RANKIN, PA - For her closing rally in Western PA, Vice President Kamala Harris chose the Carrie Furnaces National Historic Landmark. The furnaces were part of the Homestead Steel Works and closed in 1988.
In 2006, the site was declared a National Historic Landmark. It now serves as a museum about the history of steel mills long gone, hosts art shows, and music festivals. A childhood friend of mine even got married there.
When it first opened, 55-year-old Dave Couch was the groundskeeper there.
"It was hard work then, pulling up weeds, cutting the grass," says Couch.
To see Kamala Harris give her closing rally there meant a lot to him.
"I'm incredibly proud, incredibly proud of all the hard work that's gone into this. The fact that she chooses this at a seminal moment in American history, I couldn't be happier," says Couch.
In the late 1990s, before it was declared a National Historic Landmark, I went to junior high less than a mile away, and we used to sneak into the abandoned steel mill to see the massive graffiti murals.
Couch also used to sneak into the Carrie Furnaces in the late 1990s, but he's quick to correct when I refer to the site as an "abandoned steel mill."
"This is not an abandoned steel mill. This is an art exhibit and an interactive historical space. This is to educate people, to let people come together, to let people enjoy various different things," says Couch. "This is not abandoned by any stretch of imagination. As a matter of fact, it's more vital than ever, and I am just proud that somebody in the campaign saw that."
People attending Kamala's rally were feeling a new sense of revitalization.
Michelle Hamblin is 62 and has worked in nursing for decades. Two years ago, at age 60, she went through some financial struggles and found herself living in her car for the first time in her life.
Kamala's campaign inspired her so much that she knocked on over 300 doors.
"I want to live. I don't want to live in my car like I did last year," says Hamblin. "So I want her to get in so she can make a difference and make my life better, make minorities’ life better, make everybody's life better."
Michelle Hamblin talks about living in a car and why she is supporting Kamala (Fernando Calvacanti/Payday Report)
The rally was attended by many people like Hamblin, who were hoping to have a candidate who could lift everyone up instead of punching down at others.
Gary Alexander is a Black army veteran who lives in deep red Washington County. He drove for over an hour to the rally, showing up nearly 6 hours early to ensure he had a spot to see the rally.
"I have a 22-year-old granddaughter, and I have a little small granddaughter, so for them to see this, it will be a real honor," said Alexander. "[Kamala's] trying to unify us, and we've been so divided for the last many years.”
Akil Henderson, is an AFSCME union member, who works for the City. We are both regulars at Murphy's Taproom in nearby Regent Square. He spots me at the rally and comes up and high fives.
"I think everybody's been so nice and approachable and courteous. And honestly, I think that other rally doesn't look anything like this,” says Akil, referring to the Trump rally being held across town at the same time at the PPG Paints Arena.
"Everybody seems to be smiling and happy," says Akil. "I think that. there's something to be said for that, you know, let's get it done. There's no going back, right?"
But underneath the joy, there is a sense of anxiety of what will occur if Trump wins.
Tracy Baton is a social worker who works for a group that serves the LGBTQ+ community. She says that she fears that if Trump wins that queer people, particularly trans people, will kill themselves.
However, Baton has been working past the fear, working feverishly to knock on the doors. In her decades of organizing, she says she has never seen volunteer turnout like she has seen during this campaign
"People are showing up, when you say, please show up and you expect four or five people, you get 20," says Baton. "People are motivated because they're done with the politics of hate. Pittsburgh is ready to say yes to the politics of the future."
Trying to soothe the anxiety that many activists feel, Kamala takes the stage late at night to assure people that their love of the country will overcome the hate that many Trump supporters have of minorities.
"We will win because when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. And we have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division. We are done with that. We're done. We're exhausted with it," says Kamala. “And Pittsburgh, we are not going back. We're not going back. We're not going back".
Over 10,000 break into chants of, "We're not going back, we're not going back, we're not going back."
Harris implores the crowd to use her campaign to reach out to others and build a new community.
"Please, let us be intentional about building community. Let us be intentional about building coalitions. Because here's the thing, so much about these last several years has been about trying to make people point their fingers at each other, to have Americans point their fingers at each other, to try and make people feel alone or feel small," says Kamala. "But let us do the work as we work toward this work of building up community and coalition and reminding everyone that we have so much more in common than what separates us."
As she ends her speech in Pittsburgh, Harris asks the crowd to ask themselves a question.
"So, one last time, Pittsburgh, I ask you, are you a leader to make your voices heard? Do you believe in freedom?" Kamala says to roars from the crowd. "Do you believe in the promise of America? Are we ready to fight for it?”
The crowd shouts back with calls of "Yes," as Kamala leaves the stage to the thunderous applause of over 10,000.
Later, pop star Katy Perry takes the stage singing a set and ending with a roaring rendition of "Dark Horse."
"Are you ready for, ready for a perfect storm, perfect storm? Cause once you're mine, once you're mine," sings Perry as the crowd breaks into a raucous dance party. "Mark my words, this love will make you levitate like a bird, like a bird without a cage."
On Monday, a lot of love was on display at the old Carrie Furnace, love that made many people feel they were elevated to another place. A sense of love that made an old groundskeeper like Dave Couch proud.
"We see different cultures. We see people of different orientations, and there's room for all and there's room for all of us, and it's going to take all of us to move the country," says Couch. "This a good party. I mean, come on, look around…This is a good party, you know?"
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