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Cultural Heritage Recipe Box: Jewish

Hanukkah celebrations began last night at sundown, marking the start of the eight-day Jewish festival that commemorates the triumph of Maccabean Jews in reclaiming the Jewish Temple to God, and the miracle of their one night’s worth of oil burning bright for eight full days. Not being a High Holiday, Hanukkah is typically marked by modest celebrations in Jewish communities around the world. The holiday, always celebrated in December, became more of a focal point in the United States after the Civil War when social, economic and cultural changes reshaped the way that holidays in general were celebrated. The arrival of more than two million Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe between 1880 and 1920 also invigorated the holiday as a way to establish Jewish identity in America. (Read more here about the way that Hanukkah celebrations developed in the U.S.)

There are many traditions that are part of Hanukkah festivities, including lighting a candle on the menorah each night, playing games with a dreidel spinning top, giving children foil-wrapped chocolate coins called gelt, singing songs and exchanging gifts. The foods usually associated with Hanukkah celebrations—like latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts)—are fried in oil as a representation of the fuel that stayed lit for eight nights. But perhaps more special than the food that’s prepared are the people who gather to enjoy it together. Hanukkah is primarily celebrated at home with family members and guests, rather than through synagogue rituals.

The health risks inherent to gatherings during the pandemic will make memories of past in-person celebrations even more special this year. The Jewish recipe shared below was chosen particularly because of the sense of community and care associated with it. Faye S. is a resident at The Jewish Association on Aging’s Residence at Weinberg Village who is known for her baking talents. The former English teacher, who is also the new Vice President of the Village’s Resident Council, was a bit sheepish to admit that her favorite Jewish recipe isn’t actually from her own kitchen! This recipe for honey cake with orange marmalade inside is a special sweet treat made for residents by Dr. Carol Congedo, who volunteers at Weinberg Village and helps with Shabbat services there. Honey cake is also a traditional dessert that’s part of Rosh Hashanah celebrations of the Jewish New Year each autumn in hopes of a sweet year ahead. “It was sooo good!” Faye says, going so far as to declare it to be the best she’s ever had. Faye added that although she hasn’t had a chance to tell Carol how much she enjoyed it, she will always remember the special dessert that Carol made.

The Jewish Association on Aging (JAA) is a mission-driven, faith-based nonprofit specializing in senior care that honors and enhances the lives of older adults by keeping them safe, independent, and connected to the community. The organization’s origins in serving the needs of aging seniors and their families go back more than one hundred years, when in 1906 the Jewish Home for the Aged was opened in the residence of Rabbi Aaron Mordechai Ashinsky on Breckenridge Street in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Over more than a century, JAA has continued to expand its residential and care offerings to encompass personal care and independent living residences, home health, meal delivery, hospice care, physical therapy, and the AHAVA Memory Care Center of Excellence. Today the Squirrel Hill-based organization offers a broad array of services to seniors of all faiths, providing support that is consistent with Jewish values and traditions.

Learn more about the Jewish Association on Aging at www.jaapgh.org or call 412-420-4000. Follow the organization on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube. Find ways to volunteer by clicking here, or donate by clicking here.

From the kitchen of Dr. Carol Congedo

Dr. Carol Congedo, a volunteer at the Residence at Weinberg Village

There are many staff members and volunteers who work to provide physical, social and spiritual care for the seniors and families supported by the Jewish Association on Aging. Sharyn Rubin, director of resident & community services, shared appreciation for all of the ways that volunteer Dr. Carol Congedo serves the residents at Weinberg Village—above and beyond her cake baking!

“Our friend, Dr. Carol Congedo, is very modest and quiet about her remarkable deeds. She is a physician, an amazing vocalist, a very spiritual and committed Jew, and an incredibly kind and wonderful volunteer. She is so giving and thoughtful, always thinking of others instead of herself. Her bedside manner is truly endearing and our Weinberg Village folks are drawn to her for so many reasons. The delicious cake she describes here is that much tastier because she makes it, as she does everything, with love and compassion (ingredients not listed but baked in to every one of Carol’s recipes!)” –Sharyn Rubin

Marmalade and Spice Honey Cake

Dr. Carol Congedo ‘s recipe
(From High Holiday Recipes from Temple David)

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 cup brewed tea (I like to use strong black tea) just warm
• 1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease bottom only of a 9 or 10-inch angel food cake pan or tube pan.

Cut a circle of parchment paper and line the pan bottom.

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, honey sugars and marmalade.

Blend well then add eggs.

In a larger bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.

Slowly add the dry ingredients alternating with the tea to the wet ingredients.

Blend well with an electric mixer to make a smooth loose batter.

Pour into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle the top with the almonds.

Place the pan on 2 cookie sheets to prevent the bottom from browning too fast.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until the cake springs back when pressed lightly with your fingers.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove and cool on a baking rack.

Dust with confectioner’s sugar when cool, can sprinkle on some grated orange zest.

Group photo of the G.T.E.V. D’Lustigen Isartaler, Pittsburgh

By Brianna Horan, Manager of Tourism & Visitor Experience

Cultural Heritage Recipe Box: Bavarian

Bela and Kiki Steinmetz Pater

Béla Pater is the grandchild of central European immigrants from Germany, Austria, and Hungary and is the president of the G.T.E.V. D’Lustigen Isartaler, a Bavarian cultural education organization in Millvale. For the better part of 20 years, he and other members from around the tri-state area—and the world—have been keeping the cultural traditions alive by gathering in authentic Bavarian clothing to enjoy traditional song, dance, food, and community.

The full name of the organization is Gebirgs Trachten Erhaltungs Verein D’Lustigen Isartaler. According to Pater, this roughly translates to “the mountainous traditional clothing preservation organization-club of jolly people from the Isar River Valley” He added that they are named after a club in Bavaria’s Isar River Valley, a place with geography similar to the Pittsburgh region’s.

G.T.E.V. D’Lustigen Isartaler is a nonprofit cultural education organization that was formed in 1972 by a group of parishioners with southern German heritage from the former German Catholic St. Anthony’s Church in Millvale, which is now called Holy Spirit Parish. Dance practices and some of the club’s meetings and events continue to be hosted at Holy Spirit Church. Pater began working with G.T.E.V. D’Lustigen Isartaler in 1992 when he was Holy Spirit Parish’s music director through the experiences of choir members who also belonged to this Bavarian club. “I quickly became interested in the heritage and fun of the group and enjoyed not only the Gemütlichkeit (camaraderie) of the membership, but learning how to do these time-honored traditional dances, some nearly 1,000 years old,” he says.

Members of the club have a genuine love for Bavarian and Austrian alpine traditions, customs, folk dancing, singing and camaraderie, with at particular affinity for the Gebirgs Tracht (traditional clothing) that they wear to events and dance competitions. “Knowing our club is a part of a larger organization in North America that brings all of our organizations together yearly, and further every other year have the opportunity to go to Bavaria to be a part of dance competitions and other traditional events, really feels like an awesome privilege and honor to be in the midst of it all,” Pater reflects. “We educate and perpetuate these wonderful traditions and love to share them.” G.T.E.V. D’Lustigen Isartaler welcomes new members of all ages; in addition to adult programming they have a Kindergruppe for children. Most members are of German, Austria-Hungarian, or Swiss descent, whether “a new immigrant or their great-great grandparents came over to become American citizens.”

