The Sunday drive

Greene County, Pa.

Derailed in Washington

Just before dawn on Oct. 19, 1888, the Cannonball Express entered Washington.Pa., at high speed, its engineer trying to make up time en route from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh. The train should have barreled through town on the track parallel to Maiden Street, but a switch had accidentally been thrown that routed the train over the west Maiden Street trestle toward the center of town.

The engine plunged off the tracks, taking the trestle with it, killing the engineer and fireman. The six cars it was pulling followed. They included a tender, refrigerated fruit car, a baggage car, a Pullman sleep and two passenger cars. Twelve other passengers were seriously injured. It was the worst railroad accident up to that point in the city.

The photographer who shot this photo apparently attracted almost as much attention as those clearing the wreckage.

Geraldine & Skippy

A portrait near the outhouse, Waynesburg, Pa.

Baby's first portrait

Explanations invited

"It's amazing – put your ear here and you can hear the seashore."

I have no idea what is being demonstrated here, but maybe someone out there does. Judging from the hair styles, this looks to be circa 1961, and that is probably state-of-the-art medical equipment of the time.

Uncle Sam wants you

This photo was taken in front of Levino's dry goods store on Main Street in Washington, Pa., directly across the street from the courthouse. It is undated and the speaker is unidentified, but it looks to me like a World War I recruitment rally. Examining all the faces in the crowd, I can see only one female – a girl on the left.

Fire aftermath

Police talk at the intersection of North Main and Chestnut streets in Washington, Pa., on April 17, 1937, the day after fire destroyed the Woodward Wright Furniture Co. building.

Downtown blaze

On the night of April 16, 1937, the Woodward Wright Furniture Co. building at the northeast corner of North Main and Chestnut streets in Washington, Pa., was destroyed by fire. Fire companies from as far away as Pittsburgh and Charleroi helped put it out.

Other buildings on the block were damaged by the fire, including the Ben Reynolds music store and the George B. Sprowls & Sons store, from which several hundred thousand rounds of ammunition were safely removed after the fire broke out.

The corner is historically significant. James Garrett opened a tavern and inn called the Rising Sun on that corner in 1816. Andrew Jackson and his family stayed there the night of Dec. 1, 1824.

The building that replaced the burned one is now occupied by the Vineyard Church and was previously the Midtown Theater and the Basle Theater.

Girl with flowers

Photo by Thomas Cowan, Artist, Vanderbilt, Pa.

What the ...!

I haven't had a chance to research this photo, but it may have been taken in 1927, when the current statue of George Washington was installed on the dome of the Washington County Courthouse in Washington, Pa.

The original terra cotta statue suffered three lightning strike between 1900, when the courthouse was built, and 1917. The last strike decapitated poor George.

Madeleine LeMoyne Reed

This photo of Madeleine LeMoyne reed was taken in 1941, when she was 98 years old. She was the youngest child of abolitionist Francis J. LeMoyne and the last resident of of the home on East Wheeling Street in Washington. She willed the LeMoyne House to the Washington County Historical Society upon her death in 1943. Madeleine's Garden at the rear of the house is named for her.

The Dukes

The Dukes played basketball at the Brownson House gym in Washington, Pa., in the 1950s.

Little people

No date, location or identification with this photo from the Observer-Reporter archives. Look for clues and make a guess.

Homemakers

This photo is of young women at the Brownson House in Washington, Pa., in the 1950s. Can't wait for saddle shoes to make a comeback.

Wash High Band

This photo of the Washington, Pa., High School Band was made in the late 1930s at the entrance to the old high school.

Old YMCA

The old YMCA was on West Chestnut Street in Washington, Pa., in the area now occupied by Millcraft Center. This photo was taken about 1924 or 1925. The date on the building at right – Sam Green's Block – is 1922, and the movie at the Court Theatre starred May McAvoy, a silent screen star whose career peaked about that time. The old Y was demolished about 50 years later.

Lost industry

You might say that Washington, Pa., has never recovered from the loss of the Brockway Glass plant on South Main Street, and the 650 jobs that went with it. This photo was taken on the production line in 1967.

Nerd before it was a word

A unidentified man in a portrait found in a drawer of stuff in Charleroi, Pa.

Magic of the Orient

This photo was made by the Weller Studio in Washington, Pa. There is no indication of the date or location. The trick may have fascinated the audience, but the young assistant looks bored out of his mind.

Big wheel

This photograph shows Pittsburgh bicyclist Frank Lenz on Route 40 with Washington in the background. It was taken by C. H. Petticord, president of the Alleghany Cyclers (Lenz was captain). Lenz and other Pittsburgh wheelmen toured on their high-wheel bikes as well as raced them. He left his accounting job in 1892 and set off on a bicycle trip around the world (riding a safety bike with equal size tires), subsidized by Outing magazine. So, this photograph would have been taken before 1892. Lenz did not complete his trip; he was murdered in Eastern Turkey. A book by David V. Herlihy on Lenz, his adventure, and the aftermath is due to be published this June.
I won't attempt to say what is in the photo, though it would be well if somebody does. Because of the date, I would think the well would have been drilled for gas, not oil.

(Submitted by Jim Herron)

Great-uncle Fred never did figure out how to get a good crop on a photo.

Jump ball

This photo is one of Observer-Reporter sports editor Chris Dugan's favorites. He chose to include it in "Remember When - Sports," published in 2007. The girls caught by the camera suspended in air, all at the same time, were playing basketball at the Brownson House in Washington, Pa., circa 1954. Kulats and saddle shoes were apparently appropriate athletic wear at the time.

A set of modern false teeth would have improved the jawline of Isabella Agnes Swope of Scottdale, Pa.

Child endangerment?

Pose 24 kids on a sliding board today and you're likely to get 10 to 15 years in the lockup. But back in 1954, it was OK. These kids from a Brownson House program are shown at Washington (Pa.) Park.