Washerst, Pennsylvania
Washerst was founded in 1801 by two dynamic gypsum miners by the names of Alojzy Wasniewski and Mieczyslaw Herstikovsnovstiffikoff. At first they named their settlement North Wasniewskiherstikovsnovstiffikoff, and within a few short years it was the fourth largest city in Pennsylvania, just behind Limerick, Philadelphia, and Squirrel Hill. However, after the 1812 gypsum drought followed by the 1813-14 gypsum famine (also known as the “Alabaster Disaster”), the city began to dissolve.
Fortunately, two fortuitous and concurrent events transpired which saved the town from total collapse. First, the citizens were sensible enough to change the name from “North Wasniewskiherstikovnovstiffikoff” to "Washerst” (pronounced “WAS-herst”). Second, Alojzy Wasniewski discovered in nearby Mount Wasniewskiherstikovnovstiffikoff an immense vein of calcium bentonite. As a result, Washerst became the world’s leading producer of clumping kitty litter.
To this day, Washerst is the world’s principal producer of cat litter, and it is the global headquarters for Kleen Kitty Kat Litter,® the top brand of cat litter used around the planet. Civic pride of Washerstians is reflected in their town motto, “Washerst – We Are A Kleen Kommunity.”
Pictured at the left: Washerst's founders Alojzy Wasniewski and Mieczyslaw Herstikovsnovstiffikoff
Fortunately, two fortuitous and concurrent events transpired which saved the town from total collapse. First, the citizens were sensible enough to change the name from “North Wasniewskiherstikovnovstiffikoff” to "Washerst” (pronounced “WAS-herst”). Second, Alojzy Wasniewski discovered in nearby Mount Wasniewskiherstikovnovstiffikoff an immense vein of calcium bentonite. As a result, Washerst became the world’s leading producer of clumping kitty litter.
To this day, Washerst is the world’s principal producer of cat litter, and it is the global headquarters for Kleen Kitty Kat Litter,® the top brand of cat litter used around the planet. Civic pride of Washerstians is reflected in their town motto, “Washerst – We Are A Kleen Kommunity.”
Pictured at the left: Washerst's founders Alojzy Wasniewski and Mieczyslaw Herstikovsnovstiffikoff
Historic WasherstPictured at the right: The Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Blvd).
Below left: Dickinson College's Emmett Lee Dickinson Community College Campus Below right: The Emmett Lee Dickinson Motel
|
|
|
Left: The Emmett Lee Dickinson Shopping Mall Right: Dickinson's Restaurant |
|
|
The Washerst Wastoria MotelThe Wastoria has been synonymous with luxury since it first opened in Washerst, PA, in 1962, the same year the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum opened (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard). Guests at the Wastoria enjoy the following amenities:
· Air conditioned rooms · Colored television sets · Premium toilet seat covers · 60 Watt lighting · Complimentary wake-up calls · Trash cans in every room · Hot water in the shower (guaranteed before 8 a.m.) · Bath mats (in deluxe rooms and suites) · Security guard on premises (on weekends) |
Pictured above: The Washerst Wastoria Motel
|
|
|
Above: The eastern view of Washerst
from atop the Visitor Center. Below: The western view. Click the images to enlarge. 
|
|
|
|
|
Pictured above: Two vintage postcards from Washerst ,Pennsylvania, "Home of Poet Emmett E. Dickinson and the World Famous Moss & Hornwort Jubilee" and "Having the time of our lives at the Washerst Moss & Hornwort Jubile." The Moss & Hornwrot Jubilee is celebrated every August ~ from 1802 to the present day.
|
MODERN DAY LOCATIONS ON A 1903 POSTCARD:
1. The Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) 2. Dickinson’s Restaurant 3. The Dickinson Motel 4. Dickinson College's Emmett Lee Dickinson Community College Campus 5. Emmett Lee Dickinson Park 6. The Emmett Lee Dickinson Shopping Mall 7. Global Headquarters for Kleen Kitty Kat Litter ® |
|
Since 1801, Washerst, Pennsylvania, has been a city of attraction and intrigue. Even today, visitors flock to the city to experience its rich literary, industrial, and social history. From the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) to the world’s largest kitty litter mine and quarry to the annual Moss & Hornwort Jubilee, Washerst’s world-renowned sites and civic events continue to attract visitors from around the world! Visit beautiful Washerst, Pennsylvania, and then you, too, can say, "I was in Washerst!" Pictured at the right: Past visitors to Washerst tour the historic district. |
|
Below left: The Washerst Times announces the stock market crash of 1929 -- the first newspaper in America to do so. Pictured on the right: A "newspaper blackout poem" of a poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson using a 1929 edition of The New York Times.
|
|
Did you know that Emmett Lee Dickinson invented candy corn?
Pictured at the right: the Dickinson Candy Corn Company in Washerst, PA. |
|
Washerst Dry Cleaning AcademyWasherst is home to the internationally acclaimed Washerst Dry Cleaning Academy, one of the premiere dry cleaning schools in the world.
The Academy, as it's called in Washerst, was founded in 1875 by Rudy Del Vecchio, pictured below.
|
|
|
|
|
Pictured above, left to right: the National Traffic Light and Traffic Sign Museum, the Washerst Newel Post Museum, and the International Institute of Laundry and Ironing Sciences (click on images to enlarge). For more information on the other museums of Washerst, click HERE.
|
|
|
The Dickinson Easter Grass FactoryDid you know that Emmett Lee Dickinson invented Easter grass -- the very grass used in Easter baskets?
He invented the grass when he delivered eggs for his grandfather's egg delivery business, and he'd earn a penny for every dozen eggs delivered with no breakage. Soon, Washerst was home to the Dickinson Egg Grass Factory. The factory almost closed when the egg carton was invented by Joseph Coyle. However, Dickinson had the brilliant idea of marketing the grass for Easter baskets -- and the factory has been the world's leading manufacturer of Easter grass ever since! The factory's name was later changed to the Dickinson Easter Grass Factory, and It is one of the top employers in Washerst. |
|
Dickinson also invented the "YOU ARE HERE" symbol on a floor plan map and introduced it at the Dickinson Egg Grass Factory. However, when he posted the first directory of the factory, the indicators read, "YOU ARE IN THIS LOCATION." It wasn't until several years later that he re-worded the phrase to "YOU ARE HERE." |
|
|
Dorchester, Dickinson, & Dubloon
|
|
|
|
The North Washerst Belt Loop Factory is second to none in the world when it comes to the production of belt loops for men's and women's fashions.
|
Pictured at the left: Headquarters of Washerst Pharmacal Corporation, makers of Dickinson Antiseptic -- with its tagline, "Because I could not stop for breath mints!"
|
|
|
Pictured at the right: The State Penitentiary in Washerst closed in 1965. Now it is a part of the campus of Dickinson College's Emmett Lee Dickinson Community College.
A new penitentiary opened in 1967. A picture with information is found HERE. |
The Babes & Balls Bowling Lanes are the site of the annual Lady Gaga Pro-Am bowling tournament every January. Also, Poetry Jams are held there monthly in the alley's bar, Pin Pals.
|
|
|
Delbert Dickinson's Cut-Price Hardware & Paint StoreNo one knows for sure if Delbert Dickinson was any kin to Emmett Lee and Emily Dickinson, but the store -- which has serviced customers in Washerst, PA for 80+ years -- has a line of Emily and Emmett Lee Dickinson paints based on poetry and poets.
Click on the pictures below to see larger images. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Ned Sullivan TheaterPictured at the left: Washerst's magnificent Ned Sullivan Theater, home of the world famous Marty Graw's One-and-Only Dickinson Revue (pictured below) -- featuring musical, comedic, and dramatic tributes to Emmett Lee Dickinson and his poetry.
|
|
The Washerst Mattress Dump, pictured at the left, is the fifth largest mattress dump in the United States -- behind those in Memphis, Tennessee; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Ithaca, New York.
A favorite of both locals and tourists, the mattress dump is the site of a summer festival with many popular games and competitions for kids and families. |
|
The Washerst International Film OfficeThe Washerst International FIlm Office (pictured at the left) has lured many Hollywood production companies to beautiful, historic Washerst. Over 100 major motion pictures have been filmed there, including "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," "Dragstrip Riot" and "Attack of the Crab Monsters."
|
Institutes of Higher Leaning
Washerst is home to a multitude of world famous institutions of higher learing, including Dickinson College's Emmett Lee Dickinson Community College, Harvard Junior College, and the Washerst Dry Cleaning Academy.
|
|
|
Pictured above: The American Academy of Arachnology & Acarology for Women
|
|
Pictured at left: Washerst is also home to the headquarters for the National College Textbook Publishers Association. |
|
Hobart Dickinson Clown Academy & School for the Balloon ArtsEmmett Lee Dickinson's uncle Hobart owned a novelty shop in Washerst, PA. He also
managed an entertainment partnership (with Dooley Dawson, known to the citizens of Washerst as “Doo-Daw”Dawson) that provided clowns, magicians, and balloon artists to children’s parties. Hobart Dickinson often performed at children's birthday parties as "Gurgles the Clown." Late in life he founded the Hobart Dickinson Clown Academy and School for the Balloon Arts, the longest operating clown academy in the United States. |
Friday Night LightsFootball is big in Washerst, and Dickinson Stadium, home of the Fighting Poets, is the place to be on Friday nights.
Below: An aerial view of Dickinson Stadium. Top right: A vintage picture of the Fighting Poets, the ELDCC football team. Bottom right: the ELDCC cheerleaders, fondly called the "Emilies." 
|
|
|
SpendthriftsFor almost 100 years, Spendthrifts was the place to shop in Washerst -- and all of Pennsylvania! Managed by Edgar Coughman, Spendthrifts was the flagship department store of the 30-plus stores owned and operated by the Coughman family.
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed Coughman's executive offices on the top floor of the store, and he was later commissioned to design the family's Waherst home, "Standingwater." Spendthrifts closed in the late 1970s when the Emmett Lee Dickinson Mall opened on Dickinson Boulevard. |
|
Coughman House, or "Standingwater"In the late 1920s, Edgar Coughman commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design his family's Washerst home, often called "Standingwater" since the property overlooks Washerst Swamp.
The front of the house (at right) was very traditional, but the back of the house (far right) included a stunning cantilevered porch. |
|
|
|
|
