It may be one of Allegheny County's smallest communities – covering just about 1 square mile in Pittsburgh's South Hills – but Castle Shannon has made its presence known by its rich past, determined present and promising future. Surrounded by Bethel Park to the south, Whitehall to the east, Baldwin Township to the north and Mt. Lebanon to the west, Castle Shannon is tucked in a picturesque valley six miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Once the scene of a bustling coal mining industry in the late 19th century, the borough today has grown into a thriving neighborhood with a variety of shops, businesses and an active local government. From its beginnings in the early 1800s, Castle Shannon residents were proud of their heritage and their roots. Borough records show that, like many southwestern Pennsylvanians, the first area settlers were of Scotch-Irish descent. David Strawbridge – thought to be a descendant of Robert Strawbridge, founder of the Methodist Church in the United States – was issued the first land grant in 1784. He chose to name his farm Castle Shanahan after a river in his native Ulster, Ireland. When Strawbridge died in 1820, he reportedly left his property to an unmarried daughter, Jean, who then sold it to her married sisters. The name “Shanahan” eventually evolved into Castle Shannon. According to the borough's Web site ( www.borough.castle-shannon.pa.us ), most of the early residents were farmers who grew rye as their cash crop. Rye also helped them to make whiskey for barter using the stills that were common sights on local farms. For a time, Pennsylvania and Virginia both laid claim to the area, so the founders established their claims by petition. The greater area became known as Lower St. Clair of Washington County, which was repositioned into Allegheny County in 1797. Local citizens sought to break away from Lower St. Clair for many years, and in 1844 Baldwin Township was formed. Baldwin encompassed most of the South Hills. By the 1870s, as neighborhoods took shape, one area became known as the Village of Castle Shannon. It was incorporated as a borough on Dec. 20, 1919. Coal mining became a major industry in the late 19th century, along with a growing floral industry that encouraged a large wave of immigrants to settle in the area. Many lived in company houses built within walking distance of the mines or the greenhouses. Early trains brought outsiders to the borough to enjoy its rural wooded setting. It was interesting – and a symbol of the times – that various ethnic groups socialized within their own nationalities. German picnickers rode to the borough's Linden Grove, while Greeks traveled to Sleepy Hollow, Polish picnickers used Adams Grove and Lithuanians and Serbians held their outdoor get-togethers along the top of Hamilton Road. In 1909, Pittsburgh Railroad bought the right of way through the valley and started an electric trolley line. It extended from Pittsburgh through the Pittsburgh Railways Tunnel and through Castle Shannon to Washington and Charleroi. Before then, other trolleys were routed through Dormont, Beechview, Brookline and Mt. Lebanon. As Castle Shannon grew into a mining center, the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad became a common sight hauling loads of freight. The railroad still operates and carries heavy freight loads today, although not as often as when trains were busy carrying coal cars at all times of the night and day. Castle Shannon Councilman Mike Cheberenchick, who celebrated his 81st birthday July 26, recalls traveling with his family on the old streetcar line. “Every Sunday my dad would take us to church on the South Side,” he says. “It cost 25 cents for a pass. Later that day, we'd ride to Charleroi or Donora for entertainment. It was something to do on a Sunday afternoon.” Cheberenchick says his father was a miner who moved with his family from New Jersey to find employment with Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Co., where he worked for 20 years. The councilman started his community service with the borough in 1968 as a justice of the peace (now district magistrate) and was elected mayor in 1974. He has served on council “going on 20 years,” he says. “When I was growing up, our borough building was a little garage in the middle of town, maybe 30 or 40 feet wide. Our current borough building (located on McRoberts Road) used to be the former Highland School until four years ago.” Cheberenchick's wife, Hazel, used to take the streetcar to Kaufmann's in downtown Pittsburgh where she worked, her husband says. The couple has been married for 52 years. In 2001, he was chosen as “Man of the Year” by Castle Shannon Chamber of Commerce, which is now a member of South Hills Chamber of Commerce. He says that in all his years in the borough, the biggest improvement is that “we now have a medical rescue team, Medical Rescue Team South Authority,” which serves Castle Shannon and five other South Hills communities. Before the rescue team was formed in 1976, when someone became ill, “we put them in an old station wagon and took them to the hospital,” he notes. Today, Cheberenchick and Mayor Donald Baumgarten represent Castle Shannon on the MRTSA board