My Alma Mater

It Ain't Oz, but it's Home: Clairton, PA. My hometown. I've written more than 150 blog posts about the community since its inception in 1906 to present. Today I am bursting my buttons with pride over the nationwide press coverage our town is receiving. I've been getting calls and emails al morning from CHS alumni from California, North Dakota, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Virginia, the Carolinas.... you name it. If there is a state there is a CHS alum.

What's the buzz? A couple of nights ago I co-hosted a radio show with Harvey Hyde. "Who the Hell is Harvey Hyde?" you might ask. He is a very successful former football coach who now does talk radio, pre game shows for the USC Trojans, and assorted other media activities. From time to time I co-host with him.  Last Monday we did a segment on the Clairton Bears and the Clairton community. Our guest was former AD at CHS and current Facebook writer for the Bears, Jim Wessel. The broadcast went worldwide and we heard from many states where CHS alumni listened. A couple weeks earlier sports writer Ron Kantowski, whose dad was a steelworker in Chicago, did an article on the Bears that featured me in my Clairton Bear regalia.

There have been articles in the local newspapers: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/clairton-looks-to-team-for-hope-amid-struggles-663011/

But today was the coup de gras. From Arizona resident and former Bear Bill Bennett: Here's a link to USA Today article with video to whet your appetite for the record breaking quest for #60 on Friday. Click the pic of Bears with caption "Made in America: Nation's Longest Winning Streak" to watch video and read article. Also read comments. I trust this will be in the hard copy of USA Today tomorrow, but I'm not sure.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/

To those who do not live in Western PA, remember you can watch the WPIAL final against Sto-Rox on Direct TV, channel 659 at 11:00 AM EST.

Facebook too: There are several Facebook pages for Clairton and numerous web pages. One that is particularly informative is: myclairton.com. My blog can also be accessed through the myclairton.com site under the History tab. 

The football team: There are many stars on this years Bear team but the one who stands heads, shoulders, and thorax above the competition is Tyler Boyd. Google him to see snippets of him in action on the field. But "The rest of the story." is Tyler's mom, Tanya Payne. She has several sons, all of whom are academic achievers, college students, and college grads. That includes Tyler the football player. Tanya has the gift in raising boys. She posted Tyler's most recent report card on Facebook!!!! But she did not do that to humiliate him. The report cars contained  straight A grades!!!! Bravo to Tyler and all the other 50 or so seniors at CHS. We wish them success after high school, but back to the Bears.

What's all the fuss? The CHS Bears have won three consecutive state championships and more WPIAL championships than there are letters in WPIAL. They are currently tied for the most consecutive wins for a football team in the state of Pennsylvania. And if they beat Sto-Rox Friday, they will break that record.

Day of thanks: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. I am thankful for many things and blessings Ive enjoyed over seven decades. But I am also thankful for the squad of young men who proved to be the little school that could. 

PS: TODAY IS THANKSGIVING AND THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/sports/in-clairton-pa-a-high-school-football-team-keeps-a-towns-heart-beating.html?pagewanted=all

A little blogging music Maestro... "It's Clairton High School, It's Clairton High School the pride of every student here (rah rah!)..."

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

Of Books and Weddings

Sweet Doings in Hershey: It is always a treat to get back to my home state of Pennsylvania. This time I missed Western PA and Clairton by a couple of hours and went to Hershey in the middle of the state. The occasion was to attend the wedding of a lovely couple. (Full disclosure; the bride is my niece).

Aimee and Scott are a "match made in heaven" couple. She was going to be a career girl, eschewing marriage and those traditional things women of a certain age are expected to do. Aimee was an iconoclast from her earliest years. She was a gifted writer and the editor of her high school newspaper. She went to Syracuse and majored in Journalism and Art History. Took a Masters degree at Bryn Mawr then returned to her hometown of Hershey to become an executive with the company that figuratively owns the town.

Aimee was a natural at putting things and people together and did so at her job in Hershey but eventually moved on to higher education development at a nearby university.

Scott attended the Milton Hershey School then went on to study government at Franklin and Marshall College. He too is a gifted writer and communicator and consults for several major corporations.

The wedding was a storybook affair with events at the Hotel Hershey, Hershey Country Club, and the ceremony took place at the beautiful historic Sell Chapel at the Masonic Villages in nearby Elizabethtown. And oh yes, there was nutbread, ladylocks, and plenty of Clairton food. May the happy couple have a long and prosperous life.

Writers from Clairton: As anybody who reads this blog knows, the City of Clairton, PA has spawned a myriad of people who have excelled in their fields. One such person whom we've written about before is Dr. William R. King. This high-falutin' professor might have the resume of a stuffed shirt but he is as down home as anybody who was raised in Elrama, a hop, skip and jump from Clairton. The rowdy kid from the sticks became a scholar while attending Clairton High School and went on to be one of the most prolific writers and professors at the University of Pittsburgh. In fact, so good were his writings that no bigger a celebrity than Vladimir Putin plagiarized part of one of his tomes.

With all that academic writing completed, the now-retired professor has written his autobiography entitled, "SCHOOL DAYS: Coming of Age in the Mid-20th Century." If you grew up during the heyday of the 1950s or attended Clairton High School or were from one of the many communities in the Mon Valley, you will love this book. Dr. Bill bares it all from his foibles to his awkward teen dating to his college and professional career. I recommend it as a great read.

Met another Clairton writer: Joan Angelo, nee joan Little, is also a Clairton grad from the 1950s. She ended up at Edinboro with her professor husband, also a writer. But I recently discovered Joan's series of five books that are written about our community and the Mon Valley. I just completed the first one, Blackwater Hollow, 1900-1929. It is the first in her Monongahela Chronicles series and tells the story of coal miners who eked out a bare existence in the Patch and hollows around Clairton, Wilson, and Coal Valley. What Joan does so masterfully is write in dialect when the characters are speaking.

An example of her writing in dialect comes when little Charlie sees a wash tub with wringers for the first time: "What's em big rollers for?" asked Charlie.

"Them's to rench ma clothes. It's called a wringer. See, all I gotta do is push ma clothes through this here wringer and the machine squeezes out all the water. Almost all the water.  Better n I could do by hand."

There are plenty of "younses" an 'at throughout the book. It is a must read for those who love history and certainly those from the Mon Valley.

That is the latest from Clairton, PA.

PS: CHS Bears just won #59 and tied the PA record for most consecutive victories. A win next week would set a new record and make CHS again the WPIAL victors. Next game, Friday 11/23 at Heinz Field against Sto-Rox.

A little blogging music Maestro... "Paperback Writer" by the Beatles.

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

Of Clairton, Bears, and Books

You don't know what you're missing: Many current and former Clairton residents "of a certain age" are yet  to be dragged, kicking and screaming into the technological era. On the chance that you do not Facebook, or even if you do, you might not be aware of two Facebook pages; Clairton Activists and Clairton History. Both help keep up on what is going on in our hometown these days and were developed by Joanie Jordan. From those Facebook pages flowed a website, myclairton.com. I would encourage you to visit that site and see the fabulous photos of Clairton past. You will see Clairton Park in its early stages of being built, original photos of the pool and the diving board that once graced the second float,. You will see photos of the corner store across from Gumble's Chevrolet dealership, Vitori's Esso Station, and many other early pictures. And speaking of auto dealerships you will also see a photo of the Worthington Avenue Garage which at various times served as a Hudson dealership and became Johnny's Glass. And don't forget to peek at the Capital Theater in its early days. The site is a treasure trove of photos and information.

57 is more than just a Heinz logo: Congratulations to our Bears Football team that won its 57th consecutive game last Friday as the playoffs began. They defeated a respectable Frazier Commodore team that took a 6-0 lead. The lead lasted less than one minute and CHS  scored the next 58 points. Tyler Boyd scored his 100th touchdown and ran for over 200 yards on six carries. Next up is Brentwood. The record for consecutive wins in Pennsylvania prep football is 59.

Books by Bill: William R. King has been mentioned in this blog before. He is the Clairton high School kid who came from Elrama with a chip on his shoulder and with the guidance of several teacher-mentors, went on to college, got his Ph.D. and became a longtime professor at Pitt. He is also both a gifted and prolific writer, and that is not just my opinion. No less a celebrity than Vladimir Putin plagiarized one of Bills many writings and placed it in his (Putin') Master's dissertation.

Seems Bill just can't stay away from the keyboard. His latest book is  "SCHOOL DAYS: Coming of Age in the Mid-20th Century." Author is officially William R King. It's available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnobel.com and Xlibris.com/Bookstore. The e-version costs only $1.99. This would make a terrific Christmas gift for anybody who has any connection to Clairton.

That is the latest from Clairton, PA.

