Posts Tagged Frisco

    Did you know the Elwood City area used to have a pizza shop? Okay, so we still have one or two, however, do you remember Frisco Pizza in the Franklin Plaza? Here is a picture from the Ellwood City Ledger showing the owner Ed Kingston pilling on the toppings. Frisco Pizza differentiated itself from the other various pizza shops in town as they delivered.

Mr. Spoa had been in the grocery business in Ellwood City as long ago as 1922, which was the same time he arrived in Ellwood City. “Uncle Gus” as he was affectionately known, came to this country from a war torn Yugoslavia in 1922 through Ellis Island at the age of seventeen to join his brother. Originally born in the village of Gobesh, Macedonia (later part of Yugoslavia) May 12, 1905, he was one of eleven children.
    His brother Ernest, who came to Ellwood City in 1917, was in the grocery business with Gus Henton at the corner of First Street and Spring Avenue. Costa Spoa later became a partner in the business when his brother died of appendicitis at the age of 26 on February 22, 1923. At that time, the area the store was located in was still part of Burnstown. Mr. Spoa returned to Yugoslavia in 1930 to marry his business partner Mr. Henton’s sister Donce Torbu on November 28th 1930.
As his family grew larger and Henton’s family also grew, the store was no longer able to sustain both families. Mr. Spoa branched out on his own and developed Spoa’s Market on First Street (later First Street Bakery & currently an apartment) in1940. Eventually he moved the market to Spring Avenue at the present site of Pizza Joes. In 1960, he built the Wampum Avenue Value King Store and leased it to Loblaw. 1963 Costa bought the “8 till Late” store in Frisco (later Riverside Chrsyler Dodge) and in 1965 he developed Christy’s Plaza which has housed a grocery store, a bank, pharmacy, restaurant, and other stores over the years. The grocery store at the plaza originally was not Costa Spoa’s store as it was leased out. The Spoas bought the former Herberts Market in Ellport in 1974 and sold the Spring Avenue location to Mario Morini in 1965. In 1985, Uncle Gus opened Christy’s Market in Christy’s Plaza in Franklin Township.
Mr. Spoa saw the grocery business change around him from a time when grocers went to the customers to get their order and groceries were delivered later in the day to a time when nothing was purchased with money but instead everything was bought on credit, to the current state of the industry today. He was one of the last area business men that could recall the days when supplies were unloaded from the Harmony Line street cars onto a horse drawn wagon and the cash registers were all hand cranked.
Costa Spoa was an avid supporter of the community receiving awards for his support of the Boy Scouts, the local YMCA and almost every other organization that asked. Since he spent up to 18 to 20 hours a day at the store, he had little time to join the various organizations himself. To say that Mr. Spoa was just a strong supporter of the Monastery of Transfiguration in Wurtemburg would be a gross understatement.
A little unknown fact is that Mr. Spoa owned the area’s first television; a large consol television with a seven inch black and white screen. He owned the television so early in the television era that he actually had to wait for the Dumont Station (later KDKA) to start broadcasting so he could use it. Even though there was no broadcast, people would come into the store just to see the test pattern on this new fangled machine.
Uncle Gus’s life in Ellwood City had a rocky beginning in Ellwood City as the passenger train he rode from Pittsburgh to Ellwood City in was involved in a collision with a freight train in the tunnel in Frisco. Even with the rough start, Mr. Spoa was a true patriot. He was very proud of America and that he became a citizen of this country. He loved the opportunities this country offered and the life he was able to have here.
If you would like to share your memories of “Uncle Gus” please leave a comment below or you can email us by clicking HERE.

