OT: Poorest town in each state...in PA, it's
- Thread starter royboy
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I will say this, since I grew up in Somerset and mom and some family still live there. There were or are some very big reasons many long time Somerset residents think that the addition of the Berlin Prison, turning the former State Hospital into SCI (current home of JS), and the demise of Johnstown has impacted whats currently going on in Somerset.
Meth and especially Heroin are huge issues in Somerset, Berlin and the Meyersdale areas. They don't call that part of the PA Pike the "Heroin Highway" for nothing.
Shithole? Dump? A lot of good people have lived, and still live, in Johnstown. I understand the town has come upon hard times, but is it really necessary to use such derogatory terms in describing their home town?
As an aside, Jack Ham and Tom Bradley are both from Johnstown. If you happen to see either, please tell them how you feel about their hometown. After you do that, I suggest you pick up your teeth and keep them moist. Then, get yourself to an oral surgeon immediately.
By the way, Jack is a minority owner of the North American Hockey League’s Johnstown Tomahawks.
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My dads side is originally from Mt Carmel,if you spoke with him he would tell you Mt. Carmel is a dump.He would say how much the town has gone downhill.Sorry if I struck a nerve,I had no intentions of coming off as an elitist.
Govenor Wolfe said Monday, about a new facility near Altoona, that “ South central Pennsylvania has become known as a corridor for snack food creation “...
So we got that going for us.
Which is nice.
you can say that about state government too
Ah, it's OK. I tend to be overly sensitive when anyone badmouths another person's hometown. That is not to say one can't be critical. If any city has high crime, or bad roads, or no night life, that's fair game, but using a term like shithole is, for me at least, beyond the pale. Like I said, I may be too sensitive.
Checking in from my hometown Punxsutawney, some of these towns (i.e. Altoona ) are like Disney World compared to where I grew up ...
Youngstown, Ohio? OMG. I'm nervous driving through that sh*t hole in broad daylight. If you get out of your car for any reason you'd better watch your back. It is a dangerous town!
Heard of it and been there years ago for their flaming foliage festival. I’d have to agree with you
Where do Tyrone and Philipsburg rank? Haven’t been thru them in years but I remember them being real dumps.
Also Fayette Co. Otherwise known as Fayettenaum Co.
As a native of Johnstown, and back here at the moment taking care of my 88 yr old mother who recently fell and hurt her back, it's certainly nothing like the town I grew up in. Most of our fathers growing up worked for Bethlehem or US Steel, and made a good living, most mothers were housewives that knew how to really cook. Bethlehem was much bigger here than US Steel and basically owned the town and all the nearby water rights and kept other businessess out. Bethlehem left the town a mess with their decrepid mills and environmental pollution. There are still parts of Johnstown that have incredible huge old homes with wonderful architecture and you can get an idea of the wealth that was once here. The crime that you hear about now is almost all drug related and was brought in to this city, much like Williamsport and Reading. Most of it comes from Philadelphia, they can get on a waiting list there for susidized housing and wait for months or years, or move to a Johnstown or Altoona and get it much quicker if not right away. The wives are kid producing machines and the guys deal drugs, and yea, local kids become addicts and I've had numerous friends lose their kids to heroin or similar. There aren't guys here standing on corners selling drugs, there isn't a part of this city I wouldn't walk through after dark. Basically when there's a shooting around it's dealer to dealer stuff and the over doses usually seem to be in the 25-35 range. Anyway, that's what Ive seen, and it does suck
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Greene County PA home of the sprawling metropolises of Serbiantown, Crucible, Nemacolin aka (buckeye), Khedive, Mather, Paisley, Jefferson, Carmichaels, Waynesburg (the Paris of Greene County), Dilliner, Rogersville, Pitgas, Dry Tavern, Rices Landing, Clarksville, Bucktown, Greensboro, Mapletown and Bobtown (The Rome of Greene County, all roads lead to Bobtown, at least in 3 turns or less). Lots of good people from these places but if you are able to make that 4th turn and get out most will never come back.
My family is from the Johnstown area. I was born there, but we moved to Bedford County when I was little. They would all agree that it's now a shithole. It certainly wasn't always that way though.
It's at least bringing a few decent jobs. Blair county and Altoona seem to at least be trying to get out of the hole they are in and improve the area.
Renovo and most other towns in North Central PA are in pretty bad shape. Tyrone and philipsburg aren't the best towns but I think they are in better shape than most of northern towns.
Being from Crucible PA yea there is a town named that , I am one of those Greene County people who made that 4th turn to get out. Coal has not made a comeback seems natural gas is big there now but in saying that only a few have benefited and the population of Greene county continues to dwindle. No one moves there to live many leave and never come back. Sad at one time it was a nicer place
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Always enjoyed visiting my grandparents home in Altoona in the 1960's. The home was a rowhome that had stained glass windows and lots of fantastic woodwork inside. Had a nice second floor porch. Now its dilapidated and the whole street is in despair. Was a block from the old Penn Alto and behind the police station.
