Ambridge memorabilia: Slovenski Narodni Dom token

Slovenski Narodni Dom token
credit: Al Travis

Al Travis said he found several tokens like this among his late father's possessions. They're from Ambridge's Slovenski Narodni Dom (S.N.D.), also sometimes called the "Slovenian Auditorium," "The Slovenian Club," or "the triangle building."

If you lived in Ambridge from the late 1940s through the early '70s, you probably remember the triangular S.N.D. building at the intersection of Merchant St. and Beaver St.

Slovenian Auditorium
120 Merchant St.
ad
Daily Citizen Trade Area Directory
1956

Al said, "I think they were used when someone had bought you a drink, but you already had one. Not certain though." Does anyone know for sure of the tokens' purpose?

The opening of the Ambridge Borough Pool

Pool side of bathhouse
Ambridge Borough Pool
Borough Park
Daily Citizen
May 29, 1942

Such a joyous and long-anticipated event. The newly constructed Ambridge Borough Pool was opening!

Opening day was Memorial Day, Saturday, May 30, 1942.*  The formal dedication of the pool would be later, on July 12, 1942.

The caption under the above photo says:

The new Ambridge Community pool, under construction for several years will be opened to the public tomorrow. Built at a large cost it is the most complete in this section of the state. Facilities are in keeping with the wide expanse of water. In other words the accommodations are ample. Another view of the pool can be seen on page 10.

Here's the other view:

New Ambridge Borough Pool
looking south from diving pool end
Ambridge Borough Park
Daily Citizen
May 29, 1942

The opening was announced in a full page ad in the May 29 Daily Citizen at a time when newspaper pages were huge! The ad featured the graphic at the top of this page, the pool photo immediately above, and the following:

The Daily Citizen of Monday, June 1, 1942, reported that the first person to enter the water had been John D. Davis, a borough painter, who had taken a swim ten minutes after midnight on "Friday" (but it's not clear whether this meant Friday or Saturday morning). He was followed by over 1,300 other people that first weekend--after the pool actually opened--the majority of them children.

The children of Ambridge, as well as some adults, had been waiting for so long for a public pool in Ambridge.

In the early 1920s, the Ambridge Playground Association had sponsored a pool on the 800 block of Duss Ave., near where the Junior High School was soon to be built. But that pool had been short-lived.

Frustrated waiting for another public pool to be built, in the summer of 1938, the children of the First St. neighborhood built the iconic Dead-End Pool in polluted Big Sewickley Creek. That pool was also short-lived, quickly closed and drained by health authorities. But that action led to a protest march by the children, leading to a bond issue for the purpose of building a new public pool being approved by voters in the November 1938 election.

Construction of the new public pool began in early 1939 by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), the federal program that provided jobs for the unemployed on public works projects across the U.S.  Built on property now known as Walter Panek Park, construction wasn't completed until 1942. (You can see photos of the very early days of the pool's construction by clicking on the link at the beginning of this paragraph.) The photo below shows how far construction had gotten by 1941.

Construction
Ambridge Borough Pool
circa May 1941
credit: Edmund Silla
photo courtesy of Jay Silla
 used with permission

Then finally...finally!...the new pool was finished and opened for swimming, despite the entry of the U.S. into WWII the previous December. Such an exciting day!

The July dedication ceremony featured the presentation of the pool to the Ambridge Borough by a W. P. A. representative, a Navy seaman speaking on the benefits of water sports, and a swim meet.

The Ambridge pool was the source of summer fun and fond memories for swimmers, and non-swimmers, from Ambridge and nearby communities, for several generations. But increasing maintenance costs needed by the aging building, combined with lack of funds to repair and upgrade the pool, eventually led to the pool's not opening in the summer of 1991. That year turned out to be beginning of the neglected pool's long, slow, ugly death, despite several proposals to reopen it.

The pool was demolished in 2009.

You can see more photos and read more memories of the pool by clicking on "Swimming pool" in the "labels" menu on the left.
_____

* Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30 for decades until it was moved to the last Monday in May in 1971.