Learn more about G.T.E.V. D’Lustigen Isartaler’s programming and membership by visiting www.isartalerpittsburgh.org, or checking out their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/IsartalerPgh. You can also call the club at 412-398-0586 to speak with Marianne Brei Loibl, the Korrespondenz Sekretärin.

From the kitchen of Béla Pater

Béla chose two traditional German Christmas recipes to contribute to the Cultural Heritage Recipe Box.  He’s also shared a number of photos from G.T.E.V. D’Lustigen Isartaler’s past gatherings, including Weihnachtsfeier, the club’s annual Christmas celebration that takes place during the twelve days of Christmas, typically the weekend after New Year’s Day.

“Both Christstollen are Pfeffernüße are quintessential German Christmas sweet treats! I like them equally, so I am including both recipes. As there are 16 federal states of Germany, there are at least that many variations of adaptations, traditions and recipes. I am sharing those of southern Germany, more specifically the great former Wittelsbach kingdom of Bavaria, particularly of the Alpine villages. My heritage is a blend of German, Austrian and Hungarian cultures and I feel quite fortunate to be a grandchild of these Central European immigrants to our beautiful Pittsburgh region. My memories of my grandparents and their traditions also piqued my further interest of my cultural heritage to be a study abroad student, studying in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy.   Each time I make these recipes, I think fondly of my Oma and my mom on my maternal side and my Hungarian Nagymama on my dad’s side. There were many people of Germanic heritage living in the former Hungarian kingdom prior to the World Wars, and my Nagymama’s cooking experience was the best of these Hungarian, Austrian and German peoples. Now my daughter enjoys these delicious treats as much as my extended family.” –Béla Pater

Christstollen

German Christstollen

Stollen is a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar. It is a traditional German bread eaten during the Christmas season, when it is called Weihnachtsstollen (after “Weihnachten“, the German word for Christmas) or Christstollen (after Jesus Christ).

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 packets yeast
• 7 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. lemon rind
• 1/2 tsp. mace
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup currants
• 1 cup candied fruit
• 1/2 cup candied cherries
• 1 cup almonds, ground
• Soak raisins and currants in 1/2 cup rum

Instructions

Heat milk and butter to 105 degrees, combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, pour into warmed milk/butter mixture and mix. Add all remaining ingredients, mix until combined. Knead the dough for smooth consistency. Divide dough into two equal portions or three equal portions and place on floured cookie sheets and let rise for 1 hour or until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Brush melted butter over top and sprinkle powdered sugar over top.

Pfeffernüße

German Pfeffernüße with glaze

Translating to “pepper nut cookie,” and sometimes written as “pfeffernüsse” in English, these traditional German Christmas cookies are made with a blend of spices like ginger, cinnamon, and white pepper, then glazed or coated with powdered sugar.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 1/4 cup (70 g) dark molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1/4 cup (70 g) honey
• 6 tablespoons (75 g) white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon whole milk, cold from the refrigerator
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg, cold from the refrigerator
• 2 1/2 cup (350 g) all-purpose flour

For the glaze:

• 1 cup (115 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water

Special helpful items:

• Silpat or other silicon baking mat
• Pastry brush

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon baking mat.
2. Make the cookie dough: Warm the molasses, honey, and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the spices and salt. Let cool until just warm to the touch. Stir in the milk, baking soda, and egg. Add the flour and stir until most of the flour is absorbed. Using your hands, knead the dough until the remaining flour is incorporated.
3. Shape the cookies: Pinch off about a teaspoon of dough and roll a 1-inch ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls of dough 1-inch apart from each other.
4. Bake in the oven for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies are just starting to brown.
5. Stir together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water to make the glaze.
6. Options of Glaze or just powdered sugar: To Glaze the cookies: Once the cookies are done baking, pull the pan out of the oven and brush the hot cookies with the glaze, making sure to cover as much of the tops and sides as possible. Don’t worry if some of the glaze drips onto the baking sheet.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet until the glaze is dry to the touch, then move to a cooling rack. The cookies improve (the spices mellow and the texture softens) after a day or two in a sealed airtight container.  Otherwise some folks like just to coat with lots of powdered sugar instead of a glaze.  Both are delicious!

2019 Weihnachtsfeier

The food mill handed down from Sue Carlino’s grandmother.

By Brianna Horan, Manager of Tourism & Visitor Experience

Cultural Heritage Recipe Box: Winter Holiday Edition

The long nights and cold temperatures of the winter months are made brighter by the warmth of a long succession of holidays, giving us occasions to look forward to and reasons to gather together. As with most things this year, the coming holiday season will be different. We’re being called to gather in our hearts instead of our homes to slow the spread of the pandemic. Connecting with our loved ones in safe ways can help to keep the spirit and meaning of the holidays—and each other—alive and well. It’s a good time to call family and friends to reminisce about celebrations of the past, and even see if you can persuade them to share a treasured seasonal recipe with you. The ritual of preparing the ingredients and following instructions can restore some normalcy at a time when things are off rhythm—and the resulting aromas and flavors can make it feel as though you’re in a loved one’s kitchen instead of your own.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be featuring a sampling of winter holiday recipes from a variety of cultural traditions, shared by people from throughout the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area. Rather than precise measurements, it’s the fond memories and special meanings associated with the recipe that make the dishes and desserts taste so good. We’re thankful to all of these cooks and bakers for sharing their heritage with us, and we hope that these recipes will inspire you to put on your apron and learn about different ways of celebrating the season. If you have any leftovers, you could even package them up and share them during a porch greeting with family and friends.

From the Kitchen of Olivia Crocker

Olivia Crocker at the Pump House during an Iron Oven catered lunch in 2019.

Olivia Crocker with her daughter Brittanney Lenco, who helps with the their business.

When it comes to sharing special recipes, we knew we had to start with Olivia Crocker, founder and owner of Iron Oven Catering & Events in West Mifflin. Her homemade meals have a way of taking diners back to Grandma’s kitchen—by the busload! The immigrant-inspired lunch that she and her team prepare with care is a highlight of Rivers of Steel’s Babushkas & Hard Hats group tour experience. Served at the historic Pump House, plates are piled high with stuffed cabbage, pierogis, halusky, and a rustic harvest salad. After lunch, eyes go wide at the sight of the Pittsburgh Cookie Table Sampler—this if often the first time travelers have heard of this beloved local tradition!

Iron Oven offers catering, private chef, craft services and event planning. Visit ironovencafe.com for more information, or email Olivia at info@ironovencafe.com.

Olivia share the recipe for a special cake that her mother, Evelyn, made, bridging the earthy, cozy flavors of fall and winter with a bit of sweetness.

