Pittsburgh Quarterly Winter 2010

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winter 2010

pittsburgh quarterly • winter 2010 www.pittsburghquarterly.com

winter 2010

$4.95

display until 2.20.10

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spotlight

| winter 2010

Bringing light to a dark science

Ron Freeman portrait: Jack Wolf, Marcellus Shale image: Doug Wells, Penn Avenue: John Beale, homefront: Roy Englebrecht, eds&meds illustration: George Schill

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The remarkable career of an expert interrogator. by bruce keidan

Portrait of Penn Avenue A year-long photographic project on Pittsburgh s main thoroughfare. by john beale

Marcellus Shale

The fascinating tale of how modern-day explorers found underground riches in western Pa. by seamus mcgraw

94 51 Pittsburgh’s stealth renaissance With eds and meds, Pittsburgh is building an international reputation and a strong future. by justin hopper

36 Homefront Modern magnificence in Fox Chapel. by marylynn uricchio pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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contents | winter 2009

56

44 p r i vat e l i f e

on the town

business city

22 What do I know?

56 Collected treasures

101 Retirement living (part II)

Artist Robert Qualters by jeff sewald

31 Reading room Toker tackles Pittsburgh again by sandra levis

35 Vintage Wine-inspired gift giving by alex sebastian

44 Kevin Colbert Kevin Colbert portrait: Peter Diana, Duron Coupe artifact: Tom Little, illustration: Stacy Innerst

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The man behind the players by walter villa

Ailsa Mellon Bruce galleries open by marylynn uricchio

69 Worth the drive Fine stationery stores by barbara eichenlaub

71 Arts & events Cultural District happenings

87 Neighborhood joints Enrico s in the Strip District by joseph mistick

88 Word brains Meet the experts at Scrabble by steve hecht

Selecting a retirement residence by cristina rouvalis

120 The future of coal Reinventing energy options by jeffery fraser

127 The WASP ascendancy Aristocracy and admissions reform by william dietrich II

135 To boldly go Hi-tech teaching on the rise by chris allison

139 Regional indicators A hard look at women s health by john g. craig jr.

every issue 17 Publisher’s letter 18 Stocks & pedestal 21 Observer Clark Scrooge Kent

22 Arrivals Professionals new to Pittsburgh

28 On the wing Crows by david liebmann

149 Last chapter 150 Place

by thomas d. saunders

on the cover: “Home Hearth,”was created for Pittsburgh Quarterly by Jennifer McNulty, the magazine’s creative director.

pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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winter 2010 www.pittsburghquarterly.com 1140 Fox Chapel Road Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15238 412.894.7285 fax: 412.253.0998 editor @pittsburghquarterly.com

publisher/editor

Douglas Heuck creative director

Jennifer McNulty advertising sales

Anita Alfonsi Craig Blanchard Wendy Curran Marie Issa George Coco Rudolf regular contributors

Chris Allison, John G. Craig Jr., William S. Dietrich II, Barbara Eichenlaub, Jeffery Fraser, Reid R. Frazier, Sean Hamill, Sandra Levis (Literary Editor), David Liebmann, Joseph Sabino Mistick, Barry Paris, Alex Sebastian, Jeff Sewald, Graham Shearing, Marylynn Uricchio art/photography

John Altdorfer, David Aschkenas, John Beale, Ted Crow, Roy Engelbrecht, James Hilston, Jim Judkis, Tim Menees, Renee Rosensteel, Cathy Rubin, Paul g Wiegman, Jack Wolf

To advertise, call 412.894.7285.

For home delivery, subscribe online or send a check for $19.95 for two years or $27.95 for three years to the address above.

Pittsburgh Quarterly is published by Bending Oak Publishing LLC Statements and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of Pittsburgh Quarterly or Bending Oak Publishing.

The entire content of this publication is protected by copyright.

All rights reserved. Š 2010.

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from the publisher winter 2010

ith a freshman and sophomore in college, I’m looking forward to the holidays with anticipation I haven’t felt since I was a boy.

My four older siblings were all born in presidential election years—’44, ’48, ’52 and ’56. I came along as a surprise six years later, when my parents were in their early forties. And so, almost from the beginning, Thanksgiving and Christmas were times of special excitement, when my siblings, who’d been away, came home.

My mother would busily get the house ready. One of my jobs was to check the colored Christmas lights on the white pine that towered over our white frame house. We left the lights in all year. The tree kept growing, so every December I would add extra strands as far up as I could climb.

My mother would take clippings from the lower branches, and my older brother and I tied them together and put them on the mantle and along the banister. We’d put wreathes on the doors and electric candles in the upstairs bedroom windows.

In the few days before Christmas, my mother would be busy baking to the sounds of carols on the old record player. When the travelers arrived home, there were big hugs and brimming eyes.

Dad brought home our tree on Christmas Eve, with nearly everyone agreeing it was the best we’d ever had.

That night, after a small dinner, we’d put on the ornaments, and then everyone would retire to their rooms to prepare their gifts. I prowled room-to-room to see what my siblings had bought in their travels, or watch them put the finishing touches on presents they were making.

The older kids would go to the candlelight service at

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church, and, too soon, my mother would put me to bed, where I listened to Christmas songs on my transistor radio and imagined the next morning. During the night, Dad would put a string of bells on my door, so if I dared to come out of my room, I’d think Santa was at hand and jump back in bed. In later years, this devolved into a joke that featured whatever object might do the trick—the final episode featured a ping-pong net with its two metal ends, which made for a somewhat treacherous surprise.

What lingers clearest in my memory is sitting around the dining room table. The day’s preparations complete, the dishes appeared on the sideboard: a fresh cranberry Jell-O concoction, sweet potatoes with a browned marshmallow topping, fresh-baked bread, green salad, pumpkin and mince pies and a huge turkey Dad had cooked on the Weber grill.

My parents sat at either end of the long table with its mid-section extenders in place. As the youngest, I sat at my father’s left, so he could keep an eye on my manners, I’m sure. To me, though, it was a place of honor, and I did my best to pick up on his furtive cues. Sitting across from me was my father’s mother, our dignified, loving matriarch and a great conversationalist. Mixed in the middle of the table were my brothers and sisters, aunt and uncle, and two cousins. At the far end, flanking my mother, were her parents.

On Christmas, my grandfather invariably wore a red blazer, with treats in his pockets for our dog. My grandmother, a trained vocalist, always hit the high warbling soprano notes when we sang “O Holy Night.”

To me, this Christmas portrait recalls a perfectly ordered world, where, as the youngest in a big family, I knew I occupied the luckiest place.

Of course, the generations keep turning, with new faces replacing old. And each year produces its own holiday portrait, one that’s framed by tradition and highlighted by the poignant blend of memory and appreciation that, even if briefly, we’re all together again.

I hope you enjoy our holiday issue. Thanks for reading.

Coming home

Douglas Heuck publisher/editor pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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stocks&pedestal on a pedestal East End residents Jacqui and Jeff Morby wanted to do more. They wanted to affect the lives of others for the better. So five years ago, they created the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund.

It’s estimated that Alzheimer’s care currently costs about $120 billion a year, or some 15 percent of the combined cost of Medicare and Medicaid.

With Alzheimer’s growing at about 5 percent a year, costs are projected to be unsustainable.

To prevent that scenario, the Morbys have assembled the nation’s best researchers under the leadership of Harvard’s Dr. Rudy Tanzi. From its offices Downtown and in Boston, the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund provides $3 million a year to the research team, and that money is spent on a single focus—curing the disease by 2020.

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cure alzheimer’s fund

An ambitious quest The results have been remarkable. The team has completed its project to map Alzheimer’s genes, essentially discovering more than 70 genes bearing positively or negatively on the disease. For that work, Time magazine and CNN recognized the fund for achieving one of the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2008.

The next step is to develop a cure.

The Morbys are confident they’ll find it within 10 years, perhaps sooner. They credit the team’s speed, effectiveness and “rifle-shot” approach. For assembling and funding the researchers, for removing obstacles in their way, and for mapping the Alzheimer’s genes, we’re putting the Morbys and their team on our pedestal.

If their success continues, Pittsburgh and the world will have more to celebrate.

in the stocks our state leaders

Ignorance of the arts nobody doubts the difficulty of balancing the state budget in this economy. In October, Pennsylvania became the last state in the country to pass a budget, 101 days after the start of its fiscal year.

Weeks earlier, however, as pressure mounted, lawmakers agreed to raise revenue by taxing the state’s arts nonprofits. Fortunately, this misguided sales tax on subscriptions, ticket sales, art exhibitions and museum admissions was excluded from the final agreement.

It is nonetheless alarming that the governor and legislators would seek to raise a trivial sum at the expense of arts nonprofits, when these nonprofits are beset by a revenue crisis. And it gives fresh and unfavorable insight into the priorities of our state’s leaders. If they want to tax “entertainment,” why single out struggling arts nonprofits

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as opposed to, for example, the profitable professional sports industry?

It’s difficult to fathom. What is clear, however, is that legislators don’t appreciate the value the nonprofit arts bring to the state. Consider the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The most visible of the region’s performing arts nonprofits is celebrating 25 years of not only facilitating world-class programming, but also playing a pivotal role in the region’s economic transformation. On the other end are small nonprofits who add to Pittsburgh’s vitality on a shoestring budget.

On a brighter note, not everyone is oblivious to the value of the nonprofits. Just in time for the holidays, The Pittsburgh Foundation has created the Charitable Gift Card, which gives nonprofit supporters an easy way to give a present that boosts the nonprofit sector. For more information, email Charles Stout at stoutc@pghfdn.org. PQ

illustrations by Ted Crow

ong involved in charitable giving,

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the observer

A reporter’s carol hen Clark

“When you fought for Truth, Justice and the American Way.” The ghost waved his hand, and the scene changed. It was the same room, but different. Now it was color coordinated and nicely decorated. A woman walked over to a pudgy, gray-haired, bespectacled man and said, “I need that Michael Jackson follow-up, and Channel 4 had a feature on holiday toys—give me a brief on that, too.” Kent looked at the ghost and said, “That was me earlier today. The editors don’t care about real news any more—never give us any time to do real stories.” The spectral Perry White raised his eyebrows and asked, “Since when did that ever stop you?”

With another sweep of his hand, the ghost changed the scene again. The mayor and a crony sat smiling around a table of burnished walnut. “Mr. Mayor, the development deal is inked. You’ll get credit for wiping out a blighted neighborhood, the unions get their jobs and your supporters will get rich—richer, I

Kent awoke, he felt the cold in his bones. He fumbled for his glasses and put them on his now-bulbous nose. The clock said 8 a.m. “Humbug,” he muttered. Another depressing day at The Daily Planet. Kent had long since ceased complaining about the new management and staffing cuts, long since stopped bothering younger colleagues with, “When Perry White was in charge…” To them, he was an old crank, and Kent couldn’t wait for retirement.

The day passed, and after work, Kent had a few drinks at the corner bar and headed home. He fell asleep in his chair. At midnight, he stirred. Feeling a chill, he saw that his window was open, and next to it shimmered the vaporous silhouette of Perry White himself. A bit of undigested beef? Not likely, thought Kent, a vegetarian for years. “Great Caesar’s Ghost, Kent!” the specter ...TO SAPS! boomed. “Get up! I have things to show you.” The ghost told Kent to hold his arm, and they launched out from the window over the streets of the city. Kent was mean.” The mayor laughed and recalled petrified; he’d forgotten how to fly. the one, short-lived threat to the projThey lighted at the city desk of the ect. “Remember when somebody tipped old Planet. A young reporter, huddled off that sap reporter about the public over his computer, hit a final key and money going to contributors? He made turned and yelled, “You’ve got it, Chief! one phone call, we denied it, and that The city water department finally was it.” The crony nodded and said, acknowledges toxins in the water sup“That guy died today, by the way. Clark ply.” Kent rubbed his eyes, and told the Kent. He was a tiger when he was ghost, “That was me, just before I won young apparently, but he’s been a the Pulitzer.” “Yes,” the specter said.

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pussycat for years.” The mayor raised his tinkling glass of scotch and said, “Here’s to pussycats.” “And to saps,” the crony added, clinking.

