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High School Days - Jeannette,
PA
A Visit to Jeannette,
Pennsylvania
On October 23, 2002 I had the occasion to be traveling
through Jeannette, Pennsylvania with my husband, and paid a visit to the
Jeannette Public Library. The librarians, Mrs. Porreca and Miss O'Toole
were very friendly and helpful. They had never received any visitors
inquiring about Vaughn Monroe before, and were happy to indulge me. I've
included the information they were able to share with me on Jeannette's
history regarding a young Vaughn Monroe who lived there with his family
during his high school years.
The Jeanette
High School that Vaughn Monroe attended was a three-story, brick building
with ornate concrete facia. The windows have been "modernized" since
Vaughn's day as can be seen in the lower photo taken in 2002.
High School, Jeannette, Pa.
c. 1940's ?
Old Jeannette High School Building 10/23/02
Class of 1929
After disclosing the purpose of our visit, we were lead into the archive room, where a picture of
Vaughn Monroe hangs on the wall. Mrs. Porreca explained that for the most
part, people these days do not know who he is.
We did retrieve
the 1929 yearbook with Vaughn's picture listed under Class Officers. He
was the president of the 1929 graduating class, and the list of activities
he was involved with makes those of the other class officers look meager!
Faded Glory
Mrs. Porreca provided me with the postcard of the old
high school shown at the top of the page. The building is now in
disrepair, but we drove by and took the picture shown at left and the
picture below the black and white postcard image.
Marian Baughman, Vaughn's future wife, attended Jeannette High
School, and we were informed that some of the family still live in
the area.
Close up of the Front of the Building 10/23/02
The Old Neighborhood
The 1928 City directory listed the address of Ira C.
and Mabel Monroe as 101 N. 2nd Street. Vaughn Wilton Monroe was listed at
the same address as a student.
We took a drive to the N. 2nd
Street neighborhood, which is on a hill east of the downtown. We could not
locate the address listed in the directory. A vacant lot between the two
houses shown in the photo at right seems to indicate that the house is now
gone. (The address of the white house to the north is 103 1/2, and the
red brick house to the south is located on the next cross-street. The
address of the house on the east side of the street is 100.)
Site of 101 N. 2nd Street ?
10/23/02
Jeannette Public Library
We also had the privilege of meeting John Howard,
president of the local historical society. Although Jeannette, PA is
more famous for its glass works, he was aware of the Vaughn Monroe
connection, and encouraged us to use the library's resources. We shared
the information about our website with the library staff, and they
provided us with information about the Jeannette Public Library.
Submitted by: Claire Schwartz
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