What a life: Buffalo Township man marking 100 storied years
Courtesy of George Herwig
George Herwig, who turns 100 in November, served as a gunner during World War II.
Courtesy of George Herwig
George Herwig of Buffalo Township served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
George Herwig is a retired Trailways driver who was often accompanied on his long routes by wife Delores, right. The Herwigs have been married 53 years and enjoy every moment spent together.
George Herwig, who turns 100 in November, and wife Delores, 84, recently moved from their West Mifflin home – where trains rattled over tracks nearby and sirens sounded several times each day – to their daughter Patti and son-in-law Tony Balestra's Buffalo Township home. The Herwigs said it took a while to get used to the quiet of country living.
After years of city living, Delores Herwig, 84, and George Herwig, who turns 100 in November, recently moved to Buffalo Township, where their daughter Patti Balestra and her husband Tony made a room for the older couple. The Herwigs enjoy being active and spending time together.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Delores Herwig, 84, leads George on to the even sidewalk outside their daughter Patti and son-in-law Tony Balestra’s home, where the Herwigs now live.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Through the years, George Herwig, a retired Trailways driver, amassed a spectacular collection of buses. He recently sold most of the collection, but keeps his favorite pieces in the study that he and wife Delores often relax in.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
George Herwig served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. For three years, he and his crew delivered food and ammunition from their freighter to the other branches of the U.S. Army, including in Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
George Herwig documents life through a lens, and keeps photographs that tell the story of his life labeled in photo albums and cereal boxes in his study at his daughter's home in Buffalo Township.
After retiring from his driving career, Herwig began giving tours throughout Pittsburgh. Here, he holds his Tour Director of the Year award, with which he was honored in 1994.
George Herwig turns 100 in November. Herwig served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, recorded more than 4 million safe driving miles during his bus driving career and enjoyed serving as a tour guide in Pittsburgh upon retirement.
George Herwig has documented his life - and the life of this country - in dozens and dozens of photo albums meticulously labeled and kept neatly in his study. This image depicts Herwig during his days as a WWII U.S. Coast Guard serviceman.
George Herwig turns 100 in November.
His life journey is chronicled in dozens and dozens of photo albums he has compiled and stored neatly on bookshelves in the Buffalo Township home he and his wife, Delores, share with their daughter, Patti Balestra, and son-in-law, Tony.
And what a life he’s lived.
Herwig, a World War II veteran, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1941. After transporting military personnel on a bus route from Rockaway, Long Island, to New York City for five months, Herwig was assigned to a small freighter, where he spent more than three years in the Atlantic and Pacific delivering ammunition and food to the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Seabees on over 90 Philippine Islands and 30 Pacific islands, including Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
The crew on his ship endured two typhoons and suffered a high casualty rate from enemy strafing and malaria.
On a recent Friday, Herwig, who was a gunner, thumbed through the pages of a World War II album thick with photos, with names and dates jotted below each picture.
“We were not allowed cameras, but I had a Kodak Brownie about the size of my hand, and I had lots of film with me,” said Herwig, pointing out soldiers. “Here’s a guy here who never had a pair of shoes until he joined the Coast Guard,” Herwig said. “This fellow here was our second officer. He never made it; he got pneumonia.”
Herwig is a founder of the Veterans Breakfast Club, which began in March 2008 when a group of 30 World War II veterans gathered in Pittsburgh to share their stories. Since then, it has grown into a nonprofit that hosts storytelling programs where veterans from all eras and branches of service share their stories and experiences.
“Now, it’s nationwide. I have some fond memories of getting together with those guys and talking about our experiences,” said Herwig, who is credited with naming the organization.
After he returned from the war, Herwig became a motor coach driver for Pittsburgh Motor Coach. Over the years, he relocated to major cities including Chicago, Denver, Reno, and Lincoln., Neb., to drive, eventually returning to Pittsburgh to drive for Trailways.
In his 65-year career, Herwig compiled 4 1/2 million safe driving miles – the equivalent of traveling Route 20, which stretches 3,365 miles from Boston, Mass., to Newport Ore., back and forth 1,337 times without an accident. It’s an accomplishment he’s proud of.
“I was driving on single-lane highways, not the roads they have today. And trucks weren’t like they were today. And the buses didn’t have good heaters in them,” said Herwig. “A lot of them had manifold heaters, so while you’re going it’s terrific but when you stop, there’s no heat coming off the motor so it’s cold.”
After retiring from Trailways at age 64, Herwig became a tour guide, earning Pittsburgh’s Tour Director of the Year award and becoming a guide who was well-liked and respected for his encyclopedic knowledge of the city’s history, his sense of humor, and his outgoing personality.
“He’s a people person, and he loved giving tours,” said Delores.
Herwig was born in Oakland on Nov. 9, 1922, the son of George Sr., a music teacher, and Esther Herwig, who played the organ for silent movies downtown.
He played the trombone in the high school band.
When he was in 10th grade, Herwig went to spend the summer with his aunt in Liberty, Ind., and ended up staying for two years, attending high school and working on his aunt and uncle’s apple farm.
He also earned money running a fruit stand.
Over the years, Herwig also had a side job in advertising, appearing in magazines and billboards throughout the city. In a print ad for a health insurance company, Delores appeared with him.
When asked the secret to his longevity, Herwig pointed affectionately toward Delores.
“Her. My wife has taken good care of me, otherwise I’d have been dead a long time ago,” he said laughing.
The couple have been married for 53 years.
Both had lost spouses, and Delores had three young sons when the couple met through a friend of hers.
They raised the boys, Gary, Scott, and Bobby Szarmach, and their daughter, Patti, in West Mifflin, and have six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“Finding the right companion to go with me through my lifetime has been wonderful. My wife and I have been happy together for more than 50 years,” said Herwig.
An avid Pittsburgh sports fan, Herwig threw out the first pitch at the Washington Wild Things game last year on Veterans Day. He has been invited back to toss the first pitch at this year’s Wild Things game, on June 11.
He recalls riding his bike with a friend to the Rooney-McGinley Boxing Club, co-owned by Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, and watching fights while eating a giant pretzel and drinking root beers given to them by a woman who manned the door.
About 2½ years ago, the couple sold their home and moved in with Patti and Tony.
“We spent most of our life in the city. It’s beautiful and quiet out here,” said Herwig from the back porch that overlooks 30 acres and an in-ground swimming pool that he is ready to use.
Herwig brought with him a collection of more than 3,000 replica motor coach and buses, but recently sold most of them to a collector, keeping about 200 of his favorites.
In August, the family is planning a large birthday celebration – “a big shindig,” Herwig said with a laugh – at the Buffalo Township house. The family decided to hold it during the summer so family and friends from out-of-state can visit during good weather.
Herwig is legally blind, but is otherwise in good health. He walks without aid; his memory is sharp, and he still has a quick wit.
“I get around pretty good,” said Herwig.
Herwig acknowledges that he is, in a sense, living history.
“I never thought I’d get this far,” said Herwig. “It’s been a very full life for me. I can’t say I’ve had any dull moments. It’s been a good one.”