NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Four generations of Sullivans have now lived in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania. They presently include son Bruce, wife Pattie, and two grandchildren, Shannon & Kyle. Before their arrival, Mom & Dad, my two brothers , Jim and Tom , and me, once resided there also.

If you throw in Frank Smith, my grandfather, who resided with our mom & dad briefly, that makes 5 generations.

A December, 2008 Pew Research Center survey found that 56% of U.S born adults have not lived outside their birth state, and of the 37% who have stayed in their hometown, 74% said the main reason was to be near their family.

It is true that a lot of the "moving around" we see in our country has had to do with the corporate motto: "To be promotable - Is to be mobile." But, in reality, not all of the exodus was that complex. Some of us just couldn't pay the rent and moved out at night.

Many of us think often about our hometowns after we move away. We delight when exchanging chit- chat with a stranger to discover that they are familiar with our home town. Some may have even lived nearby. I like to think our home town is our "place".

Tim Wendel is the author of " High Heat - The Secret History Of The Fastball'. He recently quoted famous writer Eudora Welty: "Any well written story requires a sense of 'place'. Without it the tale floats about, with no connection to the concrete world. From the dawn of man's imagination 'place' has enshrined the spirit".

Mom & Dad were not the most nomadic of people. Their Forest Hills addresses, in sequence were 119 Sumner, 23 Sumner, 120 Sumner, 200 Lenox, and finally 392 Avenue F. All but the last could probably be reached with a well thrown fast ball from the corner of Sumner & Atlantic Avenues where we often played at night. (that is - until the streetlights came on.)

In 1788 Allegheny County (our home county) was formed from parts of Westmoreland and Washington counties. Forest Hills was Pitt Township until 1812 and was then divided. Our section became Wilkins Township. In 1855 it was again sub-divided. Part of the current Forest Hills area remained in Wilkins Township while part joined Braddock Township.

Forest Hills, which had 4 homes in 1860, only had electric, gas, telephone, and water services established throughout the borough in 1913.

To put things in perspective: my Dad would have been 5 years old in 1913. We moved in as a family about 25 years later . We were pioneers and didn't know it.

As a tiny community, Forest Hills predates it's incorporation as a borough in 1919 by at least 50 years. In 1919 the population was 850 people and had an assessed valuation of about a half million dollars. In the 2000 census they counted 6,831 people, 3% of whom were 'black'.

Prior to it's incorporation, the early residents felt they were paying considerable sums in taxes and receiving few benefits. Therefore, representatives from all sections began meeting with the intention of establishing what is now Forest Hills Borough.

A key area of dispute was the maintenance of Lincoln Highway (Route 30) - now Ardmore Boulevard. Fortunately, after two years it was taken over by the county, much to the chagrin of
Wilkins and Braddock Townships who wanted this area to stay with them. They went to court - lost - and Forest Hills was then incorporated.

The early history of Forest Hills in the 1860's included the start of coal mining in the area. In 187o the Armstrong mine of The Duquesne Coal Company was well established. Mining petered out around 1905 but loose coal could be found on top the ground in many areas of the borough.

The Sullivan kids played in the woods behind 120 Sumner where the coal was plentiful.

One day the oldest gathered up some of the coal in his WW II wooden wagon. He had overheard his folks talking, and his mother was crying, because they were "poor". He proudly rolled the wagon down the back yard and proclaimed, "Look Mommy, we don't have to be poor anymore". She cried again.

The Freehold Real Estate Company had begun home development in the Ardmore Section in 1907, and Bryn Mawr started up 3 years later. The opening of Ardmore Boulevard and the street railway in East Pittsburgh around 1910 induced more families to move to Forest Hills. What would we have done without the infamous "87 Ardmore" streetcar?

It's gone now, but, some of us Sullivans are still hanging in there 100 years later.

(Source: Primarily, the 1969 Golden Jubilee booklet.)