Fleeting Fall Memories

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Jim

Throughout America, the end of October brings around two events that definately signal  the Fall and Winter seasons are upon us. Duquesne was no different from the rest of the country when we were growing up.

While rummaging through The Duquesne Times, I came across a few items that I thought would interest you. The first is the picture below. Appearing in the November 4, 1954 issue of the Times, just like World Series winning Giants that year, Duquesne’s Dodgers won the the 1954 Duquesne Little League Series for the third straight year! Besides the team, the managers and coachs, Charles Kahler and Tony Herrerra along with the team sponser William Champ are pictures.

For you baseball history buffs out there, the 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since 1933, defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the regular season. The Series is perhaps best-remembered for “The Catch”, a sensational running catch made by Giants center fielder Willie Mays in Game 1, snaring a long drive by Vic Wertz near the outfield wall with his back to the infield. It is also remembered for utility player Dusty Rhodes’ clutch hitting in three of the four games. Giants manager Leo Durocher won his only title among the three pennants he captured in his career. After moving West, the San Francisco Giants would not win a World Series until the 2010 season.

I was able to locate two other examples of how Duquesne celebrated Halloween. The first is a recap of the Halloween Parade and winners for 1954. What a wonderful way to celebrate with our friends and neighbors! Were you a winner that year?

Finally, the following photo embraces “small town” news at its best. I found this photo of 8 year old Barbara Finkelstein’s birthday and masquerade party held in Duquesne. The year, 1952, the month, October. If you’re out there somewhere Barbara, happy 67th!!!

In closing, best wishes for a Happy Halloween!!

Posted in Autumntime, Holidays - Non-Christmas and New Years, Sports | 6 Comments

Hunky Hawking

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Jim

There was a knock at my front door today. I looked out of the sidelight alongside the door and noticed a bike that had been dropped at the bottom of the steps and knew immediately that it was Billy. Billy is a 2nd grader that lives up the street and comes to my door often, asking to play with our two little dogs. I opened the front door expecting his usual request, but today was quite different. In his best little scripted door-to-door salesman voice, Billy ever so politely asked if I would like to buy some candy that his school was selling to raise money. How could I resist? I was the second person on his list of buyers (Grandma was first), but he had all the confidence in the world that he was going to manage record breaking sales for his school. I made my selections, gave him a check, and watched as he excitedly ran down the steps, eager to continue his door-to-door rounds.

After Billy departed, I thought to myself how little things have changed with some things. While I was attending Holy Name Grade School on North First Street from 1957 through 1965, we were tasked with many fundraising efforts that took us door-to-door. The fundraiser that was considered the most important occurred right around this time of year. For a period of two weeks, every child in the school was charged with selling Christmas cards and Christmas giftwrap. We were each given a box of each type of cards and a box of each type of wrapping paper. Altogether, we lugged 4 different boxes of cards and 2 boxes of giftwrap home to sell.

If I recall correctly, each of the boxes of cards and giftwrap had a different “theme.” There were usually 2 different boxes of religious Christmas cards, a box of secular images of snowy country scenes, Christmas trees, wreaths, lanterns, and such. Finally, there was always a box of more juvenile images such as Santa Claus, snowmen, reindeer, and so on. The gift wrap was always sold in boxes as opposed to the rolls that are sold today. Each box would contain about 20 sheets of wrapping paper that was folded neatly into the 12 inch square box. Usually, there was a box for kids presents and a box for grown-ups.

While they were distributing the items to their students, each of the nuns or lay teachers would give their sales pitch ideas to the class on how to best sell the cards. In most cases, each student’s parents would end up buying all of the samples that were sent home. A few industrious kids would call upon their aunts and uncles to sell over their allotted 4 boxes of cards and 2 boxes of giftwrap. The price was from $1.00 to $2.00 per box for the cards and giftwrap. Not a bad deal for all of the cards and paper you received! Any student who exceeds their sales goal would be recognized by their teacher and the ones who were the top seller in their class received a special prize. The prize would usually be something that was usually sold on the religious article cart. Anything from Holy Cards, to Rosary Beads, to books about the Saints would be awarded. Among today’s students, a prize of that type would probably elicit a response of rolling eyes. However, a prize of that type when I was a student, was appreciated and cherished.

Sister Delores was in charge of fundraisers when I was at Holy Name. She was the music teacher/nun and could typically be found carting her little push pedal organ around from room to room for the weekly music lesson in each class. Normally, she was a sweet and subdued little wisp of a nun with an equally kind and gentle spirit. However, when it came to fundraising activities and selling, she turned into the female version of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Her persistence and encouragement were unyielding. She was never mean, just insistent on each child selling their share.

When I was in 5th Grade with Mrs. Juliana, I became a local hero, at least in Sister Delores’s eyes. I decided to “go for the gold” and sell more than any other boy or girl in my class and in my school. I made this decision after I began going door-to-door as soon as I came home on the day we were given our selling supplies. It so happened that all I was able to sell cards or wrapping paper to 9 neighbors out of the 10 that lived on my street!

Encouraged by the results of my first day of selling, I told my mom that I was going out the very next day and knock on every door on Martin St., Mifflin St., Mellon Street and every street where I would usually go to on Halloween. Mom even helped me to organize a notebook for me to write down orders so I didn’t forget anything.

My second day of selling was as fruitful as my first. I began on Martin Street and also covered the trailer park that was on Mifflin Street across from the electric sub-station. I remember being the perfect little salesman as I bravely went from door-to-door. Rather than being considered an interruption to their day, the “lady of the house” greeted me with a big smile and invited me inside so that I could show them what I was selling. At each house, I was able to give the person my “song and dance,” convince them how wonderful everything I was selling was, and close the deal. The other delightful part was that each home would usually offer me some type of treat. Cookies, cake, candies abounded, and far be it from me to have offended a potential customer by refusing their hospitality!

I continued on my mission to become the king of Christmas card selling. During the following week, I hit every home on Mellon Street, Texas Ave., Main Ave., Vermont Ave., and Highland Ave. My success rate continued to be pretty strong, but I had not yet reached a goal I had set for myself. To try to put me over my goal, I pulled out the “big guns” and visited each of my aunts and uncles to see if they wanted to buy anything. And BAM!! Before I knew it, I had reached my goal. I had sold over 275 boxes of cards and/or wrapping paper!!! 281 to be exact.

As the turn-in deadline drew near, I was so excited to let Mrs. Juliana and Sister Delores know how many I had sold. I had my mom’s help in summarizing the orders and figuring out the money. On the day when Mrs. Juliana called for the returns, I handed her my envelope and watched as her eyes grew HUGE as she reviewed the summary. She couldn’t believe it. She immediately stood up and told the class to behave, and that she need to go and see Sister Delores. She told me to follow her, and the two of us walked next door to the principal’s office.

Sister Delores was quietly sitting at the desk outside Sister Mary Daniel’s office. She must have been preparing a music lesson as we arrived since she was writing and singing to herself at the same time. I don’t remember any of the conversation between Mrs. Juliana and Sister Delores, but I do recall Sister Delores occasionally looking toward me with an astonished look on her face. Suddenly, she jumped out her seat, rushed over to me and gave me the biggest hug in the world. My face was pressed against her starched white bib for what seemed like eternity. She held my shoulders, pushed me back so she could look at my face and then drew me into another hug and kissed the top of my head. Neither she, Mrs. Juliana nor I could wipe the smile off of our faces for the entire day.

When it came time to award prizes for the best sales, I came in first place for my class and for the entire school. I suppose my 15 minutes of fame arrived early in my lifetime! I received a “mother lode” of religious articles for my efforts. Rosary beads, books and a very special statue, that I still have to this day. It was a statue of Saint Martin de Porres. At the time the statue was given to me, he had not yet been canonized. His canonization took place about 6 months later in May, 1962. I find it somewhat ironic that St. Martin de Porres’ feast day is the first saint’s feast day following my November 1st birthday. November 1st is All Saints Day, November 2nd is All Souls Day and November 3rd is St. Martin de Porres’ feast day! It appears that not only was Sister Delores talented, she was also psychic!

