Another Clairton Success Story

Clairton lad with style

One of Clairton’s stalwart families: If you grew up in Clairton anytime past the World War II era you remember the Julian families. They were civic-minded people who provided community service, were in business, and worked in the steel mills. One of the Julians had a son in the early 1960s. Dad worked in the steel mills as an electrician but like so many parents in Clairton, wanted something better for his son. Tom wanted something better too. After graduating from parochial school he earned a scholarship to Robert Morris University. Just as he had done as a youth, and would continue to do as an adult, Tom Julian reached beyond his grasp. He majored in Marketing.

Marketing? The common sense thing to do would be to major in something that could perhaps get him a white-hat (management) job in the mill. But Marketing?

It is said that giftedness in a human being is the ability to look at something and see something else. Perhaps that is what Tom saw when he enrolled in the Intro to Marketing course. Perhaps he saw a world far beyond Clairton that was his for the taking. To help pay his way through college Tom took a job in a Men’s Fashion store in Century III mall called the Proving Ground. Although it was just a part time job, new possibilities began to develop in the mind of young Tom. He was fascinated by style and fashion and used what he learned to his advantage in the classroom.

He could see that he needed to expand his horizons in the fashion industry if he planned a career in the field so as a senior he secured an unpaid internship at Pittsburgh’s Preview Magazine. That experience expanded his knowledge in business and women’s fashion but it cost him about $20 per day in transportation to donate his time! No problem, it was just one more tuition to pay.

By 1984 as graduation neared he took a job as assistant store manager at the Gucci store in downtown Pittsburgh’s Oxford Centre. The following year he took a position at the Barchetti Shops; the store became his classroom and its owner his professor

Those of us who have roots in Clairton have had those roots fertilized with hard work. We might not have known the term “multi-tasking,” but we sure knew how to do it. Most Clairtonians who became successful did so with hard work and multiple challenges. It was no different with Tom Julian. While working at the retail stores he continued his internship at Preview magazine. The work he did, his versatility, and the contacts he made led to an invitation to the Men's Fashion Association Press Preview in Atlanta. The Association was so impressed with young Mr. Julian that they offered him the position of assistant fashion director in their Madison Avenue offices in New York. From there he moved to Fallon Worldwide, an international advertising agency as a trend analyst. His clients included Nordstrom, Lee Jeans, Starbucks, United Airlines, Citibank and BMW. He moved to another agency, McCann-Erickson then opened his own firm, Tom Julian Group.

By this time trend expert Tom Julian proudly launched Tom Julian Group. He was able to transfer his skills into the marketing arena, as a cutting edge guru of lifestyle, culture and entertainment. Tom was able to market many industries including retail, financial, automotive and hospitality.

Of course, his “instant success” took more than 20 years to achieve, but every one was a learning year.

I asked Tom to share some of his memories of Clairton and these are his reflections:

"MY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF CLAIRTON ARE ELEMENTS THAT MADE IT A VIBRANT CITY AS WELL AS COMMUNITY. THE INDEPENDENT SHOPS ALONG MILLER AVE. AND ST. CLAIR. THE SPECTRUM OF CLOTHING STORES -- CMARADA'S, SKAPIK'S, HARRIS SHOP, DICESARE'S, AS WELL AS ISALY'S AND THE RECORD SHOP. AND THAT WE HAD A GREAT SPORTS SHOP TOO. IN ADDITION, WE HAD JEWELRY FR TEPERS, FURNITURE AT BELAIR, MOVIE THEATERS AND CHAINS LIKE G.C. MURPHY AND THRIFT DRUG.

ALWAYS ENJOYED GOING TO THE LIBRARY FOR SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS. THOUGHT THAT IT HAD SOME OF THE BEST -- A CHILDREN'S FLOOR AS WELL AS ALL THE RESEARCH NEEDED TO COMPLETE PROJECTS.

THE COMMUNITY REALLY CAME TO LIFE THROUGH CLAIRTON PARK IN THE SUMMER AT THE POOL AS WELL AS HOLIDAYS WITH PROGRAMS AND FIREWORKS. AS WELL AS SO MANY OF THE BUSINESSES WERE FAMILY-OWNED AND WE KNEW ALL THE FAMILIES -- GRISNIK'S FOR BAKERY, RUSSO'S FOR HARDWARE, LIVINGSTON'S FOR DRUGS, BRAUM'S FOR GROCERY, JULIOT'S FOR PIZZA AND MORE.

THIS CITY WAS A RESULT OF CLAIRTON STEEL WORKS BUT THE PEOPLE HELPED TO MAKE IT MORE OF A COMMUNITY..."

From fashionista to trend analyst to self-employed guru to author, Tom’s debut in the book world, Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Style was a huge success. His book was so successful that he was urged to write a follow-up book, Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Everyday Dressing.

