Our first speaker is none other than our own President, Mr. Earl Edwards on Monday evening, April 1 at 6:30 PM at ROBIN HILL Park Mansion.

 

Please note change of venue for this meeting, as the Municipal Building, where we currently hold our meetings, is needed to set up the voting machines.

 

Earl is always seeking more historical information about our township and through his thorough research, has uncovered a wonderful world of information for us on the old Nike Site that once existed in Moon Township!  Come add anything you know about it too!

 

Earl’s presentation will cover the Cold War, what started it and what ended it.  He will also explain what was installed at the Nike sites and how everything worked.

 

Earl has been interviewing Veterans who served in the Nike battalions that ringed Pittsburgh, including the Launch site on Ewing Mill Road in Moon Township!

 

During the Cold War, our site was securely guarded with armed patrols and attack dogs.  And, for good reason!

 

Earl promises to show by picture and video what happened behind the double fence.

 

Several local Nike veterans will participate in the presentation and will be available for questions afterwards.

 

 

This will be your chance to understand better what was going on in our own back yards, and what is left.

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June 3,2019: Jeffrey Snedden

 

 

 

 

 

Jeffrey Snedden, Beaver County’s Histories & Mysteries “The History of Trolleys, Beaver County and Beyond.”

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August 5, 2019: Tim Killmeyer

Tim Killmeyer, Local Roads, Then & Now.

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“Allegheny Moon!”

 

Click here to see a video composite of the photographs taken the night of January 23, 2013, marking the first joint meeting of the Sewickley Valley Historical Society and the Old Moon Historical Society:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGqv0_bmDQI

 

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More stories about Mim Bizic found on the web:

 

Love Tokens from the Victorian Days:

 

http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Pittsburgh-Magazine/February-2010/Can-Buy-Me-Love/

 

Serbian Christmas Customs

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2010/01/07/Moon-woman-keeps-Serbian-Orthodox-Christmas-customs-alive/stories/201001070297

 

130 Years of Diplomatic Relations: Serbia/USA

 

http://patch.com/pennsylvania/moon/moon-woman-shares-serbian-legacy-in-us-state-departmeeb1d0b794a

 

One of many editorials….

 

http://www.generalmihailovich.com/2010/03/milana-mim-bizic-successfully-confronts.html

 

Short Movie by Mim BIzic showing the Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park Fairy Houses built on April 20, 2013, after hearing authors Tracy and Barry Kane, in Osborne Elem. School, Sewickley, PA.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN4gP2n0qRQ

 

U.S. Commissary Ground Breaking Ceremonies in Moon Township on Soldiers Drive, August 18, 2012, feautring photos by Mim Bizic.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTqUaSK8bqk

 

Veterans Day in Edgeworth Elementary School, November 11, 2003. Many of the Veterans shown in this video have gone on to their higher rewards. Memory Eternal. Stirring Music!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj6kvrDkrKk

 

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Making History:

Sewickley Valley Historical Society and the Old Moon Township Historical Society

 

SVHS-OMTHS,

January 23, 2013

By Milana (Mim) Karlo Bizic

 

Mrs. Peter Floyd (Linda) (left) and the author of the following article, Mim Bizic (right), at the dinner meeting at the Hyeholde on January 23, 2013.

The “Anticipatory Set” (the “Hook!”) and objectives came in the mail, via the Sewickley Valley Historical Society’s newsletter called SIGNALS.

 

Edited by the Associate Director of the SVHS, Susan Holton, the headlines enticed: “The Families and Estates of Coraopolis Heights: A joint dinner meeting with the Old Moon Township Historical Society.”

 

I bought in! My interest in being present for this upcoming historic dinner meeting on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 was already whetted!

 

Additional motivation came reading further on in the newsletter that this meeting would be held at the exclusive Hyeholde Restaurant’s Round Room at 1516 Coraopolis Heights Road in Moon Township, complete with a beautiful dinner and dessert, cash bar, complimentary parking, and all for a reasonable price.

 

I could hardly wait for this promised date! My eager beaver’s student heart/mind was coupled with prom night-like giddiness. The 93 paid dinner customers and several other guests in attendance afterwards, for the program part of the evening, must have also felt the same way!

 

This event certainly proved a delightful “one for the history books” for the two Allegheny County historical societies divided only by the Ohio River, united by its bridge that replaced the two ferries that were used before the Sewickley-Coraopolis Bridge (I and II) construction (1911 and again in 1981).

 

John Kroeck, President and Program Director of the SVHS opened the evening’s meeting saying what a great opportunity this was to meet our neighbors with whom we have so much in common, especially the prosperous 20th century families that moved back and forth between the two communities including the Curry, Nimick, Tener, Stevenson and other families.

Sewickley’s Director Harton Semple invited the OMTHS members to visit the SVHS headquarters anytime from Tuesday to Friday, 10AM-2PM for anyone wanting to do further research on various families.

 

Information held at the society includes family trees, photographs and other primary sources files, including a reference library, a genealogy program, and professional staff members to help, including himself, Susan Holton and Peggy Dury, taking the time to also thank both of the ladies for their help in organizing the event.

