The Ambridge Theatre

Many people in the Ambridge area have fond memories of the small, mom-and-pop Ambridge Family Theatre at 645 Merchant Street that opened in 1965 and closed in 2014. This is not about that theater.

This is about the original Ambridge Theatre, the one that was Ambridge's biggest, grandest theater.

This theater:

Ambridge Theatre
714 Merchant St.
March 1965
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

The Ambridge Theatre opened on December 24, 1928, owned and operated by Marcus (Ben) Nadler, who also owned the Prince Theatre and had previously owned Ambridge's Grand Theatre and Regent Theatre.

The Ambridge Theatre Deluxe
Grand Opening Flier
December 1928
Louis Vukovcan collection
courtesy of Jackie Vukovcan

The announcement included this statement:

TO OUR PATRONS

The policy of this theatre will be be show only the most carefully selected pictures--pictures that could offend no one--yet will entertain the most particular people.

De Luxe stage presentation--the best obtainable--will be shown together with news reels, comedies, and other screen attractions of equal high entertainment value.

Patronize the Ambridge Theatre--it is a modern, up-to-date theatre--beautiful, sanitary and comfortable--with entertainment no surpasses anywhere.

--The Management

The opening movie was Naughty Baby, followed later in the week by Three Week Ends.

The Ambridge Theatre Deluxe

Grand Opening Flier

December 1928

Louis Vukovcan collection

courtesy of Jackie Vukovcan

At the time it was built, the Ambridge Theatre was reported to be the largest theater in Beaver County, seating 1600. The theater's entrance at 714 Merchant St. didn't give a hint of just how big the theater was, as the storefronts between 7th St. and 714 hid the L-shaped building's size.

While the Ambridge wasn't as big or ornate as some of the Pittsburgh theaters in that era, the local newspapers were excited, anticipating the opening.

The Ambridge News-Herald wrote about last minute preparations for the opening:

While there is still considerable touching up to do, yet the main features are ready. Half a dozen janitors sweeping and dusting. The organ men are tuning up the great instrument and it will be in its best tone for the opening.

The big electric dome has been drawn to place and the lesser illuminating units are being hung. Carpenters are driving the last nails, the painters are brushing on the last swish of golden paint. The large mirrors in the lobby are being set and polished, so that when the doors swing open at 6:30 little if anything will be found unfinished.

At present writing, noon, Rosiman's Alabamians have arrived and are ready for the stage when the curtain goes up. Film for Alice White's latest picture, "Naughty Baby," is on hand and ready for the projecting machine. And most important of all the ticket office is set and the ticket chopper installed in the lobby.

Ambridge's Daily Citizen gushed over the $500,000 theater--almost $7,000,000 in today's money-- calling its opening "The biggest event in local theatrical history!":

The New Ambridge Theater, the beautiful, luxurious new house of the Ambridge Amusement Company, opens with all its radience (sic) at 6:30 this evening. From the spectacular electrical display on the exterior to its red plush seats, this house offers the superlative in theater construction and appointments. We won't say too much about it today, but as the result of a preview yesterday we can safely predict that everybody tonight is going to be awed--even thrilled--with the luxuriousness and ornateness of this beautiful structure. Really, the interior of the theater is "a thing of beauty and a joy forever," designed under the colorful Spanish and Italian influence. Its wide, richly carpeted aisles, magnificent draperies, and colorful lighting effects, make it one of the finest theaters in Western Pennsylvania.

The Daily Citizen noted that the movie Naughty Baby being shown on opening night was its world premier, "a privilege that is rarely accorded towns the size of Ambridge."

[Update August 22, 2017: Here's what the Ambridge Theatre's entrance looked like the year after it opened. Until I saw this photo, I never knew the marquee shown in the other photos in this blog post wasn't the original. I don't know when the marquee was changed. Note the icicles hanging from the bottom of the marquee, advertising that the theater had air conditioning.

Ambridge Theatre
Daily Citizen
August 10, 1929

End of update]

As far as I can tell, for most of its lifetime, the theater typically changed its movies twice a week. One--or two, because it frequently ran double features, two movies for the price of one--played Monday through Thursday, and another one or two movies played over the weekend. And there was always a cartoon before the first movie. On Saturday's, there would often be a special matinee for kids.

The Ambridge Theatre showed the first "all-talking movie," in Ambridge, The Wolf of Wall Street, on March 21, 1929. The theater also showed the first 3D movie in Ambridge, and installed the first panoramic screen in "the valley."

In 1930, Nadler sold the Ambridge and Prince to the Warner Bros. Theater chain for $700,000, which would be equivalent to over $9,825,000 today.

I don't know what the occasion was in the 1954 photo below showing a lot of excited boys in baseball uniforms lined up in front of the theater to see Johnny Guitar and Jungle Maneaters. The man wearing sunglasses, standing near the curb with folded arms looks to me like Walt Kasper, Ambridge funeral home owner who was active in community organizations. Those of you who remember Kasper, what do you think? Does anyone recognize anyone else in the photo? If so, please leave a comment. (As usual, the photo can be enlarged to see the details better by clicking on it.)