The U.S.S. Ambridge

"Mrs. L.D. Reilly, Sponsor U.S.S. 'Ambridge'"
christening ceremony
Federal Shipbuilding Co.
Kearney N.J.
May 24, 1919
courtesy Beaver County Industrial Museum

The stately ship above is the U.S.S. Ambridge at her launch on May 24, 1919. And, yes, she was named for Ambridge PA, where much of the ship was made by the plant that gave Ambridge its name, the American Bridge Co., once the largest structural steel fabricating plant in the world.

During WWI, demand for ships was greater than available shipyards. Ships could not be built as fast as they were needed, even before the U.S. entered the war in 1917.

In 1915, naval architect Chas. P. M. Jack, had a rather brilliant idea. While the Ohio River at Ambridge was too shallow for a shipyard that could construct large ocean-going ships, the American Bridge Co.'s plant there had churned out hundreds of barges over the years. Could the plant construct at least the hull for an ocean-going ship, which could be then be sent to a shipyard where the work would be completed?

Previous similar attempts elsewhere had been failures, but none of the companies that had tried and failed had American Bridge's expertise in fabricating not only barges, but also large structural steel projects. So American Bridge was given the contract to build one hull. Not the entire hull, but 60 percent of one. That hull was shipped to a shipyard in Chester PA, where builders found American Bridge's hull fit the other parts of the ship perfectly.

So the Ambridge plant was given a contract for 12 more hulls to be constructed in 1915 and '16--eight oil tankers and five freighters, all finished by the Chester Shipbuilding Co. Later, American Bridge added new equipment, was awarded more contracts, increased its production, and was able to fabricate enough hulls for as many as four 9,000-ton ships a month. (Daily Times, May 17, 1919)

Eventually, American Bridge and other fabricating plants could produce enough ship parts that the U.S. Shipping Board's Emergency Fleet Corp. built new shipyards to keep pace with the capacity of the plants to supply them. One of the new shipyards was U.S. Steel's Federal Shipbuilding Co. in Kearney N.J.

The U.S. had entered the war by the time American Bridge built Hull #15, Order No. 218259, which was shipped to Kearney, where she was completed and christened "Ambridge," on May 24, 1919, six months after the war had ended. The name was chosen to honor the work done by Ambridge's American Bridge Co. An article on the ship's christening said that the plant had built much more than the hull. "The ship was practically all fabricated in Ambridge, but was shipped to Kearney where a few parts were added and the parts assembled." (Daily Times, May 26, 1919)

The Ambridge was christened by Mrs. L.D. Reilly, wife of the manager of Ambridge's American Bridge plant. She's the woman in the photo below holding the Ambridge pennant, front row, second from left. Her husband also attended, as well as R. G. Manning, the plant's chief engineer, and A. J. Carpenter, shop superintendent, none of whom are identified in the photo. Perhaps Mr. Reilly is the man holding an Ambridge pennant on the far right, front row.

"Launching Party, U.S.S. "Belfort" and "Ambridge"
May 24, 1919
Federal Shipbuilding Company
Kearney N.J.
courtesy Laughlin Memorial Library Archives

The Ambridge was not a military ship, but rather a commercial freighter. The Daily Times article about the christening gave the ship's dimensions as 400 feet long, 55 feet wide, and 35 feet deep, with a speed of 14 knots, and capable of carrying approximately 9,000 tons.

The U.S.S. Ambridge wasn't as imposing when she was at sea as she looked at her launch

"The U.S.S. Ambridge"
The Federal Shipbuilder
Aug. 1919 - Jan. 1922

American Bridge's work was admired enough that the issue of The Federal Shipbuilder with the above photo also included a poem, "General Philip Kearny Asks" by Fred T. Llewellyn, that included these lines:

From Gary come the boiler shells,
Farrell the sheet-bar tonnage makes,
And Ambridge with her quota swells
The multiple array of strakes,

During her career, the Ambridge carried cargo as varied as Dutch flower bulbs and $2,000,000 in gold bullion destined for a U.S. bank, sailing primarily to and from European ports, but also South Africa and Central America.

I don't know how common smuggling via commercial freighters was during the period when the Ambridge was sailing, but she was caught with contraband at least twice.

