Newsletter December 2020

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Newsletter

December 2020

About SHHS

The Squirrel Hill Historical Society (SHHS) is a membership organization established in 2000. It is committed to gathering, preserving, and celebrating the historical memories of our neighborhood.

The SHHS sponsors a monthly lecture series on topics of interest primarily focused on Squirrel Hill institutions, with occasional talks about more general history.

Meetings are free and open to everyone. They are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of the Redeemer, 5700 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217.

How to contact the SHHS: P.O. Box 8157

Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Website:

Email: sqhillhist@

If you would like to view past programs, go to squirrelhillhistory. org and click on the link "Squirrel Hill Program Videos by Topic."

The SHHS Newsletters are sent only to SHHS members. Past issues are posted on the passwordprotected Members link on the SHHS website. If you need the password, email the SHHS and request that it be sent to you.

If you would like to submit an item of historical interest for publication, suggest a topic for a speech, ask a question, or give feedback, send an email to sqhillhist@ , or write to SHHS, PO Box 8157, Pittsburgh, PA 15217.

Co-Presidents' Message

Dear SHHS Members,

As we approach the end of this long and trying year, it is not unreasonable to see a glimmer of hope for 2021. Yes, COVID-19 rates are spiking, but at the same time, the rapid development of vaccines offers a possible longterm solution.

In December, we typically focus on our annual membership renewal drive. We value your support! Although our meetings are currently on Zoom, your dues are still needed and valued. We'll keep the monthly newsletters coming, and when the time comes, reunite at Church of the Redeemer. The membership renewal form is on page 9.

Our schedule for the upcoming months is rapidly taking shape. See page 2 for information about our December program about the Squirrel Hill Cafe. Conversations are in the works with about ten other speakers, and a number of interactive activities are also being developed.

With winter fast approaching, a common concern for the holiday season is inclement weather. Luckily a La Ni?a has formed over the Pacific Ocean, which typically results in a warmer, albeit wetter, winter over the northeast.

Things could be much different. A prime example is Thanksgiving 1950, when a huge storm dumped 31 inches of snow here over a 5-day period. Authorities responded as best they could, fighting a major fire on Fernwald Road, dispatching bulldozers to deliver an emergency supply of food to the Jewish Home for the Aged, and risking their own safety to help others.

The Squirrel Hill Historical Society Inc., has been determined to be exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c) (3). All contributions to the SHHS, including dues, are deductible from federal taxes under Section 170 of the IRS Code.

Even though it has been 70 years since the storm, I suspect there are at least a few people out there who remember it and have stories to tell. If you do, we would very much like to hear your stories. Contact us by clicking the "Contact Us" tab on our webpage. These memories are simply too precious to be forgotten.

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We would also like to remind our readers of several ongoing projects in which they can participate. These include our "House History Project," where both members and nonmembers can submit interesting stories about their houses in Squirrel Hill, and our `Champion Trees of Squirrel Hill Project," where readers can submit details about large trees in Squirrel Hill. Our December activity, "Connecting Squirrel Hill to the Lewis and Clark Expedition," ties Squirrel Hill in with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. We're on the map! See details about this historic project below and on pages 4-5.

The Squirrel Hill calendar is now available and can be purchased at Classic Lines, Amazing Books, and Little's Shoes and can be purchased onine as on the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition website.

In closing, we would like to wish everyone the very best during the upcoming holiday season. Above all, be careful, stay safe and enjoy. Jim Hammond and Wayne Bossinger, Co-Presidents, SHHS

December Program

Tuesday, December 8, 2020, Zoom Program, 7:30 p.m.: "The Red Door--An Historical Memoir of Pittsburgh's Iconic Squirrel Hill Cafe"

Our December program features a phone interview with Jan Cavrak, one of the authors of The Red Door--An Historical Memoir of Pittsburgh's Iconic Squirrel Hill Cafe. Jan and Leslie Mcilroy have written the definitive book about one of Squirrel Hill's longest-running businesses, whose history precedes it. The interview will be accompanied by pictures illustrating Jan's interview, followed by an invitation to attendees to tell their own stories about the cafe and the Squirrel Hill business district in general. See page 8 of this newsletter for more information about the book.