I reveled in my glory for a few days, and then things got back to normal in my young life. No sooner had we completed our task of selling cards as a school, we were quickly assigned another fundraiser to tackle. This one was selling Holy Childhood stamps at 1¢ each. Each page of these tiny booklets contained 10 seals, and the entire book contained 100. Our customer’s had the option of buying as many as they would like, but usually bought it by the page or the book.

Being the self-appointed king of selling at Holy Name, I pulled my own best Sam Walton moment and decided that I would sell the stamps when I delivered the cards that people had bought a few weeks earlier. I remember my suggestion as if it were yesterday;

“Mrs. Svirbel, since you bought 2 boxes of cards from me, you may want to buy some Holy Childhood stamps to use with them. It would only be 50¢ to have enough for each card! It would only be a dollar for you to be able to put one on the front and back of the envelope.”

Whether it was my sales pitch or the fact that in most cases the moms would laugh at the 10 year old salesman standing in front of them, they would usually end up buying them. Although I didn’t sell as many stamps as I had hoped that year, I still managed to sell about 25 books of stamps. I remember that the sales pitch we were told to use, was to let the people buying the stamps know that they were helping us to buy “pagan babies.” Not adopt or support them, but BUY them. With the same approach today, we’d probably be accused of trafficking in human beings!

The interesting part of this entire scenario, was the comfort level my mom had with me visiting house after house without her involvement. She didn’t know the people along Mellon St. or the streets that ran perpendicular to it, yet the trust was there. The thought of anyone harming a child or anyone in the area for that matter, wasn’t even a consideration. The necessity of the “don’t speak to strangers” education children live by today is sad, but very important. Trust has made way for locked doors, security systems, apprehensive parents and a general mistrust for our fellow man. Oh, for the simpler times.

Posted in Christmas Memories, Church and School - Holy Name, Stores and Businesses | 3 Comments

A Cause For Celebration – Hunky Halloween!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Jim

Occasionaly, I like to post articles that I think you might enjoy. As I was checking out The Duquesne Times, I came across the following picture and article about Halloween. The picture was published in 1951 and the article in 1959.

I don’t recall the events myself, but it sounds like the type of event that the good people of Duquesne would embrace. I hope you enjoy!

I would be very curious if you are among the children pictured in this 1951 photo. (To bad they didn’t have “spell check” in 1951. It looks like Halloween is mispelled twice. Once in the headline and once in the caption!) But, that makes it special. Since the caption is somewhat difficult to read, allow me to clarify:

Local adults and youngsters, bag in had, went door to door Haloween night for handouts from their generous neighbors. In the photo above looking for the “birdie” are Mrs. George Sabol, and sones George, Michael and Richard; Mrs. Chas. Miller, Mrs. John Connolly and children John and Joseph; Barbara Johnson, Ronnie Marko, MIchael Dennis Banik, and Patricia Nagy.

In the lower photo are Marjorie, Martha and Richard Jakubovics, Evelyn and Audrey Gracan, Michael Derkota, Barbara Bobuk, Eileen Benny, David and Judith Bartko, George and Richard Taylor, Jackie Dillinger, Joseph Black and Frank Barazda.

The article belows outlines a big Halloween event that took place in 1959. It sounds like an exciting time!

 

Posted in Autumntime, Holidays - Non-Christmas and New Years | 4 Comments

Hunky Halloween!!

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Jim

There are certain headlines and articles that I simply pass over when reading the newspaper, due to lack of interest or the fact that they don’t concern me. However, one such headline recently caught my eye. The headline announced that a community in Virginia had passed an ordinance that imposed a ban on trick or treating for children over the age of 12. The article went on to say that three teenage boys were being held for the shooting of another teen while they were “trick or treating.” The more I tried to search for more information about the event, the more similar events I found throughout the country. What a sad situation.

Having to ban teenagers from “trick or treating” was never necessary when I was a child. It almost became a rite of passage to be able to stop going door-to-door and begin being an “escort” for the younger kids. The thought of violence was wasn’t even a consideration. Good Lord, if we started any trouble, our parents would be the ones killing us!

Today in my office, one of my co-workers had a visit from her 4 year old daughter. This precious red-headed little girl was proudly wearing a plastic fireman’s hat. I asked where she had gotten it, and she told me a fireman and a fire truck had visited her pre-school today. Trying to hold her attention while her mom gathered some papers off of her desk to take home with her, I asked her if she had decided what she was going to be for Halloween. Her eyes grew as big as saucers with excitement, and she quickly informed me that she and her younger brother were going to be crayons. She was going to be the red one (of course) and her baby brother was going to be a “gween crayon.”

That very brief conversation with Kim’s little girl took me back to my own childhood and reminded me of how excited I would get anticipating Halloween. Planning what you were going to dress up as for Halloween was such a big thrill. I would think about it for weeks, trying to come up with the “perfect” costume that would scare everyone! Would I be a ghost, a monster, a Martian or maybe that scary Creature from the Black Lagoon? Half of the thrill of Halloween was deciding on your disguise.

By the week before the big event, I’d be so confused about what to be. That was about the time that my personal “reality check lady,” MOM, would step in and announce that I would be wearing the clown costume that my older brother had grown out of. A clown. How humiliating. And so went my childhood, my youthful attempt at creativity squashed by the reality of thriftiness! I was forever destined to be a living rerun of Halloween Past.

One event would always take my mind off of my costume issue each year. I always looked forward to carving a pumpkin with my dad at Halloween. He wouldn’t necessarily get the biggest pumpkin he could find, but I never remember being disappointed with its size. Dad would always do the cutting, and Stevie Joe and I would be the ones who had to dig into the slimy interior and remove all of the pumpkin’s “guts.” I can still remember the smell of fresh pumpkin “innards!” We would all discuss what the best and scariest face would be for the jack-o-lantern. Even though we would discuss different ideas, ours always looked the same. The simple fact was that my brother and I were never permitted to wield a sharp knife to carve it ourselves. Dad would always be the carver. We would sit and stare at Dad with every cut he would make. He really had an artistic touch and the pumpkin would always turn out very special. He wouldn’t be content with just putting a candle inside, but would often rig up a small lightbulb to light our jack-o-lantern instead. We’d place it at the top of our porch steps and religiously light it each evening at Halloween.

Once I had accepted my fate of forever wearing a hand-me-down costume each year and turned my attention to the strategic planning phase of Halloween. Along with my brother and cousins, Paula and Karla, the days before Halloween were spent planning our “attack” on the neighborhood. Which streets would provide the largest bounty? Which house had historically had the best treats and which would only give you those items that were low on the desirability spectrum? Chocolate bars and dimes were high on the list while apples and popcorn balls ranked rather low in my book. Of course, our strategy was often revised during the actual event since we would often discover a “mother lode” of treats at an unexpected residence.

Part of our plan was always to leverage the youngest member of our band of hunky trick-or-treaters, my cousin Karla. She was small, cute and a natural performer. She knew how to work the crowd and turned on just the appropriate amount cuteness, sweetness and innocence when the neighbor opened their door. Her curly blond hair left them defenseless and we were always bound to get a few extras in our bag as a result.

The area that the four of us would cover would be begin at Martin Street and would cover all points west over to Taft Street in West Mifflin. It included Thomas St, Mellon St., Iowa St., Ohio Ave., Texas Ave., Main Ave., Vermont Ave., and Highland Ave. I counted how many homes were in our “trick-or-treat zone” by using Google Maps which gives you satellite images of the homes. I was amazed when I counted nearly 200 homes! This number is pretty significant, since it was very rare that a home wouldn’t have their porch light burning to welcome the neighborhood kids.

