Centenarian Club - Whitehall Borough

Aileen Birmingham

Whitehall Borough Historical Society’s Centenarian Club is seeking new members. A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years old. In 2024, the United States is estimated to have 101,000 centenarians, which is 0.03% of the total U.S. population. This number is expected to more than quadruple over the next 30 years, reaching 422,000 by 2054. Eligible members are any current or past residents of Whitehall Borough. Aileen Birmingham became Whitehall Borough Historical Society’s Member #003 at the age of 100. She was born on July 23,1924 at home on Eastmont Ave in Dormont near St. Bernard’s Church. Here is Aileen’s story:

Aileen’s family ancestral background included immigration from both Ireland and Italy; residences in Salamanca, New York, Oakdale, Dormont, & Crafton, PA before settling in a house on Streets Run Road in Whitehall Borough in 1950. Her parents were Joseph and Rose (Barzanty) Birmingham. Aileen was the 200th baby baptized at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. Her parents were married on 9/6/1921 at St. Mary’s in Cecil Township and they lived in Overbrook for their first year. Siblings included her older brother, Joe Jr., younger sister, Rosemary (named after her mom), and younger brother, Patrick (named after their Italian grandfather.) Aileen Louise was named after her dad’s sister, Aileen, and Louise for an Italian great aunt who was the midwife at her birth. Joseph Sr. represented the Irish at the bank he worked at. Her Mom, Rose, a housewife, was a remarkable person who would help anyone in need. Her parents took in an orphan, Joseph Kelly.

At 4 or 5 years old, Aileen was bedridden with tuberculosis and she was actually given the Last Rites. Dr. Vates of Carrick had treated her at home before calling in another doctor from Brookline. On Thanksgiving night in the pouring rain, Aileen, wrapped in a wool blanket, was rushed to Mercy Hospital. Both the father/son doctor team met her at the front door. These doctors didn’t think they could save her and thought they may have to amputate her right leg as cellulitis had set in. There was no penicillin at that time. She stayed in the hospital for 4 months. Aileen recalls looking out the window of her room and seeing a long line of guys waiting in line to get a free meal from Mercy Hospital because there were no jobs for them. She sadly reflected how she couldn’t understand how people could be hungry as her family all had farms and she was also well fed with the hospital meals she was getting.

Aileen shared childhood memories of taking piano lessons from Sister Marita at St. Phillip’s Church and attending concerts where there was standing room only at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Crafton. She grinned while sharing her memory of Father Kelty piling as many kids that would fit into his Packard on Good Friday & treating them all to $0.05 Skyscraper cones at Isaly’s! She liked school and her favorite subject was English. Her dad bought the family a set of Compton’s Encyclopedias for the kids’ schoolwork. She remembered this proud moment when she had made the honor roll and Father Kelty from St. Phillip’s Church in Crafton called her name to approach the altar. She was presented with a book, “The Last of the Mohicans” as her reward.

Aileen and her dad enjoyed ice skating at Schenley Park when she was growing up. Later in life, she recalled taking her nephews to South Park rink and how she still wore her dad’s old ice skates there.

Aileen obtained her bachelor’s degree from Mount Mercy College (later it became Carlow College). She earned her master’s degree in social work from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She had to take 3 street cars each way to get to the school in Pittsburgh; rather than waiting 20 minutes for the dinky to connect, sometimes she would just walk. She packed her lunch for school every day. Her first job, Catholic Charities, paid a small salary and included a company car. She was responsible for placing unwed mom’s babies with an adoption agency. Aileen was to pick up the babies and transport them to a doctor, clinic, or to Mercy Hospital. If it had snowed, she’d have to call ahead of time to have chains put on the tires of the company car. She picked up babies at various homes for unwed mothers including Zoar House in Allison Park, Rosalia Home in the Hill District, and the Salvation Army Home on West Liberty Avenue. It was her responsibility to deliver the newborns to an adoption agency. Occasionally, Juvenile Court would get involved if the mother wouldn’t relinquish the baby; that could take 3 months. A notary was always required and the judges usually took the mom into their private chambers to complete the legal transfer of the baby so that Aileen could place the child in a foster home. She distinctly remembered what happened on her first day of work at Catholic Charities. The baby’s name was Marjorie and she placed her with the Klingensmiths as her foster family. Aileen said “That the best part of this job was that I helped a lot of people and kept in touch with them so they didn’t get depressed. They knew they could give their babies to me.” Many times it was dark and Aileen had a distance to travel to pick up a baby; she also had to pick up diapers and make formula, too.

