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The Zarrella House in 2006

The Zarrella House in 1957

 Zarrella House, 1957
1197 St. Vincent Drive

In the late 1950s, local developer Tom Mistick, working with a draftsman, began work in the Haymaker Road area on seven plans of houses he had purchased from a “planning book.”  The draftsman could change the plans to accommodate the buyers. He called his development “Monroe Heights,” and named the streets for various colleges: Harvard, Princeton, Bowling Green, Bucknell, Northwestern, Colgate, Clemson, LaSalle, and St. Vincent, etc.

 This red brick ranch house, purchased by William and Doris Zarrella on St. Vincent Drive in 1957, is typical of the plan.  It is a 6-room, one-story house, with full basement and attic.

  Missing the ice skating that was part of his former life in Massachusetts, Mr. Zarrella built an ice skating rink in the front yard of their new Pennsylvania home – a feature that would quickly make it a winter gathering place for the neighborhood children.  The house remains in the Zarrella family in 2006.