Erie's History and Memorabilia

Big Band leader Guy Lombardo was in the city on March 20, 1946 to help Father Francis J. Schlindwein to break ground for the new Saint Boniface School that was to be erected at 9363 Wattsburg Road. Father Schlindwein had all sorts of celebrities that came to Erie to help with fund raising and special events, he personally knew many of the celebrities that would come to Erie to aid his efforts. He met Guy Lombardo in New York City in 1943. After the ground-breaking ceremony at the site where St. Boniface school was to be erected, Guy Lombardo had dinner at the Amity Inn located at 1334 West 26th Street with the local dignitaries. The men in the photo (from left to right) are: Erie Mayor Charlie Barber, Father Schlindwein, Guy Lombardo and Joseph Ferraro. Mr. Ferraro owned the Amity Inn. The identity of the woman seated at the table is not known  

The Younger Brothers' roots go back to 1962, when Paul Yoculan formed The Fabulous Epics. In 1963 The Epics moved to New York City and became the house band at the world-famous Peppermint Lounge. Years later Tom Hanks would call them "The Wonders" and tell their story in his film That Thing You Do. Singer Paul Yoculan and Vinny Frazini formed The Fabulous Epics while living in Erie. The Band performed routinely at the Sons of Italy, which had a club at 621 West 18th Street. After a little over a year the Epics moved to New York, where they quickly won a slot as house band at The Peppermint Lounge. The Peppermint Lounge opened in 1958 at 128 West 45th Street in Manhattan, New York. It had a lengthy mahogany bar running along one side, lots of mirrors and a dance floor at the back, with a capacity of just 178 people. The club had a gay and celebrity clientèle. Celebrities swarmed into the Peppermint Lounge: Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote, Marilyn Monroe,

When one of the most successful bands from Erie, during the 1960s, broke up, three of the former members of the Fabulous Epics: Walt Slivinski, with Neil Myers and Larry Parker, went on to create their own band. Paul Yoculan, Vinnie Frazini and Vince Hopkins, formerly of the Fabulous Epics, had regrouped and formed the Younger Brothers Band, at the suggestion of Warner Brothers, who had signed the Epics to a recording contract while they were playing at the Peppermint Lounge in the early 60s. Walt Slivinski, along with Neil Myers and Larry Parker, around 1967, moved to San Francisco looking for an opportunity to capitalize on the success of the former Epics, and to attract a broader audience. In the 1960s California was the place to be for any band seeking to be discovered. San Francisco was in the middle in of The Summer of Love and Psychedelic Music got top billing in the city. It was there that they formed the band, Larry Younger and The Epics, hoping that the succ

Alberta Nelson was an American television and film actress of the 1960s. She was born on August 14, 1937, in Erie. Nelson attended Villa Maria Academy and later graduated from Andrews High School in Willoughby, Ohio, graduating with the class of 1955. She briefly attended St. John's Hospital School of Nursing, Cleveland, Ohio, before in the late 1950s moving to New York City where she modeled. While in New York she performed on Broadway. She also performed at the Erie Playhouse and the Erie Roadhouse. Alberta married Ryan MacDonald (Machunas) in 1959 in New York City. Their son Adam was born in New York City in 1960 and was a victim of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of two-months. Adam is buried in his father's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Alberta never had any other children. Ryan MacDonald was the first male centerfold in the first issue of Playgirl magazine, published in 1978. Ryan and Alberta divorced in 1962 and Alberta moved to Beverl

Erie native Harry Kellar, born July 11, 1849, was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kellar was a predecessor of Harry Houdini and a successor of Robert Heller. He was often referred to as the Dean of American Magicians and performed extensively on five continents. One of his most memorable stage illusions was the levitation of a girl advertised as the Levitation of Princess Karnack (similar to an illusion invented by John Nevil Maskelyne). He was a longtime customer of the Martinka Magic Company, which built many of his illusions and sets, including the Blue Room . Early life Like most magicians, there is little of Kellar's early life that can be confirmed. His real name was Heinrich Keller and he was born to German immigrants in Erie. He was sometimes called Henry, but later changed it to Harry. As a child, Kellar loved to play dangerous games and was known to play chicken with passing trains

A seasoned, Emmy Award-winning, comedic character actress best known for her role as the eternally wise and wise-cracking housekeeper Alice Nelson on The Brady Bunch , Ann Bradford Davis was born in Schenectady, New York, on May 5, 1926, to Cassius Miles and Marguerite Scott Davis. She had a twin sister, Harriet, and an older brother, Evans. When Davis was just 3 years old, her father, an electrical engineer, and her mother, an amateur actress, moved the family to Erie, where she attended school at Longfellow and Gridley, graduating from Strong Vincent High School in 1944. The family first lived at the corner of Eighth and Sassafras streets, then moved to Oxford Street. Davis, who made her debut in show business at age 6 earning $2.00 in a puppet show, had planned to study medicine, but became interested in acting again after seeing her older brother's performance of Oklahoma . She went on to earn a degree in drama and speech from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan,