Monthly Archives: March 2011

      As we mentioned in one of our most popular posts “Ellwood City 100 Years Ago“, Ellwood City owes its birth to the railroad. Ellwood’s founder H.W. Hartman heard the railroad was planning to build the tunnel to bypass the slower railroad line through Hazel Dell and put his plan for an industrial resort town into action.
      The railroad did indeed play a vital role in the growth of Ellwood City and at one time ran four main lines wide through town. There were places it looked like the tracks ran eight wide as there were a number of side tracks owned by the various industries in town. We have heard from a number of people that recall the freight yard from Sixth Street to Blanks Cement that ran six to eight lines wide.
      There are numerous pictures from many different angles of the Union station that was used by both the P&LE Railroad and the B&O Railroad as a passenger station. The beautifully ornate building that sat so prominently beside the subway on Fifth Street is no longer there. The P&LE Freight Station is still standing today, however the B&O Freight Station was torn down in the 80′s. As you can see from the 1908 map of Ellwood City, The B&O freight house and the Union Station are not the only buildings associated with the railroad that are long gone. The first P&L freight and Passenger station used to stand in front of “Mill B” of the tube mill on Sixth Street. Another structure that many people did not even know existed was the engine turn table behind the old B&O Freight Station. Unfortunately, there are no traces of any of these buildings today.
      The trains came through town so often and so fast, a number of people were severely injured or even killed just trying to cross the tracks. Mrs. Kathy Blank shared a memory… “It was during one of those days (when the circus came to town), that I broke away from my Mom and wondered toward the railroad tracks. I can still hear my Mother screaming for me to “stand still”-”stand very still” as she lay on the ground and I was in between two moving trains. I can still feel the wind blowing my hair, as those trains moved. My dad was at work at the “Little Tube mill” and someone must have gotten him ’cause when those trains ended and left town there stood my Dad on one side and Mom on the other crying. That was when I started to cry, never realizing the danger I was in, but crying because my parents were crying. I received many hugs and kisses and a scolding and a BIG smack across, you know where!!!”
      Today there is only one main line running through Ellwood City. A train might come through two times a day with no stops, or anywhere to stop. There are only two side tracks but they rarely, if ever get used. Only shadows remain of what was once there along what is now the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Rail line.

      When the Ellwood City Little League baseball league started in 1950, it was made up of six teams including a team many, many Ellwood City youth played for over the years – The Kiwanis. Sixty years later, the Kiwanis team took the field for the last time.
      The Ellwood City Amateur Baseball Federation recognized the Kiwanis Club during the team’s final game and expressed their gratitude, on behalf of thousands of players and coaches, for their outstanding contribution to the Ellwood City baseball program over sixty seasons. The Ellwood City Kiwanis Club had disbanded in September.

As reported in the Ellwood City Ledger…
    The Wolves jumped out to 6-1 lead and held on to defeat the Kiwanis, 6-5, in Ellwood City Little League playoff action at Freidhoff Field on Tuesday night. With the victory the Wolves advance to the Blue Division bracket final against the Rotary on Thursday night. The game marked the end of the Kiwanis sponsorship after 60 years in the Ellwood City Little League.

      We know this is not a “memory” but such a great idea we wanted to make sure everyone knew that people are taking the time to do such a nice thing.
      Cinderella’s Closet is a prom dress “drive” in which Riverside students, staff, and surrounding community members can donate used or new prom gowns in order to provide all girls the opportunity to experience their prom. The dresses have been inspected and are in excellent condition and available in all sizes.
      Cinderella’s Closet will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday March 26th 2011 at Riverside High School and will be open to outside guests.  All dresses cost no more than $10.

      There are a number of organizations Nationally that offer this service, but whomever decided to bring this service to our area, and everyone involved that are miking it possible, we give a heartfelt thank you. These people deserve a pat on the back and even a hug.

