This is a souvenier from the Monongahela Old Home Week Celebration of 1908. Originally it would have included a ribbon attaching the top and bottom of the medal. I purchased this off eBay a few months ago and was excited to receive it in the mail. Kind of gives you a sense of connection with the people of that time. I wonder who originally purchased this?
Monongahela was booming back in 1908 with the population reaching 7,598 in 1910, eventually peaking at 12,948 in 1970. In 1970 I suspect that there was little in-migration where as in 1908 much of the growth was due to immigrants arriving from all over the world to work in the coal mines and at the supporting industries in town.
The Monongahela Old Home Week Celebration must have been quite an impressive affair. The organizers assembled a wonderful publication called the Historical Magazine Of Monongahela’s Old Home Coming Week: Sept. 6-13, 1908. (At 312 pages I would call it more of a book than a magazine!) Here is the welcome message from Mayor William J. Blankenbuehler.
You can really sense a feeling of pride and optimism among the citizens of Monongahela back then. I wonder if that ever will return?
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I hope the pride returns. I’m a former Monongahela resident. I would love to come back if I could find a job.
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Nice blog you have there!
It looks like things have been looking up in the Pittsburgh area the last few years. We seem to have come through the recession much better than other areas of the country. Here’s a blog you may be interested in:
http://burghdiaspora.blogspot.com/
The blogger, Jim Russel, writes about the changing demographics in Pittsburgh and has several great posts about people who “boomerang” ie: they work out of state for a while and come back later.
http://www.newgeography.com/content/002006-personal-income-2000s-top-and-bottom-ten-metropolitan-areas
The Mon-Valley isn’t faring as well as other places in the Pittsburgh area though. I have relatives who moved to Ross twp. and they love it. Much easier to get around than living south of the burgh.
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I have a family pitcher in red glass that says Old Home Week 1908 and our family name
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That’s great! Send me a picture of it if you would like me to make a post and show it to others on Lost Monongahela.
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