[Update July 21, 2017: Long time Ambridge resident Butch O'Keefe agrees that that's Walt Kasper in the photo. He adds that the man further to the right wearing a baseball cap, standing with the crowd of boys, may be a man with the last name of Bucka who was very active with Little League.]

[Update July 23, 2017: Jill Scheer says that the man behind Walt Kasper's right shoulder in the background of the crowd is her grandfather, Nicholas Scheer. She says he was not connected with Little League, so must have just been in the crowd at the right time to be captured in the photo.]

Line in front of the Ambridge Theatre
714 Merchant St.
1954
credit: Glazer Collection, Athenaeum of Philadelphia
used with permission

I don't know how long that commitment the Ambridge management made to only show movies that "could offend no one" lasted, but in February 1957, the Beaver County Deanery of the Holy Name Society protested the theater's showing the controversial movie Baby Doll, described by IMDb as "A steamy tale of two southern rivals and a sensuous nineteen-year-old virgin." A 19 year-old who sleeps in a crib and sucks her thumb.

People whose memories of the Ambridge are better than mine recall the stunning Art Deco stairs leading to the second floor, and the beautiful Art Deco bathrooms there, as well as an entry into the balcony.

Here's just a smattering of Ambridge Theatre ads over the years.

One of the more cultural offerings:

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ambridge Theatre ad
Daily Times
February 29, 1936

Before there were hours of Saturday morning cartoons on TV, kids went to the movies to see them:

17 Cartoons
Ambridge Theatre ad
Daily Citizen
September 3, 1948

A more modern classic, in technicolor!

Glass Menagerie
Ambridge Theatre ad
Daily Citizen
November 11, 1950

Gotta wear those stylish 3D glasses! Eek! A lion in your lap!

Bwana Devil
Ambridge Theatre ad
Beaver Valley Times
April 17, 1953

On the giant, curved panoramic screen:

From Here to Eternity
Ambridge Theatre ad
Beaver Valley Times
October 3, 1953

Lassie and five cartoons in the morning, more-adult movies later in the day.

New Orleans Uncensored, Women's Prison, and Lassie
Ambridge Theatre ad
Daily Citizen
June 10, 1955

Get a free back to school pencil box! I loved pencil boxes!

Back to School Show
Ambridge Theatre ad
Beaver County Times
August 24, 1964

A double feature for rock music lovers:

Girl Happy and Ferry Cross the Mersey ad
Ambridge Theatre
Beaver County Times
May 28, 1965

The Ambridge had a stage in front of the screen, and the theater served as a venue for a variety of events besides movies including stage shows, meetings, card parties, cooking demonstrations, boxing matches, and beauty pageants.

Platinum Blonde Revue
Ambridge Theatre ad
Daily Times
May 3, 1939

A touring company of the more talented contestants from radio's popular Major Bowes' Amateur Hour made a stop at the Ambridge Theatre.

Major Bowes' Amateurs on Tour
Ambridge Theatre ad
Daily Times
March 12, 1936

A few members of the World Series winning Pirates and announcer Bob Prince, made a special appearance in 1960. [Update July 23, 2017: Butch O'Keefe says he was at the Pirates' appearance, and that Face and Smith sang. That's an unexpected detail of the event.]

Pirates at Ambridge Theatre ad
Beaver County Times
November 15, 1960

The Ambridge closed in the summer of 1965 and was razed later than year to make room for a new bank building. I think the photo below with the blank marquee and empty looking buildings next to the theater was probably taken between the time the theater closed and its razing.

Ambridge Theatre
714 Merchant St.
1965
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

It doesn't look like much of the once beautiful building was saved during the demolition.

Ambridge Theatre being razed
Beaver County Times
November 8, 1965

Times caption for the photo above:

THEATER BUILDING BEING RAZED -- This is how the lobby of the Ambridge Theater (sic) looks as it is being torn down by a wrecking crew to make way for another office of Pittsburgh National Bank.

Crane razing Ambridge Theatre
Beaver County Times
November 19, 1965

Times caption for the photo above:

BEING RAZED -- Demolition work on the former Ambridge Theater (sic) building, Merchant Street, is expected to be completed by the end of this month. Plsburgh Naional (sic) Bank will open an outlet on the site.

Today, the former Pittsburgh National Bank building is occupied by Huntington Bank. The Ambridge Theatre's entrance was where the parking lot between the bank and Alexander's Restaurant is.


My memories of the Ambridge Theatre

Too bad none of the photos are in color, showing the marquee lit at night; it was beautiful. I remember the lights being orange, gold, and cream, perhaps because of the "Spanish and Italian influence."

I remember standing in long lines stretching from the theater's entrance to 7th St., then curving up 7th St., waiting to buy tickets for movies.

I would buy tickets at the ticket booth near the sidewalk, then walk through the outer lobby over a red carpet up a slightly sloping floor. Framed posters advertising coming attractions hung on either side of the lobby. At the far end of that outer lobby, there were doors leading to an inner lobby.

The refreshment counter was on the right side of that inner lobby. My mom usually gave me some change to buy candy at the counter. Since the projectionist had to change reels of film between the cartoon and the first movie, and again before the second movie of a double feature, there were intermissions giving me time to go to the refreshment counter if I hadn't bought any candy when I first went into the theater.

