Clairton - Your Vote Counts

Take a Risk: Winning = Happiness, Losing = Wisdom
Clairton Bits of Tid, Oddz ‘n Enz

Weekend Blaze of Glory: We spend many words on this blog reflecting on our hometown of Clairton. Today’s Clairton is much different than the one from the 1950s, 60s and even 70s. When once the mills and Coke Works paid nearly all the local taxes, now those entities are dead and dying. The city is in crisis and poverty issues that have plagued many other industrial cities in the Northeast and Midwest are evident in Clairton. But Clairton has always had a cadre of fighters in its midst and that has not changed. Civic groups and churches will gather this weekend for Glory. http://blazeofglorycrusade.com/default.aspx

The Blaze of Glory crusade will include a choir competition, talent show, and exhibitors. We congratulate the fine people of Clairton and wish them well in their Crusade and the rebuilding of their city.

Part of nearly every boy’s life: Life for a boy growing up in Clairton during the prosperous post-WW-II days included a host of common activities. Four boys together comprised a singing group, six boys together meant a 3-on-3 pickup basketball game. Win and you played another team, lose and you were out. Eight boys together meant a 4 on 4 touch football game in the street. More than that meant group hanging out on the corner telling lies about sexual escapades or playing games such as kick the can (glorified hide-and-seek). But one boy alone would deliver newspapers.

Extra spending money: Since Clairton did not print a daily newspaper The Daily News was trucked each day from McKeesport, four miles to Clairton. Papers arrived in a rented garage in bundles of 50 and were counted and distributed to paperboys (rarely were there papergirls), and stores for resale. The typical paperboy made about $ 5.00 per week. Papers cost a nickel each and one and ¼ pennies was earned per paper. However, at age 14 I moved from paperboy to distributor when my father took over the Clairton distributorship. One slight problem was that I was but 14 years of age and the legal driving age was 16. But nobody seemed to notice or complain and I was the only 14-year old in Clairton who had his own wheels. The photo above shows the Willys Jeep station wagon that was used to distribute more than 2,000 papers each day throughout Clairton.

Today is Election Day in Clairton: Many communities including Clairton vote today for various offices including School Board. We are doing an abbreviated version of our post today to get it "to press" in time to encourage all Clairtonians who read this to get out and vote. If you do not vote, you have no right to complain about the politicians.

Summary: In Clairton City School District, Barbara A. Roberts is filed in both party primaries and Joseph A. Julian Jr. is filed as a Democrat in the First Ward. Candidates are unopposed in three other wards. Clairton Mayor Dominic Virgona withdrew from the race for re-election, leaving Deputy Mayor Richard L. Lattanzi, former councilman Dr. Thomas B. Meade and retired teacher and crime watch volunteer Lucille T. Herndon on the Democratic ballot. And finally, not a Clairton race exactly, but in Magisterial District 3-9 in Allegheny County, Deputy Sheriff Armand A. Martin, son of the late Magisterial District Judge Armand Martin, faces Luke Riley, Liberty's police chief and South Allegheny school board's president, on both party ballots.

A little blogging music Maestro.... “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who.

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com