Why I do not mention that I am an eagle scout in the construction and maintenance Fields

Yes The Eagle Scout Award is the highest Honor a Boy scout can earn in Boy Scouting I earned mine in 1976 and was so proud to get it.  but My Scout Master the late Frank Russel also sat me down and explained how I would forever have a target on my back by those who resent those who strive to be a better individual in life .
Was Mr. Russel ever right.
I found this out from the fall of 1976 and all thru the 1980's when trying to find a good paying full time job with benefits in the construction and trades field. Not being able to secure suitable employment I decided to run my company full time  starting in 1981.

It seems back then that employers in these areas did not care to hire any one who put eagle scout  on their application and they did not want to hire somebody with a Jewish sounding last name sad but true. I am not Jewish my family last name should be spelled ICZ on the end we are Ukrainian but when my grandfather came thru Ellis island and was able to write his name on entry papers instead f making his mark like others they assumed he was an educated jew. and immigration officials spelled his name to sound Jewish. I often thought about changing my name like many of my friends have done but also like some of my friends wanted to honor my grandfather and his wishes and did not change it

I put in 100's of applications all over. One day I walked from Neville Island all the way to downtown Pittsburgh a total of 10 miles putting in applications never got one call.
The company's who where very good company's to go to work for back then where not hiring and the mills where going down. so I was low man on the totem pole and I was not going to kiss some ones ass to get a job like many I know did and be beholding to some one I keep my job.When you came out of school in 70's you had 2 choices college or military I qualified for neither Even thou I had good grades dyslexia was always in the way and back then they had no understanding of it like they do now.And Physical problems kept me out of the military 

I can proudly say any job I got was on my own merits even if it was a shit hole of a job but I did what I had to survive till I got my business going .

The realization of having a Jewish sounding last name and trying to get a job  came very clear in 81 when a friend recommend me for a job at a large industrial facility looking for maintenance people
The interview went well I thought but never got a follow up call would run into my friend couple weeks later on bus trip home from town and he told me all about him being told they don't hire Jews after he asked why they passed me over.  Well that company is out of business when the rest of the mills went down.Thats also when I started spelling my name different with ICZ on end  and started getting more offers  so that just showed how racist these company's where.   I had a similar experience where I applied after friend told me about an opening and he told me not to mention I was an eagle scout they don't like people with that kind of integrity. and Im thinking why would I even want to apply but needed work so why not if it held me thru times . So I put in an application  did not mention the eagle scout get called for an interview and during interview they asked had I achieved anything in life mentioned the eagle scout and interview went down hill from there.Eagle scouts carry the stigma of being goodie goodies
some employers don't like high achievers as well. they want a  do this do dat and shut up say nothing and know nothing.

Knowing this I would have never worked for them anyways you don't want to hire some one becsue they have integrity like an eagle scout or have a Jewish sounding name I want nothing to do with you and tells me everything I need to know about you.
I have heard blacks refer to Pittsburgh as Mississippi Pittsburgh  and asked them why and they said its because Pittsburgh is an extremely racists city and the reference is to Pittsburgh being the most southern northern city. its a shame but its true the Pittsburgh area and state in general has a very large proliferation of hate groups from the KKK to Skin heads and extreme segregationists

Unfortunately I hear the N word  and the K word being used all too frequently while I work
when I hear it from people I avoid them and if its an actual customer I drop them I do not need these type of customers.

Had a realty customer ask me one time how I could be living in Penn Hills and let my wife shop at local grocery store because blacks shop there also?
Tells me thats why he moved out of Penn hills  he did not want wife shopping with blacks because they can not be trusted. Needless to say I no longer work for him.

Thats where I have to give many of my customers credit for not allowing racism and hate speech to go on in their places of employment they hear it or see it that employee is warned and then fired if it keeps up.

I also rarely mention I am an Eagle Scout because there are too many employers who do not hire eagles seeing them as goodie goodies especially when they are running a business where questionable practices are condoned.