 

Earl Edwards, President of the OMTHS welcomed everyone, introduced Dr. Frank Bradden who was in the audience at 104 years of age to much applause, praised Ron Potter’s photographic contributions for the presentation, and then introduced the speaker for the evening, Deborah Kennedy, a retired Social Studies teacher at Moon, who was involved in 50 productions on Moon’s stage, including two plays she wrote.

 

Deborah reminded the audience that much information she was about to present was gleaned from Dr. Robert A. Jocker’s 244 page book: Forgotten Past-A History of Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Jockers wrote, she said, that despite the fact that Moon Township was not incorporated as a governmental entity within Allegheny County until 1788, numerous historical events had occurred during the initial settlement, including information on the Native Americans of the Iroquois Confederacy who lived here first (“we’re all squatters!”), and the sixty-six land grants that comprise contemporary Moon Township and the four that make up the borough of Coraopolis.

 

Humble log cabins were the first and second generation of homes, and “Old Moon Township” continued to be an agrarian society with life centered on the home, farm and family.

 

But by 1919, 16 millionaire families were living on Coraopolis Heights as residents found Moon Township to be convenient to the railroad and their work offices. The Sewickley-Coraopolis Bridge had been built in 1911. Owners and executives of industry (the “new rich”) had found a pleasant place to live and work, creating an exclusive area of wealth and status.

 

Kennedy took time to recognize Betty (Mrs. Philip) Gundelfinger as being among us in the audience. Three generations of Gundelfingers have continuously lived in the Dutch Colonial mansion home realtor Philip Gundefinger first established in 1922, three years after purchasing the property in 1919. The lovely home gracing Beaver Grade Road has twelve spacious rooms and is enhanced by a grand side porch supported by seven white columns.

 

Kennedy told us that the earliest mansion was built in 1905, a magnificent Dutch Gambel home named “Cranston Farm” on 150 acres from one of the original land grants. Using Jockers’ historical research, Kennedy relayed that this home had seven magnificent gardens: a Lily Pond Garden, a Wisteria Arbor Garden, an Iris Garden with six hundred varieties, a Grape Arbor Garden that featured posts decorated with Gnomes statuettes in the various process of wine making, a Spring House Garden with stone tablets recording past historical events in relation to Cranston Farm, the Elephant Walk where elephant footprint led from the children’s playhouse to the woods, and lastly, “Eleanor’s Pulpit” garden that contained a tower providing a view of the entire estate. Both of the Johnstons were avid gardeners, and Mrs. Johnstown founded the Moon Township Garden Club, “wishing to extend both the knowledge and pleasure of gardening to the community.” The estate was sold in 1941 after the death of the owners and changed owners several times before the mansion was destroyed in 1958. In 1967, this property became known as the “Londonberry Estates.”

 

Another of the mansions Kennedy highlighted in her PowerPoint presentation was Roselea Farm, established in 1905 with 123 acres, when George Shaw, a prominent Pittsburgh attorney purchased the land from Peter Ehrart. The imposing twenty-one room English Tudor-European farmhouse included quarters for staff. Over time, parts of the land were parceled off, and in August of 1950, Russell and Nancy Patton purchased the thirty-two acre farm.

 

The current owners of Roselea were all present, Nancy Mills afterwards adding input about how the house her mother owned was seized by eminent domain in the 1950s during the Korean conflict for officer quarters for the U.S. Air Force. The duty of these officers stationed at the Army Air Force base in Moon Township built during WWII, was to defend the vital steel mills and other things near Pittsburgh at the time. They used the Roselea barn for a party room, and the main house for the officers’ bedrooms. Once the Air Force returned the house, it required ten months restoration before they could move in again. The Air Force, Nancy said, did pay rent and for the restoration, but it had been quite an ordeal.

 

Many homes were discussed throughout the night, but I’ll just highlight a few.

 

The Mooncrest neighborhood, Kennedy said, was built in 1943 to house the people working on Neville Island.

 

The Flaugherty House was built in 1923 and served as a YMCA and Summer Retreat for working girls. The girls were transported by horse and buggy from the railroad station in Crescent Township to the estate.

 

The Lockhart estate, built in 1909 and known then as “High Skeog” later became the Montour Country Club.

 

Francis B. Nimick bequeathed her Georgian ROBIN HILL estate to Moon Township, in order to preserve the surrounding woodlands as “parkland forever,” quite a magnanimous gift to all of us.

 

In 1962, Mobay Chemical Corporation bought the Federal style Baywood Mansion that had been built in 1927 on property that was once part of Roselea. The company uses the Coraopolis Heights Road estate as a guest conference facility.

 

The current Robert Morris campus was once home to Harvey Childs II’s PINE HILL MANOR. The wealthy industrialist Childs sold the property to Oliver Kaufmann (owner from 1941-1962), who then sold the property to Robert Morris College. At first the home was used for faculty and administrative offices, but as the college grew, the house became inadequate. The home was demolished, but the beautiful circular garden remains of that elegant past.

 

My favorite memory of the evening was hearing how “Langhurst” mansion, built by C.J. Lang, founder of the Russell Machine Company, and his wife, Amelia, became an orphanage in 1918-1920 for World War I Serbian orphans. After living in the home for nine years, the Langs sold their estate to the Serbian Church, which in turn, had it converted into an orphanage, the only known orphanage in Moon Township. But after only two years, it was sold again and became a private residence.