of directors. Another former resident, Paula (Kriss) Kimbrough, who lived in Castle Shannon from 1953 to 1970 and now resides in Jensen Beach, Fla., also has memories of riding the rails in the South Hills. Her best memory of living in the borough, she says, is “the independence of being able to take the streetcar downtown or ride my bike pretty much anywhere I wanted to go because Castle Shannon was so compact and accessible.” Kimbrough, who has researched the borough's history, says that one of Castle Shannon's most famous former residents was Philip Murray, who came to Castle Shannon in 1902 as a 16-year-old immigrant. Born in Scotland of Irish parents, Murray went straight to work in the mines, she says. “When he was fired from his job in 1906 following a fight with a foreman, he found a new career that made more of his natural gifts: Union work.” According to Kimbrough, Murray rose to the vice presidency of the United Mine Workers, then the vice presidency and presidency of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, and the United Steelworkers of America. “He successfully organized over 600,000 steelworkers, knew several presidents, was on the cover of Time magazine and could draw 25,000 people to Labor Day rallies in South Park,” she says. “At his death in 1952, every important labor figure of the time appeared to pay their respects when he was buried at St. Anne's Cemetery in Castle Shannon.” From Railroads to the “T” Rail transportation is one area in which Castle Shannon has always been in the forefront, from the first railroads connecting it to Pittsburgh in 1872 to today's Light Rail Transit lines. Today, the T is the topic of much discussion by the Port Authority of Allegheny County. In 2001, the Port Authority received a $100 million federal mass transit grant to reconstruct the Castle Shannon stretch of the light-rail line, a major renovation project that began in April 2000. Portions of old trolley lines are being converted to LRT standards, and park and ride lot facilities are being upgraded and added. The project includes the purchase of 28 new light rail vehicles, the remanufacture of Port Authority's existing fleet of 55 light rail vehicles, expansion and modernization of the Authority's Operations Control Center and the addition of approximately 2,200 park and ride lot spaces. Paul Skoutelas, chief executive officer of the authority, says the project will benefit up to 6,500 passengers daily. The target completion date is late 2003. “The T line is our biggest asset,” says Baumgarten. “To live in the suburbs and work in the city, you couldn't live any closer. Public transportation to and from Pittsburgh is a real plus for us.” One businessman who welcomes the improvements to the light-rail service is Ralph Murovich, owner of Ice Castle on Castle Shannon Boulevard. He opened the ice skating facility in November 2000. Murovich says the expanded rail service “will permit families in the Baldwin-Whitehall areas to come here via public transportation.” Ice Castle is home ice for the Pittsburgh Predators Hockey Club, a member of the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League. Murovich says he is proud that “in two short years, we have become the biggest association in the South Hills and one of the biggest in Pittsburgh.” On a recent weekend, he was preparing to host a tournament with 70 teams from outside the city and as far away as New York, Michigan and Texas. Some 325 hockey players take part in league action at his rink, according to Murovich. “In fact, we've turned kids away due to no availability of ice time,” he says. In addition, an average of 400 young people attend public skating sessions at the facility on weekends, he adds. “The local police and the borough have been very cooperative,” he says. “We have a great relationship. We've had no incidents here in two years – and we've had as many as 700 kids here at one time.” Castle Shannon Police Chief Harold Lane supervises a force of 12 officers, a K-9 unit, a bicycle unit, truck inspection and crime prevention office. “The borough is pretty diversified,” he says. “We have a lot of businesses, but the main part is residential. With the way times are changing, we have to make sure we have a well-trained department. Our job is to have residents' trust and confidence so they will report crimes and incidents and we can follow through.” Lane says recent additions to the police force include establishing a substation “on the other side of the borough to provide quicker response time.” He says the borough's police force was one of the first departments to use mobile data terminals in police cars. “Our goal is to keep up with technology,” he says. The mayor says several other developing projects will have a positive impact on Castle Shannon's future. Work has begun on a new luxury garden apartment complex called Castleridge on Baldwin Street that will add five apartment buildings, housing a total of 112 apartments and including a pool, clubhouse and exercise room at the site of the former Vernridge School, he says. “We're landlocked, and there's not a lot of vacant property,” Baumgarten notes. “The addition of 100-plus units is one of our biggest building projects