Insider’s Guide: The 2024 Festival of Combustion

The chill snap of October, falling leaves, and spooky Halloween décor bring to mind autumn traditions. Leaf peeping and fall festivals are popular seasonal activities—and Rivers of Steel’s Festival of Combustion, presented by U.S. Steel, is a standout among them! It has become a must-do fall tradition for many.

This one-of-a-kind extravaganza, happening this year on Saturday, October 5, attracts thousands of visitors of all ages to the Carrie Blast Furnaces; it is an invitation to join in a celebration of industrial arts and American crafts through hands-on activities, trade demonstrations, tours, live music, fireworks, food, and more. This year, Rivers of Steel’s Festival of Combustion welcomes more than 50 collaborators for the annual all-day event.

By Julie Silverman, Contributing Writer

The Iron Pour and Metal Arts Crew

The spirit of the festival takes its inspiration from the iron-making legacy of this National Historic Landmark—embodied by a deftly orchestrated iron pour featuring Rivers of Steel’s metal arts crew.

“The iron pour is the heart of the festival,” said Chris McGinnis, senior director of programs & regional partnerships. “It’s quite a sight to see! And artists from all over the world come to this National Historic Landmark site to participate in the iron pour. They arrive at the beginning of the week to create the molds that are cast during the festival. The process uses a cupola-style furnace, which is a scaled-down version of the process that had been used to produce iron by the hulking Carrie Blast Furnaces.”

Insider Tip: Make sure to arrive before 6:00 p.m. to guarantee that you’ll see part of the iron pour. The event may extend past 6:00 p.m., but they could finish their work early!

“Our largest operating furnace is capable of tapping up to 1,000 pounds of iron each tap. Our metal arts staff, who lead the iron pour, are skilled metal artists and craftsmen with a combined 40+ years of experience in foundry work. Our iron pours require 20 to 30 participants to manage all aspects of the operation,” McGinnis said.

“The metal-casting community nationwide is a close-knit group of enthusiasts,” McGinnis continued. “They often travel to numerous locations each year to participate in iron-casting projects, large and small. As the program has grown at Rivers of Steel, the Carrie Furnaces have become one of those destinations, joining established metal-casting hubs like Sloss Furnaces in Alabama; Salem Art Works in Salem, New York; and the Metal Museum in Memphis; among others.”

One of the artists joining in is Jay Elias. Elias runs the Evolution Arts Studio in Detroit, Michigan—a studio that uses the metal-casting process as a form of therapy, focusing on veterans and formerly incarcerated individuals. As a veteran, Elias struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and found a recovery process through art and metal working. He interned with Rivers of Steel this past summer and developed work focused on his experiences battling PTSD. His studio thrives on the holistic approach of art and therapy and offers free workshops for veterans. Be sure to check out his newly installed sculpture “Unfinished Business” located in the Iron Garden this year!

For those enticed by hot metal who would like to have a more personal experience, aluminum pours will also take place. As part of their Festival of Combustion experience, event-goers can carve a scratch mold, which is then cast—transformed into a glistening square of aluminum art! Guests spend a few minutes carving a creative design and then watch as molten aluminum is poured into the molds. After it cools, they have an artistic souvenir to take home. Insider Tip: The aluminum pours happen between 1:00 and 6:00 p.m., or until the scratch molds are gone, so stop by earlier in the day!

Insider Tip: Don’t miss out on a walk through the Iron Garden. Stop in before 6:00 p.m.—Penn State Master Gardeners, interpretive iron plaques, and text panels for the sculptures all offer ways to learn more about the natural garden.

Casting the Iron Garden

In October of 2014, something momentous happened. For the first time in more than 30 years, iron was created at the Carrie Blast Furnaces. The event was called Casting the Iron Garden, and now, ten years on, Rivers of Steel is celebrating this anniversary as part of the Festival of Combustion.

The Iron Garden, as it’s now known, is an area along the eastern border of the landmark site. During the active years of the mill, it housed a structure and additional ore yard. During the intervening decades, after the building was demolished and before Rivers of Steel began managing the site, this area began to be reclaimed by nature, and seeds sprouted from the holes that remained from the removed foundation. Rivers of Steel’s approach was to apply a light touch in cultivating the site and to provide interpretation of the space. The project grew through a partnership with landscape ethicist Rick Darke and the Penn State Master Gardeners. (Read Growing the Iron Garden for the full origin story.)

Then, ten years ago, this creative collaboration of gentle gardening expanded with the addition of gardener Addy Smith-Reiman and her sculptor-husband Josh Reiman to the project. The two artists shared Rivers of Steel’s desire to honor the resiliency of nature as it reclaimed the land in a postindustrial habitat.

Addy Smith-Reiman, with her background in landscape architecture, has been engaging in creative projects celebrating local identities and shared histories for more than 20 years. Josh Reiman’s work has been exhibited worldwide; he’s known for sculpture, film, video, and photography.

Collaborating with Rivers of Steel and Penn State Master Gardeners, Smith-Reiman and Reiman designed and cast iron podiums to be placed along the walking trail through the garden space. Each iron installation revealed a raised drawing of some variety of plant or animal life that resides in the shadow of Carrie Blast Furnaces. As the first items cast on-site since the closing of the furnace in 1982, they represent a significant first step in bringing iron casting back to Carrie.

Visitors to the 2023 Festival of Combustion read from the cast iron interpretive podium created in 2014.

Addy Smith-Reiman reflected, “Carrie is an inspiration for many: artists, historians, and even gardeners. Ten years ago, it was fertile ground (pun intended) for a Master Gardener class to learn about ruderal vegetation and the urban wilds that consumed the landscape. Working from Rick Darke’s initial survey of the site, ten volunteers surveyed over months the ephemeral and opportunistic plants around the Carrie Furnace grounds. To have this data materialize in the plaques, utilizing the historic material of site (iron), and catalyzing the metal arts program to produce the work, the project aptly materialized as The Iron Garden.”

“It is exciting to return, ten years later, to see how the vegetation has changed and how the shift in programming allows plants to now share space with the growing sculpture garden,” she continued.

To mark the anniversary, the Master Gardeners will be stationed throughout the Iron Garden during the festival to help interpret the space, while Smith-Reiman and Reiman will help lead the iron-casting workshop offered by Rivers of Steel in the week leading up to the Festival of Combustion and will participate in the big pour the day of.

Insider Tip: Self-guided tours are available throughout the earlier part of the day, so plan your tour time around other timed activities that you are looking to do.

Tours of the Carrie Blast Furnaces

In addition to the self-guided tours of the Iron Garden, this year Rivers of Steel is also offering self-guided Industrial Tours. This self-paced tour route through the landmark site will include tour guides stationed at various locations, allowing guests to engage with them along the way. As guided tours have always quickly sold out in the past, this new format will accommodate as many event-goers as are interested, in addition to giving them more flexibility in how they spend their day. Additionally, an Ask a Tour Guide information tent will be located near the hub of the activities.

A crew with the Center for Metal Arts in Johnstown work together using a large power hammer.

Industrial Arts Demonstrations

Beyond the iron pour and tours, the demonstrations are always a crowd favorite at the Festival of Combustion. This year new participants include the Center for Metal Arts and artist Talon Smith.

The Center for Metal Arts is an educational program housed at the historic Cambria Iron & Steel forge shop in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Their mission is to renovate and refurbish historic power hammers and tooling to make them available to be seen by the greater forging community and used by qualified professional blacksmiths—and they will bring a power hammer to the festival! Although it won’t be as large as the one in the photo above, it will certainly make an impression.

This year will bring a bonus demonstration—by twilight, ceramic artist Talon Smith will partake in a performative wood firing. The performance centers around a small wood kiln. Attendees of the event are invited to engage with the artist and their crew to ask questions about the process as it takes place and witness its glowing result revealed at dusk.

Smith—who identifies as a native Yinzer, has a studio in Polish Hill and a wood kiln in Ligonier, Pennsylvania—describes this wood firing as a performance that celebrates the narratives of our environments and how they change over time. In the context of Carrie, the landscape where the former iron mill is situated has witnessed extreme changes. Over eons, the slow erosion of the Allegheny Plateau created the Mon Valley. The molten years stretched for nearly a century, and the now-silent sentinel hovers as a reminder of generations of workers.

The artist Talon Smith is illuminated from the glow of their kiln.

“Wood firing is a process that demonstrates the combined efforts of individuals working towards a common goal,” Smith said. “Throughout the duration of the Festival of Combustion, a small wood kiln containing one sculpture will be fired and brought to temperature. At peak temperature—around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit—the petals of the kiln will be opened to reveal a glowing sculpture of an arch. The arch mimics the landscape; it is a monolith left behind representing the narratives of our environments.”

Beyond the symbolism, the warm glow of the revealed sculpture will light up for the crowd just prior to the annual fireworks show.

In addition to the new demonstrations, perennial favorites will return, including glassblowing with The Pittsburgh Glass Center, welding with Patrick Camut Fabrication, and numerous blacksmiths working alongside Rivers of Steel staff.

Insider Tip: Don’t let the hands-on activities be just for the kids. Carve a scratch mold or make your own penny pendant!

American Crafts

If you desire to create your own crafts, wind your way through an assortment of hands-on activities. Mosaics with The Ruins Project, jewelry making with Pittsburgh Center for Arts & Media, raku-fired ceramics with Ton Pottery, STEAM crafts with Assemble PGH, Guild on the Go with Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, and a Punk Rock Corner all vie for creative exploration.

“The Punk Rock Corner is a collaboration between LIGHT Educational Initiative and Rivers of Steel’s Graffiti Arts program,” said Chris McGinnis. “We’re excited to offer hands-on activities, including graffiti art, patches, zines, and pin making.”

Now in its third year, the Heritage Craft Tent, presented by West Overton Village, is a festival within the festival that explores American heritage traditions, including the tastiest of all heritage crafts: rye whiskey distilling!

“West Overton is excited to participate in the Festival of Combustion for a third year,” said Aaron Hollis, co-executive director of West Overton Village. “As the 2024 sponsoring partner for the Heritage Craft Tent, we look forward to offering engaging opportunities for visitors young and old.”

Insider Tip: For those who imbibe, make sure to try a sample of West Overton’s Monongahela Rye.

The historical organization’s educational distillery revived the tradition of making whiskey at West Overton Village for the first time since Prohibition. Their varieties of rye whiskeys, including a Monongahela Rye, will be available to adults for tastings. Adults can also learn about their new whiskey heritage center, while the younger set is engaged with interactive activities.

“We are grateful for another opportunity to continue our partnership with Rivers of Steel,” Hollis continued.