Then again same situation you do not want to hire an eagle I do not want to work for you if you are not going to run a legitimate company and take care of your customers and employees and allow shady practices.  See too many of these type of company's in Pittsburgh which explains why so many last a few years and are gone. Actually getting a good company to work for with good pay is hard these jobs are few and far and the less than reputable company's  know this and take advantage of their employees and get away with their shady practices.If you have no skills at all and just a high school degree your really screwed in this city 
Call it under- employment which has been a big issue in this town ever since the mills went down.
I know plenty of hard working people who deserve to be paid and have a descent job but do not have one because they are so hard to find especially if your not skilled.

This is why I preach to our young people  you need to stay and keep educated and always be looking for that next great thing because jobs and technology change so fast

One of the reasons I have been successful with my business is I was always willing to travel out to jobs and further away from the big city's  the better I find the quality of people I work for sad but true.  What ever it is that causes such racism and bigotry in Pittsburgh I will never  understand  there is no excuse for it. But sadly it goes on everyday.

Camp Tionesta its been 45 years since this beautiful camp was destroyed for no good reason

Yes its hard to believe it will be 45 years  come August 2021 that the beautiful Camp Tionesta was destroyed and eliminated all over lies from a deceitful  and deceptive  Allegheny Trails Scout Council

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Those who made that decision are now mostly long gone and  many have passed away   You would have to be in your 50's to have attended the week long summer  camp like I did for several years with the now closed Troop 224  which I regret to this day very being affiliated with .

The camp sat on US Forrest property along Tionesta lake which was formed when the Tionesta valley was flooded .

You can still see the road which lead into the camp  in picture above it appears to be just open ground now some day I would like to go back up and explore the old camp along with old Semiconon

The camp was abandoned and forgotten and a big lie as usual was told everyone why they closed it.
They aid Government would not renew lease . This was a lie they would renew lease but a 10 year lease which Allegheny Trails council did not want to commit to since they had land donated and where building a big new camp heritage in Farmington Pa. where all the council big wigs could stay with there family's in nice homes and they could send their ids for the summer. Yea I remember seeing all the slides of the new plans and construction. Went to camp one time and never been back I was so disappointed in what I saw we went from rugged  wilderness based camps to standard public summer camp. Our troop  no longer in business refused to stay there .

Scratch above is how I remember the camps layout .
The water front at bottom was the Tionesta Lake which was actually part of the abandoned Pa Route 62 when it was rerouted to build the lake and dam to help protect Pittsburgh from floods
and it had miles of trails to explore a natural breeding trout stream as well. They offered an overnight   Bivouac trip where you went across the lake on canoes and camped  however our troop never did it.
Its a shame today's scouts will never know about this camp and its great times and what a rugged wilderness type camp was really like.

 Old even then  Writing stationary they gave us to write home 

Boot and Paddle Canoe Trip What I always suspected has been confirmed a Tick bite in 1974 During a Trip was infected with Lyme Disease

In summer of 1973 and  1974 I took a 150 mile long canoe trip  from Tionesta Pa to Pittsburgh known as Boot & Paddle Program which I have written about in previous article and its experiences.

However during that trip  which hundreds took over the years it ran from 1960's to late 70's
I was bitten by a Tick no big deal several scouts where and leaders just backed them out carefully with hot piece of steel or a cigarette .Little did we know those ticks at the time where infected with the then unknown Lyme disease .I woke up with a tick the last nights stay over behind a power plant  and they removed it

Just recently after doing extensive research and listing to several experts on radio and then finally having a blood test  after bringing my concerns to my Dr. it proved I was in fact infected in the past with it and it went untreated because Dr.s at the time had no idea what it was and thought it nothing more then a variant of ring worm by the distinct red bulls eye it leaves for several weeks

This explains many of the malady's I have had over the years when you look at what the disease does to a body untreated which in my case where often ignored or missed by Dr.s


Lyme really did not come to the forefront till the 90's and still so much is not known about it. If caught early it is aggressively treated with antibiotics when not it can lead to a life time of many medical issues from arthritis to cancer and many more thing we just brush off as getting old.
I have been trying to get word to those who took trip with me to let their Dr.s know they to may have been infected and while its way too late to do anything about it at least it gives some answers why some of us have gone thru medically what we have.We would all be in our 50's to 90's in age or deceased and many of us did die young from cancer and other diseases these ticks might well have contributed to.

