When I first met Martha Rial, and she told me of her plans to help the people of McKeesport tell their stories after losing their newspaper, I was keen to help. I am a storyteller myself, and I know very well the power of stories. Individual stories, after all, help shape the narrative of entire events, places, or lives. The Mon Valley, and especially McKeesport, is a great example of why stories matter.

As a non-native of the region, I’ve been told a lot of stories about this place. Most people talk about two McKeesports: the one that used to exist, and the one that exists now. The first narrative usually focuses on a nostalgic, romanticized version of a past that only existed for some of its residents. Meanwhile, the second is a narrative often shaped by outsiders who have very little experience of the actual city. 

My goal was to resist both of these narratives and to focus on the real lives of people who live in this area. These storytellers have done a beautiful job doing just that. We begin with stories that take you back in time, to when childhood was seemingly limitless in its potential. We will interact with figures who straddle and symbolize the generational shifts of this area, and we will hear about a beloved car that represents an American Dream that fruited here, so briefly and only for a lucky few.

We will also hear from those for whom that dream was a mirage, and for whom “progress” has meant being treated as less than human. We will hear a story about saving the most vulnerable in our society, and a story about someone saving herself from other people’s definitions of her and her life. Finally, we will return to childhood, and what it’s like living here now.

I’ve been honored to work with these storytellers, and I’m so excited for you to hear the product of what has been months of hard work on their part.

-Dr. Nicole Peeler