A Tale of Two Cities; Clairton, PA circa 1950s and Clairton, PA 2011.
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
Clairton, PA, is located 12 miles south of Pittsburgh as the crow flies or as the fish swims. It is one of the many mill towns on or near the Monongahela River; Duquesne, McKeesport, Munhall, Glassport, Elizabeth, Monongahela (aka Mon City) etc. But in the post-World War II boom times of the mid-1950s it was the crown jewel of the area. Clairton boasted the only high school in the area with a swimming pool. Clairton High School won a WPIAL football championship and its players went on to star at Penn State, Navy, Clemson, Minnesota, and many other prestigious colleges and universities. People would come from many of the neighboring cities to purchase their car at one of the dozen or so new car dealerships. Although the population did not exceed 28,000 the town boasted four movie theaters; three "on the hill;" State, Capital, and Colonial, and Monarch and Rialto over the hill. Steel mills and coke works in the area spewed residue into the air 24 hours each day as three shifts of workers came and went. The area mills had to work around the clock to keep up with the steel orders.
U.S. Steel's "Clairton Works" produced the coke vital in the steelmaking process. It was the largest coke-producing mill in the world. The fathers of most of my peers worked in the steel mills or in local businesses. My father worked for the Clairton City Street Department as a "Special Equipment Operator," which meant he operated the city's grader, street sweeper, trucks, or any other City equipment. But when snow fell in the winter, keeping streets open for shift-change traffic was of ultimate importance. During those times he often worked shifts 72 hours or longer loading trucks with slag (residue from the steel mills). The trucks would in turn sand the streets to keep them passable. The town operated like a well oiled clock.
In the early 1970s Clairton was the fictional setting of the movie Deer Hunter that captured much of the steel worker mentality and ethnic culture of the area.
A half century after the boom times things have changed drastically in Clairton. The area’s steel mills have closed and although Clairton Works continues to limp along the community population had dwindled to fewer than 8,500 souls in 2000. By 2010 Clairton had lost another 20% of its residents leaving fewer than 6,800 currently residing in the city. The 2.79 square miles that had once housed do many thriving businesses now looks much like a ghost town with shop windows boarded up and a handful of struggling businesses trying to hang on.
Clairton High School once so flush with students that it spawned schools in Elizabeth, West Mifflin, and a brand new Thomas Jefferson High School in 1959, now graduates fewer than 60 students per year. The community has a poverty level of 26%, double that of the county. There has been little to cheer about in Clairton of late. Five years ago that began to change.
Coach Tom Nola arrived at Clairton High School decade ago to teach history. Instead he and his staff took a group of young men and made history. Nola can be referred to as "The Quiet Man" as he does not talk much. He rarely shows emotion and instead treats his players as adult employees rather than rah-rah kids. He assembled a group of former Clairton players and other successful coaches and together they discovered a winning formula.
The success started five years ago when the Bears won a WPIAL championship. Then they repeated that again and again and again. The past four years Clairton has been the WPIAL champs. In 2008, after winning the WPIAL they moved on to the State Championship game - which they lost. But wait! There's more!
In 2009 they again won the WPIAL, defeated other challengers in the semis and moved on to the State Championship game which they won. Ditto 2010. This past season they started the season against a school from a higher division and defeated them. The next six games were shutouts including an 84-0 shellacking of one hapless challenger. This despite the fact that Coach Nola took our all his starters by halftime and had his players take a knee on several points after touchdowns. This was to be a team of destiny.
Last summer they entered a Red Bull-sponsored Pittsburgh area 7 on 7 passing tournament that included all divisions. They won the tournament and were invited to participate in the national competition in Dallas. With the help of Board Members and several boosters, arrangements were made and the entire team boarded an airplane for the first time. None had ever flown before! They were the only single A division team in the tourney and played against Division 4 through 7A teams, several of whose football teams had ten times the budget, enrollment, and number of coaches as did Clairton. But the Bears were not intimidated and they knocked of top level teams from Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas to qualify for the finals. A 5-A team finally defeated them and Clairton came home second out of 153 teams.
Here are a few examples of Clairton Bears football successes over the past half-decade: They won an unprecedented third State title in the recent championship game. By doing so they broke a 51-year old record held by Braddock that had 46 consecutive wins. Oh yes, the win also positioned Clairton as the high school team with the longest winning streak in the entire nation, passing powerhouse Don Bosco Prep of New Jersey.
Another record and notes of interest include one set by center Carvan Thompson. He started every game since his freshman year and holds a record of 64 consecutive starts. It is a record that will likely never be broken. Third generation Clairtonian and Assistant Coach Wayne Wade starred on the CHS 1989 football team that also won the WPIAL championship.
Clairton Bears by the numbers:
Number of consecutive victories: 47
Number seniors at CHS: 48
Number of players on squad: 29 (includes JV players and one band member who plays at halftime)
Starters who play both offense and defense: 9
Record over past four years: 62-2
Points scored: 3,683-565
Average score: 41-6 (Mercy rule!)
Percentage of team that scores high honors academically: 66%
Average number of fans per game: 2,000
Every accolade placed on the Clairton Bear football team is deserved. But the system is one that some might take issue with. The very fact that Carvan Thompson set a record for 64 consecutive starts over his four year high school career means that he and other seniors on the Bear squad participated in more games over a four-year period than do most college football players and many professional football players. Sixteen games per season for a high school athlete whose body is still developing is simply too much contact. The Bears, whose weight and conditioning facilities pale in comparison to that of most of the teams they play, still have had excellent conditioning coaching as evidenced by the comparatively few injuries they’ve sustained over the long season. The state plans to cap the number of games played by a high school team at 15 next year, which is in my view, still too many. But by reducing the possible number of games per season, the likelihood of Carvan’s record being broken is remote. Even if another team (including Clairton for that matter) has a good enough athlete to start as a freshman and that athlete has the good fortune to avoid injury, suspension, or academic disqualification, and the school has a four-year run of championships, the total number of games that will be played is now 60, not 64.
How ‘bout dem’ Bears?
Showing posts with label Bears Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bears Football. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Bearly Winning
BAD NEWS BEARS
Bad news for opponents, that is: The Bears and their fans must have been singing “Don’t Let Your Heart be Snowbound” as they ambled up to the football field at Slippery Rock University’s Mehilak-Thompson stadium (not sure whether or not the stadium was named after Capri and Carvan Thompson) to challenge the undefeated Sharpsville Blue Devils. While the Blue Devil fans bedeviled CHS boosters with their taunts, the bush league radio announcers who egged on the situation by repeatedly disrespecting CHS fans, some of whom had the audacity to sit on the wrong side of the stadium (Don’t you people know your place?). Of course, according to the talking mouths on the radio, not a single Blue Devil fan said anything untoward. They just sat there with their hands folded on their laps.
WRONG! Our fans, like our team, takes not quarter and gives none. They don’t look for trouble but neither do they back down. Like the players on the field, they will not be intimidated by foul-mouth bullies. They will give just as good as they get. And they did.
The game started and the Blue Devils were destined to fall just as the snowflakes were falling on the field. Admittedly I was not at the stadium but it seems to me that 11 penalties for 75 yards while the other side got, (let’s see… I’ll get my calculator out…. Hmmmm…. Ok, got it) zero flags for zero yards…. I wonder when the refs last had their eyes checked. It appeared to be 1-2-3-4. Who’s the referee for? But the Bears did as they’ve done for the past 46 football games…. they overcame the hostile fans, the partial announcers, and the questionable calls and non-calls, and tied a 50-year old Braddock record for consecutive wins.
CHS records: The Clairton Bears’ victory gives them a 15-0 record for the season and ties a school in New Jersey and eclipses a Nevada school record for the longest win streak in the nation. Next up, District 4 champ Southern Columbia at Hersheypark next Friday December 16 at 1:00 pm. There will be a tailgate before the game, beginning around 10:30. Hoping to see plenty of Orange and Black at the game.
Back to the Sharpsville game: Scoring machine Tyler Boyd ran for two touchdowns, one and four yards, and caught a 70-yard pass from Capri Thompson for a third. But in the fourth quarter CHS tried a trick pass play to Brian Clifford. The ball was tapped into the air and retrieved by Capri who went down and stayed there until he was carried off the field. After sitting out a few plays, Capri pulled a Ben Roethlisberger and came back into the game, ankle sprain and all. He (Capri, not Ben) will be good to go for the Hershey game.
Blue Devil quarterback Henwood made the mistake of trying to force a pass over linebacker Devante Gardlock inside the CHS 20. Gardlock tipped it and Carvan Thompson snatched it and headed for the goal line 80 yards away. But Carvan, who holds a record for the most consecutive games started, is a lineman, not a running back or wide receiver, and linemen just don’t run that far. After 50 yards he got tired and handed the ball to Terrish Webb who did the honors and scored the final TD. The Bears could have scored again in the final moments but with the game already in hand they let the clock expire.
How amazing are the Bears? This will be the fourth consecutive year they will have played for the State Championship. In 2008 they lost a heartbreaker to Steelton-Highspire. In 2009 they defeated Bishop McCort, and last season after being down for most of the game, they staged a thrilling comeback victory over District 2 champ Riverside. A victory next Friday will set even more records, but regardless of the records, we congratulate the students. teachers, coaches, parents, boosters, and administrators who have worked so hard to support our hometown.
Keeping the Student in Student Athlete: For the most part the Bears perform as well in the classroom as they do on the field. More than half the team has a 3.0 (B) or better grade point average. One team member, I am told, is on track to finish first or second in the class. These are students who have earned respect and deserve our support. But not every CHS student has the good fortune to have his future helped along by his athletic ability. Too many graduate and are slapped with the reality of poverty and lack of employment.
CHS graduate Terrence Fort has helped put together a mentoring program for CHS students. The program needs successful CHS alumni who have the time and willingness to take a high school student under their wing and offer support. The ideal candidate would live near enough to Clairton to drive to the school, but even for those of us who live thousands of miles away but are willing to come home for a first face-to-face visit, can continue a mentorship electronically. I urge you to become involved in this worthwhile program. Email me at the email address below and I will forward your email to Terrence. Go Bears.
A little blogging music Maestro… how about the Clairton High School fight song once more..
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
email: drforgot@cox.net
Bad news for opponents, that is: The Bears and their fans must have been singing “Don’t Let Your Heart be Snowbound” as they ambled up to the football field at Slippery Rock University’s Mehilak-Thompson stadium (not sure whether or not the stadium was named after Capri and Carvan Thompson) to challenge the undefeated Sharpsville Blue Devils. While the Blue Devil fans bedeviled CHS boosters with their taunts, the bush league radio announcers who egged on the situation by repeatedly disrespecting CHS fans, some of whom had the audacity to sit on the wrong side of the stadium (Don’t you people know your place?). Of course, according to the talking mouths on the radio, not a single Blue Devil fan said anything untoward. They just sat there with their hands folded on their laps.
WRONG! Our fans, like our team, takes not quarter and gives none. They don’t look for trouble but neither do they back down. Like the players on the field, they will not be intimidated by foul-mouth bullies. They will give just as good as they get. And they did.
The game started and the Blue Devils were destined to fall just as the snowflakes were falling on the field. Admittedly I was not at the stadium but it seems to me that 11 penalties for 75 yards while the other side got, (let’s see… I’ll get my calculator out…. Hmmmm…. Ok, got it) zero flags for zero yards…. I wonder when the refs last had their eyes checked. It appeared to be 1-2-3-4. Who’s the referee for? But the Bears did as they’ve done for the past 46 football games…. they overcame the hostile fans, the partial announcers, and the questionable calls and non-calls, and tied a 50-year old Braddock record for consecutive wins.
CHS records: The Clairton Bears’ victory gives them a 15-0 record for the season and ties a school in New Jersey and eclipses a Nevada school record for the longest win streak in the nation. Next up, District 4 champ Southern Columbia at Hersheypark next Friday December 16 at 1:00 pm. There will be a tailgate before the game, beginning around 10:30. Hoping to see plenty of Orange and Black at the game.
