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.

See All Six Steelers' Super Bowl Trophies at the History Center

The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Senator John Heinz History Center will welcome all six Steelers' Super Bowl trophies beginning today, Monday, Aug. 17 through Sunday, Aug. 30.

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.

Second Annual “Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures, An Antiques Appraisal Show” Event

Got stuff? Want to be on camera?

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.

KDKA-TV Televises Special "Pittsburgh's Hidden Treasures" Marathon

Tune in to KDKA-TV this Sunday, July 19 between 3 and 5:30 p.m. for a special "Pittsburgh's Hidden Treasures, An Antiques Appraisal Show" marathon featuring the first six episodes from season one.

Hosted by History Center President and CEO Andy Masich and KDKA-TV's Ken Rice, each 30-minute episode highlights collectibles, heirlooms, and other prized possessions that nearly 2,000 Pittsburghers brought to the History Center for appraisals last fall.

KDKA-TV will air the seventh and final episode of the season on Monday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m.

To learn more about "Pittsburgh's Hidden Treasures, An Antiques Appraisal Show," please visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org.

Sports Museum Nominated as Best Kids Museum in Pittsburgh

The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center has been nominated as the best museum for kids in Pittsburgh by Parents' Picks Awards 2009.

Voting closes on Wednesday, July 15.

Follow this link to start voting: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/pittsburgh-pa-usa/best-pittsburgh-museum

Forbes Field: A Century of Memories

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.