As told by Hilda Margaret (Lake) Swingle (3.163, child i.): BEGIN Ralph Lake was born in South Montrose in 1893. Because high school was in Montrose and he couldn't get there, he did an extra year in eighth grade in So. Montrose. Ralph drove a horse and buggy from South Montrose to Springville to court Ruth Tuttle. He would head the horse for home, and proceed to go to sleep and let the horse take him home. One night he woke up in front of the wrong barn -- the horse went back to a former owner. When he went into the Army he was 25 years old and by occupation a machinist. He was inducted into the Army on May 24, 1918. He was assigned to 16th Company 154 D Camp Mead, Md. 5/25/18 - transferred to 312 F.A. 6/12/18; transferred to Company H 314 Infantry. Served in A.E.F. France in same until discharged. Sailed to France 7/8/18 and overseas part 7/15/18. Sailed to U.S. 5/15/1919 - arrived U.S. 5/26/1919 - Discharged May 31, 1919, arriving home June 1, 1919. He stood six feet, three and one-half inches tall and was the tallest man to go through Camp Mead at the time of his induction. Battles, engagements, skirmishes, expeditions: Sector 304 Defensive 9/13/18 to 9/25/18 incl. Meustargonne Off. (Montfaucon) 9/26/18 to 9/30/18 incl. Grandmontagene 10/28/18 to 11/11/18 Trajon Sec. 10/8/18 to 10/26/18 incl. Bronze Victory Button issued 3/31/1920. The first letter he received from home after arriving in France told him his Aunt and Uncle, John and Carrie Snell were burned to death in a fire and his brother Mark, had a large section of his intestine removed. He and Ruth Tuttle were married Feb. 25, 1920 and lived in a house in So. Montrose, that Ralph had bought because it was between his parents house and the feed mill. Ralph then worked as an auto mechanic for Glenn Voss in Montrose. When his father Michael Lake suffered a stroke, Ralph bought his share of M. L. Lake and Son Feed Mill, and it became Lake Brothers. Ralph worked with his brother Mark in the feed business until feed dust in his lungs made it necessary for him to get out of the feed business. He had also served one term as assessor and one term as Sealer of Weights and Measures while in the feed business. He then started building houses with his son Earl Lake, until he retired. Ralph loved children and when they stacked feed in the mill he would build tunnels for us to hide in for games of hide and seek. The ship that brought him home from France was the Princess Matoika. The company he was in in France was a supply company. The supplies came in by train and were distributed by mules and wagons. END From a Montrose, Pennsylvania newspaper dated September 7, 1923: BEGIN Springville Mrs. Ralph Lake and little daughter, of South Montrose, were weekend guest [sic] of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Tuttle. END From The Montrose Independent, Montrose, Pennsylvania dated April 28, 1927: BEGIN South Montrose. Mrs. Ralph Lake and daughter Hilda, visited relatives in Scranton last week. END From the Evening Press, Binghamton, New York dated November 14, 1965: BEGIN Miss Hilda M. Swingle of 5 Dennison Avenue became the bride of Raymond L. Swingle yesterday at Chenango Street Methodist Church. The Rev. Samuel Little performed the double-ring ceremony at 3 p.m. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph S. Lake of South Montrose, Pa. The bridegroom, of 19 Avenue A, Johnson City, is the son of Mrs. Effie Frisbie of Lake Ariel, Pa. For the wedding, the bride chose an oatmeal colored double-breasted suit. She wore a matching hat of mink tails and a white orchid corsage. Wearing a cherry red double-breasted suit and a brown mink hat, Mrs. Earl Lake was matron-of-honor for her sister-in-law. Earl Lake, brother of the bride, was the best man. Ushers were Robert Pearsall and R. K. Wheeler. After a reception of some 200 guests in the church dining room, a dinner was served to the wedding party and immediate family at the Mahogany Room Restaurant. The couple will live at 5 Dennison Avenue. A graduate of Montrose High School, Montrose, Pa., the bride is employed by the Evening Press. The bride-groom, a graduate of Lake Vocational School, Lake Ariel, Pa., is employed by Short Line Bus Co. and operates the Ideal Travel Agency. END From a Montrose, PA newspaper in Feb 1970: BEGIN Ralph Lake to Observe Golden Wedding Anniversary Feb. 25th Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Lake, South Montrose, will observe their 50th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1970. They are the parents of two children: Mrs. Ray (Hilda) Swingle, Binghamton, N.Y.; and Earl Lake, South Montrose. They also have two grandchildren. No formal celebration is planned because of ill health, but Mr. and Mrs. Lake would enjoy hearing from friends and relatives. END From Hilda Margaret Lake (3.163, child i): BEGIN In Memory Of Ralph S. Lake Date of Birth: May 18, 1893, South Montrose, Pa. Date of Death: November 19, 1972, Binghamton General Hospital Funeral Services: 2 P.M. Wednesday, Nov. 22, 1972 Bush and Donahue Funeral Home, South Montrose, Pa. Clergyman: Rev. George Kramer, So. Montrose Community Church Interment: South Montrose Cemetery Survivors: Wife, Ruth, daughter, Mrs. Hilda Swingle; son Earl; two grandchildren, brother Mark Pallbearers: George Antol, Edwin Babcock, Edward Daly, Harold Fish, Jack Griffis, Herbert Wood ******** Obituary Lake - Ralph S. Lake, 79 of South Montrose, Pa. a retired feed dealer of South Montrose, Pa. passed away Sunday at the Binghamton General Hospital. He is survived by his wife, the former Ruth Tuttle, South Montrose; one daughter, Mrs. Ray (Hilda) Swingle, Binghamton; one son, Earl Lake, South Montrose, Pa.; two grandchildren; one brother, Mark Lake, South Montrose, Pa. He was a veteran of World War I. He was a member of the American Legion and VFW of Montrose, Pa. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. from the Bush and Donahue Funeral Home, South Montrose, Pa. Burial will be in South Montrose Cemetery, South Montrose, Pa. Friends may call at the funeral home Tuesday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. A military service will be conducted at the graveside. In lieu of flowers, friends may make memorial contributions to the Montrose Minutemen. END From Hilda Margaret Lake (3.163, child i): BEGIN In Memory of Ruth S. Lake Date of Birth - August 22, 1896 Date of Death - June 14, 1989 Funeral services - 2:00 p.m. Saturday, June 17, 1989 Philip L. Donahue Funeral Home 64 South Main Street, Montrose, Pa. Clergyman - Rev. Jay Molyneaux Interment - South Montrose Cemetery, So. Montrose, Pa. Survivors - Daughter: Hilda Swingle, Binghamton, N.Y.; son Earl Lake, South Montrose, Pa; 2 grandchildren, 1 great-grandson. -------- Obituary Ruth S. Lake of Montrose Ruth S. Lake, 92, died June 14, 1989 at Asa Park Manor Nursing Home. She was a member of the Bridgewater Baptist Church, Montrose. She is survived by a daughter, Hilda Swingle, Binghamton; a son Earl Lake, South Montrose; two grandchildren; and one great-grandson. Funeral services were held Saturday at the Philip L. Donahue Funeral Home, 64 South Main Street, Montrose, where the Rev. Jay Molyneaux officiated. Interment in the South Montrose Cemetery, South Montrose. END transcription of Newspapers->Deaths->3.163ch-i.jpg From the Susquehanna County Independent, Montrose, Pennsylvania dated September 12, 2007: BEGIN Hilda M. Swingle Hilda M. Swingle, 86, South Montrose, Pa., passed away on September 6, 2007, after a brief illness at Gracious Living Estates. She was born in Bridgewater Township, Susquehann [sic] County, Pa., to the late Ralph and Ruth (Tuttle) Lake. Surviving are her niece, Connie Burgh, Montrose, Pa; nephew, Curtis Lake, Albany, N.Y.; great nephews, Tom, Andy and Erik Burgh. Predeceasing her are her husband, Ray Swingle, and brother, Earl Lake. Hilda was a Montrose High graduate, class of 1938, and a veteran of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, (WAACs). She worked for County National Bank, and then for 30 years, the Binghamton Press. Hilda was a member of the DAR in Binghamton, N.Y., and Montrose; and the Order of the Eastern Star, Binghamton Chapter. She was a member of the South Montrose Community Church, and former member of the Binghamton Presbyterian Church. A Funeral Service was held September 10, 2007, at the Daniel K. Regan Funeral Home, Montrose, Pa., with Rev. Margaret M. McCarty of the South Montrose Community Church officiating. Interment was in the South Montrose Cemetery. Visitation was held an hour prior ro the service. Donations in Hilda's memory may be made to the Susquehanna County Historical Society, 2 Monument Square Montrose, PA 18801. END An obituary enclosed in a letter from Connie Marie Brugh (0.187): BEGIN Hilda M. Swingle of South Montrose, Pa. Hilda M. Swingle, 86, of South Montrose, Pa., passed away Thursday, on September 6, 2007, after a brief illness at Gracious Living Estates. She was born in Bridgewater Twp., Pa., to the late Ralph and Ruth (Tuthill) [sic] Lake. Surviving are her niece, Connie Burgh, Montrose, Pa; nephew, Curtis Lake, Albany, N.Y.; great-nephews, Tom, Andy and Erik Burgh. Predeceasing her are her husband, Ray Swingle, and brother, Earl Lake. Hilda was a Montrose High Graduate, Class of 1938, a veteran of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, (WAAC's), she worked for County National Bank, and then for 30 years, the Binghamton Press. Hilda was a member of the DAR in Binghamton and Montrose, the Order of the Eastern Star, Binghamton Chapter, she was a member of the South Montrose Community Church, and former member of the Binghamton Presbyterian Church. She enjoyed doing genealogy, loved her friends and family, and was a very caring person. A Funeral Service will be at 2:30 p.m., Monday, September 10, 2007, at the Daniel K. Regan Funeral Home, with Rev. Margaret M. McCarty of the South Montrose Community Church officiating. Interment was in the South Montrose Cemetery. Visitation will be an hour prior ro the service. Donations in Hilda's memory can be made to the Susquehanna County Historical Society, 2 Monument Square Montrose, Pa. 18801. END