USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > Connellsville > Centennial history of the borough of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, 1806-1906 > Part 36
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53:
THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
a rousing welcome and proceeded, in a loud, clear voice. to deliver one of the finest addresses ever heard here.
ADDRESS OF JUDGE E. H. REPPERT.
On the first day of March, 1806, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania passed an act which provided and declared that the town of Connellsville and vicinity in Fayette county shall be and the same is hereby erected into a borough which shall be called the "Borough of Connellsville." We have met here to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the day, a day that marked an event which in a large measure affected the develop- ment of the natural resources of our country, determined its industries and moulded the character of its people.
Small the borough was in population, for the names of its voters numbered but 32, but in courage and self-reliance and in a firm faith in their future, these few were a host. They were a part of the mighty army of pioneers who opened the way for the march of the nations across the continent. On that list are names familiar to those of the present day-Barnes, Banning, Barnhart and Blackstone, Connell and Colestock, Evans, Mor- row, Page, Snyder, Trevor and others. Among them also is the name of Cornelius Woodruff, who kept a tavern. With what unction could he exclaim, were he here today, after listening to the story of the century's progress, "I told you so," for on the fly-leaf of one of his books was written this prophecy in his own handwriting:
"For those who will come after us will find vast and unde- veloped mines of material for men to work upon, treasures of untold wealth that are now hid from us. All must have ob- served that the progress of the arts and sciences and the gospel, like the sun, is from the east to the west. As the celestial light of the gospel was directed here by the finger of God, it will doubtless drive the heathenness from our land and, marching through the vast deserts now westward, will develop the hidden gems and stores of gold and silver. Huge mountains and mines of these ores will be discovered. It will give employment to millions, not only for war, but for peaceful occupations and the wants of life. These vast quarries will give work for the mechanic - to build monuments for the renowned of America, those heroes who gave up their warm blood to save this land for the coming millions. Some great inventions will be made to carry on commerce and communication in this to-be-great country."
Marvelous it seems that in a little log tavern in Connells-
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ville 100 years ago should have been foretold the untold riches of the gold and silver mines of the Pacific coast, the far greater riches of the coal mines of Fayette county and western Penn- sylvania and the vast system of transportation by land and sea developed and made possible by inventions in the application of steam power and electricity to navigation and railways. Even in that day the town gave evidence of the energy and enterprise that have always distinguished its people. Among its early in- dustries were boat building, milling, the manufacture of agri- cultural implements, pottery and cloth, iron works and the manufacture of pig iron into the finished product, such as rails, castings, etc., and these industries flourished until local condi- tions and development diverted commercial activity into more profitable channels.
With characteristic foresight the people of this community early perceived the great value of railway facilities. While prominent and influential men in other sections of this country were successfully opposing the location and construction of the main line of the Baltimore & Ohio through our territory, moved by the short-sighted belief that the National road was better adapted to promote the public welfare than railroads and that the proposed railroad would ruin the National road and the people of the county, the citizens of Connellsville took a far broader and more comprehensive view. It was largely through their efforts that the Pittsburgh & Connellsville railroad, ex- tending from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, and the first to enter Fayette county, was built. It is at least certain that it would not have been built and opened at that time, 1855, from Pitts- burgh to Connellsville, had it not been for their aid and encour- agement. Results have amply justified their faith in it, and today the railroad facilities of Connellsville surpass those of any other borough of the county, and Connellsville is the only town in the county enjoying a main line service to the large cities of the country. If General Henry W. Beeson were living today, saying with no disrespect to his memory, there is poetic justice in the fact that he would have to come to Connellsville to take a train from a point in Fayette county for Washington, Baltimore, New York, Chicago or St. Louis; whereas but for the opposition of himself and his associates, he might take all trains on the main line east and west at his own door. The Baltimore & Ohio had to build their line through Virginia in order to reach the Ohio river, but that did not save the National road. Its commerce and its glory departed and the far greater prosperity which the railroad would have brought to the county seat went elsewhere. We congratulate Connellsville that, with
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CENTENNIAL DECORATIONS
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better judgment, she secured a portion of it, and time has proved that the foresight of the old Connellsville tavern keeper was better than the hindsight of later generations.
