Westminster College - Argo Yearbook (New Wilmington, PA)

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NEW WILMINGTON UPTOWN -WHERE WESTMINSTER SHOPS By Jennifer Pruitt THE STOPPING PLACE BEN FRANKLIN Last year The Stopping Place opened its door for business, and in doing so fulfilled a life long dream of owner Gretchen Moesta. As one of New Wilmington ' s newest stores it offered many dif- ferent items, and when walking through the store you may have noticed sev- eral different atmospheres. In the front was an old fa- shioned candy store remi- niscent of Ike ' s in The Walton ' s with its candy- by-the-pound and baked goods section. The left side of the store was a typical newsstand which featured paperbacks. New Wil- mington ' s largest maga- zine section, and newspa- pers from Pittsburgh, Youngstown, New Castle, and New Wilmington. And in the back right cor- ner was a plant and planter section with plants ranging in size from small cacti to relatively large rubber plants. This section was devoted to the area ' s craftsmen who sold their products on consignment. Mrs. Moesta enjoyed the large number of college students her store drew, and said she missed seeing them when summer rolled around. 1 Beth Faesi and Sue Laffin satisfy a sweet tooth by purchasing a treat at the Stopping Place. - S. Kretzler Ben Franklin 5 10 was located next to The Tav- ern. It mostly carried run- of-the-mill dime store pro- ducts, but the New Wil- mington Ben Franklin did have a few unique items such as Amish hats and WHEREINTHEHEL- LISNEWWILMING- TON T-shirts. The ma- jority of Ben Franklin ' s customers were either from New Wilmington or the surrounding communi- ties of Sharon, Pulaski, and New Castle. Other customers included diners from The Tavern, tourists, and Westminster students. Chet Williams took over ownership of the 13-year- old store two years ago. Since Ben Franklin was a chain dime store, they re- ceived their merchandise from their manufacturing outlet rather than the local community. Nancy Hardman and Renee Buckley do some holiday shop- ping at Ben Franklin ' s. - 5. Kretzler THE CARRIAGE TRADE Ellie Guide and Claudia Piazza search in the apparel section of the Carriage Trade for warmer wear to face another New Wil- mington winter. - Miller The Carriage Trade was a small, unobtrusive store hid- den behind The Front Porch (shoe store) on Vine Street. Lucille Summerfield opened The Carriage Trade in May of 1978. Quite a bit of the store ' s business came from Westminster students; in fact, some of the fraternities and sororities bought their sweaters there. In addition to a clothing section. The Carriage Trade also had a large selection of needle- work kits and supplies, can- dy, cards, stationary, and antiques. Like many of the uptown stores, they looked forward to such annual col- lege events as Homecoming and Parents ' Day. 24

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1916 Revisited The 1916 Argo used Emily Dickinson ' s lines, ril walk where my own nature would be leading to describe Senior Emily Johnston. Emily ' s nature led her to stay on Vine Street and active in community affairs. I had the timing just right, so I could leave my house as soon as the chimes started and make it to chapel on time. Sometimes, though. 1 was a little slow. 1 split two or three dresses running to beat the bell. Does that routine sound all too familiar? it was certainly a large part of Emily Johnston ' s lifestyle. Miss Johnston made her run from East Vine Street every school day until she graduated in 1916. While the mad dash to class has remained the same, many aspects of college life have changed. Fraterni- ties had to keep a low profile, while sororities were v ' ery secret. My best friend belonged and I never knew it. Good Roads Day was when the men helped to build and to repair roads around the community, and Freshman Frolic was a day for the women to hike and picnic. Sugar Camp was a time for the students to walk along railroad tracks to where maple sugar was being made and to sample the product. Hillside was then a women ' s dormitory, and could be reached through a switchboard operator. It used to be hard, sometimes, for the boys to get through, but one boy never seemed to have any problem. Later I learned he bribed the operator with a box of chocolates to ring him through when he called. Even though her eyesight isn ' t what it used to be Miss Johnston still attends the annual Homecoming game. Don ' t tell anyone I can ' t see what ' s going on — just tell me when to cheer. - Robin Speer

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FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LAWRENCE COUNTY The Bank by the traffic light that we all used at one time or an- other during the year (es- pecially on Fridays or pay days) was more properly known as The First Na- tional Bank of Lawrence County. While all students didn ' t hold First National checking accounts, these were the people who cleared all of our checks. Before its merger in 1962, First National was the De- positors ' National Bank and was the first bank in New Wilmington. The bank not only handled the check clearing for West- minster students, but they were the depository for the college. Broadway comes to New Wil- mington — the sparkling sidewalk in front of the bank. - J. Miller MON ' S SERENDIPITY SHOPPE Down the hill from Ben Franklin was Mon ' s O.K. Buy- A-Bit, Mon ' s O.K. Coin Laundromat, and for hot and dirty summer days there was Mon ' s O.K. Car Wash — all owned and run by Dan Montozzi. Mon ' s was the only place in town where you could go to satisfy those post- eleven o ' clock, pre-midnight munchies. The Buy-A-Bit was a combination grocery store, delicatessen, and news- stand. The laundromat also had pinball machines and a jukebox to help you pass the time while doing your week ' s (or was it weeks ' ) worth of laundry. Certain magazines that can not be found most places uptown are probably available at Mon ' s. Here Jim Miller makes his choice be- tween American History or Penthouse. The Serendipity Shoppe was perhaps the most unique store in New Wil- mington, and not just be- cause it was next to the The Ozone. All of the Serendipity Shoppe ' s mer- chandise was placed there on consignment by crafts- men from the area and some from Westminster students. The owners chose New Wilmington as the site for their store six years ago because of the large number of creative people living in the vicini- ty, and their choice had apparently paid off since they had approximately 250 contributing artisans. Their customers came from The Tavern, college students and parents, and tourists. Phyllis Hawkins browses through some of the many handmade gift items at the Ser- endipity Shoppe. - P. Petraglia