{"id":124,"date":"2014-10-29T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-29T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=124"},"modified":"2015-01-09T17:04:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T22:04:46","slug":"pittsburghs-baron-of-barges-has-a-weird-day-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/29\/pittsburghs-baron-of-barges-has-a-weird-day-in-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh’s ‘Baron of Barges’ has a weird day in court"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Floating <\/a>
Floating debris from Zubik on the North Shore in 1961. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"KDKA <\/a>
KDKA photographer William Nogak shows off his bite mark. At left is Zubik and daughter Virginia Dramble. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Zubik <\/a>
Zubik at the wheel in 1937. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Aerial <\/a>
Aerial view of Zubik’s fleet on the North Shore in April 1960. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div>
\"What <\/a>
What was left of the Zubik junk yard in April 1970. (Michael Chikiris\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Charles <\/a>
Charles Zubik peers through a hole in his Panama hat at the Allegheny County Courthouse. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Charles Zubik Sr. once owned a towboat and salvage operation on the North Side, and kept a fleet of towboats and rusted barges parked along the northern bank of the Allegheny River. It was an eyesore. A \u201cfloating junk pile,\u201d one newspaper wrote.<\/p>\n

This was in the late 1950s. Pittsburgh was changing. Millions were being spent to remake the Golden Triangle into a gleaming business center. The once-decrepit Point was becoming a park.<\/p>\n

Zubik\u2019s flotilla had to go.<\/p>\n

So on May 26, 1959, Pittsburgh\u2019s safety director delivered an eviction notice to Zubik\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

KDKA assigned a photographer to film the event. His name was William Nogach.This would be big news. The city had been complaining about Zubik\u2019s boats and barges for years. Nogach set up his camera and began rolling.<\/p>\n

His film shows Zubik charging the camera with his arms raised in what was later described as a \u201cthreatening gesture.\u201d Zubik then slugged Nogach.<\/p>\n

Nogach was no pushover. He\u2019s described in newspaper articles as \u201chusky.\u201d In pictures he wears glasses and looks mild-mannered. Zubik claimed the camera operator then kicked him \u201cin my side, where I had an operation three years ago and I went down.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, Zubik\u2019s daughter Virginia Drambel charged out of the office and, witnesses claimed, bit Nogach on the arm.<\/p>\n

Police were there. Zubik and Drambel were arrested.<\/p>\n

A year later, Zubik was in court. Photographers were waiting. Newspapers couldn\u2019t resist a story like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one\u2019s going to take my picture,\u201d Zubik snapped. He brandished a cane and practically dared anyone to try.<\/p>\n

Zubik then took off the Panama hat resting on his head and poked a hole in its top. He covered his face with the hat and peeked through the newly created eyehole.<\/p>\n

He was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $100 for his altercation with Nogac. But the city\u2019s eviction didn\u2019t stick. Zubik\u2019s fleet remained on the river for another decade, despite continued attempts by the city to have it removed.<\/p>\n

Zubik, who had immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1902, got his start on the river \u00a0years later. After fire burned the wooden 16th Street bridge in 1918, Zubik ferried people across the Allegheny River.<\/p>\n

Decades later, Zubik was a river king of sorts. But his towboat and salvage operation offended a lot of people. For years, Zubik tangled with the Army Corps of Engineers, unions and newsmen, as well as the city.<\/p>\n

Once he battled a five-ton elephant scheduled to perform on water skis on the Allegheny River. This happened on Memorial Day in 1959. Water-skiing Elephants need a considerable amount of room. Zubik\u2019s barges were in the way. The city ordered the barges to be moved and, in this instance, Zubik complied.<\/p>\n

The \u201cBaron of Barges\u201d died of a heart attack in his home in 1966. The last of his dilapidated fleet sailed away in 1970.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charles Zubik Sr.’s towboat operation was once called a \u201cfloating junk pile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPittsburgh’s ‘Baron of Barges’ has a weird day in court<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[975,962,1024,988,1025,1013,1036,1040,1047],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_ne62jveoZp1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=936%2C658&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/12\/05\/dec-10-1969-three-rivers-stadiums-steel\/","url_meta":{"origin":124,"position":0},"title":"Three Rivers Stadium\u2019s steel","date":"December 5, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"On the materials that went into Three Rivers Stadium: where it all came from, and where it is today.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/tumblr_ng2y1lF6Zx1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C872&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1401,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/09\/13\/the-pittsburgh-views-of-john-c-bragdon\/","url_meta":{"origin":124,"position":1},"title":"The Pittsburgh views of John C. 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