By Curtis R., June 27, 2017 — [Here’s] A little back ground about me. I was raised primarily by my mom. My dad was around, but not involved in our life. We moved around a lot in the Irwin area south of Pittsburg. My mom moved my little sister and me to Canadohta Lake and my father remained in Pittsburg. My mom had a friend, Wanda, who became like an Aunt to us while we lived in Canadohta Lake. These were good times for my mom, sister and me until things got bad. Food was short and a minister provided us with wood to heat our home. My grandparents came and moved us back to Pittsburg.
Back in Pittsburg, I attended Wilkins Elementary School in Swissville. I struggled to stay on task at school because one half of the room was studying one thing and the other half something different. Grades one and two were in one room, grades three and four in another room and grades five and six in another room. I flunked fourth grade and grades five and six were hard. However; in fifth and sixth grade did plays. We did Mulligans Magic and to this day I can remember the main song. Where is Santa was the first play I ever was in and it made me feel empowered. I took a lot to heart from the plays. Not so much from the story, but how I learned to express myself in a different way and how others noticed me in a different light.
In the last part of sixth grade we moved into Pittsburg proper and I went to John Minadeo Elementary School. The school was named after a safety guard/Patrol Kid who lost his life saving other kids when a car lost breaks. Learning about what this boy had done started me thinking about people who made supreme sacrifices. It was at this point that I realized what people could do for each other in any given situation and how to face things instead of shying away.