Other hands-on happenings under the Heritage Craft Tent include activities by Rivers of Steel’s other heritage partners: Touchstone Center for Crafts, the Bradford House Historical Association, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, and the Society for the Preservation of the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka.

Insider Tip: Get a head start on holiday shopping by supporting local makers.

Crafts are not limited to the hands-on variety at the Festival of Combustion; more than a dozen regional artisans are offering their creations in the makers’ marketplace. From ciders and sundries to upcycled car parts and art prints, there is a variety of wares to peruse!

Insider Tip: Check the event schedule if there is a specific performance that you don’t want to miss.

Live Music and Performances

And what would a festival be without entertainment? Beyond the metal pours, demonstrations, crafts, and shopping, there is even more to see.

On the music stage, Ames Harding and the Mirage, Tom Breiding and Union Railroad, and The Polkamaniacs will keep festival-goers entertained, in between sets by DJ Zombo.

A chronicler of small-town America, locally based Breiding said, “Union Railroad will play a set of music that pays homage to our region’s great industrial heritage. Rivers of Steel is such an important link to that heritage, and this festival is my favorite celebration of the year in Pittsburgh.” Breiding’s music lyrically lends understanding to the worlds of coalfields, mines, and mills.

Pop-up performances by Lovely Lady Lydia Artistry offer fire, flame, and other circus arts throughout the evening.

Insider Tip: The fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m. and end by 9:00 p.m.

Food, Finale, and More

If all of this has worked up an appetite, food trucks will tickle a variety of tastes. Farmer x Baker, Pita My Shawarma, Rogue BBQ, Street Fries 4ever, Tango Food Truck, and Taqueria El Pastorcito will be on-site. Craft beer, sponsored by Oskar Blues and Vecenies Distributing, and cocktails will be on hand to add a dash of flavor to this incredible ambiance. Plus, sales of beverages directly support Rivers of Steel and its programmatic and historical preservation efforts at the Carrie Blast Furnaces.

For the adventurous in the crowd, Xpogo will provide instruction and free-to-use pogo sticks for all skill levels and ages, and KSD Studios is offering affordable tattoos.

A day celebrating the innovation and artistry of our region can be capped only by the colorful combustion of a dazzling fireworks display. The fireworks finale takes place from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m., offering an epic end to a memorable day.

Presented By

The Festival of Combustion is simply an experience like no other, making it a spectacular autumn adventure. Plus, with an all-inclusive admission price of $20 for adults and no cost for kids under age 18, it is supremely affordable and family friendly. This is made possible by the financial and in-kind support from our sponsors.

“Rivers of Steel is grateful to our presenting sponsor, U.S. Steel, for their unwavering support of the Festival of Combustion and our broader community initiatives,” said Rivers of Steel’s CEO Augie Carlino. “Their investment plays a key role in preserving Pittsburgh’s rich history as the steel center of the world, ensuring that the story of our industrial legacy continues to inspire and educate. Together, we are celebrating the industrial heritage that forged Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania and helped shape the nation.”

Rivers of Steel is also grateful for the support of West Overton Village, sponsors of the Heritage Craft Tent, for their underwriting contributions for this event.

Rivers of Steel is thankful for NEXTpittsburgh, who is the exclusive media sponsor for the 2024 Festival of Combustion; Jackson Welding Supply Co., Inc.; Oscar Blues; and Vecenies Distributing—all of whom are additional fiscal sponsors, and TMS International who provides in-kind support.

Beyond these partners, Rivers of Steel recognizes the event would not be all that it is without the support of our programmatic collaborators.

“The Festival of Combustion has grown so much over the years, and we are particularly excited to welcome more than 50 collaborators in 2024,” said Chris McGinnis. “So much of what makes this event special comes from the many friends and partners who bring their unique and creative work to Carrie Blast Furnaces each year!”

That said, the magic of the day is contributed by the thousands of folks from southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond who join us to marvel in the fiery spectacles and immense talent of our region’s artists, makers, and builders. They truly make this a celebration of industrial arts and American crafts!

Insider Tip: Guests 21+ who are seeking to imbibe, should stop at the I.D. Check to get a bracelet before getting in line to purchase beverages.

Tickets and Information

The Festival of Combustion is hosted by Rivers of Steel at the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark, located at 801 Carrie Furnace Blvd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15218.

The event is from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Some hands-on activities and demonstrations conclude at 6:00 p.m., as activities shift from the Central Courtyard to the Western Courtyard and more performances begin. This year, no reservations are needed for tours, but folks looking to carve a scratch mold should participate earlier in the day, as supplies may run out. All tours and activities are included in the ticket price.

Food is available for purchase, and visitors may want to budget for marketplace discoveries. Also, those looking to purchase adult beverages will need to stop at the I.D. Check to receive a bracelet before going to the beer and cocktails tent. Festival of Combustion T-shirts and other commemorative merchandise are available from Rivers of Steel at the gift shop near the entrance gates.

General admission tickets can be purchased here for $20 in advance for adults. Kids are free; however, tickets must be reserved. Free parking is available on-site, with additional spaces reserved for those with limited mobility.

About Rivers of Steel

Founded on the principles of heritage development, community partnership, and a reverence for the region’s natural and shared resources, Rivers of Steel strengthens the economic and cultural fabric of western Pennsylvania by fostering dynamic initiatives and transformative experiences.

Rivers of Steel showcases the artistry and innovation of our region’s industrial and cultural heritage by offering unique experiences via tours, workshops, exhibitions, festivals, and more. Rivers of Steel supports economic revitalization throughout the eight counties of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area by working to deepen community partnerships, promote heritage tourism, and preserve local recreational and cultural resources for future generations.

Julie Silverman is a museum educator, tour facilitator, and storyteller of astronomy and history for various Pittsburgh-area organizations, including Rivers of Steel. A Chatham University 2020 MFA graduate, her writing is most often found under the byline of JL Silverman. Occasionally, under the name of Julia, she has been seen on TV.

Read her previous story about West Overton’s new Whiskey Heritage Center here. 

Community Spotlight—West Overton’s James B. Beam Pennsylvania Whiskey Heritage Center

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

By Julie Silverman, Contributing Writer

A New Era for West Overton

Rye whiskey is making a comeback, and so is our way of telling stories about it. Surrounded by the agricultural countryside of Westmoreland County, you’ll find the town of West Overton, the birthplace of industrialist Henry Clay Frick. West Overton Village & Museum is also the ancestral home of the longest standing American whiskey brand, Overholt™—or Old Overholt as it’s known colloquially. This iconic brand has endured in an unbroken chain of production since 1810.

The land and home of Abraham Overholt, the founder of the brand, was preserved due to the efforts of Helen Clay Frick who purchased and conserved the site to honor her father. As early as 1928, she turned the family’s homestead, which includes a five-and-a-half story building that once housed the Overholt distillery and gristmill, into a museum.

Patrons celebrate the opening of a new exhibition space at West Overton. Photo by Savannah Butler.

The James B. Beam Pennsylvania Whiskey Heritage Center

This summer, the celebrated historic site is offering a brand-new experience. In collaboration with Suntory Global Spirits, the museum’s reimagined and updated second floor was recently unveiled. A key piece of this partnership’s purpose is to celebrate the history and legacy of Western Pennsylvania’s rye whiskey industry. Opening the James B. Beam Pennsylvania Whiskey Heritage Center is a watershed moment in presenting the storied history of Western Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey, also known as Monongahela Rye.

Aaron Hollis, the co-executive director of West Overton Village, shared, “There’s nowhere else that has this type of exhibit and story about Pennsylvania’s whiskey industry. A historical society or museum could have a few bottles from a local distillery, but this is the largest publicly displayed collection of Pennsylvania whiskey history anywhere.”

Pam Curtin, the museum’s director of visitor engagement, added, “The breadth of the collection is really remarkable. We think of Pennsylvania industry as coal and steel and agriculture, but the whiskey industry was significant to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Rye was known around the country. Many brands were known around the world, and a lot of that history has been lost. There’s not really a place, other than right here, where you can go and see that.”

The centerpiece of the Heritage Center is the Sam Komlenic Gallery. Displayed inside this gallery are more than 450 objects dedicated to Pennsylvania’s rye whiskey production. “There are bottles, advertisements, crates, memorabilia, barrels, labels, and all sorts of different artifacts related to the industry,” Hollis said.

Collector and donor Sam Komlenic in the gallery named after him. Photo by Savannah Butler.

The heart of the gallery is a wall of bottles. Floating glass shelves hold more than 260 whiskey bottles from Pennsylvania distilleries, including bottles from when Overholt™ was produced in Broad Ford (or Broadford), Pennsylvania, from the era after production ended at West Overton. About 40 historic distilleries are represented of the more than 70 that were present in Pennsylvania in 1900. Names such as Dillinger, Gibson, and Schenley join Overholt as some of the most successful companies in the industry.

Curtin said, “It’s amazing that some of these bottles were able to survive. We also have memorabilia, from special-edition bottles to matchsticks and playing cards, which gets into how they were branding themselves. One wall of the gallery has high-resolution images of whiskey labels. Vinyl art pieces on the wall show the artistic branding that companies started to do, and that display resonates with people as well.”

One climate-controlled collections room is dedicated to viewing fragile objects that are part of a sampling of the museum’s 96 years of collecting. Textile artifacts share a space in the collection as well as more unique items, including a two-headed taxidermy calf, a 1940s X-ray machine, and a desk from the Frick office building.

Artifacts tell stories. They bring to light life in the region that goes beyond the whiskey industry itself. “We’ll be using the space for children’s programs, for field trips, taking student groups through there. We’ll use these objects as an opportunity to talk about life in the past and what the museum does, how a museum preserves objects. It’s a nice space for people to see what a collection looks like, how we store things, and how we preserve them,” Curtin said.

The new classroom in the Heritage Center is intended to be a multipurpose room. Biergarten-style tables fill the classroom that connects to the collections room. The education space connects both to the collections, and to a vintage-inspired, handcrafted bar and lounge.

“The Overholt Stateroom has got to be one of the most beautiful bars in the county,” Hollis said. “People go in there and say, ‘Man, I want to smoke a cigar and drink a whiskey in here,’ and that’s really the vibe that it gives.” It’s a top-notch, fully functioning bar decked out in Overholt’s artwork, including a line drawing of Abraham Overholt on the wall. The bar and lounge are a space that people can rent out for special private events with the added use of the attached classroom as part of the space.

The Overholt Stateroom. Photo by Cole Wilson.

A Resurgence for Rye Whiskey

Rye whiskey’s resurgence is benefitting tourism and the economy as the legendary drink is returning to the limelight. Following the region’s whiskey trail—including sites related to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794—has been enticing new connoisseurs who are interested in a taste of Pennsylvania’s history.

