Oral History of Monroeville
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Monroeville Historical Society Oral History of Monroeville “In Their Own Words” Taken From a Series of Oral History Interviews of Long Time Patton Township and Monroeville Residents Conducted in the Mid 1980s. School Days Churches and Cemeteries Neighbors & Neighborhoods Shopping Family Entertainment The Auction Barn Horses Making A Living The Mines Where Things Were Adult Entertainment Historic Buildings Odds & Ends Coordinated and Edited by Dan Nowak Editorial Assistance by Kathy Nowak, Kevin Nowak, Bob Elms, Marina Elms, Louis Chandler & Peg Gomrick Copyright 2010, Monroeville Historical Society Monroeville Historical Society Oral History of Monroeville Contents Subject page Introduction B Summary of Interviews C The Interview Subjects D Chapter 1 - School Days 1 Chapter 2 - Churches and Cemeteries 16 Chapter 3 - Neighbors and Neighborhoods 23 Chapter 4 - Shopping 43 Chapter 5 - Family Entertainment 47 Chapter 6 - The Auction Barn 58 Chapter 7 - Horses 60 Chapter 8 – Making A Living 66 Chapter 9 - The Mines 77 Chapter 10 - Where Things Were 83 Chapter 11 - Adult Entertainment 103 Chapter 12 – Historic Buildings 108 Chapter 13 - Odds and Ends 122 Postscript 135 Copyright 2010, Monroeville Historical Society A Monroeville Historical Society Oral History of Monroeville Introduction Between October 2, 1985 and March 2, 1987, four volunteers from the Monroeville Historical Society conducted a series of twelve oral history interviews. The purpose of the interviews was to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge available through the life experiences of a group of people who were in the Patton Township – Pitcairn – Monroeville area during the pre-suburban growth era and the early stages of the transition from rural farmland to commercial center. The subject time span is roughly 1910 to 1955. These interviews were captured on audio tape and painstakingly transcribed by volunteer members of the Historical Society (usually by the interviewer) either by hand or by typewriter. An attempt was made to have these transcriptions be as verbatim as possible, with all of the “uh”, “er”, “you know”, poor grammar, incomplete sentences, phone interruptions and so on included and noted. Each interview required between 8 and 12 hours to transcribe. While this method preserved the “raw data” for scholarly study, it often resulted in a transcript that was difficult to read and understand, particularly to someone not already familiar with the history of the Monroeville area. At the time of these interviews, personal computers were rare. In 2008, the Society began a program of retyping the transcriptions into electronic form. The purpose is to allow integration of this information into modern computer based search systems and to produce a more readable edited version that would be, for lack of a better term, more entertaining. This paper is a presentation of that effort. This work is broken up by various subjects. The subject responses are arranged approximately chronologically, based on either their birth dates, if born in the area, or the date that they moved into the area, if born elsewhere. This allows the reader to follow certain trends and changes with time. Since many of the location references made in the interviews are, at the time of this writing, a quarter of a century old, an effort was made to include editorial notes to bring those references up to date (that is, the year 2010). There is also a series of maps at the end of each chapter (along with an occasional extra map as required) that shows the location of various points of interest on a 2010 map grid. This Introduction also includes a summary of the original interview tapes and a brief background of each of the interview subjects. The Monroeville Historical Society hopes that the reader finds this paper to be an informative and enjoyable experience and that it might inspire a few of you to carry on this work. Dan Nowak Oral History Program Coordinator Monroeville Historical Society Monroeville PA September 2010 Copyright 2010, Monroeville Historical Society B Monroeville Historical Society Oral History of Monroeville Summary of Oral History Interviews of 1985, 1986 and 1987 Tape Name Subject (s) Date Interviewers(s) MHS-85-1 Arlene (Bateson) Scalise 10/2/1985 Dan Nowak MHS-86-1 Jean (Winkler) Colbaugh 1/30/1986 Dan Nowak MHS-86-2 Teressa Mirro 2/5/1986 Lois Lyman / Dan Nowak MHS-86-3 Ed Bailey 2/13/1986 Dan Nowak MHS-86-4 Mary (Piantiny) Winkler 3/3/1986 Dan Nowak MHS-86-5 Paul & Madeline Aiken 4/24/1986 Dan Nowak MHS-86-6 Paul Aiken 4/28/1986 Paul Damon / Dan Nowak MHS-86-7 Charles Vercelli 6/11/1986 Lois Lyman MHS-86-8 Helen & Richard Maxwell 6/23/1986 Dan Nowak / Lois Alworth MHS-86-9 Helen & Richard Maxwell 6/23/1986 