USA > Pennsylvania > Blair County > Tyrone > Tyrone of to-day : the gateway of the Alleghanies > Part 6
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Columbia Avenue M. E. Church .- This church is the outgrowth of a class organized by Rev. Thomas Barnhart in 1871, a chapel being built on 21st street. The first leader was Brother Zane B. Gray. In 1873 and again in 1884, Rev. George Guyer became pastor, serving in all five years. The present edifice was begun in 1891, Rev. William Brill being
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pastor, and dedicated in 1893. Rev. Franklin Welsh was in charge for one year and was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. V. T. Rue, whose labors have been very successful. The building, as seen in the cut, is a handsome brick structure standing on the corner of 18th street and Columbia avenue, with a seating capacity of 500. The membership, exceeding 300, is included in six classes. The Sunday school numbers nearly 500, superintendent, H. L. Budd; secretary, Alvin Bathurst. The Epworth League, president, Wm. Stonebraker, numbers nearly one hundred; the Junior League, the training school of the church, comprises 216 members; president, Lizzie Ginter; secretary, James Foster. The two Circles of King's Daughters and the Ladies' Aid Society have been especially helpful in sustaining the burdens of the church.
The Baptist Church was organized in 1870, Rev. J. L. Holmes, pastor. The edifice then erected, a frame 35 by 55 feet is now undergoing reconstruction. The present member- ship is about 70 and that of the Sunday school about 100. The pastor, settled in December, 1896, is Rev. Frank Howes; Sunday school superintendent, D. R. Harris. The church includes some excellent and devoted Christian workers but has not attained large success in visible strength.
A Mission of the Protestant Episcopal Church known as St. Philip's, was started in Tyrone many years ago, services having been held at irregular intervals previous to the war, but in recent years a new organization was effected under the name of Trinity Mission. After meeting for several years in the public school house and in halls, it was decided during the incumbency of Rev. W. L. Reaney, to erect a building. Lots had been bonght in 1888, on Washington avenue near Ninth street, and on August 15th the corner stone was laid by the Masonic fraternity. The contract was taken and the work executed by S. McCamant & Co., and the first service was held in it on November 11, 1894. The edifice is of antique, Gothic design, seating about 200. While plain in the exterior it is very tasty and attractive internally. The ceiling around and above is unusually well planned so as to please the eye by variety in form and cheerful color. There are eight windows
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of colored glass, no two alike in design, besides six smaller ones for ventilation opening from the roof. A commodious vestibule in the front, a vestry in the rear and a basement for the furnace make the building complete for its intended uses. Services are held each Sunday, alternating from morning on one to evening the next Sunday. The stately liturgy of the Episcopal church is conducive to reverent worship and is participated in by the congregation in a manner that is hearty, the singing being especially commendable. Prominent in the building enterprise and in advancing the interests of the church are Messrs. H. L. Sholly and Richard Beaston. The prop- erty is worth about $6000 and the prospect is favorable for the Mission to develop into a strong and useful Church. The Mission mourns the loss of its late rector, Rev. W. H. I. Hough- ton, who died suddenly in Huntingdon, where he resided, on August 19, 1897.
The German Baptist Brethren Church. - The first service of this body was held in the home of one of the members. The interest grew and attendance increased, until it was found necessary to secure a larger place for worship, and a hall was rented for that purpose, and preaching was held each Lord's day. A Sunday school was also organized here, which soon became encouraging in attendance. The Mission Board of Central Pennsylvania came to their assistance and helped secure a lot of ground on corner of Adams avenue and 18th street, and also to erect thereon a commodious brick church 45x30 feet, with two primary rooms for Sunday school. An organization of the membership was effected June 24, 1894, consisting of nine members, and regular services and Sunday school have since been held. The secretary's book shows an enrollment of one hundred and ten scholars at present, and the membership of the church has increased to thirty-eight. In April of present year, a pastor, Rev. W. S. Long, was located in Tyrone, who now lives at 185 W. 14th street, but will soon remove to the commodious parsonage now being built upon a lot adjoining the church.
African M. E. Bethel Church .- The organization was effected by Rev. O. T. Davis in 1888, following whom Rev.
