[PRCo] Re: Knowing the neighborhoods

[Harold G.]

Greetings to Fred and all.

When  I worked in Tarentum, I found most people were
native there.  Even teachers, store keepers, the newspaper,
bus drivers, etc.   Itwas a nice place (and still is) to live.

We had several ex=West Penn AV division motormen
at Harmony-Community.

Most returned back after college.  Some commuted to
downtown Pittsburgh.  The ALudlum mill was a good employent
base.  When the PRR ended train service, we created a
charter bus to take ALudlum employees to work in Pgh.

Why leave heaven?   Good schools and nice people.

Harold Geissenheimer
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Schneider <fschnei at supernet.com>
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Date: Saturday, March 05, 2005 12:00 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Knowing the neighborhoods


>I wonder if this doesn't have a lot to do with which family or family
members
>achieved higher educational levels and / or higher  income jobs?  If we can
work
>for only the minimum, we don't go much farther than we can see.  If our
calling
>is ferrous metalurgist, then we might look at Pomona, Hamilton, Pueblo,
Gary,
>Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Steelton, Birmingham - Bessemer and so forth.
>
>Only two of my dad's family ever left Marietta, Ohio ... an uncle who had a
>pharmaceutical degree ran a drug store in Cincinnati and dad, with an
>engineering degree, who lived in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and then Lancaster.
Only
>two of my mother's family ever moved out of Pittsburgh, and both were the
only
>degreed members of the family ... beside her, the other one worked for
>Carnegie-Illinois Steel in Gary.    I think the other basic rule is simply
that
>if are well fed, comfortable and have an acceptable job ... you stay put.
If
>you are starving or tired of fighting someone elses' war, you move on.
>
>Whether we like to admit it or not, perhaps our perspectives have roots in
those
>of our parents.  My parents were conservatives who liked to travel.   The
seed
>didn't fall far from the tree.
>
>Bob Rathke wrote:
>
>> An interesting parallel here, Howard.  I know a family who came to the
U.S.
>> in the the early 1900's and settled on the South Side - probably to be
near
>> the mill where the father worked.  By 1950, a couple of the children
(adults
>> by that time) made the big break and moved "up the hill" to Carrick.
They
>> still live in Carrick, while the others continue to live on the flats.
For
>> years, the hilltoppers have traveled outside Pittsburgh, and by air all
over
>> the U.S., while the flatlanders don't go much beyond the river, and many
of
>> them probably haven't been outside Allegheny County.
>>
>> By contrast, my family settled on the North Side in the 1870's, but moved
up
>> to Spring Hill and then out the East St. Valley in the early 1900's.
None
>> stayed on the flats.  My grandfather lived on Spring Hill, and worked in
>> Rankin.  Not only did he cross the river every day, but he commuted to
work
>> using three PRC trolley lines - 5, 77/54 and 67.  He did this for nearly
30
>> years, and never owned an automobile.
>>
>> Bob 3/5/05
>>
>> -----------------------------
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Howard Andrews" <hwandrews at wowway.com>
>> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 7:25 AM
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Knowing the neighborhoods
>>
>> > This chain has been rather though provoking for me.  I was born and
raised
>> > in
>> > Pittsburgh but in my adult years have lived in Ohio and Michigan.
>> >
>> > As a Product Engineer for Ford I traved through out the United States,
>> and
>> > as
>> > an IT Manager I've been to Europe too many times... sometimes I think
of
>> it
>> > as my second office since I've had employees based in England and
Germany
>> > on many of my project.  I was also luck enough to spend time in
Australia
>> as
>> > part of a Rotary Exchange program.
>> >
>> > My circle of friend and professional associates have also traveled
>> > extensively
>> > on business and personal trips.  And,  most of my professional
associates
>> at
>> > Ford are from somewhere other than Michigan.  So I guess I live in a
>> > unique social circle where mobility is the rule rather than the
exception.
>> >
>> > Recently I renewed contact with a college friend.   She still lives in
>> > Pittsburgh - in fact she grew up in Carrick, lived there most of her
life
>> > and just recently made the "big move" to Whitehall.  She's never been
>> > out of the country - for that matter she's never been out of the state.
>> > This puzzled me - how someone could go through their adult
>> > life in isolation.  (Guess I should add, my Dad traveled for his
>> > company - he was all thought he US and Mexico, and I saw
