As Ellwood City evolves, a little bit of our past gets erased each day. Ellwood City Memories is here to collect memories before they are completely erased and hopefully shared with the next generation, if not the generation after that. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to contribute to this website financially, those that have contributed photographs, and those that have contributed by sharing their memories; Thank you. As they work to tear down the building built by Captain Grove for his hardware store, I notice I have a lot of pictures of buildings being torn down or burning down.

 This building was the old Blatt Building on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Seventh Street. Mr. Henry S. Blatt’s history is tightly tangled with Ellwood City’s history and that of Captain Grove. Blatt and Grove were business partners in the hardware business, Ellwood Supply Company. The two men built their homes across from each other on Crescent Avenue and Seventh Street and were the second and third deeds recorded at the Lawrence County Courthouse that the Pittsburg Company sold.

Mr. Blatt’s home later became the Eagles Club before it was turned into Ellwood City’s first hospital. The historic building was eventually torn down in the early part of the Sixty’s when Crescent Place was built.

The first big fire in Ellwood City destroyed Blatt and Grove’s hardware building and ended the partnership. The business partners went their own ways and each rebuilt their own hardware store. Mr. Blatt opened his new business on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Seventh Street and the Captain opened his store next door in 1893.

Now I am not able to find if Blatt’s building was converted into the 7-L building or torn down and replaced with the 7-L building however by the window alignment, it looks to me like this picture was taken in August of 1969 while they were converting it. Either way the 7-L building sat here on the corner of 7th Street and Lawrence Avenue (get it, 7-L) but has since burned down while Captain Grove’s building was torn down in 2013.

After the first fire that ended his partnership with the Captain, Henry Blatt got involved in the lumber business, served on the first board of directors of the First National Bank of Ellwood City, and became a major stockholder in the Pittsburg Company. Mr. Blatt also served in the State Legislature 1875-76, was named Burgess in 1895, was one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in Ellwood City, and was also one of the founders of the local Masonic lodge before he died in 1910.

As I have mentioned many times before, the fire that destroyed the 7-L building on January 27, 1982 was one of four major fires to hit Lawrence Avenue in a span of two years. The other fires included Keller’s Department Store at 613 Lawrence Avenue, Vinny’s Pizza and Sub Palace at 705 Lawrence Avenue, and the Majestic Theater on the 500 block of Lawrence Avenue.

Blatt was not the only man to run a hardware store in the Blatt building as Earl Slocum took over Blatt’s business and operated Ellwood City Slocum Hardware Company for many years. We have had some contributors mention they recall Ben Gutmacher’s bright-yellow Hardware Store here in the early 1950′s.

When this picture was taken, Holiday Flowers was in the rear of the building on Seventh Street, an Optometrist on the corner and at least three other businesses’ were in the building but I am unable to read the names. If you look closely, you can see a man inside one of the business looking at the photographer from the window on the second floor with the air conditioner.

Today the City Centre Park sits in its footprint.

One of our friends Ernie Young was going through some pictures and ran across a picture of his father. I don’t have many photographs of people on the website but the background is great. Mr. Young, pictured here, is sitting on a step that was on the corner of Steve Rubino’s Store.

 Ernie believes that this photograph is from the 40’s. If you look through the walkway, a sign hangs that reads Pitt. It may be a sign advertising Fort Pitt Beer outside what was the New Deal Bar. Not sure if back then it was called that. Rubino’s Store was on the corner of Franklin and Second Street where his son Steve now has the Electric Supply Store.

Thank you Ernie for taking the time to share this photograph.

Tammy Mazzant recently sent me these ads from an old newspaper almost fifty years old. It is fun to see some of the old business names…

   Manz, Palatka’s shoes and Schweigers

   G.C. Murphys

   A new fangled color television at Gen Sales

   Graduation suits at Oswalds

   Whitewall tires at Anderson’s for $30

   Slacks from Keller’s 

Fur collar coats at A.E. Conner & Sons

I recently received an email from Tammy Mazzant that had a number of old print ads from a 1965 Ellwood city Ledger and a black and white photograph. I took my time and went through the ads and almost fell out of my chair when I got to the black and white picture below.

The building I only knew as Red Hot’s at the North end of the Veterans Bridge  and much more. Many of you remember this hot spot as Ida’s Luncheonette when it was owned by Ida Ionellie, or you may remember it as Ted’s Hamburgers, or as it was when it was photographed here as Mayflower Lunch.

You may also notice two there objects at the end of the bridge. The cement “dummy” which has been the topic of a number of conversations on this web site and the newsstand at the end of the bridge. There was some discussion as to whether or not the cement pillars at the end of the old Fifth Street bridge had lights on the top of them. As you can clearly see in this picture, there were lights on them.  And yes I said them, many people do not remember but there was one at each end of the bridge.

