Kittanning High School - Kit Han Ne Yearbook (Kittanning, PA)

"Now listen, my children, and you shall bear Of 6l61'L"ClZf7U'CS and baffles fbrougb nzmzy cz year." Once upon a time, many centuries ago, a tribe of Indians called the "Lenni I.enape" settled in the Allegheny valley at the place now known as Kittanning, but called in their language Kit- han-ne. These people lived a peaceful life, hunting, fishing, and scalping each other as Indians are wont to do, until the coming of the Whiteman. Then things began to happen. 'tWl1ite man, him come to git land off'm Indian. Indian, him want own land. White man and Indian fightf' Of course, this did not happen in the time it takes to tell, but, as the years passed, the soul of the Indian was aggravated to such an extent that the honorable white men at the capitol be- gan to fear for their own scalps. To teach the unruly red men that such indelicate conduct is not accepted in the best circles, they sent out Colonel Armstrong with a company of soldiers. The Colonel was very emphatic about the way good Indians should behave and when he had finished fon the evening of September 9, 1756 to be exactj there was not a house nor an un- ruly Indian left in Kittanning. All this took place at the spot on which the Alexander Hotel now stands. If you ever stay at the Alexander and your rest is disturbed by spirits from be- yond, you will know that they are probably the ghosts of some departed Kit-han-ne. Colonel Armstrong's victory made western Pennsylvania comparatively safe for settlement now, but no movement was made toward the founding of Kittanning as a civilized town until four decades later. During the intervening period, various wandering settlers made their homes here for a time, and then moved on as they felt the call. Farms were cleared haphazardly and then abandoned to some one who might come later. Forty years afterwards, in 1796, a permanent settlement was begun. In a few years, streets had been laid out and industries had sprung up. There were four streets running parallel to the river, namely, Water Street, Jefferson Street, McKean Street, and Back Street, which was later dignified as North Grant Avenue. Short streets cut these at right angles from XValnut Street to High Street. All the land outside this territory was "farmland" The main street was Water Street, and all the wharfs and places of business were here, including tanneries, general stores, and blacksmiths' shops. Market Street was very inconvenient because of a high ridge down the middle of it,-so high that a person sitting on the corner by the Safe Deposit Bank could not see a person coming down McKean Street. Characteristic of the town, also, were little duck ponds at intervals along the streets. CWhat would Ford City say to fbczflj Home life and social life at this early stage were very simple. The Hrst dwellings were log cabins, but these were very soon replaced by frame houses and even brick among the wealthier class. For recreation the people indulged in quiltings, singing-schools, spelling-bees, corn husk- ings, and occasional frolics in some hospitable farmer's barn. The most important social func- tion of the year was the 4th of July celebration which a committee of patriotic citizens worked out with flowery speeches, the inevitable reading of the Declaration of Independence, and fire- works. This came to assume almost the characteristics of a religious festival, and was looked forward to like Christmas. It may have been that these stalwart forefathers of ours, with so many cares and responsibilities to occupy their minds, had neither the time nor the desire to be concerned with the affairs of their neighbors, but the idea still persists with me, that every once in a long, long while they amused themselves at that pastime which is inherent in human na- ture,-gossip. This was a very necessary stage in the development of our prosperous city, but after all, it was only elementary. Our first really big step along this line of progress was the establish- ment of a newspaper. This important event took place in the year 1821 when the "Eagle" first wrote its name in the annals of history. This paper contained a few poems, a list of sub- Page 8 KITTANNING