Memories
Growing up
in Worthington and Yellow Dog (Buffalo Valley)
1941
- 1961
Terry
E. Bowser
Sedro
Woolley, Washington
What I was
told and what I remember about living in Worthington and Yellow Dog.
I was born
in Worthington in 1941. When I was six years old in 1947, we moved to
the limestone mining village of Yellow Dog. I’ve included also, a
summary about my life after I graduated in 1959, from Worthington-West
Franklin High School, Worthington, Pa. It’s as factual as seen by my
eyes, but sometimes young eyes don’t see the entire picture. I’m
sure that I have errors, so I hope that I don’t offend anyone.
I used the
high school website to help me with the class years of those much
older than me. The class years mentioned doesn’t mean the person
graduated that year. For many, it would be the year they would have
graduated if they stayed at the high school until their graduation
year. Hopefully, to those who left school or moved away, they found
greener pastures.
Worthington
I was born
in Worthington, Pennsylvania on February 27th, 1941 to Edgar and
Katherine (Dickey) Bowser. I joined an older brother, Bill (Class of
‘57). I was born in a little brown shingle house on Bear Street. The
house was owned by Mrs. Elizabeth J. Gaiser. Her granddaughter, Allyne
Gaiser Shaffer (Class of ’43) stayed over at her grandmothers during
school semesters. Her parents lived up the country above Lairds
Crossing/Craigsville. I was thrilled to meet Allyne in 2005, and again
2010, at the Worthington-West Franklin High School All-School Reunion.
The house
sat two blocks north of Main Street on the right side of Bear Street.
Some may identify the street as the road to Cowansville. Farther up
the hill and on the same side of the street sat the white Presbyterian
Church. (It was demolished in the 1960s.) I do believe at that
time, the two story house across the street (on the corner) from where
I was born was where the Presbyterian pastor lived, later to be
occupied by King and Mabel Bowser and later purchased by Claire
Benton.
Within a
year of my birth, we moved to Main Street in Worthington. The house
sat across the street from the parking lot where the Worthington Post
Office now sets. Our new residence as was the old residence was normal
for that time in Worthington. We had an outhouse (toilet), and in the
kitchen we had a hand pump that we had to prim each time we needed
water. This house was owned by Harry "Hike" and Katherine
Ruth who lived next door east of us. They had 5 children: Erma (Class
of ‘39), Glee (Class of ‘47), Glenn (Class of ‘50), Dean (Class
of ‘52) and Dale (Class of ‘58).
About the
same time, March, 1942, that we moved there, Omer and Ethel Nichol
moved down to Worthington next door, to us from Lairds Crossing where
the brick plant was.
They were
to the west of us with their 4 children: Jim (Class of ‘49), Bill
(Class of ‘54), Bob (Class of ‘57) and Barbara who graduated with
me in the (Class of ’59). So we lived between the Ruth and Nichol
families. The Nichol family moved to the top of the hill on Cherry
Street in 1945.
My first
memories of living there on Main Street, was when I was around 4 or 5
years old. After the Nichol family moved, Thomas and Wilma Hawley
moved in with their 3 children. I remember their oldest son, Tom. The
Hawley children were Tom (Class of ’53), Wilma (Class of ‘55) and
Harlan "Bud" (Class of ‘58). Another son, Homer (Class of
‘64) was born while they were still living there. Shortly after we
moved to Yellow Dog, the Hawley’s moved into a new house that Mr.
Hawley built. This house was just below the High School on the road we
called the Franklin Church Road (officially now, Claypoole Road).
Joseph and
Elmira LaSitis moved into the house Hawley’s lived in. They moved in
with two children. Their daughter, Jean was already out of school.
They also had a son, Bob (Class of ‘54).
Living
across Main Street and a little (West) from us lived Pressley and Mary
Shearer. They were Barbara Nichol’s great aunt and uncle. Press
Shearer worked as a master mechanic at the Pittsburgh Limestone
Corporation, Yellow Dog. Before we moved from Worthington, I remember
a couple other families on the same side of Main Street as Press.
Going west were William M. and Twyla Beers. Their children were long
gone from home before my time, but their names were: Grace, Winifred
(Class of ‘34) and Dick (Class of ‘35). They were the grandparents
of Dick Beers Jr., (Class of ‘58). Also right in there was Robert
and Bertha Gaiser and their daughter, Faye, (Class of ‘55).
Across the
street from where we lived and slightly to the East where the
Worthington post office now sets was an old dilapidated house that was
vacant. One morning we realized we had new neighbors living in that
house. We found out their names were Toby and Minnie Shaw, who moved
down from the Cowansville Road and the Stumbaugh Rail Road Crossing
area. They didn’t appear to be too tidy. They were gone each day
gathering and bringing junk home to sell. ("Someone’s trash
is someone else’s treasure.") I think they proved to be
entertaining to the adults, but I was really scared of them. One night
we were setting on the front porch and Minnie came running out to the
front of the house hollowing, "Help! Help! My husband is killing
me, he is breaking my neck". At a young age, that was frozen in
my mind. No one ever heard of domestic violence disputes then. It
probably would have been registered as a feud between husband and
wife. I don’t remember any more about the situation. I can say
Minnie did survive because they were back gathering junk the next day.
During 1946
mother was pregnant with her third child. Dr. Reed was summoned
because mother was having labor pains. Since it was the first day of
hunting season, November 2, 1946, Dr. Reed showed up in his hunting
clothes. Most babies then were born at home, just as my older brother
Bill and I were. The Claypoole girls, Sis and Toot (Zelda’s girls)
were there boiling water and to help if they were needed. A bouncing
baby boy named, James was born. Bill and I couldn’t keep our hands
off of him. We introduced him to all the germs.
While
living on Main Street, my brother Bill took a bottle of shellac and
painted the glass on the gas meter. When the meter-reader guy came to
read the meter he couldn’t read it. Wow, were we in trouble! Bill
did confess which left me off the hook. In the back yard, we had a
rotting tree that had a fungal infection growing on the side. That
white brownish growth we called "punk". You could break it
off and light it and it would continue to burn for days without a
flare-up. Bill and I had some matches and we lit a piece to play with
that day. Accessible off our back porch was a door that led into a
little storage room for brooms, rakes and things like that. Also in
there were the underside of the stairs that went to the second floor
bedrooms. The closet had a wood floor. That evening we needed a place
to put the punk so we set it on the floor and shut the door. Well, the
next morning there was a big burn discovered on floor. It turned out
we were really lucky little boys along with our family that the floor
didn’t flare up to a big fire. Young brains can’t process what
could have happened. We slept on the second floor directly above that
closet. If that had hit the flame stage, it could have engulfed the
entire house. This put us in deep doo-doo. We were threatened if we
were ever seen with matches again our fingers would be burned on the
hot tea kettle as punishment. I think we processed this, for a short
time anyway. You wouldn’t dare say something like that to a child
today.
Living on
Main Street, we could watch the annual parade from the front porch. It
was a real treat seeing all those big horse teams. My dad worked at
the limestone mines. He and Ralph Yockey took turns driving to work.