A little blogging music Maestro... "The Booklovers" by the Divine Comedy.

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

How 'bout dem Bears???

Rolling, rolling, rolling: I guess that is one of the songs they would sing at the rolling mills, or even in the hot strip finish department. Pickle line, anybody? (And I DON'T mean the Heinz tours). Our Clairton Bears have been rolling along, having not lost a home game since 2005 and not lost a game at all since 2009. Last Friday they won their 55th consecutive game and are headed for a state record 60. The 55-game win streak is currently the longest in any sport at any level in the U.S. So take a bow, fellas, but keep your head up and close the season with a victory, then good luck in the playoffs.

I bleed orange and black: I've graduated from three universities and worked at several more. One would think I'd be a die hard fan of BYU or NAU or UNLV or one of the dozen or so other universities in which I attended or taught. But when I hear the old song, "Be True to Your School," I think Clairton High School. I know of no other high school that is so special (and of course I'm partial to the Class of 1960) that has class reunions every five years and sometime even half-reunions in Las Vegas at the 2 1/2 year mark between the 5-year reunions (that's my Class of 1960). Our alumni from CHS is so rabid that those who've settled in Florida have an annual Clairton reunion in De Soto Park, FL, and of course there is the annual multi-class reunion held annually at Clairton Park. Local alumni and those who travel thousands of miles celebrate the end of summer at the Park.

Now Las Vegas knows Clairton: I was driving around in Las Vegas a year or so ago and passed a group of condominiums located in a pretty area near The Lakes. The name of the street was Clairton Circle! I was stunned to discover that a little Clairton history resides in Las Vegas. The condos were built in the early 1980s but I have no clue how the street got its name. Any suggestions?

Alumni Bill Bennett lives in Arizona. He, along with many other alumni in California, Utah, Nevada, and throughout the west keep track of the Bears and their exploits. I'm also very grateful to former Social Studies teacher Don Taylor who provides an excellent analysis of the Bear's progress. Several Facebook pages devoted to the rebirth of our town, the Bears, and the progress being made in our school are included in my regular reading requirements.

In addition to Clairton Circle, the local newspaper, Las Vegas Review Journal did an article on our hometown this morning. I was interviewed by Ron Kantowski, a sports writer for the paper. Turns out that Ron lived in a community very similar to Clairton near Gary, IN and his dad was a steelworker, so he understands our town, its struggles, and the pride in our team.

Read and enjoy:


http://www.lvrj.com/sports/win-streak-breathes-life-into-dying-pennsylvania-town-175129591.html

A little blogging music Maestro... "Be True to Your School," by the Beach Boys.

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

Have you missed me?

Pussycat Pussycat, where have you been:  I cannot believe that it has been nearly two months since I last posted. My apologies to those loyal readers who check in with me on a regular basis. This is a good time to post as the Bears are about to end another successful season.

The Bears win streak was almost ended the first game of the season when they barely squeaked by Chartiers-Houston by a score of 22-20. Of course, they had nearly half their team serving suspensions that game due to attendance, grades, or who-knows-what. But they got their groove and players back for the second game and the rest of the season to date went as follows: Carlyton 50-7, California 54-6, Monesson 52-7, Fort Cherry 65-0, Brentwood 42-7 and Bishop Canevin 53-15.

Tonight is hHomecoming for the Bears and they face another good Catholic school, Serra. If they win tonight (#55) and next week against Imani Christian (#56), the Clairton Bears will enter the playoffs once again undefeated. The all time record of wins in PA is 60.

I will write more after the game, including a surprise that I should know about by Sunday.

Any potential bloggers? My lifestyle has changed this year and I've been focused on my new job as an usher at the newly opened Smith Center for Performing Arts. That is one reason I've written fewer blogs and done less research. If any reader would consider writing this log from time to time, please let me know. My rules are: try to stay upbeat and include as much on Clairton and its residents past and present.

See you Sunday.

A little blogging music maestro, "The Clairton Fight Song."

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

When Wilson spake, students listened

Professor William R. King, retired, is one of our favorite blog readers. To refresh your memory, Bill King clod-hopped into the grandeur of Clairton High School on a bus from Elrama. He was a bit intimidated by the "city folk" of the huge metropolis of Clairton and its fancy high school so he acted out. That is, until a school administrator had, what pundits today call a "come to Jesus" talk with him and his education began to change. He immersed himself in the opportunities at CHS, graduated, earned a Ph.D. and became a popular and prolific faculty member at Pitt. So outstanding was his work that no less a world leader than Vladimir Putin lifted (as in plagiarized) some of Professor Bill's writing and placed it in his (Putin's) own dissertation. You can Google it for the specifics as it created quite a stir.

