I recently posted an article about the old bowling alley on Lawrence Avenue and the response was outstanding. As of half way through January, there have been twenty three “comments” or memories shared about the bowling alley or any of the bowling alleys in town. Mr. Dave Patterson went a step further and shared this picture from the mid-1950’s of his mother’s bowling team. Dave’s mother, Hazel Garwig Huffman is pictured in the back row, in the middle.

    Thank you Dave for sharing.

    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

    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.

      I recently added a post about Christmas decorations around town and how the stores along Lawrence Avenue would decorate their windows and the town hung illuminations from the street lights. Apparently October is too early in the year to start talking about Christmas for some of you; so how many of you remember the annual tradition of high school students painting the front windows of the stores along downtown for Halloween? I have been told that at one time this was a judged contest but can not confirm what the grand prize was.
      Please feel free to correct me on this post as I am not sure about this. Was there a judged contest or was it just something the high school art club did to get out of classes? If there was a contest, who judged, and was it limited to high school students? Please feel free to share below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      This picture was taken about 1920 in front of the place the stairs to the Lincoln High School auditorium now stand. The picture was given to a man in Fallston and hung in a barroom in the same town where the locals took bets on which community it was. E.J. Wright of Beaver formerly worked at the Aetna-Standard here in town and recognized the background as Ellwood City.
      Although it is fairly easy to establish the date of the picture as 1920, since that was the date the Simon Building in the background was completed, and it is still under construction in this picture, nobody seems to know for certain just what the occasion was. There are some that seem to think it was a Knights of Pythias program, but that has not been substantiated. A graduation ceremony can be eliminated as Lincoln High School was not built until 1925 and at this time students attended Central Public School on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Sixth Street. The older gentlemen on the left, just right of the band are wearing grand uniforms that tend to be more closely associated with the Knights or with the Odd Fellows. The front row of the picture appears to be younger children wearing “sailor” uniforms with round discs on their heads. The flag on the left would be the biggest indicator as to who these folks were and what they were celebrating.
      Notice the bricks on the left where a house is about to be erected (Evans Home) and the vacant spot where the First Methodist Church now stands. At the time of the picture, the Hotel Lawrence was still standing. At the time of the picture there was a half circle (or crescent, if you will) on Crescent Avenue in front of the old hotel. The hotel could not be accessed from Crescent Avenue, but rather it had a driveway that jutted through Oliver Park behind the hotel and circled up to the front. Crescent Avenue had to have the half circle to accommodate the driveway in front. If you look closely, you can still see the crescent in this picture.
We would like to hear your thought about the picture. Please share them below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Do you remember any of the many pool rooms that were once in Ellwood City?  Some of the popular pool rooms included Palace Poll above what is today the Emporium. Mike’s pool room was on Fifth Street between Lawrence avenue and Bell Avenue. Mike’s was owned and operated by Mike Heron and home of the after school dollar Charlie games, which Memories regular R. Scott Mackey recalls could get a little heated.
       Boris Simoff (of First Street Bakery fame) owned the pool room on Lawrence Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets, which in its prime was managed by local standout players like Don Humphrey and Gary Beatrice, among others. Ray Rocco owned the small three table room at the corner of Fourth Street and Lawrence Avenue, which later became the ‘O’s annex (when there was an ‘O’).
There was also a fifth room on Lawrence Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets, The Colonial, managed by Betty Wimer and her husband Don. Betty also ran Mike’s before it was called Mike’s in the late 1950′s.
       Pool rooms are or were back in the day an active part of the city’s subculture. Today there are currently no open rooms in town, only pool leagues sponsored and held in the local taverns. There have been a lot of great players from the Ellwood City Area including the most recent ‘A’ players Don Humphrey, Gary Beatrice, Richard ‘Chuch’ Tribuzzio, and Al Mann among others.
Even in the earliest days of Ellwood City, our town was known for great billiard players. In 1902 Bill Clearwater won the World Pool Title and repeated the grand feat in 1903. Bill’s daughter Margaret (Babe) Clearwater was also an expert shooter. Babe became so good that she earned a match with the World’s Woman Champion, but was unable to claim victory. Before becoming Internationally known Bill managed a pool room on the first floor of the Opera House building (later the Moose Hall). The pool room took up the area many of you might remember as Edelman’s Shoe Store.
If you remember the many pool rooms in Ellwood or recall the great players from our area, we would enjoy hearing your memories. Please share them below or email them to me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

A majority of the information in this post was supplied to me compliments of R. Scott Mackey. Thank you

      Driving through Ellport you might notice Deemer Avenue which got its name from the Deemer Farm, which was one of the three original farms in Ellport. You might also notice Golf Avenue which believe it or not got its name from the golf course in Ellport. The Ellwood City Country Club (later to be known as the Connoquenessing Country Club) was originally located on the west edge of Ellport along the Connoquenessing Creek. The Country Club was home to its very own nine hole golf course that ran deep into Ellport with the road running along its outside edge until 1917. The post card picture here shows the very flat and wide open first hole on the club’s course.
      That is how Golf Avenue got its name.

