Posts Tagged circle

    The Shuffle Shop opened in 1944 as a teen dance hall operated by local citizens inside the former Circle School Building. The school was built all the way back in 1895 and today is the location of the Circle Playground. The Shuffle Shop was where many of the area teens spent many many hours playing games, dancing, and enjoying the “coke” bar.
    If you do not remember the shuffle Shop (also known as the “Can”) you may need a lively imagination to picture the dance floor crowded to the limits with enthusiastic jitterbugs. The dance floor was lined with the soft drink bar, bright red tables, the popular easy chairs, and a line at the front door waiting admittance. Those that made it through the long line would get their hands stamped “MEMBER” in big black letters. The dance floor was only the beginning as there was a bowling alley in the basement and the second floor sported two ping pong tables and a “get-together” room with comfortable chairs and small couches.
Those that have shared their memories with us recall a large piano that would challenge the juke box which would only get louder.
We recently heard from a gentleman that grew up in nearby Beaver Falls, but he shared with us that one of his fondest memories growing up was the Ellwood City Shuffle Shop. He recalled that he and his cousin would come up to Ellwood City on the weekends to attend the dances that were held in the old Circle School.
    If you remember the Shuffle Shop and would like to share your memories, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    I recently met with Mr. Frank Geniviva to discuss things on and things missing from our web site like Gen Sales on Pittsburgh Circle.  While we were drinking coffee in Thanks A Latte discussing our memories of Ellwood City, Frank mentioned that the road to the old power plant along the Connoquenessing Creek was the best sled riding hill in Ellwood City. I had never even thought of sled riding there, but he said it was so common that the workers used to leave the fence open for them so they wouldn’t crash into it.
    That hill would be fun to go down, but I can’t imagine climbing back up the hill. My brothers and I used to always go sled riding behind the old US Steel time clock station (Nico Luciano’s today). This part of Pittsburgh Circle rarely got used in the snow and when you started getting tired, there was a wooden staircase you could use. By no means do I think this was the best sled riding hill in Ellwood, but it was close to home. If we could get a ride, our hill of choice in Ellwood City was behind the women’s softball field at Stiefel Park in the old brickyard on the hill.
    Here is my question to you, where is the best hill for sled riding in Ellwood City? Please leave your comments below, or you can email us by CLICKING HERE.

    The Northwood Glass Company was founded by English-born Harry Northwood, the son of a talented glass manufacturer. Harry left England at the age of twenty to work in America in 1880 and founded his own factory in 1887 in Martins Ferry, Ohio. Only five years later, Harry closed his plant in Martins Ferry and moved to Ellwood City where he opened a new plant. The move to Ellwood City was not a coincidence, but rather the result of the influence of Mr. Northwood’s uncle Thomas Dugan, who was heavily invested in the new town of Ellwood City.
    Many people who have left their mark on Ellwood City came to town with the Northwood Glass Company. Those that purchased lots and built houses in the new town along with Mr. Northwood include Henry E. Helling, Adam Eiselen, George Beaumont (Northwood’s father-in-law), George Pownall, John G. Anderson, Thomas A.E. Dugan, and Samuel Dugan – both were nephews of Mr. Dugan and Mr. Northwood’s cousins. When Northwood closed his Ellwood City plant in 1896 and left for Indiana, PA, the Englishmen left with him and the Germans (Eiselens and Hellings) stayed.
    The Northwood Glass plant in Ellwood City was located at the end of Eleventh Street along Factory Avenue. After Northwood closed its Ellwood City facility, the plant sat empty for a couple of years until 1898 when the American Lamp & Brass Company moved in. American became Clark Brothers Glass Company, and again in 1905 it changed hands becoming Ellwood City Glass Company.
    After leaving Ellwood City, Harry Northwood at one time leased the Dugan Glass Company (then under a different name) in Indiana PA, and Thomas Dugan became one of the managers. When Harry left, the name was changed to Dugan Glass, and in 1910 the company began to produce Carnival Glass, often using old Northwood moulds. Dugan Glass Company marked the bottom of its pieces with a diamond shape with a ‘D’ inside. In 1913, when the company again changed its name, it became the Diamond Glass Company and kept the insignia. The Diamond Glass Company produced great pieces until 1931, when the Indiana, PA factory was destroyed by a disastrous fire.
    After leaving Indiana, the Northwood Glass Company eventually moved to Wheeling, West Virginia and produced glassware that is still highly sought after today. The Northwood Company marked their products with a letter ‘N’ inside a circle on the bottom of their pieces. The company was the top company in production of Carnival Glass until Harry contracted a fatal disease and passed away in 1918. The company continued but without Harry, the company and its products steadily declined until finally closing in 1925.

