The New Whistle Stop Antique Mall, Remembering Our Friends and More!

I’m attaching photos today that I took at the new Whistle Stop Antique Mall next to the New Eagle Post Office (and right by the former Twist restaurant location) on Main Street in New Eagle. The photos are from the day the new antique mall had its grand opening, on February 1st (sorry I’ve been slow to get them posted).

This place is incredible! Whistle Stop Antique Mall, at 205 Main Street, in New Eagle Borough, is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 AM–6 PM. That means they’re open right now and also all day tomorrow. Why are you still reading? It is time to go antiquing, “Git along over to the Whistle Stop,” folks …or to start planning for an excursion later in the week. Any time between 10 AM and 6 PM on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

The Whistle Stop Antique Mall has spaces for up to 50 dealer booths. I lost track when I was there, but it includes more than a dozen rooms, at least half of which are on the second floor (accessibility to much of the first story is not bad, although there is a 3-inch threshold at the entrance). There are over 50 on-site parking spaces. Just remember not to park in the spaces closest to the New Eagle Post Office, which are marked for postal customers only, as they are part of the rental agreement for the New Eagle Post Office. See the attached photos.

I saw some cool stuff when I was there, from hand-painted china (which could be local, maybe from the World War I-era studio/classroom facilities at 801 West Main Street where Jessie Weddell taught a whole generation of Mon Valley ladies to decorate china with paint brushes), some good examples of Greensboro crocks (some labeled as “Reppert” Pottery), some lovely sets of Depression glass, some Macbeth-Evans pitchers made in Charleroi, some more recent mid-century modern Corning Pyrex bowls, some 100-year-old souvenirs saying “Monongahela,” red glassware, various patterns of Depression glass dinnerware, some Eastern European religious art with faded inscriptions in Old Polish (I looked it up – that’s not just “Polish,” it’s in “Old Polish”- see attached image), other framed wall art, clocks, baby dolls, a Sonny Bono doll with pants that just don’t look right, kitchen canisters, baskets, copperware, a collection of lighthouse figurines – you name it!

When an antique mall has that many rooms and as many dealers, you’re likely to find just about anything. Oh, and if you shop at the Whistle Stop on Saturday, March 15th, the owners (the Vizzuet and Kumpf families) also sell green salsa in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. This is the same product they make in the kitchen of the former Twist Restaurant, which they’ve made famous at some of the farmers’ markets around the region

And don’t forget our other fine antique shops, like Red Boot Antiques, Red Boot Trading Post, or Main Street Antiques.

Happy Purse Bash Day

To our friends at the Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce. And the “Luck o’ the Irish to You, Too” (oh, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day in just a couple more days).

Watch for Gyros

Each Friday, Dierken’s Pharmacy parking lot, 11 AM to dusk, or sellout. But Oussama says buy local… When he’s there, it’s a sign… a sign that you should dine somewhere in town this weekend, preferably indoors in one of our many lovely dining spaces, and shop in at least some of our beautiful Downtown shops on Saturday…

Mon Valley Cycle

Speaking of Dierkens Pharmacy, stop in at Mon Valley Cycle (which is next to Dierkens). The Cycle shop is now in its 9th year of business at this location (isn’t that incredible by itself? – new business ideas get tried here, and they really take off; they used to say not to expect a high percentage of your small-town new businesses to stay in business that long, but here in Monongahela, it’s only a small percentage, so far, of the new businesses that have not taken off). The rest of this paragraph is from the Facebook Post they put up just yesterday:

…We are getting ready to do spring Service, Tires, Brakes, and all phases of repairs, so if you’re noticing the warm weather, give us a call at 724–258–6242 to get your bike in for checkups or spring service or maintenance work. We are starting on year 9 here at Mon Valley Cycle, and it is just as great being here as ever! We do full service on all Makes, Models, and Sizes of Street and Dirt Bikes, Scooters, and ATVs, newer or older. We also service all of the Chinese bikes and ATVs too. We also have a great Parts department, and we advise you if you want to do the service yourself. Mon Valley Cycle 213 Park Ave. Monongahela PA 15063 (Right across the street from Monongahela Sheetz) 724–258–6242

Pizza and the PTA

Detorre’s Pizza ran a fundraiser Thursday as a fundraiser for the Ringgold Elementary South PTA and the Fourth Grade Class. Kudos to all involved. Fumc Spaghetti and Meatballs Dinner. Takeout only, Saturday, March 15th, 3 PM–5:30 PM, at 430 West Main Street, Adults $12, Children under age 10 eat for free.

