How many of you remember the under 12 soccer league? Teams in the league during the 1981-82 season included Arrow Electric, Tita Machine Drillers, Fabrimac Stallions, and the team pictured here is the Calgon Cosmos. We would like to thank David Cook for not only providing the picture, but also putting names to the faces. The names and spelling are to the best of our knowledge...
Front kneeling L-R: Kari McClymonds, Jeff Pletz, Russel Gilchrist, Anthony Toronto, Mike "Buddy" Rukoveno, David Cook.
Middle Row standing L-R: Adam Music, Shannon Sarver, John Koziar, Eddie ?, Jeff Hand, David Main, Drew Harbaugh.
Back row: Coach Main
If you remember the league and would like to share your own memories, please leave a reply below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
This picture is part of a collection once owned by Harry W. Horton, Assistant Borough Engineer under Alex Main from 1920-1925. Most of the pictures show Ellwood City in an important stage of its development as it was getting more of the town out of the mud in the years following World War I.
This picture is the North end of original Fifth Street Bridge looking West down Wampum Avenue. The house on the right as you are looking at the picture with the clothes hanging out back was once the home of Ellwood City Ledger's Louise Carroll. Her mother rented the house in the 1940's when it was owned by Madison Maine.
We have not had a lot of luck uncovering the business that was inside the building on the left at the very end of the bridge. Further down Wampum Avenue across from the house on the right, Morini's built their neighborhood store. Some of the homes still remained from this picture into the 1940's as Mrs. Carroll remembers that one of the small houses was still standing and a lonely older lady lived in one. She still has memories of her mother baking homemade bread and occasionally would take her a loaf.
If you look closely at the picture, there a couple of odd things that kind of stand out, at least to us. The sidewalk on the bridge is paved and looks very fancy, especially since the main roads leading to and from the bridge are all still dirt roads. Another thing that stands out is the rooftop next to the business at the end of the bridge. The building looks to large to be an outhouse but we don't know what else it could be. The dirt road just seems to drop off into the building also. Like we said, odd.
If you see something else we missed, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and was created mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal (which came through Rock Point Park) and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The B&O Rail Road Company became America’s first common carrier when it was chartered on February 28th 1827 by a group of Baltimore businessmen to ensure traffic would not be lost to the aforementioned proposed Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.
The B&O passenger station in Ellwood City off of Fifth Street beside the subway was torn down long ago, however the Baltimore & Ohio Freight Station on the north side of the tracks along Sixth Street was demolished in 1982. That property is now owned by the Ellwood City Forge.
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In 1966, the P & LE freight station was converted into a warehouse and offices by Fotia Brothers Sales & Service owners, Sam & Joseph Fotia.
You can leave any memories you may have about the B&O Railroad below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
Are you aware that the P&LE station is still standing in Ellwood City today?
According to the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Historical Society web site www.plerrhs.org. The Beaver and Ellwood Railroad Company was organized May 20, 1890 and in April of 1892 The Ellwood Connecting Railroad was incorporated by the P.& L.E. to make the connection to the Beaver and Ellwood Railroad but did not open until June of 1893. In May of 1899, the Beaver and Ellwood Railroad was leased to the P&LE for twenty years. On a side note, July of the same year, the Beaver and Ellwood Railroad acquired the Ellwood Southern Railroad Company.
Finally June 6, 1910 the P&LE purchased the entire issue of stock of the Beaver and Ellwood Railroad Company and merged it with the Ellwood Connecting Railroad Company in January 1911.
The P&LE and B&O passenger station in Ellwood City off of Fifth Street beside the subway was torn down long ago, however the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Freight Station is still standing today along Beaver Avenue. In 1966, the freight station was converted into a warehouse and offices by Fotia Brothers Sales & Service owners, Sam & Joseph Fotia. After converting the old P&LE station into a business, they operated their dry goods firm there beside Vinny's Family Restaurant for a number of years.
The business took a big hit on Christmas morning in 1985 when fire swept through the Fotia Brothers warehouse on the 600 block of Beaver Avenue. The one story warehouse was gutted by the flames but firefighters from four departments managed to save part of the two story concrete office/store section. The firm made pillows, chair pads, and other dry goods that fueled the flames and produced a thick dark smoke visible from almost all of Ellwood City.
The B&O freight station along Sixth Street, on the north side of the tracks, was demolished in 1982. That property is now owned by the Ellwood City Forge.
You can leave any memories you may have about Fotia Brothers or the P&LE Railroad below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
We have learned that Ellwood City has been home to hundreds of different businesses through the years but few have left an impression like Pe'Wee's Lunch on Lawrence Avenue. The menu is hanging at the Ellwood City Historical Society above one of the unique spinning metal stools that lined the counter.
No matter what time of day or night you were hungry, Pe Wee's was open. You walk in and can not help but notice the assorted variety of clientele sitting on the stools at the counter and you just look for an empty seat. If there were no empty seats, you just stood behind someone and the cook would take your order. Everyone had their favorites they would order; my personal order was usually three “yappers” with everything (mustard, onion, & chili) and a chili cheese hash brown. Wow, just saying that took me back in time. Not a lot needs to be said about Pe Wee's Lunch as it seems that it is still one of the most memorable places Ellwood City has ever seen.