Once we began our “mission” on Halloween evening, there was not stopping us. Just like a swarm of locusts, we would bravely walk up to every door and loudly announce “Trick or Treat?” Our bags would pop open and the goodies would be dropped in. Of course, we would all be making mental note of what we received and decided whether would return later or even attempt to go to their back door via the alley behind. I’m sure they knew what was going on if we did decide to go to their back door, but they never let us know or fail to give us another treat.

There were times when we were less than happy about a particular neighbor’s offering. However, we would NEVER be disrespectful or so rude as to say anything that would make our displeasure known to the grown-up. Our parents would kill us if they heard that we did. When our group’s youngest member, Karla, had just started going out with us on Halloween, we came upon a house that was giving out apples. Unfortunately, Karla was a bit too young to understand what the rules were. When she say an apple being dropped into her bag, she quickly and loudly blurted out…. “Yuck! An apple!” My sentiments exactly, and who better to express it? It still brings a smile to my face when I think about it.

By the time we had completed our route, we were all exhausted. During the course of the evening, one bag for candy was rarely enough. We someimes would need to run home for another bag or two as they became overloaded. Perhaps the hardest part of the evening was the return home from the top of Mellon Street. Carrying what seemed like a TON of candy, we would drag ourselves and our bags of candy back home.

You would think our night would be over, but that was not the case. After we got home, Dad and Mom would plop us in the backseat of our car and would then proceed to chauffer us around to every relative’s home to continue our Halloween escapades. With the size of our hunky family, this final part of the evening’s celebration would net us some extra special goodies! Of course, the time it took to visit all my relatives was considerable. After we knocked on their door and received our treats and displayed our costumes, Mom and Dad would have to converse with my Aunts and Uncles for a bit. The conversation usually lasted until we started whining or tugging on their clothes to get going or “idemo” as they say in Croatian.

Only after we had completed the rounds to all of our relatives could we finally return home and focus on one our most enjoyable tasks. My brother and I would go to separate areas of our living room and proceed to “process” all of the candy we had received. Processing meant dumping all of your goodies into a big pile and then separating the items into unique little groups of like items until all of the candy was matched with like kinds. This process took a while, but eventually we would end up with a neatly organized array of sugary treats in front of us.

The next, and most important task was to begin trading negotiations with my brother. Although I am told that it is un-American, I have always hated peanut butter. The taste and smell have always repulsed me. As a result of my disdain for peanut butter and all things nutty, the trading process was pretty clear cut. Steve and I would trade plain treats in return for nutty treats on a unilateral basis. There was never a need for discussion or argument. He’d get the my Snickers and I’d get his Milky Ways, Peanut Butter Cups were traded for 3 Musketeer Bars, and so on. The apples always went to Mom and our small penny candy items were joined together and stored in a brown paper bag for use in lunch bags throughout the fall and winter months. Popcorn balls were tossed out (sorry) and candy apples usually went to Mom or Dad since they enjoyed them so much. If there were any homemade treats, they were tested by Mom, not unlike the Royal Food Taster in days of yore.

Beside the candy treats, we would also have collected a few coins and some small novelty items. My favorite of the small items were the paper tattoos that you could moisten and place on your arm. When you peeled off the paper backing, you would be left with this really neat design on your arm. The design was usually an anchor, a cartoon character or even the classic “Mom” tattoo. Some of the other little toys we’d get were whistles, tiny yo-yo’s and an occasional Asian Finger Trap made of woven bamboo.

We were only permitted to have one or two pieces of candy on Halloween evening. She knew that we would be a bit too “energized” had we consumed more than one or two. As it was, by the time late evening rolled around, we were WAY too tired from our excursions to do much of any else. We would be so tired, that we didn’t even complain when we were told it was bedtime. Besides, the next day was my birthday, and Mom wouldn’t have the heart to deny me a few extra pieces of candy!

Allowing hundreds of children roam the streets after dark, often unsupervised, was never an issue. We were safe. The though of harming any of the children never crossed anyone’s mind. After all, we were all part of the village that raised us! We were home.

Posted in Autumntime, Holidays - Non-Christmas and New Years, My Hunky Family | 14 Comments

Sunday, Sunday

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Jim

First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting for over a week! Life throws you curve balls from time to time, and I’ve been dodging them all week.

I woke this morning to a beautiful cool, crisp autumn Sunday morning. It was sunny, clear and about 50 degrees with little to no humidity. I slept with our windows open last night, and with the perfect sleeping weather, getting out of bed proved to be difficult. The covers were far too warm and my pillow just perfectly situated to relinquish in favor of cold wood floors. I indulged my whims and just stayed in bed for a bit and began thinking of how similar this Sunday morning was to those I remember while growing up in Duquesne.

Like any child, I was always less than enthused about leaving my warm bed to go to mass. In my mind, it was the weekend and there wasn’t school. I deserved to be able to sleep-in! My point-of-view however, wasn’t shared by Mom or Dad, the nuns, the Catholic Church or for that matter, God! Kinda hard to argue your point-of-view with those odds stacked against you.

What was missing each Sunday morning as a kid, was the breakfast that would normally be waiting for you as soon as you woke up. Sunday morning meant going to mass, and going to mass meant receiving communion, and receiving communion meant NO FOOD! Although the “fasting rules” were much stricter before Pope Pius XII introduced a more lenient form of fasting in 1953,  not being able to have breakfast was pure agony for most kids. I remember being so frightened to consume food less than an hour before communion, that I was reluctant to use toothpaste to brush my teeth!

 At the beginning of each school year we would get a box of the envelopes from our teacher. I recall looking forward to getting the envelopes each year and wondering what color they would be. My job on Sunday mornings before mass, was to be sure that Mom or Dad would supply a quarter for both my brother and I to place in our children’s collection envelope. I would carefully write 25¢ on each envelope, drop the coin into the envelope, and seal it. I’d then give it to my mom for safekeeping in her purse.

Unless I had been scheduled to serve at an earlier mass, our family would always attend 9 o’clock mass on Sundays. The 9 o’clock mass was the designated “children’s mass” at Holy Name. I could always count on seeing several of my classmates there, along with all of the sisters. I don’t recall whether the various classes sat together in the front pews on Sundays, or whether I am remembering First Friday masses. I think we sat with our parents on Sundays, but please, correct me if I’m wrong.

The most exciting part of the mass for me was being allowed to drop all of our family’s envelopes into the collection basket. To me, it was a big deal! Once I received my First Holy Communion in second grade however, the excitement of dropping the envelopes waned and made way for receiving communion with the adults.

After mass, Dad would always have me buy the Sunday paper from the man who would be selling it at the base of the church steps. Dad and Mom would be busy talking to one of my aunts or uncles who also attended mass that morning or to another friend. I remember patiently wait for them to finish so that we could go home and FINALLY eat!

I looked forward to Sunday breakfasts. My dad would always be the one to prepare the meal. Mom would make a pot of coffee and then retire to the living room to read the paper while Dad was busy in the kitchen. We would never have to eat cereal or oatmeal on Sunday morning’s. Our menu was much more special on Sunday’s. Dad’s cooking skills were top notch, and he would always make most delicious breakfasts. His pancakes were always uniform in size and perfectly cooked. He would place a pat of butter on each pancake as he stacked them, so when they finally made it to your plate they were already buttery. When he would make pancakes, he would always have impeccably browned sausage links with them, and I can still remember how wonderful they taste with the Log Cabin syrup. All of this of course, before lite syrup, lite margarine, turkey sausage and all of the other semi-tasteless products came along.

Dad also made the best bacon and eggs around. I was always the helper who was in charge of making the toast. Dad would fry the bacon until it was perfectly crisped. The bacon grease would never be discarded, but rather poured into a special container that was kept in the fridge for use in other recipes.