Professor Bill recently wrote a piece about his experiences in Miss Wilson's English class at CHS. In case you missed it:

By William R. King

Some affiliations that we make become a part of our identity.

For instance, a Marine is always a Marine -- never an ex-Marine. A member of a college fraternity or sorority usually says, "I'm a Sigma Nu" (or whatever). Members of national lodges, such as the Masons or Elks, often wear lapel pins so that they can be recognized by other members.

I have such a lifelong affiliation, acquired in high school, that is shared with thousands of people. I am a member in good standing of "Miss Wilson's Chaucer Cult."

Some background: Miss Helen D. Wilson taught me and about 150 other kids in six classes of senior English at Clairton High School in 1955-56. To me, she was a frail, little, old spinster lady who was very demanding.

For instance, we were required to learn about six vocabulary words each day. Every day, she would select students to recite the meaning that they had gleaned from a dictionary of each of the previous day's words. Other students were chosen to use them in a sentence. Anyone unable to fulfill this duty got a cold frown and a mark ostentatiously made in her grade book.

She never specifically told us the purpose of this, probably because the short-term purpose was to help us on the "College Boards," now called the SATs, and that might have turned off those who weren't going to college. In those days, the idea of preparing for these important tests, now an industry, was not widely accepted. Besides, who can argue that having a better vocabulary isn't a good thing for everyone?

I understood this and other demands that Miss Wilson made. But the one thing that she had us do whose purpose I could not fathom was to memorize and recite the "Prologue" to Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" in OLD ENGLISH. It goes something like this: "Whan thet Aprilla whet ets sura sota, the droth of March hath perced to the rota ... " and on and on. (Apologies to those offended by misspellings of Old English; I learned it only phonetically.)

It was a number of years before I discovered Miss W's purpose in searing this strange poetry into our memories. I had to see a new school principal about one of my kids. The newspaper article about his appointment mentioned that he was a Clairton High School graduate. So, I thought that our common background would be a good icebreaker for the serious talk that I wanted to have with him.

His secretary ushered me into his office, and we shook hands with me saying, "I understand that we went to the same high school." He replied, "Did you happen to have Miss Wilson for senior English?" I nodded and we both spontaneously broke into a recitation: "Whan thet Aprilla ... "

His secretary came rushing back into the office saying, "I heard you two doing that strange chant and I thought that there must be something going on that is awfully weird!" After assuring her that we were still sane, we discussed our joint realization that we were unwitting members of "Miss Wilson's Chaucer Cult."

Something like this has happened to me a number of other times. Over the years, I've tried to figure out the benefits that our ability to do this recitation, other than recognizing fellow cult members, might have. I have found none. On those rare occasions when I've demonstrated this ability in public, such as when conversation is in a lull at a dinner party, people's eyes have a tendency to glaze over and some hurriedly leave the table.

My wife, who is also a member of the cult since she took the course with Miss W a year after me, is more sensible. She does recitations only in the privacy of our bedroom; I suspect it's to turn me on.

So, it seems to me that the sole purpose of this class assignment was the creation of a cult. We were being sent out into the world, like "sleeper" agents planted by a foreign intelligence service, to be activated at some future time when we meet another member.

This little lady, Miss Wilson, teacher over the years of thousands of students and now long dead, lives on through the cult that she created, as well as in the hearts and minds of those of us who she taught so much and who remember her so fondly.

William R. King of Fox Chapel, a retired University of Pittsburgh professor, can be reached at wking115@yahoo.com. The PG Portfolio welcomes "Back to School" submissions and other reader essays. Send your writing to page2@post-gazette.com; or by mail to Portfolio, Post-Gazette, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh PA 15222. Portfolio editor Gary Rotstein may be reached at 412-263-1255.

A little blogging music Maestro: "Be True to your School" by the Beachboys.

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
email: drforgot@cox.net

Visionary or ADHD?

Fifth Street Grade School: From the time I was in the second grade my parents did not receive good reports on me from the school. In fact, I was passed to the third grade “on condition,” which meant if my academic performance was not up to snuff in the third grade the school reserved the right to demote me and have me repeat the second grade. Somehow I made it through the third grade and beyond but the comments that accompanied my not-so-stellar report card nearly always included, “He daydreams when he should be working.”