“You can follow the whiskey trail all through Washington County and back around to West Overton in Westmoreland County and Broadford in Fayette,” said Jaimie Hanson, Rivers of Steel’s director of tourism. “Putting together this new exhibition is a great way to bring in people who are interested in history, tasting, and education. Not only will having the facility bring more people to see West Overton, but also the draw of the varied programming that they already have there.”

“In the past decade, there’s been a growing interest and curiosity among whiskey enthusiasts for Monongahela rye whiskey,” said Lisa Belczyk of The Fizzy Coupe, which offers cocktail experiences and spirits education. “Rye offers a spicy, peppery, and assertive set of flavors that are exciting. The combination of big, bold flavors tied to a storied rebellious legacy has made Monongahela rye whiskey the basis for a complex cocktail of local flavors and history in a glass.”

Why is Western Pennsylvania a rye whiskey hub? “The distillers coming out here may have just had a really great taste for making whiskey,” Curtin said. “There’s a lot of factors that we’re still trying to understand that made Monongahela Rye so unique. What did people think about it, and what did it mean to them back then? We don’t have recipes as you might imagine, so there’s a lot of research being done to understand what somebody in 1850 would have defined as a Monongahela Rye. It’s nice to see a resurgence of interest in distilling today and a lot of the craft distillers wanting to recreate rye of their own.”

The museum at West Overton Village that houses the new Heritage Center.

A Legacy Intertwined—Rye Whiskey and America

Distilling in America dates to before the Revolutionary War. Once the country gave up rum during the revolution, rye whiskey became the taste of American spirits. Western Pennsylvania built a reputation for whiskey and a network of shipping that took the brand as far west as New Orleans. Abraham Overholt transformed whiskey distilling into a sophisticated industry.

“A lot of people think that whiskey distilling in Pennsylvania stopped after the Whiskey Rebellion,” said Aaron Hollis. “In reality, Pennsylvania had a huge industry of whiskey production that continued largely until Prohibition in 1920. Historically, the family that created West Overton moved here nearly ten years after the rebellion. The context for us is more about when this industry was born and what the state of distilling was.”

Even though rye whiskey distilling made Abraham Overholt a wealthy man, the rye whiskey flavor fell out of favor for many years. Although James B. Beam Distilling Co. has distilled Overholt™ since 1987, the allure of having an authentic experience with the place that created the iconic brand shaped the idea for the Whiskey Heritage Center.

It is rare to be able to visit the authentic home place of a whiskey brand. “It’s the spiritual home of a legacy whiskey,” said Hollis. “Suntory wanted people to have an authentic experience at the home place of that brand. The James B. Beam Pennsylvania Whiskey Heritage Center is the culmination of that partnership.”

(It’s helpful to understand the relationship between Suntory and Beam. The Japanese company Suntory Holdings acquired Beam Inc. in 2014 and became known as Beam Suntory; in May of 2024, the Beam Suntory company name was rebranded to Suntory Global Spirits.)

The homestead at West Overton.

Experience West Overton Village

“The unique part about West Overton is that Helen Clay Frick was able to preserve the site,” said Pam Curtin. “When we were researching some of the other distilleries, we saw how quickly they were closed or dismantled, or sold off to other companies to become something else. When Prohibition happened, Helen was able to preserve the distillery building as a museum. She helped make the site publicly accessible. That’s another rare dimension of this site: that the historic house and the whole collections building have been able to survive at all.”

The James B. Beam Pennsylvania Whiskey Heritage Center adds more depth to an already layered experience, one that begins with the historic legacy of Abraham Overholt, touches upon our region’s industrial history with Henry Clay Frick, and was preserved with the help of his daughter Helen. The compelling new display provides one more reason to visit the Village near Scottdale, Pennsylvania, adding a highlight to the already award-winning museum where guests follow the lives of 19^th-century West Overton inhabitants. In 2020, the nonprofit opened its own Educational Distillery, producing its own brand of Monongahela Rye varieties. Three years later, its Forging Ahead and Falling Behind: Industrial Growth in a Rural Community exhibit was honored with the nationally prestigious Award of Excellence by the American Association for State and Local History.

West Overton Distilling Company Products

Stroll through the homestead of West Overton Village, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Regular site and museum visiting hours are May – October, Thursday through Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The lively history of West Overton Village will become a tactile experience for visitors who take part in the upcoming annual DIY History Weekend festivities, on Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21. There will be an array of activities in which to participate, from history-inspired crafts to playing games that were popular in the 19^th century. (Rivers of Steel will have a tent set up with samples and stories of steel industry and production, much of which was made possible by the manufacture of coke from the local area’s natural resources.)

Although the Whiskey Heritage Center will not be open for the DIY History Weekend, the Educational Distillery will be! Guests can stop by for rye whiskey samples, cocktails, and bottle purchases. Even for those who have visited West Overton before, there’s a whole new chapter to discover!

Julie Silverman is a museum educator, tour facilitator, and storyteller of astronomy and history for various Pittsburgh-area organizations, including Rivers of Steel. A Chatham University 2020 MFA graduate, her writing is most often found under the byline of JL Silverman. Occasionally, under the name of Julia, she has been seen on TV.

If you’d like to read our previous Community Spotlight story about West Overton, click here.

Community Spotlight—Patterns of Meaning

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

By Gita Michulka, Contributing Writer

Patterns of Meaning Project Bridges a Century of Craftsmanship and Artistry

Cory Bonnet is an oil painter and sculptor by trade, known for utilizing salvaged materials as his inspiration. He also is the director of the arts corridor project for Pittsburgh Gateways, a business accelerator based at the Energy Innovation Center. Thanks to his reputation for reuse and two chance discoveries, he can now add “preservationist of some of the region’s oldest steel-industry foundry patterns and blueprints” to his repertoire.

Cory Bonnet surveys the foundry patterns discovered in an Ohio barn.

The Hoard from Ohio

The discovery of a barn full of wooden foundry patterns in Ohio led to the formation of Patterns of Meaning, an ongoing, wide-scale preservation project based in the Energy Innovation Center studio that serves as Bonnet’s home base.

Bonnet explains, “There is a scrap metal dealer, Chip Barletto, who really appreciated some of the industrial artwork I was creating. Through Chip, we got access to this collection that was found in a barn in Youngstown. To buy it, it was an all-or-nothing situation—and I said yes, sight unseen.”

It turns out that collection consisted of ten twenty-six foot long box trucks full of materials, including foundry patterns,  blueprints, and drawings. But there was a catch: the wooden forms were massive and were stored on the upper level of the barn.

“I quickly realized that when you’re dealing with people that work in the steel industry, their concept of scale and size is completely distorted from normal people,” laughs Bonnet. Inspired by the thought of the folks who built and moved the materials by hand in the first place, they were able to remove and relocate the whole collection to Pittsburgh.

Chip Barletto and Cory Bonnet surrounded by foundry patterns.

Patterns Transformed

For their initial industrial use, the foundry patterns consisted of wooden forms that were pressed into sand. The wood form was then removed, and iron or steel was poured into that void to create a part. After that, it was machined, and each part was assembled with other parts to run boiler rooms, power stations, rolling mills, or a myriad of other industrial and transportation uses.

“These patterns were just this really new, inspirational project that drew a whole group of artists together,” says Bonnet. “The patterns are just so beautiful—they’re utilitarian, they have a purpose . . . when you look at the design, the construction—understanding that they were all created by hand—in many cases electricity wasn’t even used. The processes to create one part that then fits into the larger scheme and mechanism just to power the steel mills that built everything, it almost seems impossible what past generations built from nothing.”

Bonnet was joined by a team of artists for this project, including A.J. Collins, Brian Engel, Nate Lucas, Andrew Moschetta, Mia Tarducci, and Angela Tumolo-Neira. Using a variety of mediums that included glass, woodworking, sculpture, oil painting, and ceramics, the team set forth to transform these patterns into artworks that celebrate the craftsmanship and industrial forces behind their original creation.

Patterns of Meaning at the Energy Innovation Center.

A display of the artwork the team has created so far is now on permanent display at the Energy Innovation Center.

“For us to figure out a narrative and a way to express our appreciation for the infrastructure that [these patterns] created and the level of comfort that has been granted to us because of all that sacrifice and hard work—it just opened up the creative possibilities,” notes Bonnet. “We can showcase the beauty of these objects, but also push it a little bit further and add our own design and our own creativity to them to kind of continue that story.”

Cory Bonnet gilded and lit the inside of a hinged mold, creating a glow that recalls molten steel in a cauldron.

The Collection in McKeesport

More recently, Bonnet also gained access to a second large-scale collection of foundry patterns and steel industry artifacts from U.S. Steel—a collection that had been under the stewardship of Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC), who worked with Rivers of Steel, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office to determine the significance of the artifacts.

Ron Baraff, director of historic resources and facilities for Rivers of Steel, had previously identified select patterns—ones designated to be historically significant to our region’s industrial heritage—which were donated to Rivers of Steel’s archives by the RIDC. For the remaining patterns, Rivers of Steel and RIDC were looking for an opportunity to save the rest of the lot. After being notified by Baraff, Bonnet jumped at the chance to grow Patterns of Meaning.

“When we got to this warehouse in McKeesport, everything was stored on the third, fourth, and fifth floors—and there was no power, no windows, no elevator. They walked us in and said, ‘Can you get this stuff out?’” laughs Bonnet. “I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely. We’ll figure it out.’”

Presumably a lever, this foundry piece is just one of a wide variety of shape used to cast parts for the National Tube Works in McKeesport.

With the help of funding from the Rivers of Steel Mini-Grant Program, the team is working to remove the collection for storage and cataloguing at the Energy Innovation Center studio. In the process, they are identifying additional items that are destined for the Rivers of Steel archives.

Patterns from National Tube Works in the EIC studio space.

The patterns found in McKeesport come from the National Tube Works, which was part of U.S. Steel. They helped create and maintain the mill, making this find an exciting piece of our regional history.

“Rivers of Steel’s goal for the remarkable collection of patterns from the National Tube plant in McKeesport has always been to preserve the patterns to educate the public about the important role that southwestern Pennsylvanian patternmakers and foundry workers played in the development of the steel industry and industrial crafts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,” said Baraff. “Additionally, Cory’s unique adaptive reuse of these historical artifacts highlights the aesthetic side of the patterns, further illuminating the rich industrial legacy of the region. His project, in conjunction with our partnership, allows the craftsmanship and artisanship of the past to be reinterpreted and enjoyed by current audiences throughout the region and beyond.”

The exhibition at the Grohmann Museum includes artworks by Cory Bonnet, A.J. Collins, Brian Engel, Nate Lucas, Andy Moschetta, Mia Tarducci, and Angela Tumolo-Neira.

Beyond the Steel Valley

For Bonnet, these discoveries reflect a broader interest as well. “Our industrial heritage is unique to Pittsburgh, but it’s also universal to any town that relied heavily on manufacturing or steel in the nineteenth and twentieth century,” he explains. “I talk to people in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Australia, Czech Republic, Mexico—there is a universal spirit of ingenuity and sacrifice that took us from having nothing to having an infrastructure.”

Bonnet and the other Patterns of Meaning artists are eager to continue transforming parts of these collections into artwork that celebrates the history of industry and ingenuity that define our region. Given the size of the collection, he points out that there are also opportunities for archivists to join the team to help catalogue the blueprints and drawings.

Sharon Place, development officer with Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, recognizes Bonnet’s transformative work within the arts incubator through Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation.

“PGC takes great pride in having Cory Bonnet as an integral part of the Energy Innovation Center ecosystem, celebrating his outstanding contributions and dedication to supporting local artists,” says Place. “It’s a perfect synergy—a preservationist and LEED-certified artist situated in a historically renovated, LEED Platinum building. Through his remarkable work, Cory brings the mission of the EIC to life, leaving a lasting impression on everyone who experiences it.”

Recently, Bonnet and the Patterns of Meaning team were invited to set up a showcase of pieces from the collection at the Grohmann Museum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, a space that houses “the world’s most comprehensive art collection dedicated to the evolution of human work.” The show will run from January 19 through April 28, 2024, and Bonnet hopes it is just the beginning for nationally showcasing this work.

“This is the first full museum show that Patterns will have, but it’s the model for what we want to do,” he says. “Our goal is for this to be a traveling exhibit of artifacts and artwork to honor the shared industrial heritage of the U.S. and the world.”

To learn more about Patterns of Meaning, visit patternsofmeaning.org. Read more about Cory Bonnet’s work at corybonnet.com/patterns-of-meaning.

All photos courtesy of Cory Bonnet / Patterns of Meaning.

About the Mini-Grant Program

Rivers of Steel’s Mini-Grant Program assists heritage-related sites and organizations as well as municipalities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area to develop new and innovative programs, partnerships, exhibits, tours, and other initiatives. Funded projects support heritage tourism, enhance preservation efforts, involve the stewardship of natural resources, encourage outdoor recreation, and include collaborative partnerships. Through these efforts, Rivers of Steel seeks to identify, conserve, promote, and interpret the industrial and cultural heritage that defines southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is one of twelve supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Funding is provided via DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program and the Environmental Stewardship Fund to Rivers of Steel, which administers the Mini-Grant Program.

Gita Michulka is a Pittsburgh-based marketing and communications consultant with over 15 years of experience promoting our region’s arts, recreation, and nonprofit assets.  

If you’d like to know more about community projects supported by the Mini-Grant Program, read about the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

Community Spotlight—Pennsylvania Trolley Museum

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

By Gita Michulka, Contributing Writer

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum Expands for Year-Round Visitor Experience

For the first time since it was established in 1954, the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum will be open to the public during the winter.

Two significant campus upgrades—a new 21,000 square foot Welcome and Education Center, and tube heating units inside the Trolley Display Building—now allow visitors the chance to explore and interact with the trolleys and displays even during the coldest months in western Pennsylvania.

A view of the new Welcome and Education Center. Photo by Gita Michulka.

The Welcome and Education Center, opened to the public on November 10, boasts two spacious galleries for historical displays and interactive exhibits, a movie screening room, a STEM-focused classroom, a gift shop, a bank of restrooms, and upgraded parking. The interactive exhibits, including a simulator that allows even the youngest guests to “operate a trolley,” were created in partnership with the Carnegie Science Center and The Magic Lantern.

Inside the Trolley Display Building, rows of trolley cars dating back as far as the early 1900s line the aisles. Guests can learn more about different eras in trolley transportation from interactive video monitors installed throughout the area and can climb aboard most of the displays to get a view from within.

The heating units, funded by the Rivers of Steel Mini-Grant Program, now allow for a more temperate experience inside this uninsulated warehouse no matter the weather outside—a perk for guests and the volunteers who oversee the space alike. Though they were only recently installed, this upgraded climate control has already proved to be a big asset.

Members of the Trolley Museum Team: Trustee Rev. Jack Demnyan, Executive Director Scott Becker, Director of Annual Giving and Marketing Jeanine DeBor, and Education & Interpretation Manager, Mike Ziviello.

“Our Santa Trolley event, held every weekend from Black Friday through December 17, has been so much more enjoyable,” says Jeanine DeBor, director of annual giving and marketing. She notes that visitation during these special events has doubled since the building has been heated, but that the size of the new Welcome and Education Center, including upgraded parking and restrooms, allows guests the space to move about without it ever feeling crowded.

The Trolley Display Building now also includes an ADA compliant high-level platform—modeled as a replica 1920s elevated station platform—that makes some of the cars accessible to visitors in wheelchairs.

Executive Director and CEO Scott Becker is very pleased with how these upgrades to the museum enhance the overall visitor experience. “When you walk through the Welcome and Education Center and out onto the trolley line, it’s like stepping onto a movie set from another era,” he notes. “You really can spend a whole day here exploring all that we have on display, and now guests can do that year-round.”

Even the youngest visitors can try operating this trolley. Photo by Gita Michulka.

Since its founding, the museum has received donations of artifacts from area residents, the Pittsburgh Regional Transit (formerly the Port Authority of Allegheny County), and Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Items range from rail line signs, photographs, insulated milk canisters, and old telephones to maps of the city and state rail lines and benches from the original Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station (now Station Square). Volunteers of the museum have meticulously restored them.

Though some of these items were already on display, most notably inside the Wexford Station that now sits between the Welcome and Education Center and Trolley Display Building, the expanded space allows for more of these items to be included in the experience.

The addition of solar panels on the rooftops of both buildings now produce enough electricity to power the operation of all the trolleys on site. This technology, paired with a study of how trolley cars operate, makes the museum the perfect hub for STEM learning too. DeBor points out that the museum facilities can now be used for school field trips and corporate retreats, as well as weddings and showers. “We recently hosted a school field trip of three hundred kids—two months ago we wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

Even while reveling in the new, upgraded experience at the museum, Becker is already looking to the future for additional ways to preserve the past, especially as they head into their 70^th anniversary year. “We are currently fundraising for the fabrication and installation of seven new interactive displays, designed in partnership with the Carnegie Science Center. And we, of course, are always on the lookout for additional donations of materials that can be preserved at the museum, to expand on the story being told.”

 The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum will be closed from December 23 through January 4. Beginning January 5, the museum will be open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through May, then Tuesday-Sunday during June, July & August. For more museum admission details, visit https://pa-trolley.org/plan-your-visit/.

About the Mini-Grant Program

Rivers of Steel’s Mini-Grant Program assists heritage-related sites and organizations as well as municipalities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area to develop new and innovative programs, partnerships, exhibits, tours, and other initiatives. Funded projects support heritage tourism, enhance preservation efforts, involve the stewardship of natural resources, encourage outdoor recreation, and include collaborative partnerships. Through these efforts, Rivers of Steel seeks to identify, conserve, promote, and interpret the industrial and cultural heritage that defines southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is one of twelve supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Funding is provided via DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program and the Environmental Stewardship Fund to Rivers of Steel, which administers the Mini-Grant Program.

Gita Michulka is a Pittsburgh-based marketing and communications consultant with over 15 years of experience promoting our region’s arts, recreation, and nonprofit assets.  

If you’d like to know more about community projects supported by the Mini-Grant Program, read about the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh.

Community Spotlight—The Wandering Wall at The Ruins Project

The Ruins Project is a long-term collaborative mosaic art installation amidst the ruins of a former coal mine in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Its creator is Rachel Sager, a frequent Rivers of Steel collaborator who operates the Sager Mosaics Studio located near mile marker 104 on the Great Allegheny Passage. The Ruins Project is an exceptional attraction in the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, a destination for art lovers, trail-goers, and the heritage-curious. The Wandering Wall is the latest addition to the outdoor gallery space.

By Julie Silverman, Contributing Writer

Artful Divisions of Space

I walk over The Jeffrey Luce Sager Memorial Bridge, my focus on the grey wall ahead of me. It is adorned with a circular mosaic to the left of where there was once a door. The empty frame remains, punctuated in yellow mosaic. A circular mosaic (crafted by Mercer artist Deb Englebaugh) on a distant wall echoes the circular design by the door. To the right it reads: The Ruins Project.

Rachel Sager at the doorway into The Ruins Project.

This locale was once the booming coal town of Whitsett, Pennsylvania. Train tracks zippered the flat strip of land between the hillside and the Youghiogheny River. Now, cyclists pedal by on the Great Allegheny Passage trail, which begins in Pittsburgh and stretches 150 miles to Cumberland, Maryland.

These walls are the remains of Pennsylvania Coal Company’s Banning #2 coal mine. Mining began here in 1893, and this site became the most productive of the eighteen mines dotting the Youghiogheny Valley. As I walk through the ruins, coal crunches under my feet. It permeates the site, as do the mosaics of more than two hundred and fifty artists.

At a far wall, I find Rachel Sager with Wendy Casperson, paint brushes in hand, with welcoming smiles. Rachel is the owner and creator of The Ruins Project. Her mosaics studio, Sager Mosaics, is just across the road near marker 104 of the Great Allegheny Passage.

Rachel explains the piece they are working on. “Normally, this would be the last piece of art you would talk about if you were taking a tour. It’s a symbol of everything that is happening here, a Venn diagram of The Ruins Project.” She gestures toward the mosaic. “This circle is the artists. This circle is the coal miners. And this,” she points to the intersection of the two circles, “is The Ruins Project, where those two kinds of people overlap.”

The overlap is where past, present, and future converge. A time machine, if you will, of the land itself in which the coal formed, of the men who mined, of the artists bridging gaps on a concrete canvas renewed, and of those who pass along the stories. The idea of time is imperative in Rachel’s work.

Rachel Sager’s studio along the Great Allegheny Passage.

We are on the bike path side of The Ruins, which is exposed to the public view. The bridge I crossed, which is now the formal entrance, was named in memory of Rachel’s father. He had plans to build it and passed away before he could. Hundreds of donations in his honor, and the hands of Dave Svonavec of Somerset, completed the bridge in 2022. A chain can be placed across the bridge, along with a “Do Not Enter” sign, to clearly separate The Ruins from public spaces. Where we are standing is within easy sight of the cyclists. The hill sloping to the bike path has been used by those climbing up to work and was the previous route for guests, but curious wanderers also find their way in. The Ruins has become a much more visible presence.

“The longer The Ruins is here and the more notoriety it gets, the more people want to sneak in and take a look,” Rachel shared. “When you think of places like Fallingwater or other museums, they have entrances and boundaries. It’s clear it is a place that you have to get in to, you don’t just wander in to. That’s why it’s called The Wandering Wall. It keeps out the wanderers, but it also wanders itself.”

 

The Wandering Wall in progress.

The Wandering Wall, A Work in Progress

Steve Guinn

Rachel’s inspiration for The Wandering Wall came from her friend and mentor of twenty-five years, Steve Guinn. He was an industrial psychologist, but also an artist, writer, poet, and avid fly fisherman, among many other interests. Steve Guinn, about the same age as her father, passed away in 2021, just one year after Rachel’s father. His mentorship propelled her to do the colossal project, The Wandering Wall. “We talked philosophy for years and how to see the big picture, just like my Dad did. I think about him with every little step of the wall that we build,” Rachel said. Steve’s wife Kathleen and daughter Shanan began the early sponsorship of the wall, while Rivers of Steel provided administrative support to assist in the project’s development.

As The Wandering Wall aims to make the site look more official, it is solving several problems. “The Ruins are just full of problems that are fun to solve,” Rachel laughs. There are issues of safety, protection of the arts, and the fact that this is private property. “Robert and I live here. Our home is here. That presents us with a challenge to have a life amidst this semipublic place that I’ve created,” she says.

There was the challenge of what the wall would look like. Rachel continued, “I didn’t want to put up barbed wire. That would not have been in keeping with the arts and the character of the whole place. I wanted to have a beautiful barrier that is inviting and also keeps wanderers out. It’s a double message. Robert says that it’s not going to keep people out, it’s going to make them want to come in!”

The design vision Rachel came up with was a wall of giant stones and giant wheels. The Wandering Wall construction began with arranging nine enormous Stonehenge-sized stones weighing about two tons each. Her brother’s industrial sized tractor strained to lift and move the behemoths. Looking down from The Ruins above, the granite rocks appear like stepping stones, meandering along the shrub line. From eye level they are majestic titans. The gaps between them are being filled with big metal wheels and gears, engaging with the stone and metal gears that appear layered within the art of The Ruins. “The circle metaphor is repeated everywhere. It is an archetypal image that I keep returning to in my art,” Rachel said.

Every aspect of the wall aims to aesthetically mesh with The Ruins. The stones were once part of an old railroad bridge. The metal represents the industrial history of the region. Agricultural equipment will find its way among the wheels and rock. All materials are chosen to be site specific, representing the mine operations and the industry that the coal supported.

With the hardest part of the wall complete, the stones set in their places, next steps are to pour concrete around each stone. Then wheels will be nestled in between, with some of the wheels being stacked higher than the stones. Future ideas include installing mosaic inside wheel spokes. By conscious design, The Wandering Wall is a work in progress. A piece that, as Rachel says, “Will take us years to finish. I hope to have the wheels installed before the snow flies.”

Honoring What Was

A project coming to fruition brings us back to Rachel’s first rule of The Ruins, to Honor What Was. As the entrance bridge and The Wandering Wall honor those who came before, so, too, is a list of two-hundred-plus miners who worked at Banning #2. An artist in Florida, Janis Nunez, created color-coded name plates for the miners. Each plaque designates where the miner was from, how old they were, what their job was in the mine, and if an injury or a fatality occurred.

We walk, crunching over coal, to the Memorial Chapel where Erika Johnson, the tour program director for The Ruins, and Wendy are looking at the ceramic tiles. The project has been in the works for years. The pieces have finally arrived. Rachel sighs as she looks at the tabletop of names lined up by color-coded categories. “It’s one thing to look at that list on a computer. You don’t see what two-hundred-plus names looks like until you see it physically in front of you.” She lightly touches the plaques.

Roll call for the miners of Banning #2.

“These are the deaths,” she says. “The ones in white are the ones who were killed in this coal mine.” Rachel points out the laborers. The miners, who were in the mine digging the coal. Loaders, with the job of shoveling into the coal cart. Machinists, with the higher-paid jobs. Shot-firers, who dealt with explosives. I wonder that the category of loaders has more fatalities than the others. “I expect this would have something to do with loading the cars on the rails. I think legs got cut off a lot. Maybe they would lose their leg and then die,” she contemplates. A hope is that the list will help find the families of the miners—to honor what was and help research what may have been.

It is beautifully done and organized, exquisite and sad and celebratory . . . we are quiet looking at the tiles. I am reminded of Rachel saying, “The power of mosaic, pieces and pieces of lives. The stories that we’re telling here are timeless, human, and geologic.” Woven through this day and woven through The Ruins is remembrance and rejuvenation, voice given to those who came before.

About The Community Spotlight Series

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

Julie Silverman is a museum educator, tour facilitator, and storyteller of astronomy and history for various Pittsburgh area organizations, including Rivers of Steel.  A Chatham University 2020 MFA graduate, her writing is most often found under the by-line of JL Silverman. Occasionally, under the name of Julia, she has been seen on TV.

If you’d like to read more of our Community Spotlight stories, click here.

Community Spotlight—Hazelwood’s Community Artworks

Public art, by definition, is intended to be for the people. However, even when it is considered site-specific, it is often not of the people.  That is not the case in Hazelwood, though. Over the last several years, newly-created public artworks have been shaped by the views of Hazelwood’s own residents. Now, on the eve of a new sculpture’s installation, Julie Silverman takes a look at the constellation of community stakeholders who are working together to beautify their neighborhood.

By Julie Silverman, Contributing Writer

Artist Ben Grubb stands with his in-progress sculpture that is currently being installed in Hazelwood. Photo by Hank Malone.

Crossing Beacon, Illumin-Ave, and Hazelwood Alive

Old and new have a tradition of residing side by side in Pittsburgh. Alexander Jozsa Bodnar was the owner and chef of the beloved restaurant that anchored the corner of Hazelwood and Second Avenue. The ordinary building housed an extraordinary cross-section of guests at the restaurant, from Hazelwood neighbors to the late Anthony Bourdain.

An upcoming public art piece at 4800 Second Avenue, the former home of Jozsa Corner, will encapsulate old and new in its design as a cross section of art, architecture, and history, and will wrap the second and third floors of the building with a sculptural art installation called Crossing Beacon. Artwork sponsor Hazelwood Local and project partner Hazelwood Initiative are hosting an event on December 9 in celebration of the community-driven art project.

With broad community support and organizational collaboration, art has thrived in the community of Hazelwood. And for this latest project, a call for artists was released, encouraging Hazelwood artists or artists with ties to the community to bring their ideas for consideration. Community members were invited to meet the group of artists selected to produce design proposals for the artwork and brainstorm community-centric themes or motifs to be represented in their work. The integration of community engagement led to the selection of artisan sculptor and steel fabricator Ben Grubb.

“Crossing Beacon is an amalgamation of what we see now, our capacity to imagine the past, and our ability to let that inform our future,” said artist Ben Grubb. “The city, this building, the land where you are now standing, were once under water. As we imagine that time before us, may we also reach forward with our minds and our hands towards a healthful relationship with one another and the life that surrounds us, knowing we have been here but a moment’s time.”

Dana Wall, director of Hazelwood Local, a creative, community programming initiative, said of Ben’s design, “Ben’s motifs give a thoughtful nod to the river, the steel industry, and the community. The building was chosen because it is uniquely situated at the location of the once entrance to the Jones and Laughlin Steel mill and was a part of a formerly bustling neighborhood block—a corner that is a welcome transition into the neighborhood of Hazelwood.”

Originally a Native American territory, the area of Hazelwood was settled by Scottish immigrants in the 1780s and less than a century later grew with industry and glowed with the production of steel from the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company. At peak production, the neighborhood population reached thirteen thousand residents. Second Avenue was a robust commercial corridor of restaurants, bars, grocery stores, retail stores, and a movie theatre. As the steel industry declined and operations slowed, eventually closing in 1997, the resident population decreased to the approximately five thousand current residents living in Hazelwood today.

A group of Hazelwood residents visit the studio of artist Ben Grubb with Arts Excursions Unlimited. L to R: Nita, Denise, Aceton, Ben, Nyron, Harry, Maleaka. Cassandra, Ocean, and Keyvion. Photo by Edith Abeyta.

Edith Abeyta is an artist who works with the Hazelwood residents through Arts Excursions Unlimited. In addition to collaborating with other community organizations on the development of art projects and providing arts excursions for local youth, she facilitates conversations about creative initiatives with Hazelwood community members. She looks at Crossing Beacon as merging of many topics within the neighborhood. “It combines the notion of pre-settler colonial time frames, referencing the river, referencing the mayfly, but using steel and some of the shapes that I see in the neighborhood and definitely the colors, like the green color that references the steel industry, the same color as the uniforms that people would wear in the mills.”

Crossing Beacon is the third public art project implemented by Hazelwood Local that brought together neighborhood residents and artists. In 2021, five art installations were placed in the interior of storefronts along the Second Avenue corridor. Dubbed Illumin-Ave, these installations illuminated everyday businesses and spaces with brightly lit original artists’ works. The following year, Hazelwood Alive arrived at the intersection of Lytle and Eliza streets. Situated near Hazelwood Green Plaza, an artistically designed shipping container welcomed passersby with a joyfully painted display of native flora and the words “Hazelwood Alive”—a phrase credited to Hazelwood neighborhood historian JaQuay Edward Carter.

The Hazelwood Alive installation. Photo by Hank Malone.

Now, in 2023, Hazelwood nights will once again light up with Grubb’s installation at The 4800 Gateway. The creative design of Crossing Beacon will shine with solar-powered lights, illuminating facets of the art from in front and casting light through other panels from behind. The lighting will be mounted to the work, and the entire sculptural piece will be carefully affixed to the building to maintain the integrity of the architecture. It is anticipated that the artwork will remain in this location for one year. After that, aspects of the artwork are designed to later become part of the community. Large panels can be converted to raised vegetable-bed planters that could contribute food to the community.

Team members with the Industrial Arts Workshop are installing welded metal braids to complete the Braids of Hope artwork. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.

Braids of Hope

Recently, Abeyta was one of several collaborators in Hazelwood that supported the creation of the Braids of Hope multimedia art installation that appears at the corner of Tecumseh and Second Avenue and was dedicated on October 13, 2023. The project, which was a partnership between Arts Excursions Unlimited, Hazelwood Initiative, Industrial Arts Workshop (IAW), and Elevationz, a local building that is home to four small business, resulted in a vibrant collaboration engaging community input and student welders, whose collective design melded a painted mural and the tactile power of braided metal.

“Braids of Hope came directly out of community ideas,” said Maura Bainbridge, assistant director with the Industrial Arts Workshop. “Edith Abeyta, of Arts Excursions Unlimited, conducted a series of meetings with Hazelwood residents over a few months about their ideas for public artwork at the site. She compiled these ideas into word clouds about artwork themes and data around preferred colors and art styles that we then shared with our Summer Welding Bootcamp students.”

“IAW’s Summer Welding Bootcamp students, ages 16–18, were tasked with interpreting this community feedback and developing ideas for the piece. They worked individually and in groups to refine their ideas, present them to each other, and ultimately to combine them into one cohesive piece,” Bainbridge continued. “Visiting artists and Hazelwood community members also provided feedback at various points during the summer. Summer Welding Bootcamp students were not only empowered by learning to weld and exploring their future possibilities, but they also understood their work in the context of the neighborhood. They considered how people might feel seeing Braids of Hope every day and how their piece fit into community visions. It was clear to me that our students were proud of this impact and took it seriously. The feedback that we’ve heard from Hazelwood neighbors since completing Braids of Hope also reflects this, as folks seem to feel that our students created something meaningful on that corner, and that feels like success to us!”

Abeyta had help with the Rocking Cradle project from two high school students enrolled in the Start on Success program. Photo by Lake Lewis.

Rocking Cradle

Nearby, a walk through Hazelwood Green, the former steel mill site, will find you among multiple pieces of art. Under the artistic guidance of Abeyta and led by professor Dana Cupkova of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Architecture, the team partnered with Center of Life, a local nonprofit in Hazelwood that provides afterschool and summer programs to students, families, and community members in the areas of education, the arts, family strengthening, athletics, enrichment, and social justice. Collectively, they produced the Rocking Cradle—Urban Furniture for Environmental Justice project.

Seats in a cradle-rocker shape were created through 3-D printing. The seats can be used to perch or as planters for native species plants. Their dark winged shapes dot the surrounding green. Students participated in workshops that were held through Center of Life’s Fusion afterschool program. The team generated text to embed on the rockers, having sought inspiration from written text found throughout the neighborhood. The result is a combination of art, ecology, and the voices of Hazelwood.

“Hazelwood built a large portion of Pittsburgh utilizing the former steel mill on the Hazelwood Green site,” said Center of Life’s Patrick Ohrman. “Visiting the site to see this installation and all of the new development is an opportunity for people to really understand the history of Hazelwood. This project is a testament to the power that can be created when nonprofit organizations and universities work together to transform the ways in which others think about development.”

Hazelwood resident Heather Mull appreciates the entrance to the Hazelwood Community Garden. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.

Community Voices

Abeyta has questioned “Whose vision moves forward?”—a notion echoed by neighbors who feel parts of their community are being redeveloped without their input. For Abeyta, it is a question that relates to collaborative art projects and environmental issues. It is one that encompasses art embedding itself in a community and finding durability with a community’s resilience. Murals thrive in Hazelwood along the Second Avenue corridor and on the Elizabeth Street Bridge with design and fabrication done in collaboration with Hazelwood residents.

The Elizabeth Street Bridge mural. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.

Photographer Heather Mull is one of those residents, having moved to the neighborhood in 2005 and been witness to the slow march of redevelopment in the nearly two decades since.

“Public art can be an early bellwether for transformation in a neighborhood, especially one that contains buildings in need of renovation like ours,” stated Mull. “I think that’s why it is often viewed as “controversial,” because response to art is so subjective and personal. There is always an inherent tension brought up by conspicuous change within communal spaces.”

Carin Mincemoyer’s design for the tree grates at Hazelwood Green. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.

“For me, the best pieces make me notice, all of a sudden, some feature of a building or a street that I’d never really thought about before,” Mull continued. “Like how the brightly painted steps and fence decorations on the entrance to Hazelwood’s community garden at the former YMCA building (at the top of Minden Street) took some really plain and unattractive infrastructure and made it look cheerful and welcoming. Similarly, Carin Mincemoyer embedded the shapes of the hazelnut tree’s leaves and seeds into the metal planting grates around the new sidewalk trees at Hazelwood Green. But not all public art needs to be cheerful, either. I love the caring way Marce Nixon-Washington’s painted her friend Tonee Turner, who has been missing since 2019, onto that dingy, boarded-up window along Second Avenue. The message of that piece is so important and deserving of attention.”

The Tonee Turner installation. Photo by Heather Mull Photography.

“Hazelwood residents that I know do really like art and like to see art in their neighborhood,” Abeyta reflected. “It also operates on a timeline that they’re involved in.” Residents are part of the decision-making in the beginning. The art has been selected and informed by community members. They see it through the process in the middle.” And by the end, Abeyta states, “It didn’t take ten years or five years to make it happen. It’s more immediate. It’s one of the powerful things about it. It’s the arts’ ability to connect people.”

Community Opportunities

People in Hazelwood will have had the opportunity to walk by and see the new Crossing Beacon installation as it is being built the week of November 27th. Being lit at night, it will continue to catch people’s eye, or they can watch the progress on Hazelwood Local’s Instagram. Ben’s design “is pretty formal,” Abeyta says. “It has a lot of conceptual ideas behind it. It’s not illustrative. I’m curious to see how people respond to it.”

Join Hazelwood Local and Hazelwood Initiative on December 9 to see the completed Crossing Beacon for yourself and enjoy a celebration of past and present filled with stories of how the artwork came to be, family-friendly craft activities, and refreshments.

About The Community Spotlight Series

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

Julie Silverman is a museum educator, tour facilitator, and storyteller of astronomy and history for various Pittsburgh area organizations, including Rivers of Steel.  A Chatham University 2020 MFA graduate, her writing is most often found under the by-line of JL Silverman. Occasionally, under the name of Julia, she has been seen on TV.

If you’d like to read more of our Community Spotlight stories, click here.

Community Spotlight—Carnegie Library of Homestead at 125

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

By Julie Silverman, Contributing Writer

A Tale 125+ Years in the Making

The Carnegie Library of Homestead is throwing a birthday bash on November 3, 2023, marking its 125th year of serving the Mon Valley. In January, the library hosted an open house to kick off events throughout the year, but the upcoming celebration will be a more formal affair. Exploring the historic halls with cocktails inspired by classic novels, partygoers, community leaders, and neighbors will enjoy entertainment and hors d’oeuvres, along with a look at the beginnings of the edifice on the hill through archival photographs and oral histories.

Homestead library was a twinkle in the eye of Andrew Carnegie as far back as 1889. Although ground would not be broken until 1896, Carnegie glanced across the river from his first Pittsburgh library in Braddock during its dedication ceremony and envisioned a repeat performance. Carnegie’s generosity was complicated. The previous year had been tumultuous in Braddock’s Edgar Thompson Works. Skilled steelworkers and managers clashed over wages. The steelworkers ultimately yielded to Carnegie’s sliding scale, and with Carnegie’s victory came the Braddock library.

Homestead’s skilled steelworkers continued to work under a union contract. By the end of June 1892, negotiations stopped, and the steelworkers were locked out of the mill. On July 6, strikers battled Pinkerton private security agents. The day brought ten deaths. Although a win for Homestead early on, with the National Guard allowing strikebreakers to work, it became a major defeat for unionizing steelworkers. Six years later, on November 4, 1898, Andrew Carnegie was fêted on the Homestead library’s opening day.

While Carnegie required communities to use public funds to subsidize the operation of his libraries, Homestead was one of the few exceptions. Operation of the libraries in Braddock, Homestead, and Duquesne were originally funded by Andrew Carnegie and his steel plants in those towns. After the sale of his business to U.S. Steel in 1901, Carnegie established a $1 million trust to support the three facilities. In the 1960s, the Braddock and Duquesne libraries were turned over to the school districts in those communities by the Board of the Endowment for the Monongahela Valley. The Homestead library is now the sole beneficiary of Carnegie’s gift.

Emily Kubincanek, program coordinator for the Carnegie Library of Homestead, poses in front of images and items reflecting the community’s past.

Library Archives Tell a Different Kind of Story

Sitting with Emily Kubincanek, the library’s program coordinator, in a room that had once been the Club Parlor, it is hard to imagine the smoking area and the billiards hall that once stood here. It’s one of the rooms for which upcoming renovations will take place over the next couple of years. But Emily’s archival workshop, which contains a treasure trove of history, is in a much smaller room.

It’s rather cool, which helps keep everything preserved, as does a dehumidifier. “The library building itself does not have a central air system,” Emily said. “Many of our artifacts are in brittle condition since they’ve been here for decades in not ideal conditions. After the renovations, the collection will move to one of the centralized air-conditioned areas.”

Boxes are stacked throughout the room. On shelves are more boxes, maps, posters, old books, and trophies from different teams from the library, and surrounding community organizations, churches, and schools.

“A lot of this stuff has been untouched for years. It was just a room of . . . wonderful old things, and I didn’t know where to start.” Many items in boxes are not dated, titled, or cataloged. Several groups carefully kept this collection over the years, and Emily is the current caregiver of history. “The upkeep is expensive. I secured a grant from the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission to digitize photographs, blueprints of the building and former renovations, and maps from the area. That’s helped give a purpose to what we’re doing.”

Emily started two years ago and frequently collaborates with Rivers of Steel. Both organizations hold cultural memories of similar historic times and have a great interest in educating people about local history and preservation. It’s a natural fit to work together. In the huge project of cataloging archives, Ron Baraff and Ryan Henderson, whose roles for Rivers of Steel include managing the archives, lent their expertise. “They looked at everything, saw the direction we are going in, and helped in terms of how to archive and organize in a way that people understand,” Emily said.

Emily pulls out a drawer. “These are some things that we’ve cataloged—some pictures from the Duquesne library when it opened.” The faded black and white photograph shows a Polish nationality group walking in the parade. “They did something similar when the Homestead library was opened. The building in Braddock is still there. It’s huge. It looks like a castle.”

The opening of the Duquesne Library in 1904. Image courtesy of the Carnegie Library of Homestead Archives.

She pulls out another large paper. “Here are the plans for blueprints, for renovations, proposals from different architects that were bidding to design this building, but they chose Alden and Harlow.

When we think about the three original libraries that had music halls, pools, and library spaces, Duquesne, Braddock and Homestead, we are the only one in the entire U.S. that is still running in every capacity. Braddock is renovating now, but they will no longer have their pool or athletic club. Duquesne was demolished in 1968 to make way for a new high school, which was never built,” she said.

