PITTSBURGH, PA – Watching virtually any recent newscast, you probably know Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood as a place of incredible carnage. You probably know it as the community where a man with a heart full of hate, armed with an assault rifle and three handguns, burst into the Tree of Life synagogue and shot 11 people to death.
It is that place, unfortunately. But Squirrel Hill is more than that, much more. I know that because I’ve lived there for much of my adult life.
Squirrel Hill is the place where I romanced my wife at haunts such as the Squirrel Hill Cafe, a dive bar in the best sense of the term – smoky, casual and serving great, cheap cheeseburgers. When the late Anthony Bourdain taped an episode of “Parts Unknown” in Pittsburgh last year, he was wise enough to film part of it at this Pittsburgh institution, known affectionately to its regulars as the Squirrel Cage.
It’s the place where we decided to stay after we got married because we wanted to raise a family in the city’s most culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhood. In addition to a large Jewish population, you’ll find eastern European immigrants and Asians, as well as many graduate students from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
When we had children, we took them as toddlers to places such as Blue Slide Park, an idyllic playground area of the city’s Frick Park named after the blue slide built into its cascading hillside. The park was made famous by the late rap star Mac Miller, who named his debut album after it. We returned there in September to join several thousand people at a memorial after Miller, who went to high school just a few blocks from the park, died of a suspected drug overdose.
As they got older, our daughters got to appreciate the neighborhood’s many ethnic dining options. They also formed opinions on which of the neighborhood’s two most famous pizza parlors is best. Aiello’s and Mineo’s are located just a few storefronts away from each other on Murray Avenue and friendly disagreement over which makes the best pie has divided families and friends for generations.
Saturday morning was quiet in the neighborhood until the gunfire erupted. When I learned of what was unfolding, I went up the street to get as close to the synagogue as I could.
From where the media was stationed, I reported for hours knowing there were multiple fatalities but not knowing precisely how many or the victims’ identities. The experience was nerve-wracking, but I received text updates from home as some of the congregants we know checked in via social media to mark themselves safe.
But it wasn’t long before we learned that Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and his brother, David Rosenthal, 54, were among the dead. The special needs brothers lived two blocks from us. My wife knew Cecil from seeing him regularly at Tree of Life services.
The week has been acutely awful. But throughout this ordeal, I’ve witnessed many things that make me glad I call Squirrel Hill home.
I saw several thousand people gather in the rain in the heart of the neighborhood business district for a vigil for the victims. Occurring mere hours after the massacre, it was organized primarily by female students from the neighborhood’s Taylor Allderdice High School and they spoke eloquently at the event despite their youth.
I saw people weeping while hugging each other in front of the makeshift memorial to the victims outside of Tree of Life, where bouquets of flowers continue to pile up even while FBI investigators continue their grim work inside the building.
I saw people who live across the street from the synagogue graciously allow their yards be used as makeshift TV studios for the dozens of reporters from all over the world who flocked here to cover the story.
I saw a grandmother and her two young grandchildren bringing a box of doughnuts to a weary police officer standing watch outside Tree of Life. He accepted the gift with probably his first smile since the shootings.
I saw people gratefully shaking the hands of police officers outside the Zone 4 building about a block away from the synagogue. They were first on the scene and several were wounded confronting the gunman.
I saw thousands of people march through the neighborhood streets, peacefully singing songs of the Jewish faith before stopping near Tree of Life. They then held up and then tore pieces of black construction paper while participating in the Jewish ritual mourning act of Kriah.
Kriah is always performed while standing. The act of standing while tearing material shows strength at a time of grief. The Kriah ritual couldn’t have been more appropriate, because the community has shown remarkable strength while grieving in the wake of the killings.
Squirrel Hill is my neighborhood. It’s a close-knit community where we have been forced to collectively confront a toxic mix of homicidal hate, rage and insanity.
We have done so with dignity and determination.
Perhaps, in these darkest of days, we can find some solace in that.
Eric Heyl is Patch’s Pittsburgh field editor. He can be reached at 412-334-4033 or [email protected].
Photo: Heyl.
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