Nazarene Spaghetti

First Church of the Nazarene, on Tenth Street at Chess Street, will also be having a spaghetti dinner fundraiser this month, on 22 March, Eat-in or Takeout, $12/person.
Did You Get Your Cookies?

Girl Scout Cookies

The local Girl Scout Troops have been offering their delicious cookies again this Lenten season. They were out there last week in the parking lot at Dierkens Pharmacy: a great group, these Girl Scouts. Let’s support them more than ever this year by buying more of those famous cookies that most of us at least get to sample each year.

May Contain Nuts Is Booked

May Contain Nuts, a local chocolate company that does vendor’s shows, has announced that they are totally booked with events for 2025. Who says there’s not much going on around here. Not only that, but they are now introducing a “dessert hearse” to at least one of their events, at the “Embracing Yinz Event” at Worthington Community Center.

Boomerang!

Have you been touched yet with the 2-weeks-plus flu strain that’s going around? Which I call “boomerang,” because just as soon as you think you’re getting better, you get overwhelmed by a whole new list of nasty flu symptoms, and then that happens again, and then that happens again for a couple of weeks. From personal experience, I recommend not getting any of it..

The New Legs, …I Mean Digs

How ’bout that new sign saying that Flamingo Legs will be the latest restaurant tenant at 243 East Main Street (former Hog Fathers location)? Reportedly, the location will be used mainly for preparing food for catering clients for now, as they have done in previous locations, with an occasional outside food truck in the East Main Street parking lot in the summer months (although they were offering seating for up to 35 people yesterday, on a first-come basis, for their fish fry specials).

However, Flamingo Legs provides excellent food to their local clients, and we hope to see them move toward more of a dine-in restaurant model after they get situated at this location. They’ve already started serving the general public with weekly Lenten fish frys.

Saint Patrick’s Day at the Country Club

The Monongahela Valley Country Club has St. Patrick’s Day mixed drink specials all day long tomorrow, Saturday, 15 March.

Milestones

Several people connected to our historic Main Street area have passed away recently.

Irene Dzimiera

Most recent was Irene Dzimiera, age 94, grandmother to Ryan Dzimiera, owner of Angelo’s II, and mother to Pete Dzimiera, who owns the building where Angelo’s II is. Mrs. Dzimiera was a cornerstone of many local initiatives – a volunteer at the St. Vincent store in Monessen and a former Girl Scouts leader, who also did a variety of things to help the food bank sponsored by St. Andrew the Apostle Roman Catholic parish.

As for her role in the culinary arts and in our Downtown business community, Laura Magone said it best in a very lovely tribute she posted on the Celebrating Monongahela Facebook page: she was “a terrific cook and baker who perfected many Polish and Italian foods. Over the years, she helped to prepare thousands of gallons of sauce and mountains of ravioli and other dishes for her grandson’s restaurant, Angelo’s II, where her smile warmed the atmosphere.” Visitation to precede Mrs. Dzimiera’s funeral will be at Marshall Marra Funeral Home, 1:30–4 PM and 6–8 PM this coming Sunday, March 16, with the funeral beginning with prayers Monday morning, March 17th, at 9:15 AM Monday and a Mass of Christian Burial to begin at 10 AM at the Monongahela site of St. Andrew the Apostle Roman Catholic Church on West Main Street near 7th Street.

