Posts Tagged lincoln

      I was flipping through a stack of old Ellwood City Ledgers that someone had let me borrow a couple of weeks ago and came to an article where they made a big deal about a certain Ellwood City baseball standout that was coming to the end of his career as a Wolverine and in his last days, hit a towering home run that not only cleared the fence but actually landed on the roof of the school. Of course this was in the days when the field was beside Lincoln High School, which a few of you might remember.    
      The way the article was written, it made the homerun seem to be a Babe Ruth-ian type of homerun that was typically reserved for movies like “The Natural”. Of course after reading this, I thought to myself that this would make a great History’s Mystery. The only problem I thought of at the time was that everyone would remember a spectacular homerun like this.
      I posted the question in the History’s Mystery section of Ellwood City Memories and it turns out, I had another problem. The home run was indeed a Herculean fete, but not that uncommon. I heard from a number of you including Bob Mallary who guessed Al Miller and Don Tindall who guessed Rich Potter. The article in the Ledger was about the drive off of the bat of Jesse Brown, but like I said, he was not alone. Jim Hockenberry, who grew up around the school remembers playing sandlot ball on the field a lot and also recalls that Mary Ann (Corigan) Caputo would easily hit baseballs onto the roof from home plate. Not only could she do it easily, but she did it regularly.
      If you know of anyone else that hit a drive onto the roof of the school from the old field, please share your memories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      The 1964-65 Ellwood City Boys Basketball team not only sported the schools greatest uniforms, but also posted the best overall record in the history of Lincoln High School (18-4). The members of the record setting team included; front row, left to right, Darl Romanoski, Jim DeMark, Bill Donnelly, Chuck Hennon, and John Kolik; back row, the ledgendary hall of fame Coach L. Butler Hennon, Al DiFrischia, Bob Fusco, Tony DeLisio, Ernie Hemmerly, and Jim Yohe.

      The 1995 Lincoln Hich School Wolverine Baseball Team from Ellwood City were crowned Section 10-AAA CHAMPIONS and WPIAL Quarter Finalists.  
      Pictured above front row, from left: bat boys, Santino Riccio, Mike Sharek, Jason Hazen, Steve Kimmel, Darin Sharek, Dave Ottavio, Kyle Blazin, Joey Bartolomeo, Kevin Ricciuti and Ryan Sulia. Second row, from left: Brad Welsh, Mike Pelloni, Joe Nardone, Curt Dominelli, Rody Polojac, Eric Meyer, Justin Zona and Sam Pelloni. Third row, from left: Ronnie Morrow, John Frisk, Blake Schilling, Larry Pasquale, Tom Nulph, Mike Hall, Ron Harper, Ryan Sudano and B. J. Boyle. Fourth row, from left: Ed Casciato, Kevin Stiles, Nick DeSanzo, Craig Radvansky, Mark Gardner, B. J. Guy, Matt Barberio and Joe Battaglia. Fifth row, from left: B. J. Neghiu, Ryan Venezie, Matt Haydo, Jeff Hall, Ron Walker, Adam Wehman, Neil Blazin and Corey Best. Sixth row, from left: Head Coach Jeff Fotia, Assistant Coaches Joe Ricciuti and Bill Baker; Players Eric Slevin, Travis Loccisano and Pat Wehman; and Dave Blazin, Vic Sharek and Vince Riccio. Some people were missing when the photo was taken.

      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.

      Denny Schill is known for many things during his tenure as the executive secretary of the Ellwood City Area Chamber of Commerce, but before he got that job and began refereeing high school games, he coached one season of football at Lincoln High School. The 1935 Ellwood City team ended a streak of losing seasons when they finished the season 8-1-1. Mr. Schill retired from coaching with the highest career winning percentage and is only one of four coaches in Ellwood City football history have posted career winning records.

