George Rutzler Cruze
- Born: 23 Jun 1892, Knoxville TN
- Marriage (1): Annetta Tubbs Smith
- Died: 18 Dec 1985, Newton Square, PA at age 93
- Buried: Mt. Greenwood, Wilkes Barre PA
General Notes:
Initiated and managed farmer’s market; Flour salesman in Bloomsburg; Ford dealership in Danville, 2 years selling his own inventions; U.S. Dept of Agriculture running the CCC camps; “retired” and sold real estate so he could collect social security and govt pension.
Craft work with his wife’s work with Esther Stevens Brazier Guild for early American decoration: preparing trays, woodwork, finishing, etc.
Expert with horses, drove a six-horse team around Dallas PA.
When he was about 8, living in Knoxville, he did something to derail a trolley (put penny on tracks, or a pebble, or did something else) and his parents sent him off the the mountain kin, the Schultz brothers near the Cumberland Gap, to evade the police. This was before 4th grade, so he had no further early education. He lived in the mountains for 8-9 years, learned blacksmithing, then had an offer from his aunt to send him to college at Penn State, however she was a Christian Scientist so she would not support his desire to become a doctor.
His sisters Frank and Ruth used to get oranges for Christmas, he said “which one fo the girls is not getting an orange?” and therefore did not get any.
Father John got polio when George was young. His aunt Georgia’s husband was ill and needed someone to take him out and about with a horse-drawn carriage, so he came up to PA to be chauffeur in exchange for his tuition, with tutoring for high school. Georgia continued to support and bought a wedding diamond for George’s wife, probably in possession of Kimberly.
After marriage he was in quartermaster corps during WWI, war ended right before embarkation, to his great disappointment. When WWII came around he told his son George, “Get in the war as early as possible, it’s the biggest thing that will happen in your life, don’t miss it.” His first child George was conceived before war ended.
Did not return to TN, stayed in PA. Second child Shirley was born, moved to Bloomsburg and sold flour. Moved to Danville until 1933 where he had a large Ford dealership.
Noted events in his life were:
• Occupation: Car Dealership.
• Education: Penn State 1916.
• Religion: Presbyterian.
George married Annetta Tubbs Smith, daughter of Oscar Sherwood Smith and Anna Jerusha TUBBS. (Annetta Tubbs Smith was born on 19 Jan 1894 in Wilkes Barre PA, died on 15 Oct 1984 in Devon PA and was buried in Mt. Greenwood, Wilkes Barre PA.)
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