I cant blame Dr.s for missing it lets face it medical treatment back then was no where near as good as it is now and even if they did suspect what would they have treated us with till advanced science came up with the answers.

Explorer Trip to Florida spoiled over poor conditions of Scout Camp

While a member of Law Enforcement Explorer  post 777  we decided on going to a trip to Daytona Florida  to see Law Enforcement at work during Bike week in Daytona and a side trip for one day to Disney World .
Well the trip thou memorable turned into a disaster from the start. We decided to stay at local councils scout camp to save money and judging how other scout camps where it was rugged but nice place to stay and lady's would have nice accommodations in a cabin with flush toilets and shower  while us guys would use a screened in pavilion and out houses  no big deal.

While waiting for flight from Pittsburgh out of the old Greater Pitt airport one of he groups adults advisers causes myself and friend Norm of laughing at her because she was afraid of flying.
No such thing happened in fact I had done so much for her and her daughter over the years when they had problems with the crap hole apartment they lived in even getting my then fiances grandfather who was a plumber to help get her sewer lines opened which he did not charge her one penny when he saw predicament she was in.  From slum lord she was renting from.

Well minus this nonsense the flight went smooth and we got into some rental cars.  Sam our leader was depending on Gerry to help him with maps and directions what a mistake it took 3 hours to finally find the camp, as daylight broke.

Now you have to realize as a boy scout I was use to roughing it but all Scout Camps  are required to follow and pass a national standard  for cleanliness etc. and this camp was no where near meeting standards.  While the women had nice place and would have been acceptable to them  for us guys forget it.  the pavilion had busted doors ,screening missing  meaning bugs every where and cots with holes in them and rotted wood everywhere , even as a boy scout I would not have stayed here it was most unsanitary camp I had ever seen. I had it out with the camp ranger asking him where the hell was his inspection reports etc. and it appears the camp was not participating in national council program.  thisplace was a total disgrace.

With that we packed up the cars and left and leaders several of whom where Pittsburgh Cops stopped at local state police station and they found us housing at a days inn thou it drained our budget we still had a good time and to make sure we got where we needed to go I rode with SAM or who ever lead car was and read the map and gave the driving directions.

How ever when I got home I contacted National Camping Committee sent them pictures and detailed letter on this camp  never got as much as a phone call. seems they are not interested in how camps are run and scouts are taken care of.  I contacted them several other times about what went on in camps and never a reply it seems there accreditation program as and is nothing but a scam to assure parents your kid will be safe at camp when he really is not.

A Questionable Eagle Scout Project for a Veterans Memorial I rejected but yet was approved and no one knows is even there

On a hillside along Brownsville Road in Carrick 29th ward of City of Pittsburgh sits what looks like a tombstone high on a hill side where people walk and drive by and hardly notice.

It's intent was to be a universal honor to the Military Veterans who served our country and while the vets where  involved with and held   a small ceremony to acknowledge it . Very few outside of them  know its there on the hill side of  the South Side Cemetery.

It was an Eagle Scout Project conceived back when I was in troop 224  which I belonged to and left in 1970's after there very un-scout like behavior. Part of the rub is I did not want involved with the project as I was quickly going up the ranks to Eagle Scout  I did not like  its location and the over-sized  dedication plaque.
I wanted it where people could see it and with out my name on it. It was to honor veterans not me. If I was to be involved. 

While my Project with troop 383 involved the research and publishing of Carrick's history which goes on to this day.

This is not want the scout master of 224 wanted he wanted a veterans memorial  with his name on it for all to see only problem you do not see it  as you drive or walk by it is to far up the slope and the Dairy Queen once open across the street from it has closed and is boarded up as well so the few who possibly did see it and possibly wonder what it was and possibly walk over and try to read it  are no longer around as well .

The fact that the panel with Scout Masters and Eagle Scouts name is so prominent on it  has lead to much speculation was this more to honor them or the Vets they are honoring.

Most Eagle scout projects you see just a small mention or none at all of the scout who did it and Very Rare to the Scout Masters name.