Back to the Sharpsville game: Scoring machine Tyler Boyd ran for two touchdowns, one and four yards, and caught a 70-yard pass from Capri Thompson for a third. But in the fourth quarter CHS tried a trick pass play to Brian Clifford. The ball was tapped into the air and retrieved by Capri who went down and stayed there until he was carried off the field. After sitting out a few plays, Capri pulled a Ben Roethlisberger and came back into the game, ankle sprain and all. He (Capri, not Ben) will be good to go for the Hershey game.
Blue Devil quarterback Henwood made the mistake of trying to force a pass over linebacker Devante Gardlock inside the CHS 20. Gardlock tipped it and Carvan Thompson snatched it and headed for the goal line 80 yards away. But Carvan, who holds a record for the most consecutive games started, is a lineman, not a running back or wide receiver, and linemen just don’t run that far. After 50 yards he got tired and handed the ball to Terrish Webb who did the honors and scored the final TD. The Bears could have scored again in the final moments but with the game already in hand they let the clock expire.
How amazing are the Bears? This will be the fourth consecutive year they will have played for the State Championship. In 2008 they lost a heartbreaker to Steelton-Highspire. In 2009 they defeated Bishop McCort, and last season after being down for most of the game, they staged a thrilling comeback victory over District 2 champ Riverside. A victory next Friday will set even more records, but regardless of the records, we congratulate the students. teachers, coaches, parents, boosters, and administrators who have worked so hard to support our hometown.
Keeping the Student in Student Athlete: For the most part the Bears perform as well in the classroom as they do on the field. More than half the team has a 3.0 (B) or better grade point average. One team member, I am told, is on track to finish first or second in the class. These are students who have earned respect and deserve our support. But not every CHS student has the good fortune to have his future helped along by his athletic ability. Too many graduate and are slapped with the reality of poverty and lack of employment.
CHS graduate Terrence Fort has helped put together a mentoring program for CHS students. The program needs successful CHS alumni who have the time and willingness to take a high school student under their wing and offer support. The ideal candidate would live near enough to Clairton to drive to the school, but even for those of us who live thousands of miles away but are willing to come home for a first face-to-face visit, can continue a mentorship electronically. I urge you to become involved in this worthwhile program. Email me at the email address below and I will forward your email to Terrence. Go Bears.
A little blogging music Maestro… how about the Clairton High School fight song once more..
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
email: drforgot@cox.net
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Every hame sets a record
The Bears played unbeaten Sto-Rox in the quarter finals. The Post Gazette picked Sto-Rox in a close game. Final score: CHS 52 Sto-Rox 6. Next up, semi finals against North Star, 10-1. Final score Bears 44 North Star 0. The season is over for the 11 seniors on the North Star team. Next up Sharpsville. If the Bears are able to get past them this Friday, it is on to Hershey and the state championship game.
Back to the North Star game. Last year in a similar playoff game, CHS trounced North Star 56-0. This year Clairton kicked off and held North Star, then took over and on the first play from scrimmage, Tyler Boyd scampered 83 yards for a TD then ran in the extra point. CHS 8. NSH 0. Clairton kicked off again, then got the ball back. First play from scrimmage Capri Thompson hit Trenton Coles over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown. CHS 14, NSH 0. Later another 70 yard pass play for a TD to Titus Webb. And so it went as out Bears won their 45th consecutive game.
There are only two teams in the nation with a win streak longer than the Bears. One is from New Jersey, and the other is a team from rural Nevada that plays 8-man football, but both have completed their seasons, which means if the Bears win out they will have won an unprecedented third state title, broken the 50-year old Braddock record for consecutive wins, and possess the longest winning streak in the country. But as Coach Nola says, "One game at a time."
Next game will be against Sharpsville with the venue not yet announced, but there will be a person in the stands who cannot lose. CHS grad Lee Weber, CHS '60, attended college and became a Methodist minister. Now retired, Rev. Weber lived and pastored in Sharpsville for eight years. So in case he asks, do not make a bet with him that his home town team will win the game.
Several readers have asked if there will be a booster bus that will travel from Clairton to Hershey in the event that our Bears win this Friday. At the moment, nothing is planned, but should the Bears win Friday, we will discuss the possibility of transport, tailgates, get-togethers, etc.
Please email me with any ideas.
See the Kennywood rides: Kennywood has been a favorite place to go for over a hundred years. But in the winter? Yup. This year the owners of the park have turned it into a winter wonderland of a million lights with festive activities, choirs fireworks, and rides. In addition to the usual Kennywood characters there will be of course, Santa Claus. Lights come on every weekend at 5 p.m. This is the first December in 114 seasons that the park will be open.
A little blogging music Maestro: " Oh When the Saints Come Marching In...."
Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@coxnet
Back to the North Star game. Last year in a similar playoff game, CHS trounced North Star 56-0. This year Clairton kicked off and held North Star, then took over and on the first play from scrimmage, Tyler Boyd scampered 83 yards for a TD then ran in the extra point. CHS 8. NSH 0. Clairton kicked off again, then got the ball back. First play from scrimmage Capri Thompson hit Trenton Coles over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown. CHS 14, NSH 0. Later another 70 yard pass play for a TD to Titus Webb. And so it went as out Bears won their 45th consecutive game.
There are only two teams in the nation with a win streak longer than the Bears. One is from New Jersey, and the other is a team from rural Nevada that plays 8-man football, but both have completed their seasons, which means if the Bears win out they will have won an unprecedented third state title, broken the 50-year old Braddock record for consecutive wins, and possess the longest winning streak in the country. But as Coach Nola says, "One game at a time."
Next game will be against Sharpsville with the venue not yet announced, but there will be a person in the stands who cannot lose. CHS grad Lee Weber, CHS '60, attended college and became a Methodist minister. Now retired, Rev. Weber lived and pastored in Sharpsville for eight years. So in case he asks, do not make a bet with him that his home town team will win the game.
Several readers have asked if there will be a booster bus that will travel from Clairton to Hershey in the event that our Bears win this Friday. At the moment, nothing is planned, but should the Bears win Friday, we will discuss the possibility of transport, tailgates, get-togethers, etc.
Please email me with any ideas.
See the Kennywood rides: Kennywood has been a favorite place to go for over a hundred years. But in the winter? Yup. This year the owners of the park have turned it into a winter wonderland of a million lights with festive activities, choirs fireworks, and rides. In addition to the usual Kennywood characters there will be of course, Santa Claus. Lights come on every weekend at 5 p.m. This is the first December in 114 seasons that the park will be open.
A little blogging music Maestro: " Oh When the Saints Come Marching In...."
Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@coxnet
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Bears and such
AWOL
Where does the time go? It has been six weeks since I’ve posted. Several readers even emailed me to ask if I was all right. Well, that’s debatable, but all my parts seem to still be working (ok, MOST of them). Each morning I’ve sat in front of my computer with the thought that I need to post. Then I start with the email, do personal business, do business business, and before I know it my computer time (about seven hours each day) has elapsed. I have made so many acquaintances via the Clairton blog that I will make a more concerted effort to write on a more regular basis.
Our Bears continue to growl: For those who have not kept up on the latest edition of the Clairton Bears football team, they have won the state championship for the past two years and currently have the second longest win record in the nation. Their victory over Sto-Rox cemented them as WPIAL champs for the fifth time in the past six years. The game against Sto-Rox (both teams came into the game 12-0 this season) was touted by a Post-Gazette writer as Clairton’s last game as he predicted a Clairton loss in a close game. Our Bears forced five turnovers and annihilated their opponents 42-6. It could easily have been worse.
Most of the team members are also scholar athletes. The quarterback could graduate as the class valedictorian. He has received looks from Ivy League schools as well as the Naval Academy. The star running back has received letters of interest from every major university in the country and he is just a junior! Most of the players are also honor roll students. This is such a special group.
This weekend the Bears will play in the quarter-finals game for the state championship. If they win they will move on to the semi-finals and a victory will send them to Hershey to play for their third consecutive state championship. A victory in that game would also break a record for consecutive wins. But every game this team wins breaks some kind of record.
Hunting Bears: With the long run of success a topic for debate has been how Clairton would fare in Class AAAA or AAA. Coaches Nola would like the team to open next season against a Class AAAA or AAA opponent, but no higher classification team is interested. It might have something to do with the fact that CHS has won 43 consecutive games.
Ok, how about a scrimmage against a Class AAAA or AAA team? Sorry, no takers for that either.
Some random stats: CHS currently has a 43-game win streak, the second longest in WPIAL history. The Bears are three away from the longest WPIAL winning streak (46 by Braddock from 1955-60). The Bears would have to win this week, next, and State in Hershey for the PIAA titles in order to break the record.
CHS has a 41-game conference winning streak while Thomas Jefferson's conference winning streak is at 38. Many forget that the Bears spawned TJ in 1959.
Nothing brings a community together like a winning sports team. I’ve seen what the 1960 Pirates did for the city when they won the World Series. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend a Final Four, a Super Bowl, and several college bowl games. In every case, the pride that the community had in itself as the result of the success of their team has been phenomenal. Can the successful Bears do the same for Clairton? It already has.
Terrence Fort, a 1976 CHS alum has begun a mentoring program for Clairton students. He has enlisted the help of several other grads including Dr. Pauline Long. Dr. Long was a high-risk kid who became a single mother at age 16. Her focus and determination got her into Pitt where she earned a bachelor’s degree then an MBA and a Doctorate in Science from Robert Morris. There are so many stories of successful CHS grads such as Dr. William King who was bused to CHS and went on to become a noted professor and author. In fact, no less a celebrity than Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted part of one of Dr. King’s books to be included in his (Putin’s) dissertation.
Terrence Fort is looking for other mentors who would be willing to work with CHS students. If you have the time and an interest to help young people become future leaders, drop me an email and I’ll forward it to Terrence.
On the political front: Two candidates won Democratic contests in Clairton and netted enough Republican write-ins to have both party nods for council. They are former fire chief John A. Lattanzi and chamber of commerce president Kathy Grisnik Tachoir. Tachoir survived a primary race with Councilman Lamont Andre Lewis and former councilman Domenic J. Curinga.
For Clairton City school board, Tachoir's husband Roger was unopposed both for an at-large seat. He's on both party ballots as is incumbent Robert A. Harrigan. Also unopposed were Democrats Sue A. Wessel, an incumbent and Jennifer Linnen-Williams.
Life is fleeting: We must note the passing of Flossie Carter last month. She was born in Alabama but moved to the area when her son got a job in the Clairton Works. Flossie loved in Homewood with her daughter until recently when she moved to Heritage Place in Squirrel Hill. She passed last month at age 111.
A little blogging music Maestro… how about the Clairton High School fight song.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
email: drforgot@cox.net
Where does the time go? It has been six weeks since I’ve posted. Several readers even emailed me to ask if I was all right. Well, that’s debatable, but all my parts seem to still be working (ok, MOST of them). Each morning I’ve sat in front of my computer with the thought that I need to post. Then I start with the email, do personal business, do business business, and before I know it my computer time (about seven hours each day) has elapsed. I have made so many acquaintances via the Clairton blog that I will make a more concerted effort to write on a more regular basis.
Our Bears continue to growl: For those who have not kept up on the latest edition of the Clairton Bears football team, they have won the state championship for the past two years and currently have the second longest win record in the nation. Their victory over Sto-Rox cemented them as WPIAL champs for the fifth time in the past six years. The game against Sto-Rox (both teams came into the game 12-0 this season) was touted by a Post-Gazette writer as Clairton’s last game as he predicted a Clairton loss in a close game. Our Bears forced five turnovers and annihilated their opponents 42-6. It could easily have been worse.
Most of the team members are also scholar athletes. The quarterback could graduate as the class valedictorian. He has received looks from Ivy League schools as well as the Naval Academy. The star running back has received letters of interest from every major university in the country and he is just a junior! Most of the players are also honor roll students. This is such a special group.
This weekend the Bears will play in the quarter-finals game for the state championship. If they win they will move on to the semi-finals and a victory will send them to Hershey to play for their third consecutive state championship. A victory in that game would also break a record for consecutive wins. But every game this team wins breaks some kind of record.