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Charles Garner became pastor and, by strenuous and self- denying efforts, succeeding in erecting their present chapel. It was dedicated July 19, 1896, Rev. Sandy Christen being then pastor. The basement contains a large prayer meeting room, a kitchen and a pastor's study. The audience room is nicely kalsomined, seated in amphitheatre style, the wood- work being bright in color and the windows of stained glass, two especially handsome as memorials, and the building as a whole is one of the best structures owned by the Conference. It stands on 14th street, just opposite the large school building. The pastor, Rev. A. E. Waldon boards at 123 W. 14th street.
Y. M. C. A. P. R. R. Branch .- There was a Young Men's Christian Association organized in Tyrone in 1870, of which B. M. Bunker, Henry Cryder (both now living in Altoona) and F. M. Bell were leading promoters. It did a good work in its day and was kept up for several years. The existing organization is devoted chiefly to work among railroad men, the company contributing liberally to its support. It has now about 150 members, more than half of whom are active. The payment of $2 a year entitles one to all privileges, including the use of bath-room, a very desirable luxury to the dusty toiler. They maintain a Sunday afternoon meeting with great interest the year round, and a Saturday evening meeting, besides cottage meetings, one or two every week. The Asso- ciation has very comfortable quarters in the Beyer building on Logan avenue, below 14th street. The rooms include a parlor 16 by 22 feet, neatly furnished, a game room 16 by 25 feet, and an audience room 32 feet square, besides closets, bath room, &c. It is heated by hot water, lighted by gas and pro- vided with telephone connection. The reading room, 16 by 30 feet, has ten daily and fifteen weekly papers which are appreciated by "the boys." The daily average of visitors is about 70. The average attendance at the Sunday meetings last winter was 250 and at the Saturday night meetings about 50. The secretary's visits average 55 weekly, and since Jan- uary 1st, 40 conversions have been reported. The Ladies' Auxiliary numbers 40. The officers of the Association are: President, Wm. T. Canan; Vice President, Samuel Bennett;
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Rec. Secretary, David Schirm; Treasurer, H. M. Sausser; Managers, S. C. Cowen, Ernest Rothrock, Thomas Minary, S. C. Lightner, Joseph Edmondson, Wm. Laird. E. J. Biddle is the efficient Secretary.
The Christian and Missionary Alliance. - The above is the name of a little congregation which comprises some of the most earnest members of the different churches united upon the basis of a few common principles, sometimes denominated The Fourfold Gospel. That which practically distinguishes this body is their zeal and success in missionary effort. It is but just to say that in this respect they surpass all other socie- ties in proportion to their strength. In their meetings they emphasize the power of the Holy Spirit and a reverent search- ing of the inspired word. The branch in Tyrone was organized in April, 1895, and now numbers 40 members, the regular meetings being held on Monday and Thursday evenings, in a hall on Tenth street over J. A. C. Stewart's store. Officers: President, W. F. Meminger; Vice President, F. D. Walker; Secretary, Jesse Stewart. Rev. W. L. Tucker, of Altoona, has the oversight of Tyrone branch.
The Women's Christian Union .- Among the many socie- ties in Tyrone, there is but one devoted to the important matter of Temperance Reform. That one, composed of the weaker sex, may be described as "Faint, yet pursuing." They have certainly done good work and we hope they will take heart and improve upon what they have done, until their "works shall be praised in the gates." What Tyrone owes to their seemingly feeble agency would best be known by asking what Tyrone would have been without the women who have had courage as well as conviction to stand for righteousness and temperance, purity in heart and peace in homes. The first officers, elected in 1885, were: President, Mrs. M. J. Hamer; Secretary, Mrs. D. G. Owens; Treasurer, Mrs. A. J. Mattern. The present officers are: President, Miss E. C. Taylor; Vice President, Mrs. Robert Stewart; Secretary, Mrs. Mary Lord; Treasurer. Mrs. I. C. Caldwell. Of more than one of the faithful workers in this Union it may be said, "she hath done what she could." In the twelve years of their
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history they have not allowed the public to forget that there are laws, both human and divine, which condemn dissipation and command sobriety. They have lifted up their protest as a barrier against the violation of those laws. They have labored to educate public opinion by voice and press. They have urged the indoctrination of the school children in the truth that, more than any other, touches their own lives in mind and body. They have helped to tone up conscience in churches and in politics. They have done a noble work through one woman, Mrs. J. Harvey Wilson, among the rail- roaders. Another woman, Mrs. W. H. Wilson, has sustained for about two years a weekly "Temperance Column" in the Tyrone Herald. They have planted a fountain as their mem- orial on the main thoroughfare, where might be inscribed as a good motto these words,
"Drink, weary traveler ; drink and pray." Water, not wine. 'Tis woman's way.
