In 1974 a case of Domestic Terrorism hits the Gulf Building in Downtown Pittsburgh and has gone unsolved to this day.

Yes when I was a young cub scout in late 60's you could actually go up to the top of the Gulf building in Downtown Pittsburgh and they had an observation deck on top which we all checked out . At the time the Gulf Building was the tallest building in Pittsburgh  with its high powered blue or red beacon depending on what weather was doing and when it flashed meaning weather was changing would spell in Morse code welcome to Pittsburgh  this was before they built the US steel Tower also known as the Rusty Nail. for it rusty looking  Corten Steel. was built in 1970's before the US Steel tower was erected when we went to visit our aunt Peg who lived on 3rd floor of a tenamant on 49th street in Lawrenceville we could see the Gulf Building.




That easy carefree time came to an end on June 13th 1974 around 9:30 Pm when the  Guard watching the desk gets a call telling him he had 20 minutes to evacuate the building there was a bomb  and several minutes latter there was a massive explosion  on the 29th floor  luckily no one was hurt and emergency officials who had been checking out the building had just cleared the area before it went off .






The Gulf Building was targeted supposedly by The Weather Underground  because the famous Gulf Oil Company was headquartered there and the Weather Underground held them responsible for supposed deaths they caused to native Africans  during there oil explorations.

The building from that day on was sealed off no more of the public just walking in and the observation deck was closed forever .

 The Pittsburgh Police and FBI would investigate along with Allegheny county Detectives  but no suspects where developed or arrests ever made . Of course back then Closed Circuit cameras where still in there infancy and few where deployed and most did not record. To my knowledge the Gulf building did not have them.  I suspectsome one posing as a cleaner or contractor planted the explosives and since no one checked in back in those days the Gulf Building was an easy open target.

What ever happened to Carl Brunner from Franklin twp pa. ?

I meet Carl Brunner  a retired gentleman who was a recovered alcoholic while staying at my dads friend  from J&L Steel Charlie Jackson  summer home  on Mckim Way in Franklin Twp along Conequnessing Creek .He resided with the Jacksons after meeting Charlie at an alcoholics anonymous meeting . He was originally from Windber Pa area and grew up with Johhny Wiesmiller the actor who played the  Original Tarzan  in the movies . He had a neat old Corvair car yes the one Ralph Nadar said was dangerous at any speed. Just like in picture below.

He and Charlie always kept these very strong little candy's called Nibs around the house to help keep that taste for alcohol off there minds.  Even thou both had been dry for many years the temptation is always there.

He was always nice to me and my brothers and often talked about his exploits when him and Charlie where off the wagon  Like the time they put a horse in charlies car when there friend got to drunk to ride it home . After Charlie passed from a heart Attack one of the nicest guys you ever wanted to meet ,  he stayed on with Mrs Jackson for  the summer but then one day he asked if he could ride into Rochester with us to get something. While my dad was getting something from the Pharmacy Carl went into the state store unknown to my dad and once again started a life of alcohol .

He started getting mean with Mrs Jacksonand she asked him to leave this would have been around 1972  he got into his Corvair and was never heard from again. Did he end up in some skid row apartment  or nursing home or did he die a homeless unknown bum on the street did he go to find family no one knows . Tragically Mr Brunners story plays out every day in this state by those who become afflicted by the devil in the bottle. Where ever he is I hope he is Resting in Peace for he hs surely passed by now he would be well over 100 by now.  hopefully some day I will find out what happened to him and know the rest of his story to be able to share it

Sknojin Road in Ohara Twp. a dream not realized and an old mans warning

Yes if you look for Sknojin road in Ohara twp you will not find it on a map unless its an old map as its name has been lost to history  to be replaced with Falconhurst  a housing development. which sits back off falconhurst road . Which was built upon the ashes of the property's original descendants the Novasols and Skotaks
whose ashes  along with Barbara friend Mitzi where spread on the property in 2005  by there descendants . The housing development is also on top of a pet cemetery as well I buried many of my pets there including my beloved English bull dog Winston and Mr. Rabbit plus almost every pet the novasols owned well over 30 pets laid to rest and not to be disturbed.

But lets start from the beginning one of the more interesting people I have meet in my life time was Barbra Novasol my 10th grade Biology teacher who I had a life time friendship with after she introduced me to the world of collecting rocks and minerals. I even went on to become the president of the long forgotten Pittsburgh Mineral & Lapidary  Society I may at this point be one of the last member living .

Barbara lived with her parents  Nick and Hilda on an old farm along Sknojin road in ohara along with her cousin Tony Skotak The last of the real men he did not have running water or a phone and lived on the old skotak property in picture below with his beloved black Labrador  smoky and neighbors dog .
Tony and Novasols property was right next to the farm orchards of the old Allegheny county Work house jail and one time Tony single handed caught 2 escaped inmates  on his property and marched them back down to the jail  at the point of a shot gun.  a distance of almost 1 mile .on rugged hill side.


The Novasols and Tony always wanted their property's preserved as parks so people could see how people lived there lives in the early 20th century. The property was also significant in the fact that they where original homesteaders and it was once used by the Pennsylvania Canal for maintaining  the mules used to haul boats along the canal

This was not to be because a couple of  relatives  decided they would turn the property into high end homes  and destroy all the natural beauty this property  afforded the township. often on summer afternoon the lady's of the surrounding homes would walk up Sknojin and visit barb and her mom and have a glass of fresh lemonade and the kids would play in the woods
 When Barbra the last Novasol Died  they could not wait to get their hands on the property and develop it against the Wishes of Tony and the Novasols. and 1 other relative who was still living at the time.
 When an old man tells some one their wishes and warns them they better do it  and they are not carried thru well I will let you use your imagination.  But it has all the makings for a good Paranormal Story in the future . I wonder if the people living in those 8 fancy houses even know they are living on the graves of the Novasols and Skotaks  plus all those pets?  Plus those who crossed Tony and the Novasols and did not follow their wishes  will have to answer in the end  for what they did to such a beautiful property filling it in and destroying it .

There was once two community's of Seven Springs one in Westmoreland and a long gone one in Beaver County

Yes it is amazing how many community's in Pa. have the same name . Some one tells you they are from Pulaski Pa.  you have to ask the one in Lawrence County or Beaver County and while Penn hills is a well known suburb east of Pittsburgh there is also a Penn Hills in Pocono's section of Pa. same goes for two Nemacolins and two Donegals

So it is not surprising there would be a 2nd Seven Springs . This very small town was located along  Pa 18 in Beaver County and if you go along the road today you know it as the  little Racoon  State Park area  known as Franfort Mineral Springs  where a hotel once stood and the whole town was a little bigger than a postage stamp.




The entire town was no more than 1/2 mile square and consisted of the hotel and a couple homes. and barns etc. and its name disappeared in early 80's when repairs where made to Pa 18 & Us 30 and the sign pointing to Seven Springs was taken down. and like the article published in newspapers at the time Penn Dot predicted the name would be lost to history with in a generation and it has .The Franfort Mineral Springs site is now part of Hanover Twp.

  Thou the bigger Town of Frankfort Springs  up the road  got its name for the hotel Resort .Where the hotel sat was actually named Seven Springs for the fact this is where the Seven different Springs converged and where the towns name came from  The Seven springs where said to have healing powers the one even had natural magnesia in its contents and was bottled as a healing cure. Many who visit think the area is haunted as some report seeing Orbs etc or hearing voices or feel they are being watched while many feel nothing at all.





It could well be the spirits of indians watching over you as native Americans knew of the place and its healing waters.