Mon Valley Residents Reflect On Their Common Bonds

August 10, 2023

Getting ready for today was nerve-wracking, but fun. I spoke with a few McKeesport residents who helped me answer the question we, as journalists, have been tasked with exploring: what makes a Mon-Valley type of person?

Laureese Harper, 53, a lifelong resident and vice president of the McKeesport Little Tigers, a community youth sports organization, said she loves living in McKeesport. “It has its flaws just like any other community, but I think it's a very resilient community and it’s a community that has a lot of pride,” she said.

Love and connection were apparent during a short conversation at Renzie Park following a Little Tigers event where many children were running around with their parents following right behind them. As families left the park, Ms. Harper was met with hugs and calls of see ya later.

The huge turnout for kids speaks volumes about McKeesport and the consistent community support that outdoes its sometimes-bad reputation. “You know oftentimes when people think about McKeesport they think about the violence, but it’s a very small portion of what goes on here,” Ms. Harper said. “Everyone still comes together on Sunday and Friday nights for the football games. It's just amazing.”

Ms. Harper wants to develop more programs to create safe spaces for youth. “The kids get a bad rep in this community,” she said. “They’re bad. They’re this, they’re that. They’re in bad situations, but they’re not bad kids.”.

Nevaeh Kennedy, 16, a rising junior at McKeesport Area High School, spent her childhood having fun and playing with friends. The former cheerleader at Little Tiger games now cheers for the high school teams, and believes a Mon Valley person is loud, out-going, funny, and athletic.

Growing up, Nevaeh struggled with grief and trauma over family members and friends killed by gun violence and hopes someday to help others cope with the pain she experienced. Asked about resources available to young people touched by violence, Nevaeh said there was not enough help and comfort beyond what parents could offer. Just having a safe person to talk to and a safe place to go when you're sad, or you need a quiet place, would have been a huge help, she said.

So, Nevaeh plans on becoming that person. She wants to attend college and train to become a therapist to help others. Her mother, she said, is her inspiration.  

Nathan and Amanda Young, both 41, are raising their children in White Oak, where Mrs. Young’s grandfather first settled. Mr. Young is a Braddock native and moved to White Oak with his wife. Mrs. Young felt her childhood here was fine with close family being a plus, but she would like more for her children. “There could be a little bit more, more communication, more community events,” she said. “That togetherness feeling would be nice.”

Moving from Braddock to White Oak was not exactly what Mr. Young thought life in the suburbs would be. Based on “being a kid from the hood who probably watched way too much TV, I thought that people would be more welcoming. They would bring casseroles and say hi.”

Mr. Young said he has grown to appreciate people who care for and support the community just as they were supported while growing up. “But I also see there’s a lot of people who just decided not to share that wealth back … to pay it forward,” he said.

Mr. Young has seen the impact of too little support on youth sports teams that need more instructors and better equipment. He feels more community involvement would pay off in a better future for children.

Through all of this, the Youngs describe Mon Valley people as hard-working and protective, always wanting the best for their families.

Jo Ellen Kenney, retired children’s librarian, and director of the McKeesport Carnegie Library, traced the beginning of her career to being a volunteer Girl Scout page at the library she would later direct. After earning a degree in elementary and library science, she worked as a school librarian all over the McKeesport district. She became the McKeesport library director after being a librarian for 10 years and earning a master’s degree.

Local schools have recently stopped hiring librarians, a trend Ms. Kenney called a travesty. Even though Ms. Kenny is aware the library world has changed, she believes this instruction is still valuable. “I think having library instruction in the library by a librarian is different from the classroom teachers trying to incorporate it into their lessons,” she said.

From Ms. Kenney’s perspective, Mon Valley families take care of their own, including the elderly, and do what they can to help when issues arrive. She said we come from a strong base of family, friendship, and loyalty, and if we could get common respect back all the other pieces of life will fall into place.

Vincent Wright, 58, was born and raised in McKeesport and is a chef who runs his own catering business. He is a hardworking and charitable man, who uses his gift in food to spread love and support to others.

 However, the food industry has been tough since the pandemic. Higher costs and lower customer traffic forced him to close a restaurant location he operated in a UPMC facility near Fox Chapel. “I didn’t want to shut it down, but my mom said to go out on grace. You did your best and sometimes you can’t make everything work out,” he said.

Mr. Wright finds comfort in giving back to the community that helped him. He often helps out at the Sonshine Community Kitchen in McKeesport. “I do a lot of volunteering,” he said. “You just can't always be on the receiving end, you gotta give back.”

He believes people care but are discouraged with the city’s direction. He sees a need for change including more involvement from residents, an improved relationship between police and residents, local churches uniting again, and everyone loving one another.

Mr. Wright said he loves McKeesport. “It’s just going to take more people coming together and, like I said, love. McKeesport got a lot of love,” he said.

During my conversations, I was met with bright smiles, laughter, wisdom, hope, and lots of love. It gave me hope that we can continue to come together, fight through and fix obstacles that arrive. After all, a Mon Valley person is hard working, protective, strong, resilient, giving, caring and passionate.

  -       Nya O’Neal