Tyrone, as partially presented in this chapter, offers con- genial association to people of various temperaments and habits, and we believe that it is not behind in all that makes for human happiness. We have not tried to uncover the substratum of evil, nor do we flatter ourselves that it is not there, but we thankfully recognize the presence among us of forces that tend to repress the evil and cultivate the better instincts of humanity. To many of us it may be, as with the pioneers of New England, " plain living," but the aspects of Nature in her immensity and beauty, should prompt us also to " high thinking." We trust that our readers will put the proper estimate upon the conditions of social life and. count as best what we have put last, the institutions that aim to satisfy the soul's longings for goodness and truth and eternal life.
VII.
Principal Business Enterprises.
E GIVE THE first place in our brief review of the business enterprises of the town, to that which, chronologically claims this distinction,
THE TYRONE IRON COMPANY.
As the animal frame is said to be built up upon the ver- tebral column, so it is worthy of note that the backbone of Tyrone was the iron industry. without which it is doubtful if it would have existed to-day. The manufacture of iron began before the present century in the township of Warriorsmark, and there and then was the inception of the company which grew to colossal proportions in the days when syndicates were yet unknown. This was the firm of John Gloninger and Co., which in twenty years ranked among the richest corporations of Pennsylvania with furnaces, forges and factories scattered over Huntingdon and Blair counties. Their " plant" was a vigorous one, and of the shoots which it put forth none has had greater vitality or realized larger results than that estab- lished about 1809, called Tyrone Forge, from the township in which it was located. The Upper Forge, started about 1815 or 1820 was a new bud which expanded in due time into the Tyrone of to-day. We who live near the close of the nine- teenth century would do well to recall the days of the fathers when the century was young. In those days the ironmaster was in his glory because iron itself was master of all commodi- ties. Ironsville was a bustling center of work and trade. Two men by hardest knocks worked out seven tons of iron in a week, receiving seven dollars a ton for their pay. Under the superintendency of John A. Davison, father of our well- known citizen George C. Davison, headless nails were made and sold at twelve cents and upwards a pound, the term ten-
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penny (or ten for a penny) being not so glaring a misnomer as now. Probably these rude nails were handled and preserved with more care than small coins from Uncle Sam's mint are with us. In those good old days the vices and the luxuries of our times were equally unknown. Every man lived in his log cabin; tall mansions and four-story blocks had not yet arisen, and the corresponding gradations in society were yet undevel- oped. All men worked and not less did all women. The growth of riches had not yet evolved the dude and the genera- tion of tramps was yet unborn. We may smile at their methods but we cannot disparage their manhood. Employ- ment was more plentiful than "hands," for machinery had not then come to the kingdom. The labor of man's hands it was that dug the ore and loaded and unloaded it, hammered the glowing mass into shape, swung the axe in the forest and fed the fire that converted the logs into charcoal, cut the ripe grain and spun the soft wool, and performed every function that was needed for comfort and enjoyment in life. Let us not depreciate the old times, but consider that the strain upon manhood is far greater now than then, and that it is harder to gain and keep the mastery over material things in these days of luxury than in those days of poverty.
With several changes of ownership the business has been continued ever since at the lower forge. In 1883 it was re- organized and the Rolling Mill was added. The manufacture is now confined mainly to Boiler Tube Skelp and special high grade Pipe Iron. The building is large, roof and walls being of corrugated iron, and the equipment of work is equal to that of any establishment of like capacity. The present force of employees numbers 140 and the annual output is 12,000 tons gross from the Rolling Mill and 6,000 tons of the product of the Forges .. Just across the river, a walk of ten minutes, is Nealmont, where the company's cottages stand out in full view, presenting an attractive picture of a neat and healthful workingmen's village. There is no reason why this important industry should not grow into larger proportions. The super- intendent of the works is H. L. Sholly, an experienced and competent ironmaster.
REV. V. T. RUE.
REV. J. L LEICHLITER.
REV. W. S. LONG.
REV. ALBERT J. WEISLEY.