 

Can’t leave without a word about Hyeholde. The beautiful French provincial type home and restaurant surroundings we were all enjoying to the hilt, was built by William Kryskill and his bride, Clara, starting in 1931. Mr. Kryskill was the architect, contractor and subcontractor for his own dream that took over seven years to complete. They dug the foundation, poured the footer and laid the block for the foundation. They purchased an old barn and used the structural materials after hauling them to the site. They erected the walls and cut and laid the stone floors. They created the fireplace and chimney and had subcontracted the roof work, but when the contractor was delayed, William Kryskill completed the slate roof by himself! No wonder why his daughter, Barbara McKenna, current owner, is so proud of their magnificent achievements.

 

Guests from the two historical societies mingled both before and after the program. It was a pleasure for me to sit next to Ron Potter whom Harton Semple recognized at the end of the evening with a beautiful plaque from the Sewickley Valley Historical Society featuring Indians overlooking the Sewickley Bridge, copied from an old 1911 Sewickley-Coraopolis ad poster.

 

Of course, Deborah Kennedy, who did a wonderful presentation of the homes featured this evening, also received one.

 

I’ll end with these words by Robert A. Jockers (in Florida at the time of the meeting!) from his book, Forgotten Past.

 

“The significance of history then lies in the fact that knowledge of the past enables us to stimulate new thoughts and ideas to understand previous missteps, learn from them, and establish a more positive guide for tomorrow as we are both the heir to the past and ancestor to the future.”

 

Jockers hoped his book would provide insight and understanding of how those who come before us struggled and sacrificed to build the world in which we live today. “They have placed the gauntlet before us, challenging us to protect, preserve and enhance for future generations the freedom that they died for and that we hold so sacred.”

 

Jockers gave credit to the Moon Township Historical Society for their financial support in the publication of this history.

 

And now for some Closure! Forgotten Past can be ordered on Amazon in regular book form or in the Kindle e-edition, which also can be downloaded on an Apple iPad, for a very reasonable price.

 

For a free video showing the joy of the SVHS-OMTHS participants in the night’s festivities, you may access the photos I took at YouTube’s

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGqv0_bmDQI .

 

So, we know the evening really wasn’t prom night, but it sure held the magic of times long past!

 

Copyright 2010 Not Retired From Learning.

 

All rights reserved.

Rob Dunbar made such a great impression on his attentive audience last year, speaking so passionately and flawlessly, without any notes on the life of George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn,  our members asked for a repeat performance on another topic, and we we’re so grateful that Rob agreed to be our FIRST speaker to lead off our  Speaker Series by speaking about the life of President Abraham Lincoln and his Assassination.  Rob’s presentation will be on Monday, April 9, at 6:30 PM at the Moon Township Municipal Building.

 

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Monday, June 4, 2018: Historic Fashion Show

 

Welcome, Brenda Applegate and Friends, our 2nd Speaker(s) in our MTHS Speaker Series!

 

Historic Fashion Show

 

Click here to see their excellent website:

 

http://bchrlf.org/

 

Brenda is the President of the Beaver Valley History and Research and Landmarks Foundation.

 

She and her friends (about 12 of them!) will be presenting a Fashion Show from an earlier time period in Beaver Valley History.

 

Brenda says:  “Our show is entitled ‘Beaver County Fashion Frontier, Exploring Our Past Heritage,’ and presents fashions from the 1700’s up through 1940.

 

 

“Our models are volunteers and they have made the authentic clothing that is being worn.  These are not costumes-they are the correct garments that would have been worn in the respective time period.

 

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August 6, 2018: Louise Sturgis

 

 

Louise will offer a Power Point Presentation from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation entitled:

 

“MEMORABLE PLACES AND RECENT CHANGES”

This is a visual feast—more than 250 images–showing memorable places in the Golden Triangle and in areas north, east and south of downtown that have undergone recent changes as a result of restorations, adaptive-use projects and new construction.  The interactive presentation draws on  participants’ memories and knowledge of Pittsburgh and reveals how historic preservation efforts have helped create a city of great beauty and character.

About Louise Sturgis, Executive Director

 

August 6, 2018

 

Louise is a fifth-generation Pittsburgher and graduate of Bucknell University  where she has worked for the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) since 1981.  As executive director, she is primarily responsible for PHLF’s educational programs, serving more than  12,000 people each year.

 

On any given day, Louise is a fundraiser, editor, program organizer, lecturer, or tour guide.  Through her work, Louise promotes the value of historic preservation and reveals the national importance of Pittsburgh’s history and architecture.

 

The History Channel, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies, Preservation Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and Pittsburgh City Council are among those who have recognized PHLF for its innovation educational programs.

 

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October 3, 2018: Coraopolis Mayor, Shawn Reed

 

Instead of our usual venue at the Moon Township Municipal Building, we  thought we’d shake it up a little bit and celebrate a bit of new and old history at the same time!

 

While we sample some of the new beers and ales available (and hopefully some sodas!) at the new microbrewery, THE COBBLEHAUS, and learn a bit about their history,  then we’ll hear the passionate leaders of Coraopolis discuss the advancements made on the Coraopolis Train Station and plans for further restoration and use.