Ralph lived east on Route 422, which wasn’t too far from
Worthington. In later years, Ralph turned his barn into Yockey’s
Bargain Barn, full of new furniture for sale. When dad was driving he
made it a point to pick me up on his way by our house when he was
taking Ralph home. I could hardly wait because they both saved me
treats from their lunch buckets. I looked forward to this more than
riding along. Dad owned a ‘37 Pontiac, 4 door. The back doors opened
opposite of what car doors open today. Those doors were suicide doors
if opened during traveling. The wind would grab the door and pull it
wide open. If you were leaning against the door you could be pulled
right out. Well, one day about where Burke’s garage used to be on
the right side of the road, I tried it to see what would happen. I was
in the back seat on the passenger side of the car and the door flew
wide open and almost took me with it. Dad reached back across and
grabbed me and saved me. So at this point in my life I learned to not
play with matches and don’t open car doors while in travel. I was
learning that life is proving to be a continual learning process.
Going west
from our house, McNair’s store sat at the corner of Main and Cherry
Streets. In later years, Thompsons barber shop was located there. Mr.
and Mrs. McNair lived in back of the store in the same building.
Mother worked for them in the late afternoon so that Mr. and Mrs.
McNair could have a relaxing dinner together. One day about 5:00 in
the afternoon, mother ran to the front of the store and locked the
doors and pulled the blinds. She had us get down behind the counter.
She had spotted a car load of Gypsies (as she called them) that parked
across the street and were headed for the store. I remember it scared
the "you know what" out of me. Later, I found out what the
word Gypsies meant. Still learning! It meant no permanent home with a
wondering lifestyle and we have a lot of people like this today and we
call them "homeless".
Another
time while at the store with my mother, I was looking out the front
window when the youngest Crissman girl at that time was crossing Route
422. Her name was, I believe Arlene and her father was Roy Crissman.
They lived a block behind McNair’s store on Ross Street. She was hit
by a large brown army bus. To this day, I can still see her flying
through the air. We ran out and over to her to see if she needed help.
Her leg was hurt and it had already started to swell. Someone rushed
her to the Kittanning Hospital.
Directly
across the street from McNair’s corner store was where my dad kept
his car in the basement during the winter months. I believe the family
that lived there had the last name of Lewis. To the east of that
building was Kelly Long’s Mobile gas station. Dad always had Long’s
change the oil in the car. I remember it was a treat to be with dad on
these occasions. Mr. Long had a Spanish nut machine. It took a penny
to receive a handful of nuts. Dad always had pennies for me. After I
was older and had my own car, I had my car served at Long’s until I
left Worthington in 1961. Mr. Long retired and Chester Neal, (Father
of Lucille Neal Class of 57) took over the business. Chester Neal
worked for Mr. Long.
To the West
of the Lewis home was where Drakes lived. Mr. Drake repaired shoes and
leather items. The Drakes built a new house across the creek and up
the hill behind their shoe repair building.
John and
Betty Henry purchased the building from Drakes and opened Henry’s
Market. The building had an attached residence and an apartment
upstairs. Henry’s lived in the attached residence with their son,
Dick (Class of ’59). Later, they had two daughters, Paulette (Class
of ’68) and Donna (Class of ‘70)
While
living on main street when school got out each day my brother Bill and
I would be out front near the sidewalk. We were waiting for the
students to walk by after school dismissal. Maybe the attraction was
that the girls would tell us each day how cute we were. Never in the
past 55 plus years has a girl told me I was cute. I wonder what
happened to me.
It was
always a treat in the evening to get in the car and go to my grandpa
Erwin and grandma Chloe Bowser’s to get butter and eggs. They
churned their own butter. There were also lots of other goodies there
too. There was no one in the world that could match the bread grandma
baked. WOW!!! Each fall, they made Apple Butter in a big copper kettle
in the front yard. The apples were peeled and cored and placed in the
kettle. A wood fire was started under the kettle. They cooked the
apples until they turned into a sauce, adding sugar to taste as
needed. This took all day.
They were
always stirring the apple butter so it wouldn’t scorch. They had a
few copper pennies in the bottom of the kettle to help it from
sticking. They stirred the apple butter with a long wood handle that
had a paddle attached at the end. The paddle had holes in it so the
apple butter would flow through the holes while stirring.
Grandpa
Bowser walked to work each day through the woods to the Craigsville
tile plant. Sometime around 1946 or 1947 my grandpa Bowser passed
away. They had the viewing in the living room of the home. I remember
telling my mother he looks just like he is sleeping. That has been
etched in my mind all these years.
Yellow Dog
– Pittsburgh Lime Corporation Facility (Subsidiary of U.S. Steel
Corp.)
The mines
were opened sometime in the 1890's and owned by Pittsburgh Limestone.
Pittsburgh Limestone produced some cement, building a plant for that
purpose at Yellow Dog in the 1910's. They also sold their limestone to
the various steel companies in Pittsburgh, including U. S. Steele. The
Limestone was moved out of the Yellow Dog by the Pittsburgh, Buffalo
and Rochester Railroad who ran a spur line down from their junction
and Passenger station that used to be in Craigsville, Pa. That spur
was built 1913 and extended their tracks two miles, almost parallel
with Big Buffalo Creek. The capacity of this mine was approximately
fifteen hundred tons, later increased to approximately thirty-five
hundred tons daily. The major portion of their product went to the
blast furnaces in the Pittsburgh district and the remainder generally
was used for the manufacture of cement and stone for highway
construction. Mr. George Milliron of West Winfield was the first
general superintendent and Clifford Weaver was the first plant
superintendent, later succeeded by A. L. Aikens, J. W. Baird, and W.
P. Druschell.
Soon after
the opening of the mine a town of several hundred people sprang up
resulting in the erection of a chapel for the purpose of
interdenominational services and a large company-owned store, handling
general merchandise.
The mine
company built the town of Yellow Dog in the late 1910's or early
1920's. It was called Yellow Dog because the miners promised to not
unionize in exchange for higher wages and better treatment from the
company.
In the
1930's the mine closed for long stretches due to the depression. The
mine was back in full operation by the late 1930's and during World
War II.
In the
Village of Yellow Dog
There was a
Chapel that doubled for various religions. On the Chapel side of the
town (east side of Buffalo Creek) there were 7 single houses, 12
double houses and one multi-family house with the first floor for a
family and the second floor was for boarders. This would be 32
families along with some boarders. On the company owned store side of
town (west side of Buffalo Creek) there were 5 double houses, 5 single
houses and a house back in the woods with a couple families. This
would be about 17 families.
Moved from
Worthington to Yellow Dog
In the
spring of 1947 we had the opportunity to up-grade and we moved to
Yellow Dog. WOW!!!! Finally running water, indoor toilet and a bathtub
that had water piped to it. We moved into a house that the Kolar
family had lived in. They had an opportunity to move into a better
home in town with a full basement and a furnace. The house we were
moving into had a basement under one room with a coal stove in the
dining room, but it was like paradise. Dad could walk to work each day
and each day at quitting time we would meet him on the bridge and walk
him home. There were goodies still left the lunch pail.