My favorite movie candies were the boxes of caramel creams, nonpareils, and Jordan Almonds. I also have a distinct memory of eating Good & Plenty at the theater, which would have been a weird thing for me to buy, because I didn't like Good & Plenty candy much.

I have other, pretty vague memories of that inner lobby: a pay phone hung on the left side, stairs to the balcony, and a pop machine that dispensed your drink selection into a small paper cup.

From the inner lobby, movie-goers would make a right into the large seating area that sloped gently down towards the screen. A curtain covered the screen, parting when the show was about to start.

I can recall only a few of the movies I saw at the Ambridge, most of them in my teen years: The Cardinal (the birth scene in that movie is still seared into my mind); Flight from Ashiya (a movie I was not excited about, but which I sat through twice, because I had a celebrity crush on one of its stars, George Chakiris, who I'd seen in West Side Story. I neglected to call my mom to tell her I was going to watch the movie again, and I later found her in the lobby, extremely worried); It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; It's a Hard Day's Night; and the first James Bond movie I saw, Goldfinger (my uncle later told my mom that he was shocked she'd allowed me to see it as there was "nudity" in it).

A Hard Day's Night
Ambridge Theatre ad
Beaver County Times
December 21, 1964

The Ambridge would give parochial school students vouchers for discounts to religious-themed movies which the theater would run on Holy Days of Obligation. We didn't have school on the holy days, and I guess the Ambridge was trying to keep us Catholic kids wholesomely entertained and out of trouble.

The Song of Sister Maria
Ambridge Theatre ad
Beaver County Times 
May 21, 1960

_____

You'll often hear Bridgers who grew up in the early 1950s or earlier reminisce how Ambridge once had four theaters operating on Merchant St. And that's true. At least for a short time.
Here are those four theatres and the years they were open. As you can see, Ambridge had all four theaters open for only about six or seven years. But having four theaters to choose from was great while it lasted.

Prince Theatre: early 1920s - 1951 (?)
Ambridge Theatre: 1928 - 1965
Penn Theatre: 1933 (?) - early 1950s
State Theatre: 1944 - 1959

And apparently, four different theaters may have operated at the same time in an earlier era. In the Beaver County Times, August 13, 1965, Tom Moore, a long-time projectionist for several theaters says that in the early 1920s, Ambridge had four theaters: Palm Gardens, Idle Hours, Family, and Grand.

Ambridge alley between 6th and 7th Sts., 1904

"Rear of tenement row from alley between 6th and 7th"
1904
Vaughn Arnold collection
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Leafing through a copy of a special section of the "Old Economy - Ambridge Sesquicentennial Edition" of the South News, published August 15, 1974, I found some information about this photo. Vaughn Arnold, once the owner of Ambridge's Daily Citizen, supplied the photo to the paper, and I assume the description may have come from him.

This is the rear view of a row of apartment houses as seen from the alley between 6th and 7th Sts. The building to the extreme left, in the background, housed a grocery store operated by Shippam and Campbell, who was a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds.

I believe the "alley between 6th and 7th" was "Alley No. 3" on old maps, running between Merchant St. and Melrose Ave. The "tenement row" may be some of the still-existing row homes on the west side of the 600 block of Melrose. Could the frame house at the far end of the row be 653 Melrose?

This photo and others from the same era show that when it began, Ambridge was a pretty messy place, hardly the picturesque new Marvel City described in early ads.

As far as the "pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds" goes, the only pitcher named Campbell I've found who played for that team in the appropriate era was Billy Campbell, who was born in Pittsburgh and played for the Reds 1905 - 1909, but I don't know if he ever owned a store in Ambridge. If anyone can positively identify the Campbell referred to in the photo's description, please let me know.

The copy of the special Sesquicentennial section belonged to the late Eddie Dzubak, Sr. Thanks to his daughter, Lesabeth Trzcianka, for giving it to me.

Update April 28, 2017:
Looking at the 1905 Sanborn Insurance map of Ambridge, I think the Shippam and Campbell grocery store was most likely at 654 Merchant St. (The street numbers for that building was 635 in 1905, but Ambridge renumbered the buildings on Merchant in 1917; 635 became 654.)

The large building with the advertising on the left side of the alley was probably a stable.

I've also found that Campbell's first name was "William," which supports his being Billy Campbell, Reds pitcher.

Steve Horlick and his stores

S. G. (Steve) Horlick was a prominent Ambridge businessman in Ambridge's early years, perhaps known as much--if not more--for his sponsorship of Ambridge sports teams as for his merchandise. Local historian Bill Bowan wrote on the reverse of one of the photos below, "Steve Horlick was one of Ambridge's most beloved fans of sports. He promoted athletics among the town's young people and was a great community booster."

Horlick had two stores over the years. Bowan didn't give the street address of either store, but said that Horlick's first store was between 4th and 5th St., "about 4th Bldg. from 5th." That was the store shown in the photo immediately below. Baseball scores are written on the window, and a big display of The Saturday Evening Post is featured in the center.

S. G. Horlick's store
probably 467 Merchant St.
circa 1915
courtesy John S. Dunn collection

Turns out, I know where the store above was located! A while back, I was reading about the first Pittsburgh Press Marathon race in old newspapers and was excited to find the Press news photo below.

