Community
Pittsburgh
I was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I spent my childhood in North Braddock, PA to be exact. Pittsburgh is made up of a series of neighborhoods. Each one its own unique flavor. My parents Kathryn and James had a small apartment in Homewood when I came along. One of the many neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Soon after that we moved to Silver Spring, Maryland. We didn't stay there very long. I believe I was just shy of 3 when we moved back to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is located in what is referred to as the tristate area. That includes Ohio and West Virginia. It’s also referred to as the gateway to the Midwest. It’s not far from a lot of states actually. Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky as well as New York are just a few hours drive. Even Canada isn’t very far.
When we returned back to Pittsburgh for good mom was expecting my brother. We moved into my grandmothers 4 bedroom house in North Braddock. That was like the pearly gates of heaven to me. My grandmothers house was everything! My Aunt Edna still lived at home as well as 2 uncles Fred and Leon. My mom was one of 7. 4 girls and the 3 boys. My uncle Leon was only 14 years older when I was born so he was more of a big brother to me than an uncle . My mom and I and eventually my brother took over my grandparents bedroom in the house of 7.
One of the best things about our neighborhood in North Braddock were the children. We were in a wonderfully cultural diverse utopia. We had family’s of all ethnic descents. Italian, Irish, Polish, German, African, English, Scottish, Russian and Jewish… rich and poor. We all played together. We ate at each other’s tables. We could walk into each other’s homes and sometimes we would have sleep overs as well. We would swim or play hide and seek together. We would have lemonade or Kool-aid stands unknowingly donated by our families. We would take turns providing the sugar or the mix or the lemons, paper cups and something to mix it in. The water would come from someone’s garden house. We would split the profits then head off to Bennies, our local corner store. Mrs Benevento had a small store in the back of her house. We could buy penny candy 10 pieces for 1 cent, potato chips for a nickel, ice cream treats and soda pop. She even sold loosies to the parents or the older kids that were old enough to smoke. Touch football and release the den were my brothers favorites. Picking up a quick game of kickball or kick the can was easy. Some families had their own baseball team they had so many kids. We would put on shows for the neighborhood children and sometimes our parents. We would pick crab apples, skin our knees ride our bikes or sleds in the winter. We had a real life Little Rascals on our hill. Our entire world fit into a 1/4 mile radius.
We all knew each other’s families. Sisters and brothers aunts uncles and cousins. Sometimes the families would blend together for a huge family meal. One of my best memories was having a huge family dinner with our family and the DeAngelis family that lived on the street behind us. There was 7 of us and 7 of them. My grandmother was a fabulous cook and prepared some wonderful southern favorites and soul style comfort food. Mrs DeAngelis was also a fantastic cook. She brought over pots of homemade Italian classics. I can still taste her meatballs! She taught me to make classic Italian. My lasagna is out of this world!
The senseless act of violence this past week created an even greater feeling of nostalgia for the times when the community cared for one another. My heart hurts. We have to care for each other and value each and every life. I’m not saying where i grew up was without its problems or prejudices. That will never go away. But we valued life. We respected each individual. We cared more about each other and our community than for violence and intolerance. The saying “it takes a village to raise a child” is so very true. We have lost our villages. We are losing our children. That makes me sad.