“You see, Kent,” the ghost of Perry White gestured, “nobody’s watching the store anymore.” Kent shook his head.

“But circulation’s dropped like a stone, the staff’s been cut, and nobody wants to anger the advertisers.” The vapory image cut him off. “What planet are you from? This is the information age! We don’t need hundreds of reporters, just a few great ones. And advertisers want eyeballs—they want vitality. You were once the symbol of vitality. What happened to you?”

Clark Kent awoke with a start. He flew to the open window and called to a youngster on the street, “Boy, what day is it?” The urchin called back, “It’s Election Day, sir.” Election Day! Kent considered his options. Too late for the paper... but the Internet! Kent had hated the usurping Internet and the extra work

his tepid weekly blog required. But he grabbed his laptop, and his fingers tapped the keys at super-human speed.

“Great Caesar’s ghost indeed,” he said, adding a self admonition: “The fault, dear reporter, lies not in our stars but in ourselves.” He picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Give me the mayor’s office—tell him it’s Clark Kent calling.” pq

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arrivals professionals new to

Pit tsburgh, PA

Dr. Sanford Kurtz is executive vice president, chief medical officer and president of the Physician Organization at West Penn Allegheny Health System.

He comes to Pittsburgh from the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., where he was chief operating officer and executive vice president. At WPAHS, Dr. Kurtz will be responsible for designing, building and leading a multi-specialty physician organization.

He received his medical degree at the Boston University School of Medicine, interned at Boston City Hospital and was a resident at New England Deaconess Hospital. He is a past chairman of the American Medical Group Association. Dr. Kurtz and his wife Merry have two grown sons and two grandchildren. They will live in Shadyside.

Terry Irwin is the head of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Design. A native of Phoenix, Irwin has worked in university-level design education for more than 20 years at such institutions as the Otis Parsons School of Design and the California College of the Arts. She comes to Pittsburgh from the University of Dundee in Scotland, where she was completing research for a Ph.D.

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from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. She is the co-founder and former principal and creative director of the San Francisco office of MetaDesign, an international and multidisciplinary design firm with clients such as Sony, Apple and the Bank of America. Irwin received a master’s in design from Allgemeine Kunst-gewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland. She and her husband, Gideon Kossoff, a social ecologist, live in Friendship.

Thomas Cangiano will become President of Shady Side Academy. A native of Medford, Mass., he will move to Pittsburgh in the summer from Bulgaria, where is president of the American College of Sofia.

ACS is a private day and boarding school of 700 students in grades eight through 12.

Prior to ACS, Cangiano spent nine years at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, serving as history master and dormitory

housemaster and coaching lacrosse and football. Previously, he chaired the history department at The Trevor Day School in New York City. He has an undergraduate degree in American literature from Middlebury College, a master’s in teaching from Tufts University and a master’s in history from Columbia University.

Cangiano and his wife Linda have three children who will enroll at Shady Side.

The family will live on campus.

Christopher M. Duncan is dean of the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts at Duquesne University. He comes to Pittsburgh from Dayton, Ohio, where he chaired the political science department at the University of Dayton. His research includes the relationship between religious belief and political activism in American politics. Previously, he was associate professor of political science and coordinator of distinguished external scholarships at Mississippi State University. He has authored the book, “The Anti-Federalists and Early American Political Thought.” Duncan has an undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science from the University of Michigan, and a master’s and Ph.D. in political science from

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Wayne State University. He and his wife Laura have three children.

Loretta Casey is the director of nursing at UPMC Presbyterian. A native of Newport, R.I., she came to Pittsburgh from Portland, Ore., where she was division director, patient care services for the Oregon Health and Science University Hospital. She received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Salve Regina University and in physical education and another in health education from the University of Rhode Island.

She has a master’s in public administration and health administration from Portland State University. Casey is living in the Strip District.

Timothy Hudson is the first dean of the new School of Communications at Point Park University.

A native of Lavern,Tenn., Hudson comes to Pittsburgh from Greenville, N.C., where he was founding director of the School of Communications at East Carolina University. Previously, he was associate director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma and assistant professor of communication and director of television at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster County, Pa. Hudson is a graduate of Eastern New Mexico University with a double major in theater and communication and a master’s in communication.

He has a Ph.D. in mass communication

from Temple University. Hudson has three grown children and will live Downtown.

Kathleen Bonte is in charge of Leadership Annual Giving at Carnegie Mellon University.

A native of Westerville, Ohio, she comes to Pittsburgh from Athens, Ohio, where she was the senior director for donor relations and stewardship at Ohio University.

Bonte earned her undergraduate degree from the Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and an MBA from the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. She and her husband Troy have two young children and expect to live in Franklin Park. pq

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WHAT DO I KNOW? A life’s recounting in the subject’s own words

“

r o b e r t q u a lt e r s interviewed by j e f f s e wa l d

What’s it like to be 75? Well, I’ll tell you.

I’ve had two knee replacements. I’ve had back surgery.

I keep falling down and breaking things: my fingers, my skull. But overall I feel pretty good, actually. I still like to work. I just keep on going. I find some way to continue.

My most recent show was autobiographical, my life story. It began with drawings I made at the age of about four, which my mother saved, and I did some paintings based on them. For one, I used an old, yellowed article from the McKeesport Daily News, the headline for which read: “Boy Explorer, 3, Falls Through Bridge.” That three-year-old was me! My picture was in the paper! A little friend and I had walked away from our houses and took a stroll through downtown McKeesport. I ended up slipping and falling about 15 feet through one of those street car trestles.

Fortunately, I didn’t really get hurt.

It’s as true for painters as it is for any other creative people: We constantly mine our own lives and experience for material. I certainly have. But after a while, some of us get sick and tired of the me, me, me; the same portraits and the same stories, like coming home from school in the snow in Clairton and looking down at the mill. It’s what I’m known for, but still, it can get to you. “Pittsburgh: Hell with the lid off,” as we’ve heard so many times. That remark is often falsely attributed to Charles Dickens, but what the hell, right?

It fits.

The Pittsburgh I grew up with doesn’t exist anymore. Things have changed a lot. I was born in 1934, right in the heart of the Great Depression. My mother was a schoolteacher and my father, when she married him, was just a laborer, working in the streets. Back in those days, if they found out you were married and a

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photograph by r e n e e r o s e n s t e e l

Robert Qualters Artist Carnegie Institute of Technology (1952–53, 1955–56) U.S. Army (1953–55) California College of Arts & Crafts, BFA (1959) Syracuse University, MFA (1965) Instructor, State University of New York at Oswego (1961–67)

Instructor, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Studio Arts (1968–74) Academic gypsy and full-time artist (1974–present)

woman, you had to give up your job. The idea was, I imagine, that the man was supposed to be the breadwinner and the woman was better suited to tend to the home and kids. Because my father didn’t maintain “traditional” employment, we got to live off of two incomes, such as they were.

Now, skip forward to 1952. I remember so clearly commuting from Clairton to Carnegie Tech, where I was an art student for a while. The next year, I volunteered to join the Army, mainly because the Korean

>>

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painting pittsburgh Inspired lately by his own childhood artwork saved by his mother, artist Robert Qualters creates colorful canvases in his Lawrenceville studio.

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WHAT DO I KNOW? <<

in San Francisco. I once heard him read an autobiographical War was winding down and I worried that we would not get the poem, part of which talked about leading a quiet life outside of education benefits of the G.I. Bill once it was over. As a result, Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place watching the world go by. I guess I was doing that, there would be no more school for me. So I got in late. I played too. A lot of us were in those days. One morning, a friend burst the system and played it well. And you might be surprised to into the studio and proclaimed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all beatniks.â&#x20AC;? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what hear me say this, but the Army we were, I suppose. was fun. They sent me to At the California College England as an artillery man. I of Arts and Crafts, I became didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to do anything.

In recent years, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been trying part of what they called the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Join the Army, See the World,â&#x20AC;?

Bay Area Figurative scene. new things in my work and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a indeed. I traveled all over the After a while, however, little scary at times. No matter continent. Our base was about California didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel right to 90 minutes by train from me. I used to wake up and what anyone says, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get London, so I spent many weekthink, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Damn, another beauautomatic dispensation not to be ends in the city, which was tertiful day.â&#x20AC;? I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t live in rific. When I got out of the Berkeley. (Well, I did for afraid when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re old. The differservice, I went back to three years but, finally, I just ence is, you just do things anyway.

Carnegie Tech for about anothcouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.) So I came back east er year, then went to California and hung around Shadyside for a summerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and stayed for for a bit, just being whatever three years. I eventually graduated from a college out there.

Shadysideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equivalent of a beatnik was.

So I spent 1956â&#x20AC;&#x201C;59 in the Bay Area, and it was a magical When I got back here in 1959, the mills were still going time. One night, I saw the great Beat poet and City Lights pubstrong. Industry was still the thing. But at the time, I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, standing in front of Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place really interested in where I came from, which was McKeesport

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and Clairton. I was interested in painting, purely. So in the early 1960s, I went to teach at the State University of New York at Oswego, in upstate New York, which is a beautiful place. My wife Joanne is from there. Then I came back to Pittsburgh again in 1968 to teach at Pitt. I wanted to come back because I always felt that Pittsburgh was my place. But I needed to find something to paint. So I started painting what I saw and was criticized for it because, at that time, more hard-edged abstraction was in. I looked corny and gauche to some, I guess. But I just kept doing it, and gradually it became OK for me.

Well, I’ve been here ever since, which means that I also got to witness Pittsburgh’s transition from heavy industry to whatever we are now: this technological, service-based economy.

For a while, what I painted—because that’s what I saw—were empty steel mills. That’s what was happening. The steel industry was imploding. And it was a good subject. But you can’t stay with it forever. So I stopped doing that 10 or more years ago.

In recent years, I’ve been trying new things in my work and it’s a little scary at times. No matter what anyone says, you don’t get automatic dispensation not to be afraid when you’re old.

The difference is, you just do things anyway. I’m working on a new collection of paintings that incorporate mythological figures with the four seasons. I’m still very active, still painting a lot. I have no retirement plans. After all, what would I retire to? Lately, I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with butterflies. Where does that come from? Who knows? My other obsessions are rain and snow. You have to love weather if you live in Pittsburgh. I sometimes have to resist putting rain and snow in every painting.

So, given my advanced years and my presumed wisdom, how does one make a career of this thing called “art”? If you’re speaking of making a living, the answer is “with difficulty.” I’ve taught all over the place for many years in order to have time to paint, but I don’t

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have to do that anymore, fortunately. I have Social Security, of course, a little money put aside, and my work continues to sell fairly well.

But in art, the questions always are: “What’s new?” “Who’s hot today?” It’s true. And that should happen. New artists should take precedence. It’s a natural thing. And today’s artists seem to have a better grasp of how to make a go of it than did the artists of my generation. When you’re in college art school today, people talk about how to make a living. It was considered almost shameful to think that way when I was in art school.

I have an old friend who had been a creative head in advertising back in the day, and he told me once, “There’s no secret to selling your work. You just need to paint something that people want to buy.” And I did that for a while.

It’s a wise move to do so—then go off and do what you want to do. I think there’s a way of splitting the difference and I believe I’ve done that. I’m still doing it. Small compromises: You learn to live with them.

As I’ve said, my most recent show was my life story. Before that was a show based on poetry. And I’ve had collaborations with other artists. But I’m not much involved with the social aspects of what’s going on now. Perhaps that’s part of being 75. I don’t give a damn about going to clubs, as I once did. It’s wonderful and natural for people younger than me to do that. Sure, I killed a few brain cells along the way, which was very important. That’s why you have so many of them to begin with. You know they’re going to get fried one by one—if you live life properly. I used to think I’d be dead before the end of the 1960s. But now I go over to my studio, work, then go home, go to the movies, go to art events, take some trips. That’s what life is like now for me, and my life is fine. pq

Jeff Sewald is a writer and independent filmmaker based in Pittsburgh. He is currently developing a film about the life and work of author Isabel Allende.

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on the wing by dav i d l i e b m a n n

n winter afternoons, thin inky streaks flow across Pittsburgh skies.