Looking at the photos from Duquesne library evokes images of the past. In the extended shadow of the library was the Homestead mill that is also gone. “It was a complicated time as the mill closed, Emily continued. “In speaking with Ron, he talked about how people wanted it completely gone so there wouldn’t be hope that it would come back. Any remainder of the mill would be a constant reminder of that. People growing up now would love to have more historical pieces preserved. Only now do you realize how much is gone.”

“Most of this building is still operating as it was originally built. I think is a huge testament to the passionate people in the community who stepped up and fundraised after the mills no longer wanted to be part of running and funding the building. I think that is why it is still successful today.”

USX Corporation, the successor to U.S. Steel, continued to provide major support until 1988, when the corporation terminated its regular donations and community leaders from Munhall and surrounding areas formed their first public board to assume responsibility for the library. Despite the closing of the Homestead Steel Works two years earlier and the precipitous decline in employment and tax revenue, the library remained open and operational with grants secured by community volunteers and the investment income from Carnegie’s endowment.

Girls in the 1940s relax while reading at the library. Courtesy of the Friends of the Library Collection, Carnegie Library of Homestead Archives.

An Oral History Project Recalls Formative Experiences

A part of the 125^th Anniversary celebration is the Oral History Project. Emily has been talking with people about their experiences growing up in Munhall, Homestead, Whitaker, and West Homestead about how the library has had an impact on them. It’s a one-on-one way to understand how the library has changed over the years, in the context of how the area has changed. Twenty-seven interviews so far have netted stories about growing up around the mill and even learning to swim at the library.

Before the library, Homestead didn’t have a public pool. There was a pool—closed in 1973—in nearby Kennywood Park. Early on many people swam in the river. The pool in the Carnegie Library of Homestead filled a gap and created champions. Along with supervising other sports, Jack Scarry also became the swim coach at the pool in 1918. He trained children of the mill families and became known as “The Maker of Champions.” The Homestead Library Boys Swimming League boasts a trophy from a 1926–27 contest. Lenore Kight and Anna Mae Gorman medaled in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. Many long-time Homesteaders have memories of Jack Scarry teaching them how to swim. Anna Mae Gorman continued to swim at the library into her 90s.

The pool—open to the public from the start—and the accompanying suite of showers provided a luxury service for the community, paired with a necessary one. A majority of the people living in the ward would not have had their own bathrooms or bathing comforts, which would have been typical in mill neighborhoods at that time. Swimmers were required to shower before hopping in the pool.

These facilities would have served them, and through the years, mill workers served the facility. “A lot of the repairs were done by millworkers as opposed to outside contractors,” Emily said. “They were brought up from the steel mills to fix anything from a clogged sink to the boiler system. There was a blueprint for fixing the pool boiler, and it was stamped with a Carnegie Steel seal. I talked with a few former workers who worked in the mill. They were engineers sent here to work on specific projects.”

Today, the Athletic Club continues to serve the community, offering affordable access to fitness, including workout classes, weight room activities, swimming in the pool, and use of the basketball court. Silver sneakers programs for seniors, sport leagues and swimming lessons for kids, and discounted programs for teens provide all ages with opportunities to be fit and social.

The Young Adult Reading Room at the Carnegie Library of Homestead today.

The Hub of the Community

“Recognizing the history of the area and how people received the library is important,” Emily said. “The perspective of the strike didn’t just go away once the library opened.” Even today, the treatment of the workers during the lockout and strike is recalled when considering the legacy of Carnegie’s institutions. Many families were apprehensive about the location of the library because it sat high on the hill, away from the ward where most families lived. However, part of what made the library accessible and attractive to the community was what happened before the library opened.

In going through the archives, Emily discovered that even before the opening celebration, the first superintendent, W. S. Bullock, and librarian Helen Sperry “took applications to get a library card and physically put them in the stores on Eighth Avenue. Before the actual dedication and Andrew Carnegie’s arrival, they were already lending books, putting programs in the Music Hall, and spreading the word in the newspapers about the community work they were doing. I believe these two were a huge part of why people could overlook Andrew Carnegie’s affiliation with the building. Their continued passion laid the groundwork for why the library continues to be relevant and successful even today.”

The Music Hall invested in the community early on. In going through the first twenty years of scanned programs, Emily found that not only did the library boast its own band, but they also held chorus concerts. Carnegie Steel hosted safety presentations. Munhall High School held their commencement programs in the hall and held plays for seniors citizens. The hall hosted traveling symphonies, educational lectures, and magicians. It was utilized by community churches. All cultural activities were free to the public unless the hall hosted a benefit performance.

The Homestead Grays used the hall for fundraisers. However, at that time, around 1915, the hall was still segregated. The pool and athletic club continued to be segregated for an even longer period. In some of the oral histories, Black Americans who grew up in the area stated they never felt welcome in the athletic club or gym due to the historical segregation. The library, however, was always a place that welcomed everyone.

When the mills closed in Homestead, it marked the beginning of change for how the Music Hall was used. The steel mill, which previously used it constantly, did not have a need to hold events here. With declining populations, Munhall High School closed, and so ended the annual commencements. Churches grew smaller. Big reviews were no longer popular.  The Hall was underutilized, being used only a handful of times throughout each year.  It grew dark and dusty.

The Music Hall at the Carnegie Library of Homestead, in March 2022, before a spoken word event by Henry Rollins.

In the early 2000s, a decision was made by community leaders and the board of directors to resurrect the use of the hall by hosting cultural entertainment—bands and comedians. It began to promote tourism to the Mon Valley so fans from across the state and across the country could enjoy performances by nationally renowned artists. The first show was Patti Smith on August 1, 2007.  At the beginning, twenty to thirty shows were booked each year. Now, tens of thousands of visitors enjoy sixty to eighty performances annually. The acoustics remained as good as when the Music Hall first opened. The wooden seats however, although good for sound, were losing popularity. They were originally designed for the average American who was 5’10” and around 150 pounds. Replacing the seats is part of the next phase of historic renovations in the music hall, which is set to commence in June 2024.

The library’s services were originally created to support and benefit steel mill families. Today, libraries look different, particularly after the distancing during the first years of the pandemic. “When I started all the programs were virtual or at home,” said Emily. “Although the Athletic Club and Music Hall attendance has bounced back, it’s been challenging to draw people to come back to enjoy programs in person at the library. Thankfully, we’re seeing a huge jump in attendance just this past year.”

Emily listens to the oral histories and hears that many kids growing up had not realized how special it was to have a library with a pool, a music hall, and a gym, not until they saw libraries elsewhere. Nevertheless, it was always their library, not a library with a tinge or taint to it. Emily says, “You will always have the connection to that past, but that’s not all of what the library came to be. You continue to listen to what people are wanting and missing and try to fill that need any way you can.”

“Listening to oral histories shows the full effect of a library,” Emily continued. “Older adults, having visited as children, have said they wouldn’t be the person they are today if they hadn’t come to the library as much as they did when they were younger. It gives an opportunity to see how the library transformed the person they came to be.”

The Munhall letterman sweater that was recently donated to the library’s collection.

Just a month ago, a box arrived for Emily; in it was a letterman jacket from Munhall High School. Munhall High School had been demolished when it merged with Homestead High School, which is now Steel Valley High. Along with the maroon jacket are programs from when the high school used the Music Hall.

“Some things that happened in our library or things that have happened in the community have nowhere else to be preserved other than here.”

Julie Silverman is a museum educator, tour facilitator, and storyteller of astronomy and history for various Pittsburgh area organizations, including Rivers of Steel.  A Chatham University 2020 MFA graduate, her writing is most often found under the by-line of JL Silverman. Occasionally, under the name of Julia, she has been seen on TV.

This is her first article published for Rivers of Steel. If you’d like to read more of our Community Spotlight stories, click here.

Community Spotlight—Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

By Gita Michulka, Contributing Writer

Fiber Arts exhibition by Turkish and Ukrainian Immigrants to Open October 3

The Pittsburgh region is no stranger to the immigrant story. For nearly two hundred years, the draw of employment in industry steadily brought people from around the world to the city and surrounding townships, forging communities linked by culture. Now, as it was then, after those communities are rooted, they continue to foster recent arrivals to the region in a variety of ways.

With the help of Pittsburgh’s community organizations, the immigrant story continues. Brought about by a partnership between a resettlement organization and a regional arts organization, a showcase of the vibrancy of immigrant culture will soon be on display at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s (CLP) main branch in Oakland.

Funded by the Rivers of Steel Mini-Grant Program and Awesome Pittsburgh, Cultural Mosaic: Textile Work by Turkish & Ukrainian Immigrants to Pittsburgh will feature rug punch textiles, embroidered jewelry, and other fiber arts created by Turkish and Ukrainian support groups. The display will be open to the public at CLP through the end of October, and will then move on to a showing at Studio Forget-Me-Not in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.

Kardelens Fiber Arts member Neslihan displays her work, while a young Kardelens fiber artist works on hers! Photos by Kirsten Ervin.

A Partnership is Forged

In 2018, the Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) Refugee and Immigrant Services team created a Turkish support group and soon discovered that some of the women loved to knit and embroider and that others were very eager to learn. JFCS connected with the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, who began to teach knitting and embroidery and provided materials for embroidered jewelry. The Turkish support group began selling their wares at craft festivals and eventually went on to establish their own Etsy business, Kardelens Fiber Arts.

Susan Swarthout, a long-time member of the Fiberarts Guild, was named head of the guild’s outreach committee around the same time, and she was excited to see the relationship between JFCS, the Turkish support group, and the guild come together. The Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh had just wrapped up two large-scale community projects, Knit the Bridge and Pop des Fleurs, and were looking forward to another initiative that would showcase fiber arts—fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn—while bringing together the larger community.

The “Knit the Bridge ” installation , part of the Fiberart International 2013. Photo courtesy of Susan Swarthout.

“A group of us got together to decide—what did we want to do?” Swarthout explains. “One of our members had a contact with the JFCS. When they get a lot of newcomers, they will reach out to them and put together a support group that’s headed by someone from their community. And it’s for social and emotional support. What we offered is what we believe that the arts do offer, which is the comfort and companionship and creativity and mental health benefits of working in an art form.”

An Exhibition is Created

Working with the Turkish group was such an enriching experience that the outreach committee jumped at the chance for a similar connection in the fall of 2022 with a newly formed Ukrainian support group. Their first project was supporting the women in making caps and balaclavas for Ukrainian solders.