“This is my favorite cake, and absolutely no one makes it like my Mom did—hers weighed ten pounds! She would forage black walnuts all fall to use in this cake. Sometimes she’d make a buttercream frosting rather than the dulce de leche if she wanted it to have a more Eastern European flavor instead of Latin. I remember her coloring the frosting pink with maraschino cherry juice and garnishing it with cherries sometimes, but she would always cover the top with the nuts she’d gathered. Lately when I make this cake, I’ll frost it as a naked cake so that the delicious poppy seeds and black walnuts peek through.”  —   Olivia Crocker

Evelyn’s Serbian Poppyseed Walnut Cake with Dulce De Leche Frosting

Ingredients

Cake

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking soda + 1 tablespoon vinegar combined
• 1 ¾ cups poppy seeds
• 1 cup black walnuts
• 1 cup pastry whole wheat flour

Frosting

• 1 can dulce de leche
• 12 oz. cream cheese (1 ½ blocks)
• 1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 cup Maraschino cherry juice
• Maraschino Cherries, reserved for garnish
• Black walnuts, for garnish

Syrup – mix together and allow to cool

• ½ cup boiling water
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Meringue

• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch cream of tartar

Instructions

1. Make meringue: Prepare a lined 10-inch springform pan and heat oven to 200 degrees F. Beat egg whites with sugar and cream of tartar on high speed until peaks are stiff and glossy. Spread mixture evenly in the springform pan, then bake for 3 ½ to 4 hours. You can make this the day before and leave this to cool and continue drying overnight in the oven for best results.
2. Make cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a food processor, pulse and chop walnuts and poppy seeds together. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with sugar until fluffy and pale in color. Sift in the flour, then add the nut and seed blend, followed by the baking soda + vinegar mixture. Line the bottom of a 10-inch cake pan with parchment paper, then grease or spray the sides and bottom. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until toothpick comes out dry and clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
3. Make syrup: dissolve the sugar in the boiling water, then allow to cool.
4. Make dulce de leche frosting: Beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add dulce de leche and beat until well combined. Gradually pour in heavy whipping cream, Maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla, and beat until cream thickens.
5. Assemble the cake: Once the cake has cooled, slice it in half. Place bottom layer on serving dish and spoon some of the syrup over it to moisten, then add a layer of frosting. Next, place the meringue disk as the middle layer, and spread with more frosting. Finally, add the other half of the cake as the third layer. Spoon syrup on top to moisten, then spread frosting on the top and sides of the cake – or give it a fresh feel by frosting this as a naked cake. Cover the top with black walnuts and garnish with Maraschino cherries, just like Olivia’s mom used to.

From the Kitchen of Sue & Augie Carlino

“How it usually is.”—Carlino Family Thanksgiving, 2019

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we asked Rivers of Steel’s President and CEO Augie Carlino and his wife Sue to share how they traditionally celebrate today’s holiday. Sue tells us how her Thanksgiving menu came together with feedback from friends and family, and the help of a handed-down kitchen gadget that is even more meaningful than it is useful.

“Several years before Augie and I were married, I had a turkey in the freezer (for some reason, I can’t remember why). We decided to invite friends for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving. I was definitely not a good cook at the time. I think everything turned out well, although the only things I remember were the turkey, the stuffing and the cranberry sauce. Although I still love the stuffing I made (it was from one of the Silver Palate cookbooks), unfortunately Augie’s family did not, so that went by the wayside.

The cranberry sauce, or more accurately jelly, does make an appearance every year. It’s originally from The Fannie Farmer cookbook, but what makes it special is the fact that I use my grandmother’s food mill to make it. It’s the only time I use it each year, but it makes me happy to know that she held the once-red wooden handle and turned the wooden knob, probably to make borscht. Born in 1908, I think she’d be glad it’s still being used. (I just went looking for it because it’s never where I think I last put it.) And the best thing about this recipe is that it should be made a day or two ahead of time so it sets.”   —   Sue Carlino

Cranberry Jelly

Ingredients

• 1 – 12 oz. bag fresh or frozen whole cranberries
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• pinch of salt
• whole cinnamon stick (optional)
• small piece fresh ginger (optional)

Instructions

Bring water to a boil and add washed cranberries and cinnamon stick and ginger, if using. Reduce heat and stir for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently at the end to keep from burning. Press mixture through a fine strainer or a food mill (I run it through a food mill twice), discarding skins, cinnamon stick and ginger. Return to pot and cook at low heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and a pinch of salt, cook for another 2 minutes. Pour into a bowl and chill. Tip: Make it easy on yourself and use a bowl the jelly can be served in.

“How it will be this year!”—Carlino Family Zoom Gathering

Rafting on the Youghiogheny River. Image courtesy of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau.

By Brianna Horan, Manager of Tourism & Visitor Experience

Exploring the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area – By Water!

Enjoying the Beauty and Power of our Region’s Waterways

There are many ways to float your boat in the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area. Centered around Pittsburgh, a city nestled between the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers, the Heritage Area also encompasses the Beaver, Kiskiminetas, and Youghiogheny Rivers, which wind through early iron furnace ruins, coking ovens, patch towns, mill towns, main streets, machine shops, and endless tales of industrial innovations.

Below you’ll learn about ways to get on these rivers to enjoy their beauty and power, but first we’ll share the story of another remarkable local business leader from history who built a successful enterprise that relied on region’s waterways. When Pittsburgh’s industrial history is chronicled, white men are often at the center of the action. If you missed our recent post about Cumberland “Cap” Posey, a man born into slavery who blazed a trail to the same economic and social circles as the big names of the Gilded Age,  click here to read more. And read on to learn the story of an immigrant woman, Mary Pattison Irwin, who thrived in the early republic. Both of these lesser-known entrepreneurs exemplify the vision, ingenuity, and agility that define this region’s industrial legacy.

Map of Mary and John Irwin’s Rope Walk Locations

Mary Pattison Irwin

At a time when the focus was more on founding fathers than leading ladies, Mary Pattison Irwin forged her way to the height of business success by dominating Pittsburgh’s rope making industry. She had a pattern of taking her life into her own hands—as a thirty-year-old living in the north of Ireland, she convinced her parents that the family should attend Dublin’s inaugural St. Patrick’s Day Ball in 1784. It was a six-hour carriage ride to arrive at Dublin Castle, which put quite a distance between her and the doctor she was betrothed to but had recently rowed with. The luck of the Irish favored her at the ball, where she met Colonel John Irwin, a Revolutionary War hero who had fought alongside George Washington. The two were married within weeks and soon sailed to the newly-formed America, staking a claim to the land owed to John as a war veteran.

As they settled into a burgeoning Pittsburgh, their family grew by four children and it soon became clear that John’s war pension needed to be augmented. Mary reportedly took stock of her surroundings, saw three rivers, imagined the growing parade of boats that would be sailing on them, and determined that there would be a great need for rope. And so, the city’s first rope factory was started along the Monongahela River, officially registered as “John Irwin and Wife.” Women were rarely credited in professional capacities, so even this rather anonymous listing was a bold declaration of the role Mary played in the enterprise. The substantial injuries that John had suffered during the Revolutionary War likely limited his ability to assist with day-to-day operations. Despite her foresight of the demand for rope, Mary had no experience with the process of making it or in running a business, but diaries and letters indicate that she was at the helm.

Sadly, Col. John Irwin died shortly after the business got going, leaving Mary to care for four children under age twelve and manage the growing business on her own. One of her first orders of business was to rename the enterprise “Mary Irwin and Son”—law required that a man be listed on a company charter, so her twelve-year-old son John was looped in.

A long, narrow space—at least 1,000-feet long—called a ropewalk, was the hub where workers twisted hand-spun hemp strands into rope. Pittsburgh’s flat riverbanks suited the activity well. Two of the Irwin ropewalks burned down, and as the city and business grew, Mary relocated the operations three times to allow for expansion. Today Rope Way still exists on the North Side as a remnant of her business. If you’d like to see the traditional way of spinning rope, click here to read a WESA article about Mary that includes a video of the old rope walk in England’s Chatham historic dockyard.

Mary made it in a man’s world, and her rope—known for being waterproof—made its way into history. In 1803, when the Lewis & Clark Expedition outfitted itself in Pittsburgh before departing from a point on the Allegheny River where the Convention Center sits today, it is almost certain that they loaded up with rope sold by Mary—she was the only ropemaker listed in the city at that time. Her company made the rope used on the Steamboat New Orleans in 1811 as it set off to complete the first journey down the course of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. And in 1813, when Commodore Perry was preparing the U.S. Navy to take Detroit and Lake Erie back from British seizure in the War of 1812, he sought out Mary specifically to outfit his warships. If you’d like to learn even more about Mary and her family (Irwin Borough in Westmoreland County was named for her son John), follow the Pittsburgh Mayors Facebook page. It’s run by Gloria Forouzan, who discovered Mary’s story when she began researching the history of Pittsburgh’s mayors and other notable locals as Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto’s office manager during the leadup to the city’s bicentennial celebration in 2016. Now retired, Gloria regularly shares newly uncovered information related to Mary’s story on that Facebook page. The What’s Her Name podcast also hosted Gloria for a very entertaining episode dedicated to Mary’s accomplishments.

Ways to Enjoy the Region’s Waterways

If you’re planning to hit the road on these itineraries during the global pandemic, please be mindful of the health and safety guidelines in place from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Be sure to contact the sites, restaurants and attractions directly to confirm their operating statues and the safety protocols they have in place. We encourage you to bookmark these itineraries as travel inspiration to return to when things are less uncertain.

The Explorer riverboat viewed from Station Square with First Side in the background.

Rivers of Steel’s Explorer Riverboat

Rivers of Steel’s Explorer riverboat lives up to its name. Built as a floating classroom, this 94-foot vessel welcomes students for a slate of hands-on STEAM programming, offers thoughtful sightseeing tours, and is available for social and corporate event charters on the water. Docking on the North Shore at the headwaters of the Ohio, Explorer was the first commercial passenger boat to be built to LEED green building standards. It’s a place where students test the waters to draw conclusions about the health of the three rivers, learn about the artistry—and physics—of bridges and try their hand as a structural engineer, and see the places where history happened while cruising on the rivers that have defined the region.

Rivers of Steel’s sightseeing tours allow passengers of all ages to take in downtown’s shores and skylines from the best vantage point: Pittsburgh’s three rivers. Offered as a public tour in typical seasons, Rivers of Steel’s signature sightseeing cruise, PGH 101: An Intro to Innovation, reveals how the region’s wealth of natural resources and the character of its residents have shaped it into a dynamic city with a legacy of innovation, giving passengers a sense of the city’s history and current character while being surrounded by its natural beauty. During the pandemic, quarantine pods of up to 18 people can charter a private PGH 101 tour on Explorer—though usually the boat can accommodate up to 110. And whether you’re planning a celebration of a personal milestone, a corporate success, or the fact that Pittsburghers are embracing the beauty and vitality of their rivers, Explorer is the perfect venue on the water for intimate and engaging events.

Image courtesy of the Mon Valley Rowing Club

Boat Houses on the Three Rivers

Rowers cutting their oars through the water carve an elegant silhouette on the Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela Rivers. This low-impact, total body sport can be a solo pursuit or a team effort. Whether you’ve been rowing for years or want to take your first lesson, area boat houses offer an array of instructive programs for all ages.

• The Mon Valley Rowing Club in Charleroi was founded by a group of community members who aimed to turn an underutilized resource—the Monongahela River—into something that they saw as their greatest resource—children. Youth who attend high schools in the Mon Valley from Monongahela to Brownsville can join the Junior Rowing Program, with an emphasis on at-risk youth. Each child is paired with an adult committed to mentoring them on the water and in life. MVRC also has a Learn to Row summer program for adults.
• The Pittsburgh Rowing Club was started in 2008 by Florin Curuea, a rower with a number of personal and coaching accomplishments, including racing on the 2012 Romanian Olympic Rowing team. Youth and Adult teams row out of the Montour Marina Boathouse in Coraopolis on the Ohio River near Neville Island, where a variety of instruction options are available for different skill levels.
• Steel City Rowing develops its youth and adult members into athletes, leaders, and stewards of the region’s rivers. Learn to Row programs, summer camps, private lessons, and memberships are available for all ages and skill levels at the organization’s state-of-the-art, LEED-certified boat house on the Allegheny River in Verona.
• Founded in 1984, Three Rivers Rowing Association has grown into one of the largest community-based rowing and paddling clubs in the United States. The organization’s boat house on Washington’s Landing and the Millvale Training Center along the Allegheny River offer instruction, equipment, and programming for complete novices and lifelong rowers to glide through the water on a people-powered boat. In addition to rowing programs for all ages, Three Rivers Rowing Association also offers Dragon Boating activities for groups of 14 to 40 people in boats strikingly decorated to Chinese tradition, painted as a dragon to scare away evil spirits. Rowers paddle together to the beat of a drum.

Image courtesy of Kayak Pittsburgh.

Kayak Pittsburgh

If you’re hoping to get a bit closer to the water, Kayak Pittsburgh can make it happen. This kayaking rental concession owned and operated by Venture Outdoors has three locations in Allegheny County for a variety of scenic experiences: North Park Lake, or the Allegheny River on the North Shore and in Aspinwall. Single and tandem kayaks, along with stand-up paddle boards, are available for rent, and Venture Outdoors offers a regular slate of instructional classes, guided trips, and social paddles. In addition to kayaking, Venture Outdoors also offers guided canoeing and fishing programs.

Nautical Nature

Operated by the Moraine Preservation Fund, Nautical Nature is a 37-passenger enclosed pontoon boat that sail’s on Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park. Public tours showcase showcase the area’s natural history and osprey reintroduction, while taking in the scenery and wildlife of this beautiful spot in Butler County. The boat also offers environmental student programs and is available for private charters and dinner cruises on the lake. The Moraine Preservation Fund plans to launch and cruise a new Nautical Nature vessel in the spring of 2021.

Image courtesy of the Rivers Edge.

The Rivers Edge Canoe & Kayak

A family-owned canoe and kayak sales and rental store along the beautiful Kiskiminetas River in Leechburg, The River’s Edge Canoe and Kayak offers the gear, pointers, and inspiration you need for a scenic river experience in Armstrong County. Paddlers on the Kiski can expect to see wildlife in its natural habitat—there are a number of fish species, great blue herons, eagles, deer, and even the occasional bear! Owners Evelyn and Neil Andritz have curated several trip ideas to experience the best of the Kiski, and can point you to the best swimming spots, fishing holes, and dinner spots around. To soak in the experience even longer, Rivers Edge offers camping packages ranging from sites right along the river to a stay at Leechburg’s beautiful Old Parsonage B&B.

Image courtesy of SurfSUP.

Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP)

We might not be able to walk on water, but atop a stand-up paddleboard we can glide across its surface. Resembling a thick surfboard, a stand-up paddleboard (or SUP) provides a flat floating surface to stand (or sit or kneel) on with a paddle in hand to navigate the water.

• BVR Boardshop in Bridgewater offers stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) rentals on the Beaver River, about a mile from where it flows into the Ohio River. The company also offers SUP Yoga events throughout the warmer months.
• SurfSUP Adventures was established in 2011 with an eye on inspiring others to care for the region’s waterways and environment, and now has locations in Moraine State Park, Oakmont, Pittsburgh, and Johnstown. There are a variety of trip options, including serene eco-tours, invigorating “on-water” yoga practices, and adrenaline infused whitewater surfing adventures. SurfSUP sells and rents boards, paddles and equipment, and also offers team-building events, youth initiatives, and conservation programs that can be customized for all age and skill levels.

Courtesy of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau

The Youghiogheny River

The Youghiogheny River is known for its rapids and the horseshoe curve it makes through the mall river town of Ohiopyle in Fayette County. When scouting a water route in 1754 that would allow the British to retake control of the Forks of the Ohio (present-day Pittsburgh) from the French, a young George Washington reached the 19-foot-wide Ohiopyle Falls of the Yough and made up his mind that the river was unnavigable. He called his troops back to the main road, and soon found themselves in a skirmish that would set the French and Indian War in motion—and lay the blame on Washington. More than 200 years later, in 1971, Ohiopyle river guide Tom Love innovated a new inflatable boat design that would prove Washington wrong on that “unnavigable” declaration. He crafted a high-performance raft without a metal frame called the Shredder that can be compactly folded and is self-bailing—important when the rapids are dumping a torrent of whitewater inside the boat. Love has a video of the first run of the Ohiopyle Falls he made on the Shredder—something Washington and his troops couldn’t do. Today, Shredders are favorites of seasoned paddlers around the world. You can read more about the Shredder from the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau’s feature.

While the thrill of the whitewater is certainly integral to the Yough’s character (there are class I – V rapids on the river), many are surprised to know that the Middle Yough offers an opportunity for a calm float trip to take in the history and natural beauty of this part of the Laurel Highlands. There are a number of outfitters in Ohiopyle that offer rentals, gear, guides, tours, and logistical support to those who want to enjoy the Yough—whether they’re beginners or veterans on the water, seeking serenity or thrills. Here is a sampling:

• Laurel Highlands River Tours and Outdoor Center has been getting folks of all ages on the Youghiogheny River since 1962. Guides and coaches can also get novices and veterans alike through the class III, IV, and V rapids on the Lower and Upper Yough that will get your adrenaline pumping, and rentals and guides are available for the calmer waters of the Middle Yough. The Laurel Highlands River Tours and Outdoor Center also offers a three-hour Express Tour on the class III/IV rapids of the lower Yough, so you’ll have time for high-flying adventure on the company’s zip line, guided mountain biking tours, rock climbing excursions, and gem mining activities. This outfit also operates the Yough Lake Campground near Ohiopyle, so the fun can last for days—and nights under the stars.
• Ohiopyle Trading Post & River Tours sends guided and unguided tours out on the Yough, and even has Shredders available. Outdoor enthusiasts of every stripe will find something to do at the Trading Post, which also offers kayaking and bike lessons, fishing trips, and refreshing scoops at the Kickstand Ice Cream Shop.
• White Water Adventurers offers everything you need for a whitewater getaway in Ohiopyle. This family-owned outfitter offers guided and unguided rafting trips on the Yough, along with bike rentals, Ohiopyle Mini Golf, and the Yough Plaza Motel in downtown Ohiopyle.
• Wilderness Voyageurs offers guided and unguided rafting trips on the waters around Ohiopyle – and several other rivers in Maryland and West Virginia. They also offer instructional outings for kayaking and fly fishing, along with stand-up paddle boarding. On their Historic Float Trip in Connellsville, PA, a guide dressed in 1750s garb joins you on your raft to spin a historical narrative that follows the French & Indian War, the Whiskey Rebellion, and the coal and coke industries in Western PA. The guide does all of the rowing on this tour, making it a great choice for seniors and young children. They also have a great history of the Youghiogheny River on their website, filled with interesting details and lots of reverence.
• The Laurel Highland Visitors Bureau has a full guide to the area’s water sports and whitewater rafting options.

Jump In!

When the water calls, you know what to do. Head to your local swimming hole, or roll up your pantlegs and wade through a nearby stream to get your feet wet. NextPittsburgh published a roundup of 10 great creeks to explore around Pittsburgh, and FITT staked out the best swimming holes near Pittsburgh.

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If you missed them, be sure check out the Automobiles and Roadways itineraries, part one and part two, as well as the Trains and Tracks and the Planes & Aviation itineraries.

Stay tuned for more itineraries through the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, as we continue to explore the region through the lens of transportation. 

Rivers of Steel Arts is excited to launch the 2020 Mon Valley Featured Artist Series. Showcasing some of the exciting creative professionals working across the Mon Valley Creative Corridor, this monthly blog highlights an artist each month—from a variety of boroughs—to provide a snapshot of the region’s growing cultural vitality.

About Zachary Rutter

For the month of November, we are excited to showcase the work of local artist and muralist Zachary Rutter.  Originally from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania Zac’s creative career got its early start in the Mon Valley where he was also part of the original conversations leading up to the Homestead First Fridays arts and entertainment series.  Rutter now lives in Munhall borough and has developed a highly recognizable style best known for spreading the message of love and positivity, something we could all use a little more of these days.  

A Message from Zachary

About My Work

My name is Zachary Rutter. I am a professional artist from the Mon Valley community of West Mifflin. I am grateful to have been from this area and have since accomplished several large projects around the community including multiple interior/ exterior murals in Homestead, West Homestead, Rankin and Glassport, as well as a concrete sculpture in Braddock, and large canvas installations at both West Mifflin High School and CCAC South Campus. However, my current studio space is located on Friendship Ave. in the East end of Pittsburgh. It is referred to as Studio Friendship to friends and fellow creatives in the area. We often host musicians at my space to record a series on YouTube called Friendship Sessions, which features different musicians performing songs while I create a painting! It’s kind of like a cross between NPR’s Tiny Desk performances and the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.

The love affair between art and I officially began when I received my first comic book as a child. I was immediately encapsulated by the colors and action of the pages. Comics have been a huge inspiration in my life ever since. My art is meant to promote a message of love and positivity. My main motif is an image of a bright red heart that features multiple exploding squares that shoot off in each direction. This image was inspired by the works of Keith Haring and can be seen repeatedly throughout my art. Many have begun to be referred to as the Sun Heart. You may recognize the heart from a large Port Authority Bus that drives all around the city of Pittsburgh. This sun heart is the symbol of a movement I started called the Spread Love Army. This movement is at the core of everything I do. I want my art and my message to bring people together as soldiers of the Spread Love Army in order to close the gap between strangers and neighbors and in return build a stronger community. 

Being an artist is definitely one of the hardest, and stressful endeavor I’ve ever set out on, but it continues to be the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done. Recently, I’ve been focusing all of my energy on being a full time artist and teaching art lessons from my studio on YouTube with a series I call “Studio Time with ZAC.” It takes a lot to maintain a full time career as an artist, but when I’m not working I spend my time relaxing and traveling with my fiancée, Jess and my cat, Chèrie. We are the new parents of a little girl who arrived in October and we recently relocated to Munhall in the Mon Valley!

Find Me Online

Web: https://www.zacharyrutterart.com/

Instagram: @zacharyrutterart

Facebook: zacrutterart

Twitter: ZacRutterArt

YouTube: Zackary Rutter Art

By Brianna Horan  |   Images of Cumberland “Cap” Posey and his wife Anna Posey.

