Sep 12, 2015 1 min read

Two things changed our local communities: the end of trolleys and the dawn of parking meters.

During my childhood, a trolley ran past my bedroom window every 30 minutes. It was, in many cases, our way to travel a couple of blocks or to places like Pittsburgh. The trolley was a clean, safe ride. The saddest day was when the last trolley passed by.

Along with trolleys, most areas also had bus service. Public transportation was the second best thing to a grocery store. The grocery stores we frequented had very little in the way of selection, but they made up for it in quality.

Movies were for family outings or dates. Ice cream parlors and a few small hamburger places were for after-movie or shopping treats. Cars lined the sidewalks. For some unknown reason, local governments felt a need to tax the parking places by installing parking meters. In time, that meant empty storefronts. Houston, Canonsburg and Washington were never the same. The masterminds behind malls and other attractions had taken over.

Joann Diesel

Washington