Leading Cheers At the Old Stadium

Veterans Memorial Stadium before its renovation.

Gimme an "A"
Gimme a "C"
Gimme another "A" ....

Yes, the universal cheer to get everyone excited before the big football game- spelling out the name of the high school. Looks like these cheerleaders at Academy High School have made it to the last letter, "Y," made famous by the Village People song "YMCA." Sign language for the masses. 

This picture was taken in 1963 and it shows the old bleachers at Veterans Memorial Stadium before it was renovated.

Find more facts about Erie, Pennsylvania in the local history blog Old Time Erie

Conneaut and Erie Traction Co. Schedule

Conneaut and Erie Traction Co. schedule circa 1906 courtesy of Mr. Eagley.

All aboard! Today we're going to travel back in time to 1906 and talk about Ken Springirth's favorite subject: Trolleys. Ken is a walking encyclopedia of trolley trivia (check out this interview in the Jamestown Post-Journal), so if you want to read more about trolleys and trains, view a list of Ken's books from the Erie County Public Library's catalog. And while I'm on the subject, Ken Springirth will appear at the Lincoln Community Center in Fairview, PA on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at 1 p.m. to talk about his new book, Remembering the Pennsylvania Railroad. Call (814) 451-7085 for more information.

Back to the topic at hand. What I find most interesting about the Conneaut and Lake Erie Traction Company is that you could travel from Perry Square in downtown Erie, PA all the way to Conneaut, Ohio. Never mind that it took one hour and 55 minutes. 

The printed schedule was very straightforward and easy to decipher. Board the trolley at 7:05 a.m. on North Park Row, travel south on State Street, turn right on West 12th St., turn south at Peach St., then right on West 26th St. to Weigeltown (on which Skip Niebauer is the go-to man). The next stop, as we continue to travel west, was the Poor House (Alms House) near Pittsburgh Avenue, and then on to Swanville.

After stopping in Fairview, it would arrive in Girard at 8:04 a.m. and then turn right and travel to North Girard, which is now Lake City, PA. Traveling parallel to Route 5 for a short distance, the car would make a left, a right, a left and another right. The trolley cars were carried over Elk Creek by a wooden trestle. Elk Creek being a destination for steelhead fishing. 

Next stop, East Springfield at 8:30 a.m., then on to West Springfield, and East Conneaut, reaching the final destination- Conneaut, Ohio- at  8:55 a.m. Ten minutes later the trolley would turn around and head back to Erie following the same tracks. The last trolley to cover the entire distance left Conneaut at 9:05 p.m. and reached Perry Square at 10:55 p.m. It took two hours and 20 minutes to make the trip in 1904.

An average of 4,000 passengers per day rode on the Conneaut and Erie line in 1904, and it was quite scenic in the west county. "Probably the most beautiful sections are along the gorges near Elk Creek, Crooked Creek and especially in Walnut Canyon, between Swanville and Fairview." - Street Railway Journal, February 6, 1904.

There were occasional delays when Northwestern PA experienced extreme weather events like lake effect snow. Strong winds of sustained speed would cause huge snow drifts across the trolley tracks in wide open farm areas, and winter maintenance was accomplished with a rotary snow plow or a box car fitted with a ball-nose snow pusher. If there was a really high drift, the work was sometimes done by men with shovels!

Want more information about Erie, PA? Find it here.

Antique Koehler Beer Bottle Opener

Antique bottle openers from Koehler's, Wayne Brewery and W. E. McClelland courtesy of B. Chambers.

If you love local local history and collect memorabilia from Erie, Pennsylvania businesses, you may recognize these antique bottle openers. First we have an old Koehler Beer opener in the upper left-hand corner. This was used before the new twist off caps were designed for glass bottles.The Wayne Brew bottle opener looks an awful lot like a shoe horn. The final opener, complete with a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine, was given to customers who bought a new Oldsmobile at the W. E. McClelland dealership in Erie. William McClelland worked as a salesman for his friend Jake Roth in the forties, then ran his own company. 

After awhile, these items were delegated to the junk drawer in the kitchen. You know the one, with mismatched buttons, old shoe laces, an ice pick, a nutcracker, the tool for digging walnuts out of the shell, wheat pennies, the owner's manual for the oven, clicky pens that stopped writing twenty years ago, match books advertising restaurants, playing cards, mismatched dice, Monopoly pieces and every other trinket that was considered too valuable to throw away.

