Monthly Archives: May 2009

   The house located at 622 Wayne Avenue was the first brick house built in Ellwood City. The house was built by the McCandless brothers in 1893. In 1901 Joseph McCandless built another brick house at 131 Fountain Avenue which is still owned by his grandchildren who live in another brick house built by a McCandless on Fourth Street. 1902 Joseph built the large brick garage behind the house on Fountain Avenue with a large apartment above it. Additional brick houses were later built by Joseph McCandless in the same vicinity, the first facing Fountain Ave and the other one facing the alley. He later built a house on Line Ave Ext & the brick house at 700 Orchard Avenue.
    If you have any old stories you would liek to share about any of these homes or the people that have lived in them over the years, please leave a “comment” below.

     In 1917, the National Tube Company (a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation) opened a massive facility on the corner of Pittsburgh Circle and First Street that would bring recreational activities never even thought of in Ellwood City a reality. Designed as a clubhouse for the employees of National Tube, it became a recreational center for virtually all of the citizens of Ellwood City. The Shelby Social Club was home to an Olympic size swimming pool, a meeting room, a gymnasium, a six lane bowling alley, billiards, an auditorium, a soda grill, lounge room, cafeteria and a basketball court among other things.
     It did not take long after construction that the basketball program became one of the finest in the area. The first team to play on the basketball court was the Shelby Social Club’s semi-pro team. In 1918, the court became home to the Ellwood City High School basketball team also. Ellwood City was without a high school team before that because the school did not have anywhere to play or practice. The high school played at the Shelby until they got a gym of their own in 1926 at the newly constructed Lincoln High School. Today that gym is known as the “old” gym or “little” gym. 
    Basketball continued to grow in popularity in the predominately baseball minded community but public interest truly gained at the start of the city wide church league in 1920. First Baptist dominated the church league with their only loss in the first two years was to Bell Memorial (First Baptist had to forfeit the game). The 1921-22 all-star team consisted of Merit Book, Chief Parillo, Dewey Cunningham, Ralph Adams, Sing MacDonald, Ray Johnston, Jimmy Guy, Cooper, Fike, & Dip McDaniel.
    In 1925 the sport got another boost when National Tube started an Inter-Departmental League. Teams included Hot Mills, Mechanicals, Office, Specialty, Finishing, Cold Draw, Hot Finish, Inspection, and consisted of All-Stars Dip McDaniel, Sing MacDonald, Joe Latiano, Joe Reilly, and Earl McCandless). The league expanded in 1936 with the additions of Lincoln High Faculty and Italo Balbo. The Inter-Departmental League ended in 1940.
    1930 marked the return of the Semi-Pro league at the Shelby Clubhouse. The Ellwood City Manhattans began play in the Allegheny County League playing the best teams in Western Pennsylvania and posting an 11-11 record. In the clubhouse’s last ten years other basketball leagues played at the Shelby including Junior & Intermediate leagues, an Industrial League, and a Municipal League. The Municipal League included teams such as Moose, Catholic Center, SOI, North Side, Eagles, Chippy’s, and Oasis.
    The same year the Inter-Departmental league ended (1940), the Shelby Social Club put a team in the Beaver County Basketball League. The Socials lost its first two games against Slippery Rock University & the University of Pittsburgh, then the Socials went on to win their next nineteen games in a row finishing the season 30-4. 
    Basketball was not the only thing people remember about the Shelby Clubhouse. Beginning in 1918, the day school let out for Christmas vacation, the clubhouse was open to all children in grade school in Ellwood City & surrounding townships. Children not yet old enough to be in kindergarten were also invited but required a ticket that was available with a donation. The kids would climb the stairs to the third floor auditorium to see a huge decorated tree, view a Christmas themed film, sing carols, & see Santa come down the fake chimney. After Santa appeared, each kid got a brown bag treat which during the Great Depression may have been more than some of the children got for Christmas.
    Then, during the summer of 1950 without any big announcements, a small article appeared stating that the Shelby Clubhouse facilities had been sold to Aetna-Standard for an engineering and office building. The small announcement was the end to the recreational center that meant a whole lot to Ellwood City.
    After U.S. Steel closed the clubhouse, the club moved to the office space in the old hospital building on the mill grounds. The final Christmas party was Dec 23, 1960. It was estimated that 6,000 children gathered for their Christmas treat that year though in previous years the number reached as many as 8,000. 

