by Dan Yocum
Age is but a number. The oldest person I know still walks, talks, sees, hears, DRIVES!, and most importantly, remembers. Lifelong Souderton resident Clarence Moyer is 103 years old and I am proud to call him my friend.
You might see Clarence around town out to eat, having coffee with Souderton Borough crews, attending Borough Council meetings, or enjoying Concert Sundaes in Souderton Park. On one Friday in January, I had the pleasure of meeting with Clarence to hear his memories and recollections about historic Souderton. We were also joined by our mutual friend and colleague Ms. Ruthann Moyer, whose late husband, Brooke Moyer, was the last of a long lineage of family that owned & operated the Souderton Independent. We met in the original Union National Bank building on Main Street, which now houses the Univest Museum. It was a fascinating day hearing local history from the mouths of those that lived it!
Clarence was born on a farm in the village of Elroy in 1916. It was located at the intersection of Derstine/Fretz Roads and Allentown Road. He remembers people coming to cut down trees at his parents’ house during the Great Depression to get wood in order to heat their homes. He recalls traveling the short distance to Souderton with his parents to do their errands. His parents had a car, but many people still traveled by horse and wagon at that time. Clarence later acquired his own first car; a 1931 Ford Roadster. He and his friends would hang out at the Souderton Train Station and, though he claims they never caused any trouble, he just so happened to remember Police Officers Kulp and Greaser on regular patrol. Seems suspicious to me, Clarence…
Clarence also remembers coming to Souderton to bank with his grandfather, Mr. Allen C. Moyer Sr. Union National Bank (now Univest) operated out of its original building on Main Street Souderton from 1877 to 1928. Clarence has lived in Souderton so long that he remembers banking in that building! We have no known photos of the inside of the building when it was a Bank, but Clarence remembered it vividly. He remembers the teller stations to the left with bars to the ceiling and the intricate chestnut wood details. He recalled that Henry Detweiler had a desk on the right, but no one liked to go to him because he counted their money too loudly. He also remembered Mr. Allan Reiff having his office in the back room. Mr. Reiff served as the second President of Union National from 1901 to 1926 and was a friend of Clarence’s grandfather.
Clarence went on to work at the Granite Hosiery Mill on Green Street from 1935 to 1945, then again from 1950 to 1953. [Not to be confused with Bergey’s Hosiery Mill which made a bygone fashion trend – men’s stockings!]. At that time, Granite had the only known patent for nylon stockings and was the factory that “Made the Garter Block Famous”. Clarence can even still tell you how to make the garter block. He worked at Granite with his lifelong friend, Charlie Allebach, who later became Mayor of Souderton and neighbor of Clarence on 5th Street. He recalls that young Allebach worked on the machine that sewed the feet onto stockings. Later in life, Allebach moved to the Souderton Mennonite Home just one week before Clarence.
In 1938, Clarence married his wife, Evelyn Annetta Price. They first lived in front of Daub’s Market and later built their home on the corner of 5th and Garfield. Clarence remained married to Annetta for more than 76 years until her death in 2014 at the age of 95. In that time, he and Annetta saw many changes in Souderton. Amongst many other fond memories of Souderton past, Clarence recalls Mr. Paul Yoder, who owned the Souderton Bakery behind Rittenhouse Jewelers on Main Street. Ruthann reminisced that her mother would take holiday turkeys to Mr. Yoder as her home oven was not large enough to cook the birds. Clarence recalled that William Detweiler, who lived at the corner of Front & Noble, was the local ice delivery man. Across from Detweiler on Noble Street, in the building that until recently housed a photography studio, was Oscar Leidy’s car radio shop. At that time, radios were an aftermarket addition to most new cars. He recalled Zendt’s clothing factory on Penn Avenue making plain vests for traditional Mennonite men and the shirt factory on the corner of Main and Walnut producing army uniforms during WWII. On the corner of Broad and Fourth Streets was Dr. Montgomery who was a female medical
practitioner; a rarity in those days. He even remembers that on the corner of Montgomery Ave and Fifth Street was the Hallman family that raised guinea pigs.
Clarence also fondly remembered his time working for Souderton Borough from 1964 to 1982. He was hired by Elmer “Doc” Shelly, a local legend who at that time served as Borough Supervisor. Clarence became a regular attendee at Souderton Borough Council meetings; a ritual he dutifully upholds to this day. But in those days, he recalls much infighting between Council members that would drive Council meetings well into the midnight hours.
Clarence has lived an amazing life in this town. Think of all the changes that he has seen! It was a pleasure to hear from both him and Ruthann. I hope that one day I may be blessed enough to look back at Souderton with the same loving memories and thorough detail that Clarence did with me that day in January. He is the last bastion of a bygone age and his memories serve as a reminder of the Soudertonians that brought us where we are today.
Thank you, Clarence and Ruthann!