Tom is also a commentator for the web site Oscar.com. For more information on Tom Julian and his company, visit www.tomjuliangroup.com. Also, you may follow him on Twitter @tomjuliangroup for updates! To purchase his first book, visit www.amazon.com.

Tom Julian, Clairton boy.

A little blogging music Maestro... My Little Town by Simon and Garfunkel.

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com

Of Scientists and Educators

Clairton Successes

Clairton yields failures? Anybody who reads the paper or listens to the airwaves in the greater Pittsburgh area has heard it. Clairton is home to a bunch of losers. Being a minority in Clairton is a double whammy. That’s the way is it and that’s the way it always will be. No consideration is made for the young men on the two-time state championship football team who will go on to college and earn degrees. No consideration is made for the dozens of this year’s grads who will go on to community college, university, or other post-secondary schooling. Many would rather believe the stereotypes.

But suppose a poor minority lad was born and raised in the poorest section of town. Let’s further assume this lad’s parents had little schooling themselves. Say the kid was a good football layer AND a good student as well as a bit of a rabble rouser. You know the type. The kind of kid who, along with a few of his fellow jocks made trouble for the school administration and caused them to open up the cheerleading squad to all races. The administration would be happy when he graduated and took his football swagger to Washington and Jefferson.

But let’s say once he got to college and a coach wanted to put him into typical “jock” classes, he refused and instead demanded to take the most challenging courses that the “other kids” were taking. Maybe this type of student would return home during the summer and along with eight fellow students, press U.S. Steel for employment. Finally, this young man would graduate with honors and a stellar career on the field as well as in leadership roles in student government. Such a resume would make him a no-brainer to hire, one would think. He chose to be a scientist because he did not see other black scientists. Finding a company to hire him would prove to be daunting but he would persevere.

The year was 1932, the young man was Walter Cooper and in his own words, “I looked around and I saw black doctors, black lawyers, but no black scientists. I chose that as a challenge.” He went on to receive advanced degrees including a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Rochester in 1956 and was quickly snatched up by Eastman Kodak Company as a research scientist and continued to work there for the next thirty years, earning three patents and publishing many research documents.

Dr. Cooper not worked as a scientist by day but was also heavily involved in community development and civil rights issues, particular on those that involved educational opportunities and motivation. He saw business and enterprise as a means to achieve equal opportunity. His efforts earned him numerous awards including an honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, W&J. Just a few of his many honors and distinctions include serving as the Chairman of the Education Committee of the NAACP, Chairman of the Urban League’s education sub-committee, Board of Trustees at Washington and Jefferson, Regent of the State of New York, Board of Directors of the Genesee Hospital and Rochester General Hospital, and a list of other leadership roles and awards. Clairton High School should require the reading of Dr. Cooper’s papers mandatory reading. His oft-quoted comment, “Not to educate a child is the worst form of child abuse,” sums up Dr. Cooper’s philosophy. Dr. William Cooper, Clairton lad. But wait, there’s more, an elementary school was recently named in his honor and my best guess is that he is the only Clairtonian who has been named Chevalier of The Republic of Mali.

Another Clairton athlete: Dr. Cooper is not the only successful athlete to hail from Clairton. There have been legions of every race, color, gender, and creed. One such athlete is Nikki Soich, an accomplished equestrian and horse trainer whose horse recently participated in the Pan American games and is a contender to take part in the Olympics. Nikki Soich, Clairton lass.

Clairton Schools: A changing of the guard will occur in the Clairton schools. Superintendent Lucille Abellonio will retire from the district on June 29 after four decades in education. She became assistant superintendent of Clairton in 2007 and became superintendent a year later. Under her leadership about 34 percent of the district's students have met or exceeded state standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. She will be replaced by Wade Killmeyer, 53, area superintendent of Avella and former superintendent of Washington County. Killmeyer holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Duquesne University, a masters in secondary math from Slippery Rock University, a masters in English literature from the University of Maryland, a bachelor's in computer science and a bachelor's in math, both from the University of Pittsburgh.

Clairton passings: Among those Clairtonians who passed on this week are Frank Mincone, age 82, John Gimliano, 92, Raymond Sisco, 92, and John Hemenic, 92.
A little blogging music Maestro.... “Be True to Your School” by the Beachboys.


Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com

Remembering Clairton

I have a hard time letting go...

Clairton will always be my hometown: I was born during World War II… you remember that era; it was in all the papers. I grew up in Clairton during the 1940s and 1950s and as my not-so-stellar high school career was winding down I yearned to be ABC; Anywhere but Clairton. College was not in MY plans, but I did not make the plans, my father did. And he decreed that despite my desires (which did not factor into the decision) and my disdain for post-secondary education, I WOULD attend college. Thus, when a classmate told me about her plans to attend college some 2,000 miles away from the City of Prayer, I decided to apply to the same school. The only thing I knew about the school was its name was 22 letters long (Brigham Young University) and that Provo, Utah was far away from Clairton, PA.

