Residents find good, bad in Upper St. Clair, McKeesport
Focus is on jobs, family, education
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
One has many dead-end streets. The other, cul de sacs.
In the township, the redbrick government building has arches, a bell tower, lantern posts and automatic doors opening to a spacious lobby. In the city, the heavy corner door barely clears way to narrow hallways, rough staircases and drab offices.
And while the township focus is family, education and jobs, actually, the same holds true in the city.
Upper St. Clair and McKeesport both have fourlane backbones, Washington Road and Lysle Boulevard, respectively. Both sink lots of money into education — more than $19,000 per student per year. Each has a hospital, majestic churches, histories filled with success stories and many personalities and determined people.
Differences in attitude, hope and lifestyle are largely dictated by circumstance, wealth vs. near poverty. A number of people in McKeesport have turned focus on the need to help others live better lives.
Keith Murphy, with backing from the Rev. William B. Meekins — senior pastor for the six United Methodist churches in the city — has put soles to sidewalks to address city problems. Poverty and joblessness are well-documented. Adding to the city’s challenges have been four street homicides since April.
“We look at a holistic approach — how do you deal with all the stressors in a community McKeesport?” said Mr. Murphy, director of Healthy Village Learning Institute, which he established in a former Freemont Street schoolhouse. Surrounding it are houses whose residents struggle with mental health issues, joblessness, drug and alcohol abuse, unpaid bills and crime — “a plethora of things,” he said.
“Support systems are not there,” he said. “McKeesport is its own island and we’re participating in a process of finding out who’s available to provide resources. There are a lot of barriers to break down.”
The St. Vincent College graduate returned to help rebuild his hometown, child by child. His program works like to instill cultural pride in the African-American community with the help of his collection of African artwork and eye-catching collectibles, including actual slave chains. Programs for young and old range from yoga to music, with assistance available for residents needing help on multiple fronts.
Mr. Murphy says violence decreases with jobs. He also said he hopes the shooting death of William Chaffin, 14, in April will serve as a turning point.
“Sometimes it takes a 14- year-old to change things,” he said.
Cars, not enough culture
Not all Upper St. Clair residents are 100-percent thrilled with one of Allegheny County’s most upscale communities.
Six years ago, Rebecca Burt and her husband Christopher moved from Warwick, N.Y., when he landed a job in Pittsburgh. They chose Upper St. Clair because the school district has top-flight sports programs and a tendency to add rather than cut school programs.
Their hopes were realized with their son Mitchell, 18, enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to become an engineer, she said.
What the township lacks is enough art, music and culture, she said. “My husband and I prefer being in the city so, I think, once the kids are older, we’ll move closer to town.”
Upper St. Clair also has well-appointed yards, the Community and Recreation Center along Mayview Road, and trails. There are plenty of places to buy healthy food and many outside activities with “no concern about being outside after dark,” she said.
There’s lots of traffic because of the need “to drive everywhere.” Still, Ms. Burt said, Upper St. Clair “has been a happy choice.”
“We’re extremely happy with the education our children are getting at Upper St. Clair,” she said.
Supporting McKeesport
John Farally, 51, lives in Pitcairn and works at Puff Discount Tobacco in McKeesport. He’s a former resident of Crawford Village, a city public housing community. He can see a turnaround In McKeesport.
“I see it happening with my very own eyes; people are making changes,” he said. “It’s going to happen because people are fed up with shootings — and disrespect — and the only ones who are going to make the change is us.”
There’s talk, he said, about programs to help the youth. “If you can get one to change his mind and say no [to drugs and violence], that’s more powerful than anything on the planet.”
Drugs, he said, are the key problem. On the other hand, Mr. Farally said the city has “a lot of good stuff,” including the annual McKeesport Rib Fest each Labor Day weekend in Renziehausen Park.
“There’s a lot of good and a lot of bad,” he said. “But I wish they’d just drop their guns and leave the kids alone and let’s live a peaceful life together. That’s not asking much at all.”
Here to stay
Todd Eannarino, a native of Upper St. Clair, sells industrial cleaning equipment. He and his wife Melissa have three children and two goldendoodles.
Life there is steady and healthy, with only a bit of competition over the best home or car — or which child is going to the best college. It makes Mr. Eannarino wince a bit. For example, he said he once received a left-handed compliment that his normal-sized house was “a cute little cottage.” He also says outsiders unfairly criticize residents for living a “cake-eating” or “pampered” existence.
But it took time and effort to receive the education necessary to get good jobs, which, in turn, come with long work weeks. Several people interviewed around the township described work weeks of 60-plus hours, with high levels of occupational stress.
Meanwhile, the many community advantages also mean “the [real estate tax] millage rate will go up again,” Mr. Eannarino said. “We’re paying for it.”
But when it comes to staying in Upper St. Clair, Mr. Eannarino doesn’t hesitate: “I’m a lifer.”