Publications and Book Reviews

By: Kelly Anderson, publications intern, Senator John Heinz History Center

Remember Me: Civil War Letters Home from a Hospital Steward, 1862-1864; Daniel McKinley Martin
By Alan I. West
(Chicora, Pa.: Firefly Publications, 2010)
328 pps., softcover $29.95

“The life of a soldier is a hard one.” Writing to his wife and family in Pittsburgh, Daniel McKinley Martin recounted the daily struggles of a hospital steward in the Civil War. Martin’s letters illustrate major issues of the day, such as the relationship between husband and wife, abolition, and 19th century medical practices on the battlefield. Local author Alan West has carefully transcribed those letters and, with his additional commentary, put Martin in his historical context for the modern reader.

The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Frontiers of Iroquoia, 1667-1783
By David L. Preston
(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009)
395 pps., hardcover $45.00

In a fascinating work based on primary source research, Citadel professor David Preston takes another look at history’s preconceived notions regarding settler and Indian interactions in the colonial period. Focusing on the daily contact between colonists and Native Americans, Preston argues that the groups adapted to one another in an unofficial manner, since “[c]ulture did not always overshadow the settlers’ common humanity.” His area of interest includes the Ohio River valley in the 18th century, especially the Delaware community near Fort Kittanning.

A Mother’s Story: Memories from the Turtle Creek Valley
By Maryann B. Lawrence(New York: iUniverse Inc., 2010)
131 pps., softcover $14.95

In the small town of Turtle Creek, on top of a hill known as Electric Plan, Maryann Lawrence experienced the tumult and tranquility of early 20th century America. Her memoir recounts life as the granddaughter of German and Polish immigrants, her family’s struggles through the Great Depression and World War II, and the prosperity they witnessed in the 1950s and ’60s. Readers who enjoy tales of small town life and the American experience will appreciate Lawrence’s touching vignettes.

Pennsylvania Crude: Boomtowns and Oil Barons
By Paul Adomites
(Bradford, Pa.: Forest Press, 2010)
116 pps., hardcover $39.95

Western Pennsylvania’s oil heritage, both past and present, comes to life in Paul Adomites’ latest work. The Pittsburgh native recounts the history of petroleum in the region, from Native Americans’ use of the substance to Drake’s famous well and the modern industry, with side trips to other points of interest. Colorful characters and events are portrayed in vivid detail through the lens of photographer Ed Bernik. Newcomers to the subject as well as oil history buffs will also enjoy Pennsylvania Crude’s bonus DVD that takes viewers on an enjoyable road trip through the area’s oil fields.

Citizen Environmentalists
By James Longhurst
(Medford, Mass.: Tufts University Press, 2010)
238 pps., softcover $35.00

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse professor James Longhurst uses Pittsburgh-based Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) to illustrate the involvement of average citizens in the fight against pollution during the late 1960s and early 1970s. His account details the beginnings of the anti-pollution movement, especially amongst middle class women, and further investigates their clash with anti-regulation groups. The drama is set against the backdrop of the declining steel industry in Pittsburgh at the time and in the context of the national environmentalist movement.

Images of America: Cascade Park
By Anita DeVivo and the Lawrence County Historical Society
(Chicago: Arcadia Publishing Company, 2010)
127 pps., softcover $21.99

Anita DeVivo, with the help of the Lawrence County Historical Society, has composed a photographic walk through New Castle’s historic Cascade Park. Now 113 years old, the picturesque grounds have attracted citizens of Western Pennsylvania and the nation at large to its roller coasters, dance hall, and famous vinegar-drenched French fries. Photographs of Cascade Park capture its long history, from Victorian picnics and Roaring Twenties boat rides, to 1940s dance scenes and modern efforts of local citizens to restore their community’s park to its former glory.

Letters from the Storm: The Intimate Civil War Letters of Lt. J. A. H. Foster, 155th Pennsylvania Volunteers
By Linda Foster Arden, edited by Dr. Walter L. Powell
(Chicora, Pa.: Firefly Publications, 2010)
351 pps., softcover $29.95

After reading the letters of her great-great grandfather John Alexander Foster, author Linda Foster Arden felt compelled to share his impressions of service in the Civil War with a wider audience. A jeweler from Rural Valley, Armstrong County, Foster volunteered to serve with the Army of the Potomac in 1862. His letters to his wife detail life in camp, his various engagements, and his concerns about family affairs, and also provide a unique look at a passionate 19th century marriage.

Publications and Book Reviews

By: Kelly Anderson, publications intern, Senator John Heinz History Center

To Petersburg with the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Letters of Levi Bird Duff, 105th Pennsylvania Volunteers
By Levi Bird Duff, Edited by Jonathan E. Helmreich
www.mcfarlanpub.com (800)-253-2187

The correspondence between Levi Bird Duff and his wife Harriet presents an extraordinary look into the emotional and physical challenges facing a young soldier and his family during the Civil War. Duff served as a soldier in the Army of the Potomac from 1861 to 1864. His letters show an advanced level of “literacy, descriptions and continuity, the strength of opinions expressed and their source” a young private who rose through the ranks of the army and express the difficult decisions many soldiers had to make “between the conflicting calls of duty and affection.”

A Country Storekeeper in Pennsylvania: Creating Economic Networks in Early America, 1790 – 1807
By Diane Wenger
(University Park, PA: Penn State University Press 2008)
280 pps., hardcover $55.00

In the early days of America, the general store was a small-town staple that has all but disappeared from towns and cities. In A Country Storekeeper in Pennsylvania, Diane E. Wenger analyzes the records of Samuel Rex, a small town shop owner in Schaefferstown Pennsylvania. These records provide “the means for contesting the established model of how early American commerce functioned.” In Wenger’s detailed account of Rex, she has given the early American shopkeeper a “much broader historical” historical context as she uses his records to exemplify a model of early American commerce and small town trade.