Four years on the Wasatch Front: BYU is located between two mountain ranges. There is a giant block letter Y halfway up the mountain that freshmen are required to whitewash each year. The campus is beautiful as is the surrounding area. I did not come home the summer after my freshman year and came home only briefly the summer after my sophomore year as I prepared to attend a semester at a small sister college of BYU located in Laie, Hawaii. After college I spent a few years in Idaho and Utah before settling in Las Vegas in the late 1960s and have lived there ever since.

The romance of living away: My three sisters attended college in Eastern PA. One settled in Hershey and the other two in the greater Pittsburgh area so when I returned home to visit I had many tales to regale the family with of my adventures out west. One time, while living in Pocatello, Idaho I drove back for a visit. By this time I’d gone western complete with boots, jeans, and a shirt that snapped instead of buttoned.

During the 1950s and 60s if one did not have a car several means of transportation were available: shoe-leather express, the bus, or thumbing a ride. As I was driving through McKeesport en route to home I saw a classmate hitch-hiking on the corner so I stopped for him. He looked at me and said, “Andy... is that you?” I nodded and he asked where I’d been for the past several years and I replied that I was currently living in Idaho. To which he replied, “IDAHO!!!? Where the Hell’s Idaho?” It was always fun to return to visit family and friends but I was “an easterner by birth but a westerner by choice.

The price of living away: As I aged and matured, reared a family and settled into my life in the west, and became my own person, I felt comfortable. The air was clean, the weather was warm, opportunities abounded that would never have been open to me had I stayed in Clairton. Life was good. But there was a downside. My children would never get to know their cousins, family matters were generally decided without my input, and simple things that one takes for granted such as stopping by the home of a family member for coffee and a chat were impossible. As my parents aged my concerns about things like my elderly father driving and the safety of my parents in the old neighborhood weighed heavily on my mind. I began to return home more frequently to visit them and reassure myself that everything was ok. First the cross-country trips took place every six months, then every other month, and eventually two or three times per month.

The decade of the 2000s were the worst. Six months to the day after 9/11 my 87-year old father passed away on my grandson’s birthday. Two years later my daughter passed away unexpectedly and two years after that my mother died during her 91st year. It was during that time that Clairton began tugging at my soul and I began to write this blog.

Blogging as therapy: Writing about my hometown was cathartic. It somehow atoned for all the time I’d spent away while my community of birth was losing its soul. Time had not been kind to Clairton. The once proud, bustling community of 20,000 and home to four movie theaters and a dozen or so car dealerships, the only area high school with a swimming pool, a top notch education system, good paying job opportunities for its citizens, a football team, and award-winning band that were the envy of the Monongahela Valley was dealt blow after blow. Mills closed cutting off the economic lifeblood of the area, businesses closed, those who were able left, and the population dwindled. My efforts were intended to keep the memory of the halcyon days of Clairton alive while respecting the community that still exists.

Down but not out: Clairton was deeply wounded by socio-economic changes but it simply refused to die. The Chamber of Commerce found creative ways to provide help, community members continued to serve on City commissions and school boards, and the football team rose from the ashes like a phoenix to become a state powerhouse. My most recent involvement was to help spread the word that the school needed to raise money to purchase championship rings for a team that had won unprecedented back-to-back state titles. My blog readers answered the call for help and in a short amount of time had exceeded the fundraising goal by more than $3,000.00; no easy feat especially in these difficult economic times.

 

Time flies: Just as the past 50 years since I left Clairton has flown by for me so has the past year flown by. On this date one year ago I wrote the following:

“The year 1917 is ancient history to most of us. U.S. enters World War I, the U.S. bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million, San Francisco launched its streetcars, illegal immigration bill was fought in Congress (regarding Chinese), Russian Revolution begins, Congress passes excessive profits tax on corporations, Raggedy Ann doll invented, women given the vote in New York, Father Flanagan forms Boys Town, and most members of the Clairton High School class of 1935 are born.”

Jennie Peterson, with the help of daughter Diane, helped to organize a 75th high school reunion of the class of 1935. My classmate, Anna Marie Bochter, a crucial component of the annual Clairton reunions, sent the photos of those proud lads and lasses who at age 18 could not envision celebrating their 75th reunion.

