Making History Blog
The Steelworker’s Work Whistle on VE Day: Three Dots and a Dash
“Preliminary advices indicate that within the next 24 hours, the Chiefs of State of the Principled Allied Powers will proclaim the Day of Victory in Europe and the end of…
The Sole Surviving Colonel – Thomas Dunbar
19th century engraving of Braddock’s march for Fort Duquesne. Col. Thomas Dunbar was a career soldier who rose through the ranks and was appointed commander of the 48th Regiment of…
Hurricane Agnes and the Fort Pitt Museum
City police rescued a Fort Pitt Museum watchman last night when flood waters trapped him inside the building. They had to break a glass in the door before he could…
Meadowcroft’s Pine Bank Covered Bridge
The Pine Bank Covered Bridge as it appeared in 1961. What’s more iconic to rural America than a covered bridge? In 1871, when Meadowcroft’s Pine Bank Bridge was constructed, there…
Oakmont Country Club
Golf legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus battled at the 1962 U.S. Open at the Oakmont Country Club. As the host of 21 national golf championships, including the 2016 U.S.…
Uncovering Crime: Documenting Pittsburgh’s Criminal Past
Unidentified woman with guns hidden under box frame mattress, c. 1930. Pittsburgh Public Schools Collection, Senator John Heinz History Center. A woman sits on the edge of a box frame…
Mrs. Bard’s Spoon
On the morning of April 13, 1758, the home of Richard and Catharine Bard, in present-day Adams County, Pa., was attacked by a party of 19 Delaware Indians. In the…
Pennsylvania Political Ephemera Through the Years
See more political ephemera that documents more than 200 years of state and national politics here: Krasik Collection of Pennsylvania & Presidential Political Memorabilia. In national election years, we see…
The Slinky – “A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing!”
During the height of World War II, a U.S. Naval engineer accidentally invented one of the world’s most popular and celebrated toys. In 1943, Richard T. James, a 1939 graduate…
5 Toys From Your Childhood That You Might Not Remember
“Lady Lionel” train set In the early 1950s, the Lionel Company had its best years of sales, but by the decade’s end, the company struggled to stay relevant. They produced…