Posts Tagged circle

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.

    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.

    You can’t tell by all of the trucks, but this trailer fire on South Second Street on July 27, 1957 was actually very small. Firefighters did not carry pagers twenty four hours a day, instead relied solely on the fire siren. The number of blasts told the firemen where the fire was, one blast for the first ward, two blasts for the second ward and so on. Without any operators relaying information back and forth between the men on the scene and the guys at the station, the firemen brought everything. For this small fire, they brought out the Fire Chiefs car (52 Chevy), a ladder truck, 1954 American LaFrance pumper, 57 mercury rescue squad vehicle, 49 pumper.
    This was before men wore all the current firefighting gear. Towards the middle of the picture are five of the firemen on the scene, all just wearing street clothes. One firefighter is wearing a white suit but is hard to make out. We were told that the men didn’t wear a lot of gear then. They would get to the fire as fast as possible, try to get inside if they could and try to attack the fire at the point of origin. When it got to bad inside, they fought it from outside the house. The firefighter walking towards the photographer is Bob Henry, one of three full time paid firemen. The other two paid firefighters in Ellwood City were Bob Dambaugh & Chuck West.

    The second photograph is another example of the firemen bringing everything they have or may need. You can see the towns first American Lafrance, the 49 LaFrance, the 54 LaFrance in the background, the chiefs car, the rescue squad car and more. All of these vehicles were rolled out for this small fire at Dr Painters house on Pittsburgh Circle by the end of Second Street back on Feb 16, 1960 (notice the fancy street light).
In the third picture we see the other two paid firefighters at a small shack fire on Aiken Avenue. Police Officer Tom Magnifico shines a flashlight for firefighter Bob Dambach as he pulls a mattress from the ruins as fellow firefighter Chuck West continues to hit the “hot” spots. The picture was taken Nov 18, 1956.

If you would like to share a story you have of any of these firefighters or even memories you have of any of these vehicles, please email us or leave a comment below.

     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.

      I might be a little weird but I enjoy pictures like this; more of a scene than a picture of something specific. I look at a picture like this and find all kind of things and notice things that are not there anymore.
        For example I did not know that there was a Mobil Service Station on the corner of Fifth Street and Spring Avenue where the old trolley station once stood. I know a lot of you remember that station, but if it wasn’t for this one picture, I may have never known that. It took a magnifying glass, but when this picture was taken, a sign for Smith Drug Store is on the corner diagonal from St. Agatha.
      When you look at the zoomed in picture of the former Veterans Memorial Bridge, it looks like you can make out the “dummy” at the far end of the bridge but I believe that was long gone by the time this picture was taken. Speaking of that particular zoomed in portion, it is still strange to not see McDonald’s and now Rite-Aid. Its funny how quickly we become accustomed to something.
      I have faith that many of you will be able to date this picture. There are one or two of you that might be able to look at the business that were open at this time and say, something like: “Abbaticchio and the hardware store two doors down were both open between 1962-71″ and “the price of gas at Sinclair, makes this picture 1967″. But more likely, there are a few of you that can very easily give us a date of the picture by looking at the vehicles on the road.
      Speaking of vehicles on the road, I need a little help with the blurry delivery truck on the left hand side. Are my eyes deceiving me or does that say Winky’s on the side or is that the old Park Pharmacy delivery van? The letters inside the circle on the front of the van are just blurry enough that I can not make it out. I know someone knows if this was a delivery van or if it was owned by the radio station that broadcasted from Ellwood City. If you know the answer to these questions, or notice something else I missed, please share below or email me 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

     Mrs. Jo Ann (Miller) Oxsen recently shared with us a great picture she came across while going through some old family photo albums. The attached photo is of her great aunt’s (Anna Marie Helling) Ellwood City grade school class from the late 1890′s. Anna Marie was her grandmother’s (Nell Helling Young) and great uncle’s (Dr. H.E. Helling) sister. Fortunately, this picture was labeled with the teacher (Miss Cunningham) and all of the students in the class. Some of those in the picture include… Helling, Wilson, Sims, McDonald, Whittaker, Marshall, Taylor, Cox, Ingram, and many more.
      Jo Ann believed the picture to be from 1880′s or 1890′s. If the picture is indeed taken in front of the school, there are four possible schools this could be. The Circle School was built 1895, the Wurtemburg School was also standing at that time and both had similar brick and stone as this picture. Other schools from that period that were believed to be brick buildings were the original West End School and the Texture Building that was used for a school for a period until the Central School was built in 1902. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of those two schools and I am not 100% positive that either was brick.
We would like to thank Jo Ann very much as this is not the first picture she has contributed and hopefully not the last.

