Paul Hake Sr.

Paul Leroy Hake was born on Thursday, February 10, 1927, in the rural area of North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. He was sixth child born to George Hartman Hake and Margaret Matilda (Doutt) Hake, both of whom were descended from German immigrants. The Hake’s lived at various locations in North Beaver Township and Mahoningtown, before purchasing a farm in early 1925 along the northern banks of Hickory Creek near an area known as Willow Grove.

Paul was born on this farm as the country was in the midst of the Roaring Twenties, a time of great economic prosperity. His father George held a steady job with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR) and was able to provide a decent living for his family. George also operated a poultry business on his farm. Paul grew up in Willow Grove area, attended the Madison Avenue Christian Church in Mahoningtown, and went to schools in Mahoningtown, West Pittsburg, and Mount Jackson. Her parents eventually had five more children between 1929 and 1939.

The Stock Market Crash of October 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression would have a profound effect on the Hake family. Paul’s father would only work sparingly on the railroad during the next decade and forced to sell off the farm in 1937-1938. The family moved into a house on Montgomery Avenue Extension on the extreme southern edge of Mahoningtown. This house sat on the southwest corner of the intersection of Routes 18 and 108 (known as “the Y”), exactly where the bridge on Route 108/Mount Jackson Road currently spans the Mahoning River.

I believe Paul attended the North Beaver Township High School in Mount Jackson and left school to join the U.S. Marine Corps - most likely in early 1945. At about this time he was married to a local girl named Mable Stickle. He served at the tail end of World War II in the Pacific and saw occupation duty in post-war Japan. His brother Bob was also in the Marine Corps and in Japan. Paul was a championship-caliber boxer in the Marines and gained a reputation as the life of the party. He was discharged after the war and returned home to New Castle. Paul and Mable had a child named Ronald, but their relationship quickly deteriorated and they soon divorced.

Paul soon started dating a young woman named Betty Jane Henney, who was born Huntington County, Pennsylvania, back in 1929. They were married in St. Mary’s Church in New Castle on Monday, June 28, 1948. Betty was pregnant at the time and gave birth to their first child, a son named Paul Jr., in late November. They soon settled into a house at #397 Martin Street, where Paul operated a service station just nearby on Croton Avenue. I am not sure how long they had the service station, but Paul started working for the Pennsylvania & Lake Erie Railroad Company (P&LE) in the early-to-mid 1950’s. He worked for the P&LE for the next thirty-five years or so.

Over the next ten years they had four more children: Jayne Adele born in May 1950, William Donald born in June 1951, Shirl Lee born in February 1955, and Alma Louise born in July 1959. A few months after Shirl was born Paul’s father George, about to retire from the railroad, was killed in a tragic accident when in fell off a train on May 2, 1955.

Betty was a stay at home mom and took good care of the children. Paul was a hard-drinking hellraiser and frequented his favorite bars and clubs in New Castle. By all accounts was quite a character! Paul and Betty eventually moved into a home at #503 Riverview Avenue. Years later Paul’s elderly mother Margaret, who had moved down to Houston, Texas, to live with her son (and Paul’s younger brother) John Hake, passed away on September 27, 1969.

Paul and his family suffered a sudden loss when Betty, who was suffering from diabetes, died on February 24, 1975, a few days after an operation at Jameson Memorial Hospital. She was only forty-five years old. A service was held at the Kildoo Funeral Home in Mahoningtown and she was laid to rest at Graceland Cemetery in New Castle. Paul was shaken by her loss and took up the task of raising their youngest child, sixteen-year-old Alma. He soon swore off alcohol completely and settled down in the wake of Betty’s death.

Paul continued to live in New Castle and was later remarried to Mary Lambiase. I believe he retired from the railroad in the early 1990’s. In the midst of marital problems he moved down to Houston, Texas, where his brother John was living. He had a girlfriend in Texas and soon followed her out to southern California. He lived in Riverside and Escondido for a few years. He returned to New Castle in 1997 and rented out a room at 626 Forrest Street. He remained estranged from his second wife Mary at this time.

His health deteriorated very rapidly after moving back to New Castle and within two years he moved into the skilled care unit of St. Francis Hospital. Paul passed away on Sunday, September 12, 1999, as the age of seventy-two. A viewing was held at the DeCarbo Funeral Home in New Castle in Tuesday from 2:00-4:00pm and 7:00-9:00pm. A memorial service, presided over by the Ronald Mounts of the Church of God, was held the next day at 11:00am. He was subsequently buried next to his longtime wife Betty Jane Hake in Graceland Cemetery.