This is “his” team…

According to the Ellwood City Ledger, from left to right in the first and second rows are; Bill Young, Al Biego, Robert “Jiggs” Hazen, Dave Luxenberg, Joe Pishioneri, Abe Pratt, Harold Young, Simon Hughes, William Hienz, Jim Flanagan, captain Mike Kraynak (holding football), Francis Miller, Augie Metz, Phil Tammaro, Bill Daufen, Andy Conti, Milton Young, Chester Bognosky, Onarato “Russia” Funari, Mike Perry, Nick Gib, and Tony Scopellite.

In the third and fourth rows with white shirts, from left, Jim Beemer, Bob Schantz, Carl Zeigler, Adam Izzo, Dorace Shapiro, Louis Butchelle, Chuck Rupert, George Ungham, Ben Keller, Dan Fenechi, Eugene Sam, Kenneth Welsh, Vince Galati, Mike Santillo, Sam Leopardi, Harold “Mac” Miller, Mike Gaydosz, Tony Cipro, Ben Bartle, Fred Teolis, and Floyd Rocco.

In the fifth row (in black jerseys), from left, Delmar Wiley, Ed Snyder, Herman Berendt, Art Kaufman, Bob Koah, Don Muir, Dale Worley, Bill Meyer, frank Blaine, Chester Franus, Andy Fehl, Joe Janose, Jim Hall, Donald Marshall, Al Morabito, Chuck Shaffer, Phil Wiegel, and Jack “Sparky” Adams.

In the next to last row from the left, Harry O’Brien, Ralph Tritt, Mark DeBortoli, Gene Massine, Martin Shaffer, Sam Costantino, George HAll, Walter Robuck, and Kenneth Price, managers, and Chester Swick.

At the top, from left were, Ralph Shaffer, principal; Thurman “Dutch” Croft and Gerald Newton, assistant coaches; Vaughn DeLong, superintendent of schools; and Schill, head coach.
Missing from the photo were Nick Frisk and George Robuck, who were out of the lineup with broken legs when the picture was taken.

Please feel free to share your memories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

    As a senior for the Lincoln High School girls’ basketball team in 1989, Annie Malkowiak became the first area player, boy or girl, to crack the 2,000-career-points barrier. After her last High School game for Ellwood City, the future Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame member and California University of Pennsylvania sports Hall of Fame member, was the all time leading scorer for Lincoln High School and owned a number of records and honors. Annie’s trophy case included…

Modern Day Single Game Scoring Record – 59 points
Single Season Scoring Record – 773 points
Career Scoring Record – 2,368 points – Avg 26.3 pts per game
Mars Christmas Tournament All Star Team, Outstanding Defensive Player, and Tournament MVP
Pittsburgh Press All Section Team – Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior Year
Pittsburgh Post Gazette All-Section Team – Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior Year
Played in A.A.U. Junior Olympics in Miami, FL (Avg 10 pts/game)

Leading Scorer in Section 7 AAA Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior Year
Three Years First Team All Section
Third Leading Scorer in WPIAL During Junior Year (26.2 pts/game)
All Time Leading Scorer in Beaver County
All Time Leading Scorer in Lawrence County
First Basketball Player (Boy or Girl) to Score 2,000 Points
All Time Leading Scorer for Lincoln High School

The associate director of athletic development at California University and assistant basketball coach for the Lady Vulcans and was formerly the head girl’s basketball coach at Uniontown and California high schools.

The Annie “MAC” (Master Any Challenge) Malkowiak Scholarship is awarded to a California University of Pennsylvania student who is involved in community organizations and has overcome challenges in his or her life.