 Carrick itself has slid down hill and is considered a ghetto by many who pass thru it now since the community has gentrified and steel mills collapsed and the Eagle Scout and Scout Master no longer even live in town and so many of the vets who served have passed with time and There are no longer any Boyscout troops in carrick . But with all the downsides there is still a small group of veterans who are dedicated to the town and take care of the marker. and hopefully some day it can be placed where it can be properly seen and read.So veterans can know they are still appreciated in Carrick

Its Hard Losing childhood friends I was in Cub Scouts with in 60's

Hard to believe back in 67 I joined Cub Scouts  Pack 224  in Carrick  29th ward of city of Pittsburgh
and now 2 of them are dead. We lost Johnny Drevitch last year and Patrick Halligan   this June

I lost all track of them after grade school and neither joined Boy Scouts with me. In fact only 3 of us 6  in the picture   below of Den 1 which I was in went in to Boy Scouts .  Don L. and Jim R.  and me .  John and Pat came into scouts a year after we made the plaque
I lost contact with many of them after attending St Basils Grade school never to hear from them again  or knowing where they ended up.
You see Pittsburgh is the Buckle in whats known as the Rust Belt one of the many east coast city's that saw almost all of its steel mill and other manufacturing jobs disappear.

Plaque we made at a den meeting that's me 2nd from right 

So almost half the population moved all over the country in an effort to get jobs and raise family's
I however decided to stay and fight and try to keep the city going  and moved to the suburbs out of disgust with way city is run .  I took the shit ass jobs and bad working conditions I did not want to leave the area  and I was lucky enough to start my own business and travel the tri state for work I was willing to do what it takes to make it like some of those in my cub pack  instead of running away like many others did. Brian was working as a Coal miner got laid off not heard from him since . Ken was working for MSA  Dave  now lives in Ohio works for a refractory division  Jim is a building inspector  owns his own agency and Don do not know what he is doing but he was in military for a while  and jack runs his late fathers business.
But at age 54 to loose 2 of my cub scout friends it is hard to believe of course I almost joined them having been diagnosed with stage IV colon Cancer myself  but thru the good lord and great doctors I am still here.
hard to believe  almost 45+ years have passed us by.

Passing of Community Relations Officer and Explorer Post Leader and Explorers who failed to notice he was even gone

Sadly I have not been in contact with Sam Caltagerone in many years since he retired from the City of Pittsburgh Police Force and he passed last year.
But back in the 1970's I was a member of Law Enforcement Explorers Post 777 which Sam ran.
Over the years well over  200 young men and women where members of this post which was out of old No  7# Police station on Jane Street  in South Side and we meet at the Sarah Kaufman House .
I had a lot of fun in the post and we got to travel to many places to learn and see law enforcement officers at work I considered a career some where in law enforcement at one time but had to give it up when I had surgery to repair a congenital knee problem and ended up in private security where I was able to establish an electrical and electronics  business doing alarm systems. As far as I know I am the only one involved in any kind of security /law enforcement activity at this point. I have never run across any of the others with all the times I have been in court for customers and law enforcement agency's I interact with.
I really enjoyed the post though not some of the members . We went to Toronto to see the Royal Mounted Police train and an officer dressed in a traditional red  uniform for use to take pictures we also went to Florida to see how police handled bikers week in Daytona and got to see temporary police headquarters in the Daytona 500 race track. Unfortunately it did not go as well with housing  as planned but that's another story.
We also went to Wright Patterson Air-force base to observe military police and stayed over night at the now closed Rickenbacker Air Field . I missed the trip to NY no one bothered to call and tell me anything about it as I had missed a meeting because I was sick but that's just the way people are never check to make sure your OK but call you friend.
I left the post in 79  when I hit maximum age your allowed to join and was off trying to get my career going.
I would last see Sam when I went to his house in early 80's to fix his AC unit he was talking about moving to Florida at one point.
Unfortunately I found out too late to go see Sam at his funeral but I signed his quest book online and was contacted by his daughter who thanked me for mentioning all the good Sam did with the explorers as no one  else had bothered to show up or say anything about it.
Dam shame an officer does all this good in his life to get forgotten in the end.
But then again many of those I was in the explorers with may not even be in Pittsburgh any more many moved to pursue jobs after the mills closed.
Unfortunately one of our members Herb was murdered in a horrific beheading  after he was robbed at adult book store where he was a clerk in 1980's I am sure it broke Sams heart if he knew about it .