Election Day 1985 is a day most longtime residents of Fredericktown will always remember. That November, the water from the Monongahela River spilled out of its banks and flooded the tiny downtown that lies between the river and the railroad tracks.
Anyone who was in that Washington County community that fateful day looks for wood to knock on in an effort to dispel any jinx when they say they've not seen the river rise that high since.
"Where's wood⢠Where's wood?" asked Dawn Bell, frantically looking around the circulation desk at the Fredericktown Area Public Library where she works as library director.
"We lost everything," said Bell. "The only books that we had were the ones that were out (on loan)."
The library had not been open one year when it was hit by the flood. It was located in what is now the secretary's office in the East Bethlehem Township Municipal Building. Beginnings were modest. Former schoolteacher Louise Crowthers, along with other members of the Fredericktown Women's Civic Club, organized the book station with the help of volunteers. Bookshelves were donated, and the collection of books came from the district library center in Washington, Pa.
"She (Crowthers) was the one who always said that this town had the first library west of the Alleghenies in the 1700s," recalled Bell, referring to a previous library started in 1796.
The flood did not spell the end of the library for the town, which is located along the west bank of the river, eight miles east of Brownsville in Fayette County. The board of directors regrouped, decided to reopen and planned a fund drive to raise money to do so.
"The township graciously allowed us to build this section onto their building," Bell said. "We reopened a year later, and this is where we've been ever since."
Bell, who came in as a volunteer after the flood, refers to the institution as "The Little Library with Big Dreams."
"We dream of a larger building and moving to safer location that's more accessible to people," said Bell.
Perched on the river bank, the library is located at 38 Water St., right next to the East Bethlehem Township Police Department. It may seem small, but Bell would be the first to point out looks can be deceiving.
"Anything a big library has, we have - just maybe not as much because we're crammed into a smaller building," Bell said. "I do believe we are the smallest, at least in the county, square-foot-wise, but our collection and circulation statistics are better than some libraries that are bigger than us."
Serving East Bethlehem Township, Beallsville, Centerville and Deemston boroughs, the library circulated 12,234 items and was visited 9,243 times last year.
Yet, Bell said there are still people who don't know the library is there. "One of our board members calls us the 'Jewel on the Mon.'"
Bell also believes some people don't think the library has much to offer. "But we can offer people the world. All they need to do is come in and get on the Internet.
"We're really proud of our little library. We think it's nice, but we don't want to stay little. We're growing. We're bursting at the seams." she said.
The Friends of the Fredericktown Area Public Library organized in 1999 to address this problem. The group's goal is to find a new home for the library. Recently the group looked at a few locations and, while the locations and conditions of the buildings weren't ideal, Bell said the board was leaning toward the idea.
"But then the (state) budget cuts came, and that just got shoved way back on the burner because we may need all the money they've saved just to stay where we are," Bell said.
The 50 percent cut in state aid to libraries has been a hard blow to the Fredericktown library.
"State aid is 50 percent of our budget," said Bell, explaining the library operates on an annual budget of about $55,000.
Although small, the library has four computers with Internet access. "We would have more if we had more space. The district got a Bill Gates Foundation Grant a couple years ago, and we were eligible for four computers. We could only take two because we didn't have room to take the other two.
"If we eliminated the junior section, we could have put the computers there, but we still think libraries are mainly about books. The Internet is another tool. We love it, but we don't want it to replace books."
The library works in concert with Bethlehem-Center School District; children of Fredericktown residents attend schools in this district.
One of the popular titles at the library is a history of the town, "Fredericktown 1790-1990." The 178-page hardback book was written for the 200th anniversary of the founding of Fredericktown.
According to the writers of the book, Crowthers, Beatrice Walters, W. Floyd Gillis and W. Scott Bower, Fredericktown was established in 1790 and named for Frederick Wise, who originally patented the land as "Sugar Tree Bottom" two years earlier. Wise came from a well-to-do German family who engaged in the business of milling, distilling and farming.
Fredericktown - the oldest village in East Bethlehem Township - started out as a "virgin wilderness" at the time of its founding, with no dams on the river to regulate it for navigation, according to the book. Early enterprises and industries included farming, fishing, hunting and pottery manufacturing. Rye was a common crop, and growers often converted it to whiskey for personal use or sale.
Tradition has it that a local gunsmith dug coal from the hillside to fire his forge but, according to the history book, "coal mining in the Fredericktown area would not assume major proportions until the early 20th century, with the opening of Clyde, Vesta Five and other large mines and the coming of the railroads."
" ... Later, coal was to be responsible for the only 'boom' times that Fredericktown ever knew."
The book chronicles the story many Pennsylvania communities can relate to: "a one-industry town whose prosperity, unfortunately could not last. The last great boom was fueled by the need for Fredericktown area coal in World War II. After that, the demand fell off, and the mines mechanized, throwing many area miners out of work. As residents left to seek greener pastures, the long process of decline set in, until, today, we have a quiet river town once more."
