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On Friday, March 21st, we had the unique opportunity of hosting a group of 26 Heinz History Center docents for a Cement City Walking Tour to bring to life the article written by society member Brian Charlton for their magazine.

We started at the library's Community Room for a brief presentation on Cement City. From there we did a walking tour of Cement City as well as a tour of a Cement City home. We gathered for lunch at Duke's Café to continue the conversation and then met at the Smog Museum for another brief tour of the Donora Historical Society.

A much-anticipated package was received from the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club with past yearbooks, media guides and game programs - all featuring Stan "The Man" Musial on the cover and with stories inside dating back to 2006. These publications will be added to the Stan Musial Collection and permanent display.

As we often do, we are currently working with a couple of university doctorial candidates with research on their theses from Stanford University in Stanford, California and Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA. We are also helping a couple of high school students from Texas and Harrisburg, PA on their History Day projects. Helping students from elementary school through college is something we take pride in at the Historical Society and is a part of our mission statement.

As the weather starts to settle down and get warmer, we would like to make a few changes to our historic presentation schedule:

The Cincinnati Mine Disaster presentation that was scheduled for March 3rd and postponed due to inclement weather is rescheduled for Monday, September 8th at 7 p.m.The Donora-Webster Bridge presentation that was scheduled for Monday, May 5th will be rescheduled closer to the date when the bridge is expected to be razed, possibly in the fall of 2014.The presentation scheduled for Monday, May 5th at 7 p.m. is titled "Greetings from Donora." Museum curator Brian Charlton will show and discuss numerous vintage postcards showing various scenes from Donora: the steel mill, downtown business, the Pennsylvania RR train station, etc.

For the railroad enthusiasts, please stop by the Smog Museum to see our temporary display on artifacts from the Donora Southern Railroad. The Donora Southern Railroad was a dedicated rail line that serviced the entire footprint of American Steel and Wire, and Zinc Works, and the surrounding area. Donora Southern actually had 20 to 30 miles of track that zig-zagged around the mill site and along the river past Palmer Park.

Keep Monday, June 2nd at 7 p.m. in mind for our presentation that will feature local baseball legend, Ron Necciai, who was born in nearby Gallatin, just across the river and slightly north from Donora, and is best remembered for the unique feat of striking out 27 batters in a nine-inning game, which he accomplished in the Class-D Appalachian League on May 13, 1952 during a no-hitter. He is the only pitcher ever to do so in a nine-inning, professional-league game. Ron also played for the hometown Pittsburgh Pirates in 1952. Ron will share his stories and experiences of growing up in the Mon Valley and playing professional baseball.

The Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum is located at the intersection of 6th and McKean in the heart of Donora and is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or by appointment.

If you have additional questions about the subjects mentioned above, the society, museum, meetings or possibly volunteering, feel free to stop by or email us at DonoraHistoricalSociety@gmail.com or by calling 724-823-0364 and leaving a message, or visit us on the web at www.DonoraHistoricalSociety.org.

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