Ukrainians of Western Pennsylvania
By Stephen P. Haluszczak
(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing 2009)
128 pps., softcover $21.99’

Local historian Stephen P. Haluszczak’s latest work was written in the hopes that “readers will develop a better understanding of the Ukrainians who immigrated to the region.” This book is a testament to the hardworking past to the Ukrainians, and their individual achievements, which built upon the “strong and colorful Western Pennsylvania” community. Haluszczak uses the imagery of the worker bee in order to illustrate the ways in which communities were set up, and how immigrant families were able to preserve their rich heritage throughout all four waves of Ukrainian immigration to the United States.

Postcard History Series: Pittsburgh 1900-1945

By Michael Eversmeyer
(Charleston, SC : Arcadia Publishing 2009)
127 pps., softcover $21.99

The history of Pittsburgh has been preserved in many ways: architecturally, in archives, museum exhibits, heritage festivals, and in many more varieties. One outlet that is explored in this book is the postcardmania that overtook the region between 1900 and 1945. Eversmeyer explores the cultural history of Pittsburgh using this phenomenon as the basis for showing the city to “illustrate the power, wealth, and beauty of the city. . . during its era of industrial greatness.”

Images of America: Pittsburgh 1758-2008

By The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing 2008)
127 pps., softcover $21.99

Images of America constructs Pittsburgh’s “evolution from strategic fort in the wilderness to bustling industrial workshop to high-tech center for universities and health care.” This book was prepared from and earlier book A Pittsburgh Album which commemorated the city’s bicentennial and following this tradition, Pittsburgh 1758-2008 was published to make the city’s 250th birthday. This photo story helps to tell the history of Pittsburgh through images that connect all aspects of Pittsburgh life and culture, from immigration, food, and churches, and clubs, no aspects of the traditions of Pittsburgh are forgotten.

Norvelt: A New Deal Subsistence Homestead
By Sandra Wolk Schimizzi with Valeria Sofranko Wolk, Introduction by Michael Cary
(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010)
127 pps. Softcover $21.99

In 1934, the town of Norvelt, named for Eleanor Roosevelt, was established as a U.S. government New Deal Community. Located in Westmoreland County, the new town was situated on a plot of 1,500 acres of prime farmland. The federal government constructed 250 homesteads of varying size and families were selected from a pool of over 1,850 applicants. The town boasted self-sufficiency through co-op programs designed to foster economic growth and keep revenue in the community. Neighborhood activities brought everyone together for dances, meetings, and social events. This remarkable collection of photographs shows the towns formative history and shares the experience of the hundreds of families who found new hope in Norvelt during the Great Depression.

This American Courthouse: One Hundred Years of Service to the People of Westmoreland County

Michael D. Carey, D.A. and Timothy Kelly, Ph.D., eds.
(Latrobe: Saint Vincent College Center for Northern Appalachian Studies, 2007)
131 pps. Hardback $28.00

This American Courthouse delves into the architectural, social, and legal history of the judicial system of Westmoreland County. A collection of individual essays, the book looks at early law practices, courthouse construction, the changing role of judges, architectural style, and the history of the Westmoreland Bar Association. Colorful illustrations and a sizeable photograph collection augment the text and complement the already intriguing text of the book.

Publications and Book Reviews

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.

Publications and Book Reviews

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.

Enjoy Annual History Center Holiday Book Fair

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.

Click here for a complete list of authors.

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.

Publications and Book Reviews

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.”

Publications and Book Reviews

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.

We All Scream for Ice Cream U

By: Brian Butko, publications director, Senator John Heinz History Center

Ice Cream U: The Story of the Nation's Most Successful Collegiate Creamery
By Lee Stout
72 pages, 41 color/60 b&w illustrations, $19.95 cloth

It’s not just alumni who know of Penn State’s famous creamery. Fans around the world recognize the university’s program and its ice cream as one of the school’s great success stories. This large-format book does the story justice by exploring the history of the creamery from modest beginnings as an agricultural college to today’s internationally recognized research and education facility.

Dairy studies began there as early as 1865, and two short courses were launched in 1892. A correspondence course was also started that year. Experimental work focused on both fundamental and practical research to provide information to both farmers and commercial producers. The Creamery began selling its excess output in 1902, and by 1912, 195 farmers were supplying milk for total sales of nearly $70,000.

But enough of that — I know you want to hear about ice cream! That’s here too, from Peachy Paterno to WPSU Coffee Break, in glorious color. After detailing the history of the program, the book comes alive with sections on the flavors, the new Creamery, the ice-cream making process (from cow to cone in 4 days), and dairy farms. And more than ice cream is made there; milk, sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt are also produced and packaged. The images, both vintage sepia and modern shots, are laid out and reproduced beautifully.

Enjoy Western Pennsylvania History Magazine Now Online

By: Brian Butko, publications director, Senator John Heinz History Center

The History Center is pleased to announce the content of Western Pennsylvania History Magazine, stretching back to 1918, has been scanned and is now available online at no cost to the public.

The thousand pages of text were scanned and made searchable by the Office of Digital Scholarly Publishing at Penn State. Now anyone with an Internet connection can search the text back to 1918 and instantly access any article. For now, 2002 is the latest year scanned but that will be brought closer to the year of publication. Enjoy!

Click here to start searching.

Pittsburgh Signs Project: 250 Signs of Western Pennsylvania

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.

Publications and Book Reviews

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!