      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 massive facility known as the Shelby Social Club or the Shelby Clubhouse was built only a very short walk from Shelby Works Park located on the corner of First Street and Fountain Avenue. Mrs. Thornhill shared with us that she remembers the park had an outside swimming pool, tennis courts, playground, a place to wash automobiles and a rooming house.
      The clubhouse on the corner of Pittsburgh Circle and First Street was home to an Olympic size indoor 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.  The one thing it was missing was a baseball field, but the tube mill already had one; Shelby Field in the Shelby Land Company’s Plan (later to become Ewing Park.)
      Situated directly beside the P.H.B.&N.C. trolley tracks (today Joffre Street) and Foch Street, the tube mill already owned perhaps the most popular recreation of the time, a baseball field.
      An excerpt from “Hack” written by Bob Boone; “People frequently walked far out of their way just to pass Shelby Field to watch Lew (“Hack” Wilson) bat out long home runs and slide on his belly around the outfield. Careful coaching from (Connie) Wardman combined with Lew’s natural talent produced a ten-year-old who played as well as boys many years older. Most of the adults who came to watch this talented youngster also noted that he did little to conceal his pleasure at playing before an audience.”
      When you combine the Shelby Clubhouse, Shelby Park, and Shelby Field; there is not a popular recreation that is not accounted for. The large recreational plan was all within walking distance of work at the tube mill and the employee’s homes in the Shelby Land Company’s Plan.
      We would enjoy hearing from anyone else that remembers Shelby Works Park. There is very little evidence of it’s existence today except this photograph that simply says “Ellwood City” across the back and the memories of but a few. Please share below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    There was a time when you could find anything you might need right here in Ellwood City. Lawrence Avenue was lined with shoe stores, furniture stores, children’s clothing stores, women’s clothing stores, and even men’s clothing stores. The town had premium stores and discount stores like the 5 and 10 and Gen Sales on Pittsburgh Circle.
    Before K-mart was nearby and Wal-Mart was even heard of, Gen Sales was the area’s first discount department store. Opening in 1956, Gen Sales was the place to get appliances, televisions, and other household items.
    We have talked to many people that not only remember the store, but miss it and the products it offered Ellwood City. We have heard of wedding rings, the family’s first television set, and coffee pots that are still used today.
    Frank, the son of one of the co-owners of Gen Sales Company Joseph Geniviva, shared with us why the store closed. Right around Thanksgiving, Gen Sales got in their largest shipment of the year to gear up for the very busy Christmas season. Shortly after, disaster struck in the form of a devastating fire. The big fire was complete loss in both inventory and in the money that was invested in the large Christmas inventory. Because of those, Ellwood City lost a valuable asset.
    If you recall Gen Sales and would like to share your memories, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Ellwood Shafting & Tubing Company was the first manufacturing institution to establish itself in Ellwood City in 1891 and the first to manufacture seamless tubing in the United States. Just three years later in October of 1894, the Ellwood Shafting & Tube Company was sold to H.A. Lozier the “Bicycle King of America” and the name of the company was changed to Ellwood Weldless Tube Company. Ellwood Tubeless produced the seamless tubes for the H.A. Lozier & Company who was the original producer of “Cleveland” bicycles. The seamless tubes were produced in Ellwood City and shipped to Toledo, Ohio where they were assembled by H.A. Lozier & Company (later Lozier Mfg).
    Lozier continued production until selling the bicycle portion of the business to Col. Pope of the American Bicycle Company towards the end of 1899 (just before the bicycle industry crash) for quite a lot of money. Lozier Manufacturing and the Cleveland brand also separated at that point. H.A. Lozier went into the boat engine business, and then his heirs went into the automobile business.
    The Ellwood Weldless Tube Company continued to produce the tubing primarily for the bicycle industry and boilers until 1898 when the United States declared war on Spain in the Spanish-American War. During the war, there was a subtle shift from the previous gun barrels types to the seamless tube gun barrels. Then when World War I broke out in 1914, the mill was primarily converted to the production of tubes to be used in the assembling of military guns.
    The bicycle pictured here is an 1898 Cleveland “37″. The original selling price was $65.00 and came in two colors, black enamel or optional green enamel. The handlebars on the bicycle are not flipped upside-down, but this was permissible since these were called “reversible handlebars.” We have been told that these were the type of bicycles that were raced “professionally” around Pittsburgh Circle when it was used in that capacity from 1895 to 1905. What we have not yet been able to uncover was that since the road was not paved at this time and Ellwood City was infamous for the muddy roads were there wood planks laid on the road or did they race in the mud?
    If you would like to share any memories you may have about the mill, or bike races around Pittsburgh Circle, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com