Anna Yoder

How many of us remember when Federal Street was bustling with hundreds of businesses and trolley cars from Perrysville all the way to the river (yes, prior to the Allegheny Center Mall)? And how many 100-year-old women do you know who continue to design and sew their own dresses? Well, I became acquainted with one remarkable woman — Miss Amy Bell Stephenson who turned 100 this past March — who not only remembers those Federal Street businesses and trolley cars but owned a popular fashion design business on that busy Federal Street. And she is still sewing!

We have experienced a winter this year that has been a bit colder than the last few. And on one of the coldest nights in January, my husband and I decided to visit an exciting pop-up restaurant on East Ohio Street called tacOcat. We did not know what to expect, yet realized as soon as we entered the relaxing, cool retro space that this visit was the purr-fect choice for a frigid night. We barely passed through the front door when we were enthusiastically greeted by the bartender and hostess. Once inside, every other person working there offered a kind hello and welcomed us. We felt as if we entered a friend’s home who gave us a warm hug.

When I drive down Spring Garden Avenue, it seems I am always in a hurry going to or coming from somewhere. Regrettably, I had never taken the opportunity to stop at Threadbare Cider and Mead. Nor did I know what exactly Threadbare Cider and Mead was; yet I vowed I would stop someday to check it out.

Pittsburgh is famous for so many things that it is hard to compile all of them into a single list. Yet, there may be one famous fact that might not be as well known. It is the connection of the 1952 classic movie “Singin’ in the Rain” to a historic Pittsburgh flower shop. To learn what that connection is, you will need to read the rest of this column. I do not want to spoil the surprise.

“You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream” are the catchy lyrics of the 1925 song entitled “Ice Cream” recorded by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. Many of us (who are older) have chanted that phrase as we waited our turn at the neighborhood ice cream truck or local Dairy Queen.

Several years ago I was sitting in the office of a non-profit when a jovial fellow sauntered in delivering several cases of beverages for an event. No money or checks exchanged hands. He said a warm hello and left the office as quickly as he entered.