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Sunday, December 29, 2002

First published Sept. 11, 2002
By Pam Panchak

Catherine Grimme, 97, is an original pioneer of Norvelt, a Westmoreland County neighborhood planned in 1934 by then first lady Eleanor Roosevelt as the only major experiment in socialism in the United States. "We Norvelt homesteaders were called communists when, God bless them, the Roosevelts gave us houses, jobs and a way to feed our kids during the Great Depression," Grimme said. "This plan could work today for America's poor." Panchak: I like living histories. It's not often you get to meet someone who can relate the past in such a fun and interesting way. It was a great time sitting there listening to her anecdotes about ending up in Norvelt, her life there and what Norvelt was all about."