Howard Street- A Pittsburgh Story
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
The Tenement
Next coming up the street were four red brick row houses, jammed together, three stories high and containing some eight or so families plus relatives, boarders and a veritable mob of off-spring. Anyone that could not stand the racket and ruckus that emanated from these houses moved out at the first opportunity. (That is if they could raise the funds to do so.)
Several narrow alleys ran between the houses from Howard Street to the backyard and provided access to the second floor entrances at the rear. The alleys were only about three feet wide. The backyard ran the length of row and was only six feet deep. It was buttressed by a forever crumbling line of railroad ties that kept the hillside from encroaching upon the limited yard space.
At the far end of the yard, just above the wall, sat majestically the busiest piece of architecture in the whole neighborhood. Six dilapidated wooden outhouses combined together as one, three in front and three in back. This insignificant capacity compared to the overwhelming population caused much anxiety and blunt rhetoric from those waiting a turn.
Movement in and out was greatly stimulated during the winter as one did not care to park there any longer than necessary.
Perhaps the most amusing aspect was the morning rush through ice and snow to empty the great number of household chamber pots. They were rather heavy and filled with the necessary creosote, lysol and added material accumulated during the long night.
There is a vivid memory of plunging head first into a snow bank while doing this morning chore. The results were disastrous and there was a hurried kicking of snow over the contents to conceal the catastrophe. It was thought best not to mention the incident.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The book is a vivid description of his family life as a youth during the depression era and experiences as a young man in an Infantry Division during World War Two. They lived in a crowded Brick Row Tenement with some eight other families. There were no bathrooms, six outhouses served all. There were no furnaces. A coal fired kitchen stove served for heat, cooking, and laundry. No water heaters. The women worked very hard. They canned food from the gardens and baked the bread. There were no washing machines; they boiled the clothes and used scrub boards. Jobs were few and far between and they paid very little. Life was simple and hard but working together they survived and were all the better for it.
About the Author
Drafted at eighteen for service within the 26th Infantry Division, he fought through four campaigns with George Patton's 3rd Army. He received Purple Heart medals for wounds received in France and during the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg. He received a Presidential citation, the Bronze Star medal and the Combat Badge, and other decorations. He is a member of the American Order of the French Croix de Guerre. Studied under the G.I. Bill and has been married for fifty-two years, raising two children. With his wife they ran a successful very small business for thirty-seven years. The illustrations were all drawn by the author.