He would always leave some in the pans from the bacon and then cook the eggs in the grease. Of course, this is also considered a health risk today, but back then, it was just “good home cooking.” Our eggs were usually prepared “sunny side up” or as we referred to them, “dunkin’ eggs.” Occasionally, we would be treated to a concoction that my dad called “soft scrambled eggs.” This was my favorite. It was basically fried diced Spam and scrambled eggs mixed together. However, he would fry the Spam first, and then pour in the scrambled eggs and let them cook over a very low flame. Since he would put a lot of milk into the eggs when he scrambled them, it took a much longer time for them to cook. The wait was worth it, and I remember that my cousins, Paula and Karla, would sometimes join us for this special treat.

Sundays were usually treated as “family days.” Although on occasion my parents would have a project to complete around the house, it was usually a day of leisure for everyone. Dad was usually in favor of a relaxing day versus Mom, who usually wanted Dad to accomplish something around the house. Dad would occasionally quote one of the 10 Commandments to get out of having to complete the tasks. He’d remind Mom, “the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates,” perhaps not so eloquently as the biblical quote, but still as effective.

Our non-chore Sundays were spent as so many other Sundays as a hunky in Duquesne……you visited family. We had a standing invitation for dinner at my grandfather’s house. My Grandma, Aunt Helen and Aunt Peg would always prepare enough food to feed the whole Volk clan. Sometimes the whole family showed up, and other times only a few. Less people only meant more leftovers which no one minded. Occasionally, we would end up at a different aunt and uncle’s house for a cookout during the summer and a wonderful hunky smorgasbord during the colder months. The food was plentiful and delicious, and the company was great.

All my uncles would usually be gathered in one room or on the porch listening to Bob Prince as he described the Pirate’s game. The women would be busy either tending to the meal or the kids. You ate when you were hungry since everything was prepared and being kept warm. Sometimes we ate at the dining room table, but more often with the plate in our laps. By the time evening would roll around, the adults would crack open a deck of cards and begin playing one of their many favorite games. The games of choice were usually poker or euchre. They also enjoyed a semi-card/board game called either Pokeno or Michigan Rummy. During the summer months, the card games could go on for hours. However, in the fall, the festivities would usually break-up by 6 or 6:30.

We’d make our short journey home and immediately start getting ready for bed. That meant finishing any unfinished homework, getting a bath and then making our way down to the living room for our Sunday night routine. We’d all gather to watch our two favorite shows; Ed Sullivan at 8 o’clock, followed by Ponderosa at 9. Sunday night was the one school night that we were allowed to stay  up longer. I rarely made it through all of Ponderosa when I was very young. I’d be asleep on my mom’s lap long before Ben and the Cartwright boys would resolve yet another dilemma.

I often wonder what happened to those “family Sundays.” Technology, busy schedules, long work weeks have all taken their toll on what is supposed to be a day of rest. Oh, for those days once again.

Posted in Church and School - Holy Name, Church and School - Holy Trinity, Church and School - St. Joseph, Life in General, My Hunky Family, Parents | 7 Comments

Voices From Duquesne – October 1, 2011

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Jim

Allow me to begin this posting of Voices from Duquesne with my regular reminder. I post messages that I receive from current and former Duquesne friends and neighbors on the 1st and 15th of each month in VOICES FROM DUQUESNE.  Take the time to share your whereabouts, your thoughts and memories, your email if you desire and any other words that tickle your fancy. To do so, just click the link below and fill out your information, thoughts, and memories.  Just  CLICK HERE!

 I can’t believe its the beginning of October already! Without question, we are heading into my very favorite time of the year. Living here on the shore, people look at me strangely when I tell them how much I enjoy the cooler weather. They are really baffled when I continue on about how much I like winter and the snow. Their confusion clears-up immediately when I tell them I’m from the Pittsburgh area however. They usually just nod their head then and say “Ahhhhh. I see!”

So, enjoy hearing some more voices from Duquesne and our neighboring areas!

————————————————0—————————————————–

Maiden Name = Patricia Pucci

Married Name? = Layton

When did you live in Duquesne? = 1948-early 70’s

Where are you now? = Chicago, IL

Your Email Address = pat1008@aol.com

Questions, Comments and Feedback = Growing up when I did in the fifties was almost idyllic. There were tons of kids in the neighborhood and plenty to do. In the summer we would leave the house early in the morning and not go home until dinner (or earlier if we got hungry). My parents never worried about us; or at least not that I was aware of. We had so much personal freedom.

I’ve spent most of my adult life not living in Duquesne so it’s been interesting re-visiting Duquesne through the memories of others and having my own memories stirred up. Appropriate past time for my old age!

————————————————–0—————————————————–

Name = SAM MASTROIANNI

When did you live in Duquesne? = 1947-1960

Where are you now? = IRVINE CALIFORNIA

Your Email Address = MASAM302@YAHOO.COM

Questions, Comments and Feedback = I will have to pass this site information on to a few older people that grew up in Duquesne. My parents opened Irene’s Pizza (1957)on Grant Ave near 6th Street and in 1961 they moved it to 5th Avenue and RT 30 in East McKeesport and it was sold in 1989. I will check back again. 

*Sam, your parent’s pizza shop is probably one of Duquesne’s Icons! Everyone who reads this blog and lived in Duquesne when the shop was open, counts it as their VERY favorite place for pizza, bar none! The square cuts, the thick cheese, the sauce, EVERYTHING about it was memoriable. Thanks for connecting with one of your family’s humble fans!!

————————————————–0—————————————————–

Name = Gloria Hess

When did you live in Duquesne? = 1946-1970

Where are you now? = Tulsa OK

Your Email Address = gloria_jean_98@yahoo.com

Questions, Comments and Feedback = Glad I was invited to be on this blog! Interesting to hear how others perceive growing up in Duquesne. I think we all agree that Kennywood Park, high school dances, football games, ethnic food and that small town atmosphere where everyone knew someone in your family were the days!! 

————————————————–0—————————————————–

Name = Maurice Reid

When did you live in Duquesne? = 1973-2001

Where are you now? = Bowie, MD

Your Email Address = MReid29@hotmail.com

————————————————–0—————————————————–

Name = Raymond B. Isadore

When did you live in Duquesne? = 1960-2008

Where are you now? = Glenshaw Pa

Your Email Address = Raymondisadore@hotmail.com

Questions, Comments and Feedback = Just found the Website and wanted to say Hi. My family owned many grocery stores in Duquesne. My mother Therese Isadore (T. Denne) still lives in Duquesne.

Your favorite Duquesne FALL memories = Attending High School Football games 

————————————————–0—————————————————–

Name = Archie Andrews

When did you live in Duquesne? = Birth-1971

Where are you now? = Lacey WA 98516

Your Email Address = datsrite@gmail.com

Questions, Comments and Feedback = Awesome site and as one age’s hometown memories become more predominate than ever!

Your favorite Duquesne FALL memories = Going up and down the one road (That was like a roller coaster) on the way to Kennywood park as a child. Ride tickets were 5 cents and we rode until they were all gone for sure!! 

————————————————–0—————————————————–

Name = Sam Salvucci

When did you live in Duquesne? = 48-53 74-82

Where are you now? = Reedy, West Virginia

Your Email Address = katsal72@hotmail.com

Questions, Comments and Feedback = Great that you’ve done this. Not much left is there. 

————————————————–0—————————————————-

There have been a lot of comments from Facebook neighbors after I had posted on the McKeesport Memories Group page! I am so thrilled that we are all able to share memories with one another!

Posted in Feedback From Our Friends | 14 Comments

Oh Where, Oh Where Can You Be?

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Jim

The number of friends, neighbors and family that have reconnected through this blog is really exciting. I find it very gratifying to know that I may have given someone the opportunity to reach out to others in their life.

With that said, today’s post has a singular purpose. Today, I am reaching out to try to find out about someone that was part of my parent’s lives many years ago.

My mother and father were married in October of 1947. When they were married, the extravagances that many of today’s couples insist on were not even up for consideration or even available.

