When people appreciate and/or understand the amount of hours, talent, and expertise we have dedicated to our communities - it motivates us to continue.
Thank you.
From the Ambridge Connection team
Thank you.
From the Ambridge Connection team
Dear Larissa & Felicia, I've been meaning to send you a message for a very long time, but am just sitting down to do so now. I just wanted to thank you both for all you are doing for Ambridge. I am not a resident of Ambridge, and have never lived in Ambridge. My mom was born and raised there, and lived there until she married my dad in her 20s. They moved to the North Hills to raise a family. Growing up, my brother, sister, and I spent nearly every weekend in Ambridge at my grandparents', as well as a lot of our summer vacations.
So even though I never lived there, Ambridge always felt like home to me, and I became deeply connected with it from a very young age. I'm only 44, so I never knew Ambridge back in its "glory days," but have heard plenty of stories about that time from my mom, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. My love for this town never diminished, despite the hard times it has seen in the past three decades. I always felt that the town had such incredible character. And I don't know if this connection I felt with Ambridge was really all about the town itself, or just because the people I loved most in the world were there. My grandparents have since passed away -- my grandpa in the '90s, and my grandma just 7 years ago. My family and I still make regular trips back to Ambridge several times a year -- for Nationality Days, for holidays at our home church (Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox on Maplewood), even just to have some food at Ambridge's incredible restaurants, when we're craving a piece of 10th Street pizza, or when we just want to drive around the streets of Ambridge at Christmas time and see how the residents decorate their simple homes so lovingly for the holidays. In fact, we'll be in town again in a few weeks for the Slavic Food Festival at Holy Ghost. I don't know what's going on with Ambridge right now -- if this is the "real deal," the rebirth that people have been talking about and hoping for for decades now. It sure seems like it, and it seems like a really exciting time in Ambridge right now. Surely the success and future of an entire town cannot be placed on the shoulders of just a few individuals but, if it could, I think it would be due in large part to the two of you. I have never witnessed such incredible positivity with regard to this town that I love so much and that I feel such a deep connection with as I do when I read your posts on FB. I definitely agree with those who say that, before we can change things around in Ambridge, we have to start by changing our attitudes. A real rebirth is not going to happen there until the people who are there can envision it and believe in it themselves. And no one has done more to affect that positive change in how we see Ambridge than the two of you have. I'm sure this may be a thankless job you have on some days. I hope that you never lose whatever it is that is driving you, because you really are making a huge difference. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you again! With much respect, Dan Simpson
Ambridge Connection shared the above letter on social media and a number people asked for more information on Dan's grandparents. Below is an update from Simpson.
Nov 21st, 2:31pm
I'm thrilled that you shared that letter, because I believe in every word I said, and think other people need to know. You can project it on the side of the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge if you like haha. Through the years, I've constantly found myself in the position of "defending" Ambridge to all the naysayers who find it easier just to dismiss the town rather than do anything about it. I don't know. It's just so nice to know there are like-minded people out there like you guys who believe in Ambridge and see the town's amazing character and incredible, largely untapped potential. Unlike me, you guys take things a step further by putting your words to action, and I applaud you for it.
Regarding my grandparents: Their names were Paul & Rose Pyrch. They lived in the 300 block of Maplewood, next to the former Russian Club, and later in the 1100 block of Maplewood, in a modest but well kept "mill house" typical of that neighborhood. My grandfather was a Russian immigrant who came to Ambridge in the '30s, looking to take advantage of the many employment opportunities the area's mills offered hard-working immigrants with little to no grasp of the English language, like many others. He worked at J&L Steel on the other side of the river for 40 years. My grandma was a housewife, staying at home and raising their four kids (including my mom), as was the norm for that generation. Neither of my grandparents ever learned to drive or had a car. Luckily, life in Ambridge at that time didn't really require a car, as most of their basic needs were within walking distance. After my grandpa retired from J&L, he and my grandma managed the Russian Club in Ambridge for a time. The building of the Russian Club was on Maplewood and 3rd, but was raised a few years ago, and is just an empty lot now. My grandparents raised their family in Ambridge - my mom, her older brother, and two younger sisters, all of whom graduated from Ambridge High School between the mid-'50s and early '70s. My mom was in the Class of '59. She stayed in Ambridge until 1965, when she married my dad. My grandparents were very simple people of very modest means. Every positive trait I have I attribute to them. In fact, the reason I went into the field I am in (teaching English to adult immigrants in Cleveland) was due in large part to them. I could never repay them, but I could "pay it forward," helping to take the sting out of adjusting to life in a new country for current and future generations of immigrants. We lost my grandpa at the age of 84 when he passed away in 1991. My grandma lived to almost 93. As she was in declining health, she lived the last 10 years of her life with my parents in Akron, Ohio. She passed away in 2007. I'll close by saying that, even though I live in Akron and work in Cleveland and don't know what I can do from this distance, I would love to join your cause and help out in any way I can. If you think of any way I can help, please do not hesitate to ask. I'm planning on being in Ambridge several times in the next few weeks. We always have a memorial service for my grandma at Holy Ghost near the anniversary of her death, which was in December. I'm also hoping to make it to the Christmas parade and light up day (if I haven't already missed it). And my family will be at Holy Ghost on Christmas Eve for services. You guys are heroes! Don't let the haters get you down. Some people just hate it when they see someone doing the things that they don't have the guts or vision or perseverance to do. I promise, you will look back on this time in a few years, and be glad that you never gave up the fight. Wishing you and all your staff at AC a wonderful Thanksgiving! Dan
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