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Books highlighting the history of Donora are being offered for sale by the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum.

Sidney Mishkin Book - Memories of Donora

‘MEMORIES OF DONORA’

Sidney Mishkin was raised in Donora, Pennsylvania and has a lot of fond memories of growing up there. A 1955 graduate of Donora High School and a retired lawyer from Indianapolis, Indiana, Mishkin has visited Donora over the years for class reunions and visits to family. After a visit to the Smog Museum in 2017, rummaging through the Museum's collections brought back many of his memories of growing up in Donora and the realization that those memories should be preserved in a book.

His love for Donora and his pride in being from Donora are evident from the very first pages of his book - "Memories of Donora - Growing up Jewish in a Western Pennsylvania steel town." As Mishkin writes, "This book will perhaps allow me in some small way to bring the Donora I knew back to life, so that I can tell people who can never know the Donora I knew about a truly remarkable place.

The softback 123 page book measures 6" x 9" and sells for $20 at the Smog Museum (call ahead to see if we’re open) or can be ordered by emailing us and shipped with additional S&H of $3.00.   Thanks to Mr. Mishkin’s kind generosity, all proceeds benefit the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum.

Images of America - Donora - Book by Charles E. Stacey, Brian Charlton and David Lonich

Images of America - Donora

In 2009, the Donora Historical Society embarked on one of its first major projects in decades with the creation of a photo book known affectionately as the “The Donora Book.” Printed by Arcadia Publishing, that has a whole series of history books from cities, towns and hamlets from all over the United States, the book’s formal title is “Images of America – DONORA.” Written by Charles E. Stacey, Brian Charlton and David Lonich and was first printed in 2010.

The Donora Book tells a brief history of Donora through photos and captions. The cover photo is from our Bruce Dreisbach collection and was taken in 1921, twenty years after Donora’s founding in 1901, and shows workers pouring molten zinc in front of the retorts at the spelter furnaces. The Donora Zinc Works was an example of Andrew Carnegie’s vertical integration philosophy, “Make everything for production… Don’t buy anything.” Zinc was used to galvanize nails, wire, rods, fencing and was sold to rustproof ship hulls. When the Zinc Works was built in 1915, it was the largest in the world. For 40-plus year, its stacks stood tall like sentinels guarding the west bank of the Monongahela River.To learn more about Bruce Dreisbach or the Zinc Works in particular or Donora in general, please visit our website.

The softback 128 page book measures 6.5” x 9.25" and sells for $22 at the Smog Museum (call ahead to see if we’re open) or can be ordered by emailing us and shipped with additional S&H of $3.00.

PAYMENTS

Books can be bundled with other books. Payments can be made by cash, check or PayPal (additional $1.00 for fees) through our website. If your order is shipped, details of making your payment will be given on a reply to your email (see email address below.) Order both books with S&H of only $3.60.

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.”

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