Windber, Pennsylvania

Windber started in 1897 as a company town for nearby coal mines in the vicinity of Johnstown. The Berwind-White Coal Mining Company imported workers from eastern and southern Europe and exploited ethnic divisions in the area (which had been settled by Germans and Irish in the 19th century). On Good Friday 1922, coal miners walked out of the mines in Windber and several nearby locations in Somerset County, attempting to force the mine owners to recognize their United Mine Workers union, as well as accurately weigh the coal they mined. The company employed legal tactics (the United States Supreme Court decided two lawsuits) as well as strike-breakers, but the miners received considerable favorable national publicity and local support and held out until the end of the following summer.[4] However, the UMW successfully organized the mines during 1933, after the Great Depression led to the election of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The Windber Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[5]

Frank Kush, all-American football lineman at Michigan State who achieved distinction (and later controversy) as head coach of the Arizona State college football team and Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League was born and raised in Windber.

The Vintage Electric Streetcar Company, popularly called the "trolley graveyard", is located in Windber. The private scrapyard houses a number of PCC streetcars and other transit equipment from systems like the MBTA Green Line, which are sold for reuse or scrapped for parts.[6]

Windber is located at 40°14′7″N 78°49′51″W (40.235161, -78.830864).[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), all of it land.

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 4,395 people, 2,019 households, and 1,185 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,118.8 people per square mile (819.8/km²). There were 2,177 housing units at an average density of 1,049.5 per square mile (406.1/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.29% White, 0.07% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 2,019 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $23,261, and the median income for a family was $31,860. Males had a median income of $24,861 versus $18,886 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,078. About 11.9% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Windber has ranked safer than 13% of small cities and towns in Pennsylvania.

Windber Borough Council:

• Mike Bryan, President of Council
• James Spinos, Vice President of Council
• John Holden
• Joe Pallo
• Doug Ledney
• Ron Mash
• Pete Lamonaca

Windber Borough Government Officials:

• Mike Thomas, Mayor
• Robin S. Gates, Borough Secretary/Administrative Assistant
• James Furmanchick, Borough Manager

• Windber Area School District
  • Windber Area High School
  • Windber Area Middle School
  • Windber Area Elementary School

The nearby Silver Drive-In first opened in 1962.[11] While other such facilities in the area have closed over the course of years, the Silver survived through public outcry over proposals to close and demolish it, making a comeback in 2005.[12][13][14] It is now the only drive-in theater in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania region.

The historic Arcadia Theater opened on May 5, 1921 and was designed by Henry Reinhold and Ralph L. Land. The Windber Lumber Co., then a subsidiary of Berwind-White Coal Mining Co., built the theater with money donated by a group of stockholders known as the Windber Theater Corporation. The Arcadia Theater showcased many vaudeville acts, as well as cinema productions before being sold in 1963 and renamed "Cinema 56." In 1975 the theater was closed. In 1977, however, the Penn Wood Players began to make plans to make the Arcadia their headquarters. Unfortunately the Johnstown Flood of 1977 severely damaged the building and the theater was once again closed. In 1989 the Eureka Coal Heritage Foundation purchased the theater in order to restore the once grand Arcadia Theater to its former splendor. The restoration began in 1990 with the building architects referring to old photographs and the memories of many people to steer the interior and exterior designs. The intent of the restoration was to the make the theater look as it did in 1921. On October 31, 1998 the Arcadia reopened its magnificent doors with the production of "Best of Broadway." With the exception of present-day computer technology to control both sound and light systems, the Arcadia Theater has successfully recaptured its original beauty and "magic," in both its appearance and its live performances. Today, the Arcadia Theater is proud of the quality of performers that have since been showcased, among them: Florence Henderson, The Mantovani Orchestra, The Lettermen, Gary Burgoff, The Platters, Pat Boone, The Osmonds, Don Ho, Al Martino, The 5th Dimension, and the U.S. Marine Corps Band, in addition to the Arcadia's own children's series performances.

• Jim Bonfanti, drummer for the power-pop band the Raspberries, was born in Windber.
• Bill Elko, professional football player, grew up in Windber.[15]
• Alan Freed, radio disc jockey who coined the term "Rock and Roll," was born in Windber.
• Dave Geisel, retired MLB player
• Mark A. Heckler, President of Valaparaiso University
• Gene Heeter, a professional football player for the New York Jets, was born in Windber.
• Frank Kostro, retired MLB player
• Frank Kush, football coach, was born in Windber.
• Johnny Weissmuller, winner in the 1920s of five Olympic gold medals in swimming and one bronze medal in water polo, and later was a Hollywood star best known for his Tarzan movies, particularly with actress Maureen O'Sullivan, lived in Windber as a child. (He was born in what is now Timișoara, Romania)
• J. Irving Whalley, a former United States congressman and a member of the Automotive Hall of Fame, lived for years in Windber.
• Rebecca Ann Haines, served as the “Windber Fire Queen” in the summer of 1982.

[16]

• List of boroughs in Pennsylvania
• List of geographic names derived from anagrams and ananyms

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Windber, Pennsylvania.

• Borough website
• Windber Area School District
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-322, "Town of Windber"