Monthly Archives: April 2010

    When you talk about Ellwood City, one topic that almost always comes up is the Majestic Movie Theater. The theatre is most commonly remembered as being owned by the Biordi family but actually had a handful of different owners. John Biordi was born in Aquila, Italy and came to Ellwood City sometime during 1902. He and his brother bought the Majestic Theater in 1918 but six years later sold it to Joseph and Nick Shuler in 1924 for $30,000. Thomas Barnes purchased the theater from the Shulers and eventually in 1936 he re-sold the theater to John Biordi and his sons, Frank and Andy. The Biordi’s continued to operate the Majestic Theater for the next thirty years. After selling the Majestic, Thomas Barnes built the Barnes Theatre which occupied half of the former G.C. Murphy Building on Lawrence Avenue.
   Unfortunately we do not have many pictures of the Majestic Theater and absolutely no pictures of the inside. Due to the lack of pictures we can only recall from our own memories what the lobby looked like with the candy counter and the gorgeous velvet and brass staircase. We may never know how it looked upstairs (which we don’t think anyone ever saw), and can only rely on our own memories of the huge theater itself with 396 seats and the big stage up front. Additional memories we have heard from others involved the basement as the restrooms were located down there. To be more precise, the bathrooms in the basement were actually more under Lawrence Avenue then they were under the theater. 
    Then on a cold January morning in 1984 disaster struck. Fire was discovered in the rear of the Majestic Theater and quickly spread completely destroying the building. The third and final installment of the Star Wars trilogy “Return of the Jedi” would be the final movie ever shown in the theater that brought so much joy to those that grew up in Ellwood City.
    The burned down theater was purchased and razed by Dr. Walter Dickson who already owned the G.S. Young property next to the theater. The Young block had also received extensive damage from the fire and restoration to that property was already underway by June of that same year.
    The Majestic was a popular stage before motion pictures were common. We would love to hear what celebrities you remember seeing perform there or any other memories you may have of the theater. Please leave a comment below or you can email us you memories or even pictures at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    The picture here is of the Wurtemburg Combined School (late 1920′s) given to us by Mr. Thomas Gregg of Grove City College. The school is but a memory as the building was completely destroyed by fire in 1933. The current Perry Elementary School was built to replace the Wurtemburg School on the same grounds in 1936. 
    After the Wurtemburg School burned down in 1933, for the following three years, grades first through third went to Ewing Park Elementary School, while students in fourth through sixth grade went to Northside Elementary School. As you may recall, Ewing Park School was not very large so additional classrooms were setup in the basement of the building. Young children that lived in Wurtemburg and Perry would walk up to a mile to meet at the old school building and get on a bus unlike today when each child gets picked up at their own individual house. The bus was not actually a bus; rather it was an old Lorry that had chicken wire fence wrapped around to keep children from falling out. The students that we have talked to that recall the odd looking vehicle told us that they used to refer to it as the “Chicken Coop”. 
    If you have any memories of the old Wurtemburg Combined School you would like to share with everyone, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Mr. Joseph “Joedy” Gardner of Peoria, Arizona recently shared with us this picture of the Bell Memorial Church 1946 Junior Church League basketball team. We know that there were multiple church basketball leagues that played at the Shelby Social Club on First Street, but we are not sure if the Junior Church League also played their games there.
    Joedy Gardner is the young man in the front row, second from the left. The others in this picture are unidentified so if you recognize someone, please let us know and we will revise our post accordingly. Furthermore, if you have any pictures or memories of your own about the Junior Church League basketball league at the Shelby Social Club or elsewhere, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    The first organized indoor basketball court in Ellwood City was at the Shelby Social Club on First Street. In 1918, the court also became the home to the Ellwood City High School basketball team. 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.
    As you can see in the picture, the backboards from the two practice courts were raised during games so the spectators view would not be blocked. Those fans filled the bleachers from the very first row all the way to the rafters. But this raises an interesting question. If the first rows of the bleachers will filled with spectators, does that mean that the teams were squeezed into the two foot space between the court and the wall opposite the bleachers?
    These pictures Mr. Joseph “Joedy” Gardner of Peoria, Arizona recently shared with us were taken sometime in 1953 and 1954. As you can see in the picture of Joe Gardner in the Lincoln High School gym, Chuck Taylors were popular at this time. The close-up picture is of the same Joe Gardner with Head Coach Al Como.
    If you would like to share your memories of the many games that were played in the old gym or memories you might have of Coach Como, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Many that remember the Shelby Social Club on First Street vaguely remember the swimming pool and some other things the club offered; but when they recall the club, they remember the basketball. Players like Dip McDaniel, Merit Book, and Sing MacDonald are still talked about today, and all got their start playing organized basketball at the Shelby.
    Mr. Joseph “Joedy” Gardner of Peoria, Arizona recently shared with us this picture of one of the 1930′s Shelby Teams.  This is the Specialty department team Joe Gardner and Butler Hennon are in this photo. The others in this picture are unidentified so if you recognize someone, please let us know and we will revise our post accordingly.
    Furthermore, if you have any pictures or memories of your own about the inter-department basketball league at the Shelby Social Club, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    The house located at 131 Fountain Avenue was built by Joseph McCandless in 1901 and his family continued to own the house over the next hundred years. This was the second house Mr. McCandless built as he and his brother built the very first brick residence at 622 Wayne Avenue in 1893.
    I remember growing up a couple of blocks away and recall thinking that the family that lived there (Agey’s) at the time were living in a castle. With the rounded brick porch and the “tower”, of course this house in my mind had to be a castle. I also remember the giant pine trees that lined the Second Street side of the yard. The house looked so much bigger when they were cut down.
    Joe wasn’t done building brick houses as he built the large brick garage behind the house on Fountain Avenue with a large apartment above it in 1902. He later built additional brick houses in the same vicinity, the first facing Fountain Avenue and the other one facing the alley. He later built brick houses on Line Avenue Extension, the brick house at 700 Orchard Avenue, and a brick house on Fourth Street that is still owned by his grandchildren today.
    If you have any old stories you would like to share about any of these homes or the people that have lived in them over the years, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com.