We lived
there maybe a year and my parents went through a divorce. Bill and I
stayed with dad and Jim moved with mother to Kittanning, Pa. I think
because of the divorce a lot of great families in Yellow Dog really
watched over me. Dad hired a good housekeeper and life went on as
normal as possible.
I wish my
memories were etched in stone of the families living in Yellow Dog
from 1947 until the mines closed in 1954. I’ll try my best to name
the families living in the different houses.
I’m going
to begin at the east side of Buffalo creek. There were four rows of
houses all on an uphill grade. The first three rows were basically
double houses. From the bridge, I’m going to say you are facing the
first row of double houses. Slightly to the left of the first row of
houses sat a small single house sort of behind the first double house.
The family of Magimore’s lived in this single house for a short
time. They had two children just a little older than me, Kathryn
(Class of 56) and Paul (Class of 58). Both attended school in
Worthington until the mines closed. When the double house where the
Henry Foringer family lived came up for rent, the Magimore’s moved
to this double house. Chuck and Ida Bofinger and their dog Blackie
moved into that single house. Chuck was a 1942 Worthington graduate.
He would have been about 23 years old then. I spent a lot of time at
their house because I loved cars. Chuck too loved cars and he had
bought a new maroon 1949 Ford. Many times I used to help him wash and
wax the car. When the mines shut down in 1954, they moved to Michigan
where he was able to get hired on with the auto industry. They were
one family that I was sad to see leave when the mines shut down. Many
more families moved out after they found work in other places and some
in other states. It seemed that life was being ripped right out from
under me. Many years later, I heard that Chuck and Ida had retired to
Florida.
Back to the
first double house in the first row: In
this house, lived William and Margaret (Hazel) Edwards. Most families
I will be naming their children even though the older children had
already moved out from under their parent’s roof by the time we
moved to Yellow Dog. The Edwards family originally consisted of 5
children. Mary Elizabeth, (Class of ‘40), William, (Class of ‘43),
Paul, (Class of ‘45), JoAnn, (Class of 47), and Theresa Kathleen,
(Class of ‘51). Mrs. Edwards taught school before she started to
raise their family. She was just a little short lady that walked with
a limp. Everyone in town sat on their front porches in the evenings
swinging and I put many miles on that swing with Mrs. Edwards.
In the
upper half of the first double house:
In this house, lived Barnell "Barney" and Beulah Wolfe with
two children. Doris Jean (Class of ‘48) and Donald (Class of ’56).
Barney enjoyed working on cars and was good at it. Across the road and
down over the bank behind the first few double houses, there was a row
of garages that were rented out. This road continued up over the hill
and came out along the Shearer farm on the Slate Lick Road. Barney
rented one of the garages and built a ramp. He could run his car up on
the ramp to work underneath it standing up. He changed the oil in his
car. He taught me about oil changes and tune-ups which came in handy
later in my life. Cars are so complicated in today’s world, it is
impossible to work on your own vehicle. Barney and May moved to East
Butler in 1956 after Don graduated from high school.
The second
house up, lower side:
Victor (Vic) and Gladys Fullerton family. They had three grown girls,
B. Jayne (Class of ‘50), Bette L. (Class of ‘43) and Patricia,
(Class of ‘45). Vic was on the school board along with being in the
Worthington Volunteer Fire Department and Lions Club. Mrs. Fullerton
never was outside much so I never had the opportunity to get to know
her. I think Vic retired after the mines shut down and they lived in
Yellow Dog many years after that. I believe the girls all ended up in
the Butler area.
The
second house up and the upper side:
This is where
the Walter Pence family lived. They had a son, Clarence (Class of ‘49).
Walt was a technician type guy. He and dad always had something going
to improve their TV signal. One time they had an antenna at the top of
the hill near the baseball field. This again, was the road going up
and out of the village toward the Slate Lick Road. The two of them had
run the TV wire overhead all the way down the hill to Walt’s house.
Then from Walt’s house they ran it across the street over to dad’s
house. Falling tree branches raised cane with that project. Pence’s
moved right after the mines closed.
The third
house up and on the lower side:
Here lived the Ted and Frances (Peterson) Bono family. They had 2
daughters. Mary (Class of ‘55) and Rose (Class of ‘54). Ted went
to school in Worthington but would have graduated before the (Class of
‘33) which was the first graduating class of the new school. His 2
younger brothers and 2 sisters graduated from Worthington. Ted was
good to me. I remember he took me to a Pittsburgh Pirates games
several times. One time on the way home, we stopped at the Elks in
Tarentum. He bought me an orange crush pop and a bag of potato chips.
I wore glasses then and they must have received grease on the lenses
from my hands and I removed them. When we got home I didn’t have my
glasses. I replaced the lost glasses when I was 47 years old. When the
mines closed Ted and his family moved to New Castle, PA.
(Fast
forward to about 1980, I was long gone, but dad moved again. This time
he moved into the house where Ted and Frances Bono had lived in during
the ‘50s.)
Third
house and upper side of Bono’s:
The Mike
Relich family lived here. I can only remember that they had one boy
Mike, from the (Class of ‘50) and one daughter Diane. Diane would
not have been in high school when they moved.
First row,
fourth house, lower side:
The Elton and Mildred Snyder family who had 5 children lived here.
Their children were, Doris (Class of ‘46), Jim, (Class of ‘52),
Joan (Class of ‘54), Allen (Class of ‘58) and John. John was much
younger than me by about 4 to 6 years. The family moved right after
the mines closed. They were a neat family and were leaders at the
chapel. I think they moved east near Philadelphia.
The fourth
house and on the upper side:
Calvin and Beulah Crawford that had six children lived here. They were
Louise (Class of ‘46), and twin sisters, June and Jean (Class of ‘49),
Rich (Class of ‘56), Robert (Class of ‘59) and Pat (Class of ‘62).
They were a great family. I remember one year for Halloween I dressed
up as a girl and I went to Crawford’s house. After all of us were
identified Mrs. Crawford said to me "my, you would make a
beautiful girl" and you know I never dressed up as a girl again.
Calvin liked to go to the tavern on Saturday night and sometimes on
his way home he would stop along the Buffalo creek road for a nap.
Some of us kids were always on the look-out. We would tie tin cans to
his car. When he would wake up and drive the rest of the way home you
could tell then when he was arriving home. Bad boys!
The single
house at the very top of the hill:
This was the mine superintendent home that faced down over town. Mr.
Baird was the Superintendent of the mines when we moved to Yellow Dog.
As far as I know, they had one son, Robert, (Class of ‘45) who
attended Worthington High School.
I remember
the next Superintendent was Mr. William Pascal and Verna Druchel. The
Druchel’s had two children, William (Class of ‘52) and Marilyn
(Class of ‘56). They too moved right after the mines closed.
Move now to
the second row, first house and lower side:
Living here was Luther and Delilah Bowser. They had two girls Velma
(Class of ‘35) and Mary (Class of ‘38). When I arrived in Buffalo
Valley, Luther and Delilah’s girls were both married and with
children that I was going to school with. Luther was a strict Democrat
and he was always trying to tell us kids about the Democrats. In
Yellow Dog it seemed like the ladies raced on Monday mornings to see
who had their washing out on the line first. Also I heard through the
grape vine that the whiteness of the cloths was factored into that
weekly Monday morning contest. Delilah was always the first and her
white cloths always won the white contest. Delilah was a large lady.
