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conservativeman633

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  1. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to mr.d in Major Israel McCreight's Wigwam Home In Sandy Twp.   
    Throwback Thursday: Major Israel McCreight’s Wigwam Home in Sandy Township
    by David Wulderk    Thursday, November 26, 2020   in Features, Local News, Top Stories    0    0 Share on FacebookShare on Twitte The DuBois Area Historical Society has recently published a biography of Major Israel McCreight, entitled Major, The Life of Major Israel McCreight:  Banker, Conservationist and Indian Chief, by Tom Schott, a local author and a DAHS member.   It is a fascinating book that recounts the full and well lived life of progressive man of his times.
    Israel McCreight was born in Jefferson County, in 1865, and furthered his education in New York State.  He, like many young and eager men of his generation, saw his future in the open country of the American West.
    In 1885, young McCreight made it to Devil’s Lake in the Dakota Territory and settled in at a job selling cattle to the First Nation peoples as well as U.S. Army garrisons. 
    He related well to the Obijwe group and thought highly of them.   He learned to dispel the nonsensical prejudices that so many white Euro-Americans had drilled into them, in regard to Native Americans. He earned the nickname, Indian Man.
    McCreight witnessed the shameful and horrific demise of native culture and the natives, themselves, in the Dakota Territory.
    Lies, greed, broken treaties, poverty, starvation and slaughter were heaped as abuse after abuse upon the peoples dismissed as Indians and savages by far too many Americans.
    After working, for a time, for the Great Northern Railway, McCreight came home to Pennsylvania to live in DuBois. His good character and innate business acumen allowed him to quick rise as an assistant director of the DuBois National Bank. 
    He became known as “a one-man Chamber of Commerce” due to his diligence at promoting local DuBois business and serving on numerous commercial and civic boards.
    McCreight helped to form a bucket brigade to fight the disastrous DuBois fire of 1888.  He worked tirelessly to promote the city’s recovery by spearheading public, transportation, lighting and water development.
    McCreight was also a conservationist in the early the 20th century tradition of Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot.  The Wigwam was built atop Prospect Knob in Sandy Township and was a reflection of McCreight’s busy life.
    Prominent Native American guests always felt welcome there.  William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, of the “Wild West Show” entertainment fame, and McCreight’s friend, visited in 1908.
    McCreight lived on until 1958, passing away at the age of 93.  He is interred alongside his wife, Alice, in DuBois’ Morningside Cemetery. The Wigwam fell into disrepair and was demolished in 2013.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   https://gantdaily.com/2020/11/26/throwback-thursday-major-israel-mccreights-wigwam-home-in-sandy-township/
  2. LIKE
    conservativeman633 got a reaction from fadedgenes in RARE DUBOIS NEWS FROM 1877   
    THESE WERE FOUND IN 'OUT OF TOWN' PAPERS FROM THE LATE SUMMER OD 1877  .   DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THE DUBOIS  NEWSPAPERS EXIST FROM 1877....
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
  3. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to mr.d in Company Houses In Penfield   
    Throwback Thursday: Company Houses in Penfield
    Posted on Thursday, May 7, 2020 by Gant Team in Features, Local News, Top Stories Penfield, which encompasses the intersection of Routes 153 and 255, in Huston Township, is an older village than one might think.
    The driving duo of lumber and coal gave rise to the locale’s economy is the late 19th and early 20th century, but the town was settled or founded by a man named Gould Hoyt in 1839.
    Mr. Hoyt was the son so Catherine Hoyt, a Vermont native and a Revolutionary War nurse and veteran who lived from 1758 to 1845.
    Her short obituary listed her as a “mother of the revolution.”  She is buried in an unmarked gravesite just north of the intersection.  A historical marker notes the approximate spot.
    As is told, Gould Hoyt had neat penmanship and the Penfield was named for his talent.
    John DuBois, the 19th century lumber baron, whose namesake is given to DuBois itself, expanded his logging operations and railroads throughout the Bennetts Valley, essentially connecting DuBois to St. Marys.
    DuBois was the catalyst whose ever-expanding resource extraction interests made the Penfield area rapidly grow.
    Markets needed laborers and immigrants, at this time, served the purpose.  Many single men, and later their families, arrived from poorer regions of southern Italy as well as Eastern and other European regions and spiked the population growth of Penfield and the surrounding communities.
    Many of their names and family traditions still thrive in Penfield today. One ingrained tradition was the willingness to work hard to get ahead.
    Tanneries, that processed hides into leather, often became a spin-off industry of the lumber business.  Tree bark and an abundant supply of coal were two essential products that kept tanneries in business.
    The 1912 photo shows Elk Tannery company houses in Penfield.  They were simple wooden structures, simply built, to provide double-family occupancy.
    Large families were often crammed into these units.  Rent was often deducted from worker’s wages.  The abuse of that system, as well as company store policies, was often a source of labor strife at the time.
    The photo shows the surrounding hills, sets of railway tracks, dirt streets and a locomotive watering tank.
    The company house design resembles that of the somewhat more picturesque New England “salt box” style, but the working families of Penfield, then, saw them basic shelter as they hoped for a better future.
  4. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to Bon in 1912 Photo of Penfield   
    Penfield, which encompasses the intersection of Routes 153 and 255, in Huston Township, is an older village than one might think.
    The driving duo of lumber and coal gave rise to the locale’s economy is the late 19th and early 20th century, but the town was settled or founded by a man named Gould Hoyt in 1839.
    Mr. Hoyt was the son so Catherine Hoyt, a Vermont native and a Revolutionary War nurse and veteran who lived from 1758 to 1845.
    Her short obituary listed her as a “mother of the revolution.”  She is buried in an unmarked gravesite just north of the intersection.  A historical marker notes the approximate spot.
    As is told, Gould Hoyt had neat penmanship and the Penfield was named for his talent.
    John DuBois, the 19th century lumber baron, whose namesake is given to DuBois itself, expanded his logging operations and railroads throughout the Bennetts Valley, essentially connecting DuBois to St. Marys.
    DuBois was the catalyst whose ever-expanding resource extraction interests made the Penfield area rapidly grow.
    Markets needed laborers and immigrants, at this time, served the purpose.  Many single men, and later their families, arrived from poorer regions of southern Italy as well as Eastern and other European regions and spiked the population growth of Penfield and the surrounding communities.
    Many of their names and family traditions still thrive in Penfield today. One ingrained tradition was the willingness to work hard to get ahead.
    Tanneries, that processed hides into leather, often became a spin-off industry of the lumber business.  Tree bark and an abundant supply of coal were two essential products that kept tanneries in business.
    The 1912 photo shows Elk Tannery company houses in Penfield.  They were simple wooden structures, simply built, to provide double-family occupancy.
    Large families were often crammed into these units.  Rent was often deducted from worker’s wages.  The abuse of that system, as well as company store policies, was often a source of labor strife at the time.
    The photo shows the surrounding hills, sets of railway tracks, dirt streets and a locomotive watering tank.
    The company house design resembles that of the somewhat more picturesque New England “salt box” style, but the working families of Penfield, then, saw them basic shelter as they hoped for a better future.

  5. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to mr.d in The Helman Homicide - Brockway,Pa. - 1896   
    You are here: Home » News Local News Pennsylvania Great Outdoors: The Helman Homicide
    February 23, 2020 12:45 am· Author: PA Great Outdoors - John Straitiff   BROCKWAY, Pa. – One of the most notorious crimes ever to have occurred in the Brockway area of Jefferson County was the homicide of peddler Lewis Helman in 1896. The events can be reconstructed from the newspapers of the time.
    Both the Altoona Tribune and The Gazette in York described the Helman murder in their issues of September 3. More than a dozen other papers across the Commonwealth, from the Philadelphia Inquirer to the Pittsburgh Daily Post picked up the story during the week, and finally, on September 9, 1896, the Punxsutawney News made county readers aware of the event:
    On Wednesday evening of last week, two Jewish peddlers were driving along the road leading to Brockwayville and when withing a mile of that town they were held up by two masked men supposed to be tramps. The names of the peddlers were Lewis Helman and H. Shakespeare, both of DuBois. As soon as the robbers ordered a halt both men jumped from their buggy, and the robbers attacked them with revolvers and knives. One of the shots took effect in Helman’s breast. The tramps then took to the woods which line the road. Where he died shortly after. As soon as the news reached Brockwayville, a posse of citizens began searching for the murderers. Shakespeare says he can identify the assassins. One of the highwaymen is tall, the other short, both of dark complexion. Helman’s body was brought to Punxsutawney and buried on Tuesday last. Deceased leaves a wife and four children and was 35 years of age.
    Two brothers, William and Frank Dodson, were arrested at Hallton, Elk County, on Saturday last, on the charge of having murdered Lewis Helman at Brockwayville. The prisoners are now in the Brookville jail.
    The Ridgway Star gives the following particulars: William Dodson will be remembered as the star actor in a trial at Judge Lucore’s office recently, when he was charged by Nathan Laughner, of Spring Creek, with threats to shoot.