The Erie County Historical Society and BrewErie presented a night of local beer history on March 12, 2014. The sold-out event featured a special BrewErie pint of pre-prohibition era formula Koehler Beer, exceptional Erie brewing archival images and collections from the ECHS holdings! 

Click here to see the old Koehler Clock on State Street. and here for a Wayne Brewing Company ad.

Find more facts about Erie at Old Time Erie

Erie School District Boundaries in 1911

Knowing the boundaries of Erie, PA public schools can help figure out what school your parent or grandparent may have attended. The following list includes the borders for each school as they existed in 1911. In general, each school accepted students up to the halfway point of the next closest school, as long as their grade was taught there. In the boundaries of the districts listed here, "to" a street means the side of the street nearest the school, not both sides unless so specified. For example, "To Fifth" means the side of Fifth Street nearest the school of which it is a boundary.

Keep in mind that Millcreek Township wrapped around the City of Erie on three sides, to the east, south and west. The schools on this list were in Erie as it existed in 1911. The schools were referred to by number at that time. I have included the modern names to better describe them. Click here to read about the history of the Erie public schools.

The old Central High School, which was located on Sassafras Street between 10th and 11th Street, accepted students who lived anywhere in the City of Erie, PA. 

School No. 1 Lafayette. Located on northwest corner of 3rd and French Street. Outlying boundaries were north to Lake Erie; south to 5th Street; east to Parade Street; north (both sides of street) to 4th Street; east (both sides) to Wallace Street; north (both sides) to Lake Erie; west to Sassafras Street. 

School No. 2 Jones. Located at 150 East 8th Street (on Holland Street between 7th and 8th). Boundary beginning south on 10th Street from French Street to Holland Street; north to 9th Street; east on 9th Street (both sides of street) to Parade Street; north on Parade Street (both sides) to 8th Street; east on 8th (both sides) to Wallace; north (both sides) to 7th; east on 7th (both sides) to Ash; north (both sides) to 6th; west on 6th (both sides) to Wallace; north (both sides) to 4th; west to Parade; south (both sides) to 5th; west (both sides) to Sassafras; south to 8th; east (both sides) to Peach; south (both sides) to 11th; east to French; north (both sides) to 10th. Note: Students residing on Sassafras Street (both sides) from 6th to 8th Streets attend School No. 16.

School No. 3 Lowell. Located at 158 West 16th (and Sassafras Street). This was the fresh-air school.

School No. 4 Burns. Located at 414 West 5th Street (on West 5th St. near Chestnut). Boundary beginning on Cherry Street (both sides) from Lake Erie to 6th Street; east to Sassafras Street; north on Sassafras to Lake Erie. Note: Students residing on both sides of West 6th Street from Cherry to Sassafras attend School No. 16.

School No. 5 Marshall. 234 East 12th Street (between Holland and German). Boundary was south to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks from Wallace west to Sassafras; north to 12th Street; east to Peach; north to 11th; east on 11th (south side) to French; north to 10th; east to Holland; north to 9th; east to Parade; south to 11th; east to Wallace; south to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks.

School No. 6 Irving. 2310 Plum Street (West 24th between Plum and Cascade). Boundary was north to the Nickel Plate railroad tracks from Cherry to Liberty; north to 18th; west (both sides) to city limits; south to city limits; from west limits east to Hazel; north to 26th; east to Cherry; north to West 19th Street. 

School No. 7 Washington. 148 West 21st Street (near Sassafras Street). Boundary was north to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks from French west to Chestnut; north to 18th Street; west to Walnut; south to 19th Street; east to Chestnut; south to 23rd; east on 23rd (both sides) to State; south (both sides) to 24th; east to French; north to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks. Note: Both sides of French Street from East 26th Street north to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks go to School No. 14.

School No. 8 Columbus. 655 West 16th Street (near Poplar). Boundary was north to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks; east to Chestnut Street; south to 18th Street; west to Walnut; south to 19th; west to Liberty; north to 18th; west to Erie City Limits. Note: Liberty Street (both sides) from 19th to 18th and West 18th Street (both sides) west to the city limits to to School No. 6.

School No. 9 Franklin. 2617 Peach Street. Boundary was north to 23rd Street; west to Chestnut; south to 26th; west to Hazel; south to city limits; east to Holland; north to 26th; west to French; north to 24th; west to State; north to 23rd. Note: Both sides of East 26th from French to Holland go to School No. 14.

