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.