As of August 15, 1998, George is the patriarch of the Passmore Family in the Clearfield [PA] area.

He was born on the Passmore Homestead in Greenwood Township. The homestead has long since been gone but the area is still known as Passmore Hill and is located on Rout[e] 769 between Belle’s Landing and Lumber City. The old house was dismantled by the new owners in the 1930s who sold the materials to be used in other construction. George obtained, and still has, some of the siding from the old house, so, in a way, the homestead still exists.

His father worked at the Lumber City brickyard but became ill and was off for about six month. As a result, he lost his job but was hired back in 1933 and the family moved into a “company” rental house in Lumber City. George went to the Lumber City Borough School for eight years and then Clearfield High School where he spent two years after which time he quit. During his high school years, he earned money as a casual worker for various farmers in the area. Starting at about six months before he quit school, he went to work on the Lynn Prisk farm where he earned $1 a day plus room and board. He moved from his family home to lighten the load on the family and because he thought it was time for him to be on his own. He spent the next two years on the Lynn Prisk farm.

In 1944/45, he worked as a hod carrier* at the rate of $.25/hour and moved back home during the winter. In the spring, he went to work for another farmer, Kenneth Michaels, for $1/day and room and board. With his father’s permission, he enlisted in the US Navy when he was 17 years old. He went to Pittsburgh for induction but was released before going to boot camp. The war had ended and military personnel were being released as the armed forces began to trim down their size. As a result, George was not needed and was released from any further obligation to the service. He returned to work for Kenneth Michales and stayed with him for the next two years.

He left Kenneth Michaels and went to work for the Harbison-Walker Brickyard on July 19, 1947. He started on the day shift at a salary of $1.04/hour as a “shape tender” on the hot floor. After the first two months at this job he bid for a job to fire the kilns. He got this job and remained in this position for the entire time he worked for Harbison-Walker. While he was employed there for approximately six years, the employment was not steady. During slow business periods, he would be laid off and this happened several times during his tenure there. During these periods of unemployment, George would pick up work wherever he could find it until he was called back to the brickyard.

During this period in his life, it was his habit to go to the movies on a regular basis. The movies were a popular event on Saturday nights. He had met and known Hazel Bloom for some time seeing her around town and in the movies. While he was acquainted with her, they were only casual friends at the time.

Near the end of 1947 he purchased his first car, a 1935 Plymouth, for $100. Shortly after purchasing the car he met Hazel and a number of other friends and it was at this time that she asked him when he was going to offer her a ride in his new car. This was the beginning of a much closer friendship and the rest is history. He and Hazel were married April 2, 1949, in Mahaffey at the Baptist Church by Reverend White. They initially set up housekeeping in his father’s “company” house. He and Hazel occupied two rooms in the middle of the house and lived there until shortly after David was born in August of that year. They divorced on May 1, 1969. George then married Margaret Witherow on April 24, 1975.
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*Hod Carrier is a laborer who carries supplies to masons or bricklayers.