      We have heard from a couple of people that remember when the circus came to Ellwood City but it took awhile to get a picture of such an event. At the beginning of the twentieth century the circus came to town a couple of times and set up in the west end part of town just North of Lawrence Avenue. In this picture you can see the mill in the background so we believe this was one of the times they set up at that location. There are a number of tents including the big three ring tent on the left, the “attractions” tent on the right and a number of smaller tents and wagons in front of both. We can not tell what the children are sitting on in the bottom left corner of the picture. 
      Leonard Chapman recalled that for a number of years the circus would be on the farm of Ben Parker on Wampum Road just west of the town limits. He shared how a lot of the local kids would go and help the circus set up the big tent and the other tents in exchange for a ticket to see the show. It was a lot of hard work but they enjoyed doing it and being part of “the show”. He also shared the excitement they got being around the circus people and seeing the animals while setting it up and likened it to being back stage.
      The year the circus truck wrecked near the Frisco Bridge was a year it was held at the Parker farm. On the last day the circus was in town, the truck that hauled the cook tent left ahead of the other trucks to go to the next town to setup for the next day. The truck went through Ellwood and down old Frisco hill but lost control. The large truck did not make the turn on the Frisco side of the bridge and hit the house to the right, not the house straight off the end the bridge. We have not validated if anyone was hurt in the accident or if the truck hit the bridge itself.
    If you recall the circus coming to town, we would enjoy hearing your memories. Please share below, or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    In 1925, Franklin Township built an eight-room, two-story red brick building to replace the two-room North Star School at the corner of Mercer Road and Zelienople Road. The students from the old Frisco School and the old North Star building were assigned to the new brick building for the 1925-1926 school year. The Frisco School building reverted back to its owner from when it was an old bank building.
    In 1931, plans were made for an eight-room addition to the North Star School but the proposed $25,000 bond issue to build was rejected. The school continued to grow and as other schools in the area closed the students were sent to the brick North Star building. The Old Furnace School closed in 1943, Greenwood closed in 1947, and the American School was shut down in 1948.
   The school was used for pupils from first grade through eighth grade. After eighth grade, the North Star students were sent to Ellwood City, Zelienople, or Beaver Falls High Schools to finish their education.
     The school was eventually torn down after standing empty for a number of years to make room for a shopping plaza along the four lane highway (Route 288). We would love to hear any memories you may have of the old North Star School. If you would like to share, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    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. We would appreciate any memories you might have of these buildings or pictures you may be able to share as we are working on a full story about these.
    We are going to focus on one of those businesses now that you might recall. 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 us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Everyone loves a parade. There are many reasons people go to the Ellwood City parades; to celebrate the holiday’s, to see and hear the fire trucks, to honor the veterans, to see a relative on one of the many floats, or maybe you go just to get the candy. Ellwood City has seen its share of parades, from Memorial Day parades to Fireman’s Assosiation parades, perhaps none larger or more spectacular as the Ellwood City Centennial parade. The celebration of Ellwood City’s 100th anniversary drew an estimated crowd of 20,000 spectators.
    We at Ellwood City Memories not only enjoy a parade, but we enjoy the pictures from the parades. Those pictures taken of your daughter dressed up like an angel on the Christmas float might have a store in the background that has long since disappeared from the Ellwood City landscape.
    Here are some pictures donated to our site from Mark Barnes that are great examples. 
    The first picture is taken on Fifth Street in front of what is today Vocelli Pizza. The tall brick building has an old adverting sign painted on the side for Simon’s and Gold Metal Flour. Some of the business’ visible in the picture include: McKelvey’s Whirlpool Appliances, Christian Gift and Supply Shop, and Jo’s Hair Styling Center. If you would like to share any memories you have of any of the business, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.
    On the second picture of the same parade from the approximately the same location, a lot of the same businesses are visible including McKelvey’s Whirlpool Appliances and Christian Gift and Supply Shop. On the left half of the McKelvey Building is a hanging yellow sign for Western Union, and way in the distance appears to be a Sinclair Gas Station sign at the gas station on the corner of Fifth Street and Spring Avenue.
    The third picture taken on Lawrence Avenue across from the Municiple Building shows the large Bolotin’s Furniture (later Ullman’s) sign, J.C. Doutt & Co., and Wilkofsky’s Drug store (sign above the door says “prescriptions”, but is partially hidden by a flag) among others. The Wilkofsky’s sign isn’t yet above the door… see photo #5). The other stores and restaurants in the picture are blurred, but if you know what is there, please let us know.
    As you can see from the pictures of the Frisco Fire Truck and of the soldiers, there are no memorials yet in the front yard of the Municipal Building. You can also see the Oswald billboard painted on the side of the Drug Store beside the Municipal Building. I believe that Oswald sign was on that building until only a couple of years ago when it was finally painted over.

Hello, first and foremost I want to thank everyone who has already contributed photographs to Ellwood City Memories. I am not looking to keep your pictures, but rather would prefer a copy or scanned digital version of your pictures. We are always looking for more pictures of Ellwood City and will always gladly take any pictures you may offer, however there are some specific pictures we are looking for that you may have in your attic. Currently we are looking for…

• Any Ellwood City Sports Team picture including the Koppel Mud Divers & the West End Canaries (mush ball)
• Parade pictures - background is what we are looking for
• Drive up on Ellwood-Zelienople Road called Easy’s Twin Kiss
• Nick’s Snack Bar
• Red Hot’s at the end of 5th St bridge (was Ionelies, was Ted’s Hamburgers, was Mayflower Lunch)
• Either of the old Fire Stations
• *** Information on the Kingsmen Car Club. ***
• Wilson’s Bar (had the boxing ring in the basement)
• “Old Brick School House” on Glen Ave
• Nye School
• Frisco Bridge 

You can email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

If you do not have the means to email us your picture, please contact us and we can bring a small scanner to you and the picture never has to leave your sight. We are always looking for pictures to add to our website and are very gracious for the ones we have already received.

WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR OLD COPIES OF ELLWOOD CITY DIRECTORIES. Not old phone books, but the actual old “city directories”.

The railroad bridge in Frisco at the end of the tunnel leading into Ellwood City has been photographed as early as 1892. Some pictures and stories call it the B. and O. Bridge, others call it the P.H.B. and N.C. Bridge and in 1892 it was called the Pittsburgh and Western Bridge. I’m sure you know better than I what we should call it but for now it is the Railway Bridge in Frisco.

What Was That Restaurant: Thank you to Bob Stevenson and Susan for supplying the information on the El-Mar Restaurant (owned by Ray Gillespie) across from the Ferndale trailer court in the 1950′s and 1960′s.

Mysterious Letter – There is a letter sent from Ellwood City by Samuel Hayden on October 8th 1945 in possession of Mr. George Bannister from South Yorkshire England that sends the news that Mr. Haydens grandson has retuned safe from the war in Europe and additional information. If you are related to Mr. Hayden, Mr. Bannister would like to get in contact with you. Email us and we will give you his email address.

Ellwood City Tobacco Pickers – Local teenagers traveled to New England every summer to work on the tobacco fields there. We would like to thank Denine (Jinar) Rough, Beverly Greenberg, Janice Sodergren, and Mary Joe Davis for their contributions and for setting us straight on the facts.

Fallout Shelters: Thank you to those who have pointed out a couple of the fallout shelters in town. We know there were more so anyone who knows more or has any pictures of them, we would love to hear from you.

Early Tube Mill Products:  Thank you to the Champalin Valley Transportation Museum for supplying pictures of the bicycles made from the tubes Ellwood City produced.

U.S. Steel Conference Table: Thank you to those who helped us to track down this treasued relic that represents a very important part of Ellwood City’s past.

Grimm Bridge:  Thank you to Bruce Wells at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum and Wayne Cole formerly of Ellwood City and author of Ghost Rails VI: The Harmony Route for helping us identify the old Harmony Line Bridge that crossed the Connoquenessing into Ewing Park after running along the East side of the Tube Mill.  However, we are still looking for anybody that might have a picture of this bridge. We originally thought the Interurban Bridge was the bridge in question, but that bridge was a quarter mile downstream from the current railroad bridge in Frisco and also called the Knox Bridge.

Unmarked Indian Grave: In the back of an Ellwood City yearbook from the 1920’s, there is a small article on the legend that Col. Isaac Ellwood, whom our town is named after,  accidentally shot and killed a Native American somewhere behind the old Ellwood City Hospital. The story goes on to say that people came from as far away as Pittsburgh to visit this “Indian’s” grave and to honor him. The mystery, “where is the grave site”?

Friday’s Dairy: Thank you to the many people who helped with this mystery including Kirk Zikeli who pointed us to the actual Friday Dairy’s shop.

Blue & White Restaurant: It was located on 6th Street across from the current ESB bank between Lawrence Ave & Beaver Ave. There was a drugstore on the corner and then the Blue & White Restaurant. They were not exactly positive about the dates but believed it to be open late fifties and early sixties.

Roundheads: Thank you to Bob Stevenson for his information on the roundheads and the Sons of Veterans.

      The Railroad has played a very important role in the development of Ellwood City. The first lumber was brought in via the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad to the Frisco Station, where it was hauled into Ellwood City by Elmer E. Hazen and his team of horses.
Multiple railroad companies have scheduled Ellwood City as a stop at the Union station including the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) previously known locally as Pittsburgh & Western and the P&L.E (Pittsburgh & Lake Erie) railroad. Ellwood City was also on the P.H.N.C. & Butler (Pittsburgh, Harmony, and New Castle) interurban railway and housed the Harmony line trolley station on the corner of Fifth Street and Spring Avenue.
       By 1910 horse and buggies shared the paved streets of Ellwood City with more and more automobiles but the city was still divided by the main railroad line. There was already a bridge over the railroad tracks on Second Street but it was not until 1912 that B&O built the Fifth Street underpass “subway” railroad span across Fifth Street.
The Connoquenessing Creek also runs through the middle of Ellwood City so a number of bridges have been necessary over the years. Originally Hazel Dell (North side) and Ellwood City were connected by a covered bridge. This bridge was replaced with the Hazel Dell steel bridge in 1896 that spanned bank to bank and connected Sixth Street with College Street. In 1915 Ellwood City replaced this bridge with the Veterans Memorial Bridge (also known as the Fifth Street Bridge) that connected Fifth Street with Todd Avenue. Eighty years later, this bridge was replaced with a new bridge linking Fifth Street with North Street. The original Ewing Park Bridge was built 1918 by the Shelby Tube Co. and was a toll bridge until the city took it over in 1939. Ellwood City replaced this bridge in 2004 with a new bridge in the same location.