Special Events and Projects completed in 2022
- expanded the Smog Museum display to the old Shoe Shoppe window space two storefronts to the left of the museum (January).
- hosted film crews and were featured on PCNTV twice (Pennsylvania Cable Network TV), for tours of the Smog Museum and Eldora Park (March).
- completed a Rivers of Steel grant for panoramic photos, Dreisbach glass plate negative development and 35mm slide transfer (January). This also led to a Rivers of Steel blog article (February) and a Rivers of Steel visit to the Smog Museum to discuss our projects (March).
- completed a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission - Historical & Archival Records Care Grant for home movies/game films, 35mm slides, glass plate negatives, blueprints, microfilm, archival boxes and dehumidifiers (March).
- interviewed as part of WTAE’s Chronicle Magazine - Forecasting the Future on the 1948 Smog as hosted by news anchor Shannon Perrine (April).
- conducted our sixth annual Eldora Park Walking Tours – six tours (March/April).
- as the keynote speaker, discussed Kathleen Shoop’s “After the Fog” book to the PennWest - California – Social Work Program book club (March).
- presented the “Ringgold Cavalry” at the Rostraver Township Historical Society (March) and Monongahela Historical Society (April).
- presented “Stan ‘The Man’ Musial” as part of the two-day Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) historic marker dedication for Stan Musial’s family members and fans from all over the U.S. (July).
- recovered numerous Donora Dragon sports trophies, plaques and photos from the Ringgold School District that are 50 to 75 years old and displayed them at the Smog Museum (August).
- scanned and uploaded the historical Gilmore Cemetery burial records from the 1870s to our website for people to do their own research (August).
- helped book author Tom O’Lenic with his book – "Immaculate. How the Steelers Saved Pittsburgh" (August).
- distributed $3,700 in Stan Musial donations into the Donora community (September);
- participated in the Washington County Community Foundation – Day of Giving (September).
- hosted Washington & Jefferson professor Dr. Bob East and his class titled, “Pop Goes the Environment” for a day long overview of Donora’s 1948 Smog along with a driving tour of the old steel mill site (September).
- interviewed for stories on the 1948 Smog that were featured on the History Channel’s History This Week podcast titled, "The Donora Death Fog" and AccuWeather’s online article titled, “Deadly smog event created week of terror in small steel town.” (October).
- presented “1948 Smog” for Monongahela Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts (January) and at the Spartan Mon Valley Care Center (June), Jefferson College Historical Society (September) and Rostraver Township Historical Society (October).
- conducted our twelfth annual Cement City Home and Walking Tours - Fall edition over a two-day weekend – two total tours (October).
- we, along with fourteen other historic organizations throughout Western Pennsylvania launched the Heinz History Center’s “Civic Empathy through History” project that we started in 2021. Our contribution dealt with segregation in Donora and is depicted in both virtual and physical displays (November).
- participated in a custom Cement City single home tour for the Home for the Holidays home tour from Belle Vernon (December).
- presented the “1948 Smog” for the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) via a Zoom meeting (December).
- partnered with the Heinz History Center's and PennWest - California's "Digital Storytelling" Honors English class on their digital project (December).
- provided information and photos to authors for research on the “1948 Smog”, and general Donora history for future books, podcasts, blogs and websites.
- provided research info on the “1948 Smog” for professors and students from various universities such as: Carnegie Mellon, Georgia, Rollins College (Flroida), State U of New York (SUNY), Maryland, University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
- helped school groups and teachers from various middle and high schools on “1948 Smog” research, both local and out of state.
- provided information and interviews to news channels and newspapers such as Mon Valley Independent and Observer Reporter (thru the year).