Soup's On!

The Bulgarian Cultural Center in West Homestead sells 14 homemade meat and vegetarian soups, plus other Bulgarian specialties, each Saturday to help fund its arts, education and preservation activities.

Saturdays, 9:00 am to noon (or by appointment), from September 11 through December 18, 2010.

Phone 412-461-6188.
You can pre-order items online at: www.bmnecc.org/order_soup.aspx

SV art auction features locals

The public has an opportunity to bid on artwork by famous local artists while benefiting a nonprofit arts organization.

The Steel Valley Arts Council will have its first silent art auction next month at artspace105 in Homestead.

“This collection of art on auction is one of the most impressive groups of work that reflect the region’s architecture, its ethos and characteristics,” SVAC vice president Eric Sloss said. “This will be a wonderful time to buy a great piece of art at an economical price.”

People will be able to bid on the artwork Dec. 4 from noon-2 p.m., Dec. 8 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and Dec. 11 from 7-9 p.m. at artspace105. Dec. 4 also will feature Steel Valley’s Christmas Parade. Bidders can bid in different increments by writing their name and phone number next to the piece they want. After the three days of bidding, winners will be announced Dec. 11. Those winners can pick up their artwork Dec. 11 and pay by Visa, Mastercard, checks or cash.

More than 45 art pieces of various mediums ranging in price from $50 to $1,000 will be up for bid. All the art reflects the region in some way, including paintings by Robert Qualters, signed and unsigned George Nama-copied sketchbook pages, wood cut prints by Walter Gasowski, the artist collective Society for Pennsylvania and Surrounding Area History, in addition to art by Paul Kolesar, Paula Bland, Anna Marie Sninsky and Roslyn Stulga.

“Nama’s sketchbook prints show row houses snuggled against the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania,” Sloss said. “Qualters’ street light banners are of women making pirogues or of the onion domes on top of local churches, and Paula Bland’s cubist-like paintings reflect the effort and labor of the area’s steel mills.”

SVAC, which is a nonprofit arts organization serving the areas of Homestead, Munhall and West Homestead, has been promoting the arts for nearly two decades.

“During that time, artwork has been donated to us,” Sloss said. “We thought it would be good to give back to the community. This also gives us the opportunity to put money towards our operating expenses to sustain our work in the valley.”

He said the SVAC board came up with the silent art auction idea.

Artspace105 is located next to the Homestead Grays Bridge at 105 E. Eighth Ave. On-street parking is available on Seventh and Eighth avenues. More samples of the artwork to be auctioned off can be found at www.steelvalleyarts.org/auction.htm.

By Stacy Lee, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 29, 2010

West Mifflin Schedules Light Up Night Festivities

The borough’s annual Light Up Night, which will be held on Tuesday November 30th at 6:00 P.M. at the municipal building, will have plenty of new attractions.

The night will be filled with music, dance, activities and of course Santa Claus.

On stage, Pack 31 will start the evening with the Pledge to our great flag. Throughout the evening you will be treated to the wonderful sounds of the WMASD Chorus and band, as well as the First Baptist Church of WM Mass Choir, along with youth dancers from A.B.C. and Tiffany Sopp Dance Studios.

On the grounds some of your favorite mascots will be on hand for photographs with the kids, Ronald McDonald, Wendy, Chick-Fila Cow, Smiley Cookie, Cruiser the Hamster, The Kia Sock Monster and Moono Big Red. The Shriner’s Clowns and Eddie Ace the Magician will entertain us as well. D.J. Sean provided by the Holiday Inn Express will fill the air with holiday music throughout the evening, Skyvue Restaurant is serving hot chocolate while you enjoy a “Smiley Cookie”, children will be decorated with holiday tattoos by the Brierly Heights Woman’s Club, And the WMHS Cheerleaders will be doing face-painting while the High School Basketball team will help with escorting.

The West Mifflin Lions Club will be on hand to collect non-perishable food items for those in need.

Holiday gifts for the children have been donated by, the Borough of West Mifflin, Century III Mall, Century Heritage FCU, Senator Costa, State Representative Gergly, Tri-Boro FCU, PA one-Call, Prism, Children’s Hospital and Mayor Chris and Denise Kelly.

The evening will end with each child having the opportunity to take photograph with Santa Claus, courtesy of WM Best Buy.

If you would like to participate there is still time, please call 412-287-3402

Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area Sponsors Holiday Heritage Market at Historic Pump House

(Homestead, Pa) – Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is sponsoring a Holiday Heritage Market 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Historic Pump House located in The Waterfront, a popular Pittsburgh area shopping district. In its second year, the ethnic artisan market is a way for the national heritage area to spotlight and promote the diverse history of the Pittsburgh region.

