HSUSC and Heinz

From the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair Archives

By Carolyn Jones, HSUSC Archivist

 

 

In light of the recent Heinz company news, the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair looks back to share a local tie to the ketchup giant.  On October 20, 1911, the Social Circle at Clifton made the trek to visit the Heinz facilities as one of their ladies outings.  Here the group poses in front of the H.J. Heinz General Offices.  Ladies from several prominent local families are pictured, including Gilfillan, Fife, and Orr family members.  The ladies are dressed in their finest garb for a trip that certainly would have been quite the excursion.  The ladies’ visit occurred before the existence of the Liberty Tubes or the Fort Pitt Tunnels.  In an excerpt from a local history by the former Clifton and Johnston School principal, Albert F. Baker, he describes the efforts Upper St. Clair residents once had to make to travel into downtown Pittsburgh.  In the early 1900s, “the time required to go to down town Pittsburgh is something we scarcely realize today. It was necessary to drive either to Bridgeville or Castle Shannon to get the train, or to drive to Mt. Washington and take the incline.  Bad roads in the winter and spring, with the horses going much of the way on a walk made it a laborious trip.  The Washington Road was macadamized to Clifton in 1897 and 1898 and with the building of the street-car line to Mt. Lebanon about 1904 the trip became much easier.” Now the trip from Upper St. Clair to the H.J. Heinz Company World Headquarters takes just twenty-two minutes according to Google Maps.  That is, if the traffic is good!

 

Image credits

Source identifier: PC1682     
Title: Heinz 57 visit    
Creator: Unknown                 
Description: Ladies Social Circle of Clifton, Pittsburgh, October 20, 1911. Visit at home of Heinz 57 Varieties.
Front row: Carrie Fife Edwards, Cora Murray, Mrs. William Woods, Mary Ann Espy, Flora Gilfillan, Mrs. Ellsworth Philips, Mrs. Anna Fife, Ruth Drake, Mrs. Albert Fife, Mrs. W.E. McCormick, Nancy McCormick.
Second row: Myra Drake (Crawford), Ella Orr, Miss Margaret Gilfillan, Miss Blanch McEwen, Unknown, Unknown, Mrs. Nathaniel Fife, Mrs. Crawford Hays, Unknown.
Third row: Miss Ida Orr, Mrs. Frank Fife, Miss Mary Wycoff, Mrs. John Martin, Mrs. Cornelius Wycoff, Mrs. Harry Wycoff, Unknown, Mrs. William T. Fife.
Top row: Miss Eva Murray, Mrs. E.C. Irwin, Miss Eleanor Gilfillan, Mrs. Hamilton Drake, Mrs. Joseph Bardsley.                       
Date: 10-20-1911
Historical Society of Upper St. Clair Image Collection, 1875-2011, Historical Society of Upper St. Clair Archives

Quoted text:

From a history of Upper St. Clair by Mr. Albert F. Baker, principal at the Clifton School and later at the Johnston School. Baker Elementary School is named for him.  Transcribed by Ruth Sullivan in 1957. Gift of Barry Sullivan Jan. 2013.