Women in Civil War Arsenals Project

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The first one is from the local Tribune-Review, the second one is from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with a short video. I'm so glad the 150th of the Allegheny Arsenal explosion is getting so much press.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Cold Case: Allegheny Arsenal Explosion

Heinz History Center - Events

There's lots going on in Pittsburgh this weekend with the 150th anniversary of the Allegheny Arsenal explosion. On Saturday, at Heinz History Center, there will be a "trial" to try and determine the cause of the Allegheny Arsenal explosion. Jim Wudarczyk - Lawrenceville author and historian - and famous forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht will lead it and visitors can serve on the "jury."

Events to recall arsenal explosion

And from today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette comes an article about Sunday's events at Arsenal Park: music, a dramatic reading by Pittsburgh's CLO, living history with weapons demonstrations, a lecture with Power Point, and guided tours of Allegheny Cemetery. Can't wait!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Check out "Bomb Girls"

Bomb Girls - GlobalTV.com: Official Site of Global Television

"Bomb Girls" is a TV miniseries set in Canada during World War II, but it draws many parallels between women's experiences during that war and those of women working in arsenals during the Civil War. You can watch full episodes on the site or, for those with Reelz Channel, you can catch it starting Tuesday at 9.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Article: "Historic Pittsburgh Arsenal Needs Care," plus updates

Historic Pittsburgh arsenal needs care, official says | TribLIVE

This article, published last Friday in the local Tribune-Review, talks about the neglect that the former powder magazine of the old Allegheny Arsenal suffers. It also mentions the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the explosion coming up in almost 2 weeks.

I know, I don't post on here nearly as much as my Facebook page. But the Fbook page is so much easier (so if you don't already follow me there, I highly suggest it).

In other news, after three years of fast food hell and looking for a job in my field to go with my masters degree, I have a job for next semester as an adjunct professor, teaching two US history courses. So I'm excited about that.

Also, I'm thinking of starting a Kickstarter page to help fund my research and getting my book published. Any contributions will get a shoutout in the acknowledgements.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Article: Remembrance of 1862 casualties set

Remembrance of 1862 Arsenal casualties set | TribLIVE

Article from yesterday's local paper (the Tribune-Review) about next month's commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Allegheny Arsenal explosion. There will be talks, music, living history, and more.

But there's a bit of confusion: the Facebook page for the event says it is September 15 while the article says it's the 16th. So hopefully I find out for sure soon.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Society for Women and the Civil War Conference 2012

This conference was awesome. Tiring, but awesome. I nailed my speech. I was overwhelmed with how supportive and welcoming everyone was.
Yesterday, we had a field trip to the former Allegheny Arsenal site (where I acted as a sorta tour guide), Allegheny Cemetery with James Wudarczyk, and Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. Then we had several fabulous lectures (including one by a high school student...she rocked it) and then a banquet of Pittsburghese cuisine. For those of you non-local, that includes pierogies, kilbassa and sauerkraut, halupki, rigatoni, fried chicken. Then we had a sing along of period music (16 years of living history helps with knowing so much of the words) and a fishbowl auction and door prizes - I won a couple books. Score. And today, we finished with a few more lectures. It was such an honor to present before so many knowledgeable people, as well as my loved ones (my mom, sister, and boyfriend, in this case).

For some reason, my "smart" phone likes to get pics out of order, so bear with me:

The people I'm with are my mom (in the blue dress), my sister (of In the Swan's Shadow blog, in brown) and my boyfriend Mark. There's a few photos of the Allegheny Arsenal explosion monument at the Cemetery, and of Soldiers and Sailors. I included the Peanuts/cartoons display because I'm a huge Peanuts/Snoopy collector.