They follow invisible channels leading over leafless hillsides, empty schoolyards and ice-strewn rivers. They drift, break apart and reconstitute, often in the city’s East End in great airborne swirls. They are the crows of Pittsburgh.

Crows are common in myths, children’s stories and cartoons. Eating crow and scarecrow—whether in a colloquialism, fairy tale, or just out the window, we know the crow.

The American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) masses in seasonal roosts numbering from 10,000 to 30,000 birds. They often come together in Homewood, the North Side or Lawrenceville. The roosts move from Washington Boulevard to the Allegheny Cemetery, from small neighborhood parks to hidden household gardens.

Technically, American Crows are songbirds, but no one would ever mistake their caws, croaks and gurgles for melody. Still, they produce notes and can even approximate human speech.

You may hear them en masse at dusk, or you may encounter a smaller group causing a ruckus on a bright winter day. They find safety in numbers, so when a couple of crows spot a predator, as they do with Pittsburgh’s Great Horned Owls and Red-Tailed Hawks, a signal goes out, and within minutes, hundreds of crows appear in a massive show of force to protect their threatened brethren. They make enough noise to wake the dead—perhaps explaining why a large group is called a murder of crows. Next time you hear them raising an avian din, follow their cawing to its source and look for the cause. More charismatic creatures may await.

Safety in numbers may be one reason for Pittsburgh’s large winter flocks. Another might be food. Scientists hypothesize that grouping in cold months allows crows to bring many eyes and ears to work on the season’s central problem: finding sustenance. Crows are omnivorous, dining on insects, plants, small animals, birds and carrion. With many crows scouting western Pennsylvania’s forests, fields, roadsides, and trash dumps, a murder of 10,000 can quickly cover vast swaths of territory.

Hungry crows follow healthy, strong individuals to food sources,

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Behold the crow

David Liebmann, an education consultant, has birded throughout the country, and writes about birds and birds in literature.

photos: istock

or perhaps audible or non-verbal cues point birds to the larder.

Scientists aren’t sure, but watching crows fly on winter afternoons in such numbers hints that a system is at work.

And crows are systematic birds. In crow species worldwide, researchers have found distinct intelligence: tool making, using passing cars to crack nuts, and recognizing people and remembering them years later. Scientists confirmed this in a recent study, but amateur ornithologists recognized it more than 75 years ago.

Before that, farmers and gardeners knew how smart and crafty crows were. Crows could always glean a meal from farm fields.

Aside from the crops, crows would also eat agricultural pests.

Farmers took less notice of that, though, and used poison, guns and dynamite to get rid of them. Yes, dynamite. Large murders were bombed to destroy birds and disrupt roosts. In the end, the crows survived these wars and a good thing, too. Crows eat enormous quantities of insects and grubs in the right seasons, maintaining a balance in nature that we just can’t duplicate.

Today few Pittsburghers are happy to host 10,000 crows for long, and dynamite isn’t an option. They may seem ominous or simply loud and messy, but as winter spectacles go, a visit by these birds provides an opportunity to observe agile fliers and curious feathered residents up close and in numbers. Think neither Hitchcock nor Poe (his was a raven). Consider instead our common American Crow. Caw! Caw! PQ

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reading room by s a n d r a l e v i s

The city revisited to k e r ’s “ n e w p o r t r a i t ” i s a p i t t s b u r g h f e a s t u

celebration in 2008 and two national championships and a global summit in 2009, one might think that the city’s appetite for tributes would be pretty well sated. But there is always room for a little something more, particularly when the fare is as lovingly prepared and tastefully presented as Franklin Toker’s “Pittsburgh: A New Portrait.”

This engrossing and comprehensive treatment of architecture and urbanism is an update of the author’s earlier work, “Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait,” issued in 1986, when the post-industrial city was reclaimed from the metaphorical slag heap of history and first recognized as “livable.” In the ensuing years, literal slag heaps have become upscale housing sites (as in the example of the Summerset complex on Squirrel Hill), and the city has continued to evolve in numerous other ways that are reflected in its built environment. To underscore these changes, many of the book’s original monochromes have

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photos by Franklin Toker used with permission from University of Pittsburgh Press

fter a year-long anniversary

been replaced by vivid color photos, featuring aggressively green grass and blazing blue skies, as if all the old preconceptions about Pittsburgh had been silkscreened in a Warholian palette. Toker has revised a few of his perceptions as well. Whereas the ’80s version decried medical centers and pornography as “twin urban blights,” the massive UPMC complex in Oakland that is the basis of the city’s new “eds and meds” economy is now discussed with more respectful restraint.

The essence of the book, however, remains the same: an in-depth examination and whole-hearted celebration of our region—and I mean ALL of it—including its history, its presumptive future, its sprawling suburbs and discrete neighborhoods, and even the surrounding industrial river towns and exurbs that arose along with the city “in the medieval way, as partners in a development of mutual benefit.”

There is literally something for everyone on the menu: factories, churches, clubs, schools, shops, libraries,

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left to right: Immaculate Heart of Mary church, Polish Hill; City-County Building, Downtown; Fairmont Apartments, Friendship.

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structed on old dairy lands and the parks, skyscrapers, cemeteries, mansions, dream of racial integration. housing projects, farms, follies, bridges, The armchair experience is so exhilabathhouses and bars. It’s a lot to digest, rating that readers may find themselves but well worth the effort, particularly for inspired to get out and view every landthose whose experience in urban apprecimark, rather as one leaves the film “Julie ation may be limited to the city’s showand Julia” inspired to master the Art of places. After all, it’s easy to be impressed French Cooking. (There are roughly the by the imposing structures found in the same number of sites in Toker’s tome as Golden Triangle, Oakland, or the new recipes in Child’s immense cookbook, so North Shore, but expert guidance is whether or not one follows through is required in less scenic areas, where archianother issue...) If so, the results are tectural treasures are often camouflaged most rewarding. For instance, when and lore lost amid shifting populations. descending Penn Avenue from the brandBest of all is Chapter Five, which new and much-touted Fairmont Place transports readers along the old Apartments toward the lacy Presbyterian Greensburg Pike, following an ancient church affectionately known as “the Indian trail on a geological plain created Mellon fire escape,” one can now see in the last ice age. Known in the present (since the recent demolition of a highrise day as Penn Avenue, this route, from the housing block) the clear outline of the Strip to Wilkinsburg, cuts a swath village of East Liberty, re-emerging from through the East End, touching Polish the ravages of misguided mid-century Hill, Lawrenceville, Garfield, Friendship, “urban renewal.” There one perceives at East Liberty, Highland Park, Homewood a glance—as clearly as from atop Mount and Point Breeze, with each progression Washington—the vision Toker hopes to providing a real sense of the city’s rolling convey to the world: Pittsburgh as an expansion. Along the way, the author organic entity, constantly re-inventing explains the interrelations of early itself; embracing its intriguing past while landowners that account for the patterns focused optimistically on the future. of development and the sources of many Toker, a professor of art and architecstreet names. At the same time, he ture at the University of Pittsburgh and reveals a plethora of historical and the author of 2003’s excellent architectural tidbits delectable to the “Fallingwater Rising,” uses his extensive connoisseur of Pittsburghiana. These knowledge to breathe life into the locainclude an Art Deco auto dealership by tions he so keenly describes, but his Albert Kahn; a hidden fragment of the Blarney Stone; the aptly-named Cinderella Apartments, constructed of coal ashes mixed with cement during a bricklayers’ strike; the proto-modern units of Frederick Scheibler’s Vilsack Row; the Islamic and Aztec details of Lemington Elementary; the colorful cherubic façade of the Lackzoom Acidophilus store (a forerunner of Activia in spirit and mission); an amateur Victorian crescent; and the idealistic origins of East Hills, conabove: Water Garden at Temple Sinai, Squirrel Hill

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degree of expertise is sometimes problematic for the lay reader. Those lacking a background in architectural history may find themselves scratching their heads when informed that ClaudeNicolas Ledoux and Benjamin Latrobe influenced the design of Carnegie Tech, and Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Robert Mills the Mellon Institute. Because the historical antecedents to which he refers are not pictured, one must take the author’s pronouncements on faith.

Indeed, since there are no footnotes, readers are expected to take ALL of Toker’s pronouncements on faith, even some that are highly debatable. For instance, while residents of the South Side may be honored to find their neighborhood hailed as “real Pittsburgh,” the thousands of people whose lives revolve around the intersection of Forbes and Murray avenues may take exception to seeing Squirrel Hill referred to as a “stereotypical bedroom community.”

Similarly, Toker makes much of the

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Pittsburgh: A New Portrait

by Franklin Toker University of Pittsburgh Press ($34.95)

ponderous Richardsonian Romanesque Allegheny County Courthouse, citing it as “the most distinguished American building of the nineteenth century” in the opinion of “a great many scholars.”

(One hastens to note that a great many gourmets consider cold quail eggs a delicacy, but they don’t speak for all of us.)

Given the 19th-century mania for monumental building, this is an audacious claim, but chacun a son gôut. This is, after '

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all, Toker’s personal portrait of the city.

In one respect at least, his analysis of the massive public structure is irrefutable: “the courthouse does not merely stand in Pittsburgh; it is Pittsburgh.” While the city and structure alike might strike some as dreary, oppressive, and retardataire, to the eyes of love they are “near-perfect.”

The author’s assertions, therefore, should be taken with a grain of salt— and then savored accordingly. Toker’s achievement is praiseworthy, celebratory and revelatory; a gift to Pittsburghers worthy of second helpings. Enjoy! pq Sandra Levis is a freelance writer living in Point Breeze. For more of her reviews of books of regional interest, visit PQ bookblog at pittsburghquarterly.com.

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vintage by a l e x s e b a s t i a n

Bringing good cheer p i c k i n g t h e p e r f e c t w i n e - r e l at e d g i f t hile it’s my great pleasure in life to talk about wine, enjoy it with friends, pour it in my restaurant and assess it at tastings, I very rarely give wine as gifts at holiday time. People expect it from me now.

I’m the wine guy, so wine’s too obvious.

And that’s too bad, because this is the best time of year to share wine. What a wonderful gift to treat friends and inspire them to celebrate! So while I’m out shopping for sweaters and books for my loved ones, why don’t you consider giving wine to some folks on your list?

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

First, don’t saddle friends with wine they may not like. Don’t assume they’ll all be impressed by your favorite high-alcohol, inky cabernet, or any other wine that requires an expensive, acquired taste. It’s often helpful to think about what they eat and drink apart from wine. If they drink a lot of Coca-Cola, say, I know they don’t want a dry wine. If they’re iced tea drinkers, maybe we can go a little drier.

So look for a wine that is easy to drink and enjoyable for a wide range of palates.

For white wines, try an Ironstone Vineyards Pfalz Riesling ($11.99 at Pennsylvania Wine & Spirits stores). This crisp, slightly tart riesling, made by Californians in the German style, makes a terrific gift. Stag’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc ($24.99), from the Napa Valley, is a bit more substantial, with bright fruit and spice notes.

Do they lean toward reds? American pinot noir is immensely popular, for good reason. A well-selected pinot has richness and depth and pairs with many foods. Saintsbury Pinot Noir ($29.99) is a good splurge. Artesa Carneros Pinot Noir ($19.99) is also excellent and reasonably priced.

If you know someone who enjoys rosé, as I do, treat them to a bottle of vin gris (van-GREE)—a rosé or white wine made with red grapes such as pinot noir. Try Saintsbury’s ($13.99, through special order from the Pa. LCB) or Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare ($15.99, in select stores). Banish any

photo by O. Kenneth Rygh/istock

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thoughts of sweet blush or flowery rosés. These are bright and dry, the real deal.

The nicest present you can give a wine drinker is sparkling wine. It’s an invitation to celebrate. It’s easy to entertain with inexpensive sparklers like Italian prosecco or Spanish cava, but for giving, I look for something more luxurious, such as Mumm Napa (varieties $19.99 and up) or Chandon ($18.99 and up). These are made by two French champagne houses turning out beautiful sparkling wines in California. Or try Gloria Ferrer’s sparkling wines, elegant and delicious ($14.99 and up, often a Chairman’s Selection™ in Wine & Spirits stores). Blanc de Noir varieties have the most flavor.