Memories of her grandparents include a cross at the top of the hill at St. Patrick’s Church in Salamanca, New York, in honor of the Birmingham family. The house her grandfather built in Cecil Township is still standing. Aileen recalls him making wine at that house & how beautiful the Hollyhocks in the back yard were. Shopping memories included buying boots at Kaufmann’s in Downtown Pittsburgh & buying shoes in Squirrel Hill. Her family (“being friendly with Jewish people”) went to a dentist, Dr. LaVictoire, in the Jenkins Arcade and an eye doctor, Dr. Bernatz in the Clark Building. Her family never shopped in Crafton. Aileen’s mom loved watching the Julia Child’s Cooking show on TV & how she attended a cooking school at the Duquesne Light Building every Monday night. She had to take 2 streetcars each way and she always went alone because none of her friends would go with her. Aileen fondly remembered going with her mom once to Kaufmann’s 7th floor to watch a cooking demo. They also bought dress material and drank buttermilk on that trip.

After her mom died, as an adult, Aileen would watch the Lewis Reukhauser financial program on TV with her dad. Even though he had little money, he always encouraged Aileen to invest in some Kroger stock …..saying that no matter how poor you are everybody had to eat. Even though she has never eaten at McDonald’s, her brother, Joe, gave her 3 shares of their stock and she still has them today.

Aileen’s career path included Catholic Charities, being a multi county consultant with the PA State Health Department, and doing clinical social work at Latrobe Hospital. Her older brother, Joe Jr., was the chief pharmacist at a VA hospital before his retirement as the hospital director at the VA Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her younger brother, Patrick, retired as the chief pharmacist at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Her sister, Rosemary, became the school nurse at the Gallurdet University School for the Deaf.

Aileen remembers their family putting the tree up on Christmas Eve and how she loved the wooden bluebird clip-on ornaments the best. She thinks the tree cost $ 0.50 one year.

Aileen said she was never too into politics. Her favorite president was JFK & she liked Obama ok, but didn’t like how his wife and daughters traveled around the world. She reflected: “That today we only have politicians that are greedy. We used to have statesmen who put life and wealth on the line and they loved their countries.” She recalled that it took her immigrant grandparents 5 years to obtain U.S. citizenship.

Her favorite movie is “The Sound of Music.” Her favorite actors are Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Her brother Patrick’s favorite TV show was “The Lone Ranger.”

Aileen typically arises at 6/6:30am & her breakfast is Quaker oats, half a banana & scrambled eggs. She likes veggies and rice for lunch. She really misses getting her monthly soup order from St. Francis Academy since they moved to Brazil. She also loves that you can buy Wendy’s chili now at Giant Eagle. She drinks coffee, hot tea, ginger ale…..but really misses her glass of Guinness Beer & wishes that Paramount would serve it there. Aileen’s nephew had to buy her some Guinness in Wexford because she said you can’t buy it in Pittsburgh.

Aileen, with the help of her nephew, James, wrote her own obituary in advance “to ensure that her life would be portrayed in the manner that she wanted.”

Aileen’s secret to longevity is to “Live Simply.” Aileen’s advice to the younger generation is “We all worked very hard and for long hours.”

It was enlightening to interview Aileen about her life. I hope you enjoyed her bio story.

If you know of any Whitehall resident (past or present) who is over 100 years old and would like to share their life story, you can contact me to arrange for an interview for the Whitehall Historical Society’s Centenarian Club membership at:

Whitehallhistory100@gmail.com attn: Sue Veverka