Forty members from the Society for Industrial Archeology wanted to see firsthand the history behind how the 67-year-old building made the transformation from a Navy World War II ammunition plant.
"We are really happy that they chose to visit our site, and we take a lot of pride in being housed in this historic building," GalvTech operations leader Paul Mula said Thursday. "We helped bring steel back to this area, and I am glad we have the opportunity to show that to them."
The society, which is holding its national convention in Pittsburgh this week, is a nonprofit organization formed in 1971 that promotes the study, appreciation and preservation of historic industrial sites, structures, artifacts and technology.
Members come from a variety of professions and include architects, archaeologists, engineers, industrialists, teachers and students.
Society spokesman Patrick Martin, an archaeology professor at Michigan Technological University, said the group came to Pittsburgh to better understand its steel heritage.
"Pittsburgh is a great place to study the industrial industry," Martin said. "The more people know the history here, the more they appreciate it, and the more they will likely support efforts that go with understanding and possibly preserving it."
The organization publishes a semi-annual journal, a quarterly newsletter and posts industrial news and building preservation projects on its Web site, www.siahq.org.
Members gather every year for a spring conference, last held in Pittsburgh in 1993, where members tour industrial sites to better understand industrial trends and history.
Christopher Marston, an architect for the National Park Service in Washington, said some members have worked on local projects such as the preservation of Homestead's Pump House, the last 19th century building remaining at the site where the 1892 Battle of Homestead took place.
As a former Pittsburgh resident, he said he liked seeing what the city has done to keep the heritage here alive.
"I think the rail-trail movement here is really cool, where you can still see all those rusty old rail beds along the river," Marston said. "I like to come back and see what is left of the industry and hopefully be a catalyst for preservation for some of this stuff."
He said members have documented industrial buildings in McKeesport, Duquesne and Johnstown.
The GalvTech facility was a key military ammunition plant in the early 1940s because of its location along the Monongahela River and quick access to nearby rail transportation.
The GalvTech tour was just one of many planned during the convention. GalvTech, which starting leasing the building in 1996, specializes in the galvanizing of flat-rolled sheets of steel used for nonautomotive applications in the commercial construction and consumer goods market.
By Ken Fibbe
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday May 28, 2009,
7:30 p.m.
Valley Town (1940). Black & White. 27 minutes. Director: Willard Van Dyke
This social documentary that premiered at the Steel Workers’ Organizing Committee’s convention in Chicago in May 1940 portrays life in New Castle, Pa., during the Great Depression. Unemployment and poverty transformed the town and its people as automation made its impact in the steel industry. Because of what was considered an anticorporate view, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which funded the film, withdrew it from release and redid the film. Two very different versions, the original director’s cut and the remake, exist.
This half-hour documentary, part of the PBS “Great Depression” program series, tells the dramatic story of the struggle at J&L Steel that led to the famous Supreme Court decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Wagner Act. After the win at Aliquippa extended the union beyond U.S. Steel surrendering without a shot in secret negotiations between John L. Lewis and Myron Taylor, the steelworkers’ union hit up against Tom Girdler’s extreme resistance. The Memorial Day massacre of 1937, just weeks after the victory at Aliquippa, kept the unions inside “Little Steel” without a contract until 1941.
Battle of Homestead Foundation
West Mifflin Area High School/Auditorium Monday, May 11th, 2009
7:00-9:00PM
Sponsored by:
Topics include:
- Law Enforcement Efforts
- Physiology of D&A Use, Addition as a disease, Warning signs
- Types of drugs in communities – how to identify drugs
- Intervention Techniques – What could one do to help prevent people from starting; what could be done to help people stop using drugs
- What can a community do to combat drug/substance abuse
- What resources are available to help substance abusers
- Personal Testimonies – Person in recovery willing to share experiences to help others
Moderator: Patricia Valentine,
Point of contact: SMSgt DiCerbo, 412-896-0789
Email: dicerboo@wmasd.org
Youth Crime Watch President: Leo Agafanov
SADD President: Jessica Kostelnik
Resource Advisors/Tables include: Allegheny County Dept of Human Services, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services, Familylinks, Mercy Behavior Health, Mon-Yough Community Service MH/MR, Turtle Creek Valley MH/MR Program, Alateen, Al Anon, Gateway, Greenbriar Treatment Center
Registration
Registration is being held Saturday, May 9 and May 16, 2009 from noon - 3:00 PM and Saturday, May 30 from noon to 2 PM at Barret Elementary School. Participants must bring copies of the following three items for us to keep, otherwise they will not be able to play:
Best of the Batch Foundation
2000 West Street
Munhall, PA 15120
Location
Games are held at the Charlie Batch 16th Avenue Playground in Homestead, PA, weather permitting. If rain is in the forecast, games will take place at Barrett Elementary School in Homestead.
Practice Schedule Tournament Dates and Times Championship Day Check our event calendar for future game dates and information. 
The official tournament begins June 10 at 5:30 PM.
Saturday, July 25 from 4:00 PM - ???
Come out and see the Pirates at theCome out to the ballgame and watch the Pirates take on the St. Louis Cardinals, while at the same time help support your local Salvation Army. The Salvation Army also has the privilege of being the color guard for the game.
This invitation is open to all family and friends of The Salvation Army, so bring your family and friends to an enjoyable night @ PNC Park. All W PA Corps, Service Centers & Units will be selling tickets.