Men who have barely reached middle life can remember when the industries of Fayette county were almost exclusively those of an agricultural community.
Our great natural resources were unutilized, their immense value was generally not even comprehended. It was the persist- ence and enterprise of the men of Connellsville and its vicinity that proved to the iron trade and to our own people that out of the coal within our borders could be produced the best fuel for smelting and foundry purposes ever discovered. Convincing support for this assertion may be found in the fact that to this fuel is given the name of Connellsville coke, and the coal from which it is manufactured is mined from a basin known as the Connellsville Coal Basin. Our friends of The Courier and the News Standard may argue as to whether Connellsville or Union- . town is the center of the coke region; but there is no denying the fact that if the seller, in describing the property to be con- veyed, can truly write into his deed the magic words, "All the nine foot or Connellsville vein of coking coal," the price he will receive per acre will be increased by hundreds, possibly by thou- sands of dollars. The limit of value for an acre of genuine Con- nellsville coking coal has not yet been reached nor ascertained, although young men who have scarcely attained their majority have seen it increase in some instances from $50 or less to $3,000.
While coke had been made in Fayette county as early as 1817, yet it was not until in the seventies that its manufacture became a recognized branch of industrial enterprise. Thirty years ago there were but 3,000 ovens in the entire region; there are now 32,000. 'Of this number nearly 24,000 are in Fayette county. Last year's production reached nearly 18,000,000 tons. The average price per ton was $2.26. This year's production will reach and probably exceed 19,000,000 tons, and the average price per ton will equal if not exceed $2.50. It is difficult to appreciate these stupendous figures. To transport this enor- mous production will require 430,000 cars. If these were joined together in one continuous train it would more than reach across the continent and back. The value of the train load would be $47,000,000, and would require a string of dollar bills placed end to end as long as the train to pay for it.
We are justly proud of what our people have done on the farm, in the factory and the mine. They have been fulfilling the divine commission given to the sons of men at the dawn of
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creation to go forth and subdue the earth and have dominion over every living thing that moveth therein. The Crusader is a romantic figure in song and story, but Zachariah Connell, the pioneer at Stewart's Crossing, far surpassed him in intelligent comprehension of God's will. Were material prosperity the highest good, we might justly claim to have fulfilled our destiny. But the products of the soil, the mine and the manufactory are blessings only as they serve to develop among men a higher and better life and a higher and better citizenship; to banish ignor- ance and evil and hardship and suffering; to spread knowledge and peace and justice and the gospel of righteousness. The development of our natural resources will bring us little advant- age unless it helps at the same time to develop that which is best in ourselves. The pioneers were mighty men because they were possessed of mighty virtues. Their days are illustrious because their deeds were illustrious. The times have changed. but the qualities that made men great 100 years ago and caused their days to be remembered will make men great today. New times bring new problems, but they are to be solved as were the problems of 100 years ago, with courage and resolution, with endurance and supreme confidence. We need now, as. were needed then, the pioneer virtues of the pioneers, truthful- ness, a just regard for the rights of others, self-reliance, fear- lessness, self-respect and trust in Almighty God.
Our marvelous material prosperity need be neither a menace nor a danger, as so many fear. It is idle to tell men to quit making money. They cannot help it. The man with a genius for the inception, management and control of great business and industrial enterprises-I mean legitimate, not predatory, enterprises-should have a fair field for the development of his talent to its full limit, and that not only for his own good, but for the good of mankind, that thereby life for all may be made better and richer and nobler and filled with higher ideals.
Let us not cry out blindly against the production and accu- mulation of wealth, but let us seek to learn how it may be made to serve its best and highest purpose. We have not yet reached the time when a Rockefeller can be classed with a Shakespeare, but the time is rapidly approaching when surpassing commercial ability and success must justify itself not only in material but also in ethical results.
Then and not till then may the possessors of such talent be classed with the benefactors of mankind in the realms of learning, literature, music and art.
