Monthly Archives: October 2011

      The Hotel Conway was the very first building erected on Lawrence Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. The Hotel was built 1900 on the North side of the street at 526-528 Lawrence Avenue. Eventually the West side of the building was remodeled for Banking purposes as it was the original home of Peoples National Bank.
    After the Hotel closed and the bank was no longer located there the building was remodeled for store and office purposes. Today Kimpells Jewelers is located on the first floor of the old Hotel and the second and third floors are occupied apartments. The fourth floor is currently used for storage only.

If you remember when this building was anything other than Kimpells Jewelers, we would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or simply email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    The 1949-50 school year at Park Gate School included the following sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. In the front row were, left to right, Ray Foley, Angelo Prestopine, Donald Hogue, Judy Robinson, Bud Hill and Joe Regna. In the second row were, left to right, JoAnne Kraynak, Joan Kirkham, Norma Tritt, Carl Campbell and Eugene LaRitz. In the third row were, left to right, Rose Marie Conforti, Marlene Volpe, Clarence Olinger, Shirley Kolitz and Albert Hogue. In the fourth row were, left to right, John LaRitz, Donna Swesey, unknown, John DeCaria and Joyce McMunn, In the back were, left to right, Fred Regna, Earl Snyder and Mrs. Edna Coulter, teacher. This picture once belonged to Laird Coulter, son of Mrs. Coulter but is now in the possession of the Ellwood City Historical Society.

      It was reported back in 1917, if you were wealthy enough, you could order a Maxwell Roadster for $795, or the Town Car for $1,095 FOB Detroit, delivered to Badger Brothers in Ellwood City, PA. The Maxwell Roadster was considered a mechanically sound car as it was reported to average 27.15 to 29.04 miles per gallon.

The Ellwood City Ledger photograph to the right is a picture of James Shallenberger showing off his brand new 1919 Chalmer that he purchased from John Badger. The picture is taken in front of the front gate of the US Steel mill. Today the gate was later remodeled into a pizza shop and today houses Nico Luciano’s.

   The First Christian Church on the corner of Fourth Street and Wayne Avenue was originally a wooden building with the large open steeple towering over the houses of the area. The church was built and dedicated in 1901 and F.F. Schultz served as Minister. The wooden structure was replaced by the current brick church in 1927. The first Christian Church continued to worship at the location into the 1990’s until moving into their current location.
     Love Hope Baptist Church was previously located on Beaver Avenue where McElwains is located today before moving to the corner of Wayne Avenue. It has been nearly ten years since the Baptist Church moved from Beaver Avenue and into the large brick church with dozens of stain glass windows. Both First Christian and Love Hope continue to meet in Ellwood City and be a presence in the community. Please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

     Ellwood City has had some great fighters but only the men of the first half century of our town are recorded. The great boxers from the first 50 years of our town included Earl Woods, Jimmy Gibbons, Dinah Christie, George Milnes, Tommy Evans, Kate Houk, Red Maloney, Bill Henderson, Charlie Strouse, and  Howard McCloskey who fought all over the world as part of “barnstorming leather pushers”.
In 1929, Ring Magazine ranked Emmett Rocco of Ellwood City, PA as the number two contender to the Professional Boxing Heavyweight Title of the World and ranked him number two again in 1930.
    The only thing that stood in the way of fighting Gene Tunney for the title was the number one contender Jack Sharkey and a lingering injury to his hand. Emmett broke his right hand in an amateur rematch fight with Sandy Seifert in 1928 which Emmett won in twelve rounds despite the broken hand. The injury sustained in that Youngstown battle occurred less than one year before his professional debut. The hand did not affect him in the ring but it forced him to take more time than most others would take between fights to let the hand heal.
By 1931, Rocco was hailed as the best looking prospect in the Heavyweight Division, National newspapers fell in love with his Blue Collar, “Up form the Mills” story. Newspaper and magazines alike played up the fact that he was a mill worker that began to box to provide luxuries for his parents and younger brothers and sisters. Unfortunately later in 1931, while training for a fight with King Levinsky, Emmett suffered a leg injury that would end his career prematurely.
    Joe Cumo was Emmett’s manager for most of his career until his untimely passing. Joe helped guide Rocco’s career to the highest levels with the love of that of a brother. After Joe’s death, Emmett had various trainers including a younger brother Benny Rocco. Another younger brother (George) became a successful amateur boxer in 1934 & 35. He lost a bout to the national amateur welter weight champion Jimmy Clark right before the Olympics. When Clark returned with the Olympic title, Rocco got a re-match in Beaver Falls and won decisively.
Ellwood City Memories would like to thank Joe Rocco of San Diego, CA and Casey (Foley) Lawrence of Beaver Falls, PA for providing information for this post.
We know that Ellwood City has produced additional great boxers, but we need your help to fill us in. If you know of a great boxer from Ellwood City, please leave a comment below or EMAIL us.