Know someone who’d enjoy these wines? They’d also appreciate wine accessories. Browse any good housewares shop, Web site or select Premium Collection Wine & Spirits stores, for ideas.

Here are a few: I frequently find myself having to replenish my collection of corkscrews—they seem to have legs—so others may have this problem as well. Decanters are delightful for fans of older-vintage wines, as sediment will remain in the decanter, not the glass. They also aerate young wine and reduce the time it needs to breathe before drinking.

Accidents do happen, so I always appreciate new glassware. I’m partial to the Riedel collection, from Austria— thin, strong goblets in shapes designed to enhance specific wines. I was skeptical once, but now I believe wines do taste better from good glasses. The difference in how your mouth fits the rim of the glass, how the bowl brings the aromas to your nose—it’s unbelievable. Your friends might hesitate to treat themselves to a set, but they’d be thrilled to receive one from you.

Whatever you drink, whatever type of glass you raise this season, here’s to you. Happy holidays! PQ

Alex Sebastian is proprietor of The Wooden Angel, Beaver. pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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Minimalist

Majesty

making an entrance Designed by Spanish architect Javier de Olaso, the residence features an undulating 187–foot facade covered in stucco. The home’s front door is concealed by overlapping walls—their perfect curves achieved with metal studs spaced on an axis. These curves, according to superstition, deter evil spirits, which “don’t make turns.” The rear of the home, right, has a bi-level reflecting pool and sliding glass walls that open to the landscape.

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H O M E F R O N T

by m a ry ly n n u r i c c h i o photographs by r oy e n g l e b r e c h t

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e’ve actually had guests

who couldn’t find the front door,” laughs the owner of this magnificent residence hidden on seven secluded acres in Fox Chapel. Indeed, the curved walls that soar from 18 to 28 feet in height present a series of undulating planes that gently disguise the entrance. The effect is one of total privacy combined with serenity. In lesser hands, such a facade might be forbidding. But the pale gray stucco, rich vegetation and changing play of light give the home a sunny warmth.

What guests don’t see until they enter is the other side—open to nature at every turn through glass walls. Walking into the entrance hall is a breathtaking experience. Straight ahead is an infinity pool, and in the distance, the trees that surround the property on all sides.

“The whole idea is, when you arrive, you should feel like you’re going back outside into the natural beauty,” the wife notes.

What is even more surprising is the way the views complement rather than compete with the extraordinary collection of contemporary art the owners have amassed in the 15 years they have lived in the home. Large-scale pieces by Richard Serra, Christo, Ann Hamilton, Keith Haring, Christopher Wool and others are displayed against simple backgrounds and lit from skylights discreetly tucked into the high ceilings.

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H O M E F R O N T

at home with art above: The living room seems to float in space, but is anchored by a James Brown lead painting on the

right wall, two Richard Serra prints from his Jazz series, and a Callum Innes painting on the rear foyer wall. The Thai mat coffee table holds brass Lucio Fontana eggs, and the sculptures on the end tables are by Mimo Palladino (left) and Keith Haring (right). opposite: Two Christopher Wool paintings, a Senafu bird and a view of the infinity reflecting pool greet visitors in the entrance hall.

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“Here we have walls that float, the living room is open, and the children learned to live with fine art from the time they were young.” >>

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The owners asked Madrid-based architect Javier de Olaso, a family friend, to create the residence after they stayed in his home on the island of Ibiza. “We loved it so much we asked him to come over here and design a house for us,” the husband says. “We had just moved back from London and had owned the property for 30 years.”

“We knew we wanted to start a contemporary art collection,” continues the wife. “We looked at several houses in the city and knew we would have to tear them down to get what we wanted, so we just bit the bullet and started the project. This house was designed for art and entertaining—and young children!”

In terms of specific requests, the husband jokes that “you don’t get any requests when you hire an architect of this quality—you move out of the way!” But they did insist on wall space for the art and rooms that could adapt easily to big parties or intimate family life.

“Growing up, there were certain rooms my brother and I couldn’t go into because they had art and antiques,” the husband says. “Here we have

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space, nature and light below: Ann Hamilton’s sculpture, “Absorption,” covers the dining room wall.

By the window is a green marble piece by Isamu Noguchi. right: Stainless appliances, black granite counters, custom maple cabinetry and maple floors add warmth to the kitchen. The print is by David Bailey. opposite: Interior courtyards bring nature into the home and reveal glimpses into private quarters, such as the wife’s vanity in the master bath.

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walls that float, the living room is open, and the children learned to live with fine art from the time they were young.”

The main floor contains a large master suite, bedrooms for the three children with their own hallway, and guest quarters. A spacious family room features a wall covered to the ceiling with bookcases, and the substantial kitchen boasts granite counters and maple cabinetry. The lower level, which is of equal size, includes a large playroom, exercise room, wine cellar, laundry and nanny’s room. Five patios and courtyards are placed to introduce light and nature into interior spaces. The effect is magical, as if trees are growing inside the home. The different landscapes of each season add a constantly changing design element, and every view is framed to perfection by glass.

“Javier spent a lot of time camping on the property,” says the wife. “It’s all about the sunrise and the way the light falls over the house, the incredible sense of arrival.”

Even the driveway was positioned so it would disappear beneath the raised home site. From the house, all one sees are the woods or

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>> the beautifully landscaped grounds that taper off into gardens and two ponds. One was built in lieu of a sump for storm water management, and the other is really a swimming pool in disguise. The pool house is a classic Japanese tea house, also created by de Olaso, but years before he was asked to design the main residence.

“What I think is the nicest compliment,” says the wife, “is that 15 years later, we still walk around the house and are amazed by the architecture every day.” pq

Marylynn Uricchio is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s society editor and Seen columnist.

serene surroundings Burgundy leather chairs by Adam Tihany rest on a Stark carpet in the family room, which has a floating fireplace and a wall of bookcases. The painting on the rear wall is by Terry Winters.

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The M A N behind the P L AY E R S A big reason for the Steelers’ success is a quiet North Side guy named Kevin Colbert written by wa lt e r v i l l a photograph by p e t e r d i a n a

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evin colbert grew up the youngest of five

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boys living in a house on Pittsburgh’s North Side.

The house had one bedroom and one shower. The five boys lived in the attic, and they were orphaned by the time Colbert was 15.

Recipes for success, however, can be tricky things to gauge. Despite the odds, or perhaps because of them, that North Side boy has become one of America’s most successful sports executives.

Since becoming director of football operations for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2000, Colbert has built a team that has won two Super Bowls.

Yet, in perhaps the most football-crazy city in America, Colbert can walk into most any restaurant and not be recognized.

“I don’t mind,” said Colbert, 52. “The only people who should be visible are the owners, the players and the head coach. Besides, when you win, there is enough credit for everybody."

Now six feet tall and 230 pounds, Colbert played football in high school, but no further. “Kevin was the worst punter in the WPIAL and was pretty rotten at defensive end, too,” joked Colbert’s North Catholic coach, Ron Hughes, who now works for Colbert as the Steelers’ college scouting director.

Colbert’s job is to decide which players the Steelers draft, trade and sign. He’s become an expert at managing the NFL’s salary cap, which is

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adjusted annually, based on the teams’ revenues. Last season, the cap for each team’s 53-man roster was $116 million.

The payroll limit forces some hard decisions. But Colbert has a knack for letting players leave to other teams—rather than pay them major contracts—and then replacing them with younger, less expensive and still capable players.

Exhibit one is linebacker Joey Porter, who left the Steelers after the 2006 season to sign with the Miami Dolphins. Porter had earned three Pro Bowl berths with the Steelers and led them to one Super Bowl championship. But he was about to turn 30 before the 2007 season, and Colbert didn’t want to pay big money for a player he figured would soon be past his prime.

Result: Porter was a major disappointment with Miami in 2007 before bouncing back with a strong 2008 season. But with the best defense in the league last season led by their linebacking corps, the Steelers didn’t miss Porter a bit.

Colbert’s draft prowess landed Troy Polamalu in 2003, Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, and Santonio Holmes in 2006. Each was a first-round choice, meaning executives feel immense pressure to deliver instant starters.

Many of Colbert’s late-round draft choices have defied the odds and become starters: Brett Keisel, Larry Foote, Ike Taylor, Chris Kemoeatu, and Willie Colon. And some of Colbert’s best moves were signing rookies no other team bothered to draft.

Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison leads this group.

The Steelers signed and cut him three times. Undeterred, Colbert signed him a fourth time, and Harrison finally stuck.

Colbert’s other undrafted stars include Willie Parker and Jeff Reed.

“Because so much media attention has gone to Pittsburgh’s past two coaches (Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin), Colbert’s personnel efforts have gotten overshadowed," said Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com. “They shouldn’t. He does an excellent job identifying the traits of players who fit into what Steelers coaches are seeking for their schemes. The Steelers are not major players in free agency because of the budget restraints faced by smaller-market teams. But when the Steelers have dipped into

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Among those signed by Colbert: Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, Santonio Holmes, Brett Keisel, Larry Foote, Ike Taylor, Chris Kemoeatu, Willie Colon, James Harrison, Willie Parker, Jeff Reed. pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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In Kevin Colbert, [Rooney] got a loyal employee who shuns the limelight, doesn’t make waves and makes it a point to get along with the head coach. >> the talent pool, they’ve come away with gems.”

Like the Steelers organization man he is, Colbert deflected the praise. He credited Harrison’s “devotion to the game” for the perseverance that brought him success. And he said it was college scout Dan Rooney Jr., the son of the Steelers' chairman, who pushed the team to sign Willie Parker after the running back went undrafted in 2004.

Humility aside, however, the fact is that Colbert’s fingerprints are all over this team—only three of the 53 Steelers predate him: wide receiver Hines Ward, defensive end Aaron Smith and cornerback Deshea Townsend.

“Kevin is a good listener,” said Hughes. “He can sift through fact and fiction on a player. You can see a guy play well in college, but that does not mean that the same thing is going to happen in the pros. You have to judge character and not just whether the kid stole something.

But football character—how important is the game to him? How hard does he work? Kevin’s strength is that he is highly organized and can take all the information and put it together.”

Hughes was Colbert’s boss when they worked in the Detroit Lions’ personnel department, and he has a close relationship with the man he mentored. “I can yell at Kevin more than anyone. I don’t want to say our relationship is father-son,

because he raised himself to a certain extent. But our families have known each other forever.”

And family is at Colbert’s core. He and his wife, Janis, have two daughters and a son: Kacie, 26, works for the NFL in media sales; Jennifer, 23, works in community relations; and Daniel, 20, studies sports management at Miami University in Ohio.

“My wife is a big sports fan," Colbert said. "We have season tickets to the Penguins and Pirates, and we'll still go to some North Catholic events and Mars games (where their kids went to high school). That’s how we spend our free time.”

In that way, life really hasn’t changed much since Colbert was a teenager living at 48 Solar Street on the North Side.

“Our grandparents raised seven kids in that house,” said Kevin’s brother Bob. “And our parents raised us there, too.

There was a kitchen and dining room downstairs, a living room and our parents’ bedroom upstairs, and the boys all slept

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in the attic.”

In order, “the boys” were Bud, Bob, Bruce, Bernie and Kevin.

When Kevin was born, Bob unsuccessfully lobbied their mother to give the baby another ‘B’ name.

Their parents, Evabell and John, weren’t athletes, but they were big sports fans. Evabell’s brothers—Rip and Dick Scherer—played football at Penn State and Pitt. And when Rip later became a local high school coach, the Colbert boys went to his games. After one big victory, Bob recalled, “My mom and her sister carried him off the field in celebration.”

Evabell died of cancer when Kevin was five. John, a mailman, died of a stroke a decade later.

“I have very few memories of my mother,” Kevin Colbert said. “My dad had a very tough chore raising five boys. After my mom died, we didn’t have a female influence in the house. It was hard on him. I never had a chance to see him really enjoy life because he was either working or taking care of us. I never saw him socialize. But he did a great job keeping the family together.”

When John died, Bud, the oldest son, became Kevin’s legal guardian.

