Posted on 04/12/2005 10:29:14 AM PDT by Willie Green
One display traces the evolution of the canteen from a pre-Civil war wooden flask to the metal of WWII to the plastic of Desert Storm.
Another shows a death mask of President Lincoln. Others show off dozens of weapons, from musket to machine gun, along with hundreds of other artifacts, helping round out an impressive military collection at the Soldiers & Sailors National Military Museum & Memorial.
Trouble is, many people are unaware of just what the memorial is, even as it prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, said Ron Gancas, chief operating officer.
Some people who had their graduation ceremony there years ago haven't been back since, Gancas said Monday. People also mistakenly think it's the final resting place of some veterans, although no one is buried there. Others think it's a nursing home.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
ping
I don't have the 'Burgh Ping Thing list handy where I am, but cool story.
BTTT
If I could count on my sole remaining-in-Pittsburgh knucklehead sibling to take the time to do it, I'd ask him to go there and do some Genealogy lookups.
My law school graduation was there, with Justice Rehnquist presiding. I saw Gene Roddenberry, Isaac Asimov and many other speakers there. It is a great place if you take the time to explore it.
Its definately worth the visit and it recently had a complete exterior restoration as well. Hard to believe but not that long ago they wanted to bulldoze it to put in a parking lot... the parking lot is now UNDER the large lawn.. Score one for the good guys on preventing that one... Still disturbs me daily to go by the Old Syria Mosque and see a block of asphalt with a rented fence around it... The Beast of Oakland (PITT) got the Mosque... fortunately it didn't get Soldier's and Sailors.
ping
Nostalgia, Hamilton. I had some good times at the Mosque, and it was an "interesting" building, but not nearly as unique or significant as Soldiers & Sailors. I even went to the last concert there before they announced it would be torn down. (You would never believe it if I told you who was performing.)
Frankly, as a entertainment venue, Syria Mosque had long outlived it's time. It was getting run down, was not rented out very often because of its size and simply could not support itself any longer. And with Shriner membership dropping, the decision to sell and build a more modern facility that is far less costly to maintain made a lot of sense.
Soldiers & Sailors is a different story. I would stand in front of the bulldozers if the big Blue & Gold machine ever wanted to take down.
I'm not busting the Shriners for selling.. however bulldozing it and still 10 years later its still just asphault and a rented fence? I hate to see what UMPC/PITT has planned for the University Club now that its gone.
From what I understand, they will build more dorms. They want to increase enrolment by about 250 a year.
There is the PAA right there too. A beautiful old classical building, but I have heard they are hurting for membership.
A friend of mine, who attended grad school at CMU, used to work part-time at the PAA as a lifeguard. He used to claim that Mr. Rogers (yes, THE Mr. Rogers) went skinny-dipping in the pool all the time. We tried to persuade him to take a picture and send it to the National Enquirer. After a few beers, it sounded like a good way to make a few bucks, but the plot never materialized beyond the planning stages.
Fred Rogers was indeed a regular swimmer -- from what I heard, just about every day. While I never used the pool at the PAA, (I did play basketball and bowl there a few times) it's probable that the custom for members at the all men's club was swimming in the buff.
In the city high schools back then, the boys had to swim in the nude. They didn't want wet swimming trunks truning to mold in the lockers. Six weeks or dirty gym socks laying in the bottom of the lockers was bad enough. ;~))
We wore swimming trunks despite the risk of mildew.
Of course, that could've been because the outside wall of the swimming area was all glass.
As a matter of fact... that reminds me of the only time I ever got detention...
Before swimming class, some of the class clowns were showing-off by running outside, rolling in the snow, then running back in to warm up by jumping in the pool. Then I came up with the bright idea of pulling the door closed while they were rolling in the snow, then watching 'em turn blue banging on the windows to get back in. Even the teacher admitted it was funny, but he gave us ALL detention anyway.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.