Posts Tagged hazel dell

      Another one of the few remaining buildings in the often discussed Hazel Dell Business District was Jake Britton’s “North Side Market”. Dale Brown shared with us how he recalled Jake’s store supported the entire North Side. Like a lot of the smaller corner stores in Ellwood, Mr. Britton ran credit accounts for all of the families and everyone would go in on payday to pay their tabs.
      Kathy Blank remembers Jake Britton’s Grocery Store’ was lovingly known as Jakies store. The store used to carry lots of Kosier foods and she also mentioned that Jake’s was where families could get groceries during hard times on tab. She also shared that during the end of the Great Depression, customers could get food from the North Side Market with small paper stamps.
      When you are facing the building, on the left there was a “beer garden” at one time, North Side News has been in the building for years but at another door, and there has always been apartments on the second floor. Over the years, the front has changed slightly and a number recalled the feed store before Snyder Saw. We would like to hear what you remember. If you have any memories of the building or of Jake Britton, please share your comments below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      We have heard from a number of people that remember the small news stand at the end of the previous Fifth Street Bridge for various reasons but no one can agree on the name. Those that do remember the little store remember the model airplanes, the comics, but overwhelmingly the thing remembered most is the candy.
      We had one visitor who shared that the newsstand had “the best penny candy” and ten cents would get you a nice little bag full. Those from Hazel Dell would stop at the newsstand on their way to one of the movie theaters in town, the Majestic and the Manos. A ticket to get in either theater would run you two bits and people were outraged when the price later went up to 35 cents. Back then, we have heard, if you wanted to you could even stay and watch the movie over again without paying again.
      The name we have been given the most is Triangle News, but the building has housed numerous other businesses over the years including realtors and even an arcade in the late 70′s early 80′s. We would like to hear your memories of the little building with a big history. Please share your memories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com
      A little side note on the attached picture, we noticed that the “dummy” is missing. The dummy was the cement block about three feet in diameter and between four or five feet tall. The top was rounded at and one time had a light atop and sat right in the center of the road on the Hazel Dell side of the bridge. We were told that both ends of the bridge at one time had one of these dummies and that they were originally designed to separate traffic.

       Long before King Cool, Donnie Iris, began performing at weddings at the age of five there was the Hazel Dell Mandolin Orchestra. This picture is believed to have been taken around 1910. Members at that time included, seated left to right, John Snare, Clarence Fox, James Shallenberger Sr., Fred Shelley, and John Clyde. Back row from left, Mack McClintock, Ralph Ott, Jerry Fisher.

     The former Ellwood City YMCA was located at the site of the former Hazel Dell School on the corner of the College Street and Line Avenue. Area residents enjoyed a number of organized activities that the “Y” offered including basketball leagues, volleyball leagues, soccer, hockey, and many others. The Ellwood City Ledger pictures here were advertisements for new leagues that were starting at the YMCA. The first was for a new floor hockey league for children in fourth grade through sixth grade (pictured from left to right are Erich Weyant, Jeff Boller, instructor Vic Rangel, and Adam Musse). The second picture was for pre-school soccer using a nerf ball. Pictured from left to right are Damien DeCaria, Michelle Rocco, Michael Rocco, Vic Rangel (instructor) and Paul Weingartner. 
     It was reported in the Beaver County Times in May of 1984 that the Ellwood City Council conducted a hearing to air public views on a YMCA request for the borough to create a municipal authority to handle financing of a proposed $1 million structure.
        “The new facility would have replaced the Ellwood YMCA at College Street and Line Avenue permitting it to expand programs with plans that included the installation of a health center with steam room, Nautilus, sauna, whirlpool, exercise room, and weight room that were not available at the old location. The new facility would also permit an Olympic size swimming pool to replace a 3 by 12 foot diameter children’s pool. Regulation size basketball and racquetball courts would have also been installed.
      The new authority would have been in charge of handling funds from private donations that were to be used to pay for the new facility.”
    It was later reported in August 1984, the Ellwood City Council announced approval of leasing land in Ewing Park to the Ellwood YMCA as a locale for the new YMCA. Building upon the site would cost about $500,000 less than previously planned sites including in the US Steel Industrial Park. Council granted the YMCA a ninety nine year lease on the property at a cost of one dollar a year. The double tennis courts would have to be removed to build the building, but would be replaced.

    At the corner of North Street and Line Avenue was Pinkey James Gulf Station. The service station used to be the hang out for the Road Rebel Car Club which Pinkeys son, Earl was a member.

     Pinkey’s Gulf Station later became Luttons Atlantic and then eventually Buccelli’s ARCO. In the 70′s, Buccelli’s added a restaurant in the back of the service station. Those that lived in Hazel Dell around the service station all knew when there was a fire because the fire whistle was located on top of the gas station and an older gentleman, Mr. Potter would go out and direct traffic for the firemen and tell them where the fire was.

