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Recent news and events From the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum are announced.

Recent Visit
Dr. Robert East of W&J and students from his environmental science class visited the Museum on the afternoon of November 15, 2016. After viewing the exhibits, hearing a talk on the founding of the town, the development of the steel mill and the 1948 Smog, they toured the steel mill site and stopped at the Posey memorial or grave of Andrew Posey who was entombed in molten steel during a Blast Furnace accident in 1920. The steel ingot was left to cool and buried on site in what is now the industrial park.

Eldora Park Walking Tour
Due to the recent success and interest of the presentation that was held as part of our outreach program in July at the Mon Valley YMCA for History Enthusiasts Day, we are planning our first Eldora
Park Walking Tour. The tour would start at the Smog Museum in Donora on a Saturday at noon with a photo and newspaper article presentation on Eldora Park highlighting the roller coaster, carousel, picnic and dance pavilion, and “Electric” Theater, as well as world renowned speakers and performers. The presenter would be Smog Museum curator Brian Charlton, who also did the presentation at the Mon Valley YMCA. We would then drive the three miles to conduct the walking tour portion in the Eldora section of Carroll Township to the Wickerham farm, retracing the trolley line and ending up at the park site to describe, amongst the few remaining ruins, where the park amenities once existed with one of the Wickerham descendants.

We are targeting to conduct the tour either on March 26 or April 1 after the winter has lessened the forest undergrowth. Two hiking routes can be taken, one more demanding than the other. You may do as much hiking as you’d like to see the ruins and understand where the park amenities existed. The cost would be $10 per person and you should allow two hours for the presentation and walking tour. Appropriate dress is required include footwear.

If you have any questions about the tour itself or would like to be added to a signup list, please contact the historical society.

Next Cement City Walking Tour Date Set
The first in a series of our seventh annual Cement City Home and Walking Tours will be scheduled for Sunday, April 23 at 1 p.m. The tour will start at the museum at 1 p.m. with a photo, artifact and blueprint presentation on Donora’s National Historic District – Thomas Edison’s Cement City. The photos are from our Bruce Dreisbach glass plate negative collection and were taken during all phases of construction in 1916 and 1917, a century ago.

The presenter is Smog Museum curator and Cement City resident Brian Charlton, who authored an article in the fall 2013 edition of the Western Pennsylvania History magazine published by the Heinz History Center titled "Cement City: Thomas Edison's Experiment with Worker's Housing In Donora." A walking and home tour follows in the Historic District to point out various architectural and social details. The tour concludes by touring the interiors of two homes with rooms restored to the period. The cost of the tour is $12/person and space is limited. Please call or email to RSVP. If you have any questions about Cement City or one of our Home and Walking Tours, please consult our website and click the “Cement City” tab, or contact the historical society.

Artifacts and Memorabilia Sought
The Donora Historical Society is always accepting any artifacts or memorabilia related to Donora’s past. If you have anything that you would be willing to part with to tell others about the history of our town, we would be willing to preserve those items for generations to come. Some examples of items that we accept are: school yearbooks; photos; clothing; uniforms; letterman’s jackets; cheerleading and band items; pennants; post cards; church-related items such as photos and church building pieces; business and merchant advertising items and photos; steel mill photos; tools; work clothes and small machinery; little league and midget league uniforms; family genealogies; or architectural pieces or signage from buildings. Pickup can be arranged. If you are unsure if we would want it, just ask.

Additional Info
If you have additional questions about the subjects mentioned above, the society, museum, meetings or possibly volunteering, feel free to stop by on Saturdays or by special appointment (with at least 72 hours’ notice), email us at DonoraHistoricalSociety@gmail.com, call us at 724-823-0364 and leave a message, visit us on the web at www.DonoraHistoricalSociety.org, or follow us and like us on Facebook at “Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum.”

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