Thank you for the article, Mark. My father retired as a police officer. My parents bought a bar. It had been a dream of my dad’s. It thrived for a couple years, then the Redevelopment came in and made them close down. The building was demolished. It broke his heart.
I tried mightily to get a teaching job in McKeesport but couldn’t even get an interview. I have lived in Central PA since the 1970’s and regularly visited family there for decades. I have family that stayed.
I taught in Steelton, PA, which reminded me of a mini McKeesport. It suffered the same fate with the steel mills.
I remain hopeful that someone will see the beauty in McKeesport and how valuable the land should be with close proximity to Pittsburgh.
Cora, great to hear from you and thanks for reading the article. In those days, getting a job in MCK schools, like everything there, hinged on machine politics and favoritism. Unless somebody ended up owing somebody a favor or a payback, stuff didn't happen. Did not know about your father's bar but can relate. My cousins owned Mustacchio's Cafe on Locust and Ringold and lost it to redevelopment as well. People were trying to bring the town back or bulletproof it against globalism. A combo of bad ideas, overwhelmed leadership, and blind nostalgia were too much. As you have in Steelton, I've seen the same stuff in other places I've worked - Buffalo, Waterloo (IA), Austin (MN), Dayton (OH). Very sad. Hopefully, the book will open up conversations - sans politics if that's even possible - to get the entire Mon Valley a restart. Again, great to hear from you. Be well.
Cora – I’m just seeing this – shame on me for not following up. McKeesport truly is a small world. I would assume your father and mother knew Nickie’s mom, Vernie, who was the dispatcher for McKeesport police. She passed away in the early 1980s. Hope you are well.
Great article Mark, it brought back a lot of memories. I had neighbors who lost their mill jobs, one took his own life. It was tragic. At one point I was in-between computer jobs and found myself at the unemployment office in McKeesport. There along with many laid-off mill workers. The Governor put Re-training programs in place for computer jobs and we all had to take a test. I passed but they told me since I already had a degree in computer science that I could find a job on my own. Fair enough, and I did. But the mill guys were howling, they didn’t want computer training, they wanted they old jobs back. I thought to myself, how do I tell him “ his job is never coming back” ?
It’s sad and maddening what has happened to all these rust belt towns. Great article, I’m looking forward to your book, please keep me posted. Take care, Kathy
Kathy - thank you for sharing. If you don't mind, I'd love to speak to you about this for the book. It captures so much of the emotion of the time. Appreciate your comments and all you are doing for McKeesport.
Hi Mark! Very interesting and I’ll comment later. I’ve been sharing this and thought you might be interested in hearing the reaction of a professional thirty something female who grew up here but moved away after college. Here’s what she had to say: “Very interesting info! Something I think is missing is the health impact of mill work, given your Dad died in his 50s from asbestos poisoning acquired from working in the mill (and I assume there were many more deaths from other impacts). And I’m curious about the longer-term desire of people to continue the work - for example, in your family didn’t you and your siblings work in the mill in the summers (reminds me of kennywood, popular high school summer jobs?) but never planned to work in the mill beyond that,
instead going to college and getting professional jobs? Obviously that’s just your family and anecdotal, but more variables that could have impacted the long-term sustainability of the mills/industrial work.”
Paul - thanks for reading and passing on this comment. She's correct. When confronted with what manufacturing actually entails - intense physical work, exposure to environmental hazards, the to and fro of labor contracts and lay-offs - most do not want to go there. If they did, there are plenty of jobs in meat packing and picking crops to keep them busy. When we were of age for millwork, the environmental movement was just getting going (Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962, the EPA in 1970, Clean Air Act in 1970 and Clean Water Act in 1972) but the millworkers could've cared less. There was a lot of pressure for workplace safety by contrast. It would be very different now. Smart young lady! Hope you and yours are well.
Mark, you’ve captured downtown McKeesport of the 1960s and '70s—the walkability, the shops, the parades, the restaurants, even fashion shows on the Cox’s Department Store balcony—as a vivid picture of a thriving, close-knit community that I and many others can remember. It's so well written. Thank you.
Thank you for the article, Mark. My father retired as a police officer. My parents bought a bar. It had been a dream of my dad’s. It thrived for a couple years, then the Redevelopment came in and made them close down. The building was demolished. It broke his heart.
