At first glance, the large building that houses Maple Creek Distributing in Charleroi looks like many other business sites.
But the appearance of the 20,000-square-foot structure at 158 Lincoln Avenue extension belies its historical significance – inside and out.
“The building was constructed in 1907,” said Joseph W. (Joe) McGaughey, owner of the business now its 56th year of operation. “There were others (businesses) here before us, so, yes, there's a lot of history involved with the building and the complex around us.”
One of the first links to that past that greets visitors to Maple Creek Distributing is a huge “Crystal Clear Ice Cubes” machine adjacent to the main entrance of the building. It was, for several years, a prominent display at the former 7 Up Bottling Company at 204 Lincoln Avenue extension owned and operated by Harry T. Patton. That site has been occupied by Marsh Tire Service since 1963.
“We bought the ice machine from Henry in 1962, not long before he went out of business,” said McGaughey, 70. “Henry was a nice man. Everyone liked him. When he said he was closing the bottling business, I told him I would like to have the ice machine. It was a good deal and the only stipulation was that I move it from his place to our building.”
Enter Henry Cooper, who owned and operated a garage nearby along what has been known as Maple Creek Road, Old Route 71 and the Charleroi-Bentleyville Road in Fallowfield Township.
“Mr. Cooper brought one of his trucks to Henry's place, hooked up the ice machine with chains and towed it down the road,” McGaughey recalled. “You didn't need permits in those days, so we were able to drag it behind Henry's truck with little trouble. It made a few marks on the road, but we got it there safe and sound.”
The ice machine, which provided customers with ice 24 hours per day, is still functional.
“The cost initially was fifty-cents for a bag of ice, but the machine took quarters only,” McGaughey said. “To make it work today, I would have to install a dollar-bill changer and the price would be $1.25. But most people don't use cash these day; they prefer plastic – you know, credit cards – so I don't think it would be prudent to make the conversion.
“The machine does draw a lot of attention. We've had it since 1962 and Henry used it for about 10 years before that, so it's at least 63 years old.”
Inside the spacious building that offers myriad brands of beer and soft drinks, McGaughey has three machines that produce 500 pounds of ice per day.
“Ice is a big part of our business,” he said. “People buy beer or pop and then need ice to keep it cold, so we just keep turning it out.”
Beverages, snacks, Pennsylvania Lottery tickets and ice-making machines notwithstanding, the interior of the Maple Creek Distributing building is filled with memorabilia and artifacts McGaughey has collected – and appreciated – most of his life
These items include but are not limited to signs and taps touting brands of beer no longer in existence, mugs and glasses, and a variety of fishing gear.
“I haven't gone fishing in many years,” said McGaughey, a 1962 graduate of Charleroi High School and a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam. “But I like to collect things like this. I still have the first fishing rod and the first rifle I bought at Grant-Bliss Hardware in Charleroi when I was a kid. All of these things are constant reminders of various stages of my life and of the history of our town and our business.”
McGaughey's father, Joseph T. McGaughey, and his partner, Ed Paluso of Twilight, founded Maple Creek Distributing in 1959 “just up the road” from the present site.
“Initially, they had a trucking business and traveled near and far with a large variety of customers,” McGaughey said. “They decided to open the distributorship in 1959. But Ed was still interested in trucking, so my father eventually bought him out and ran the business himself.”
Maple Creek Distributors was initially located at 144 Lincoln Ave. Ext. In October 1984, Krutz Keystone Service moved from 1 McKean Ave., Charleroi, to that site and the McGaughey business made the transition to its new (and current) home.
“A specialty glass designing factory was located here for many years,” McGaughey said. “They bought glassware from Macbeth-Evans, the forerunner of Corning Glass, and hand-crafted unique designs on the glasses. They had working stations situated around the building and a large number of women worked there using patterns to etch the designs on the glasses. I still have some of those products. They are very unique.”
The building later became home to a beer distributorship and a bicycle shop, both owned by L.L. Clark.
“Mr. Clark sold all of the top brand bicycles – Columbia, Schwinn, Whizzer and many others,” McGaughey said. “It was the premier bike shop in the area. He also was one of the first to sell motor bikes – mopeds – and those were very popular. As a beer distributor, he was, as I recall, the first one in this area to have an affiliation with Duquesne Brewing Company in Pittsburgh.”
McGaughey purchased the building from Clark's widow.
In addition to the building that houses his distributorship, McGaughey owns the large tract of land across the service road from that structure. It now features a number of personal storage units that McGaughey rents to a variety of customers, as well as Keystone Kar Kleen, which is leased by Larry Timko.
That large site once housed United Motor Sales, which later became Gabby's Rambler Sales and Services. Both dealerships were owned and operated for many years by George “Gabby the Rambler King” Kolessar. The business was devastated by a fire at 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, 1968.
“In the area where we have the storage buildings, there was a large bicycle track for several years,” McGaughey said. “People could give the bikes they bought from Mr. Clark a test run on the track or just come there to enjoy hours of cycling. In the winter, they covered the track with water and turned it into an ice skating rink, which hundreds of people enjoyed.”
McGaughey also owns property in Twilight Borough, just across Maple Creek from his businesses.
“There were several homes there at one time, but perhaps the most historical building in that location was the old Twilight Schoolhouse No. 1,” he said. “Many people don't recall a school being located there, but I remember it well.”
McGaughey's father Joseph E. McGaughey was 88 when he died Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007. The elder McGaughey's wife, Charlotte T. Matula McGaughey, who was active as a Girl Scout leader for many years and also helped her husband with the distributing business, died Sunday, Oct. 6, 2002, at age 80. They are interred at Mon Valley Memorial Park.
Joe McGaughey and his wife, the former Elaine Weaver of Richeyville, assumed full ownership of the business in 2005, but, “for all practical purposes,” they ran the distributorship for some 30 years before that.
They have been married 35 years, are the parents of a daughter, Deanne Caruso, and have two grandchildren, Lanie Jacobs and Logan Jacobs.
Even their wedding in 1980 took on a historic note. They were married at the Old West Church site in Fallowfield Township by Fred P. McLuckie, the longtime Charleroi mayor and community leader.
McGaughey, who also has a prized collection of vintage/classic automobiles and other vehicles, has no plans to slow down or retire.
“I love being busy and working with people,” he said. “I've been working since I was a kid. I had jobs with great businessmen in Charleroi and, of course, with my father and I learned so much from all of them.
“I'm used to being busy. Yes, we're open seven days a week, but we have no complaints. It's a great life.”
(If you have memories to share or a story idea, contact Ron Paglia at ronpaglia@verizon.net or c/o The Valley Independent, Eastgate 19, Monessen, PA 15062.)
Ron Paglia is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.
