Latimer Avenue at Eighth Street, 1955

My intrepid vintage photo sleuth, Maria Notarianni, was able to borrow and scan some old photos and news clippings from Jackie Vukovcan that had been saved by Jackie's father-in-law, the late Louis Vukovcan.

This Daily Citizen clipping was marked April 5, 1955, by Louis Vukovcan, but I have not been able to verify that that was the date it was published by the Citizen.

Latimer Avenue at Eighth Street
April 5, 1955
Daily Citizen clipping

Original caption:

LATIMER AVENUE is now a one-way thoroughfare. Borough officials decided yesterday to make the move effective on alleviating traffic conditions. Autoists cannot enter Latimer from Eighth St. Shown in the photo are Burgess Walter Panek and Patrolman Harry Knafelc at the intersection of Eighth to see that proper observance is carried out.

In the background is Twins Trailer Sales, later Twin Trailer Sales, which was located at that intersection during the 1950s, a prime location since Ohio River Boulevard, then part of Pennsylvania Route 88, ended at Eighth Street at that time. After the boulevard was extended to Baden in the early '60s, the business relocated further north to the Harmony Township* section of the extension, now part of Route 65. Twin Trailer's former Ambridge location is now the parking lot for John Syka Funeral Home.

Latimer Avenue's name was changed to Kennedy Drive on December 6, 1963, shortly after President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Kennedy's October 12, 1962, route from Aliquippa to Pittsburgh was via that street.

The street is still one way south.

I haven't yet found the date of the opening of Twin Trailer Sales' Harmony Township location, but the August 26, 1965, Beaver County Times says that the business' new home was "expected to be ready before winter."
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* The Beaver County Times seems to consistently have given the new Twin Trailer's location as Harmony Township, but ads say "Baden." If the exact municipal location is important, you might want to check.

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #6 Kennedy Drive

Kennedy Drive was called Latimer Avenue until December 9, 1963, when Ambridge Borough Council changed the street's name to honor President John F. Kennedy, assassinated less than three weeks earlier on November 22.

Kennedy had traveled via Latimer Avenue enroute to Pittsburgh from a political rally in Aliquippa on October 12, 1962.

According to the December 10, 1963 issue of the Beaver County Times, 41 residents of Latimer Avenue had petitioned to ask for the name change.

51st Anniversary of the JFK Visit - Part II

by Robert Giles

Below is President Kennedy’s calendar for October 12th and 13th, the two days he campaigned in Western Pennsylvania. Note that his day began in New York City with a fund-raiser and that he spoke at Columbus Day festivities in Newark, NJ and in New York City that same morning. He then boarded Air Force One and flew to Pittsburgh.

(His agenda and appointments for the entire month of October 1962 is at  History Central.  History buffs may be interested in the entries for the twelve days beginning October 16th - the Cuban Missile Crisis.)

October 12

• The President gave a brief address at a fund raising breakfast at the Carlyle Hotel (New York, NY).
•  The President drove to Newark and spoke at the Columbus Day celebrations in Newark NJ.
• The President returned to New York City to review its Columbus Day Parade.
• The President flew to Pittsburgh.
• The President spoke at an Aliquippa PA political rally (from a stand in the municipal parking lot).
• In the evening the President gave a speech at the University of Pittsburgh (Fitzgerald Field House).

October 13

• The President began the day with an address at McKeesport PA.
• The President traveled to Monessen PA.
• He then spoke at the Washington County Courthouse (Washington PA).
• The President traveled to Indianapolis IN where yet again he gave a campaign speech.
• Next he traveled to Louisville, where he addressed a Democratic Party rally at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds.

At Aliquippa and elsewhere, JFK campaigned for Democratic candidates. At Aliquippa he endorsed Philadelphia Mayor Richardson Dilworth (governor), Senator Joseph Clark (reelection), and Representative Frank Clark (reelection). Outgoing Governor David Lawrence was also on hand to provide support.

Kennedy's speech in Aliquippa is standard campaign boilerplate but the forceful, polished delivery makes it almost inspiring. Here is a real politician at work.

A sound recording of the speech is at the JFK Library.

Kennedy's strong voice does not reveal a whit of fatigue despite his grueling schedule and the fact that he has just flown 400 miles. Aliquippa was his fourth campaign appearance of the day. It is still early in the afternoon.

(When I saw him on Latimer Avenue in Ambridge he seemed aglow with energy and good health. In actuality, JFK suffered from a number of very serious medical conditions including Addison’s disease. On October 4, scarcely one week earlier, the President had cancelled all appointments due to an illness.)

You may be interested in newspaper accounts of the rallies in Mon Valley towns on the second day of his visit --

McKeesport PA

Monessen PA

It is interesting that the case President Kennedy made against Republican recalcitrance 51 years ago is echoed in the complaints of Democrats today. 

In reply, conservative Republicans and their allies would claim that JFK's domestic agenda (minimum wage, Medicare, housing, aid to education) steals money from the better off, diminishes states' rights, curtails freedom, and contributes to the debt. 

I inserted the word "conservative" because in 1962 the GOP had a moderate to liberal wing. The GOP until recent years included politicians like William Scranton, who defeated Mayor Dilworth in the PA governor's race that November. It was Governor Scranton who tried to face down the Goldwater steamroller at the 1964 Republican Convention.

It was actually a coalition of conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats who defeated most of Kennedy's legislation.

In politics, even a little complexity will ruin your story every time. We can't expect the President to campaign against his fellow Democrats. 

Watch this video at PG Video. (Wait a moment for the commercial message to clear.)

In the video, David Shribman, executive editor of the Post-Gazette, expertly sums up the Kennedy visit in the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination of the President just over a year later.

51st Anniversary of the JFK Visit - Part I

by Robert Giles

I remember standing with my brother Dave on Latimer Avenue in Ambridge waiting for President Kennedy.

It was a warm, sunny afternoon in October. We didn't have to go to school that day - it was the Columbus Day holiday.

Dad had dropped us off before going to work on the afternoon shift at American Bridge.

I wasn't aware that the President was coming. Word had passed through the steelworker locals to get out and greet the President's motorcade. I'm guessing that is how Dad knew.

Dad always voted Republican. Offhandedly, he asked us if we would like to see the President.

Would I??? What’s the matter, old man? How can you ask?

I don't know if Dave shared my enthusiasm but we both climbed into the back seat of the Ford.

The crowds lining Latimer Avenue would have satisfied the most demanding advance man.

We elbowed our way to the curb. There was a hush, then the growl of a hundred motorcycles. It was the cops, outfitted for the highway patrol: crash helmets with face-plates, white shirts, blue pants, and black boots. Jesus.

The motorcycles were followed by a parade of open Lincoln Continentals packed with politicians  - the Fourth of July had come on Columbus Day, 1962.

There he was - my hero, John F. Kennedy. He waved right at me. He was tan. He oozed the Kennedy vigor. He had charisma (just like it said in Time, Look, and the Saturday Evening Post).

Athletic-looking men jogged alongside the President's limousine, looking carefully from side-to-side. I had just turned 13 - I didn't realize until  later that they were Secret Service agents, dutifully guarding the President, who sat exposed and vulnerable in the open car. 

In a moment, the street grew quiet. The motorcade had turned the corner and was on its way south on Ohio River Boulevard.