    When Luigi Parillo laid out Pittsburgh Circle as a residential area, he added some special ornamental touches to the two main roads intersecting the one mile circumference circle. Fountain Avenue was designed wider than the typical streets as Luigi originally planned to have a large fountain erected at the center of the circle, the intersection of Fountain Avenue and Second Street. As part of the elaborate design, Second Street was equipped with a divider down the center of it that ran from Pittsburgh Circle to the location of the proposed fountain site on Fountain Avenue.  
    The picture of Second Street is taken from Spring Avenue sometime in the 1930′s when Clyde Buzzard was having a sale on his Graham-Paige cars. Mr. Buzzard lived at 216 Second Street and sold the Graham-Paige cars out of his garage behind the house.
    The house at 216 Second Street dates back to 1893 when it was built by Jacob and Edward Dambach, who only owned the house for seven years.
    The brick house beside Buzzard’s at 220 Second Street was the home of John H. Blackford. Blackford’s home was the first house to be built inside Pittsburgh Circle.
    If you have any memories of anything we mentioned above or of something we forgot to mention, please leave a comment below or you can email us by CLICKING HERE.

We would like to thank Mr. Charles Hall for providing us with this picture.

    The house at 26 Pittsburgh Circle was built in 1902 and David Cartwright purchased the home in 1906. The Cartwrights lived in the humungous house for a little over 50 years until 1960 when they sold the house to Jack & Judith Brooks.
    David & Hester Cartwright originally opened a grocery store & home furnishing store on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Eighth Street when they came to Ellwood City in 1895. Business was a success and three years later they expanded when in 1898 they erected the Cartwright Building  at 619 Lawrence Avenue.
     Doctor & Mrs. Brooks lived in the big house that also served as Dr. Brooks offices. I remember walking into the waiting room that still had the original wood flooring from 1902 and the room had twelve foot ceilings. Maybe they weren’t twelve feet, and I was only a little kid afraid of getting a shot at the doctors office. I was only a kid but I still remember the rooms having that “old” time look without looking rundown.
    If you have a memory you would like to share of the doctors office or any other memory about the house, the Cartwrights, or the Brooks you would like to share, please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.

    The deceivingly large house located at 10 Pittsburgh Circle was the home of Jonathan A. and Nancy Evans from 1919 to 1958. J.A. Evans along with his older brother D.A. Evans organized the Ellwood City Forge in 1910.
    Mr. Evans purchased the lot on Pittsburgh Circle in 1919 and had the house that was already on the lot moved to the rear of the lot next door. After moving the house, he was able to build a house more in line with the other grand house in the neighborhood like Rich Brown’s and Ralph Stiefel’s homes. Jonathan served on the Ellwood City Council and School Board for twenty years and was on the Hospital Board and President of the Ellwood City Forge twenty two years. He also served as Director of the Chamber of Commerce for twelve years. It was Mr. Evans that donated the “Ellwood City” sign across Fifth Street in 1925 so passengers on the trains that stopped at the local station by the subway would know where they were.
    We are trying to gather more information not only about this house but also the families that have lived here since 1958. If you have any memories about this house, whether it be who lived here, the time you broke your arm falling out of the tree in the back yard, or even the way they used to decorate the house for Christmas, please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.
   Information for this post was gathered from the book Ellwood City Houses and the People Who Lived in Them by Charles R. Moser available at the Ellwood City Historical Society.

