In the 50’s & 60’s when I was growing up, Aliquippa, PA was a booming steel town with a total population of about 26,369 in 1960 (BCHR&LF). Compare this to a population of about 9,102 in 2016 (BUSC) and it becomes clear that the demise of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (LTV) had a dramatic effect on the population. Through the years the constantly declining population led to a declining enrollment and the need to close most of the numerous elementary schools that I remember from my school days such as:
McDonald Elementary
In my early school years, I attended the McDonald Elementary School located on the 1st hill of the McDonald Heights area of Aliquippa from 1954 – 1959. Based on the only research that I could find, it seems that the school was built in 1940 (Wiki). The school housed grades K-6 at that time. Classes for grades K-3 were located on the second floor and grades 4-6 were located on the first floor along with a gymnasium. The school was located about 5 minutes from where I lived so I walked to school and back each day. We had a one-hour lunch period and most children walked home for lunch each day.
I have fond memories of those classrooms, desks, coat closets and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each school day. Any misbehavior resulted in standing in the corner, which for me was one of the worst embarrassments and humiliations in the world, and I avoided it at all costs. The only thing worse was disappointing my parents.
The two teachers that I remember most was Miss Piarkcoff my 4th-grade teacher and Miss Johns my 5th and 6th-grade teacher. Both expected a lot from you, but I learned so much from them. Miss Johns had a thing about personal cleanliness, and I remember her having a fingernail inspection every morning to make sure our fingernails were clean. If they were not, she sent you to the washroom to clean them. Can you imagine what would happen if a teacher did that today?
Aliquippa Junior High School (1956)
I was so excited entering the 7th-grade and attending the newly built Aliquippa Junior High School. We were the first students to attend the new school that was built in 1956. I can remember how special I felt going to a school with so many classrooms and a huge cafeteria and experiencing changing classes with a different teacher each period as opposed to sitting in one classroom with the same teacher all day. There were also many great new subjects and classes available such as Algebra, Geometry, Home Living, and Health. And it was my first experience attending an assembly.
It was great being able to meet so many new students that came from all the other elementary schools in the district. I made many new and great friends that year! The teacher that I most fondly remember was my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Lonabaugh. She was so kind and caring. Every morning she read a passage from the bible to us and when I read or hear 1st Corinthians Chapter 13 (my favorite), I always think of her!
Aliquippa Senior High School
In the 10 -12 grades I attended Aliquippa Senior High School. While the building itself was much older, it was exciting being in High School. The school “with its 34 classrooms, laboratories, and offices, the high school was completed in 1925. A second building phase followed: the construction of a gymnasium-auditorium and the first part of a vocational shop on the hill above the school. Named Harding High School, in 1930 it was renamed the Aliquippa High School. A two-story wing was added to the high school in 1929 (wiki).
In high school, I was enrolled in business courses and remember being so excited to learn new skills to work in the business world which was the career that I was interested in and ultimately worked in for about 30 years. I loved my Bookkeeping Class and the teacher Mrs. Mooney. The skills that she taught me, remain a great value in my work life. While I also enjoyed many other classes such as drama and biology, I can remember skipping school the day we were scheduled to dissect a frog in biology class. I just could not do it! And, I never could eat frog legs!
Aliquippa High School is widely known throughout Western Pennsylvania for its championship football teams. Friday night football games in the high school stadium known as “the pit” was another memorable part of my high school experience. The stadium was always filled, and the town was enthusiastically engaged in and supported the high school team. I guess it gets in your blood because I am still an avid football fan!
“In 2008 the Aliquippa High School was in a state of Deterioration. The Aliquippa School Board decided to move high school students up to the middle school which was being renovated. The School was demolished in 2010. Today Aliquippa High School is in the memories of many Aliquippeans” (Wiki).
While most of the schools that I attended growing up in the steel town of Aliquippa, PA have been torn down, the lessons that I learned, the great teachers that I had, the good friends that I made, and the fun things that I enjoyed, are the foundation of who I am as a person, and in that sense, they remain standing.
Aliquippa High School Photo: Courtesy of the Postcard Collection of Mark DeVecchio at http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/Aliquippa,%20PA.html
Aliquippa School District: Retrieved 1/20/2017 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliquippa_School_District
Beaver County Historical Research & Landmarks Foundation: Retrieved Feb 2, 2017, from http://bchrlf.org/archives/beaver-county-municipality-facts/aliquippa/
Biggest US Cities, Pennsylvania. Retrieved Feb 2, 2017, from: https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/aliquippa-pennsylvania
Schoolroom Photo by Nicola Tolin on Unsplash
Some Interesting Demographics about Aliquippa, PA https://www.homefacts.com/demographics/Pennsylvania/Beaver-County/Aliquippa.ht
