Mr. Slim

tom, when i lived in Avonmore and was with the firemen, you have a younger brother that belonged. i cant remember his name. i think we called him skits. i remember jim, you, and your sister. she used to visit Helen and Frank. they lived across from us when we lived in the trailer park. i married kathy painter.

t.shaffer

that would be my brother johnny. i remember you guys very well. now i hear the foundry is about to close . man that will be bad! avonmore will become a ghost town.the fire dept & police dept won't be around much after that.

Mr. Slim

things arent looking good for Avonmore. the town is mostly senior citizens. Johnny, thats right, couldnt remember his name. does he still live in town? what about your sister?

t.shaffer

yes they both live in town. i've been in the cleveland area since 1977. use to hunt pa until aprox 1985 . hunted ohio since 1980. but i do miss avonmore now & then. but i'm glad i made the move out here.but avonmore will still have a special place in my heart.

Mr. Slim

i still go through Avonmore once in a while. glad i moved out too. wasnt much as far as work there. after the mines shut down i couldnt find work. couldnt get into the foundry either. lived in Arizona for a year and a half but ended up back here.

t.shaffer

yeah i tried to get into the foundry also but did'nt know anybody in the click & the mines had just gone thru the strike of 77 . moved out here & been a heavy duty truck mechanic & a harley mechanic since

Mr. Slim

a buddy of mine from town went to school for diesel mechanics and got hired at Beckwith in Murrysville. hes been there almost 40 years. he lived it the white house across from Stella Sharick's store. like you i wasnt in the right crowd to get hired in the foundry. i guess you had to kiss Ted Cunningham's butt to get hired there. sad thing is we both lived within walking distance to get there.

t.shaffer

the amazing thing about it . i always worked on his car when he needed something done . oh well . i quess susan married a testa boy & he no longer needed my services

Mr. Slim

if im not mistaken i think they got divorced. she still works at once was federal lab. its called Breeze corp. they make hose clamps.

t.shaffer

yeah i did hear that. mike still has the garage but really does'nt do big repairs there now i heard.i heard he had a bunch of guys working there & decided to down size. i've been a diesel mechanic for 35 years. should of been retired but we lost our pension 2 yrs ago when the co. sold out to a mexican co. got 2 1/2 years to go now. but at least i'm still got a job.