[PRCo] PAAC 1964 clippings

[Bob Rathke]

Harold asked about the names of people mentioned in Pittsburgh Press articles in the early months of PAAC.  Here are a few, starting with the newspaper dates:
3/10/64 - PAAC employee Larry Meiers is shown replacing the "PRC" sign with "PAAC" lettering on the glass window above the doors of the former PRC headquarters at 121 Seventh St.

5/3/64 - PAAC's Elaine Geanopulos is shown pointing at a bus destination sign, one of the first signs identifying PAAC's new route number system.

5/10/64 - Leonard Bruno, owner/driver/maintenance man at the one-employee Carnegie Coach Lines is shown sweeping the floor of his bus as passengers wait for him to drive the bus.  Another article about Larry in September, 1964 says that CCL was the last bus company acquired by PAAC (the independent bus companies were acquired one at a time from March to September, 1964).

5/16/64 - The first trolley to be painted in the white/gray/red bus scheme enters service on route 53-Carrick (no photo).

6/7/64 - Dispatcher Leonard Krane and PAAC employee Jeanne Lake are shown with oddball items lost and found on buses and trolleys.

9/6/64 - James Woods, R.C. Donohoe, T.J. Gillespie, Michael Giladi and Frank Benner are shown manning the phones in a very crowded PAAC Information room.

9/8/64 - Judge Loran Lewis defends PAAC's selection of South Park as the site for the Skybus demonstration rather than on an existing revenue transit line.  He says that a revenue line test, "would have required serious disruption to an already overloaded transit corridor."  He adds that Skybus is, "a new and unproven concept," more suitable to the South Park location.

9/13/64 - Walter Jacobs is shown operating the Motor Ability Test, a multi-task mechanical device used to test reaction times of applicants for bus and trolley operator jobs.  The article says that 50% of the applicants fail the test.

And finally....

7/5/64 - John Dameron is shown lowering the trolley pole on the last 22-Crosstown trolley.


Bob 2/25/04