Sewickley Valley Historical Society
XLIII, Number 6
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May 2016
An Evening At The Society
Friday, May 20th, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.
Old Sewickley Post Office
For Members Only
Our originally planned event celebrating the bicentennial of the construction of Newington has
been postponed until May 2017. Instead join us for a good ol’ fashioned crawfish boil at the Old
Post Office Building. We will be opening the archives for perusal by guests as the foot stompin’
clap along Banjo All Stars entertain us. In addition to the festivities the Society will conduct its
annual meeting for elections and the presentation of the 2015 Architectural Preservation Awards.
The mission
of the Sewickley Valley Historical Society
is to promote interest in and to record, collect, preserve, and document the history of the Sewickley Valley.
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May 2016
he first photograph, a rather familiar one from the Society’s Bicentennial collection,
shows the transport of one of four 10-inch Rodman cannon, which were emplaced
by the statue of “Fame” in Sewickley Cemetery in 1906. The cannon weighed 15,000
pounds each, and it was a challenge for the town’s waggoner, Mr. D. W. Challis, to
move them one by one from the train station to the Cemetery. The seldom seen second
photograph shows the entire procession on Broad Street that day, about to cross Beaver
Street. Note the position of the sole automobile in the photograph, indicating that the
first picture is in fact the second taken. Incidentally, the cannon are no longer located
at the Cemetery, having been donated to a scrap metal drive during World War II.
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May 2016
S
ee on page two a panoramic view of Glen Osborne Borough
presented to the Society by Suzanne Wylie McPherson.
It was taken from the riverbank looking towards the hills
circa 1908 and stretches from the current location of Osborne
Elementary School at the left to Haysville at the right, with
the railroad line at the foot of the hill (the current location of
Ohio River Boulevard). The persons depicted are left to right,
Thomas B. Wylie, William Brown, David N. Wylie and Robert
Wylie. They were placed so that the photographer could
take three side-by-side photographs to make a panorama.
fascinating World War I artifact was found among
This
the effects of Albert Fraser Keister, Harton Semple’s
maternal grandfather, who served at a wireless station in
France with the Navy. It is a piece of aluminum, 2” x 2”,
from the wreckage of the plane of Quentin Roosevelt (18971918), Theodore Roosevelt’s youngest son, who was shot
down and killed behind German lines in France near the
town of Chamery on July 14, 1918, during the
second battle of the Marne. Roosevelt, flying
a Nieuport 28, was engaged in aerial combat
with several German planes. Two machine
gun bullets struck him in the head. He was
buried by the Germans with military honors
next to the wreckage of his plane. They were
impressed that a former President’s son died
on active duty. Placed on the grave were the
propeller of his aircraft and the wheels. On
July 18, the Allies captured the ground, and
Roosevelt’s grave became a shrine. It is said
Theodore Roosevelt never recovered from the
loss, and he died a few months later. Captain
Eddie Rickenbacker, Commander of the 94th
Aero Squadron, said of Quentin: “Everyone
who met him for the first time expected him to
have the air and superciliousness of a spoiled
boy. This notion was quickly lost after the
first glimpse one had of Quentin, gay, hearty
and absolutely square in everything he said and did. He was reckless to such a degree that his commanding officer had to warn
him repeatedly about the senselessness of his lack of caution. His bravery was so notorious that we all knew he would either
achieve some great spectacular success or be killed in the attempt. He was one of the most popular fellows in the group.”
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Sewickley Valley Historical Society
200 Broad Street
Sewickley, PA 15143
Non-Profit Org
U. S. Postage
PAID
Permit 70
Sewickley, PA
May 2016
SEWICKLEY VALLEY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
President
Michael Tomana
Vice-President
Donald Traviss
Secretary
J. Judson Brooks, Jr.
Treasurer
David Genter
Directors
Hal Bonnett
Julie Buscher
Vincent Delie
Douglas Florey
Thomas Hay
Fran Merryman
Mary Anne Riley
Jean Sebolt
Dan Telep
Peter Theis
Executive Director
Harton S. Semple, Jr.
Report of the Nominating Committee
The Sewickley Valley Historical Society Nominating Committee, headed by Jim Darby,
proposes the following slate of directors for election to a two-year term
at the SVHS Annual Meeting, May 20, 2016:
Treasurer: Mr. David Genter
Secretary: Mr. J. Judson Brooks, Jr.
Directors: Mr. Hal Bonnett, Ms. Jennifer Cowley,
Ms. Mary Anne Riley, Ms. Jean Sebolt
Director Ms. Julie Buscher has declined to serve a second two year term
Children’s House of Montessori
Children’s Community recently visited
the Society for a field trip to discuss
the importance of preserving the past
for future generations. The students
followed a timeline through Sewickley
history using objects representing
the Native Americans and European
settlers, the steamboat and railroad eras,
the heyday of the industrial barons,
the construction of the Sewickley
Bridge and Ohio River Boulevard.
Seen at the right is Lily McClain
admiring a silver purse circa 1910 originally belonging to Mrs. Maitland Alexander.
Visit our website, www.sewickleyhistory.org — e-mail us at [email protected] — or call us at 412-741-5315.
We’re open 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, or by appointment.