JOHNSTOWN — Although Patricia Harris misses the bright lights of the big city, she does not regret following the path that led her to Johnstown 10 years ago.

Harris was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and still calls it home.

“I try to go back twice a year at least,” she said.

Harris said she is especially fond of Broadway.

“It has all the shows, the movies. All the pretty lights. 

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

Harris especially loves seeing the Christmas tree light up and the ball drop on New Year’s Eve.

She also enjoys the busy atmosphere.

“Everyone is out all night,” she said. “They have everything going on.”

But Harris admitted it has gotten a little crowded in the “Big Apple.”

“That’s where everybody is,” she said.

Harris has a quick and predictable answer when asked what brought her to Johnstown.

“A man,” she said with a laugh.

But she has no regrets about following her heart.

“I love it here,” she said.

“It’s nice and calm. More laid back.”

The man who got her to leave the city she loves is her husband of four years, Yusuf Harris.

The two were childhood sweethearts but had split apart when they were teens.

He moved to Johnstown with his father when he was 17 to help his father’s family recover from the flood of 1977.

“He wound up living here,” she said.

But he, too, enjoys visiting his home city and frequently visited his old childhood friend and her family.

When her marriage broke up, the two renewed their romantic relationship and he eventually talked her into moving to Johns-

town.

She had six children and the two youngest moved along to Johnstown.

The older of the two recently graduated from Greater Johns-

town High School and attends Penn Highlands Community College, where he plays basketball. The younger is now in middle school and is on the football team.

Harris has seven grandchildren.

She said her husband has been a good stepfather to her children.

The couple do everything together, Harris said.

“We go out to eat. We have cookouts and dinners at our house.”

Both are good cooks and especially enjoy making pasta dishes.

And Harris considers herself a better than average baker.

“I bake a lot of cakes,” she said. “Strawberry shortcakes, peanut butter cakes. And I make a lot of birthday cakes.

“Maybe someday I’ll open my own business,” she said with a laugh.

Harris is an employee in the cafeteria of Memorial Medical Center’s Lee campus.

“When I moved here, I got a job about a month later,” she said.

She had been warned that it could be hard to find a job in Johnstown, but Harris had no trouble.

“I got a job really fast.”

Although she had a better paying position as a supervisor for a big supermarket in New York, Harris loves her job.

“You make more money (in New York),” she said.

“But it amounts to the same thing.

“The rent is way, way cheaper here.”

Harris is a familiar sight in the basement cafeteria where her bubbly laughter often rings out.

She often refers to her customers as “Baby” and always greets each one with a big smile.

“I love to work with people,” Harris said. 

“That’s me. When I can talk to people, I like that.”

Pam Syster, director of Food and Nutrition Services for Memorial Medical Center, has known Harris for 10 years.

She said Harris is very customer and patient-focused.

“She strives to give outstanding services to everyone, every time,” Syster said.

Harris has made friends with some of her customers and a few even attended her wedding.

Harris said she and her husband are far from bored living in a much quieter city than the one they grew up in.

“We go bowling. We go to movies.

“There are things to do around here. You just have to look a little bit harder.”

She said she especially enjoys Thunder in the Valley.

“We walk around and check out everything.”

She enjoys seeing the different motorcycles, but especially likes seeing the old cars that are part of Thunder.

And the crowds of people on Johnstown streets remind her of her past.

“That’s when you finally see a crowd,” she said.

“It’s like New York always is.

“It makes me feel like I am home again.”

But Harris is happy right where she is.

“Everything is working out fine for me,” she said. “I’m glad I made the move.”