So, teach men not that they must become poorer in order
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CONNELLSVILLE
to attain the highest good, which was the medieval conception, but that they must become stronger, and that their wealth is to be their servant for all good works, and not their master. The sky is radiant with the bow of spiritual promise. There never was a day when, nor a country where, so great a propor- tion of its wealth was seeking investment in religious, educa- tional, and philanthropic enterprises as in our own, and your borough furnishes splendid evidences of this fact. Your beauti- ful churches and Young Men's Christian Association building, your school buildings and public library, your Cottage Hospital, your streets well paved and sewered and lighted, all attest the growing conception and acknowledgment of the duty which money owes to the community.
There never was a time when sin and vice and crime were so hideously ugly and repulsive as they are today, and when misused wealth and misused talent so surely served to intensify their ugliness, and to bring shame and disgrace and punishment to their possessors. Think of the poor wretch in the Tombs prison, and his life of sinful pleasure and indulgence and his million and the mark of Cain! Who would accept his money with what he has purchased with it even with freedom from the law added? And think of his only less wretched victim! How sordid the picture! I know it is the fashion for cynics to rail that the law is not for the rich and the powerful; that wealth and influence purchase immunity from punishment for wrong- doing, and the unthinking applaud. But never before was there a time when so high a standard of responsibility attached to the administration of wealth and power, whether corporate, indi- vidual or official. The laws are enforced, offenders, high as well as low, are punished, wrong-doing is restrained and prevented. The effort to secure by more perfect legislation the protection of private and public rights and the prevention of private and public wrongs, is constant and effective. In a western state in a prison cell lies a former United States Senator whose lofty official position did not protect him from just punishment for official misconduct. In another state only death saved a col- league from a like fate. In a southern state last April the con- viction of Gaynor and Greene was a striking reply to those who mock justice and believe that rich rascals go free. These men are said to have spent two million dollars in endeavoring to . avoid a trial on a charge of conspiracy to defraud. But flight and lavish expenditure and the ingenious expedients of the ablest lawyers availed them not. That they were finally brought back and after a fair trial by judge and jury were duly convicted
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TYPICAL CENTENNIAL CROWDS
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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CONNELLSVILLE
and sentenced to four years' imprisonment and fines of over half a million each, is a monument to the efficiency of the law and to its honest and efficient administration; and illustration after illustration might be added.
So, in comparing the days and deeds of the pioneers with those of our own, let us take hope and be of good cheer. Evil there is, but there is more of good; and the evil will decrease while the good will increase; the evil will grow less powerful and the good more powerful, for such is the will of Almighty God. And in the struggle for a higher conception of the duties and obligations of citizenship, let us emulate the virtues of the pio- neers whose deeds we here commemorate, to the end that we may make this fair land of ours, this proud Keystone of the arch of free commonwealths, this industrial garden spot of Fay- ette county, the finest and best for home and humanity upon which the sun shines.
This practically ended the morning's program. In the afternoon a reunion was held at the Carnegie Free Library, where many of the old timers gathered to renew friend- ships of bygone years and exchange reminiscences. An automobile parade was held, about one hundred cars being in line, gorgeously decorated. The first prize was awarded to Harry Marietta. After the parade the old people were escorted over town in the machines, many of them taking their first and last automobile ride.
Among those who took the trip over town were Squire James M. Lytle, one of the oldest residents of Connellsville, who is 86 years old; John G. White, 26 years old; H. L. Regar, the last surviving veteran of the Mexican War. who enlisted from Connellsville, 28 years old; G. L. Coug- nanour, 29 years old: James M. Stephenson, 63 years old: John Long, 90 years old ; Samuel N. Long, 85; William B. Weihe, 84; William M. Hatfield, 80; Thomas Gregg, 66; P. J. Keslar, 69; J. D. Murray, 76; Christian Shank, 97. the oldest living resident in Connellsville; William Kemp, William Beall, Mr. and Mrs. John Shaw, Mrs. S. B. Cul -. ver. A. B. Morton, John Helms, J. S. Sisley, John Chambley, Leslie Gilmore, Squire A. Strawn Murphy, Mrs. Margaret McCoy. Mrs. Sara Shaw and Mrs. Martha Kelly.
