From their Duquesne home, the Sekely family easily sees and hears the sounds of Kennywood Park.

So several years ago, when Joseph, Thomas and Theresa Sekely were teenagers and eager to help pay their tuition at Serra Catholic High School, they got jobs at the park. They walked to work in a matter of minutes.

Today, Theresa Sekely, 28, lives with her mom and works with her at Kennywood's guest services.

It is precious time that Ms. Sekely treasures.

"My mom's my best friend," she said.

	Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette Heather Hunt, left, who has worked at Kennywood for three seasons, and her mother, Sandra Hunt, of Braddock, a 15-season veteran, enjoy a laugh on a paddle boat. Click photo for larger image.

While the West Mifflin amusement park is famous as a place where generations of families have come for more than a century to have fun, it's also a place where generations of families go to work.

Just ask the family of Mary Reges Byrne, 75, of North Huntingdon. Mrs. Byrne has worked at the park for 43 years and, this summer, has the chance to stop and say hello to her grandsons, Clint and Cory Walker, who work there.

The Walker boys grew up listening to tales of the Racer from their father, Keith Walker, who operated the roller coaster as a young man. He suggested the boys continue the Kennywood tradition.

Mrs. Byrne, who works in the park's accounting office, has five children and a granddaughter who have worked various jobs in the park.

"I'm following the family tradition," said Cory Walker, 17, of North Huntingdon.

Dorothy Sevich, 80, of Duquesne, started working at the park as a teenager.

"I felt like I was very important," she recalled of her first job, selling popcorn. Two nephews and a niece have followed in her footsteps with a variety of jobs at the park.

Today, Miss Sevich stamps hands at the park gates. She also indulges in a park perk: Riding the rides, especially the roller coasters, for free.

"It makes me feel like I'm only 60," she said.

Besides the rides, the worker-families talk lovingly of Kennywood's festive atmosphere and its flexible hours and variety of jobs.

But mostly, they say, it is a love of families, and especially the children, which makes for great working conditions.

When Sandra Hunt's son, Douglas, 25, who works in the games section, gets upset because of testy customers, she tells him to walk around the park and remember why he's there: To put smiles on children's faces.

It always works, Ms. Hunt said.

Ms. Hunt, 56, of Braddock, said she often gets a chance to run across Douglas and daughter Heather, 20, when the three are on duty at the same time.

Most folks, she said, know Heather only as "Sandy's daughter."

A third child, Victoria Hunt, also worked there at one time.

Ms. Hunt is especially proud when she receives good reviews from supervisors about her children.

"I didn't do too bad being on my own," she said.

Ms. Hunt is a self-described "former stay-at-home mom" who began working summers at Kennywood in 1987 after her divorce.

In time, her hours grew as she became cafeteria supervisor, but she left that job for one with benefits. She still works in guest relations on nights and weekends.

"[Management] will work with you [on scheduling]," she said, a real plus for busy moms and for older workers.

Park spokeswoman Mary Lou Rosemeyer said hiring preferences were given to applicants who previously worked at the park or its "sisters," Idlewild and Sandcastle.

Kristen Weber, 22, of North Huntingdon, who is a park group sales receptionist, said the money she earned over the past seven summers helped pay for her education at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, from which she just graduated.

She was steered to Kennywood by her family: Her father, Fred Weber, worked there for 51 years before retiring at age 68 as head of maintenance. His bothers and sisters worked there, too.

Even a whack by a hydraulic piston while working on the brake system of the Racer didn't sour Mr. Weber on the park experience.

"He knocked out most of his teeth, and came back," Miss Weber said.

Joe Barron, 50, of West Mifflin, owes a big debt of gratitude to his Aunt Ursula, Uncle Richard and Uncle Joe.

It was their stories of working at Kennywood which inspired him, at age 16, to walk from his home in Duquesne to man the Ski Ball alleys in the Penny Arcade.

It was there he met his future wife, Peggy Macura.

The Barrons' daughter, Maria, worked in games at Kennywood, while their son, Joe IV, worked in refreshments.

Despite earning two master's degrees, the elder Mr. Barron never stopped working summers at Kennywood after that first one in 1972. He is now the human resources director for Kennywood and its affiliates.

The Kennywood experience left a life-altering mark on Joseph Sekely, another child of Mary Sekely.

On Sept. 9, he will marry Cristin McMahon in the park by the Lost Kennywood fountains. The couple met while working at the park.