Latrobe is the home of the Latrobe Brewery, the original brewer of Rolling Rock beer. Latrobe was the birthplace and childhood home of children's television personality Fred Rogers and former professional golfer Arnold Palmer. The banana split was invented there by David Strickler in 1904. Latrobe is also home to the training camp of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Latrobe was long recognized as the site of the first professional American football game in 1895 until research found an 1892 game with paid players.[3]
Its location along the route of the Pennsylvania Railroad helped Latrobe develop into a significant industrial hub. Latrobe was also served by the Ligonier Valley Railroad from 1877 to 1952.
In 1904, the banana split was invented in Latrobe by David Evans Strickler at the pharmacy that later became named Strickler's Drug Store.[4]
Cold beverages and ice cream were a novelty in the mid-1800s when soda fountains began selling ice cream concoctions. A popular recipe published in 1907 called for a lengthwise split banana, two scoops of ice cream at each end and a spoon of whipped cream in between with maraschino cherries on top, with one end covered with chopped mixed nuts and another with chopped mixed fruits.[6] The Spatula Soda Water Guide published in 1919 contained recipes for 25 banana split varieties.[3]
The origin of the banana split is disputed, but most historians believe it was first created in 1904 by an optometrist in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, named David "Doc" Strickler.[3][7] Strickler was inspired by the fruit laden sundaes he saw while vacationing in Atlantic City in the summer of 1904, and aspired to create something similar when he returned to Latrobe using the banana fruit, which, in those days, was shipped to Pennsylvania by way of New Orleans.[2] The sundae he concocted originally cost 10 cents, twice the price of other sundaes, and caught on with students of nearby Saint Vincent College. News of a new variety of sundae quickly spread by word-of-mouth and through correspondence and soon progressed far beyond Latrobe.[8] Strickler went on to buy the pharmacy, naming it Strickler's Pharmacy, while keeping his office on a top floor.[9]
Wilmington, Ohio, also claims an early connection dating to 1907 when Ernest "Doc" Hazard created a dessert in hopes of attracting students from Wilmington College to his shop during the slow days of winter. The dessert he came up with was the banana split: three scoops of ice cream served between the two halves of a split banana, topped with chocolate, strawberry and pineapple sauces, whipped cream, maraschino cherries and nuts.[3]
However, most historians believe the evidence for Strickler's 1904 debut is more convincing, and, in 2004, the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA) certified the city of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, as the birthplace of the banana split.[8][4] Both towns hold an annual festival in honor of the dessert.[10]
Banana royale shown topped with banana slices
Latrobe and Wilmington are not the only towns to claim the distinction of inventing the banana split. In Boston it is said the dessert was created at the Butler Department Store by the head soda jerk who, in 1905, served a banana split with two scoops of vanilla ice cream, topped with peaches, walnuts and pistachios.[11] Davenport, Iowa, claims it was invented by a local Davenport confectioner in 1906, and similar claims have been made by Columbus, Ohio, where the banana split is said to have been created by Letty Lally when a customer at Foeller's Drug Store asked for "something different."[3] (Food writer Mike Turback considers Lally's creation the first banana royale, a sundae made with banana slices.)[8] The lack of evidence presents an obstacle to proving any of these claims.[4][12]
Walgreens is credited with spreading the popularity of the banana split. The early drug stores operated by Charles Rudolph Walgreen in the Chicago area adopted the banana split as a signature dessert. Fountains in the stores proved to be a draw, attracting customers who might otherwise have been just as satisfied having their prescriptions filled at some other drug store in the neighborhood.[7]
Two interurban (long-distance trolley) lines served Latrobe:
The Westmoreland County Railway Company connected Latrobe to Derry and operated from 1904 to 1932.[5]
The Latrobe Street Railway Company connected Latrobe to Kingston and began operations in 1900.[6] This line was purchased by West Penn Railways, which eventually linked it with its network running through Youngstown, Pleasant Unity, and eventually to Greensburg and Uniontown. Service ceased in 1952.[6]
The former Fort Sloan, a small fortress established by the British settlers in the 1700s, is now a private residence, situated on the corner of Cedar St. and Raymond Ave.
In May 2006, Anheuser-Busch purchased the Rolling Rock brands, but not the brewery. In June 2006, City Brewing Company from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, entered into negotiations to buy the brewery.[12] In September 2006, City Brewing Company agreed to purchase the brewery,[13] and they licensed it to the Boston Beer Company in April 2007 as a satellite brewery to produce Samuel Adams beers.[14] Sam Adams production did not last long. The plant is currently brewing Iron City Beer under contract. In addition, Duquesne Bottling Company has brewed the revived Duquesne Beer, "The Prince of Pilseners", at the Latrobe plant.
Mining
Coal mining was once an important industry in Westmoreland County. While mining activity has largely ceased, most of the city of Latrobe lies in a zone where abandoned underground mines are prevalent, according to a March 1, 2022, article in The Latrobe Bulletin. In 2017, a home in the city's Cramer Heights neighborhood started to collapse after its foundation shifted. The house was condemned and eventually had to be torn down. After this incident, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection urged Latrobe residents to research whether their properties are undermined and consider applying for mine subsidence insurance.
[15]
As of the census[20] of 2010, 8,338 people, 3,786 households, and 2,458 families resided in the city. The population density was 3,913.6 people per square mile (1,511.0 people/km2). The 4,258 housing units averaged 1,852.8 per square mile (715.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 98.78% White, 0.32% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.31% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.37% of the population.
Of 3,786 households, 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were not families. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city, the population was distribute as 1,730 persons under the age of 18, 429 persons from 20 to 24, 2583 persons from 25 to 49, 1780 persons from 50 to 64, and 1614 persons who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,268, and for a family was $42,168. Males had a median income of $31,802 versus $22,227 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,208. About 6.5% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Eliza Kennedy Smith, also known as Mrs. R. Templeton Smith; suffragist, civic activist, and government watchdog, and president of the Allegheny County League of Women Voters[38]
^ ab"Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
^"The Birth of Pro Football". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2019. After the Pro Football Hall of Fame was opened in 1963 in Canton, further research uncovered the Pudge Heffelfinger payment by the Allegheny Athletic Association in 1892 and thus negated the Latrobe claim as the birthplace of pro football.
^Turback, Michael (March 2004). The Banana Split Book. Camino Books. ISBN0-940159-83-X
^Muller, Edward K.; Ronald C. Carlisle; Christine Davis; Carmen DiCiccio; Gary Fitzsimons; Kenneth D. Rose (1994). Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites. Washington, DC: America's Industrial Heritage Project, National Park Service. pp. 331–332.
^ abWest Penn Railways. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Railway Museum Association, Inc. 1973. pp. 1 and 18.
^PFRA Research. "Five Hundred Reasons"(PDF). Coffin Corner. Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–6. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 29, 2010.
^PFRA Research. "Stars Over All-Stars"(PDF). Professional Football Researchers Association (Annual): 1–5. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 26, 2010.
^*Van Atta, Robert (1980). "Latrobe, PA: Cradle of Pro Football"(PDF). Coffin Corner. 2 (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–21. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 26, 2009.
^"Bulletin BoardArchived January 28, 2023, at the Wayback Machine." Latrobe, Pennsylvania: Latrobe Bulletin, October 4, 2003, p. 4 (subscription required).
^"Run Through ScenesArchived January 28, 2023, at the Wayback Machine" (photo with caption). Latrobe, Pennsylvania: The Latrobe Bulletin, February 25, 1983, p. 1 (subscription required).