The Lasting Legacy of Cap Posey

For the nearly 12 million immigrants who arrived in the United States between 1870 and 1900, the America Dream shone as a beacon of economic opportunity as they left behind famine, job shortages, rising taxes, and political or religious persecution in the Old Country. But for the millions of African-Americans living in the United States during the same time period, less than a generation removed from slavery, America’s reality meant racial violence and lynchings, the poverty trappings of sharecropping, barriers to education, and an economy that drew stark lines between “white jobs” and “Black jobs.” Cumberland Willis Posey, came of age and established himself as a titan of industry on the Monongahela River.

Posey was born into slavery in 1858 along the Port Tobacco River in Maryland. As Mark Whitaker writes in his book Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance, “a river called out to him from his earliest days.” After Emancipation, his father moved his children progressively north to Winchester, Virginia, and then to Belpre, Ohio, as Posey was entering his teenaged years.

Belpre, which sits on the Ohio River, is where Posey first found employment on the water, sweeping the decks of a riverboat named Magnolia at the age of 19. He studied the boat as much as he worked on it, watching the assistant engineer keep the coal- and wood-fed fires burning evenly, and observing the chief engineer as he monitored the boat’s pressure gauges. He gained an understanding for how each piece of equipment worked in concert to turn steamboat’s paddlewheel and propel the boat forward. And he set a goal of running the engine room of a steamboat, a position that wasn’t available to African-Americans at that time. Posey’s employer believed in Posey’s abilities, however, and helped him find a job as an assistant engineer on a steamboat called the Striker.

A year later, Posey became the first Black man to receive a chief engineer’s license, and a riverboat operator named Stewart Hayes hired him to oversee the operation of several vessels. Posey earned a salary of $1,200 a year as he continued to learn the ins and outs of the steamboat business, shipbuilding, and engine maintenance. He also earned a nickname of respect up and down the Ohio River: Captain Posey, or “Cap” for short.

Traveling the waterways, Posey met and fell in love with Angeline Stevens, a school teacher in Athens, Ohio, along the Hocking River. Anna, as she was known, was perhaps the first African American to graduate from high school in Athens, and she became a teacher at age 17. Because the African-American population in the town was small, white and Black students were taught together (though Black children were required to use separate coat hooks from the white children). By the time she was 20, the Athens Messenger newspaper wrote of her teaching skills, “Progress in the march of events is, in one direction, chronicled in the fact that Miss Anna Stevens, of African lineage, is teaching in the public white school… As a teacher she possesses rare tact and efficiency and her services in this line have been in wide demand.”

Despite the community’s “progress” in embracing Anna, thirty armed Athens men forced their way into the sheriff’s home to seize the keys to the town jail, then dragged an African-American farmhand named Christopher C. Davis from the cell where he was awaiting trial for accusations of assaulting a white widow. After giving Davis three minutes to pray, the mob hung him to death off of a bridge. This lynching intimidated many in Athens’ small Black community to leave town soon after. A little more than a year later, Anna accepted Cap Posey’s hand in marriage, and followed him to start a new life in Homestead, Pennsylvania, in 1883.

30–42–128 inch Mills, Carnegie Steel Mills, Homestead, Pa., Collection of Rivers of Steel.

As Whitaker notes in Smoketown, “Andrew Carnegie planted his flag in Homestead just as Cap Posey brought his new bride, Anna, there to live.” Carnegie had just bought one of the first American plants built by Henry Bessemer, who innovated a way to produce steel in mass quantities. Bessemer went into debt building his mill, and was forced to sell it after a worker’s strike and a decrease in demand for steel as rail expansion slowed.

As the industrialists amassed fortunes selling products forged by the labor of European immigrants and Black migrants, Cap Posey created his own opportunities, having amassed capital and experience that Black people did not commonly have access to at that time. In 1892, the year of the Homestead lockout and strike, Cap Posey made his first investment in coal boats, and went on to organize a small mining company, the Delta Coal Company. He later sold his shares in that company and founded Posey Coal Dealers and Steam Boat Builders, which manufactured more than twenty steamboats. By 1900 Cap was a major shareholder in the Marine Coal Company, earning an annual salary of $3,000 to manage the business. Whitaker notes in Smoketown that records indicate that Posey oversaw a payroll of one thousand employees and had nine white investors. Those accounts also describe him as a business partner of the region’s coke king Henry Clay Frick, and as a supplier to Andrew Carnegie’s mills. With those two men dominating so much of the coal and steel industries, it would have been almost impossible for Posey to have advanced the way he did in the coal mining and steel shipping businesses without working with Carnegie and Frick. Whitaker also points out that Posey would have been well positioned to recruit Black workers for Carnegie when he was seeking new workers who hadn’t been involved in the labor movement. “While blacks had largely been shut out of the mills and the unions before the [1892] strike, a decade later there would be 346 Negroes working in three Carnegie steel mills in the Pittsburgh area,” Whitaker writes.

While Carnegie was becoming the richest man in the world, Cap became the richest Black man in Pittsburgh. He and Anna first lived in Munhall, an area largely populated by factory workers. Once Cap built his businesses, he also built a grand home on East 13^th Ave. in Homestead – click here to see a photo of the massive two-story home in Pennsylvania Heritage. He and Anna enjoyed social and professional circles that orbited on a similar plane as the white industrialists of the Gilded Age, and occasionally crossed paths. A network of Black elite families was expanding, and the patriarchs started fraternal orders and social clubs like the Loendi Club in the Hill District, an elegant establishment modeled after the Duquesne Club. Women in this realm formed the Aurora Reading Club, which still exists today, to discuss books and organize support for local charities.

Posey Residence in Homestead from Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory, 1910.

The Posey children were educated in Homestead’s schools alongside white students—segregated education was outlawed in Pennsylvania in 1883. Beatrix was the eldest, and would become a teacher like her mother. Anna and Cap named their second child Stewart Hayes Posey, after the steamboat owner who had first hired Cap as a chief engineer. The youngest was named Cumberland, like his father, but would be nicknamed “Cum.” At 19, Cum Posey joined a team of Black steelworkers—the Murdock Grays—who played at Homestead Park on weekends. That team renamed itself the Homestead Grays two years later, and Cum later became the principal owner, building the Grays into one of the best teams in the Negro League. Cum Posey was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 for his 35 years as a player, manager, owner, and club official.

Teenie Harris Photograph – Homestead Grays at Forbes Field, Collection of Rivers of Steel

Cap Posey still had one more lasting legacy to create. Seeing the success of press moguls like Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, and with a flurry of widely-read white-run newspapers in town, Cap Posey was keen to invest in a fledgling publishing venture in 1910. He was one of four investors in The Pittsburgh Courier, and was named the organization’s president.

By Jon Engel, co-curator of the Homestead Streetside Gallery   |   Featured Image: Mural by Darryl Bennett, installed on Seventh Avenue, Homestead.

Art for Everyone

Especially these days, I often find myself taking long walks to nowhere. The destination is not a place, but an intimacy with one’s surroundings. To know the streets you live in—the houses and the trees and the slopes in the curb—is to know a part of yourself. And though I am always quiet on these walks, that connection makes them very social.