Free and open to the public, the event will include authentic, ethnic heritage art, such as Bulgarian-Macedonian pottery, Hungarian wood carvings, Native American beadwork and pre-colonial maps. Crafts representing the Pittsburgh region’s more recent green heritage include mosaic glassware, bottle cap jewelry and purses made from recycled materials, among others.

The event will also include a taste exploration of our region’s ethnic heritage with foods representing Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria-Macedonia and Carpo-Russyn. Soup samples will be available and other foods can be purchased. Planned art demonstrations include German sawdust carpets and German stained glass. In the afternoon, music will be provided by Joe Grkman, Jr., - of the award-winning Slovenian Polka band Grkmania, who play regularly at Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh’s Southside. Visitors can also take part in a Pick-a-Prize Auction, with chances to win items such as Bulgarian pottery and tickets to next year’s Irish Festival.

The event will be held at The Pump House, 880 E. Waterfront Drive, Munhall. The building is the historic site of the 1892 Battle of Homestead. Built in 1891, the structure was barely a year old when it took its place in history as the site of the infamous Battle of Homestead. On July 6, 1892 the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and the Pinkerton Guards hired by the Carnegie Steel Company clashed on the banks of the Monongahela River beneath the Pump House – now considered one of the most dramatic conflicts in American Labor history. Today the Pump House is the only brick structure that remains of United States Steel’s Homestead Works. Now under the auspices of Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, the Pump House can be rented for private events.

For more information, please contact Sherris Moreira at 412.464.4060, ext. 46 or smoreira@riversofsteel.com.

The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is managed by the non-profit Steel Industry Heritage Corporation (SIHC) in partnership with the National Park Service and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. SIHC works with communities throughout the region to identify, conserve, promote, and interpret the cultural, historic, recreational and other resources associated with steel and steel-related industries. The goal of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is to use these resources to encourage community revitalization through cultural tourism, historic preservation, natural and recreational resource conservation, cultural and educational programs and related economic development. Rivers of Steel National Heritage area encompasses Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. For more information, visit www.riversofsteel.com

Hollywood Heartthrob to Make Salvation Army Benefit Appearance - Mt. Lebanon's Own Joe Manganiello Comes Home to Give Back

You have seen him on Spiderman, One Tree Hill, True Blood and much more. Now see him up close and personal. Mt. Lebanon's own Hollywood heartthrob Joe Manganiello is coming home for the WPXI TV Channel 11 My Macy's Parade and a Meet and Greet to benefit The Salvation Army.

Get to know Joe after the parade at the WPXI TV and 96.1 KISS Salvation Army Red Kettle drive on Saturday, November 27th from 2:00 to 3:00 pm at the Homestead Waterfront Towne Square. Admission is free, plus enjoy free Dave and Busters gift cards and other prizes while supplies last. For a suggested donation of $5.00, get an autograph and snap a photo with the popular TV and movie star. Please help WPXI, KISS FM, Joe and The Salvation Army wage war on poverty.

Start your own Red Kettle campaign online and win VIP passes to the My Macy's holiday parade Nov 27th and lunch with the celebrity guests. The highest fundraiser gets the goods. Log on to www.wpxi.com/pittsburghparade for details.

WPXI TV Channel 11 My Macy's Parade and Waste Management are also sponsoring a Salvation Army toy drive at the downtown Pittsburgh parade. Look for the toy donation area in the parade broadcast zone. Toys will supplement The Salvation Army's Treasures for Children toy program.

"WPXI and Clear Channel have a long history of supporting The Salvation Army at Christmas," said The Salvation Army's Western Pennsylvania Divisional Commander Major Robert Reel. "We are thrilled to have Joe on board, giving his time to help our families in need. It says a lot about his character that he remembers to give back to his hometown."

Both a church and a social service organization, The Salvation Army began in London, England in 1865. Today, it provides critical services in 120 countries worldwide. The 28-county Western Pennsylvania Division serves thousands of needy families through a wide variety of support services. To learn more about The Salvation Army in Western Pennsylvania, log onto www.salvationarmy-wpa.org. The Salvation Army ... Doing the most good . . . for the most people . . . in the most need.

SOURCE The Salvation Army

CARNEGIE, Pa., Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish Craft Show

St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish Craft Show plus Cash for Gold.

This Saturday, November 20th 9:00am - 3:00pm.

Bring your old jewelry, coins, etc and get some cash!!!! 20+ crafters will be there.

