[PRCo] impoverished parts of California

[roger]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Harold Geissenheimer" <transitmgr2 at earthlink.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2003 11:41 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Charleroi etc.


>
> Greetings to all
>
> Its not a situation confined to Western Pennsylvania.
>
> I first encountered this when I joined the Anthracite Division of the
> ERA in l947.   Ed Miller and Mike Lavelle were running PCC cars in
> Washingron DC, Bill Ellis was working in Phila and Jim Langan
> was in the Airforce.
>
> Then when at Fort Meade, Maryland, I became friends with a Regulat
> Army personnel sgt, Mel Courtney, from Tunnelton, WVa..  A very
> capable guy but when he retiurned home, he could only run a newspaper
> distributer route.  I visited with him several times at home.
>
> An early railfan triip for me was from New York City to Bluefield, West
Va. to
> ride the small Tri-City Traction.  What an eye opener that was!.
>
> Lets go to California.  Its amazing how poor parts of the rural state are.
Go
> north
> to the Oregon border (Skunk train) or east and south of Sacramento
>
> For urban decline, try Bridgeport, Newark, Gary, East St Louis, etc.
>
> Small Iowa farm towns also very poor.
>
> Not every one has a piece of the pie!
>
> Harold Geissenheimer
>
>
>
> "Dennis F. Cramer" wrote:
>
> >     You do not even want to travel to Greene, Fayette or Armstrong
Counties
> > in the western part of the commonwealth.  No dichotomy of communities
there,
> > just ones barely hanging on to anything that is left, which is not much.
> > Our talented young people leave in droves and never return.
> >     On the plus side, we are all within one hour of "dahntawn" and the
> > culture there.  The cost of living is much less than Peters & Cranberry
Twps
> > or the North Hills.  There are still good people who do for others in
all of
> > these impoverished communities.
> >     I do appreciate the fact that I drive 7 miles to school and it takes
> -Yes believe it or not Calif. Has its poor people out there in the
Coachella Valley near Salton Sea . Mostly farmworkers and indian tribes
{those without Casinos } A lot of them live in shacks that are hard to
describe!! aka rogertrolly
>
>
>