Visitors to the popular event are encouraged to bring their prized possessions* to the History Center and meet with professional appraisers as KDKA-TV cameras roam the museum. The most unique items will be featured as part of special 30 minute programs on KDKA later this year hosted by KDKA-TV’s Ken Rice and History Center President and CEO Andy Masich.
Nearly 50 appraisers from a variety of disciplines will assess the historic significance of your items and provide a verbal assessment of potential monetary value. Among the areas of expertise discussed by appraisers:
•Civil War and World War II items •Political and presidential memorabilia •Books and documents •Antique coins and jewelry •Household items (glass, China, silver, vases, etc.) •Classic toys •Textiles (wedding dresses, quilts, etc.) •Fine arts •Furniture •Historic photographs
In addition to the appraisers, a variety of conservators will be on hand to provide tips on how to preserve your treasures, including conservation expert Gail Joice from the Smithsonian.
The “Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures” event is free for members and is included in the regular History Center admission price for non-members: $10.00 for adults, $9.00 for senior citizens, $5.00 for children ages 4-17 and students with valid ID, and free for children under age three.
Special Members-Only Access
History Center members will be allowed to enter the event at 9 a.m. on July 17, one hour before the museum opens to the public, to attend a "members only" appraisal session.
Throughout the day, History Center members will also have access to a fast-track line that will expedite their opportunity to meet with appraisers.
For more information about becoming a History Center member, please contact Megan Kuniansky at 412-454-6436 or membership@heinzhistorycenter.org.
*Each visitor is allowed to bring two items for appraisal. These can be of any size that fits through a standard doorway. It is required that visitors be able to move their item(s) through the event on their own. Antique firearms will be permitted, but subject to inspection and restraints before being brought into the History Center.
By: Lauren Lamendola, publications intern, Senator John Heinz History Center
Jazz Girl: A novel about Mary Lou Williams and her early life
by Sarah Bruce Kelly (Murrells Inlet, S.C.; Bel Canto Press, 2010) $15.99 softcover, 195 pp.
One of the most outstanding Pittsburgh jazz musicians of the 20th century was Mary Lou Williams, whose story is told in the fiction novel, Jazz Girl. Williams was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1910 and moved to Pittsburgh’s East Liberty in 1922. Throughout her childhood she was haunted by strange visions and music that played in her head. She craved love from her mother, never knew her father, and desired nothing more than friendship with the neighborhood children, who scorned her because of her dark skin and stutter. The music in her head was her escape and salvation.
Her stepfather got her a piano, and she played constantly, both songs from memory and those she composed. Despite her mother’s warning that she was playing the devil’s music, Mary Lou played on; she wanted to bring people together with her music. Soon her playing gained the attention of a teacher who asked her to play for a group of friends. From that event, she was invited to play for Mrs. Andrew Mellon, who paid Mary Lou $100.00. Soon her reputation spread and Mary Lou went on to play at various events and locales in Pittsburgh. One of the finest passages is at the end of Jazz Girl, when she meets and plays side-by-side with the great Fats Waller. It is a beautiful ending to this fictional account of a young African-American girl with an innate musical talent that took her from ridicule (as a child) to the heights of acceptance and acclaim in American music lore. Dave Borland is a volunteer in the Senator John Heinz History Center Library and Archives and is also author of the novel 2050; two books of poetry, Rivulets and Reflections; a book of short stories, Early On; and a play, “Angel of Mercy,” about UMW organizer Fanny Sellins. His next novel, In a Moment’s Time, is due out later this year.
By: Lauren Lamendola, publications intern, Senator John Heinz History Center Remembering Monroeville: From Frontier to Boomtown
By Zandy Dudiak (Charleston: The History Press 2009) 128 pps., softcover $21.99
Zandy Dudiak, native of Penn Hills and winner of more than 80 awards for journalistic endeavors, focuses her latest work on the history of Monroeville. The modern Pittsburgher knows Monroeville as a Mecca of shopping, nightlife, and traffic. However, Remembering Monroeville sheds new light on the history of the town as an evolution of a “sleepy hamlet” into the “hub of the suburbs.” The rich history of the quiet pastoral land is rediscovered in Dudiak’s history of the new boomtown.
