I came across some additional pictures of the BIG Thanksgiving Snow Storm of November, 1950. I have no idea of who the people are in the photos, but I am fairly sure of the vantage point from where they were taken. Again, I am fairly sure my dad was the photographer. I think they are rather cool looking. He’s like the hunky Ansel Adams!!
This first photograph was taken while he was standing in the middle of Kennedy Avenue just above 3rd Street looking toward the mills. The snow obviously put an immediate hault to any vehicular taffic!
This second photograph was again taken from Kennedy Ave looking toward the mills. This time, it appears to have been taken just above 1st Street. I recognized the homes on the right. I owuld love ot know who the poor soul is that is walking in the middle of the road, but I am afraid that her name is lost forever in history.
If anyone has any other vintage pictures of Duquesne or places there in that they would like to share, please email them to jim@shamrockrealtygroup.com. I am certain that we all would love to see them!
The Duquesne Hunky 
My parents were living in Homestead at the time. Dad started home on the trolley but it was stuck along Kennywood Blvd. by the “S” curve. He and his friend had to get out and walk the rest of the way to Homestead. Dad told me that men could not get back to work for 2 or 3 days! No TV! No internet! No cell phones! No transportation! Nine months later I was born. Who needs modern all that modern tech to have a good time? 🙂
I was born on November 24 during the big snow. I have heard many stories about it over the years.
I was about fourteen at the time of the “Big Snow Storm”. At that time we lived on Fourth Street across from the high school and I recall pulling a sled up Kennedy Avenue to Peter Street and sledding down Kennedy Avenue. I do not recall how I handled the level part, but I made it to First Street. Did not do that very often.
My sister Flo I were working at Fey’s Restaurant right across from the main gate of US Steel. We had to walk from home (Burns Heights) to the restaurant to work because no busses were running and you couldn’t drive on the streets. We had to feed the hundreds of men who were working to clear the railroad tracks. They came in in shifts of about 30 and as soon as they were fed and left, another shift came in. We did this for about a week. Even though it was a long walk and hard work at the restaurant, there was a feeling of fun about it. I’ll never forget that time in my life.
Oh, Boy! The second photo made me cry because the big duplex on the right below the two apartment buildings is the house I grew up in (I wasn’t born until 1953 and it wasn’t until 1957 that we moved into it, but still . . . it is the house I will always consider “HOME.” Our front steps were directly across from the side steps up to Holy Name Rectory (which I have mentioned before). I lost all my old photos in a fire a few years ago, and I will save this photo. Thanks for the memories. And keep up the great work.
Yes, that photo would have been shot standing next to Sidney’s little store on the corner. I remember this snow and coming out of my back door and it was over my head! I was a little guy then, but wow, what a snow.
Again from GoogleMaps: top photo shows Christ Lutheran Church on right taken looking down Kennedy from Hazel Alley, between 5th and 4th. Apartment building on left (now torn down) blocks view of Duq. HS. Bottom photo looks towards mills from Kennedy at Prune Alley, just above HN rectory. Duplex appt still there, but vacant and boarded up.
Both photos aimed just a bit towards Library rather than Grant Ave…
ps, this is fun, kinda like Hist’rysMyst’ries!
The church is now called Christ Lutheran, but back in 1950 and into the 60’s (or maybe even a little later, my memory is faulty about dates) it was called the First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Duquesne. It didn’t change names until the Swedish Lutheran Chuch lost too many members to remain open by itself and the new merged church council thought that the name First Evangelical and Swedish Lutheran Church of Duquesne was too much of a mouthful. Personally I liked the name “Evangelical” (Still do) but I was a kid and my vote for the name did not count. I have many fond memories of going to Bible School and Summer Vacation Bible School and singing in the choir there.
I was baptized and had my first Holy Communion at First English Evangelical Lutheran back when Rev Baker ran it. He was an accomplished artist as he did the altar painting in our church and I believe he did one for the Polish church just above ours on 5th.