I tried mightily to get a teaching job in McKeesport but couldn’t even get an interview. I have lived in Central PA since the 1970’s and regularly visited family there for decades. I have family that stayed.
I taught in Steelton, PA, which reminded me of a mini McKeesport. It suffered the same fate with the steel mills.
I remain hopeful that someone will see the beauty in McKeesport and how valuable the land should be with close proximity to Pittsburgh.
We need people like you educating all of us.
Cora, great to hear from you and thanks for reading the article. In those days, getting a job in MCK schools, like everything there, hinged on machine politics and favoritism. Unless somebody ended up owing somebody a favor or a payback, stuff didn't happen. Did not know about your father's bar but can relate. My cousins owned Mustacchio's Cafe on Locust and Ringold and lost it to redevelopment as well. People were trying to bring the town back or bulletproof it against globalism. A combo of bad ideas, overwhelmed leadership, and blind nostalgia were too much. As you have in Steelton, I've seen the same stuff in other places I've worked - Buffalo, Waterloo (IA), Austin (MN), Dayton (OH). Very sad. Hopefully, the book will open up conversations - sans politics if that's even possible - to get the entire Mon Valley a restart. Again, great to hear from you. Be well.
My parents bought Mustacchio’s bar! Nickie and I are friends. Lennon’s Bar on Locust until Redevelopment gobbled it up.
Cora – I’m just seeing this – shame on me for not following up. McKeesport truly is a small world. I would assume your father and mother knew Nickie’s mom, Vernie, who was the dispatcher for McKeesport police. She passed away in the early 1980s. Hope you are well.
Great article Mark, it brought back a lot of memories. I had neighbors who lost their mill jobs, one took his own life. It was tragic. At one point I was in-between computer jobs and found myself at the unemployment office in McKeesport. There along with many laid-off mill workers. The Governor put Re-training programs in place for computer jobs and we all had to take a test. I passed but they told me since I already had a degree in computer science that I could find a job on my own. Fair enough, and I did. But the mill guys were howling, they didn’t want computer training, they wanted they old jobs back. I thought to myself, how do I tell him “ his job is never coming back” ?
It’s sad and maddening what has happened to all these rust belt towns. Great article, I’m looking forward to your book, please keep me posted. Take care, Kathy
Kathy - thank you for sharing. If you don't mind, I'd love to speak to you about this for the book. It captures so much of the emotion of the time. Appreciate your comments and all you are doing for McKeesport.
Hi Mark! Very interesting and I’ll comment later. I’ve been sharing this and thought you might be interested in hearing the reaction of a professional thirty something female who grew up here but moved away after college. Here’s what she had to say: “Very interesting info! Something I think is missing is the health impact of mill work, given your Dad died in his 50s from asbestos poisoning acquired from working in the mill (and I assume there were many more deaths from other impacts). And I’m curious about the longer-term desire of people to continue the work - for example, in your family didn’t you and your siblings work in the mill in the summers (reminds me of kennywood, popular high school summer jobs?) but never planned to work in the mill beyond that,
instead going to college and getting professional jobs? Obviously that’s just your family and anecdotal, but more variables that could have impacted the long-term sustainability of the mills/industrial work.”
Paul - thanks for reading and passing on this comment. She's correct. When confronted with what manufacturing actually entails - intense physical work, exposure to environmental hazards, the to and fro of labor contracts and lay-offs - most do not want to go there. If they did, there are plenty of jobs in meat packing and picking crops to keep them busy. When we were of age for millwork, the environmental movement was just getting going (Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962, the EPA in 1970, Clean Air Act in 1970 and Clean Water Act in 1972) but the millworkers could've cared less. There was a lot of pressure for workplace safety by contrast. It would be very different now. Smart young lady! Hope you and yours are well.
Mark, you’ve captured downtown McKeesport of the 1960s and '70s—the walkability, the shops, the parades, the restaurants, even fashion shows on the Cox’s Department Store balcony—as a vivid picture of a thriving, close-knit community that I and many others can remember. It's so well written. Thank you.
Steve - A lot of memories there. Speaking for myself, I didn't realize how good we had it back in those days. Hope you are well.