Sewickley Herald

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The Sewickley Valley’s Home Weekly Newspaper
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Vol. 50 No. 29
SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA, THURSDAY, JULY 23, J953
Price Ten Cenis
Shot Climaxes Feud Between Neighbors
Forty-Seven Years As Edgeworth Officer

OHIEF DAVID GRATTAN
Salute The Chief!
DAVE GRATTAN NOW SERVING
47th YEAR AS AN EDGEWORTH
POLICE OFFICER
The local Valley was busy pulling itself out of the mud. In April, 1907, a disastrous flood in the Ohio River had left behind it great piles of litter and jetsam, and the air in Edgeworth was a hazy light blue from burning heaps of drift along the river bottomlands in Shields and Leetsdale. A young Irishman named David Grattan at this time made application to join the newly formed Edgeworth police force. “Uncle Billy” Wardrop, then the police committee head, took favorable action. Badge No. 3 was pinned on the new officer and he was handed a short ladder, some rags, and a fistful of Welsbach gas-light mantles, and was set to keping clean the town’s night illumination system.
Last week, in a small frame house at 316 Highland Lane, having served continuously as a policeman in Edgeworth Borough for over 46 years, aging Chief Grattan relaxed in a parlor chair after a usual full day’s work. "There are policemen who have longer periods of service than mine,” he said quietly. “ think there is an officer in Oil City who tops my record. No, not around here; they’re all gone; they’re all gone, around here.”
Born in Ireland in the County »Down in the country near Bammridge, 20 miles from Belfast, and raised there until young manhood, Dave came to the United States with his brother Tom at the age of 17. This was in 1897. In the following ten years he Worked in tire Sewickley1 valley for Mrs. Halsey Williams and for Mrs. Edward O’Neil and, for a time, at Hoboken, Pa., a town on the Allegheny which since has been renamed BlaWnox. Once in that period he’ round-tripped again to Ireland. Somewhere in his
formative years young Dave acquired a commodity which many another Irishman lacks, an innate ability to keep his eyes and ears open and mouth shut.
“Uncle Billy” Wardrop may have detected this qualification. Expert pistol arm, handcuffs, blackjack, or jujutsu avail little in a community where duties for the main part are routine, and where, largely, violations of law concern strangers to the neighborhood. Forty years ago an aspiring policeman in sylvan Edgeworth demanded an ability to nursemaid gold-spooned youngsters, to act as occasional orderly for wild-oat-sowing youth, to lend an arm to the failings of “the respectable”, to run errands not in the line of ‘duty, to keep down voices on both sides of fences, and, in short, to play confessor, critic, judge, priest and preacher with no visible fear or favor. That Dave Grattan has remained a member of the force for 46 years is tribute more to his diplomacy than to heroics. Edgeworth long ago accepted him into its heart. When one day he retires, the residents of Edgeworth stand to lose a gentleman of the old school, and one they cannot replace. What it takes to be a* 75-year-old police chief with nearly a half-century of continuous service behind liis badge, Chief Grattan has got.
Dave built a home on Highland Lane in 1903, the hillside section then 'called "Tubtown”, wooed and won the heart of Anna M. Gilloly, and settled down for a long stay. There was no Edgeworth Borough in 1903. The Scwickley-Cora-opolis bridge had not been built. The Sewickley Valley Hospital was a dream still five years away. The Beaver Road in Edgeworth lately had been improved with a 15-foot paving down its center made of stone1 blocks set on end. All other roads were dirt. Telephones were few, and were divided between two independent companies. Thé electrically lighted houses were supplied by a 55-
volt system. Automobiles were a novelty.
Forty horses, maybe more, were owned and stabled in what now are the Edge-worth borough limits. These steeds, and some fancy carriages, station wagons, rigs, buggies, sulkies and a tally-ho wagon were owned by J. B. Oliver, John C. Slack, the Clapps, Henry T. Irwin, Singers, Tom Shields, Charles Watts, E. P. Lord, Alex Laughlin, R. M. Dravo, the Ways, Harbaughs, Armstrongs and others. “Dicky” Robinson ran a livery stable, and the McPhersons had teams. Almost in the geographical center of town were the cow stables of “Bob” Shannon, who daily drove his bell-tinkling herd up Chestnut Street to a hillside pasture.
Four days before Dave Grattan became an Edgeworth police officer, the community was stirred by an accident. Mr. E. P. Lord, while in the act of mounting one of his horses, suffered an accident and was thrown to the ground. Three weeks later he died. Mr. Lord had been the borough’s first president of council, the borough having been incorporated late in 1905. W. L. Clause became council president that June. The “borough fathers” in 1907 included councilmen William Wardrop, F. F. Brooks, Fred Way, George Guenther and Frank A. Russell. J. W. Collins was burgess, and W. D. N. Rogers was solicitor.
