2013 Events and Projects

Special Events and Projects completed in 2013
  • hosted 17 Environmental Engineering and Chemistry students from St. Francis University (Loretto PA), to discuss the 1948 Smog (January).
  • became a Heinz History Center Affiliate Program (HCAP) member (February).
  • presentation on Donora Women for Women’s History Month (March).
  • hosted Root Sports for a feature on Stan Musial shown on April 17th broadcast of St. Louis vs. Pittsburgh on MLB Network and Root Sports of St. Louis (April).
  • hosted Charlie Talbert - history of the Monongahela Cemetery 150th Anniversary (April).
  • hosted Joshua Scully - story behind the D.L. Clark Candy Co (May).
  • submitted and accepted 2013 Rivers of Steel matching grant (May).
  • hosted Rich Rockwell - the history of Eldora Park (June).
  • hosted “Try Again Homes” - a non-profit corporation from Washington, PA who provides safe nurturing places for children for healthier communities through adoption and foster care programs (June).
  • submitted and accepted 2013 Washington County Tourism Grant (June).
  • discussion/book signing at the library on new Donora book of historical fiction titled, “Steel Town Showdown” written by David Lonich (September).
  • Heinz History Center's Western PA History magazine “Cement City” article by Brian Charlton (September).
  • hosted 20 tourists at the Smog Museum as part of a larger seven-day tour organized by Sports Leisure Vacations from Sacramento, CA titled, “Fall Foliage with the Famous in Pennsylvania” (October).
  • hosted the Westmoreland County Community Book Club to review “After the Fog” -- a novel of historical fiction about the 1948 Donora Smog (October).
  • organized a Town Hall conference titled; “Commemorating the 1948 Donora Smog Disaster -- a seminal moment in environmental history” that focused on education, awareness, communication and the commemoration of that infamous Halloween weekend in 1948 which forever linked the town of Donora with the modern environmental movement. Scholars from Carnegie Mellon, W&J, Cal U, and Chatham University; a Natural Gas representative from Consol Energy; and members of the Heinz History Center contributed. The day concluded with a screening of “Rumor of Blue Sky,” a primary source documentary by filmmaker and Art Institute of Pittsburgh professor Andrew Maietta (October).
  • Third Annual Cement City Walking Tour – 33 attendees (October).
  • hosted local student Carmen Sawa who presented her award-winning film on the 1948 Smog used for the 2013 Pennsylvania History Day Competition (October).
  • hosted Dennis Ballas- history of 1918 Flu and impact on Mon Valley (November).
  • worked with Cal U Honor students on a “Digital Story Telling” class documentary. The class was sponsored by the Heinz History Center. Donora’s documentary was considered best in show and featured a poem on the 1948 Smog written in 1950 by a young German poet named Guenter Kunert who went on to be one of the most versatile and important contemporary German writers (December).