2023 Events and Projects

Special Events and Projects completed in 2023
  • organized “Donora Death Fog” book signings with author Andy McPhee (April).
  • conducted our seventh annual Eldora Park Walking Tours – three tours (April).
  • partnered with the Heinz History Center's and PennWest – California's "Digital Storytelling" Honors English class on their digital project (April).
  • presented “Stan ‘The Man’ Musial” as part of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) - Forbes Field Chapter meeting at Heinz History Center (May).
  • organized a Monongahela River/Donora Riverfront Cleanup with Allegheny CleanWays that also included youth education river tours with Mon Valley Youth & Teen and Madonna Catholic (May).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for the Center for Coalfield Justice (May).
  • fielded a KDKA – Channel 2 News smog inquiry in relation to the Canadian Wildfires (June).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for the American Industrial Hygiene Association. (June).
  • hosted a visitor from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) from Chicago while on her way to an East Palestine (Ohio) train derailment meeting (June).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for the LIGHT Educational Initiative (July).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for Shaler High School Sustainability (August).
  • worked with the Pittsburgh Pirates and AT&T Sportsnet to promote our Stan “The Man” Musial 1938 Donora High School replica baseball jersey (August).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for the Battle of Homestead hybrid webinar via a Zoom and in person meeting (September).
  • participated in the Washington County Community Foundation – Day of Giving (September).
  • hosted Washington & Jefferson professor Dr. Bob East and his Introduction to Environmental Studies class for an overview of Donora’s "1948 Smog" along with a driving tour of the old steel mill and Zinc Works site (October).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for C.F. Reynolds Medical History group (October).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for the Center for Coalfield Justice Virtual Summit hybrid webinar via a Zoom and in person meeting (October).
  • conducted our thirteenth annual Cement City Home and Walking Tours - Fall edition over a two-day weekend – two tours (October).
  • hosted film crews and were featured on WTAE – Channel 4 News and WPXI – Channel 11 News for the 75th Anniversary of the 1948 Smog (October).
  • showed our Rumor Of Blue Sky documentary at the Cinema Row House theater in Lawrenceville/Pittsburgh for the 75th Anniversary of the 1948 Smog (November).
  • presented the “1948 Smog” for the 2023 MARAMA Air Monitoring Training Committee Workshop in Pittsburgh during their fieldtrip to Donora (December).
  • continued the Heinz History Center’s “Civic Empathy through History” project that we started in 2021. Our contribution dealt with segregation in Donora and was featured in their Western Pennsylvania History Magazine (December).
  • started on the Developing an Olfactory Media Library for an Atmospheric Commons project with Lindsey French - University of Regina, Saskatchewan and Alex Young – Carnegie Mellon (December).
  • partnered with the Heinz History Center's and PennWest – California/Clarion/ Edinboro's "Digital Storytelling" Honors English class (December).
  • submitted a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission - Empowered History Grant for glass plate negative and film conversion (December).
  • provided information and photos to authors for research on the “1948 Smog”, and general Donora history for future books, podcasts, blogs and websites.
  • provided research info on the “1948 Smog” for professors and students from various universities such as: Wellesley College, Georgia, Carnegie Mellon, University of Regina - Saskatchewan Canada, PennWest - California, Washington & Jefferson, Pittsburgh Law, Clemson, Quinnipiac, Indiana University Bloomington and Community College of Allegheny County.
  • helped school groups and teachers from various middle and high schools on 1948 Smog research, both local and out of state, some for National History Day.
  • provided information and interviews to news channels and newspapers such as PublicSource online newspaper, French Association for the Prevention of Natural and Technological Disasters, The Keystone - Courier Newsroom, Tribune Review, Tube City Writers, Herald Standard Magazine, NEXTpittsburgh, Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine (thru the year).