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!

Martin Leisser Painting Of Monongahela City, Pa.

Martin Leisser Painting of Monongahela City.

Found this painting of Monongahela that was up for auction recently. Here are a few details:

Artist: Leisser, Martin B. (American, Western Pa. 1846-1940)
Title: Monongahela City
Date: late 19th Century
Medium: oil on canvas over cardboard
Dimensions: 8 x 11.75 inches
Description: A typical Leisser travelling painting sketch
Signature: incised with a stylus or paintbrush back point Leisser
Provenance: Harry Eichleay Gallery, Pittsburgh
Frame Type: gilded wood
Frame Size: 10.75 x 14.5 inches

I’m not sure but I think this painting shows Pigeon Creek in the foreground with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church steeple on the left and the Methodist Church steeple on the right. (The Methodist church used to have a huge steeple which was torn down and replaced with the current shorter one.) What do you think?

2012 Monongahela Area Light Up Celebration This Friday!

Just wanted to let you all know about the Monongahela Area Christmas light up celebration to be held on Friday, November 16th, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Most local businesses will be hosting open houses and offering treats and discounts. Here’s a list of activities for the evening:

• The Ringgold High School Marching Band and The Dance Company by Lori will lead the Lion’s Club who will deliver Santa Claus from The Slovak Club to his house at First Federal Savings Bank. Grilli’s Studio will be available to take your picture with Santa. All good little children will receive gifts from Santa!
• DJ Derek Galiffa of Galiffa Productions will entertain with holiday music in the Family Dollar plaza until 9:00 p.m.
• DJ Bill Lemon of Disco Inferno will entertain with Christmas music in front of the Chamber office in the 200 block of West Main Street until 9:00 p.m.
• Dave Wingo, previously with The Vogues, now with the duo DNA, will perform acoustic and electric guitar holiday music at Chess Park.
• Luminaries will light both sides of Main Street from Dierken’s Pharmacy in Monongahela to The Twist in New Eagle.
• Christmas Trees donated by Lone Oak Farm will be decorated and lit by Madonna Catholic Regional School, Ringgold Elementary South and community volunteers.
• Free shuttle bus service will be available until 9:00 p.m between Sheetz and New Eagle Bakery.
• Ringgold’s Raz Ma Taz Choir will sing carols throughout the community.
• Hill’s Restaurant will provide free hot chocolate.
• The Monongahela Historical Society will host a bake sale & will be selling Monongahela themed ornaments.
• The Monongahela Area Library will provide entertainment.
• Eat N Park will provide free cookies & hot chocolate.
• The Vintage Valley will have a holiday open house.
• Rabe’s Trading Post will have gift baskets.
• Hacker Shack Computers will have free pastries & hot chocolate.
• Miss Barbara’s School of Dance will perform at First Niagara Bank starting at 6:30 p.m.
• Barbara Mayfield of The Bee’s Nest will decorate all the pine trees on Main Street for Christmas.
• Cindy Cialone of Make Time for Massage will be giving out candy.
• The Monongahela Senior Center will be offering an open house and cookies.
• Mod On Main will be offering free hot apple cider, cookies and a 30% discount on all accessories.
• Chaney’s Natural Wellness will have an open house offering demonstrations, mini-sessions andspecials.
• Just 4 You Gift Shop will have free cookies and selected Christmas discounts.
• My Coffee Shop is offering free hot chocolate and cookies.
• The Dance Company by Lori will perform at: 6:15 p.m – First Federal Savings Bank. 6:45 p.m. – Monongahela Senior Center. 7:00 p.m. – First Niagara & PNC Banks. 7:30 p.m. – Rite-Aid. 8:00 p.m. – Chess Park. 8:30 p.m. – Hills Restaurant and Eat N Park.
• First Baptist Church will present a living Nativity starting at 6:45.
• Studio 242 will host an open house.
• “The Bar” will have elves for the kids and a DJ for the adults.
• Dorothea’s Boutique will have live mannequins, wine & cheese, and 60% off discount.
• Knick Knacks and Paddy Wacks will have refreshments, face painting and give-aways for the kids.
• Madonna Catholic Regional School will have an open house along with crafts and refreshments.
• Favorite Little Things will celebrate their grand opening with cookies, hot chocolate and coffee.

Devore Hardware Building Then And Now

Gertrude Apartments around 1905 or so.

Devore Building today.

Found an old postcard of the Devore building at 437 West Main Street. Back then it was known as Gertrude Apartments. The building is instantly recognizable and looks great for being over 100 years old.

Chess Park Then and Now

I came across this old post card featuring Chess Park. This image was taken from the northeast corner looking west:

Chess Park looking west circa 1900.

The postcard wasn’t dated but my guess is that the picture was taken around 1900. I thought it would be fun to compare that image with what the park looks like today from the same vantage point:

Chess Park as it appears today looking west.