 

http://www.greenway.ohiorivertrail.org/index.php/coraopolis-train-station

 

The Train Station was built in 1895 and was in much disrepair before its current renovation. A long-lost finial (ornament at the apex of the roof) was recently added, working entirely from old photographs.  The finished product looks like a flame resting in a torch holder. In the middle was an opening created to allow a lightning arrestor, or lightning rod, to poke through.

 

The project should be finished by November, if the 1.3 million dollars needed is raised.

 

Once completed, the station will serve as a multipurpose cafe and a community center that can host weddings, parties, corporate meetings, educational training classes and more.

 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article written by Bob Podurgiel on Friday, March 2, 2018, states that the project is being led by local volunteers from Coraopolis and surrounding communities who loved the train station and wanted to see it restores.  It is serving as a catalyst  for the recent renewal of the Coraopolis business district.

 

 

“There’s a synergy between the train station and the economic development,” Mr. Rolinson said.  Rolinson is an assistant professor of photography and photojournalism at Point Park University.

 

 

 

He recorded his memories for us in his book called “THE LOG OF THE BETSY ANN.”

 

“The Ohio Valley Improvement Association had arranged a river parade to celebrate the completion of the Ohio River canalization project and October 18, 1929, found the Pittsburgh wharf lined with steamboats–twenty five of them—all steamed up and ready to cavort around in the Pittsburgh harbor and raise a hullabaloo with their whistles.  Ol’ Man River got up that day and cheered.  I got a scrub crew together and the Betsy Ann added her contribution to the general uproar.

“That was a notable experience in more ways than one.  The Betsy Ann, in addition to being one twenty-fifth of a major demonstration, was putting on a celebration of her own.  She had raised steam for the first time as a “free lance” packet –the river fellows named her “Little Orphan Annie” for the reason that she had to regular freight and passenger trade.  I was in seventh heaven on another score:  I had just passed an examination in the Steamboat Inspector’s Office and had been granted a first-class pilot license on the Ohio River between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.  This was a big achievement, I thought: the task of writing out the examination answers and drawing the required maps of the river had taken all of twelve days’ solid work.

 

“Never before had I stepped up in a pilothouse and taken full charge in that sanctum: now I had elected myself chief pilot of the Betsy Ann–and was to make the initial performance in view of twenty-four other steamboat crews and thousands and thousands of spectators.  More than that, the Betsy was designate to town an excursion barge, the Manitou, which was to have about four hundred persons aboard.  The night before the parade day, I spent in considerable tossing about on my bed; I had visions of the wind blowing and other sources of pilot trouble.

 

“The day proved a wonderful one.  October’s bright blue weather prevailed, a warm sun shone on the event and no wind blew.  I backed the Betsy out with her charge and opened up the whistle with blast after blast— a contributing din to the salvo of salutes which caused the Monongahela River waterfront to roar as though an immense pipe organ had opened up with all notes at one time.  The mellow notes of the Betsy’s steam whistle were lost in the roar of more mighty sirens, but I tramped the treadle with a zest just the same; … celebrating the  Ohio River canalization….my initial performance as a pilot—and many another toot for the reason of having such a fine Dad!”

 

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The famous “Betsy Ann”

 

was one of twenty-five steamboats that participated in the grand parade of Steamboats to celebrate the Canalization of the Ohio River on October 18, 1929.

 

The other steamboats in line that day, representing Three Million Dollars  worth of floating equipment steaming down the Ohio in parade in the afternoon, started at 2 o’clock in the afternoon from the Monongahela wharf, steamed down the Ohio River to the Emsworth locks and returned were:

 

The Flagship CINCINNATI , the GREATER PITTSBURGH, with city officials and newspapermen aboard; the CLYDE, HILLMAN, ALIQUIPPA, CRUISER, WILLIAM R. RODGERS, CRUCIBLE, VICTORY, LaBELLE, A.O. ACKART, CRAIG, W.L. McKINNEY, ELIZABETH SMITH, STEEL CITY, BETSY ANN, E.K. DAVISON, B .F. JONES, J. H. McCRADY, CARBON, OLD RELIABLE and WACOUTA. (3 names missing)

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“Beautiful Dreamer” CALLIOPE Music

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Over 100,000 people viewed the great Canalization of the Ohio River parade that day of October 18, 1929.

 

James Francis Burke, the Master of Ceremonies for the Pittsburgh River fete concluded an interview with the Pittsburgh Post–Gazette, p. 10, October 18, 1929 with these words:

 

“The age of pygmies is past.   “The age of giants and gigantic enterprises is here.

 

“Channels are deeper than ever, structures are higher than ever, and minds are broader than ever in world’s history.

 

“The biggest mergers of today are the mergers of great minds, the pooling of  their ideas and the combination of their resources and energies in great undertakings.

 

“There are more dwellers than ever in the palace of American genius.

 

“There are more princes than  ever in the purple chamber where accomplishments alone bestows its titles.

 

“In proof of this, I felicitate my city, my commonwealth, and my country upon the presence of this distinguished company and bid them Godspeed in the great work before them!

