DUBOIS – Helvetia boomed again for at least one more day when more than 90 people turned out for the DuBois Area Historical Society’s fifth annual Spring Walk. It was a record turnout for the event.
They arrived in everything from all-terrain vehicles to sports utility vehicles, gathering at the old company store, one of the few remaining buildings from Helvetia’s days as the largest coal mine in Pennsylvania.
Bill Allenbaugh, a native “Helvetian,” as he termed the residents of the community, led the tour. He filled the 90-minute walk with stories of growing up in Helvetia in the 1950’s, the operation of the mines, the differences between “uptown” and “downtown” Helvetia and the community’s major recreational activity, baseball.
Aiding him with the descriptions were native “Helvetians” Jim Miller, Ron Chollock and several others. The walk took in the area of the company store and along Route 410 to a spot where the remains of the powerhouse and the dam could be viewed. Along the way, short side trips into the woods revealed the foundations of houses and the remains of outhouse alley.
Helvetia was a company town based around two mineshafts that produced coal from approximately 1891 until Feb. 25, 1954 when the company closed the mines with only a one-day notice. With the closure of the mines the community that had been named in 1947 as the top mining town in Pennsylvania, based on appearance, slowly began to disappear becoming the ghost town it is today.
But, for at least one day, the life of Helvetia was revived through the memories of its former residents and those interested in its history.
Upcoming DuBois Area Historical Society activities include:
- June 12-14 – Fundraiser with Pizza Hut, all day. Pick up a voucher from the historical society.
- July 19-21 – Fundraiser with Ruby Tuesday, all day. Print out a voucher at www.duboishs.com.
- Aug. 23 – Fundraiser with Hoss’s Steak and Sea House, all day. Pick up a voucher from the historical society.
- September – Annual Dinner, DuBois Senior Center, 6 p.m. Menu and cost to be announced. Guest speaker will be Paul Sekula on “Historical Signs.”
- Oct. 12 – Sixth Annual Spirit of DuBois Lantern Walk, 125th Anniversary of the Great Fire of 1888, leaving from the E. D. Reitz Museum, 28-34 W. Long Ave. The first tour leaves at 5:30 p.m.
- Oct. 18 – Fundraiser with Italian Oven, all day. Print out a voucher at www.duboishs.com.
- Nov. 15-17 – Fundraiser with Ruby Tuesday, all day. Print out a voucher at www.duboishs.com.
- Dec. 19 – Fundraiser with Hoss’s Steak and Sea House, all day. Pick up a voucher from the historical society.
- Jan. 17, 2014 – Fundraiser with Ft. Worth Restaurant, all day.