As the editor of LeboLife blog, I love reading and sharing stories from our contributing community members. Our bloggers submit a wide range of pitches, from historical dives into Mt. Lebanon to modern takes on the best places to shop and dine locally.
Winding down 2024, I’m looking back at some of my personal favorite blogs of the year. I initially wanted to showcase them all, but since we publish a new one each week, I limited it to my top 10. But you can find all of our blogs, starting with the most recent, here [1]. And finally, before I get into my list, if you have a connection to Mt. Lebanon and want to become a blogger, please email me at rwindsor@mtlebanon.org [2] with writing samples.
- Growing importance of adulthood friendships [3] — Rachel Windsor
I promise this is the only self-written blog on the list. However, I’m including it for the helpful information on becoming more involved in your community. If your new year’s resolution is to join a social group, try a new sport or learn something new, start here [3].
- Walking to school [4] — Brooks Bratten
In a nostalgic millennial story, Bratten shares memories of walking to school in Mt. Lebanon. Not many people his age can say they walked to school, uphill both ways in the snow, the same way many people in their later years often boast.
- I got scammed, but you don’t have to [5] — Ann Cipriani
In her first blog, Cipriani shares her unfortunate run-in with a scammer. She didn’t just take the loss and move on. She spoke with MLPD about ways to avoid future scams and shared that information to help others.
- The artist behind Howe Elementary’s garden [6] — Carolina Alamilla
Alamilla is an art professor at Washington & Jefferson College, but I know her as the local art blogger for LeboLife. In this piece, she explores the work of Ashley Hickey Flavin, who designed the garden at Howe Elementary.
- Beer 101 for Dummies [7] — Karen Gottschall
I work with Gottschall at the Mt. Lebanon Public Information Office, but we’ve also spent more than a couple evenings at The Saloon after work. Her explanation of the wide variety of beers is easy to understand and proved very useful at happy hours.
- They never walk alone [8] — Thespine Kavoulakis
In this charming story, Kavoulakis shares the time she let her three-year-old walk to school, by herself (or, at least, so she thought). It shows the creativity of a parent to a determined and independent toddler.
- Gina the guitar was the gateway [9] — Nichola Moretti
Stir-crazy during the COVID-19 pandemic, in desperate need of a hobby, Moretti drove her son to Uptown Music to buy his first guitar. Moretti said up until then, “I really thought I missed my chance to be a music mother.”
- A Mt. Lebanon take on an Italian tradition [10] — Adrienne Cahillane
One of our two wonderful interns this summer, Cahillane wrote about her family’s daily after-dinner tradition. It was one of Mt. Lebanon Magazine’s most read articles of the year!
- Slow pitch softball thriving in Lebo [11] — Lauren Cefalo Moore
I’m probably biased, as someone that played softball my entire childhood, but this story of how Mt. Lebanon’s first competitive slow pitch softball team formed is both heartwarming and inspiring.
- A new appreciation of an old suburb [12] — Abigail Schade Gary
Comparing Lebo’s past and present, this blog is both a historical and personal perspective of Mt. Lebanon. As Schade Gary wrote, “Planned communities all over the country are trying to replicate this kind of town: walkable, charming, accessible, set up for community. Mt. Lebanon’s progenitors were way ahead of them.”