November 18, 2005

Time to Celebrate Mail Pattern Boldness

So what do you think about John Murtha, far-left looney fringe retired Marine Corps colonel, denigrating the service of our brave men and women? Maybe he and the rest of his Hollywood buddies in Johnstown would be happy if we just bowed down to Al Qaeda? Why does he hate freedom?

This is typical of the Hillary Clinton crowd, and Murtha has always boosted those traditional left-wing causes like higher defense spending and stronger armed forces. I think Murtha is French for "surrender," isn't it? While President Bush was bravely defending the citizens of Texas from an officer's club in Alabama, where was Murtha? Hiding out in the jungles of Vietnam (no coincidence that it used to be called "French Indochina"), that's where!

Oh, and Murtha wanted to give his purple heart to some allegedly "wounded" soldier. (Wounded on a swift boat, perhaps? Ha, ha!) Then he started to cry. Boo-hoo! Maybe he can get his buddy John "Teresa Heinz" Kerry to help him throw their medals over the White House fence? If they don't like America, why don't they leave?

(Slap!)

Whoops! Sorry. Some how I accidentally mixed up the Almanac with today's Jim Quinn and Fred Honsberger talking points. Either that, or it's a sneak preview of the upcoming Ann Coulter column, staining a Daily News editorial page near you sometime next week.

So until I sort out my notes and take my meds, maybe I should open up the mailbag, where we find this missive from Bob in Elizabeth, who writes:

I've been reading your stuff for a number of years and found your Tube City Online a while ago. I spent some time reading the archives of the Tube City Almanac which I enjoyed. ... I'm somewhat of a history enthusiast and was looking for photographs of Elizabeth, my hometown and came across this collection of photographs at "Historic Pittsburgh." Here you may search all of the collections of photos they have. I found quite a few for McKeesport and surrounding areas.

There are a number of photos of McKeesport in this website also. You will have to scroll down and look for the captions to find them. A lot of them are at the old B&O Station. There are some here, too.

Thanks for the nice comments, Bob! I've seen those "Fallen Flags" railroad pictures, too, and they're definitely worth a visit, even for non-railroad buffs.

Along a similar line, John M. writes:

I've always been interested in looking at old photos of McKeesport, particularly downtown. In fact, that's how I discovered your site some eight years ago. Anyway, I came across a site that you might find interesting. It's McKeesport Tiger, which is an MSN group that posts their photos of McKeesport. Most interesting to me were color photos of the "Famous Fire" in 1976. There were several others on there that I never seen.

Nice website, John! I've linked to McKeesport Tiger before, but it never hurts to do it again.

We're approaching the 30th anniversary of the big fire that John mentions. It started in the old Famous Department Store building at the corner of Market Street and Fifth Avenue, spread to the Elks Temple next door, and jumped across the intersection, taking out Kadar's Sportswear, Coney Island Grill, the Apple Shop (formerly Riggs' Drug Store) and a bunch of other buildings. It also damaged Immanuel Presbyterian Church, the Penn-McKee Hotel and the McKee Cinemas, formerly the Memorial Theater.

The Penn-McKee and the church were repaired, but the theater (which had already been reduced to running soft-core porn and second-rate Hollywood films) never reopened. (Want to feel old? It's now been 20 years since the Memorial was torn down. I can remember watching the demolition like it happened yesterday.)

Look for a large update on Tube City Online about the fire as the anniversary approaches. I meant to do it five years ago, but "real life" intervened.

And speaking of the Penn-McKee, still threatened with demolition: The noble but faded old hotel is featured on the cover of the newest CD from McKeesport's Mikey Dee Band. I couldn't find a listing on any of the on-line retailers, but I assume it's available wherever finer polka CDs are sold, or write to Mike 426 Hillview St., McKeesport 15132.

Meanwhile, Dennis has a beef:

You don't even live in McKeesport! You're like one of Madonna's boobs! YOU BIG FALSIE!

Gee whiz, real nice detective work, Dennis ... if that is, in fact, your name (Dennis's email address lists his name as "Arnold") ... when did I ever say I lived within the city borders? I've said I lived in a suburb of Our Fair City (specifically, "North Bittyburg").

But North Bittyburg would have no reason for existence if it hadn't been for the city (even if some of my good neighbors would like to deny that). So as far as I'm concerned, it's up to all of the suburbs to band together with the city, and understand that the city's problems are their problems, too.

Do you think when a visitor drives south across the Mansfield Bridge, they look to their right and say, "Gee, Glassport sure looks a lot nicer than McKeesport!" Or when they head south on Route 148 from Route 30, they say, "Boy, I sure can tell the difference between North Versailles and McKeesport!"

