Monthly Archives: September 2009

    Legend has it that Tom Foley jumped off the Ewing Park Bridge for a case of beer.
    On a bet, Tom was supposed to jump off of the old Ewing Park Bridge into the Connoquenessing during the Shelby company picnic in Ewing Park. Company authorities heard of the wager and prevented Tom from making the jump. But the following day Tom showed up wearing a bright red bathing suit and jumped off of the Ewing Park Bridge.
    Tom’s world famous jump was from the middle of the blue steel bridge into the water and yes, he survived to collect his winnings. I have not yet discovered if the wager was for a case of beer as legend has it or if it was for a monetary value. PLEASE NOTE: Before you try this yourself, there are some things you need to know. Foley was in the Navy and was specifically trained to dive into the ocean from the masts of ships while at sea. Also when Foley made his legendary dive, there was a damn just West of the bridge that made the creek deep enough for the dive. On maps of the area in the early part of Ellwood City, this area was actually listed as Connoquenessing Pond. The dam is no longer there making this feat impossible to duplicate so please do not try this. Ever.

    In the earliest days of Ellwood City, the town was home to two banking institutions that were as stable and sound as any of the leading financial institutions in Lawrence County, the First National and the People’s National Bank.
    With a capital stock of $100,000, the First National Bank of Ellwood City was organized in 1892. The bank operated inside the Bank Building of the Pittsburgh Company. Many of the young towns most influential men were at one time or another involved in the bank including its officers J.H. Gelbach, president; H. S. Blatt, vice-president, and W. J. McKim, cashier. Former board of directors’ members includes Frank Moore and Captain A.C. Grove.
    The People’s National Bank was organized May 9, 1907, and was capitalized at $50,000. Founders included David A. Evans and C. A. Martin who also served as the bank president; J. E. VanGorder, vice-president, and J. E. Cobler, cashier. The People’s National Bank was a member of the Mellon Bank family and was the only bank in Ellwood City to make it through the Great Depression without closing its doors.

    If you would like to leave any memories about the banks, or the buildings themselves, please leave a comment below.

    The house at 425 Wayne Avenue was built in 1908 by Albert Dahl and it stayed in the Dahl family for three generations. Albert also built the First Presbyterian Church, the original First National Bank (now home to the Ellwood City Ledger), and the First Baptist Church on Fountain Ave. You may have been able to guess, but his specialty was stone buildings.
    If you look closely at the second story, the street sign for Fifth Street and Wayne Avenue are built into the structure. The house at 425 Wayne Avenue also has the distinction of having electricity connected the longest in the borough.
    If you have a story or memory you would like to share about the massive brick house or of the families that have lived here, please leave a comment below, on the forum page, or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.

    308 Spring Avenue was built in 1902 for the Mulcahys when he was the ticket and express agent for the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad. The house on Spring Avenue was sold in 1905 when he bought the City Hotel. Mr. Mulcahy fell on hard times after all the liquor licenses were denied in the county and he was forced to close the hotel.  Suffering huge loses from his hotel venture, Mr. Mulcahy left Ellwood City.
    Charles Cobau bought the house on Spring Avenue in 1905. Mr. Cobau was quite successful in Ellwood City serving as President and General Manager of Standard Engineering and Vice President of the First National Bank of Ellwood City. Charles also helped build Ellwood City as he was instrumental in securing the right of way for the Harmony Line through Ellwood City, served on the borough council, and was even a 32nd degree Mason.
    Mr. Cobau was not only an influential man in Ellwood City, but through the First National Bank, he was associated  with the town’s other most influential men including H.S. Blatt, Thomas Dugan, R.C. Stiefel, David Cartwright, S.M. Hazen & J.H. Lowry. In 1910, he helped organize the Ellwood City Forge Company with Jonathan & David Evans, Charles Martin, Charles Wilson, H.L. Wilson, & J.E. Butler.
    We are trying to uncover more of the history behind this house but also the families that have lived here since Mr. Cobau. If you have any memories about this house, whether it be who lived here, who lives there today, the time you broke your arm falling out of the tree in the back yard, or even the great treats they gave out on Halloween. Please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.
    Information for this post was gathered from the book Ellwood City Houses and the People Who Lived in Them by Charles R. Moser available at the Ellwood City Historical Society.

    Pettibon’s opened June 16th 1935 at Fifth Street and Bell Avenue next door to the Water Company.  The dairy featured “everybody’s favorite dessert – Pettibon’s ice cream” but also sold milk, butter, eggs, cream and even fresh roasted coffee. A quart of ice cream in 1935 cost a whopping thirty four cents and featured three flavors “scientifically” blended. A pint would cost you fifteen cents, butter was fifty seven cents for two pounds or thirty cents for one pound, and coffee set you back twenty seven cents a pound.
    Opened the Pettibon Dairy Co. out of Rochester, the store was managed by Howard J. Williams. In 1936, Mr. Williams was transferred to East Liverpool, Ohio to manage another Pettibons there but returned to Elwood City in 1937 to buy the Ellwood store but kept the Pettibons name for ten years until he renamed it Williams Dairy Store.
    The Dairy became a very popular hang out for students being less than a block away from the high school and was referred to as Willy’s. The name caught on and people still refer to Williams Dairy Store as Willy’s and similar to when it was open, those that remember still refer to Howard as Mr. Willy. Two generations of Ellwoodians kept Willy’s popular in the 30′s, 40′s, 50′s, & into the 60′s.  Mr. Williams sold the store in 1961 to Mr. and Mrs. Dale Kaufman who renamed it Kaufman’s Dairy Store.
    The little shop on the corner has housed a variety of different businesses since Kaufman’s Dairy including a comic book store and the current tenant a cell phone store. If you remember Mr. Williams, Willy’s or one of the other business that called the building home, please share your memories by leaving a comment below, visiting the forum, or you could always just email us by CLICKING HERE.

