Thursday, September 18, 2014

Beaver County, Pennsylvania

This week, as part of my goal of visiting all the counties within three hundred miles of Morgantown, I visited Beaver County. It's one of the larger counties in this area, located just northwest of Pittsburgh, bordering Ohio and West Virginia's northern panhandle. Because it's less than one hundred mles from Morgantown, I decided to go and come back the same day.

My goals are usually to find at least ten places on The National Register of Historic Places, a mall, a synagogue, and a park. I usually find the county courthouse.

It took just about two hours to get to the county. I had planned to do all the historic places, north to south, but I messed up my figuring and started near the center. Most of the urban parts of the county run along the Ohio River. There are towns on the steep hillsides and factories, many abandoned, along the riverfront. I had a sense of a beautiful place that once boomed with industry and good-paying industrial jobs. According to the census, the county population declined about ten percent between  1990 and 2000.

I visited Bridgewater, Beaver (the county seat), Beaver Falls, Alquippa (the largest city), and Ambridge. Beaver was the prettiest town, with a street of semi-interesting shops, a historic district along the Ohio River, and a wooded park with an old-fashioned bandshell. Alquippa was the most depressing. It's main street was virtually vacant and the residential areas were in sad disrepair. Geneva College, a self-described "Christian liberal arts college" anchors the north end of Beaver Falls. Bridgewater has a historic district along the Beaver River. Ambridge hosts the county's only synagogue, "traditional" according to its website, which means not affiliated with the major movements in Judaism, and Old Economy Village, part of which is in a state historic park.

I had lunch in Beaver at BeauCo Bistro in downtown Beaver. It's decorated in 1970 modern. I had the special chicken salad sandwich with cranberries and walnuts on some kind of white bread. It's not what I usually eat. I try to avoid mayonnaise. It was inexpensive and filling, I'll give it that.

I didn't interact with too many people. I stopped into a K-Mart, looking unsuccessfully for a local map. A handsome young man offered me a free Pittsburgh newspaper. He admitted it was the more conservative paper. I took it, but haven't read it. The librarians in Beaver found me a map, and several atlas books covering the county. The people at the courthouse gave me a map that covered much of the area. If I were to describe the people based on these few interactions, I would say they were friendly and helpful.

When I go farther away, I stay overnight, and try to catch a nap between four and five. This habit goes back to childhood, so it's not an old-age thing. Not that I'm sensitive about my age. I got home about 8, as it was getting dark, having left Ambridge about 6:15. I was exhausted. Joe and I had a late dinner. I fell asleep as soon as I went to bed. As usual, I wonder why I go through all this, but
 the main reason is that I enjoy travel, don't mind being alone (although it is more fun with Joe, who has a job and can't always go). I guess it's just my idea of fun.

Here are some pics of Beaver County:

Beth Samuel Congregation, Ambridge

Old Economy Village Historic Park, Ambridge

B.F. Jones Memorial Library,  Alquippa

Interior, B. F. Jones Library

Ambridge Historic District, part of Old Economy

Geneva College, Beaver Falls

Carnegie Library, Beaver Falls

Fort McIntosh Site, Ohio River, Beaver

Dunlap Mansion, Bridgewater

Bridgewater Historic District

Beaver County Courthouse, Beaver

Ohio River at Beaver

House in Beaver Historic District

Quay House, Beaver



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Gender

Last week, Joe and I attended a presentation at WVU by Dr. Colt Meier about transgender issues and how to make transgender people welcome at West Virginia University. I felt we should go because I am on the LGBT Equity Commission for the University, and because we are always trying to meet gay people in town, in the (so-far unsuccessful) attempt to create a gay social network for ourselves.

Dr. Meier is young, blond and pretty with stylish stubble. He spoke rapidly and covered lots of ground. Ultimately, he told us that he himself is transgendered, lucky to have had understanding parents who worked as professionals in education and psychiatry. I would add that he was lucky to be so young. In our day, he might not have survived.

Although Dr. Colt was upbeat throughout, he managed to sneak in some terrifying statistics. I don't remember the exact numbers, but a majority of trans kids are kicked out of their homes or beaten by their parents. Homelessness and unemployment are rampant, and even those with jobs are often discriminated against or harassed by coworkers and supervisors. College students have issues about sports, dormitory arrangements and prejudice from teachers and fellow students. Dating can be problematic.

We learned a new word: "cisgender." It describes people who feel that they really belong to the gender they were born into. That would describe me and Joe. We are both hairy-bodied, balding older men. We don't manscape or hide our gender characteristics. And yet...

At the break, we asked someone to take our picture with Dr Meier. I asked him "What if you look really male, but you don't do really male things?" I told him I have no interest in sports, don't drink beer or hunt, can't fix a car, like to dress flashy and secretly wish I had a collection of Barbie dolls. I didn't have to mention that I'm married to another man. Dr. Meier suggested I was "gender non-conforming." Well. I'm glad we have a name for that. Another phrase he used was "gender dysphoric." That means you are unhappy with the gender you have. That one doesn't work for me. Yes, it would be nice to have beautiful long hair like my sister, but I'm generally happy to have a man's body.

I found Dr. Meier charming and kind of hot. Of course, I was curious about how much he has changed from his original female body, but I learned from him that the answer to that question is "None of your business." Until it is. But in my case, it isn't my business and won't be.

A crowd came to hear this talk. Most of them were required to show up as part of a course. They left after the formal presentation. A faculty member signed their little cards to prove their attendance. The people who stayed for the question-and-answer were more interesting. A woman said her lover was trans, and she wondered how to tell people. A young man with curly blond hair said he understood the concept of "passing" as he was not "white" although people who met him thought he was. There were a lot of uncomfortable looking young men and women there, some trying to "pass" as the gender they were born into. It's hard to imagine how difficult that must be. I remember myself in college, trying hard not to look "gay," but already aware that I was. In those days we had to hide. Hopefully, things everywhere, even at West Virginia University, are getting better.
Joe and I with Dr. Colt Meier