Dennis Gutierrez

Another obituary that appeared today was that of Dennis Gutierrez, former Donora Borough Council member and an active member of the Tri-County Masonic Lodge in Donora. Denny Gutierrez was involved in many things to better the Mon Valley area, including the local classic car club, the Marianna Outdoors Association, the rail-to-trail initiative that was proposed to connect the Marianna area to Monongahela and Donora, and other similar initiatives. A year or so ago, he guest-hosted a radio show in Uniontown and invited me (TAN) to join him in the recording studio to talk about the great things that have been happening lately in Monongahela. Visitation for Mr. Gutierrez will be 2–4 PM and 6–8 PM at Massafra Funeral Home in the Sampson section of Carroll Township, with the funeral at 10 AM on Monday, March 17th.

Jean Robertson

Another loss was that of Jean Robertson, who passed away recently at age 105. A long-retired nurse who graduated from Charleroi High School in 1937 and Allegheny General Hospital in 1941, Jean founded the first physical therapy department at Charleroi-Monessen Hospital in 1956.

I worked with Jean about 10 years ago while doing a historic preservation study for the Borough of Charleroi. At age 95, Jean was serving as the newly elected president of the Charleroi Historical Society. There was then nothing in Jean’s appearance, quick mind, or physical movements to indicate she was a day over age 80. She was an amazing person, and it was a blessing to Charleroi to have had her involvement in local affairs till such an advanced age.

Some people in Monongahela may recognize Jean’s surname, as she was the aunt of Jim Roberts, who was a teacher at the Monongahela Division of Ringgold High School in the 1970s and he owned the North Charleroi Dairy Queen at the same time. Mr. Roberts passed away this past October at 82 years of age. Per “Aunt Jean’s wishes,” funeral services will be held privately for family members.

Debbie Sarnoskie

Another recent loss was the passing of Debbie Sarnoskie, who worked at the Monongahela Mini-Mart and previously at Di’s Home Town Deli. She had also been a bartender at one time at the former Russian Club on Second Street. Debbie will be missed. She was always cheerful and very friendly.

Carl Crawley

Monongahela lost a very fine gentleman in the passing of Carl Crawley a couple of weeks ago. After retiring from a nearly 40-year career in sales and marketing at Jones Brewery and officiating for many years at high school and college sports games, Carl also became a constant member of the team behind the counter at DeVore Hardware for several years as his retirement job. Carl’s daughter Sherrie is a Ringgold School District Board of Education member, and her husband Greg is Monongahela’s mayor. We want to extend our sincerest sympathy to the entire family, including Carl’s wife, Sarah Jamison Crawley, their daughters Sherrie and Carla, Sherrie and Carla’s families, and Carl’s sister Dolores. The funeral was three weeks ago.

Tom Sollosi

Another recent passing of interest was Tom “Pappy” Sollosi, of New Eagle, at age 99. Tom was born in Elrama to a Hungarian (Magyar) immigrant couple who raised their children speaking both languages. This is a remarkable thing because Hungarian is widely regarded as the most challenging language for other people of European ancestry to learn because the language originally came from the Ural Mountains at the edge of Siberia before the Magyars relocated to what is now Hungary almost a thousand years ago (it is, therefore, not related to any other European language, except maybe Finnish and Estonian).

There were once small Magyar Hungarian communities sprinkled around the Mon Valley, including one in Monongahela’s Catsburg neighborhood. Tom was my sister-in-law’s father, and when my niece and nephew were little, I tried speaking to them regularly in Italian. When Tom was around, we added in some lessons in Hungarian, and as a result, I can at least count to ten in Hungarian. When relatives visited from Hungary a few years ago, it was amazing how quickly Tom returned to speaking fluent Hungarian as he had done when his mother was still alive about 30 years ago.

After graduating from vocational school in Pittsburgh about 80 years ago, Tom enlisted in the United States Navy. He was at Omaha Beach and later at the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, two of the most critical battles in World War II. After being wounded on the Rhine River, he was awarded the Purple Heart. Upon discharge, he went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad for 40 years.