December Activity

"Connecting Squirrel Hill to the Lewis and Clark Expedition"

On page 4 of this newsletter, Tony Indovina presents information about 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 dedicated to the Lewis and Clark Trail. Tony has taken the lead in working with him on this project. The site is called the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience. See the article beginning on page 4 for more information. This activity is a twofold journey that's intertwined. The first is to discover Squirrel Hill and the Neill Log House at the easternmost beginning of the Lewis and Clark Trail Experience. Then, visit the Log House as part of the Squirrel Hill Driving Tour.

Ongoing and Future SHHS Programs and Activities

The SHHS is in the process of scheduling programs for 2021. At least five are in the works, but the schedule hasn't been finalized yet. The programs will be announced in the January Newsletter, or check the SHHS website for updates. All programs will be on Zoom until further notice.

January 12, 2021: "Writing the Book about The Homewood Cemetery" Lisa Spirenza has written an Arcadia book about The Homewood Cemetery after publishing one about Allegheny Cemetery a few years ago. It fills a vacuum in local history. The venerable cemetery's long and interesting history has never before been published. In this program, Lisa will discuss her book and the research that went into it.

January Interactive Activity: "What's in Your Basement?" Do you have something odd, historic, or unusual in your house's basement? Send us your story! You don't have to identify your house. In the course of working on the House History Project, we came across a house with a room behind a disguised door in the basement where bootleggers cooked mash to make moonshine during the Depression, and one that had a bomb shelter during the Cold War. And we've heard about "slag humps" but have never seen one. Send us your stories! We'll publish them in this newsletter. Email us at sqhillhist@ or click on "Contact us" on the SHHS website.

Ongoing: Our June activity, the "House History Project," continues to uncover incredible stories about Squirrel Hill's homes. All that's needed is to write them down and send them to us! See Eric Lidji's story about the construction of some houses in the early 1900s in Squirrel Hill in this newsletter. For more information about researching your own house's history, read stories that have been submitted, and submitting your own story, go to

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and click on the House History Project link in the main menu.

Our August activity, "Squirrel Hill Champion Trees Project," isn't over. We'll have more information about past and present trees in the January SHHS newsletter.

Past SHHS Program Videos Don't forget you can find videos of almost all past SHHS programs on the SHHS website, . Click on the link "SHHS Videos by Topic" and choose a program that interests you. If the program raises questions or if you'd like to comment on it, click on the "Contact us" link or send an email to sqhillhist@.

Don't forget to renew your SHHS Membership for 2021! Join us for an exciting new year of programs and activities uncovering interesting and intriguing things about Squirrel Hill and Pittsburgh's past.

The Squirrel Hill branch of Carnegie Library is now open, with limited services. We hope to see it vibrant with people again when the pandemic abates, but for now, we're happy it's open! That being said, given the recent spike in covid cases, it's best to check with the library to find out if any new restrictions have been put in place. Our new display there is "SHHS in the Time of Pandemic," showing all the things the SHHS has been doing since the pandemic started. Stop and take a look at it the next time you visit the library.