And this isn't just a McKeesport problem. There's no need for separate municipalities of Irwin, North Irwin and North Huntingdon, or two Elizabeths (borough and township), or Monongahela and New Eagle, to name just a few examples.

We can either start banding together, or we can continue to snipe at one another across artificially created boundaries that outsiders don't recognize. This isn't 1940. None of these communities are strong enough any more to keep going it alone. The sooner we all start sharing services (I see that Dravosburg is considering a contract with McKeesport for police service, while Port Vue already uses the city's ambulance service) and making common long-term plans that benefit everyone, the better off we'll be.

And another thing, Dennis. Why do you hate freedom? Why, maybe you and John Murtha should join Michael Moore and Hanoi Jane Fonda and the rest of the ...

(Slap!)

Thanks, I needed that. Dave writes regarding my recent broadsides at Harrisburg (which are something like attacking the U.S.S. Missouri with a pellet gun):

Jason, excellent observation of local and state politics. We may never trust state politicians again.

Will future candidates for state office in Pennsylvania be better than the limo-riding, self-serving public servants who think they are corporate CEO's and lie to little children? Let's hope they are!

It's hard to imagine how they could be worse. (Well, maybe they could manipulate some intelligence reports and send the Pennsylvania State Police to invade West Virginia.)

A good start, in my humble opinion, is to toss out, bags and baggage, the ones who voted for the pay raise. (I don't agree with the agitators who say we need to "replace everybody." There are some good ones, too.)

The next good start is to reduce the size of the legislature. Eliminating one of the houses of the General Assembly would be one way to do it. (Nebraska is way ahead of us, having reduced to a single state senate back in 1937.)

As the situation currently stands, it costs Pennsylvania's taxpayers $462 million to run the state General Assembly. It's up to the people to decide if they think we're getting our money's worth.

On another political note, Roger says:

I am searching for the history of McKeesport mayors. Can you direct me anywhere?

The official repository of city historical information is the McKeesport Heritage Center in Renzie Park, open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Call (412) 678-1832. The first place to start would be the McKeesport history book produced in 1976 in celebration of the American bicentennial. Carnegie Library of McKeesport also has a copy available. Since that book was written, the mayors of McKeesport have been (if I recall correctly) Lou Washowich, Joseph Bendel, Wayne Kucich and currently James Brewster. (There might have been someone between Tom Fullard and Lou Washowich, but I don't think so.)

Or, why not go to the source? Write to Mayor Brewster's office at 201 Lysle Blvd., McKeesport 15132, or call (412) 675-5020. Maybe they have a handy listing ready to go. (As a good faith gesture, you might want to save the taxpayers of Our Fair City 37 cents and send along a self-addressed stamped envelope.)

To Do This Weekend: Football bragging rights in the Mon-Yough area will be decided at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Heinz Field when McKeesport Area High School plays Woodland Hills High School. Considering the number of mixed marriages in the area (Turtle Creek Valley residents with McKeesporters, and vice versa), there could be some very uncomfortable silences around the breakfast table Sunday morning. No matter who wins (like how I straddle the line? sorry, I have too many friends on both sides), it ought to be one heck of a football game. ... Don't like sports? Penn Sembles Tamburitza Orchestra presents its fall concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at McKeesport Area Senior High School, 1960 Eden Park Blvd. Dinner and dancing follow at American Legion Post 701 in White Oak. Call (412) 672-8904.

Posted at 06:34 am by jt3y
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November 16, 2005

And It Wasn't Even Sent Postage Due!

I'll give him this much: He had the stones to respond.

Let me back up. You may remember the wise-cracking, sarcastic letter I wrote to my state senator last month, congratulating him on his pay raise, and explaining what life was like for those of us peons in his district.

Well, lo and behold, I arrived home last night to find a thick, creamy envelope in the mailbox, embossed with the Seal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Motto: "Virtue, liberty and per diems"), and inside, a response.

Now, frankly, an appropriate response would have been "go take a flying jump at a rolling doughnut, you malcontent." But either he's too polite for that, or he didn't get the sarcasm. (I tend to think he did get the sarcasm, but is playing it cool, or is being equally sarcastic himself. He helpfully printed out several web pages for "low-income assistance programs" and attached them to the letter.)

Anyway, I'm no less distrustful of him. But I am impressed that he responded to someone who was clearly trying to bait him (namely, me):

Incidentally, I figure it took about 30 minutes for him to write that letter, so I did some quick math. At his current rate of pay, divided over 52 weeks in a year, and assuming he works 40 hours per week, that letter cost the taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania $25.

Believe me, I got more than $25 worth of satisfaction venting on him in the first place, so I'll call that part even.

Posted at 11:36 pm by jt3y
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