It is a time of war in America. Europe has already been fighting for nearly three years while America attempts to stay neutral. But now not only is America being attacked, but the enemy is trying to convince Mexico to attack the U.S. as well. The actions tip America into war. Soon, outside Oakmont on farmland where the Turnpike’s Oakmont Service Plaza is, men gather to fight. But theirs is a special and unique mission. So unique, goes the story around town, the enemy apparently gets wind of it and sends spies to what else?—spy on preparations. And perhaps, stop the mission before it begins. Saboteurs!

This is but one of many true stories in Tales from our Towns: People, Places and Events Forgotten By The History Books by Gary Rogers. Rogers, who grew up in Oakmont and still lives in the area, has put together a very light and entertaining collection of accounts. Each chapter is a different tidbit from the history of the Oakmont/Verona area: “Verona Shipyards”, “Massacre Along The Allegheny”, “Disaster At Black’s Run”, “The Christmas Eve Blackmail Case”, and “Oakmont/Verona, Popular Resort Towns.”

Gaillard Monument at the Turnpike Oakmont Service Plaza

Then there’s the chapter on “Camp Gaillard.” The camp was born in mid-May 1917 (next to the location of today’s PA Turnpike outside Oakmont) and disappeared in flame in the middle of July night weeks later. The facility formed and trained a regiment to repair railroads, warehouses and docks in a Europe torn apart by the First World War. The Allies could push to the front and take the war to the Germans. The Oakmont Service Plaza is there now, and has a small monument to Camp Gaillard there.

Colonel Jadwin, US Army Corps of Civil Engineers

Nearly 2000 men are made primed and ready at the training camp in about six weeks. Oakmont and Verona citizens help with transportation, water and entertainment. They become the 15th United States Engineers, and are known as the “Pittsburgh Pioneers.” In late June, 14 days before they leave, two men of possible German origin are lurking suspiciously near the Bessemer Railroad Bridge. The bridge, which crosses the Allegheny River between Plum and Harmar, is just upriver from Oakmont. A new bridge that opens in 1918 is replacing it. The span primarily carries railroad traffic transporting iron ore between Lake Erie and Pittsburgh steel mills. The men refuse to explain what they are doing, are arrested, taken to the New Kensington jail and later are turned over to Justice Department officials.

The Gatehouse, formerly of Edgewater Steel; part of an Estate before that

Gary Rogers was helping the Oakmont Library with finding photos for the “Images of America: Oakmont” (available for $20 at the Oakmont Library by calling 412-828-9532.) They came across a photo of a vine-covered building. Later, driving near the former Edgewater Steel plant, he spotted the building. He began to research it in old newpapers and other sources, and it sparked a whole chain of unraveling stories. He would find information about one mystery, but he’d come across another story. “I had the story of Camp Gaillard, and I happened to cross the story of the spies being arrested,” Rogers says. “The whole book was like that.” He found stories about a man who invented a plane and flew it around Oakmont (shortly after the Wright brothers flew) but died penniless. He discovered Mechanicsburg, a village that existed before Verona was there. There was the story of the Civil War camp that was where Oakmont is today. “The Unity bank robbery [where the criminal didn’t get away] was a fun story—it seemed like something out of the Keystone Cops,” Rogers says. “The saddest one was the explosion at Black’s Run.” A gunpowder factory (not too far from the Oakmont / Verona area) blew up, killing several people.

Pretty soon, he realized he had more than enough stories for some type of book. He worked at it between 2 1/2 years. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to evolve,” Gary notes. Evolve it did, and the book came out in December 2005. It’s an enjoyable, entertaining read and flows nicely, like an Oakmont / Verona version of Reader’s Digest. “I just wanted to tell stories,” Rogers states. You can buy his book, Tales from our Towns for $10 from the Oakmont Library, the Verona Borough building or by calling Gary Rogers at 412-795-4564 and he will mail you one. Profits go to the Oakmont Library and the Verona Doughboy Statue fund (another story detailed in the book.)

Rogers has about six stories that didn’t make it into the book. “I probably have more,” he says. “I am always collecting stories.” But his next project is writing a history of the now-defunct Edgewater Steel company. Rogers has already been talking to people and gathering info. “I want to preserve the history of that while there are still people around,” he says. He has already hit a mother lode of information. “I found 493 men [Edgewater workers] went to fight in WWII, wrote letters home, and they (Edgewater Steel) published them in newsletters.” Anyone who has information to share regarding Edgewater Steel may contact Rogers at the above phone number.

At midnight on July 6 th, the soldiers burn down their camp, remove all traces of it, and load onto a train at the Oakmont Station. The soldiers, now on their way to Europe, remain on the train a few days before departure. It seems there may be a spy in their midst. Local residents turn out to bring the soldiers comfort. No spy is found, however, and the train departs. The Pittsburgh Pioneers serve with honor in Europe. Meanwhile, it is reported in the local papers, that the two men that were arrested were Germans. One of them had plans for bombing the Bessemer Bridge hidden in the lapel of his coat. Rumors fly around town that they were taken to a local rural area and shot. This was never proven; however, the real fate of the would-be saboteurs remains unknown to this day.

• A memorial honoring the Pittsburgh Pioneers is on the spot where the camp was: today’s Oakmont Service Plaza. But by the time you read this, the Service Plaza will be gone; the Turnpike has scheduled it for demolition September 1rst. Gary Rogers has already spoken with the powers-that-be who have assured him the memorial will be preserved. Join us sometime in September at alle-kiskitoday.com as we take you on location of Camp Gaillard and meet up with the author of Tales from our Town.