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

Members of the 1919-20 basketball team take a minute to pose for a team photo in front of the Shelby Social Club. Seated in the front holding the basketball is team captain Adam Dambach; standing in the front row from left to right are George Fox, team manager John Ruskovic and Glen Stahl; Victor Dambach and Norman Dunn are behind them; in the back row left to right are Lewis Nicklas, Peck Lee, and Norman Dunn. Peck Lee as you may remember was the head coach of the world famous 1925 Ellwood City Football squad.

    You have to appreciate the uniforms. Matching wool “warm-up” sweaters, shorts, leggings, knee pads, and state of the art oversized high-top basketball shoes.

For those that complain that the football field and track are too far away from the school, there was a time the field was right beside the school. I have been asking for awhile for any pictures anybody might have that show the old field at the school and am grateful for the ones I have received. If you have a picture you would like to share please email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com. So far I have three pictures that I received permission to use and would appreciate any input you may have about them.
    In the first picture you can barely see the field at the bottom of the picture but it gives us a real good idea of the location. Some of the more interesting things about this picture are not so much the field but the layout of Lincoln High School at the time. At the time of this picture, there was a whole additional three story wing of the school where the current cafeteria, maintenance garages, and the “bridge” to the large gym are today. I have to ask those that remember, what was the layout of this wing? Was it all classrooms? I know the school did not have a cafeteria but did this wing have anything comparable to the size of the current cafeteria? Was the ground floor a locker-room for Lincoln Field for both home and away teams? Finally, was there a “band” room and a room dedicated for the choir before the addition?
    Okay, back to the picture, it’s nice to see the old Hartman Elementary School building and you may notice that Holy Redeemer is not there. Where the church parking lot is today, is the former BVM Church and previous to that it was the Methodist Church.
    Now back to Lincoln Field and the second picture. This is an action shot of the 1925 Ellwood City - New Castle game. In the background of the picture you can see the steel work for Lincoln High School that was under construction. You can also see how tight the stands were as an estimated 10,000 people watched the game from the bleachers, on top of parts of the school, and on top of neighboring houses. You can also clearly see how muddy the field was for the game and why New Castle cried for many years that the Ellwood City Fire Department flooded the field to slow down New Castle. The ball carrier in the picture is New Castle’s great Scooter Day, who despite a valiant effort, was not was not able to get into the end zone against the incredible Ellwood City defense.
    In the third picture here, you get a better layout of the field. As you can see, not only did the fans of Ellwood pack the bleachers but it looks to be two to three deep along the fence. Notice the people on top of the First Christian Church watching the game too.  This was not only a football field, but it was the school’s baseball field at the time. Home plate was beyond the field goal posts in the corner of what today would be Oak Avenue and Fourth Street. You can get a little bit of a better idea of the layout of the baseball field in the first picture. In addition to baseball and football Ellwood City also added four public tennis courts to Lincoln Field in 1930.
If you remember the field and would like to share your memories, please leave a comment below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Originally Published Sept 25, 2009

     The original First Baptist Church was opened it’s doors August 13, 1891 behind it’s current location on the corner of Fountain Ave and Third Street. The current building was completed August 15, 1912. On March 7, 1933 a fire gutted all but the old walls but the church was rebuilt and still continues strong today. This church is where I got to know the Hazen family that owned the old dairy farm beside what is now Trader Horn. Mrs Hazen was one of the nicest and most caring people I have been lucky enough to have had the oppurtunity to meet.

 I can list the history of the church in Ellwood City, list the date the locations were built like I did above, list the pastors, so on and so on. However that is not really what this site was started for. I am looking for MEMORIES. Funny stories, touching stories, you know, the good stuff. Stories like the time the shepard had toilet paper stuck to his foot in the Christmas play, the memories of the children that grew up in the church, or the entire church coming together as one to help another. If you have a story you would like to share about First Baptist Church, please email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com or share you memories in the comments section at the bottom of this post.