 

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And  yet another story about the famous Captain Way…

 

An earlier newspaper article about the packet Betsy Ann in a race with the Island Queen from Cincinnati to New Richmond, 20 miles up the Ohio River.

South Dakota’s Loss, Pittsburgh’s BIG Gain!

 

In his early years of retirement, Earl volunteered for the U.S. Forest Service and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, serving on the PALS, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s support and volunteer group.  It was there Earl studied arrowheads over 3,000 years old.  Now he shares his knowledge at summer camps, and volunteering at Coventry Log Cabin, teaching others the joys of Native American history of the area.

 

Dedication? Tenacity?  He’s been President of the Moon Township Historical Society for as long as I can remember, preparing programs, speaker series, and field trips for our members, coordinating with other local historical societies.  He drives his own car miles out of his way to pick up physically handicapped members so they can attend meetings and special events.  He is also a member of HARB (Historical Architectural Review Board) currently representing Moon’s Historical Society.

 

Acts of Vision?  (1)  Earl created the Dr. Jockers Memorial Archives in the Moon Tszp. Municipal Building, cataloging all of the items in the archive that are now accessible through a database search.  (2) Another exciting project is the production of historical signs that he has created seen throughout the township, making residents more aware of their own history.

 

Impact on the Community?  This Lifelong Learner became involved in MCA-TV.  Over the last 15 years, he has produced numerous shows, such as “The Moon Township Bucket List,” using this creative way to have viewers join him in rediscovering Moon’s hidden history gems.  He is also a member of the Cable Advisory Board for the station where he helps to further the progress of the station.

 

Earl used his Leadership abilities to be the videographer and President for the Senior Men’s Club in Sewickley.

 

Earl never stops giving back to the community.  He says,

 

“Life goes quickly.  Try each open door.  What do you have to lose?”

 

Earl has been involved in so many more activities that involve helping the Township.

 

 

He’s a one-man dynamo!

 

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The Jefferson Awards Program, sponsored by the  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  and its partners, salute the unsung heroes of our region through this nationwide volunteer-recognition program.

 

The Jefferson Awards honors individuals for their achievements and contributions through public and community service.

In 1976, former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editor John Craig established a local program honoring Western Pennsylvania’s “Community Champions” — everyday citizens who encountered problems in their neighborhood and created solutions to fix them. Today, the Post-Gazette continues to honor outstanding volunteers through the Jefferson Awards program.

 

“To nominate an individual or group for the Jefferson Award, tell us about someone that has made a difference in your organization or neighborhood. The best nominations include specific details and short anecdotes that demonstrate your nominee’s character and the impact of their volunteerism.”

 

Because of their commitment to volunteerism, Highmark and BNY Mellon have joined the Post-Gazette in this valuable program. This year, community representatives will choose approximately 50 Jefferson Award winners from among those nominated. Each will be highlighted in a newspaper ad and honored at an elegant reception at which they will receive the bronze Jefferson Award medallion.

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Dr. Robert A. Jockers, First President of the Moon Township Historical Society

 

The Huntsman Funeral Home had this obituary

 

80, of Moon Tszp., and North Port, FL, passed away on Saturday, May 18, 2013, surrounded by his family. He was the beloved husband of 57 years to Doris (Johnson) Jockers; loving father to the late (infant) Robert Jockers, Dr. Jeffery Robert Jockers and his wife, Eleanor, Jill Susan and her husband, Gerald Boyle, Bradley Todd Jockers, Lisa Michelle and her husband, Daniel Pagano and Darryl J. Jockers and his wife, Katherine; proud grandfather to Andrew, Matthew, Rachel, and Timothy Jockers, Erin and Aubrey Boyle and Anthony and Paige Pagano. He will be missed by close family and friends. Dr. Jockers graduated from the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Dental Medicine and practiced in Pittsburgh and Moon Tszp. He created the Olde Moon Township Historical Society and researched and authored several historical articles for the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society. He wrote and directed several documentaries and wrote the book, Forgotten Past.

 

 

Prelude to the book:

 

“PRELUDE:   Beyond the endless chain of the Appalachian Mountains the initial settlement of Moon Township began in the spring of 1773. Who were these pioneers? Where did they come from and what possessed them to leave the security of their homes to settle in a dangerous wilderness? The settlement pattern in Moon Township, often complicated by a three-stage process, was composed of not only permanent settlers but also squatters who occupied land grants that were owned by land speculators. To add to the confusion, the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia both claimed ownership of the Ohio Valley and each colony had its own land office and their laws conflicted.

 

 

During the frontier period the political overtones of the Pennsylvania / Virginia boundary dispute weighed heavily on the pioneer settler regarding the authenticity of his land title as legal jurisdiction vacillated between the colonies. This controversy was of grave concern as the frontier farm was the family’s sole asset and was essential for their survival in a wilderness engulfed by poverty, hunger, disease and even death.

 

The overwhelming demands of daily life left no time for formal education or social contact, thus most of the first-born were illiterate and loneliness prevailed on the frontier. By the post frontier period the Revolution had been concluded and the nation turned its attention toward the Articles of Confederation and its failures. After many months of debating the great theories of government and practical politics the Continental Congress drafted the American Constitution.

