PRINTER'S NO. 3644
No. 717 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY RAMALEY, BIANCUCCI, GIBBONS, MARSHALL, SAINATO,
J. WHITE, GEORGE, MANTZ, HELM, DONATUCCI, VEREB, GRUCELA,
SWANGER, PAYNE, BELFANTI, FRANKEL, FAIRCHILD, FLECK,
HENNESSEY, READSHAW, MAJOR, GOODMAN, McCALL, VULAKOVICH,
CALTAGIRONE, WOJNAROSKI, SURRA, MANN, ROSS, BAKER,
D. O'BRIEN, MARKOSEK, DiGIROLAMO, KENNEY, NAILOR, ROHRER,
COHEN, HESS, PHILLIPS, McILHATTAN, CLYMER, PRESTON, KULA,
MILLARD, CONKLIN, PETRONE, SCAVELLO, O'NEILL, SAYLOR,
SANTONI, MAHONEY, HARHART AND MOYER, MAY 2, 2008
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MAY 2, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring the City of Aliquippa, Beaver County, on its 100th
2 anniversary.
3 WHEREAS, Aliquippa emerged in 1750 as a village along a back
4 channel of an Ohio River island; and
5 WHEREAS, It is popularly believed, but not historically
6 accurate, that the village was named for Queen Aliquippa, a pro-
7 British Iroquois leader who ruled over what is known today as
8 the greater Pittsburgh area in the mid-1700s; and
9 WHEREAS, The Village of Aliquippa was incorporated in 1894;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, By 1900, the Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation
12 expanded its business interests from Pittsburgh by purchasing
13 the Ohio River island located near present-day Aliquippa; and
14 WHEREAS, The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation erected on
1 that island a large, integrated steel mill, which stretched
2 seven miles along the river; and
3 WHEREAS, The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation invested in
4 the nearby villages by building homes and businesses to
5 accommodate the large influx of immigrants descending upon the
6 Village of Aliquippa to gain employment in the steel mills; and
7 WHEREAS, The Borough of Woodlawn, which would later become
8 the heart of the City of Aliquippa, was incorporated in 1908;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, In Woodlawn, the corporation laid out the borough in
11 a series of "plans" identified by a number; and
12 WHEREAS, The residents of the Village of Aliquippa were
13 settled separately in each plan based on race and ethnicity; and
14 WHEREAS, The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation separated
15 its employees in such a manner to discourage American
16 integration, as well as to reduce social conflict among
17 neighbors; and
18 WHEREAS, The Village of Aliquippa and the Borough of Woodlawn
19 merged in 1928 to become the Borough of Aliquippa to appease the
20 Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation's wishes to have the
21 Aliquippa Works mill in a town named Aliquippa; and
22 WHEREAS, The newly incorporated Borough of Aliquippa and its
23 residents experienced prosperity throughout the 20th century
24 because of their centrality to the success of American steel
25 production; and
26 WHEREAS, The closure of the steel plants in the 1980s caused
27 enough economic strife to persuade council leaders to recharter
28 the borough in 1987 as the City of Aliquippa; and
29 WHEREAS, Today, the community leaders of the City of
30 Aliquippa wish to honor the history of their town by celebrating
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1 the centennial of the merger with year-long festivities
2 beginning May 22, 2008; and
3 WHEREAS, A centennial festival will be held the weekend of
4 May 22 through 26, 2008, with a Centennial Celebration Parade
5 being held on Saturday, May 24, 2008; and
6 WHEREAS, Residents of the City of Aliquippa have a tradition
7 of outstanding citizenship and deserve the congratulations of
8 this legislative body; therefore be it
9 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the City of
10 Aliquippa, Beaver County, on its 100th anniversary.
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