Spring Walk Tours "The Hill"

May 08, 2018 at 2:10 AM

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Learning some interesting facts on the Spring Walk. 

     Thirty people attended the DuBois Area Historical Society’s 11thAnnual Spring Walk and received an interesting tour of “The Hill”.

       Virginia (Okonski) Schott, who grew up in the neighborhood often referred to as Polish Hill led the walk. Starting from St. Michael the Archangel Church the tour traced the culture of that area of DuBois once mainly occupied by immigrants. The walk followed Ridge Street to Weber Avenue, to Hubert Street then up Washington Avenue.

        “The families who located here relied on hard labor in the mines and later the railroad repair shops in pursuit of the American dream,” said Schott. “There were several ethnic communities mixed in this location.”

         She told the story of those people through what existed at the time: churches, schools, social clubs, a multitude of corner stores, and even a potato chip factory.  Schott searched her own memories, chatted with former neighbors, and contacted friends who have moved away to develop an anecdote filled excursion through the neighborhood. Many of those attending the walk offered their own memories to the occasion.

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One of the initial stops was in St. Michael the Archangel Church with tour leader Ginny Schott standing at front.



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