Loose Nuts Club - Wilmington Twnp PA

The Loose Nuts Club was a small group of athletically gifted young men primarily from the South Side of New Castle, Pennsylvania, who organized and operated a summer camp on the Neshannock Creek south of New Wilmington in the early 1920’s. Many of the boys were teenagers attending New Castle High School, while others had recently graduated or had left school to find work. They were mostly immigrants or sons of immigrants and had a few things in common such as a love of swimming and lifeguarding and an overwhelming passion for sports.

The young men camped on the property of Italian immigrant Peter W. May (1880-1978) where the Little Neshannock Creek breaks off from the Neshannock Creek, not far from the train station at Wilmington Junction. They held aquatic competitions, but more relaxed activities such as swimming, canoeing, fishing, and horseshoes were also available. They erected several large tents for themselves and their guests and regularly hosted visitors. Admittance was free of charge. Many people swam there because it was safe having your own team of lifeguards available in case of trouble. The area hosted one of the best swimming holes in all of Lawrence County and other similar groups were set up nearby to include the Bel-Ve-Dere Camp, Bachelor’s Camp, and the Police Camp.

The Loose Nuts Club was established in early 1921 and its members held regular meetings to prepare for the summer season. Officers were elected and positions such as camp boss, cook, and dishwasher were decided upon. German-born teenager Paul Diller, who had established similar camps in Erie, played an instrumental role in organizing the boys in the spring of 1921. Every summer for the next five years the camp convened with about ten young men in fulltime attendance, while a handful of others had jobs and would visit occasionally or on the weekends. Paul Diller, who attended school in Erie, served as camp boss the first three seasons until he was married in the fall of 1923 and dropped out. Johnny Kraft held the position in 1924 and Andy Hartman the following year.

The regular members, who attended for at least three summers, were Andy Hartman, Paul Diller, Emil Durlesser, Joe “Zip” Figule (Figley), William “Wege” Genkinger, Johnny Kraft, Johnny “Hans” Krestal, Herbert Kroen, George “Gatz” Sadler, and Michael “Mike” Schmidt. Those who attended one full season as members were Andrew Schaas in 1922 and William “Billy” Hood in 1924. Loyal “Oady” Foster, although not a member, served as the cook in 1925. Others who visited on occasion included Charles “Horse” Gillium, Paul Wasserman, Alec Samuels, and Gus Slovonsky. Many of these boys attended New Castle High School, while some such as Krestal, Sadler, and Schmidt left school after the 8th grade and worked in the local mills as teenagers. A few others left high school to find work as well.

Most of the Loose Nuts members were also tremendous basketball players and had a connection to the famous Castle Five squad. In 1920 local teenager Alec Samuels, who worked at his family’s shoe repair business on the South Side, decided to organize a junior basketball squad (ages 16-18). He was more of a manager than a player, so he asked his good friend Johnny Kraft to get some players together. The new team was initially known as the “K & S Juniors,” soon renamed as the “Beaver Five,” and captured the county junior title in early 1921. Kraft was the leading scorer as the team went undefeated with a record of 9-0. The team was renamed as the “Castle Five” for the 1921-22 season and for the next five years dominated local and regional amateur leagues.

Alec Samuels served as the manager and the team was initially coached by Harry Day and then by Ralph Gardner. Some of the players included Joe Hartman, his brother Andy Hartman, Ray Nolte, Steve Volesko, Johnny Kraft, Bill Genkinger, George Patterson, Ralph Day, Judson “Jud” Heess, George Hice, Herb Kroen, Harry Offutt, Bob Hamilton, Don Russell, Jimmy Stone, Charles “Chuck” Ross, Gus Slovonsky, Billy Hood, and the towering Chuck “Horse” Gillium. The Castle Five is remembered as one of the greatest basketball teams in the history of Lawrence County and finished with a total record of 90-19. The team disbanded in January 1926.

The New Castle News of Thursday, July 21, 1921, provided an update on the first year’s outing with, “Under the capable leadership of Paul Diller, who had just returned from Erie, where he had been leader of several clubs there, the Loose Nut club is getting along splendid under his directions. He has been the main factor in getting the club organized and has worked hard to get things in shape… The camp is at New Wilmington junction, and near it is the best swimming hole in the county.”

An article in the New Castle News of Wednesday, August 17, 1921, reported on their return to civilization with, “After eight and a half weeks of camp life at Wilmington Junction, the boys finally gave in the agreed to come to the city once more… During the camp season the boys had a wonderful time, especially in the ‘wilds of Neshannock falls,’ where they would go twice a week and enjoy the ever famous square dance… Fishing and hunting were the main attractions of the early mornings… Swimming was the big thing of the camp. The boys were in the water from morning until late at night.”