Hunting Bears: With the long run of success a topic for debate has been how Clairton would fare in Class AAAA or AAA. Coaches Nola would like the team to open next season against a Class AAAA or AAA opponent, but no higher classification team is interested. It might have something to do with the fact that CHS has won 43 consecutive games.
Ok, how about a scrimmage against a Class AAAA or AAA team? Sorry, no takers for that either.
Some random stats: CHS currently has a 43-game win streak, the second longest in WPIAL history. The Bears are three away from the longest WPIAL winning streak (46 by Braddock from 1955-60). The Bears would have to win this week, next, and State in Hershey for the PIAA titles in order to break the record.
CHS has a 41-game conference winning streak while Thomas Jefferson's conference winning streak is at 38. Many forget that the Bears spawned TJ in 1959.
Nothing brings a community together like a winning sports team. I’ve seen what the 1960 Pirates did for the city when they won the World Series. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend a Final Four, a Super Bowl, and several college bowl games. In every case, the pride that the community had in itself as the result of the success of their team has been phenomenal. Can the successful Bears do the same for Clairton? It already has.
Terrence Fort, a 1976 CHS alum has begun a mentoring program for Clairton students. He has enlisted the help of several other grads including Dr. Pauline Long. Dr. Long was a high-risk kid who became a single mother at age 16. Her focus and determination got her into Pitt where she earned a bachelor’s degree then an MBA and a Doctorate in Science from Robert Morris. There are so many stories of successful CHS grads such as Dr. William King who was bused to CHS and went on to become a noted professor and author. In fact, no less a celebrity than Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted part of one of Dr. King’s books to be included in his (Putin’s) dissertation.
Terrence Fort is looking for other mentors who would be willing to work with CHS students. If you have the time and an interest to help young people become future leaders, drop me an email and I’ll forward it to Terrence.
On the political front: Two candidates won Democratic contests in Clairton and netted enough Republican write-ins to have both party nods for council. They are former fire chief John A. Lattanzi and chamber of commerce president Kathy Grisnik Tachoir. Tachoir survived a primary race with Councilman Lamont Andre Lewis and former councilman Domenic J. Curinga.
For Clairton City school board, Tachoir's husband Roger was unopposed both for an at-large seat. He's on both party ballots as is incumbent Robert A. Harrigan. Also unopposed were Democrats Sue A. Wessel, an incumbent and Jennifer Linnen-Williams.
Life is fleeting: We must note the passing of Flossie Carter last month. She was born in Alabama but moved to the area when her son got a job in the Clairton Works. Flossie loved in Homewood with her daughter until recently when she moved to Heritage Place in Squirrel Hill. She passed last month at age 111.
A little blogging music Maestro… how about the Clairton High School fight song.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
email: drforgot@cox.net
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Clairton Bears - Russian Bear
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALLLLLL????
The Labor Day weekend: As always, this is special in Clairton as it is the time when alumni from many graduating classes come together for a picnic in Clairton Park. This year will be even more special. Thursday, September 1 the Steelers play their last pre-game against Carolina. It is an away game and me spies tell me that a large group of CHS alums will watch the game at a sports bar on 51. Friday is the season opener for the Bears against the Washington Prexies. It will be alumni night and Red Bull will be there to film the game for a five part series about the Red Bull championship featuring the Bears as one of the finalists. A major network is supposed to air it on national TV this fall. The Bears, of course, came home with the silver – placing second out of 163 teams. If you live driving distance from the stadium, try to get to the gams. What a statement it would make for the alumni to fill the stands. Saturday is the annual multi-year (1935-1972) alumni picnic in Clairton Park.
Recent Bear accomplishments: Our school and community have shrunk in size since the steel industry evaporated, but the spirit is as strong as ever. The football team won two consecutive state championships and came in second out of 163 teams at the Red Bull 7 on 7 tournament in Dallas. When the team flew to Dallas for the competition it was the first plane ride for EVERY ONE of the players. Oh, did I mention that 1/3 of the championship team had grade point averages of A- or higher and another 1/3 had grade averages of B or better. This group of young men is special. They exude what a scholar athlete should be – great players, great students, great citizens!
Economic crisis: Nearly every state, including PA cut their budgets. That included the amount of money that goes to fund education. The Clairton School District took a huge hit and lost several employees. Budgets have been slashed to the bone, yet our Bears continue to perform at the highest level on and off the field. Now it is your turn to help. The team would not have been able to make the trip to Dallas without financial support. Key alumni dug deep into their pockets to help fund the trip but those bills now need to be paid. Any amount will help; $ 5 or $ 500 or anything between. Monies will be disbursed by the school and will be used to cover expenses that can no longer be covered by the budget.
Several players and coaches will be on hand to sign autographs at the reunion and tables will be set up where donations can be made. CHS and Notre Dame All American Jim Kelly will address the team. If you are unable to make it to the reunion you may still help by sending your tax-deductible donation to: Clairton Bears Athletic Academics Association, c/o Fran Geletko, 667 Sixth Street, Clairton, PA. 15025
You can follow the Bears on Facebook at “Clairton Bears Football” http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clairton-Bears-Football/203907057891 or by following super fan Beverly Bailey Alcorn on Facebook.
More CHS reflecting: Toni Dobos, after a fun but exhausting day in Kennywood with three generations of her family ponders, “What ever happened to that lunchtime treat Cho-cho?” I’m not sure but personally my favorite was the sticky buns that were baked right in the school cafeteria. My parents would give me a quarter to buy lunch but instead I’d buy a sticky bun and a bottle of chocolate milk for a dime and pocket the other 15 cents.
Phyllis Tansky remembers the rec room above the fire station where kids could go to play checkers, and other board games including caroms. Caroms, for you youngsters, were similar to billiards except instead of billiard balls small wooden rings were used and instead of a large felt table the surface was smooth and wooden. Caroms were played during the summer in most playgrounds available around from the football stadium to Woodland Terrace to Clairton Park and many other locations.
You’ve gotta watch those Ruskies: Bill King, CHS ’56, became a full university professor at Pitt. Dr. King professed, as professors do, eloquently both verbally in the classroom and on paper. He published an amazing 300+ academic papers, received lifetime achievement awards as well as being elected to serve as president of a professional society. All that would be more than enough for Dr. King to be recognized as expert in his field, but his most noted achievement came almost by default. He authored 17 books. How good was his material? Good enough to be stolen!
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second president of the Russian Federation and is currently the prime minister of Russia as well as commissioner of numerous other areas. He is a highly educated man with a master’s degree in economics. His dissertation focused on planning in the natural resources sector. It was brilliantly written during the 1990s with cutting edge data…. So cutting edge that it had been written 20 years earlier by none other than Clairton’s own Dr. Bill King! Seems that Putin lifted part of his dissertation from Dr. King and his co-author, another Pitt professor. One more example of a life of intrigue by a hometown resident. Dr. Bill King, Clairton boy whose work was plagiarized by Vladimir Putin. Since Vlad was in charge of the Parliament, called Duma in Russian, you might consider his Masters a Dubious Duma Degree.
Finally, Jim Gilchrist sent me the following quote. ""The past is never dead. It's not even past." -- William Faulkner (1897-1962). That says it all.
A little blogging music Maestro… how about “Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
email: drforgot@cox.net
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Oh those Bears
Item first: A newspaper article about our Clairton Bears who tiptoes into Texas aboard their first flight EVER (no kidding, It was the first airplane ride for every single one of the 14 Bears who traveled).
South Xtra: Clairton stuns 'big boys' in Texas 7-on-7 tournament
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Thursday, July 28, 2011
By Nicholas Tolomeo, Tri-State Sports & News Service
Mid-July brought a lot of firsts for the 14 member seven-on-seven football tournament team contingent from Clairton High School.
The group hopped on an American Airlines direct flight from Pittsburgh to Dallas. It was the first time any of the 14 players had flown.
They spent two nights in the Hyatt Summerfield Suites, the first time many of the players from the dying steel town stayed in a new hotel complete with rooms featuring 32-inch flat-screen, high-definition TVs.
Other firsts included dining at the well-known Campisi's Italian restaurant in downtown Dallas and touring Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
But once the Bears stepped between the lines and tournament play began, they were right at home. Clairton shocked nearly everyone involved with the tournament by finishing as runners-up in a field of 161 teams, most representing schools that are much, much larger.
The Clairton High School team will open the 2011 season riding a 31-game winning streak that includes back-to-back PIAA Class A titles. The squad features Pitt recruit Trenton Coles and Tyler Boyd, a rising junior. Coles and Boyd are recognized as two of the top athletes in the WPIAL regardless of classification.
One player who didn't make the trip was Karvonn Coles, a junior projected as the Bears' starting tailback this season. He sustained a serious knee injury before the trip and will likely miss the upcoming season.
"They are so good," Clairton coach Tom Nola gushed. "They were as good as anybody down there."
Coincidentally, Coles, Boyd and the rest of the Bears almost never got a chance to get down there.
Thomas Jefferson was the only team to defeat Clairton at the Woodland Hills seven-on-seven tournament and TJ was in line to receive the bid to the Dallas tournament. But the Jaguars had another commitment. Then those involved with the tournament heard of Clairton's record over the past few years and extended an invitation to the Bears.
With a $10,000 price tag for flights and hotels, it was unlikely the Bears would get to see how their talent stacked up against the rest of the country.
Then some Clairton alumni led by Bill Bennett stepped in. A 1960 Clairton graduate and former Bears quarterback, Bennett, a Phoenix resident, heard of the news online.
Item second: Bill Bennett, who deserves the bulk of the credit for putting the package together and lobbying Red Bull until they considered giving them a fair look sent the following email:
If you will bear with me for one more article re the Clairton Bears miraculous performance in the Red Bull 7 on 7 National Championship, I promise you will not be bombarded with their every success in the future. Here's the recap that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11209/1163232-365.stm
If Red Bull follows through on their promise to cover the Bears opening game and then feature them in a five part series about the tournament that is supposed to air in November on national tv, I will forward email about that and one more if they win another PA state championship.
To those who have offered to "donate", before starting a funding campaign I am trying to get a 501(c)(3) number and aggregate all emails for Clairton alums in one place. After that is accomplished, I will forward email with directions. Just when you are about to give up on mankind, the generosity of "strangers" keeps one working on worthy causes. I assure you the Bear players are most appreciative of even the smallest donation. They literally have nothing but the ground they practice on. Thanks for your interest and help.
Bill
We will provide further information once a mechanism has been decided upon to offer donations to support the victorious trip to Dallas.
Item third: It is with deep sympathy that we offer our condolences to Sue Wessel on the recent loss of her husband James. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sue and her family.
Item last: Everybody I talk to about high school alumni is amazed at the cohesiveness of CHS alumni; their loyalty, their reunions, and the annual Reunion in the Park. This year the reunion will again be held at Clairton Park over the Labor Day weekend. Information can be found at: http://chsreunionpicnic.com/newsofinterest.html
A little blogging music Maestro, From the musical, "My Fair Lady," On the Street Where you Live.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Sunday, July 17, 2011
More Bear Accolades
Never say never: Bill Bennett has a personality disorder. He refuses to listen to what “they” tell him. He’s been that way as long as I can remember. In gym class more than half a century ago “they” told Bill he was too short to dunk a basketball. He took a running start and like Spiderman, “walked” himself up the pads behind the basket, and dunked the basketball. “They” told him he was too small to play football on the vaunted CHS Bear team, but he consistently zigged and zagged his way up and down the field, including one touchdown run that he completed minus one shoe. (see yearbook photo above) He continued his football pursuits at Rutgers University then moved to Sacramento where he started Clairton Financial, Inc. and later to Phoenix where he continued his investment career. But Bill still refused to listen to what “they” had to say.
Bill recently heard that the Bears had won a 7 on 7 football tourney in the Greater Pittsburgh area but “they” said that since TJ had defeated the Bears in an early round of the double elimination tourney, the Bears would not be invited to the prestigious Red Bull sponsored Gamebreakers tourney on the SMU campus in Dallas. Besides, even if the Bears received an invitation there was too little time to plan the logistics and no money to send them, “they” said.