Her underwear would be hung there on her line in full view and some of
us "bad boys" would use them for target
practice with our BB guns. Hard to miss one of them! I am sure being
that far away if we could have hit them they would not penetrate the
material. Oh, my boys would not have lived if I had ever caught them
doing something like this.
In this
second row of houses, first house and upper side:
Oren and Ethel Cooper lived here. They had 4 boys, Clyde, James (Class
of ‘38), Charles (Class of ‘37) and Dean (Class of ‘45). There
also were 3 girls. Lucie (like her older brother didn’t show up in
any class after the high school opened), Norma (Class of ‘40) and
Mary Lou (Class of ‘47). All I ever got to know was Dean and Mary
Lou. The others had moved on before we moved to the Valley. Coopers
were really nice to me too and Mrs. Cooper was always giving me candy.
This kept my interest. We had a TV and Coopers didn’t. Oren would
come up to watch the baseball games with dad at our house. Oren chewed
tobacco and every other person I knew always was spitting tobacco
juice. I was really impressed as a kid that he never had to spit. I
guess he swallowed it. Ouch!!!
I got to
know Oren and Ethel Cooper’s son, Dean well when he would come visit
his parents. Life moves on and Dean and his family moved to Arizona
for work and I moved to Seattle, Washington. Maybe around 1978, the
Worthington graduates from the classes of 1958/1959 scheduled a
reunion. I booked flight tickets and headed for Pa. for this reunion.
I had a 2 hour lay-over in St. Louis, Mo. While I was setting there
putting in the 2 hour lay-over, I could hear a voice that sounded
familiar. Dream on!!! Not here!!! The person I heard sounded like Dean
Cooper from back home. Couldn’t be! It had been 25 years or so since
I last saw Dean. I got up to investigate and there was Dean and his
wife waiting for the same plane. They were on their way to Pa. for a
vacation. We had a nice reunion right there at the airport in St.
Louis. I kept in touch with Dean and his wife from then on. We lost
Dean on December 25, 2012. It was a sad day for me when Dean passed
away. Dean’s parents retired when the mines closed and moved. They
bought a house on Route 85, the Kittanning/Rural Valley Road.
Second
house up, lower side:
This is the house that I was raised in. We had a basement under one
room, a coal pot belled stove in the dining room, but the most
important thing that I remember at the time was "in-door
plumbing". The "out-house" was finally out of my life
forever.
We stored
coal behind the house in a coal shed out next to the alley. One of the
chores was bringing coal in with the coal bucket a couple times a day.
The houses with full basements had a coal furnace in the basement with
a coal storage room in the basement next to the furnace room. Oh what
a dirty mess. I wonder if coal buckets are still made. I’m sure
there would not be much demand for them anymore.
After dad’s
divorce in 1948, he had to get a live-in house keeper to help with us
boys. Her name was, Dorothy Goodgasell. She had daughter Dotty, (class
of ‘60). Looking back Dorothy was a good asset to our family as we
were growing up. We had a clean house, ate well and she was just a
sweetheart. Dorothy passed away around 1963, so I never got to see her
again after I moved out West in 1961.
In
the upper side of our house:
Here lived the John Sebastain family. They had one daughter Catherine
Louise Sebastian, one son,
Frank (Class of ‘55). I never forgot their cat. It was black and
they called it, Inky. I think John was from Italy. He did what he
could, but his accent was difficult to understand. They were a quiet
family and I never got to know them very well. When the mines shutdown
they moved to West Kittanning where John bought an Atlantic gas
station. I remember right after they opened the station that Dorothy,
our housekeeper took her 1949 automatic Pontiac in for an oil change.
She paid him for the oil change and started towards Worthington. After
about a mile or so, her car stopped and wouldn’t move. She had to
have it towed to a repair shop. She found out that the transmission
oil was drained instead of the crank case oil and 5 more quarts of oil
was added to the crank case. I am not sure she ever went back there
for service.
The second
row and third house up:
In the lower side lived, Albert and Edith Bofinger. They had three
sons. Rich (Class of ‘36), Orville, Sr. (Class of ‘37) and Chuck
(Class of ‘42). They had three of their grandchildren living in
Yellow Dog also. Donna (Class of ‘65), Orville Jr. (Class of ‘66)
and Dick (Class of ‘60). Mrs. Bofinger was a special person to me. I
spent a lot of time on their front porch too. Their house was also a
candy stop. She made the best popcorn balls with nuts. Her
pigs-in-the-blanket, I would kill for, which is (meat/rice rolled in
steamed cabbage leafs and baked in a tomato base). Every time she made
them I was there for dinner. After I came out west in 1961, I sent
them a box of candy, (Frango Mints) every year for Christmas. They
both were moved to Creekside Rest Home as they got older. I continued
sending mints until I received word from the home that they both had
passed away. They weren’t telling me to stop sending the candy, just
telling me they had passed away.
The second
row and the upper side:
In the upper side lived the Magomore’s. When we first moved to
Yellow Dog, the house was occupied by Henry Foringer, (Class of ‘33)
and his wife, Mary Foringer. They had two children, Nancy and William.
They moved out not long after we moved to Yellow Dog. I believe Henry
was transferred to the Boyers mines (Butler County). The Paul Magimore
family moved in here when Foringer’s moved out. They moved over from
the first row of houses from the little single house. Their children
were Kathryn (Class of ‘56) and Paul (Class of ‘58). I remember
Paul Sr. was a tall guy and he loved to play baseball. I remember Mrs.
Magamore kept their house super clean with nothing out of place. I
think the family moved to Ohio when the mines closed.
The fourth
and last house in the second row:
In the lower side lived Malcolm (Bill) and Lillian Ernst family with
their two children, Judy (Class of ‘56) and John (Class of’ 57). I
am sure Malcolm went to Worthington school but never went to the new
school that opened in 1933. When the mines closed, Bill bought a
Sunoco Service Station in Butler. Judy and John graduated from Butler
High School. Their daughter, Judy Ernst Welden, went on to be a singer
and she sings from her heart. Judy brings so much feeling from the
lyrics of her song that her audience can identify with whatever
emotion she's projecting at that moment. I remember Bills wife,
Lillian, was a classy lady. In 1955 she drove a 1955 Dodge La Femme,
Pink and white. The La Femme was a special edition built for women and
she looked good driving that car.
In the
upper side of the second row (last house):
Here lived the William Sr. (Class of ‘35) and Carolyn Morgan family.
They had three children. Betty (Class of ‘56), William, Jr. (Class
of ‘59) and Patricia (Class of ‘61). Bill and Carolyn were neat
people and well respected. Fast forward to, I am guessing around 1990
and Albert Croyle, (Class of ‘59) and his wife, Joyce lived in this
last house in the second row. They had three children that went to
WWFHS. Amy (Class of ’83), Jeffrey (Class of ’84) and Eric the
(Class of ’85) who graduated from Kittanning High School, due to the
closing of Worthington West Franklin High School.
