In the beginning:
On a somewhat boring Saturday afternoon, a newcomer to the Kittanning area found a brochure at the Tourist Bureau office called the Kittanning Walking Tour. That was me. Hello!
I decided to walk the tour as something to do and I loved it – the picturesque courthouse and jail, historic buildings downtown, all of it! I returned to my apartment on Chestnut St, grabbed my Epson PC10 digital camera, and started over at the beginning of the tour, taking pictures as I went. Sometime in the next few days, I published the Online Walking Tour of Kittanning on my personal website, then later registered the website kittanning.com and moved the Walking Tour here.
Who is Carl?
Born in 1951 in Mercer County, PA, Bromley was returning from 20-ish years in California – wanting to be closer to family but not on top of them. While driving through western PA on a short vacation in 1997, Kittanning was the most picturesque of cities and towns he drove through.
Why Kittanning?
Why start the website Kittanning.com?
Just “because”?
Carl: I have a long history of doing things I’ve never done before. After seeing the natural beauty of Kittanning on the Allegheny River, it’s no wonder Native Americans settled in Kit-han-ne. With no city sprawl or commercial development, the location was perfect for corn fields and three villages. Well-estrablished trails to and from Kit-han-ne were the retult of neighboring tribes and villages visiting for trade and events.
What's our plan for kittanning.com?
In a word, “rebuild”. My passion has always been helping where I can. The Borough of Kittanning has potential. We should try to find our “win+win”.
I have a long history of doing things I’ve never done before. Why not?
What's special about Kittanning?
In 1756, the Battle of Kittanning is arguably the turning point of the French and Indian War. In 1753, a young George Washington carried the equivalent of an eviction letter from the King of England to French troops garrisoned at Fort Le Bouef near Erie.
After seeing the natural beauty of Kittanning on the Allegheny River, it’s no wonder Native Americans settled in Kit-han-ne. With no city sprawl or commercial development, the location was perfect for corn fields and three villages. Well-estrablished trails to and from Kit-han-ne were the retult of neighboring tribes and villages visiting for trade and events. In the years 1753 to early 1756, Native Americans were attacking English speaking towns and farms in western PA, provoked and supplied by the French government. A surprise attack in 1756 by Englishers convinced the natives they were fighting for the wrong team. In 1760, the war was over and the English won.
A sample from the Walking Tour
Did you know that the Fellowship Hall owned by First United Methodist Church (FUMC) Kittanning was not properly identified for a long time? God works in mysterious ways, does He not? That’s the same building that was used for movie extras to gather in and stay warm when Richard Gere and Laura Linney were in town filming Mothman Prophecies. It is also frequently used for Red Cross Blood Drives and for an art exhibit during the annual Fort Armstrong Folk Festival.
Timeline: 1998 to present
- 1998-99 Traveled back to Calif to get my pension vested. Working for a friend on the new San Francisco International Airport terminal, I was happy to make a few extra bank deposits.
- 2001 Started local4all.com which was influenced a lot from kittanning.com and has changed a lot since then.
- 2002-10 Volunteered with Armstrong Habitat for Humanity.
- 2007 With a friend, bought Dan Warner’s placemat advertising business. In 2019, I became 100% owner.
- 2002-2017 Along with the placemats business, did a decent amount of handyman work and volunteerism.
- March 25, 2017 – met Jane my future wife online which is a story for another time. If you ask me about my “Red Letter Days”, that’s the first of five.
- March 28, 2017 – met Jane in person, Red Letter Day #2.
- March 29, 2017 – Red Letter Day #3… I celebrate the fact that, after meeting me in person and hearing about my many ideas, Jane didn’t run away!
On Sept 9th, 2017, I married Gloria Jane Moore in the smallest city in the USA, Parker, just a few miles up the Allegheny River from Kittanning. Jane is her preferred name although she is known by both names in different circles.
Along the way and over the years, I have been trying to improve Google Maps (added the ampi-theater as a place and labeled North Park to differentiate it from Riverfront Park to the south of Citizen’s Bridge). Are there any other locations in Kittanning that need help? Send me an email from the Contact Us page or give me a call!
2023 update: I started looking at the KDC website (again) with a goal to improve it using WordPress plus the advice and suggestions of friends and neighbors. I know that WordPress is going to take a few hours of learning and then lots of updating. Prayers are welcome!
Carl