"Ambridge Checking Station"
Horlick's store
Merchant St.
Pittsburgh Press
Jan. 30, 1909

Pittsburgh Press caption:

This picture shows S. Horlick's news agency at Ambridge where tab is being kept on the runners in the Press Marathon race as they pass through the town.

That 1909 marathon was from Rochester to Pittsburgh, so the race course came through Ambridge. A few weeks before the race, writer Gertrude Gordon wrote about her travels over the marathon course in the January 12, 1909, Press:

At Ambridge a checking station was placed at the store of A. G. Horlick, newsdealer. I spent a very enjoyable half-hour in his store, listening to a really good graphophone, and making friends with his huge white dog, Tige. Mr. Horlick told me everybody in Ambridge has been talking about The Press Marathon race. After a very good lunch, which we obtained in a little restaurant across the road from Mr. Horlick's, and as god [sic] a cup of cocoa as I ever have tasted, we boarded the splendid Pierce-Arrow and drove home in the snow storm, arriving here late in the evening.

I don't know yet if "A. G. Horlick" mentioned in the passage above was a typo or if a relative of Steve Horlick owned the newsstand in 1909.

(Note the Chinese Hand Laundry on the very right of the Press photo.)

The building was divided into two storefronts, and I don't know for sure which one was occupied by Horlick's store, but a 1911 Sanborn Insurance map shows the storefront closer to 5th St. was a "News Stand and Tobacco" business.

While the facade of the building has been altered over the years, the location of Horlick's first store still stands.

463 - 467 Merchant St.
March 30, 2014
credit: Nancy Knisley

The next photo shows the interior of Horlick's first store, dated circa 1913 by Bowan:

Interior Horlick's store
probably 467 Merchant St.
circa 1913
courtesy John S. Dunn collection

About 1915 or 1916, Steve Horlick moved his store to the southeast corner of "6th and Merchant Sts." Bowan describes this second store as a sporting goods and tobacco store with a gymnasium in the basement. He notes: "Horlick shared this bldg. with Ambridge Post Office*, later with Ambridge National Bank." Those two businesses were directly on the corner at 598 Merchant; Holick's store was one storefront south at 578 Merchant.

Here's what the intersection of 6th and Merchant looked like around 1920. Horlick's second store would have been in the right storefront of the building in the forefront on the left.:

500 block Merchant St. looking south from 6th St.
postcard
circa late 1910-early 1920s
Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation

Sadly, I don't have a photo of the facade of that second Horlick's store, but here are two photos of that store's window:

National Baseball Week display
Horlick's store window
578 Merchant St.
circa 1916
courtesy John S. Dunn collection

"Special Display Window of Rose-O-Cuba Cigars"
Horlick's store window
578 Merchant St.
May 15, 1916
courtesy John S. Dunn collection

And here's a photo of the interior of the second store:

"Steve Horlick's Sporting Goods Tobacco and News Store"
interior
May 1924
courtesy John S. Dunn collection

Bill Bowan's note at the top says:
Dual Lighting System - Gas and Electric
Fosters Orchestra playing at Dance.
"Scaramouche" - showing at Prince Theatre

Here's the Horlick's ad from the 1924 Economy Centennial book:

S. G. Horlick ad
Economy Centennial Souvenir Program
Economy of Old, Ambridge of Today
1924

I've come across several old Ambridge postcards published by "S. G. Horlick" including the one of American Bridge featured in my August 23, 2016, post "American Bridge and Ohio River postcard, 1920s."

I'm still looking for more information on Steve Horlick and his stores. The only additional bit of news I've found so far comes from the March 11, 1929, Daily Times, reporting on a 4 A. M. fire at S. G. Horlick's "newsstand and confectionery on the street floor of a two-story brick building at 6th and Merchant sts." By that time, Horlick was sharing the building with Barrett Pharmacy, and he and his family lived in an apartment over the store. The article said that the fire was believed to have been caused by a lighted cigarette that had been tossed through a manhole grating, starting a fire in some wastepaper in Barrett's basement. The fire was confined to the basement which was damaged by the fire and water, but the rest of the building was filled with smoke.
_____

Also from the John S. Dunn collection: a photo of Steve Horlick's Ambridge Soccer team, circa 1905 - 06:

"Steve Horlick's Ambridge Soccer Football Team"
circa 1905 - 06
photo by Griffin Studios
courtesy John S. Dunn collection

Soccer team members listed:
1st row:
1. Frank Hulet
2. Joe Williams
3. Jock Sutherland
4. unidentified
5. Art Wardle

2nd row:
1. Jack Lothian
2. unidentified
3. Robert Rae

3rd row:
1. Steve Horlick
2. unidentified
3. John Bianchi
4. Wm. Brenner
5. unidentified

You can see a photo of one of Steve Horlick's baseball teams, "Our Boys," in my April 21, 2016 post "Group photo: Ambridge Our Boys baseball team 1919."

____

Thank you Maria Notarianni for scanning the John Dunn photos.

The building at 463 - 467 Merchant St. appeared to be empty the last time I walked by.  Over the years it was the Mayflower Restaurant, Saratoga Restaurant, at least two small groceries, and more recently, it was Bella Marie and G'lorenzo's restaurants.

