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Girl Scout Troop #77 - Brookline's Annie Oakleys
* Julius Solters, a former AL power hitter that went
blind, posed for the making of the iconic Honus Wagner statue (due to Wagner's ill health)
that has stood outside Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium and now PNC Park. He spent his
final years living in his home in Brookline.
** Richard Knowlson was a former large landowner
in Lower St. Clair and then West Liberty Borough. An immigrant from England and local farmer
in the mid to late-1800s, Richard is credited with coining the name "Brookline" for this
area.
Click here for detailed biographies on
Brookline's 56 fallen
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines and other Military Veterans
Honus Wagner and family celebrate his birthday at
the Bristow residence at 1237 Woodbourne Avenue (circa 1953).
Pictured here are: Front - Ellie McKelvey, Betty (Wagner) and Harry Bauer.
Standing: Kenneth Stevenson and
Virginia Wagner. Sitting: Carrie (Honus' sister), Honus Wagner, Bessie Wagner,
Margaret (Bristow)
Stevenson and Carrie's daughter Wilma. Margaret was a graduate of Brookline
School and good
friends with the Wagner daughters. As a teen she babysat a young lad named
Johnny Unitas.
 
Louie DeFelice, a master chef from Italy,
opened the Moonlite Cafe in 1997. The bar and restaurant is one of the
premier boulevard establishments. Little Sal Bondi took over the reigns of
Sal's Barber Shop from his father
Big Sal in 2005. Sal's is the community's oldest commercial establishment,
in business since 1947.
Fiorentino Moscatiello and
Giuseppe "Joe" Pepe opened Fiori's Pizzaria on Capital Avenue in December 1979.
The dynamic duo churned pies together for forty years until Joe's retirement in 2019.
With Fiore
still going strong in 2021, the pizzaria is constantly ranked among the best in
Pittsburgh.
 
 
Kevin Siebert joined the Fiori's Pizzaria staff
in 1982 and has been the silent partner ever since. Rudy Lopez, an
expert mason, was a regular for years at the Brookline Recreation Center. Known
for his unorthodox shooting
style, Rudy was also a regular team sponsor and was part of the construction crew
that built the
Recreation Center back in 1970. Sadly, Rudy Lopez passed away on March 30,
2018.
 
Pietro "Papa PV" Veltri (left) sits beside
produce at Patti's Old Fashioned Deli. For many years he owned PV's Pizza;
Bernie Meyers, shown here in 2001 cutting Ray Korzeniowski's hair,
opened Meyers Boulevard Barber Shop in 1954.
 
Original band members Jake and Mark Zucco
founded "The Wurms" in 1979 with Gary Fischer and Joey Bruno.
By 1983 they were a hit in the Pittsburgh area. They disbanded in the mid-80s
but reformed in 2011
with Joe Gordon and Jeff Fetterman. Brookline's Wurms are once again a hot act around
the "Burgh, and they played at the Brookline Breeze from 2014.
 
Mrs. Grace Garofalo (left) owned and operated
the Star Shoe Service and Repair Shop, along with her husband Frank,
at 712 Brookline Boulevard for over fifty years; Caitlin McNulty, shown at right
receiving a proclamation from City
Council for her work as administrator of
the Brookline Teen Outreach Center at 520 Brookline Boulevard.
 
Evelyn Nesbit, arguably the first pin-up
model, and one of the famous Gibson Girls, lived off and on with her mother
in their home at 550 Berkshire Avenue. She was the subject of the 1955 movie
"The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing."
 
Linda Boss (left), owner of A-Boss Optical.
To the right is a portrait of her father Albert Boss, founder.
A-Boss Optical has been located at 938 Brookline Boulevard for over forty years,
offering quality frames, lenses and repairs at affordable prices.
 
Leo Demma and his wife Rose ran Demma's Market,
located at 934 Brookline Boulevard, from 1946 to 1985.
The Demma's Market butchers, shown in 1973, are John Seiler, Leo Demma and Dom
Coricelo.
 
Bill Currie, popular KDKA-TV journalist and sports
announcer, known for his bright outfits and outlandish commentary,
made his home on Altaview Avenue during his time as a Pittsburgh
broadcasting legend.
 
USA 1988 Olympic Women's Basketball Gold Medalist
Suzie McConnell-Serio (left)
and "Brother" George Gilfoyle, Brookline's most beloved honorary fireman.
 
Anna and Anthony "Nino" Rigano in front of
"Nino's Barber Shop" at 1011 Brookline Boulevard (left) and Angie Capuano
with his daughter Jackie in front of Angie's Barber Shop at 956 Brookline Boulevard
in 1937. The Riganos moved to
Brookline and operated their shop for over for over forty years. The Capuano family
moved into their building
in 1914. Angie became a legend in the softball community and later owned the
Brookline Young Men's Club.
 
Charles and Lois Haley, long-time owners
of Brookline Pharmacy, located at 502-504 Brookline Boulevard, where
the present CVS Pharmacy stands. The Haley's ran the drug store
for forty years, from 1946 to 1986.
 
Joe Chahine, the owner of Pitaland Bakery at 602
Brookline Boulevard, came to America from Lebanon in 1974 and
settled in Brookline. He worked for his brother George Chahine at Chahine Bakery. A
few years later he bought
the bakery. In 1990, the business moved to a new location on the boulevard and was renamed
Pitaland.
Now a bakery, market, delicatessen and restaurant, Pitaland is one of the most successful
businesses on Brookline Boulevard and ships its bread across the country.
 
Raffaele's Barber Shop, shown in 1975 (left) and
in 2007, was located at 966 Brookline Boulevard.
 
Michelle Trapolsi-Underwood, shown in 1978 and 2014,
began her Parks and Rereation career at the Brookline
Recreation Center at age sixteen. She spent the majority of her time in Brookline and
served
as Center Director from 2005 to 2014. She retired from Citiparks in 2017.
 
Al Quaill (left) of Brookline was a professional
boxer from 1934 to 1939. His record was 31-16-3 and at one time
he
was ranked as the #7 middleweight contender nationally. He often sparred
with Teddy Yarosz and later Billy Conn.
Later, he opened a gym on the Southside, where he trained a successful
team of amateurs. He later became
a local police officer and co-owner of Quaill's Cleaners. Al Quaill passed
away in 1967; On the right
is Tommy Zucco, a Brookline softball legend who also spent time as a wrestler
and photographer.
He worked as a security guard at South Hills High School for many years.
The interior of Blue Bonnet Bakery during the
Grand Opening in 1946. The bakery was owned by Laura Mae and
Gus Mantsch. Behind the counter is Lottie, who worked at the bakery until the day
it closed.
For an interesting site with
memories of Brookline from the 1940s, visit The Short Cut,
a page built by friends from the Birtley-Beaufort-Berwin area.
Pittsburgh Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri at
the Brookline Junefest in 1983.
This is a growing list. If
anyone out there has articles or publishable information on a special
Brookline person, please notify us through our guestbook and we will contact you. |
