Janet Cercone Scullion, Director, celebrates with her family as Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy officially opens the Bloomfield Preservation and Heritage Society, September 8, 1999 |
Pittsburgh Pride:
Keeping the Next Generation Here
Prompted by concerns over the city of
Pittsburgh's loss of population, particularly its young
people, the Bloomfield Preservation and Heritage Society
decided to use the past of one of the city's oldest
neighborhoods -Bloomfield- to help cement a stronger future.
Since the 17th century, Bloomfield has been a melting pot of
Italian and other ethnic groups, including the original Native
Americans who sold their land to William Penn. Bloomfield has
been home for four and five generations of families.
Founded in 1991, the Bloomfield reservation and
Heritage Society represents the town's rich past and vibrant
present by preserving information and artifacts, spreading news of
Bloomfield through publications, helping to preserve the
community's architectural treasures, and bridging generations by
working as an educator of Pittsburgh students. The society believed
that by infusing local school children with a sense of community by
understanding their roots, the children would better appreciate
their neighborhood. From March through June 1999, the society
designed and implemented a creative, hands-on education program for
900 students at two local schools, Woolslair Elementary and
Immaculate Conception.
The program,
Pittsburgh Pride: Keeping the Next
Generation Here, introduced students to facets of their
hometown with which they were unfamiliar. By focusing on the
neighborhood's history, architecture, design and city planning,
which involved field trips and special guests, the program provided
students with a view of their neighborhood through their
predecessors' eyes. Students made illustrated historic maps, some
more than 10 feet long, of the neighborhood to show what they were
learning. Following the program's successful completion, Phase II
of Pittsburgh Pride will involve an inter-generational
oral history project conducted by students.
Project documentation comprises a 100-page report,
including a guide for building grassroots organizations;
photographs; and a video.
Originally submitted by: William J. Coyne, Representative (14th District).
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