Welcome! Imaginary Shirt is a project where I research visual elements from high schools’ histories and then use them to make new t-shirt concepts. If you’re associated with one of these schools and would like to make any of these imaginary shirts a reality, let me know! I’d love to help you accomplish that. This companion newsletter gives some more details on process and on the schools featured. Enjoy!
Instagram Week in Review
Monday, 17 July 2023—Allderdice Dragons, Pittsburgh, PA
Taylor Allderdice High School (alma mater of Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa), was named after Taylor Allderdice, who was a member of Pittsburgh’s first school board, president of the National Tube Company, and philanthropist. But Taylor Allderdice was married to Ellen Hansell Allderdice, who in 1887 won the very first U.S. National Championship in women’s tennis, making her in essence the winner of the first women’s U.S. Open tennis title.
The October 5, 1887 Philadelphia Inquirer reported:
Miss Nellie Hansell, one of the most earnest and efficient of the young players of local fame, proved her superiority over all comers in a most unmistakable manner, and by defeating Miss Laura Knight without difficulty in two straight sets won the honor of being the first holder of the Wissahickon prize, donated by Messrs. Kingsley. Throughout the tournament Miss Hansell has played superbly, and her final triumph was nothing more than her due. In the doubles she was partnered by her antagonist in singles, and again her admirable work resulted in victory for the organization to which she belongs.
In 1888, Hansell was advanced to the finals of the tournament by virtue of being defending champion, but could not win again. She stopped playing tennis seriously in 1890 when she married Taylor Allderdice, but in 1965 was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
See more designs from the Allderdice set here.
Tuesday, 18 July 2023—Ambridge Bridgers, Ambridge, PA
Ambridge is named for the American Bridge Company, which incorporated the town in 1905 and whose beautiful old logo looked like this:
Before Ambridge, though, the area was home to a settlment named Economy. Economy was founded by a religious sect known as the Harmony Society, which had fled Germany due to religious persecution.
A June 30, 1895 Philadelphia Times article described Economy and the Harmony Society:
Economy, as the reading public everywhere knows, is the home of the Harmony Society, one of the most unique and communistic organizations of its day. The cardinal principle of the society is the community of goods: this from the first has been strictly adhered to. Celibacy was enjoined upon all members and taught by both Father Rapp and Father Henrici, but their successor John S. Duss, the present leader, leaves that tenet out of his preaching.
The February 6, 1889 Pittsburgh Dispatch added:
It is worthy of note that this most singular people firmly believe that at His second coming Christ will establish upon Mount Sinai, in Palestine, a visible, personal kingdom, and that from His throne upon that great mountain He will judge and rule the world. They keep a complete supply of every requisite for the transportation of their community to the Holy Land when Christ shall come again.
A March 17, 1907 New York Times article detailing the transition from Economy to Ambrige and titled “Communistic Experiment Fails After a Century’s Trial” described things thusly:
Before the bridge company came on the scene Economy was a drowsy, clean, well-kept country town of about 300 inhabitants. It was a model community in many ways. Rent was cheap, and natural gas was obtained on the property, every household was supplied with gas for all heating purposes. Coal was a novelty resorted to only by those unfortunate ones who lived in houses to which gas mains did not lead. Every week Duss’s band gave a free concert in the garden of the big house where the trustees lived. The streets of the town are broad and have neat brick walks, and nearly every avenue is lined with fruit trees.
See more designs from the Ambridge set here.
Wednesday, 19 July 2023—Baldwin Highlanders, Pittsburgh, PA
Baldwin has among its graduates former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch who served as a Republican in the United States Senate for forty-two years. As detailed in 1997 in the Deseret News, Hatch wrote a song called “Souls Along the Way” for Senator Ted Kennedy and his wife. He presented the song to Kennedy when the two were in the middle of an argument. Film director Steven Soderbergh included “Souls Along the Way” as background music in a Utah scene in Ocean’s 12. Hatch had previously appeared briefly in Soderbergh’s film Traffic.
See more designs from the Baldwin set here.
Thursday, 20 July 2023—Bethel Park Blackhawks, Bethel Park, PA
Bethel Park is the alma mater of documentary filmmaker Rick Sebak, whose Sandwiches That You Will Like might have my favorite title of anything, ever. In 2015, Sebak was honored with a cookie bearing the image of his face, available for a limited time from Pittsburgh eatery Eat’n Park. It was a version of Eat’n Park’s famous Smiley cookie.
About a year later, presidential candidate Donald Trump got into some hot water with Pittsburgh-area residents for calling the restaurant “Smiley Cookie" instead of Eat’n Park. He had come to get some cookies after holding a campaign at Ambridge Area High School. No word on if he was just frazzled because he ran into some ghosts from the Harmony Society.
See more designs from the Bethel Park set here.
Friday, 21 July 2023—Brentwood Spartans, Pittsburgh, PA
Brentwood’s Prime Racing team competes in the F1 in Schools program, where teams from around the world compete to design, build, and race miniature cars. This year’s world finals are in Singapore in September, and Brentwood’s team is the only American team to have qualified.
See more designs from the Brentwood set here.
Saturday, 22 July 2023—Hughes Big Red, Cincinnati, OH
When Hughes moved into its current building in 1910 (check out this cool page with pictures and details about the building’s gargoyles), the Cincinnati Post noted in an article titled “Old Pupils Expect New Hughes To Be Cin’ti’s Cradle of Big Men”:
Old Hughes did produce some pretty able citizens in its day, and if an old time, red-brick schoolhouse, without any of the modern educational appurtenance, could do that, it is figured by former Hughes students, the new one, in which learning is made a pleasure, should turn out the entire future output of Cincinnati Mayors, Congressmen, Governors and Presidents.
The article went on to say that Cincinnati’s Woodward High School had turned out an American president—William Howard Taft.
See more designs from the Hughes set here.
Sunday, 9 July 2023—Taft Senators, Cincinnati, OH
A few years ago, my family was walking to the U.S. Capitol building when we were surprised to find a memorial that we hadn’t heard of. Very near the Capitol but sort of off the beaten path is a large memorial honoring Robert Taft, former Senate Majority Leader and son of William Howard Taft. The younger Taft had an interesting political life, being nicknamed “Mr. Republican” and named by a Senate commission as one of the five greatest senators.
In 1910, though, Robert Taft was a newly minted Yale graduate when he was motoring around Beverly, Massachusetts when he hit an Italian laborer with one of President Taft’s cars.
On June 28, The New York Times reported:
At Pride’s Crossing, about two miles from home, the streets were being oiled by a gang of men. The automobile was slowed down, the horn was sounded, and most of the laborers stepped aside. One of them, however, was not quite quick enough, and the machine struck him, tossing him into the gutter. He was unconscious when picked up by Robert Taft and his two friends.
They do say that most accidents happen within five miles of your house…
The man, named Michael Thisthwolla, was thought to have a fractured skull and it was said to be unlikely that he would survive. He beat the odds. Because of the testimony of impartial witnesses who all said that Taft had done everything he could do and Thisthwolla had stepped in front of the car at the last minute, Taft was cleared of all wrongdoing.
See more designs from the Taft set here.
A Recommendation
I love a great plum. And I just had a pretty good one. So go get yourself a delicious plum.
See you next week! Tell your friends!