ALL IN THE FAMILY
DiMarco public service continues in Mon Valley
On his way to go fishing back in 2005, Keith DiMarco came upon the Glassport’s new skateboard/BMX park, located off Harrison Street.
From a passerby he learned that his father, Terry DiMarco — who was council president at the time — was behind the town’s acquisition of the free sports equipment that turned youngsters’ dreams of such a facility into reality.
“I didn’t think things happened like that ... I was pretty much bitten by the bug at that point,” Keith DiMarco said of following in the family tradition of public service.
On Jan. 2, Mr. DiMarco, 45, who works as a field technician for a communications company and who previously served as a borough councilman, was sworn in as Glassport mayor — the fourth DiMarco to serve in office in the Mon Valley.
Keeping it in the family, Terry DiMarco, 66, who works for the county’s Public Works Department, was sworn in as a council member. He previously served as Glassport mayor from 2006 to 2010.
Sam DiMarco, Terry DiMarco’s uncle and Keith DiMarco’s great-uncle, was Glassport mayor from 1976 to 1986.
Another uncle and great-uncle, Orlando “Landy” DiMarco, was mayor of neighboring Port Vue from 1998 to 2002.
“Not even knowing you’re listening to them growing up, you’re hearing about all of the projects and the next thing you know you’re walking around town and seeing them.’’ Keith DiMarco said of his family’s influence.
“Knowing my uncles and father were mayors I wanted to follow in their footsteps and help the town,” he said.
Terry DiMarco’s father, Dominick DiMarco was a child in the 1920s when he emigrated to Glassport with his family from Italy.
At that time, Glassport was traversed by the McKeesport Belle Vernon Railroad and had thriving steel and coal mines to provide jobs.
It was a place where entertainment showboats docked in the summers on the Monongahela River.
Bustling businesses in the downtown included the Glass House mill, Bee-Hive Coke Oven Plant, Pittsburgh Steel Company, Severance Manufacturing and American Axe & Tool.
Despite the heavy industry, cows
“Knowing my uncles and father were mayors, I wanted to follow in their footsteps and help the town.” Keith DiMarco, Mayor of Glassport