      Jim Hardie may have said it best when explaining the dance craze that hit Ellwood City in the late 50’s, 60’s & 70’s. “That timeline would include the very first of the Baby Boomers and the last teenagers of the 1950′s. Those that had one foot in one generation and the other in a new one got to experience  the birth of Rock and Roll, Doo-wop, Folk and the music of the 60’s.”
      I have gotten more than a handful of people that keep mentioning the dances in Ellwood City. Having not come from that time, the only dances I know about are the ones held Friday nights after the football games in the Lincoln High School small gym where three quarters of the students leave at half time of the football game to walk over to the dance. From what I have been told, the ones held today would not even be considered a dance, but rather a “gathering”.
      We have heard stories of dances held in Ewing Park shelters with Christmas lights strewn about and the record player belting out the tunes (for those that do not know what a record player is, you’ll have to Google it.)
      We have heard about different clubs in town that put on the best dances as fundraisers for their clubs including the Road Rebels Car Club and the Kingsmen Car Club. The Son’s of Italy hosted weekend dances, the Jaycees also sponsored dances for young people, as did the Shuffle Shop after the game.
         The Shuffle Shop was a teen dance hall operated by local citizens inside the former Circle School Building. The Shuffle Shop (also known as the “Can”) is remembered today as always having dance floor crowded to the limits with enthusiastic jitterbugs and dance contests.
      Tree of Life Jewish Synagogue hosted open dances for Jews, Protestants & Catholics in their new recreation hall at the end of the Ewing Park Bridge. Even the high school had a Dance Club. E.C.M. contributor Danny John served as president of the club whose job it was to put on a dance every Friday evening throughout the school year.  The club took care of security, setup, arranging for a DJ, running the concession stand and cleanup afterwards. 
      Jim Hardie mentioned that the Dance Club would not have functioned without the guidance of the faculty sponsors: George Reese and Lou Oliastro. “They were exceptional men who allowed us the latitude to have a great time while gently, usually, keeping us from getting into trouble.  Lou passed too soon but George is still around with his quick wit and humor.”
    Jo Ann (Miller) Oxsen shared a personal memory of the Dance Club’s Friday night dances in the early 60′s. She recalled the time she and Vinnie Jeoffre (sp.?) won the Twist Contest (grand prize: Peppermint Twist record album). To this day she believes that Vinnie chose her as his partner because she was the shortest girl there that night.
      I am sure all of us would enjoy hearing your memories of the dances held in Ellwood City. Please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com. Please be sure to mention where the dance you recall was located.

      The first game on the new dek hockey surface, formerly the tennis courts, at Stiefel Park was played under the lights on a Tuesday night September 20th 1994. Those pictured marking the occasion left to right, Dan Foley, (team captain of the Knights who won the first game 2-1 over the Vipers); Ang Gatto, borough parks superintendent; Mayor Roy P. Meehan Jr.; Mary Fontana, chairman of City Council’s Parks and Recreationion Committee (instrumental in obtaining the dek hockey area and droppped the ceremonial first puck); Barb Carlin, president, and Sandy Blank, Community Improvement Chairman, of Junior Woman’s Club (which purchased the goal nets); and Vipers team captain Mike Johnson.

      Every summer local musicians and performers have taken the main stage during the Arts, Crafts, and Food Festival to display their talents and entertain the thousands of people in attendance. Various local and national musicians from a multitude of genres have played at the festival since it began and hundreds of area youth from a number of Dance Studios have taken the opportunity to showcase their skills for the festival-goers.
      The pictured class from Bette Baney Dance Studios performed at the 1991 festival. Dancers from the left in the front row are Jessica Loccisano, Gretchen Wolford, Rachel Massioni, and Stwfanie Scarf; Second row Melissa Snyder, Marcia Stabryla, Stacy Stefura, Marissa Lorusso and Gina Nardone; third row, Ericka Kissick, and Koren Amonette; and back row, Tonya Thompson, Leah Small, Brandi Sobeski, and Jennifer Wallace.

Picture Compliments of Caleb Cragle

      In July of 1981 Andrea Dombeck, playground director in Ellwood City, made arrangements with the owners of the Majestic Theater in town to host an event for area children. Mr. and Mrs. Tony Guerrera hosted a free movie for playground children in the Majestic Hall at no charge to the city or the Ellwood City Recreation Board. The free movie drew an overflow crowd of approximately 440 boys and girls and playground instructors who accompanied the children to attempt to supervise.
      Despite the rain the children had to stand in while waiting to enter the theater to see the Walt Disney film, “The Fox and the Hound”, the turnout was so great that many of the children had to stand to watch the movie in the theater that only held 300.
      Please share your memories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      The Ellwood City Ledger printed this picture that belonged to the late Henry Bazzichi of Park Gate. The picture was originally taken in 1897 in Ewing Park and read across the back “the uniformed rank of the K of P.”, but it was unknown as to what the K. of P. stood for. We have uncovered that it stood for the Knights of Pythias, who had a lodge here in Ellwood City. The question we have is where in Ewing Park was there such a formidable wall built?
      The Order of Knights of Pythias is an international fraternity which was founded in Washington, DC, after the Civil War February 19, 1864, by Justus H. Rathbone, which records today more than two thousand subordinate lodges in the United States and Canada. The primary object of fraternal organizations is to promote friendship among men and to relieve suffering. Each organization adopts some outstanding principle as its objective. The individuality of an order is determined by its ideal sentiment. The distinguishing principles of the Order of Knights of Pythias are “FRIENDSHIP, CHARITY and BENEVOLENCE”.
      Henry’s picture here originally was owned by Mrs. G.Y. Fike, but we are not sure if her husband or any relatives are pictured. If you recall the Ellwood City lodge of the K of P, we would enjoy hearing from you. Please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com