Pinpointed in the history as the future of Fredericktown is its "constant stream of traffic which hurries through our town on Route 88 - Front Street. With jobs and businesses, which we so desperately need, perhaps that traffic will once again slow, and stop, instead of passing through, to share again in our history - and our prosperity."
One thriving business serving the community of about 625 residents is located at the edge of town along Front Street.
Fredericktown Butcher Shop is a busy store, especially during the summer months with graduation parties, weddings and backyard barbecues for occasions like the Fourth of July.
Broasted chicken is the shop's specialty item. Customers flock to the deli for the chicken. It's cooked under pressure in a pot, sealing in the natural juices. It isn't an uncommon sight to see customers munching on a chicken leg wrapped in paper and heading to their cars in the parking lot.
John Bodnar said the store set a record recently for chicken sales. On a Saturday last month, the store cooked 9,000 pieces of chicken. "That's almost 3,500 pounds," Bodnar said.
When the butcher shop started offering the chicken 14 years ago, it was an instant hit. "That's what really helped our business expand," Bodnar said.
Bodnar, who owns the store with his stepbrother, Mike Giles, and parents, Albert and Cynthia Giles, began working there around age 10. He started out running the register. "Now my 12-year-old daughter does it."
When Bodnar was old enough to decide what to do with his life, he chose the family business without hesitation. "I never even thought about doing anything else.
"I like the people," Bodnar said. "It's a constant moving business with things changing. And you're always doing something different instead of sitting in an office."
Although he's in his 30s, Bodnar said he's seen a lot of changes since he started in the business. For one thing, the work is not as labor-intensive as it used to be. "The industry's made it a lot easier," said Bodnar.
Twenty years ago, Bodnar said the meat was brought in on rails and hooks like those used in old slaughterhouses. "That doesn't happen anymore. It's more all ready to go for you to cut."
Two more significant changes are the use of credit cards to purchase items and the popularity of prepared food. "People used to cook a lot more," said Bodnar.
One thing that hasn't changed is the demand for the butcher to prepare deer meat. "Our deer business is so big that we couldn't do them here anymore," Bodnar said. They moved that part of the operation to another facility. It's located down the road in Millsboro at Fredericktown Produce, which is also owned by the four partners.
Fredericktown Butcher Shop started out as a small fruit market when the Giles family opened it in 1976. Business space grew from 2,000 square feet to nearly 8,000 square feet. Bodnar's wife, Nanette, runs the front end, or grocery end, of the store and his mother handles all the book work. The store employs as many as 32 people; 10 are full time.
Bodnar, who now lives in Millsboro, grew up in Fredericktown - right on the river.
There were more shops and businesses then, said Bodner. He remembers a gift shop, dry cleaner, jeweler, clothing store, pool hall, furniture store, five-and-ten-cent store and two car dealers were located in the town's downtown area, which is less than a mile long.
"There was a clothing store down there that my mother took me to every year of my life to get my school clothes and stuff. It was called Lazovik's," Bodnar said.
Haver's Drug Store was before Bodner's time, but many Fredericktown residents remember the family-run pharmacy with fondness.
It operated between the years of 1917 and 1973.
Paul Battaglini visited the store when he was young, and he now has his own store - Battaglini's Custom Screen Printing, Monogramming and Tackle Twill - in the same location.
Battaglini uses wooden display cases that formerly held items at the drugstore for his own merchandise. Because they've been refinished, the units look like new but, on closer inspection, you can see the pieces of furniture have a rich past.
"Fish food 10 cents" is the mark on one drawer. Others show cracking from the flood.
Battaglini moved into the store after the flood of 1985. A Fredericktown native, Battaglini started his screen-printing business in 1981 in the basement of his home.
"This started out from nothing," he said.
An art teacher at Bethlehem-Center High School, Battaglini was looking for a way to supplement his income. In 1990, Battaglini started doing the embroidery for jackets, sweat shirts, hats, T-shirts and other items. The company also customizes mugs, glassware, golf towels, key chains and other promotional items.
Computers streamlined the business.
"What took me four and five hours to design before takes me five or 10 minutes to do now," said Battaglini. "We're very proud of the quality of work that we put out."
Battaglini employs six full-time workers in Fredericktown who work to fill orders for schools in Washington, Fayette and Greene counties as well as California University of Pennsylvania.
"Half of the business is probably schools," he said.
Additional locations were added in California and Washington, but all of the monogramming is done in Fredericktown.
Battaglini enjoys working in his hometown.
"The people are very nice. They are honest, genuine, hard-working people," he said. "There are not a lot of young people here anymore because to seek jobs you have to go outside of the area. There's very little employment here in Fredericktown ... before you had the coal mines and steel mills."
Before owning his monogramming and screen-printing business, Battaglini owned a bar named Taps, but he said after about six years he decided the bar business was not for him.
Duane Devecka sometimes wishes he had never gone into the bar business.