“Bud deserves a lot of credit for taking care of Kevin through his teenage years,” Bob said. “Although my parents died relatively young, they must have taught us good core values. I don’t believe my dad ever owned a car. We walked, took public transportation or bummed rides from relatives. All of us are still married to our first wives of 25-plus years. I am proud of that fact.”

In 1979, Kevin Colbert earned a bachelor's degree from Robert Morris University, majoring in sports management. Later that year, he became a graduate-assistant basketball coach at RMU. In 1981, he switched to football and went to work for his brother Bob as Ohio Wesleyan University’s backfield coach and recruiting coordinator.

The next in a series of breaks came in 1984, when he landed a job with the BLESTO scouting service. The next year, when legendary Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula offered him a job, Kevin called Bob for advice. >>

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“He said he could work for Shula at twice the salary,” Bob said with a laugh. “I said, ‘What are you doing talking to me?

Hang up the phone and go take the job.’ ” Five seasons as a college scout for the Dolphins led to a decade as the Lions’ pro scouting director. Finally, in 2000, he came home to run the Steelers.

At the press conference to announce his hiring, Dan Rooney was asked if it helped that he and Colbert shared North Catholic High as an alma mater.

“I will never forget his answer,” Colbert said. “He just smiled and said: ‘It didn't hurt.’”

Jerry DiPaola, the Tribune-Review’s Steelers beat writer from 1994 to 2004, was there when Colbert was hired. “I thought the Rooneys were wrong after the 1999 season when they fired Tom Donahoe, and I believed the franchise was headed for trouble. But Dan Rooney knew what he was doing.”

“In Kevin Colbert, he got a loyal employee who shuns the limelight, doesn't make waves and makes it a point to get along with the head coach—all things that Dan considers important for that job. More than that, Colbert knows the league, knows its power brokers well and knows how to aggressively attack the draft and not just passively let it unfold.”

Once Colbert got the job, he built a great relationship with Cowher—the two would have regular racquetball games— and it led to a Super Bowl championship.

The Colbert-Tomlin dynamic, while not as close, has also led to the ultimate prize. Colbert said Tomlin would not have been brought in if he weren’t a “great fit,” and the coach returns the praise.

“Kevin’s impact is immeasurable,” Tomlin told the media during Super Bowl week. “We have a great working relationship. And the reason we do, is that neither one of us cares who gets the credit.

All we want to do is win.” pq

Walter Villa is the assistant sports editor at The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and has written freelance stories for The Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Sporting News and SportsIllustrated.com, among others.

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Pittsburgh’s stealth renaissance With eds and meds, the Pittsburgh region has quietly forged a new and dynamic future

written by j u s t i n h o p p e r illustrations by g e o r g e s c h i l l

W

hen it was announced 12 years ago

that Jared Cohon would become president of Carnegie Mellon, he returned to his Yale office to find a bouquet of flowers. The name on the card read Mark Nordenberg, chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. It was the beginning of a relationship between Cohon, Nordenberg and UPMC President and CEO Jeffrey Romoff that would become a unique partnership destined to transform Pittsburgh.

“That was a wonderful gesture,” says Cohon, “and in short order a friendship developed between the two of us. Considering how much the universities do together now, there are so many opportunities for tensions and conflicts to arise. But the three leaders [of these institutions] make a point of setting the tone at the top, and I give Mark Nordenberg great credit in this regard.”

Nordenberg believes that the three Oakland “eds and meds” institutions exhibit strengths that are complementary not competitive. Pitt’s

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photograph by Alexander Denmarsh

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the pittsburgh triumvirate By working together, CMU’s Jared Cohon, Pitt’s Mark Nordenberg and UPMC’s Jeffrey Romoff have built a partnership with far-reaching dividends for Pittsburgh.

>> academic research and UPMC’s clinical work; CMU’s information and technology strengths and Pitt’s and UPMC’s biomedical expertise; a large, public university and a mid-sized private one. It all makes Pittsburgh—specifically Oakland— one of the country’s most formidable locations for education and medicine.

“As soon as Dr. Cohon came to town,” says Nordenberg, Pitt made a conscious decision that “partnering with CMU should be a high priority. We look around at our institutions and their strengths. When combined, they become a truly distinctive asset for the city. Only one other neighborhood in America exceeds us—Cambridge, Massachusetts, with Harvard and MIT. So, obviously, we should harvest that potential.”

UPMC’s Romoff puts a finer point on it. “Pittsburgh, with UPMC and Pitt and CMU, is positioned to be the city of the future. In the life sciences and healthcare, we’re at the forefront of one of the most important and biggest industries in the world. And CMU’s computer science and robotics is the future of mankind. So, just as Pittsburgh was, in the 1930s and

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early 1940s, the major producer of steel and other manufactured goods essential for industrialization, today we’re producing this new set of futuristic products. In most major cities, the competitive sense of the major institutions can indirectly do harm. But here we root for one another.”

And this latest Pittsburgh renaissance isn’t waiting beyond the horizon. According to Romoff, it’s here and already paying off. “Based on the data, it seems that this [eds and meds industry] has protected Pittsburgh somewhat from the recent recession.”

The numbers show how important eds and meds—and specifically the three Oakland powerhouses—are to Pittsburgh.

Pitt, UPMC and CMU account for close to 90,000 regional jobs. UPMC is the region’s largest employer, paying $2.7 billion in annual salaries, benefits and other fees; Pitt adds another $1.3 billion.

CMU and Pitt bring nearly $1 billion in sponsored research, and Pitt spends over $1 billion on regional goods and services— the university’s construction alone has created more than 1,300 jobs over the past three years.

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But the economic importance of the big three exceeds their spending. Since 1994, CMU faculty, staff, and students have created more than 200 spinoff companies. And one of the most important contributions is that of attracting world-class faculty, staff and students to Pittsburgh. This, in turn, is spawning a diverse and adaptable local economy.

“It’s helped to make the economy more dynamic, and that’s something that we’re proud of,” says Cohon. “CMU changed the way we did technology transfer to make the creation of companies easier and faster, and therefore we’re seeing more companies created. And it positions Pittsburgh to create the jobs of the future. There’s a vibrancy to the start-up sectors

S

that didn’t exist a decade ago.”

Nordenberg agrees. “Every year, we’re drawing into the community thousands of students who are going to be developing new ideas, some of which will take root here. And with the combined strengths of Pitt, UPMC and CMU, we’ve positioned the region to do a much more effective job of attracting fully developed talent, too. We recruit accomplished faculty members from the country’s best institutions. They look at Pittsburgh and see a place where they have the opportunity to advance their own ambitious agendas. These initiatives are developing industries that are going to be important to this

>>

tanding in

front of Pittsburgh Lincoln School in Larimer, Sam Franklin discusses the re-emergence of something that’s largely been missing in this blighted neighborhood: optimism.

“Lincoln is a K-8 school with a science and technology ‘theme,’” says Franklin, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy & Management, who now works on strategic initiatives for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. “Graduates of Lincoln will have a chance to go to the new Science and Technology Academy in Oakland. And now, with the Pittsburgh Promise, every one of these kids—when they graduate high school—will be eligible for up to $10,000 per year in college scholarships. That is revolutionary.”

Established by a grant from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Promise is, indeed, revolutionary. Never before has a big-city public school system been able to remove money as a barrier to higher education.

A more subtle revolution exists in the way Franklin and other graduate students from CMU and the University of Pittsburgh have created the new Science and Technology Academy. Through their for-credit-not-pay work in designing the high school’s concept, master schedule and curriculum, Pitt and CMU students are changing the way Pittsburgh’s public schools approach science learning.

It’s one example of the ways in which CMU, Pitt and UPMC have not only helped solidify Pittsburgh’s post-industrial economy, but have used their complementary strengths and working relationships to improve the region.

The Promise is a big attraction for those considering Pittsburgh as their home or business location. “It’s a huge motivator for people to give Pittsburgh Public Schools a second look,” says Franklin. “And when they do, they’re pleasantly surprised by what they find.”

The stories of Franklin and the Science and Technology

A cooperative approach grad students design a new school Academy he’s helped design aren’t on the scale of the Pittsburgh Promise or the billions that Pitt, UPMC and CMU pump into the local economy, but stories such as Franklin’s show why this renaissance is different from the industrial legacy of Pittsburgh’s past.

A Californian, Franklin had never considered Pittsburgh, and wouldn’t have, if not for CMU’s Heinz School. And when it came time to do his “system synthesis program”—the Heinz School’s participatory version of a master’s thesis— Franklin discovered a world of opportunity in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

“We were trying to figure out what we were going to do, and Superintendent Mark Roosevelt came to speak to our class. Pittsburgh has so many networks you can access if you go to Pitt or CMU. Afterwards, we talked to him informally and decided to do the research and preliminary design work for the sci/tech academy. It’s so low-risk for the client—the university is providing them with essentially hours upon hours of free consulting, and if they don’t like what we come up with, they can ignore it!”

After an initial design phase, Franklin and CMU and Pitt colleagues continued designing and implementing the schedule and curriculum of the new academy. It opened this fall, and the academy’s teachers and students can access Pitt and CMU professors and labs for advice and information, including one-on-one time for teachers building their class exercises and use of equipment donated by the universities. pq

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region for generations to come.”

While the Big Three and their complementary relationships are vitally important to the region, their leadership recognizes that their institutions’ success also partially depends on the region’s success. In this year’s “Saviors of Our Cities” survey by researcher Evan Dobelle, Pitt and CMU were among America’s top 20 schools in “their positive impact on their urban communities,” with No. 2 Pitt being the top-ranked public university, a position Nordenberg relishes.

“We’ve made this kind of outreach a real priority, and to have someone from outside look in and say we’re making a difference is so important,” says Nordenberg. “To the extent that we can be involved in strengthening the schools, enhancing the impact of other nonprofits, making our neighborhoods more attractive—we’re doing the right thing, but it’s also simply a good [business decision] for Pitt.”

Likewise at CMU, Cohon says.

“CMU stands out among private research universities for having adopted hometown success as an institutional priority. We identified Pittsburgh’s success as one of five priorities, and we did so out of institutional self-interest. A successful Pittsburgh is essential to a successful CMU.” For UPMC, the imperative to “do the right thing” is inexorably tied to the institution’s success, Romoff explains, because the institution’s size means it must have a world-class local workforce.

“UPMC employs 50,000 people in Pittsburgh, and that workforce—their quality, their integrity—that’s never something I have to worry about here.

But those people go home each night and are sensitive to all the slings and arrows of life in the city. So these kinds of issues become absolutely vital to the success of UPMC, creating an environment in which UPMC can thrive.”

Maintaining that top-quality workforce is one reason UPMC helped create the Pittsburgh Promise with an initial 2007 grant of $100 million, 90

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In this year’s “Saviors of Our Cities” survey, Pitt and CMU were among America’s top 20 schools in “their positive impact on their urban communities.” percent of which is a matching challenge grant. Within the next four years, every Pittsburgh Public Schools graduate who gets into a Pennsylvania post-secondary program will receive up to $10,000 per year in scholarship.

Romoff credits Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Superintendent of Schools Mark Roosevelt, and the UPMC board.

“One of the big advantages is it asserts a brand-new value system that’s in keeping with the eds and meds [renaissance].

And that value system is: get educated, get smart, because that’s the most important thing with the future of the city—competing because you’re smart, not only because you’re strong and hard working.”

With an environment where this kind of collaboration can flourish, and with programs such as the Pittsburgh Promise, the educational future looks bright for the city’s students, workers and institutions.

“A city’s culture—a city’s sense of itself—is vitally important to the way it competes,” says Romoff. “It’s an intangible thing, but it’s vivid, and it dominates the psyche and perception from afar of the city. People in Pittsburgh don’t yet ‘feel’ eds and meds, but that’s changing.

We’re changing the whole priority, putting education front and center. And those issues are vital to these institutions’ success in creating an environment in which we can thrive.” pq

Award-winning journalist and author Justin Hopper has written about the arts and community in Pittsburgh for over a decade.