I used to travel all around PA for a prior company managing healthcare facilities. I spent time in small towns, large towns, and Philly/Pittsburgh and worked with and supported a lot of fantastic people all around the state. I learned that some of the PA towns, particularly in the western part of the state, will never change until the people accept the old times are not coming back and you either adapt/improve or become irrelevant. On a side note, in my travels I realized that Pittsburgh is an awesome town. Living in Eastern PA I never really experienced it until I had the opportunity with that company.
I rode through Y-town in July on my M/C. Unaware of the good parts and bad parts, I rode down the main street. Stopped for gas and another guy looks at me and the bike and says "You must be from out of town. Most people are not brave enough to ride a motorcycle through Youngstown" Keep in mind this was around high noon on a bright sunny day.
Yeah, I got the impression it could be dangerous.
Its interesting, in talking to my family when I was home over Thanksgiving there does seem to be an pretty good uptick in hiring around Somerset County in the coal industry. Not as big as expected or promised but better than it has been in a long, long time. Also the guy from PA Propane who came to fix my moms gas fireplace said they are really short handed. Now here's the kicker. Pretty much they all told me they cant find help or hold on to them because they can't pass the drug test.
Agriculture can provide a solid foundation for a local economy in rural areas. Family farms have been declining for decades, though. Farming is hard work and the competition with the big agribusinesses is too difficult for most smaller operations.
A town that is doing well in Soithcentral PA is Bedford. The reopening of the Bedford Springs Hotel in 2006 along with an agriculturally based local economy has been a great combination for the locality.
A town that is doing well in Soithcentral PA is Bedford. The reopening of the Bedford Springs Hotel in 2006 along with an agriculturally based local economy has been a great combination for the locality.
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Its interesting, in talking to my family when I was home over Thanksgiving there does seem to be an pretty good uptick in hiring around Somerset County in the coal industry. Not as big as expected or promised but better than it has been in a long, long time. Also the guy from PA Propane who came to fix my moms gas fireplace said they are really short handed. Now here's the kicker. Pretty much they all told me they cant find help or hold on to them because they can't pass the drug test.
My brother who never left and is a coal miner continues the family tradition. ( my dad and grandfather worked 36 and 38 years respectively.) He said the gas guys brought Jobs, HIV and Drugs with them. Horrible drug problems. Young people with STD’s and strung out on heroin and meth. With no jobs. That’s not to say there are still hard working great people still there busting their asses and doing things the right way.
On a side note, my dad a Greene county lifer, left when he retired from the mine about 15 years ago and moved outside Pittsburgh, couldn’t be happier.
As for Renovo, very familiar, spent many weekends over the years on Kettle Creek trout fishing. Total sh$thole. Although the Green Lantern always seems to be kickin’ Felt right at home just like green county.
There is also a real problem with dairy farms in PA .
https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018...iry-farmers-crisis-heres-who-blame/404710002/
Here's where you have to beware with some of this SkunkBear JimmyN idiocy.....some "poor" towns high a high index of retirees whose "income" is SSI or otherwise based, but doesn't reflect the treasure chests buried in their backyards or the war chests they've built up.
Lots of "poor" affluent neighborhoods in Allegeheny County and the tax collectors and politicians know it.
Lots of "poor" affluent neighborhoods in Allegeheny County and the tax collectors and politicians know it.
Bedford has also benefited from having a completed I-99 and Turnpike as well as leadership that doesn't have their heads up their arses. Along with the agriculture, they have also landed a couple manufacturing facilities and distribution centers.
Coal has bounced back somewhat. It certainly will never be the king it once was. Natural gas has replaced it.Its interesting, in talking to my family when I was home over Thanksgiving there does seem to be an pretty good uptick in hiring around Somerset County in the coal industry. Not as big as expected or promised but better than it has been in a long, long time. Also the guy from PA Propane who came to fix my moms gas fireplace said they are really short handed. Now here's the kicker. Pretty much they all told me they cant find help or hold on to them because they can't pass the drug test.
I would enjoy comparing the poorest towns pre-NAFTA and post-NAFTA. I'd bet in most cases the hollowing out of middle class manufacturing jobs enhanced their decline.
I know exactly where the house you are talking about is. I grew up in Altoona near the hospital and just up from Stroehmann Bakery. We would walk to the Cathedral on 14th avenue which I believe is the street that you mentioned. That part of Altoona is pretty run down now. The house I grew up in burned down and is now a parking lot for the Hospital. The street I grew up on is not nearly as nice as it once was and truthfully it wasn't all that great back then.
Like any other town, there are parts of Altoona that are pretty bad and there are parts that are pretty nice. Most of the growth in the area is in Logan Township which completely surrounds the city. It seems that there are new business coming into the former downtown area that the Malls killed back in the 80's. Hopefully that lasts.
When people hear I am originally from Johnstown and they react with "oh I once went to Johnstown for...", my response is simply "I'm sorry". That sums it up.
I saw an older cousin die from OD and I had career ambitions in fields which would not be remotely possible in that area so there was never a chance of me staying. I would say 90% of classmates stayed and went to UPJ, CCACC, etc and repeated the cycle. There are still great people there but it was not for me.
I saw an older cousin die from OD and I had career ambitions in fields which would not be remotely possible in that area so there was never a chance of me staying. I would say 90% of classmates stayed and went to UPJ, CCACC, etc and repeated the cycle. There are still great people there but it was not for me.
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