In tough Pennsylvania town, Musk discusses “purpose”

MARQUEES ROCKS, PA. Lauren Stevenson said she and her fiancé, Alex Ames, had been the first in line since 8 a.m. to hear the billionaire speak at the newly renovated Roxian Theater on Chartiers Avenue in the troubled river town. Elon Musk speak at 2 p.m

Stephenson, a professor at Duquesne University, said she came to see Musk’s speech because she respects his brilliance entrepreneur and innovator.

“I like his ideas about keeping us safe, cutting government spending, talking about purpose and getting the country back on track,” she said.

The Pittsburgh native held a homemade sign declaring that she was an independent voter.

“I’ve been around for over 20 years,” Stevenson said of her voting list and affiliation.

“I don’t go in one direction or another. I consider the issue separately,” she said, which initially prompted her to vote for the former president Donald Trump.

“How many people do we, any of us, really agree with wholeheartedly 100%? So we all have things we agree with and things we don’t agree with. On both sides of the fence. But in general, the politics and what I feel coincide with him,” she said of Trump.

Brian Bliss and his wife, Laurie Bliss, of Ross Township, in the Pittsburgh suburb of North Hills, were behind Stevenson and her fiance in line. When asked if they hoped to win the million dollar prize Musk was giving away at the event, they had no idea it was a thing.

“I’ve never even heard that,” Brian Bliss said as his wife nodded in agreement. “We’re just curious to hear Musk talk.”

Last week, Musk gave away a million dollars to a Pennsylvania resident for the second time in a row, which he promised to do every day until November 5. The money goes to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Michigan. , Wisconsin and North Carolina who signed the America PAC petition in support of the Constitution.

The choice of location for Musk’s visit to Pennsylvania mattered to those in the area because place matters, especially a place like the Roxian that had been neglected, unused for decades, but eager to become useful again and a part of something bigger than myself . . These sentiments are common in regions outside the super-rich and powerful zip codes of New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.

In 1929, the Roxian was a long way from being built as a fancy vaudeville venue, because even then the comic genre was already losing popularity as movies began to replace live shows. So it became a movie theater and lasted as long as McKees Rocks flourished before closing in 1979 when much of the middle-class population fled to the suburbs.

The facility then had several other lives as a banquet hall before closing and remaining closed for nearly 20 years. Just a few years ago, a developer brought it back to life as a venue for live music and comedians with the goal of breathing new life into “The Rock,” the local nickname for the city that hugs the Ohio River.

October 20th was full of life as thousands of young and not-so-young clamored to see Musk live on stage. The CEO talked about the importance of preserving the First and Second Amendments, exercising the right to vote, and striving for a purposeful life and innovation.

Musk, standing with a dreaded towel (a Pittsburgh Steeler tradition) slung over his shoulder after waving it when he took the stage, addressed the issue of political apathy among people who feel unheard and unrepresented in Washington.

“We have an apathy problem,” he said. “Some people think their vote doesn’t count and for some reason they haven’t registered to vote. It’s important to come out and explain the importance of this election and how democracy is at stake.”

Musk, the innovator and entrepreneur who owns companies such as Tesla and SpaceX, whose Starship rocket recently made history when its lower half was engulfed by a pair of giant mechanical arms during its return to the launch pad, had earlier started swinging around Pennsylvania. this month The route included stops in Folsom, a suburb of Philadelphia, Harrisburg and western Pennsylvania.

Each in-person event was held in small venues, drew thousands of attendees, and required attendees to register to vote and sign to support the First and Second Amendments. October 21 was the last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania, as well as the last day to sign the petition. The event was sponsored by Musk’s America PAC and aimed to get people to register to vote and then actually vote.

The events were also broadcast live on X, garnering millions of views.

Most of the people who participated in the event, such as the Bliss family, did not even know about the million dollar drawings.

Christine Fishell won on October 20. She smiled broadly during the announcement, held the check above her head as she took the stage, and thanked Musk profusely.

“Thank you very much. I truly believe in everything you do. You don’t have to do that,” Fishell told him.

For anyone around western pennsylvania, to see the main street of the McKies Rocks business district buzzing on a Sunday or any other day was a sight to behold. Like many river towns in the region, such as Braddock, Aliquippa, Duquesne, and Monessen, the city’s prosperity peaked at the turn of the 20th century thanks to immigrants from Poland, Germany, and Italy and lasted until the end of the world. Second war. It later declined rapidly due to automation and other economic and political changes.

Once-buzzing social clubs, deeply committed to making their town better, membership began to dwindle, as did adult softball teams, often sponsored by local bars and restaurants. Churches emptied and then closed, and business after business closed on Chartier Avenue as manufacturing declined, desperation and crime rose, and people left the city in search of opportunity and stability.

County President Archie Brinza told local NBC affiliate WPXI this spring that regarding crime, “Twenty years ago, when you asked that question, I would have said I was proud to be from McKees Rocks. A lot of people would answer that differently now.”

Local residents who watched hundreds of people line up to catch a glimpse of Musk said they were thrilled their city was being seen in a positive light.

On Oct. 18, Musk addressed a very important moment for voters in Harrisburg who have found their skills and purpose beyond the college world and found a way to work with their hands and intellect.

“I think the value of higher education is somewhat overstated,” he said. “Too many people waste four years, rack up loads of debt and often don’t have useful skills they can apply later. I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands, and we need electricians, plumbers, and carpenters, which is much more important than having extra majors in political science. I think we shouldn’t think that you need a four-year college degree to be successful.”

“You can’t run a business like Tesla or SpaceX without the best plumbers, HVAC workers, carpenters and welders to help your business run. It shows that he sees us and values us by calling our skills by name,” said one woman, whose son works as a welder in the energy industry, as she left the event.

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