Several
years after the mines closed, the camp group started renting out the
houses. The Morgan family moved from the second row, fourth house on
the upper side to across the alley to the third row of houses, second
from the top. After I left the area in 1961, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan
bought a house on the Kittanning/Cowansville road.
The third
row and first building:
The bottom building was the chapel that was shared with the
Protestants and Catholics. I went there faithfully. The Robinson’s,
Strobel’s, Dilley’s, and the Snyder’s were kind of leaders at
the chapel for the Protestants. I remember how we made several trips
to Forbes Field in Pittsburgh to listen to, Billy Graham, the
evangelist. I remember our Bible School classes in the summer. The
chapel provided a good foundation for many people. A Priest would come
once a week to lead the Catholic Services.
Third row
of houses, first house in the lower side:
In this first house lived, Audley and Irma Cunningham. I don’t
remember much about this family. They raised four children with the
last name of Aiken. John (Class of ’37), Stella (Class of ’38),
Jane (Class of ‘40), and Jim (Class of ‘45). Jim married a girl
from Yellow Dog. Doris Snyder (Class of ‘46) who lived with her
parents in the first row of houses and at the top of hill. I remember
a boy staying with the Cunningham’s for about a year. He would have
probably been with the class of ’58. He was probably about 8 or 9
when he was there, so he would have gone to school in Worthington. I
remember he had blonde wavy hair. I can’t remember a thing more
about this boy. The Cunningham’s were an older couple compared to
the age of my father. Mr. Cunningham retired when the mines closed. I
can’t remember where they moved too.
After the
mines closed and the Cunningham’s moved the house sat empty for a
few years and then Frank Bono (Class of ‘34) and his wife, Sarah
with their family moved from the east side of Buffalo Creek (company
store side of town) to the Cunningham house. They had three boys, Bill
(Class of ’58), Ricky (Class of ’63) and Ron, Class of ’67.
Third row
of houses, first house and the upper side:
When we moved to Yellow Dog, the Samuel and Esther Keller family lived
here. They had three boys. Homer (Class of ‘47), Earl (Class of ‘51)
and Keith (Class of ‘52). I’m thinking that the mother, Esther,
had passed away before we moved to Yellow Dog. I think Homer was
graduated and gone by ‘47 because I don’t remember him. The rest
of the family moved soon after the mines closed.
Third row,
second house, lower side:
This house was occupied by William and Isabelle Waddell. A couple of
their kids had already moved from home when we moved to Yellow Dog.
Their three children consisted of, Ruben (Class of ‘39), Jean (Class
of ’42) and Robert (Class of ‘47). I was told that Ruben was in
the Air Force. Bob went into the service and when he was discharged he
went back to work in the mines.
On the
upper side of the third row and second house:
In this side of the house (and I guessing) lived, James and Florence
Swigart. There were two girls in this family. Norma Jean (Class of ‘48)
and Mary Alice, (Class of ‘50). I never really knew this family.
They moved as soon as the mines closed.
Third row,
third house and lower side:
In this lower side of the house, lived John S. and Louise Perine along
with their son, John A. (Class of ‘59). John S. was the town
maintenance man. He took care of all the problems concerning the
company owned houses. The family moved to the Cabot area when the
mines closed. John A. graduated from West Winfield High School, Cabot,
Pa. There was a huge oak tree in the back yard on the lot where Perine’s
lived. Many hangouts took place here when kids gathered to play knife
games under that tree in the shade.
Third row,
third house and upper side:
The family living here was Clarence and Margaret Renwick. They had 2
girls and 2 boys. Pearl was in the (Class of ‘46), Helen (Class of
‘53), Bill "Quanny" (Class of ‘58) and Bob (Class of ‘61).
I hung out with Bill some. He was a neat popular guy. All the girls
loved him. I remember Helen was my Sunday school teacher. She played
the piano some at the chapel also. As kids we all wanted to look like
"Quanny" and be popular like him. What a great family!
Third row,
fourth house, lower side:
Living here was Vinko and Mary Kolar. They had three children, Robert
(Class of ‘51), Katherine (Class of ‘55) and John (Class of ‘58).
I got to hang out with John some before the mines closed. They were
another family that moved when the mines closed! They were a neat
family too.
(Several
years later Glenn and Elsie Beckett moved from the company store side
of town over to where Kolar’s lived when the mines closed). When
they started renting out the houses families that were moving within
the town meant that they weren’t moving far away.
Third row,
fourth house, upper side:
Andrew and Pearl Olszak lived there. They had a family of 5 girls and
3 boys. The older children had already moved from the family
residence, but I did get to know of them in later years. Gertrude
(Class of ‘38), Martha (Class of ‘40), Frank (Class of ‘40),
Catherine (Class of ‘44), Andrew (Class of ‘49), Cecila (Class of
‘51), Mary Ann (Class of ‘52) and John (Class of ‘54). Fast
forward to, June, 1961. I rented this house for 6 months before I
moved out West.
Third row,
last house, lower side:
James and Florence Giff family lived here. They had 3 children that
had moved on before we moved to Yellow Dog. George (Class of ‘42),
Grace (Class of ‘43), and Louis (Class of ‘47). Jim was a really
nice guy. After the mines shut down Jim was the only mines employee
around there for a number of years. He became the caretaker. After
that ended he bought the old company store building on the west side
of the creek. He opened up a grocery store. After he left the store
profession and retired, the store became a church. I mentioned this
prior that the William Morgan family moved from the second row to the
third row here where James and Florence Giff lived before they moved
over to the store.
The upper
side of the last house:
This was a family by the name of Stiffler. I can’t remember anything
about them. After the mines shut down and a number of years later the
church camp started renting the houses, Rocco Bono (Class of ’36)
and his wife, Twyla from the store side of town moved into this house.
They lived there probably 40 more years. In my eyes, Rocco and Twyla
was a neat couple that displayed their love for each other anytime I
saw them.
Finally the
fourth row of houses on the east side of the creek. All these houses
were built as single family homes.
First house
at the bottom:
Tom and Velma (Bowser) (Class of ‘35) Robinson lived here. They had
two sons, Jim (Class of ‘56) and Luther (Class of ‘60). Tom and
Velma were important people that kept the chapel alive for us young
ones. Velma played the piano and sang. They had Bible School in the
summer. Tom cut hair. I received my haircuts in their basement. I hung
out a lot with Luther. The Robinson’s had one of the first TV’s in
town. A gang of us would go there after school most every day to
watch, Hop-along Cassidy and It’s Howdy-Doody-Time in our younger
years. The TV was black and white with a round picture tube. Thinking
back about old TV’s, the brand could have been a Hallicrafter with a
magnifier glass in front of the tube that was adjustable, in and out.
I bet that thing ruined many eyes. I have lots of good memories from
the Robinsons.
Second
single house up:
Hubert and Mary Wilcox and their son, Hubert Jr. (Class of ‘63)
lived here. I remember the family well but never got to know much
about them.
Third
single house up:
Living here was Rich (Class of ‘35) and Evadell (Bowser) (Class of
‘38) Bofinger. They had one son, Richard (Class of ‘60). I was
getting into cars by now and Rich had a 1951 Ford, 2 door that I
loved. After that car, he got a new red and white ‘55 or ‘56 Ford
that was also beautiful. Evadell was a neat lady. Her and her husband
made a neat looking couple. Later when I was in high school and during
the summers, Rich and I worked together at the tile works in
Craigsville. It was tough to work and play basketball at the high
school too.