    He was bound over to court and gave bail in the sum of $300 to keep the peace. Mr. Laughner furnished the bail. He is a married man with a small family and worked in Hall & Garnder’s Hallton mill until recently.
    Frank Dodson is a jail bird and was discharged from the penitentiary about a month ago. When he came home, Will quit working and the two brothers started out camping together and have been in Jefferson County most of the time since.
    Both of the men have anything but a good name and have been a disturbing element in the community all the time they have lived here. A number of petty robberies in the last few weeks have been laid at their doors and the people are overjoyed at their capture.
    Reynoldsville’s newspaper, The Star, reported that the eighty dollars in Helman’s pocket had not been taken.
    An Orthodox Jew, Lewis Helman was quickly buried according to the laws and customs of that faith. “This law prescribes that, in case of death by violence, none of the blood shall be washed off, and none of the bloody garment removed, but that the victim shall be buried as he was when death came. He was laid in the grave without a coffin, his head resting upon a sack of earth. A small flat stone was placed over each eye and over his mouth, and a green twig in each hand. Boards were placed at each side of the corpse and above it and then the grave was filled up.”
    Helman was buried in the Cherva Agudath Achuin Hebrew Cemetery in Cloe village, Bell Township, near Punxsutawney, with a rabbi present from Punxsutawney’s small Jewish congregation The Hebrew letters on his headstone reveal his Jewish name to have been Leib, which means “Lion” in Yiddish.
    The Brockwayville Record covered the Grand Jury proceedings on September 18, 1896. The trial was postponed to December because Mrs. Dodson was unable to be present. Dr. John Thompson of Portland Mills had stated she was “not in a fit condition to attend upon the court at this time.”
    In the interim, an engineer surveyed and mapped the murder scene, and Sheriff Gourley kept “a special watch” over the prisoners. As the trail approached, the excitement was almost more than the writer for the Brockwayville Record could bear:
    A cold-blooded murder, resulting from a deliberately planned robbery, is so rare that its revolting nature still brings a thrill of horror when the circumstances are recalled. Its heinousness is all the more revolting when it is considered that the crime was committed in the midst of an orderly, peace-loving community where life and property are considered safe as they are anywhere in the land.
    William and Frank Dodson, who are charged with this heinous crime, are not residents of the community.
    N.U. Bond, Esq., who has charge of the defense, will be assisted by C.Z. Gordon, Esq., of Brookville, and possibly others. The attorneys who will assist District Attorney Strong are E.A. Carmalt, of Brookville, and A.L. Cole, of DuBois. Others are available if needed. The trial is awaited with great interest.
    On December 15th the Jefferson County courtroom filled to overflowing, Judge John W. Reed entered and was seated, the prisoners entered, the Prothonotary read the arraignment, the accused replied “Not guilty,” and “twelve good men and true” were selected as jurors.
    Testimony began the next day when witnesses for the prosecution explained the scene of the crime and the cause of death. Others described seeing the defendants buying liquor at the hotel Barclay in Westville and cartridges at Hamilton’s store, and having lunch at Lindemuth’s place.
    Then N.U. Bond opened for the defense and stated his intent to prove that the accused could not have been at the scene of the crime, that the two men that had been seen following the peddlers were not the Dodson brothers. Witnesses were asked about Shakespeare’s reputation for truthfulness.
    According to the Brockwayville Record:
    The substance of his outline was to the effect that Dodson’s….set out the day before the murder to visit their sister at Harvey’s Run. They reached their destination that night, having traversed the distance from William’s home at Spring Creek on foot by way of Richardsville. …The next day…passing through Beechtree and Westville, on to the Beechwoods road and to the crossroad heading to the Brookville Road. At John Key’s place they took to the woods and headed in the direction of Carrier…pursued their way down the creek and river homeward, reaching Spring Creek late that night. Along their route they encountered persons who knew them and were prepared to testify that the defendants were far enough away from the scene of the murder to establish their innocence of the crime charged. Another thing the defense proposed to prove was that two men had been seen following the peddlers all day and that these men and not the Dodsons were the guilty ones.
    A string of witnesses testified about the two strangers who were seen in the neighborhood. M.J. Raught saw them when he was driving from Carrier to Sugar Hill. Albert and Edward James said the strange men stopped at their hotel in Brockport on the night of the murder.
    It was on Thursday that the defendants took the stand. Frank Dodson made a good impression. Frank removed his coat to show that his physique was normal, he had no “low shoulder,” as one of the men passing the Hutchinson farm was said to have. Both men described their apparel, description that conflicted with those of the prosecution.
    William Dodson did not have the nerve of his brother. He appeared to wilt at times and was rattled under the sharp fire of examination. He spoiled the good impression created by Frank and once more the chain of evidence seemed to tighten around them.