Definition of a visionary: I once heard a visionary described as “one who looks at the same thing but sees something else.” I do not profess to be a visionary – my daydreaming was probably undiagnosed ADHD - although to this day I see things differently than many other people. My view of Clairton and the image vs. the vision is also different than that of many others. I am not talking about the Clairton of the 1920s through the 1950, nor the people who claim Clairton as their hometown but have moved on to impact the world. I’ve written about many such people in this blog; Ron Lancaster in sports, Johnny Moio in Hollywood, Dr. Walter Cooper Cooper, scientist and inventor, Nancy Bekavac, college president, Joan Cutuly, writer and educator, Benny Benack, musician, Claudine Cmrada Schneider, Congresswoman and Harvard professor, and many, many more. But today we will discuss neither the good old days nor the sweet by and by, but what’s happening in the here and now.

What’s happening in Clairton: Short history: Our town was born, thrived, and like much of the Mon Valley and Pittsburgh went into a period of decline. Many left for better job opportunities but remain in spirit with family ties or memories of the good things of our past. New residents moved to Clairton and some long-timers remained and have weathered the storm. Civic leaders have put together several initiatives including a coalition to strengthen the education of our school children, another to plant gardens for the community, and one to clean up neglected gems such as Memorial Hill in Clairton Park. Clairton’s renaissance has begun. It is evidenced by Clairton Activist and Clairton History Facebook pages and with the newly created www.myclairton.com web page, which every current and former Clairton resident should visit.

It is time to repopulate our town: At its peak Clairton had a population that approached 30,000. Car dealerships, movie theaters, city parks, businesses and opportunities were abundant. With the closing of the area’s mills the population has dwindled to fewer than 7,000 according to the 2010 census. But those numbers include activists who are now ready to rebuild the community “one brick at a time.” It is time to look at Clairton’s assets that will attract new residents. Atop on the list is affordable housing and low taxes. A nationally recognized high school football program and one of the top athletes in the country will boost the fortunes of the local high school. But to whom how to market the community and its assets remains a question.

One vision that might work: The core group of people who have been doing everything from pulling weeds to planting gardens has set the wheels of revitalization in motion. Low cost housing and low taxes are in place to attract new or returning residents. One demographic group to target; former Clairton residents who left for college or service or jobs and settled in other parts of the country, are now retired and would like to return to their roots. Several have already made the move and others have expressed an interest in doing so. Another target demographic includes young urban professionals who work in downtown Pittsburgh but would like to live and rear their children in a healthy bedroom community rather than the city. A third demographic is renters and potential first-time homebuyers. These groups include people who would be willing to take the Clairton advantages in exchange for sweat equity that would require repair and cleanup of Clairton properties. Most Clairton homes have garages, off street parking, and those wonderful alleys that allow access not found in most urban homes. Had the Highway 43 at the Large interchange been completed, it would be an easy commute to downtown. But since completion is not expected in the near future, lets look at alternatives.

What comes next: My career included teaching graduate university students and my favorite class was Research. The first class would start with the following story: “A boy scout needed one more good deed to complete requirements for a merit badge. He decided his good deed would be to a little old lady across the street. So he told his mother of his plan and that he might be a little late getting home in case the lady needed additional assistance. Dinnertime came and went and the lad did not come home. When he finally arrived his irate mother, who had been worried sick by his absence asked, “Where the HELL have you been until this hour?” The lad sheepishly reminded her of his mission and his mother asked, “…And that took you until NOW?”

His response: “She didn’t want to go.”

The parable is a reminder that before a task is to be undertaken several steps must be completed. A needs assessment and a plan outlining specific tasks, a timeline, project priorities and a host of other planning will insure that things are accomplished and that the improvement plan continues. A core committee needs to be formed with representatives from as many components of Clairton life included as possible. The mayor and City Council must be included as well as key members from the churches, business community, school district, and the community in general.

Only the beginning: The ideas above are some that can be implemented with little upfront cash and lots of sweat equity. We have already seen what a handful of Clairton residents are capable of doing. The time is now. The place is Clairton. Send your contact information to the email address below and it will be forwarded to those who have begun the taskof rebuilding Clairton one brick at a time.

 A little blogging music Maestro: “Help” by The Beatles.

Dr. Forgot http://drforgot.com

email: drforgot@cox.net