Will Thoney Pietro be smiling down on the proceedings Saturday in Greenmont?
Maybe, Emily Quinlan said, with a smile of her own.
Just maybe.
For those new to the area, Pietro was the region’s premiere stone mason, whose ornate walls, walkways and houses can still be seen across “old” Morgantown and other locales from Wheeling to Pittsburgh.
Pietro, who came to the U.S. from his native Italy, was known by his Americanized nickname of “Tony.”
According to lore, he added the “h” and the “e” to his handle as a stylized flourish – in hopes it would make him stand out on the manifests of the day-labor crews where he always found work.
With an immigrant’s zeal, he did all this toil while he was also establishing his own business during his off-time, scarce as that was.
By 1911, he was a success and leading his own work crews.
He settled in West Virginia, and when it came due to establish a headquarters for his paving company, he chose Morgantown’s Greenmont neighborhood, because it reminded him of the hilly villages of his homeland.
Morgantown’s oldest established neighborhood was jumping by then, full of businesses that ranged from barbers to grocers and auto repair garages – once that mode of transportation replaced the trolley lines that bisected those Pietro-paved streets from Greenmont to Sabraton.
Greenmont had diversity, too. Black families lived next door to Greek families, who lived next door to transplants from England and Wales.
In the present-day University City, full of concrete, contemporary construction, the architecture and layout of Greenmont that pulled Pietro in is still surviving and thriving, while managing to be funky, and venerable, at the same time.
There are still businesses – walkable – including coffee shops, bakeries and a much-beloved local tavern.
You’ll find WVU students, professors and long-time, townie families still residing on those tree-lined streets in those sturdy frame homes – most of which were built from 1901 through 1925.
And this weekend you’ll also find a celebration in the form of Greenmont’s annual Summer Block Party, a seasonal tradition that’s now back after an (unwelcome) COVID hiatus.
It happens from 4-8 p.m. Saturday on the Arch Street islands, and will feature free food and a host of activities, including music and games.
Emily Quinlan calls it a true celebration of community
Quinlan is a member of the Greenmont Neighborhood Association, which is hosting the party, with the help of several businesses from the block.
For her, Greenmont, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is both a postcard of what was, and a portal to community vibrancy of present and future, blending old and new.
After a few years in Florida, Quinlan came back to her hometown of Morgantown.
Not long after, she settled in Greenmont, which spoke to her, as it did Pietro generations before.
“Greenmont really is special,” she said.
“This is what makes Morgantown. You just get this sense of place.”
And Thoney?
Well, there’s a strong possibly, as she alluded earlier, that he just might be impressed by all the current doings.
After all, she said: The spirit of Greenmont is holding up just as well as his stonework.
TWEET@DominionPostWV
