Rare film footage of Lock 6 in Rices Landing, PA and Maxwell Lock near Brownsville, PA

 A fantastic treat shared with us by former Rices Landing resident Joe Swauger filmed by his dad, Pete in the mid 1960s. This super rare footage of Lock 6 is fantastic! I've never seen actual footage of the lock, just photos...so this film will be a significant addition to not only Rices Landing's history but the history on the Monongahela River/valley, Pittsburgh and the coal industry. THANK YOU to the Swauger family for sharing these amazing films! If you have any photos or film you would like to share, contact us at swpare@gmail.com of our Facebook page.

https://youtu.be/FrucpjD-xyc

 Joe also sent this amazing footage of the Maxwell Lock and Dam on the Monongahela River near Brownsville PA. Check out the interior shots and the barges getting locked through! Amazing stuff! 

https://youtu.be/rWqvedLly8E

 Stay tuned for more great local history and let us know if you have something to share!

Comments

 I may have to disable comments on the blog as they are absolutely loaded with spam. I can hardly keep up with deleting the nonsense comments. If anyone has made a comment or had a question we have not replied to, we are sorry. Feel free to email us at swpare@gmail.com (with blog related comments/questions) or visit out Facebook page. I will do my best to keep actual comments but may need to turn them off because of the bots/spam. 

Debbie Makel Murder Part 4

  Well, I've finally decided to sit down and post the next part of the ongoing blog about the murder of third grader Debbie Makel in October of 1973. I was planning to post this on or very near the fiftieth anniversary of the still unsolved murder but figured our readers have waited long enough. Yes...its been  fifty years since a little girl from the Rices Landing area went missing on a Friday after school and was found not far from her home two days later after a massive search. There are still no answers to the half century old mystery.

 

 I apologize for the delay in Part 4. To say my life has been crazy since starting this blog is a huge understatement. Long story short, I have moved back to my hometown of  Rices Landing, Pennsylvania and live about 150 yards from the spot where Debbie's body was discovered. Although I STILL have a short list of folks to talk to regarding their memories, many of the folks involved with the search have passed on. The folks I have on deck to talk to talk with all have vivid memories of that weekend in 1973 and I'm sure will have a lot to share. 

  I guess a quick recap is in order. I need to stress, again, I am not trying to solve the case. I do not have 'inside information' regarding the case. I will not publicly accuse any person/persons or allow anyone to name a suspect on the blog. I am in no way trying to re-open emotional wounds for members of the Makel family. I'm just a guy telling a hometown story. I do, however, encourage folks to share memories, thoughts and theories regarding the case. I think fifty years is long enough and the case needs to be back in the daylight. The popularity of true-crime blogs and forums on the internet have proved useful in bringing forward information in other cases. Maybe someone will come forward with useful information on this one. I'm still amazed at the amount of folks who live in the area that are unfamiliar with the case. 

 Part of the reason it has taken so long to move onto part four of this post is that I have wrestled with which way to go and what information to include. I have been very careful about sticking to what I've considered to be facts from the old news archive but it may be time to make a bit of a risky move on my part. By that, I mean including some information that was shared with me by someone directly involved. Now, I know I stated I didn't posses inside information and truth be told, what I have to share isn't anything already known. 

 Years ago, when I posted the first parts of this blog, I was contacted via email by a person who claimed to be Debbie's cousin. Not just any cousin but the cousin that actually located her body near Pumpkin Run creek not far from her house. This person shared their version of what happened that morning. There were several reasons I have waited to mention this until now, so please follow along carefully as I do not wish to confuse facts at this point. 

 I received the email to the swpare@gmail.com account which I still use. The email was in my account along with others I had received discussing the case. I went to retrieve it a year or so back (around the time we posted the Update video) and the email, along with several others, were gone. Even 'sent' emails of me replying were gone. I did not delete these. I still have no idea what happened to them as other, older emails still exist in that account. I'm not claiming to be conspiracy theorist but I find the whole situation strange. Web based email accounts are not known for security or reliability so I've chosen not to think too much about it. 

 While preparing to move, I was going through my stuff and discovered that I had printed the email from Debbie's cousin. I was relieved to find it and gave it another look. There is one issue with the printed version of the email. I printed it while I was at work. At the time, our system prevented us from printing directly from a website. I work in a local hospital and this measure was to prevent staff from printing information from the internet, which may be incorrect and sharing it with patients. I copied and pasted the text of the email, saving it as a Word file then printed it. This inadvertently omitted the headers and email addresses from the text. 

