived in the house to the rear of the Trinity Church. Her father was a lamp-man on the railroad, and they were the parents of eleven children.       Mrs. Kershner recalled attending school in a small building on the site of the present Franklin School, and Mrs. Minnie Edwards was her first grade teacher. Teachers at that time taught two grades in each classroom, and there were eighty pupils in this class. Small individual slates were used by each child, and they sat at desks with two other pupils. Mrs. Kershner was double promoted to third grade, and Miss Barbara Leiser was her teacher who taught third and fourth grades. When Mrs. Kershner was promoted to fifth grade, Miss Leiser was assigned fifth and sixth grades so they enjoyed each other for another two years. Miss Leiser was later killed by an automobile while crossing Lehigh Avenue. Mr. W. R. Trautman was her seventh grade teacher, and Mr. William Roberts taught her eighth grade class. She then went to the Roosevelt School for her high school years. Miss Lettie Ranck taught Freshman and Sophomore students, and Miss Jane Dingle taught Junior and Senior students. There was not separate rooms at this time -- all school students met in one large room and the principal was I.G. Miller. When Mrs. Kershner graduated in 1906, the services were held in the Jim White Theatre and the graduates had to bring their own chairs to sit up on the stage.       In 1871, he married Mary J. Hepler, a daughter of Elias and Elizabeth (Fisher) and they had four children: T. Webster; Elizabeth A. married to G.W. Hoppes; Jennie, married to John E. Dyer and Joseph J. Jr., who was principal of the Pottsville High School. In 1889 he established a clothing store on the corner of Balliet and Pine Streets and in 1905 was listed as having a general store at this location.       She recalled when there were no mail deliveries, and she and her friends walked to the Post Office every day to get the family mail. She reminisced how youngsters picked huckleberries each summer and recalled the coal oil lamps in her home. It was her duty to clean the glass and fill these lamps every Saturday. She remembered going to Mrs. Anna Hutchenrider's Store on South Lehigh Avenue to buy the family supply of coal oil. Her first ride in an automobile was a frightening experience, she said, when her brother-in-law took her for a drive. She also mentioned how people ran out of their homes to see an automobile when they heard one coming. She remembered the grocery store and ice cream parlor operated by Mrs. Rebecca Mengel. This was the location of the Jack Fox Furniture Store and is now owned by Herman Yudacofski. Mrs. Mengel's grocery store was located on the left side of this building, and the ice cream parlor was located on the right side. Molasses in barrels was one of the items that was sold here, and you took your own container to be filled. Mrs. Mengel went door to door selling Sayman's Products who specialized in toiletries. Many people remember the jars of Judge and Jury salve she sold for healing sores.       Mrs. Kershner recalled buying milk from Dampman's Dairy to the rear of 303 South Lehigh avenue at four cents a quart. Eggs were twelve cents a dozen, and baked goods were bought from Kalbach's Bakery Wagon. Her clothes were made by dressmaker Sue Becker, and her high buttoned shoes were bought from Charles Seaman's Shoe Store at 5 North Lehigh Avenue where the Grace Hepler Beauty Shop is today or Harrison K. Reich's Shoe Store at 2 North Balliet Street where the McMullen News Agency is located. She talked about her mother's stove that burned wood and coal and said "it was a wonderful baker." Saturday night baths were taken in a wooden tub which was one of three tubs used for washing clothes. A separate tub was used to soak, wash, and rinse the family clothes, and men's working clothes were boiled.       After graduating from High School and successfully completing provisional and professional tests, Mrs. Kershner received her teaching certificate. She taught from 1918 to 1954 and then substituted for twelve years. She recalled the first Sears Readers that were used and then later the new modern Winston Readers. An amusing incident occurred when Mr. Trautman "observed" her in one of her classrooms. Airplanes were rare in those days and, when she was teaching this class, an airplane flew over town and all the children ran to the windows to see it. Mrs. Kershner remained calm and allowed the children to stand at the windows for a few minutes and then quietly asked them to return to their seats. She was embarrassed that this incident happened when the principal was visiting but when he left he told her she handled the situation very well.      She said she was proud of her first car which was a Roadster with a rumble seat. She attended the Church of God on South Balliet Street and later the Pilgrim Holiness when it was located in the Scott Building on West Frack Street. Rev. Duell was pastor at this time. She was married to Howard Kershner for eight years when he was killed September 23, 1916, while working for the P.P. & L. She is the mother of three daughters and is a member of the Wesleyan Church on Spencer Street.