      We already have posted the story of the 1985 WPIAL “AA” Champion Riverside Panther team. We mentioned how the back yard rivalry game in 1985 came down between Riverside and Ellwood City for the MAC Championship. The MAC conference was considered one of top conferences in the WPIAL as was always one of the toughest to win.
      The Riverside Panthers won the MAC that year and the WPIAL Championship. That team brought home more than just the championship that year as many of the players mad the all-MAC team. Those receiving the honor from that Panther team were; from left Mark Altsman, Derek Foley, Don Prestopine, Mark Melfi, Jim Buccelli, Keith Nelson, Mike Potter, and Curt Houk.
      The players were not the only ones to be honored at the MAC Coaches banquet as Riverside Head coach Karl Florie was named MAC football coach of the year.

      For awhile now we have been looking for people to share their memories of growing up on Chicken Coop Hill so if you lived there we would love to hear your memories. We would enjoy hearing if you remember your neighbors, the families, any neighborhood parties, in other words – memories.
      Despite conflicting stories, we have uncovered the story behind the name. Chicken Coop Hill is simply called that because of the large number of households that had their own chickens in the back yard – for the fresh eggs we assume. The entire hillside seemed to have a chicken coop or two from “Coop Hill” all the way to “Little Italy”. It was popular for awhile to keep pigeons, so we are not sure if the chicken coops were used for pigeons or for actual chickens. You know what, that is not important – what we would like to hear are the memories you might have of growing up on the hill. Please share your stories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      The first school in Hazel Dell on the north side of the creek was located at the corner of Line Avenue and College Street. Built in 1892, the school was originally two rooms, but more rooms were added later. When Hazel Dell became part of Ellwood City in 1914, the school was still in use.
     Through the years there were many who taught at the school including Mary Morrison, Bell McKnight, Etta Freshcorn, John Houk, Miss Springer and Edna Book. Ms. Book’s class is pictured here in the photograph that once belonged to Minnie Mingione (third girl in the second row).
      The Ellwood City School Board decided to build a new school (North Side) on the corner of Orchard Avenue and North Street in 1916, the Hazel Dell School was closed shortly after.
      In later years a factory was built on the corner of Line Avenue and College Street to produce Jessie Jeans. After a fire destroyed the factory, a portion of the building was salvaged and converted into a YMCA. Today, the building is used for the Family Fitness Center.

      Another landmark that still remains from the downtown section of Hazel Dell is this brown building, formerly Pettibon’s Ice Cream Parlor. Pettibon’s had booths inside to sit and eat snacks, sundaes, etc. It was a place to meet friends and in 1949 possibly even meet a future husband (Hi Kathy). The ice cream parlor was on the first floor and the Mack family lived upstairs. To the left of Pettibon’s was Ralph’s Barber Shop, owned and operated by Ralph Taylor.
      One of our web site contributors recalled going to Ralph’s for haircuts growing up. “Ralph would be sitting in the Hazel Manor having a “cold one or two” and would keep an eye on the shop. He came over one afternoon and gave me the worst haircut I ever had and it made me wonder how long he had been in the Manor.” Ralph Taylor later bought out the Tritt’s and kept the store the same but changed the name to Taylor’s Dairy.
      In was mentioned to us that in the mid-50′s Pettibon’s became more of a small convenience store as Tritt’s Dairy was so close.
      We would like to thank Vonnie-Kaye, Chris Pavkovich, Dale Brown, Bob Mallary, Delores Kammermeier, and Kathy Blank for sharing their memories and we would all enjoy hearing your memories of Pettibon’s and Taylor’s. Please share below or email us your stories at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      The Ewing Park Bridge originally opened as a toll bridge connecting the tube mill to the houses the mill built for it’s employees in what would become Ewing Park. “Old Big Blue” stood until 1998 when it was torn down and the current Ewing Park Bridge was built in the same location.

      Growing up in Ellwood City, we always heard the story of Mr. Foley jumping off the bridge as a bet for a case of beer. For some reason though, the person telling the story always would leave out the part about the dam still being in use at the time and it was not quite the drop it is today.