Prior to the start of the 1923 camp season the Loose Nuts assembled a basketball squad to compete in a best-of-three series against the South Side rival K.O.K.A. squad. An article in the New Castle News of Monday, March 23, 1923, read in part, “The Loose Nuts have the best basketball team in the city, having on their quintet Andy Hartman, star forward of the New Castle high team; Johnny Kraft and William Genkinger, of the Castles; ‘Herb’ Kroen, one of the fastest junior players in Lawrence county; Diller, Figule and Durlesser. These lads could give any team in the county as hard a game as they desire, but will only play in a few games to show their wares.” They played a tune-up game in which the defeated the Wampum Ex-Hi-Stars 41-27 at the cozy Opera House floor in Wampum. They then defeated the K.O.K.A. squad two games to none to take the series. The scores were 41-38 and 32-17.

With the assistance of expert organizer Alec Samuels and Jack Hulme, a well-known lifeguard and local sports enthusiast, the boys staged a Water Carnival on Sunday, August 19, 1923, where about 800 people witnessed exhibitions of stunt swimming, high diving, water rescue, and resuscitation techniques. The New Castle News of Monday, August 20, 1923, reported, “The first big annual water carnival was a huge success, and from the time Announcer (Alec) Samuels called the 100 yard dash event, until the boys made their spectacular dives from the 35 foot tower, the people watched with interest the gigantic program of 65 events, which were carried out in a record time of one hour and thirty minutes.” An even larger event was held the following year with 2,000 guests on hand.

The New Castle News of Wednesday, May 7, 1924, reported on how visitors preferred swimming at the camp because of the lifesaving prowess of the Loose Nuts. The article mentioned, “For this reason hundreds of people prefer swimming at Wilmington Junction as they are under the careful observation of the ‘Loose Nuts.’ During the past three years, no less than nine people have been rescued from drowning, mainly through the individual efforts of the lads with the peculiar name.” On Sunday, June 29, 1924, five Loose Nuts members responded to a report of a missing swimmer at the Paper Mill Dam on the Neshannock Creek. The missing swimmer, a 24-year-old local man named James Rigby, could not be found and was presumed drowned. Johnny Kraft stayed on for several days to assist other volunteers, including Jack Hulme, as they continued to search for the body. Dynamite was even used underwater near the dam in an unsuccessful attempt to free the body to allow it to return to the surface. Eventually, after five days, Rigby’s remains were found by railroad employees several miles downstream in the Shenango River at Mahoningtown.

The 1925 season got off to a rather slow start as several boys, including Johnny Kraft and Johnny Krestal, were late arriving. They were still able to muster up ten boys and another non-member, Loyal “Odey” Foster, served as the camp cook. The boys enjoyed another joyful summer and things concluded on Sunday, August 30, 1925, when 1,500 spectators attended the annual Water Carnival. Plans were discussed to meet again the following summer, but 1925 would prove to be the last outing of the Loose Nuts.

In January 1926, the Castle Five team, featured several of the Loose Nuts, disbanded rather abruptly when Johnny Kraft, Andy Hartman, and Chuck Gillium departed to join the basketball squad at Grove City College. At that time, the sports teams of Grove City, a small school, had a well-known reputation for holding their own against much larger programs. This not only signaled the end of the renowned Castle Five squad, but also closed the final chapter of the Loose Nuts Club. Many of the young men found jobs or attended college. Most of them continued to play baseball and basketball in local leagues and some even served as lifeguards or camp counselors during the summer months.
In May 1926, the congregation of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Castle purchased the camping equipment of the Loose Nuts and took over the maintenance of the camp site. They ran a summer camp for several years primarily for their young parishioners.

In 1927 Alec Samuels formed the Flying Squadron, a group of young men who served as emergency rescue swimmers. Many of the same men who were a part of the Loose Nuts were also members of this new group. The New Castle News of Monday, June 25, 1928, reported, “The Flying Squadron was organized early last summer and though no rescues were made in this locality the organization was active and the members always ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The purpose of the organization is to render assistance in the event of any drownings in this vicinity. In past years considerable time was lost in searching for drowning victims due to the fact that expert divers could not be located on short notice, but with the members of the Flying Squadron willing to give aid here it may result in the saving of human life.”

On the afternoon of Monday, August 28, 1928, Emil Durlesser received an alarm and quickly responded to the former site of the covered bridge in Mahoningtown. Thomas Efinite, a 12-year-old local boy who was enjoying a summer day with a group of kids, tragically went missing in the popular swimming hole. Durlesser dove in and before too long was able to recover the body before it was washed downstream. Police officers arrived soon after and took possession of the remains.

By the late 1920’s the former members of the Loose Nuts were beginning to scatter. Some remained in the New Castle area their whole lives. William Genkinger (1904-1966) attended another nearby camp for a few years, was eventually married, and worked for U.S. Steel in Youngstown. Mike Schmidt (1904-1962) moved out to California for a few years to work as a radio technician with RKO Studios before returning to New Castle. He was married in 1934, went to work for several car dealerships, and became the chief of the Union Township Volunteer Fire Department. George Sadler (1904-1962) was married and worked at Gerson’s Jewelers and Rockwell-Standard for many years. He ended his own life after falling into ill health. Johnny Krestel (1904-1982) moved to Ellwood City and found work with the Ellwood City Ledger. In 1933 he was married to Jeane Helling, the daughter of the esteemed Dr. Henry E. Helling, and they started a family. Andrew Schaas (1904-1971) was married, started a family, worked in the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in Mahoningtown, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Others slowly spread out across the country. Herbert Kroen (1906-1929) moved to Niles, Ohio, and found work as a freight driver with the Penn-Ohio streetcar system. He was killed in an unfortunate accident when his freight trolley crashed into a passenger trolley in Girard, Ohio, in July 1929. He was only 22 years old. Loyal Foster (1906-1986) was married, worked in New Castle as a salesman, and relocated west in 1944 and eventually settled in San Bernardino, California. Andrew Hartman (1905-1998) worked in a local steel mill, got married, and relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1934. He started a family, worked as a commercial artist, and settled in nearby Lakewood. Paul Diller (1904-2014) was married in 1923, found work in the tin mills, and later settled in Zanesville, Ohio. Joe Figule/Figley (1903-1999) relocated to Gary, Indiana, was married, worked for a meat wholesale firm, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He later retired and returned to New Castle, where he died at the age of 95. Emil Durlesser (1903-1986) was married and relocated for a time to Albuquerque, New Mexico. He soon came back east to Warren, Ohio, where his wife died in 1934. At some point Durlesser moved west to Los Angeles, California, and later settled in nearby Santa Maria. Billy Hood (1904-1994) was married, coached and played with recreational baseball and basketball teams from the West Side, and eventually relocated east to Philadelphia to find work in the Naval Shipyard. Johnny Kraft (1907-1986) played basketball at Grove City College with Chuck Gillium and Andy Hartman and then attended Columbia University in New York City. After graduating from Columbia, he went on to forge out a career with Mobil Oil. Kraft was married and resided in Westfield, New Jersey, for many years until retiring to Pompano Beach, Florida, in the late 1960’s.

Alec Samuels (1906-1985), who managed the Water Carnivals, helped operate I. Samuels & Sons, his family’s luggage and shoe repair supply business, for more than 65 years in all. He continued to sponsor recreational sports leagues and lead numerous fundraising efforts for various community organizations. He spent his whole life helping others and was associated with the YMCA for over six decades. Samuels, who was married in 1940, was another prominent figure in the local Jewish community.

There are several reports of Loose Nuts reunions held in the early 1930’s. The New Castle News of Monday, August 21, 1933, reported, “Those Loose Nuts, the boys who were ‘swimming fools’ of New Wilmington junction several years back, now grown men most of them, held an enjoyable reunion at the Krestal camp on last Friday evening. The boys, rather well scattered now, were not all able to be present. Andy Hartman now in Cleveland, Joe Figule in Gary, Ind., and Mike Schmidt and Alec Samuels were the absent ones… The following were present: Johnny Kraft of New York City, who has just concluded a vacation stay here; Billy Hood, Emil Durlesser, ‘Wege’ Genkinger, George Sadler, Paul Diller, ‘Oady’ Foster, Johnny Krestal… The evening hours were spent informally with the boys telling many of their experiences since the camping days at Wilmington junction.”

Members of the Loose Nuts Club, a group of young men who operated a summer camp on the Little Neshannock Creek from 1920-1925. The club hosted swimming and diving competitions, but more relaxed recreational activities like swimming, canoeing, fishing, horseshoes, and camping were available. (1924) (All photos courtesy of Bridget Williams) Full Size

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