In 1904, when the railroad line from Heilwood was being extended into the Leonard’s Run area to service Mines #2, #3, #4, and #5, a "wye" had to be constructed that would enable the steam engines to be turned around so they could go back out headfirst. Part of this construction diverted the existing Leonard’s Run water beneath the wye and through two large concrete culverts, which culminated through a concrete headwall. In time, the area where the two large concrete culverts discharged their water became a popular swimming hole for the local youths known as "Two Pipes".

Although the water was always cold and the pool was deep, it didn’t prevent the area youths from making it one of their favorite places to cool off in the summer. One resident remembers being thrown into the water "sink or swim" by the older kids. Although he didn’t drown, the action was not appreciated. Also, a hierachy existed whereby the older youths would make the younger swimmers add additional stones to the breast of the dam before they were allowed to swim! In time, the large concrete headwall became a place for the youths to chisel their names, much like the Two Pipes Rocks area (see below).

One local resident remembers a friend chiseling his name in the headwall. The friend had difficulty making curved lines for the letter S in his last name, so he just made a block-style letter S. When the young man was finished, “Teddy Osso” would always be known to his friends as “Teddy O 5 5 O”. The resident expressed doubts as to whether the headwall and the names were still in existence, so a trip to the site became a priority.

Upon locating the site, it was clear that time and the elements, much like the Two Pipes Rocks area, had done their best to wipe clean all the names. However, after some searching, two names were uncovered. One was an “Eddie M” in the lower right corner, and the other was none other than “Teddy O 5 5 O” (see photos below).

The photo at top documents the headwall as it existed sometime after names were chiseled into its face. Some of the names that are visible include: Kelly Suhar; Joe Holuta; Joe Minerovich; Patsy / Nick Reba; and Brice / Pete Salley.

The infamous "Teddy O 5 5 O"

Two Pipes in its heyday.

The Two Pipes swimming hole, circa 1963

The remains of Two Pipes in December 2008.

(L-to-R) Ignazio "Cutty" Arello, John "Keybone" Reba, and Frank "Bungie" Stronsick after making their marks. It appears that Stronsick is still holding a railroad spike in his right hand!

In 2007, a resident of the Heilwood area told me about a place near the “ol' swimming hole” (Two Pipes) where the youth of the town would use railroad spikes from the nearby tracks to chisel their names onto the face of a rock formation. The approximate location was given to me and shortly thereafter, I made the trip to investigate the site.

I found the rock formation about a half mile south of Heilwood. There wasn't much visible, as time and Mother Nature had done their best to conceal the carvings. But after removing some of the moss and debris, various names, initials, and carvings emerged. Visiting the site several more times, I found over 40 individual carvings. The task then became to photograph and try to identify the individuals who left their nicknames and initials behind. It also became important to establish a time frame in which these carvings were made.

Working with current residents of Heilwood as well as individuals who left the area years ago, it's been possible to match many of the initials and nicknames to the proper names of their carvers (see the lists below).

As for establishing the time frame, the number “39” and the name “Roosevelt” point towards the late 1930s or so. And a recently received photo actually makes the time frame identification almost foolproof!

The photo (at left) shows three individuals gathered on the rock face. Each is positioned next to his nickname: Ignazio “Cutty” Arello, John “Keybone” Reba, and Frank “Bungie” Stronsick. Looking closer at the photo, directly above “Cutty”, the complete date is carved into the rock face - “5/4/39”. And if you look at Frank Stronsick’s right hand, you can see that he is still holding the railroad spike that he probably used to carve his nickname into the rock. Since there are no other names or initials visible in the photo, these three individuals may very well have begun the rite of carving nicknames into the face of the rock.

Additional trips to the rock face will be made in the hope that more initials and nicknames will be uncovered and identified.