A Good Day to be a Neighbor
JULY 8, 2021
Grace Carney, age 9, of West Mifflin, hugs a pony at Good Neighbor Day in McKeesport.
Photograph by Nya O’Neal
Good Neighbor Day in McKeesport is annual event where Mayor Mike Cherepko invites everyone to come to 5th Avenue to share in a day of fun, food and free games. The gathering boast more than 40 non-profits, small businesses and vendors.
This was my first time attending Good Neighbor Day. So when my good friend Mrs. Martha Rial of Tube City Writers asked me to cover the event, I then asked our good friend, Mrs. Vicki Babyak, a photographer with the Mon Valley Photography Collective, to walk with me and take some pictures. I asked Miss Vicki what the event was all about and she said, “Good Neighbor Day tries to help small businesses and agencies promote what they have to offer to our neighborhoods.”
Colette Funches (left) takes notes during her first Good Neighbor Day.
Photograph by Vickie Babyak
As we walked along, we saw many food vendors and lots of people walking around trying to decide on what kinds of foods to buy. I met a vendor named Mrs. Betty Jean McClirk who impressed me with her story about how she once had her own store in the Washington and Monroeville Malls. As a small business woman, she offered many items to her customers including crocheted blankets, perfume, jewelry, heating pads, stuffed animals. Plus for $2.00, you could pick five items.
She said “I always keep and sell beach balls for 50¢ for kids. When they come in and they don’t have a lot of money to buy anything.” Having been in the retail business for 35 years, she has even sold Christmas merchandise in the North Hills. Due to rising costs, she closed her stores and now sells her items at craft shows and street fairs.
Valentino and the Avengers perform on Fifth Avenue.
Photograph by Nan Belli
Looking up and down the street, we saw the Ziebart Cars Corporation booth. Soon, we saw our fire trucks from the City of McKeesport Fire Department. Now what would Good Neighbor Day be without them? There were many different kinds of groups present. The Clariton Family Center was there with Jan Gooden, Tasha Langan, JaWanna Warren and Jamie Burger. They serve 40 to 50 families with a focus on community-based socialization and home visits to give assessments for children from birth to age five. They also provide housing and utilities assistance.
Auberle provides a free SNAP Program for kids and families. The program helps kids, ages 3 to 6 make good choices, whether in or out of a classroom. They also learn emotional management skills and the parents learn effective parenting skills.
When we stopped by the UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital booth, we saw Nicole Travis, Director of Community Outreach, had many educational pamphlets on Women’s health a Pre-Natal Doula Program especially for Black women, the outpatient clinic and a childbirth delivery program which was during COVID-19, offers classes online for large groups. Carla DeJesus, a Dietician and Diabetes Educator for UPMC Hospital had several tips for good nutritious meals for people with diabetes.
Women for a Healthy Environment is a another program for families, said Germaine Patterson. She will come to your home to do an assessment to check for lead or mold problems.
Care to have your hair styled for the summer? Then you can go to Daneb’s House of Styles which opened in June 2021. Sheri Thomas’s beauty shop offers perms, relaxers, dreads, colors, cuts, and braiding for women as well as barber haircuts for men, haircuts for kids. They sell hair extensions.
King’s Table Community Church, now located on Walnut Street, run by Reverend Duane and his wife Susan Brown, offers church services and care for seniors and the disabled, as well as anyone else looking for help.
There was even something for kids at Good Neighbor Day. I saw three multi-colored choo-choo trains made from large cylinder cans which could carry three passengers down 5th Avenue, It even had a real conductor! The Bouncy Balloon Castle and slide had me wanting to go and jump up and down on it.
Pony Time Ranch from Lowellville, Ohio brought many animals for the children to pet including this curious goat.
Photograph by Maria Palmer
Mr. Keith Timmins, of Pony Time Ranch, traveled here from Ohio. They brought three ducks, a pony, some sheep, a large turkey with ‘feathers’ and one goat. Oh, make that two goats, the other one was eating the grass, and the cutest bunnies you did ever see were running around an little enclosed gate. The kids enjoyed petting all the animals. I didn’t get to count all of them!
If your kids are thinking about doing some summer reading, then don’t forget about the Carnegie Library of McKeesport. Yes! Miss Mary Rose was at the McKeesport Library Summer Reading booth. The program begins Monday, June 21. Students who accumulate 6 hours of reading time by the end of the program will receive prizes.
The Clairton chapter of Gwen’s Girls visit the McKeesport Community Newsroom selfie wall.
Photograph by Comocrea Johnson
I went on to talk with Melissa Howard from The Blessing Board Furniture Ministry which is also located in McKeesport. The ministry has been around for 11 years. It’s first three years were in Oakmont. They have served over 140 families who are struggling with an addiction or loss of a home by providing them home goods and furniture. All you need to do is bring a truck with you.
Katie Majewski, of the McKeesport Little Theater, adds a message to the McKeesport Community Newsroom selfie wall.
Photograph by Jennifer McCalla
Of course, we all know of or have heard of the McKeesport Lion’s Club. According to Mr. Chuck and Miss Linda, “Our club sponsors the Summer Concerts Series in Renzie Park at the Pavillion and oversees the Bike Trail. They also help the blind by seeking donations to buy glasses for anyone who needs them and assist with finding “seeing eye dogs”.
You would have to agree that with all of the great things that go on in McKeesport and Good Neighbor Day makes it a very special place.