Next Saturday, Dec. 12 from 1 to 4 p.m., gather your favorite ladies - grandmothers, mothers, daughters, aunts, nieces, friends, and sisters - at the History Center for a special Mother Daughter Tea With the Lincolns, sponsored by Robert Peirce & Associates.
This Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., celebrate the History Center's 130th anniversary and mingle with more than 50 regional authors during our Annual Holiday Book Fair, sale and book-signing.
Authors include Art Rooney, Jr., Roy McHugh, Jennifer Antkowiak, Dave Crawley, Jim O'Brien, and many more of your favorites.
Plus, you'll enjoy live music and free hot beverages. Books make great holiday gifts! History Center and Sports Museum Members receive 10% off all book purchases.
To become a member, please contact Megan Kuniansky at 412-454-6436 or e-mail membership@hswp.org.
Hosted by History Center President and CEO Andy Masich and KDKA-TV news anchor Ken Rice, the 30-minute program highlights collectibles and family heirlooms nearly 2,000 members and visitors brought to the History Center for appraisals last fall. The event encouraged visitors to bring in their prized paintings, antique toys, sports memorabilia, and more to the History Center. Visitors met with professional appraisers for a verbal assessment of potential monetary value.
KDKA-TV camera crews roamed the History Center in search of the most unique items to be included in the nine-part series.
By: Sherrie Flick, editorial assistant, Senator John Heinz History Center
What the Heart Can Bear: Selected and Uncollected Poems, 1979-1993 By Robert Gibb (Pittsburgh: Autumn House Press, 2009) 150 pps., softcover $19.95
Poet Robert Gibb was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania. His latest collection, out with Pittsburgh-based Autumn House Press and his eighth book of poetry, is a selection of his early work. As Michael Waters notes, “This book belongs among those worn American classics crammed on the rough-hewn shelf nailed onto the mudroom walls.” Nature and earth and poignant observations of the world around him abound: “The fires of the fields rattle my sight, / And out in what I say is the wind, the dead go on / Without us, flaking in the falling air.”
Monongehela Dusk: A Novel By John Hoerr Illustrations by Bill Yund (Pittsburgh: Autumn House Press, 2009) 310 pps., softcover $19.95
This novel by veteran labor journalist and McKeesport native John Hoerr, author of And the Wolf Finally Came, works its way from 1937 to 1950. Labor turmoil sweeps across Western Pennsylvania as traveling beer sales person Pete Bonner picks up a hitchhiker Joe Miravich. This fateful meeting forms an unlikely alliance to thwart the economic and political powers conspiring against them and which, 40 years later, turn the mill towns of the Monongahela Valley into blighted relics of the industrial era.
Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend By Larry Tye
(New York: Random House, 2009) Photographs, index, 398 pps., hardcover $26
Just a small section of journalist Larry Tye’s thick book focuses on the Pittsburgh years for Satchel Paige and his time with the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Chapter 3, “The Glory Trail,” chronicles 25-year-old Paige’s meet up with Crawford’s owner Gus Greenlee, the rivalry between the Homestead Grays and the Crawfords, and Paige’s rise to Negro league’s 1934 All-Star player. Tye notes that by the 1930s “Pittsburgh was to America’s black sports scene what Harlem was to its literary and arts life.”
By: Art Louderback, chief librarian, Senator John Heinz History Center's Library & Archives
They Flew Proud By Jane Gardner Birch (Nappanee, Ind.: Evangel Publishing House, 2007) Illustrations, bibliography, index, 190 pp., $35.00 hardcover
Traveling on Interstate 79, you may have noticed gliders and parasail flyers near the Grove City exit. This is what remains of Grove City’s important aviation history. The small Grove City Airport became part of a vocational education program to train pilots known as the Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1939. It was transformed during World War II as a vehicle to teach pilots for the war effort. The program trained nearly 500 pilots during the war. After the war, the airport slowly fell into disrepair and was finally replaced by a newer airport.