A little blogging music Maestro... “My Hometown,” by Bruce Springsteen

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Still Clairton after all these years
The more things change: After last week’s blog I received an email that suggested Clairton had changed since the writer had graduated. Duuuuh. Imagine this: The CHS Class of 1961 is about to have their 50th high school reunion. When they were graduating the Class of 1911 was having their 50th if indeed there was a 50th for them. Clairton in 1911 was barely a decade old as a borough and was still a decade away from becoming incorporated as a third class city. Thousands of men, including many eastern European immigrants were moving in to work in the newly built steel mills. Central Park had been bulldozed to make way for the new blast furnaces, and the residents who had lived there for generations were certain the town was going to hell. World War I had not yet begun. George Santayana’s famous quote, “Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it” is but one motivation to review the history of our community.

Clairton’s mayoral history: W. B. Farnsworth was Clairton’s first mayor elected in 1922. Robert W. Ostermayer served as mayor from 1934-37 and led the city through the beginning of the Great Depression. He was followed by John J. Mullen Mullen in 1938 who would serve at the helm through the end of the Depression and world War II as well as the early part of the Korean War, serving from 1938-1953. After Mayor Mullen came football great Ken Stilley (’54 – ’61, Robert F. Stokes, ’62 – ’65, Robert Baird, ’66 – ’69, and John J. Matz, ’70 – ’73.

Mayor Matz was followed by attorney Lloyd Fuge, ’74 – ’77 who had been blind since his youth but to this day, writes poetry, and the first woman mayor with my all-time favorite name, Rose Bush until 1983. It is interesting to note that there had been no mayors of Italian heritage up to that point but the five mayors who followed Mayor Bush were all Italian-American.

A little more history: At the corner of St. Clair Ave. and State Street where the gas station was located for years stood the Wylie farmhouse. The barn, half stone and half frame, stood diagonally across State Street. There was a spring house of stone that was supplied by an underground spring that ran downward from the bottom of Waddell Ave. to State Street on property owned by Frank Arch. My grandparents purchased a couple of acres of land from Mr. Arch in about 1915. The property abutted Park Avenue and was located on Arch Street, one block up from State Street. It was hilly and overgrown and they had to clear it and dig part of the hillside away in order to be able to build. Once the house was built the family would have to pull up the floors every year to divert the spring water. The water was piped across the railroad tracks and served as the main source of drinking water for the men who built the open hearth and later for the men who worked there. Such was the method of obtaining drinking water for years until a series of wells were drilled in the plant for drinking fountains.


Clairton and patriotism: The Clairton community has always been a patriotic one and its citizens have been represented in every war in which the U.S. has been involved. During the French and Indian hostilities Clairton stood as a bulwark between the settlements and the Indians. Area cemeteries house graves of soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary war and the war of 1812. The Clairton community was represented in the Mexican-American war, the Civil War, and the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II. For years a Roll of Honor stood proudly at the corner of Miller and St. Clair Avenues. Today a monument to heroes of more recent wars stands in front of the Municipal Building.


Early commerce: Although we think of Miller and St. Clair Avenues as the main streets in Clairton Park Avenue was the main street of business in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Businesses that stood proudly on Park Avenue included Wilson’s grocery store, Bennet’s pharmacy, Beehive Dry Goods, Glenn’s Furniture Store, two additional frames, one of which served as a school. School rooms were also located in the Clairton Carnegie Library and the basement of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Bedell’s feed store was located on St. Clair and Third Street across from Brouker’s Bakery.

By 1905 a new red brick three story high school had been built on Fifth Street between Waddell and Large Avenues. This was the first modern school, but by 1913 it would soon be outgrown and Shaw Avenue School was built. As the community pushed forward to Vankirk Street, Miller Avenue School was built. When further growth necessitated an even larger school, the site of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was selected which was across from the original brick schoolhouse. The original high school became Fifth Street Grade School and was eventually razed.


Clairton Churches: The congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian church decided to build a new church and rename it First Presbyterian. A site was identified a few blocks awat on the corned of Mitchell Avenue and Fifth Street and the new church was erected. But the old church was grand and it would be a shame to tear it down. It was purchased by the large Serbian Orthodox population and the building was moved to its present location on Reed Street between Waddell and Large Avenues.


Central Park: As the nineteenth century drew to a close there was much high living and free spending in the Pittsburgh area. Locals needed an upscale venue to sing, dance, hold events, and just get away. That need was addressed with Central Park, a beautiful place larger than Kennywood that sat on the banks of the Monongahela River. Located just 12 miles upriver from downtown Pittsburgh the park was easily accessible by boat or railroad nad provided family entertainment for locals as well as well-heeled Pittsburghers. The park would flourish until it was purchased by the Carnegie Steel Company and eventually become the site of the U.S. Steel blast furnaces in Clairton.

A little blogging music Maestro… “Anytime at All,” by the Beatles.

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com

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

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

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