Mysteries Solved
While we had one anonymous caller agree with Jennifer Colbert’s guess that this photo was taken in Millsboro, Melvin Fox of Lover says that this is a photo of Fredericktown, where the ferry used to cross.
Melvin Fox of Lover says that this is an image of a coal tipple in Belle Vernon, near present day Route 201. Paul Keruskin emailed to say that it is the old Vesta 5 tipple below Vestaburg. John Danek of Charleroi says, “I suspect that (this photo) is of Naomi coal tipple, taken from a bluff on the east side of the Monongahela River facing south toward Fayette City in the background – which is itself almost completely covered by the structure. This was probably taken in the 1930s; I believe this structure burned in a fire after 1942. But, this is only a guess based upon stories of a few locals I have known, long since gone.”
Michael Andresky of Charleroi says that this “could be the old coal tipple near Fredericktown looking north. It looks like Route 88 on the left and the bend in the river appears to be the same.”
More agreeable guesses on this photo: Andresky feels it might be the old glassworks in Charleroi, taken from the Monessen side of the river. “I have seen an old picture of Charleroi at the Medical Center at 12th Street, the layout looks very similar.” Another emailer says this is Charleroi before 1965, when the Lock 4 dam was rebuilt. He sites the factory on the banks as the MacBeth-Evans glass factory, which later became Corning Glass. And, in the center, he says “is Ninth Street School, perhaps the most ornate, high-Victorian schoolhouse ever built – 14 towers and turrets.”
In the last issue, we published three mystery photos and asked for your help in pinpointing where and when they were taken. When the issue published, my phone rang almost constantly with your guesses and suggestions – and my inbox lit up with emails on the subject as well. In some photos, you were in agreement. In others, the guesses were scattered along the Monongahela River. Below are some of the highlights – and while some still aren’t exactly solved, I learned two things. One: you are picking up this magazine and reading it. For that, I thank you. And two: you are steeped in the Mon Valley and its history. As always, if you have photos you’d like to see printed on these pages, email them to me at kgreen@observer-reporter.com. - Katie Green