Fourth
single house up:
In this house lived, the Earl Smith family and one son Morgan, (class
of 61). They bought a house on Smith Hill and moved and Dick and
Dorothy (Troutner) Beers Sr. moved in. They both were in the (Class of
’35). They had one son, Richard Beers, Jr. (Class of ‘58).
Fifth and
last single house up:
Here, Stanley and Sarah Bowser lived. Their children had left the
family home by the time I arrived in Yellow Dog, but I remember a few
of their children. At this time, I was attending school with several
of their children’s children. They had three girls and two boys.
Millard (Skelly) Bowser (Class of ‘34), William (Class of ‘43),
Gladys Mae (Class of ‘38). Maude and Mabel must have been the oldest
of the siblings and didn’t attend the high school after it opened
up. Millard (Skelly) Bowser married Josephine Hodak (Class of ‘39).
Josephine was raised in Yellow Dog also. When leaving Yellow Dog and
going west, up to the very top of the hill past the company store, is
where Skelly and Josephine lived. They had two daughters that I
attended school with. Margaret (Class of ’56) and Patricia (Class of
’60). The mines didn’t own their house. At the top of this hill,
we locals called it Smithville. Think they still call it this today!!
The fourth
row, last house up was a boarding house:
In this house (second floor) lived bachelors, single men employed at
the mines. Most couldn’t speech much English. At that time, there
were a lot of men that arrived in the USA to make a living. If they
were single when they arrived, they married local ladies. If they were
already married, they sent for their family after they were sure of
employment. In the lower level of this house lived Frank and Frances
Perine and their 4 boys. Frank passed away (I’m guessing) around
1949 or 1950. The family moved to West Winfield. Louis Hodak (Class of
‘43) and his wife, Mary Hodak moved in here next. Their children:
William (Class of ‘65), Karen (Class of ‘71) and Jeffrey (Class of
‘75).
The camp
ground along Buffalo Creek.
The camp ground was down the creek road past the Chapel. At that time,
it was privately owned. Many functions took place there. A lot of us
kids would swim in the creek at the camp ground. The best place on the
creek to swim was right there off the big rock. One Sunday there was a
function taking place. I saw two police cars, ‘48 Fords, 4 doors
going that way. I hopped on my bike and headed down to the camp. When
I got there the cop was putting a guy in the right hand rear door to
take him to jail. As soon as the cop shut the door the guy opened the
left door, jumped out and started running across the field with the
cop in pursuit. I remember the cop making a flying leap and tackling
the guy. This time when the guy was put into the back seat he had hand
cuffs on legs and arms. Later, a church congregation bought the camp
grounds and we couldn’t swim there anymore. Later yet, the church
group received ownership of a part of Yellow Dog for a cost of $1.00.
I believe the houses on the store side were sold privately.
The
Houses on the Company Store Side of Buffalo Creek:
It is going
to be tough after all these years for me to remember those living in
these houses up behind the company store. I didn’t spend a lot of
time there. With the help of a few of those living there back then, I’m
going to give it my best. Thanks a lot to Delores Bono, class of 50
for all her help.
When you
crossed the RR tracks and started up the hill, the first building on
your left was the store. The store was owned by the company that owned
the mines. This is why it was called the company store. You could
charge your goods. The miners were paid every two weeks. On payday the
charges at the store were deducted out of your pay check. This way,
the store was sure of receiving their money. If your store bill was
more than your 2 week pay check amount they couldn’t take all your
money. They had to give you at least $15.00. Rent for a company house
was around $16.00. This was taken out of a miners pay also if they
were living in a company owned house.
They sold
gasoline there also. Dad would get 5 gallons of gas for a $1.00. Our
Christmas presents were charged at the store. Dad told us years later
that he would receive $15.00 pay every two weeks from around Christmas
until mid-summer until the bill was paid up.
The store
had a meat section where meat was cut and also cut to order. The
butcher was Paul (Joe) Holben. The store had a delivery service too. I
don’t remember if there was an extra charge for a grocery order
delivery. The employees at the store took good care and catered to the
clients. You would give them a list or tell them what you wanted and
they would go and bring back what you ordered. They wrote your order
on a carbon copy note pad and gave you the carbon copy of the sale.
You could pay cash or charge. (Note: In not too many years later, Mr.
Holben’s son, Bob and wife Ann, opened up a soda fountain and small
store in Worthington. It was where the corner drugstore was at the
corner of Main and the Slate Lick Road.)
I remember
the store had a charge/cash trolley system. They would put the top
slip of your charges in the overhead trolley, pull the cord and send
the sales slip over to the store office. The employee at the store
office would send the trolley back to the counter side of the store
after each transaction. If you paid with cash if I remember right, you
paid right there at the counter.
Beside
groceries they also sold furniture, cloths, shoes, appliances, gas and
even guns and ammunition.
(In 1955,
Tennessee Ernie Ford, recorded a song previously recorded by, Merle
Travis in 1946 by the name of "Sixteen Ton". Some of the
lyrics are exactly what went on at the company mining villages and
company owned stores. You couldn’t leave because you owed your soul
to the company store!)
Just above
the store parking lot there was one row of 3 double houses house’s,
one single house and on long narrow house with at least two families.
This row of houses faced downhill toward the store. Above this first
row of houses, there was an alley that separated this first row from
the second row of houses that were above the alley. The alley provided
parking for the houses it bordered. There were two double houses, and
two single houses in that second row. Across Smith Hill road there
were two more single family homes. I believe most, if not all the
houses on the store side of the creek had out houses.
The
Houses and Families Living on the Store Side of "Yellow Dog"
There were
five double houses, 5 single house and one multi-family house. Also on
that side of town there was a store, the mine office, some garages and
a garage to house the fire truck.
In the
first double house
starting from Smith Hill road, the first street, right above the
store, lived the Mike and Olga Tancabel family. I didn’t know the
older siblings, but knew of them. Their children were Catherine (Class
of ‘46), and Joseph (Class of ‘48), Richard (Class of ‘52) and
John (Class of ‘53) and the twin girls, Mary Ann and Patricia Ann
(Class of ‘60). I remember John delivered groceries for the store
while attending high school.
In the
other side of
that first house lived Rocco (Class of ’36) and his wife, Twila Bono
with their 3 children. Jim (Class of ‘57), Herman (Class of ‘62)
and Ed (Class of ‘63). I mentioned previously that after the mines
closed and (new property owners, the church group) started renting the
houses, Rocco along with his family moved from the store side of the
creek to the other side of the creek - third row of double houses and
the last house up the hill. I will mentioned also that they lived in
that house probably another 40 more years.
The second
double house
back this street facing downhill: Living in one side was John and Ann
Peterson. They had two sons, Tom and David. David was killed in a
traffic accident at a young age.
The other
side of the
second house lived the Robert and Elizabeth Robinson family. They had
a son, Robert W. Robinson (Class of ’51). Bob married Gayle Morrison
(Class of ‘52).