    If you remember when the Central Tax Bureau building was a gas station, we would love to hear your memories, or any memories you might have of the Road Rebel Car Club. Please share your memories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

     This picture is part of a collection once owned by Harry W. Horton, Assistant Borough Engineer under Alex Main from 1920-1925. Most of the pictures show Ellwood City in an important stage of its development as it was getting more of the town out of the mud in the years following World War I.
    This picture is the North end of original Fifth Street Bridge looking West down Wampum Avenue. The house on the right as you are looking at the picture with the clothes hanging out back was once the home of Ellwood City Ledger’s Louise Carroll. Her mother rented the house in the 1940′s when it was owned by Madison Maine.
We have not had a lot of luck uncovering the business that was inside the building on the left at the very end of the bridge. Further down Wampum Avenue across from the house on the right, Morini’s built their neighborhood store. Some of the homes still remained from this picture into the 1940′s as Mrs. Carroll remembers that one of the small houses was still standing and a lonely older lady lived in one. She still has memories of her mother baking homemade bread and occasionally would take her a loaf.
    If you look closely at the picture, there a couple of odd things that kind of stand out, at least to us. The sidewalk on the bridge is paved and looks very fancy, especially since the main roads leading to and from the bridge are all still dirt roads. Another thing that stands out is the rooftop next to the business at the end of the bridge. The building looks to large to be an outhouse but we don’t know what else it could be. The dirt road just seems to drop off into the building also. Like we said, odd.
    If you see something else we missed, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Construction for the School in what is now Ewing Park began in 1925 when the area was still part of Wayne Township. The eight room school was officially dedicated January 1st 1926 as an independent school and not part of the Ellwood City School District. The park area continued to be a part of Wayne Township until 1931 when it became the fifth ward of Ellwood City at which time the school became part of the Ellwood City Area School District and became the Ewing Park Elementary School.
    The area was originally called Wayne Park before becoming more commonly known as the Shelby Land Company’s Plan. The mill decided to honor the Generals and Admirals of World War I with its street names in the park. The name of the plan was later changed to Ewing Park after Thomas Ewing. Mr. Ewing was the assistant to the Vice President of the National Tube Company and was also the tube mill attorney who did the legal work associated with the building of the community in the park.
    The last time the school was used for education purposes was during the construction of the new Hartman Elementary School on Fourth Street. This was however not the first time displaced students attended the school. After the Wurtemburg School burned down in 1933 grades first through third were bused to the Ewing Park School while fourth through sixth grade were bused to Hazel Dell to attend Northside Elementary. The temporary classrooms were setup in the basement of the school. School children from Wurtemburg and Perry would walk a mile to meet at the old school building and get on a modified bus that the students called the Chicken Coop.
    After the students were back at the current Perry Elementary School, the basement was reverted back to its previous state. I have never personally been inside the school building, but luckily Bob Burrows filled us in on the layout of the basement classrooms. The small room under the entry stairs that faced Wood Street was reserved as a shelter in-case of an emergency and some government supplies were stored in that room as well. The room was also used on occasions to house the visiting dental hygienist and other similar temporary uses. The room to the left (North towards Adams Avenue) was the music room and arts and crafts room. The room to the right (South towards Beatty Street) was used as the indoor dodge ball/gym class when the weather prohibited outdoor physical education.
    After the school closed, the yard was used for a number of years for football and cheerleader practice for the Ellwood City Packers and later the Ellwood City Little Wolverines. I remember running the triangle shaped field before and after each practice. We would love to hear your memories of the school, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    Frank Paglia (also known as Frank Straw) had the commercial building at 817 Second Street built in 1918 for his store. Frank’s first wife died in 1921 and he remarried Linda Giovanno of Naples, Italy. The two of them along with Frank’s children, operated a store in the two story brick building. After Frank’s death, the property was sold to Nick and Emma Rocco who owned the Rocco Store across Second Street at the time. Mrs. Paglia took her share and invested it in a small store with a house at 32 Line Avenue (corner of Line Avenue and Smiley Street). Many people have shared their memories about Paglia’s store across from Barry’s.
    We have heard that Mrs. Paglia was the only store in Hazel Dell that would give you the refund on empty soda bottles and PEM Morris shared how his mom often sent him to Paglia’s for milk and DeRosa’s bread. He also recalled getting his first baseball cards of the season at Linda’s as she always seemed to get them before anyone else.
    He also shared with us his memories of years later taking his own children to Paglia’s store when they were small to pick out penny candy. Linda, as always, waited patiently for them to make their choices. For the young children, it was one of the highlights of the family trips to Ellwood City and they still remember it today.