In February 1927, customs authorities found 4,200 bottles of champagne, valued at $50,000, hidden in a coal bunker on the Ambridge, as well as 13 cases of narcotics. (New York Times, Feb. 17, 1927).

Then in June 1930, customs officials found smuggled champagne again, this time 3,168 bottles valued at $31,680. (New York Times, June 3, 1930)

The Ambridge was scrapped in 1935.

When Ambridge had "everything you need"

Harvest Days Sale ad
Daily Times
October 3, 1956

Before there was a Northern Lights Shoppers City in Baden, years before the Beaver Valley Mall was built, Ambridge businesses were busy, and not just thriving, they were booming. Sidewalks were crowded with shoppers, and the lack of enough parking spaces was a frequent complaint.

But Northern Lights, the biggest shopping center then built in Pennsylvania, was under construction. Its first stores were about to open on November 1, 1956. So it was no surprise that the Ambridge business community was concerned, very concerned, about the impact Northern Lights would have. And they were right to be concerned. The opening of Northern Lights was the beginning of the downturn of the Ambridge business district.

Then the mall started luring businesses from Northern Lights.

And now, online shopping is killing off businesses in the mall.

Businesses couldn't have predicted in 1956 that "shop at home" would mean something very different in 2018 than "shop in your hometown."

The curious carved pillars on Wagner Ave.

Pillar with the date "1884" on Wagner Ave.
April 16, 2016
credit: Nancy Knisley

Pillar with letters on Wagner Ave.
April 16, 2016
credit: Nancy Knisley

The 200 block of Ambridge's Wagner Ave. is a narrow, one-way street in the historic district, running between Church St. and Merchant St. The block is lined with a few modest non-Harmonist houses and not heavily traveled. If you did drive through it, you might not have even noticed the two tall stone pillars, one on either side of the steps in front of 269 Wagner.

269 Wagner Ave.
Google street view
October 2013

But if you were one of the street's occasional pedestrians, and particularly observant, you might have been struck by the odd pillars and stopped to take a better look. They are worn and look old and unlike anything else in Ambridge. On them, near the top, are carvings of six pointed stars, near the bottom are what appear to be letters. In addition, below their stars, the right pillar has the date 1884; the left, the letters "H" and "L" separated by a symbol. What do the carvings and letters mean? And why are the pillars in the tiny front yard of 269 Wagner where they seem out of place?

Here's what I know:

John Frederick (Fred) Knoedler, a stonemason by trade, helped carve the pillars. Fred and his wife, Katherine Kroll Knoedler, were long time employees of the Harmony Society, performing a variety of duties, but not Harmonists themselves.

The pillars originally stood in front of Economy School, built by the Harmony Society for the area's children. The letters "H" and "L" on one pillar stood for Jacob Henrici and Jonathan Lenz, the two Harmony Society trustees at the time the school was built in 1884, the year on the second pillar. (Beaver County Times, August 20, 1974)

The Economy School was built at the corner of what is now the northeast corner of Church and Laughlin Sts. You can see it in the left foreground of the photo below. The building to the right is the Blaine House, used as a school before the Economy School was built. The building in the background between the Blaine House and Economy School is Ambridge's Fourth Ward School.

"All Three Economy Schools"
Manuscript Group 354: Old Economy Village Collection
Photo Number 2404
courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Old Economy Village
used with permission

The photo below shows students in front of the Economy School in 1898. You can see the pillars on the sides of the student group.

"Economy School - 1898"
Manuscript Group 354: Old Economy Village Collection
Photo Number 2369
courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Old Economy Village
used with permission

The former Economy School building is now an apartment building:

Former Economy School building, now converted to apartments
1514 Church St.
April 6, 2016
credit: Nancy Knisley

After the Economy School was closed, its pillars were relocated, although I don't know when they ended up in front of 269 Wagner, once the home of Fred and Katherine Knoedler's daughters, Christiana Knoedler and Katherine Brown.

Christiana Knoedler standing with one of the pillars in front of her Wagner Ave. home
Beaver County Times
 August 20, 1974