    The large bleached brick home across from the Circle playground at 304 Fountain Avenue was home to one of Ellwood City’s greatest golfers, Robert Thompson. Mr. Thompson was considered the areas leading golfer for over twenty five years being crowned the Connoquenessing Country Club golf champion eighteen times. He entered many golf tournaments across the United States and played with Arnold Palmer at the Connoquenessing Country Club when “the King” was a young and very promising golfer.
       We are trying to uncover more of the history behind not only this house but also the families that have lived here. If you have any memories about this house, whether it be who lived here, who built it, when the house was duplexed, or even the way they decorated the house for Christmas, please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.
   Information for this post was gathered from the book Ellwood City Houses and the People Who Lived in Them by Charles R. Moser available at the Ellwood City Historical Society.

[SinglePic not found]    The large stone house that stands proudly on the corner of Spring Avenue & Pittsburgh Circle was the home of David Jones. Mr. Jones was the President and General Manager of the Ellwood City Stone Company from it’s founding in 1909. The house at 320 Spring Avenue was built in 1915 by David Jones and his three sons. This was not the only stone house they built as the three boys also built houses in Ewing Park. Bill and Dave built their houses side by side at 430 and 426 Beatty Avenue in 1937 and Bob built his home on Jefferson Avenue after World War II. The stones that were used to build the house on Spring Avenue came from the Park Gate quarry while the stone used to build the other three came from stone quarried near Koppel.
    Dave and Bob owned and operated Stonecrest Golf Course on Route 18 in addition to the Stone Company. When David moved to Marion Township, he gave his house to First Baptist Church to use as a home for the preacher of the Church.
    320 Spring Avenue later became the home of Butch DiCerbo in 1964. Mr. DiCerbo is a former police officer that later became a teacher at Lincoln High School. He also became one of Ellwood City’s outstanding golfers and was named to the Ellwood City golfing Hall of Fame.
    David Jones house eventually became the home of Zachery & Jacquelne Powell in 1983. Mr. Powell has since taken over the family business, R.W. Powell Realty, which was established the same year as Ellwood City’s founding in 1892.
    We are trying to find out more of the history behind not only these houses but also the families that have lived in them.  If you have any memories about these stone houses, the brothers that built them or the families that have lived in them since please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.
   Information for this post was gathered from the book Ellwood City Houses and the People Who Lived in Them by Charles R. Moser available at the Ellwood City Historical Society.

