University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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Natural Resources T TER rivers brought greatness to Pittsburgh; her coal secured it. Stand at the Point • - some sunset when the sky is orange above Mount Washington and the Ohio flows away in a broad, golden Stream. Look along the shores at the dark lengths of mills with jutting Stacks, and notice in the gloom of the banks between the pastel bridges the barges heaped with coal. Watch, too, the tugboats pushing other barges like extended shadows as their paddle-wheels catch the last sunlight in falling foam. So, for over a century, the rivers have been supplying Pittsburgh's mills. In the graft migration of the late seventeen hundreds a pioneer trading-post grew up on the site of the Golden Triangle — because the Ohio led west to wilderness farms and frontier settlements. Coopers, mercers, ironmongers established their shops and forges, and as early as 1797 General O'Hara put up his glass fadory near the Point. Before the end of two decades the city charter had been granted, and trade was thriving. Pittsburgh's shipbuilders began to conStrud ocean-going vessels. Then came the time when paddle-wheelers first Steamed under the bridges of the growing city. The old Pennsylvania Canal came, too, and went; railroads lined the rivers. Toward the end of the century the world was Startled one day to find Pittsburgh its industrial capital, and at present the city retains her supremacy. But Still the tugs push their barges to supply the mills with cad, and Still the paddle-wheeled Steamers have their regular sailings from the wharves. Her rivers helped Pittsburgh to grow, and they remain one of her greatest assets. In 1784 a Virginian in a description of Pittsburgh wrote: The Kinks of the Mononga-hela on the west, or opposite to Pittsburgh, are Steep, close to the water, and about two hundred yards high. About a third of the way from the top is a vein of cad above one of the rocks. Coal! There in the hillside was the prophecy of greater Pittsburgh. Nor was it long before interpreters appeared. In 1805 the first iron foundry was built; its success led to others. Coil was cheap, for all the hills of the diStrirt had rich veins. Cheap cad! Cheap transportation! The West was opening, had opened to Pittsburgh. The market was

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Cfires Out- night I lay by a fire of twigs at the wood's edge. Below, the river was lacquered with red, flawed light. At dawn I covered the fire with ashes. One night I Stood by a fire in a Slovak, kitchen; A mother sang to her child of the hills of Bohemia, And this night her husband slacked the fire with ashes. One night I Stood by the open hearth at Bessemer. Mournfully, through the dark, a freight tram whistled. Fury and splendor of flames awed me to silence. Time will put out these flames with his own ashes. (m3

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at hand, and industry was ready to supply it. Coal stoked the furnaces of the new city, and iron poured forth for all the country and beyond. Farther and farther Pittsburgh sent for her ores, but the coal to smelt them came from her own region. Plentiful coal meant cheap iron, the ability to undersell. And now the mills along the rivers with their smoke by day and fire by night show what power that ability has brought to the city. Nor was it in the iron industry alone that coal gave Pittsburgh an advantage over her competitors. From its Start at O'Hara's plant, glass manufacture has grown until now' the Steel City is also the center of the glass trade in the United States. Indeed, Pittsburgh's prosperity seems destined to increase. The city is fitted by her position to be the distributing center of one of the wealthiest regions of the country; from the offices of her skyscrapers the power of her district is controlled. The oil boom of western Pennsylvania gave new vigor to an already flourishing city. The farmers of the neighboring valleys brought their produce to her markets and left their money in her banks. And with the new century George WeStinghouse reared his great electrical plants to add to the comfort of the world and the fame of greater Pittsburgh. So her coal, so her region, so her rivers have added to the glory of the city — and from her very eminence another advantage has accrued. Her people! The idea seems forced, abortive, but instead it is genuine and healthy. Pittsburgh's people! In the million of her county and the millions of the region think of the skill, the talent. Pittsburgh'sinduStrieshave prospered, and prospering, have attracted able artisans. The skill, the talent will tend to remain, as they have remained through thepassinggenerationsuntilnow'.Why does Brussels Stand for carpets, and Dublin for lace? Initial advantages have drawn skilled labor, and the cities through the centuries have become noted for their products. Pittsburgh, then, still in the strength of her coal and her rivers, has gained and is gaining added vigor from her able people.Coal barges! And mills along the rivers! And in the mills, men! f 16I