McCandless museum features West View history

Before North Allegheny and North Hills senior high schools, there was West View High School.

And long-gone West View Park rivaled the Kennywood back in the day.

Artifacts from the former high school and old amusement park are part of a special display at the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage Center until the end of September. Admission is free to the museum, located on 830 Aufman Lane in McCandless

The special collaboration is possible thanks to the West View Historical Society and West View Borough, according to Abby Lucostic, executive director of the heritage center and chair of its financial development and promotional committee.

The T.M.Harton Co. opened West View Park in 1906 in West View, initially on 20 acres of land. The park closed in 1977.

Memorabilia and original park artifacts displayed at the heritage center include artwork, a carousel panel, windows etched with scenes from the park, photographs, and a variety of items reflecting that era.

“West View Park: The Story of the T.M. Harton Company” by author Mike Funyak will also be on sale.

Yearbooks and other items of the former West View High School also are on display. Residents from a broad region of the North Hills went to the school during the 1930s to 1950s, Lucostic said. The yearbooks for the display were made possible by the family of former West View council member, the late Barry G. Schell.

West View Borough archivist Andrew Bensch researched and digitized much of the West View yearbooks. He and Bruce Fromlak, the West View town manager and chief of police, helped put items together for heritage center.

“When I heard about the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage Center, it seemed like a great opportunity to make the yearbooks even more accessible and work with a place whose main goal is to preserve history,” Bensch said.

West View High School existed from 1938 to 1958 in the building that now houses West View Elementary. It was one of the largest high schools in the North Hills before the North Hills School District was established, according to Bensch.

“The yearbooks themselves are really cool because they offer a window into West View’s past,” he said.

He said many people find relatives in the yearbooks, where much recognition was given to students who joined the military.

Yearbooks published during World War II, from 1942-1946, are “really neat,” he said. The 1942 yearbook is dedicated to the “faculty of West View High School who are serving in the armed forces.”

The 1944 yearbook is dedicated to “the men and women of West View High School now fighting in the service of their Country” and includes pictures of former students in their uniforms, he said.

The 1946 yearbook is dedicated to 16 former students who lost their lives in the war. It lists their names, rank, date and location of their death and their graduation year.

“It also talks about getting ‘back to normal’ after several years of world conflict. It’s really fascinating to read these yearbooks in particular to see what was going on at home while the war was going on overseas,” he said.

“There are some great historical photos of the borough in the yearbooks, too, and it’s fascinating to look at all the people and see how much things have changed. A cool fun fact that I found out while looking through the books is that John Dodson graduated from West View High School in 1949. He played the character “Howard” on The Andy Griffith Show,” Bensch said.

West View Park memorabilia is either the property of the West View Historical Society or the Heritage Center. The yearbooks and a few other paper items are on long-term loan from the borough, Lucostic said.

“The McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage Center is working to expand our reach in the community by creating relationships with other municipalities and historical societies to act as a depository and venue for their artifacts and materials, which otherwise would not be readily available to the general public,” Lucostic said.

“The Heritage Center is supported by the Town of McCandless, and our growth this year in events and fundraising can be attributed to our passionate and dedicated volunteers,” she said.

Admission to the museum is free. It is open Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

There also will be two presentations, at 5 and 7 p.m. on Sept. 29, about the former trolley line “Harmony Line” by Scott Becker, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Registration is available through www.townofmccandless.org.