Found this post from last January and wanted to share it again!
Hugh John McInnes AKA “Stuffy”
Hugh John “Stuffy”
McInnes was born to Hugh & Alma McInnes on January 30, 1912 so we want to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birthday of our fabulous Pop. He married
our equally fabulous Mom, Thelma and they raised four fabulous children, Dick,
Kay, Judy & Terry. Pop worked at the West Penn Power Company in Springdale
for most of his adult life alongside with his dad and his baby brother, Bill.
“Stuffy” was the nickname of a famous baseball player, John
McInnis He gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburbs when his
spectacular playing brought shouts of “that’s the stuff, kid!” He even played
for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1925-26) as well as five other teams and is in the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
Pop worked different shifts…we had to be very quiet when he
worked the midnight shift and when he worked daytime, dinner was served
promptly at 5 PM. We didn’t have much money but we were always taken care of by
our loving parents. I fondly remember the day he bought us our first TV set. I was on the front porch of 621 Roup Street
anxiously awaiting its delivery, jumping up and down as the delivery truck
pulled up. It began my love affair with TV.
Stuffy was a funny man and he loved
doing the NY Times crossword puzzle….I still can’t do it. Pop was a sensitive man. The first time I saw
him cry was when they announced the death of President Roosevelt. I was so
touched by his tears that I went out on Fentzel Alley and wept for our
president. They shared the same birthdate (Roosevelt was born in 1882). Every
year on their birthday, relatives in Pittsburgh, the Naves would send Pop
several cards with dimes in it for The March of Dimes just as people sent to
FDR.
Whenever I’d come home, we had good times but when the day
that I was leaving arrived, he’d stay up
in his bedroom because we’d both get very sentimental. You see, I didn’t leave
Tarentum because I didn’t love my family, I just hated cold weather. I remember
when I was 5 years old, they’d put us out on the alley to ride our sleds…five
minutes l was back in the house….too cold! If I could have talked him into moving out
here I would have been the happiest guy in the world. My mother, on the other
hand, loved to come out. Judy, my sister
the nurse, went home when Pop was really sick and took care of him for a couple
of months at the end. That’s how we were raised. You take care of your family.
Stuffy enjoyed his beer and when he’d come home from his
favorite hangout, The Eagles…you could hear him coming up Fentzel Alley and
every else could too, singing his heart out, St James Infirmary and laughing. One year Judy, Lauren and I came
home and I brought my movie camera and when were at Kay’s on Christmas, I
talked my dad into rendering his version of the Louis Armstrong classic. Even though
there was no sound, Pop was once again smiling and singing his heart out. I
didn’t need sound, the look on his face and watching him break into a hearty
laugh was perfect!
This year I just might have a couple of beers and burst into St James Infirmary and hope that Stuffy,
our dad is smiling down on us and maybe he’ll even sing a chorus with me. Won’t
you join us??
“It was down in Old
Joe’s bar room, on the corner of the square, Drinks were being served as usual,
And a goodly crowd was there, When old Joe McGuinny, his eyes bloodshot red, as he poured himself more
whiskey, this is what he said. I went down to the St James Infirmary, I saw my
baby there… "
We loved you Pop & Mom..
We will
always love you!
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