Nickelodeon City: Pittsburgh at the Movies, 1905-1929 By Michael Aronson (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008) Illustrations, bibliography, index, xvii, 300 pp., $35.95 hardcover
One of Pittsburgh’s many innovations was the first motion picture house, the Nickelodeon. Aronson follows the emergence of the film industry in the city, describing the growth of new theaters and the industry itself. Many of the heads of Hollywood’s major studios came through Pittsburgh before they moved on to California. Much of the research for this book came from the Pittsburgh Motion Picture Bulletin, a unique local trade journal that captured the growth of film in the area.
The Heinz Tomato Ketchup Cookbook By Paul Hartley (Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 2008) Illustrations, index, 85 pp., $12.95 hardcover
This is a good cookbook for cooks who want to use the most well known Pittsburgh food product: Heinz ketchup. Heinz ketchup is known and sold worldwide. Hartley has many interesting recipes interspersed with intriguing facts and trivia about the product. There are also classic advertisements and a timeline of ketchup bottles.
The unique Super Bowl display - which includes all six trophies resting on a steel beam with a mural of the Super Bowl victories behind it - will provide excellent photo opportunities for Steelers fans.Don't miss your last chance to get up-close-and-personal with the six Lombardi trophies before they return to the Steelers team headquarters.
Copyright Pittsburgh Steelers/Mike Fabus
In conjunction with the six Super Bowl trophies, the Sports Museum today also launched Behind the Scenes with the Pittsburgh Steelers: Photographs by Mike Fabus, a new exhibit featuring the work of team photographer Mike Fabus, who has shot hundreds of thousands of images over his almost 30-year career.
From sideline shots of the Steelers' legendary teams to the pre-game rituals and post-game celebrations of the teams' Super Bowl XL and XLIII victories, fans will get an intimate look at the players and team executives behind closed doors.
The exhibit, which includes nearly 50 never-before-seen photographs, will be showcased in the History Center's fourth floor Campbell gallery through Feb. 7, 2010. To learn more, please visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org.
If so, bring your collectibles, heirlooms, and other prized possessions to the History Center for the second annual “Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures, An Antiques Appraisal Show” event. On Sunday, Aug. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., professional appraisers from a variety of disciplines will assess the historic significance of your items and provide a verbal assessment of potential monetary value.
More than 30 professional appraisers will identify items from a variety of disciplines, including:
Militaria
Sports and presidential memorabilia
Books and documents
Antique coins and jewelry
Furniture and household items (China, glass, silver, vases, etc.)
Classic toys
Textiles (wedding dresses, quilts, etc.)
American and European art
Each visitor is allowed to bring two items for appraisal. These can be of any size that will fit through a standard doorway. It is required that visitors be able to move their item through the event on their own. Antique firearms will be permitted, but WILL BE inspected by our gun expert (as visitors enter the first set of doors) before they will be allowed into the History Center.
Visitors to last year’s event received appraisals of their items as high as $125,000, with the most unique items from the event featured on a popular seven-part series shown on KDKA-TV throughout the year.
During this year’s “Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures” event KDKA-TV’s Ken Rice and Yvonne Zanos and the History Center’s Andy Masich will roam the museum with camera crews seeking out the most unique items. Many segments will be included as part of the show’s second season on KDKA-TV beginning this fall.
The event is included in the regular History Center admission prices.
History Center Members Enjoy Special Perks During Appraisal Show
History Center members are invited to visit the History Center beginning at 9:00 a.m., one hour before the museum opens to the public, to attend a “members only” appraisal session from 9-10:00 a.m.
Throughout the day, History Center members will also have access to a fast-tracked, “members only” line that will expedite their opportunity to meet with appraisals. To take advantage of this perk and purchase or renew a History Center membership, please visit the museum's online store or call 412-454-6436.