 

With new structure and theoretical concepts of government never before tested the decade of the 1790’s became the most perilous in American history and many feared that the new republic might not survive. The dawn of the nineteenth century brought new hope in the form of the Industrial Revolution. As the family farm developed and prospered, large processing facilities such as the gristmill, sawmill and fulling mill were necessary in order to process the increased production.

 

With an expanding economy the farmers realized that their children could not compete without a basic education and so, along with a new church and blacksmith shop, a subscription school was built in the tiny village of Sharon.

 

The village became a social gathering place and a respite from the demands of daily life. By mid-century the rumblings of economic and social inequality were being felt.

 

A decade later it erupted in Civil War. The postwar period was one of transition in the township as people attempted to improve their economic circumstance utilizing new agricultural knowledge to increase production on the farm and new third generation homes to enhance their social status.

 

The enormous growth and development of industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries produced a period of great affluence.

 

The “new rich” now found the confines of Moon Township’s conservative farm community an ideal place in which to live and raise their families.

 

Purchasing large farms they proceeded to create numerous grand estates in an area that became known as the “Heights”.

 

Unfortunately, the excesses of the 1920’s gave way to the great depression and a decade of pain and hardship only to be followed by the Second World War.

 

The post war era was dominated by social demographics as the population shifted away from the city to the suburbs and Moon Township found itself evolving into an upscale bedroom community.

 

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Be sure to read Dr. Jockers online!

 

“Speculators and Squatters, the Frontier Beginnings of Moon Township,” in Western Pennsylvania History, p. 25-27, Vol. 87 No. 2, summer 2004 Available free online at:

 

https://journals.psu.edu/szph/article/viewFile/5196/4979

 

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Pat Jennette

 

In May of 2014, State Senator Mark Smith recognized Pat Jeannette’s many contributions to the community in his newsletter.

PAT JENNETTE:

 

Keeping the Pulse of the Community for Over 15 Years:

 

Senator Mark Smith wrote:  “I had the pleasure of presenting Pat Jennette with a citation recognizing her years of service to the community. Fifteen years ago she founded Allegheny West Magazine.

 

“In the years since, Pat has grown it into a positive source for what’s going on in the western suburbs. Although Pat has retired from publishing, we will no doubt continue to see her at events throughout the community.

 

“Doug Hughey has transitioned from writer and assistant editor to become publisher and editor of Allegheny West Magazine. Like Pat, Doug is a part of the community and will continue her legacy of positive storytelling.”

 

 

Thanks Pat, Doug and Senator Mark Smith!

 

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We are grateful to “Buck” and his grandfather, Earl Edwards, for the incredible job Buck  and Earl did of  making sure the items in the Jockers Repository were catalogued for future reference.

 

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Earl  and Lora were pictured in front of the Jockers’ Repository display at the Township’s Municipal Building, and featured in the IN THE COMMUNITY section, p. 7 of the MOON MESSENGER, Winter 2015 issue.

 

The above article mentions how Moon Township is the oldest township in Allegheny County, and how it has transformed many times from farmland to industrial to an airport community to today, and how it has always been able to adapt with the changing times.  But sometimes its good to also look back on Moon’s earlier years.

 

The story relates how Earl and his intern spent 2 months cataloging the files, books and other items that Moon Township had acquired over the years.  Now, the archives are all logged into a computer database that makes searching for information very simple.

 

There are old township maps to early church histories  to family biographies. The information contains info from Moon, Coraopolis, Crescent, Robinson and more.  Just stop by the Township Administration office to gain access, or if you would like to donate something to the township, contact Lora Dombrowski at ldombrowski@moontszp.us.

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Newsletter Update on the Jockers Repository, January, 2016

 

More historical materials have been donated to the Dr. Robert Jockers Memorial Archives:

 

Charles Cooper has assembled a draft map showing current streets overlaying patent maps of original settlers .  When complete, this will allow present residents to trace their property to the first owners!

 

Carl Griffith donated several old newspapers, including one that shows the 1947 opening of a new Coraopolis facility for the Shafer Bus Lines. Shafer Buses served the community for many years, eventually becoming part of PAT.

 

Doris Jockers added to our repository by donating Dr. Jocker’s research papers for his book, FORGOTTEN PAST, and  other material about the early Moon Township Historical Society.  Doris was Secretary of the Society for a long time and kept detailed records.

 

Ron Potter, Past President of the MTHS, donated a number of DVDs and videos, including “Born American,” “To Secure This Land,” and raw research to create these local documentaries.

 

Debby Kennedy, who served as Program Chair for many years before stepping down, donated materials related to the many theatrical productions produced at the Moon Schools of which she served a very important role as Director of Productions.

 

Perhaps we should take this opportunity to let our readers learn more about Debby’s Educational contributions to Moon Schools.

 

Debby is a graduate of Moon Area High School. She graduated summa cum laude from Robert Morris College with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts.  She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education-History, graduating magna cum laude from Slippery Rock College.  She holds a Masters Degree in Secondary Education-History from Slippery Rock, as well.