The storefront at 578 Merchant St. was later the location of Katcher's Music and an early Katcher's Furniture store. After that, did that storefront become part of People's Service Drug Store and/or later Thrift Drug Store that were in the left side of the building, 598 Merchant?
_____

* I am confused by Bowan's note saying that Horlick shared the building at the corner of 6th and Merchant with the post office, since according to my notes, elsewhere, Bowan wrote that the post office moved from the corner of 5th and Merchant Sts., where it was located in 1917, to the corner of 7th and Merchant Sts., which is where insurance maps show the post office in 1923. I'll recheck my notes and Bowan's, plus try to find other sources to reconcile the conflict. 

Group photo: P. J. Cauls baseball team, 1925

P.J. Cauls baseball team
1925
courtesy Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Sorry, I have no information yet on the team or the identities of the players in this photo. If you know anything, please leave a comment.

The photo appears to me to have been taken at the field at American Bridge Company's Park Road park.

Group photo: Ambridge Our Boys baseball team 1919

Yesterday's post about the 400 and 500 blocks of Park Rd., mentioned the Ambridge Our Boys baseball team. Here's a photo of the 1919 team, the amateur champions of the Greater Pittsburgh Federation.

Ambridge Our Boys Baseball Team
Amateur Champions
Greater Pittsburgh Federation, 1919
Laughlin Memorial Library archives

Right now, I don't have the names of any of the players, but the September 11, 1920, Daily Times says that the manager was S. G. Horlick, and the team was "better known as Horlick's Ambridge club." That same article described the team as "one of the strongest and fastest independent baseball units in Beaver County."

Steve Horlick owned a sporting goods shop in Ambridge and organized and managed teams in several sports. 

The August 24, 1919, Pittsburgh Press says that the previous year, the team had played under the name "Ambridge Regents" and were The Press Liberty League champs.

Then and now: 400 - 500 block Park Road

The 400 through 700 blocks of Park Rd. have some of the loveliest homes in Ambridge. Once, they stood across from a park, owned by the American Bridge Company, that stretched from 4th to 8th Sts. Now, all that's left of the park is the 700 block, the location of a small playground and the American Bridge Co. historical marker.

The postcard below shows the northern end of the 400 block as well as part of the 500 block of Park Rd.

Postcard
400 and 500 blocks of Park Rd.
published by Ambridge-Economy News Co.
circa 1911 - 1912

Here's what those same blocks look like now:

Northern end of 400 block and 500 block of Park Rd.
April 16, 2016

As far as I can tell, the homes shown on the postcard are still there, although they've been painted colors different than shown on the postcard.

The row of saplings shown lining the park on the postcard may be the mature trees that now stand on the west side of Park Rd. They block the view of Park Rd. from the Ambridge Do It Best Home Center, which currently occupies the 400 and 500 blocks of the former park.

I'm not sure how old the card is. There is no postmark, but it has a divided back and was published by "Ambridge-Economy News Co." I have other postcards from the same publisher that are postmarked 1911 or 1912, so that helps to date the postcard to that general time-period.

 While the postcard wasn't mailed, it does have notes about Ambridge on the reverse:

reverse of postcard above

On the left hand side of the card, as best I can tell, the card says:

Between Park Road and the R. R. tracks along the river, is a big stretch of ground graded off into a sort of playground and park. This shows a little of it. Park road has area big bigs" or nearly all them. ARsv (not sure about that name? initials?)

The section of Ohio River Blvd. that now borders the west side of the former park, and separates it from the railroad tracks, wasn't built until 1945.

The right side, where the address usually would go says:

Athletics - Basketball
H. S.
Presby, Meth} Church Teams

Baseball
High School
Company team.
Our Boys - Ind.
M. E. Church

You can see other views of Park Rd. and the park in these blog posts:

American Bridge tennis courts, 4th Street and Park Road

Then and now: 600 block Park Road

Multitasking strikers at H. H. Robertson, 1952

I primarily liked today's group photo because it seemed quirky. I'm assuming that it wasn't routine for striking steelworkers to bring their young children to a picket line. It's from the June 5, 1952, Beaver Valley Times.

But once I reread the caption a few times, I realized that the photo was notable for other reasons.

First, the caption reflected the expected childcare responsibilities of the era.

Original caption:

BABY SITTING PICKETS--While the wife is away the steelworkers will pay--with their leisure and "picket-time." Anyway, two H. H. Robertson's Steel Company picketing steelworkers do double duty taking care of their children and standing picket duty. Bud Marquette, with daughter Beverly, 18 months, and Jack Robertson, with son Harry, 9 months, left to right, stand picket, which Nick Stellato, Clifford Lane and Steve Sawchak look on.

It appears Nick Stellato was cropped out of the photo, but still listed in the caption.

The caption starts with the typical 1950's assumption that men only took care of their kids when their wives were "away," and as a result, the poor beleaguered men not only had to drag their kids to the picket line, but also had to give up their leisure time. Because men's leisure pursuits never involved their kids.

Then there was the importance of the strike itself, one of a number of strikes that took place in 1952. Around the same time the steelworkers went on strike, oil workers, telegraph workers, bakery drivers, and bakery and confectionery workers were on strike.

