Sewickley Herald

              The Herald
The Sewickley Valley's Home-News Weekly
[0,27 ■	SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA, THURSDAY, JULY 7, 1955	Price Ten Cents
Quaker Valley Joint School District Contracts Signed
The Quaker Valley Joint School District was formed on Wednesday night of last week when the contracts between the school districts were signed by representatives of five districts at a meeting in the Edgeworth-TIeights school. The jointure becomes effective July 4th and is for 15 years. In the photograph, seated, left to right, are: John A. Timney, Jr., Leet Township; Christy Van Gunten, Leet Township and Michael Zahorchak, Sewickley Township. Standing, Dr. W. J. Hutchison, Jr., Leetsdale; Robert L. Stacy, Leetsdale; Sharles Sickeler, Edgeworth; John Foster, Sewickley Heights Township; Blair Rainey, Edgeworth; John E. Burton, Sewickley Township and Elmer Baumgartel, Sewickley Heights Township School District, which also includes Sewickley Heights Borough.
Two Drown In Ohio River As Boat Goes Over Dashields Dam Saturday Night
Glenfield Mother and Emsworth Youth
Lose Lives*Trying To Swim To Shore
An evening boat ride on the Ohio River ended in tragedy Saturday evening when a Glenfield woman and a former Emsworth man drowned while attempting to swim ashore after the boat went over the Dashields dam. One other occupant managed to swim to the Edgeworth shore and the other went over the dam behind the boat and clung to it until rescued by the crew of a towboat. Mrs. Gertrude Wolfe, aged 34, of 174 East Beaver Street, Glenfield, and William Robert Hastings, aged 23, of 244 Chester Avenue, Northside, formerly of Emsworth, were drowned.
Peter Kutulakis, aged 28, of 728 Maplewood Avenue, Am-bridge, managed to swim to shore and Donald Mathews, aged 27, of 100 First Street, Ambridge, swam to the overturned boat below the dam and clung to it until rescued. The bodies of Mrs. Wolfe I and Mr. Hastings were recovered by rescuers under the direction I of the Glenfield Volunteer Fire Company, on Monday morning.
Plan Construction Of New Wing
The Quaker Valley School District was officially formed on Wednesday evening of last week at a meeting of the representatives of five school disr tricts in tire auditorium of the Edge-worth-I-Ieights joint school. The presidents and secretaries of the districts affixed their signatures to a 15-year contract which became effective on Monday, July 4th, and will continue until the first Monday in July, 1970, provided it is approved by the Allegheny County Schools at a meeting
'| scheduled for July 18 th.
The contract is also subject to tire approval of the State Board of Education. If approved, it will become tire eighth joint school district in Allegheny County. There is a clause providing that the jointure contract ceases in case there is a union district formed including die 5 districts.
Dr. W. J. Hutchinson, president of the Leetsdale board, acted as chairman for die group. The other participants, acting officially for their respective districts were:	L. Blair
Rainey, Jr., president of tire Edge-worth board; Charles E. Sickeler, Edgeworth’s secretary; R. L. Stacy,
* * & *
secretary, Leetsdale; John A. Timney, president, and Christy Von Gunten, secretary, Leet Township; J. E. Burton, president, and Micheals Zahorchak, secretary, Sewickley Township, and John K. Foster, president, and Elmer Baumgartel, secretary, Sewickley Heights, which includes both the Borough and the Township.
No representative of die County Board was present, contrary to advance expectations. The next move will bo a meeting of all members of all hoards, a group designated die Quaker Valley Joint Board of School Directors, comprising Edgeworth and Leetsdale boroughs, and Leet, Se-wiekley and Sewickley Heights Townships.
The directors of the five districts, worried about, the increase in the number of pupils, decided to go ahead with the jointure agreement despite the offer of the Sewickley School Board to provide facilities for the larger number of pupils for the time necessary until the ten district union can be formed. When the Sewickley High School building was constructed, the foundation was built for another wing, so that several more rooms can be constructed at a -minimum of expense.
Fourth Chosen For Dedication
Despite the holiday, about one hundred and fifty persons gathered at the memorial plaza of Sewickley Valley War Memorial Park at 11 a.m, on Monday, the Fourth of July, to attend the dedication of the park to tho veterans of all wars. The Reverend Kenneth II. White, past president of the Board of Directors of the Sewickley Valley War Memorial Association, presided lit the dedication, Tho. program opened with the. singing of “America”, accompanied by a brass quartette, with Nelson L. Ilinds in charge. The Reverend Father George F. Hurley of „St. James’ Roman Catholic Church, then gave the invocation.
Burgess Charles A. Woods, Jr., a director and past president of the association end one of the charter mem-(Continued oil Pago 18)
Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe had a party for some friends, fellow employees at Dixmont State Hospital, on Saturday. Mr. Wolfe suggested a boat ride about 6:30 p. m. and the four took to the river in a 14-foot boat with an outboard motor. One of the visitors operated the motor and steered the boat until it was under the Sewickley bridge. Then it was stopped and the gasoline checked. Finding a fair supply, the party decided to go on down the river and Pete Kutulakis took over the steering and operating the motor.
