Brownsville Time Capsule
By Glenn Tunney For the Herald-Standard
Brownsville Time Capsule looks back over the years through the archives of the Brownsville Telegraph.
25 Years Ago – January 1980
“The company is losing money.”
That was the defense presented by the president of Ruth Cablevision, which recently raised its rates in Brownsville Borough by 50 cents to $7.75 per month. That compares to a monthly cable TV rate of $6 in California Borough.
Ruth Cablevision president Theodore Baum noted that the increase of 6.45-percent is only half of last year’s inflation rate, which was 13-percent.
In a related development, Ruth Cablevision has announced that it will add WPCB-TV Channel 40 to its channel lineup. The new station, which went on the air in 1979, is operated by Western Pennsylvania Christian Broadcasting and specializes in religious programming.
In boys’ high school basketball, Brownsville Area High School rallied but fell short in losing to Southmoreland High School, 82-80, on the Falcons’ home court. Coach John Chuma’s squad completely outplayed the Scotties in the final period but was unable to overtake Southmoreland. The Falcons were led by Wayne Gaddis’ 22 points, Jeff Penn’s 19, and Jim Vasiloff’s 14 tallies in the Section 11 contest.
At Mapletown, California Area High School edged Mapletown High School, 66-59, in a Section 16 matchup. Coach Budd Grebb’s team overcame a slow start to emerge victorious. Larry Romboski, John Waller and Vince Clements were the leading scorers for the Trojans.
45 Years Ago – January 1960
All hail Billy Long! The largest crowd ever to attend a banquet at Shady Side Inn near Uniontown was on hand Saturday night to honor William J. (Billy) Long, well-known Brownsville sports, political and civic figure. Over 500 persons were present from all walks of life to pay tribute to a man who early in life carved a name for himself in the world of sports with the famed Brownsville Independents and later in political circles by becoming Mr. Democrat in Fayette County.
Mack Kuhns, who served as business manager of the famed Independents in the early 20s, presented a short history of the team and introduced former members of the Independents present at the dinner. Alvin “Dutch” Biddle, an outstanding halfback on the team, asked for a moment of silence in honor of his former teammates who have passed away. Included in the group are Clark Sealy, “Dinger” Miller, “Butch” Chadwick, Frank Poletz, “Ace” Hardwick, “Boots” Klinzing, Elmer Kisner, Walter Franks and Henry Brown.
Members of the Independents present besides Long, Biddle and Kuhns were Jim Hamer, Thomas “Pop” Ellwood, John Lessner, James Labin, James Phillips, Pete Susano, “Babe” Kopsek, Bill Lascellen, Joe Hopkins, Wilbur Murray, “Akey” Francis, Charley Vigliotti, William Westcoat, and John Phillips.
Entertainment was by Tommy Snyder, who is billed as “Little Elvis.”
Fiddle’s Bar took three straight from Belle Vernon in the Mon Valley Women’s Bowling League. The Brownsville women won by scores of 699-578, 710-613, and 738-574. Jean Herrington led Fiddle’s Bar with a three-game total of 464. Sue Grover and Ann Malago were close behind with scores of 445 and 433 respectively.
60 Years Ago – January 1945
The historic Half-Way House (Searight’s Tavern) on the National Pike at Searight was destroyed by fire last night. Fire Chief William Raffle Sr. of Uniontown estimated the loss at $15,000. Flames of undetermined origin spread rapidly through the eight-room stone structure. Only a few pieces of kitchen furniture were saved. The Uniontown and New Salem fire departments battled the blaze.
The annual Institute of International Understanding, sponsored by the Brownsville Rotary Club, will open this week at the Brownsville Junior High School auditorium. Archibald Gilchrist, native of Australia, will open the series at 8 p.m. by speaking on “Australia, New Zealand and the Islands of the South Pacific.”
The local Rotary club will present Institute speakers on the next three Thursdays, with the theme being “New Forces in World Affairs.” More than 400 tickets have been sold for the series.
Raymond T. Barner will preside over the initial session tonight, with music to be furnished by the Brownsville High School orchestra, directed by Anthony Basile.
Seaman First Class Mike Koballa, who hails from Allison, continues to go great guns at Miami, Fla., as he copped his 22nd straight bout recently. Bob Petriello, reporting in his “Red Peppers” column, noted that Koballa’s recent victory was officiated by none other than Comdr. Jack Dempsey of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Koballa recently copped the Station Golden Gloves Championship,” Petriello wrote, “and is now waiting for the Florida State Golden Gloves tourney,” where he hopes to win the state title and the right to fight in Madison Square Garden. Appearing on the same program was Johnny Komolo of Fredericktown, who is fighting as a heavyweight.
Your feedback about these Brownsville Time Capsule articles is appreciated. Please mail your comments to Pete Skirchak, Brownsville Editor, Herald-Standard, Box 570, Brownsville, PA 15417, or e-mail begin pskirchak@heraldstandard.com pskirchak@heraldstandard.com end
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Glenn Tunney may be contacted at 724-785-3201 or by writing to 6068 National Pike East, Grindstone, PA 15442.