Also there was some question as to the name of the newsstand at the end of the bridge. In the 1951 phone book it is listed as the Mallary Newsstand.

I really cannot wait to hear some of your memories of Ida’s, the Mayflower, or Red Hot’s Lunch. Please share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    I have mentioned Nick’s in Ewing Park many times but many people have also shared their memories with us of the Dairy Queen in Ewing Park. We have heard about the great summer that the banana splits were on sale all summer long and Dave Weingartner shared with us his memories of hanging out in the parking lot of the Dairy Queen with all the other young kids of Ellwood City on their bicycles. Most of the boys were on little league teams and they could be identified by their little league hats.
The Dairy Queen is no longer there, having been gone for quite awhile now. In the mid 90′s a small Italian Ice shack set up business on the old foundation but was replaced by the current apartment building. Do you have any memories of the old Dairy Queen? We would love to hear from you, please leave a comment below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Originally Published April 17, 2009

Do you remember the big house beside the gas station on the corner of Spring Avenue and Fifth Street? The house located at 426 Spring Avenue was originally built in 1892 by Lenora Roessing who rented out rooms in her home making it one of the earliest boarding houses in Ellwood City. Since Mrs. Roessing sold the house in the early part of 1913, the various owners have added to the original eight room house and even lifted it approximately six feet.  The house increased in size so much that by 1966 four families lived there. That same year, Helen Young who married John Carpenter sold the house and neighboring gas station to Harry & Betty Gaydosz. The gas station was built 1929 and would become known as Harry’s Texaco. Both the house and gas station were torn down when Eckerd Drug Store purchased the land to build their large structure that has since become Rite-Aid.
Also in the picture, you can see the former Tomons Funeral Home and a delivery truck from Linarelli’s Furniture & Appliance Village Center formally of Koppel. Linarelli’s was originally opened by Ralph & Elsie Linarelli as a grocery store on 18 before moving closer to the railroad tracks and becoming a hardware store. Over time they started carrying more furniture and appliances and eventually phased out the hardware and Levi jeans.
If you would like to share a story you might have, please leave a comment below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Photograph courtesy of Zeke’s Auto Repair

Originally Published May 15, 2009

I had a friend email me this picture that looks like a Bud Dimeo photograph for the Ellwood City Ledger but I am not sure where it came from nor who it belongs to. It is not my intention to “steal” anything so please let me know and I will take it down right away – but it is a great photograph.
  What looks like a picture of a parking lot to some is something so much more to me. Of course you see the brick P & LE Freight Station that is still standing today and to the left of it across the railroad tracks is the Baltimore & Ohio Freight Station along Sixth Street that was demolished in 1982. In 1966, the P & LE freight station was converted into a warehouse and offices by Fotia Brothers Sales & Service owners, Sam & Joseph Fotia. Today it is being remodeled again for unknown purposes.
Between the two buildings you can see the tops of two churches in the background. On the left is the former Saint Agatha Roman Catholic Church that served Ellwood City until September of 2007 when it consolidated with its own mission church the Blessed Virgin Mary Church and was renamed Holy Redeemer Church. The second church is the Presbyterian Church which is older than our town itself, having originally organized in the “old brick school house” back on July 14, 1891. The Presbyterian Church continues to serve Ellwood City today despite a fire in 1950.
Speaking of fire, on the far right you can barely make out the old livery on Fourth Street. Architect Byron McCandless who designed portions of Lincoln High School, the Ellwood City Municipal Building, and many others used this building and the brick buildings behind it as his offices. His son Joseph continued to use these buildings for storage until an arson fire destroyed the buildings a number of years ago. His father’s original drawings were lost as was Joseph’s picture taken of the Marines on D-day only a few yards from the beach at Normandy. Byron’s father was Joseph McCandless who built the very first brick house in Ellwood City that just recently burned down.
There are many interesting things you can make out in the background of a picture of “a parking lot”. If you would like to share your memories of any of these, please share below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

In 1973 the Bud Dimeo took a picture for Ellwood City Ledger of the city tearing up Sixth Street beside the Municipal Building to add a larger sewer system. The sewer system might not be too exciting to you but to the business’ that were located between Lawrence Avenue and Crescent Avenue on Sixth Street at the time.

    On the East side of the street is Reilly Auto Parts, Partridge Jewelers, Calve’s Shoe, and then it gets a little fuzzy. I see what looks like a sign for a Dentist (?) and a barber pole and then a giant sign my old eyes can’t read. Does anyone remember what the long narrow sign over the garage door says? 