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In the evening the lights were turned on for the first time, making the streets as bright as day. The big coke arch was a perfect maize of incandescents, while the lights on the arches and buildings formed an unusually pretty scene. The electric display was one of the finest ever seen in western Pennsylvania. The visiting bands consolidated and rendered a pleasing program from the Library grounds, while the Midway and carnival attractions kept the visitors entertained. The local hotels were unable to cope with the situation, and many people had to gu to Uniontown and Scottdale for a night's lodging. This was true of each night of the Centennial.
In one respect the Connellsville Centennial was un- usual. While the entire four days were big ones, two were especially large. Wednesday and Thursday were the gala occasions, the Centennial Association handiing the first and the Merchants' Association the second. There was much rivalry between the two organizations, but for the most part it was good natured. The big parade of the Centen- nial was held on Wednesday. After the children's chorus and band concert at the Library grounds in the morning, the parade was started. The formation of the line was no easy matter, for it was more than a mile iong. For ama- teurs, however, the men in charge performed excellent work. The parade formed on the South Side, nearly every street of that thoroughfare being taken up with some part of the display. The feature of the parade was the one hundred horse team of the H. C. Frick Coke Company. One hundred of the best animals taken from the nearby works of the company, with a man in uniform of blue overalls astride each horse, were hitched to one of the big wagons from the Davidson works. The superintendents of the works represented acted as marshals for this section of the parade and guided the team through the narrow streets of town. It was a difficult matter to turn some of the sharp curves, especially at Brimstone Corner, where the big arch narrowed the street to a considerable extent.
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Hours before it was time to start, people began to gather along the line of parade, seeking points of vantage, and once located, they refused to move. By the time the line did start, a dense, packed mob of good-natured human- ity was banked along the curbs for miles, while every win- dow along the line was occupied by several spectators. About Brimstone Corner the crowds were especially large, being dozens deep in some places. The town had never before witnessed such a collection of people. There were thousands present, drawn from every city, town and hamlet within a radius of fifty miles. The police had a difficult time keeping the streets clear, and at times the crowds got the best of the officers and completely blocked the thoroughfares. In spite of the vast numbers and unusual excitement, the crowd was orderly. Drunken people were comparatively scarce, and those who became intoxicated were taken in hand by the officers, escorted to the borough lockup and kept there until sufficiently sober to depart. The parade was guided over the route by Captain John L. Gans and R. A. Doerner.
The following order was observed in the parade :
Mounted officers.
Connellsville Military Band.
Second Ward Volunteer Fire Department, headed by Fire Marshal W. H. Marietta and Frank Payne, mascot of the Volunteer department, on horseback.
South Side Volunteer Fire Department.
Hose wagon and firemen.
Carriages.
Price Consolidated Band of Uniontown.
First Battalion, 10th Regiment, National Guard, merciby Major Richard Coulter, Jr., and aide. The com- panies marched in the following order: Company D of Connellsville, Company C of Uniontown, Company E of Mt. Pleasant, Company I of Greensburg, and the hospital corps. Dunbar Band.
SCENES OF THE PARADE
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Boys' Brigade, with companies from Connellsville, Uniontown and Dawson represented.
Modern Woodmen of America, with decorated float and several members in line.
Worthing Camp, Royal Neighbors of America, float from Dawson.
Independent Order of Red Men, members dressed in grotesque costumes.
Royal Italian Band of Bellevernon.
Italian society, over 200 strong, each man carrying an American flag.
"Rube Band" from West Newton.
Two Slavish societies, 500 men strong.
Floats of Yough Brewing Company.
Uniontown Martial Band.
Float of Lang Coal & Sand Company, followed by float of Soisson Fire Brick Company, men making brick on the wagon.
Float of A. Stickel, lumber dealer of Mill Run.
Comrade J. J. Barnhart of Dunbar township with wagon and men at work with cradle in imitation wheat field.
Five wagons of Pittsburgh Brewing Company.
Wagon of White Rock Distilling Company.
Two floats of Zepp & Rutsek, plumbers and tinners.
Tom Brierly and Jim Wilson driving in buggy dressed in grotesque costumes.