School No. 10 Gridley. 816 Park Avenue North (between Liberty and Plum). Boundary was north to Lake Erie; east to Cherry; south to 7th; west to Cascade; north to 6th; west on 6th (both sides) to city limits. Note: Students on Cherry (both sides) go to School No. 4. Students between Poplar and Cherry go to School No. 4, 16 or 10 as they prefer.

School No. 12 Wayne. 650 East Ave. Boundary was north to Lake Erie; west to Reed (both sides); south to 17th; east to Wayne Street; south to 10th; east to railroad; south to Lake Shore Railroad tracks; east to city limits.

School No. 13 Penn. 554 East 10th Street. Boundary was north to Lake Erie between Wallace and Reed; south on Wallace to 6th; east to Ash; south to 7th; west to Wallace; south to 8th; west to Parade; south to 11th; east to Wallace; south to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks; east to the P & E Railroad tracks; north to 10th; west to Wayne; north to 7th; west to Reed. Note: Sixth and 7th streets (both sides) from Ash to Wallace go to School No. 2; East 10th (both sides) to East Avenue go to School No. 13; Eighth (both sides) from Parade to Wallace go to School No. 2; Eleventh (both sides) from Parade to Wallace go to School No. 5.

School No. 14 Garfield. 316 East 21st (and German Street). Boundary was north to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks; east to Wallace from 16th south to 21st; west (both sides) to Parade; south on Parade (both sides) to 23rd; south to the west side of 28th Street; south on Old French Road to city limits; west to French from Lake Shore Railroad tracks south to 26th; east to Holland; south on Holland (both sides) to city limits. Note: Both sides of French Street go to School No. 14.

School No. 15 Jefferson. East 23rd and Ash Street. Boundary was north to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks; east to Wayne Street; west to Wallace from 16th to 21st; west to Parade; south to the city limits. Note: Students living on Old French Road and those living on both sides of Parade from 23rd south to 28th Street go to School No. 15.

School No. 16 Longfellow. 509 West 8th Street (8th and Walnut Street). DESCRIPTION COMING SOON.

School No. 17 McKinley. 961 East 22nd Street. Boundary was west to Wayne Street; south to the city limits; east to city limits; north to the Lake Shore Railroad tracks.

School No. 18 Emerson. 1010 West 10th (and Cascade Street). DESCRIPTION COMING SOON.

Find more educational facts and historic photos of Erie, PA at Old Time Erie

I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag

Elementary school students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Photo courtesy of the Erie School District.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America." This is how we started our school day every day all throughout elementary, middle and high school. After we arrived in our homeroom, the class would recite the Pledge of Allegiance in unison and there was always one kid who was a fraction of a second behind his classmates. And in my case, there was always one kid in the seat behind me pulling my pigtails. 

The one thing that always bugged me was the painting of George Washington. Why was it half-finished? Was President Washington too fidgety to sit for a portrait? If I would have raised my hand and asked this question in school I'm pretty sure I would have gotten an eraser bounced off of my head. 

We didn't have the old desks like the ones in this photo, but I understand that boys took great pleasure in dipping girls' ponytails into the inkwells. Speaking of desks, I got a job through CETA one summer and cleaned at Wilson Middle School in Erie, PA. One of my duties was to scrape bubblegum off of the underside of the desks. It was disgusting. Multi-colored, rock hard miniature stalactites. This was during the era when we used to make chains with bubblegum wrappers.  

Find more fun facts about Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Booker T. Washington Center Aerial View

Booker T. Washington Center at 1720 Holland St. in Erie, PA.

The Booker T. Washington Center, at 1720 Holland Street in Erie, PA, was built around 1970. This aerial photograph from the Erie Redevelopment Authority shows the rebirth of the neighborhood, with several gaps where new homes had yet to be constructed.

The BTW Center is in the middle of this picture, on the north side of 18th St. If I remember correctly, the circle to the west of BTW was one of the old, shallow cement pools that the City of Erie used to fill in the summertime for kids to play in. Most of these pools were filled in with soil and are no longer used for that purpose. 

The old Lakeshore Ice Cream and the cold storage building at 347-351 East 15th Street is the tallest structure on the left side of the photo. Those buildings, on 15th and Parade, have been demolished. The white building below that, at 242 East 16th St., was Nagle Engine & Boiler Works at the turn of the century.

