Author: Dan Tregembo

Visit my other sites at Lostmonongahela.com, Monongahelatimes.com, pcwatershed.org and monongapedia.pikapod.net.

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health (sort of a year end report card): The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!. Crunchy numbers The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed... Continue Reading →

0

4th and Main Streets, Monongahela PA Then and Now

  Monongahela City Postcard 1930's (click picture to enlarge) Corner of 4th and Main Streets, Monongahela PA, October 2011 (click picture to enlarge) Here are two pictures taken about 70 years apart looking southeast at the corner of 4th and Main Streets Monongahela. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it would be interesting to... Continue Reading →

7

Off Topic: Colonial Meeting Houses of New England

This post is not related to Monongahela history but I think that the typical Lost Monongahela reader will enjoy the interesting website I came across today called Colonial Meeting Houses of New England. Make sure to first read the Background Information section followed by the pictures and descriptions in the Project Locations section. The photography... Continue Reading →

0

Winter of 1799

"In the Winter of 1799, the greatest snow fell at one time that was known. It began snowing on Friday evening and snowed until the following Monday morning, snow measuring over a foot deep." from page 225 - Historical magazine of Monongahela’s old home coming week. Sept. 6-13, 1908

0

1909 Monongahela Panorama Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Have you ever heard of a Gigapan? It is a photograph comprised of sometimes hundreds of small snapshots, all stitched together by computer software to create one incredibly detailed high resolution image. When the image is uploaded to Gigapan.org you can view it and keep on zooming and zooming to see all kinds of interesting... Continue Reading →

3

Life In A Coal Patch

I was doing research for an unrelated post when I stumbled on this quote about a small patch town named Salemville in Westmoreland County: Salemville was a company-owned village which was enclosed by a fence, one of a few in Westmoreland County.  The fence was a symbol of the company's authority and hold on each... Continue Reading →

0

Coal Bumbs

Culm balls aka coal bumbs were made from mine waste (powdery, shaley coal known around here as slack) by mixing the it with clay or manure and forming balls (bumbs). The bumbs were considered poor man's coal in Ireland. Here's an interesting page showing how the bumbs were made and how they were burnt. Has... Continue Reading →

1

In A Rough Spot

What happens when you hit a rough spot with a wagonload of nitro glycerine. ~ Read more about it at the Observer Reporter blog The Picture Box

0

Burnt Cabins PA – Have To Visit Someday #1

Burnt Cabins is an unincorporated community in Dublin Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the foot of Tuscarora Mountain. It contains U.S. Route 522 and I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike). By 1750, the town had grown to 11 squatters cabins and was known as Sidneyville. The homes of these early settlers were burned by order of... Continue Reading →

1

Beehive Coke Ovens, Shoaf PA

I always thought coke was made at huge facilities such as US Steel's Clairton Works or Kopper's coke battery in Monessen: But would you ever think that as late as 1972 it was still made like this? That video is of the beehive coke ovens in Shoaf PA. I was surprised to learn that you... Continue Reading →

9

Up ↑