    Attorneys for both sides summed up Friday afternoon. On Saturday Judge Reed eloquently charged the jury on the law. The jury began deliberating, then asked on Tuesday to be dismissed, “It is now claimed that Samuel Fike of Knox Township, is related to the Dodsons by marriage, and that eleven of the jurors agree on murder in the first degree, but Fike holds out for acquittal.” That was denied.
    Finally, “After being out for a space of five days the jury in the Dodson case at last reached a verdict. They made known their decision on Thursday morning after court had convened, and rendered a verdict of voluntary manslaughter. From the nature of the verdict and the long time consumed in reaching it, the natural inference is that it was a compromise. The maximum penalty for voluntary manslaughter is twelve years’ imprisonment.”
    William and Frank Dodson were sentenced to “Twelve years apiece in the Western Penitentiary at hard labor, one dollar fine and cost of prosecution. Judge Reed said Saturday, while the Dodsons were before him for sentence, that the verdict in their case was an absurdity.” The Brockway Record found the verdict “extraordinary.”
    Soon the Dodson brothers were “safe in the pen” in Pittsburgh.
    For more information on places to go and things to see in the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors region, go to VisitPAGO.com.
                                                                                                                                                              https://www.explorejeffersonpa.com/pennsylvania-great-outdoors-the-helman-homicide/#more-260022
  6. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to mr.d in Colonial-Era Building Discovered In Pa. Town During Demolition   
    Colonial-era building discovered in Pennsylvania town during demolition
    by WNEP Staff
    Friday, February 7th 2020 AA                           Colonial-era building discovered in Pennsylvania town during demolition (CNN Newsource)<br>   WASHINGTONVILLE, Pa. (WNEP) — On a nondescript street corner in Washingtonville, Pennsylvania sits a building that is much, much older than it looks.
    It's a centuries-old log cabin hidden under layers of more modern construction and siding.
    A local official estimates that it dates back to the 1700s.
        The discovery came about as a result of the town cracking down on blighted properties.
    The building was a former bar and had been condemned.
    A contractor was tearing it down when he uncovered the hidden piece of history.                                                                                                                                                      
    "He said it's very much salvageable and he couldn't believe it himself, what we uncovered here, and said it's very much worth saving,” said Frank Dombroski.
    Local officials want to preserve the cabin and move it to a different location.
    They say it will have to be carefully taken down by hand and put back together somewhere else.
    For now, it will stay in its current location.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 SEE VIDEO   ;     https://wjactv.com/news/local/colonial-era-building-discovered-in-pennsylvania-town-during-demolition-02-07-2020                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
  7. LIKE
    conservativeman633 got a reaction from mr.d in History Of Hallton   
    Thank you for the history !!  Hallton hasn't changed much !!
  8. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to Pompeii in LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD ARRESTED 1892   
    I fixed the order, .... I think?
    Let me know if that is correct?
  9. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to Vader in "SHANTYTOWN"???   
    Try copy and paste in your address bar.
    Not sure if there's anything in this one either, but it seems somewhat more...encompassing.
    http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/history/city-of-dubois.txt
  10. AGREE
    conservativeman633 got a reaction from Sanibel in GIANT TREE IN 1892 CUT BY JOHN DUBOIS.......?   
    Found this rather incredible piece in the 1892 Courier about a tree cut in Penfield...…..

  11. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to Mahatma Kane Jeeves in THE BIRTH OF ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, DUBOIS   
    History of St. Michaels
    https://dioceseoferie.org/stcathstmikedubois/images/pdf/stmike1912-1997.pdf
    https://dioceseoferie.org/stcathstmikedubois/images/pdf/stmike1912-1962.pdf
    I also have a program from an early anniversary celebration of St. Michaels.  It is entirely in Polish.  I'm not sure where I put it away.  I'll have to do some digging.
  12. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to redmill in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    If anyone else can remember? Add to this  , but I seem to think when Hoover Ave was extended to meet Beaver Drive that the Sandy Lick creek was re-located to the south a short distance to allow more useable acres , and this would account for the overhead pictures then and more recently.
  13. LIKE
    conservativeman633 got a reaction from redmill in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    This must have been the track near present -day  Martins ??
    Thank you for the interesting history !
  14. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to redmill in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    the aerial pic of may 1969 shows the Flying Eagle quarter midget track , built by Mr Collins a paving contractor , sheetz not yet built then .that building was Ward Trucking terminal , next to Miller`s motel above it and Peterman`s Truck Repair garage below Ward`s. the pic shows the original intersection in the top of the pic to get from 219 to Falls Creek past the track shown in that pic.
