Monessen man has century of memories
BY JEFF OLIVER
For the MV Independent
Steve Major has seen and done more than most people ever do in their lives.
One reason is that he has lived longer than most, having celebrated his 100th birthday Sunday. Another is that the Monessen resident has never been known to let too much grass grow between his toes.
Major, who lives at Hallsworth House in Monessen, celebrated his historic birthday with a parade outside the facility and a ceremony with family afterward. He also received an award from the Monessen American Legion.
Taking a moment to reflect, the talkative Major said being 100 years old hasn’t weighed much on his mind.
“I don’t feel 100,” he said. “I have all of my faculties. My memory is really good. The only thing I miss is being able to walk. Other than that, I just take it one day at a time. I feel really blessed that I still feel this good.”
Major’s life story could work very well as a best-selling novel. He served in the military during World War II and traveled the world, having been involved extensively with the war effort.
He built his home and raised his family in Monessen, but still managed to do a lot of traveling.
A hulking man, standing 6-6, he spent some time as a professional boxer.
While he says his greatest accomplishment was meeting and marrying his wife, Jean, and raising four children, daughters Robin, Christy and Meg and son Stephen Jr., he claims it was his wonderment for what was out in the world that helped mold the man he became.
“I remember sitting on the (Monongahela River) banks as a kid and seeing the steam boats go by and wondering where they were going and what was out there in the world,” he said. “I always wondered what was out there outside of Monessen. That fascinated me. I later joined the army to see the world and I really did a lot of traveling in the service.”
Major’s travels included military action in Panama in 1938 and later with the Battle of the Kasserine Pass and then the invasion of Sicily.
His military life was part of a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle called “Brave Men.” Excerpts of the book featuring Major were published in The Pittsburgh Press in 1944.
Pyle wrote about how Major saved many army personnel by diffusing a 110-pound bomb that fell out of a bomb bay he was checking before a mission. He threw the fuse away just before it went off.
“I was an armament man,” Major said. “My job was to make sure the bombs were loaded properly, and everything was good with the weapons on the aircraft in my care. I had to make sure the bombs dropped during a mission. ”
After leaving the military, he went to Venezuela in 1947 and was caught up in that country’s revolution. He ended up spending 13 months in the war-torn nation.
Major lived through the Great Depression, saw the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in Naples, visited the Sistine Chapel and the Coliseum in Rome, traveled to England, North Africa, Casablanca, Algiers and other spots.
“The most beautiful sight I ever saw was the sunset at the Vatican,” he recalled. “I was there during the war and people told me there I would never forget it and they were right. It was beautiful.”
He learned the language of every country he was in and still speaks fluent Italian and Spanish, as well as Croatian.
While he saw a lot of beauty in other countries, he saw atrocities as well.
“I remember in Rome seeing bodies being carried out of tunnels,” he said. “I asked an Italian fellow what was that and I was told they were political prisoners. I was in Rome five days after it fell.”
After returning to Monessen in the early 1940s, he found work in a steel mill. He also learned how to be a plumber.
“I started out as an apprentice making $7.50 a week,” he said. “I did plumbing until I was 85.”
He also had a 30-year stint on the board of Mon Valley Sewage Authority.
Major was also very active in local politics, his church and other organizations in Monessen.
He talked about growing up in Monessen as the son of parents “who were good providers, but very strict.”
“We had a Model-T Ford back then,” he said.
He recalled life in Monessen growing up as very simple times.
“Everything revolved around the steel mill,” he said. “The whistles and smoke and fire were always there. There was mill dust on all the streets, everybody’s porches back then.
“There were no supermarkets back then. Every neighborhood had its own meat market and there were lots of bakeries.”
Although he did leave Monessen “for a few years,” he said he has never loved his hometown more.
“To me, Monessen was the best place in the world to live,” he said.
Everything we needed was right here. I just loved Monessen and I still do.”
He said his greatest experience was going to Hawaii with his wife back in 1989. While he was there he was able to visit the grave of Pyle, the writer who included Major in his book.
“I thought it was important that I go there,” he said. “It may sound simple, but simple things like that are important to me.
“We went to Honolulu. We were in Hawaii for only a week. It was too short.”
Even his trip to Hawaii didn’t go off without a memorable experience.
“Before we went to Hawaii, we were in San Francisco for the earthquake,” he said. “That was something to experience.
“I’ve experienced a lot in my life … earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons and an avalanche.”
When asked what he credited for his lengthy, wonderful life, Major was very simple and blunt.
“God … my faith in God,” he said. “And moderation. I did everything in moderation. I didn’t eat too much, sleep too much or drink too much. I haven’t had a drink in over four years. I’ve lived a very good life.”
One hundred years of it, to be exact — and counting.
And he certainly didn’t waste a day of it.
