University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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Soho— Tumbledown hovels of Hunyal(s, Home of the squalid, the wretched; Blind alleys of filth and of darkness. Hillsides— Bare save for rubbish— Barrels, bedsprings, and garbage. Steel mills— Clamor incessant, wild chaos. Whittles, forges infernal. Smoke— Maying twilight of noonday, Sulphurous, soot'laden draperies Fettooning every horizon. Night— Bridges softened to charcoal, Tardlights of green arid of crimson. Furnaces flaming to heaven. Soho— Rugged, unlovely, repulsive, Flaring by night into beauty. C «7!

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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

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Shady £ane W. HERVEY ALLEN, '15 When Shady Avenue was Shady Lane, Before the city fathers changed the name. And cows Stood switching flies beneath the trees. And old'time gardens hummed with duSty bees, And white ducks paddled in the summer rain; Then everybody drove to church. And Shady Avenue was Shady Lane. We hied on Arabella Street, that too Is changed — Kentucky Avenue — And where the toll-gate flood beside the spring. The phlox and hollyhocks Once flourished by the box Where the gatekeeper sat with key and ring. A wiser looking man there never was. In contemplative mood he smoked and spat. There by the gate he sat In an old dog-eared hat And listened to the yellow jackets' buzz. All this is gone — Gone glimmering down the ways Of old, loved things of our lotI yesterdays. After the little toll-gate by the spring. And the gatekeeper odd ReSts in the quiet sod. Safe in the arms of God Where thrushes sing. Even the spring has gone, for long ago They walled that in. And its dark waters flow A sunless way along: And no one Slops to wonder where they go. For no one hears their song. Only a few old hearts Of these much changed parts, Whose time will soon run out on all the clocks. Catching the scent of clover. Live all the old days over When Shady Avenue was Shady Lane. [18}