I spent a lot time the last couple of days - looking for the perfect picture to post this morning. With everybody else doing so much Christmas - I wanted something just a little bit different and unique - a sort of one of a kind shot - so here it is - Ice Skating at Luna Park (Roxbury). I just love this shot - it makes me want to grab a pair of skates and join them out there - just skating around and having a ball - listening to all the fun and laughter - soaking it all in. These were folks - young and old - that believed in Johnstown and what could be accomplished by hard days work.
I hold no illusions about the past - even though I dearly love history and talk about it constantly - "The past is a foreign country - They do things differently there". If you had a sheet of paper and drew a line down the middle - you could list what is wrong with Johnstown - but on the other side you could also list what is right with Johnstown.
These folks all had very hard lives - but they all had one thing in common - whether rich or poor - they had enough "spirit" within themselves - that unknown and unseen force that kept them going and helped keep this city alive for decades.
I believe that "spirit" still lives in a few of us that believe in Johnstown and love the city we call home. You can give me a thousand reasons why Johnstown is in the shape that it is in - I'm not stupid and not blind to the facts.
But you have to admit that there is indeed something special about our area - that folks miss when they leave - something you can't put into words and more than just looking at old pictures of home on Vintage Johnstown - every once in a while - I post one of these rare glimpses into the human spirit that I see in this simple picture of people enjoying an afternoon of ice skating....
These folks all had very hard lives - but they all had one thing in common - whether rich or poor - they had enough "spirit" within themselves - that unknown and unseen force that kept them going and helped keep this city alive for decades.
I believe that "spirit" still lives in a few of us that believe in Johnstown and love the city we call home. You can give me a thousand reasons why Johnstown is in the shape that it is in - I'm not stupid and not blind to the facts.
But you have to admit that there is indeed something special about our area - that folks miss when they leave - something you can't put into words and more than just looking at old pictures of home on Vintage Johnstown - every once in a while - I post one of these rare glimpses into the human spirit that I see in this simple picture of people enjoying an afternoon of ice skating....
6 comments:
Nothing to add to that but a big Amen.
Agreed!
Is that a fence line or a road running across the pic and up the hillside? Trying to figure out if that is the hillside where the pavilion currently stands. Thanks also for all of the Roxbury pics over the years, much appreciated, a fabulous place to grow up.
This could be the best thing you have ever posted on this site. So many of us that had to leave Johnstown for one reason or another(mostly jobs), will agree that there was something special about the area. It is something that you just cant put in words. We all know now, Johnstown was a great place to grow up in. Keep up the great work on here.
I believe that is a fence - Lisa
Thanks Lisa. Took a look at that hillside today and matched up some old homes. That is def the angle. Thanks. Let me know when u build a time machine, I'm ready to go back!!! Bandshell pic today too, good lookin out. Thanks!
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