Post Originally Published  Feb 18, 2009

According to the Ellwood City Moose Lodge #93 website, the Ellwood City Loyal Order of Moose was organized in 1909 by John Risbeck. The club started with 51 members meeting in the auditorium in the second floor of the Ellwood City Opera House. The Loyal Order of Moose continued to meet there until purchasing the building themselves.

The Ellwood City Moose Club on Lawrence Avenue hosted many events for the community including Lincoln High School’s after-prom for many years and performances by popular musicians including Lawrence Welk, Guy Lombardo, & Vaugh Monroe. Outside of the Lodge, the Moose has sponsored a multitude of things in the community including a little league baseball team for many years.

In 1999, the Ellwood City Loyal Order of Moose No. 93 sold their clubhouse on the North side of the 600 block of Lawrence Avenue to ESB Savings Bank and erected a new building on Factory Avenue. The new lodge offers a large lounge area with the original pool table and shuffleboard table that were restored and refinished, both free to play anytime. The club opens daily at 1:00pm.

If you have a story you would like to share about the Moose or a performance you seen there, please email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com or leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

Post Originally published April 3, 2009 

As you may know, I have been looking for a picture of the old West End School, but in the meanwhile Mr. Mickey Franus who attended the school through the fifth grade in the late 40′s & early 50′s sent me this picture taken at Halloween in front of the double doors of the school.  He recalled that at that time the principal was Miss Cooper and other teachers at that time were Miss Wright, Miss Dumb & Miss Norma Marshall.

Those pictured include from left to right; First row (unknown), Mickey Franus, Donald Manzo, Rosalie Desanzo, Starr Caminite, (unknown), Roy Holler, (unknown), Barbara Woods, & Betsy Reynolds. Middle Row Peggy Micklos, J. Fox, James Halto, (unknown), Richard Tribuzio, (unknown), Dorothy Myers, Joseph Fosnaught, James Humphrey, & Anna Tamelcoff. Third row (unknown), James Tammaro, Anna Annaruma, (unknown), Robert Sheldone, Raymond Majors, James Ammeen, & Miss Norma Marshall.

    Originally located on the present site of the borough of Ellport on the opposite side of the Connoquenessing Creek from the most Eastern end of Ewing Park, The Ellwood City Country Club first elected a Board of Directors in the beginning of April 1912. Later in the same year, the Club added a dance pavilion that would also host picnics to the grounds that already sported a two room building and its own golf course (how Golf Avenue got its name).
    In 1919, The Ellwood City Country Club purchased Dr. J.M. Hazen’s farm in North Sewickley Township and some additional acreage from James Runyan. The old Hazen homestead was renovated with an improved kitchen and added a 16 foot porch for use as a dining room and dance floor.
    Transportation was made possible to and from the club when a “private” stop was added on the “Harmony Route” only a few minutes walk from the clubhouse. The nine hole golf course was in top shape for the grand opening on May 30, 1919. A large number of lots on the Southern shore of the Connoquenessing Creek were leased on extended terms to club members which quickly erected a number of summer cottages.
    The current clubhouse was erected a thousand feet south of the original clubhouse in 1926-27. It wasn’t until the early 1940’s that the club added an additional 9 holes to become one of the finest 18 hole golf courses in the area. Bob Thompson is still considered the best hacker to be a member of the club. Besides being the areas leading golfer for over 25 years, he also was crowned the Connoquenessing Country Club golf champion 18 times. Many amateur and even a couple professional golfers have golfed at the Country Club including one of the greatest of all time, Arnold Palmer.
    If you would like to share a memory you have of the Country Club or any of its members, please leave a comment below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Post Originally Published 12/30/2008

    Keystone Serenaders was the “best known and best liked” orchestra in Western Pennsylvania at one time. This picture was taken in the 1920′s at the Hotel in Conneaut Lake. From left to right; Donald McElwain – trombone, Robert Vosler – coronet, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown (not from Ellwood), Dewey Cole – drums, unknown, Donald Bartel.