     The First Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church originally opened its doors October 28th, 1900 on the corner of Spring Avenue and Fifth Street and continued to grow and prosper. In February of 1925, Trinity sold their building and opened the present Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on May 20, 1925. Trinity extensively remodeled the inside of the church in early 2005. With the many beautiful stainglass windows, orginal gothic woodwork, and half circle alter, this Lutheran Church is still one of the most beautiful churches in Ellwood City.

      The Ellwood City Ledger photograph pictured here was taken during the construction  church before its dedication in 1925. Notice that Second Street has not been paved with bricks yet in this picture.

         The Presbyterian Church of Ellwood City is older than our town itself, having originally organized in the “old brick school house” back on July 14, 1891. The church continued to gather at the brick school by the old white wooden covered bridge that crossed the creek until finally building their own building on the corner of Spring Avenue and Third Street. Yes, I said Third Street. The original Presbyterian Church was built on the corner of Spring Avenue and Third Street. The church met there from 1893 until 1925 when they sold the lot to the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.
      The stone building specialist, Albert Dahl built the current First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Fourth Street and Spring Avenue. Mr. Dahl also built the original First National Bank (now home to the Ellwood City Ledger) and the First Baptist Church on Fountain Avenue.
      The building itself  has grown through the years and is now also home to Parent’s Preschool and continues to host the famous Boar’s Head Festival each Christmas.
If you have a story you would like to share about the Presbyterian Church of Ellwood City, please share your memories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      Ms. Drake opened the first hospital in Ellwood City on the corner of Seventh Street and Crescent Avenue in 1913. The ten bed hospital operated in the former residence of the prominent resident H.S. Blatt and only had one doctor. In 1917, Ellwood City celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony for a new hospital facility that would be able to accommodate up to 25 patients. The large brick building would open in 1918 with a grand view overlooking the town from Border Avenue.
    In 1943, the Mary Evans Maternity Hospital was opened on another hillside overlooking the town on Evans Drive. The hospital was named after the mother of D.A. and J.A. Evans, who donated the land to the Ellwood City Hospital Board. the old hospital on Border Avenue continued to operate until 1973 when Mary Evans was expanded into a modern medical complex with an emergency room and variety of diagnostic and surgical services. The original maternity hospital was converted into the Mary Evans Long-Term Care Center.
      Along with Dr. Drake and the Evans brothers (who both served many years on the Hospital Board), Frank Moore was an important part of the Hospital in the early years. Mr. Moore was the head man at Mathews Conveyer from the time it arrived in Ellwood City in 1912 until he passed away in 1954, and he had served as the hospital board president since its incorporation meeting in 1915.
     The “old hospital” on the hill is still standing today and an assisted living center operates there today. The historic house on crescent Avenue’s fate was not as fortunate as it was eventually torn down in the 1960′s when Crescent Place was built.

      I am always very appreciative to all those who have shared pictures with Ellwood City Memories. Sometimes I am unable to get the pictures onto the site right away as I have to make sure they are not copyrighted, but pictures like these that were donated by Scott Mackey make my task very easy.
I would like to thank Scott for these pictures he took of the construction of the current Veterans Memorial Bridge on Fifth Street. It is very easy to forget how much further west the old Fifth Street Bridge was located. I know it is mentioned a lot how the construction of the current bridge drastically changed the landscape to the Hazel Dell business district and also led to the destruction of the oldest building in Ellwood City. However, I for one do not miss driving around that island at the intersection where the end of the bridge ran into Wampum Avenue (west), Todd Avenue, North Street, and Wampum Avenue (east).
      In the one picture you can still see that under portion of the bridge closet to the bank where outside pillars are cement, there used to be a large arch like a road ran under the bridge. Does anyone know if there was a road or walkway that ran under the bridge?
Speaking of under the bridge, that pathway they built to get the cranes and cement trucks to the creek would have been a fantastic addition to Ellwood City. A pathway to the creek and a path wide enough to ride a bicycle to Ewing Park would have been a nice little side effect project. There is still a pathway up from the creek at the Ewing Park Bridge. A smaller foot bridge at the site of the old Harmony Line Bridge connecting the path to Ewing Park would have been nice and maybe someday might happen. You can see that the construction workers built a temporary bridge across the creek in one of these pictures so I guess I can hope.
      Back to the bridge, who remembers the 4′ x 4′ sheets of steel they used to cover up the holes on the sidewalk of the old bridge? I remember walking to school across that bridge and the cement would be crumbling away exposing the steel grid under the cement until one day you are walking to school (freezing) and then all of a sudden there was a hole. After a couple of days, they would just cover the hole with a steel plate and you would start watching the next spot wear away.
Speaking of the sidewalks, do you remember the large cement barriers separating the sidewalks from the roads? Those were not there when the bridge was originally built. The only thing separating the road and sidewalk originally was a normal six inch curb. I remember the way the bridge moved when the Forge trucks or Blanks trucks went across, who ever decided to add the barriers, thank you.