in a long while.” Borough Manager Tom Hartswick says another pending project involves the area where Route 88 is being widened in the borough's business district along Castle Shannon Boulevard. The state Department of Transportation is rebuilding Route 88 from McNeilly Road to the Route 51 interchange, which has caused lane restrictions, road closings and temporary congestion problems. A preliminary plan by a local developer involves the possible addition of more housing units near the site on Port Authority property, says Hartswick. “We could see 400 to 500 units coming on board in the borough in the next several years,” he says. The proposed $500 million project would add an indoor soccer arena, retail area, indoor farmers market, apartments and parking spaces for 500 cars, according to the manager. Councilwoman Jean O'Malley says that major renovations to the Community Library of Castle Shannon over the past year have been another asset to the borough. Located on Myrtle Avenue, the library offers many programs for area children and adults, she says. It also serves as a meeting place for community groups, including the Woman's Club of Castle Shannon, Three Rivers Postcard Club, Broad Investors and Castle Shannon Garden Club. Renovations include relocating the children's area to the front of the library, according to children's librarian Heather McCue. Children now have access to five computers – three connected to the Internet and two word processors. A new kids' page on the library's Web site ( www.einetwork.net/ein/castshan ) helps keep children informed of library activities, she adds. Craig Hayward, a library and information science graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, was recently hired at the library as a computer coordinator to help with technology needs. “We hope to offer computer classes for the community” in addition to the library's other services, he says. O'Malley, whose husband, Tom, was Castle Shannon's mayor for 14 years until his death in March 2000, was appointed to fill the council seat of Baumgarten, who replaced Tom O'Malley as mayor. She says she is enjoying “getting to meet people and learning a lot about storm sewers and other things I never knew existed.” O'Malley says she feels honored to serve the residents of Castle Shannon along with the rest of the borough administrators. “I always tell them it's the mother's point of view they're getting from me,” she says. Local businessmen and brothers, Jim and Frank Paonessa, have operated Family Hair Center in the borough's Lebanon Shops strip mall along Castle Shannon Boulevard for 23 years. Frank says the convenient location is why they have remained in Castle Shannon's business district. “I live in Mt. Lebanon, only one mile away,” Frank Paonessa says. “The location is great, and I love the people here. Where else can I go to work, argue with people all day and charge them for it?” One of his employees, Tom Lynch, agrees that Castle Shannon is a good place to live and work. “It's a great middle-working-class neighborhood,” he says. “It's a five-minute drive to shopping in South Hills, a 10-minute ride to Pittsburgh, and it's a nice, safe neighborhood to live in.” Carnival stays in town In Castle Shannon, the carnival doesn't come to town anymore. The carnival is in town all the time – ever since the local fire department bought it. While firefighting and fire prevention are the two main responsibilities of Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department, Chief Bill Reffner says the company also sponsors one of the biggest social events in the borough each summer, the annual firemen's carnival. Held the last full week of July, the carnival is a major fund-raiser for the fire department and is “more like a homecoming for a lot of people who used to live here, or whose kids have grown up and moved away,” Reffner says. The fire company used to sponsor a “Haunted School” Halloween fund-raiser each October at the old Hamilton Elementary School, which was located on Route 88 next to the fire station. When the school was vacated in the late 1960s, the firefighters purchased it from Keystone Oaks School District and used it as a warehouse when it wasn't being used as a “haunting” place for local children, according to Reffner. As preparations continue for the widening of Route 88 and the reopening of the light-rail line in 2003, the school was torn down in May of this year. The fire company had the space paved for additional parking, the chief says. Now that there's no “Haunted School,” the carnival is more important that ever to help raise funds for the all-volunteer organization, he says. “We used to pay a ‘carny' (the carnival owner) to bring the rides into the borough for our carnival,” Reffner says. “It was a lot of work unloading and setting up the rides.” When the owner of the rides decided to retire from the business, the fire company bought the rides and attractions, he says. The firemen had a large garage built on their property that houses the rides year-round. The rides include a Ferris wheel, paratrooper, car ride, merry-go-round, tub ride and “Mad Hornet” twister, the chief notes. “We have two certified firemen and a rides chairman who oversee