Around the time he married his wife, Ruth Clark, she worked as a waitress at a diner/restaurant in Downtown Monongahela. His oldest son, Rev. Dr. Thomas Sollosi of Glenville, Georgia, co-officiated the funeral service. Many decades ago, when Rev. Tom Sollosi was better known as “Tommy,” he was one of the best students and sometimes a teacher at Harold Weaver’s famous guitar studio on West Main Street. If you don’t know of Mr. Weaver, his portrait hangs on the wall at the Monongahela Area Library. Mr. Weaver’s father died in the Cincinnati Mine Disaster in Courtney in 1913 when Harold was still a youth. Mr. Weaver went on to play in the first orchestra ever at KDKA Radio, the nation’s first commercial radio station, before settling into an essential job as Monongahela’s guitar teacher.

Sandy Poroda

We also offer our sympathy to the family of Sandy Poroda, who passed away on February 17th. Sandy was the aunt of Deacon Al Poroda, whom many readers will know. She worked some years ago at Foodland and Cox’s Market. At Sandy’s visitation, I had an interesting conversation with her son-in-law, Jay of Columbus, Ohio, and her daughter-in-law, Lisa of Scottsdale, Arizona. They have visited here many times in the last few years and gave a very positive “visitor’s” review of how great our little City is looking. This is good to hear because neither is a native Monongahelan, but both came to be related to the people of this community more recently. Jay, for instance, grew up in a small town in Ohio between Columbus and Dayton.

Drowning in Drought and Frigidity

The precipitation seems to be catching back up after quite a drought this past summer, and now we’re starting to worry about floods again. It probably won’t mean that the annual numbers will catch back up right away, just that we’ve had a year with about the worst of every extreme – a very wet spring last year and an amazingly long hot spell through almost all of the summer (about 100 days, many at 100 degrees F), and then some freezing, snowy winter weather that often causes worry if it’s followed by flooding.

We Will Be Well Represented

I am glad to be able to report that the Monongahela Main Street Program will be well represented in the next two or three months at regional and statewide networking meetings and training sessions. Two of us attended the Main Street Managers’ winter meeting two weeks ago in Harrisburg, myself (TAN) and board member Joe DeChicchis, who also secondarily represents Elizabeth since he lives at the edge of the borough and is involved in community development projects there.

Dorothea Pemberton (who is also a MMSP board member and Chamber director in addition to working for the City) will be attending the National Main Street Conference in Philadelphia in early April in the municipal official category, accompanied by two other MMSP board members, Dan Tregembo and Brad Feld, in addition to myself. In late May, the PDC plans to have a mini-conference, awards banquet, and training session at Bedford Springs, and I think as many as four other MMSP representatives might be in attendance.

“Carrie On!” Launch Event

Rivers of Steel is launching a new initiative, and it held a reception at the Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park College a week ago. I (TAN) was truly looking forward to participating but had to cancel my plans due to a case of the flu. The Honorary Campaign Chair for this fundraising event was Dr. Chris Brussalis, now president of Point Park University.

Chris is from the Monongahela area and is the brother of Tara Bottino. Does anyone remember when he had an office in the Monongahela City Trust Company building in 1992? Well, he is president of Point Park University and a major supporter of the liberal arts in the Pittsburgh area, like the Point Pak Theater Program, where my niece Jocelyn Stoffel is a college senior and about to graduate.

This One’s for My Friends Benjamin and Oliver

Did everyone see that the S.S. United States is currently afloat and being towed south from Philadelphia toward Florida? This boat, which is almost as big as all the buildings on the south side of West Main Street back to Chess Street from St. Paul’s Church (Monongahela Heritage Church) to Zimmer Printing, was built as the fastest ocean-liner in maritime history, but it sat derelict, a couple of blocks from where I used to live in Philadelphia, for decades, while various individuals and organizations tried to find ways to restore it. It will now be cleaned and intentionally sunk to become the world’s largest artificial reef at the edge of Florida if you haven’t read that already.

Have You Noticed

The malls are coming down, and now Washington Mall is being demolished. It’s interesting. Malls may have seemed “permanent” improvements to our country’s architectural fabric when they were built, and the expectation was that they would replace our antiquated small-town Main Street shopping district. (Someone from the local Chamber of Commerce told me at a meeting, about 1982, that I needed to be realistic about Monongahela accepting a lower place as a retail center because, as he said, “The malls are here to stay”; well, in his lifetime, that may have appeared to be true.)