REV. W. H. WILSON.
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THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
"The sun do move," says the Rev. John Jasper, and on the truth of this proposition he stakes his reputation. The earth does move, is the general belief of nineteenth century folks. A more obvious fact is that the world (that is the people of this earth, and preeminently of this continent) do move. Stand on the platform of our railway station and observe the panorama which passes before the eye in one day, and you will believe that there is nothing stationary upon this earth except the rooted rocks-and you may have your doubts even as to them, for they too are broken off piecemeal and swiftly borne away to distant parts.
This is a world on wheels in which we live. But there is a movement not visible to the eye, yet just as real and as strik - ing, the march of human progress. Look back a hundred years and see the trackless forest which then covered the interior of Pennsylvania. No travel except by footpaths hard to see and follow, or on the easier yet precarious waterway. The thought of a journey from end to end of this one state was like a summons to war, so beset with difficulties as to dis- courage all but the stoutest hearts. The men of those days, however, were stout-hearted and sturdy, suited to the condi- tions of their lot ; just as there are men today who will face and conquer all the hardships of the Klondike region.
Stepping forward one decade across the dividing line of the centuries, we find that the air is full of projects for better means of transportation. Roads must be cut through this wilderness, and by Act of Legislature in 1806 it was so deter- mined. The old Turnpike was begun from Harrisburg to Pittsburg. Not till 1820 was it opened out and the lively stage-coach entered the scene of action. But already there was discontent and an irrepressible reaching after improve- ment. Nature's highways through which the mountain springs empty themselves into the sea suggested the improvement that was practicable, and the bill authorizing the construction of the Turnpike was followed in twenty years by the incorpora- tion of a company to build a Canal. To be accurate we should say two canals, the Western Pa. canal extending from Blairs-
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ville to Johnstown and the Eastern Pa. canal joining Harris- burg and Hollidaysburg.
In the conception and construction of these great public works no one was more prominent than the Hon. John Blair. He was president of the Turnpike Company but no less active in promoting the Canal. That was a great and historic day when on Nov. 28, 1833, the first packet boat, named after him, set out from Huntingdon drawn by four horses and made its triumphal progress to Williamsburg, a journey which occupied twelve hours, as the canal followed the windings of the river ; the completion of the voyage to Hollidaysburg taking another day. The return trip was made with greater dispatch, the party leaving Hollidaysburg in the morning and arriving at Huntingdon in the evening.
The gap of thirty-seven miles between the canals pre- sented another hard problem, but the courage and skill of these pioneers were equal to the demand and a solution was found in the Portage Railroad, a unique scheme for crossing the mountains. The ascent from Johnstown to the summit was accomplished by a railroad twenty-six miles long. For most of this distance the grade was such that the locomotive engine hauled its burden in the ordinary way ; but at intervals there were five inclined planes, from a third to half a mile in length, along which the load was propelled by a stationary engine placed at the top. An endless rope carried up four cars with a capacity of fourteen tons on one side and let down four cars on the other. The journey of eleven miles from Hollidaysburg to the top of the mountain was similarly made, but the inclines were longer and steeper, averaging nearly one foot in ten. The roadway was 25 feet wide and included several substantial bridges and a tunnel near the western end, 900 feet long, 20 feet in width and 19 feet high. The road was built at a cost of about $2,000,000, and in 1835 fifty thousand tons of freight and one hundred and twenty thousand passengers crossed the Alleghenies by means of this contri- vance. The most novel sight ever witnessed in these woods was that of a boat, laden with a mover's family and household effects, including live stock, which started on the upper Sus-
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quehanna. It sailed down the river to Harrisburg, up the canal to Hollidaysburg, and was conveyed over the Portage in a special car to Johnstown, whence it resumed its voyage by canal and river to their destination in Illinois.
But, like the Alpine traveler, these early settlers pressed onward and their motto was "Excelsior." Another twenty years has passed, and in 1846 the Legislature is again invoked to lend its sanction to an enterprise greater than pike or port- age or canal. In that year the Pa. R. R. was incorporated and steps were taken to connect the city on the Delaware and the city on the Ohio by an iron track. To complete this work eight years were required, and in 1854 cars were running be- tween Philadelphia and Pittsburg. In the midst of these eight years Tyrone had its beginning, and the first train was seen to pass the site of the future city on September 17, 1850.
