For the past 18 years, my home has been a little town called Plum Borough. Plum Borough is located twenty minutes away from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Plum is the second largest borough in Pennsylvania. It is well-kept by all of its citizens. The borough is respected by all that live there. Plum Borough is a suburban town surrounded my shopping centers and restaurants. Most of the people living in Plum Borough are middle working class people. Plum is considered a prominent area.
As a child, I grew up in the largest section of Plum, called Holiday Park. Holiday Park, similar to the rest of Plum, contains very similar one to two story houses. Many of these houses are single-family houses. In fifth grade, my family moved into a larger house on the other side of Plum Borough, which caused me to change elementary schools. I transferred to Adlai E. Stevenson, which is also located in Plum.
Adlai E. Stevenson Elementary School is located on the same parking lot as A. E. O’Block Jr. High School. Both buildings sit on the land that was used to store missiles after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Plum’s mayor at the time, Mayor O’Block was friends with the Vice President of the United States, Adlai E. Stevenson. Vice President Stevenson donated the land to Mayor O’Block for educational purposes. Adlai E. Stevenson’s building was never reconstructed from a missile storage facility to an elementary school. A. E. O’Block was reconstructed, but both buildings remain on the missile storage ground.
My new house was built only a half mile away from the newly reconstructed high school. Plum has been constructing many new housing plans throughout the past ten years, which is causing the borough to become nicer and better known. Plum Borough contains five different elementary schools, one Catholic elementary/middle school, a junior high, and a high school. Each grade of students contains over 350 students, which makes our district a AAAA school.
Plum Borough WPIAL sports have not been a success for many years, Plum Borough is known for being the home of two professional athletes. RJ Umberger attended Plum High School and then went on to play hockey for Ohio State University. During his senior year at Ohio State, he was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks and a few years later by the Philadelphia Flyers. Umberger is currently play center and left wing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL. Pat McAfee is the place kicker for the Indianapolis Colts. McAfee graduated from Plum Senior High School. McAfee attended West Virginia University for football and started as a freshman. He played soccer, but was also a punter and place kicker for West Virginia University. Pat McAfee was drafted in 2009 and is still the place kicker for the Indianapolis Colts.
Plum Borough School District donates around $50,000 every year to the Make-A-Wish Foundation through many fundraisers at all of the school buildings. Through the Television Production classes, students film these various events to show how the money is raised each year. Last year, I had the privilege of being a host in the 12th Annual Make-A-Wish Telethon that takes place near the end of December. This telethon showcases the various fundraisers while also interviewing donators and important figures throughout Pittsburgh and Plum. Last year, we beat our own record and raised over $50,000 for Make-A-Wish. Raising that much money for a great cause is a rewarding feeling.
Oakmont Country Club, located in Plum Borough, has been the location of 8 U.S. Open golf tournaments, 3 PGA Championships, 5 U.S. Amateurs, 2 U.S. Women’s Open, and is the location of the 2016 U.S. Open. Plum Borough was housing many professional golfers through their journey at the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods stayed in a small bed and breakfast in Plum, across from Oakmont Country Club.
Throughout the past 18 years, I have learned that I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up anywhere other than Plum Borough.
