2020

December
“The Red Door—An Historical Memoir of Pittsburgh’s Iconic Squirrel Hill Cafe“
Zoom Program
Jan Cavrak and Leslie Mcilroy have written a book about one of Squirrel Hill’s longest-running businesses, which has even more history preceding it at that location.

December Activity
Connecting Squirrel Hill to the Lewis and Clark Expedition: The SHHS has been working on an exciting connection between Squirrel Hill and Meriwether Lewis as he was on his way to join William Clark in St. Louis to begin their historic journey west. This past summer, the SHHS was approached by the chief administrator of a website created for the National Park Service that is dedicated to the Lewis and Clark Trail. The site is called the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience and can be accessed at this link: https://lewisandclark.travel/. The SHHS was invited to submit a nomination for the Neill log home and for Squirrel Hill to be featured on its site, based on research suggesting that Meriwether Lewis passed close by the Neill log home in Squirrel Hill on his last trip to Pittsburgh.

November
“Exploring Pittsburgh’s Lost Treasures ”
Rossilynne Skena Culgan describes herself as a storyteller, journalist, writer, photographer, editor, strategic communicator, and social media evangelist—fueled by curiosity and chai. She is the author of 100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die, a book that promises to become your local “bucket list” and to provide new ideas for your next visitors. Culgan is Food and Culture Editor for The Incline (TheIncline.com), a Pittsburgh news website. Her website is www.rossilynne.com.

November Activity
“Interactive Driving Tour of Squirrel Hill” The cooler temperatures of November will be an ideal time to practice physical distancing by driving around Squirrel Hill to experience the diversity within our large neighborhood. SHHS vice-president and SHHS member Lauren Winkler have prepared an updated interactive version of the driving tour that has a lot more information and pictures about what you’ll see along the route. Go to the SHHS website and click on “Driving Tour of Squirrel Hill,” then enjoy the ride!

October
“Turner Cemetery’s History and Significance”
Zoom Program
Vice-President Helen Wilson and other researchers continue to discover new information about Pittsburgh’s second-oldest graveyard, Turner Cemetery, and the people buried there.

“Self-Guided Walking Tour of Turner Cemetery”
SHHS and The Friends of Turner Cemetery at Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames UM Church will present a self-guided walking tour of the cemetery. The tour will be self-guided, and all COVID-19 precautions will be in force. Wearing masks and social distancing will be required. No restrooms or refreshments will be available.

September
“DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh”
Speaker: Bonnie Baxter – Founder/Executive Director – DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh
In a live Zoom program at our regularly scheduled meeting time of Tuesday, September 8 at 7:30p.m., Bonnie will give a presentation discussing how and why she opened DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh and what this year’s event will be like.

Excerpt from DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh website
“As a non-profit (501c3), DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh believes that everyone should be able to see and experience the beauty in our city.  Pittsburghers come together with hundreds of volunteers to open dozens of buildings to hear the stories they tell us about our past, present, and future.“

August
SHHS Champion Tree Project  
Squirrel Hill has some huge trees. We’ve found some really BIG ones, measured them, and put the results in the August and September SHHS Newsletters. Can you top them? Measure the circumference of your favorite big tree at the height of 54 inches and send us the data.

July
Our July 14 program, “The Pittsburgh Pirates go to the Movies,” presented by Ron Backer, has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.  It has been replaced by the following online program.

Date: Ongoing until further notice
“Taming the Automobile: Pittsburgh’s Boulevard of the Allies.”
Speaker: Justing Greenawalt, East Liberty Valley Historical Society (ELVHA) president and SHHS member.
Note: This video can be viewed at any time during July and can be viewed at your convenience.  Definitely take the time to view it!

June
(CANCELLED)
“Carrie Furnace”
The June Program has been replaced with the SHHS House History Project.
“House History Project” Do you have an interesting story about your house? Would you like to find out more about its history? The SHHS is asking both members and nonmembers to submit stories about their Squirrel Hill houses and provides sources to help in their research. The project is ongoing with no deadline. For more information, see the HOUSE HISTORY PROJECT link in the main SHHS menu. Check it out to see the unusual stories submitted by others, then submit your own!

May
(CANCELLED)
“100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die”
Rossilynne Skena Culgan is the author of 100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die, a book that promises to become your local “bucket list” and to provide new ideas for your next visitors. Culgan is Food and Culture Editor for The Incline (TheIncline.com), a Pittsburgh news website.

April
(CANCELLED)
“Homewood Cemetery and Smithfield East End Cemetery”
Jennie Benford, Director of Programming at The Homewood Cemetery Historical Fund, has spent almost two decades as an archivist, historian, and docent leading people through the most fascinating details of The Homewood Cemetery’s occupants and their current repositories.

March
“The Convoluted History of Squirrel Hill’s Roads”
Speaker: Helen Wilson, Vice-President of SHHS
Squirrel Hill has more than 200 streets, roads, avenues, places, courts, ways, lanes, bridges, and even a boulevard and interstate highway and tunnel. Some are so old they started out as Indian trails.

February
“The Art Collecting of Pittsburgh’s Gilded-Age Titans”
Speaker: Elizabeth Roark, Professor of Art History, Chatham University
This talk examines the collecting practices of Pittsburgh’s industrial age’s “big three”: Carnegie, Frick, and Mellon, and the impact it had had on the city (and beyond).

January
“Homestead and Squirrel Hill”
Speaker: Tammy Hepps, Founder of HomesteadHebrews.com
This talk will explore the surprisingly symbiotic relationship between the communities of Homestead and Squirrel Hill that began in the 1890s and continues to the present day.