To kick off the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the Homestead strike, I examined the lessons of the decades-long interdependence of the town’s merchants and millworkers.
Author Archive for Tammy Hepps
March 1917: War and Water
A hundred years ago Homesteaders began the month with news of a shocking GERMAN PLOT and ended on the verge of war.
Homestead and Its Hebrews, 1881-1914 and Today
Reconstructing Homestead’s early years of integration through the words of the local newspaper and the first Jewish residents creates a narrative with unexpected resonance for this post-election climate.
Bulchachras, Shnodering, and Snuff: How the High Holidays Were Observed in Homestead
Sandy Koufax may have skipped the World Series for Yom Kippur, but he had nothing on the Homesteaders who missed the fall millinery openings. Learn about all the community’s familiar and unfamiliar holiday customs.
Crowdsourcing My Wishlist
Do you know where these missing records are? Can you answer these lingering questions?
From Hooligan to Historian: The Only-in-Homestead Story of Jacob Rader Marcus
A Homestead boy with a colorful childhood. A father who tried to follow the path towards prosperity. The son’s success would write them both into history.
The Boys Who Never Came Home
Twelve Homestead Hebrews made the ultimate sacrifice during the two World Wars.
Truth in Advertising
A store you all know and love in Squirrel Hill says it was founded in Pittsburgh, PA in the early 1900’s. Nope!
The Homestead Hebrew Chapel
The Homestead Hebrew Chapel in Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill is an important place of memory for us Homestead descendants.
When Death Came to Homestead
Everything you ever wanted to know about the cemetery and the burial society — and things you never thought to ask. Like, why was there a fight over eggs and twigs?