And then, as the malls started to fail, small-town downtowns began to come back (because they really are permanent and capable of revitalization and organic growth at the hands of many small, independent investors). There was a point about thirty years ago when some merchants that I knew were quoting some statistics about how enough redundant retail space had been built across the United States in the mall era that we then had enough space for everyone in the country to go shopping at exactly the same time. There would still be lots of room around each person.

Well, that was like a Darwinian race to see which kind of retail space was the fittest and would survive. Interestingly, people started to see that many malls had no “permanent” value and were not fit to survive long, especially in the context of a grossly overbuilt retail sector and small, organic, and diverse Downtowns where businesses can be tried and where they can often thrive, and where the experience and local loyalty are major pluses for the shopper.

How Did I Miss This?

The MONONGAHELA ARMORY, at 396 Second Street, has now been re-branded as the “Armory Court and Event Center.” It opened as a new business this past December. It can be booked for playing basketball, volleyball, or other indoor sports, rented out for games at $80/hour, and for practice at $50/hour or $25/half hour.

The new name indicates that it may eventually be a location for other events, although it is not yet being advertised. Check out the “Armory Court and Event Center” on Facebook. The phone number is: (724) 243–7762. The email address is Armorybasketball@yahoo.com. The link to the website for scheduling the space is https://Armorycourt.as.me/.

39 Years of Joint Services

Bethel AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church of Monongahela and First United Methodist Church of Monongahela have existed near each other since Bethel was founded in 1833, 21 years after First United Methodist came into existence. The two churches represent separate denominations, with slight differences in Methodist polity and several traditions and traditional activities that have diverged since the 1830s. The AME denomination evolved on its own, first informally in the 1790s and then officially as a newly charted organization in the 1810s, partly as a response to racist tendencies in American society in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when Methodism was a new movement in England and America.

However, the establishment of separate congregations under the AME system also proved to be advantageous by providing a way to encourage education and other social activities and social advancement opportunities in African American families and communities before and after the Civil War. Similarly, in the era when segregation barred African American children from attending school in many communities, but even more so as the segregation efforts became more intense than ever in the first half of the twentieth century, there were also some all-African American churches within the mainline Methodist system, as well as other denominations that copied the AME approach, such as the AMEZ churches established initially in New York, the CME churches that started in Charleston, S.C., and the AUMP churches of the Delmarva Peninsula. However, the oldest piece of real estate owned by African Americans is the location of Mother Bethel, the first AME Church, in the Queen Village part of South Philadelphia.

The African American community in Monongahela has been an important part of our City and Mon Valley as a whole since around 1800 when Dick Manks, the first free African American in the community, went to work as the employee who operated Parkison’s Ferry as Joseph Parkison grew toward old age. In 1987, when First United Methodist Church was celebrating the 175th anniversary of the 1812 founding of the congregation, the idea came up of the church inviting its friends from the Bethel AME congregation to share a service together. A year later, Bethel AME invited First United Methodist to share a service with them in their sanctuary.

And so the tradition continued, alternating churches from year to year and holding a joint service every year since 1987, usually in February in recognition of Black History Month, except when the Covid Pandemic made that impossible for a year or two beginning in 2020. And so, the congregation of Bethel AME joined First United Methodist Church in their sanctuary on February 23rd. There was a meal afterward. Just two weeks before that, First United Methodist Church had rededicated its wholly refurbished dining room when Bishop Sandra Ball Steiner visited, the first time a bishop serving the Western Pennsylvania UMC Conference had visited Monongahela in about 12–15 years when Bishop Thomas Bickerton was here.

Farmers Will Be Here Before We Know It

I think we’re all eagerly awaiting the day in June when the Monongahela Farmers’ Market starts back up. Did you see the cool award the Farmers’ Market won, “First Place” among Washington County farmers’ markets, in this year’s “Best of the Best” contest put on annually by the Washington Observer-Reporter? It’s a well-deserved honor indeed. I can’t imagine a better-run, more community-oriented weekly farmers’ market.