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Collected treasures The Carnegie Museum of Art opens the new Ailsa Mellon Bruce Galleries of Decorative Arts and Design 56

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by m a ry ly n n u r i c c h i o

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fine design opposite page: Curator Jason Busch in the new galleries. this page, from top: Agate coupe with enamel and gilded brass, c. 1867, by Charles Duron; Porcelain vase with enamel decoration, c. 1815; Gilded couch, c.

1825, from PicNic, the home of Mary Schenley.

W

hen Ailsa

Jason Busch portait by Renee Rosensteel; Collection images by Tom Little

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Mellon Bruce died in 1969, she left behind a collection of fine and decorative arts that was as extraordinary as it was extensive. The daughter of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon and sister of the equally noted collector Paul Mellon, she had spent much of her life and considerable fortune amassing a wondrous assortment of objects. Their fate was the subject of much speculation when former curator David Owsley and Jim Walton, then president of

the Carnegie Institute and a member of the Mellon family, intervened successfully. While her paintings went to the National Gallery that was founded by her father, nearly 3,000 objects came to the Carnegie Museum of Art. Though Mrs. Bruce made her primary residence in New York, it was fitting that her gift went to the city where the Mellons had made their millions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Her collection changed the landscape of the museum overnight,â&#x20AC;? says Jason Busch, The Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts at the Carnegie.

Busch joined the museum staff three years ago, lured by the prospect of creating a permanent exhibition space in which to display the collection, as well as objects donated by other patrons or purchased through the years by previous decorative arts curators including Owsley, Phillip Johnston and Sarah Nichols, and Busch himself.

The Ailsa Mellon Bruce Galleries reopened Nov. 21 with a splendid new look fueled by the latest thinking on how to showcase both the history and beauty of the collection. Inspired by exhibitions and installations throughout America and Europe, Busch combines paintings, works on paper

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archival storage and a spacious setting to house the museum’s decorative arts objects, including the Ailsa Mellon Bruce collections.

Storage facility image by Tom Little

>> behind the scenes Newly renovated storage facilities at Carnegie Museum offer

and architectural drawings with furniture, porcelain, glass, wood, metal and decorative objects in other mediums in four galleries.

The chronological arrangement provides a unique perspective on American and European art, beginning with the Rococo and Neo-Classical styles of the 18th century and continuing through Modernism and contemporary craft and design of the 20th and 21st centuries. In all some 500 artworks will be on display including those in the first gallery, which will feature changing exhibitions. The inaugural exhibit comprises 18th century French furniture and German porcelain owned by Mrs. Bruce, important early Pennsylvania decorative arts and selections from the museum’s substantial collection of seating furniture.

The galleries’ 8,000 square feet will play to the Carnegie’s strengths, decorative arts from the 1740s to the present, and to the region’s history. An outstand-

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ing example is a suite of gilded furniture (c. 1825) from PicNic, the home of Mary Schenley (who owned the land that is now Schenley Park). Rather than re-create the formal parlor, Busch decided to render it in a life-sized elevation painted onto the walls. “I thought it would work really well—it was almost to the inch the length of the original parlor and one half of the width. It’s meant to be more of a window into what this room would have been like, and to evoke a period room without bricks and mortar.”

The effect is modern and unstuffy, which is true of all the galleries. Subdued blue and moss-green walls, wood floors and giant arched windows bring warmth and light into the space. Cases holding colorful contemporary glass are set against the window for natural illumination. Videos, an interactive stained glass exhibit featuring window panels by Louis Comfort Tiffany, along with selections such as Marc Newson’s Lockheed Lounge from the museum’s significant collection of aluminum objects, meld the present with the past.

What visitors won’t see is the state-ofthe-art storage and study facility in the basement that houses some 6,000 objects in 60 cabinets and specially-designed shelving. More than two dozen curators and specialists were brought in to evaluate the collection and offer guidance.

“The collection literally told me how it wanted to be installed,” Busch says. “We all have chairs and plates and lamps, but perhaps we haven’t realized what those objects tell us about a particular moment in terms of aesthetics, technology and innovation. Craftsmanship is timeless.

The balance of design, manufacture and ornamentation has been standard in the work of gifted artisans for centuries. But in many places they haven’t been highlighted as they have at the Carnegie.”

Then again, not many museums have been charged with the mission bequeathed by Andrew Carnegie, who was interested in collecting art from his time forward: “To display the old masters of tomorrow.” pq

Marylynn Uricchio is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s society editor and Seen columnist.

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written by b r u c e k e i da n photographs by j a c k w o l f

Bringing light to a

a dark science S

The secrets of Commander Ron Freeman

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omewhere between Abu

Ghraib and Guantanamo, sometime between assertions that America does not torture and insistence that the end justified the means, I remembered what a Pittsburgh police officer once told me about the head of the city’s Major Crimes Division: “Everybody confesses to Ron Freeman.”

I first met Freeman almost a decade ago.

The Post-Gazette was assembling dossiers on the city’s 50 most notable persons of a certain age. The undertaking, dubbed Project Legacy, was the brainchild of editor John Craig, who assigned me to oversee it.

A critical component of an advance obituary is an interview with the subject. So P-G reporters began fanning out. Their marching orders: Explain Project Legacy and promise that nothing the subject said would be revealed during his or her lifetime—at least not without the person’s consent.

The young reporter assigned to interview Commander Ron Freeman either was not paying attention or had a panic attack at Freeman’s office door. He blurted, “My editor assigned me to write your obituary.”

Freeman, who was battling leukemia at the time, was not amused and said, “Have your editor call me.”

So I called Freeman and told him about Project Legacy and why I thought he should be included among the exalted expired-inwaiting. Mollified, he agreed.

Years later, I took an adult education course in homicide investigation at the University of Pittsburgh, partly because the subject interested me and partly because

Freeman was the instructor. But this spring and summer, in the wake of revelations about the “enhanced” methods used by military and para-military interrogators in the war on terrorism, I wanted to know more. I got in touch with Freeman again.

This story is the result.

J

ust back from a two-year

hitch in the Army, Ron Freeman settled in Pittsburgh to be with his parents, who had moved here from Baltimore while he was away. A high-school dropout at 16, he had worked menial jobs at a box-manufacturing plant and a heating and air conditioning company before being drafted. No one in his family ever had been a policeman. Freeman did not aspire to be the first.

The day he showed up at the CityCounty Building early in 1961, it was to register to vote. The Civil Service office was and is immediately adjacent to the Voter Registration office. Freeman accidentally went in the wrong door. It was kismet.

The woman behind the desk engaged him in pleasant conversation. The city is looking for police officers, she said finally. Since you’re here anyway, why not apply? “No thanks,” he said. “I don’t think I’d make a good policeman.”

But after a little cajoling, he agreed to devote the next 45 minutes to filling out an application and taking the test. Then he went next door, filled out his voter registration card, and forgot the whole thing.

A month later, the city notified him that

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he had been selected to attend the police academy and gave him a date and time to report and be sworn in.

He was working as an orderly at St. Francis Hospital. One of the perks was free tuition for night-school classes at Pitt. He liked the job and the classes. His reporting date at the police academy came and went. He didn’t show up.

The police department surprised him by dispatching a detective to pick him up.

“We need good people,” the detective said. “You need to come with me.”

“He was a good guy, but I felt intimidated,” Freeman recalled. “He took me home to change into a suit, then took me to get sworn in.” Thus began one of the most distinguished careers in Pittsburgh police history.

H

is first assignment

after graduating from the academy in the fall of 1964 was walking a beat in the lower Hill District. The first time someone yelled for the cops, it took him a split second to realize he was the cops.

Foot patrolmen did not carry walkietalkies in those days. Once every hour, they went to a call box and phoned in their whereabouts. One night, Freeman was making such a call when a theater performance across the street was letting out. From behind him, Freeman heard a man screaming vile insults at him.

He was a big, tough-looking man, toting two bags. Freeman recalled being “frightened to death... but the guy was shouting and cursing at a policeman, and something had to be done.”

Freeman, at six feet tall and 160 pounds, advanced on the wild man, fumbling for his night stick. The big man put down his bags and put up his fists. But as the young cop drew closer, the wild man said quietly, “‘Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I just need a place to sleep for the night.”

“I hate to do this,” Freeman said, “but I’m going to have to handcuff you before I can call for a wagon.”

“This is your first arrest, isn’t it?” the big man asked.

Nearly a half century later, Freeman

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recalled, “He was really a nice guy. He was just down on his luck.’’

F

reeman never requested a

promotion. But new assignments kept finding him. He went from walking a beat to riding one, then to the Youth Crimes Division. “We did rapes, robberies, stolen cars—everything but homicides. That’s where I really got to know criminals,” he said. “We grew up together.’’

It was also where he first took an interest in interrogation. In a polygraph operator’s office, he happened upon a book, “Criminal Interrogations and Confessions,” edited by Fred Inbau. “Is it any good?’’ he asked the lie-detector specialist. “Don’t know,” the man said.

“Never read it.”

Freeman borrowed it and found it fascinating. He met veteran homicide detective Steve Tercsak. “The best detective they had at that time; very approachable, very friendly. I asked him if I could sit in on one of his [interrogations].” One interview became a series of tutorials—the wizard practicing his sorcery, the apprentice taking mental notes. Interrogation fast became Freeman’s passion.

He went from youth crimes to homi-

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“You don’t want a room that’s too big or too small.

It can’t have mirrors or bright-colored paint. You don’t want windows or flags or police memorabilia.

You should have a stationary chair for the suspect and a chair for yourself that you can move around easily. You should not have a table; that creates a barrier that they’re protected by.”

cide, first on a 30-day loan, then for keeps. He went from reading a book about interrogation to reading many.

“The first thing I learned about is the room,” Freeman recalled. “You don’t want a room that’s too big or too small. It can’t have mirrors or bright-colored paint. You don’t want windows or flags or police memorabilia. You should have a stationary chair for the suspect and a chair for yourself that you can move around easily.

You should not have a table; that creates a barrier that they’re protected by.

“You have to go in without a gun or badge or uniform, nothing that shows you’re the police. You look professional.

You read them their Miranda rights. They sign them. You put them away.

“You find out as much about the person as you can before you go in the room with him. You don’t use words like ‘rape,’ ‘kill’ or ‘stab.’ You use other language.

‘That thing that happened...’ You put aside your personal feelings about someone who might have killed a woman or child. It sounds hard, but I had to do it in order to do my job, so for me it was easy.

“You want it to be one suspect, one cop. It gives them a sense of privacy. You don’t want to carry a tape recorder or write notes as the subject speaks. You

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Commander Ron Freeman >> have to record it all in your mind. Once you can get them to confess, it’s easier for them to accept that you want to record it.

“I liked to do my interviews in the evening if possible, because I’d read two different research papers that reached the same conclusion: People tend to confess more readily then.”

“None of this was common practice at the time Steve taught it to me. Some detectives just didn’t take the time to learn to interrogate, and some never got confessions. Outside of Pittsburgh, a lot of detectives went to jail for using physical force in interrogations. I didn’t use physical aggression.

“Steve Tercsak was my mentor and hero in all these things.” And Freeman, in turn, would become the mentor and hero to many.

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R

on Paul Freeman, the commander’s son, recollects clearly the day he decided to become a police officer. He

was 6.

“My dad would bring the [unmarked squad car] home with him,” Ron Paul said. “I was coming home with him from the grocery store, and he monitored the radio whenever he went out. We were in Squirrel Hill. A call came over about a burglary in progress a few blocks away, and my dad answered it. By the time we got home, there was no doubt in my mind I wanted to be a policeman.”

Ron Paul, now 31 and a patrol officer in Zone 2, was 9 years old, maybe less, when he began accompanying his father to work on weekends and school holidays.

The boy sometimes went with his father to crime scenes. Sometimes the crime was murder.

It was not your typical father-son bonding experience. But in talking about it with them, it was hard to discern which

one liked it better.

Dennis Logan, now the lead investigator for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, was a homicide detective when he started working for Freeman in 1988. It was Freeman who taught him the art of interrogation, and Logan became his prize pupil.

“I learned from him to be patient, to keep the conversation going, to break down the barriers,” Logan said. “He would never ask you to do anything he wouldn’t do, and usually he was right there doing it with you. I remember thinking once that, if they had been paying him on an hourly basis, it would have come to about $2 an hour.