So Bill contacted the folks at Red Bull and provided them with the rich football history of the “Little Class A School That Could.” He showed them that CHS had not only won the Class A State Championship two years running but had also defeated teams from much larger schools. But “they” were still reluctant. You see, participants in the Red Bull Tournament which was being held on the Southern Methodist University campus were the giants of high school football from Texas, California, Louisiana, Florida, and other football power states. The 5-A teams would surely crush little old Single A Clairton “They” said. But Bill invoked his personality disorder and persisted until the folks at Red Bull took a deep breath and invited the mystery team from the Pittsburgh area.
Bill had gained support from Bob White, Sue and Jim Wessel, and other current and former Clairton residents and Bear Supporters. Community businesses and friends of the CHS program dug into their own pockets to front the money to pay for the plane fare, motel rooms, and other expenses. CHS alum and current Dallas resident Bob Yaksick became the “local” anchor man to help with ground activities, and the Bears arrived at the tourney as the smallest school to march like lambs to the slaughter at the hands of the giant 4A and 5A teams from football power states.
Some of the 23 teams represented large schools from Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Colorado that brought a couple dozen kids each as well as cheering sections and supporters galore. CHS brought 14 players which meant the Bears often had to play both offense and defense using the same players during the worst heat wave in the history of Dallas. The CHS lads played well and when the Public Address announcer said that CHS came from a community of only 8,000 residents and had a graduating class of 60, the crowd gave the Bears a standing ovation.
The Bears started their 7 on 7 games as one of more than 160 participating teams and knocked off Goliath after Goliath until they got to the Final Four. They won again, defeating another large school, Houston’s Westside, by a score of 26-14 putting them in the grand finale against nationally ranked powerhouse Arlington Martin. Finally, the Bears went down to defeat, taking second place in the tourney. Powerful Evangel Christian of Shreveport, LA finished fourth. ESPN reported, “Martin then handed Clairton its first loss of the double-elimination semifinals, 24-12.
“Clairton, a Pittsburgh-area school with an enrollment shrunk by the closing of nearby steel mills, earned its way in the finals by defeating third-place Westside, 26-14.”
Congratulations Bears. Hold your heads high. You are the champions of Greater Pittsburgh, of Western PA, of PA, and now you've brought home the Silver against some of the most powerhouse teams in America. Bravo!
On a related note, Clairton’s own Desimon Green, as well as McKeesport linebacker Branden Jackson will head for Lubbock, TX in a few weeks when they report to Texas Tech University as freshman football players.
There weren't only coaches and family watching the games. Reggie Bush (Saints) and DeMarcus Ware (Cowboys) were among the celebrities who cheered and inspired theCHS players.
The student athletes at CHS have demonstrated their academic prowess as well as play on the field. About 1/3 of the team has earned a grade point average of 3.5 (A-) or higher and another 1/3 are at 3.0 (B) or better. This is a special team. They share the legacy of the outstanding student athletes who have gone before them - student athletes like Bill Bennett - whose personality disorder - not listening to what “they” say and exceeding all expectations was pivotal in getting the Bears to Dallas. Here’s hoping that disorder affects this year’s team as well.
A little blogging music Maestro, How about the Clairton fight song? "It's Clairton High School. It's Clairton High School the pride of every....."
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Players and heroes
If Everything’s Coming Your Way, You’re in the Wrong Lane!
Third Annual Golf Outing: One of my proudest moments came recently when I saw the readers of this blog and Facebook gather together to lend their support to help CHS State Champs get their richly-deserved rings. The Bears Athletic Club has purchased capes for the players as they stand on the sidelines during freezing PA winters, uniforms to replace torn, tattered, and repaired ones that have long outlived their newness, food during road trips, and many other ways of helping. The Bears responded not only on the field but in the classroom where a third carry grade point averages of 3.5 or better. That is a testament to the players, their parents who encourage them, their coaches who monitor them, and the faculty who teach them as well as the administration and school board.
Now it is time to step up again. The annual fundraiser for the past few years has been a golf outing. This year it will take place July 9 at the 7 Springs Golf Course in Elizabeth. With the economy struggling the numbers of participants has also been down and there is still room for golfers and duffers. Money raised helps continue the proud CHS tradition of athletic and academic excellence that has been in place for more than a century.
If you are local and participate, sign up now. If you are not a golfer but would like to help, you may sponsor a hole, contribute items to be raffled, or send a check to help the program. All donors will be recognized during the buffet and prize raffle. Please contact CHS Athletic Director Anthony R. Ferrare at ferrarea@clairton.k12.pa.us or phone him at 412.233.9200 ext. 1116.
Clairton superstars continue to shine: Several members of the Bears State Championship team entered a seven-on-seven contest. Other schools participated and CHS beat some of the best talent from the biggest schools in the area. They dropped a game to TJ but were not eliminated and went on to win the tourney. The winner (CHS) of the tournament was beaten by their neighbor it was TJ who received an invitation to a seven-on-seven competition at the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas. A recent article in the local newspaper suggested that if TJ declined the offer, the Bears would be invited but there would be no money to send them. No invitation has been issued as of this writing.
Three standout Clairton players, however, were invited at the behest of the Gateway coach to attend an IMF John Madden all star game in Florida. This was an exciting honor as the trip would also serve as a college campus tour. The bus would stop at several campuses including Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, West Virginia and others. The local group of fundraisers provided the players with food and spending money and they took of earlt Thursday morning. By Thursday night they had seen U VA and were near the Duke campus when a tragedy occurred. On the way back to their hotel from dinner they crossed paths with some idiot hothead who was packing heat. He pulled the gun and fired blindly at the group, wounding two Gateway players, one fatally. Our boys were traumatized but not otherwise injured. What a sick tragedy.
Tragic gunplay victim a winner: Soldiers, fire fighters and police officers deserve special consideration. Jim Kuzak, Clairton police officer was rushing to the aid of a crime victim when he was shot. The 15-year police veteran who served in Peteers Township, Homestead, and Clairton was shot five times last April. He was shot twice in the bulletproof vest, once in his forearm, once in the side and once just above the vest, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Prior to the shooting Kuzak had planned to participate in a torch run with other law enforcement officers in an effort to raise money for the Special Olympics. Officer Kuzak didn’t let a little thing like getting shot deter him.
The shooting happened in April and Officer Kuzak has been wheelchair bound since. His goal was to hold the torch and travel 2.5 miles . His efforts have already helped raise a sizable sum. The full journey course goes from the PNC Park to State College, a 150 mile journey which takes three days. Participantsl carry the Special Olympic torch over the distance in an effort to shine light on the Special Olympics and to raise funds.
As the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run began on Route 22 Officer Kuzak was pushed in his wheelchair by his fellow Clairton officers, Chief Rob Hoffman, Sgt. Jim Corozza, Sgt. Joe Giles, Sgt. Keith Zenkovich, officer Dan Eberman, officer Brennan Jackson, officer Robert Pugar and officer John Skrip, along with runner John Dunlap.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run is Special Olympics' largest grassroots fund-raiser and public awareness vehicle in Pennsylvania. Thanks to the run, which brings donations through sponsorship of running departments, and other fund-raising events throughout the year, Special Olympics is free to participants.
The day of the run heat was oppressive, but the runners kept in their minds the Special Olympians, some of whom live in the city. The Clairton officers raised about $1,500 for the organization, a portion of the more than $57,000 generated by the torch run, which involves law enforcement from around the region and will end Thursday night in State College when thousands of athletes start the Summer Games.
And what of Officer Kuzak whose injuries could leave him permanently paralyzed? He and his family are encouraged by what he described as "walking sessions" in the past few days with the aid of braces. Although the road ahead remains full of uncertainties he returned home last month and requires regular physical therapy to build his upper body strength.
A not so stupid 68-year old: After being married fo 50 years, a fellow we know took a careful look at his wife one day and said to her, "Fifty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV. But I got to sleep every night with a gorgeous, hot 18-year-old girl.“
“Now ... I have a $500,000.00 home, a $35,000.00 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 68-year-old woman. It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of things."
The wife is a very reasonable woman. She told him to go out and find a hot 18-year-old girl and she would make sure that he would once again be living in a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10-inch black and white TV.
A little blogging music Maestro... “The Way We Were," By Barbara Streisand.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Third Annual Golf Outing: One of my proudest moments came recently when I saw the readers of this blog and Facebook gather together to lend their support to help CHS State Champs get their richly-deserved rings. The Bears Athletic Club has purchased capes for the players as they stand on the sidelines during freezing PA winters, uniforms to replace torn, tattered, and repaired ones that have long outlived their newness, food during road trips, and many other ways of helping. The Bears responded not only on the field but in the classroom where a third carry grade point averages of 3.5 or better. That is a testament to the players, their parents who encourage them, their coaches who monitor them, and the faculty who teach them as well as the administration and school board.
Now it is time to step up again. The annual fundraiser for the past few years has been a golf outing. This year it will take place July 9 at the 7 Springs Golf Course in Elizabeth. With the economy struggling the numbers of participants has also been down and there is still room for golfers and duffers. Money raised helps continue the proud CHS tradition of athletic and academic excellence that has been in place for more than a century.
If you are local and participate, sign up now. If you are not a golfer but would like to help, you may sponsor a hole, contribute items to be raffled, or send a check to help the program. All donors will be recognized during the buffet and prize raffle. Please contact CHS Athletic Director Anthony R. Ferrare at ferrarea@clairton.k12.pa.us or phone him at 412.233.9200 ext. 1116.
Clairton superstars continue to shine: Several members of the Bears State Championship team entered a seven-on-seven contest. Other schools participated and CHS beat some of the best talent from the biggest schools in the area. They dropped a game to TJ but were not eliminated and went on to win the tourney. The winner (CHS) of the tournament was beaten by their neighbor it was TJ who received an invitation to a seven-on-seven competition at the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas. A recent article in the local newspaper suggested that if TJ declined the offer, the Bears would be invited but there would be no money to send them. No invitation has been issued as of this writing.
Three standout Clairton players, however, were invited at the behest of the Gateway coach to attend an IMF John Madden all star game in Florida. This was an exciting honor as the trip would also serve as a college campus tour. The bus would stop at several campuses including Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, West Virginia and others. The local group of fundraisers provided the players with food and spending money and they took of earlt Thursday morning. By Thursday night they had seen U VA and were near the Duke campus when a tragedy occurred. On the way back to their hotel from dinner they crossed paths with some idiot hothead who was packing heat. He pulled the gun and fired blindly at the group, wounding two Gateway players, one fatally. Our boys were traumatized but not otherwise injured. What a sick tragedy.
Tragic gunplay victim a winner: Soldiers, fire fighters and police officers deserve special consideration. Jim Kuzak, Clairton police officer was rushing to the aid of a crime victim when he was shot. The 15-year police veteran who served in Peteers Township, Homestead, and Clairton was shot five times last April. He was shot twice in the bulletproof vest, once in his forearm, once in the side and once just above the vest, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Prior to the shooting Kuzak had planned to participate in a torch run with other law enforcement officers in an effort to raise money for the Special Olympics. Officer Kuzak didn’t let a little thing like getting shot deter him.
The shooting happened in April and Officer Kuzak has been wheelchair bound since. His goal was to hold the torch and travel 2.5 miles . His efforts have already helped raise a sizable sum. The full journey course goes from the PNC Park to State College, a 150 mile journey which takes three days. Participantsl carry the Special Olympic torch over the distance in an effort to shine light on the Special Olympics and to raise funds.
As the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run began on Route 22 Officer Kuzak was pushed in his wheelchair by his fellow Clairton officers, Chief Rob Hoffman, Sgt. Jim Corozza, Sgt. Joe Giles, Sgt. Keith Zenkovich, officer Dan Eberman, officer Brennan Jackson, officer Robert Pugar and officer John Skrip, along with runner John Dunlap.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run is Special Olympics' largest grassroots fund-raiser and public awareness vehicle in Pennsylvania. Thanks to the run, which brings donations through sponsorship of running departments, and other fund-raising events throughout the year, Special Olympics is free to participants.
