Monthly Archives: December 2011

In an earlier post on building the Shelby Clubhouse, I mentioned that I would post a zoomed in picture of the background of the picture taken August 30th, 1916. Well the wait is finally over.

    In this first picture, almost centralized, you can see the majesty that is the Hotel Lawrence. Even as the town grew around the hotel, it still dominated the skyline. On the left of the picture you can see that horse and buggy was the main mode of transportation still (besides walking). Right above those teams of horses on the dirt road that is Pittsburgh Circle is an interesting scene involving lumber. Lots of lumber. I am only guessing, but perhaps that is the construction of the Second Street overpass?

       Some of these houses are very large houses and I am curious as to how many of them are “company” homes and were used as boarding houses for tube mill employees. A good number of these homes are no longer standing, but some of them are still here today. The one that has thrown me for a loop is the dark colored house above the previously mentioned lumber. Does anybody know what that is on the side of the house?

The second picture also offers some interesting from Ellwood City in 1916. You can see the bell tower of the old Central Public School located on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Sixth Street. Between the hotel and the school you can clearly see the rounded dome of the United Presbyterian Church on Crescent Avenue. I do not know what the barns or industrial buildings are behind the building closest to photographer, do you? I think that would be the general location of the current Trinity Lutheran Church.

    I recently got an email from Robert Haben asking if I had any pictures of the tube mill steam switch engine that was used to dump slag behind Loccisano’s market. He believed that the engine ran through the 1940′s and the large cement dump is still standing today.

I went through my pictures and I did find some pictures of the tube mill that I have not published yet. The picture above is part of the slideshow below that has pictures taken between 1914 and 1917 around the tube mill involving railroad tracks. Robert mentioned the 1940′s, so I am not sure if this is the same engine, but it is the only one I have. If you have a picture, we would love to see it.

A number of these pictures I do not know what exactly we are looking at so any feedback you might have would be appreciated. You can leave your comments below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    You might remember these pictures like they were yesterday if you grew up in Ellwood City a little under one hundred years ago. For the rest of us, these pictures are hard to imagine being from our town. As you can see through the progression these pictures were taken during the construction of the Shelby Social Club in 1916. I am going to try to have another post with the background zoomed in.

“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.”

I know some of the automobile guys are disappointed but it looks like this was still in the days Ellwood City was train and horse n’ buggy days. The original picture (with simply the footer laid) has a wagon and team on the dirt path that is Pittsburgh Circle. As a matter of fact almost every picture has horse n’ buggies. People had to check on things back then too I guess.

The interior pictures are also very interesting to me. I have only been inside the old clubhouse since it has been remodeled a number of times to accommodate the multiple business it houses today. I am curious if the stage is still there and can only imagine the basketball that was played here. I would enjoy hearing more of your memories of the old clubhouse. Please share below or email to info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

  We are very grateful to Mr. Dale A. Brown Jr. who shared his great memories of his time when he worked at Mathews Conveyer Company. He shared about his time working in Old Mill “E” (the dirtiest part of the plant to work) so we thought we would share these snapshots that we have not been able to identify yet. We were holding back on posting these pictures since we did not know who they were yet, but what better way to identify them. If you recall who these guys are or which department they worked in, please leave a reply below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Not only did Dale share his memories of Mathews, but he also shared the name of the men and women he worked with. He mentioned that his Supervisor was Al Biego who was in charge of the department and Al’s secretary was Pat Rossman.

Other names he was able to recall included Robert “Speed” Miskolske, Duane Weingartner, Pete Muhhollen, Carl Campbell, Ken Ketterer, Gail Blair, Bill Owens, Harold Offutt, Grace Laritz, Jean Brown, Robert Kissick, Tom “Tom the Bomb” Shaffer, Bill Steveson, Paul Rossman, Al Parente, Mike Prestopine, Jack “Hummer” Houk, Tom Henry, Gene “Yoke” Angelucci, Gene “Yummer” Laritz, Harold Parker, Harold “Hap” Parker, Larry Parker, John Zeigler, Bob Wade, John Biega Sr., John Beiga Jr., Lynn Van Kirk, Daniel “Joe” Weisz and Forman Chalmers Workley.

