Our Granite City basketball coaching son, Steve is deeply involved and committed to a current project that is very much a part of Granite City's history. Let me state first and foremost that Granite City was always anchored in a wonderful hard-working blue-collar people. The employees of Granite City Steel company and other supportive industries continue to demonstrate that great American work-ethic pride.
Okay, the Granite City historical project moving forward is a Hollywood motion picture version of the 1940 Granite City high school's boys state basketball championship journey. The story centers around the basketball-talent contribution to that team coming from a West Side Granite-group of Armenian immigrants who were not totally assimilated into the Granite City mainstream. Our son, Steve is doing much 'footwork' for the film's producer as he identifies vintage gymnasiums in the Metro-East area for filming and develops promotions for the movie during Granite City's 2014-15 high school basketball season.
Naturally, there are some local folks who resent a 'telling' of any story depicting Granite City as ever having prejudices or discrimination. The reality is Granite City is like any other corner of the globe, prejudicial attitudes are always lurking. I recall as an East St. Louis youngster (1950's) when Granite City folks did not tolerate 'blacks' in their city-limits after 9:00 P.M. I also recall sections of East St. Louis that embraced the same anti-black discrimination...dammit; own It!!
The truth is there are some folks who just enjoy positioning themselves as 'again-ners.' I remember one old-boy on the Grace Methodist Church board in Washington Park (East St. Louis) in 1951. This fella opposed every thing and was loud with his opinions. Once I heard several church members discussing the need for a new chandelier in the stairwell. This gent raised opposition claiming that "We don't need no chandelier; what we need is more light on the basement steps."
Through the years, I have met my share of opposition. Perhaps no moment is more motivating than that moment when one opposes saying, 'You can't do that or That can't be done.'
When my son recently told me of some of the knit-picking opposition to the movie, which will star, William Hurt and Shirley McLaine, I told him, "Push on and never let the nay saying bastards get you down."
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