the operation,” says Reffner. “The state also comes in every year to inspect the rides for safety.” Reffner says it takes some 350 residents to run the carnival. “A lot of people in the area volunteer, as do the firemen and their wives,” he says. “Everybody gets involved.” The chief estimates at least 10,000 people visit the carnival each night. “The fire department has always been the center of the community,” he says. “Whether it's Light Up Night or another community event, we have the resources they need. And I don't know of any other fire departments who own their own carnival.” The department, which was organized in 1922, has 40 active and more than 20 retired firefighters, the chief says. The fire company recently began providing fire protection for neighboring Baldwin Township after that community's fire department disbanded and asked Castle Shannon to provide fire coverage. Firefighting equipment includes a 100-foot aerial platform truck, three pumpers, one squad car and a chief's car. The station also houses Allegheny County's hazardous materials (Hazmat) response team's truck used for South Hills communities, he adds. — Candy Williams Time line Some early events that helped shaped Castle Shannon Borough: 1786 — First settlers to arrive were the Strawbridge, Rutherford, Roberts, McCall and Beltzhoover families. Land grants sold to the settlers by the state were purchased for as little as 22 cents an acre. Early settlers found this area was ideal for farming, with beautiful streams and numerous springs, plenty of fish and game and heavily supplied timber 1871 – A narrow-gauge railroad was built to Castle Shannon from Pittsburgh. It stretched along the valley as far as Fair Haven, now Overbrook. Farmers from the district donated the use of their wagons and other vehicles to transport prospective buyers to the new town site. To each person building a home, a free two-year pass was given by the railroad. There was no charge for the hauling of lumber. 1872 — Two amusement groves were located at what is now Castle Shannon. The first was the Grove Station and was opened to the public on Memorial Day in 1872. Another grove was the Zoological Gardens, located in the vicinity of Arch Street and Poplar Avenue 1877 — A second narrow-gauge railroad, the Pittsburgh and Southern, was built from Finleyville through Castle Shannon to the West End of Pittsburgh. 1894 — St. Anne Parish opened its first school in the church sacristy. 1909 — Pittsburgh Railroad bought the right-of-way through the valley and started the electric trolley line. This line extended from Pittsburgh through the Pittsburgh Railways Tunnel and through Castle Shannon to Washington and Charleroi. Before this time, other trolleys had been routed through Beechview, Brookline, Dormont and Mt. Lebanon. Castle Shannon became a center of mining, and with the mines, came the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad. This railroad still operates and carries heavy freight loads. One time, coal cars were on these tracks day and night. 1919 — Castle Shannon was incorporated as a borough, formed from parts of Baldwin, Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Township. 1921 — Castle Shannon had 63 gas lamps in the borough served by the Welsbach Street Lighting Company but they were expensive to maintain. The gas bill for March 1920 was $97.13. Council later approved Duquesne Light to serve the borough. Council enacted Ordinance #7, allowing Castle Shannon to enter into a contract with Duquesne Light Company to furnish street and highway lights 1925 — The Board of Health of Castle Shannon released the report of the number of communicable diseases in the borough: 19 cases of diphtheria, three cases of scarlet fever and one case each of typhoid fever and whooping cough. A resolution was sent to the State Board of Health demanding relief from conditions brought about by the overflow from the Mt. Lebanon Sewage Disposal Plant. 1940 — Council conducts its first meeting at the new borough hall on Castle Shannon Boulevard. Bids were opened for a new police car, the four bids ranged from $657 for a 1941 2 door Ford sedan to $715 for a 1941 2 door Hudson sedan. 1952 — Council approves salary increases for the following positions, police chief from $3,600 to $4,200 per year, police lieutenant from $3,120 to $3,720 per year, police sergeant from $3,120 to $3,600 per year, police woman from $600 to $900 per year, road supervisor from $3,300 to $3,900 per year, equipment operator from $3,120 to $3,600 per year, borough secretary from $960 to $1,200 per year and laborers received a rate of $1.50 per hour. (Source: www.borough.castle-shannon.pa.us ) Castle Shannon facts Founded: Dec. 20, 1919 Location: South Hills of Pittsburgh Total Area: 1 square mile Population: 8,556 (based on 2000 census) School District: Keystone Oaks; children from Castle Shannon attend Myrtle Avenue Elementary School Mayor: Donald J. Baumgarten Council: R. J. Zezulewicz Jr., president; Paul J. Coffey, vice president; Jean O'Malley; Mike Cheberenchick; Ted H. Kirk; Nancy Kovach; Robert J. Carlucci. Candy Williams is an Elizabeth freelance writer for the Tribune-Review.

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