    We are pretty sure that more than a couple of people have memories (good or bad) about the great clubhouse that was available to them for more than 33 years. If you would like to share yours, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

   We can not talk about the history and memories of Ellwood City without mentioning baseball. The two seem to go hand in hand. The first “official” baseball game in Ellwood City took place in 1892, the same year the town was founded. At the time, the town’s baseball field was located on Spring Avenue separating Fourth and Fifth Street. Shortly after the town’s founding, it got another field for the growing population and its love of the game. The new baseball field was named Fullner Field but was known more as Tunnel Field because it was located on the Ellwood City side of the B&O Railroad tunnel. Other fields in the surrounding area at that time included a field in Hazel Dell (the North Side) and the baseball field at the amusement park, Rock Point Park, complete with an elaborate grandstands.
    When the Shelby Tube Company started its own baseball team to represent Ellwood City along with the previously established Steel Car Forge Team, Ellwood got its newest baseball field. The Shelby Steel Tube Company purchased a large lot of land in what is now known as Ewing Park to build houses for its employees. The “Shelby Land Company’s Plan” had a little patch of land between Joffre Street and Petain Street that was turned into a baseball field and called Shelby Field. The Shelby Tube team competed with other teams located on the Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler & New Castle Trolley line (also known as the Harmony Line). In only its second season the Shelby team won The Trolley League Championship beating teams like Mars, Evans City, and Butler.
   An article in the Ellwood City Ledger stated that both Terry “Cotton Head” Turner and Bill Marshall were local players that once starred on this team and made it to the Major Leagues. We have been unable to find any other reference to either player ever playing or living in Ellwood City, so if you know for sure please let us know. 
    ‘Cotton Head’ played 19 seasons with the Cleveland Indians after starting his professional career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. When he retired, his 1,619 games played was a team record and he also held six offensive team records including 264 sacrifices ranking him 26th all-time. Sportswriter Gordon Cobbledick once wrote that Turner was “a little rabbit of a man with the guts of a commando.” ‘Cotton Head’ was also the pioneer of the head first slide because of ankle injuries earlier in his career. Bill Marshall played only two seasons, one with the Boston Red Sox and the other with the Cincinnati Reds.
    Two other players that played on the Shelby Tube team but did not live in Ellwood City also made it to the Major Leagues. First baseman Jack Lewis played pro ball in Brooklyn and Howard Shanks of Monaca played on a couple of Ellwood teams before making it big with the Washington Senators.
    By the time Ellwood City celebrated Community Day in 1921, the town had a new field in Ewing Park complete with a fence and grandstands. The town celebrated the remodeling of the new field by hosting the Homestead Grays with the largest crowd in the history of Ellwood. Largest crowd that is until Ellwood City hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1930.
    Baseball attracted crowds in Ellwood City, but one kid in particular seemed to always attract a crowd long before Ellwood City had a Youth league. “… People frequently walked far out of their way just to pass Shelby Field to watch Lew (“Hack” Wilson) bat out long home runs and slide on his belly around the outfield. Careful coaching from (Connie) Wardman combined with Lew’s natural talent produced a ten-year-old who played as well as boys many years older. Most of the adults who came to watch this talented youngster also noted that he did little to conceal his pleasure at playing before an audience.” excerpt from “Hack” written by Bob Boone and available at the Ellwood City Library.
    When Ellwood City started the Little League and Knee Hi programs, the games were played at the field by Lincoln High School until moving to a field on the football practice field in Ewing Park. While the games were played there, the teams practiced on the old Shelby Field that was now used primarily for Men’s softball leagues. Dave Weingartner shared with us his memories of the ball field at the current Veterans Municipal Swimming Pool parking lot. He recalled in 1954 his team, the Eagles, using this field as practice and was able to explain to us how the field was laid out. Home plate was just across the street from the entrance to the pool and right field was in the direction of the tennis courts. We have talked to many people from the area that used to play baseball…

     “Most of the boys wore the ball caps from their little league team all the time and became identified by the team we played for. When I received my first little league uniform at our coach’s home in Ewing Park, I can still remember how happy and proud of that uniform I was. The coach’s name was Carl Meise, the uniform was yellow and grey and the number was 4.” -  “The parking lot of Nick’s Snack Bar and later Dairy Queen next door would be full of kids on their bicycles and each one had his teams hat on to let everyone else know who they were.” – “All the clubs in Ellwood had a team like the Eagles, Elks, Moose… and you wore their jersey and hat like a badge of honor.”  – “Kids today can’t even imagine the number of bicycles that used to line the field. Parents didn’t drive you there, you rode your bike and after the game you rode over to Nick’s to get your free hot dog if you hit a homerun.”