The nationwide steelworkers' strike was especially important because it started on June 2, 1952, the day the U. S. Supreme Court, in the landmark case, Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer, held that President Truman had no legal authority to seize steel mills. Truman had seized the mills in April 1952 to ensure the production of steel during the Korean War.

The Robertson picketers must have felt being on the picket line posed no danger to their children and didn't expect the kind of violence that occurred during strikes in the 1930s, including the 1933 strike in Ambridge that resulted in a bystander being killed by sheriff's deputies, and others wounded or clubbed.

But the mood wasn't as peaceful only weeks before at Aliquippa's J & L, when a brief strike followed a lower court ruling that the president's seizure was illegal. The April 30, 1952, Beaver Valley Times described the scene:

For several tense hours on Tuesday night it was 1936 all over again...(the) only element missing from the reenactment of the dramatic labor-management struggle of the middle 1930's was the smack of clubs against labor skulls.

The steel strike lasted 53 days, ending only after Truman intensely pressured both sides to come to a settlement.

Finally, another special detail about the photo: the inclusion of Bud Marquette. Thanks to John Domansky, I knew that Ambridge resident Marquette was a highly regarded gymnast and gymnastics coach. The U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame calls him the "Father of Women's Gymnastics in the U.S." Among his students were two Olympians: Rochester's Judy Hult Howe and Cathy Rigby.
_____

Love those comfy metal strollers that were popular in the early 1950s. My family owned a similar one.

Group photo: Ambridge High School's first basketball team, 1911

Ambridge High School's first basketball team
1911
Laughlin Memorial Library archives
used with permission

Oh, look, they wore long shorts back in 1911. Who knew that current uniform shorts were retro?

Some of the players' names appear to originally have been typed below the photo, but they are faded. Local historian William (Bill) Bowan rewrote them on the back of the photo:

The back says: 1911- Ambr. H. School Basketball Team

1st Row L R

1 - Sid Parsons
2 - ?
3 - ?
4 - Bill Cooper
5 - Harry West

2nd Row

1 - ?
2 - Bert Bianchi
3 - Sid Cadmus
4 - Bill Hutchinson


If you know the names of the unidentified players or the coach, please let me know.

American Bridge Duckpins Bowling Team 1952

If American Bridge once had a tennis team, you just know they would have had duckpin bowling teams.

In honor of Father's Day, I'm posting this photo of one of the American Bridge duckpin teams since my dad, Paul (Rusty) Bohinsky, is in it. It's from the May 7, 1952, Beaver Valley Times.

American Bridge Duckpin Bowling Team
Beaver Valley Times
May 7, 1952

Text below photo:

CHECKING DUX TOURNEY SCORES--Five Ambridge bowlers examine the score sheets after rolling in the TIMES-sponsored Beaver Valley Singles Elimination Tournament at the Beaver Valley Bowl Tuesday evening. They are: kneeling, Paul Bohinsky, standing (left to right), Bob Heaton, Roger Canonge, George Meehan, and Rudy Svegel. They were members of the first of two American Bridge Company squads to bowl last night.

We were a bowling family, duckpins and tenpins. My maternal grandparents, with whom I lived, bowled. My mom still bowls almost weekly at age 88 with one of my cousins! I joke that she bowls on a two person team in a one team league, as the rest of her former bowling buddies are no longer bowling...for one reason or another.

Most of my family were good bowlers. I remember the many trophies lined up on a variety of flat surfaces in our house.

I bowled tenpins at Economy Lanes in the Divine Redeemer CYO league. I was not good.

You can read about bowling dux at the Ambridge Alleys by clicking here.

American Bridge tennis courts, 4th Street and Park Road

American Bridge tennis courts
4th St. and Park Rd., looking north
1925
Laughlin Memorial Library archives
used with permission

American Bridge Company once owned tennis courts at the southern end of the park that once ran from 4th St. to 8th St. Although Ambridge residents came to see the park as public space, it was owned by American Bridge. In the photo, 4th St. is at the bottom and Park Rd. on the right.

Basketball nets are shown north of the tennis courts.

American Bridge had a tennis club, and its players competed in the Beaver County League and the Beaver Valley Tennis Association against players from other local communities from at least 1912 to to 1938, maybe longer.

The Ambridge High School tennis team also played on the courts at one time.

I haven't found out yet when the courts were removed. Anyone know? An aerial of the area taken during the time Ohio River Blvd. was being built along the left side of the park in the mid-'40s appears to show the courts still there.

Park Rd. was once the westernmost street in that part of Ambridge until Ohio River Blvd. was extended into Ambridge as far as 8th St. in the mid-'40s. However, it looks as though there may be a paved area between the park and the railroad tracks to its left. Further left are American Bridge plant buildings and beyond them, the Ohio River.

The Ambridge Do It Best Home Center is now where the tennis courts once were located.

John Domansky: memories of growing up in Ambridge, 1935 - 1954

John Domansky, Jr., John Domansky, Sr., and Jack Eppley

in front of John Domansky Tailor Shop

293 Fourteenth Street

1941

photo courtesy of John Domansky, Jr.

used with permission

In the photo above, John Domansky, Jr., age 9, his father, and Jack Eppley, who was married to John Jr.'s sister Frances, are shown standing in front of the John Domansky Tailor Shop.