      In 1952, the Ellwood City Fraternal Order or Eagles Knee-Hi League team won the championship for the second consecutive year. Those pictured were, front row left to right, Don Covert, Amy Alfonso, Tammaro, Fox, and vic D’Angelo, Second row, Bud Majors, Dick Gaskell, Joe Cioffi, Larry Carinci, Bob Timmerman, and Ray Gosciewski. Coaches standing Tom Hughes, Bud Campbell, Lou Oliastro, and John Hulick.

      1954 Knee Hi Champions- the Sons of Italy. This picture was donated to us by Pudue LaCava but unfortunately we do not have any names. If you recognize someone, please let us know below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      I recently attended an engagement where the speaker spoke on Ellwood City Area Athletics. Most of the presentation centered on baseball and football but the topic of basketball stirred up some conversation. It was suggested that Joedy Gardner was the most valuable basketball player in Ellwood City history. The speaker conceited that he may not have been the greatest in Ellwood’s history, though he was great, but the most valuable. He credited Gardner with changing the way the other schools around the area viewed Ellwood City Basketball.
A number of people have shared with us how good Joedy was, so if he wasn’t the greatest in Ellwood City history, who was? I guess that comes down to how old the person you are asking is.
Ellwoodians that are around the century mark remember players like Dip McDaniel, Merit Book, and Sing MacDonald as phenomenal players. Dip has been credited with getting people in Ellwood interested in basketball during his games at the Shelby clubhouse as these men played before Ellwood City even had a high school team. As a matter of fact, for the first fifty years of Ellwood’s existence, Dip was widely regarded as the greatest athlete to come out of our tube making town.
      Then that was about the time Joedy Gardner hit the scene. As mentioned above Joedy turned the tide for Ellwood from consecutive losing seasons to an actual contender. He starred at Lincoln from 1951 to 54 before playing on nationally ranked teams at West Virginia University.
      Dan Aloi is probably the other great basketball player to be mentioned in this conversation. Having ended his career in Ellwood with a number of records including single game scoring record, single season scoring record, and the career scoring record. He was also named to the National High School Boys Basketball All-American team in 1987.
However, if the conversation is about the greatest basketball player in Ellwood City history, you have to include Anne Malkowiak who graduated as the all time leading scorer in Beaver County, all time leading scorer in Lawrence county, the first boy or girl to score 2,000 points for Ellwood, and the all time leading scorer for Lincoln High School.
It is a tricky conversation to have as there are a number of reasons why it is difficult to compare these great players to each other. Not to mention whenever the conversations start to get heated, someone throws in the legendary Don Hennon whose 2,376* career points at Wampum from 1951-55 stood as the WPIAL record for 38 years (I added the asterisks because Don earned his points without the benefit of a three point line). As many of you know, the Wampum school district closed and is now part of Ellwood City and Mohawk so he might deserve to be added to this conversation. How good was Don, consider this, the 1958 he was selected for the Associated Press All-American team, along with future NBA stars Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, and Guy Roger.
      By default, if you are going to include Dr. Hennon in this conversation, I guess I feel inclined to also add Sean Miller to the mix. True he played his high school ball for his dad’s teams at Blackhawk High School, but he was born and raised in Ellwood City before moving to Blackhawk for his varsity years.
Okay, there you have it, who did I forget? I am sure you will point out great players I forgot like Joe Dougherty but I assure you it was not intentional. I am just going off of previous conversations/arguments I have had or overheard. Please feel free to correct me below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

I am embarrassed to admit that I had inadvertently omitted the picture of the memorial  in Legion Park Dedicated in Memory of the Ellwood City Area Men Killed in Action During the Vietnam War. A regular to the web site (Dave Larson) kindly pointed this out to me and asked me to post the picture.

CPL. Joseph A. Listorti Jr.
CPL. David L. Brown
CPL. Dennis R. Baker
CPL. Larry E. Boyer
PCF. David Francis Smith
S/4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr.
CPL. Robert M. Kuner Jr.
SPC. William J. Bowers
CPL. John L. Straley
Cpl. David J. Gamble

      We are all indebted to those who fought for their country, for their families, and for us. Not only men and women like David, Joseph, Leslie, Dennis, John, Robert, Larry, and William who did not make it home, but also those who survived the war and for some the struggle once they got home. May we always remember those who were willing to give their lives for this great country and Ellwood City.