- Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 November 2017 16:53
The Donora Historical and Smog Museum made the following announcements.
SOCIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS COME TO DONORA
As part of the Society of Environmental Journalist’s (SEJ) 27th Annual Conference that was hosted by the University of Pittsburgh/Swanson School of Engineering from October 4 -8, bus fieldtrips were dispersed all over Western Pennsylvania on Thursday, October 4, and one of the fieldtrips made a stop at the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum to learn more about the impact of the 1948 Smog.
The 2017 SEJ Conference was a unique opportunity to expose journalists to Western Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh region in general, and Donora in particular, as well as the work we are doing at the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum.
CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA - GAME FILMS
If you’re looking for a very unique Christmas gift this year, keep in mind that among the many items that the Donora Historical Society has in its collection are over 115 reels of football and basketball game film of high school teams from all over the Mon Valley and Western Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1979. They are original 16mm films that are still in the process of being converted to DVD, but after launching this project over two years ago, many games have already been converted. Some games even show significant footage of the band, majorettes and color guards. Please give enough lead time to fill orders in time for Christmas. If you have any interest or have questions on exactly which games we have, see the full list of games on our website under the “Game Films” tab.
SEEKING REDWOOD PHOTOS AND STORIES
One of the many interesting stories from the early days of Donora is the founding of the Redwood restaurant by Leon “Lee” Rongaus on Castner Avenue. Starting as the Rongaus grocery store in 1916 by Lee’s parents, Simplicio and Maria Roncace (Rongaus), it morphed into a neighborhood tavern – Rongaus Hilltop Restaurant in 1932. After Lee returned from WWII, he took over the restaurant, making it into the legendary Redwood.
If you have Redwood stories, menus, advertising items, or any other memorabilia that you would like to donate to the Donora Historical Society to better tell the Rongaus and Redwood story, it would be greatly appreciated. If you have old photos that you would like to share, but do not wish to donate, please keep in mind we can scan them and give them back. Our goal one day is to be able to tell a comprehensive story on the Redwood – a once-hidden gem in Donora.
ELDORA PARKWALKING TOUR
ur next Eldora Park Walking Tour will be on Saturday, March 24thand/or March 31st at noon in 2018. We have enough RSVPs right now to fill up one of the Saturdays.
he tour will start at the Smog Museum in Donora with a photo and newspaper article presentation on Eldora Park. See our newly acquired century-old Eldora Park 48”x10” panoramic photo. We will then drive the three miles to conduct the walking tour portion in the Eldora section of Carroll Township on the historic Wickerham farm. The cost is $10 per person and you should allow two hours for the presentation and walking tour. If you have any questions, please contact the historical society.
SPRING CEMENT CITY HOME AND WALKING TOUR DATE SET
Our spring Cement City Home and Walking Tour and your chance to see Thomas Edison’s solution for worker housing created 101 years ago in 1917 is scheduled for Sunday, April 22 at 1 p.m. If Sunday sells out, Saturday, April 21 will be the overflow date.The cost of the tour is $12/person and space is limited. Call or email to get your name added to a pre-RSVP signup list to be contacted when the tour date gets closer. If you have any questions, please consult our website and click the “Cement City” tab, or contact the historical society.
ADDITIONAL INFO
If you have additional questions about the subjects mentioned above, the historical society, museum, presentations or possibly volunteering, 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.”