The third
house in, one
side lived James and Mary (Trott) Bono. I remember James real
well. He was a short guy and I could always get a stick of gum off of
him. They raised 12 children. The older children graduated before the
new school opened. One of their children was in the first graduation
class at Worthington-West Franklin High School. Some of the younger
children were: Angeline (Class of ‘33), Frank (Class of ‘34),
Rocco (Class of ‘36), Harry Bon (Class of ’40), Herman (Class of
‘42), Frances (Class of ‘43), and Delores (Class of ‘50). Some
of these younger children mentioned were already married too and still
living in Yellow Dog. I was attending school with some of James and
Mary’s grandchildren. Their older children were: Elizabeth, Theresa,
Theodore, Genevieve and Tony. It wasn’t easy getting a twelve year
education at the time when you when you lived so far from a high
school. Fortunately, prior to the high school in Worthington there was
a group of people that saw the need for a high school. Before this,
eighth grade was as far as their education went.
The other
side of the
third double house lived: James and Beulah (Blymiller) Saylor. Their 4
children had already left the nest when we moved to Yellow Dog. Some
had children around my age. Their 4 children were Russell (Class of
’40), Sarah (Class of ’42), and Floyd and Joy. One of Sarah’s
(class of 42) sons (LeRoy) graduated with me in the class of 59.
The fourth
house, a single house
was: Joseph and Francis Sallustio. They had 3 children. Arthur (Class
of ‘42), Pasqual "Patsy" (Class of ‘43), and Julia
(Class of ‘45).
Back in the
woods past the
Sallustio house there was a path to a multi-family house, I think a
four-plex. The four-plex sort of sat out by itself. I can’t even
remember a road servicing that house. Living in that house was:
Charles "Chop" and Sarah (Class of 42) (Saylor) Crawford
family. (Sarah was James and Beulah Saylor’s daughter). The Crawford’s
children were Leroy (Class of ‘59), Bill (Class of ’64) and Karen
(Class of ‘78). The family bought a house in Worthington shortly
after the mines closed.
There was
also maybe another small apartment where someone by the name of Shoup
lived. I believe the other 2 residence were bachelor pads for bachelor’s
that worked at the mine. Their names were possibly Matt Kausin,
Sharkie, Severine and Bucherin. (Not sure of spelling). Go back
out to the Smith Hill road, go up-hill and there is an alley. In that
row there were 2 double houses and then 2 singles houses.
The second
row up the hill, the first double house (lower side):
In this house, lived the family of John and Angeline (Bono) (class of
33) Judice. They had 2 children, Leno and Louie, (class of 43).
That first
house (upper side):
Here is where Glen and Elsie Beckett lived with their 5 children.
Their children were much older than me, but I remember them as years
passed and who they married. Hardly anyone ever moved very far from
the area. Alice was in the (Class of ‘47), Genevieve (Class of ‘48),
Betty Jane (Class of ‘49), Dorothy (Class of ‘53), and Richard
(Class of ‘55). When the mines closed Glenn and Elsie moved across
the creek to where Kolar’s had lived.
The second
double house
going up (lower side) lived Paul and Pauline (Tripak) Peterson family.
Their children were much older than me. Most of their children had
already moved from the family home too when we moved to Yellow Dog.
With the help of the school website, it appears there were 7 children.
They were John, Francis and Mary. Frank (Class of ‘38), Joseph
(Class of ‘41), George (Class of ‘42) and Tom (Class of ‘43).
Note: Francis married, Ted Bono and Mary, married Vinko Kolar all from
Yellow Dog.
The other
side of the second double
house lived: Argo and Theresa Patsy. They had 2 children,
James, and Albert (Class of ‘42).
The third
house, a single house:
Living here was Frank "Sparky" (Class of ‘34) and Sarah
Bono with their family. Here were another couple of love birds. They
showed their love for each other everywhere they went. They were a
neat couple. Their children were William (Class of ‘58), Richard
(Class of ‘63) and Ronald (Class of ‘67). After the mines closed
they moved to the other side of the creek where Cunningham’s lived.
After a few years living there, they built a house on Smithville hill.
The second
single house
above the two doubles: The William Cayavec Sr. family lived here with
their 4 children. They were, Mary Jane (Class of ‘47), William Jr.
(Class of ‘50), and twin brothers, Paul (Class of ‘52) and Tom
(Class of’ 52). I remember the boys were very athletic, both in
baseball and basketball.
Across
Smith Hill road further up the hill there were two single houses on
the right side of the road.
In the
first single house
lived Michael and Ann Conrad with their family. They had 6 children.
The older girls had already moved from the family household when I
started to remember the family. They were Ann (Class of ‘42) and
Dorothy (Class of ‘44). Michael (Class of ‘48), stuck around the
area. He became the Worthington Post Master years later. Elizabeth
(Class of ‘59), Sharon (Class of ‘64) and Greg (Class of ‘66).
After the mines closed, the family bought a house on the corner of
Bear and Ross Street in Worthington and moved to Worthington.
The last
single house up
the hill lived Orville Sr. (Class of ’37) and Jean Bofinger. They
had two children. Donna Jean (Class of ‘65) and Orville Jr. (Class
of ‘66). After the mines closed, Orville and Jean moved across the
creek where Tom and Thelma Robinson lived. The Robinson’s had moved
to Main Street, Worthington.
After the
mines shut down in 1954, many families moved out of Yellow Dog:
The town almost became a ghost town. The houses that were vacated sat
there vacant for several years. The part of town on the east side of
Buffalo Creek was sold for $1. 00. A church group from Pittsburgh had
bought the houses. They did some minor re-modeling (siding, new
furnaces and some painting) and started renting them out again. The
houses filled up quickly. I believe the houses on the store side of
town were all sold individually and a few houses were torn down.
Being
raised in Yellow Dog was a great experience. The generation of kids
raised there before me were great basketball and baseball players.
When I lived there from 1947 to 1961 there was a lot to keep us busy.
We all had bikes, we could swim in the creek and we could explore in
the caves and climb the big rocks along the creek. We could always get
a game of many sorts going in the fields below the houses, and we
could walk to the store for candy.
I learned
so much in the evenings at the bridge listening to the "Big
Boys". We often played cards in the box cars that occasionally
accompanied the limestone hauling cars on the siding. I remember one
of the engineers that lived in Butler would bring empty cars in to the
siding in the evenings. He permitted me to climb up into the engine
part of the train and ride with him to the water source where he would
fill up the engine with water and give it a few shovels of coal. This
is where I would get off and down the tracks he would go. He sometimes
would give me a couple flares to play with. The ride in the engine and
the holding the flares could never happen in the times we are living
in today.
There
seemed to be no peer pressure between us Yellow Dogger’s and we all
got along great. There were a lot of great people that came out of
that town. To me it was an up-grade to move from our Worthington home
down to Yellow Dog, maybe because the house that Dad rented had indoor
plumbing. From the 1990s to present, it is such a shame to see the
east side of town as it is today.