>> > most of the eastern US with him).  Reading this chain makes
>> > me realize I'm the exception and she's the rule.  No wonder as
>> > a nation we have such a narrow view of the world!
>> >
>> > Howard Andrews
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Bob Rathke" <bobrathke at comcast.net>
>> > To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>> > Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 11:51 PM
>> > Subject: [PRCo] Knowing the neighborhoods
>> >
>> >
>> > > Fred,
>> > >
>> > > I continue to be amazed at how often I meet people who have lived in
>> > Chicago
>> > > all their lives, but have no idea of the areas just a few miles
beyond
>> > their
>> > > neighborhoods.
>> > >
>> > > I've lived here since late 1983, and I think that by early 1984 I had
>> > > studied the street maps and I had a good idea where neighboring towns
>> were
>> > > located.  I even went out and visited some of these neighborhoods,
just
>> to
>> > > see where they are and what they look like.
>> > >
>> > > Yesterday I had a meeting with a business professional in the Loop
who
>> has
>> > > lived here nearly all his life, but he has never been in Union
Station,
>> > nor
>> > > does he know exactly where it is located.
>> > >
>> > > I still remember the New Yorker I met when I was living in Manhattasn
in
>> > > 1968.  I told him that I was from Pittsburgh, and he replied, "Isn't
>> that
>> > in
>> > > the Poconos?"
>> > >
>> > > Bob 3/4/05
>> > >
>> > > -----------------------------
>> > > ----- Original Message -----
>> > > From: "Fred Schneider" <fschnei at supernet.com>
>> > > To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>> > > Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 5:55 PM
>> > > Subject: [PRCo] Re: 94 Sharpsburg - 62nd Street Bridge
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > > Back in the late 1960s I spent a miserable two years teaching in a
>> > public
>> > > high
>> > > > school in the Lancaster area ... best thing I ever did was leave
and
>> > find
>> > > > something I loved to do.  One of my impressions during that period
is
>> > that
>> > > most
>> > > > of the kids I worked with considered a long vacation trip to be a
>> > Saturday
>> > > > journey to the Delaware Park Race Track in Newark, Delaware.  The
>> > teacher
>> > > of
>> > > > Pennsylvania history had never been west of Harrisburg ... you
should
>> > have
>> > > heard
>> > > > him trying to pronounce Monongahela.
>> > > >
>> > > > And when I was awaiting the ship for Germany in 1959, the army
>> detailed
>> > me
>> > > to
>> > > > the finance office at Fort Dix to type up payroll vouchers for
those
>> > chaps
>> > > > coming back home from Europe.  I was stunned.  Most people had no
>> > interest
>> > > in
>> > > > seeing Germany or France or wherever it was we had placed them.  We
>> were
>> > > paying
>> > > > almost every one of them (somewhere over 90 percent) for every
single
>> > day
>> > > of
>> > > > vacation they accumulated while in Europe.  (I let them pay me for
>> zero
>> > > days
>> > > > when I came home.)
>> > > >
>> > > > Railfans are an odd lot in more ways than one.  Few "normal" people
>> I've
>> > > met had
>> > > > the comprehension of maps that the average railfan does.  Isn't it
>> > great?
>> > > >
>> > > > Bob Rathke wrote:
>> > > >
>> > > > > Many people in Pittsburgh have never left "their" side of the
river,
>> > let
>> > > > > alone travel out of the state.  So, some people on the South Side
>> > would
>> > > > > never know that Brady Street was on the other end of the South
22nd
>> > St.
>> > > > > Bridge :-)
>> > > > >
>> > > > > Bob 3/4/05
>> > > > >
>> > > > > -----------------------------
>> > > > > ----- Original Message -----
>> > > > > From: "Derrick J Brashear" <shadow at dementia.org>
>> > > > > To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>> > > > > Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 10:44 AM
>> > > > > Subject: [PRCo] Re: 94 Sharpsburg - 62nd Street Bridge
>> > > > >
>> > > > > > On Fri, 4 Mar 2005, John Swindler wrote:
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > > >
>> > > > > > >
>> > > > > > > Interesting.  I never heard it referred to as the 22nd St.
>> bridge,
>> > > but
>> > > > > then
>> > > > > > > I lived in the East End.  I would tend to link a numbered
street
>> > > with
>> > > > > the
>> > > > > > > strip district and routes 87 and 88.
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > > South 22nd st, but that's commonly left out. Remember the 10th
st
>> > > bridge
>> > > > > > goes from 2nd Avenue at the Armstrong Tunnels to the South
Side.
>> > > Really it
>> > > > > > is the south 10th St bridge. Some old maps still call the new
>> bridge
>> > > the
>> > > > > > 22nd St Bridge. Of course, 22nd St is *next to* the bridge,
but...
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>
>
>