But when it comes down to it, Devecka and his daughter, Michele Wolfe, are sentimentally attached to the Riverside Inn on Front Street.
"I remember coming in here as a kid. I thought it was a historic, old building, and I thought it would be nice to redo," Devecka said. "I used to do carpenter work for a living, so it was kind of a challenge, I guess."
Devecka had visited what was then called The Bower Hotel, which dates back to 1903, to see his father, John, who occasionally tended bar there on Friday nights. John Devecka, who is now deceased, tended bar as a favor to a friend who was otherwise occupied as a referee for football games.
Duane Devecka loved the beautiful woodwork of the bar. He later learned that intricately carved woodwork had made its way to Fredericktown in 1903 on a riverboat that originated in New Orleans. It had previously been used in a bar hotel in New Orleans.
The woodwork has stood for a century even though Devecka said it's been through "hell and high water."
Six months after Devecka purchased the historic hotel from the Bower family, who were the original owners, the building caught fire on Feb. 15, 1981.
It opened again in May 1984 with half the rooms. The third floor had been a total loss, and the number of rooms went from 24 to 12.
Many naysayers said he'd never open it up again.
"It made you more determined (that) you're going to put it back together," Devecka said.
Less than six months after reopening, the flood struck.
"I couldn't believe how fast that water came up," said Devecka, explaining the water came up about one foot per hour that day. He was determined not to leave the building during the flood and, by day's end, he was out riding down Front Street in a boat.
Devecka describes the flood, which eventually brought 3 feet of water onto the first floor, as "devastating." But Devecka persevered. He's hoping to restore the hotel to its original look years ago when it was built as a first-class hotel.
These days, the Riverside Inn is a popular spot, especially in the summer when boaters begin to show up for meals and rooms. These boaters keep the operators of the Fayette County Ferry on their toes.
The pilots of the ferry watch for barges and other watercraft coming down the river as they take as many as 120 cars a day across the Monongahela River. The ferry provides access from the tiny Fayette County community of East Fredericktown to its Washington County counterpart, Fredericktown.
In year's past there were many ferries on the Mon, but according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Fredericktown ferry is the only cable-operated ferryboat in the eastern part of the United States.
What was once a private enterprise is a joint effort between Fayette and Washington counties. The joint arrangement dates back to 1977 when the ferry was put back into operation after a 10-year absence.
The vessel was built in 1948 by Hillman Barge and Construction Co., located near Brownsville. The steam engine has been replaced by a diesel one, and the original wooden structure was replaced with a steel, renovated barge, but the boat retains much of its antiquated style.
Two licensed pilots - Larry Rutherford, of LaBelle, and Charles "C.B." Loring, of Greensboro - work full time to keep the ferry in motion weekdays between the hours of 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Rutherford, who's been operating the ferry for 20 years, knows most people by their cars. He said he enjoyed taking as many as 50 antique cars across the river last summer.
"None of them was newer than 1918. They were real nice," said Rutherford. "They all looked like they came from the factory. We made a lot of trips that day."
Only six cars can be carried at one time on the 64-foot long ferry, which has a 10-ton weight limit.
Fares range from 15 cents for a pedestrian to $4 for an auto and a trailer to cross the river, which is 900 feet wide and 28 feet deep between the two landings.
The price of the fares doesn't please everyone, Rutherford said. "Some people cry it costs too much. Some people wonder why it's so cheap."
By land, the trip would take about a half-hour, Rutherford said. An absence of nearby bridges accounts for the popularity and longevity of the ferry. The nearest bridge is miles away in Brownsville.
Natalie Cecchini has fond memories of visiting the ferry with her late grandfather, Natale D. Cecchini Sr.
Cecchini rode her bicycle down to the ferry. She'd cross the river on her bike and catch the ferry back before it closed down for the day.
"It was always fun," Cecchini said. "I loved to go exploring."
Cecchini enjoyed fishing with her dad, Natale D. Cecchini Jr., and her grandfather. She also visited friends who lived near the river.
"I spent a lot of time down on the river banks," she said.
These days Cecchini is a bit more occupied running her own hair salon on Front Street.
A 1981 graduate of Bethlehem-Center High School, Cecchini opened the salon upon graduation from Pittsburgh Beauty Academy in Charleroi. Her father helped her get the business off the ground. She opened in December 1982.
Cecchini's business suffered very little damage during the flood. Although there was 3 feet of water in the building, Cecchini only lost an old furnace that she had planned to replace.
By chance, her father - who was a teacher at the high school - had called off sick that day, and he helped her move everything out in time. A week later, she was back in business.
Cecchini has stayed in Fredericktown because "it's where I grew up and my family's here."
Even though the river presents times of trial, Cecchini loves living near it. She schedules breaks from doing hair to take her German shepherd down to the river. "It's calming, and I guess I've always lived by it, so it's relaxing to be down by the river. A lot of people take it for granted."
