Post by GRWelsh on Mar 16, 2023 8:17:52 GMT -5
Tuesday, I drove my parents down to south Pittsburgh. My mom wanted to see her only surviving uncle Rudy who is 90 and is living at his house in Baldwin. It turns out that Rudy's second wife had a daughter who bought the house Rudy grew up in at Brentwood, the next neighborhood over from Baldwin -- quite a coincidence! So, my parents and I were able to go through that house and see it again. When I was a kid, that was Great Grandma's house, and I remember it very well. It was a real treat to be able to walk through it again after 40 years. I took a lot of photos for the sake of posterity. Bobbi, the current owner and Rudy's stepdaughter, gave us a tour of the house. She and her husband bought the house from my Great Grandma in 1984 and raised four kids there. That means in the past 97 years the house has only had two owners. The date on the bottom of the porcelain sink in the kitchen is 11/17/1926, so that is when it was built. Uncle Rudy said his dad was a stockbroker and worked as secretary of the Slovak Society which sold insurance. He must have made good money for his time because he was able to have this house built in 1926 which was after his older sons Ernie and Art (my grandpa) were already born. Rudy was born there in 1933. In 1942 Grandpa proposed to Grandma after their first date and she accepted. Grandpa was about to ship off to the Pacific Theater where he was was a tail gunner and radio operator on a B29. He introduced his dad to Grandma as he was about to ship off and said "I'd like you to meet my new wife. She'll be staying with you for a while." My mom spent her first year of life at 121 Sceneridge, although she doesn't remember it, Rudy did. When she was growing up in th 1950's, she would often go to stay with her grandparents at 121 Sceneridge and spend a week or two there and they would spoil her, and get her a pass to the pool and give her money to spend. In the 1970's my mom would often take me and my sister to visit my great grandparents at 121 Sceneridge, and I have a lot of fond memories of that house. The house had some interesting features, like a laundry chute from second story bathroom, openable panel to it from first floor kitchen, and a wooden basket to catch the clothes in the basement. Basement had fruit cellar and coal chute, and you could still see where the original coal furnace was. There was a "secret passage" stairway from hall outside the kitchen to the second story which always fascinated us. The doors all had clear crystal doorknobs, and the windows had stained glass with artwork shipped over from Italy. I remember going from the front hall to the kitchen there were these hanging doilie streamers that you had to walk through, but they aren't there any more. But the original cupboards are still in the kitchen. Walking through that house was like going back in time. Also, Bobbi gave me a 'treasure chest' from the attic that had been up there 'forever' according to Rudy... It has some old mirrors in it, and Great Grandma used to store linens in it. It was in the attic when Rudy was a kid, when my mom was a kid, and when my sister and I were kids... I'm going to show the chest to my sister and see what she wants to do with it.
Around 2007-2019 when Scott had an apartment and later a house in Brentwood, and we would sometimes game at his place, I would always think of my great grandparents and this house which was in the neighborhood. My friend Cindy also worked at DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen in Brentwood and still works there part time. 121 Sceneridge is on the same avenue as the house from "The Demon of Brownsville Road" book that I was talking about a few years ago (3406 Brownsville Road). So, lots of connections and memories here... I'll post a few photos of it later.
Around 2007-2019 when Scott had an apartment and later a house in Brentwood, and we would sometimes game at his place, I would always think of my great grandparents and this house which was in the neighborhood. My friend Cindy also worked at DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen in Brentwood and still works there part time. 121 Sceneridge is on the same avenue as the house from "The Demon of Brownsville Road" book that I was talking about a few years ago (3406 Brownsville Road). So, lots of connections and memories here... I'll post a few photos of it later.