Here are some of John Jr.'s memories of growing up in Ambridge:

I went to Holy Redeemer, as Divine Redeemer was then called, kindergarten to 8th grade. In 1948 I left for Boys Town. I graduated in 1950 from a pottery trade school. 

Before I came out here to Chicago in December 1954 with my sister and brother-in-law, I lived at a number of places in Ambridge. The last place I lived before moving to Chicago was 10th and Melrose; from 1952 to '54 I lived at 1925 Duss Avenue; in 1951 I briefly lived on 17th just up from Lenz; and before that, 1938 though 1951, at 293 Fourteenth Street, most memories come from there. Earlier, from '35 to '37, I lived above D'Ambrosio's Shoe Shop at 12th and Merchant. My first home was next to the Ambridge Hotel which was at 8th and Merchant.

Dad had a tailor shop at 293 Fourteenth Street for a while, with painted windows and all, and a big steam presser. The tailor shop was there for about 15 years maybe. On the right side inside, was the big steam presser, and steam shot out of the right side of the building to a blind alley. On the left was his Singer pedal sewing machine, both of which I ran at age 12.

Dad did alterations and took in cleaning, etc. He worked in downtown Pittsburgh and worked week-ends in his shop. He made me a confirmation suit overnight. He went to suit buyers' homes to measure the men, with a piece of paper, pencil, and a thin chalk marker. He wrote it all down, then made the suits, no returns ever that I know of. He was very good at math, I was better, and my son is five times as good as me.

My dad took me to many taverns and the Sokol club on Duss and 4th St. for hot dogs with sauerkraut and mustard. Once I ran away from home and landed in the Pittsburgh juvenile home; he came and got me and bought me a hot dog off a cart. Never laid a hand on me nor did Mom.

The wine killed my dad in 1948 in the pathway to our house between the two big buildings on the short 14th St. block before Boyleston St.

Mom was gone a lot, working in Glen Osborne and home on weekends. I would visit Mom in Glen Osborne often. She died in 1981.

To make creamed chicken on Sundays we got live chickens from Slavik's Market on 12th Street. Slavik kept livestock behind the store, along the Lias' home. The Lias family were West Virginia people who lived right behind the bar on Wagner St. The Lias boy swam in the river with us. We were called river rats. One thing about the river from 11th to 15th, 16th Sts. was the big rocks on the shore, you could sunbathe on them.

Dorothy Domansky and John Domansky, Jr.
next to D'Ambrosio Shoe Repair Shop
12th and Merchant Sts.
1937

photo courtesy of John Domansky, Jr.

used with permission

Frank Domansky (John Jr.'s uncle), Anne Domansky (John Jr.'s sister), Cousin Dorthy Domansky,

and Tom Varcheka, foreman at H.H. Robertson

14th and Merchant Sts., northwest corner

1942

photo courtesy of John Domansky, Jr.

used with permission

My cousin Dorothy played the accordion when she came to visit, a block party started here. Polkas on 14th Street!

I roamed free on my own for a lot of years. Having no car until out here in Chicago, I walked all over, 14th St. to Divine Redeemer was daily.*

I walked to Fair Oaks to visit the Otrahalics on Ambridge Ave. I'd walk to the Fair Oaks Bowling Alley on Big Sewickley Creek Rd. and the gas station next to it, even down to Zassick's farm to ride a horse or to Firemen's Park for a picnic.* A big 50-foot electric tower was in Big Sewickley Creek, the water was about seven-feet deep and diveable, so I did it, I dove off the concrete pad, about eight-feet high. I fished many times too.

I also remember when the bridge over Big Sewickley Creek going down to Ambridge was walked over by using only boards. This was at Ambridge Ave. at the sharp curve to go through Fair Oaks. The bridge was the only entrance into the valley behind Ambridge Ave. towards the hills behind. They built a new bridge in the late '70s. **

The 291 Fourteenth Street tailor shop, Hacker's, somehow deep in my memory, I see that name. The son was Clayton Marquette, trainer of 1972 Olympian winner Cathy Rigby. I have a May 5, 1972, Life magazine with a four-page layout on Cathy, and it shows Bud, as he was known, a former AAU gymnastic champ himself. Many days we walked on our hands in front of both tailor shops. Oh yes, I see a Hacker, a short German guy there, but not Bud's name, maybe he was adopted. Bud worked at H. H. Robertson also, like me. He cut all the crating lumber to ship the skylights I made. Bud tried to get me into the Maennerchor gym on Sherman St. I was a natural athlete and diver, have eight stitches in my head from top rock diving at the Chicago Coast Guard Station at 95th St. in Chicago. I would go to the Beaver River and dive off bluffs, and dive off the Baden docks which were 10-feet high. I threatened to dive off the Ambridge - Aliquippa Bridge a few times.

I came here to Chicago for work. I was laid off from Robertson in early '54, ended up at Republic Steel, retired in 1995 after 40 years as a welder, furniture refinisher, meat cutter, and still yet, antique dealer and seller and buyer, on eBay since 1998.

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John Domansky, Jr. is a frequent commenter on this blog. He's hoping to connect with people who knew him when he lived in Ambridge, or people who grew up in Ambridge when he did. If you fall into either category, please leave a comment below.

