LIFE CHANGING EVENTS

IRVIN WORKS WAS UNITED STATES STEELS MOST MODERN STEEL MILL IN THE MON-VALLEY AND WHEN I GOT A MILLWRIGHT APPRENTICESHIP IN 1981 I THOUGHT I HAD IT MADE FOR LIFE. LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, LIFE FOR ME AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS CHANGED FOREVER. WHEREAS ARLENE KNEW FRUGALITY, I NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING- BUT WAS ABOUT TO LEARN. WE WERE HEATING OUR HOUSE WITH OIL BACK THEN AND FUEL OIL HAD DOUBLED IN PRICE, SO ONE THING WE DID INVEST IN, WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND, IS AN ADD-ON WOOD FURNACE. WE HAVEN'T BOUGHT A DROP OF FUEL SINCE 1982 AND I REALLY ENJOY FINDING AND CUTTING FREE WOOD. THE 80'S IN WESTERN PA.  WERE NOT GOOD TIMES. MAYBE 100,000 PEOPLE LOST THEIR JOBS AND A HIGH PERCENTAGE HAD DEFINITE SKILLS- MILLWRIGHT APPRENTICE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE. IRVIN WORKS SURVIVED AND SO DID I; WENT TO SCHOOL FOR WELDING, GOT A JOB AT A BOILERMAKER SHOP AND WHEN THAT CLOSED IN 1993 GOT INTO FIELD CONSTRUCTION AS A BOILERMAKER OUT OF BOILERMAKERS LOCAL 154 PITTSBURGH PA.

THE EARLY YEARS

IN 1979 ARLENE IS WORKING FULL-TIME AS A RN; I'M WORKING FULL-TIME AS A MILLWRIGHT HELPER WITH LOTS OF OVERTIME; JUST GOT MARRIED, BOUGHT PROPERTY AND TRYING TO FIX IT UP TO OUR LIKING. I'M 21, AND OBVIOUSLY THINKING OF OTHER THINGS, DIDN'T PUT MUCH THOUGHT IN THE LOCATION OF OUR MAILBOX. I FOLLOWED THE LEAD OF THE PREVIOUS OWNERS AND PUT IT IN THE SAME LOCATION, ON THE SAME POST, IN THE PREVIOUS MENTIONED GRAVEL AREA  BEFORE THE ENTRANCE TO OUR DRIVEWAY. THIS WAS MY NEIGHBORS PROPERTY IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE. MY NEIGHBORS WERE A NICE SWEET GRANDMOTHER , A MOTHER, A SON AND A DAUGHTER. THE MAILBOX LOCATION LEAD TO MY FIRST CONTACT BY WAY OF A "DEAR NEIGHBOR" LETTER. THE LETTER-FROM THE MOTHER-SAID  THAT THEY WERE GOING TO LEAVE IT GO, BUT WHEN I LATER PUT MY NAME ABOVE THE MAILBOX IT WAS BLOCKING THEIR MAILBOX. NO PROBLEM, I JUST DUG A HOLE IN FRONT OF MY PROPERTY, SET A PIPE IN CONCRETE AND LATER SET MY MAILBOX. THIS MAILBOX LOCATION IS STILL THE SAME TODAY AND HAD SOME IMPORTANCE DURING THE TRAIL. THE GRANDMOTHER CAME TO OUR HOUSE AND APOLOGIZES. YEARS LATER   HER GRANDDAUGHTER [THE DAUGHTER] AND FUTURE HUSBAND FILE THE LAWSUIT. 

1994 PICTURE OUR DRIVEWAY AND EAST DONORA RD.

EAST DONORA RD.

EAST DONORA RD. IN ROSTRAVER TWP., BELLE VERNON, PA. IS A NICE DEAD END RD. IT'S SURROUNDED BY WOODS AND HAS ONLY A DOZEN OR SO HOUSES. WE ARE ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH. AS YOU ENTER EAST DONORA AND HEAD TOWARDS OUR PROPERTY YOU MAKE A SHARP LEFT AND THEN THE ROAD STRAIGHTENS OUT FOR 700 HUNDRED FEET OR SO. THE ROAD ITSELF IS FAIRLY LEVEL TO THIS POINT BUT THE SURROUNDING GROUND IS SOMEWHAT SLOPPED. AS YOU CAME TO OUR PROPERTY IN 1978 YOU WOULD NOTICE A GRAVEL PARKING AREA BEFORE OUR DRIVEWAY AND THEN AS YOU ENTER OUR DRIVEWAY YOU WOULD NOTICE, 8 FEET TO YOUR LEFT, A SMALL GARAGE WITH OUR ORIGINAL OWNERS NAME PAINTED ON THE GARAGE, WITH A ARROW POINTING IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR HOUSE. OUR HOUSE SITS ON THE BACK SET OF LOTS AS FAR AWAY FROM THE GARAGE AS IT COULD BE ON THE PROPERTY. EAST DONORA RD. STARTS TO GO UPHILL FROM OUR DRIVEWAY TO THE END OF OUR PROPERTY, THEN TURNS RIGHT BEFORE GOING DOWN A HILL.