     Colin Clarke owned and operated the Ellwood City Meat Market on Lawrence Avenue. Back before automobiles were prevalent, customers would place their orders in the morning and Colin’s son Edwin Clarke would deliver the meat in the afternoons with his horse drawn wagon. This was a common practice in that time as people did not buy groceries for extended periods of times, because there was nowhere to keep it fresh.
     As you can see in the one picture, this was during the times when Ellwood City had the infamous muddy streets and there was no such thing as refrigerated wagons. 

(Photos provided by Joanne (Clarke) Brenneman)

    The Shuffle Shop opened in 1944 as a teen dance hall operated by local citizens inside the former Circle School Building. The school was built all the way back in 1895 and today is the location of the Circle Playground. The Shuffle Shop was where many of the area teens spent many many hours playing games, dancing, and enjoying the “coke” bar.
    If you do not remember the shuffle Shop (also known as the “Can”) you may need a lively imagination to picture the dance floor crowded to the limits with enthusiastic jitterbugs. The dance floor was lined with the soft drink bar, bright red tables, the popular easy chairs, and a line at the front door waiting admittance. Those that made it through the long line would get their hands stamped “MEMBER” in big black letters. The dance floor was only the beginning as there was a bowling alley in the basement and the second floor sported two ping pong tables and a “get-together” room with comfortable chairs and small couches.
Those that have shared their memories with us recall a large piano that would challenge the juke box which would only get louder.
We recently heard from a gentleman that grew up in nearby Beaver Falls, but he shared with us that one of his fondest memories growing up was the Ellwood City Shuffle Shop. He recalled that he and his cousin would come up to Ellwood City on the weekends to attend the dances that were held in the old Circle School.
    If you remember the Shuffle Shop and would like to share your memories, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

   The Del-Mar Country Club came about when a group of guys got tired of waiting in line to play golf at the local country club.
    One weekend the bunch organized a committee, bought a farm, and started building their own course. Del-Mar wasn’t started until July of 1960 but nine holes were almost completed by the end of October and nine more were under way by architect Archie Loeffler.
    On the farm where Del-Mar is situated is a well that was used to build the lake that was to hold two million gallons of water.  Aside from being used to water the course, the lake was also to be a swimming pool. When it would be completed, the course was planned to measure more than 7,000 yards with all greens elevated, though today the course is 6,415 yards from the longest tees. Though, for those of us that have played the second hole know the course has to be well over 7,000 yards. The course has a slope rating of 123, and the United States Golf Association gave the course a 70.6 USGA rating.
    The Del-Mar Golf Course Lounge is on the second story of the clubhouse and is one of the areas top restaurants. On a personal note, the lamb is great.
    If you have any memories of Del-Mar Golf Course you would like to share wheter it is playing golf, swimming in the pond, or even sled riding there, please leave a comment below or you can email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Do you remember the Forge picnics in Ewing Park? In the Forty’s if you did not work at the Ellwood City Forge, you always made it a point to be friends with someone who did because of the highly anticipated company picnics. Employees of the Forge would get tickets for family members and if you were lucky a couple extra ones for you and your family.
    The picnics would have some of the areas best food, penny games for children, games for adults, clowns, and did we mention the great food? To those we have talked with about the picnics, it was one of the highlights of the summer in Ellwood City. They truly must have been to remember them so vividly a little over sixty years later.

     If you remember the Forge picnics in Ewing Park or elsewhere and would like to share your memories or pictures, please leave a comment below or you can email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    We have driven past the building on the corner of Fifth Street and Hillside Avenue and could tell that the house was previously a business of some sort but could only speculate. I vaguely remember a sign on the side that once read Rocco’s but it has since been covered and the building would remain a mystery. That is until we talked to a couple of the people in the neighborhood who had lived there their entire lives.
    Ms. Carmel Conti ran her corner grocery store there for many years. The store was originally called Conti’s until Ms. Conti married Mr. John Rocco and the name of the store was changed to Rocco’s which is what many of the people remember it as.
    The memories of the store and of Mrs. Rocco were all very kind and she is remembered fondly by those that depended upon that store. We spoke with Mr. Hockenberry who recalled as a child going into the store for penny candy and spend an hour looking at the glass display case with a nickel trying to solve the difficult decision. He recalled the whole time he would stand there, Mrs. Rocco would stand there patiently waiting upon him never rushing him, all for only a nickel.
    Another memory that the locals have of the store was the running bill that Rocco’s kept for all the families in the neighborhood. At anytime a mother could tell a child to run down to Rocco’s to get a loaf of bread and Carmel would simply add it to the families tab to be settled up on payday. This was a common practice in Ellwood City at the time, but Rocco’s took it a little bit more personal and actually looked out for the families in the neighborhood. As the mill workers seemed to either be laid off or on strike every two years, Rocco’s helped when they could. One gentleman told us that when his Dad was laid off Carmel would let the family keep a tab for the extended time until he was back to work and was able to pay the bill off.
    If you recall Rocco’s and would like to share your own memories, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com