In The Town of Millvale

Since this was my son’s last year playing in the University of Pittsburgh’s marching band, this fall my family made more than the usual number of pilgrimages to the Steel City to see him play. On one of those occasions, we had a few additional guests tag along so we booked an Air B and B to accommodate a larger number of people. Unfortunately, there was also a Steelers game that same weekend so most of the places closer to Acrisure stadium were booked. Eventually, we were able to find a house that fit our needs (and price range) a smidge outside of the city in a town called Millvale.

As we drove into the small town, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities to where I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania: row home after row home built to accommodate the blue-collar work force (coal miners for my hometown and steelworkers here,) a towering Catholic church acting as an anchoring force for the predominantly eastern European community, and the cracks around the edges that are inevitable when a heavy industry packs up its middle-class jobs and leaves.

Unlike the patch towns around where I grew up, which long ago succumbed to their falling fortunes, Millvale shows signs of hanging on; a trendy little music venue around a corner, a neat little restaurant/bar across the street, a funky art and poetry venue on Main. Not that those kinds of venues are necessarily true bellwethers of urban renewal, but they at least indicate that someone hasn’t given up on their town. I find that admirable.

I’ll always carry around a little bit of guilt that I didn’t stay in the area in which I grew up and try to make it better. I took the last remnants of what it had to give and left as soon as I could, leaving it one less potential ally in initiating the changes it so desperately needed. I’m not arrogant enough to think that I could have solved any of the complex issues that plagued my hometown, but I am smart enough to know that by leaving, I was collectively part of the problem.

I know certain viewers will look at the collection of images here and think I’m only focused on the deterioration and decay of Millvale. While it’s true, those types of subjects tend to catch my eye photographically, that’s not what I truly saw in this small town. I really saw life and hope. I’m just not skilled enough to capture that.

PHOTO GALLERY – MILLVALE