The few who were here to see this great sight must have felt as if a new world had suddenly sprung into being. They realized that old things had passed away ; but they could not know all that it meant for them and the inhabitants of this valley who should fill their places in the end of the century. The corporation which then owned 350 miles of railroad now controls the traffic on nearly 9000 miles of road in the richest portion of the earth. Its earnings have increased from about $300,000 in the first year to $90,000,000 in 1896, which was a year of depression, not including nearly half of its mileage which extends west from Pittsburg. It carried last year 145, - 000,000 tons an average distance of 88 miles ; and 72,000,000 passengers an average distance of 21 miles each. The report for 1897 will show an immense increase on these figures.
The Pennsylvania railroad might be styled the mother of us all in this region; not the mother that gave us birth, but the foster mother that nourished our being. It found little rude communities like "babes in the woods"; it has "raised" them, surrounded with all the comforts of civilization.
Tyrone is most concerned with the Division which is named after it The three branches which compose the Tyrone Division of the P. R. R. are: the B. E. V. which, about six miles northeast of Tyrone, crosses the divide between the Little
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Bald Eagle creek and the Bald Eagle proper, and follows that stream to Lock Haven, near which it empties into the Susque- hanna; the Tyrone and Clearfield, which is laid over the Alleghany mountain, the summit being about ten miles to the north, and thence through the towns of Osceola, Philipsburg and Clearfield to Curwensville on the west branch of the Sus- quehanna, sending out spurs to various mining towns in this famous Coal region; and the Lewisburg and Tyrone, whose present terminus is Scotia, 25 miles distant. The division has 270 miles of track, exclusive of sidings, and last year carried 432, 165 passengers and about 4,000,000 tons of freight. It has about 450 employees residing in Tyrone and pays out monthly in the town over $20,000. There are about 80 resi- dents of Tyrone on the pay role of the Main Line, whose checks approximate $5,000 each month.
Here are located the offices of the division in the com- modious building which serves also for a passenger depot. Here may be seen superintendent S. S. Blair who began in the service of the P. R. R. over forty years ago when the trains were running over the mountains on the Portage road. From the lowest place he went gradually up, conductor, agent, train master, superintendent of Baltimore division during the trying times of the war. Since 1873 he has been at the head of this division and interested in the progress of the town. As a railroad official his long service proves his competency and his encouragement of every agency for the benefit of his fellow-citizens has established his character as a christian gentleman.
The chief clerk of the division is J. H. Reiley, who has been by the side of Mr. Blair for over thirty years, having come with the superintendent from Baltimore. More than this need not be said in testimony to the value of his services. To the men along the road the appearance of Mr. Reiley about the tenth of each month is like the face of the sun as it comes over the mountain, for he is the bearer of the checks which makes their faces shine and their hearts grow warm. Assist- ing in this office are H. M. Sausser and W. C. Barr, two courteous and capable young men. The stenographer to Mr.
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Blair is R. N. Waring, who has made his mark by fidelity and industry in everything he undertakes.
C. P. McArthur the Assistant Engineer is the youngest of the officials in Tyrone. He started only fifteen years ago, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and has in this short time gained the confidence of his superiors and obtained for himself honor and promotion.
D. D. Wood is the veteran among the officers of the road at this point but one of those men who make themselves felt wherever you put them. He rose rapidly from brakeman in 1860 to Train Master in 1863 and has managed the traffic of the division during all these years. Mr. Wood has watched the growth of the town for thirty-five years and done his part to make its history.
In a room on the second floor may be heard, not the clack of tongues but the click of keys. Here sits A. A. Witter. the Division Operator, in the focus of a network of wires, like a spider in the midst of his web and, with the aid of his as- sistants, watches the motions of each train that is out upon the road. Unlike the spider his work is not to devour but to save, and he makes his fly go whither he will, bringing him up whenever he chooses to the central point. These men who carry out his plans are not mutes, though they talk with their fingers; neither are they deaf, for they read with their ears. They do not practice magic, and yet spirit-like they interpret the thoughts of comrades who are scores of miles away, and place an immediate answer on the table of the distant corres- pondent. Men who can do such things should not be unknown to fame. Their names are E. W. Stine and P. Halligan, train dispatchers; Clarence Wingate and W. T. Charles, operators.
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