Photo of a card game (dated August 22, 1943), probably behind the Heilwood barbershop.

PENNY ANTE POKER

The life of a coal miner was difficult at best, but many miners sought and found some diversion in games of chance, such as poker. Poker has been entertaining people for centuries, but it's also a game that can easily get out of hand, and it undoubtedly wound up taking the complete pay envelopes of unlucky Heilwood miners from time to time.

The game of “penny ante” evolved as a way to lessen a player's potential losses. The name of the game itself explains the basic idea - no large sums of money were involved, and table limits and rules were established at the outset of each game.

Pennies were originally used, as the name implies. However, possibly due to economics, marbles and even dried pasta were sometimes substituted. “Matchy poker” (or “match stick poker”) games utilized the large, wooden matches found in nearly every household. The large cardboard boxes of matches could be purchased for less than ten cents and afforded the player quite a bankroll. This particular variation was appealing to the youth of Heilwood, who didn't have their own money to wager.

Heilwood was the scene of many penny ante games and probably many larger stakes contests, as well. Various locations around town became popular poker spots, including beside the coal company office, behind the school auditorium, near the Presbyterian Church, as well as many undisclosed locations. Most of these locations were outside under large trees, which afforded the players shade from the sun. In some cases these games continued well into the evening, under lights held aloft by local youths, which allowed the players to see their cards and money. Some of these youths might also be asked to run to the company store for sodas or candy for the players. These youths would then be compensated with some amount of “drag” (money) from each pot or hand.

The exact financial loss or gain of the participants at these games will never be known, but for those brief hours the players were able to escape the toil of the mines and relax with fellow workers.

PLAYING MARBLES

Stones that were deliberately chipped into neat globes, some dating to the actual Stone Age, have been unearthed in excavations in Europe and Asia. But it wasn't until around 1884 that marbles began to be mass produced in the United States. Made of clay and sometimes called "commies," these were manufactured until the end of World War I (see first photo below). Thereafter, clay marbles were produced in Germany and imported.  While not always perfectly round or colorful, the commie was inexpensive. In response to the growing popularity of marbles, manufacturers began experimenting with making marbles from other materials. In time, porcelain and glass were used to make marbles of different colors and patterns (see second photo below). The price for the newer porcelain marbles was substantially more than the older commies - about 90 cents for 1000 vs. about 20 cents for 1000. One other type of marble that was produced was the "steelie" or ball bearing, which was produced by various companies into the 1960s. Sometimes known as a "cannonball," the steelie was frowned upon when also playing with glass marbles/shooters, for obvious reasons.

"Commies"

Interviews with long-time residents of Heilwood reveal that both men and women have fond memories of playing marbles. The games were played in the alleys, streets, and sometimes on the local school playground. Most of the participants were sons and daughters of coal miners, and having little if any money were unable to afford the more expensive glass/porcelain marbles, and usually only had the commies. However, a more affluent youth might occasionally bring a bag of the much sought-after glass marbles to a game. A resident relates the following story:

“One Sunday morning, a friend and I where coming home from church and another friend of ours from First Street asked if we wanted to play marbles. That friend had a bag full of nice glass marbles and was eager to play. We told him we would have to go home, change clothes and have something to eat, but would return. Within a short time the two of us returned and promptly dispatched the First Street friend of all his glass marbles. The only thing remaining was the bag that held the marbles and with a little bartering, we soon had that too - in exchange for several of the newly won marbles.”

Glass marbles

The game itself is rather simple. Draw a circle and place all of the marbles inside it, and each participant takes turns trying to knock their opponent's marbles out of the circle. To knock marbles out, each participant utilizes a "shooter" marble, which is considerably larger than the other marbles (see photo below). In an interview, a resident stated that: “If you had a glass shooter, you would be considered a big shot by the other players.”

