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My wife and I met in Pittsburgh. At that time we were both in graduate school for our master's in public history. Our interests were pretty much aligned, and we took all the same classes together which was easy to do in our small program at Duquesne University.
Part of our program was to complete internships and we had the choice of the area's historic sites. My wife was an intern at the Andy Warhol Museum as part of the Carnegie Museums. I remember the first time I heard her pronounce the name Carnegie. She pronounced it the way New Yorkers say it, with the emphasis on the first syllable, CAR-nuh-gie. This made the most sense to her as she grew up in Brooklyn. For me, however, I pronounce the word Carnegie like Car-NAY-gie, with the emphasis on the middle syllable.
She and I went round and round on what was correct. Since we worked and studied together, this was easy to do and it was all in good fun. My argument naturally was that Andrew Carnegie grew up here and made his fortune here in the Pittsburgh area and we were correct. And Abigail's argument is that Carnegie lived for the last 19 years of his life in NYC and donated freely there, so their pronunciation was correct. Today, after almost 12 years of marriage, I have brought her over to my thinking and my pronunciation of the word Carnegie.
As an aside, according to a story written Katie Blackley published by WESA-FM, Pittsburgh's NPR news station, both pronunciations are technically correct but in Carnegie's native Scotland, the name is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable. Take that New York.
I have heard it said often that early industrialists like Carnegie would make their fortune in Pittsburgh and leave for New York, which is true in the case of Mr. Carnegie, but in our area, most of the industrialists and captains of industry who made their career here, often stayed in the community. These folks were important to us and although their influence and fame were nowhere near the level of Carnegie, their legacy can still be felt here.
Most of our industrialists were those who made their careers connected to the steel industry in one way or another, but there are exceptions. One of the very early industrialists here in our area was none other than Steubenville founder, Bezaleel Wells. Not only did he lay out the town of Steubenville, but he started one of the earliest industries here, the manufacture of woolen goods.
This industry was one of the very first to take off in the city beginning with the opening of his factory on April 10, 1815. Wells worked with others to build the factory, according to Joseph Doyle in his book "The History of Steubenville," on the north side of Market Street, west of Seventh Street, starting in 1814. The huge steam engine was brought in from Pittsburgh in the spring of 1815 and when lit, the looms and machines went to work.
The company had extensive holdings of sheep numbering more than 5,000 at its height. In summer they would graze on Wells' land in Canton and in the winter, were driven back to Steubenville. Wells unfortunately did not grow rich in the woolen business; in fact, his company failed. In 1830 he was bankrupt which left him destitute. Early on in the history of Steubenville, Wells gave contributions to the city and county by securing the land the city building and county courthouse are currently on.
His contributions are felt today more than 200 years later.
Dohrman Sinclair was another captain of industry who made an important impact in our area. He was involved in many important business ventures and enterprises in our area such as the banking industry, transportation -- through both rail and road -- and in the steel and iron industry. His lasting impact was attracting the Follansbee brothers and officials from Weirton Steel to start their businesses here in our area. He was instrumental in getting the Market Street Bridge built in 1905. Unfortunately he died in 1915 due to an accident at his firm, the Labelle Iron works. Dohrman worked hard to make our area a better place to live and work.
Across the river in Weirton, J.C. Williams was another who made a successful career from working hard in the steel industry. Williams was born in Wales and came to the United States in 1897. He worked with the Weir brothers, eventually becoming president of Weirton Steel in 1929, a position he held until his death in 1936. Williams left an indelible mark on our community through his generosity. He left a fund of more than $800,000 to the community upon the death of his wife and that fund continues to support many worthy projects in our area.
Arguably one of the most successful businessmen in our area was Mike Starvaggi. Starvaggi was born in San'Angelo Di Brolo in Sicily in 1895. In 1912, when Starvaggi was 17, he came to this country with only $5 in his pocket. Upon arrival in this country in New York City, he boarded a train to Weirton to stay with his aunt, Rosalie Ballato.
According to an article that appeared in the Weirton Daily Times in June 1962, Mike went to work for Weirton Steel carrying water to thirsty workers in the mill. His first business venture was an Italian grocery store in Weirton's North End selling imported goods, but he had bigger dreams. He soon began selling goods door-to-door using a horse and buggy, but eventually began selling ice in the summer and coal in the winter creating the Weirton Ice and Coal Supply Co. in 1919.
In 1926, he started the Pittsburgh and Weirton Bus Co. with only one bus. He later started the Weirton Construction Co., the Steubenville Bus Co. numerous coal companies. Many business developments in Weirton were built upon land reclaimed by Stravaggi.
With his success in business came his wish to give back to his community. One of the many contributions Mr. and Mrs. Starvaggi made to the community was to help with the development of the College of Steubenville, which has grown into the Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Starvaggi helped to purchase the 40 original acres of the present campus and donated the funds for Starvaggi Hall in addition to providing scholarships for worthy students. He donated the 12 acres of land on Weirton Heights for the construction of Madonna High School, St. Joseph the Worker Grade School and St. Joseph the Worker Church. He donated freely to other churches in the area.
He donated funds to build the Hancock County Childrens Home, and many acres of land for baseball and softball fields throughout the area. In 1968, he built and donated Starvaggi Pool to the city of Weirton. In 1962 in recognition for his many contributions, the Italian government bestowed upon him the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, the highest honor Italy could bestow upon an expatriate for his work to strengthen ties between his home country and the United States.
Mike Starvaggi was a man who freely gave back to his community and was proud of the opportunities that life in America made possible for him.
So, all in all there were many captains of industry who made it big and stuck around here to give back to our community and those decisions continue to impact us here at home. We can't be all like Wells, Sinclair, Williams or Starvaggi, but we can all be inspired by their generosity and willingness to give back to our community.
(Zuros is the Hancock County administrator)