The Hot Dog Shop ~

Gutting out.

Photo: Michael Newcaster

Butler Revival ~

  The Hot Dog Shop is Next

Photo: Michael Newcaster.

Guy Travaglio ~ BHS '45

Guy Travaglio at Butler's Ethnic Festival

Thanks: Paul D. Johnston Jr.
How many of us danced to the strains of his music . . .

The House We Never Saw ~

Elm Court Entrance Courtyard 
This is as far as we ever got.

BHS Football Scores ~ 2012

BHS Football Scores

2012

BHS 09 [L ] – Seneca Valley 24
BHS 60 [W] – Shaler 26
BHS 19 [W] - Pine Richland 7
BHS 00 [L ] - North Hills 14
BHS 00 [L ] - North Allegheny 49
BHS 03 [L ] - Upper St. Clair 34
BHS 23 [W] - Hempfield 10
BHS 49 [W] - Fox Chapel 7
BHS 00 [L ] - Central Catholic 31

Gone Forever ~ Hot Dog Shop

Icon to be razed
Hot Dog Shop coming down
By Sandy Pontius
Eagle Staff Writer 

The Hot Dog Shop building, that icon of downtown Butler from 1912 to 2004, is to be knocked down on Wednesday.
The demolition is set to start on Aug. 29, 2012 at 8 a.m., and will include the Reiber Building next door.
The buildings, which have a 101-107 S. Main St. address, face Jefferson Street.
Ken Reilly Demolition, Mars, will do the work.
The demolition will make space for the craft beer brewers known as Butler Brew Works, which will be housed in the former Eckerd Drugs red brick building that faces Main Street. Eventually, the entrepreneurs plan to build a patio on the Hot Dog Shop site.
“That is our intention, and maybe putting in a bocci ball or cornhole court,” said Greg Deal, a Brew Works partner. “We’re getting there slowly but surely.”
Cedar Street, an alley that runs parallel to Main Street behind the Reiber Building, will be closed intermittently during the demolition, said John Evans, Butler zoning officer. Cedar Street will be used as a staging area, he said.
After the demolition is completed, work on the Main Street building will begin, including roof, plumbing, heating and air conditioning improvements, Deal said.
Although an end-of-year opening was planned, Deal said that is “optimistic.” It’s more likely the tap room will be open by spring 2013, he said.
“The earlier we can get open the better,” Deal said.
The group recently bought a 10-barrel brewing system that can produce more than 1,200 barrels of beer annually, based on a two-week production cycle.
The Brew Works then must be 90 days away from opening to apply for a liquor license, Deal said.
“Basically, you have to have everything set in stone,” he said.
The Brew Works partners are Deal and Nick Fazzoni, both of Butler, Travis Tuttle of Bridgeville and Paul Hytla of Pittsburgh.
They bought the quarter-acre parcel in January and auctioned off memorabilia from the Hot Dog Shop in the last two weeks of May to help pay for the demolition. They sold Hot Dog Shop coffee tokens, menus and signs.
from the Butler Eagle

Old Armco Entrance ~

Now AK Steel 

Photo: Barbara Bloom

Looking Up McKean Street ~

From McKean and North Streets

Penn Hardware ~ 1941

Angie Chiprean 
in front of his hardware store on East Jefferson Street.
Photo: Frank Komitsky Jr.

Butler ~ Home of the Jeep

Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival

August 10, 11, 12, 2012

in Butler

Georgia Sawhook ~ BHS'66 ~ Butler Author

 Georgia seated on the floor in red.

Mother of seven and grandmother of 21.

Her book entitled ...."Potty Training To Puberty---THE PITS!!! (with hugs along the way)" is about mothering with a lot of love, encouragement, and inspiration from the Lord.

Butler Women Served in W.W.II ~

Staff Sgt. Inez G. Lucas

Frankfurt, Germany 1946-1948
Photo: Don Sell

Alameda Park ~ Pool and Roller Coaster

Photo thanks: Bill May

Major General Robert L. Smolen ~ Knoch '70

Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert L. Smolen, who grew up in Butler, oversees the nation's arsenal of nuclear weapons. He is the deputy administrator for defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. He sees to the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile and the readiness to test and develop new warheads, if required. 

† 18 May 2014

Fixing Up ~

Smith's Flowers

Corner of Main and New Castle Streets

Photo: Robert Emigh

Lyndora School ~ 8th Grade Class ~ 1952

Photo: Frank Komitsky Jr.

[Click image to enlange]

Inside the Courthouse ~

Inside the Courthouse
Photo: Barbara Bloom

Butler Pool ~

It was a great pool. No longer in use.

We loved it.

Thanks: Barbara Bloom

Photos

Meghan Schnur BHS '03 ~ Women's Professional Soccer

Meghan is a professional soccer player and has played on the Women's National Team.

Butler ~ Lyndora

Lyndora in the sunlight.