Instead of elaborate photo albums created by professional photographers, wedding memories were most likely captured by a family member or friend wielding a box camera loaded with black and white film. Souvenirs were merely slices of the wedding cake wrapped in a napkin, only IF there was even a wedding cake. Supposedly, if an unmarried woman would sleep with the wedding cake under her pillow, she would dream of the person she would marry. I tried to research the source of this tradition, and it appears that it started with either the Greeks, the Romans, the English, the Swedish, or an old wife. For the heck of it, let’s claim the tradition for the Hunkies!!!

The souvenirs that remain from my parent’s wedding are their marriage certificate from Sacred Heart Church in McKeesport, a newspaper clipping, a dime that my mother had in her shoe on her wedding day for good luck, and few black and white snapshots.

That brings me to the reason behind this posting. I am trying to find out something about the person who was apparently an important part of my mother’s life. Since all of my aunt and uncles are deceased, the mystery about this woman lives on. From the pictures I’m posting, she must have been best friends with my mother. Her name is Helen Chinchar and she was from Whitaker, which is right down the hill from Kennywood on the West Mifflin side.

Helen was my mother’s Maid of Honor at her wedding. Beyond that, I have nothing. I have tried to research information, but to no avail. Since Chinchar is the only name I have, I don’t know if she ever married, if she stayed in Whitaker, if she and Mom continued as friends. I don’t recall Helen being a part of my life as a young child, so I suspect she may have gotten married and moved away from the area.

And so I come to you for clues. I realize she was not from Duquesne, but perhaps someone knows something about her. I have no reason to search for information other than curiosity. Any help would be appreciated. Feel free to comment on this post if you have information about Helen. I certainly would welcome it. The pictures below are from my parents wedding day as well as their times together with Helen Chinchar. I hope they help.

Taken at 300 block of Hamilton Ave. in Duquesne on Wedding Day

Posted in Parents, Surveys and Opinions | Leave a comment

Special Memories

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Jim

We live in a very disposable world. Disposable cameras, disposable phones, disposable razors and even disposable income! When I was a kid, things were quite different. Whether it was due to limited funds, or a holdover from the depression era, my parents were very frugal, not by desire, but more by necessity.

With the onset of autumn and the approach of winter not far behind, each year during late September and early October, a myriad of activities would take place in every part of Duquesne. Our house was no different. Disposable items were non-existent, and taking care of things so they last was a way of life.

Aside from the obligatory raking of leaves each weekend, our entire family would be involved in getting the house ready for winter. The first thing that would happen is cleaning and prepping the porch furniture for winter storage. Each September, we’d drag all of the outdoor furniture to the top of the driveway. Once assembled, it would be my brother’s and my job to scrub down the furniture before it was finally moved to the garage. We’d let it dry in the semi-warm autumn sun before Dad would come along and put on the finishing touches before storage. Once all of the furniture had dried, Dad would then coat any moving parts with oil or grease. He didn’t want any parts to oxidize during storage, so the last step was one “for good measure.”

Before stacking and storing the furniture, another chore awaited us. Back before the days of insulated windows, each fall meant that Dad had to take down screens and install the storm windows. Like any good hunky, one could never merely take down the screens and just slap up the storm windows. Never! With bucket in hand, every storm window had to be completely cleaned. In addition, we would also wash each sash window, both inside and out, before my dad would even install the storm windows. Not the most pleasant job in the world.

Each storm window had a specific window that it was designed to fit. Dad insisted that they be installed ONLY on the designated window each year. The problem was that he had marked each window’s placement on the side frame of the storm window using a nail and some type of code that even a cryptographer would have a tough time with. Adding to the confusion was the fact that my dad’s handwriting less than perfect. Once we had determined where each window went and were installed for the winter, we’d turn our attention to the screens that were removed. They too would be thoroughly scrubbed down, hosed down, dried and stored in the rafters of the garage.

Dad would always check the screens before they were stored, and would take care of any repairs at that time. This included replacing any missing or broken hardware and replacing any screening that was damaged. This is where I must admit, I question some of the issues my dad would find with the screens. It amazes me now, when I think of how many missing hooks or torn screens he would have to repair each fall. Of course, he would rarely wait until he had amassed all of the problems before he’d begin repairing them. I swear, as each one cropped up, he’d announce that he had to run down to Schink’s to buy something or take a screen down to be repaired. He would have made several trips by the end of the day, and it never seemed to bother him. Of course, my brother and I knew that each trip to “Schink’s” also meant that he was in close proximity to his favorite “watering hole,” the GBU. That also meant that he would have probably stopped for a shot and beer to keep him fueled up to finish the job!

One sure sign that winter was coming would be the activity that would be going on inside our home. Mom would have started her fall cleaning activities while we would be taking care of the outdoor chores. Like any good hunky homemaker, she would begin with the drapes and curtains throughout the house. The long spring and summer seasons usually left their mark on the window coverings. Aside from the occasional stain caused by an open window and a sudden summer rain, the gritty glittery mill dust would have been very obvious on the curtains by the end of summer. Spring and summer breezes carried the grit in, and a thorough washing was always in order.

The type of interior cleaning that had to take place prior to winter was vastly different than what we face today. Because of central air and insulated windows, most of our homes today do not experience that same type of contributing factors that our parents faced. Open windows, mill dust and kids running in and out caused the need for refreshing the place before being sealed-up for the winter. Part of that cleaning routine, and one that I hated, was Mom’s insistence that the walls be washed down. With bucket in hand, we would all help to clean the walls. Dad or Mom would take care of the walls while my brother and I would be assigned to baseboards and heating vents. One by one, each room would be cleaned within an inch of its life. The aroma of Spic n’ Span would be evident in every room and only then would Mom or Dad be ready to tackle the most time consuming room…… the kitchen.

Our kitchen was a very typical 1950’s kitchen. In Interior Designer vernacular today, it would be called “Mid-Century Modern.” In my words, it was just “home.” White metal cabinets, white stove and fridge, white porcelain sink, a red and white checked floor, pink and maroon plastic tile on the walls, and a pink and grey Formica table with pink and black chairs. Sounds tasty??

This final part of pre-Winter cleaning would entail the removal of every dish, glass, cooking utensil and item from each cabinet and drawer. Every item would either be washed or wiped down, and the exterior and interior of each cabinet would be thoroughly cleaned. I hated helping in the kitchen. It usually meant that I got stuck with the silverware drawer. The great outdoors would be calling for me to come out and play, and here I was, washing spoons! Total humiliation!

After all of the fall cleaning had been accomplished inside and outside of our home, the next project that became the focus was canning any garden remnants.

Usually all that was remaining in my dad’s garden or those of friends or relatives by this time of year were green tomatoes, a few peppers and perhaps some forgotten green onions. The concoction that my parents would always make from the remaining vegetables would be chow-chow, a.k.a. piccalilli. My dad always claimed that he was using an old Slovak recipe to make the chow-chow. Now that we have access to the internet and every conceivable means of researching anything we desire, I have found out the truth. It appears that chow-chow never had its creation roots in Czechoslovakia. In fact, research shows that it is actually a Southern American and/or Nova Scotian delicacy. If my dad were still around, he would probably defend his story by claiming that although it may have been created in the South or Nova Scotia, it was by the hands of hunkys that were living there.

I think the main reason that I wouldn’t fuss (too much) about helping with the fall clean-up, was that I wanted to have my mother’s undivided attention in the weeks that followed. Two very special events occurred back-to-back at the end of October. The first was Halloween. Once clean-up was behind us, Mom and I could start discussing what I would be for Halloween. Although my mother was handy on the sewing machine, she mainly dealt with repairing torn knees, ripped seams, etc. She really wasn’t a “let me whip up something on the ol’ Domestic Sewing Machine for Halloween” type of mom. She was more of a “Let’s see what we have in the closet” or “Let’s see what they have at the 5&10” type of mom.

Trips down to Murphy’s on South First in October always meant that we got to look at the boxed costumes and masks that they had. Some years, because of not having enough money for a new costume, I begrudgingly wore something from the closet. However, most years Mom had saved enough money for me to get a new costume. As we draw closer to Halloween, I can’t wait to share some memories about trick or treating with you.