The day of the run heat was oppressive, but the runners kept in their minds the Special Olympians, some of whom live in the city. The Clairton officers raised about $1,500 for the organization, a portion of the more than $57,000 generated by the torch run, which involves law enforcement from around the region and will end Thursday night in State College when thousands of athletes start the Summer Games.
And what of Officer Kuzak whose injuries could leave him permanently paralyzed? He and his family are encouraged by what he described as "walking sessions" in the past few days with the aid of braces. Although the road ahead remains full of uncertainties he returned home last month and requires regular physical therapy to build his upper body strength.
A not so stupid 68-year old: After being married fo 50 years, a fellow we know took a careful look at his wife one day and said to her, "Fifty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV. But I got to sleep every night with a gorgeous, hot 18-year-old girl.“
“Now ... I have a $500,000.00 home, a $35,000.00 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 68-year-old woman. It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of things."
The wife is a very reasonable woman. She told him to go out and find a hot 18-year-old girl and she would make sure that he would once again be living in a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10-inch black and white TV.
A little blogging music Maestro... “The Way We Were," By Barbara Streisand.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Winners and Winners
More Clairton Stars
AN EXCERPT FROM THIS SPACE ONE YEAR AGO:
“Hot Coles burns competition: Clairton High School has always had successful extra-curricular activities. The band, the majorettes (Honeybears), the athletic teams, and other representatives of activities from the student newspaper to the school yearbook have won awards. Athletics have played a large part in molding young leaders and athletes. Today we feature CHS sophomore sprinter Trenton Coles who has been winning races and being named the MVP at various meets all school year. He has running in his blood. Not only was his mother, the late Marla Puryear Smith one of the greatest sprinters in WPIAL history, his grandfather and part time coach Norman Jones was the 1971 PIAA champion of the 100 year dash at Clairton. Trent Coles was also the field goal kicker on the football team whose toe helped the Bears to the state championship. Thanks to blog reader and CHS Alumni Tom Nixon for the tip about Coles.”
One year later several tips poured regarding the performance of sprinter Coles. Thanks to Tom as well as Bob White, Don Taylor and the others who sent information about our hometown. So what has happened with Mr. Coles since last year?
First, he helped the Bears win a second state football championship and earned himself another state championship ring. As a sophomore he was the kicker, but as a junior Trenton played wide receiver and defensive back. That combination, combined with his speed, has Division I schools, salivating over the possibility of landing him as a recruit next year. Once football season was over Trenton started running – not for office, but for the finish line on the track. Of course, there is no track in to run on in Clairton so his practice time was limited. The CHS junior is still being coached by his grandfather, Norman Jones who won the PIAA gold 40 years ago. Young Trenton Coles is less than half the age of his Grandpa, but he won twice the gold – two gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. The state competition was held at Shippensburg University. Last week, while running the same event at the WPIAL championship, Coles won more gold as he set a record for the 200 meter event, running it in 21.69.
How rare is it for a PIAA gold medal to be awarded to a Clairton runner? The last one, before Coles, was his grandfather’s gold in 1971. The medals were awarded to Coles by his grandfather, making the event even more special. Trenton and his two brothers live with their grandpa and his wife, Shirley. Their mother passed away two years ago. She ran for Thomas Jefferson and won six gold medals during her reign in the 1980s. Trenton’s mom. Marla, is considered by many to be the best track athlete in the history of Western Pennsylvania. Three generations of gold medal winners! Imagine! What makes this story even more amazing is that Trenton Coles only practices 1-2 days per week. It is not because he is lazy or unmotivated, but because Clairton does not have a track so he must drive to TJ to practice on their track.
What does the future hold for Trenton Coles? Well first, of course, he has to finish high school. He is an excellent student and an outstanding football player. That combination has brought scholarship offers from Pitt and Big 10 powerhouse Wisconsin. Does his speed as a trackster help him as a football player? As mentioned above, his record setting win at the WPIAL finals broke a record that was set in 2005 by Tommie Campbell of Aliquippa. Campbell played for Pitt and was recently drafted by the Tennessee Titans. Yes, speed matters if you’re a wide receiver. At 6’3” and 173 lbs. Coles is the ideal size for a wide receiver. Coles-Puryear-Jones; a Clairton family.
Another kind of family running competition: The Coles-Puryear-Jones family has been running for four decades. The Tachoir-Grisnik family has run together only once – during the recent elections. Kathy Grisnik Tachoir came from the family whose business was baking. Grisniks served bread, cakes, pastries and other baked goods to generations of Clairton residents from their bakery on St. Clair Avenue. She married Roger Tachoir and they operate a successful auto body shop business on Twelfth Street in Clairton.
Community service is in the blood of this couple. Kathy’s father, the late Frank Grisnik, Jr. served on the Clairton School Board for more than two and a half decades. Kathy and Roger have spent 38 years in the auto business together. Kathy is an Accredited Auto Manager as well as a Licensed Automotive Appraiser. She has also served five terms as president of Clairton’s Chamber of Commerce and is the recipient of the All Star Award from the Regional Business Alliance. Kathy is a Clairton gal born and bred.
Roger Tachoir is a retired Clairton school teacher who has served on the school board for eight years. His public service also includes serving as president and vice president of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit Board, Steel Center Vo-Tech School Board, and Director of the Allegheny Health Consortium.
With 40 years of marriage and nearly that many of business and community service under their belts, Roger and Kathy decided to offer their expertise to the City of Clairton at the same time. During the recent elections Kathy ran for Ward 4 City Council and Roger ran for the Clairton School Board. Both were elected. We thank them for their contributions to the City of Clairton. Roger and Kathy Tachoir, a Clairton family.
A little blogging music Maestro: “Be Somebody,” by Paula Cole.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
www.mifflintownship.org
AN EXCERPT FROM THIS SPACE ONE YEAR AGO:
“Hot Coles burns competition: Clairton High School has always had successful extra-curricular activities. The band, the majorettes (Honeybears), the athletic teams, and other representatives of activities from the student newspaper to the school yearbook have won awards. Athletics have played a large part in molding young leaders and athletes. Today we feature CHS sophomore sprinter Trenton Coles who has been winning races and being named the MVP at various meets all school year. He has running in his blood. Not only was his mother, the late Marla Puryear Smith one of the greatest sprinters in WPIAL history, his grandfather and part time coach Norman Jones was the 1971 PIAA champion of the 100 year dash at Clairton. Trent Coles was also the field goal kicker on the football team whose toe helped the Bears to the state championship. Thanks to blog reader and CHS Alumni Tom Nixon for the tip about Coles.”
One year later several tips poured regarding the performance of sprinter Coles. Thanks to Tom as well as Bob White, Don Taylor and the others who sent information about our hometown. So what has happened with Mr. Coles since last year?
First, he helped the Bears win a second state football championship and earned himself another state championship ring. As a sophomore he was the kicker, but as a junior Trenton played wide receiver and defensive back. That combination, combined with his speed, has Division I schools, salivating over the possibility of landing him as a recruit next year. Once football season was over Trenton started running – not for office, but for the finish line on the track. Of course, there is no track in to run on in Clairton so his practice time was limited. The CHS junior is still being coached by his grandfather, Norman Jones who won the PIAA gold 40 years ago. Young Trenton Coles is less than half the age of his Grandpa, but he won twice the gold – two gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. The state competition was held at Shippensburg University. Last week, while running the same event at the WPIAL championship, Coles won more gold as he set a record for the 200 meter event, running it in 21.69.
How rare is it for a PIAA gold medal to be awarded to a Clairton runner? The last one, before Coles, was his grandfather’s gold in 1971. The medals were awarded to Coles by his grandfather, making the event even more special. Trenton and his two brothers live with their grandpa and his wife, Shirley. Their mother passed away two years ago. She ran for Thomas Jefferson and won six gold medals during her reign in the 1980s. Trenton’s mom. Marla, is considered by many to be the best track athlete in the history of Western Pennsylvania. Three generations of gold medal winners! Imagine! What makes this story even more amazing is that Trenton Coles only practices 1-2 days per week. It is not because he is lazy or unmotivated, but because Clairton does not have a track so he must drive to TJ to practice on their track.
What does the future hold for Trenton Coles? Well first, of course, he has to finish high school. He is an excellent student and an outstanding football player. That combination has brought scholarship offers from Pitt and Big 10 powerhouse Wisconsin. Does his speed as a trackster help him as a football player? As mentioned above, his record setting win at the WPIAL finals broke a record that was set in 2005 by Tommie Campbell of Aliquippa. Campbell played for Pitt and was recently drafted by the Tennessee Titans. Yes, speed matters if you’re a wide receiver. At 6’3” and 173 lbs. Coles is the ideal size for a wide receiver. Coles-Puryear-Jones; a Clairton family.
Another kind of family running competition: The Coles-Puryear-Jones family has been running for four decades. The Tachoir-Grisnik family has run together only once – during the recent elections. Kathy Grisnik Tachoir came from the family whose business was baking. Grisniks served bread, cakes, pastries and other baked goods to generations of Clairton residents from their bakery on St. Clair Avenue. She married Roger Tachoir and they operate a successful auto body shop business on Twelfth Street in Clairton.
Community service is in the blood of this couple. Kathy’s father, the late Frank Grisnik, Jr. served on the Clairton School Board for more than two and a half decades. Kathy and Roger have spent 38 years in the auto business together. Kathy is an Accredited Auto Manager as well as a Licensed Automotive Appraiser. She has also served five terms as president of Clairton’s Chamber of Commerce and is the recipient of the All Star Award from the Regional Business Alliance. Kathy is a Clairton gal born and bred.
Roger Tachoir is a retired Clairton school teacher who has served on the school board for eight years. His public service also includes serving as president and vice president of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit Board, Steel Center Vo-Tech School Board, and Director of the Allegheny Health Consortium.
With 40 years of marriage and nearly that many of business and community service under their belts, Roger and Kathy decided to offer their expertise to the City of Clairton at the same time. During the recent elections Kathy ran for Ward 4 City Council and Roger ran for the Clairton School Board. Both were elected. We thank them for their contributions to the City of Clairton. Roger and Kathy Tachoir, a Clairton family.
A little blogging music Maestro: “Be Somebody,” by Paula Cole.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
www.mifflintownship.org
Friday, April 1, 2011
Clairton and its Bears
It’s Clairton High School, the pride of every student here........
Three Amigos: Andy Nixon, CHS 60, Bob White CHS 60, Don Taylor CHS 49
I've read much about my old hometown of Clairton, PA. Opinion blogs have blasted the community as having no future. Media reports have damned it as having unsafe streets lined with vagrants and ne'r-do-wells. They were dissing the community where I had grown up. Clairton is a city that has deep roots to me - my parents built their house on an unpaved road in the late 1930s and early 1940s. They lived there their entire lives. My father worked for the City of Clairton for more than four decades and my mother taught school there. One of my siblings is a businesswoman nearby. So I had to spend a week there to see for myself what is going on.
Banner across Miller Avenue near Stadium
The occasion of my visit was also to see the local football team celebrate a state championship - their second in a row. Traditionally high school state champs are given a ring to commemorate their success. Times are tough in Clairton and the school district had no funds to purchase the rings so a booster group was established as The Clairton Athletic Championship Club in hopes of raising enough money to purchase rings for the players and staff. Community members and businesses gave what they were able but as the date for the awards banquet grew closer the goal seemed a bit too lofty in these difficult economic times. So the treasurer of the group contacted Beverly Alcorn whose Facebook page is read by many alumni. She contacted Don Taylor who contacted Bob White who contacted yours truly whose blog is read by hundreds more alumni. The result was that Clairton High School alumni from around the country and around the world, many of whom had not been back to Clairton for decades, responded to the clarion call. Thousands upon thousands of dollars poured in and the goal was met.