IMPORTANT: Zoom Update for December 2020 Program

Tony Indovina, SHHS Email Coordinator

As the SHHS continues to host presentations via Zoom during these months of closure, I want to pass along reminders to help all enjoy the experience. On our part, we believe we're making progress in scheduling and getting everyone into the program. Here are some things I'd like to share, based on recent experiences. Because participation continues to be by registration only for security reasons, we want to emphasize a few points. For our members, we expect responses to our invitation to come from personal email addresses registered in our membership folder. If you send a request to register from a different address, you'll get a reminder that we will send the link only to the email address we have on file. This becomes a little difficult for nonmembers, particularly those not registered with SHHS. We have always opened our meetings to the general public, so we will attempt to verify nonmembers not in our system who are requesting registration. We may ask those requesting registration to identify how they learned about our presentation. For this reason, it would be appreciated that if you tell a friend about the program, you would ask them to mention in their request that they learned about the presentation from you. All of this is so that we can identify those we "admit" to the Zoom session from the Waiting Room. When you click the link to join the session, your name generally comes up as it is registered on your computer, and we can generally recognize those names from our membership lists. If you know your device identifies itself as something like "Sweet Pea's Pad," please click on the three dots next to your name when it appears on the Zoom screen to use the "Rename" function. Then type in a name we'll recognize. If we don't recognize a name, we'll quickly send a Chat message, asking you to give us your name as registered. For this reason, it's important to be alert to "Chat" messages from us on your screen. We had to consider using the "Dismiss from Meeting" option for at least one participant from our last Zoom program. Lastly, because we'll continue to mute all participants' microphones during the presentation to avoid distracting noises, don't forget to unmute yourself if you have questions or comments afterward. unmute yourself by unclicking the little microphone icon that has a line through it on your toolbar. If there's no line through it, you're not muted. Members should direct any concerns or questions about our use of Zoom to sqhillhist@ or Contact Us on our Homepage.

Doors Open Pittsburgh, , has some great virtual events lined up for the holidays. Go to its website to sign up for "City Stairs," "Daniel Burnham," "To Pittsburgh with Love, Germany--The Story of the Holiday Market," "Bayernhof Museum," and Holiday Cheers--A Truly Unique Winery Experience."

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December SHHS Activity: Squirrel Hill in the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience

As previewed in our November newsletter, the SHHS has been linked to a national website named the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience. This connection came about after we were approached by the chief administrator of this website, which was created for the National Park Service and dedicated to the Lewis and Clark Trail and places of note along its entire route. The link is already in place on the Lewis and Clark website (see page 5) and will become active on the SHHS website in a day or two. The SHHS was initially invited to submit a nomination for the Neill Log Home and Squirrel Hill, now featured on its site. This was based on research suggesting that Meriwether Lewis passed close by the Neill Log Home in Squirrel Hill on his last trip to Pittsburgh. This is detailed in my article, "Meriwether Lewis and the Nemacolin Trail through Squirrel Hill," in the October 2020 SHHS Newsletter. This article is appropriately coupled with Helen Wilson's article, "The History of the Neill Log House." Below are concise overviews of these articles and an overview of our community, now posted on the Squirrel Hill page of the NPS Lewis and Clark website. We expect to refine this information over time. Neill Log House in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill Neighborhood The Neill Log House is the oldest existing residential structure in Pittsburgh. Located in the city's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, it was designated as a Historic Landmark in 1977. The Neill family lived in it from 1774 to 1795 on 262 acres that is now part of Schenley Park, one of two large city parks in Squirrel Hill. It was first built and occupied by a soldier stationed at Ft. Pitt. The complete story can be accessed by the link to the "Lewis and Clark Trail Experience," on the Home Page of the Squirrel Hill Historical Society at The historic connection between the Neill Log House and Lewis and Clark's Expedition is believed to have taken place in May 1803, when Meriwether Lewis traveled to Pittsburgh to launch the keelboat he had constructed upriver from Pittsburgh. Several months later, he began his trip down the Ohio River from the Point--the confluence of the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh and early Gateway to the West. From here, Lewis joined William Clark in St. Lewis for their journey together. May 1803 was Lewis' second trip to Pittsburgh, having traveled earlier as a young Virginian volunteer to put down the Whiskey Rebellion. On both trips, he journeyed from Maryland to Pittsburgh on the ancient Nemacolin Indian Trail, later called Braddock's Road. There is also evidence that Lewis later traveled with two wagons, close by the Neill Log House, on his last four miles overland to the Point. Early travelers on the Nemacolin Trail through what is now Schenley Park would water their horses at Snyder's Springs, source of the historic Catahecassa Fountain at the Neill Log House. Research for this appears in articles on our linked site. Squirrel Hill is a scenic residential city neighborhood with a vibrant central business district and the largest green space in Metropolitan Pittsburgh with historic Frick and Schenley Parks. It is also home to both Chatham and CarnegieMellon Universities, and near the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Institute. Great dining, culture, recreation and, of course, history, are all abundant here. Look for links to all of this on our website. Along with the information about Squirrel Hill, I recently added a link on our page on the Lewis and Clark website to the updated "Driving Tour of Squirrel Hill" menu item on the SHHS website. The new driving tour offers a comprehensive overview of our community and its many physical, cultural, and historic features. The driving tour was created through a collaboration between our vice-president, Helen Wilson, and SHHS member and map creator Lauren Winkler. The driving tour was featured as our activity in the November 2020 newsletter. We learned in

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working with the administrator of the Lewis and Clark website that showcasing communities like ours along the route of the historic trail, beginning in Pittsburgh and Squirrel Hill, will be promoted nationally this coming spring.

