Fuchs Family Papers and Photographs
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook
What's online?
The Fuchs Family Papers & Photographs online collection contains images from 1933 through 1951. The images primarily depict cadets from St. Joseph's Junior Military School as well as members of the Fuchs family.
What's in the entire collection?
The collection, housed in the Library & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center, contains images and letters from Pittsburgh servicemen stationed at various basic training camps around the United States during World War II.
About the Fuchs Family
During the 1930s and 1940s, Mary and Louis Fuchs owned and operated the Frick Park Confectionary and the adjoining tea/beer room at 7113 Reynolds St., located in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The two establishments were colloquially known by several names including: Mary's Tea Garden, Mary's Tea Room & Social Club, and Fuchs Emporium. Beginning in 1942, the Fuchs owned and operated the Frick Park Market, which was later managed by their two surviving sons, Robert and Ronald.
The family businesses were gathering places for many in the neighborhood. Every Thursday evening, Mary and Lou would distribute pencils, postcards, and stationary to their customers so they could write local servicemen stationed at basic training camps around the United States. They also acted as a circulation hub, forwarding letters from soldiers who did not know where their friends were stationed.
The Fuchs had three sons: Louis "Dickie" Fuchs born December 1932; Robert Rudolf Fuchs born July 1943; and Ronald Gilbert Fuchs born March 1936. The three boys were students at St. Joseph's Junior Military School, a Catholic boarding school that was located on 1725 Lincoln Avenue. Beginning in 1941, they attended throughout the decade. The oldest son, Dickie Fuchs, died at the age of 12 on February 6, 1944, as a result of leukemia.