Pittsburgh Thing

Missing them.  I’ve been reminiscing lately about some of the Pittsburgh on-air personalities from the ’50’s and 60’s.   Unfortunately, most have passed on, but they’ll live on in my memory and I’m sure that of many other current and former Pittsburghers.                                                              

Josie Carey:  August 20, 1930 – May 28, 2004.  My first TV crush.  Host of WQED’s The Children’s Corner from 1953-1961 (with Fred Rogers) and, following that, of Josie’s Storyland and Funsville.  Whenever Josie teamed up each year with Mr. Wrinkle (Sterling Yates) for “Mr Wrinkle Goes to the North Pole,” you knew it was time for Christmas. 

Sterling Yates:  Died July 11, 1991 at age of 65.  Not only was he Mr. Wrinkle, but was also sidekick to Rege Kordic on KDKA radio on one of the funniest radio shows ever.

“Bwana Don” Riggs:  Died February 21, 2009, at age of 81.  Introduced a whole generation of Pittsburgh kids to exotic animals and Tarzan.  Sidekick to Willy the Duck.

Pittsburgh ranked high for kids.   Parents magazine has ranked Pittsburgh as the 4th best city in the country for raising children.

The Gob king.   You’ve eaten them, you miss them, but do you know who owns the rights to them?  Tim Yost, owner of the Dutch Maid Bakery in Johnstown, PA, owns the trademark name Gobs, the tasty chocoloate cookie/cakes with the yellow filling.  Yost says he knows that people make and sell Gobs at events such as church fairs, but he’s not interested in suing anybody unless some commercial entity begins horning in.  If you can’t get to Johnstown or its environs in the near future, you can mail order Gobs from the bakery by calling 1-814-269-3931 or e-mailing gobsrus@gmail.com.  The retail price is 89 cents each.

Most Livable U.S. City: A big fat shout out from the British magazine, the “Economist.”  In June 2009, the magazine proclaimed Pittsburgh the most livable city in the United States.  This comes on the heels of Pittsburgh’s 2007 ranking as most livable by “Places Rated Almanac” and this past January’s ranking by “Forbes” magazine as sixth best among “Ten Cities for Job Growth in 2009.”

Olde Frothingslosh: On the main page of this blog, homage is paid to Fred Rogers and Olde Frothingslosh.  While Mr. Rogers is internationally revered, Olde Frothingslosh is….well…the Pale Stale Ale with the Foam on the Bottom.  It was the brainchild of former KDKA radio personality Rege Cordic, who in the 1950s developed a running storyline about a fictitious beer so light it floated on top of its foam. In the mid-1950s, the Iron City Brewery started packing its own inimitable brew as Olde Frothingslosh around the holidays.  The product became famous for its zany cans, which today are collector’s items.  The “Whale of an Ale for the Pale Stale Male” occasionally reappears with little warning.