Sep 25, 2004 By Glenn Tunney For The 7 min read

Genealogists and local history lovers, lend me your ears. I come to praise Brownsville native and genealogist Russ Moorhouse, who has just topped his previous effort at creating an inexpensive CD containing rare local history books whose copyrights have expired. Russ has made it his mission to make these expensive or hard-to-find books and maps available on CD to as many local history buffs and genealogists as possible at a minimal cost. A month or two ago, Russ offered, in this column, to send a searchable CD containing the entire contents of J. Percy Hart’s “History and Directory of the Three Towns” and Thomas Searight’s “The Old Pike” to any reader willing to pay a minimal fee to cover CD costs and postage. Several dozen readers took him up on his offer and were very pleased with their new acquisition.

Now Russ has produced a greatly expanded version of that original CD, and he is offering to send the new version to anyone who wants one. Just $5 will cover his costs for producing your CD, packaging it, and mailing it to you.

Russ’s newest CD contains an irresistible mother lode of local history resources. The new CD is searchable and contains complete copies of six local history and genealogy books frequently consulted by Fayette County researchers and local history buffs. Included on the CD are the following books: 1. “History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men” (Franklin Ellis, 1882, 987 pp); 2. “A History of Uniontown” (James Hadden, 1913, 864 pp); 3. “History and Directory of the Three Towns (J. Percy Hart, 1904, 692 pp); 4. “Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania” (John W. Jordan, 1914, 1,116 pp); 5. “The Monongahela of Old; or Historical Sketches of South-Western Pennsylvania to the Year 1800” (James Veech, 1858-1892, 259 pp); and 6. “The Old Pike: A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents and Anecdotes Thereon” (Thomas B. Searight, 1894, 476 pp).

And that’s not all. The CD also includes eight panoramic maps (“Birds Eye Views”) of Fayette County towns, showing those communities as they appeared near the end of the 19th century. These beautifully detailed panoramic maps are of Belle Vernon (1902), Brownsville (1883), Brownsville (1902), Connellsville (1897), Dawson (1902), Dunbar (1900), Point Marion (1902), and Uniontown (1897). Each panoramic map shows every house and building in the town in that year, and each map has a key that identifies the most important businesses, churches, schools and other structures in the town.

If you would like to take advantage of this unique offer, send your check for $5 to Russ Moorhouse, 325 Columbia Lane, Stevensville, Md., 21666. Russ will send your CD to you by return mail. Then you can dive right in and explore this unparalleled treasury of more than 4,300 pages of Fayette County historical and genealogical information.

How Can I Help?

Dr. Mark A. W. Andrews of Erie e-mailed me in response to my recent series about the Plaza organ’s move into Brownsville’s Odd Fellows building and the challenges that lie ahead to prepare the site for the installation of the circa-1927 theater pipe organ.

“Excellent article,” Andrews wrote after reading the final article. “Is there any way I can help?”

As a matter of fact, there is a way that interested readers and former Plaza Theater patrons can help with this effort. The project to have the Plaza’s theater pipe organ played once more in Brownsville, a venture that began three years ago, has entered its final stages, and several challenges remain to be met.

Some alterations to the third floor of the Odd Fellows building are necessary, including relocation of a small bathroom and opening of a portion of an anteroom ceiling to create enough clearance for the tallest organ pipes. These tasks must be accomplished before volunteer “organ donor” and re-assembler Jay Smith can complete final assembly and installation of the organ.

So Mark, I am pleased to inform you and my readers that a “Bring The Plaza Organ To Life” fund has been established by BARC to help this worthwhile project as it crescendos to its grand finale. If you, dear reader, would like to lend a financial helping hand to the effort to “Bring the Plaza Organ to Life,” you may send your tax-deductible donation to: BARC, P.O. Box 97, Brownsville, PA 15417. The check should be made payable to “BARC” with the notation “Plaza Organ Fund” written on the memo line. Donations of any amount will be greatly appreciated.

Plaza pictures sought

While on the subject of the Plaza organ, let me share an interesting idea from Jay Smith. Jay suggests that when the organ is ready for public performance, framed, enlarged photographs that were taken inside and outside of the Plaza Theater would make a great wall display. Also, if any reader has old movie posters or playbills from the Plaza Theater, printed programs from shows that were performed there, or other memorabilia of the theater that could be temporarily borrowed and copied (and the originals returned to the owner), I invite the reader to give me a call at 724-785-3201, and I will help with the arrangements.

The reassembly of the organ has already begun. After I attended last Saturday night’s Keystone Oaks High School concert performance of the Mighty Wurlitzer theater pipe organ that Jay Smith and his friends rebuilt years ago, I can only say that I can hardly wait to hear the first songs played on the Plaza Theater organ. May I convey my thanks to the many people who have already helped in so many ways as we strive to “Bring The Plaza Organ To Life.”

‘Finding Old Friends’

“Dear Mr. Tunney,” the writer began, “Do you ever have calls asking for your help in finding old friends? I have not heard from my childhood friend for years. We were next-door neighbors growing up in Republic.”

The writer mused, “Perhaps if she saw my name in your column, she might try to get in contact with me. What do you think of the odds of our getting together through your column?”

I considered the lady’s proposal for a few days, then emailed back, “I am still mulling over whether a ‘Help me find a long-lost friend or relative’ feature in my column would be a practical idea. I will let you know what I decide.”

I have given the idea more thought since then. I can see plenty of positives in offering the assistance of this column to reunite old buddies, and I can see some possible complications too. Nevertheless, I have decided to give the idea a trial run.

So here goes.

The lady who suggested the “Finding Old Friends” feature is Republic native Mildred Winterhalter Keppel. Mildred suggested it because she is searching for her long-lost friend, Adeline Vanusek.

“The last I heard,” Mildred wrote me, “she was living in Uniontown. I am hoping that she reads your column or has a computer and would just need my e-mail address.”

Readers, if any of you have information that can help me re-connect Mildred with her old friend Adeline, please contact me and I will put the wheels in motion to reconnect these two old friends.

In the meantime, if you would like to re-establish contact with an old friend from long ago, I invite you to get in touch with me. We will see what we can do to reunite you and your old buddy.

‘Games People Played’

Remember the games you played when you were a kid? I am planning to write a series of articles on the topic, “Games People Played.”

The series will feature the games people played when they were kids, which for some readers would mean children’s games of the 1940s, 30s, or even 20s. I would also enjoy hearing about games of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

What were your favorite childhood games? Would you share your memories of those games with me? If so, please call me or write me with a description of those games and your memories of playing them.

And remember, the more details you provide, the better. I hope to hear from many of you soon.

Glenn Tunney may be contacted at 724-785-3201 or 6068 National Pike East, Grindstone, PA 15442. Comments about these weekly articles may be sent to editor Mark O’Keefe, 8 – 18 East Church Street, Uniontown, PA or e-mailed to mo’keefe@heraldstandard.com . All past articles are on the web at http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~glenntunneycolumn/