    As early as 1850, families in Wurtemburg began meeting in each others homes for a Methodist Church service. The church without a church was known as the Wurtemburg Society of Methodists and continued their weekly meetings in homes (usually the Dobbs Home in North Sewickley) until finding a home at the Wurtemburg’s schoolhouse.
    In 1876, the Methodists got their own building on land donated by Reverend John J. Liebendorfer as was named the “The Centennial Methodist Church”. When the church was built in 1876, there were 15 charter members.  The church remained largely the same until 1934 when a basement was dug out underneath the original church, creating an area for classrooms for Sunday School classes.
    In the late part of the 1930′s the Sunday School department raised enough money to purchase a parsonage on Cutoff Street. It was not until the late 1940′s that the church grounds would undergo some major remodeling with the addition of a stone fireplace, shuffle board court, horseshoe courts, and a volleyball court. A couple of years after the current parsonage was purchased the church continued to grow with a new educational building added to the grounds in 1960.
    Though the church’s history goes back many years, it was not until 1968 when the Methodist Church combined with the Evangelical United Brethren, that the church got the name “United Methodist Church”. The church in Wurtemburg was at one time known as the Centennial Methodist Episcopal Church in Wurtemburg, but we have not yet been able to find out exactly when it was called that.

    During the early years the church was on a circuit with Ellwood City, Brush Creek, Harmony, Unionville, and Concord until it became a Station in 1923. By the year 2000, the church has grown to over 300 members and still continues to meet Sunday mornings 10:20AM-11:30AM with Sunday school classes meeting 9:15AM-10AM. There is a nursery available for those with younger children during the Worship service.

    Now we have listed the history of the church but here is where we need your help. We need the good stories of the people who have attended, of the things that have happened, the MEMORIES. We have heard thet the two doors in the front of the black and white picture above had a special purpose. One door was for the men and the other door was for the women. Was this true?

    If you would like to share your memories of the United Methodist Church in Wurtemburg, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE. We would especially like to thank Jonica Walters for providing information and pictures used for this post.

    Friday May 31st 1985 was the day the tornado came through the area and changed not only the landscape but the citizens of the area. Though the storm brought high winds, heavy rains, and golf ball sized hail to Ellwood City, the town was largely spared. The tornado affected numerous businesses and residences surrounding Ellwood City in Big Beaver Borough, North Sewickley Township, Marion Township, and on into southern Butler County. Destruction from the tornado, which caused multiple deaths in the area including Marrion Belle from Ellport, resulted in a 9PM curfew, disruption of power and telephone service for up to 65,000 people, the cancellation of the remainder of the school year for Riverside, and numerous men and women to not only lose their place of employment but even their home and all of their belongings.
    The horrific storm brought area citizens worst nightmare to life but also brought out the best in the community as reports of heroic rescue efforts were reported from almost everywhere the tornado struck. People were reported trapped in various buildings but were rescued by others close to the scene. One story included the four people that were trapped at Body Connection in the Big Beaver Plaza and at least one other at Gerello’s distributor also in the plaza. After the tornado raged through the intersection of 65 & 588 in North Sewickley destroying everything, quick responding volunteers, firemen and police officers began digging through the debris to help three people trapped at Ken’s Butcher Block and one other person at the ticket booth at Spotlight 88 Drive-In.
    Back at the Big Beaver Plaza, the once bustling strip mall home to about a dozen various businesses, was completely disintegrated when the massive funnel ripped through the area. Business in the plaza included the Body Connection Gym & Spa, Gerello’s, Comet Warehouse, Revco Pharmacy, a Veterinarian office, and Jamesway. Jamis Motors auto dealership was next to the plaza as was the Big Beaver Restaurant and Grand Arbor Room which were all annihilated along with the plaza. Debris from the Big Beaver Plaza was found across the river at Fox Run Golf Course (formerly Palisades) on River Road. Even today, almost twenty five years later there are still old television shells and other reminders down along the river banks behind the plaza.
    Many of our readers still remember that night very clearly and have their own memory of the devastation and close calls. Riverside High School seniors who graduated earlier in the evening had plans to meet at the Spotlight 88 drive in Movie Theater, which was devastated by the tornado. The Riverside graduation ceremony which was earlier in the day was typically held in the football field but had to be moved inside to the auditorium because of rain showers but nobody knew the storm was going to be as big as it was. The National Weather Service said five tornadoes “stayed on the ground for a good period of time” as far north as Albion in Erie County, where 202 of 272 homes were damaged or destroyed. It would be awhile before the final official reports were available, May 31st 1985 -a total of 26 tornados touched down, killing 65 people injuring 707 more, 1,009 homes were destroyed, all included the tornados caused $376, 367,000 in damage.
    The tornado affected many people in many different ways. If you would like to share your own personal memories of the big storm, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE. 

We would like to thank Kathy Weingartner for providing us with a large collection of mementos from the horrific storm.