    In 1965, the Little League Field was built at the opposite end of the high school field along Woodside Avenue in Ewing Park. All the games in the complex were all played during the day as the both fields did not have lights. Then in 1970, the Pittsburgh Pirates played their last game at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and Ellwood City league commissioner Denny Schill stepped in. Through Mr. Schill’s negotiations, the Ellwood City Borough managed to buy the old lights from Forbes Field so the kids in Ellwood City could have night games.
    Thanks to the many, many volunteers that have coached and shaped the youth of the area through the years, many great players have played in Ellwood City. Some went on to fame, some are remembered for that one great play they made, and others are simply remembered by those they played with. Not many reached the level of success as Major League Hall of Famer Hack Wilson, but he is by far not the only Ellwood native to achieve success at the next levels. Butch Babcock pitched for the Texas Rangers for three seasons and Don Schaly of Ellwood City was the head coach at Marietta College for forty years. When he retired in 2003, Schaly was the winningest coach in NCAA Division III history with a 1442 career wins and only 329 loses. His winning percentage of .814 is still the highest percentage in any NCAA Division ever.

    If you have a memory you would like to share about baseball in Ellwood City, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE. We know we just touched on the history of baseball in Ellwood City and there is much, much more. If you would like more information, a great site you may want to visit is Ellwood City Amateur Baseball Federation.

Ellwood City Memories would like to thank Dave Weingartner & Charles Hall for providing information for this post.

    Do you remember the big house beside the gas station on the corner of Spring Avenue and Fifth Street? The house located at 426 Spring Avenue was originally built in 1892 by Lenora Roessing who rented out rooms in her home making it one of the earliest boarding houses in Ellwood City. Since Mrs. Roessing sold the house in the early part of 1913, the various owners have added to the original eight room house and even lifted it approximately six feet.  The house increased in size so much that by 1966 four families lived there. That same year, Helen Young who married John Carpenter sold the house and neighboring gas station to Harry & Betty Gaydosz. The gas station was built 1929 and would become known as Harry’s Texaco. Both the house and gas station were torn down when Eckerd Drug Store purchased the land to build their large structure that has since become Rite-Aid.
    Also in the picture, you can see the former Tomons Funeral Home and a delivery truck from Linarelli’s Furniture & Appliance Village Center formally of Koppel. Linarelli’s was originally opened by Ralph & Elsie Linarelli as a grocery store on 18 before moving closer to the railroad tracks and becoming a hardware store. Over time they started carrying more furniture and appliances and eventually phased out the hardware and Levi jeans.
   If you would like to share a story you might have, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

Photograph courtesy of Zeke’s Auto Repair

    With all the current plans by the revitalization committee to add a theater to the downtown area, it has reminded some folks of the one of the greatest performances they have seen put on in this area.
    During the last week of July in 1942, an estimated crowd of 15,000 spectators packed the old football field at Lincoln High School over four nights to see the highlight of the Ellwood City golden Jubilee Celebration Pageant. The memorable performance was a historical pageant called “America on Parade” and was directed by Larry Knowles and Mr. Squirrell of the John B. Rodgers production company out of New York. Hundreds of local citizens also contributed to make the performance a truly memorable event that is still remembered today almost 70 years later. Not only the large cast, the enormous choir, the stage crew, the volunteer firemen handling the seating, the boys that guarded the property at night, Miss Marjorie Streeter that played the piano constantly throughout the night, but also the many others that handled a multitude of odd jobs. All performed their assigned task remarkably well including the narrators Grace & Virgil Brown, Ives Harvey, Doris Shirey, Mildred Edelman, Charles Hall and the Rev. D.A. Lightfritz all made the celebration a rousing success.
    No one we have talked to about this can remember a single person ever mentioning that they did not enjoy the highly dramatic pageant
    If you would like to share your memories of the pageant, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

    In the 1953 Knee Hi League, the Eagles were THE team to beat as they were on their way to a third straight championship title. The only thing in their way was the VFW squad led by head coach Charles Hall.
    The VFW jumped to an early lead when Joe Decaria crossed the plate on a single by John Perry after being hit by a pitch to get on base and stealing second. The Eagles came back in the third when staring pitcher Ron Hughes reached second base on an error and scored on a single by Alfonso. Alfonso was later driven in on a single by Vic D’Angelo and the defending Champs were ahead 2-1.
    A couple of singles from the VFW’s Barry & DeCaria paired with the speed of Billy Frazier tied the game until a solo home run in the fourth by Eagles catcher Ray Goscewski off of pitcher Rich Pertile put the Eagles back in line for the Championship Title. In the fifth inning the Vets got Elliot Hall on base and sacrifices by Ron Mazzano & Barry put Hall in scoring position on third base. Joe DeCaria took to the plate and got his second RBI of the game off of a single and the game was all tied again.
    Going into the bottom of the seventh, the capacity crowd was getting ready for extra innings until Hall got walked again. A sacrifice bunt by Mazzano moved Hall to second base. Barry grounded out and was unable to advance Hall to third. Up to the plate came Joe DeCaria with the game tied, man on second, and two outs, and the Title on the line. It was the kind of situation kids all across America pretend to be in when playing ball in their backyard. DeCaria was now in position to be the hero, with all the pressure and stress to go along with it. DeCaria found a Hughes pitch he liked and blasted a shot to left field. The third base coach waved Hall past third and headed for home. The Eagles fielders played the ball right as they should and the ball was headed for catcher Goscewski. It was going to be close. Everyone’s eyes were on the home plate umpire as he stood up and yelled “SAFE!!”