So, basically, there is no way to prove this was an email sent to me or who authored it. If the person who sent it gets upset that I shared the information, they could simply claim I made it up. I assure you, I did not. The fact that the writer asks that they remain anonymous has always confused me as they were simply telling their version of what happened, which would be well known by the authorities. No new or revealing information was shared. 

 If it were my family member that was murdered and left in the woods, I would want as many people as possible to know to raise awareness and help solve the case. Wouldn't you?

 Another reason I decided to share the email is that I have been a firm believer in the theory that Debbie's body was not in the area it was found during the previous days searches. Many people have shared this opinion. This is well covered in our videos. Officials believe this is not the case. So, in interest of being as accurate as possible, I've decided to present all sides of the story rather than stick to what I believe is true. I was five at the time and was not there. 

 The following are the pages of the email as I printed them, I decided not to transcribe them as to not make accidental changes to the text. This also keeps the actual email from being searchable by web browsers as text, allowing them to be edited. If for any reason officials would want this removed from the blog, contact me at swpare@gmail.com (with credentials) and I will be happy to comply. The email as I received it..

This email tells the story of how Debbie's body was discovered far better than any version I could share from a 50 year old newspaper article. However this is far from the end of this blog. I plan on talking to and sharing the memories of a few select people with close knowledge of the case and will share it here. There is also a lot to discuss such as the recent state of the case. I suppose that the 50th anniversary will bring attention and will kick start discussion among those both familiar and unfamiliar with the case. Will it end up on a well known podcast or YouTube channel? Hopefully.  

As always, feel free to contact me via swpare@gmail.com

Rest in Peace, Debbie. You are not forgotten.

                  Part 3 : https://swpare.blogspot.com/2013/10/debbie-makel-murder-part-3.html

 

The Monongahela Hotel Rices Landing Pa.

 Back in 2009 I posted some shots of the sign and steps of the old Monongahela Hotel that was located in Rices Landing,Pa. I promised 'more on this soon'...but it took awhile longer than I thought. Sorry about that! Evan and I are trying to bring the old blog back to life, so we will be trying to post some more in the near future. 

  As you will soon see from  MANY upcomming posts, I recently recieved a large ammount of 35mm slides of the Rices Landing area and its events throughout the years. The shots range (mostly) from the 70s and 80s, even into the 90s. I discovered that peppered throughout this collection are some very old shots dating back as far as the 50s. Some are original shots and some are pictures of older photos. They are all amazing and a fantastic look into our local history. 

  I found these photos of the old hotel and figured it would be a good intro into both the revival of this blog and a taste of what is to come. Although Evan and I don't do as much physical exploration these days, a dive into the old photos proves just as interesting. I'll be doing a post on the origin of the treasure trove of photos soon but for now, as promised, more on the Monongahela Hotel.

  

As the sign says, the Monongahela Hotel was built in 1855 and was a three story structure located near the location of Lock 6 on the Monongahela river at Rices Landing. it was near the railroad underpass which takes the road under the former railway ( now rail trail). The road T's to either Millsboro road or Horseshoe Bend...infamous home of Stovepipe! The Hotel was in close proximity to the river, coal mines and the railroad, so I would imagine it saw its share of visitors. Its hard to imagine a town the size of Rices Landing once needed a hotel! I'd love to see some inside shots. Maybe we will find some one day.  

 The sign states the Hotel was built from bricks baked right in Rices Landing. Some of which can still be found in the weeds and dirt along the trail. Although the sign states the hotel was razed in 1957, I believe the shot below was dated 1959..I will double check as my vision isnt what it used to be. Either way, it was gone long before I was born.

 My sister Debbie told me she remembers walking past the Hotel as a child with my aunt, and remembered it as 'creepy'. That would have been in the days close to its destruction, as in the color photo, so her memory is probably pretty accurate. The Hotel was, in her day, a beatuiful building that I'm sad to not have seen. We are lucky to have these old shots to remind us what was once there, which has always been the spirit of this blog, If  I discover any more photos or information I will add it to this post. Stay tuned to the blog for a LOT more Rices Landing content! 