Ward Hoffman, Amos Mazzant Sr., and Amos Mazzant Jr., Odd McCleary, Tony Yanello, Maintenance Supervisor Charles Mitchell, and his son Charles Mitchell.

Originally Published November 22, 2010

   The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and was created mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal (which came through Rock Point Park) and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The B&O Rail Road Company became America’s first common carrier when it was chartered on February 28th 1827 by a group of Baltimore businessmen to ensure traffic would not be lost to the aforementioned proposed Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.
The B&O passenger station in Ellwood City off of Fifth Street beside the subway was torn down long ago, however the Baltimore & Ohio Freight Station on the north side of the tracks along Sixth Street was demolished in 1982. That property is now owned by the Ellwood City Forge.

In 1966, the P & LE freight station was converted into a warehouse and offices by Fotia Brothers Sales & Service owners, Sam & Joseph Fotia.
You can leave any memories you may have about the B&O Railroad below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Originally Published August 10, 2010

    Did you know the Elwood City area used to have a pizza shop? Okay, so we still have one or two, however, do you remember Frisco Pizza in the Franklin Plaza? Here is a picture from the Ellwood City Ledger showing the owner Ed Kingston pilling on the toppings. Frisco Pizza differentiated itself from the other various pizza shops in town as they delivered.

      There has been a lot of discussion about the business section of Hazel Dell at the end of the Veterans Bridge, but here is a new name. The first of the buildings erected in the “downtown” section on the south side of Wampum Avenue east of the former Fifth Street Bridge was home to the Zona & Sulia Confectionery. The building was built by T.C. Marshall. Pictured here outside the confectionery building are Mike Sulia and his daughter Effie.

    During the years the Shelby Social Club was available to the people of Ellwood City, the Shelby Social Club Band performed not only at the clubhouse on the corner of Pittsburgh Circle and First Street but at other various functions. The only member to be identified is the gentleman sixth from the left in the second row (wearing glasses); Henry “Celia” Drushel of Fombell. Celia is the grandfather of Doris Jennings.

      The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is a fraternal organization that split from the English Odd Fellows organizations which originated during the early part of the 1700′s when charitable and selfless acts were not common. The American branch became the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the number of lodges in the United States increased until every State in the United States had a lodge. The Civil War saw a great number of Lodges close as membership plummeted but rebounded a little after the war. The Great Depression also struck a blow to membership as many were unable to afford membership.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows had two lodges in Ellwood City, the Glenn Park Lodge 1016 instituted Sept 10, 1891  and the Alferetta Rebekah Lodge 142 instituted Oct 14, 1902. The Glenn Park Lodge met every Thursday in the Schweiger Building (601 Lawrence Avenue). The Odd Fellows’ ladies’ auxiliary in Ellwood City was known as the “Daughters of Rebekah”.
Ellwood City Lodge 9 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows came about by consolidation of Glen Park Lodge, Refuge Lodge, and Wampum Lodge 865 instituted Jan 22, 1874. The consolidation of the three lodges was instituted Jan 20 1932, by Grand Master Rev. Simon Sipple, other Grand Lodge officers.
The name Ellwood City Lodge No. 9 was suggested to the Grand Lodge by the secretary Lawrence Rabberman and adopted by the Grand Lodge without question. During the following years the lodge supported a softball team in the I.O.O.F. league of Beaver Valley (they won the championship in a playoff with Freedom); they also had a team in the Civic Bowling League.
The lodge contributed to the support of the Wayside Inn, I.O.O.F. home in Grove City, PA and Orphans Home in Meadville, PA. The independent Order of Odd Fellows is the oldest fraternal organization in the United States. The newly formed Lodge 9 continued for many years though last record I can find is 1967.

Originally Published April 20, 2009