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Community Corner

Facebook Page Brings People Home to Sewickley

Many have fond memories of living in Sewickley.

Do you remember walking to Dinks for a soda pop or playing baseball at the old Chadwick Street playground?

How about fishing below the Sewickley Bridge on the old foundation of the dredging plant?

William Gittins has these memories and many more of living in and has transferred them to a Facebook pagehe monitors called “Memories of Growing Up in Sewickley.”

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Gittins, who has resided in Jackson, Miss., with his wife, Beth, since 1991, said there was one simple reason he began the Facebook page: homesickness.

“I wanted to start this site because I was terribly homesick,” Gittins said. “I was chatting online with Leslie Bailey Shaw, who is an old classmate, talking about the old days. We chatted for nearly three hours, and after I wondered if anyone else had the same memories.”

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It was at that point that Gittins formed the page, and within 24 hours 150 people had joined, mainly classmates of his from 1973. In 48 hours it had grown to nearly 500 users and by week’s end had blossomed to 1,200 members.

There's is no minimum age requirement to participate in the “Memories of Growing Up in Sewickley” page.

“The youngest that I’ve seen is my 18-year-old nephew Zachary Gittins … the oldest are some of my mother’s friends, who are in their 80s,” Gittins said.

One fond memory that many on the Facebook page mention is of a woman named Mrs. Way and her lemonade.

“Captain and Mrs. Way were like grandparents to all of us,” Gittins recalled. “Mrs. Way would bring a pitcher of lemonade out on the front porch and give all of us a drink.”

Memories for those who joined the page come at such a quick pace that a friend of Gittins, Lou Klaric, suggested to keep up with topics of conversation that they list some in categories, such as favorite teachers or at the .

Gittins has a theory as to why his Facebook page has taken off.

“I believe in tough times people look back to a time when things were easier, when they didn’t have a care in the world. I believe for most people that time is when they are in high school. This page and the response to it is, in my mind, evidence of that theory,” he said.

And he’s not stopping with his page. Gittins said he intends to eventually put all of the memories into a book, including posts on the page from everyone.

With “Memories of Growing Up in Sewickley” already helping to rekindle old friendships, Gittins said he has one hope for the page.

“What I hope people take away from my page is the sense of family that has been so evident in most of the posts. Growing up in Sewickley was like being part of one very large family.”

To join the “Memories of Growing up in Sewickley” page go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/154820404594314/

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