If my Dad were still around, he'd have told us not only about the Hotel, but the car in the foreground!  Listen to those old stories, gang. The people that tell them wont be around forever!

Looking North. Monongahela house on left

 My family and I will be moving back to Rices Lading soon. I can't wait to get back to my home town! A lot has changed in the 24 years I've been gone. 

I'm glad some of it is the same! Stay tuned for more!

Update Video/Debbie Makel blog 10-6-2020

 Turns out 2020 has been a wild year for all of us. We know its been a long while since we've done a post, so we decided to kickstart the old blog and get things moving again. We may not post os often as we used to but we have some cool content coming up. We appreiacte those that have stayed with us and hope to meet some new folks!

 We decided to do a quick update on the Debbie Makel case, as it it the 47th anniversary. No real new information to report but I STILL get regular emails about people who follow the case. As always, we welcome comments and emails. Please DO NOT name any alleged suspects in the comments, however, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions. We hope everyone is well and are stoked to be back! Dont forget to check out the Facebook page for regular updates on stuff!

Test...1..2. Is this thing on?

 Well..we've decided to revive the blog! Although Evan has kept the SWPARE Facebook up and running, we sort got away from the Blogger format. Actually, a lot of the cool blogs that were around back then have sort of died off.  We put far too much effort into SWPARE to let it die...so we're changing the oil, kicking the tires and seeing what the old girl has left. (The blog, not Danielle).

 Although its easier to post to Facebook and Instagram, theres a lot of crap one has to wade through to find something good to read. I don't know about you but the constant political debate and everyday drama on Facebook are enough to make me seek refuge elsewhere! So kick back, relax and enjoy some cool stuff!  A big Thank You to everyone that stuck around! If you are new to the blog..go feel free to explore some of the older posts! We'll be updating on some of the old posts and bringing some new stuff soon,

 Life has changed for us  a bit since we last posted but Evan, Danielle and I will be keeping the old blog chugging along. We also have some friends wanting to explore and post with us, so stay tuned! As always feel free to comment and share your ideas. 

Your Pals, 

Chip, Evan and Danielle!

Pechin Denbo Marina, Denbo, Pa

Found this on the pier in middle, date unknown

     It was a warm Friday morning, and I somehow managed to get an unexpected day off from work,  so I thought I'd take the long way home in celebration.    I got off the new road, then made my rounds through downtown Brownsville, as word on the street is they were in the process of ripping down even more buildings on the main drag, Market Street.  

View from the rear

     A few of the buildings look to be in the process of being gutted, and there is some revitalization on another building close by.   We'll be back to follow up on this subject, but I got bored with it today,  and had been meaning to stop by the little town of Denbo for a while.

     Now,  a few years back, I did a blog on the construction of the new Route 43 turnpike bridge,

 the bridge that was the final nail in the coffin of the Fredericktown Ferry, or more commonly known as Fred.

     Denbo is a small town along the Monongahela river, and once was home of the Vesta 6 mine,  which supplied coal to the mighty furnaces of the Jones and Laughlin to the north in Pittsburgh.  Vesta 6 shut down in 1946, and since then, it is just another patch town along the river.

    Sometime in the 1980's (unsure of these dates, not a whole lot of info out there, feel free to correct), Sullivan D'Amico of local Pechin's fame opened a marina from a former lumberyard on the main street through Denbo.  I'm no expert, but it looks like he used the existing Vesta structures for barge load out, as a part of the marina layout.   From what people have been commenting on our Facebook page, this Pechin's too, was also famous for its low food prices. 

     I'm not sure when it closed, but the signs on the marina show a 412 area code, and we haven't used that here since 1998, so maybe before then.   As I walked out on the big pier in the center of the below picture, I found these four postcards just laying in the middle of the catwalk, so I took that as a sign to do this post.


     I found an old article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about a fire truck auction at the old marina in 2006.  For those of you familiar w/ the Pechin name, you know what a hoarder  collector the man was.....

The same area today

 What follows are a bunch of pictures of the overgrown and abandoned marina today.  It's currently for sale, so who knows, maybe the 3 dollar steak dinner will return (thanx Jeff Mann for the reference).

The catwalk where I found the postcards

Alicia load out, across river

old boat ramp

Feel free to offer any memories, corrections to the blog....