The trophy
Saturday, March 26, 2011 was proclaimed by Mayor Lattanzi to be "Clairton Bears Day" in the City of Clairton. A proclamation was given to each football player in an assembly at the school auditorium. But Clairton Bear Day started at noon with a parade that featured dignitaries including State Senator James R. Brewster (thanks Anna Marie) and State Representative Rick Saccone as well as School Board President Richard Livingston, the superintendant of schools, principals, and a host of other school employees. The band, Honeybears, cheerleaders, and others marched down Miller Avenue and Waddell to the school. In traditional Clairton fashion the route was lined with residents and several parade participants tossed candy to those who lined the way. That tradition has been in place for more than three quarters of a century.
Honneybears - Still the best
Prior to the parade I drove the streets of Clairton, Wilson, Newtown, and Coal Valley as I reflected on days gone by and tried to square the rumors and media reports that have permeated the press, talk radio, and the internet over the past decade or so. It is clear that Clairton is an economically depressed area. Yes, there are boarded up storefronts and homes. Yes, the mansion at the top of Mitchell Avenue, the Historic Home that was once the residence of the president of the mill has fallen into disrepair complete with a huge tree that has blown over in the sizeable back yard. Yes, all three movie houses are closed and even the Blue Bird has relocated to a town across the river. But there is also a credit side to the ledger.
WPIAL trophy
There is a spirit among the good people of Clairton that simply will not die. Churches offer strength and solitude to their congregations. Many a superb singer's voice can be heard wafting through the rafters on Sunday morning. New business have come to the community and several of the old ones, Russo's Hardware, Skapick's Department Store, Prince Printing among them have stayed. Then there is Bears Football. They actually lost a conference game - in 2005. Their statistics have been cited here before but the statistics I heard at the banquet were the most telling. One third of the team is performing academically at a "High Honors" level, meaning their grade point average is ABOVE 3.5 or A-. Another third of the team is performing at an honors level which places their grade point average above a 3.0 or B. Thirty-one percent are performing at an academic level of 2.5 or better, which means that 97% of this year's championship team are performing academically far above the standard requirement of 2.0
The archway. Signage by Don Taylor
A little blogging music Maestro… “Its Clairton High School,” by Clairton High School Marching Band
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Three Amigos: Andy Nixon, CHS 60, Bob White CHS 60, Don Taylor CHS 49
I've read much about my old hometown of Clairton, PA. Opinion blogs have blasted the community as having no future. Media reports have damned it as having unsafe streets lined with vagrants and ne'r-do-wells. They were dissing the community where I had grown up. Clairton is a city that has deep roots to me - my parents built their house on an unpaved road in the late 1930s and early 1940s. They lived there their entire lives. My father worked for the City of Clairton for more than four decades and my mother taught school there. One of my siblings is a businesswoman nearby. So I had to spend a week there to see for myself what is going on.
Banner across Miller Avenue near Stadium
The occasion of my visit was also to see the local football team celebrate a state championship - their second in a row. Traditionally high school state champs are given a ring to commemorate their success. Times are tough in Clairton and the school district had no funds to purchase the rings so a booster group was established as The Clairton Athletic Championship Club in hopes of raising enough money to purchase rings for the players and staff. Community members and businesses gave what they were able but as the date for the awards banquet grew closer the goal seemed a bit too lofty in these difficult economic times. So the treasurer of the group contacted Beverly Alcorn whose Facebook page is read by many alumni. She contacted Don Taylor who contacted Bob White who contacted yours truly whose blog is read by hundreds more alumni. The result was that Clairton High School alumni from around the country and around the world, many of whom had not been back to Clairton for decades, responded to the clarion call. Thousands upon thousands of dollars poured in and the goal was met.
The trophy
Saturday, March 26, 2011 was proclaimed by Mayor Lattanzi to be "Clairton Bears Day" in the City of Clairton. A proclamation was given to each football player in an assembly at the school auditorium. But Clairton Bear Day started at noon with a parade that featured dignitaries including State Senator James R. Brewster (thanks Anna Marie) and State Representative Rick Saccone as well as School Board President Richard Livingston, the superintendant of schools, principals, and a host of other school employees. The band, Honeybears, cheerleaders, and others marched down Miller Avenue and Waddell to the school. In traditional Clairton fashion the route was lined with residents and several parade participants tossed candy to those who lined the way. That tradition has been in place for more than three quarters of a century.
Honneybears - Still the best
Prior to the parade I drove the streets of Clairton, Wilson, Newtown, and Coal Valley as I reflected on days gone by and tried to square the rumors and media reports that have permeated the press, talk radio, and the internet over the past decade or so. It is clear that Clairton is an economically depressed area. Yes, there are boarded up storefronts and homes. Yes, the mansion at the top of Mitchell Avenue, the Historic Home that was once the residence of the president of the mill has fallen into disrepair complete with a huge tree that has blown over in the sizeable back yard. Yes, all three movie houses are closed and even the Blue Bird has relocated to a town across the river. But there is also a credit side to the ledger.
WPIAL trophy
There is a spirit among the good people of Clairton that simply will not die. Churches offer strength and solitude to their congregations. Many a superb singer's voice can be heard wafting through the rafters on Sunday morning. New business have come to the community and several of the old ones, Russo's Hardware, Skapick's Department Store, Prince Printing among them have stayed. Then there is Bears Football. They actually lost a conference game - in 2005. Their statistics have been cited here before but the statistics I heard at the banquet were the most telling. One third of the team is performing academically at a "High Honors" level, meaning their grade point average is ABOVE 3.5 or A-. Another third of the team is performing at an honors level which places their grade point average above a 3.0 or B. Thirty-one percent are performing at an academic level of 2.5 or better, which means that 97% of this year's championship team are performing academically far above the standard requirement of 2.0
The archway. Signage by Don Taylor
A little blogging music Maestro… “Its Clairton High School,” by Clairton High School Marching Band
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Athlete's Foot, Nose for Nickles and Dollars
Word to the wise:
If your feet smell and your nose runs, you’re upside down
Five ways to preserve our heritage
Preserving our heritage, One: For decades those of us who have lived in Clairton have smelled the odiferous compounds that emanated from the mills that lined the river. Then most of the mills went away leaving the Clairton Works and its 50-year old technology to spew toxins into the air; making the Clairton-Glassport area the third most polluted air-ea in the country, behind L.A. and St. Louis. Many of us ran for the hills and settled elsewhere but the sweet smell of quencher that needed to be wiped from the windshield while driving remains in our DNA.
Preserving our heritage, Two: One thing that never led to holding our noses was the Clairton High School football team. Over the years the rich culture of Clairton has seen a young man of Slavic heritage, Andy Berchock and Irish American Jim Kelly win All America honors, African-American Judge Dixon star at Minnesota and in the Rose Bowl game, son of Anglo-American Ron Lancaster become a legendary pro in Canada, and many, many more. In more recent years we have seen the Bears show their colors again by owning the WPIAL and in the past two consecutive years, winning the state championship. This year’s squad ran the opposition ragged by a total score of 702-34. That alone has to be some sort of record.
Preserving our heritage, Three: The sweet smell of victory. Typically professional teams who win the Super Bowl are rewarded with Super Bowl rings. College teams who win Bowl games are rewarded with Bowl rings, and high school teams who win state championships are rewarded with Championships rings. But in the case of the champion Clairton Bears, the school district ran out of money. Coaches agreed that the rings were deserved, so did the faculty and staff at the school. The community wanted no less for their team. Even the school board knew that the team deserved championship rings. But there simply was no money in the budget for non-academic spending.
Preserving our heritage, Four: A group of people who have the nose for making things right and call themselves the Clairton Athletic champions Club was cobbled together. It included a school board member and community members who decided that the Bears run to Hershey should be rewarded in the traditional way. So they took the ball and ran with it. It was no easy task. Money is tight in the best of times but in these troubled economic times it is often easier to squeeze the air from a football than to raise $11,000 for some fancy rings. The group pushed, pulled, and dragged every spare dollar they could find but time was running short and they’d just barely passed the halfway point to their goal. Enter the internet. Bev Alcorn, put out a clarion call on her Facebook page and yours truly sent out an S.O.S. on this blog. The call was literally heard around the world by current and former Clairton residents and CHS alumni. Checks began to pour in from Pennsylvania, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, California, the Carolinas…. Everywhere Clairton residents reside – and it turns out they live everywhere! Even non-residents who had never been in the city learned of the fund raiser through the wonders of electronic communication and chipped in. With more than a week to spare the goal has been met and with late checks still coming in it will be exceeded, with overflow monies going to other worthy targets such as new team jerseys and shoes.
Preserving our heritage, Five: Congratulations to all Clairton residents, non-residents and CHS alumni past and present for helping make the goal. Fundraising has moved a couple of inches in the scheme of things. Here is hoping it will move feet, yards, and miles in the future. Our community is economically depressed. Perhaps the response to the call that helped the football team become properly recognized will expand to restoring Clairton to the place it maintained in its glory days. Perhaps the example shown by people opening their hearts and wallets to the Bears this year will be shown in future development activities. Possibilities abound. But for now, thank you to each and every person who helped our team and their coaching staff get the recognition they earned. Keep your feet running and your nose smelling.
A little blogging music Maestro... “We Will rock You” by Queen.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
If your feet smell and your nose runs, you’re upside down
Five ways to preserve our heritage
Preserving our heritage, One: For decades those of us who have lived in Clairton have smelled the odiferous compounds that emanated from the mills that lined the river. Then most of the mills went away leaving the Clairton Works and its 50-year old technology to spew toxins into the air; making the Clairton-Glassport area the third most polluted air-ea in the country, behind L.A. and St. Louis. Many of us ran for the hills and settled elsewhere but the sweet smell of quencher that needed to be wiped from the windshield while driving remains in our DNA.
Preserving our heritage, Two: One thing that never led to holding our noses was the Clairton High School football team. Over the years the rich culture of Clairton has seen a young man of Slavic heritage, Andy Berchock and Irish American Jim Kelly win All America honors, African-American Judge Dixon star at Minnesota and in the Rose Bowl game, son of Anglo-American Ron Lancaster become a legendary pro in Canada, and many, many more. In more recent years we have seen the Bears show their colors again by owning the WPIAL and in the past two consecutive years, winning the state championship. This year’s squad ran the opposition ragged by a total score of 702-34. That alone has to be some sort of record.
Preserving our heritage, Three: The sweet smell of victory. Typically professional teams who win the Super Bowl are rewarded with Super Bowl rings. College teams who win Bowl games are rewarded with Bowl rings, and high school teams who win state championships are rewarded with Championships rings. But in the case of the champion Clairton Bears, the school district ran out of money. Coaches agreed that the rings were deserved, so did the faculty and staff at the school. The community wanted no less for their team. Even the school board knew that the team deserved championship rings. But there simply was no money in the budget for non-academic spending.
Preserving our heritage, Four: A group of people who have the nose for making things right and call themselves the Clairton Athletic champions Club was cobbled together. It included a school board member and community members who decided that the Bears run to Hershey should be rewarded in the traditional way. So they took the ball and ran with it. It was no easy task. Money is tight in the best of times but in these troubled economic times it is often easier to squeeze the air from a football than to raise $11,000 for some fancy rings. The group pushed, pulled, and dragged every spare dollar they could find but time was running short and they’d just barely passed the halfway point to their goal. Enter the internet. Bev Alcorn, put out a clarion call on her Facebook page and yours truly sent out an S.O.S. on this blog. The call was literally heard around the world by current and former Clairton residents and CHS alumni. Checks began to pour in from Pennsylvania, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, California, the Carolinas…. Everywhere Clairton residents reside – and it turns out they live everywhere! Even non-residents who had never been in the city learned of the fund raiser through the wonders of electronic communication and chipped in. With more than a week to spare the goal has been met and with late checks still coming in it will be exceeded, with overflow monies going to other worthy targets such as new team jerseys and shoes.