      We have heard a lot of different memories that involve the old Ewing Park Bridge. Wheter it be riding your bike across to baseball practice, how nervous you felt driving across it with the narrow lanes, or even dropping things on the old steel roof of the abandoned building below the bridge. We would like to hear your memories of the old blue bridge with the tunnel under the northeast end. Please email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com or leave your comment below.

      The Merchants and Manufacturers Club was the original Chamber of Commerence with almost all the area’s businesses belonging to the organization. The M.&M. Clubhouse was located beside the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at 236 4th St (currently home to the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 252).
      In the year 1900, Lyman DeHaven & A.C. Frey held a banquet in Hotel Oliver’s 40 foot by 50 foot dining room with hopes to form a club. The heads of the manufactures and local business’ were all in attendance and the Merchants and Manufacturers Club was born. The Club was so large that in the Ellwood Citizen (printed August 11, 1911) was an advertisement for the Merchants and Manufacturers Outing reporting that “Rock Point will see the largest crowd of happy people ever gathered at that popular resort.”
      A man who attended this event and watched the St. Clair Girls balloon ascension is quoted in the Ellwood City Ledger as saying “a man holding one of the ropes on the balloon was lifted 60 feet before he let loose and broke a leg in his fall. One girl jumped with a parachute while over the park & the other stayed with the balloon which landed a few miles away.” After Rock Point Park closed for good after the 1911 Labor Day Weekend, the 1912 Merchants and Manufacturers outing was held at the Country Club grounds in now what is the borough of Ellport.

      Long before Lincoln High School there was the Ellwood City High School out of the Central School on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Sixth Street. The School did not field a football team in 1902 as there were not enough boys in the school to put a team on the field but the community still had a team. A great team as it turns out. 
      The Ellwood Athletic Club put together a football team to take the field for Ellwood and in turn, that team finished undefeated and attracted crowds estimated at 1,000 for most of its games. The climax of that history making season was on a snowy Thursday afternoon in the final game of the season when the Ellwood A.C. team defeated a Grove City team by a score of 11-0. Touchdowns at that time were worth only five points.
      That game and the others played by the team were probably played in Burnstown. The Ellwood Citizens band was on hand that day and furnished some music, according to a Dec. 5, 1902 edition of the Ellwood Citizen.
      The team was organized in September of that year by the Ellwood Athletic Club. John Offutt, superintendent of the Shelby Tube Company, was in charge of finances and also played in the teams first game a 24-0 victory over New Castle – but apparently did not play after that.
      The picture here is of the 1903 Ellwood City Athletic Clubs football team. Pictured include back row Aussin, unknown, Bill Robbins, unknown, unknown, Al Crone, Bid Gillespie, Judd Turner; Front row, Govern (Mack) McMurdo, unknown, Dave Havise, Laughlin McConahy, unknown; Front; Bert Gates. This picture of the team was taken in front of the Central School. It too was an independent team, and not affiliated with the school. It was not until 1904 that the Ellwood City High School fielded its first football team and not until 1925 that Ellwood would triumph over rival New Castle.

      The Chewton Dairy was established in 1930 and was owned  and operated by Keith Sbarro Senior and Junior. This picture was taken in 1974 during a delivery. We have not been able to uncover yet if you had to have a great mustache to be a delivery man for the dairy, but we are working on it.

      Most people today remember the little corner building at the South end of the Fifth Street Bridge as a Subway restaurant, but there are a few that remember when it was the Chevrolet dealership. 

     The Economy Chevrolet dealership along the south river bank ledge was a lot more accessible before construction of the current Fifth Street Bridge made the west section of Glenn Avenue one way.
      The small brick building had a small showroom inside, and small lot outside but a lot of folks have a lot of fond memories of the dealership (or more precisely the vehicle they got there). Dave Larson who contributes to this site quite often shared his fond memory of purchasing his 1948 Chevy and also a brown Desoto from there that we hope he shares with everyone here. We would like to hear your memories also. Please leave your comments below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com