Mt. Lebanon Magazine
Mt. Lebanon Municipality publishes a glossy monthly magazine entitled "mt.
lebanon" which has been running a series called "near neighbors" (apparently
their word processor lacks capital letters), which provides the locals with
ideas of nearby communities they can visit when they are into "slumming". An
alternate possibility for the lower case letters is that the editor has a
crush on e.e. cummings.
The November 2001 version of the series suggested they visit Bridgeville, "a
snap-shot of small-town America". After all, it "is so close, it won't take
long to get home". Despite the tongue-in-cheek, sometimes demeaning, flavor
of the article, it does present Bridgeville in a very favorable light.
Perhaps this is a vision of what Bridgeville could become in the future.
The article mentions "tall, arch-windowed brick buildings flanking
Washington Avenue as it narrows at the center of town", "A bank with fat
Roman columns and a granite entry", and the renovated train depot (the
Bridgeville Public Library) -- all attractive relics of an earlier time.
Indeed these are attractive assets and a reminder that we should do
everything we can to preserve them and their contemporaries.
Commercial establishments mentioned include the ("almost unbearably cute")
Cozy Nest, Home Sweet Home Again, Burgh's pizza and Wings, Senor Frogs,
Tambellini's, La Bella Bean, and the Good Wood Grill. We are especially
partial to the Good Wood Grill, believing it is one of the very best
restaurants in the South Hills. Its location in the renovated Ritz Hotel
adds to its attractiveness.
Somehow the writer missed Sarasnick's -- she obviously is not a hardware
shopper. Those of us who find the need to frequent the hardware departments
of the chain stores regularly are told "We don't carry that item any more,
Why don't you try Sarasnick's, in Bridgeville?" Heard at K-Mart or a more
modern "hardware store", this is the ultimate compliment. Let's hope
Sarasnick's can retain its charm and reputation for many more years.
Or perhaps she is a Mt. Lebanon resident whose basis for reference is
Rollier's, a alleged hardware store that stocks patent medicines, Hostess
Twinkies, and greeting cards, but regularly comes up empty when this
customer needs a legitimate hardware item. In contrast, Sarasnick's has
always been a place where a customer can go in with a problem and come out
with a solution (often a very inexpensive one).
A century ago, Bridgeville was the capital city of a small rural area
populated with farms and "coal patch settlements", a place for residents of
the neighboring townships to shop, to do their banking, to see a movie, to
go to church, and in general to take advantage of a typical "down town"
district. It was a good example of "small-town America"; self sufficient and
compact enough that a Saturday evening visit to its "main drag" could
provide almost of the needs of its residents. It was just the right distance
from Pittsburgh; close enough to access when necessary, but far enough away
to maintain its individuality.
Today the farms and coal towns in Upper St. Clair, South Fayette, Collier,
and Scott townships have been replaced by housing developments, ranging from
low-middle class to luxurious, and by convenience stores and modern shopping
malls. The contrast of an old-fashioned down town business district will
continue to be quite striking. The opponents of urban sprawl are quick to
use these communities as examples of what they oppose.
Perhaps the future of Bridgeville's business district and residential
neighborhoods should be focused on truly becoming "a snap-shot of small-town
America", a haven for those suburbanites who seek escape from the malls and
tract developments. Many of the constituent parts of such a future already
exist; even the "mt. lebanon" magazine recognizes that.
My brother and his wife recently took a trip to north-central Pennsylvania
and were full of comments about the survival of old-fashioned small towns in
that area, where there weren't enough people to attract WalMart or Home
Depot. Bridgeville still has a chance to retain the same kind of charm.
Copies of recent columns may be accessed on the world wide web at
http://www.pitt.edu/~oyler1/September%201945.html.