In 2022, Kirsten Ervin, a Fiberarts Guild member who has spent the last ten years focused on learning, making, and teaching traditional rug-making techniques, gave a tour of the Fiber Art International Exhibit on display at Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh to the Kardelens Fiber Arts Turkish artisans. Members of Kardelens Fiber Arts expressed interest in the hooked rug on display, expressing that rugs held so much importance in their culture. The technique was also of interest to the Ukrainian group as well.

In early 2023, the Fiberarts Guild applied for and received funding that allowed Ervin and fellow guild member Linda Brown to teach the groups the technique of rug punch in a series of workshops. The technique is being used by both groups to further express their old and new cultures through fiber arts. The products from these workshops will be the displays at the Cultural Mosaic show.

Left: Artist Natalay shows her Ukrainian pride. Right: Ukrainian Support Group leader Daria Loschak shows off a punch rug of a drawing by her six year-old daughter Varvara. Photos by Kirsten Ervin.

“What’s beautiful about this project is how many different partners and people have been involved: Contemporary Craft, The Fiberarts Guild, Rivers of Steel, Awesome Pittsburgh, Jewish Family and Community Services, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mount Lebanon, Kardelens Fiber Arts, the Ukrainian Support Group. Local Pittsburghers who have donated bags of yarn and volunteer hours. It is truly a community effort,” says Ervin. “And this project has ignited creativity and passion in these women, who have big plans for future entrepreneurial work. Kardelens Fiber Arts are busy creating their first punch rug upholstered footstool, which they plan many more of. The Ukrainian makers are investigating selling work at local markets. The project has a future.”

Swarthout notes that the Fiberarts Guild has a longstanding mission of community engagement through the arts. “Outreach has been a whole bunch of different things over the years. It has been as simple as going out and doing a class in a school where we taught students how to sew or weave or knit or any of the fiber arts, or it has been as all-encompassing and huge as Knit the Bridge.”

This particular project spans across cultures and communities, bridging refugees’ home countries and the environment they now call home.

Work by mother and daughter Tetiana and Helena. Photo by Kirsten Ervin.

In the words of Kardelens’ group coordinator Serap Uzunoglu, “Through our art projects we became aware that we can have a place in the community and we gained our self-confidence again, like we had in our country. We hope to support other newcomers as we have been supported by the Pittsburgh community.”

The Carnegie Library Show at the Main Branch will begin on October 3and run throughout the month of October. There will be a reception with the artists on the afternoon of Saturday, October 28.

The exhibition at Studio Forget-Me-Not in Carnegie will open on Saturday, November 25, with a reception from 12–5 and will run throughout December; everything will be on sale here including pillows, bags, and fiber jewelry, all created by the women involved in the project.

Contact the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh at fiberartspgh.org/contact to learn more or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FiberartsGuildofPittsburgh.

About the Mini-Grant Program

Rivers of Steel’s Mini-Grant Program assists heritage-related sites and organizations as well as municipalities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area to develop new and innovative programs, partnerships, exhibits, tours, and other initiatives. Funded projects support heritage tourism, enhance preservation efforts, involve the stewardship of natural resources, encourage outdoor recreation, and include collaborative partnerships. Through these efforts, Rivers of Steel seeks to identify, conserve, promote, and interpret the industrial and cultural heritage that defines southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is one of twelve supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Funding is provided via DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program and the Environmental Stewardship Fund to Rivers of Steel, which administers the Mini-Grant Program.

Gita Michulka is a Pittsburgh-based marketing and communications consultant with over 15 years of experience promoting our region’s arts, recreation, and nonprofit assets.  

If you’d like to know more about community projects supported by the Mini-Grant Program, read about Grow Pittsburgh’s summer program.

A teen with the Braddock Youth Projects displays the onions she picked on a recent morning at Braddock Farms.

Community Spotlight—Grow Pittsburgh

The Community Spotlight series features the efforts of Rivers of Steel’s partner organizations, along with collaborative partnerships, that reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the communities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

By Gita Michulka, Contributing Writer

Grow Pittsburgh’s Urban Farmers in Training program Connects Teens to their Communities through Local Food Systems

On a sunny July morning at Braddock Farms, a group of teenagers is hard at work harvesting onions. Their crop, destined for local farm stands, is just one part of the urban agriculture ecosystem that they’ll learn about throughout the year.

The students are members of Grow Pittsburgh’s Urban Farmers in Training (UFIT), a workforce development program that immerses high school participants between the ages of 14 – 18 in the workings of a farm, connecting them to the process of growing and distributing food while deepening career readiness skills.

A group of teens with the Braddock Youth Project harvest onions at Braddock Farms, part of Grow Pittsburgh’s Urban Farmers in Training program. The Edger Thompson Works is seen in the background.

This year, Grow Pittsburgh is partnering with the Braddock Youth Project and Homewood Children’s Village to recruit students for the UFIT program, which is partly funded by Rivers of Steel’s Mini-Grant Program.

During the course of the growing season, the UFIT students are hands on at the farm, preparing the space, seeding crops, maintaining the gardens, and harvesting what grows. They also interact with the community by working regular shifts at the organization’s low-cost farm stands, distributing fresh food and providing cooking demonstrations. At the same time, they are building relationships with those community members and learning about the business side of farm management.

The Farm Store at Braddock Farms is open to the public several days a week.

“We’re trying to give a comprehensive and cohesive education that touches a little bit on everything in local food systems, as these teens are starting to really think about what they want to do after high school,” explains Vee Bleiweiss, development coordinator at Grow Pittsburgh. “In addition to farming and the farm markets, we do a lot of field trips and hands-on experiences. The goal with our UFIT program is to give the teens a sense of local food systems and where they can work within them. With everything that we do, we try to incorporate a ‘This is what it would look like to work here’ approach.”

Each week on the job broadens the students’ sense of the many facets of agriculture and offers them work experience and life skills that can be carried over into other types of employment.

“We take them to various food distribution factories and talk about what it looks like to work in a place like that,” Bleiweiss continues. “We take them to PNC Park—Grow Pittsburgh manages the rooftop garden there for the Pirates—and talk about what it looks like to work at PNC Park. We have representatives from PNC Bank come in and do financial literacy courses. We talk about entrepreneurship. We meet with local farmers and small business owners to talk about some of the ways that they got where they are, the struggles that they’re facing, and their advice for teens that want to start their own businesses.”

Teens visit the rooftop garden at PNC park. Image courtesy of Grow Pittsburgh.

UFIT teens and company during a ballgame at PNC park. Image courtesy of Grow Pittsburgh.

The program is comprehensive, and continues even as the seasons change. Once the farm has been winterized, lessons continue at the Nyia Page Community Center, where the students learn about seed saving, medical tincture making, garden planning and organization, and run through seed catalogs, among other lessons.

Beyond the practical lessons learned, the program also has a focus on deep ties to the community.

“Grow Pittsburgh partners with a lot of local farmers and urban ag groups,” Bleiweiss notes. “And one thing that’s unique about the Homewood UFIT Program is that we are part of the Homewood Food Access Working Group, which is a collaborative with five Black-led nonprofits—Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh, Oasis Farm & Fishery, Grow Pittsburgh, Sankofa Village Community Garden, and Operation Better Block—focused on increasing racial equity and food access in the Homewood neighborhood. All five organizations are focused on urban agriculture, youth and community education, and addressing issues of food access and insecurity. Our UFIT teens will visit each site, working with participants from the other programs, to demonstrate the full scope of urban agriculture in their community.”

Teens present about herbs during the Youth Garden Summit, organized by the Youth Leadership Council. Image courtesy of Grow Pittsburgh.

The UFIT program also includes a Youth Leadership Council, which involves up to ten youths from urban agriculture organizations across the city. Over the course of five, paid planning sessions that focus on leadership development, the teens work together to plan an annual Youth Garden Summit. During this summit, ten local youth organizations come together to share with each other their newfound knowledge and experiences from their summer programs. Each organization delivers a teen-created presentation, participates in group bonding activities, and receives a private tour of Phipps Conservatory.

Grow Pittsburgh also offers multiple other avenues for students and community members of all ages to get involved with urban agriculture. From school and community gardens to their pre-apprenticeship program, the organization is on a mission to support food-growing initiatives and programs across the region as a key way to improve the social, economic, environmental, health, and educational realities of people in the Pittsburgh community.

This mission pays dividends in fresh produce. In 2022, through their urban farms and programs, Grow Pittsburgh grew and distributed 34,094 pounds of food, 28,034 of which was sold at their low-cost farm stands and 6,060 donated to local food pantries and free food distributions. Their farm stands served 4,443 customers in Wilkinsburg, Braddock, Homewood, and North Point Breeze.

They offer plenty of ways to celebrate as well. Each year, Grow Pittsburgh hosts a Zucchini Festival and a Fall Festival—harvest-themed parties open to the public with games, activities, music, and of course, great food.

The scene at Grow Pittsburgh’s Garden Get Down. Image courtesy of Grow Pittsburgh.

On Wednesday, August 23, Grow Pittsburgh will also be hosting their annual Garden Get Down, a fundraiser that brings together community members and gardeners for a fun-filled night of fresh local food, specialty drinks, dancing, and garden-related activities. This all-ages party is a great way to connect with local gardeners and farmers. Party-goers can learn about Grow Pittsburgh’s work to increase food security or just enjoy a great meal and break it down on the dance floor with some friends.

Regardless of your gardening status, Bleiweiss hopes you’ll consider stopping through. “It’s a big party that brings together community and backyard gardeners, UFIT and farm apprentice participants, garden educators from local schools, and farm stand customers to celebrate the incredible urban agriculture and fresh-food access work happening across our city. It’s a great way to connect with the local community, whether you’re a gardener or not—plus there’s fun music, art activities, and great food!”

Party-goers at the Garden Get Down show off their screen prints. Image courtesy of Grow Pittsburgh.

Visit growpittsburgh.org for a variety of garden and farm resources, information on urban farms, event details, volunteer opportunities, and more! 

About the Mini-Grant Program

Rivers of Steel’s Mini-Grant Program assists heritage-related sites and organizations as well as municipalities within the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area to develop new and innovative programs, partnerships, exhibits, tours, and other initiatives. Funded projects support heritage tourism, enhance preservation efforts, involve the stewardship of natural resources, encourage outdoor recreation, and include collaborative partnerships. Through these efforts, Rivers of Steel seeks to identify, conserve, promote, and interpret the industrial and cultural heritage that defines southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is one of twelve supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Funding is provided via DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program and the Environmental Stewardship Fund to Rivers of Steel, which administers the Mini-Grant Program.

Gita Michulka is a Pittsburgh-based marketing and communications consultant with over 15 years of experience promoting our region’s arts, recreation, and nonprofit assets.  

If you’d like to know more about community projects supported by the Mini-Grant Program, check out the latest round of awards.