The National Park Service website features the entire historic route of Lewis and Clark's journey, "more than 4,900 miles long, traversing sixteen states and many tribal lands, along the historic route of the expedition," as well as "over 6,600 miles of designated auto tour routes which provide visitors access to the historic route through rich recreational, interpretive, and educational opportunities." To visit the main website, copy and paste this address: . The link to the Neill Log House and Squirrel Hill is part of this longer auto tour route. Click on the Interactive Map on its home page and work backward to the easternmost terminus by continuing to click on the discs highlighting points of interest. Ultimately you will arrive at the last two easternmost points of interest on the map, in Pittsburgh. These are the Heinz History Center and the Neill Log House. To quickly locate our link on the site, copy and paste this address: . This link displays the information that we posted about the Neill Log House and Squirrel Hill.

Complimenting the updated Driving Tour on our homepage and completing our connection to the "Lewis and Clark Trail Experience" is the new link on our SHHS homepage menu to this National Park Service site. This features the two articles mentioned above from our October newsletter, which formed the basis for SHHS being approached to nominate the Neill Log House as a point on interest of this National Park Service project. We believe the rich history of Squirrel Hill, from its very early days through the present, embodies "a story of loss and hope," one "that continues today." This is echoed in the quotation below on the main menu of the Lewis and Clark site. I believe our members and others who reflect on the history of Squirrel Hill can relate to these words, through many events occurring here from colonial to contemporary times:

The Lewis and Clark Expedition is more than the story of two men. It is the story of many: individuals and groups, military men and scientists, a president and a slave, women and men, French-speaking boatmen and American Indians. It is a story of loss and hope. It is a story of changes that began in 1803 and that continue today." ~ U.S. National Park Service.

H. Miller & Sons: An Early Builder of Squirrel Hill

Eric Lidji, Director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

H. Miller & Sons was a leading contributor to the development of Squirrel Hill in the years between the wars, when middle class families began moving into a neighborhood previously occupied by large estates and wide-open spaces. The general contracting firm built dozens of homes in the neighborhood, as well as some of its best-known landmarks.

Herschel Miller (1861-1930) was trained as a carpenter in his native Russia and pursued his craft after immigrating to the United States in the late 1880s. He started a contracting firm around 1890 and eventually brought several sons into the business. They initially built residential properties in the Hill District and undertook more significant projects year by year. Their first big commission came in 1913, when they were hired to build the new Concordia Club, an elite Jewish social club that had recently relocated from the North Side to O'Hara Street in Oakland. The project led to a series of commissions originating from the local Jewish community. H. Miller & Sons oversaw construction of the original Hebrew Institute in the Hill District in 1917, Caplan Baking Company factory on the South Side in 1919, the B'nai Israel synagogue in East Liberty in 1923, the new Montefiore Hospital in Oakland in 1928, and several downtown office buildings.

H. Miller & Sons appears to have begun building houses in Squirrel Hill as early as 1916, but its heavy involvement with the neighborhood dates to late 1919, when it formed the Pittsburgh Housing Corporation. The corporation was created to address a perceived shortage of middle class housing in the city at a time of rapid population growth and mobility into the middle class. It acquired and subdivided estates into units of residential housing, seeking economies of scale through the bulk purchase of construction materials.

The first project in this initiative came in December 1919, when the Pittsburgh Housing Corporation purchased the Harry Darlington Estate for $51,500. A few months later, in late March 2020, it awarded a $250,000 contract to its affiliate H. Miller & Sons to construct ten single-family residences. The estate had filled most of the southern side of

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