“Keep applying yourself…Don’t take it for granted. Learn all you can learn…Don’t ever underestimate us old-timers.” – Harold Kerns
Born on February 21, 1921, Mr. Harold Kerns was raised at 101 Francis Street in what used to be called the West Side of Steelton, PA. His father, Clarence L. Kerns, was a steelworker in the Bethlehem Steel Mill and enjoyed keeping documents of the town’s history. Estella (Deimler) Kerns, his mother, looked after her eleven children and took pride in being one of the best bread makers in town. When the house was just too crowded to hold them all, the family moved to 327 Conestoga Street, just a few blocks away in the West Side.
Harold Kerns attended West Side Elementary and then went on to Steelton High School where he played football. 
Today, he still enjoys reminiscing with his old teammates and coaches about the joys and hardships of being an outstanding team. While some players went on to play football at a higher level after graduation, Harold feels that once someone becomes an adult, he or she “needs to stop doing childish things a work for a living.” Therefore, after high school graduation in 1939, Kerns gave up his athletic career and joined the working class.
Throughout Kerns’ childhood, athletics played a significant part in his life. He and his friends would often play pick-up games, such as baseball, basketball, and football, out in the open lots in the neighborhood. Back then, the players only had a ball and a bat and would sacrifice their bodies for the joy of the game. After baseball games, Kerns and his friends often walked to the potato chip factory where the owner would give them each a free bag of fresh chips. When Kerns later found out that he had a cataract in one eye, he claimed that is was caused by all of the foul balls that hit him in the face.
Having a gift of working with his hands, Kerns began learning about machines and mechanics in high school. He recalls an old shop 
teacher telling him one day, “Harold, the difference between a mechanic and a guy who thinks that he is a mechanic is that extra ten percent. Don’t be satisfied with ninety percent. You do one hundred.” Shortly after graduation, on October 3rd, 1939, Kerns began his life-long career at the steel mill as a skilled machinist. “Working with thousandth of inch tolerances, Mr. Kerns and his colleagues made raw steel and then fabricated and machined it into finely honed line shafts and gears for World War II battleships, structural elements of the Golden Gate Bridge, frog switches and rail for every major railroad in the country.”
During the period of draft for World War II, many of Kerns’ friends and coworkers went to war. He would have been drafted as well, but they did not accept him due to the absence of his right eardrum. He still did everything that he could to support the war, including working on “defense work.”
After only a few years working in the steel mill, Kerns’ married Sue Duke. The couple regularly attended The Church of God and never had any children. The two lived in Steelton while Kerns’ worked in the mill until he finally retired on February 1st, 1983. Throughout his working career, however, he contributed to the community in many ways. He was a substitute teacher for a few days at the Central Dauphin VoTech School. He was involved with organizing Steelton’s branch of the Steel Workers Union, which still exists, and he also helped the late John Yetter create the thorough archival book, Stop-Look-Listen: A History of Steelton, Pennsylvania.
Kerns’ own personal historic collection started when he and his wife 
bought a postcard at an antique store. Since then, he has gathered an extensive collection including twelve thousand postcards, a large number of rare photographs from inside the steel mill, many rare bottles, city directories, and artifacts. Throughout his collecting, an older woman contacted him about an antique postcard that she had. The picture on the front was of the young Woodsmen of America in Steelton from the 1800’s. After purchasing the card from the woman, Kerns realized that one of the boys in the picture was his father. This photo became the only picture that he owns of his father from childhood.
Currently living in Enhaut, PA, a town that bordering Steelton, Kerns is known to the community as one of Steelton’s great community historians. If someone is interested in learning more about a certain aspect of the town, Mr. Kerns is the person to talk to. He is always more than willing to share his stories of life in Steelton and his extensive collection of historical artifacts.
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