Booker T. Washington Center is a community gathering place which has educational and recreational activities for children, teens, adults and seniors. Booker T. Washington spoke in Erie, PA on June 21, 1914 at the Central Presbyterian Church on 10th and Sassafras St.

Find more historic facts and photos of Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Lou Tullio's Transitway Mall

Tullio's Transitway Mall. Looking north on State from 10th St.

Now you see it, now you don't. Erie mayor Lou Tullio envisioned a retail mecca in downtown Erie, PA and he secured hundreds of thousands of dollars into construction projects in the hopes of attracting shoppers to State Street. A recent study claims that 39,400 people lived within one mile of the area pictured above. The idea was to build a pedestrian-friendly area with wide sidewalks so that throngs of locals and tourists could meander from store to store and boost the local economy. And people would conserve gasoline and ride the EMTA buses to get downtown.

So, what happened? People hated it. If you look closely near the bottom of the picture, you'll see a yellow sign with two arrows, pointing east and west. Look closer and you'll see three round red circles with the friendly, welcoming words, "Do Not Enter." It worked. Erieites are quite attached to their vehicles and most of us like to park as close as possible to our favorite store, not in a parking lot several blocks away. You can't change human nature. 

Here is a photo of the Transitway Mall near 8th and State.

Find more of Erie, Pennsylvania's historical hot topics at Old Time Erie

Connell Elementary School Talent Show

Joanna Connell School talent show. Photo courtesy Erie School District.

Here we go round the mulberry bush. Lots of children participated in the talent show at JoAnna Connell School on East 38th and Stanton Street in Erie, PA. Look closely to see if you recognize any of the students. The Connell Cougars played basketball in the school gym, shown in the photo above. 

Eric "Broadway" Jones, manager of the Harlem Wizards basketball team, spoke to students and faculty in the Connell school gym on February 3, 2014. 

This Erie public school opened in 1958 and is located at 1820 East 38th St. It was named in honor of JoAnna Connell, an exceptional woman who taught English at the old Central High School on 10th and Sassafras in the 1920s and at Strong Vincent High School. She was born in September of 1878 in Pennsylvania and lived on West 11th Street in Erie in 1940. Miss Connell died in October of 1964 and was buried in St. James Cemetery in Crossingville, Crawford Co., PA.

Find more fun facts and old pictures of Erie Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Steel Beams For City Hall

The new Erie, PA City Hall under construction in 1963 with the old City Hall in the background.

The steel beams arrived for the new Erie City Hall in June of 1963 and the crew of the H. Platt Company started to construct the frame on the southwest corner of State and South Park Row. This was the site of the original Erie Trust Building and later the newer Elks Club. The old City Hall, seen in the photo above, was on the southeast corner of Peach and South Park Row. Gannon's Old Main (the Strong Mansion) is visible in the lower right hand corner of the photo.

The new City Hall was 245 long on the South Park Row side and 160 feet in length along State Street. Parts of the building were five stories high with a basement, and other parts were one story high with a basement. There was surface and below ground parking on the Peach Street side. The Erie Police Department shooting range and the Erie City Jail was located in the northwest portion of the main building. The office of Erie Mayor Lou Tullio was also located in this structure.

Architects Nelson, Goldberg & Heidt designed the building. Perry Truck & Erection Company rigged the I-beams. William T. Spaeder provided heating, cooling and air conditioning, and Church & Murdock installed the electrical work.

Find more historic photos and facts about Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Then and Now: Jerry Uht Park near 10th and French

Jerry Uht Park photo ©2014 Google Maps. Inset photo from 1950s at 10th and French in Erie, PA ©2014 John E. Baker.    
   Old Time Erie is powered by Google Blogger.

The green arrow points to Jones School at 150 East 8th Street. This building is located on the southwest corner of 8th and Holland. It is no longer used as an elementary school, but has been converted into office space for attorneys and medical professionals.

The red X marks St. Mark's Episcopal Church at 30 East 10th Street in the old picture. It was located on the northwest corner of 10th and French before it was demolished. The white building in the large 2014 photo from Google Maps is the telephone company on the site of the old church building.

Click here to view the original bird's eye view photo by John E. Baker. The inset photo on this post is a small section of John's picture from the 1950s and was taken from the old Commerce Building. Most of the buildings that existed in the photo from the fifties have been razed to make room for the Erie Insurance Arena and Jerry Uht Park.