    If you would like to share your memories of Paglia’s store, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    The house at 110 Gregg Street has had many different looks over the years and dates back along with one of the older structures in Ellwood City. The building that stood almost against the Baltimore & Ohio railroad tracks that ran through Hazel Dell was originally the Cole farm barn. The Coles were one of the original landowners in Hazel Dell and the original farm house still stands on the south side of Wampum Avenue just before the “S” bend at the western border of Ellwood City. Originally the house faced south and was given a Wampum Avenue address (800 Rear). It was not until 2007 that 911 emergency responses changed the street address to the present 110 Gregg Street to eliminate confusion.
    Until the Ellwood City Short-line was completed in 1891, the railroad ran through Hazel Dell. The B&O line ran up what today is Wampum Avenue heading west until it met North Street. From the Southern most point of North Street the line veered a little North and would run right through what is today Tony’s Distributor drive through. From Tony’s, the tracks continued west along the present alleys just north of  Wampum Avenue running right beside the old Cole family barn. After Gregg Street, Wampum Avenue turns north at the “S” bend and meets up with the abandoned railroad right away again. 
    Even after the house was converted into a residence in the early part of the 1920′s it still wasn’t completed. Since that time, there have been four additions to the house, one in all four directions. The extension out of the front of the hose may have been the result of a motor vehicle rolling down the steep hill of Gregg Street. The Beaver County Times reported on April 27, 1982 that an eighteen year old Ellwood City man was in fair condition after being flown by life-flight helicopter to Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh with head injuries. He was a passenger in a Jeep that crashed into the front porch of the Ralph Bognoski residence causing the living room wall to collapse. Four members of the Bognoski family, who were watching television in the room, were slightly injured from falling debris according to the police report. The house has since been restored and was featured on the 2008 Women’s Auxiliary Christmas House Tour. 
    If you have any memories you would like to share of the house at 110 Gregg Street or of the families that once lived here, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    The house at 18 Fifth Street was built in 1891 for James J. Meneize, a hand picked associate of Ellwood City’s founder Henry W. Hartman. James worked for Mr. Hartman in Beaver Falls but when Hartman began building his town, he brought James here to Ellwood City to work for the Pittsburgh Company and help develop the area. The house was built in a nice upper class area at the time. In 1891 when the house was built, the subway under the tracks did not exist and the bridge connecting Hazel Dell was on Sixth Street.
    Meneize’s daughter Mary Ellwood Meneize was the first baby born in the new town of Ellwood City. The Meneize family also holds other distinctions like they were the first family in Ellwood to have three generations serve on the borough council. James J.’s son James P. and his son Raymond all served the community through the council. James son Robert was one of the young men that made the ultimate sacrifice for us in World War II. Since he was stationed in the Philippians when the War broke out, he possibly was Ellwood City’s first casualty in Corregidor (since the date is unknown, this is unconfirmed).
    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 or who turned it into a bait shop, please leave a comment below or email us your memories at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com. 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 house at 111 Wampum Avenue has been known as many things in Ellwood City’s history, but it will remain known as the Nathanial Nye home. The house was once a train station, the scene of the first Hazel Dell Borough election, and it is not where it used to be. Today the house sits across Wampum Avenue across from Barry’s Ice Cream but the structure formally sat on the other end of Wampum Ave where Costa Spoa built a supermarket in 1960. James and Ruth purchased the home from Mr. Spoa and had it moved to its current location.
    Built in the 1860’s by J.H. Marshall, the building was the Hazel Dell station for the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad before Ellwood City was founded. While it was a train station, John Marshall served as the flagman since Hazel Dell was only a flag stop on the line. John also served as postmaster there until his son-in-law Nathanial Nye was appointed to the post on October 25, 1886. Nathaniel P. Nye was also elected Noble Grand of the Glenn Park Lodge, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at the clubs institution on September 10, 1891.
    We are trying to uncover 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, the time you broke your arm falling out of the tree in the back yard, or even the great treats they gave out on Halloween. 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.

    As Ellwood City grew and the town was laid out, Lawrence Avenue became the “market district” and the main road through town. The intersection of Sixth Street and Lawrence Avenue was the busiest in town in those early days. A lot of this was due to the bridge that connected Ellwood City to College Street in Hazel Dell was at the end of Sixth Street until 1915.
    On the Southwest corner of this intersection was the Dambach Building. The Dambach Store locatedon the first floor was an early version of a department store and serviced the town for many years long before a super-mega-mart was even thought of.
    A number of other business were located in this building over the years before it was completely destroyed by fire. If you have any memories of this building, please leave a comment below or email us by CLICKING HERE.