I am sure that you have a personal memory of Pe Wee's that you would like to share. Please leave your story below, or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
The 1958 Merchants league was a Legion league here in Ellwood City. The Championship team consisted of - 1st row L to R. Mike Ruscille, Bill Martin, Frank Ramella, Bill Beltz, Jerry Franus, Ralph Pratt - 2nd row Steve Gorzowski, Jack Choff, Ed Wigton, John Agostinelli, Windy Shumaker - 3rd row Jim Hockenberry, John Yoho, Ron Hughes - Last Row, Roy Guthrie, Stan Platek, Bill Hall, Tom Tindall, John Ungham, Jim Ammeen.
If you remember the league and would like to leave a comment, please do so below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
There has been a recent effort to make the Connoquenessing Creek a usable waterway again with the addition of boat landings from Zelienople to Ellwood City. Those that have gone down the "Conny" know that West of Ellwood City Forge to the Wild Waterways Conservancy at the site of Ellwood City's old Amusement Park, Rock Point Park, the rapids get a "little" rough. They also know that there are places in Ellwood City that the creek gets very shallow during the summer.
This was not always the case. The Slippery Rock Creek that feeds into the Connoquenessing Creek in Wurtemburg used to double the size of the Conny but has dwindled down in size since Moraine State Park was built. Also, another contributing factor to the depth of the creek was the large dam built by the old power plant just west of the Ewing Park Bridge. The two pictures here were taken when the dam was still intact and according to a 1903 map the area was referred to as "the pond". This area was the site of Foley's famous jump and from what we hear the site of pretty good fishing including some record size catfish.
Of course the dam failed in the early 1900's and was not rebuilt. The creek that once almost touched the Ellwood City Nature Trail in Ewing Park is now fifty feet away from the trail and canoeing is restricted in the hot months late in the summer. We would enjoy hearing any fond memories you may have of the Connoquenessing Creek. To share your memories, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
This picture was taken by Harry W. Horton who was the Assistant Borough engineer under Alex Main from 1920-1925. The picture shows Ellwood City in an important stage of its development, when it was getting more of the community out of the infamous muddy roads following World War I.
The picture is taken from the front yard of town founder Henry W. Hartman on Fourth Street looking west up Crescent Avenue. The picture was originally taken to shows Crescent Avenue being paved with bricks made in Ellwood City. As you can clearly see, Fourth Street was already bricked and looked beautiful.
The picture was taken before Hartman Elementary School was built and while the old Lawrence Hotel was still standing. At the time or this picture, the hotel was no longer in business as it was sold to the Ellwood City School Board in 1915 and converted to a school building and apartments. The building in this picture in front of the hotel (approximately where the Statue of Liberty is located today) is probably a temporary building for school purposes.
There are a number of homes that have not yet been built along the north side of Crescent Avenue as you can see but there are a lot of things in the picture that are no longer there. The Methodist Church on the corner of Crescent and Fifth Street is still the original wooden structure (barely visible) and we are not sure what the steeple is beyond the hotel, approximately where the Saxon Club would build their first building (today the Denny Schill apartments stands on this ground). Also in the picture is just the very edge of the trees that lined Oliver Park that surrounded the hotel and gave Park Avenue its name.
This is another one of those great pictures where we are sure that we missed something so please leave any comments you might have below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
Ellwood City has always had good bowlers, in fact very good bowlers. The town has housed numerous bowling alleys and duck pin lanes all the way back to it's earliest days. One team in particular was so good that they were invited to the A.B.C. Tournament in 1946 held in Buffalo, New York. The team consisted of Joe Beatrice, Ang Sanders, Chuck Cole, Frank Moskal, (front row, dark shirts) and Nick Bauer (standing, same shirt).
We know there are many, many more bowling stories to be told of those from Ellwood City. Please leave any comments you might have below or email us any pictures or stories at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
From the time it opened in the early summer of 1891 until W.G. Clark from Altoona took over, Hotel Lawrence was named Hotel Oliver. Hotel Lawrence was a summer resort for people from the cities and was surrounded by a beautiful park and picnic grounds. The hotel itself had electric lights, steam heat, pool halls, and a bowling alley.
Mr. Clark had already been in the hotel business for many years when he took over the lease, changed the name of the hotel, and became the manager of the Hotel Lawrence. W.G. Clark ran the hotel but the popularity of the beautiful hotel and park continued to decline. Finally in 1915, the building and land were sold to the Ellwood City school board and converted to a school building and apartments until it was torn down in 1925 to make room for the newly planned civic center that included Lincoln High School, Hartman Elementary School, a public library and more.
The civic center obviously never happened due in a large part to the Great Depression and the lack of money needed for a project so large. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
One of the oldest schools in the Ellwood city area is the Matheny School. The building is still standing today along Wampum Road across the road from the old Matheny cemetery located beside Aiken refuse; however the building has been converted into a personal residence. The school building was built at its current location to replace and consolidate the original Matheny one room schoolhouse and the close by Jockey Mohr one room schoolhouse. We have been told that the Jockey Mohr School is still standing but many trips through the area have been unsuccessful in even discovering the old stone foundation. The current location of Wampum Road covers the spot the original Matheny one room schoolhouse as it was located just to the southeast of the brick building pictured.