363 W. 11th Avenue Extension
Homestead, PA, 15120-1438

Holiday Heritage Market

Save the date for the Holiday Heritage Market held 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Pump House, 880 E. Waterfront Drive in Homestead.

There will be all kinds of ethnic crafts and foods for purchase as well as art demonstrations to be enjoyed.

Get handmade heritage gifts for your loved ones for the holidays!

FREE Thanksgiving Dinner

FREE Community Thanksgiving Dinner

Tuesday November 23, 2010
6:00 pm
Salvation Army
Steel Valley Corps
104 E. 9th Ave.
Homestead, PA

Photographer uses poets to bring character to 'Milltown' images

The black-and-white photographs stand alone on their own merits.

Sometimes stark, sometimes playful, sometimes poignant, Charlee Brodsky's images of Homestead and the Waterfront, the shopping center that replaced a steel mill along the banks of the Monongahela River, need no explanation.

But Brodsky, a professor of photography at Carnegie Mellon University, knew there were hidden stories pictures alone could not tell. She enlisted writers Jane McCafferty and Jim Daniels, colleagues at CMU, to add words to the photos.

"What they're doing is bringing character to the images," Brodsky says of the book, "From Milltown to Malltown," which combines her photographs with poems by McCafferty and Daniels. "They're making them have individual voices; they're making them a little bit less generic. I think that by working with the image and by working with the voice they bring to those images, we have more of a sense of place, a true place. It's like fiction. In the very beginning, we say these poems are not based on any one person or any thing, but it becomes more real. We're imagining in our head who these people are who walk these streets, who lived here, who go shopping at the Waterfront. It makes it a more tangible place for me."

Brodsky's photos were shot in Homestead (the Milltown portion of the book) and at the Waterfront (Malltown). There are images of abandoned buildings and residents, the apartment complexes at the Waterfront and people who work in stores and restaurants.

The writers, used to following what McCafferty calls "the wild, roaming beast" that is the imagination, relished the opportunity to confine their writing to set reference points.

"What really impressed me is that it's not arbitrary what you come up with," McCafferty says. "The photograph is really, in some sense, determining what comes out, even though there's a variety of things that might happen. It feels like there's an inevitability. I guess it's sort of like imposing a form on a poem.'

The images inspired a range of perspectives. A long view of the Loews Theater prompted Daniels to compare the building's facade to "the uncombed hair of an adulterous lover/after a night of disgust and disappointment." In a photograph of a woman blowing a bubble, McCafferty recognizes children in the background who are "Eager, curious as they look off/camera for what might/be coming to the rescue."

"I think it speaks to the subtlety of the photographs," McCafferty says. "They're not in-your-face, literal photographs. They're playful, and they're subtle, and there are ways to enter them; there are all kinds of points of view in the photographs."

McCafferty and Daniels found humor in some of the photos. An oversized advertisement for a restaurant became Daniels' "Coming Soon: Monster Hamburger Takes Over Universe?" McCafferty turned the photograph "Future Resident Parking Only" into a Seinfeldian plea not to get a parking ticket.

"There are absurdities in there that you can't help but try to figure out," Daniels says.

One theme that emerges in "From Milltown to Malltown" is the inexorable march of progress. Homestead has been irrevocably changed by the loss of the steel industry. To have that replaced with a parcel of land devoted strictly to commerce is not necessarily a tragedy.

"We didn't want it to be a simplification, that the Waterfront is bad," Daniels says. "There are human beings in these places, and this is their environment. We were looking at it at that level in terms of how people interact with that environment."

"I think we all have a story we want to tell," Brodsky says, "so we were always going back to 'What is the story?' And I think the story is based on a real place. We wanted to be relatively truthful to what we felt the story was, and that was the history of this place and how it's evolving, what we're losing and perhaps even what we're gaining."

Brodsky remembers taking photos of Waterfront and talking to young people who had no idea of the land's history. They didn't realize the dozen smokestacks near the entrance of the center were once part of an industrial site that provided jobs and sustenance for thousands of families in the Mon Valley.

"So much of the project is about respecting ghosts," McCafferty says, "and asserting history where it's being erased. It can't really be erased if you're thinking of the spirit of the place.'

By Rege Behe, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, November 7, 2010

Williams breaks WPIAL's one-season rushing yardage mark

Steel Valley coach Rod Steele went into the game Friday against South Allegheny hoping to get Delrece Williams to 2,000 yards rushing this season.

Williams took the idea a lot further and ran right into the WPIAL record book.

Williams, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, rushed for 317 yards in a 42-13 win and broke the WPIAL record for most yards rushing in the regular season. Williams finished with 2,149 yards, breaking the mark of 2,112, set by Mars' Bill Bair only three years ago.

