Little Beaver Historical Society

Just want everybody to know due to some private things going on in my personal life I will be stepping away from the Historical Society and the facebook page . Hopefully I will find someone to take over the page and continue posting here. This isn't health related so don't worry about my health. My run here has been great and I will always support local history in Beaver County. Dave Holoweiko

Stopped by the McCarl Industrial Museum today ( 1-16-21) for a little while & ended up reorganizing the medicine display I have on loan & helped with the Star Steam Engine! Boy, what a project! With Hostetler Benjamin , Jessica Derflinger , Jim Shanor , & of course: Steve Frost .Just because 2020 happened & there is still uncertain times doesn't mean that work has halted with maintenance & so forth here at our museums. We have several upcoming work days ( unofficially & ten...tatively)planned out (Usually Wednesdays & Saturdays ).Work NEVER ends when you're preserving history. May 2021 bring everyone much joy & happiness! We look forward to welcoming everyone back with open arms & scheduling private tours again( when that time comes)...in the meantime, we continue to "polish" our priceless gems of history out here in Darlington & we are more excited than ever to return back to normalcy. If you are interested in becoming a member or volunteering ( in any shape,size, or form), plz contact the society via Facebook Messenger & we'll get the details worked out! It's an OPPORTUNITY! We'd love to have you be a part of something extra special & almost too good to be true! Not sure I can tag ppl on this page...I tried. Lastly, just remember: we will always be bringing you updates on future events, updates of when we will open up again) & anything else NEW...so stay tuned. The best is yet to come...on this page, the museums...& the !- J.Derflinger.LBHS Board See more

Competing Educators With Lawrence County Connections By Betty Hoover DiRisio Two education system giants responsible for the publications that have taught mill...ions of youngsters and adults how to read, have local connections. William Holmes McGuffey wrote the original editions of his Primer, First, Second, Third and Fourth Readers (and his younger brother Alexander wrote the Fifth and the Sixth Readers). The readers were first published between 1836 and 1857. The American Book Company estimated that from 1836-1960 some 122 million copies were sold. Some home schoolers today are still taught using these publications. Lucius Osgood, the author of Osgood’s American Readers and Spellers, published 24 works from 1855 until 1873 with numerous editions. No estimate on the number of copies sold could be found. Most of his works are still available and can be purchased on Amazon. McGuffey was the son of Alexander (1779-1854) and Anna Holmes McGuffey (1776- 1/20/1829). He was born in 1800 in West Finley Township, Washington County and the family moved to Tuscarawas County, OH in about 1802. They settled in Coitsville, Ohio by 1804. Rev. William Wick, the first minister at Hopewell Presbyterian Church in New Bedford, Lawrence County, is said to have taught William as a young lad. The McGuffey road from Coitsville to Youngstown is named for Alexander, the father, who established the road. William attended Greersburg Academy in Darlington and Washington College from 1820-1825 where he was also an instructor. He began his career at the age of 14 teaching for a time in Poland, OH as a subscription scholar. He went to Oxford, Ohio teaching at Miami University where he met and married Harriet Spining in 1827. He moved around to various Ohio universities until 1845 when he was hired at the University of Virginia where he taught for 28 years. Harriet died on July 3, 1850 and he would later married Laura Howard, a daughter of the dean of the school of Medicine at the University of Virginia. They had one child who died in childhood. William Holmes McGuffey died in Charlottesville on May 4, 1873, and is buried there. His parents, Alexander and Anna, are buried in Hopewell Presbyterian Cemetery, New Bedford where a cenotaph has been placed in William’s honor. His grandparents are buried at Deer Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery in New Bedford. Lucius Osgood, was born in Peacham, VT, April 16, 1819. His parents were of the oldest Puritan families of New England, and were said to have descended from one of the pilgrims on the Mayflower. Lucius was educated at a local academy and began teaching at the age of 16. He taught in the winter and attended academy in his off time graduating with honors. When he was about 20, he came to New Castle, and for a short time taught elocution at Normal Glen in Shenango Township. (located near Savanah Road.)Moving to Pittsburgh he became principal of the Fourth Ward public school. He married Jane Frazier of New Castle in 1847 and the two were living with her parents there in 1860. In 1854 he began to prepare his readers for publication. They were used in almost every public school in Western Pennsylvania and grew in such popularity that in 1860 he invested in a publishing house. He associated himself with Mr. A. H. English, erected a large building on Fourth Ave. in Pittsburgh and managed the firm of A. H. English & Co. The firm became the largest school book publishers west of the Allegheny mountains. He continued to teach and was a principal at Pittsburgh North school until 1863, then transferring to Curry’s Normal Institute in Pittsburgh. He was appointed an elder by the Presbytery of Allegheny in 1863. His wife, Jane died at the age of 48 on April 15, 1871 at Allegheny City. He became one of the founders of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of Pittsburgh 1872 and in 1877 he remarried to Violette Dickson of New Castle. A devasting fire destroyed the publishing business and machinery in the spring of 1868 causing a complete loss to its owners of over $50,000. Attempting to rebuild, Osgood drew all the building plans and oversaw the work himself. Caught up in the financial crisis of 1873, the A. H. English & Co. went bankrupt and its failure caused his own. This apparently brought him back to New Castle where the family was living with his father-in-law, Isaac Dickson in 1880. Lucius died at the age of 61 in New Castle on June 7, 1880 at the residence of his father in law, 125 W. Grant St. He left the copyrights to his books in trust for his only surviving child, Lucius Jr. In 1882 a monument to the late professor was removed from Uniondale cemetery to New Castle where he is buried at Greenwood. Violette Dickson Osgood died in 1923. Lucius’ son Lucius Osgood, Jr. was a resident of New Castle until about 1910 when he moved to Johnstown. Junior was married to Maude Garvin, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. T. J. Garvin of New Castle. He also died in 1923. Thanks go out to @Brian McCullough who brought these two ancestors of his to our attention! Photos: Top - Lucius Osgood, LCHS Collection and Bottom -William Holmes McGuffey, Wikipedia.

