I understand that Visit Pittsburgh has embarked upon a national "Pittsburgh is Beautiful" ad campaign to entice visitors and tourists to the region. Well, it's about time the world learns what we Pittsburghers and the Furries have long known -Pittsburgh is a great place to visit.
Somehow I think that it is particularly fitting that this ad campaign kicked off just as the city was celebrating and remembering Sophie Masloff, the quintessential Pittsburgher, who passed away at the age of 96 last week.
Sophie Masloff was a wife, mother and long-time civil servant in Pittsburgh. She took a job with Allegheny County when she was 18 and a recent high school graduate, and worked there until she was elected to the Pittsburgh City Council in 1976. She remained on the Council until 1988, when she was named Council President.
That same year, when then Pittsburgh Mayor Richard Caliguiri died in office, Sophie became Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. She was the first woman to hold the office, the city's first Jewish mayor, and at the age of 71 the oldest person to hold the office. She was reelected for a second term in 1989.
I try not to speak in absolutes, but I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone in these parts who wasn't crazy about Sophie. She was an unassuming, down-to-earth grandmotherly type with a great sense of humor and was given to spouting charming malapropisms. Nonetheless, she was smart as a whip and a kick-ass Council Member and Mayor. She cleaned things up and got things done, and she was widely respected by her fellow politicians who looked to her for advice and guidance long after she retired from office in 1993.
Many local folks have their stories of colorful Sophie encounters. I have two.
I was working for the Salvation Army in Pittsburgh when Sophie was Mayor, and she was very involved in collaborating with the Army's efforts to help some of the city's neediest residents. Every year the Army gave an award to a local individual who exhibited extraordinary humanitarianism and one year Sophie was the gracious, appreciative and humble recipient of this award. The award was given at a huge well-attended luncheon. When Sophie ascended the podium to accept her award, she started off her acceptance speech with "In the Torah it says..."
You see, one of the city's most Christian organizations had just given its highest award to the city's most prominent Jewish resident. By starting her acceptance speech with a quote from the Torah, she was recognizing that and making a point about religion and interfaith cooperation and collaboration.
My second encounter was on the Parkway East when I was driving out to Swissvale to visit my parents. I saw a Lincoln Town Car in the right hand lane with a vanity plate saying "Sophie" on it. Could it be, I wondered? She was a resident of Squirrel Hill. Nah, I thought. The recently retired Mayor of Pittsburgh wouldn't advertise that a car was hers so blatantly, would she? As I passed the town car on the left, there she was behind the wheel of her car.
She caught me looking and gave me a little smile and wave as I passed.
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