2018

Click on any underlined title to see more detailed information on each program, including videos approved for recording by speaker.  If you have trouble playing any video, please let us know at email: sqhillhist@shhsoc.org

DECEMBER
The Story of Roads and Bridges in Pittsburgh
Speaker: Todd Wilson, Transportation Engineer, Bridge Historian and Author of “Pittsburgh Bridges”
Pittsburgh, the City of Bridges, is also known for its convoluted roads. Some streets intersect each other three times. Others change names a few times. Giving directions, one often says, “Not that Right, the Other Right”, or “Go Straight”, which means angle left. The development of the City’s Roads is linked to the development of the City’s Bridges.

NOVEMBER
Nine Mile Run
Speaker: Wayne Bossinger, SHHS Board Member and historical researcher
Wayne will talk about the convoluted history of Nine Mile Run valley, from its early days of primeval forest and salt licks to the increasing use of the valley for salt production, gas and oil drilling, slag dumping, and finally reclamation and new uses.

OCTOBER
Getting to Know Our Neighbors: History of the Hill District
Speaker: Terri Baltimore, Director of Neighborhood Engagement for the Hill House Association
About Hill House Association from their website:
The Hill House serves clients through five strategic program areas: early learning and child development, youth services, family and workforce development, senior services and neighborhood services. In addition, the agency offers complimentary health and human services to its clients through 10 tenant agencies that reside on the Hill House campus.

*No video is available for this program

SEPTEMBER
How Geology Influenced the Landscape Paintings of Pittsburgh Artist John Kane
Speaker: Albert Kollar, Geologist, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
John Kane and his family emigrated from Scotland in the late 19th century and settled in Port Perry near the present day United States Steel Edgar Thomson Works.

*No video is available for this program

AUGUST
Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition
Special Reception/Program
Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition
Speakers: Ray Baum, Wayne Gerhold, Steve Hawkins, Erik Wagner, and Marian Lien. *Additional perspective to be provided by Yale Rosenstein, Karen Brean, and Stanley Lederman.

*No video is available for this program

JULY
A History of Freemasonry
Speaker: Austin Shifrin, Member of the Freemasons
Using his own experience as a starting point, Austin Shifrin will give a wide ranging overview of Freemasonry – its structure and history in the US and Abroad…from its promotion around the globe, to opposition that originated right in your backyard.

JUNE
THROUGH THE PLACE, A Film on the History of Pgh. History & Landmarks (PHLF)
Speaker: Karamagi Rujumba, Director of Public Communications and Advocacy, PHLF
PHLF was founded by a group of citizens who passionately believed that historic preservation, rather than massive demolition, could be a tool for renewing communities, creating pride among residents, and achieving sustainable economic development, PHLF is now recognized as one of the nation’s most innovative and effective non-profit historic preservation organizations.

*No video is available for this program

June 9, 2018 (Saturday) Rescheduled from May 12th
Walking Tour: Carnegie Mellon University
Time: 9:45am
Starting Location: “Walking to the Sky” statue easily visible from Forbes Avenue

June 2, 2018
WALKING TOUR — Squirrel Hill Business District
Tour will be led by Michael Ehrmann, SHHS President
Time: 10 am to Noon
Meeting Location: Church of the Redeemer Parking Lot 5700 Forbes Avenue.

MAY
Penn State: THEN and NOW
Speaker: Athena Jackson, Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair Head, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, Interim University Archivist Penn State University Libraries

April
Streetcar Days in Squirrel Hill
Speaker: George Gula, Port Authority (Retired), and Western Pa. Trolley Museum
From the 1890’s through1967, Squirrel Hill was served by an efficient streetcar system that connected that community not only to downtown and nearby Oakland, but also to communities and neighborhoods as diverse as East Liberty, Homestead, Duquesne, McKeesport, Wilkinsburg, Swissvale, Rankin, Braddock and East Pittsburgh.  From horsecars to the streamliners that travel the “T” today, we’ll learn about Pittsburgh transit history and how the streetcars of Squirrel Hill fit into it.

March
Allegheny Cemetery’s Grandest Angel: The HK Porter Monument, Italian Sculpture, and Art Collecting in Pittsburgh
Speaker: Dr. Elisabeth Roark, Associate Professor of Art History, Chatham University
Incorporated in 1844, the Allegheny Cemetery is the sixth oldest rural cemetery in America and has expanded over the years to now encompass 300 acres.

February
Historical Memory and Patriotism: Bouquet, the Injun Girtys and two Grants (James and Ulysses)
Speaker: Charles McCollester, Pittsburgh Historian
In 2013 Dr. McCollester spoke to the SHHS on “The Fall and Rise of Pittsburgh Labor”, he now returns to speak to our group about “History of Simon Girty”.

From Post-Gazette May 2017
……this fall, a state historical marker will be erected for Simon Girty in Squirrel Hill. Captured by the Indians as a boy, Girty left American service at Fort Pitt in 1778 and crossed over to the British because he saw them as less of an existential threat to native people’s survival than the land-hungry American colonists. History is complex.

January
Squirrel Hill Then & Now II
Speaker: Helen Wilson, SHHS Co-Vice President
As Helen Wilson and her fellow researchers continue to study SquirrelHill’s history, they find connections to the past that can be illustrated by comparing old and new images, some from the recently digitized copies of the Squirrel Hill News and other newspapers. The comparisons show not only how Squirrel Hill changed over time, but also why the changes took place.