When they passed the warning buoys upstream of the dam, Mr. Kutulakis asked what they were. He was told not to worry, just not hit them, he said later. The party was; busy watching a tow-boat being locked through the lock. However, Mr. Kutulakis asked what the white line was across the river, Mrs. Wolfe suddenly exclaimed that it was the dam and started back to take care of the motor. Seeing that they were about 20 feet from the crest of the dam at that moment, Mrs. Wolfe, Mr. Kutulakis and Mr. Hastings jumped out of tile boat arid began to swim for the Edgeworth shore.
Mr. Matthews didn’t jump until the boat was just at the crest of the dam and when he did jump, he was swept over the dam right behind the boat, which didn’t overturn, but went oyer the dam upright. Coming to the surface of the rough water below the dam, Mr. Mathews managed to swim to the boat to which he clung until he was rescued by the towboat crew. The loekmaster and lock tenders, busy with the towboat, didn’t see the outboard boat go over the dam, but at 7:30 p, m. the loekmaster saw the boat bobbing around below the dam and sent the towboat to the rescue.
Meanwhile, the other three were swimming towards shore. Mr. Kutulakis told rescuers that he couldn’t see Very far without his glasses and partially lost them after calling to Mrs. Wolfe not to swim so fast as she passed him, for fear of wearing herself out before reaching shore, While he was adjusting his glasses, he heard Mr. Hastings call out that he couldn’t make it to shore tad Mrs. Wolfe stopped to show him how to float to rest. When Mr. Kutulakis had secured his glasses again and looked around, they were both gone. He struggled on to shore and notified Edgeworth police of the tragedy.
The call was relayed to Glenfield and shocked relatives and friends hurried to the scene,' No trace could be found of the two, so recovery plans were laid Saturday night and Sunday morning nine boats manned by eighteen men started the dragging operations. Two boats from the Neville Island Volunteer Fire Company joined the search until noon on Sunday, while the boats manned by tho Glenfield volunteers continued until tire storm on Sunday afternoon,
Monday, at 8:30 a, m,, dragging operations were resumed with nine
men from Glenfield and Mrs. Wolfes body was recovered at 10:40 a. m. It was taken through the locks to the Glen Osborne Coast Guard base by Louis Ebner, president of the Glenfield Fire Company and Chief William Barr of the Glenfield firemen. A funeral director removed the remains and while the two firemen were still at the Coast Guard station, word was received fom the remainder of the volunteers that the body of Mr: Hastings had been recovered. It was removed to the McDonald Funeral Home, California Avenue, where funeral services were conducted on Wednesday afternoon. He is survived by his parents, Robert M. and Helen Hastings.
Glenfield residents who participated in the search included Paul Cer-nansky, Charles Cemansky, Charles Hauser, ‘Red’ Merriman, Carl Klop-penberg and his son, Carl; Henry Baumann, ‘Bud’ Sebolt, Charles Cher-meta, Peter Cemansky, William Barr and Louis Ebner.
Funeral services for Mrs. Wolfe were held in Wilkinsburg, She is survived by her husband, George, and a son, William Wolfe.
Injured In Crash
Three of four Leetsdale teenagers were injured at 2:30 p. m. on Sunday, when the car in which they were riding left the Fem Hollow Road, Sewickley Heights, tad crashed into a tree. Florence Wilson, Victory Terrace, driver of the car, escaped injury. Carol Jarvis of 531 Beaver Road, Leetsdale, sustained a possible fracture of the leg and a skull injury; Shirley Jarvis escaped with bruises and contusions and Elsie Easter, Victory Terrace, sustained cuts at the base of the nose, elbow and foot abrasions.
The four were all taken to the Sewickley Valley Hospital by Lender
(Continued on Page 4)
This is the reply to the open letter written by Mrs. Buck to Dr. Beattie, published in the Sewickley Herald of June 23, 1955.
Allegheny County Schools Alfred W. Beattie, Supt.
June 29, 1955
Mrs, Ruth Hadley Buck 611 Beaver Street Sewickley, Pennsylvania
My dear Mrs. Buck:
Thank you very much for your letter telling me about the new developments in reorganization in the Sewickley Valley. What do you think the next development will be?
Very truly yours,
Alfred W. Beattie, County Superintendent, AWBmls
Speakers Address Small Gathering
At Dedication Ceremonies
Speakers at the Dedication of the War Memorial Park on Monday, July 4th, included left to right: Commander Kenyon Arndt; the Reverend George F. Hurley; Alexander Hays, IV, who unveiled die plaque; the Reverend Kenneth II. White; Burgess Charles A. Woods, Jr,; Commander Louis Shadduclq Nelson Hinds, in charge 6f the brass quartette and Commander Thadclcus
Cook,