Williams came into the game with 1,832 yards. Only three other runners in WPIAL history had rushed for 2,000 yards in the regular season. Besides Bair, Hopewell's Rushel Shell surpassed 2,000 yards for the second season -- only one night earlier. Laurel Highlands' Jim Smith rushed for 2,026 in 1989.

"We knew he had an opportunity to get 2,000 yards," Steele said. "At halftime, we knew he had cracked 2,000. Then, one of my assistant coaches says he needed only 60 or 70 more yards to be the all-time leader [for the regular season].

"We weren't going to take him out of the game yet anyway because we wanted to get him some more playing time in order to get ready for the playoffs. Then, he ended up breaking a long run. The next thing you know, they're announcing he's the all-time rushing leader. It was kind of crazy."

Williams won the WPIAL regular-season rushing title while Shell finished second with 2,102 yards. Williams also won the scoring title with 31 touchdowns.

"He's a special kid," Steele said. "He's the kind of kid who, the more you feed him the ball, the better he gets."

Steele said Division I colleges are starting to show interest in Williams. Steele said a coach from Connecticut plans to visit Steel Valley today. Michigan State was at Steel Valley recently and West Virginia has requested tape of Williams.

"I believe in the next couple weeks, he might get a scholarship offer," Steele said. "He can run in between the tackles, in the open field and can even catch the ball. What's most impressive about him, though, is he's even a better person. He reminds you of Hines Ward. He's always smiling."

Monday, November 01, 2010

By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steel Valley primed for 28th Veterans Day celebration

One of the longest-running Veterans Day programs in the area is set to unite the Steel Valley community in honoring servicemen and women of the past, present and future.

Steel Valley School District will host its 28th annual Veterans Day program on Nov. 11 at 9 a.m. in the high school auditorium.

"We have kids participating in it from kindergarten through 12th grade," Veterans Day Program committee member John Tichon said. "The kindergarten students come and sing. They've attended every event up to this point. The elementary kids participate in a poster contest. From grades 6-12, we have essay contests.

"This is our 28th straight year and we're proud of it. It permits the adults in the community to interact with the children."

"This committee started 28 years ago," committee member Jill Fleming-Salopek said. "Right now, Veterans Day assemblies have become popular in schools. When we started doing this, it wasn't normal in schools."

She said the assembly bridges the generation gap.

"We do different things to bridge the gap of understanding of the sacrifice of the veterans," Fleming-Salopek said. "We try to get the students to articulate it through music, artwork and writing."

The theme will be "Service and Sacrifice."

Also planned is a tribute to Marine Corps veteran Vincent Rodgers Sr., who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

"Since he came out of the service, he visited the veteran's hospital (in Aspinwall) at least once a week," committee member and Homestead Mayor Betty Esper said. "He put in 4,000 volunteer hours. That's one of the reasons we're honoring him."

"He's in his early 90s and he still does that," Tichon said. "He's quite a guy."

Steel Valley High School student Aaron Bott will be sworn in to the Marine Corps at the ceremony, as well.

There will be a memorial tribute to Pfc. Albert Colletto Jr., Lance Cpl. Kenneth A. Stanciu, Superior Court Judge John G. Brosky, Staff Sgt. Paul L. Vernon, John Palo, John Posipanka, Michael Curtin Sr., Medal of Honor recipient Technical Sgt. John "Jack" D. Kelly, Ed Lutheran, Edward Esper, James Campbell, Robert Hemminger, Ron Hess, William Connelly, John Deffenbaugh and John Mrazik.

Brosky, who passed away Oct. 10, was on the Veterans Day Program Committee. He served in the Army during World War II and later joined the Pennsylvania National Guard.

Brosky was an Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas judge for nearly 20 years and a state Superior Court judge for 22 years.

Edward Rock Sr., a charter member of the Veterans Day program committee, will receive the 2010 Mind, Heart and Spirit Lifetime Achievement Award from Duquesne University, his alma mater, at an upcoming ceremony. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II.

Rock co-founded Duquesne's Beta Pi Sigma fraternity. He retired from Westinghouse and volunteered at his church and with various veterans and civic organizations.

Veterans Day programs also will take place at Barrett Elementary on Nov. 5 at 9:15 a.m. and Park Elementary on Nov. 12 at 9 a.m.

Fleming-Salopek said one of the goals of the committee is to continue to include new community members and younger veterans and their families in the Veterans Day program.

By Stacy Lee, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 1, 2010

Salvation Army to launch annual Red Kettle drive

Ring the bells — Red Kettle time is here.

