Eugene Lee “Hammer” Tartell, Class of 1951, passed away Saturday, October 27 in Dayton, Ohio.

Hammer was vice president of his senior class at Monongah High. Marie Bee was the class president.

Hammer was captain of the 1950 Monongah High football team. He played center. Hammer lettered all 4 years in football and 3 years in basketball for the Lions.

His parents were Lee and Josephine Mainella Tartell.

Hammer’s siblings are Louis Tartell; Phillip Tartell; Loraine Tartell Meredith, Class of 1944; Alda Tartell, Class of 1945, Liz Tartell Shultz; Dave Tartell; and Christina “Tina” Tartell Arnett, Class of 1953. Only Liz and David survive Hammer.

Liz, Hammer and I saw each other frequently when all three of us lived in Dayton, where Liz still resides, during my 13 years on the Dayton Daily News. Liz sold us the encyclopedia that our children used for years, long before hand-held electronics became the major source of information.

Helen Mary Hall Tartell, Class of 1945, widow of Monongah’s famous pilot Louie, passed away in 2016. Louie once created a sensation in Monongah by landing his small plane on the hill above Pike and Walnut streets in Monongah. I remember running past my grandfather Martin Olesky’s pigpen on the hillside to get up to where Louie triumphantly stood alongside his aircraft.

Louie was a Marine pilot in the Pacific during World War II.

Helen’s parents were Harvey and Hazel Davis Hall of Monongah.

Hammer wasn’t the only Tartell who played sports at Monongah High. Dave also played football and Alda was on the senior girls basketball team captained by Freda Brzuzy that won the class tournament.

Tina and Virginia DeMary Rossi, both Class of 1953, were born on the same day – April 24, 1935 -- and died two hours apart on the same day – August 20, 1982 -- and were best friends for life. They were MHS Student Council representatives together for their senior class in 1953.

Tina was the maid of honor at Virginia’s wedding to James Rossi. David Tartell was a pallbearer at Michael DeMary’s funeral in 2007. Tina was Paula Rossi Wiley’s godmother.

One of Hammer’s fond memories was stopping at the Prezioso Grocery atop Jackson Street hill after practicing football at Traction Park with the Monongah High football team. Negotiating the uneven ground furrowed by rainfall runoffs was as difficult as avoiding tacklers on that football field.

I noticed sadly that I recognized at least 11 people in the MHS football squad photo in Hammer's photo montage above are deceased, including Coach Jim Feltz. One problem with living so long is that so many of your former Monongah High classmates are no longer among us.