Ron Paliskis shares stories from his youth in Struthers, OH - where the steel used to be big but no more - in his memoir “Ron: A Coke Alley Boy” (Dorrance; 2021).
Different locations, different meanings for the word 'coke.' In Chapter One, “Coke Alley Boys,” Paliskis shared about his hometown - and what the word 'coke' meant to them, “Coke Alley was the end area of a river valley dominated by steel mills. The coke referred to was the coal product used to heat iron ore in the blast furnaces. There were coke ovens that super-heated the coal to make the coke, and huge, square, cooling silo-type buildings that poured water onto the coke cars. Columns of white smoke, actually acidic chemically filled steam, would climb into the sky and dissipate. All other mills were present, e.g. open-hearth furnaces, blooming mills, rolling mills, and various other processes dealing with making iron ore and then into steel, and the steel being formed into usable shapes.”
Indeed, it was no place fit for a child to be born. Said Paliskis, “Being raised in 'Coke Alley,' where the smoke and steam from about 30 mills of steel mills end up on its way out of the Mahoning River valley did not help my health.”
The author was asthmatic from birth. He suffered a ruptured spleen at age and went through the knife. In 1949, he had adhesions and went through surgery again. He was overdosed with penicillin and went into a coma for a short time. As if that wasn't enough, he was dyslexic and a stutterer. Though struggling through a childhood of illness, Paliskis went to live a fulfilling life, even having himself quite an enjoyable youth and serving in the Air Force.
Follow Ron Paliskis' life story in “Ron: A Coke Alley Boy.” Order a copy through Amazon.
“Ron: A Coke Alley Boy” will be displayed by self-publishing and book marketing company ReadersMagnet at their exhibit at booth 208 for the 2022 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 23-24, 2022, at the University of Southern California campus, Los Angeles, CA.
Ron: A Coke Alley Boy
Author | Ron Paliskis
Published date | August 20, 2021
Publisher | Dorrance
Book retail price | $14.22
Author Bio
Ron Paliskis was an altar boy and Life Scout growing up. He later became an Air Force Veteran, a coach of a youth sports complex, and president of the Pop Warner Youth Football section of the complex.
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