Here is the same picture only in color:

Chess Park as it appears today looking west – in color.

Chess Park aerial view – courtesy GoogleMaps

The park is still well maintained but wouldn’t it be great to bring this section of the park closer to its original appearance? You would just need to plant a few bushes then get some mulch and plant flowers inside the triangle. Probably isn’t a good idea to add bring a cannon back (don’t want kids playing on it). Maybe leave out the bushes to keep the open feeling with lower maintainance?  I bet the whole project could be done for around $100. What do you think?

Kelly The Pirate Gets Dunked

Daily Morning Post – Monday, March 29, 1858

A notorious character, called “Kelly, the Pirate,” has lived about Monongahela City for some time. He has been in the habit of drinking very hard, and abusing his wife and children. On last Tuesday evening he took one of his children, sick with scarlet fever, from its bed, out into the night air, his wife was driven from the house and his other children beaten. A few of the citizens becoming incensed at these outrages, took him out of bed and carried him down to the river, where he was thoroughly washed, ducked and splashed until, on a promise of amendment for the future, he was released. Served him right; but it is not likely the bath will have much effect on him.

Monongahela Area Dairy Farms Remembered

Young readers may find it hard to believe but milk (pronounciation) wasn’t always sold at the local store in paper cartons or plastic jugs. I’d venture to say that most Lost Monongahela readers remember a time when milk was home delivered in glass bottles. Milk bottles are collectible now and fortunately for us they were embossed or pyroglazed with the name of the dairy. Occasionally you can find bottles from former Monongahela area dairies for sale on eBay:

Warndicky Farms Guernsey Milk Monongahela PA

Sanitary Milk Co. Monongahela PA

Sanitary Milk Co., Monongahela PA

Locust Grove Farm, Irwin Dairy, Monongahela PA

G.P. Cole Milk Bottle, Monongahela PA

Doubly Protected – Cole’s Dairy, Monongahela PA

Eventually the waxed paper milk carton we all know and love started to replace glass milk bottles:

San Francisco 49ers drink milk in the locker room. October 1951

According to Ohio History Central: ”By 1929, Van Wormer [the inventor of the paper milk carton] developed a machine capable of manufacturing his carton, and that same year, the American Paper Company purchased Van Wormer’s patent and machine. By 1950, this firm was producing twenty million paper milk cartons per day.”

Believe it or not, old milk cartons are also collectible. If you have any historic Monongahela area milk containers languishing in your refrigerator send me a picture or upload it to the Lost Monongahela Facebook page. Any comments, information or memories of any local dairy would be greatly appreciated!

We All Need It

A post card currently up for sale on eBay, dated 1912 from H. Minney to Mrs. Janet Burnett of Carnegie, PA. Click each image for a larger view.

The Race Track – AKA Armstrong Field, Ringgold Soccer Field In Monongahela PA

I am working on an upcoming blog post and could use your help. Do any of you have any information or memories about the area known around Monongahela as the “Race Track” aka Armstrong Field? Currently located there is a soccer field, a softball field and on the southern end is Cox’s arena.

Here is a link to a great article in the Union-Finley Messenger with information about the Cox arena and Armstrong Park. To summarize the article:

• In 1874 the Monongahela Valley Agricultural Association purchased the 25 acre plot known as the “Driving Park”. The association sponsored fairs featuring horse racing.
• Later, the “Monongahela Driving Park Association” sponsored harness racing. Betting was allowed and thousands attended.
• Later the area became known as the “Monongahela Speedway” as harness racing gave way to automobile racing. In 1936 “Deb Miller drove a Miller Special at an average speed of over 70 miles per hour which broke all records at that time for dirt track racing.”
• During World War II victory gardens were planted there.
• Shane and Kate Cox currently sponsor equestrian events most weekends throughout the summer. You can contact Shane and Kate at thecoxarena@aol.com

I found a few old newspaper articles that mention this area and I’ll post a few stories this week.

Beginnings Of The Old Combustion Engineering Plant, Monongahela PA.

What we know as the old Combustion Engineering (C.E.) plant started out as The Coshocton Iron Works. Here’s an entry from Iron Age, Volume 7o, 1902:

Application for a Pennsylvania charter will be made August, 21 by the Coshocton Iron Company, operating a foundry at Coshocton, Ohio, which have become allied with the Liggett Spring & Axle Company of Allegheny. The incorporators are C.E.M. Champ, William E. Marquis and S.E. Hare, all of the Liggett Company. The company will remove their works to a building 100 x 300 feet, which will be erected to adjoin the large plant which the Liggett Company are building on the  P., McK, & Y. Railroad, opposite Monongahela City, Pa. The chief product of the foundry will be axle boxes, of which the Liggett Company use about 100 tons per month.