: Paul Kennedy
: Point Breeze Stories
: BookBaby
: 9781543983357
: 1
: CHF 7.40
:
: Historische Romane und Erzählungen
: English
: 188
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
This collection of fourteen fictional short stories and two memoirs spans the time period from America's frontier days to the 21st century. All are set, at least in part, in the small neighborhood of Point Breeze, in the East End of Pittsburgh. Baptism of Desire follows an Irish settler family in the 1700s caught in the struggle between British, French, and Native people for western Pennsylvania. They ultimately settle in what is now Point Breeze. Subsequent stores unfold during the disastrous 1877 railroad strike, the violent Prohibition era, and the Vietnam War. But most of the stories occur in the 1950s and 1960s Baby Boom, when the author grew up in the neighborhood. Many colorful characters populate these pages, but the real star is the neighborhood itself. Anyone who has ever lived of 'loafed' in Point Breeze in the latter half of the twentieth century can relate well to these stories, but they are for all readers. The rich history of the past morphs into the raucous, kid-crowded mid-twentieth century and beyond. Tears of grief, joy, and nostalgia drip from the pages. The collection concludes with two tender, poignant, and funny 'coming of age' memoirs. It is the author's hymn to his home, his history, his people.

Memories Are ABreeze

A walk through Point Breeze, the neighborhood that formed me and still grips me, stirs memories with every step. It’s much quieter now, unlike the Baby Boom era with its scores of large families. In those days the shouts of children were incessant, playing wiffle ball, Release, Kick the Can, or just running about looking for fun or trouble. It’s a small patch, barely more than a half mile in any direction, yet its history and celebrity surpass much larger areas.

First, the history: Judge William Wilkins, U.S. Senator and Ambassador to Russia under President Andrew Jackson, built his mansion in 1836 on his estate that covered most of what is now Point Breeze. As Pittsburgh became an industrial powerhouse, many of the wealthy built mansions on Penn Avenue, which became known as “Millionaires Row.” Internationally known tycoons H.J. Heinz, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew and Thomas Carnegie, Thomas Mellon, and George Westinghouse lived there. Other lesser known aristocrats lived nearby, escaping the smoke and grit of the factories along the rivers. At around the time the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth, residents of Pittsburgh’s East End possessed about 40% of the world’s wealth, most of them living in what is now Point Breeze. A residential neighborhood of both upscale and modest homes grew around the mansions, and still thrivestoday.

The “Breeze,” as it’s been known since the 1960’s, has spawned a list of notables that is remarkable, almost unbelievable, for its size. You want a tour of renowned writers’ homes? Let’s start with the four Pulitzer Prize winners. A five minute walk takes you past the childhood homes of David McCullough (1982, 1993, 2002) Norman Miller (1964) Annie Dillard (1975) and Mary Pat Flaherty (1986, 1995). That’s seven Pulitzers. On the way you would pass the childhood homes of award-winning poets Peter Blair, Nancy Kennedy, and Bill Diskin. Other notable writers include novelists Stewart O’Nan, Albert French, Mark Best, and Jesse Andrews, and national political reporter Kathy Kiely. All lived within a few blocks of eachother.

In the second half of the twentieth century it was a haven for Steeler brass. Vice President Jack McGinley, his wife Rita Rooney McGinley (sister of Art), publicist Ed Kiely, and business manager Fran Fogarty were residents. A few celebrity athletes made their homes there. Pirate Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, Steeler great L.C Greenwood, and NBA All-Star Connie Hawkins lived there for decades, from their playing days until theirdeaths.

Pittsburgh Mayor Joseph Barr (1959-1970) made his home there, as did Dick Thornburg, Governor of Pennsylvania (1979-1987) and U.S. Attorney General (1988-1991), along with many judges and state and local elected officials. Current Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto (2014-) lives therenow.

Point Breeze, like other Pittsburgh neighborhoods, has no official boundaries. It’s all under the city of Pittsburgh government, which is divided into wards. The city has tried to establish neighborhood boundaries on maps, but it’s still fuzzy, ultimately the judgment of current and former residents. Traditionally, Cathol