The second event of the back-to-back events was November 1st, my birthday! I actually didn’t like my birthday as a kid for two reasons. First, the day seemed anti-climactic after receiving tons of candy the night before. The second reason was that once Fr. Shaughnessy found out my birthday was on All Saint’s Day, a Holy Day of Obligation, I was always scheduled to serve at one of the masses that day. He would always point out to the congregation that it was my birthday. Kinda embarrassing for a kid.

As I’ve prattling on about all of the work we’d do to prep for winter, I began to think of one constant that held true throughout all of the cleaning. Whether we would be working outside or inside, my parents always had the radio on and music playing. WJAS and KDKA were the stations of choice. KDKA for news and sports, and WJAS for music.

I learned to love Mom and Dad’s music, and still do. Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Patty Paige and Connie Francis were some of their favorites. If they weren’t listening to them on the radio, they would be playing their records. Things haven’t changed much for me even now. I just seem to work better with music playing, and I am always able to find some station that continues to play some of the standards of that era.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the work ethic you instilled in me at such an early age, thanks for the wonderful memories you gave to me and thank you for giving me the gift of music for all of my life!

Posted in Autumntime, Life in General, Parents | 12 Comments

The Road to Great Valley and Beyond

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Jim

After my last post about Eastland Mall, I began remembering so many other things about my family’s travels outside of Duquesne. By the mid-60’s, Duquesne was no longer a self-sustaining area. Because of the “demise” of a large portion of its shopping area, residents had to look beyond the boundaries of the city to find many items that they needed.

North Versailles provided a shopping mecca to the folks across the river that neither Duquesne nor downtown McKeesport was unable to offer. Certainly, Eastland Mall was a huge draw for us, but even before it opened, there was another shopping “magnet” in the same area…….. Great Valley Shopping Center.

Great Valley was opened in November of 1958. It was the first complete commercial area in North Versailles. There were 38 different stores in the center at opening, and the parking lot held 1500 cars. I was able to find a list of some of the stores that were to be part of the Shopping Center when the opening was first announced in 1956. Among them was the largest A&P in the Pittsburgh area. Other retailers that were to be part of the center were Kroger’s, W. T. Grants, Sun Drugs, Forsythe Shoes, Kinney Shoes, Maries and Betty Jay Dress Shops, Economy Market, Isaly’s, Bell Drapery and National Record Mart.

The two stores that I most remember, besides Isaly’s, would have to be Claber’s and the Top Value Stamp Redemption Center. Our family trips to Great Valley always included stops at those stores. The stop at Claber’s was always exciting for me, primarily because of the toy department. From what I recall, the store was a cross between a Zayre’s, K-Mart and a Flea Market. Lots to look at, haphazardly merchandised, and basically a treasure trove of bargains!

Dad loved the gardening section. Granted, his idea of gardening was planting a few tomato plants and some lettuce, and hoping the crop came in before the weeds overtook the garden. Nonetheless, he would pour over the array of gadgets and sprays while Mom would scour the rest of the store for bargains.

The store that I always thought was fascinating was the Top Value Stamp Redemption Center. My mom and my Aunt Mary would toddle into the center, hand over a few books of stamps that they had collected from Kroger’s, and come out with really neat stuff. I remember how the ladies that worked there would shuffle through each and every page of the stamp books to verify that they were filled before handing over the merchandise. They way they would lick their fingertips and swat at the pages to count them was precision at its finest!   Mom would have already decided what she wanted to redeem the stamps for. Each year, Top Value distributed a catalog of items that customers could choose from. Many nights, I remember Mom sitting on our sofa next to the lamp, drinking a cup of coffee, and contemplating just how she’d be spending her stamps. It was like found money in her mind and her chance to treat herself to something she wouldn’t ordinarily every dream of buying. I liken it to spending your Skeeball tickets at Kennywood Park!

Next to Great Valley was the Greater Pittsburgh Drive-in. I understand that it is now home to a Walmart Super Store. God only knows that the world needs another one of those. The Greater Pittsburgh Drive-in holds a very special place in my heart. Being from Duquesne, we normally would go to Woodland Drive-in when I was a little one. Once my mother died in ’65, we stopped going to drive-ins altogether. I guess we all just lost interest. However, one time on a whim, my dad asked me if I’d like to go to see Dr. Zhivago that was playing at the Greater Pittsburgh Drive In. Since the movie was released on December 22, 1965, I figured this must have occured during the Spring of 1966 and that Dr. Zhivago had made its way into the drive-ins by that time. I remember that it was a bit chilly, so Dad kept on starting the car to warm it up while we watched the movie. It was over 3 hours long, so a lot of starting and stopping occurred. We both enjoyed the movie, the popcorn and the bonding. That was the only time Dad and I saw a movie together, and the last movie he ever saw in a theatre.

The trip from Duquesne to either Eastland or Great Valley was an easy one. We would just zip across the Duquesne-McKeesport Bridge, up Bowman Ave and onto East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Blvd. Who remembers the mechanical billboard that was directly ahead at the end of the bridge on the McKeesport side? This was before they eliminated the billboards and built the interchange at the end. I especially remember this billboard because my grandfather, whenever he happened to be driving with us, would make the same corny comment every time he saw it. It was a mechanical billboard that featured a huge beer bottle that was pouring beer into a pilsner glass. The billboard had a spinning strip off material that gave the effect of beer actually being poured into the bottle. Grandpa would always remark that it was such a waste of good beer. There was a similar sign at the end of the Homestead High Level Bridge too. For the life of me, I can’t remember the brand of beer being advertised.

One of my favorite places along the way to Eastland had to be the Vienna Banking Company. Even if we didn’t stop to buy something from the bakery, the aroma of the baking bread permeated the air. It was heavenly. Of course, a stop to visit the bakery even made it better. My favorite was the sugar donuts. I remember the ticket machine that was at the front door that incoming customers would use to designate their place in line. I was always in charge of getting the ticket. Dad or Mom would always buy a loaf of fresh bread that would be dropped into the slicing machine, fed through and be perfectly sliced. Once sliced, the girl would somehow manage to lift the loaf up to the top of the machine without disturbing a single slice, place it on a v-shaped tray, and place it perfectly into a waxed bread bag. All the while this bread slicing was occuring, the clerk would be packing our baked good choices into a pristine white box and then quickly wrap them with string that was housed in containers hanging from the ceiling. A quick bow would be tied to seal the deal, and we were on our way.

Although we would normally continue to follow Bowman Blvd. around the bend in order to reach out destination, occasionally Dad would decide to treat us and take a shortcut down to 5th Avenue Extension. The purpose of the shortcut was to treat us to hot dogs at a drive-in restaurant close to Bloom’s Cut-Rate. I don’t recall the name of the hot dog place, but all I know is that they were delicious! The best part of the shortcut, besides the hot dogs, was the road he took to get there. It was directly behind Vienna Baking Co. and was loaded with twists and turns and bumps. The road was eventually closed off, but when it existed, it was awesome!

Rather than prattle on any longer, I’ll leave you with an article that appeared inYour Norwin in 2008 that paid homage to the Warrens, the owners of Greater Pittsburgh Drive in.

FYI – The Greater Pittsburgh Drive-In opened May 28, 1954 with a curved Cinemascope screen. It was one of several Pittsburgh area drive-ins owned by Marty Warren and family. The drive-in originally had a children’s playground, however in later years, a miniature golf course was added on the hillside before the box office. It closed at the end of the 1997 season. A Wal-Mart now occupies the site where the Greater Pittsburgh stood.

Lifelong passion leads to collection, labor of love

by Zandy Dudiak Staff Writer

January 23, 2008

Joe Warren’s life has always centered on the big screen.

