My Home Town


I grew up in Glen Hazel Heights projects,
In a little town named Hazelwood,
In Allegheny County,
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
In a time when things were good.

Being a child in the 40's
And a young girl in the 50's
Our town might have been smokin'
But living there was nifty.

In the 60's things changed,
People started to move on when the mills got slow.
Most of those that stayed didn't have jobs,
A lot of people left Hazelwood
And the projects became a ghetto.

During the 70's and 80's
Pittsburgh got rid of the steel mills
It was no longer the Smoky City,
No more the butt of jokes.

Growing up there I never noticed the smoke
I remember the people most of all-
Neighbors sitting on porches,
Watching kids in the street playing ball.

The ice cream man and the milk man, the baker,
The old man selling vegetables, we knew them all.
It was a time of peace and harmony,
Where most everyone was happy as I recall.

Eventually, like so many others
I moved out to the “Burbs”
But who I am and always will be
Is a city gal from Pittsburgh.

The old hometown and all the friends
Remain within my heart
I was born and bred in Pittsburgh
And we're never far apart.



Joanne Murray Vereb