In 1908, city leaders developed plans for one of baseball’s iconic stadiums. Legendary Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss opened Forbes Field, the world’s first three-tiered steel and concrete stadium, one year later in 1909.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of one of America’s most famous parks, the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum will honor Forbes Field throughout the summer with a new exhibition.
Forbes Field: A Century of Memories, an exhibit that opens on Thursday, June 27, will celebrate the iconic park through a series of photographs, fan memorabilia, and never-before-seen artifacts from the park’s illustrious history.
Forbes Field: A Century of Memories focuses on several key events in Forbes Field history, including the legendary 1909 World Series between the Pirates and Detroit Tigers, which featured Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb, and the 1960 World Series, which featured one of baseball’s most famous moments, when Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homerun beat the New York Yankees for the World Series title.
Fans of all ages will enjoy rare artifacts and unique memorabilia from local baseball history, including:
Forbes Field construction photographs, along with a ticket and invitations from the first game in 1909
Team owner Barney Dreyfuss’ personal day planners from the Pirates’ World Series championship years in 1909 and 1925
1910 baseball cards of Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb
An original Homestead Grays uniform from the 1940s
A baseball signed by Babe Ruth on the day he hit three homeruns at Forbes Field in 1935
An original Forbes Field window and signage, along with seats, and banners
Dozens of never-before-seen photos of Forbes Field throughout the years
Roberto Clemente’s game-used bat from 1966
The pitching rubber from the 1960 World Series
Scorecards, tickets, and game programs from throughout the iconic stadium’s history
Forbes Field: A Century of Memories also explores Pittsburgh’s other ballparks (including Exposition Park and Three Rivers Stadium), the unique fan experience at Forbes Field, and a look back at the other teams and events hosted at Forbes Field, such as Negro League baseball, professional and collegiate football, boxing, and much more.
Fans are also invited to learn more about local sports history by visiting the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, a dynamic museum-within-a-museum located on the History Center’s second and third floors.
(1861? Yes, you read that correctly. I’m starting to get up there, but you know what they say, “You’re only as old as you feel!”)
I made a surprise visit during a preview reception for the exhibition and read excerpts from that speech, delivered from my balcony at the Monongahela House hotel en route to my inauguration. After captivating the audience with my speech, History Center Chairman of the Board Steve Tritch signaled for the firing of a Civil War-era cannon and with that, my exhibit was officially open.
You can watch video highlights from the preview reception below:
Make sure to come back and visit my bLog soon. Videos, blogs, online slideshows, wow. Now if I can only figure out this cell phone thing…
The curators at the History Center are busy putting the final touches in preparation of Saturday’s opening. Boy, with all these great photos and artifacts, you might say that I’ve never looked better!
Our friends at CBS Radio Pittsburgh put together a wonderful video preview of the exhibit that I wanted to share it with you all. Click on the play button below:
Isn’t technology great?
In my day, we didn’t have fancy computers or the Internet, just an old fashioned pen and paper. Although I’ve heard the telegraph is quite a neat invention….
I’ll look forward to seeing everyone at the History Center beginning this Saturday. Don’t forget to wear your top hats.
Today, I stopped by the History Center for a sneak peak and was rather impressed with my (I’ve got to stop saying that!), I mean, their exhibit which takes an intimate look into my life, my personal and professional struggles, and my determination to lead America through one of its most challenging times.
I think the biggest highlight of the exhibit is the actual bed and bedroom set from the Monongahela House, the downtown Pittsburgh hotel where I stayed on Feb. 14, 1861, en route to my inauguration. That’s right – I did sleep here, Pittsburgh. It’s not a myth!
The History Center museum curators were busy reconstructing the bed today, but I managed to sneak a photo to share with you all – don’t’ tell!
I’ll be back soon with more behind-the-scenes photos and details from the new exhibit. Until then, check out www.heinzhistorycenter.org for the very latest.
On Sunday, Aug. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., professional appraisers from a variety of disciplines will assess the historic significance of your items and provide a verbal assessment of potential monetary value.