 

Debby was the first recipient of the Robert D. Duncan Award for Outstanding Graduate Student by the History Department of Slippery Rock.  She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta and Kappa Delta Pi honor organizations.  She has been recognized four times by Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.  In addition, she was chosen for Who’s Who in Moon Area School District and the Tiger Paw Print Award.

 

In her 33 years of teaching in the Moon Area School District, Debby taught a dozen different Social Studies courses, two of which she developed for the department.  In addition, she was involved in a number of extra curricular activities during her tenure at Moon High School.  Among these were: sponsoring the Class of 1982, co-sponsoring the Classes of 1994 and 1999 with Mrs. Paula Bobola, sponsoring EMIAC and co-sponsoring The Hasty Pudding Society with Mrs. Bobola and Moon Drama Club with Mrs. Amy Pozycki and Ms. Laura Mitchell.

 

Debby is proud of the fact that Patty Zerishnek, another one of our fine Board Members, was a student of hers!

 

Thanks to all!  

 

Donations Welcomed.

 

 

Save Our Heritage!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marti Main enthralling her audience with her story of the log cabin’s history…..2013

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Thanks to the 911th Reserve Unit who helped move the cabin pieces to the present site!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/911th_Airlift_Wing

 

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Some COVENTRY CABIN videos for you!

 

Moon History-

 

Coventry Cabin with Alexis Sergeant as hostess,

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwvLqsYANm8

 

 

Here’s another video:

 

Inside the Coventry Cabin:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSdhaoqXtRY

 

 

And here’s a little video about John Coventry, the owner of our Robin Hill cabin !

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF0CzezMs-4

 

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Some Log Cabin Vocabulary Words for you:

 

Glossary of Terms

 

You might use some of these words during your visit to our Coventry Log Cabin:

 

Adze – A long handled tool with a specially designed head used for smoothing the side of a log after hewing.

 

Andirons – The iron frames in the fireplace that hold the burning wood.

 

Bartering – Because currency was scarce, store owners and  pioneers would trade goods that a customer had.  It took 20 eggs from the farmer to buy one lemon at the store! Other items that could be traded were corn (flour), animal pelts, and whiskey.

 

Brogans – A type of square-toed shoes worn during the mid-nineteenth century. c

 

Chemise – A long white undershirt that women wore underneath their dresses. Sometimes they were decorated with fancy needlework.

 

Chink – To fill in the spaces between the logs of a log cabin with small pieces of wood. It was usually covered over with daub.

 

Churn – A container used to make butter; also the process for making butter.

 

Daub – To cover over the chinking placed in the spaces between the logs in a log cabin. It is made of lime mixed with sand and horse hair or straw to give it strength and durability.

 

Dutch oven – A cast iron pot with three legs used for cooking on a hearth. It has a special lid for holding hot coals and was mainly used when baking food items like bread.

 

Harness – The leather straps and gear worn by horses while doing work. It also means to put gear on a horse.

 

Hearth – The place in front of the fireplace where food is cooked over open coals.

 

Herbs – Plants grown and dried to use for food seasonings or for medicines.

 

Hew – To make a log square with a broad axe. This was done on logs used in the building of log cabins.

 

Lye soap – A homemade soap made from lard and lye (water strained through ashes).

 

Narrow-falls – A type of trousers, or pants, that men wore, which had a buttoned flap on the front which acted as a fly.

 

Oxen – A team of two male cattle which have been trained to work in a yoke. Settlers used oxen for heavy pulling jobs like dragging logs plowing new ground.

 

Pen – A four-sided log room.

 

Quilt – A bed covering that is made of three layers sewn together. The top layer is usually made of several small pieces sewn together into a pattern.

 

Root cellar – A hole dug in the ground which is used as a place to keep fruits and vegetables cool.“

 

“Saddlebag” – A cabin with two rooms and a center chimney which resembles a horse’s saddlebag.

 

Scythe – A sharp tool used for cutting hay and other grains.

 

Sew – The process of attaching two pieces of fabric together with a needle and thread.

 

Smokehouse – The building used for storing and smoking meat to preserve it.

 

Spider – An iron frying pan that has three legs under it for cooking over hot coals on a hearth.

 

Spin – The process of twisting fibers of cotton, flax, or wool into yarn using a spinning wheel.

 

Tallow – Beef fat which is saved and used to make candles.

 

Threshing – The process of beating wheat or oats with a flail in order to separate the grain from the stalk.

 

Tick – A pillow-like mattress, which is stuffed with feathers, straw, or corn husks, and placed on the rope beds for sleeping.

 

Yoke – A wooden device placed on the necks of a team of oxen to join them to work together. People can also use yokes to haul heavy buckets on their shoulders.

 

The above words were suggested by the Lincoln Log Cabin in Illinois.

 

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Many of the children who lived in Log Cabins would eat Johnny Cakes.

 

Try this recipe!

 

1 cup cornmeal

 

3/4 cup flour

 

3 ½ tsp baking powder

 

1 tsp salt

 

3/4 cup of milk

 

¼ cup molasses

 

1 egg

 

2 Tb. shortening

 

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the milk, molasses, and well beaten egg, then add the shortening.

 

Pour into a well greased pan and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes.

 

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A Great Success! Earth Day!