That’s the value we wanted to convey in the Homestead Streetside Gallery. One of my co-curators, Douglas Lopretto, came up with the idea as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What if we could take an art exhibit, usually held in small rooms and ticketed at the door, and crack it wide open? He came to us at Rivers of Steel with this plan: a massive show of temporary public art that could be viewed outside, at the leisure of its audience. Together, we realized exactly that. We commissioned a series of 11 temporary murals and curated 10 displays of works on canvas. The murals were installed on the sides of buildings on Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Avenues and the canvas displays were placed in the windows of several storefronts throughout downtown Homestead.

Piece by Jerome Charles, installed on Ninth Ave, Homestead.

For me, this show echoes a long history of unconventional art in Pittsburgh. Black artists like the those from the Watt Lane Art Club and Barbara Peterson, during the 20th century, worked around a segregated gallery system by hanging their works on community fences and leaving them on the curb. This guerilla philosophy is also the core of graffiti, a tradition that many of our Streetside artists came up in. The works that they created often borrow heavily from neglected “low arts”—of course graffiti, but also comic books, tattoos, and cartoons. All 26 of the creators featured in this show are from southwestern Pennsylvania, many of them working artists in those fields.

Works on canvas by Kyle Rybak, installed on Amity Street, Homestead.

Art by everyone, for everyone. That is the core of the Homestead Streetside Gallery. This goes beyond the artists we featured or the subjects they chose—the community of Homestead makes this show what it is. More than any show in a traditional gallery could ever be, the Streetside Gallery is alive and rooted. As you walk from piece to piece in this show, you are also walking by your neighbors and through their lives. The friendly waves, the sounds of traffic, the chatter at bus stops, in shops, and on stoops—that’s all part of this show too. Our hope is that you will explore the whole town, searching not only for the pieces we have put up, but also for the art and the comradery that was always there. When you turn a new corner, that is what you find.

Please, slow down and smell the flowers with us.

Mural by Cue Perry, installed on East Eighth Ave., Homestead.

The Homestead Streetside Gallery will be on display until December 1. It is presented by Rivers of Steel in partnership with the Steel Valley Arts Council. It was curated by myself, Douglas Lopretto, and Shane Pilster, with love to our friends in Homestead.

Also, love to the artists in the show:

Jared Altamare – Ashley Hodder – Shane Pilster
Latika Ann – Edina Kurjakovic – Jameelah Platt
Darryl Bennett – Jasmine Kurjakovic – Zack Rutter
Jerome Charles – Minuet Kurjakovic – Kyle Rybak
Jon Engel – Douglas Lopretto – Phil Seth
Trenita Finney – Christian Miller – Tom Ski
Sadie Flower – Danielle Nichols – Valkyrie Williams
Brian Gonnella – Cue Perry – Jason Wright
Max Gonzales – Eden Petri

Mural by Doug Lopretto & Jason Wright, installed on East Eighth Ave, Homestead.

All images of Homestead Streetside Gallery are by Rivers of Steel.  For more information on the exhibit, including a map of the installation locations, click here.

By Brianna Horan  |   Image: The Christening of the Homestead, October, 1945. From the University of Pittsburgh’s William J. Gaughan Collection.

The Steamboat Race of the Century

In 1949, tens of thousands of Pittsburghers lined the riverbanks of the Ohio and Monongahela rivers, packed onto bridges, and peered out of skyscraper windows to watch the “steamboat race of the century.” This friendly competition between two steam-powered tow boats owned by United States Steel Corp. and Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. carried serious bragging rights for the winner, and the photo finish was hotly contested.

Luckily for those of us who missed the race 71 years ago, a radio broadcast from announcers riding along on U.S. Steel’s Homestead still exists today, with a minute-by-minute recap of the action, a cacophony of cheering boat horns, and even a “hoowee” of glee from Charles R. Cox, president of the U.S. Steel Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation.

Take a listen to part one of the broadcast here, and hear the exciting finish here. The two audio files are about 9 minutes long all together. You can also read the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph’s recap of the events here, and a profile of the 49-year-old fire boss whose sweat and brawn secured the win for his sternwheeler can be read here.

The West End Bridge over the Ohio River served as the starting line, where the gun went off at 11:51 a.m. to start the race. The two sternwheel towboats, U.S. Steel’s Homestead, built in Ambridge in 1922, and Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.’s William Larimer Jones, built in Indiana in 1930 and named for the president of J & L, were both pushing four empty barges in front of them as they plowed towards The Point and veered right to head up the Mon. The Homestead quickly pulled to the lead, with the radio broadcasters onboard remarking, “Have you ever seen water boil and flow underneath barges like this?!” They describe the May weather as overcast, cool and cloudy, and note that they can’t see behind them because of the black smoke pouring out of the two vessels.

The race heats up as the sternwheelers reach The Point Bridge, a structure that spanned the Monongahela close to where the plaza around The Point’s fountain is, and was demolished in 1970. The Sun-Telegraph reported that the Homestead suddenly dropped behind, “while the black smoke pouring from its double stacks thinned to a haze.” Meanwhile, Jones & Laughlin’s “gleaming, single-stacked William Larimer Jones shoved its black barges into the lead in the stretch.” The broadcasters onboard the Homestead audibly deflate, and they point out that deckhands on the William Larimer Jones, “are waving their hands and jumping around, they are really excited and they are calling remarks back and forth.” By this point, the Jones’s staff of stewardesses, clad in white uniforms, have started to cheer, as well.

But as the finish line—the Smithfield Street Bridge—draws near, the Homestead had regained its slight lead. There’s an exuberant whine of boat horns in the audio recordings cheering along with what the broadcasters estimate to be 200,000 spectators. The recordings capture the roar of the William Larimer Jones blowing off its build-up of steam.

The “see-saw race” of 1.5 miles ends at noon in a photo finish. It’s so close that the deckhands and distinguished guests onboard both vessels erupted in celebration, each thinking that they had come in first place. The broadcasters can’t be sure who’s won, but get word that the judges, one of whom is Mayor David Lawrence, declared U.S. Steel’s Homestead sternwheeler the winner. The steamer’s Captain, Richard Hanna, was gifted a bouquet of roses and “an ornate captain’s cap” from the presidents of both steel manufacturers. After the race, a victory dinner was served onboard the Homestead while it took a “triumphal tour of the harbor.”

The Sun-Telegraph quoted the William Larimer Jones’s Captain William D. McConnell saying after the race, “They’ll be arguing the decision of this race for the next 100 years. And when the deckhands get together in a bar there’s sure to be a fight about who won.” The newspaper also reported that their newsroom was inundated with calls contesting U.S. Steel’s victory.

But the Homestead’s recapturing of the lead becomes even more impressive when it’s revealed that unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, the boat’s steam regulator valve failed midway through the race, and cut off the automatic stoker engines. Realizing what happened, the steamboat’s firemen, Ed Berry of Rices Landing and Jesse Beckner of Carrick, began a frenzied shoveling of “more than a ton of coal into the four raging boilers of the Homestead during the last minutes of the race.” A later interview with Beckner, a 49-year-old weighing in at 245 pounds and standing six feet tall, quoted him saying that it was “the Lord’s will” that brought them victory—although he also admitted that the $20 wager he’d put on the Homestead was also a strong motivator.

United States Steel’s sternwheel towboat, the Homestead, pushing coal or coke. Mid-20th-century image from the collection of Rivers of Steel.