(Continued on Page 14)
Sewickley Valley Harvest Festival
QUEEN CANDIDATES
TO BE ENTERTAINED
Mr. Telford F. Eppley, Chairman of the Sewickley Valley Harvest Festival for 1953, heard pommittee reports at the special meeting of July 20, 1953 in the YMCA.
The Festival, sponsored jointly by the Sewickley Kiwanis Club and the YMCA, will be held on the ‘Y’ grounds from September 3, 1953,. through Saturday, September 5, 1953.
The Queen Committee, headed by Jack J. Roush, is composed of the following members: Mitchell Witherow, Mrs. S. E. Todd, Mrs. D. Herbert Trader, Mrs. Louis II. Shadduck, Mrs. R. C. McPherson, Mrs. Mitchell Witherow, Mrs. Jack Smith and Albert M. KrasiC.
Mr. Roush stated that his committee is prepared to open the Queen contest activities next Monday evening, July 27, 1953, when the candidates will be special guests at the weekly Kiwanis dinner. Each girl will be introduced to the group by a sponsoring Kiwanian. A special program has been planned for these young ladies and it is expected that an enthusiastic meeting will send the girls into competition for the highest honor which can be bestowed upon any person during the annual Festival. Competition in this contest is built through the sale of votes by the candidates with the girl attaining the highest count being named Festival Queen. An attractive list of prizes has been arranged and will be announced at the formal Queen Crowning Ceremonies.
The Queen Contest provides one of the principal fund raising activities of the Festival; all proceeds from the activities will be divided jointly between the YMCA and the Sewickley Kiwanis Club. This money will be pledged to community service; therefore, residents of this area are urged to support the contest. In this way, residents will not only help a young lady realize high community honor, but will also support worthwhile service projects.
Local Man Arrested By Sewickley Police After Firing Shot At Next-Door Neighbor
Shooting Climaxes Feud Between Former Friends On Elizabeth Street Monday Night
William Anderson, 314 Elizabeth Street, was held for court on charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and violation of the firearms act at a hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday before ‘Squire Curtis S. Paschold of Edgeworth, The charges were an outgrowth of a fracas between Mr. Anderson and R. L. ‘Bob’ Hicks, 318 Elizsu-beth Street, which started shortly before 10:20 on Monday, July 20th. and was climaxed shortly afterwards when Mr. Anderson returned to' his home, secured a blue-steel S. & W. .38 calibre revolver and fired a shot at Mr. Hicks, according to the report made to Sewickley police. Mr. Hicks reported a ‘slight disturbance’- when he phoned police headquarters and several other residents, alarmed ¡by the shooting in the street, also called police.
Officers Walter Brannon and Officer Joseph Villella were sent hurrying to the scene in a radio car and arrested both participants in the fracas. Lt. Lee S. Jones, in charge of the department in the absence of Chief Prendergast, was notified at borne by Desk Officer Rutledge Edger, Sr., and went to the borough building to investigate the cause of the shooting. When he discovered that the gun had not been brought in, he went with Officers Brannon and Villella to the, Anderson Home. Admitted by Mrs. Anderson, he found and confiscated a .88 calibre blue steel S. & W. revolver from the top of a radio in the living room. One shot had been fired from the revolver.
In the presence of the officers as wit-
nesses, Lt. Jones questioned the participants in the fracas. Mr. Anderson told the officers that he had used the path across the Robert Taylor property on Sprott Alley ‘thousands of times’ on his way home and that many others also used tlie path. But Monday night, when he came near the Hicks porch, he said Hicks
told him, “You don’t have any D-------. .
business on my property”, violently attacked him, knocking him down backwards, breaking his glasses and tearing his shirt.
A violent argument ensued, he said, after which Anderson ran to his home, obtained a revolver, ran out into the street and chased Hicks, shouting, “I’ll kill you” and firing one shot at him.
(Continued on Page 7)
Sewickley Merchants Making First Appreciation Day Award
Tho first of many planned Appreciation Day Awards was made July 7th to Mrs. Alice Dempsey of 623 Harbaugli Street, Sewickley. Tho award iii» become an every Tuesday event at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Pnul Davison is presenting tho award while Wayne Wilson, Mrs. Jodie Kacsmcicr, James Munizzn, president of tho Board of Trade and Clarence Mincard look on. Mr. Mincard is chairman of tho Appreciation Dny Committee; Mr. Wilson is secretary and Mrs. Kacsmcicr is treasurer.
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