July 21, 1972: While digging through our archive, we often come across photos like this one, which capture the ordinary in extraordinary ways: a smile, a gesture, a movement. Many have interesting back stories, such as this one.
Kids on the South Side called Jennie Karlovich their ‘mistical’ princess Jennie.
Back in the day, the city authorized local people to serve as neighborhood wrench keepers. Ms. Karlovich was the keeper of the wrench for her neighborhood. On hot summer days, kids would bug her to open the fire hydrant.
This photo of Ms. Karlovich accompanied a front page story about her in the Pittsburgh Press. The story titled “She Cooled Hot Scene with Drench Wrench” said Jennie “gave the wrench a turn, adjusting a sprinkler and setting up a barricade to traffic so the kids could splish-splash in safety.”
In 1972, Jennie Karlovich was one of the 60 people selected.