  15. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to redmill in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    The late great speedster Jesse Owens once raced a horse , and beat it , in a 100 yd dash at this same track called " the fairgrounds " ,as per an eye witness to that event.
  16. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to DRNeil in DuBois Ghost stories   
    sure I will share the stories once I get them all gathered and put togather. I have heard several stories about ghosts of Interstate 80 along with some about a cemetary in Punxy and other places te DRMC and central catholic stories are interesting I am working on developing more info on those. The one about Luthersburg I am very aware of and have seen. However I wish to be careful with that  because the mother of the girl involved recently died and I know some who knew her are still in the area so I don't want to cause them pain. But once I have everything gathered I will share them here because this is an interesting part of the local history. I have heard some stories about Rumbarger Cemetary and the rail road line west of the city. But I am still researching and gathering data. I think we will find an interesting history from all this.
    thanks
    Dave
  17. LIKE
    conservativeman633 got a reaction from Pompeii in THE BIRTH OF ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, DUBOIS   
    FOUND THIS IN THE 1890 DUBOIS COURIER...……...

  18. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to dubois_15801 in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    I would say cars.  Even your shortest horse tracks are typically larger than that small oval.
     
  19. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to rnetzlof in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    And a last gasp. Not sure of this one.

  20. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to mr.d in How Every State Got Its Nickname   
    How every state got its nickname
        Kaitlin Miller 3 days ago Slide 1 of 52: The United States is a remarkable country because it's an assembly of former colonies, territories and even independent nations that all banded together under one government. Despite joining the Union, each of the 50 states still has its own unique slang terms, traditions, culture, history and must-try foods, which over the years have inspired nicknames for the states.These colorful nicknames celebrate the states' individual identities. Some have been around for centuries, with their origins lost over time, while others are recent inventions meant to promote each state's iconic qualities. If you've ever wondered what a Tar Heel actually is or why a state not known for agriculture is called the Garden State, here's how every state in the U.S. got its nickname   Full screen   1/52 SLIDES © iStock The United States is a remarkable country because it's an assembly of former colonies, territories and even independent nations that all banded together under one government. Despite joining the Union, each of the 50 states still has its own unique slang terms, traditions, culture, history and must-try foods, which over the years have inspired nicknames for the states.
    These colorful nicknames celebrate the states' individual identities. Some have been around for centuries, with their origins lost over time, while others are recent inventions meant to promote each state's iconic qualities. If you've ever wondered what a Tar Heel actually is or why a state not known for agriculture is called the Garden State, here's how every state in the U.S. got its nickname.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         SEE SLIDES ;        http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/did-you-know/how-every-state-got-its-nickname/ss-AABiOBb?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCDHP
  21. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to hipower in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    Quarter midget racing in our area began on a track that was to the left of the entrance gate at the drive-in theater on 322 south of town.  That track was dirt surface.  From there the racing moved to Falls Creek, across from the Eagles Club where the current Miller Brothers operation sits.  That track was paved.  When the FBC store was built on that property the racing moved to a track behind the old fairgrounds dirt track that was a little further back into the woods.  I'm fairly certain that track was also paved.  It may have been built on the site of a small dirt track that was used for go kart racing before the quarter midgets moved there.
    At that point I was more involved in racing stock cars and lost track of the smaller car activities, so my memories are not very pertinent from that point forward.  This racing began at the Drive-In around the1958-1960 time frame and continued into the 1980's if my memories are completely correct, possibly even longer.
  22. AGREE
    conservativeman633 reacted to DuBoiser in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    I remember when I was in 6th grade my classmate/friend raced a quarter midget racer there.
  23. AGREE
    conservativeman633 got a reaction from buschpounder in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    It is a time, yes, but the horse was buried/marked there.  It was a very good time , in fact...….
  24. LIKE
    conservativeman633 got a reaction from dubois_15801 in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    Thank you !
    I will search the Dubois Historical society for actual closeup pictures, if any, inside the area at ground level, etc...…...
  25. THANK YOU
    conservativeman633 reacted to dubois_15801 in HORSE GRAVE BY THE COURIER-EXPRESS   
    If you have complications with rnetzlof's procedures, I can email them to you.  PM me your email address.   I will keep it confidential. 
     
    They are in Low, Medium, and Large file sizes.   Approx 1MB, 3+MB, and 11+MB, respectively.

    I have them down loaded for 1939, 1958, and 1968 - you would need at least a Yahoo account to receive them.  Gmail might accept greater than 10MB files, but most ISP based email servers will not.
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