Find more old pictures of Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Teenage Boys Trashed The Place

Article in Erie Daily Dispatch, Sept. 15, 1870.

When teenage boys are out roaming the streets, they're bound to get into trouble. In the old days, if they couldn't pay the fine, they did the time. These five young men found that out the hard way after they trashed the place and were caught by the police. 

"Not having been furnished with complimentary tickets to Elwood's Minstrels, they asserted their displeasure by climbing to the top of the sky-light, or ventilator, and throwing down rubbish upon the audience below. The young scamps continued this exercise until the performance was over, when the police made a raid on them, capturing... John Murphy, John Devlin, John Coney, Charles Ross and Edward Langdon...

They were taken to the police station, and had their trial before Justice Foster...They were all fined two dollars each and costs, and John Coney, Charles Ross, and Edward Langdon, being recognized as frequent offenders, were sent up for ten days. In default of payment of fines they were all committed to jail....

Their ages ranged from twelve to sixteen." -Erie Daily Dispatch, September 15, 1870.

Find more fun historic facts and photos of Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Erie and Pittsburgh Coal and Ore Docks

Old postcard of Erie & Pittsburgh Coal Docks in Erie, PA.

This scene from the lower westside in Erie, Pennsylvania has vanished from the landscape. The Erie & Pittsburg, or Pittsburgh and Erie docks, were situated between Raspberry and Liberty Streets along the bay. The railroad tracks leading to the Erie and Pittsburg Coal Dock are visible at the bottom of this postcard. Ore Dock No. 1 is in the center, next to the white building with the tall smokestack.

Two docks were completed at the time of the opening of the Erie & Pittsburg Railway in 1865, when bituminous coal was the principal business. Coal docks were completed to the west in 1867. A coal trestle that loaded coal from rail cars into the holds of transport vessels was removed in 1880 and dock no. 1 was expanded to 1,000 feet long by 200 feet wide. Ore Dock No. 2 was also enlarged so the largest ships on the Great Lakes could deliver a full load of iron ore across Lake Erie to Erie, PA. 

The E&P docks were connected with the W. L. Scott canal dock (Reed's Dock for the Erie Extension Canal) in 1868 by a railroad track built alongside the foot of the bluff. This is approximately where the Bayfront Parkway, or PA 290, runs along the lower westside of Erie. The docks were near the present-day Niagara Pier, Lawrence Pier and Liberty Park.

Ore was delivered to Erie through the Welland Canal from Lake Champlain until its supplies were exhausted. Ore was then delivered from mines along Lake Superior. About 40 varieties of hematite and specular ore were kept in separate piles along the docks and then loaded into rail cars for delivery to blast furnaces in the Shenango Valley and Pittsburgh, PA. 

During the 1886 season 91,257 tons of iron ore and 1,727 tons of pig metal was received at the E & P docks in Erie. During the 1887 season 210,249 tons of iron ore and 7,048 pig metal were received. Figures for the 1888 shipping season included 240,402 gross tons of iron ore and 11,140 gross tons of pig metal. -Erie Pennsylvania Illustrated.

The Philadelphia & Erie Railroad coal docks were leased by William L. Scott, a two-term Erie mayor and congressman. W. L. Scott was the president of the Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad Co. and the director of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern; the Chicago & North Western; the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk; the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis; the New Castle & Beaver Valley; and the Michigan Central Railroad. He also held stock in the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Central railroads.

See more facts and old pictures of Erie, PA at Old Time Erie

Grenz Sold Studebakers in Wesleyville

Old Time Erie. Grenz Motors- bottom left: 2809 Buffalo Rd. Top: 2814 Buffalo Rd.

Elmer Grenz operated a Studebaker dealership on Buffalo Road in Wesleyville, PA for a total of thirty years. He started selling cars in 1934. Elmer serviced all makes and models of cars in his original shop at 2809 Buffalo Road, and did PA state inspections. This spot was later the location of Catrabone's store, which sold model cars and candy. It was then home to Gary's Variety, which sold a lot of newspapers, magazines and lottery tickets. The building was demolished to make room for a used car lot. 

Mr. Grenz had a new building constructed at 2814 Buffalo Road, across the street from the old location. This was a much bigger, nicer showroom on Route 20 just east of the City of Erie. The section that faced Buffalo Road had large windows and a big display area. Elmer was a car dealer for a total of forty years. After he retired, the building had different uses. It was a DeLorean dealership for a very short time and a bargain store that sold a variety of items, including record albums. Cycle City was located there for a number of years. A rent-to-own store was also a tenant. 

