Happy 100th Birthday to my friend, bridge partner, and fellow book lover
Happy Birthday Ed ==I have enjoyed our friendship, bridge partnership and the sharing, over the years, of many wonderful books and magazines. You've enriched my life with the discovery of many new authors, especially Primo Levi. Thank you Ed, for having touched my life with your erudition, humor and all that Latin. What would our bridge games have been without them. Tell me, my erudite friend===would you have returned the eel to the well? Enjoy your special day.
With affection,
Helen Gorsuch
For Ed McCauley in remembrance of his 100th Birthday
Ed McCauley is my 2nd cousin and I just got acquainted with him in the late 1990's or early 2000's. My mother introduced us through letter writing and my love of genealogy. I started working on the Kirsch genealogy because of Mary Grace Kirsch, Ed's aunt. She had written up a short history of the Kirsch family in America and I received a copy of it. From that paper I just had to do more research and was assisted by the Internet and another family member, Rick Szekeros Sr. We were successful in growing the tree and taking it back to the 1600's.
My Mom and I met Ed and Mary for the first time at Red Hill. I had been at Red Hill as a young girl, my Dad took us there to visit Uncle Steve and the place didn't seem to change much. Mary took me on a tour of the house, including the attic and shared many pictures. The next time I visited Ed was after the passing of my Mom and Mary, Ed had moved to Red Hill. His brother Joe was visiting and my husband Dick and I brought his brother Tom for the visit. Tom introduced Ed to the Nicktown Picnic, a St. Nicholas Church gathering every year at Labor Day. Nicktown is the place where the Kirsch family was established in the United States. I think Ed attended a few of the picnics and was introduced to other Kirsch's.
I've enjoyed communicating with Ed through e-mail ever since.
Deanna Hoppel
Happy 100th Birthday to My Bridge Partner and Friend
There are dozens of stories about Ed and bridge. My exposure with Ed started with a phone call. Ed needed a partner for the 2nd and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. I was elated Ed was one of the best players in the area. I was new and not considered “good enough” for the rest of the players in the group. It was not long until
Ed and I started winning. There was a lot of fuss mainly because I wasn’t considered up to the standard of the rest of the club. Ed was totally resilient to the negativity.
One time we were playing at the Boalsburg fire station in State College. The afternoon games were Swiss teams so the local club matched us up with a lady about Ed’s age and her daughter. We were talking about our games. Christine the older lady and Ed were instant friends. She was a little frail and needed to sit so they went to an open table to talk. When it was time to start Cynthia (Christina’s daughter) said “I have to go over and get mom. I will send Ed over.” When she approached Ed he responded “Get out of her … your mother and I are playing.” It turned out Christine was a retired Penn State math professor of course Ed prides himself for figuring out where cards are using the Pythagorean Theorem. As a team we managed a small amount of silver points that day. Ed was aglow on the ride home.
This past fall we played online in a national tournament (NABC) with top players from around the world. The tournament was a week long and we got clobbered most of the week. However, one session near the end of the week Ed was on his game. It was just another session, except Ed started strong and we were still playing at about 70% after 15 boards. We stumbled on the last couple of boards and ended up closer to 60%. Instead of 1st place overall for our section we ended up 4th. The difference between 1st and 4th was a little over 1%. It was good enough to earn both of us almost 10 gold points. The next day Ed was so happy his voice was shaking.
Also this past fall Ed was in crisis about a “State required” physical in order to get his driver’s license renewed. It seemed like it took months. Ed had to see his doctor, he required a second opinion, and Ed had to make an appointment with the VA. Needless to say it was a very nervous time for Ed. In the end with a sigh of relief Ed simply said “I passed.”
In a bridge world of fragile egos and negativity Ed’s mantra is simply “Don’t you want to win?”
Ed is a gem.
Bill Pounds
Happy 100th Birthday to a lifelong and Dearly Loved Friend
Have so many wonderful memories of Ed and Mary I wouldn’t know where to start. It has been a long and good friendship.
Remember one New Year’s Eve party when he and Mich Baga, both a little tipsy, sang a duet. It was a riot. Remember all the bridge games.
I think what I remember most was his utter devotion to your mother. That I will never forget.
Tell him I love him dearly.
Joyce Hayden
Deviled Eggs, Peroxide, and Peppers
Some of my favorite memories:
About a year or so ago, when Ed and I and the other bridge players were playing cards at Hoss’s, Ed was showing us his swollen, reddish-purple hand that one of the dog’s had nicked. He told me that he was using 30-year old hydrogen peroxide on the festering wound. Later, when he showed me the peroxide container, I had never even seen a bottle or a label like that. I proceeded to lecture him because I’m the daughter of a pharmacist and knew that after that long a time, the peroxide had turned into nothing but water. I insisted on taking him to Urgent Care, then the hospital (where we waited for hours), and then to the pharmacy to get an antibiotic. And he just went along. He’s a sweetheart and I love him to pieces.
Another story that tickled me: One year, one of the bridge ladies knew it was his birthday and made the bridge club a dozen deviled eggs for the occasion because he liked them so much. When she showed him the eggs, he thanked her, took them, and tucked them away with his coat to take home after the game.
Because of Covid this year, Ed would drop off an abundance of peppers and tomatoes from his garden on my back patio. I cut up and froze the peppers and would later turn the vegetables and other ingredients into soup and drop off meals for him. I actually bought a big pot to make soup just for him.
It’s an honor to have him as my dear friend.
Jean Keller