Syrian immigrants were hard-working
I was born and raised in East Canonsburg and found the “Black Hand” series by Park Burroughs to be very enjoyable. Burroughs wrote that the east end of the borough was no longer a place where the Italian, Greek and Polish languages predominated. However, there was a feeling of shock when I noticed that Syrians and other nationalities were missing.
Many Syrian families lived on Euclid, Franklin and Giffin avenues, and they were also present in other parts of Canonsburg. They had last names like Abraham, Ahwesh, Solomon, Hanna, Moussa, Thomas and DeSafey.
In today’s world, it has unfortunately become taboo to admit you are Syrian. Syrians were all hard-working people as were all the immigrants in East Canonsburg.
Lee R. Mason
Houston