Throughout the day, KDKA cameras will roam the History Center seeking out the most unique and unusual items that visitors have uncovered. Among the appraisers’ areas of expertise are:
The event is free for members and is included in the regular History Center admission prices. Stay tuned to www.heinzhistorycenter.org for details on special members-only privileges and a list of appraisers scheduled to attend.
More than 14,000 visitors flocked to Avella, Pa. last season to see the new enclosure on the 16,000-year-old Rockshelter, the earliest site of human habitation in North America. The new observation deck allows families and large groups to explore the oldest and deepest parts of the Rockshelter with trained, on-site interpreters who explain what life was like for North America’s first inhabitants.
Alongside the Rockshelter, a National Historic Landmark, Meadowcroft also boasts a new 17th century Indian Village that provides visitors with a glimpse of life in Western Pennsylvania prior to the arrival of European settlers. Visitors will explore a recreated walled village and experience hands-on activities of everyday life in a prehistoric Indian village.
The Eastern Woodland Indian Village allows visitors to travel 400 years in the past and explore the interior of a wigwam, inspect carefully recreated prehistoric artifacts, and try their hand at using an atlatl, a prehistoric spear thrower.
As the oldest cultural institution in Western Pennsylvania, the History Center has become a major cultural asset in the region, an important economic generator, and an integral part of the region’s heritage tourism strategy.
The museum traces its roots back to 1879 with the formation of a group called the Old Residents of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania and later, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Help the History Center celebrate 130 years throughout 2009 with a wide range of award-winning exhibitions, educational activities, publications, and outreach activities.
By: Sherrie Flick, editorial assistant, Senator John Heinz History Center
Recently received Pittsburgh Signs Project: 250 Signs of Western Pennsylvania edited by Jennifer Baron, Greg Langel, Elizabeth Perry, and Mark Stroup. [Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2009, 204 pp., SC, $29.95] Pittsburgh turned 250 years old in 2008 and what better way to celebrate than with photographs of its landscape’s signs? From New Model Bakery to the YMCA to Walsh’s Lounge and Bar, nostalgia and love shine forth from neon tubing as well as billboards and flaking brick walls. Four-color images with insightful captions and mini-essays are scattered throughout and make a city proud.
By: Brian Butko, director of publications, Senator John Heinz History Center
One main feature of the History Center’s blog will be publication and book reviews written by our Publications Division. You’ll still be able to enjoy regular reviews published in the History Center’s magazine, Western Pennsylvania History, but now you’ll know right away when books of local interest are published. These will take the place of the very short reviews currently in the magazine.
What’s local interest? Geographically it’s Western Pennsylvania from the Mason-Dixon Line north to Erie, and from about Bedford to the Ohio border and sometimes including Youngstown or northern West Virginia. Topically the History Center will also cover works that may not be specific to the region, but encompass larger issues such as the French and Indian War or the steel industry. The Publications Division receives a wide variety and sometimes we’ll include those that are personal favorites too such as highway history from me or regional food from History Center Editorial Assistant Sherrie Flick.
Just received is The Seneca Restoration, 1715-1754: An Iroquois Local Political Economy by Kurt A. Jordan. [University Press of Florida, 2008, 426 pp., HC, $69.95] From the Society for Historical Archaeology comes this comprehensive look at the Senecas, challenging the popular notion that they and others in the Iroquois Confederacy were in decline by the late 17th century. Occasional photos, maps, and charts enliven the story.
Also just received is a fun and informative video, Fill ’er Up: The Glory Days of Wisconsin Gas Stations. [Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Public Television, 2007, 30 minutes, DVD, $19.95] Like the accompanying book, this program succeeds by going beyond just a statewide focus to make the history, architecture, and stories behind gas stations enjoyable for a broad audience. The imagery and old movie clips are likewise absorbing.
Look for the Pittsburgh Signs book review coming soon from Sherrie!
We are excited to provide you with engaging content related to Western Pennsylvania, including book reviews, museum curator articles, artifact highlights, and more. You can also stay up-to-date on the History Center’s exhibitions, family-friendly events, and other exciting happenings.
The History Center wants to hear from you, so visit our blog regularly and share your comments.
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