So if anybody has a grandchild or kids of their own who wants a personalized letter from Santa I will be doing them for a fundraiser for the historical society. Send 5 dollars or a five dollar check made out to Little Beaver Historical Society along with the childs letter to Santa to me Dave Holoweiko at 6372 Tuscarawas Rd Midland PA 15059. Your child will receive a personalized letter back from Santa in the mail. Please make sure your child's letter to Santa arrives to me at least a week before Christmas so I have time to get the return letter to them before Christmas. Make sure there is a return address on the letter to Santa so your childs letter can be sent back.

In the devout Presbyterian home of my childhood, Sunday was a day of rest and worship. No farm work was done on that day except the chores necessary to take care of the animals. We attended Sunday school and church services in the morning, and then home to dinner, often pork and beans that had been baking while we were at church. In the afternoon Dad would read and Mom would study the Bible or practice on the piano. My little sister and I were allowed to play, but no running ...or yelling or anything boisterous. We weren’t allowed to listen to the radio or the Devil would certainly end up with our miserable souls. One Sunday in early December, I was seven years old and my sister was just a few weeks shy of turning five, things went along pretty much as usual. My Grandfather Moore, who we kids called Nandad, owned the South Beaver Township farm and he and Grandma lived in one half of the large farmhouse, while my family occupied the other. Nandad was a close follower of world events and all things political and he never missed listening to the six o’clock news (I believe his favorite commentator back then was Gabriel Heatter), even on Sunday. This particular Sunday evening, which happened to be 7 December, 1941, I heard a call from my grandmother and Mom and Dad went over to her living room and the adults gathered around the radio with serious faces, listening intently to the terrible news. Of course I didn’t have any idea what The Japs attacked Pearl Harbor; Thousands of service men and civilians dead or wounded; Most of the Pacific Fleet’s battleships sunk or out of action; and the dreaded, We’re at war! all meant, but I was terribly excited. I got my toy gun and waged loud and violent war on our enemies until the adults were sick of it and put me to bed. Hard to believe that was nearly eighty years ago, nor how much the world has changed since then. See more

https://www.sykafuneralhome.com/obituary/Peter-Kappas

Today we remember all of those who lost their lives on this date 79 years ago.

https://www.timesonline.com//local-actors-rep/6231756002/

Do you remember "Olde Frothingslosh, the pale, stale ale with the foam on the bottom?" Olde Frothingslosh was the brainchild of Rege Cordic, a radio personality at station KDKA in Pittsburgh, who claimed the ale was brewed by "Sir Reginald Frothingslosh at Upper Crudney-on-the-Thames." During the late 1950s and later the Pittsburgh Brewing Company labeled some of their beer as "Olde Frothingslosh" during the holidays and, since "The foam is on the bottom," the bottles and cans were packed upside down in the cases. I remember sometimes drinking Olde Frothingslosh back in those days.

Another sad day tomorrow as it would have been our first day of Santa at the Log Cabin for 2020.

Sad to announce that we have lost one of my friends and a great asset to Beaver County History and an editor on this page Freedom school district history teacher Pete Kappas. Pete was an avid reenactor and appeared at many of our events in Darlington as well as being in the filming of the Underground RR video filmed at the church in Darlington. Sadly Pete lost his battle with the Covid virus today. Rest in peace my friend .

On a sadder note I am asking everyone to say a prayer for one of our friends and great historians in Beaver County who is currently in the hospital on a respirator fighting for his life against Covid. I won't mention who it is for his and his families privacy . He can use all our thoughts and prayers to get him through to the other side.

Its a sad day as today would have been the first day of the annual Ridings Family holiday train display. Hopefully this time next year the display will be up bigger and better. We are still decorating outside at the McCarl Industrial and Red Brick museums and log cabin. All displays will be lit on December the 4th and every weekend till the end of December They will be visible from Plumb Street and along 168 no need to leave your car. . Happy holidays everyone and here's hoping we will be back to normal next year.