the almanac M AY 4, 2025
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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THE BEAT GOES ON
PHOTOS: BRAD HUNDT/OBSERVER-REPORTER
John George has managed George’s Song Shop since 1962.
Nation’s oldest record store keeps going after almost a century By Brad Hundt Staff writer
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
JOHNSTOWN – It’s almost lunchtime on a recent Friday morning, and the front door of George’s Song Shop is open, letting in a warm breeze. A visitor tells owner John George he’d like to find out a little more about his store. George responds, “What do you want to know?” George’s Song Shop actually comes with quite a bit of history for a visitor to discover. Reputed to be the oldest continually operating music emporium in the United States, George’s Song Shop in downtown Johnstown first opened in the heyday of Sophie Tucker and has stayed
George’s Song Shop in Johnstown is reputed to be the oldest continually operating record store in the United States.
alive in the era of Taylor Swift. It’s endured as formats have shifted from 78s to 45s and LPs to CDs, and 8-tracks to cassettes. Given the thousands of records George has stashed in the five-story building he operates on Market Street, there’s a decent chance a record is in there that his father and uncle might have stocked when the store opened in 1932. “I’ve always loved music,” said George, who has managed the store since 1962, following the death of his father, Eugene George. “I can’t think of anything else I would have done.” Like many other record shops in the 1920s and 1930s, George’s Song Shop was not a stand-alone business when it first opened; instead, it was on the first floor of Johnstown’s Glosser Brothers Department Store.
A devastating flood on St. Patrick’s Day in 1936 killed at least 25 people in the city, and one of the casualties was George’s Song Shop – floodwaters poured into the department store, making it necessary for Eugene and his brother, Bernie George, to pull up stakes and move to another location in Johnstown. George’s father became the sole proprietor of George’s Song Shop after his uncle decamped to New York to work as a musician. George then became the store’s owner and manager when his father had a stroke while driving to work and died. “I was 19 when my dad died, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” said George. “I’ve been doing it my whole life.” SEE RECORD PAGE A2 George’s Song Shop has thousands of records in stock.
Feathered friend
COURTESY OF SOUTH FAYETTE SCHOOL DISTRICT
CJ Inkenhaus is a member of the South Fayette High School Marching Band, also known as “The Little Green Machine.”
‘Mr. Bass Man’ South Fayette senior enjoying marvelous musical journey
By Paul Paterra
CJ Inkenhaus will be part of the 2025 National Youth ppaterra@observer-reporter.com Orchestra, which will tour Asia from July 5 to Aug. 7, A South Fayette High School and feature about 100 musisenior will spend part of his cians from around the counsummer pursuing his passion try. for music while performing for audiences throughout Asia. SEE MUSICAL PAGE A2 Staff writer
ELEANOR BAILEY/THE ALMANAC
A Baltimore Oriole was spotted at a feeder in Bethel Park recently. The songbird, echoing from treetops near homes and parks, is a sweet herald of spring in eastern North America. Orioles arrive from mid-April for breeding purposes. The breeding season typically spans May through June, with females laying one brood of three to seven eggs. Cut oranges and grape jelly are treats that easily can be used to stock backyard feeders to attract the bird, which often breeds in elms, maples and cottonwoods.
GREEN TREE ‘Blessing of the Animals’ event to be held in June PAGE A2 What’s happening, B3
SPORTS Bethel Park navigates Section 5A to claim banner PAGE B1 Real estate transactions, A4
SCHOOL NEWS Upper St. Clair speech and debate team wins state title PAGE B3 Classifieds, B4-6