Horrific and Gory Incident that killed 13 Middle Eastern Men during a Coal Strike Near Portage pa.

  Thirteen (13)  Innocent Middle Eastern Men  enjoying them selves and partying  with merriment along side some railroad tracks near a coal mine which was being caught in a labor strike would suddenly and violently loose their lives in a most horrific an gory way as they where part of a group of  20 Men who would become Pawns in a complicated game of chess between striking miners and mine owners. As men of Middle Eastern Descent where brought in as strike breakers  to work the mines when other nationalities would not. 

On July 6 1906

A wooden railroad car full of coal weighing thousands of pounds  would have its brakes released by unknown individuals possibly striking workers  from Martin Branch   of the Putnam  Coal Mine near Portage in Cambria County. With the brakes released the car slowly started down and then quickly picked up speed as it went down the inclined tracks toward the 20 men described as Arabians. 

As the car neared the curve it left the tracks and mowed down and ground up the men  so severely some where unidentifiable and where picked up and taken to the local undertake by shovel and wheelbarrow. 

13 men in all wold be brought to the undertaker most under 21 years of age and who wrapped them in blankets  and they where buried in a mass unmarked grave nearby. in the northeast corner of 

Prospect Cemetery with out caskets there lives of little value to the mine owners .

Several days later two  Bulgarian  Brothers who where on strike at the mine where charged with releasing the car but it is unclear if they where convicted. 

This crime like so many back in those days went unpunished. For all the wrong and cruelty mine owners where accused of  including using the Iron and Coal police to control towns . The Coalminers themselves where just as guilty of viscoius and thoughtless crimes againts each other and the mines owners. 

Many of these incidents never to be solved to this day. 

The strange Entryway to a section of Pa Route 8 in Venango County

 While driving up to see a friend in Erie County via Pa Route 8 you would pass a rather strange and elaborate stone  entry way which looked like it at one time may have been an entrance to a former Trolley or Amusement Park it had an elaborate water fountain as well. 

But this was not the case and sadly over the years the elaborate stone work  back ground disappeared and road slightly realigned . Sadly all that's left now is a  white painted concrete arch that says McKinney Road .If you ever traveled thru here prior to rebuild in 90s you probably wondered the same thing as well  .

 

 

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So what was the archway commemorating  it is in fact  a  marker to honor the Prominent McKinney Oil  Family which helped to build the original section of modern road  from Cherry Tree Twp to Titusville Pa.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=138334

Excerpt from Titusville Herald

Mr. McKinney is known for making the largest individual contribution that was ever received by the Pennsylvania Highway Department. In 1924, he and his family provided the funds to improve Route 205, now Route 8 south.  An arch was constructed at the bottom of Cherrytree Hill, with the name of the thoroughfare, McKinney Road. A water fountain once stood at the location, as well.

The road was completed in November 1924, with a formal opening on Nov. 25, the 80th birthday of Mr. McKinney.  He passed away days later, on Dec. 7, 1924.

So there you go not an entrance to a long forgotten park but a loving tribute to a family which was a major benefactor to Titusville 

I hope to one day find pictures of the original memorial setup and will update this article when I do 

Cherrytree Twp has an interesting history as well  right where this marker is located once had its own phone company the operations office was across from the marker  which is now a storage facility after it was absorbed by GTE  which is now Verizon.

A Secret Doorway few know of that has significant meaning to those of the Orthodox Jewish Faith in Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh

 If you go  west down  the Parkway East  I-376   past the Swissvale exit  you pass a secret doorway  you would never know is there .

Its just 2 steel poles with a steel wire run between them set about 20 ft back from the roadway  but its part of several such doorways created to help keep sacred the strict rules of Sabbath for Orthodox Jews in Squirrel Hill. its overgrown with trees now but they are still there

There is also thin wire which runs between telephone poles on Forbes Ave and Murray ave which denote these sacred doorways. Which are kept maintained by a Rabbi

But whats their purpose? 

 

 

Well Sabbath rules are very strict about not doing work so early  every Friday Night in Squirrel Hill 

You would see Orthodox Jews in their trade make hats , long black coats and beards  walking to the local Synagogue with their Prayer books  and shawls maybe an umbrella if its going to rain   so they are there for Saturday services  because once sabbath happens they are not allowed to carry anything outside their homes .

 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat

So then you have a dilemma how can a wife accompany her husband with a young child while walking to temple when its sabbath  ? Because she is also not allowed to push a baby buggy.

Well that's where the Sacred Doorways come in  the local Rabbis got together and agreed to create the doorways which create a virtual wall  there by making all of Squirrel hill and parts of the surrounding community's  as one home .

 

https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/is-there-a-wall-around-squirrel-hill-i-recall-reading-a-few-years-ago-that-someone-designated-a-series-of-landmarks-a-wall-so-that-or/Content?oid=1334226

 

https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/pittsburghs-eruv-is-a-long-and-winding-and-often-broken-enclosure/

 

 Known as a Eruvs   this invisible wall now allows these activities during the sabbath.

it is carefully maintained and even a Hotline is established so Jews can report problems with Eruvs  and check to make sure the Eruvs are in full compliance .

https://www.pittsburgheruv.org/

 

So as Paul Harvey  would  say now you know the rest of the story  and God Bless all those of the Jewish Faith.  From a Christian with a Jewish spelled last name.