As a child, he spent many evenings in playgrounds below it, more interested in the pre-movie cartoons and intermission trailers with dancing hot dogs than films. As a man, Warren focuses more on the main features as he makes his living preserving one of the true 20th-century icons.

This spring, as the drive-in theater industry celebrates its 75th year, Warren looks forward to reopening his 61-year-old Evergreen Drive-In just off Route 119 at the Scottdale exit. Evergreen is one of about 400 drive-ins that remain open today, down from the nationwide peak of 4,063 in 1958, according to the United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association, based in Middle River, Md.

Since the first drive-in opened in Camden, N.J., on June 6, 1933, the outdoor picture show has been a way of life for many Americans, especially for Warren.

“It’s in his blood,” says his wife, Debbie.

From 1954 to 1997, Warren’s family operated Greater Pittsburgh Drive-In on Route 30 in North Versailles, where Wal-Mart is now situated. Between 1949 and 1988, Warrens also owned the Blue Dell and Bel-Aire drive-ins, adjacent to each other, along Route 30 in North Huntingdon, Super 30 on the same highway near the Irwin Turnpike interchange, Rose on Route 130 near Harrison City and South Hills along Route 51 in Pleasant Hills. The family also owned the Super 50 Drive-In in Ballston Spa, N.Y.

Before the drive-in business, the family operated the Warren-Morocco Coal Co., a strip mining venture in Trafford. Warren says his father and grandfather sometimes ran into each other at the theater after sneaking out of work to catch the latest flick. Their love of movies led th e father and son into the growing drive-in business, where they were joined by two of Warren’s uncles and an aunt. As a result, Warren and his cousins grew up at the drive-ins.

As they bought existing outdoor theaters, the family ended up in side ventures, such as the dirt track speedway at the Rose, miniature golf at Greater Pittsburgh and a diner and pool that shared the name with the Blue Dell Drive-In.

“The first memory I have of being around drive-ins was at the Super 30,” Warren says. He remembers being about 3- or 4-years-old and watching the shapes formed behind the glass block at the bottom of the ticket booth, which was backlit with neon lights that buzzed and crackled.

The gameroom of his North Huntingdon home, decorated with drive-in posters and art, is a tribute to his lifetime passion. The focal point is the old Carbon Arc projector from the Bel-Aire Drive-In. Beside it is an illuminated ramp marker from Greater Pittsburgh listing the 5 mph speed limit and denoting when the row was full.

“The kids that used to work there were called ramp boys,” Warren says. “When the row was filled, they would put on the ‘full’ sign.”

Warren’s train platform includes a drive-in, complete with cars ready to watch the show. He has a frame that includes the metal nameplates from the equipment used in the projection area. “We have state-of-the-art surround sound,” jokes Debbie, pointing to the vintage window speakers on poles positioned around the room, salvaged from the Rose and Greater Pittsburgh.

Another conversation piece is the old Jubilee hot chocolate maker, which Warren has on an end table. The Jubilee sign still rocks back and forth, just as it did at the Greater Pittsburgh Drive-In. Warren has scrapbooks that preserve photos, ticket stubs, letterhead, payroll documents and newspaper clippings. He also has a few of the old heaters that could be rented for 25 cents to warm up the car on a chilly night.

Over 75 years, the drive-in business has remained basic — films, projectors, screens, parking spaces, concession stands and restrooms. “It remains pretty much the same,” Warren says. “The movies change. It always keeps the business fresh.”

There are minor changes. Instead of the old window speakers, the soundtrack now is broadcast on an FM frequency to car radios. Warren has spent money on two new screens, new projector equipment, restrooms and snack bar since buying the Evergreen in 1999, a year after the season Greater Pittsburgh went dark.

Originally opened as the Ruthorn Drive-In in 1949, the theater was renamed the Evergreen the same year. When Warren bought it, the drive-in was like a throwback to the 1940s or 1950s and in need of major upgrades, according to Debbie. “He sinks every nickel he makes into the place,” she says.

As with the other Warren theaters, the Evergreen is a family business with their son, Bryan, 13, and Debbie’s mother, Roberta Nese of Penn Hills, joining the couple in running the show. Projectors once used at the Greater Pittsburgh and South Hills drive-ins still light up Warren’s three screens at the Evergreen. He says the equipment was “designed to run forever flawlessly.”

Despite digital technology, there’s been no push to move to the format in the theater industry. He attended a drive-in association meeting that included a digital demonstration, showing the format will work. “If and when it happens, we’ll have to adapt for it,” Warren says. “It’s just a question of when we’re going to have to put it in.”

And will it be expensive to switch?

“Costly — yeah! It’s costly for us, given we’re only open six months of the year.”

But there is still a place for film. What most people don’t realize, Warren says, is that most movie VHS tapes or DVDs they watch at home are made from the original 35mm film print. Although the business centers on films, drive-ins feed off food. “That’s what keeps us alive,” Warren says, talking about his concession stand.

The top-selling food is cheeseburgers, which Warren still makes using the chopped beef steakburger recipe his father did. Popcorn is the top-selling snack. Also popular are pizza, hot dogs and footlongs, meatball and grilled chicken sandwiches, ice cream, soft pretzels, mozzarella sticks and french fries.

The concession stand menu changes with trends, including the addition of nachos and cappuccino — but forget wraps and other healthy choices on drive-in night. Those items just don’t sell, Warren says. Unlike other owners, Warren has resisted pressure to institute a food permit fee for those who want to bring their own food into the drive-in. He says he tries to keep his food both quality and affordable for families.

“The families have always been the heart and soul of the drive-in business,” says Warren. “It’s still a date night for a lot of kids.”

Warren says the future of drive-ins may eventually include being venues for big-screen pay-per-view-type sporting events. Come March, when the weather breaks, Warren will be ready to resume his 99-hour-a-week schedule, which is truly a labor of love. “It’s almost like having a big party every night and inviting people over.”

Posted in Food and Restaurants, Jobs, McKeesport, Summertime | 29 Comments

Remembering Eastland

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jim

Did you know that there is an obituary of sorts for shopping malls? Seriously! The site is simply called www.DeadMalls.com! Who would have thought it would come to that? The only reason I know this is that I happened to be looking through some old photos that I found in a drawer and found one that was taken at Eastland Mall in North Versailles.

Eastland Shopping Plaza opened its doors for the first time on August 15, 1963. I remember going to Eastland with my mother and my Aunt Mary, and how they marveled at the size, the convenience and how much better it was than walking through downtown McKeesport. Unfortunately, many other people thought the same thing, and as a result, McKeesport’s business fell off dramatically. So many of the stores in Duquesne had closed or were about to close since the “redevelopment” had recently begun. First Street was less than a year from being razed, so residents were beginning to form new shopping habits.

As much as Mom liked Eastland Shopping Plaza, old habits were hard to break and she continued to frequent Sally Fashions and Salkowitz Dress Shop in Duquesne for her “preferred wardrobe.”  She also continued to shop at Adler-Greens for my dad, brother and I. When it came to items for the house, it was always the Golden Rule, Helmsteaders and Hirshbergs in McKeesport.

In 1964 when all of North First Street fell victim to the redevelopment’s bulldozer, so did my father’s business on South First Street. It was a VERY stressful and traumatic time for our family. My dad was devastated about closing his business without a choice in the matter. He had just turned 49 years of age and was forced to begin a new job. Fortunately, he was such an adept mechanic, he found work easily at the J C Penney Auto Center in Eastland Shopping Plaza. He was promoted to Service Manager and continued in that role until his retirement in 1980. So, for 16 years, Eastland was a part of our lives. I knew it well.

In its heyday, Eastland Mall was a two-level, shopping plaza that was built on 57 acres of land at the peak of a hill overlooking the Monongahela River. There was an urban legend about the land that it was built on. Supposedly, the area was once a huge slag dump for the surrounding McKeesport steel mills. Duquesne Works had its own site to dump stag, so were not part of the legend. Every so often, someone would resurface the theory that the mall, in its entirety, would one day slip over the hill toward the Monongahela River due to its unstable foundation of shifting slag. That fate never materialized, and the mall suffered its own gradual and painful death on February 15, 2005, after 42 years.

