At the end of each year, it is appropriate that we pause and reflect upon “the big picture” – the state of our nation and the world. Lots of things currently, especially the schism between the extremes in our society, encourage a pessimistic view of our future. Fortunately, however, my continued contact with the young people in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Pittsburgh provides me with a lot of reasons to resist that temptation. In the last semester before they graduate our students participate in our Senior Design Projects program, a program that I am…

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It is a family tradition that its eldest member be permitted to sleep until 7:00 am on Christmas morning. I was abruptly aroused from a deep slumber precisely at that time when my five grandchildren burst into the bedroom shooting “Merry Christmas” and encouraging me to pull myself together and stumble downstairs. A dozen of us shared the holiday in Olde Sewickley Highlands where Beth, Mike, and Rachael have comfortably settled into their new home, off Camp Meeting Road. They still have a home in Champaign, Illinois, which they are maintaining while Mike finishes out his academic commitment at the…

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We had intended to devote our December Bridgeville Area Historical Society “Second Tuesday” workshop to the Bridgeville High School classes of 1942, ’43’ and ’44, but soon determined that we had far too much information available than could be compressed into one hour. We barely got through 1943; ’44 will have to wait until next month. As is our custom we opened the session with a discussion of the times. The Fall of 1941 was indeed unusual. It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that we would soon enter World War II eventually; the attack on Pearl Harbor initiated the…

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Last year I dedicated a column to a Christmas letter to our readers and enjoyed it so much that I have decided to repeat that process again this year. It has been my custom for a number of years to type out a general discussion of the activities of our extended family and to then customize it for the individual folks on my Christmas card list – this will serve as my column as well this year. This term I am completing my twenty-fifth year teaching in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Pittsburgh. It has been a…

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The November program meeting of the Bridgeville Area Historical Society featured an interesting talk by Edd Hale on his experience as a volunteer sailor on the USS Niagara. It was his second visit to the Society; last March he gave a memorable presentation on “The Great Castle Shannon Bank Robbery”. The original USS Niagara was one of six warships constructed by Noah Brown in Erie in 1813 as part of a battle fleet assembled to contest the British naval supremacy in the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. The Niagara and her sister brig, the Lawrence, both had drafts…

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The special event for November at the Oliver Miller Homestead was a Harvest Festival commemorating the way eighteenth century pioneers in Western Pennsylvania gave thanks for blessings received, including an abundant harvest. The Homestead was filled with re-enactors in period costume, providing an authentic picture of life well over two centuries ago. My visit began in the Stone Manse, a large, rugged farmhouse that was built in the early 1800s. I was directed upstairs where there are three bedrooms and an interesting display of quilting. The docents there were quite knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Before I had a chance to…

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This month the Bridgeville Area Historical Society “Second Tuesday” workshop returned to its review of the history of Bridgeville High School, this time focusing on the Classes of 1939, 1940, and 1941. The discussion actually began in the middle of 1938. The football team was on the upswing that Fall and celebrated a thumping of Clark High 12 to 0. The Senior dramatists presented a comedy, “The Nut Farm”, with a cast that included Gloria Lutz. Too bad we didn’t have that knowledge to tease her about when she was our teacher ten years later. The basketball team was quite…

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I recently had the privilege of spending some time with a wonderful group of young people – the leaders of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapters from universities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. I originally was recruited to give a talk at their annual Assembly, which was held at Pitt this year, hosted by our student chapter. Then, at the last minute I ended up pinch-hitting for a much more qualified expert, as a tour guide/narrator for a Friday night cruise on the Gateway Clipper. Actually it didn’t take much arm-twisting…

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Long time readers of this column will remember that I am a member of a group of chronologically challenged (elderly ?) men whom my daughter Elizabeth calls “The Dirty Old Men’s Book Club”. We meet once a month and discuss a book we have all read and then negotiate the choice of the book for next month. Last month we ended up compromising on Saul Bellow’s highly acclaimed novel, “The Adventures of Augie March”. It unfortunately is much too long for me to read in my normal fashion and properly enjoy it. I managed to get through it and then…

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The October program meeting of the Bridgeville Area Historical Society was moved up a week this year to avoid a conflict with Halloween. The speaker was Glenn Flickinger; his subject, “The Origins of World War II”. Mr. Flickinger is a highly successful business consultant who is a passionate history buff with the ability to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with the rest of us. World War II is his favorite topic, probably because numerous members of his family were directly involved in it. In fact, his mother was a nurse in Honolulu on December 7, 1941. He very effectively traced…

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