* At the time John Jr. was growing up, the Divine Redeemer School was located at 300 Merchant St., currently the location of Karnavas Vending Co.

** Zassick's farm and Firemen's Park were once on Big Sewickley Creek Road. The park was where the Economy Borough sewage plant and Hrinko Trucking are now located.

*** The new bridge was constructed in the late 1970s at the intersection of Ambridge Ave. and Main St. after the Ambridge end of Valley Rd. was cut off from the Harmony Township end because Big Sewickley Creek was causing the road to subside. Before then, both ends of Valley Rd. were connected.

Ambridge High School: first football game in new stadium program

program
Ambridge High Football
first night in new stadium
Ambridge High vs Monaca High
September 4, 1942

Bowling dux at Ambridge Alleys

Stettler Motor Company building,
entrance to second floor Ambridge Alleys at far end,
Bridger yearbook, 1968

There were other towns that had a bowling alley. There were other towns that had a Cadillac dealership. There may have been other towns that had both a bowling alley and a Cadillac dealership. But I'd be surprised to learn that any town other than Ambridge had a bowling alley above a Cadillac dealership.

The Cadillac dealership was Stettler Motors at 916 Merchant Street; the alleys were Ambridge Alleys at 914 Merchant Street, owned in the '50s and '60s by Duke Larnish and George Maletic. 

When I was young, my grandparents would sometimes take me bowling at Ambridge Alleys. I only remember duckpins*--"dux" in the sports pages--although at some point, tenpin lanes were added; however, we always bowled duckpins.

To bowl, you entered a door on the south end of the Stettler Motors building (in the above photo, the door isn't visible, but it's at the far end of the building under the small, dark sign), and then climbed stairs to the building's second floor.

From the moment you entered the door, you could hear the loud crack of wooden pins being hit by bowling balls, then clattering as the pins hit the wooden floor.

And, from the moment you entered the door, you could smell the smoke of many cigarettes. When you got upstairs, you could smell ashes from the many ash trays too. In the '50s and '60's, so many people smoked just about everywhere except, possibly, in church during services.  

At the top of the stairs was a counter where you paid for your games and the alley rented bowling shoes and sold snacks and smokes. My grandparents would buy me a bottle of pop. My favorites to buy there were Squirt and "chocolate pop," otherwise known as Yoo-hoo chocolate drink, but never called that by anyone I knew.

In those days, lanes didn't have automatic scoring. I was good at math, learned how to keep score, and enjoyed doing it. [Update: April 13, 2014: But keeping score at Ambridge Alleys was easier than at most duckpin lanes because at Ambridge, duckpin bowlers only bowled two balls per frame, just like tenpins.**]

Bowling duckpins at Ambridge Alleys,
Bridger yearbook, 1953

Ambridge Alleys didn't have automatic pin-setting machines either. Instead, they had pinboys, boys as young as pre-teens, working for five or 10 cents a game (or per hour, depending on who is relating the story of their pinboy stint) who set up the pins and sent bowled balls back to bowlers.

While waiting for a bowler to roll the ball, the pinboy scrunched up on a ledge above and to the side of the pit area behind the pins. After the ball hit the duckpins, the pinboy would jump into the pit and step on a pedal which would lift a pin into the bottoms of any still-standing duckpins to hold them in place. He'd put the ball onto the ball return track so it would roll back to the bowler and cleared off any duckpins that had been knocked-down. Then the pinboy would release the pedal and jump back onto his seat.

Once the frame was over, the pinboy would then setup all ten pins for the next bowler.

Being a pinboy could be hazardous what with flying pins--which is why the scrunching was necessary--and balls that came rolling down the alley before the pinboy had returned to his perch, sometimes accidentally because the bowler was inept or inattentive, and sometimes not accidentally by a bowler who thought hitting the pinboy with a ball and pins would be amusing.

I don't know when the Ambridge Alleys closed. I believe it was still open in the late '60s when I went away to college. If you know, please leave a comment.

The Stettler Motors building is still standing. The lower floors have been subdivided and occupied by businesses. Here's what the building looked like last year. The door to enter the stairway to the bowling alley would have been at the right side of the photo.

Former Stettler Motors building,
914-916 Merchant Street, Ambridge
June 23, 2013

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* In case you're not familiar with duckpin bowling, it's similar to tenpin bowling, but with lighter balls that are smaller and have no finger-holes, and squat pins that are shorter and lighter than in tenpins. You'd think that duckpin's shorter, lighter pins would be easier to knock down than the bigger, heavier tenpins, but in fact, it's harder. To compensate for the greater difficulty, the scoring in duckpins allows three balls per frame, but even with the additional ball, the final scores in games are typically lower than in tenpins.

Duckpins were/are bowled in only a few areas of the country, Pennsylvania being one of them. By coincidence, the Baltimore area where I've lived for over 40 years also has duckpin alleys, although fewer of them now than there were when I first moved to the area in 1971.

** My mother, an avid bowler who still bowls at age 87, confirmed that duckpin bowlers only bowled two balls per frame at the Ambridge Alleys. She said that the two ball per frame was also the rule for duckpins at Beaver Valley Bowl in Rochester.