Hank Gostkowski

ReClaim McKeesport Ambassador

“There are still respectful neighbors who help each other when the need arises. From cutting several neighbors’ grass, shoveling the walk ways without expecting anything, to hunting for a lost child or keeping watch out for others’ homes when something does not look right.”

ABOUT ME.

My hometown is Verona, PA but I have been living in McKeesport for the past 40 years. I am currently retired but work as a security guard at Renzie Park. For my project, I would like to turn a vacant lot into a volleyball court with AstroTurf, bleachers, and tall net fencing. He is planning on calling his site The Rachel Gostkowski Memorial Court in the hopes of keeping his wife’s name and memory alive in the area in which she contributed.

WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT/ACHIEVEMENT?

My wife & I ran a Ma & Pa convenience store loaded with penny candy, large variety of chips and drinks along with other important items. It was only a block away from my house so I considered my customers to be family. Everyone walked in the door with my respect. We helped many people in our 20 years. I ran a store that people wanted to stop in, not just because it was convenient. To this day I have young bucks and older folks saying that they miss us, and showing me a lot of respect.

WHAT DOES COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?

Community to me means people gathering together for the good of the group, not the individual.

WHAT IS MCKEESPORT’S GREATEST ASSET?

It would be Renzie Park. Baseball Fields, picnic areas, pavilions, soon to be Deck Hockey court, band shelter where free movies and concerts are shown.