     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.
     It did not take long after construction that the basketball program became one of the finest in the area. The first team to play on the basketball court was the Shelby Social Club’s semi-pro team. In 1918, the court became home to the Ellwood City High School basketball team also. Ellwood City was without a high school team before that because the school did not have anywhere to play or practice. The high school played at the Shelby until they got a gym of their own in 1926 at the newly constructed Lincoln High School. Today that gym is known as the “old” gym or “little” gym. 
    Basketball continued to grow in popularity in the predominately baseball minded community but public interest truly gained at the start of the city wide church league in 1920. First Baptist dominated the church league with their only loss in the first two years was to Bell Memorial (First Baptist had to forfeit the game). The 1921-22 all-star team consisted of Merit Book, Chief Parillo, Dewey Cunningham, Ralph Adams, Sing MacDonald, Ray Johnston, Jimmy Guy, Cooper, Fike, & Dip McDaniel.
    In 1925 the sport got another boost when National Tube started an Inter-Departmental League. Teams included Hot Mills, Mechanicals, Office, Specialty, Finishing, Cold Draw, Hot Finish, Inspection, and consisted of All-Stars Dip McDaniel, Sing MacDonald, Joe Latiano, Joe Reilly, and Earl McCandless). The league expanded in 1936 with the additions of Lincoln High Faculty and Italo Balbo. The Inter-Departmental League ended in 1940.
    1930 marked the return of the Semi-Pro league at the Shelby Clubhouse. The Ellwood City Manhattans began play in the Allegheny County League playing the best teams in Western Pennsylvania and posting an 11-11 record. In the clubhouse’s last ten years other basketball leagues played at the Shelby including Junior & Intermediate leagues, an Industrial League, and a Municipal League. The Municipal League included teams such as Moose, Catholic Center, SOI, North Side, Eagles, Chippy’s, and Oasis.
    The same year the Inter-Departmental league ended (1940), the Shelby Social Club put a team in the Beaver County Basketball League. The Socials lost its first two games against Slippery Rock University & the University of Pittsburgh, then the Socials went on to win their next nineteen games in a row finishing the season 30-4. 
    Basketball was not the only thing people remember about the Shelby Clubhouse. Beginning in 1918, the day school let out for Christmas vacation, the clubhouse was open to all children in grade school in Ellwood City & surrounding townships. Children not yet old enough to be in kindergarten were also invited but required a ticket that was available with a donation. The kids would climb the stairs to the third floor auditorium to see a huge decorated tree, view a Christmas themed film, sing carols, & see Santa come down the fake chimney. After Santa appeared, each kid got a brown bag treat which during the Great Depression may have been more than some of the children got for Christmas.
    Then, during the summer of 1950 without any big announcements, a small article appeared stating that the Shelby Clubhouse facilities had been sold to Aetna-Standard for an engineering and office building. The small announcement was the end to the recreational center that meant a whole lot to Ellwood City.
    After U.S. Steel closed the clubhouse, the club moved to the office space in the old hospital building on the mill grounds. The final Christmas party was Dec 23, 1960. It was estimated that 6,000 children gathered for their Christmas treat that year though in previous years the number reached as many as 8,000. 

    We are pretty sure that more than a couple of people have memories (good or bad) about the great clubhouse that was available to them for more than 33 years. If you would like to share yours, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

    Richard T. Brown, one of Mr. Ralph C. Stiefel’s closest associates in the tubing business, built their family home next door to the Stiefels in 1901. Mr. Brown, like Mr. Stiefel left his mark not only in the Tube Industry of Ellwood City but on the community as well. He was elected President of Borough Council in 1900, ‘01, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, and again in1920, ‘21, & ‘23. He also was the successful campaign manager for David A. Evans in 1925, a thirty-second degree Mason, and served fifteen years as president of the M&M Club.
     Ten years after Mr. Brown’s death, his daughter sold the house to the Brown’s longtime housekeeper Regine Schuster, who turned the large house into a duplex. Other owners of the house include Ralph & Jeannette Viccari (who turned it back into a single dwelling) and borough manager Bret McLachlin. In 1993 Craig & Jane Brooks Cavanaugh purchased the home and restored the interior back to the original layout.

    Do you have any memories of this house you would like to share with us? Please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.

    We need your help. We are looking for someone that may know the history of the Knights of Pythias, Knights of the Golden Eagle, Knights and Ladies of Honor, German Beneficial Union, Uniformed Rank, Knights of the Maccabees, Ladies of the Maccabees, or the Protective Home Circle in Ellwood City. We are looking for locations, dates they were built, so on and so on. However that is not all we started this site for. We need MEMORIES too. Funny stories, touching stories, you know, the good stuff. If you have a story you would like to share about any of these organizations, please EMAIL us or leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

59 Pittsburgh Circle

The house at 59 Pittsburgh Circle was built in 1919 by L.J. Anderson. The house became the home of Benjamin & Sarah Balter in 1923 until the house was sold in the 1950’s. Mr. and Mrs. Ben Balter owned and operated B&B Market at three different locations on Lawrence Avenue over a thirty year span.
    We are trying to find out more about the history of the house since the Balter’s sold it in the 50′s. If you know who has lived here since, or want to share a story about those families, please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.