The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division has announced activities for the holiday season, during which its Allegheny County corps hopes to net $810,000.

Army divisional spokeswoman Virginia Knor said more than 100 of those familiar kettles will be set out until Dec. 24.

Knor said Vector Security and WWSW-94.5 will be official sponsors of the kettles, but additional volunteers and kettle sites are needed.

Activities scheduled for the upcoming holiday period that impact Mon-Yough communities include signups for families in need for Christmas food and toy assistance.

In McKeesport, that will happen Tuesdays in November from 9 a.m. till noon and 1-3 p.m. at the Army's Worship and Service Center, 812 Walnut St.

Applicants must bring photo identification and proof of income and expenses. Call Capts. Sean and Andrea Barton, 412-673-6627 for details.

Other holiday activities will include:

• "Adopt-A-Family" through Dec. 11. Sponsors are in the process of selecting and purchasing holiday gifts for needy families in Allegheny County. Gifts will be collected at the Army's 1323 Forbes Ave. location in Pittsburgh's Uptown section from Dec. 1-11, then distributed through Dec. 17. Call 412-394-3580, ext. 102.

• Wendy's annual Frosty Key Tag promotion through Dec. 31 at the company's area restaurants. A $1 tag means a full year of free Junior Frosties.

• The ninth annual Garbage Bag Gala Friday from 7-10 p.m. at the Fox Chapel Racquet Club. Some of the most stylish women in Western Pennsylvania will raise dollars creating and wearing dresses made from garbage bags. Call 412-999-1250 .

• Family Fun Nights Nov. 10 and Dec. 8 from 5-8 p.m. at Fuddruckers in the Waterfront. Twenty-five percent of every purchase will be donated to the Army's Steel Valley Worship and Service Center along Ninth Avenue. Call Maj. Karen Garrett or Capt. Kathy Dorchak at 412-461-2460 for details.

• Allegheny County annual Doing the Most Good Dinner, Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Station Square. It's a special evening featuring Jerome Bettis and honoring the Memon Family, Dr. Stephen Fisher, Marilyn DeHuff and John Newman. Call 412-446-1642.

• Run the Lights at Hartwood Acres Rite Aid Celebration of Lights Nov. 17. The event raises funds for new winter outerwear for needy kids and seniors throughout Western Pennsylvania. Call 412-446-1639.

• Wal-Mart Red Kettle Kickoff Challenge, Nov. 18 at 11:45 a.m. This annual partnership will be marked this year at the Wal-Mart in Robinson Township. Wal-Mart stores in Allegheny County, including those in North Versailles Township and West Mifflin, challenge each other to raise the most dollars.

• Steelers Red Kettle Day, Nov. 21 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Heinz Field.

• Thanksgiving Food Distribution for registered families, Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. at the Braddock Worship and Service Center, 300 Holland Ave. Call Lt. Yvonne Guillaume at 412-271-2407.

• Honeysuckle White Thanksgiving Dinner, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. at the Steel Valley Worship and Service Center, 104 E. Ninth Ave. Call 412-461-2460.

• Honeysuckle White Thanksgiving Dinner, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. Volunteers are needed at the Braddock Worship and Service Center. Call 412-271-2407

• Honeysuckle White Holiday Dinner, Nov. 26 from noon till 1 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help prepare and serve meals and to clean up at the McKeesport Worship and Service Center. Call 412-673-6627.

• After School Program/Christmas Family Night Dec. 9 at 4:30 for and by the children and their families in the after-school program at the Steel Valley Worship and Service Center.

• Project Bundle-Up's 24th annual telethon Dec. 10, 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., on WTAE-4.

• Steel Valley Worship and Service Center Toy Sorting for Needy Children, Dec. 13-16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers can call 412-461-2460.

• Christmas program with special guest Majs. Timothy and Mary Gair Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. at the Steel Valley Worship and Service Center.

• Steel Valley Worship and Service Center Holiday Toy Distribution Dec. 20-22 from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m.

• Braddock Worship and Service Center toy distribution for needy children Dec. 20-21 from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m.

• McKeesport Worship and Service Center toy distribution for needy children Dec. 21 from 9 a.m. till noon.

• Braddock Worship and Service Center Christmas Eve community dinner Dec. 24 from 6-9 p.m. Join the Braddock Corps for dinner or call to volunteer, 412-271-2407.

• McKeesport Worship and Service Center Christmas dinner Dec. 25 at noon. Call 412-673-6627.

• Braddock Worship and Service Center community fellowship dinner and watchnight service Dec. 31 from 6-9 p.m.

By Patrick Cloonan, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 1, 2010