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Catherine Nygard Hasson
Grandparents
Parents
Brothers and Sisters
- Steven Hasson
- Michael Hasson
Sharyn Kelsey
Cathy is the first born of the Nygard family. She did not know her father until she was 3 years old, as he was overseas at War until 1945. Cathy has very fond memories of her times in Milmont Park with her family. She remembers how Mom used to bath and dress her up for Dad's arrival home from work. Mom would decorate her bike for the township's Fourth of July Parade. At the time of her birth, the Nygard's lived in an apartment on Belmont Avenue in Milmont Park, PA. The landlords were Mr. and Mrs. Mazura; they were scary but really very nice.
The first time she saw TV was at the Schafer's, friends of Carl and Catherine, who lived a few blocks away. They were very nice and they were the Nygard's first "fake" Aunt's and Uncle's. Being as perceptive as she is, she thought Howdy Doody was a real boy.
Carol Anne and Cathy were very close, Cathy used to take her everywhere with her. Cathy talked Mom into having a party when she was a teenager and the kids smashed M&Ms into the basement floor. Obviously, this was her last party. She remembers that Dad was always in and out of work, but that never stopped him from buying a piano when he was out of work.
Cathy helped Mom raise her brother and sister Charlie and Caren as young delinquents. She figured this would be to her advantage later on when she had her own kids and Caren and Charlie could watch her own brats. This plot worked to perfection. She would always dress them up and take them to fun places like the Bazaar of All Nations in Clifton Heights and Gino's Hamburgers in Milmont Park and Sunday Church at Our Lady of Peace Church. Although she was generally very careful while watching the kids, there was a time when she was watching Caren that Caren falling in Ridley Lake when she was supposed to be watching her. She took Caren to Philly on the train to see the decorations when she was little and Caren got inside one of the displays to play with the fake snow. Cathy's friend Jane used to think ( correctly) that Charlie was the sweetest baby in the world, and she would ask Mom how she could put that dear child down.
Cathy met Terry Hasson, of Chester, PA and they got married in 1964. The Hasson family history is rather extensive and can be viewed here. They first lived on top of the old Roy Tweedy butcher shop on Belmont Avenue in Milmont. They were fortunate enough to be within 100 feet of the Milmont fire house, which had perhaps the loudest fire alarm warning system in the contential United States. Upon the birth of their first child, Steven, they decided to purchase a home on Haverford Road, just several houses from the original Nygard household. The Hassons did not wait long before they had child number two, Mick Hasson, almost one year later.
The Hasson boys, who later became frustrated rock stars, were fun and wild. Charlie and Caren, their Aunt and Uncle, did watch over the boys with extreme care. They spent many fun times at the schoolyard playing stickball and other games. Steve developed a bond with Caren while Mick and Charlie were inseparable. Many disputes between Caren and Charlie and Steve and Mick ended up with the two sides ( Caren and Steve vs. Mick and Charlie) taking liberties on each other.
The Hassons were the only family with a pool in their backyard. Terry really enjoyed floating in the pool and having a beer on his lounge chair. This activity, or lack of, prompted the nickname " Inactive Hasson", a spoof from the TV show Action Jackson. Terry was one of the first Philadelphia Flyer fans in the area, and Charlie can still remember watching a Flyers-Islanders playoff game in 1975 in his newly finished basement. Charlie used to think they were the richest in the neighborhood with all their little extras at the house.
The Our Lady of Peace schoolyard provided Steve with the necessary skills to become a frustrated baseball player. I can still remember blowing the ball by him in the schoolyard thinking he would be a good player one day. Years later, when he came back for a visit, I was amazed at his hand eye coordination and I think I blew my arm out trying to get him to miss my fastballs.
Sometime around 1975 Terry got a promotion that precipitated a move to the West Coast. Terry left first, then Cathy and the kids. It was a tearful departure, Caren and Charlie were losing their little brothers and sisters. However, the bonds that were forged during the early years were strong and although they are miles apart, they are all together in spirit.
Settling in the Yakima, Washington area, the Hassons welcomed another child, Sharyn, to the family. Terry and Cathy moved to Gig Harbor, WA, near Seattle.
Memoirs
Esther and Ginny taking me to a radio studio to sing "Manyana" I wouldn't sing - they were mad.
Aunt Esther wanting to to take me to buy my first bra - Mom objecting, then relenting after many of my tears.
Aunt Rose taking Diane and I to see a Disney movie, then staying overnight at her house, but I broke out in hives - probably from the orange slice candy I ate at the movies
Uncle Charles and Aunt Rose always giving us money when we visited.
Cousing George always trying to hurt Diane and I.
Aunt Esther taking Diane and I to Washington, DC.
Aunt Rita and Uncle Ed taking me with them to the beach with Diane - what a thrill.
Going to visit Cousin Sandy on the train - how did Mom ever let me do that!
Aunt Rita, Aunt Ester, Aunt June and Aunt Ginny all seemed cut from the same mold -- outgoing, engagingly loud, full of life. I remember that Aunt Esther made an entrance into the house with a cartwheel. Ginny was married for a while to John who was a part time stand up comic. Mom and Aunt Helen seemed cut from the same mold ... the quieter one.
When Esther and Bruce had the house in Maryland, they hosted a family reunion for Mom's side. Sylvia must have been pregnant with Johanna, since only Claire and I made the trip. On the way home, there was a major snowstorm. Claire and I drove about 9 hours to get home in the snow, often feeling blinded by the ice on the windshield.
Dad's brother Jimmy was wilder than Jack. He owned a motorcycle for a while (making him the envy of all of us), but his drinking got the better of him very early.