      Long before Lincoln High School there was the Ellwood City High School out of the Central School on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Sixth Street. The School did not field a football team in 1902 as there were not enough boys in the school to put a team on the field but the community still had a team. A great team as it turns out. 
      The Ellwood Athletic Club put together a football team to take the field for Ellwood and in turn, that team finished undefeated and attracted crowds estimated at 1,000 for most of its games. The climax of that history making season was on a snowy Thursday afternoon in the final game of the season when the Ellwood A.C. team defeated a Grove City team by a score of 11-0. Touchdowns at that time were worth only five points.
      That game and the others played by the team were probably played in Burnstown. The Ellwood Citizens band was on hand that day and furnished some music, according to a Dec. 5, 1902 edition of the Ellwood Citizen.
      The team was organized in September of that year by the Ellwood Athletic Club. John Offutt, superintendent of the Shelby Tube Company, was in charge of finances and also played in the teams first game a 24-0 victory over New Castle – but apparently did not play after that.
      The picture here is of the 1903 Ellwood City Athletic Clubs football team. Pictured include back row Aussin, unknown, Bill Robbins, unknown, unknown, Al Crone, Bid Gillespie, Judd Turner; Front row, Govern (Mack) McMurdo, unknown, Dave Havise, Laughlin McConahy, unknown; Front; Bert Gates. This picture of the team was taken in front of the Central School. It too was an independent team, and not affiliated with the school. It was not until 1904 that the Ellwood City High School fielded its first football team and not until 1925 that Ellwood would triumph over rival New Castle.

       Melwood Norman “Buzz” Guy, Jr. (born March 20, 1936 in New Castle, Pennsylvania) is a former Lincoln High School graduate who went on to play offensive lineman professionally in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL).
      Guy played college football at Duke University where he anchored a top notch line that led Duke to be the best football program in the ACC and considered one of the best in the country. One of the University’s greatest seasons saw the 1957 Blue Devils represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl and finish the season with a No. 16 national ranking.
       Buzz was drafted in the third round of the 1958 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He first saw playing time with the New York Giants (1958-1959) including the 1958 Title game referred to as “The Greatest Game Ever Played” (resulting in a 23 to 17 overtime loss to the Baltimore Colts). Guy earned the rare distinction of being a starter with the Dallas Cowboys during their first season in the league after being selected by the Cowboys in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft. Mr. Guy also played for the AFL’s Denver Broncos in 1961 and the Houston Oilers.
      The mountain of a man from Ellwood City played offensive guard throughout his career. After his playing days were over, he worked as a salesman for the Borg-Warner Co. Back in Ellwood City with his wife Louise Ramella Guy, Buzz belonged to the Lions Club, was a Cub Scout Leader, and enjoyed golfing and remodeling older homes.
      If you would like to share your memories of Buzz Guy, please leave a comment below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

       In his eighteen year coaching span here, the ledgendary coach Bill Spellman turned Ellwood City into one of the best High School teams in the area winning two WPIAL championships back when the league consisted of 130 teams as there were no separations based on school size such as single A, triple A, as it is today. His team barely missed a third title during his tenure on the final at at-bats in the final inning. 
       During Spellman’s final ten years, Ellwood City won the section title eight out of those ten years, won two league championships, finished runner-up once and reached the semi finals three other times. His career total of 320 wins and 87 losses gives him a remarkable winning rate of 79%. His teams compiled incredible records such as 23-3 (1962), 20-2 (1965). 27-2 (1968) 26-4(1969) and 30-7 (1971), winning sixteen games in a row that his final season.

Excerpt from Spellman: One Man’s Influence by Rev. John Zingaro
       “In that day, athletes tended to play two sports, sometime three. Many teens from the schools in the area who faced each other in football and basketball would also meet in baseball. Thus, stars from nearby towns like Joe Namath and Mike Ditka who gave Ellwood City headaches in the autumn and winter also played against the local boys in the spring. But, in the spring, schools which gave Ellwood City trouble in other sports met their match. Ellwood became a powerhouse in baseball. Playing against schools two to five times its size, Spellman’s teams rose to renown in the second largest high school league in the nation, the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL).
      A modest man, Spellman often gave credit to others. And rightly so. He knew how dedicated were many dads and moms in the steel town of Ellwood City – as well as those in its neighboring communities of Koppel, Wampum, Chewton, Wurtemburg and Ellport. They formed the foundation for the coach’s success by creating one of the nations earliest and best-organized sandlot baseball programs. But once the youths arrived at Lincoln High School, it was Spellman who took them to an even higher level.”
 

