Emmerich’s Confectionery

The following is from my best friend, Marcia Conner de Kramer. Her family, including her brother Michael, owned Emmerich's. . . . . ."In the early 1900’s Margaret Winn Hillgartner, a young widow, purchased this building at 1808 Brownsville Road in (Carrick) Pittsburgh, PA. A small storefront and rental apartments provided a residence and income for her and her three young children; Lilian, William and Frank. Frank, born in June 1914 shortly after his father’s death as a result of pneumonia, never knew his father. Margaret later married John Emmerich, thus the name Emmerich’s Confectionery. “The store”, as it came to be known in the family, included a lending library, limited grocery items and perhaps a post office. In later years, a soda fountain was added and eventually candy, greeting cards, magazines, tobacco and toys became the mainstay of the inventory. The store remained in the family (Lilian and her husband purchased it in the early 1950’s) and was “home” for many family and extended family members. Stories of the neighborhood and its residents continue to resonate at family gatherings.

Thank you to Frank Bradley Hillgartner, grandson of Margaret and son of Frank (Annamae), for memorializing our “home” with this miniature facsimile. Although our parents are gone and many miles and years separate the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Margaret Emmerich, we share in memories of 1808 Brownsville Road. Michael Conner, grandson of Margaret and son of Lilian (Howard), resides in the South Hills and serves as the family’s only Pittsburgh connection. The familiar Caruso’s Music Store, although recently closed, occupies this free-standing building."

Submitted by Karen Lynch-Schirra