Dan Nowak / Lois Alworth MHS-86-10 Sarah (Sylvis)Thompson 9/30/1986 Lois Lyman MHS-87-1 Floyd Johnston 3/2/1987 Lois Lyman Copyright 2010, Monroeville Historical Society C Monroeville Historical Society Oral History of Monroeville The Interview Subjects Paul Aiken, born Thomas Paul Aikens, was born in 1897 in Pitcairn and lived his whole life there. At the time of the interview, he lived with his wife Madeline at the top of Highland not far from the Monroeville border. Paul worked for the railroad or for railroad related companies all of his life. He was a veteran of the First World War. Sarah (Sylves) Thompson was born in Patton Township in 1909. Her father, Thomas M. Sylves was a successful business man. His endeavors included mining (both as a laborer and an owner), dealing in cattle and real estate. He was also the owner of radio station WSPL which broadcasted from near the current Post Office and was a partner in the Auction Barn. Sarah was active in many of his endeavors, particularly the broadcasting. Floyd Johnston was born in Patton Township in 1911. He is a descendent of some of the first settlers in the area. The original Johnston family lands included much of the area near the Old Stone Church and Cemetery, Miracle Mile, and along the current Monroeville Boulevard near Pitcairn Road. The Johnston Dairy was on this property just down the hill and across Monroeville Boulevard from the Old Stone Church (to the east). Charles Vercelli was born in Patton Township in 1916. His parents emigrated from Italy and his father worked in the mines in Patton Township. His family lived for a while in the “Number 5” mining camp, named for the Oak Hill Mine number 5, that was located near where the Parkway leaves the Municipality heading west. Later, his family built a house on McGinley Road, where Charles was born. Charles lived his whole life in four different structures on McGilnely Road, sharing the last with his wife and children. Mary (Piantiny) Winkler was born in 1913 in Trafford. Her family moved to Monroeville in 1919. She was a lifetime member of St. Coleman’s Roman Catholic Church in Turtle Creek. Her father contributed a great deal of his time and labors to St. Coleman’s, also. Mary is the mother of Jean (Winkler) Colbaugh. Jean (Winkler) Colbaugh was born 1934 in Patton Township. She is the daughter of Mary (Piantiny) Winkler and has lived her whole life in the Bellwoood section of Patton Township – Monroeville. He husband, Ed, also grew up in the Bellwood area. At this time (2010) she still lives in the same house in Bellwood as she did when the interviews were conducted. Arlene (Bateson) Scalese was born in Columbia Hospital in Wilkinsburg in 1940 while her family was residing in Patton Township. Her father was born in Rathmel, Pennsylvania. Her mother was born in the Aber’s Creek area of Monroeville and was a Glendenning, which is one of the oldest families of the area. While growing up, Arlene and her family lived in several houses (and one trailer), all in the vicinity of the Old Stone Church. The last house, which they owned, was located where the Eat n’ Park parking lot is currently located, directly across from the Old Stone Church. Richard & Helen Maxwell moved to Patton Township in 1946. Richard was born 1889 in Empire Ohio. Richard and Helen lived in the East End of Pittsburgh for a while and then in Murrysville before purchasing 55 acres of land in Patten Township from a plaster Copyright 2010, Monroeville Historical Society D contractor by the name of George Smith. Richard (“Dick”) was an early member of the Gateway School Board and a longtime member of the Gateway Union School Authority. They lived on what is now Northwestern Drive in the Haymaker area in a log house that once belonged to Judge Haymaker that now belongs to their grandson. Teresa Mirro was born in Delmont, Pennsylvania in 1915. She moved to Patton Township in 1950 with her husband, James (Jimmy) Mirro and their son. James Mirro was a Monroeville Councilman and was instrumental in forming the Monroeville Historical Society and obtaining the McGinley House. The Mirros built a house on a triangle of land between Haymaker and Mosside Boulevard. Edward Bailey was born in Homewood-Brushton in 1921 and moved to Monroeville in 1955. He was an architect. He lived on Lilac Drive in the Garden City area and was among one of the first groups of people to buy houses in Garden City. Garden City was one of the first post Second World War planned communities and was written up in both the popular press and the trade magazines at the time. It included not only housing, but several churches, a swimming pool and recreation facility and a shopping center. Mr. Bailey was also a part of the group of people that established the Garden City volunteer firefighters, now company number 6.