On the right of the picture or the west side you can see a number of familiar businesses. Of course you can see Zeigler Furniture in the building I just a young kid remember only as Benjamin’s Pharmacy. Additional signs include the J. Wilbur Randolph Legion post 157, the McGlincy Camera Shop and almost hiding is the Texaco sign. I speak for a lot of people when I say we would all like to hear any memories you may have any (or all) of the business that helped make Ellwood City. Please share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Thank you to Mark Crepp and Ernie Young for sending me this picture that was published in the Ellwood City Ledger and republished in the same paper December 5th 2012 as a part of the “Ellwood City Looking Back” series. There were a number of homes and businesses along Ellwood-Zelienople Road and South Second Street that were torn to build the new four lane highway. One of the most commonly recalled is Easy’s Twin Kiss.
Do you remember Easy’s Twin Kiss, located a little north and on the opposite side of the road as the old North Star School? Easy’s Twin Kiss was a classic drive-up on Ellwood-Zelienople Road that served hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, pulled pork barbeque sandwiches, steak sandwich, homemade soup, and more. People remember going there just for the delicious ice cream, milkshakes, and of course the famous Big Kiss Sundae.
    Yes, they had good food, yes they had good ice cream, but you can not mention Easy’s Twin Kiss without mentioning their famous home-made root-beer. Easy’s served their root-beer in large thick heavy frozen glass mugs. The mugs were so nice that they had a difficult time getting the mugs back after someone ordered a root-beer.
If you remember Easy’s Twin Kiss and would like to share your memories of the old drive-up, please leave a comment below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Originally Published April 18, 2010

I have received a number of pictures from the 1967 parade but this one might be my favorite. The stars and stripes leading the way carried by some of this nation’s finest, all of the store fronts on the south side of the 500 block of Lawrence Avenue (Fifth Street to Sixth Street) all seem to be occupied and people are everywhere. Everywhere. The curb seems to be six to seven deep in front of the Municipal Building.

    I love the advertisement billboards in this picture also. Not only the Wilkofsky’s Drug Store, which was right there between Ullman Furniture and the Municipal Building but the painted Oswalds billboard is great. When I see pictures of the Municipal Building, I always try to guess the year by the painted billboard/advertisements on this wall. However, one advertisement I never noticed before this picture is way up on the top of the Stiefel building at the other end of the block. See it? What is it an advertisement for I wonder?

    How many of you remember this old site from Frisco? This picture of the “The Old Armory” was taken near what was then Calgon in June of 1974. A number of buildings occupied this building as far back as 1908. In 1917, artillery shells were made in this building for the World War.
This picture was taken just a few months before this building was demolished August 9, 1974.

It feels like only yesterday but the stretch of Lawrence Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street has changed more than perhaps any other part of town, and I am not only referring to the loss of Pe Wee’s Lunch. This single picture seems to remind more people of the great memories they have of Ellwood City more than any other we have posted here.

    The Manos Theater (previously Liberty Theater), and the Jayhawk both seem to remind people of how fun it is to grow up in Ellwood City. The Manos was on the south side of Lawrence Avenue and was a popular date spot in town for years. The Jayhawk restaurant across the street was also a very popular teenager “hangout” and made famous by their roast beef sandwich.

The second door on the south side was Turners Barber Shop, the largest barber shop in town and during the 1940’s and early 50’s had six barbers working. Linda Turner remembers the shop got to the point that it was so busy that Turners Barber Shop was the first in town to use numbers to keep arguments down and the first to have a television for its waiting customers.

Others have shared their memories of the days before Lincoln High School offered bus service to its students, the pupils from Ellport had to walk from the High School to the bus terminal at the gas station beside the Jayhawk and catch the public bus to Ellport everyday. On the same side as the Jayhawk was also the Sunoco Station and Herge’s Radio & Electric.

When I previously posted this picture there was some question as to the name of the business on the Northeast corner of Lawrence Ave and Fourth Street. Mr. Stevenson recalled that at one time it was the popular Biordi Grille back when it was a bar. Season Swartz shared that when her grandfather Art Alben owned it, it was a restaurant named after his wife; Elvira’s Place . You may recall the teenage hangout on the second floor. If there is anyone that remembers this, please let us know. You can share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Johnny & Eddie’s Oasis Bar & Restaurant was on the south side of Lawrence Avenue near Fourth Street. Jo Ann (Miller) Oxsen shared memories of her parents taking her to the Oasis occasionally on Friday nights for their delicious spaghetti & meatballs. She remembers that they used to give them bibs to wear while eating the spaghetti.

Originally Published January 29, 2009