Light-Up Night Photograph, November 1954 – Need Help With Identification

Light-Up Night, Thanksgiving 1954

We found this picture down at the Monongahela Historical Society Museum. It’s a photo taken November 1954 of Bill Polaski (with the pole) turning on the power for one of the Christmas decorations on Main Street in Monongahela. We would like your help identifying the other people in the photograph.

Christmas 1954. Click image to enlarge.

I heard that one of the other people in the photograph is Al Ferrara.

There is a really neat story about the locally made Christmas star decorations that used to grace Main Street which I will post sometime around Christmas 2013. So how about emailing this photo to friends who may be able to identify these folks or share it on your Facebook page. Let me know what you find!

Today In 1911 – Women Drown As Steamer Capsizes In Gale On Monongahela River

The Henry A. Laughlin

STEAMER CAPSIZES IN GALE ON RIVER

Boat Goes Down Near Allenport, Pa., Carrying Three To Death.

MONONGAHELA. Pa., April 5

Caught In a gale of wind sweeping over the Monongahela river today, the steamer Henry A. Laughlln was overturned and sent to the bottom of the river near Allenport, drowning two women and a man and jeopardizing the lives of eleven members of the crew. The dead are Effie Hughes and Jane Lawrence, and an unidentified fireman. The steamer Is the property of the Jones & Laughlln Steel Company and is used to transport employes of the company to and from the plank. Although the wind was blowing hard, there was no thought that it was hard enough to overturn the steamer. The sweep of the wind on the river was not thought to be enough to make navigation dangerous.

The eleven members of the crew who escaped jumped for their lives as the boat turned turtle and succeeded in swimming ashore. The steamer now rests on the bottom of the river.

- From the Washington Post

Floating Down The Old Monongahlea

 

Listen to Charles Hart sing Floating Down the Old Monongahela*

*only foreigners say “MonongahEEla”.

Coal Miner On His Way Home From Work

I was doing a little research about the Cincinnatti Mine (Courtney PA) disaster that killed 97 miners 100 years ago and came across hand tinted picture of a coal miner on his way home from work.

Lent 1908 Style

Good advice from H.W. and W.L. McKinley Contractors and Builders, Monongahela PA. 1908

THINGS TO QUIT:

• Gossiping. Fidgeting. Grumbling and Hairsplitting.
• Saying fate is against you.
• Finding fault with the weather.
• Going around with a gloomy face.
• Fault-finding, nagging and worrying.
• Taking offense where none is intended.
• Dwelling on fancied slights and wrongs.
• Taking big things and doing small ones.
• Scolding and flying into a passion over trifles.
• Boasting of what you can do instead of doing it.
• Thinking that life is a grind and not worth living.
• Talking continually about yourself and your affairs.
• Depreciating yourself and making light of your abilities.
• Saying unkind things about acquaintances and friends.
• Exaggerating and making mountains out of molehills.

- SUCCESS

Monongahela Cemetery To Celebrate 150th Anniversary In 2013

Caleb Harvey – the first planning meeting was held at Mr. Harvey’s public house aka “The Old City Hotel” on April 3, 1863.

Did you know that the Monongahela Cemetery will celebrate its’ 150th Anniversary in 2013? To prepare the community for this milestone the Directors of the Cemetery will post interesting history information each month. The final entry will be in May of 2013. During the last week of June the public will be welcomed to participate in a special event each day. Click here to view the monthly history entries.

Here is a brief history of the origins of the cemetery taken from the cemetery website:

“It was a hot, summer day in 1863. The Civil War raged on, with Confederate troops fast advancing toward Northern soil. All able men of the Mon Valley were enlisted in the war effort. Sadly, many returned to their home ground in rough wooden coffins. A small city cemetery soon reached capacity.

As the number of war dead grew, a group of concerned citizens gathered at the Caleb Harvey’s public house to discuss the need for a final resting place for their felled compatriots. At that meeting, the citizens moved to purchase a parcel of land from local farmer William McClure to establish a cemetery that would serve the Mon Valley for generations to come.Hare & Hare, 19th-century landscape architects of national repute, designed the cemetery grounds. Their work—and the efforts of the Monongahela citizens—laid the foundation for what is today one of the areas finest cemeteries.”

Please Sign This Petition To Save St. Anthony Church In Monongahela

Please sign this petition to save St. Anthony Church in Monongahela. It’s is a beautiful well maintained church. I would hate to see it vacated:

Many of our elderly don’t know how to use the internet, computers or email so why not assist them and help them sign the petition too?

Double Rainbow Over Monongahela

Rainbow over Monongahela Area Library, June 2012 (click image to view at full size)

A passing storm left a rainbow over Monongahela this afternoon. See more pictures over at the Lost Monongahela Facebook Page.

Monongahela Riverboat T.P. Roberts

Above is the Monongahela riverboat T.P. Roberts from a postcard postmarked Monongahela, PA. 1909. The T.P. Roberts was an engineers boat that visited the Elizabeth Marine Ways at least twice. Visit the website “Steamboat Building In Elizabeth PA” view other photographs and to read more about the boat and the people who worked on her.

Mingo Park Map

Here’s a great map of Mingo Creek County Park. Click here to download the .pdf file of the map. Keep a copy on your iPhone for future reference when out at the park.