SOME REFLECTIONS

IT'S AMAZING AND IRONIC THAT I'M SITTING HERE TYPING-MAYBE WE CAN'T CALL IT TYPING-AT MY COMPUTER AND SOMEHOW THE RESULTS ARE BEING PICKED UP-QUITE FAST NOW-AND GOING WHERE I INTENDED. IT'S AMAZING IN THAT I JUST ENTERED THE COMPUTER AGE IN JAN. 2009; AND THAT WAS PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE LAWSUIT. ALTHOUGH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FASTER AND EASIER TO ASK OTHERS I CHOOSE TO LEARN ON MY OWN. ITS IRONIC BECAUSE MANY YEARS AGO I WAS ENCOURAGED TO LEARN ABOUT COMPUTERS BUT I WAS NEVER INTERESTED. I STILL REMEMBER IN THE LATE 60'S-I WAS 12-MY DAD HAVING A TV IN HIS WORKSHOP, AND PLAYING A PING PONG TYPE GAME. MY DAD LEARNED ELECTRONICS IN THE EARLY 50'S IN THE NAVY,WENT TO SCHOOL AFTER, AND GOT A JOB WITH WESTINGHOUSE WORKING FOR 40 YEARS WITH COMPUTERS TILL HE RETIRED.

IN THE BEGINNING

I GRADUATED IN 1975, MET ARLENE AT MONONGAHELA VALLEY HOSPITAL IN 1976 WHERE WE WERE BOTH EMPLOYED. WE FELL IN LOVE; I GOT A  JOB AT UNITED STATES STEEL IN 1978 AND WE STARTED HOUSE HUNTING. WE BOUGHT A HOUSE IN DEC. 1978, GOT MARRIED JAN. 1979 AND MOVED IN AND STARTED A LIFE. WE BOUGHT A SMALL OLDER ALUMINUM SIDED HOUSE THAT WE KNEW WE COULD AFFORD-FIGURING THAT WE COULD DO ANYTHING WE WANTED TO IMPROVE THE HOUSE OVER TIME. THE NICE THING ABOUT THE PROPERTY WAS THE 2 ACRES OF LAND WHICH, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS SLOPED,WAS NICELY PLANTED AND HAD A NEWER LEVEL ASPHALT DRIVEWAY GOING TO A 2 CAR GARAGE THEN AROUND A CIRCLE AND BACK OUT. NO SURVEY  WAS REQUIRED AT HOUSE CLOSING AND NONE WAS DONE. THE PREVIOUS OWNERS LIVED THERE LESS THAN 1 YR. AND THEY BOUGHT THE PROPERTY FROM THE FAMILY THAT OWNED IT FROM THE BEGINNING. UNBEKNOWN TO US AT THE TIME, THE DRIVEWAY CROSSED THE CORNER OF THE NEIGHBORS PROPERTY WHERE IT MEETS THE ROAD.

Rostraver Townships Most Famous Driveway

http://cathersvswujcik.blogspot.com     Here we go, but first, THANK YOU GOOGLE. ''YOU SEE THINGS; AND YOU SAY,'WHY?' BUT I DREAM THINGS THAT NEVER WERE; AND I SAY, 'WHY NOT?' ''-GEORGE BERNARD SHAW. AFTER 4 PLUS YEARS AND LOTS OF MONEY THE STORY IS BASICALLY HIDDEN. IT'S NOT THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD BUT IT'S A VERY GOOD ONE AND WITHOUT GOOGLE I DON'T KNOW HOW I COULD HAVE TOLD IT. ONE YEAR AGO-JAN. 26, 2010  THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PA. AFFIRMED  THE JUDGMENT OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY CIVIL  COURT BY A MEMORANDUM DECISION-WHICH WAS SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTING IN THAT, THAT MEANS IT'S NOT PUBLISHED. AND THE POINT IS, ''WHY NOT?" MY INTENT IS NOT TO BE MALICIOUS AND I WILL REFRAIN  FROM TELLING MANY ASPECTS OF THE STORY-BUT WHAT A MOVIE IT WOULD MAKE. I'VE SEEN THINGS, HEARD THINGS AND LEARNED THINGS THAT ARE UNBELIEVABLE AND MY INTENT IS TO MAYBE HELP SOMEONE ELSE. I WILL,HOPEFULLY, BE POSTING CONTINUALLY NOW.