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WHEREAS, George Allen Wilson, Sr. was born February 25, 1928 in Ansley, Louisiana, and moved to Pittsburgh in 1952, where he has been a longtime resident of the Northside. The day after his arrival in Pittsburgh, George found employment at Armor Packing Company, where he stayed for twenty-two years; and,
WHEREAS, George began his education in Ansley, Louisiana, and then finished eleventh grade in Dunbar, Arkansas before moving to Pittsburgh. George endured two tours of duty as a soldier in the U.S. Army, and he also served as a peacekeeper in Korea for two years, where he earned five stripes as a Tech Sargent. George was later assigned to Fort Knox, Kentucky, as Tank Leader when another outbreak of war called him back to service in 1950; and,
WHEREAS, George was the first African-American man in Pittsburgh to own property on Columbus Avenue, where he first opened his business. After several years of growth, though, he relocated his business headquarters to 1010 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1970; and,
WHEREAS, for ten years after relocating to 1010 Pennsylvania Avenue, George was known as the Bar-B-Q King of Manchester. His "finger-lickin' good" barbecue meals drew people in from all over Allegheny County, and he was always generous enough to donate food to those who were unable to pay; and,
WHEREAS, beginning in 1960, George attended Duquesne University three nights per week to broaden his knowledge of small business, but he found that through his own business, he was able to learn much of what was needed. He was later offered a scholarship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he took advantage of as a young man; and,
WHEREAS, George has been an educator of boys and girls for many years at the Manchester House as an instructor for Kotocan Judo, in which he has a Black Belt. George also served on the Board of Directors for #424 Meat Cutters Union, Voters Registrar, Constable and Ward Chairman in Manchester, and on the Political Education Board. ...
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