The man who created Beaver County's motto revisits the county for first time in 36 years

Upon moving to Beaver County in 1979 at the age of 29, upstate New York native Barry Dawson soon figured out two distinct qualities to his new home.

You need to take a bridge to drive practically anywhere, he thought, and folks in the Beaver Valley were quite friendly.

So, a few years later, when Dawson learned the local newspaper was hosting a contest to create an official Beaver County motto, he was ready with his suggestion: "Divided by Its Rivers, United by Its People."

Dawson recalls, "my wife thought it was corny when I sent it in, but I thought it fits the area really well."

The Beaver County Commissioners agreed, choosing Dawson's entry as the winning submission and holding a ceremony in 1982, adopting "Divided by Its Rivers, United by Its People" as the county's official motto. Dawson got his photo taken for the front page of The Beaver County Times.

Dawson dwelled in Beaver County for eight years. His middle daughter and son were born at the then-Medical Center, Beaver. (Megan in 1984 and Patrick in 1987).

But when a new job opportunity beckoned in 1987 at the Indian Power Plant in the Hudson Valley, the Dawsons, including wife Susan, moved to Dutchess County, N.Y., where the youngest two of Dawson's six children were born.

Dawson and his wife didn't revisit Beaver County until just five weeks ago.

Doing research for an autobiography, Dawson decided that after 36 years away from Beaver County, he needed to revisit the rivers, valleys, towns and restaurants − the ones still left − that had seared their way into his memory.

He couldn't help wondering: 36 years after his winning entry, would the motto "Divided by Its Rivers, United by Its People" still apply?

Let's check in and see.

The background, first

The year 1979 was a great time in the Beaver Valley, and western Pennsylvania in general, with the mills still going strong and the Pittsburgh Pirates joining the Steelers as champions. Early that autumn, Dawson moved from the Lake Ontario town of Oswego, N.Y., to become the quality manager at Beaver Valley Power Station Unit 2 in Shippingport.

"During my time in Beaver County, I lived in New Brighton, Freedom, Raccoon and Brighton (Township)," Dawson said.

One morning, a should-have-been five-minute jaunt between Beaver and Monaca to visit a chiropractor turned into a 15-minute journey hampered by bridge traffic. That's where the seeds for his winning motto were first sown.

He thought to himself: "This whole place is divided by its rivers."

"Though the more I thought about it," he recalled, "and through all the different places we lived, I recognized the people were really friendly here, and relatively united to make it a better place."

The Dawsons, for instance, savored their friendly neighborhood on Pine Grove Road in Brighton.

Dawson also enjoyed bowling in a league competition at Sim's Lanes in Big Beaver as part of a three-man team that included future Major League Baseball star John Burkett, and Burkett's father.

In his spare time, Dawson also visited favorite haunts such as Hank's Frozen Custard, Down by The Riverside Saloon in Bridgewater and the former Muzzy's restaurant in Midland.

But those places faded into memory for Dawson, after his power plant career took him back to New York in 1987.

"In 1990, I took a job in Manhattan with Fluor Corp., as the deputy project director with my specialty being quality assurance," he said. "Our work involved project management oversight of federally funded rail projects for the Federal Transit Administration. I was very fortunate to be in a position to write the original Quality Guidelines for federally funded projects. That was a big boost to my future career."

Commuting to Manhattan meant a 2.25-hour one-way trip by train and foot, though he endured it until 2012.

"And yes, I was there on 9/11 and was the last passenger on the train headed out of Manhattan back to Dutchess County," he said. "One of my colleagues was actually going to the World Trade Tower for a meeting but got out before the towers fell."

Dawson later became an independent quality consultant on various jobs, including a yearlong project for the Honolulu Area Rapid Transit program.

Retiring in 2016 and moving back to Oswego, he soon found himself back in action, working on a project to extend the Green Line Light Rail in Boston, the oldest commuter rail line in the country.

"It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I rented an apartment in Boston and was there until COVID closed the office doors in March of 2020," Dawson said.

He continued working remotely from Oswego, which Dawson is still doing.

At age 73, he also feels compelled to write his memoirs, centered on the story of how in 2018 he learned the identity of his real father, who claimed to have worked for the Secret Service with the Kennedy Family in Hyannis Port, Mass.

Dawson knew he needed background research to outline his life's journey, which led him back to Beaver County.

Return home

"Over this last Memorial Day weekend, my wife Susan and I returned to Beaver County for the first time since 1987," Dawson said. "Having lived there for eight years and having two of my six children born there, we wanted to see what had changed. We were able to go to Hank's (Frozen Custard), visit our old neighborhoods and even meet up with some old friends."

They noticed changes, like the evolving Bridgewater riverfront with its new restaurants, as well as a larger number of national franchise eateries that had opened elsewhere in the county.

"The mom-and-pop type businesses have closed and fast-food moved in," Dawson said.

Not surprisingly, the Shell petrochemical plant in Potter Township caught his eye.

"It was overwhelming when we first saw it.," Dawson said. "We used to come down Route 18 all the time from our home in Raccoon Township to the Beaver County Mall. My wife said it looked like something from outer space and I tend to agree. Obviously, access to the river is a big reason industry wants to move in. In a lot of ways, it was now different from when the steel plants were at their peak... Seems to be more bridges, more traffic and much more industry. I believe Beaver County always will be highly industrialized because of the river access. That is why the power plants were located there. They needed the water for cooling. These other industries need the water fortransportation."

The Beaver County people themselves still seemed to possess the same praiseworthy attributes, Dawson thought.

While parked outside one of their former Beaver County homes, the Dawsons unintentionally caught the attention of the current homeowners who wondered what they were doing. When the Dawson told them they had lived there decades ago, the current homeowners insisted they come inside and take a tour of how the house now looks.

Such friendliness toward strangers reminded Dawson of those long-ago pleasant impressions Beaver County made on him, which he had weaved into his winning motto.

Before concluding their Beaver County visit, the Dawsons searched for any sign that displayed that motto, finding one at Rochester Riverfront Park for a perfect photo op.

He said, "Our visit revealed that many things have changed, but we both agreed that Beaver County is still “Divided by its rivers and united by its people."

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Barry Dawson of New York reflects on creating Beaver County's motto