Borough of Etna - Centennial Festivities Yearbook (Etna, PA)

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r to is M I N 0 T E S ll Q A Pafna1List0fTnen1eStObe ' Played at the Helma Theatre During December The Voice in My Heart Cohan 'Due Sweet Day Zamecnik l lust a Little Love, a Little Kiss Sileser i -ove-r's Lane Borch A 3 THE OLD HELh,IA Nhen I Found You . Rombetg LATER ,ove Theme from Fall of a Nation . Herbert THE ETNA HARRIS THEATRE i SPECIAL NUMBERS FEATURED WITH NOW PIANO AND ORGAN l I'd Love to Waltz Through Life with You ' Ziegfeld Follies In Love with Love YI Stepping Stones What Do You Do, Sunday, Mary? Poppy Swannee River Blues LIL Ziegfeld Follies A SPECIAL NUMBERS FEATURED WITH I SONG SLIDES A Kiss in the Dark The World is Waiting for the Sunrise Chansonette THE HELMA, ETNA'S IEW MOTION PICTURE THEATRE I a ' sp-Hg-we -x lx pu... Xe E .1 if V: 5. r f .+- H 533 w l 1 :ii -.,,1 ,. I ,Au ,1'i,t ,. . New Swimming P THE ETNA PLAYGROUND 1969 ool. opening night, Aug. 6, 1923, Children on the Sea Wave Playground Spang, Chalfant St Co., Inc. l all 'L tl Q 1 JR-...ggi r f lr? g l 1 mu. , l ll --H-1lw--M4f- f----s11- , Tx I 'g h' ' ---.AU

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The old residence of the Chalfan! Family in Etna. The Woman's Club. In 1928 Spang, Chalfant Sz Co. acquired the plant of the Standard Seamless Tube Company of Ambridge, Pa. This plant, founded in 1913 by H. C. Fownes, had been a leader in developing improved pipe to meet the demands of ever deeper drilling. When the Company was bought by Lhe National THE CHALFANT HOUSE properly now belongs to Etna's Chalfant Supply Company in 1930 it was one of the oldest and most progressive steel pipe manufacturers in the U.S. After the merger with National Supply, Spang, Chal- fant Sz Co. operated as the Spang, Chalfant Division of that Company. In May of 1943 Spangis took part in the war effort 1, 6 . Spang's production of Bombs Q23-pound Fragmentation Bombsl 1943 by producing 23-pound Fragmentation Bombs in the Conduit Department. 150 women were employed in this production. ln the following two year period 781,004 bombs were assembled and delivered. The U.S. Ordnance Department commended the workers at Spang's for their contribution to the war effort. In 1958 National Supply was bought by Armco. This company decided to phase out the Etna mill and in 1961 Lhe mill was closed and its production moved to Ambridge. Founded in 1323 and closed in 1961, Spangs was a part of the Etna scene for 133 years. The last piece of pipe was manufactured April 30, 1961. Spangs contributed much to the well-being and -pleasures of the people of Etna. The former Etna Theatre fnow Volkswagensj was built for the town by Spangs and was called the Helma. The present boro playground and pool were also built and maintained by Spangs. ln the old building on Bridge Street there was a hospital for the mill workers where accident cases in the mill were treated. Any one could get help there. Dr. Mcliinstry was in charge in the early 190015. Spangis whistle has joined the steam locomotive whistle. For years the whistle was part of life in Etna. The time of its blowing was so accurate that people set their clocks by it. Due to passing of the mill Etna will not be the same again. 47 4

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'W-M1H F 1 mn. ll may r4- sf BELLE OF THE RIVER Isabella nas born, 1871, 1n the orchard of George Dierstein of Etna on the banks of the Allegheny River. During, and after, t.he Civil War, Pittsburgh Iron masters had been laying plans to meet the increased need for iron in the founderies and pipe mills of the area. The answer they arrived at was Isabella, or Isabella Furnace Company as she was properly known. Isabella was named in honor of Mrs. Herren, sister of one of the firm's members, as well as for Isabella Crowther, daughter of Cyril W. Crowther, an engineer who built the furnaces. For years, the Carnegie brothers, Andrew and Thomas had considered joining up with Spang Chal- fant, and others in the development of plans for the Isabella Furnace Co. However, on the advice of a friend, the coalition was abandoned and separate companies were formed. The first of Isabella's furnaces was blown in the summer of 1372. The same year, another furnace, Lucy, made her debut in the Carnegie Mills. Lucy was named for Mrs. Thomas Carnegie. Almost from the moment they were blown a friendly rivalry existed. An iron broom was made and served as a symbol of supremacy. As Lucy and Isabella continued to break each other7s production record, the broom was traded back and forth many times across the river. The competi- tion was so keen, often the brooms stayed for only a week at one location. Although the late 1830's saw a slacken- ing in the feverished pace competition, it was not until 1937, 36 years after Isabella became a part of Carnegie Steel Company and United States Steel Corpo- ration, that the rivalry ended with Lucy's dismantling. In 1902, much of the old plant disappeared. New and bigger furnaces replaced their giant ancestors. Several years later, experiment with ot.her products proved successful. Ferro-manganese, ferrosilicon, and spiegeleisen began to supplant iron as the chief end product of the plant. For many years the two furnaces of Isabella were the only two in the whole U.S. Steel organization de- voted exclusively to the production of ferro-manganese. This alloy had been called by some the 'kpurifieri' in the production of steel, by others the ubackbonef, Both wer basically correct. Isabella provided employment, in some cases for two and three generations of Etna families. Her records of 194-8 show there were 4450 men employed at that time. In 1953, the Sharpsburg-Etna Herald carried a verse written by Mr. Henry ,I. Fullerton, an Etna resident and published poet. The Herald commented: '4The passing of Isabella Furnace has been immortalized in verse hy an Etna resident . . . verses aptly describes the ancient plant and what it meant to the community. 49