I worked at
the tile works in Craigsville after school in the evenings and then
went on to work there after I graduated in ’59. In December of 1960
they shut the tile works plant down for the winter because of lack of
orders. Plastic pipe was making its way into the industry and
replacing the need for clay piping systems. I saw the hand writing on
the wall and had an opportunity to move to Seattle, Washington in
1961. I was hoping for more opportunities in my future.
I was able
to receive a job in the Shipyards. All I knew was that a ship was
sharp on one end and blunt on the other end. I eventually got into
their apprenticeship program. I graduated from that program in late
1965. In 1967, I started working construction, going to Alaska and
eventually working on the Alaska Pipeline for nearly a year. In 1971 I
started working in Construction Management and finished a great career
in that field. In 2004, I was eligible for retirement, didn’t want
to retire but it didn’t make much sense not to retire.
I have two
great boys living near-by with their families. After retirement my
wife and I bought a 5th wheel trailer and a new truck to pull it with.
We have been across the USA and back three times and pulled it to
Alaska and back. We’ve enjoyed many trips here on the west side of
the Rocky Mountains. Some winters, we try to get down to Arizona.
I have been
blessed to have had a great career, a great life and a lot of the
credit goes to being raised in Yellow Dog.
In 1948 I
believe, Worthington bought a new fire truck. After it was delivered,
they had an open house to introduce it to the Worthington area
residents. For some odd reason, I got to set in the front seat of the
new fire truck. I would have been about 7 years old then. From that
time on, I hoped to be a fire fighter someday. My wish came true in
1973.
I served 31
years as a volunteer with Skagit County Fire Protection District #8.
Eventually, I worked my way up to station Chief and have been very
active in Firefighter Safety. For 18 years I have been a Fire
Commissioner for the district which is an elected position. I spend a
lot of time dealing with all 18 County fire districts. Total time in
fire service is 43 years. I am retiring for good December 31, 2015
with a wealth of great memories.
It’s been
my pleasure to jog my memory and write about what it was like being
born in Worthington and raised in Worthington and Yellow Dog. A shock
that hit me when I competed this was that most of the people I
reported about have passed away.
I hope I
didn’t leave any great people in my life or life in Yellow Dog out
of my story. If I did, I’m sorry. Also, I hope that I didn’t
offend anyone. I told it as I saw it in my eyes!
Thanks to
everyone who helped with this especially Barbara (Nichol) Hollinger,
class of 59 for watching over my spelling, punctuation and even a few
grammar problems.
Terry E. Bowser
Class of 1959
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Some
Trivia (Did You Knows)
Pennsylvania Village
"For Sale":
September 22, 1985
Formerly Yellow Dog,
later Buffalo Valley!!!
SHADYSIDE
VILLAGE, Pa., Sept. 21, 1985—Once
again this town is for sale. For $300,000, with 20 percent down, a
buyer can get 23 houses, 13 garages, a chapel, ball field, water
system and even a 1984 pickup truck.
Nestled in
a valley along Buffalo Creek about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh,
Shadyside Village was founded at the turn of the century for the men
who mined the surrounding hills for Michigan Limestone Company.
The company
did not bother selling the houses after the mine closed in 1954. Most
of the miners had moved away.
The 38-acre
village, known locally and for disputed reasons as Yellow Dog, was
sold in 1959 to a church. Six years later, the church sold it to an
insurance salesman who, in 1980, sold it to Jesse Buzzard, of
Rimersburg.
Mr.
Buzzard, 62 years old, who owns a trucking business, invested $200,000
in a new water system. He put the village up for sale in May because
he was ill.
Since then,
about a half-dozen people have responded to the small, typed notice in
the front window of the Towne Realty Company in nearby Kittanning, but
no one has made any serious offers.
A local
realtor, Stanley T. Smith, says Shadyside Village is an ideal purchase
for ''someone who's looking for a tax shelter and the prestige of
owning a village.''
The latest
census - a head count is taken every Christmas - listed 158 people.
Residents
are not too concerned about who their next landlord will be.
''We've
been through it a few times, and it really hasn't rocked the boat too
much,'' said Mark Patz, the village caretaker. ''You get used to it.
Life will go on.'
"Recent
change in ownership:" There
is talk out there that in late 2014 the town has sold again to The
Historic American Rural Village Project. There is a signed sales
agreement for the Village. The village they
intend to develop is in three sections: the newest will be the 1950s,
the main part will be the 1920s, and the oldest part will be aimed at
the 1730s, with an Indian Longhouse, surrounded by 6 dirt floor log
cabins, such as my forefather was born in. I wish them luck in there
big undertaking.
Some
more trivia I researched about the village
The mine
finally ceased producing in 1954. The company houses set for a number
of years and the town sold for $1.00 to the church from Pittsburgh
that owned the camp facilities adjacent to Yellow Dog. The houses on
the store side of the creek were sold to individuals.
The mines
was all slope or face mining. That is the miners dug into an existing
rock face or cliff, they did not dig down as in deep mines. There was
no mining under any of the housing. The mining was all on the western
side of the valley from the village. After closing in 1954, the mines
set vacant and were boarded up for years. I left Pennsylvania in 1961
and the mines were still closed at that time.
From an
existing website:
Sometime
later Moonlight Mushrooms started growing mushrooms in the mines…perfect
climate for mushrooms. It developed into a huge operation and was able
to employee a lot of those that were still around that had lost their
jobs when the mines closed. It was a God send!
Creekside
Mushrooms Ltd. later owned two mines. They were the world's largest
single site mushroom growing facility and the only underground
mushroom farm in the United States. They are recognized in the
Guinness Book of World Records. Creekside was unique to the mushroom
industry. The mushrooms are grown and harvested underground. Creekside
farm covers over 2030 acres above ground and 150 miles of abandoned
limestone tunnels encompassing 800 acres beneath the surface with
production capability of 60 million pounds annually. Today, Creekside
is an all-natural underground growing environment with their new state
of the art Blending Yard which enables them to supply fresh organic
mushrooms consistently all year-round. Creekside's, MOONLIGHT brand
mushroom are certified 100% organic by Pennsylvania Certified
Organics. Creekside at one time provided employment to over 500 people
from the local community. Since 1937 the MOONLIGHT label has been
recognized around the world as the leader for consistent quality,
freshness and flavorful mushrooms.
Creekside
LTD operations look like a mining company, since the fungi are grown
underground and the workers wear miner's hats. In fact, Creekside’s
parent company, Sylvan, Inc. is involved in other types of actual
mining as well, including limestone mining.
The
mushroom company and many other mushroom growers in Pennsylvania
experienced a decline in 2009 because of the recession of 2008. During
2010 Creekside was trying to recover. However, they did not resume
their higher production rates of 1993, when the company employed
nearly 1,000 workers.
More than
300 workers that have been laid off from Creekside Mushrooms, Inc. in
West Franklin Township, Worthington, Pa., will probably not be getting
their jobs back, per company president Dan Lucovich.
"They're
pretty permanent," he said of the layoffs that began in December
of 2011.
Letters
were sent to employees in November notifying them of the layoffs,
citing an unstable economy, decreased consumer demand, increased
competition and the loss of major customers.
Less than
30 employees remain at Creekside, Lucovich said, including
administration and workers. The company is strategizing, he said, to
determine how it can maintain operations. I am not sure if is still
open and limping along. (The above was in 2011).
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