re: #101 Decatur Deb

Yep. Saw it on a sporting show where they ran a Bass fishing tournament. Fish in the rivers of old Pittsburgh were way too toxic to eat. Nature will bounce back if you stop fucking with it.

I got the impression that the Allegheny was viewed as being much cleaner than the Mon. Obviously part of that impression was color since the Mon ran mud brown and the Allegheny much clearer in color usually due to the nature of their bottoms. Secondly was the higher concentration of industry along the Mon as compared to the Allegheny.*

I also recall a cartoon being published that had two panels:
1st: Two fish (carp and catfish?) swimming past underwater junk; cans, a TV, etc.
Labeled “Mon in 1950” or something like that.
2nd: Just the two fish swimming
Labeled “Mon in 1980”.

Carp has a balloon in the 2nd one saying “I miss the TV.”

* - There was obviously industry along the Allegheny since my father worked in a plant located along it. But Pittsburgh and a lot of communities pulled their drinking water from the Allegheny as well. Presumably many on the other side of the city and county might well as used the Mon, though I know for certain that the Youghiogheny (aka the Yough, pronounced “Yok”) was used as a drinking water source.