Originally, Eastland Shopping Plaza was home to 4 department Stores and 52 other retail businesses. Eastland opened with stores such as Gimbels, Sears, J.C. Penneys, Wander Sales, F.W. Woolworth, May-Stern, McSorley’s Restaurant, Docktor Pet Center, Thom McAn (I always thought that was a strange spelling.) There was a Young Men’s store named Silberman’s, Kinny Shoes, and a Richard’s Shoes. Immel’s had a location at Eastland along with National Record Mart. NRM was on the lower enclosed level of the mall along with a toy store that I can’t remember the name of. Was it Kay Bee? There was also a shoe repair on that level, Valley Shoe Repair that remained there from the first day Eastland opened in 1963 until the mall closed in 2005. That distinction was shared with only one other business, Marc Anthony’s Hair Salon.

In the winter of 1969, I turned 18 and was old enough to begin working at Eastland. At that time, it was still an open air shopping plaza. I decided not to go the route of nepotism and apply at J C Penneys, but took a leap and applied at Gimbels. To my surprise (as well as my dad’s), I managed to get hired on as a holiday seasonal! I was quite excited about working at Gimbels. It was always considered an upscale store and I enjoyed the excitement. Little did I know that the retail “bug” would bite me and cause me to continue into a retail career that lasted until 2007!

I recall how festive Gimbels and the mall looked at holiday time. The amount of customers during the holiday season was astounding. People came from all over the area to Eastland. I saw so many people that I knew from Duquesne while working there. Even some personalities made their way to the mall as well. I had the pleasure of waiting on Donna Jean Young during the holidays which was very exciting. Perhaps the most famous person I met was Hugh Geyer, lead singer for the Vogues. At that time, they were one of the most popular groups in the United States. I remained at Gimbels while I was in college until 1971. When I left Gimbels after graduation, the store was feeling the bite of competition from Monroeville Mall which had opened in 1969.

I remember the Eastland Mall Theatres that were tucked away in the far corner of the Shopping Plaza. They opened at the same time the shopping plaza opened. There were two screens. I remember that the entrance was very bright and was primarily white and gold and aqua(?)! I recall taking dates there, but only remember seeing one movie. What does that say about my dates?? The only movie I remember was Funny Girl in 1969.

For a short time, I worked at the Eastland Car Wash which was located to the right of the theatre. I worked there for about 6 months during the fall and winter. The conditions were crappy since we all were freezing most of the time. I would either be sloshing water on hubcaps at the start of the wash or be part of the detail crew at the end of the wash. Either chore had me exposed to the weather for the most part. As would be expected, it was a rather “motley” crew that worked at the car wash. That’s where I learned all my bad habits as a means of survival. Instead of learning the 3 R’s as in school, I learned the 3 S’s. Swearing – Spitting – Smoking. I dressed like a bum, was as dirty as a pig and smelled like one too. But boy, we all had fun there! The car wash was destroyed by a fire in 1987.

A few years after I moved away from home, there was a fire at Eastland. It occurred on June 6, 1973 during the morning hours. It apparently started either at a dairy store or bakery that was located in the lower level mall. 27 stores were involved, 20 in the lower level and 7 on the upper level. Renovation had already been underway to enclose the upper area of the mall at the time of the fire. What eventually emerged from the renovations and restorations following the fire was an enclosed mall with a new “big box” store, Gee Bee, anchoring one end of the complex. The name changed from Eastland Shopping Plaza to Eastland Mall after the mall was enclosed.

After graduation from college in 1972, Eastland Mall and I parted ways. I entered into my “wanderlust” years and began a series of moves that were career associated. I remember returning to the area in 1977 and visiting Eastland with my then fiancée Judy. I recall taking the escalator in Gimbels to the 2nd floor and buying here a bisque musical nativity of the Holy Family. I believe that was my last visit to Eastland many, many years.

As I indicated earlier, my father continued to work at Penney’s Auto Center until his retirement 1980. As I continued to travel and relocate to different parts of the country, Dad and my Aunt Mary would keep me abreast of what was happ ening to Eastland. Century III Mall in West Mifflin had opened in 1979 and between that new competition and the continued success of Monroeville Mall, Eastland had suffered a huge decline in business. That decline continued in subsequent years and culminated in 1986 when Gimbels went out of business and closed their doors at Eastland. With that final blow, most of the mall’s remaining tenants left.

The next time I visited what WAS Eastland Mall, things had changed quite dramatically. Stretched across the once pristine façade that was graced with the name of Gimbels, was a stark white sign that boasted “New Eastland.” In the corner of the parking lot was a boarded-up Penney’s Auto Center, once my dad’s bread and butter. Pathetically standing in the opposite corner of the parking area was the remnants of the Eastland Mall Theatres.

I entered the front doors of what was a classically beautiful Gimbels and felt a little like George Bailey from “It’s A Wonderful Life” stepping into “Nick’s” the neighborhood bar that used to be “Martini’s.” Nothing was the same. In place of the sparkling aisles and well displayed departments was a maze of mismatched tables, recycled display racks. The noise was at a deafening level and the chaos was even more intense. The 2nd floor had been closed off by boarding up the escalator, but the lower level was still open and duplicated the scenario from the first floor.

Believe me, I am a huge fan of flea markets and garage sales. I think they are a blast! However, the scene I encountered that day was a bit upsetting to me. I had seen the demise of the heart of Duquesne, and now to see yet another place I loved suffer the same fate was a bit disconcerting.

In 2005, “New Eastland” became “No Eastland” when the entire site was razed.

Eastland’s obituary has been written-up on several different sites on the internet. The following is from Wikipedia. Eastland was a grand old lady!

Eastland was located primarily around old mill towns. Many of these communities lost vast amounts of population during the lifetime of the Eastland Mall. Braddock, which East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Blvd leads directly into two miles (3 km) away, had approximately 12,000 residents in 1963. By the mall’s close in 2005 it had fewer than 3,000. This demographic change took with it, potential customers and employees of Eastland Mall.

After Eastland Mall had already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its most devastating blow came in September 1986 when Gimbels, which had developed and owned the mall, went out of business, taking most of Eastland’s tenants along with it. Benderson Development Company of Buffalo, NY purchased the mall from the bankrupt Gimbels department store two years later.

For the next 20 years Eastland tried to stay afloat with a variety of unique tenants – including a PennDOT state driver’s license testing center, a beer distributor (Beer World, located in the old J.C. Penney’s), a distribution center for Xerox, the local magistrate’s office, a professional wrestling center (PWX, owned by James Miller), a bingo parlor (Eastland Social Hall Bingo), and a low power TV station, WBYD-CA. Most notable was the addition of a two story indoor and spacious outdoor flea market in the space once occupied by Gimbels which, according to a flea market manager, drew 500 vendors and 2,000 customers per weekend at its peak.

Many smaller retail stores then opened inside the mall, including Harper’s Bazaar (a mom-and-pop women’s clothing store run by Jim and Carol Harper), Kennywood Messenger Service (a notary and vehicle licensing service), Amer-a-Quick printing service, a barber shop, and a beauty parlor. The revival was temporary. In the 1990s, the flea market was moved off to the side in the old Gee Bee store, taking foot traffic away from the retail stores located inside the mall.

The building then fell into a state of ruin. By the time the mall closed in 2005, it was only worth $1.38 million – less than the $1.4 million that Benderson Development Company paid for it 1988. By that point, trash cans holding water falling from the leaky roof abounded throughout the mall. Parts of the original Gimbels facade had collapsed and the walls were showing stress cracks. The walkway was no longer heated and the tiles were so broken and floor so uneven the heels of a shopper’s shoes often caught in the floor.

Posted in Food and Restaurants, McKeesport, Stores and Businesses | 113 Comments