Preserving our heritage, Five: Congratulations to all Clairton residents, non-residents and CHS alumni past and present for helping make the goal. Fundraising has moved a couple of inches in the scheme of things. Here is hoping it will move feet, yards, and miles in the future. Our community is economically depressed. Perhaps the response to the call that helped the football team become properly recognized will expand to restoring Clairton to the place it maintained in its glory days. Perhaps the example shown by people opening their hearts and wallets to the Bears this year will be shown in future development activities. Possibilities abound. But for now, thank you to each and every person who helped our team and their coaching staff get the recognition they earned. Keep your feet running and your nose smelling.
A little blogging music Maestro... “We Will rock You” by Queen.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Get your Bear-Rings
CLAIRTON VIRUS RUNS RAMPANT
B.E.A.R. SYNDROME
The virus was first identified in Robert White, a Philadelphia attorney who had graduated from Clairton High School more than a half century ago. He had gone in for a routine physical and everything appeared to be normal, but something about the “normal” call made the head doctor toss a red flag onto the examining room floor, thereby challenging the ruling. After several excruciating minutes with the team of doctors looking at a frame-by-frame replay of the results a third doctor was called in to give the final analysis. Upon further review it was determined that the strange cells had traces of Bear DNA and instead of being red and white, they were orange and black.
When word of this anomaly was leaked to others who had grown up in Clairton and attended Clairton High School, a pattern began to appear. Doctors called it B.E.A.R.S., or Best Ever Alumni Reaffirmation Syndrome. Symptoms include Loyalty to Clairton High School, Memories of good times, Pride in the athletic and academic achievement of alumni, and a sincere Desire to keep the Clairton tradition healthy and successful. Nothing like this had ever been seen before. Medical journals scrambled to be the first to write an article about the new discovery. The internet became abuzz with stories of Clairton High School alumni who had settled in all corners of the planet to bring success, creativity, spirituality and happiness wherever they went. Bloggers couldn’t get enough of the stories of CHS alumni and the tradition that to this day continues at the high school.
CHS alumni have become scholars, college presidents, elected officials, inventors, professional athletes, winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor, mill workers, breadwinners, housewives… the list of successful would fill an entire library. And they all have the B.E.A.R.S.
Meanwhile, back at the corner of St. Clair and Miller Avenues, much has changed since the days when the Clairton Works generated more coke than any other mill in the world. Most of the mills in the area are gone, storefronts are vacant, the population has shrunk by more than 50% from the heyday, and the city has struggled with many of the same problems that have faced other communities in the wake of the loss of the steel industry. Clairton High School, which once boasted graduating classes of more than 300 and spawned the building of other area high schools, now has a total enrollment of fewer than 100.
But at least three things have not changed about the City of Prayer. First is the high school’s proud and true athletic program. The football program that sent such greats as Andy Berchock to North Carolina where he became an All American, Jim Kelly to Notre Dame where he did the same, Ron Lancaster to Canada where he became a legendary player and coach earning the moniker, “The Little General,” Judge Dickson who went to Minnesota and became the MVP of the Rose Bowl, and later an attorney and a judge, and so many more who got their start at CHS and made an impact on the world.
The second thing that hasn’t changed is the deep loyalty of Clairton residents past and present. Whether it is Mrs. Lancaster who is in her 90s and has rarely missed a game or the former athletes, Honeybears, and students who proudly wear their BEAR DNA on their sleeves, the B.E.A.R. Syndrome lives. Whether locals who have remained in the area or ex-pats whose legion is so strong in Florida, for example, that they have an annual Clairton Alumni Reunion there, the Clairton Nation is everywhere.
The third thing that remains the same at CHS is their commitment to excellence. CHS is no longer one of the wealthier schools in the area, and certainly is not one of the largest. Their football team no longer plays in the 6-A, 5-A, or even 4-A class. But it has never been about the class in which they play, it has always been about the class with which they play. CHS which won their first WPIAL championship in 1929, have won four of the last five WPIAL championships and have been Pennsylvania State champs for the past two seasons. It is an amazing, unprecedented run for any team.
And what of the Clairton Virus? How has it affected the town and where does it fit into the scheme of things? Officials at Clairton High School decided that the team that won two consecutive state championships should be recognized in a way that has become traditional throughout the country – with each player and coach being awarded a commemorative ring designed especially for the winners. The players and coaches deserved no less. But the problem arose with the reality of a budget that could not even afford new uniforms or shoes, let alone championship rings. However, in typical Clairton fashion, that became only a minor deterrent as a Board Member called upon the CHS boosters, community, and alumni for help. And did they respond! The Clairton Virus spread throughout the Clairton Nation. Beverly Alcorn contacted all her classmates, Vinnie Ross put out a call to all his CHS alum relatives, Ethel Colton, Anna Marie Bochter, Bob White, Ron and Adele Kunz, and so many, many more rallied to help raise the funds for the rings. Donations even poured in from non-alumni who appreciated the underdog champs.
At this writing the goal has been more than 80% met, but donations are still needed to complete the project. Last year the Clairton Athletic Champions Club was able to purchase capes for the players to keep them warm as they stand on the sidelines in frigid weather. Should the fundraising goal for the rings be exceeded this year, monies will be used to buy new travel uniforms to replace the torn, tattered, repaired ones that the team currently wears. If you are able to provide any amount, please send your donation to:
Clairton Athletic Champions Club
c/o Sue Wessel
512 N. Sixth Street
Clairton, PA 15025
A little blogging music Maestro: How about Queen’s “We are the Champions.”
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Saturday, February 19, 2011
City of Prayer, Champions, Winners
MORE FAMOUS CLAIRTONIANS
Before we get started: Let me remind you that if you have not yet made a contribution to the fund to help defray the cost of the Championship rings for CHS players and staff, there is still time to do so. A rendering of the ring as well as pertinent information regarding where to send the check or money order is in last week’s blog (see next blog below). To date more than half the goal has been reached. On behalf of Trustee Sue Wessell and the players, staff, and their families, I thank all who have contributed.
Attorney, Poet, Mayor of Clairton: For those who were Clairtonians in the “Good old days,” the name Lloyd H. Fuge is one that you will remember. Blind from the age of 15, the result of a chemical accident, Mr. Fuge became a prominent attorney and public servant in Clairton. He served as Councilman and sat at the helm as mayor for several years. Today Barrister Fuge is eighty years of age and still productive. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh and from its law school with honors and served on the speech faculty at University of Pittsburgh two years. Mr Fuge practiced law 37 years and as an author and lover of poetry, has been doing readings for the past seventeen years. Oh yes, his readings have also included philosophy, cosmology, astrophysics, physical science, bioscience and various religions.
Mr Fuge is married to Dorothy--who has also been blind most of her life. Their 51 year marriage has produced two daughters and three grandchildren. Lloyd once listed four goals to achieve in his lifetime; to teach philosophy, become a lawyer, become a minister, and write a book. The latter goal was realized recently when he released “Melodies of Life.” I found the book online at Barnes and Nobel and find it to be uplifting, tender, and a doggone good read. He claims to have been formulating the book for 60 years. It is a collection of 47 poems about his life and those around him. The book includes rhymed poems with stories of infancy, love sonnets, various poems on ethics and cosmology in free verse and reverie poems which reflect on memories of life and the expectation of death.
All in the family: La Donna Fuge, the daughter of Lloyd and Dorothy is a family practice physician in Wilkins township. Her mentor and close friend, another physician, passed away a few years ago of breast cancer. She drew strength from the strength of her colleague, Dr. Gloria Kasey shared the triumphs, failures, sadness and joy of her own life through a series of stories that comprise her first book, "LHF MD: Love Humor Faith: My Destiny -- The Making of a Modern Medical Woman." The fund supports a lecture series open to other physicians.
From Kasey's courage, Fuge drew the strength to share the triumphs, failures, sadness and joy of her own life through a series of stories that comprise her first book, "LHF MD: Love Humor Faith: My Destiny -- The Making of a Modern Medical Woman." Proceeds from the book benefit Forbes Health Foundation in honor of her friend and mentor.
Dr. Fuge learned a thing or two about perseverance from her parents. Her own life has not been without challenges. She had a brief marriage, flunked out of medical school after her first year, and lived out of her car for a period of time. She remarried but was unable to bear children so she adopted a daughter who lost her vision. She then adopted a son and got pregnant – only to miscarry.
She eventually was readmitted to medical school and met Dr. Kasey during her residency. Dr. Fuge admired Dr. Kasey's understanding of family practice and ability to see "not just something broken or some pill needed, but really seeing a patient on a personal level."
She wrote more than 100 stories over a 2-year period and culled 44 of them for her book.
That’s not all folks: A Clairton author is enjoying some success from his first science fiction thriller, and is working on a second in a series.
“The McKenzie Files” by Barry K. Nelson was published by Leucrota Press from California in August 2008. The paperback product is the first of three anticipated literary efforts from the 1977 Clairton High School graduate. The author hopes to continue writing books as a series. His second book in the series picks up where the first left off. He’s also planning a third; a prequel to the first book.
“The McKenzie Files” features a lot of classic sci-fi themes. A deadly virus, the Pandora Simplex, threatens to destroy Earth. A mad scientist, Dr. Howard Fenlow, is hell-bent on destruction and rising to power, and a group of super-powered humanoid weapons known as Reploids led by Colin McKenzie, Diane Christy and Kelly Lydton band together to thwart the scientist’s evil plans with their respective electric, super strength and fire capabilities. The book took about a year to write.
The author works at Giant Eagle in West Mifflin and draws inspiration from authors such as Stephen King and Ray Bradbury.
Networking works: As a boy in the booming 1950s steel town of Clairton, Ira Weiss worked in the small grocery store that his Eastern European immigrant grandfather, Harry Weiss, opened in the 1920s. His allowance was spent on baseball cards and at Pirates games at Forbes Field watching his favorite player, Roberto Clemente. Away from the park, his transistor radio was always at his ear to listen to Pirates announcer Bob Prince, whose colorful phrases and descriptions stirred his imagination.
His imagination also was sparked in a history class taught by Don Taylor at Clairton High School. The experience spurred a lifelong love of history and what he calls "intellectual curiosity."
After graduation, Mr. Weiss attended the University of Pittsburgh and then the Duquesne University School of Law, where he earned his law degree.
Harboring an interest in politics, he contacted attorney Lloyd Fuge, and got a job as a law clerk one summer; which eventually led to the establishment of the Fuge & Weiss law office. But the education Mr. Weiss received through his association with Mr. Fuge went beyond Mr. Fuge's work and reputation as a school district and municipal solicitor and mayor of Clairton.
Mr. Weiss drove the pair to meetings, where Mr. Fuge used an apparatus to create Braille cards. The next day Mr. Fuge would type the information on a Braille typewriter.
In 1979, he left Fuge & Weiss to form Goldman Weiss & Gross. From 1981 to 1992, he served as deputy county solicitor and was an adjunct professor of law at Duquesne from 1985 to 1992. In 1991, he opened the law offices of Ira Weiss and was the firm's only lawyer.
Beginning in 2005, and every year since, he was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for his career accomplishments by "Law & Politics" and "Philadelphia Magazine," based on peer polling, research and a candidate credential review process.
Another Clairton Wordsmith: Can you say prolific? Joyce Milton was an author who just kept writing biographies. Her subjects included the life and times of such luminaries as Charles Lindberg and wife Anne Morrow, George Washington, Hillary Clinton, Martin Luther King, Jr., Pocahontas, convicted spies Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg, Indian guide Sacajawea, Olympic diver Greg Louganis, Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, Charlie Chaplin, Ronald Reagan, and others. She wrote children’s books and books about dinosaurs, gorillas, bees, bears, bats, cats, wolves, whales and mummies. She wrote books for children, teens, and adults. Joyce was one of the most versatile and prolific writers of our time. And oh yes, she is a Clairtonian. Born and raised. Graduated CHS in ’63 and attended Swarthmore, one of the prestigious “Sister Schools,” then earned a Master degree in Library Science from New York’s Pratt Institute. She lived and wrote in Brooklyn for most of her career then returned to the Clairton area to care for her parents when her mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her mom passed away a year ago last November and the world lost Joyce four months later, also of cancer. Joyce Milton, Clairton girl.
