Making history since 2008
After the abolition of slavery, formerly enslaved individuals yearned to reunite with their families, torn apart during the domestic slave trade. Seeking their loved ones, many turned to a simple yet hopeful method: placing ads in newspaper want ad sections, hoping the sought-after family member or anyone familiar would chance upon the plea and respond.... Continue Reading →
As mentioned in our previous post, copies of the Daily Republican issue that covered Monongahela's big 1924 New Year's Day celebration are unavailable. Fortunately, there was coverage in the January 2, 1924 issue of the Pittsburgh Gazette Times that included two photos and an article. (click the photo to enlarge it) Parade, Dinner and Ball... Continue Reading →
How did you celebrate the new year? As with most people I know, I spent a quiet evening with friends. There were no big public celebrations in the Monongahela area that I know of. It wasn't that way in 1924 though. Check out these articles I found from the Daily Republican. (tip: click on the... Continue Reading →
This has always been my favorite MHS yearbook cover I think. What is your favorite? Keep double clicking each image to enlarge. Look for the * to see who hit the books. Click here to see what was happening in 1954. 69 years as of May of 2023, and finally congratulations to the class of... Continue Reading →
The following article is from our local newspaper's July 11, 1895 edition. I don't think people today have any idea that bicycling was such a big deal in our town around the turn of the 20th century. Now with the advent of e-bikes (making hilly terrain less of an issue) and the $25,000 PA WalkWorks... Continue Reading →
"Residents near the scenes of the mixed parties were aroused and authorities notified."
WQED recently filmed a documentary about Monongahela's 1952 Little League World Series finalist team and the 1954 Pony League World Series winning team. The premier broadcast is tonight at 8:00pm on WQED. I believe it will be rebroadcast on Monday and it will be available online at some point. Here is some background information that... Continue Reading →
If you live in Monongahela I’m sure you’ve noticed all the scaffolding and construction along Main Street in the last few weeks. Hundreds of thousands spent at the Fox’s Pizza building on the west end of town, hundreds of thousands (I’m guessing) spent by City Mission getting the old McCrory’s building (aka Finishing Touch) in... Continue Reading →
Reminiscent. Editor Daily Republican. - Forty years ago this winter was the longest and coldest winter season within the last half century. The river froze up in December and did not open until March; the ice was about two feet thick and teams could drive on it anywhere with perfect safety. There was good sleighing... Continue Reading →
Just wanted to give a shout-out to the folks who have diligently kept their sidewalks shoveled this year. I appreciate it because I've been walking more, not only for the health benefits but because it just feels great to get out of the house for some fresh air. Walking takes only a little more time... Continue Reading →
I was killing time on Youtube this snowy Tuesday morning and came across this video of a Norfolk Southern train ascending a hill. The video caught my eye because if you live anywhere near the tracks in Monongahela; you see Norfolk Southern trains every day. At first you can barely see the train through the... Continue Reading →
My last post was about the railroad tracks being built across East Main Street back in 1899. While doing research for that post I kept coming across all kinds of interesting stories related to the area between First Street and the tracks at Pigeon Creek. In this post I'll discuss why this area was such... Continue Reading →
Many of us remember the feeling - you are traveling south on Main Street in Monongahela trying to get to Charleroi for an appointment. You are a few minutes late but if all the green lights through town are in sync you might just arrive on time. You approach 4th Street and YESSS, you just... Continue Reading →
MONONGAHELA CEMETERY. - Notice is hereby given that all persons who visit the Cemetery are forbidden from pulling flowers, throwing stones at birds, injuring the fences, or enclosures in any way, hunting on any of the cemetery grounds, or using fire-arms thereon. I am instructed to make information against any persons violating any of the... Continue Reading →
I'm still working on the Conestoga series that I promised in the last post so look forward to more on that soon. I appreciate comments that readers make on my posts so it was great to hear from Bill Perry a few weeks ago regarding an old post about the Harris Workingman's store from 11... Continue Reading →
Lost Monongahela is springing back to life! Longtime followers of this blog know that it goes dormant from time however dormancy doesn't mean that it’s dead (at least as long as I'm is alive)! I may have mentioned before that I work in construction so I tend to write more in colder months when the... Continue Reading →
A professor at the University of Pittsburgh posted a link to his Twitter feed Thursday that caught me by surprise. It's a positive story about the Mid Mon Valley by Laurent Belsie of the Christian Science Monitor. The article mainly focuses on Charleroi but also mentioned are Donora, the City of Monongahela and Washington County.... Continue Reading →
Many people in town have been concerned about the deterioration of the former American Legion Frank Downer Post building at 248 West Main Street. The first three photos below were taken in 2015 showing a huge gash in the roof resulting in water flooding the interior of the building every time it rained. Thankfully the... Continue Reading →
I was looking back in the archives and realized that February 10th, 2016 will be Lost Monongahela's 8th birthday! It all began with this post about the D.E. Gamble grain elevator on 7th street. Back then online information about Monongahela history was sparse. The best resource I had at the time was the Historical Magazine Of... Continue Reading →
I just heard Seth Godin say this on a podcast today regarding writer's block: Write; write poorly; continue writing poorly; write poorly until it's not bad anymore. So expect to read more poorly written posts here on Lost Monongahela in the next few days!
Lost Monongahela 