“You know, bosses come and bosses go. Some are better than others. But he was more than a commander. He was an instructor. He taught everyone who was willing to be taught.”

Logan and his former partner, Rich McDonald, teach classes in interrogation now. “We’ve had detectives tell us that

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what we taught them enabled them to obtain a confession,” Logan said. “That’s a great feeling, and it all goes back to Commander Freeman.”

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orking for

Freeman was a privilege with a price—as Logan learned on his first Christmas in homicide. Working the holiday didn’t bother him. Murderers don’t all take Christmas off, so detectives don’t, either.

Then his wife called. Freeman happened to answer. After pleasant chit-chat, Freeman asked her how she liked the earrings. There was a moment of silence before she asked what earrings he was referring to. “The ones he got you for Christmas,” Freeman chirped.

More silence.

“Oh, my” the seemingly contrite commander said. “Did I spoil the surprise?”

He summoned his rookie detective to the phone. Whereupon Logan learned what it was like to be on the wrong side of a hostile interrogation.

Freeman, in short, is a practical joker.

Take, for example, the Curious Case of Balloons Over Pennsylvania.

They were helium balloons, left over from a detective’s birthday party. Waste not, want not, Freeman figured. He released more than a dozen of them, each with a note promising to pay the person who found it a $50 reward if they would notify a “Mr. O’Neill,” whose telephone number was included.

The number was for Lt. Leo O’Neill, who had the misfortune to occupy an office adjacent to Freeman’s.

“I happened to be in my office when the first call came in,” Freeman said. “He had a booming voice, and I could hear every word he said.” The operative phrase being, “What the hell are you talking about?”

The final call came from near Harrisburg. “Mr. O’Neill,” the caller said, “I found your balloon, and it’s a godsend.

I’m out of work, my little boy is very ill, and we sure can use that $50.”

O’Neill sent him a check. He grouses to this day that Freeman owes him $25.

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Neither TV nor print reporters were immune. When Channel 11 made the miscalculation of assigning a rookie news woman to interview him, Freeman prepared by tying an assortment of fresh pears to a bonsai bush with sheer nylon thread and placing the bush on the cabinet behind him. Each of the fruits weighed almost as much as the plant itself, pot and all.

“Do you mind if I ask what that is?” she inquired at interview’s end.

“Not at all. That’s my miniature pear tree.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it. Can you buy them in Pittsburgh?”

So he told her, quite truthfully, where he had bought the plant. He heard from her later that week, when she called to complain that the shopkeeper had stonewalled her, insisting he never had heard of, much less carried, the tree in question.

W

illiam Marimow,

then a city hall reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and now its executive editor, won a 1978 Pulitzer Prize for an investigation into the Inquisitionstyle interrogation methods employed by that city’s homicide detectives. Marimow learned that the cops routinely used blackjacks, brass knuckles and lead pipes to bludgeon reticent suspects until they confessed.

Marimow suspected, but did not know for a certainty until years after his series was printed, that one or more of the cops used a Halloween costume as a disguise.

Suspects were handcuffed to a steel table in a sound-proof room. Moments later, a giant pink rabbit would enter and beat them with a rubber truncheon painted to look like a carrot.

When the case reached the courts, of course, defense counsel would attempt to have the confession suppressed on grounds of coercion, but who would believe an excon or junkie who claimed that a big, pink bunny had put words in his mouth and a lump on his head?

Freeman used neither bunny costumes nor blackjacks. Empathy was his carrot, psychology his stick.

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“You don’t just sit down and ask them if they did it,” he said. “You say, ‘Tell me something about yourself.’ You ask them about their family and where they live. You watch their arm and head movements, the way they react to memories that are painful to them, like losing a parent. Then you bring up something pleasurable and watch how they react to that, so you get a baseline for that individual.

“You spend 15 minutes to an hour just talking about them. You’re looking for weakness, but at the same time you’re showing an interest in them. One of my favorite questions was, ‘If you could have any job, what would it be?’ The most common answer was ‘truck driver.’ But if they said ‘doctor’ or ‘lawyer’ or ‘teacher’ or something like that, I’d say, ‘You could do that. I know you have it in you.’

“I’d say, ‘You could go to college and have a future to look forward to.’ I’d have books in the room, and I’d give them a book and say, ‘I want you to read this.’

“As you’re talking to them, you’re gradually sliding your chair closer to them.

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When I could touch them, reach out and put a hand on their shoulder, I knew I had them.’’

This was his secret weapon: While he was doing the interview, he could find something to like (or at least to relate to) in even the worst of the worst, the most fiendish of murderers.

Clayton may be the best—or worst— example. Clayton had strangled a 5-year-old girl. “She fought him and fought him,” Freeman recalled. She bit his hands. She wouldn’t die.

“He’d been convicted of molesting little girls seven times. We chit-chatted about his life. He confessed to me, and after we did the paperwork that had to be done, I said, ‘Clayton, let’s talk about you. How did you get to this point in your life?’ He’d grown up in the projects in Philadelphia.

He had no dad. Starting at age 7, he’d been molested numerous times by his older sister, her boyfriend and the boyfriend’s 36year-old sister. And I thought to myself, ‘If I’d grown up that way, I might have wound up like he did.’ When you talk to the mon-

ster, you see not only the monster but bits of humanity.”

F

or all the cases he

cracked, for all the culprits he caught, for all the guilty secrets unearthed in his confessional, Freeman likely made his greatest contribution to law enforcement after he left it.

A three-part 2007 series by veteran Post-Gazette reporter Mike Fuoco chronicled a project undertaken by Duquesne University law and forensic science students. At the behest of their instructor, Freeman, they contacted Keith Jesperson, Oregon’s infamous Happy Face Killer. Jesperson had turned down requests for interviews with CBS and CNN, among others, but he eventually conducted two with the Duquesne students.

The following year, the genesis of that year’s class project was a question posed by a homicide detective still with the force: Why had modern forensic science, for all its advances, failed to find a way to recover continued on page 142

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worth the drive by b a r b a r a e i c h e n l a u b

Pen to paper s tat i o n e ry s to r e s to c o m p l e m e n t a n y w r i t e r ’s l i f e n this age of emailing, texting, and

tweeting, the art of letter writing could be lost.

Fortunately, many people still enjoy holding a real book or magazine in their hands—and putting pen to paper for correspondence. Anyone who has ever packed up the belongings of an elderly relative or friend has likely found a pile of treasured cards or a ribbon-tied stack of faded love letters.

Their lasting quality simply can’t be replicated on a computer or Blackberry screen.

Pittsburghers are lucky to have several specialty stationery stores, each with its own forte. All sell beautiful writing paper and custom stationery and offer in-house >> custom printing, invitations and personalized holiday cards. Each boasts a knowledgeable and helpful sales staff. These are people who love paper!

In just 18 months, Aspinwall’s Nota Bene has quickly become a popular stop for both locals and those in the know. Owners Evvy Diamond and Amy Bass will jump through hoops to make you look good. Need a last-minute present for someone special? For $5 they will personalize any box of stationery, usually in less than 24 hours. Their “printing on demand” will make you look as if you planned that gift way in advance.

They will also custom-design everything from invitations to kids’ thank-you notes (popular with grandparents wanting to encourage social graces). With products ranging from Crane stationery to funky handmade papers, it’s easy to find just the signature style A colorful array of stationery, handmade papers and fine right look. If you’re more of a gifts await at Nota Bene in Aspinwall. hands-off person, they’ll do

I photo by John Altdorfer, styling by Jennifer McNulty

everything for you, from designing your invitations to lining, addressing and mailing the envelopes. Their tiny store is filled with more than paper—they have a great children’s section with unique items such as Calafant 3-D cardboard kits from Germany, gummy erasers from Japan, and an array of fun pens and pencils. Nota Bene, Brilliant Ave. 15215 / (412) 782-6300.

Downtown’s J. R. Weldin Company is the granddaddy of stationers. In existence since 1852, it’s been at the current location since the 1920s. With its original woodwork, large-paned picture windows, and resident cats and dog, Weldin’s is right out of Harry Potter. Aside from all kinds of stationery, there are great gift items, from fanciful stick-

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ers to sealing wax to clever silk neckties.

Weldin’s has fine writing instruments, including the Cross pen favored by Presidents Barack Obama and George H. W. Bush. There are fountain, ballpoint and roller ball pens—all with refills or ink available. Weldin’s also sells office supplies (with free delivery downtown), and there are items that are nearly impossible to find elsewhere, including carbon paper, typewriter ribbon and a big selection of map tacks. It also sells individual items—one envelope or a single green pen. No need to buy bulk here! Weldin’s is renowned for its calendars and globes.

Corporate gifts range from fine leather goods to engraved barware—and they will gift-wrap your purchases. The upstairs loft houses Ewe Can Knit, a department offering yarn, needles and knitting classes—a quiet refuge from the bustle of town. Their knowledgeable staff and in-house pen specialist help to set this shop apart. J. R. Weldin Company, 413 Wood St. 15222 / (412) 281-0123.

Mt. Lebanon is home to Barbara Johnson’s More Than Words. For eight years, she’s specialized in fine papers.

Most impressive is the array of die-cut cards for printed invitations. From whimsical to glittery to elegant, there is something for every occasion. Here, too, you can have a start-to-finish invitation experience. They will even help with party or wedding favors. Another standout item is their collection of large sheets of paper. Used for everything from enhancing invitations to wrapping gifts, these papers come from around the world. Some cost in excess of $40 per sheet, but they’re works of art. This store also has lovely gift items, such as fine writing instruments and desk sets.

More Than Words, 660 Washington Rd. 15228 / (412) 343-9673.

Whether you are looking for a perfect gift, holiday cards, or a more lasting way to express yourself, these three stores are worth the drive. pq Barbara Eichenlaub is a freelance writer living in Fox Chapel.

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events guide a musical christmas carol

a musical christmas carol | Pittsburgh’s own Tom Atkins returns as Scrooge in this must-see holiday event that has been a local tradition since 1992. Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to join Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in this classic Charles Dickens tale set to your favorite yuletide melodies. It’s never been more affordable to spend the holidays with Pittsburgh CLO. Enjoy half-priced tickets for children ages 3–14, sponsored by Macy’s.

Pittsburgh CLO Byham Theater / $26.50–$44.50 Also December 11–13, 17–23

1 tuesday

The Nutcracker: Artists: Amanda Cochrane as Marie, with ballet characters from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School / photo by Rieder Photography

radio city christmas spectacular starring the rockettes | The world-

famous Rockettes return to Pittsburgh this holiday season. Fill your heart with Christmas as a cast and crew of over 100 members brings America’s favorite holiday tradition to the Benedum Center. Delight in the dynamic precision of the legendary “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” and be swept away to relive the very first Christmas in the awe-inspiring “Living Nativity.”

PNC Broadway Across America—Pittsburgh Benedum Center / $30.50–$70.50 Also December 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

the little foxes | Its juicy characters, scathing humor, and emotional fireworks have made Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes” one of the absolute essentials of the American theater. Living in 1900 in the New South, the wealthy Hubbard clan will go to itzhak perlman any lengths to get even richer. Acclaimed actress Helena Ruoti will play the coveted role of Regina, made famous on the screen

by Bette Davis.