Ticket prices are $9 & $20, with a portion of every ticket sale benefiting your local Salvation Army. Order tickets through your Salvation Army or open the attached ticket form and order directly through the Pirates. Please do not forget to write in the Salvation Army to benefit from your ticket sales.
* A portion of the proceed from each ticket purchased in advanced will benefit your area Salvation Army, please list: Steel Valley/Homestead Corps.
* Representatives from the Salvation Army will be performing the Color Guard ceremony prior to the game.
Outfield Box Seats - $20 ($5 donated to the Salvation Army)
Outfield Grandstand - $9 ($2 donated to the Salvation Army)
Please contact Colleen @ 412-446-1551 or click here to send an e-mail.
Let's Go Bucs!
Sandcastle Waterpark’s new general manager Damian Dondero, left, looks over the park from the boardwalk with exiting general manager Scott MacKay Wednesday afternoon. (Cindy Shegan Keeley)A longtime general manager at Sandcastle Waterpark is riding his last wave at the West Homestead facility to continue a family business, and a North Carolina man has been selected to take his place.
Scott MacKay, formerly of Forest Hills and now a South Hills resident, has spent the last 20 years making Sandcastle Waterpark what it is today.
MacKay started his aquatic career as a lifeguard at Forest Hills Pool, worked in maintenance there, and worked for Kennywood Entertainment LLC as an operations manager during Sandcastle's construction in 1988 and its opening in July 1989. It opened later than projected because of flooding.
"When (Sandcastle) first (was) built, we were sort of modeled after Kennywood (with) the operating schedule and so forth," he said. "What we found over time was you couldn't operate the water park the same way as you operated the amusement park. When the sun went down, it was too cold to swim so we had to try to find other things to extend the operating time we were here."
Under his watch, the water park added Club Wet, which is now known as Sandbar. Dunkin' the water-breathing dragon was named Sandcastle's mascot. And Stacks, a snack bar with air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a made-to-order sandwich station, and more were added.
MacKay said Sandcastle has had a tremendous impact on his life, and he has been able to build friendships with various team members through the years, some of whom started out in the earlier years and have come back with their families.
"We're just starting to see the history that we've been a part of and the memories," he said, "and I think that's going to be what I remember the most when I leave this job."
By MICHAEL DIVITTORIO
A day after Byron Leftwich's departure, the Pittsburgh Steelers moved quickly to retain Charlie Batch.
His first four seasons were with the Detroit Lions, where he was a starter most of his time.
Batch suffered a broken clavicle last August, forcing him to spend the season on the injured reserve list. That created the opening for Leftwich to join the team as the backup.
The Steelers would have liked to have Leftwich and Batch back, but they figured Leftwich would find a different team.
Leftwich signed a two-year, $7.5 million deal Monday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Goga guided Peters Township to a 23-3 record this season and the first WPIAL basketball title in school history. This was Goga's fourth season as the Indians' coach, and his turnaround job is impressive. Peters Township was 7-17 in his first year, finishing last in the section. The Indians were 6-18 in his second year.
Things started to turn last year, and the Indians reached the WPIAL summit this season.
Goga, 33, is a graduate of Bethel Park and played at Pitt-Bradford. He is a 12th-grade English teacher at Steel Valley.
Biggest key to the season: I think just at different times of the season, we always had somebody step up. So many times when we needed a lift, there was always someone to provide that lift, and in more ways than just scoring.
You teach at Steel Valley and coach at Peters Township. Is that hard? Not at all. I love both places. It's easy. I enjoy the drives to both places. I get to listen to ESPN radio.
Two coaches that you admire at any level? From a collegiate standpoint, I really like Jamie Dixon at Pitt. One of the reasons is because Pitt is my favorite team, but I just like the way they play. The others would probably be Danny Holzer [at Upper St. Clair] and Johnny Lee when he was at Baldwin. Those are the guys I coached under and learned under.
If you won a million dollars, what would you buy first? I would make my classroom the greatest of all time. I'd add a second level and put a basketball hoop there. I'd have recliners all over, too.
What advice would you give sports parents: Let the coaches coach, and encourage your kids to work hard because nothing should be handed to them.
People might be surprised to know that you ... I have 97 bobbleheads. I collect them in all different sports.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
April 12, 2009
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants are trying to take a little of the sting out of Tax Day for diners.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based P.F. Chang is inviting guests nationwide to enjoy a 15 percent discount April 15 in honor of the income tax filing deadline.
The tax relief promotion will apply to every order by every guest of P.F. Chang’s on April 15.
P.F. Chang’s Pittsburgh-area location, in the Waterfront shopping area in West Homestead, is participating in the discount program.
McCormick & Schmick's restaurants are offering a Tax Relief Celebration on April 15 to all taxpayers, with a $10.40 dinner special on some items, and several drink specials to provide relief to customers.
The Portland, Ore.-based seafood chain has two locations in Pittsburgh, on Sidney Street in the SouthSide Works and Downtown on Fifth Avenue. Both are participating in the promotion.
Restaurants have been particularly hard-hit during the recession as many diners opt to eat at home more to save money.
Pittsburgh Business Times
April 10, 2009
Blue Dust Restaurant owner and operator Jerry Miller announced they're open for business effective April 10, 2009. Blue Dust, located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Amity Street in Homestead - just across from The Waterfront - offers a variety of libations and delicious homemade food.
The Steel Valley Enterprise Zone Corporation provided financing assistance to Blue Dust and encourages local residents, businesspersons and workers to pay a visit to this asset to The Avenues.
