MS-18
MR. & MRS. JOSEPH A. LAKE COLLECTION
INTRODUCTION
The Lake Collection comprising of correspondence between Mr. & Mrs. Joseph A. Lake and their son Joseph B. Lake and other miscellaneous items was a material donation to the Flesh Public Library by Jerry McCollough, a Piqua realtor, following disposal of the estate of Alice Lake, wife of Joseph A. Lake, 1025 West North Street, Piqua, Ohio, on June 1989.
The collection comprises of two Hollinger boxes containing a total of twenty-three (23) individual file folders.
The copyright of the collection has not been deeded to the Flesh Public Library.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The entire Lake collection may be categorized as:
1. CORRESPONDENCE
Most of the correspondence is between son and parents with detailed day to day information and news of what is happening at home, community, church, family, friends, and also college life at Ohio University, except for a few rare letters from friends of the Lakes. The exchange of correspondence was almost every other day.
2. MISCELLANEOUS
Comprise of all sorts and kinds of items, printed, and collected by the Lake Family in their life time in Piqua. The miscellaneous items are really miscellaneous, such as church bulletins, musical programs, politics, business, insurance, calling cards, etc., and all are stored in one Hollinger box, Box 2, in eleven file folders, files 13 to 23.
HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY
JOSEPH A. LAKE
Joseph A. Lake was born in Oswego, New York in 1888. He moved to Piqua, Ohio in 1918, being transferred from New York, as an employee of Superior Underwear Company, Piqua, Ohio, where he was employed for about forty years. He moved to Piqua with his wife Alice and his son Joseph B., and his brother Raymond. The family lived at 1025 West North Street. Following his retirement from Superior Underwear Company, he worked at Val Decker Packing Company in Piqua. He also worked as a custodian at the Piqua Y.M.C.A. He was an invalid for the last teen years or so of his life. He died on June 2, 1973 at the age of 85 years. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery.
ALICE M. LAKE
Alice M. Lake, wife of Joseph A. Lake, was born in Oswego, New York of parents Alfred and Harriet Smith Goeway, in 1892. She moved to Piqua with her husband and family. She died December 12, 1989, and is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery. Alice is survived by one foster daughter, four foster grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
JOSEPH B. LAKE
Joseph B. Lake was the only son of Joseph A. and Alice M. Lake. He was born in Oswego, New York in 1915. With his parents, he moved to Piqua and graduated from Piqua Central High School in 1935. He was in the Ohio Hospital for Epileptics, in Gallipolis, Ohio, approximately from January 1932 to February 1933. He attended Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. At the age of 23 years, he was found dead in his room at his parent’s residence on July 2, 1938. Apparently he died in his sleep following and epileptiform seizure. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery.
RAYMOND LAKE
Raymond Lake was the brother of Joseph A. Lake. He moved with Joseph A. Lake and his family to Piqua, Ohio. He was married to Gladys D. in Ohio. He died at the age of 60 years old. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery, N-1/2 95E, on December 14, 1955. Raymond’s wife, Gladys D., died at the age of 82 years old, and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery on 26 June, 1982
CONTAINER LISTING
SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE
BOX 1
File
1 1929
2 1932
3 1933
4 1934
5 1937
6 January, March 1938
7 April 1938
8 May 1938
9 June, August 1938
10 1939
11 1946
12 1947
SERIES II: MISCELLANEOUS
BOX 2
File
13 College and School
14 Politics and Government.
15 Greeting cards
16 Church and Religion
17 Music
18 City of Piqua
19 Insurance
20 Y.M.C.A., 1947
21 Receipts
22 Business
23 Miscellaneous