Strange Little 2 Story Buildings you can find in Beaver County What are they ? Prophets Chambers what?

If you travel thru the country you may run across these strange about 8ft square 2 story structures every once in a while 2 such structures still exist in Beaver County Pa  one in Darlington and one in South Beaver

They served a very important purpose in the Community's and where known as Prophets Chambers
Back before community's had fully established churches and full time ministers you had ministers known as  Circuit Riders .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_rider_(religious)

 Many of the Methodist Faith they would ride from town to town providing ministry and the Prophets Chamber provided a place of rest  and refreshment for the Circuit Riding Ministers  after a long days ride. 

As permanent full time ministers and churches became the normal in towns around the country 

the Circuit Riding Minister went into obscurity with the exception of one minister in the deep south  Robert E. Harris

who rode a horse and stopped at Truck stops thru North Carolina.  till His Death in 2007

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-20-mn-443-story.html

https://www.grocefuneralhome.com/obits/robert-edward-harris/

Monthly Column appears in Movin Out Truckers Newspaper available most truck stops 

 and Pastor Dan Boyd  who calls himself the last circuit Rider. 

http://www.the-last-circuit-riding-preacher.com/

Was the Old Giant Eagle Supermarket on Pittsburghs North Side Haunted? many claim so and why it moved to new location.

While the official story from Giant Eagle Corporate was that they where expanding the North Side Giant Eagle Super Market on E.North Ave and East street  next to the old Recovery Room Lounge  and had to move it to be able to expand it and make more services available to North Side Shoppers.

But according to  Some locals  who worked and shopped there they seem to think otherwise.

In fact they think they closed the store a couple years after the robbery  because it was Haunted .

The reason it was haunted leads back to an armed robbery in 1986  where a lady clerk was killed.
during the evening shift .

I have not been able to find  the newspaper article but I remember it. The North Side Community was in shock.

Giant Eagle announced the new store expansion a few months after the murder. I do not know if crime was ever solved I seem to remember an  off duty Pittsburgh Police Officer managed to shoot one of the suspects .

But after the murder strange things started going on in the store. Lights flashing  and turning on and off  plus doors opening and closing by them selves and strange noises.
One shopper supposedly saw a full body apparition of the clerk in an aisle way.

A day care opened and closed after a couple years in the old store front  which was completely remodeled and again according to locals because of the haunting .
The kids supposedly saw ghostly images in the windows  which terrified the staff.
 which had their own stories.

Although the building now serves as a private daycare for Allegheny General Hospital Employees and I have not heard of the current tenants have experienced any paranormal activity. 

Is this a case of vivid imaginations and wild stories ? maybe then again maybe there is something to it. 

A Forgotten Tragedy right next to the Mckeesrocks Bridge

I drive over the McKee's Rocks  Bridge several times a month on my way to Neville island and all these years of driving seen plenty of tragedy's on the bridge deck from motorists speeding and causing horrific Crashes. I knew about the Pressed Car Steel Riot right beside the bridge and various explosions and fires  .But I never knew about the tragedy that played out before the bridge was built in May 12, 1909 when a skip boat carrying 30 workers home after a hard days work capsized
and 24 workers lost their lives in the freezing cold Ohio River.

If it where not for a Ferryman named  John Deer who lived right beside the river running to his own ferry all but 2 would have survived. .

 

http://www.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/1239/pittsburgh,-pa-ohio-river-ferry-boat-accident,-may-1909?page=0,1&fbclid=IwAR2VTWuDRXhSGp_POaWFG84TkRhseP0TA48IOBAjXz_9094DRzi7XpKXrlo

Photo Credit Frank Zouloufos 

Avella Pa. A town with a Dark Spot and How it played a deadly part in the Cliftonville WV Coal mine Riot which killed a Brooke CountySheriff and 13 known Miners.and many to this day unknown

When you ride thru the town of Avella Pa. today its one of those sleepy post industrial coal mining towns  you can tell it was very prosperous town at one time when you see the large now abandoned Town Bank  But you would never know the dark spot this town would play in the Cliftonville Riot in nearby  Wellsville WV .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avella,_Pennsylvania

 

It was a hot July 17 when Union Miners would gather in the town of Avella  upset over the nearby Cliftonville mine being sold and now worked by Non Union Miners . They where supposedly going to peacefully remove them but it ended up a riot with the local Brooke County Sheriff Duval dead as well as 13 miners in the ensuing battle which saw the mines equipment and tipple destroyed. 

http://www.fortvance.org/FV_Docs/Cliftonville_Mine_Riot_of_1922.pdf

http://www.wvculture.org/history/labor/cliftonville05.html

http://www.brookecountywvgenealogy.org/cliftonville-mine.html

They marched the 4 miles to the mine from Avella that morning and what was suppose to be peaceful was anything but .

In the end several miners received jail sentences while the others got charges dismissed  and the total number killed as well as who murdered the sheriff is unknown to this day.
and it is an all but forgotten tragedy and case of union members using violence and intimidation instead of our courts system.

The Little known Tradition of Sharing a Shot of Whiskey with the deceased at their Grave

When I was young my Grandfather Markowitz Passed  in 1968  and he was buried at the local St Johns Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery . 

 One day our whole family including my dads sister Marie  and her husband Eli joined us as we went to visit my grandfathers grave .
My Uncle Eli who is of Serbian Decent talked about coming out and visiting pap as he called him and pouring a shot of whiskey on his grave for him as they greeted each other .

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libation

He said it was an old tradition went back to the old country as a sign of respect for the dead .

While this is well known with Mexican Heritage on the traditional Day of the Dead to offer food and drink I did not know other cultures at time did this .
I have since learned not only is it a Serbian Tradition But also an Irish Tradition to pour the dead a shot of whiskey on tier grave,

I have actually been able to witness this tradition a couple times because I love to explore old grave yards and cemetery so if your ever lucky enough to witness the ritual of alcohol on a grave know it is of great respect