Iron City

Pittsburgh is a whole lot different than Vermont. There. Having said the obvious it is now important to say that Pittsburgh is also a whole lot different than it was the last time that I visited some 10 years ago. And the differences are all to the better. Its cleaner and friendlier and the once mostly hidden cultural aspects of the iron city are now front and center. The arts scene has blossomed (they not only admit the existence of Andy Warhol, they have a whole museum dedicated to their hometown boy), and the jazz community is thriving.

Since we only had a few days, I took Morningstar directly to the heart of the matter, Oakland, the university and museum center of Pittsburgh. We spent time at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, the Phipps Conservatory (just in time for "Chihuly at Phipps:Gardens and Glass"), and the Carnegie Library - one of the first of some 2000 free libraries that Andrew Carnegie gave to the people.

On the last day we went north out of the city and visited Old Economy in the suburb of Ambridge. This was the site of a Harmonist community in the nineteenth century that eventually numbered some one thousand folks. One of the remarkable differences between this group and other religious colonies of this era was its success. They prospered through hard work and very wise investing in railroads, oil wells, manufacturing, textiles and agriculture. At the high point they had more gold and silver stored in their vaults than the U.S. government. Many of their ideas about self sufficiency, working for the common good, lifelong caring for their fellows, and achieving the Jeffersonian balance of agriculture with small manufacturing are well worth studying. ... Bob

Chihuly glass at Phipps Conservatory