The game has its own terminology, some of which was localized in Heilwood, including terms like:

• "knuckles down" - keeping one knuckle of your shooting hand in contact with the ground;
• "heighties" - lifting your knuckle from the ground while shooting.
• "creepsies" - you could not advance the shooter beyond the spot where you originally picked it up;
• "cleansies" - removing anything from in front of your shooter;
• "bombsies" - dropping your shooter on the target marble, which sometimes meant using "steelies" as the bomb;
• "keepsies" - at the end of the game, you kept the marbles that you knocked from the ring.

The popularity of the game was so widespread among the youth in Indiana County that a countywide tournament was conducted by the Indiana Evening Gazette beginning in 1938. The county was divided into 16 sections: 14 played against each other for district honors, while both Indiana and Blairsville had enough children to automatically qualify for the finals. The district champions all met in Indiana at the Fairgrounds for the finals. The winner of the tournament was given an all-expenses paid trip to Wildwood, New Jersey to participate in the National Marbles Tournament. 

Shooter marbles compared to a regular one

Mike "Compa" Reba defeated Jimmy Magnone to win the Pine Township title in 1938 but lost in the district finals (see first newspaper photo at right). The following year, Jimmy Magnone returned and defeated Flory Stupic to win the Pine Township title (see top photo at right). In 1940, Larry Sterpka of Alverda won the Pine Township title (see newspaper photo at right). None of the three winners advanced past the county tournament to participate in the national event. Possibly due to World War II, the Indiana County Marble Tournament was discontinued after 1940.

In an interview discussing the game of marbles in Heilwood, one woman who played as a youth went to a nearby cabinet and withdrew a small bag which contained her marbles from games played long ago. She even showed off her shooters - the most prized of all the marbles. It was obvious that this bag held many fond memories.

Pine Township Sectional Champion, Mike Reba  (right) congratulated by runner-up Jimmy Magnone (left) (May 5, 1938)

Pine Township Sectional Champion, Larry Sterpka (May 23, 1940)

THE COMET CLUB

The following is a memory of the Comet Club, as written by its founder, Christine (Beilchick) Anderson:

“During World War II, there were no activities for young people in the area. With gas and tire rationing, traveling was a luxury. Our High School Sunday School class at the Heilwood Presbyterian Church decided to start a club where the young people could get together.  We got permission from the coal company to use the club rooms above the company store.

Comet Club membership card, circa 1945-46.

We needed money to start so we held a raffle and the prize was a Thanksgiving turkey. With the proceeds, we bought cleaning supplies and met in mass to start cleaning. Imagine eight girls cleaning with Spic and Span resulting in chapped hands and blood shot eyes.* While working, we decided to name it The Comet Club (see photo below). We then made drapes and appliquéd comets on the corner of each panel.

On opening night, the members played games or just talked. Those that knew how to dance taught the others. We then had dancing every Friday night from 7-11 p.m. Before long the place was quite full.

Since we were short money, I purchased a record player. I was slowly repaid through the weekly dues of 10 cents. I was the main chaperone. Other parents were asked to help but few could make it.

Most of our attendees were high school students since all the other young men were away in the service. Often kids came from other towns. We didn’t allow alcoholic beverages or anyone under the influence on the premises. There was never a problem. The kids appreciated having a place to meet.

Our club dances continued until 1946, following the end of World War II. I got married and no one took over the leadership. The kids were older and found new interests. Gas became more plentiful so the club disbanded by the years’ end. The Comet Club had just become a happy memory.”

*Among the original 8 members of the Comet Club were: Louise Jusko, Ruth McFeely, Helen Davis, Debbie Kinkead, Laverna Donahue, Dorothy Donahue.

Photo from a Heilwood 4th of July parade, circa 1918-19. Group pictured is possibly the Camp Fire Girls.

The Heilwood Street sign in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

The view down Heilwood Street in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

HEILWOOD... IN FLORIDA?

For a period of time around 1924, Harry Dowler was in the real estate business in the Clearwater Beach, Florida area. Whether he had anything to do with the naming of Heilwood Street there is unknown, but some other nearby streets include Cambria, Idlewild, and Somerset Streets, all western Pennsylvania references.