A little blogging Maestro… “My Little Town” by Simon and Garfunkle
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Before we get started: Let me remind you that if you have not yet made a contribution to the fund to help defray the cost of the Championship rings for CHS players and staff, there is still time to do so. A rendering of the ring as well as pertinent information regarding where to send the check or money order is in last week’s blog (see next blog below). To date more than half the goal has been reached. On behalf of Trustee Sue Wessell and the players, staff, and their families, I thank all who have contributed.
Attorney, Poet, Mayor of Clairton: For those who were Clairtonians in the “Good old days,” the name Lloyd H. Fuge is one that you will remember. Blind from the age of 15, the result of a chemical accident, Mr. Fuge became a prominent attorney and public servant in Clairton. He served as Councilman and sat at the helm as mayor for several years. Today Barrister Fuge is eighty years of age and still productive. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh and from its law school with honors and served on the speech faculty at University of Pittsburgh two years. Mr Fuge practiced law 37 years and as an author and lover of poetry, has been doing readings for the past seventeen years. Oh yes, his readings have also included philosophy, cosmology, astrophysics, physical science, bioscience and various religions.
Mr Fuge is married to Dorothy--who has also been blind most of her life. Their 51 year marriage has produced two daughters and three grandchildren. Lloyd once listed four goals to achieve in his lifetime; to teach philosophy, become a lawyer, become a minister, and write a book. The latter goal was realized recently when he released “Melodies of Life.” I found the book online at Barnes and Nobel and find it to be uplifting, tender, and a doggone good read. He claims to have been formulating the book for 60 years. It is a collection of 47 poems about his life and those around him. The book includes rhymed poems with stories of infancy, love sonnets, various poems on ethics and cosmology in free verse and reverie poems which reflect on memories of life and the expectation of death.
All in the family: La Donna Fuge, the daughter of Lloyd and Dorothy is a family practice physician in Wilkins township. Her mentor and close friend, another physician, passed away a few years ago of breast cancer. She drew strength from the strength of her colleague, Dr. Gloria Kasey shared the triumphs, failures, sadness and joy of her own life through a series of stories that comprise her first book, "LHF MD: Love Humor Faith: My Destiny -- The Making of a Modern Medical Woman." The fund supports a lecture series open to other physicians.
From Kasey's courage, Fuge drew the strength to share the triumphs, failures, sadness and joy of her own life through a series of stories that comprise her first book, "LHF MD: Love Humor Faith: My Destiny -- The Making of a Modern Medical Woman." Proceeds from the book benefit Forbes Health Foundation in honor of her friend and mentor.
Dr. Fuge learned a thing or two about perseverance from her parents. Her own life has not been without challenges. She had a brief marriage, flunked out of medical school after her first year, and lived out of her car for a period of time. She remarried but was unable to bear children so she adopted a daughter who lost her vision. She then adopted a son and got pregnant – only to miscarry.
She eventually was readmitted to medical school and met Dr. Kasey during her residency. Dr. Fuge admired Dr. Kasey's understanding of family practice and ability to see "not just something broken or some pill needed, but really seeing a patient on a personal level."
She wrote more than 100 stories over a 2-year period and culled 44 of them for her book.
That’s not all folks: A Clairton author is enjoying some success from his first science fiction thriller, and is working on a second in a series.
“The McKenzie Files” by Barry K. Nelson was published by Leucrota Press from California in August 2008. The paperback product is the first of three anticipated literary efforts from the 1977 Clairton High School graduate. The author hopes to continue writing books as a series. His second book in the series picks up where the first left off. He’s also planning a third; a prequel to the first book.
“The McKenzie Files” features a lot of classic sci-fi themes. A deadly virus, the Pandora Simplex, threatens to destroy Earth. A mad scientist, Dr. Howard Fenlow, is hell-bent on destruction and rising to power, and a group of super-powered humanoid weapons known as Reploids led by Colin McKenzie, Diane Christy and Kelly Lydton band together to thwart the scientist’s evil plans with their respective electric, super strength and fire capabilities. The book took about a year to write.
The author works at Giant Eagle in West Mifflin and draws inspiration from authors such as Stephen King and Ray Bradbury.
Networking works: As a boy in the booming 1950s steel town of Clairton, Ira Weiss worked in the small grocery store that his Eastern European immigrant grandfather, Harry Weiss, opened in the 1920s. His allowance was spent on baseball cards and at Pirates games at Forbes Field watching his favorite player, Roberto Clemente. Away from the park, his transistor radio was always at his ear to listen to Pirates announcer Bob Prince, whose colorful phrases and descriptions stirred his imagination.
His imagination also was sparked in a history class taught by Don Taylor at Clairton High School. The experience spurred a lifelong love of history and what he calls "intellectual curiosity."
After graduation, Mr. Weiss attended the University of Pittsburgh and then the Duquesne University School of Law, where he earned his law degree.
Harboring an interest in politics, he contacted attorney Lloyd Fuge, and got a job as a law clerk one summer; which eventually led to the establishment of the Fuge & Weiss law office. But the education Mr. Weiss received through his association with Mr. Fuge went beyond Mr. Fuge's work and reputation as a school district and municipal solicitor and mayor of Clairton.
Mr. Weiss drove the pair to meetings, where Mr. Fuge used an apparatus to create Braille cards. The next day Mr. Fuge would type the information on a Braille typewriter.
In 1979, he left Fuge & Weiss to form Goldman Weiss & Gross. From 1981 to 1992, he served as deputy county solicitor and was an adjunct professor of law at Duquesne from 1985 to 1992. In 1991, he opened the law offices of Ira Weiss and was the firm's only lawyer.
Beginning in 2005, and every year since, he was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for his career accomplishments by "Law & Politics" and "Philadelphia Magazine," based on peer polling, research and a candidate credential review process.
Another Clairton Wordsmith: Can you say prolific? Joyce Milton was an author who just kept writing biographies. Her subjects included the life and times of such luminaries as Charles Lindberg and wife Anne Morrow, George Washington, Hillary Clinton, Martin Luther King, Jr., Pocahontas, convicted spies Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg, Indian guide Sacajawea, Olympic diver Greg Louganis, Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, Charlie Chaplin, Ronald Reagan, and others. She wrote children’s books and books about dinosaurs, gorillas, bees, bears, bats, cats, wolves, whales and mummies. She wrote books for children, teens, and adults. Joyce was one of the most versatile and prolific writers of our time. And oh yes, she is a Clairtonian. Born and raised. Graduated CHS in ’63 and attended Swarthmore, one of the prestigious “Sister Schools,” then earned a Master degree in Library Science from New York’s Pratt Institute. She lived and wrote in Brooklyn for most of her career then returned to the Clairton area to care for her parents when her mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her mom passed away a year ago last November and the world lost Joyce four months later, also of cancer. Joyce Milton, Clairton girl.
A little blogging Maestro… “My Little Town” by Simon and Garfunkle
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Bears need a boost
Clairton Needs You
Clairton and Oldies: Few things grab my attention more than Clairton and oldies. Sometimes the two combine in my mind. Such was the case with a spate of recent emails. The words of a Neil Diamond song rang in my head, “Startin' soft and slow like a small earthquake... And when he lets go half the valley shakes…” That is how this whole thing started. But let’s roll the picture back a few months and start with a flashback of the beginning of football season.
The previous season the Clairton Bears football team had had their most successful season in recent years, winning the WPIAL again and state championship for the first time ever. They were about to embark on their 2010 season. They knew they were good but were not sure just how good they would be nor how strong their opponents would be. They soon found out, rolling over team after team until they won an unprecedented second state championship.
Startin’ soft and low, like a small earthquake: I recently received an email from CHS alum Bob White. He included a letter from CHS alum and teacher Don Taylor. Later the same day I heard from classmate Adele Kunz and Valerie DeBellis. Then I heard from another alum and another, and so it went, all with the same theme; PLEASE HELP THE BEARS!
The gist of the letters was that CHS would like to purchase championship rings for the players and coaches but there was no money budgeted to do so. School Board member Sue Wessel spearheaded a movement to collect donations. Two years ago she was instrumental in creating a golf tournament to raise money for CHS athletics. This year the efforts have been expanded to help defray the cost of the rings. Each recipient has already paid a portion and the fundraising efforts will pay the balance. If the goal is exceeded, monies will be put toward the purchase of white game jerseys.
The fundraising goal for the rings is a little under $11,000. By my fuzzy math that would be about $1.00 for every living CHS alum, so the goal is doable. My plea is that each alum and Clairton resident past and present make a donation. Each ring costs about $200 and if you are able to purchase one or more, your donation will be graciously accepted. Otherwise, please send what you can. Send a check or money order to:
Clairton Athletic Champions Club
c/o Sue Wessel
512 N. Sixth Street
Clairton, PA 15025
Last year the school district was able to purchase orange game jerseys and the fundraising group purchased sideline capes for inclement weather protection. The club also pays for food for the team when it travels long distances.
An awards banquet will be on March 26, 2011 and the rings will be presented. That day a parade will begin to assemble about 11:30 and at 12:00 noon march from the stadium on Miller Avenue to the High School where an assembly for the team will be held. At 6:00 pm the awards banquet will be held at the Ascension Hall on Park Avenue.
A Clairton tale: A man in Topeka, Kansas decided to write a book about Churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and began working east from there.
At one particular very large church, he began taking photographs and noticed a golden telephone on the vestibule wall with a sign which read "Calls: $10,000 a minute."
Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone. The pastor answered that this golden phone is a direct line to heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to God.
The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way. He visited churches in Seattle, Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and throughout the United States and discovered more phones, with the same sign and got the same answer from each pastor. Golden phone. Calls $10,000 per minute, directly to God.
Finally, he arrived in Pennsylvania and went off the beaten path and somehow ended up at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Clairton where he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read "Calls: $0.35 cents."
Curious, he asked to speak to the pastor, "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only $0.35 cents a call. Why?"
The pastor smiled and replied, "Son, you're in Clairton, Pennsylvania now; home of the Clairton Bears; four straight WPIAL titles, two state championships, home of the Honeybears, top notch marching band, 20 churches to choose from… friendliest people in the world! We’ve been humbled but never broken. You're in the City of Prayer, God's Country. From here it's a local call."
Wonders of the net: While we are on the subject of CHS, many graduating classes have stayed in touch over the years. None has done so more than my own CHS class of 1960. A core group of class leaders has arranged a reunion every five years. In addition, Anna Marie Bochter has been diligent in maintaining our class web site http://www.clairton1960.com/ and our class has taken an active role in helping with the annual multi-class reunion held each year at Clairton Park.
Comments and questions: At the bottom of each post is a place for comments. Each comment must first be moderated to see if it is legitimate, as many are inappropriate. Until I approve comments for publication they are seen only by me. However, the process for leaving comments is cumbersome and awkward and there is no mechanism for me to respond to questions in the comments section. Thus, if you have a particular question about one of the blog posts, be sure to leave an email address and I will respond. Several questions have been addressed about past posts, especially those about former Clairton resident Annabelle Bucar and other high interest topics. I respond to every email.
Oddz and enz: Catching up on several Clairton tidbits I offer you the following: The Pittsburgh Athletic Association on recently named Rushel Shell of Hopewell and Desimon Green of Clairton winners of its Mercury Award, given annually to the WPIAL's top football player… Clairton City middle and high school students might become eligible to get a private school education on the state's dime if a tuition voucher plan announced recently is signed into law… OSHA fined U.S. Steel and one of its contractors, Power Piping Co. of Etna, $143,000 for safety violations in connection with a July 14 explosion at the Clairton Coke Works that injured 20 workers… Clairton native and jazz musician Lee Robinson loves working with kids at an area museum, teaching them about the origin of sound and music making… CHS Grad Mike Super (Supernovich) was named Entertainer of the Year by the International Magicians Society. He was presented with the Merlin Award during a performance in South Carolina.
A little blogging music Maestro… “My Hometown” by Bruce Springsteen.
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Thanks to Jim Hartman for tech support
www.mifflintownship.org
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