     According to the Lincoln High School Marching Blue Band’s Facebook page, the Lincoln High School Blue Band was created in 1958, when the school colors were changed from Maroon and Gray to Royal Blue and White. Since that year, the band under the direction of the original general manager Mr. Weinstein has been known as the Blue Band. Throughout the years the Blue Band has kept with it’s traditional high step marching. Band director Mr. Paul Berendt in 2002 switched the Marching Blue Band to an all brass format, similar to Ohio State University’s Marching Band. 
     Now under the direction of Mr. Lee Caldwell Jr., the Blue Band has kept up the traditions that have made it the “Pride of Ellwood City” marching band while adding the newest feature and fan favorite “The Funk”. 
     The LHS Blue Band has performed in numerous states and other countries since it’s inception in 1958 and thousands of Ellwoodians have been members of not only the marching band but also the numerous Lincoln High School ensembles including; Pep Band, Jazz Ensemble I, Jazz Ensemble II, Jazz Ensemble III, Commencement Band, Junior High Band, and the Elementary Band. We would enjoy hearing your favorite memory from not only those who served in the band, but those that have enjoyed the band’s performances in the numerous festivals, sporting events, parades, competitions and so on. Please share your memories below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

     In 1922, the Pittsburgh, Harmony, Butler & New Castle Railway Company created the Harmony Short Line Motor Transportation Company primarily for freight purposes but the busses were soon after used to supplement the Beaver Falls branch of the trolley line. Additional bus lines were added by 1924 to supplement Ellwood City and New Castle rail service along with a new route in 1925 between Butler and New Castle where rail service was not present. These bus lines were originally used primarily for getting freight and additional passengers to and from the already established trolley operation. 
     In 1929 a new route was added to the regularly scheduled routes between Pittsburgh and Zelienople which was extended in 1930 to Ellwood City. The extended route connected Pittsburgh to the existing Ellwood City – New Castle route.
     Unfortunately due to increasing popularity of privately owned automobiles and ultimately the Great Depression; in April of 1931, the entire Harmony system including bus and trolleys went into receivership. The Harmony rail service was eliminated and the Ellwood City – Beaver Falls – New Castle portion was converted to bus operation.
     It was reported on August 12, 1954 that two men purchased the Ellwood City Motor Coach Company from Beaver Valley Motor Coach who had purchased the company in 1952. Donald Wooster of Koppel, who was employed at Ellwood City Motor for fifteen years and Gerald Wallace of Ellwood City purchased the bus line and renamed it Wooster-Wallace Motor Coach line. 
     We have heard that there were a number of bus stops in Ellwood City including the main stop at the Jayhawk Restaurant on Lawrence Avenue. Lincoln High School students from Ellport had the option of either walking through Burnstown and around the tube mill to school or pay to ride the city bus each day. Other bus terminals we have heard about included a stop in Wurtemburg, Ellport, Wampum, Chewton, and stops in Hazell Dell. 
     We would love to hear your memories of the busses in and around Ellwood City. Please leave a comment below or email us your memories at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

      From the time it opened in the early summer of 1891 until W.G. Clark from Altoona took over, Hotel Lawrence was named Hotel Oliver. Hotel Lawrence was a summer resort for people from the cities and was surrounded by a beautiful park and picnic grounds. The hotel itself had electric lights, steam heat, pool halls, and a bowling alley.

      Mr. Clark had already been in the hotel business for many years when he took over the lease, changed the name of the hotel, and became the manager of the Hotel Lawrence. W.G. Clark ran the hotel but the popularity of the beautiful hotel and park continued to decline. Finally in 1915, the building and land were sold to the Ellwood City school board and converted to a school building and apartments until it was torn down in 1925 to make room for the newly planned civic center that included Lincoln High School, Hartman Elementary School, a public library and more. 

     The civic center obviously never happened due in a large part to the Great Depression and the lack of money needed for a project so large. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so below or email us at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com