- Last Updated on Sunday, 03 June 2018 13:10
Donora Historical Society announced the following events.
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| Donora Historical Marker |
1948 Smog 70th AnniversaryAs we approach the upcoming 70th Anniversary this October of Donora’s infamous 1948 Smog, the Donora Historical Society has a number of events on the schedule.
On Tuesday, September 11 at 6:30 p.m., the Donora Historical Society’s Brian Charlton will visit the Rostraver Historical Society at the historic Fells Methodist Church to present “The First Toll-Free Bridge across the Monongahela River: Building the Donora-Webster Bridge, 1908.”
On Saturday, October 20 at 6 p.m., the Donora Historical Society will present “Donora Football Dragons – 1904 to 1969,” a historical look at the evolution of football in Donora. This event will take place at the Donora Cro Club. The time of this event may change.
On Tuesday, October 23 at 6:30 p.m., WQED Producer and Monongahela native David Solomon will present his mini-documentary “Our Water, Land & Air,”portions of which tell the story about the 1948 Smog. A Q&A discussion will follow with a panel of survivors and local experts. This event will take place in the downstairs Community Room at the Donora Public Library.
On Saturday, October 27 at 1 p.m., the Donora Historical Society’s Brian Charlton will present the “The 1948 Donora Smog Disaster” at the Smog Museum. This presentation has been given countless times in Donora and around the Pittsburgh area, and was also filmed by CSPAN.
Smog Museum 10th Anniversary
In October 2008, as part of the 60th anniversary of the Donora Smog incident of 1948, the Donora Historical Society’s Smog Museum was created to honor the victims of that fateful Halloween weekend. Over the course of the past ten years, the Smog Museum has realized national and international recognition, as we’ve registered visitors from 44 states and from foreign countries on five different continents, as well as countless representatives from academia, industry and the business world.
Located in the heart of Donora at the corner of McKean Avenue and Sixth Street, the museum has permanent exhibits related to the founding of the town, town life, steel mills, the 1948 Smog tragedy, Donora schools and sports, and social clubs and organizations. There are also a couple of rotating exhibits whose content changes three to four times a year. The fact that a museum now exists has enticed many to donate their Donora-related artifacts to the Historical Society that eventually end up on display.
If you’ve never visited in the past, please do so in the future. Please check our website for days and hours of operation.
Eldora Park Walking Tour
Thank you to the 55 curious people who braved the elements of our unrelenting winter-type weather to attend one of our two Eldora Park Walking Tours, which proved to once again be successful.
Next year’s third annual tours are already being planned for two Saturdays in either late March or early April at noon in the wooded footprint of the original park on the old Wickerham Farm to see where people once picnicked and enjoyed all the amenities of an amusement park over a century ago.
The cost of the tours are $10/person and space is limited. It’s encouraged to call or email to get your name added to a RSVP signup list to be contacted when the tour date gets closer. We already have quite a few RSVPs for 2019.
Additional Info
f you have additional questions about the subjects mentioned above, the historical society, museum, presentations or possibly volunteering, feel free to stop by on Saturdays or by special appointment (with at least a week’s 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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