This steamboat race was the crowning event of Pittsburgh’s Welcome Week, hosted by the city’s Chamber of Commerce to show off what was being touted as “America’s busiest city” to draw more businesses and residents to town. The two steel companies had a rematch during the 1950 Welcome Week, and the winner was even announced in the New York Times—the Homestead won again, racing against J&L’s Titan. While Welcome Week lasted only a few years (Pittsburgh saw its last steamboat race in 1951), the city’s affinity for boat racing would later push the Pittsburgh Regatta, which debuted in 1978, to become the largest inland regatta in the country before going on hiatus in in 2019, when the iconic event was cancelled because the event management company failed to secure the necessary insurance.

As for the mighty Homestead, it worked in service to the company until 1960 when it was dismantled. It met that fate despite calls from some locals to covert it a tourist attraction…perhaps a early indicator of our region’s reverence for its industrial history—a notion we at Rivers of Steel wholeheartedly embrace today.

By Suzi Bloom, Director of Education   |   Image of a barge on the Monongahela River by Adam Piscitelli, 2016.

Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Iconic Barges

While towboats and barges are not unique to Pittsburgh, there’s nothing quite like seeing a barge gliding through the early morning river fog. To me, it is one of the more iconic images of our working rivers. The powerful towboat and companion barges synonymous with the brawniness of Joe Magarac as the operation appears to glide effortlessly through rivers that have long been integral in the building of America.

Barges have been used to transport coal and other goods along Pittsburgh’s rivers for well over the past 200 years. The concept of a boat pushing what is essentially a floating box may seem antiquated, but barge transportation is still competitive with other forms of transportation, like railroads and semi-truck trailers. In fact, water transportation for dry bulk goods is one of the cheapest and most energy efficient means of transport.

The first transport of coal by barge on the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers was in the late 1700’s. However, barge travel during this time was not easy. With barges sitting so low in the water, transportation was limited to rainy seasons when rivers were deep enough to keep barges from running aground. During the dry season, when the rivers could become as shallow as a foot, industries dependent upon barge’s cargo were required to use other methods of goods transportation or they shut down.

Postcard of “Coal Barge Scene in Pittsburg Harbor” depicting coal barges at the Point with the old Point Bridge and the Smithfield Street Bridge in rear, pre-1919. Collection of Rivers of Steel.

The first barges known as coalboats were powered by the river current and, as their name implies, only transported coal.  Coalboats were rectangular wooden vessels that were approximately 100 feet long by 20 feet wide and 6 feet deep.  They could carry up to 330 tons of coal and required a river depth of at least 7 feet. Many coalboats often wrecked on the journey, but for those that made the trip, the coal was unloaded and the boat itself dismantled and sold as lumber.

The invention of steam-powered boats was a game changer for river transportation. Coalboats were tied to steamboats for both up and downstream travel. Steamboat operators experimented with both the pushing and pulling of coalboats and ultimately determined that pushing was most effective

Southwestern PA was home to many shipyard companies that supplied the market with steamboats. From 1811-1888 boatyards along the Monongahela River alone produced more than 3,000 steamboats, with notable large-scale operations in Brownsville, PA.

United States Steel’s sternwheel towboat, the Homestead, pushing coal or coke. Mid-20th-century image from the collection of Rivers of Steel.

In conjunction with the invention of steam-powered vessels, I would be remiss not to provide a brief history of the engineering efforts to increase the navigability of our waterways. U.S. Congress recognized the commercial value of navigable waterways and in 1824 authorized the first civil works mission assignment to Army Corp of Engineers to remove snags and obstructions from the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Construction of small wing dams and dikes took place on the Ohio River to concentrate flow, but the need for a deeper river channel remained an issue. Additional small-scale lock and dam construction took place in the early 1840’s, but the turmoil of the Civil War stalled further development.

Progress reinstated on waterways improvements shortly after the war. Philadelphia native, William Milnor Roberts, a civil engineer who began his career in 1825 at the age of 16 and later became known as the “Genius of the Ohio River Improvement,” was promoted to the Superintendent of the Survey for the post-war Rivers and Harbors Act that concluded in 1869. Roberts’ career achievements had a major impact on the success of the commercial transportation of goods on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He worked in both the canal and railroad industries and his work on the Harbors Act concluded that the following actions were the most critical improvements necessary for Ohio River navigation:

The general substitution of fleets of barges for the former single steamers, or the plan of floating boxes. It is reasonable to believe that after a while a large proportion of the steamers engaged in freighting will be low-boats, running in connection with barges. Some single steamers will of course still be useful in carrying on the local passenger and freight business between the numerous commercial points along the river…;but the bulk of the freighting will probably be ultimately carried on by means of barges towed as steamers.

There is much more to the history of Roberts, U.S. waterways navigation, and the complications that arose from plans to canalize the rivers and build lock and dams. In fact, the history of waterways navigation in Pittsburgh could fill another blog entry and we will save that for another day.

Locally however, the first lock and dam built by the Army Corp of Engineers at Davis Island opened to the public in 1885.

A modern barge on the Monongahela River. Image by Adam Piscitelli / Primetime Shots, August, 2020.

Modern day barges are still essentially just floating platforms (now made of steel), that carry a variety of commodities and consumer goods such as coal, wheat, barley, corn, petroleum etc. Barge use can be slower but serves to maximize carrying capacity.  Barges themselves typically still do not have engines and are still pushed or pulled by a tug or tow boat. Tug or tow boats are usually powered by diesel or sometimes natural gas and even hybrid engines.

Towboats and barges are manned by a crew, which typically consists of 11 members including a captain, a pilot, a chief engineer, an engineer, a mate, a watchman, four deckhands, and a cook. Oftentimes shifts rotate onboard every 6 hours with the captain and pilot taking turns steering the vessel.

To return to the subject of maximizing carrying capacity, a typical 15-barge tow has the same dry cargo capacity as 1,050 Semi Tractor-Trailers. This carrying capacity helps to reduce landside highway traffic as well as emissions from trucks. The drawback to the system is that these barges are limited to the rivers that are navigable; modern day barges require a navigable river channel of at least 9 feet deep to accommodate the draft of a full vessel.

Fortunately, many navigable waterways lead to some of the most productive states. The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and their associated connections make up the majority of navigable waters in the United States. This leads to several waterways to choose from considering those waters stretch all the way to the Great Lakes.

A view of downtown Pittsburgh from the water with recreational boat traffic.

The Port of Pittsburgh itself is the fourth busiest inland port in the nation. According to 2014 data, each lock on the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers handles about 9,000 barges per year. All 200 miles of commercially navigable waterways in southwestern Pennsylvania are in the Port of Pittsburgh District, which encompasses a 12-county region.

In Pittsburgh, some barges have even been repurposed and used as attractions, such as the floating “boardwalk” that was once moored on the Allegheny River from 1991-2008 and was home to bars like Donzi’s and Tequila Willies. That particular barge eventually was shipped in two pieces down the Ohio River to Chattanooga, Tennessee where it was to be used again for an entertainment venue that never came to fruition.

The Port of Pittsburgh is now part of The Marine Highway Program, which promotes the expansion of America’s navigable waters. Some of the public benefits of the program are the job creation, reduction of landside congestion, emissions reduction, and highway maintenance cost reduction.

The next time you see a towboat muscling a barge full of materials through our beautiful city, I hope you take a moment to appreciate the ingenuity and carrying capacity of barge transportation.