      On December 4th 1989, for the first time in Ellwood City’s history, the town mourned the loss of two firefighters lost in the line of duty. Thirty-five year old David Martino and thirty-nine year old Paul Frederick lost their lives battling a structure fire at the former sixteen room Elton Hotel on Lawrence Avenue.

Martino was employed at the former Calgon at the time as a lead chemical operator. He had wanted to be a firefighter since he was a small child, and as a member of the four man interior team, David was on the front line, doing what he always wanted to do – fighting fires and saving people.

Frederick, who was married with two daughters, was the head teacher at the former Walnut Ridge Elementary school when the accident occurred. Paul was a decorated Vietnam War Veteran and had also received a heroism commendation for an incidence outside Walnut Ridge Elementary School. A motorcyclist fleeing police was traveling straight toward pupils standing outside the school when Frederick ran and pushed the pupils out of the way to safety.

It is believed that the fire started around 4am in the kitchen area at the rear of the first floor of the hotel. The fire destroyed the two story brick building and a video store next door. Two residents, John P. Zikeli 90 & John Nicholas believed to be in his 70′s also lost their lives in the tragic fire. Both were tenants of the hotel which housed several apartments that were rented on a monthly or yearly basis.

The West End School at the corner of Tenth Street and Crescent Avenue is no longer part of the Ellwood City School District but is still used as a school today. The brick building standing today was not the original school house. The original school opened in 1893 the year after Ellwood City became official. At the first West End School dedication, R. Gregor McGregor was the keynote speaker. Additional elementary schools were built throughout town as the population continued to grow until 1902 when the Central Public School was built just a couple of blocks away from the West End School at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Sixth Street.

Tom Daransky shared with us that the original school was torn down in the early 50′s and the current building was built in the same location. He recalled attending the school until its destruction at which time all the students were sent to Hartman Elementary school until the new building was completed. Mr. Daransky also shared him memories of the school principal, Miss Cooper, for whom he spoke very highly of. Other memories involved the playground directly behind the building. We would like to hear your memories of the old school, please share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Mr. Ernie Young supplied this picture of the inside of the old B.V.M. Church. He was not able to identify the priest in the bottom right corner but has full faith that someone here would be able to supply his name nor was he able to recall who gave him the picture. Fr. Galiano.

What he did supply was a great picture and his own touch… “There is so much of our past that we now look back on with such warmth, but back then we took it all for granted. Just look at the beauty of this church as an example. The Alter where the Mass was said in Latin, during which the Priest stood with his back turned to the congregation. I know times have changed, even with the casual way we worship in America and we just have to go along. However, with this site you have allowed myself and others to step back and remember.”

Thank you Ernie for visiting the website, supplying this great picture and for the many other contributions you have made to Ellwood City Memories. I know Mr. Young agrees with me and hopes to hear your memories of the old church. Please share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      I received an email the other day from Mickey Franus who came across a couple of pictures taken at a parade in Ellwood city in the early 1940’s. The pictures were taken along Park Avenue as the route went up Park Avenue and then down Ninth Street before turning onto Lawrence Avenue.

      Notice that Park Avenue was still completely brick at the time of the picture.

      I am not sure what organization the men in the square topped hats and sash around the waste represented. If you recall any of the groups, we would enjoy hearing from you.

      The anti-aircraft vehicle is similar to (if not one of) the ones produced at the Aetna Standard in Ellwood City.

      With multiple pictures representing the military, I am curious if this is a Memorial Day parade, Fourth of July, Veterans Day, or even a parade honoring those leaving for the war?

      The Queens float even has the Statue of Liberty’s torch.

      Please share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      Thank you Mr. Franus

      If you have pictures you would like to share, please email them to info@ellwoodcitymemories.com