Time to Plan Supper

As always, Angelo’s has ravioli, gnocchi, great salads, and sandwiches, and if you eat there, you can also order your favorite bar beverages. 111 Third Street, open till 9 PM. (724) 292–8375.

Italian Village Pizza has steak rolls, pizzas, calzone, hoagies, garlic knots and many other items, sit-down/eat-in, pick-up, or delivery. 169 West Main Street, open till 10 PM. (724) 292–8170.

Fox’s Pizza Den has reopened at 1235 West Main Street. Open till 10 PM. (724) 310–2080.

M&R Chocolates is now located at 202 Second Street, Monongahela. (412) 501–7342.

Mon City Restaurant, 218 West Main Street, open till 8 PM (8 AM–8 PM every day, seven days a week). Have you tried it yet? (724) 244–2719.

Hills Restaurant may have just what you’re looking for. 107 Main Street, New Eagle (724) 258–5422.

For others, see our regular restaurant list below. Gyros (including “chicken gyros,” …yum) and West African foods are available at MON CITY RESTAURANT DELI (the former Di’s HOMETOWN Deli at 218 West Main Street), where they have indoor booths for you to sit down and enjoy the cuisine – and they keep long enough hours, until about 8 or 9 PM. Try them.

Restaurant List

Don’t forget to spread your dine-in or takeout business around this week. Here’s some contact information for some of the restaurants and other establishments we have where something can be obtained for lunch or dinner.

• Sambol’s Bakery and Candy Shop (daily meal specials available till 5 PM or till sold out), 230 West Main Street (724) 250–0100
• Italian Village Pizza Mon City, 169 West Main Street (724) 292–8170 Angelo’s II Monongahela, 111 Third Street (724) 292–8375
• Sweets by Mrs. C., Ice Cream and More, 260 West Main Street (724) 292–8392
• Little City Coffee, 418 West Main Street (724) 258–6285
• Two and a Fry, 1115 West Main Street (724) 310–3182
• Lenzi’s Restaurant (Italian Restaurant), 228 Gee Street (just off East Main going east from the Pigeon Creek Bridge, before the first light) (724) 258–9885
• Sheetz (gas station, convenience store, with a sandwich counter and seating at tables), 111 East Main Street (724) 310–2935 (go to orderz.sheetz.com to place an online order, or contact doordash.com)
• Detorre’s Pizza, 915 West Main Street (724) 258–3306 Eat’N Park, 1250 West Main Street (724) 258–4654
• Great Wall Chinese Restaurant, 201 West Main Street (724) 258–8358
• Hills Restaurant, 107 Main Street, New Eagle (724) 258–5422
• Pizza Station, 187 Chess Street, New Eagle (724) 310–3191
• Cox Market, deli counter for take-out, 711 Rt.481 (724) 258–4900
• Ponce’s Place, 715 Rt.481 (Park Avenue Extension/Pigeon Creek Road) (724) 258–6654
• Pho Valley, 1160 Country Club Road (724) 310–3948 Fox’s Pizza Den, 1235 West Main Street (724) 310–2080
• Mon City Restaurant Deli, a former Di’s Deli location, serves American and Italian recipes from Di’s Deli and a new line of West African cuisine dishes, 218 West Main, (724) 244–2719

MMSP Board of Directors

The current Board of Directors of the Monongahela Main Street Program is as follows:

• Karen Langol, President
• Walter Seal, Vice President
• Amy Leavor, Secretary
• Jared Hazen Sherlock, Treasurer
• Bonnie Brand
• Dorothea Pemberton
• Janet Roslund
• Jacob Ford
• Brad Feld
• Keith Lester
• Joseph DeChicchis

Dan Tregembo, Dorothea Pemberton and Tobias Provan, Presidents Emeriti

Non-Voting: Terry Necciai, Exec.Dir.

WE HAVE A WONDERFUL CITY!

Terry A. Necciai, RA, Exec.Dir., MMSP