We would like to thank Leonard Chapman for suppling the following pictures along with the names of those pictured. Matheny School about 1941 Grades first through fourth - left to right Row 1 Tom Copper, Dave McKim, Harry Darrow, Bill Chapman, Vivian Darrow, unknown, Leonard Chapman, Don Shirilla, Ruth Gabler, Jack Vova Row 2 Ella Jane Chapman, unknown, Lucille Butch, Clint Summers, Leona Pogozelec, Nancy Mckim, unknown, unknown, unknown, Teresa Pogozelec Row 3 Chuck Summers, Mrs.Leblick, unknown, Nancy Gabler, unknown, unknown, unknown, Joe Bartolomeo, Tom Clark, Lee Butch
Matheny School About 1942 Bottom Left to Right Row 1 Clint Summers, Dave Mckim, Tom Clark, Joe Bartolomeo, Don Shirilla, Leonard Chapman, Bill Chapman, Row 2 unknown, Ilene Chapman, Vivian Darrow, Ella Jane Chapman, Angelina Butch, Teresa Pogozelec, unknown, Anna Bartolomeo, Ruth Gabler, Nancy McKim, Lucille Butch Row 3 Nancy Gabler, Idea Gabler, unknown, Lee Butch, Chuck Summers, unknown, Leno Pogozelec Row 4 Mrs. Leblick, Shirley Clark, Elisabeth Darrow, unknown, unkown.
Matheny School About 1943 First Grade thru Eight Grade Bottom row left to right Row 1 Ruben O’Connor, Betty Gabler, Chuck Mount, Wally Starkavitch, Jack Yova, Bruce Mckim, Verna Lee Chapman, Row 2 Ronnie Bartolomeo, Ruth Gabler, Ella Jane Chapman, Leonard Chapman, Rachel O’Connor, Shirley O’Connor, Ilene Chapman Row 3 Teresa Pogozelec, Lucille Butch, unknown, Bill Chapman, Dave Mckim, Vivian Darrow, Don Shirilla Row 4 Lee Butch Joe Bartolomeo Tom Clark Nancy Mckim unknown, Leona Pogozelec, unknown, Anna Bartolomeo Row 5 Mrs. Colder, unknown, Nancy Gambler, unknown, Mrs. Gamble
Matheny School about 1945 Grade 1 Thru 4 Bottom Row Left to Right Row 1 unknown, lastname Barker, unknown, Danny Bartolomeo, Carmen Butch, Peggy Moyer Row 2 Billy Starkavitch, Leroy O’Connor, Ronnie Bartolomeo, unknown, Ruben O’Connor, Jerry Mount, Betty Gabler, Row 3 unknown, Verna Lee Chapman, Wally Starkavitch, Chuck Mount, Ted Staple, last name Hulick Row 4 Leonard Chapman, Ruth Gabler, Jack Yova, unknown, Dolly Hulick, Mrs. Muller
Do you recall those special signs in Ellwood City that fall was coming? The grass would start turning brown, Ames would start replacing their outdoor section with notebooks, pencils and other back to school supplies, and of course young boys would begin crossing the big blue Ewing Park Bridge carrying yellow football helmets on their way to practice. Of course I am talking about the Ellwood City Packers.
The Packers were Ellwood City's team in the Beaver County Youth Football League for many years until being re-named the Little Wolverines. The league was set up into four categories, each with its own age and weight restrictions. Players less than seven years old and weighing less than 85 pounds played in the Twerps (category). Once a player turned eight, he was moved up to the Termites, but he could not weigh more than one hundred pounds. Players ten and eleven played at least in the Mitey Mites until they weighed 125 pounds and players 12 and older played on the Midgets squad up until they weighed 145 pounds.
It was not until recently that players were prohibited from moving up in class due to weight or ability level. I personally remember playing on the Midget squad when I was in Sixth grade and being seven and playing on the Termites. Please let me clarify, I was not moved up because of my ability level either. I was not alone, I recall other players wearing garbage bags under their pads trying to sweat out an extra pound or two so they could play on Saturday.
In the second picture taken in the 1980's, the roster included; Left to right - 1st Row - Jamie Yanssens, Josh Lobozzo, unknown, Andy Ingold, Zack Bieselt, B.J. Patterson, Derek Thompson - 2nd Row - Jason Maine, Tim Reed, unknown, Ryan Navolio, Charlie Vesceri, unknown, Erik Montozzi, Russ Rangel - 3rd Row - Brandon Hooker?, Alvin Jenkins, Nino Riccio, Gary Rozanski, Dave Sedgwick, Mark Hall, Dave Tyburski - 4th Row - Coach Bieselt, Coach Brendt, Coach Montozzi
Thousands of Ellwood City youth played on the Packers over the years, so we can not wait until we hear all your memories and see the pictures you share. Please leave your comments below or you can email us by CLICKING HERE.
Tags: bridge, ewing park, football, school
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