Photo: Scott Goldsmith

Butler Jr. High School ~

The Swimming Pool
 Photo: Barbara Bloom

Chester Aaron BHS '41 ~ Butler Author

Prolific author of novels, stories, and memoirs, Chester Aaron was born in 1923 in a Butler. He saw combat in World War II, and was with the troops that liberated Dachau. Following publication of his first novel in 1967, he was an x-ray technician at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, CA. Later he joined the faculty at Saint Mary’s College. Over the last twenty-five years, he has become known worldwide for the ninety varieties of exotic garlic he grows on his farm in Sonoma County.

Rich Saul BHS '66

  †  15. April 2012

Magnet '66

 Rich and his twin brother, Ron, starred on BHS football team. After playing in college they went on to play in the NFL.

The Neighborhood Bar ~ Vero's

Nestled on E. Locust Street between Elm and Monroe Streets near Butler Catholic (St. Paul's) School, Vero's Bar was a staple on the east side of Butler for over 50 years. Fred Vero, not the one that was Mayor in the late 1970's, but his grandfather, received one of the first liquor licenses in Butler County after prohibition was repealed in 1933. A section of the front of their home was enclosed, and a local bar was born. This establishment spanned three generations of Veros. Fred's two sons, Sam (and wife Sis) and Leonard (Hank) operated it for many years, the Sam's son Fred (also not the mayor from the late 1970's) ran it until it closed in the late 1980's.

Thanks : Mark Swift

Beloved Butler Citizen ~

Photo: Butler Eagle

+ 23 March 2012

Abie Abraham

Butler's Hero

Mural on Jefferson Street ~

Beautifying our downtown area.

Thanks: Anonymous Butler Resident 

Butler Fall Festival ~ 2010

Photo: Bruce Fratto

Butler Savings and Trust Building ~

In the heart of town: Jefferson and Main.

Aland's Penny Store ~

Aland's Toyland
We all loved this store.

 Read a bit of history about our Utopia on Main Street.

Miller's Shoes ~ James Chiprean

Miller's Shoes, celebrating their 119th anniversay in the same location.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church ~

This church located on East Jefferson Street was established in 1818 and building of the church was begun in 1895. Andrew Carnegie presented an organ, said to be the last one given by him as an outright donation.  

Photo: Barbara Bloom

Vietnam War Memorial ~ Our Gratitude

"To Those Who Died...
Honor And Eternal Rest,
To Those Still in Bondage...
Remembrance and Hope,
To Those Who Returned...
Gratitude and Peace"

[List of names]

Photo: Barbara Bloom

Doughboy Park ~

In Honor of the Boys of

Butler County

Who Served Their Country

And in Memory of Those Who

Made the Supreme Sacrifice

In The World War 1914-1918

Inscription on the monument

This park is located at the intersection of Cunningham St. and New Castle St. on a small strip of land.

Photo: Barbara Bloom

Franklin Glass Swimming Pool ~ 1938

Text under the above picture: 

The Franklin Glass Beneficial association's new recreational center at the city limits on Ziegler Ave. extension road, have provided cooling touches to the brows of many a feverish youngster. Above is shown the swimming pool which has been rebuilt this year. The water is 10 feet deep at its greatest depth. A new chlorinenator keeps the water pure at all times. The above picture was snapped on a recent hot afternoon.

Thanks: Bill May

Butlerites ~ Let's Hear What You're Doing ~ Where You Are !

Please tell us about yourself, where you are and what you're doing and about your ties with Butler.

 

Rick Santorum ~ Attended BHS ~ Rep. Presidential Candidate

In a 1994 Butler Eagle interview when he was running for his first Senate term Rick Santorum said he had fond memories of Butler "the greatest place in the world to grow up, for so many reasons". [Iowa Caucus speech Jan 4, 2012]  

Photo: Businessinsider.com

Butler County Courthouse ~

Our stately main courtroom.

Photo: Barbara Bloom

Aerial View of Butler ~

Looking good!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas 2011

[click on photo to enlarge] 

Pullman Standard Workers Badge ~

Thanks: Robert Emigh

The Old Stone House ~

Photo: oldstonehousepa.org

James Hollock ~ BHS '66

"Over the past dozen years I have worked on a book, one of true crime and arguably the most notorious and recalled criminal episode in Western Pennsylvania history." James Hollock.

About James Hollock and his book click

A Candy Shop on Main Street ~

Cummings Candy Shop  ca. 1920

After A Hard Rain ~ Linda Randig

Linda Randig

Butler author

Butler's Prized-Fighter ~

April 27, 2008

Brian Minto has done it again: his 30th win!

Latest Update

Butler Jr. High School ~

Constructed 1917
See how Butler values Education.

Butler High School ~

How many have walked up this elegant staircase?
Photo: Barbara Bloom

Diamond Square ~

A reminder of those who fought . . . and died.

Alameda Park ~

Where the merry-go-round used to be . . .

Photo: Robert Emigh