President Bush, I Have a Question
When I brought my wife to Youngstown for the first time in 1971, the first place I showed her was the Brier Hill Route 422 corridor, and the drive along the Mahoning River through Youngstown, Campbell and Struthers. US Steel, Republic Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube and Commercial Shearing were among the largest of the companies. Medium size companies such as Aeroquip and Wean United were sprinkled in for good measure. One could look right into the blast furnaces from the Center Street Bridge, and the fire would light the night sky. Then came September 17, 1977, better known as Black Monday, Lykes-Youngstown, the old Sheet and Tube, announced it was closing its Youngstown operations. 25,000 jobs were lost. Mill after mill after mill followed. Company after company closed. When it was said and done, the primary job loss estimates reached upward to 75,0000. 24 blast furnaces were located in the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys in 1968. There are none today. In the carnage, people lost ever