The author grew up twenty miles north-east of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River. As a kid, he was fascinated by the steel mills which dotted the landscape up and down the “Three Rivers” for which Pittsburgh is famous. He spent over ten years working as a contractor for many steel and aluminum companies including Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, Dofasco Steel, Lukens Steel and Bethlehem Steel.

His interest in the history of Central Pennsylvania iron ore mining and iron making began when he purchased what had at one time been the Cornwall Company Store in Cornwall, Pennsylvania. He is a volunteer tour guide at the Cornwall Iron Furnace and a board member of the Friends of the Cornwall Iron Furnace. He resides on land once owned by one of the descendants of the once mighty iron empire.