Elmer Grenz was well liked by his customers. He passed away in 1990. This article and photos originally appeared in the book Greetings From Wesleyville Volume 1 by Debbi Lyon.

For more facts about Erie, PA check Old Time Erie

Lawrence Dyeing and Cleaning

Old Time Erie photo courtesy of Ada Lawrence.

Emma Gertrude Lawrence was the first female African-American businessperson in Erie, Pa. She owned Lawrence Dyeing & Cleaning, which was located at 402 West 3rd St., on the northwest corner of 3rd and Chestnut.

The business was born of necessity. Emma's husband John passed in 1889 and she was left with four young children to care for. She started from scratch, taking in laundry in her own home. She excelled at her job and as word spread, business began to increase. Lawrence Dyeing and Cleaning was founded in 1906 and was well known throughout all of Erie. When Gertrude passed away in 1934, her son Charles Lawrence took over and the operated the business until 1963, working with his sister Effie Lucas. 

Gertrude made time in her busy life to maintain membership in several civic organizations. Her work ethic was not lost on her children. Earl Lawrence was a well-known musician and popular teacher in the Erie area. To learn more about other African-American families in Erie, read the wonderful book Journey From Jerusalem by Sarah S. Thompson and Karen James.

Enjoy more historical facts and photos of Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Rosswog Fancy Steam Dyeing

Old Time Erie Rosswog photo ©Harry Bierig.

Julius Rosswog came to the U.S. from Endigen, Baden, Germany in 1888 and opened a fancy steam dyeing business at 1320 Turnpike St. in Erie, PA. He moved to a new building at the corner of 14th and Peach in 1892. His son, Robert J. Rosswog, bought the business in 1902. Julius died in 1905 at the age of 74; he was married twice and had eleven children.

When he was a young man, Robert learned the cleaning and dyeing trade from his father. He bought the building on 14th and Peach six years after he bought the cleaners, and then bought the lot next door so he could expand. He employed 12 people in his 40' x 90' plant after installing Hoffman Sanitary Steam presses.

The photo of the Rosswog family includes Karolina, Josephine, Amelia Brucker Rosswog, Julius Sr. and Robert Rosswog. The building shown here was demolished when Turnpike Street was eliminated.

Enjoy more fun facts about Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Poor Old William Brown

I came across this story by accident when I was researching Dr. Thomas H. Gray and it proves that you never know where you might find information about your family's ancestry. Poor old William Brown was born about 1798. I summarized this account of his accident because I'm a little squeamish.

"Wm. Brown, aged 75 years and some months, an old citizen of this county, was brought to the County Almshouse on the 24th day of May [1873]. I saw him first on the 25th, the day following his admission to the House. I found, upon an examination of the case, that the left foot, as far up as the ankle joint, was in a complete state of mortification; the result of an injury that he had sustained two months previous. The foot was injured by a log of wood falling or rolling on the instep, which, he informed me, caused severe swelling and inflammation…The entire left foot at this time was dead and cold...

I at once discovered that the only possible chance for this unfortunate old man was immediate amputation above the ankle joint; but when I considered his extreme age and the reduced condition of his system, I hesitated, but after informing Mr. Brown that it was sure death to let the diseased member remain, and that he could only die if it was removed, he expressed a desire to have it done. 

Accordingly, at 4 o'clock that afternoon, with the assistance of Dr. T. H. Gray, of this city, I proceeded to take the limb off about four or five inches above the ankle joint…The patient bore the operation well, after which I gave him an opiate and administered milk punch freely. The stump appeared to do well until about the fourth or fifth day…the stump then cleared up and healthy granulations appeared. I then applied adhesive straps…I succeeded in entirely covering the protruding bone, and today have a very fair looking stump which is nearly well. The old gentleman has gained in flesh and looks fine." -H. A. Spencer, M.D. -Published in the Medical and Surgical Reporter, October, 1873.

Dr. Henry A. Spencer graduated from Western Reserve University, Medical Dept. in 1851. Dr. Thomas H. Gray graduated from the University of Michigan in 1871. I have not yet discovered any details about William Brown, such as why he ended up in the Erie County Alms House, but if I do, I'll update this article.

