412

Six Lesser Known Influential Yinzers

If there’s one thing Pittsburgh people love, it’s anything and everything to do with Pittsburgh. Other people from Pittsburgh, seeing our city in movies or tv shows, watching our sports teams win championships ( I don’t really care about that last one but I’d be remiss not to mention it when so many other Pittsburghers do,) and creating a whole day to celebrate the 412.

That’s right, in 2018, Pittsburgh mayor, Bill Peduto, made it official by proclaiming April 12th (4/12) 412 day in the burgh….the main local area code for those of you not in the know. I wouldn’t call it a huge holiday here, but there’s definitely some yinzers who acknowledge and celebrate this day devoted to Pittsburgh. So this year, I wanted to contribute to the celebration!

In honor of 412 day on Monday, this week’s post is devoted to a handful of people and organizations that you may or may not have realized got their start in Pittsburgh. We all know that Mac Miller, Wiz Kahlifa, Jeff Goldblum, and Andy Warhol have roots in the burgh, but did you know the Lobster Boy is from here? Or that the first African American female cartoonist got her start thanks to the Pittsburgh Courier?  Well, it’s true! Learn more about them below!

Freedom House Ambulance Service

The Freedom House Ambulance Service is something I’m stunned we didn’t learn about in school…though you’ll probably guess why in a minute. Founded in 1967 to serve Pittsburgh’s Hill District, a predominantly black neighborhood, the Freedom House Ambulance Service was the first emergency medical service in the whole U.S. that was staffed by medically trained, and mostly black, paramedics instead of those with just basic first aid knowledge.

Before the inception of the Freedom House Ambulance Service (FHAS), basic first aid was typically provided by police but nothing was usually done to help critical patients as they were being transported to the hospital which lead to numerous preventable deaths, like that of former Pittsburgh mayor David L. Lawrence. And, due to tension with the police, many in predominantly black neighborhoods like the Hill were reluctant to call for help if they needed it. 

The first crew consisted of 25 men hired from the Hill who underwent a 32 week, 300 hour, training course covering everything from nursing and CPR to defensive driving. In their first year, the FHAS responded to nearly 5,800 calls and saved 200 lives according to data collected. The FHAS was in operation for eight years, and in that time became close with the communities they served…even going so far as to contact local drug dealers and teach them the signs of an overdose during a heroin epidemic which lead to a dramatic drop in fatal overdoses. 

But, due to rampant racism, FHAS staff were often rebuked by white patients or assumed to be orderlies and after Peter F. Flaherty became mayor in 1970 he denied the FHAS request to expand their contract across the city instead opting to implement a citywide ambulance service staffed by police trained as paramedics in 1974, and allowing non-police paramedics in 1975. Of course, the initial staffing of the new ambulance service was all white until the former FHAS medical director was hired and insisted the FHAS paramedics were hired and kept together. 

Unfortunately, deals were gone back on, those with criminal records were fired, and life was overall made incredibly difficult for the black paramedics. After the first year in the city wide ambulance service, only half of the FHAS paramedics remained of the 26 who were initially brought on. But, though they were treated unfairly, the FHAS paramedics should, and hopefully will, go down in history as game changers in the way we help those in a medical emergency.

Raymond Robinson, The Green Man

All towns have their urban legends and the one that was so prominent in my part of the city was that of The Green Man. The legend goes that a man died after suffering an electrical accident while working in a train tunnel and to this day, if you go to that tunnel after dark you may see his spirit, glowing green in the distance. 

Now, I didn’t know until the recent past that this legend was based off of a real man named Raymond Robinson who, by all accounts, was a really lovely, if not a lonely, dude. He DID survive an electrical accident that occurred when he was a kid which left him severely disfigured, losing both his eyes, his nose, and his right arm. Due to that disfiguration, Raymond lead a rather solitary life in the hopes of not facing cruelty from awful strangers. Since he didn’t like going out during the day, Raymond became a regular figure after dark, taking walks along the nearby highway. 

Raymond died in 1985 at the age of 74 and was buried at the Grandview Cemetery in Beaver Falls but his legend still persists in the South Hills of Pittsburgh to this day. You can find his alleged tunnel in South Park if you’re in the area and hoping to see the Green Man for yourself. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Founded in 1870 by Charles Taze Russell, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have their roots in Pittsburgh when a group was formed wishing to study the bible. Charles had a lot he didn’t agree with when it came to mainstream Christianity and in 1876 released a book entitled Three Worlds with Nelson H. Barbour that outlined their own prophecy for the days to come. But in 1879, the two parted ways over differences regarding their beliefs and Charles began publishing a magazine focusing on it being the world’s last days. 

In 1879, thirty congregations were founded by supporters of Charles’ Watchtower magazine and by 1909 the headquarters was moved to Brooklyn. Currently reporting 8.7 million members globally, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower have faced much criticism and controversy surrounding their beliefs and the way they do things…so maybe they’re not as different from mainstream Christianity as Charles Taze Russell believed. 

