SEPTEMBER 2018 NEWS FROM THE DONORA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND SMOG MUSEUM

Last Updated on Thursday, 30 August 2018 00:04

FALL CEMENT CITY HOME AND WALKING TOURS SCHEDULED

Our eighth annual fall Cement City Home and Walking Tour is scheduled for Saturday, September 22nd at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday, September 23^rd also at 1:00 p.m.

Cement City Historical Marker

The tour will start at the museum located at 595 McKean Avenue with a photo, artifact and blueprint presentation on Donora’s National Historic District – Thomas Edison’s Cement City created 101 years ago in 1917. 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 at least two homes with rooms restored to the period. The cost of the tour is $13/person and space is limited. Please call or email to RSVP and your flexibility to attend either Sunday or Saturday. If you have any questions please visit our website and click the “Cement City” tab, or contact the Historical Society.

If you would like to schedule a private tour for your group, please call or email the historical society and we can discuss a date that works for both parties.

DONORA FOOTBALL DRAGONS – 1904 to 1968 – PART ONE

Due to the enthusiasm generated from our ongoing game film project and last year’s successful “Game Film Event” at the Donora Cro Club, we will host another football event titled “Donora Football Dragons – 1904 to 1968” to present a comprehensive history of Donora Dragons football from the opening kickoff in 1904 to the final whistle in 1968. Part One actually only includes the years 1904 to 1945. Part Two will include the remaining years from 1946 to 1968 and will be held on a date that has yet to be determined.

The event will consist of a presentation using numerous photos, newspaper articles and film footage, most of which came from the archives of the Donora Historical Society, as well as the Coach Jimmy Russell collection donated by his daughter in 2013, dovetailed with stories told by Smog Museum archivist and curator Brian Charlton, who will take you all the way back in time to 1904 when Donora was known as the Orange and Black, wore leather helmets and played by the Mon River on Gilmore Field, when organized football wasn’t so organized. Hear stories about Coach Russell and players Jake Kovalcik, Arnold “Pope” Galiffa, “Deacon” Dan Towler, Lou “Bimbo” Cecconi, Bob Rosborough, Bill Urbanik, Larry Crawford, Malcolm Lomax and many others, that made Donora the “Home of Champions,” as well as Donora’s football ties to the likes of Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi.

Because of the volume of historical information, this event will be presented in two parts. “Donora Football Dragons – 1904 to 1945 – Part One” is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening, October 20th at the Croatian Club (Cro Club) in Donora located at 329 Castner Avenuewith food and drinks available for purchase from the Cro Club. Former coaches, players, cheerleaders, band members and fans from any era are encouraged to attend. There is no Pitt football game this day.

OCTOBER 2018 - 1948 SMOG - 70^th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

As we approach the upcoming 70^th Anniversary this October of Donora’s infamous 1948 Smog, the Donora Historical Society has a number of events on the schedule.

Tuesday, October 23 - 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 “Question and Answer” 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.

Saturday, October 27 - at 1:00 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.

ADDITIONAL INFO

If 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.