What home used to be

Since the collapse of the steel industry, i.e. U.S. Steel, in Aliquippa, PA one day in 1984, I've continued to read the news from that county, the locaton that amounts to my family roots, unlike the mere memory it is today. Nevertheless, I still read the county news to get a glimpse of what has changed. Aliquippa (not my home town), in comparison to its heyday, remains like a ghost town, as do most of the small towns in Beaver County with little to no jobs to find, and generally a continuing decline from days gone by.

With a steel worker's union in place at the mill, there was improved wages and working conditions, and the area thrived. The whole county bustled with economic activity. Stores filled with shoppers. Political party affiliations were predominantly Democrat. That party seemed, for most, to be for the little man.

When the mill was flourishing, mangement offered help. During hard economic times, rather than layoffs, they chose part time work to keep money in the pockets of their workers, and they even promoted a system of vegetable gardens. When the Second War hit, steel was in demand, and even after it ended, earnings afforded workers with homes, boats, cabins in the mountains, and plenty to eat.

There are efforts being made to bring back a source of income, but a lot of work needs accomplished to make the location appear attractive again. In one case, a nineteen year old boy raped an 85 year old nun and was recently sentenced to 18 years in prison. A total of thirteen unsolved homocides have occurred since the 70s.

My last five year stay in SW PA ended in 1982. Since 1970, 40k people have moved away, leaving the present population at 170k. On the hills where homes were built without water lines servicing them, it was up to the families to have truckloads of water brought in to fill their tanks. Now even that service has stopped, leaving families to get it where they can. A typical water truck costs around $18k.

What is best about that area, which I visited about six years ago, is the vegetation. The greens are spectacular, which is a draw to a state that, unforunately, still requires automobiles to be inspected every year, which, for most of those I've know, have it done by a service staton attendant who gladly hands over a passing slip for a twenty dollar bill.

I realize change happens, and must for the evolution of the economny. Still, it would be nice to have the same home to return to.