Wagons of S. B. White and Geisler Brothers.
Float of local blacksmiths, with J. A. Cunningham, Clark Cunningham, Charles Balsley, Fred Paes and Harry Hayes making horseshoes and tossing them to the crowd.
Two wagons of Sligo Iron & Steel Company, with cold roll and sheets.
Carriages.
Rice Shaw's Martial Band.
Foreign society of some 50 members.
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Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, about 50 mem- bers.
Carriages with Early Settlers, namely, Dave Girard and Bill Marqua ; Andy Haas and Jimmie Howard, and Bill Shaw and Doc Buttermore, dressed in Colonial cos- tumes.
Symphony Band of Smithton.
Y. M. C. A. Boys, 175 in number, dressed in white uni- forms and carrying canes.
Carriages Craft Martial Band, Aides.
Big one hundred-horse team of the H. C. Frick Coke Company, commanded by the different superintendents. The team was driven by Norman Prinkey of Davidson Works.
Twenty-horse team from Bullskin township.
Wagon of A. E. Wagoner and Holland Piersol and their guests.
Carriages and wagons containing visitors from the outlying country districts.
The parade and its environs beggars description. As each person or float appeared the crowds shouted approval. Some of the floats were exceedingly ludicrous. Trolley service through town was suspended a greater part of the morning, it being practically impossible to operate cars through the crowds. It is conservatively estimated that 25,000 people visited the town on this day. The parade started shortly after ten o'clock, but it was after one in the afternoon before it had complete the long route. There was a baseball game in the afternoon, the Uniontown and East Liverpool teams in the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Mary- land League being the contestants. This game was trans- ferred from Uniontown to Connellsville for the day, on account of the Centennial.
In the evening another big meeting was held at the Library grounds and the crowd was fully as large as that which greeted the speakers on the opening day. The
THE HUMAN FLAG
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speakers' platform was occupied by the most prominent citizens of town as well as those who made the addresses. The speakers were Ex-Senator George L. Wellington, of Cumberland, Md., and General W. H. Koontz, of Somerset, Pa. J. M. Lytle, Esq., presided.
Thursday, the third day of the celebration, was "Mer- chants' Day," the program having been executed entirely by the Connellsville and New Haven Merchants' Associa- tion. Both days had features distinct from each other and equally as pleasing. In the morning the merchants' parade was the big event, and, as the H. C. Frick Coke Company took such an important part in the Centennial parade, so did the Union Supply Company, an allied corporation, fig- ure in the merchants' pageant. Every one of the 53 stores of this company was represented by a wagon or a float. Some of the designs were very unique. The merchants themselves were warm rivals for first honors, for on this occasion a prize was given for the best float in line. Some of the ideas were extremely unique. Models, ancient and modern, were adopted, some sedate and some ridiculous. Each was a credit to the merchants producing them and to the town in general. The following line of parade was observed :
Chief Marshal E. Dunn and aides.
Connellsville Military Band.
Connellsville Volunteer Fire Department.
Hose carriage and paid firemen.
Thomas Lynch and party in carriages.
Burgess A. D. Scisson, Clair Stillwagon, W. D. Mc- Ginnis and William McCormick.
Members of Town Council.
Executive Committee of the Merchants' Association.
Congressman Allen F. Cooper, of Uniontown, and Con- gressman Geo. F. Huff, of Greensburg.
Old business men, among whom were J. D. Frisbee, Henry Goldsmith. P. S. Newmyer, A. B. Morton, Lloyd Johnston, J. C. Lytle and A. W. Hood.
TYPICAL FLOATS OF MERCHANTS DAY PARADE
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Carriages.
Greensburg Merchants' Association, led by the martial band of No. 3 Hose Company.
Price's Band, of Uniontown.
Float of Boyts, Porter & Co., with Geo. A. Snyder and C. M. Stoner.
George W. Campbell, of Normalville.
Float of The Aaron Company, brightly decorated.
Float of Sedersky Furniture Company.
Float of the Rosenblum Furniture Company, with John G. Leslie, Jacob Greene, H. S. Lohr, John Brunson, John Campbell and Joseph May.
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