    The Tri-County Little League Championship was the second game in the Championship doubleheader. Ellwood City was looking for their second straight title but ran into a tough New Castle team led by heavy hitter Wilson. In the bottom of the fifth inning Ellwood City was already trailing 3-0 when Ellwood’s Dave Weingartner got on base by being walked. Shortly after Dave stole second and then stole third, he was able cross the plate on an error to give the Ellwood fans hope. John Savor opened the sixth inning with a big double and later scored on a single by Huppertz to be within one run of tying the score. That is when NC’s starting pitcher Don Kuzma stepped up and stopped the rally himself to claim the title for New Castle. Kuzma struck out 12 to Ellwood’s Jimmy Navolio’s 9 K’s.

The Attached picture are all the employees of the Tube Mill that either coached or umpired in the various baseball leagues of 1953.

The VFW’s starting lineup: Barry ss, DeCaria cf, C. Hall 2b, Perry c, Pertile p, Rosen 1b, Caplan lf, E. Hall rf, & Mazzano 3b.
The Eagel’s starting lineup: Alfonso 2b, Frazier ss, D’Angelo cf, Ammeen 1b, Gaskell 3b, Goscewski c, Raman lf, Timmerman rf, & Hughes p.
 Ellwood City’s lineup: Sheeler 2b, Ammeen 3b, Navolio p, Huppertz ss, Hudson cf, Smith lf, Bishop lf, Raman c, Majors 1b, Savor 3b, Pavich cf, Weingartner lf, Butler c.

If you have any memories you would like to share, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

We would like the thank coach Charles Hall for sharing the story above.

    The enormous stone house at 329 Fourth Street was built in 1893 for Ellwood City founder Henry W. Hartman. Built at a time when the only other structure close by was Hotel Oliver (later named Hotel Lawrence) the house was Mrs. Hartman’s dream home.  
    Henry Waters Hartman, born in Huntington County Pennsylvania December 21, 1850, married Mary Holliday in 1876 and had two sons, Holliday Ellwood Hartman and Henry Waters Hartman Jr. Some folks have suggested that Ellwood City was not named after Col. Isaac Ellwood but after Mr. Hartman’s first born son Holliday (who was named after Col. Ellwood).
    Frustrated that Ellwood City never got the electrical streetcar system he desired, Mr. Hartman moved to Denver Colorado to start an electric streetcar system there. After Henry Hartman passed away in 1913 in Colorado, his widow Mary lived in the house in Ellwood City until 1923.
   Since Mrs. Hartman sold the house on Fourth Street, it has been owned by a handful of people including George Sewall III & R. Charles Stiefel Jr.  Over the years the house was also the Ellwood City Public Library, doctor offices, & bridal shops. During the 1950′s, the owners of the house at the time wanted to tear down the building to build a gas station on the corner of Fourth Street and Crescent Avenue. Currently the house is the offices of Century 21 realtors. If you have any memories of the large house or the families that have lived here, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

    Richard T. Brown, one of Mr. Ralph C. Stiefel’s closest associates in the tubing business, built their family home next door to the Stiefels in 1901. Mr. Brown, like Mr. Stiefel left his mark not only in the Tube Industry of Ellwood City but on the community as well. He was elected President of Borough Council in 1900, ‘01, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, and again in1920, ‘21, & ‘23. He also was the successful campaign manager for David A. Evans in 1925, a thirty-second degree Mason, and served fifteen years as president of the M&M Club.
     Ten years after Mr. Brown’s death, his daughter sold the house to the Brown’s longtime housekeeper Regine Schuster, who turned the large house into a duplex. Other owners of the house include Ralph & Jeannette Viccari (who turned it back into a single dwelling) and borough manager Bret McLachlin. In 1993 Craig & Jane Brooks Cavanaugh purchased the home and restored the interior back to the original layout.

    Do you have any memories of this house you would like to share with us? Please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

    Late Wednesday evening on April 29th in 1959, the Keystone Die Factory burst into flames on the grounds currently occupied by Allied Auto Parts and Blank Concrete & Supply. A lot of people may remember this building more as “The Box Factory”. Do you remember the Keystones Die Factory or the Box factory? Please share your memories by leaving a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.