Find more interesting historical facts about Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

The Downtown YMCA in 1904

The Erie Downtown YMCA was much smaller than the current one on 10th and Peach St. This old picture was taken around 1903. The Y.M.C.A. was on the same corner, but with a much smaller footprint, and it had a small area where kids could play in the grass just west of the building at 31 West 10th Street.

The stately house on the left, at 23 West 10th St., was used by Dr. Thomas H. Gray as his office from 1873 until about 1904. Dr. Gray was born in Erie Co., PA in 1841. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1871 and married Anna Kelso the following year. This Richardsonian Romanesque house was later used for business purposes, and was home of the New Willard Hotel and Cafeteria in 1922. It was demolished in 1924 to make way for the Erie Lighting Company Building.

The building to the right of the YMCA, on Peach Street, was attached to the YMCA and housed the pool and the gymnasium. This was where Johnny Weissmuller swam in 1915. James C. Ainsworth (as in Ainsworth Field) was the director of the YMCA for many years.

Find more facts and old pictures of Erie PA at Old Time Erie

Who Dumped Raw Sewage Into the Bay?

Old Time Erie City Sewer Outlets.

I did a double take when I saw this page in the 1902 Erie city directory. Take a close look at the highlighted area and you'll see why. This chart shows the length of the sewers emptying into the bay. Raw sewage was dumped into creeks which flowed directly into the bay, polluting Lake Erie. Yuck! Forget about the Good Old Days. These were the Not So Good Old Days.

Fifty-six miles of streams and creeks carried raw sewage and storm runoff into the bay. The outlets included Little Cascade Run; the Canal sewer; Peach, French and Holland Streets; Mill Creek, Garrison Run and Light House Run. After reading this, I don't think I'll complain about paying my sewer bill anymore. In fact, I'd like to take a moment to thank the workers at the City of Erie Bureau of Sewers and the Erie Wastewater Treatment Plant for a job well done.

In the early 1900s, creeks and streams ran wild throughout the city. Now, most of them run through concrete tubes under the streets and sidewalks, marked only by blue rectangular signs marked with their names. Cascade Creek, one of the exceptions, runs freely through Frontier Park on Erie's westside. Mill Creek is visible near the Erie Zoo and along Glenwood Park Avenue south of Norman Way. To learn more about positive ways to interact with the environment, check out GreenERie.

Enjoy more odd and obscure facts about the history of Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie.

Top 3 Erie Academy High Schools

Long before the Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy made its debut as a college-prep magnet school in Erie, PA, there was a public high school known as Academy High School. But before the the NPCA and AHS, there was another Academy, the granddaddy of them all- Erie Academy.

Erie Academy was incorporated on March 25, 1817. Its trustees included Rev. Robert Reid, R. S. Reed, Robert Brown, Thomas Forster, Thomas Wilson, J. C. Wallace, Judah Colt, T. H. Sill and Giles Sanford.

During the 1859-60 school year there were 239 students; 115 boys and 124 girls. The tuition in 1891 was $400 per anum and students were admitted from throughout the region.

Erie Academy had a couple of different locations. The one in this illustration was located on Peach Street between 9th and 10th. Not to be confused with the old Central High School on Sassafras Street between 10th and 11th Streets (Central Tech).

"In 1878 the old academy buildings were entirely remodeled and modernized. The stone and brick structure gave place to an imposing edifice surmounted with a Gothic mansard roof, making the building three stories high. There are two main entrances facing Ninth Street. Upon the ground floor are two fine study rooms, spacious halls and stair cases for reaching the second floor, where are two similar large rooms for the intermediate departments, with two smaller ones for recitations. The third story is all in one large hall, with high ceilings suitable for lectures, drill room and school exhibitions." -Erie Pennsylvania Illustrated (1888).

The approximate location of the old Erie Academy would be the present site of Tullio Towers at 21 West 9th St. in downtown Erie, PA. 

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: Old Time Erie

Location of the Reed Hotel

I'm sure you've seen postcards of places that used to exist and wondered, "Where was that?" Me too. So I thought it would be fun to put together a graphic to show you where the old Reed Hotel was located. Keep in mind that this is not to scale, just a representation of what the corner of French Street and North Park Row used to look like. The new picture of Erie Insurance on the right was taken in 2013.

Click here for a more detailed narrative of the Reed House hotel in Perry Square. The spot where the hotel used to sit is now a parking lot for Erie Insurance. Keep this image in mind the next time you visit the park. Just stand near the Edison electric fountain and look north.

Enjoy more fun facts about the history of Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie