We’re famous!
President Harry S Truman, then U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Notre Dame’s famous “Four Horsemen,” Donora’s Stan Musial, Vince Lombardi, Terry Bradshaw, Jesse Owens, Woody Hayes… They were among nationally- known political and sports figures but mostly famous Hollywood
stars featured at rallies, banquets and special events at the Twin Coaches in Rostraver Township.
No story about Belle Vernon Area School District would be complete without including what once was billed as the largest supper club between New York City and Las Vegas and whose motto was, “Where the stars come to play.”
Until the 1,200-seat venue along Route 51 burned to the ground on Oct. 17, 1977, school events including the annual All-Sports Banquet were held there. Students, parents and grandparents dined, met politicos and enjoyed top-notch singers, dancers, comedians and even puppeteers.
Many local people worked at the iconic Twin Coaches, parking cars, preparing food, waiting tables and playing in the Frankie Barr Orchestra with Jesse Wilson as emcee and vocalist.
The long-time owners of the Twin Coaches were Tony and Rose Calderone, now both deceased. A daughter, Carmel Calderone, is a retired BVA teacher. Other relatives also still live in the area.
“Rose,” as she was affectionately known, was the pioneering businesswoman
who hobnobbed with the rich and famous while catering to the public, playing gracious hostess when local students and their parents attended functions. Stars included Diana Ross, Dean Martin, Sonny & Cher, Frankie Valli, Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson, Pearl Bailey, Liberace, Rosemary Clooney, the Temptations, the Ink Spots, the Lettermen, Dagmar, the Ames Brothers, the Platters, Guy Lombardo, Johnny Puleo, Jack E. Leonard, Nat King Cole, Diana Ross, Bobby Vinton, McGuire Sisters, Fats Domino, Tony Bennett, Robert Goulet, Dean Martin, the Supremes, Ella Fitzgerald, Lennon Sisters and Smithon’s Shirley Jones, some returning year after year.
“How lucky we were that the Twin Coaches brought so many of those artists to our community,” said Johnna Pro, narrator/script writer for a November 2016 presentation of “A Night at the Coaches” at the BVA High School Auditorium.
The stars relied on Mid-Mon Valley musicians for their shows. Several original orchestra members and vocalists returned for the recent revival, a project of the newly-organized Mon Valley Academy for the Arts.
“Unlike today’s performers who travel with their own bands, those (Twin Coaches) acts relied on the talent of Mid-Mon Valley musicians,” Ms. Pro recounted. “By
day, they were blue-collar guys. By night, clad in their tuxedos, they made musical history.”
Credit for bringing the Twin Coaches show back to Rostraver, where the venue originated in two P&LE Railroad cars in 1931, goes to Mark Smith of Charleroi, founding director and president of the Mon Valley Academy for the Arts.
SWPA History 