 

Held April 19, 2015:

1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

 

Open House at Coventry Log Cabin in Robin Hill Park, located off Thorn Run Road in Moon Township.  More than 100 people passed through the cabin on Moon’s early Earth Day celebration .

 

The log cabin was built in 1825, about 12 miles southwest of its present location.

 

It was home for John Coventry, a Revolutionary War Veteran, a farmer, and a weaver.  He and his family lived in the cabin for 50 years  before it became home to the Doehre family for three more generations.

 

When abandoned around 1975, the log cabin was acquired by the (Old) Moon Township Historical Society. It was disassembled and every log was tagged.  The pieces of the cabin were hauled to Robin Hill Park, where after eight years of repair and rebuild by numerous volunteers, in was dedicated to Moon Parks on August 28, 1983.

 

Come visit the Coventry Log Cabin in Robin Hill Park to access the wealth of information  about John Coventry and the Log cabin.

 

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4/20/15

 

A Message from our President:

 

“Earth Day was a great success with nice weather and large crowds.

 

“Well over 100 people came by to hear about John Coventry and his 190 year old log cabin.

 

“We had exhibits of former member Mort Steele’s old time wooden toys,  some arrowheads, and info about the Historical Society and invasive insects.

 

“Harry Java, in costume, told the story well.   John Kennedy, Mary Ellen and Earl Edwards were on hand to handle the overflow of visitors.

 

“A little peach cobbler was cooked in the Dutch oven in the big fireplace,  so visitors could have a taste.

 

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Allegheny West Magazine of November-December, 2015 featured a nice story by Rebecca Ferraro, entitled:

COVENTRY CABIN OPENS ITS DOORS FOR FIRST-EVER AREA LOG HOMES TOUR, p. 38.

 

 

 

The story gave credit to the Pioneers West Historical Society who thought of the idea that took place on September  19, 2015. The tour included  Coventry Cabin in Robin Hill Park, Killbuck Glass log houses in Oakdale, and the McAdow-McAdams Wilson Long House in Imperial.

 

The article had several photographs of the Coventry cabin taken by Doug and Sarah Hughey  and a QR code that is scannable to learn more about Coventry Cabin.   It unlocks pictures and an audio tour of the cabin.

 

The two-story cabin was purchased  in 1976 by Dr. Robert Jockers, founder of the historical society as part of the American  Bicentennial Celebration.  Trucks and cranes from the  air bases were used to dismantle it and move it to its present position.

 

Twenty-five people turned out to tour the cabin, including hikers were passing through the area.   Tourists were given cornbread, snickerdoodle cookies and cider to represent old-time refreshments.  Visitors were encouraged to sign their passports to the various log cabins with a quill and inkwell!

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Was this our first wedding at the cabin?  9/16/17

 

It does make for a beautiful venue!

 

What a stunning wedding party!  Best of luck to the Newlyweds! 9/16/17

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The Open House at Coventry Cabin held in Conjunction with the other Log Cabins in the area was a HUGE success on Saturday, September 16, 2017.

 

Many thanks to the Moon Township eight HERITAGE Girl Scouts, and their leader, Kris Christy, based at the Rhema who were a tremendous help!  The older ones came early in the morning to clean and help prepare the cabin for viewing. The younger ones helped Mary Ellen Edwards pour cider and pass out cookies besides helping giving tours of the cabin and demonstrating crafts.  Thanks, Girls! xoxoxox

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President Lincoln lived in a log cabin .  Perhaps you would like to make a Lincoln penny pendant!

 

Supplies:

 

• Red,white and blue construction paper
• White glue or glue stick
• Scissors,
• A hole punch
• String or yard (red, white or blue!)
• A penny

 

Instructions:

 

For each pendant, cut out 3 stars, one red, one white, and one blue of 3 different sizes. The white star looks best in the middle.

Glue the white star onto the biggest star, and then glue the smallest star on the white star. Glue a penny (Lincoln side up) in the middle of the stars.

 

Punch a hole near the top of the stars. Thread a few feet of yarn through the pendant and wear it to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday!

 

http://www.babycenter.com/210_lincoln-penny-pendant_7035.bc

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robin Hill Oil Well Signs

 

The new sign for the Robin Hill Garden  was revealed to the Board of Directors of the historical society on March 5, 2018.

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Earl and his grandson Jimmy Gandley, installed this second sign the weekend of April 2-3, 2016, at Montour Run.

 

Earl says besides his family, he has lots of other help, from John Kennedy and his son’s trucks, from Frank Viera’s artwork, and the aluminum welding was donated by John Scott.

 

This sign about Montour Run is real interesting! One of its most fascinating features is the story of eight year old Tom Slover who in 1761 was sent by his family to find a snapping turtle for dinner.

 

“Tom was captured by the Miami warriors, and quickly taken  to Ohio country and later traded to the Shawnee, and was given up for dead.  Tom was recognized 12 years later when accompanying Shawnee traders on a visit to Fort Pitt. He stayed Pittsburgh, serving in the militia.  Incredibly, he was RECAPTURED near the Montour Run by Wyandotts.  Death by gauntlet was the norm for escaped captives, but Tom Slover, already stripped naked and painted black for execution, escaped again!  He made his way down to Ft. McIntosh in Beaver and warned of the impending attack!”