They ranged in age from 18 to 50. They were dancers and students, a singer and a bouncer, an accountant and an aspiring firefighter mothers, fathers, teenagers, couples and best friends.
They ranged in age from 18 to 50. They were dancers and students, a singer and a bouncer, an accountant and an aspiring firefighter mothers, fathers, teenagers, couples and best friends.
Outside of Pulse nightclub are tributes to the victims.
Five years later, the pain of Pulse lingers
Grief swirls as survivors struggle with trauma, while plans for a $45 million museum and memorial take shape.
By
CHRIS URSOJune 9, 2021
ORLANDO Some nights, on his long drive home, he conjures up reasons to see the nightclub again.
It’s past midnight, usually, when he leaves work and pulls off at the Kaley Street exit. He drives past the blue hospital signs, past the dusty warehouse district where a museum is slated to rise. He makes a right turn onto South Orange Avenue, toward the stark black sign.
In the early 1970s, young aspiring Black musicians were scattered throughout Beaver County, western Pennsylvania and, of course, the entire greater Pittsburgh region.
This was an era when they targeted their passions and concentrated on becoming the area’s premier musicians. Unlike today s counterparts, yesterday’s young were not fixed on becoming top videogame rompers. Instead, good musicianship provided a viable alternative to youngsters who may have failed on the hoop court, gridiron or simply lacked athletic prowess.
In Beaver County, the probability of becoming a professional musician was a devout reality, whereas so was becoming a professional athlete considering the acclaim of Hopewell Township’s Anthony “Hawk” Dorsett, Aliquippa’s Mike Ditka and Beaver Falls’ Joe Willie Namath. In music, Beaver Valley Musician Union Hall of Famers Henry Mancini and the Steals brothers, Melvin and Mervin, also come to mind.