Jackie Ormes

Early cartoons and comic strips were a male dominated field, until Jackie Ormes (born Zelda Mavin Jackson) inked her first strip in 1937. Jackie, the first African American female cartoonist, rose to prominence with her comic Torchy Brown in ‘ Dixie to Harlem’ chronicling country girl Torchy as she moved to the big city.

Jackie got her start after writing a letter to the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the leading black newspapers in the U.S., while still in high school. Her correspondence with then editor Robert Vann lead to Jackie’s first assignment covering a boxing match. In her time with the Pittsburgh Courier, she edited, proofread, and wrote numerous stories but in 1937 she got the chance to do what she really wanted to do….draw.

Torchy Brown’s first run lasted from 1937-38 and was read across the country thanks to the Courier’s 14 city editions. After moving to Chicago in 1942, Jackie began working at the Chicago Defender where she went on to create a single panel cartoon called Candy. Soon, Jackie’s worked returned to the Courier with Patty-Jo n Ginger, a single panel cartoon following sisters which ran for 11 years, and later reinvented her Torchy Brown character for a new color cartoon page. 

Jackie Ormes went on to create dolls based off of her Patty-Jo character which are now sought after collector’s items. She created relatable characters for black women and girls and helped to assert a place for black women in an industry that otherwise ignored them. 

Grady Stiles, the Lobster Boy

Arguably the most interesting entry on the list, Grady Stiles Jr., better known as Lobster Boy, was….not a nice man. Having been born with ectrodactyly, a genetic condition where the fingers and/or toes have been fused together making them claw like, Grady and one of his siblings were forced into sideshow attractions on the traveling circus circuit by their father, Grady Sr. whom also had the condition, billing the trio as The Lobster Family.

While the family was incredibly successful during the carnival season, making between $50,000 - 80,000 per season….a hearty amount for the 1940s and 50s, as Grady grew older so did his strength and his bad attitude. An abusive alcoholic, Grady was horrid to his family which eventually lead to the 1978 murder of his oldest daughter’s fiancé on the night before their wedding. Grady admitted to the murder but didn’t show any remorse, rather he seemed confident he’d never see the inside of a prison since none were outfitted to take care of a man with his disability…and he was right. Instead, Grady was sentenced to house arrest and 15 years probation.

After practically getting away with murder, Grady stopped drinking for a minute and remarried his first wife. But, my man could not stay away from the bottle. Allegedly becoming even more abusive, Grady finally met his violent end in 1992 when his wife and her son hired a carnival worker to kill Grady for $300….though Grady’s son says the murder didn’t quite take place the way courts said.

Since his death, Grady Stiles or his likeness has been seen or sung about numerous times, most notably in season 4 of American Horror Story: Freak Show portrayed by Evan Peters. 

Nellie Bly

Most of you probably don’t know that I initially went to school for journalism before switching my major half way through. But that journalism bug still lives within me so this next Pittsburgh local is one I get hyped about. Nellie Bly is a pioneer of investigative journalism and one of the foremost female journalists in history. 

Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Nellie caught the eye of George Madden, the editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch after her passionate response to a newspaper column that claimed girls were only good for childbearing and cleaning the house.  Madden ran an ad in the paper asking for the author of the response to come forward and when she did, Nellie was offered the chance to write another piece, this time on the effect divorce has on women. Once again impressed, Madden offered Nellie a full-time job and created the pseudonym of Nellie Bly by incorrectly spelling the name of the titular character in the controversial fellow Pittsburgher, Stephen Foster’s song, Nelly Bly.

Nellie made a name for herself at the Pittsburgh Dispatch writing on women’s issues and doing a series of investigative articles about women factory workers. However, factory owners weren’t fans of her and complained to the paper so Nellie got reassigned to covering fashion and society affairs….which she hated. So instead, she traveled to Mexico to become a foreign correspondent for six months writing about the lives and customs of Mexican people. But, Nellie being who she was, caught the ire of the Mexican government after showing support for a local journalist who had been imprisoned for criticizing the government and had to flee the country or face arrest.

In 1887, Nellie wrote the exposé that would cement her legacy. Looking for work, Nellie went to the New York World newspaper and took a job to go undercover at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island in order to report on the conditions and treatment of patients. Her 10 day stay inspired a six part series in the New York World and cemented her place in history.

After reading Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne, Nellie proposed she try to turn the trip into a reality. She made the whole journey in 72 days, traveling alone most of that time…unheard of for a woman of the time. Eventually, Nellie got married and retired from journalism but her impact on the industry both in reporting style and for women has left a lasting and badass legacy . 

If you know of any other lesser known Pittsburghers or Pittsburgh based organizations tell me about them in the comments below and let me know which of the ones on this list was your favorite to learn about or if you knew about them before. Happy 412 Day Pittsburgh!