Pittsburgh Public Theater O’Reilly Theater / $35–$55; 26 & under: $15.50 Also December 2–6, 8–13

10 thursday 1

St. Vincent Schola Gregoriana. Beethoven: Overture to “Coriolan”; Braunfels: “Te Deum,” Part III. Mozart: “Requiem.” Maestro Honeck presents his personal version of Mozart’s “Requiem,” a dramatic and theatrical treatment featuring church bells, Gregorian chants and readings from Mozart’s letters to his father, set in Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral at the time of Mozart’s death.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / Tickets start at $17.50 Also December 5 & 6

11 friday 1 the nutcracker | The holidays wouldn’t be complete without the magic of “The Nutcracker.” The adventures of Marie and her Nutcracker Prince bring the awe and wonder of the season to children of all ages. Dazzling costumes and exquisite sets make this production a must-see for the entire family.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Benedum Center / $20.50–$88.50 Also December 12, 13, 18–20, 22, 23, 26 & 27 >>

4 friday bny mellon grand classics:

a funeral mass for mozart | Manfred Honeck, conductor; John Lithgow, narrator; Chen Reiss, soprano; Lauren McNeese, mezzo-soprano; Alek Shrader, tenor; John Relyea, bass; Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Betsy Burleigh, director;

Visit pgharts.org for tickets, showtimes and additional information.

the nutcracker

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chris botti

the second city’s 50th anniversary tour | The Second City is taking the

11 friday 1 handel’s messiah | Robert Page, conductor; Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Betsy Burleigh, director. Celebrate the season with George Friedrich Handel’s popular and awe-inspiring “Messiah.” This breathtaking oratorio contains the treasured “Hallelujah Chorus,” “Ev’ry Valley” and “Amen” refrains, angelically sung by The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. This magnificent cathedral of music is a concert not to be missed.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 8 p.m. / Tickets start at $18 Also December 12

12 saturday 1 highmark family holiday pops! | Escape the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and bring your family to Heinz Hall for the festive decorations and 25-foot holiday tree! Start a family tradition with this concert as you sing along to your favorite carols sprinkled with guest appearances by PSO friends, including Fiddlesticks and a special someone from the North Pole!

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 11:15 a.m. / Tickets start at $5 Robert Page, conductor; Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Betsy Burleigh, director. Robert Page leads your PSO and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in the most beloved “Messiah” choruses. Seating for this fun-filled participatory event is general admission, with all tickets priced at only $25. Bring your own score or purchase one at the door, and sit with fellow sopranos, altos, tenors or basses.

Gather your friends and come as a group.

Call 412-392-4819 for group discount tickets.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 3 p.m. / $25

13 sunday 1 highmark holiday special with chris botti | The unmatched artistry of

party on the road to celebrate an anniversary of epic proportions: 50 years of legendary sketch comedy and improvisation.

Experience the best from the comedic geniuses of The Second City, with material written by their quickest and wittiest alumni, including Alan Arkin, Robert Klein, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and more. This fast-paced and funny history lesson hilariously skewers every scandal, war and dalliance from the past 50 years.

Pittsburgh Public Theater O’Reilly Theater $28–$48; age 26 & under: $15.50 Also December 18 & 19

jazz trumpeter Chris Botti will be on display for a wonderful concert this holiday season at Heinz Hall. One of today’s most exceptional trumpeters, Botti melds jazz, classical and pop music into a sophisticated contemporary genre. Known for his beautiful interpretation of “Ave Maria,” Botti creates a lasting holiday memory, setting the tone for the season.

The PSO will not appear at this performance.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 2:30 & 7:30 p.m. / Tickets start at $29.50

regina carter

highmark holiday pops with marvin! | Marvin Hamlisch, conductor;

messiah sing along! |

14 monday 1

regina carter’s reverse thread |

b.e. taylor christmas concert |

Traverse the globe with internationally acclaimed jazz violinist Regina Carter as she and her quartet perform pieces from her Paganini project and music from Mali, Senegal and Uganda. Carter brings audiences to their feet with a musical style Time magazine called “probingly intelligent” and “breathtakingly daring.”

Presented in partnership with MCG Jazz.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture / 7 & 9:30 p.m. / $28–$43.50

B.E. Taylor transforms old favorites through bold interpretations to create new traditions that will live in the heart as long as Christmas is celebrated. Each year, a band of brothers fills the silent nights of December with harmony, music and love. Sold out audiences return year after year to listen…to watch… to sing…to share a universal voice.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 7:30 p.m. /$32–$53 also December 15

Visit pgharts.org for tickets, showtimes and additional information.

Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Betsy Burleigh, director. Let the excitement of the holiday season guide you through the golden doors and ornate decorations of Heinz Hall to the sights and sounds of Marvin Hamlisch and the Highmark Holiday Pops! Marvin takes the stage to give you the gift of your seasonal favorites, complete with surprise visits and special performances sure to put you in the holiday spirit!

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 7:30 p.m. / Tickets start at $20 Also December 18, 19 & 20

18 friday 1 Festive holiday celebration featuring the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra and various local artists and performers. Enjoy new and traditional holiday favorites that add to the magic of the season.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture August Wilson Center / $22.50 / Also December 19 & 20

family holiday show |

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dreamgirls

December 31 Celebrate New Year’s Eve with the whole community! The Cultural District is full to the brim with over a hundred performances, activities and exhibits in just six hours.

Enjoy the grand First Night parade, hands-on activities, a gallery crawl, and music, dance, theater, and comedy performances for all ages. The celebration concludes with spectacular fireworks and the exciting finale, “The Future of Pittsburgh, Countdown to Midnight,” courtesy of Highmark.

Trust Education & Community Engagement 6 p.m.–Midnight / Locations throughout Downtown / $8; Children 5 & under: free

31 thursday 1 new year’s eve salsa dance party Dance the night away and ring in the new year with DJs Joe Figueroa and Jeff Shirey.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Cabaret at Theater Square VIP Salsa / 9 p.m. $40.50; Dance Party / 10 p.m. $20.50

new year’s eve salsa dance party

pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

For more information, visit

firstnightpgh.org Giant Eagle Advantage Card holders receive $1 off when purchasing First Night® buttons at participating Giant Eagle locations.

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dreamgirls | Catch the dream! Direct from the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York City, DREAMGIRLS tells the rags-to-riches story of a 1960s Motown girl group. With music by Academy Award® nominee Henry Krieger and book/lyrics by Tony- and Grammy®-winning Tom Eyen, DREAMGIRLS reveals the triumphs and tribulations that come with fame and fortune through unforgettable hits like “And I Am Telling You,” “One Night Only” and “Listen.”

“So You Think You Can Dance” choreographer Robert Longbottom has re-envisioned this production so it sparkles like never before.

PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh Heinz Hall / $22–$66 Also December 30 & 31; January 1, 2 & 3

2010

Lead Sponsor:

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cirque dreams illumination |

From the creators of the groundbreaking Broadway hit “Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” comes an all-new journey of dreamers whose imaginations are ignited within a landscape of towering buildings and infinite possibilities. Audiences of all ages will marvel at performers who reinvent everyday objects, balance beyond belief, delicately dangle from wires, leap tall buildings and redefine the risks of flight in an array of astounding occurrences that transform the ordinary into extraordinary. An international cast of world-class acrobats, athletes and

musicians populate this imaginative, colorful metropolis with over 100 inventive costumes, an original musical score and magical sights that transform the landscape of a city into thrills and disbelief.

PNC Broadway Across America— Pittsburgh Special Heinz Hall / $21–$61 Also January 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10

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5 tuesday menopause the musical® | Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, Menopause The Musical® has entertained nearly 11 million fans worldwide. It’s the “hottest” ticket in town!

Trust Guest Attraction Byham Theater / $47 & $50 Also January 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10

6 wednesday With their record-breaking sixth Super Bowl win, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the indisputable “lords of the rings.”

Their tough-as-nails tradition and indomitable fighting spirit are the legacy of their founder, “Chief” Art Rooney, Sr. Don’t miss your chance to celebrate the birth of the Steelers Nation one last time, when Tom Atkins takes to the stage in The Public’s farewell production of this smashhit, one-man play.

Pittsburgh Public Theater O’Reilly Theater $48–$65; 26 & under: $15.50 Also January 7–10

the chief |

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wednesday

robert reich | Having served in the Ford, Carter, Clinton and now Obama administrations, Reich is well regarded as one of the nation’s leading thinkers on business, labor and the economy. As U.S. secretary of labor, he worked to pass the Retirement Protection Act and the Family Medical Leave Act, and increased the minimum wage for hourly workers.

Pittsburgh Speakers Series Heinz Hall / 8 p.m. / Subscription only

1 14 thursday an evening at the academy awards with bill conti | Bill Conti, conductor. Walk the red

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friday

alonzo king’s lines ballet: signs and wonders | This San Francisco-based dance company colors outside the lines to bring forth works that reimagine, reinvigorate and reinvent ballet.

Originally commissioned by the Dance Theatre of Harlem, “Signs and Wonders” incorporates indigenous drumming and vocals from various African tribes, examining the relationship between contemporary ballet and African musical traditions.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture / $38–$49 Also January 16 & 17

pnc pops:

alonzo king’s lines ballet

carpet and enjoy an evening of music from past and present Academy Award® — nominated films, as well as other popular film scores.

Bill Conti, composer and conductor, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Oscars. Enjoy this year’s nominations for best musical scores as well as some of Conti’s own compositions, including music from “The Right Stuff,” “Rocky,” and the James Bond film, “For Your Eyes Only.”

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / Heinz Hall Tickets start at $20 / Also January 15, 16 & 17

Pittsburgh’s best magazine is quarterly j u d g e d p i t t s b u r g h ’s b e s t m a g a z i n e t h r e e y e a r s i n a r o w

Don’t miss an issue!

subscribe today pittsburghquarterly.com Subscribe online by December 31, 2009 and save 53% off the newstand price.

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Like a tap dance without shoes, or a band without instruments, stepping is percussive dance that uses kicks, stomps, claps and chants – all linked to African and modern dance traditions. The first professional company devoted to stepping, Step Afrika!’s high-energy performance is a feast for the eyes and ears.

Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Byham Theater / 7 p.m. / $20.50–$32.50

step afrika! |

a midsummer night’s dream

21 thursday 1 a midsummer night’s dream | This comic extravaganza brings together the vibrant fairy kingdom, a quartet of mismatched lovers, the bewitched Bottom and a band of bumbling rustics in the world’s most magical play. Ted Pappas, director of “Metamorphoses,” “Amadeus” and “Cabaret,” and his brilliant team of designers will transform the O’Reilly Theater into an enchanted forest in a ravishing new production of Shakespeare’s exhilarating masterpiece.

Pittsburgh Public Theater O’Reilly Theater / $35–$55; 26 & under: $15.50 Also January 22–24, 26–31, February 2, 4–7, 9–14, 16–21

22 friday 1 step afrika!

gallery crawl in the cultural district | Free quarterly showcase of art and entertainment at various galleries and arts spaces located throughout the Cultural District.

Trust Education & Community Engagement Locations throughout the Cultural District 5:30–9 p.m./ Free & Open to the Public

20 1 wednesday Hosted by the Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater, the International Showcase of Performing Arts for Young People features performances by 21 professional performing arts companies from around the world, as well as forums for managers, agents, educators and directors in the field of performing arts for youth. Free tickets will be available to the general public for certain performances. Visit pgharts.org for information.

Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater Locations throughout the Cultural District Also January 21, 22 & 23

showcase 2010 |

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jim brickman | Jim Brickman has revolutionized the sound of adult contemporary music with his pop-style solo piano and romantic popular songs. Brickman’s “Beautiful World” tour is inspired by his world travels and memorable experiences of music bridging borders and cultural divides. “Beautiful World” celebrates how music connects us and brings us all together.

Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Benedum Center / 8 p.m. / $20.50–$45.50

Manfred Honeck, conductor; Emanuel Ax, piano. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”; Bruckner: Symphony No. 7.

Beethoven’s “Emperor” concerto was not written with any particular ruler in mind; the name was given by a publisher, simply because the piece sounded so regal. Pianist Emanuel Ax is known for his poetic temperament and unsurpassed virtuosity. The monumental Seventh Symphony, a triumph for Bruckner, is a cathedral of broad and emanuel ax sweeping melodies that will linger with the listener.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 8 p.m. / Tickets start at $20 Also January 23

24 sunday 1 pigeon party! starring mo willems’ pigeon | Cramming all the excitement of the first three Pigeon books by Mo Willems into one lively party, this performance is full of fun and laughter, featuring our favorite feathered friend. Big Wooden Horse Theatre Company’s (UK) production features original music and audience participation. You get to decide if Pigeon will drive the bus, share his hot dog, and most importantly, if he can stay up after bedtime!

Children’s Theater events take place at locations throughout the region. Visit pgharts.org for details.

Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater Byham Theater / 2 p.m. $9.50 in advance; $11 at the door Locations throughout the region through January 31

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Winner of four 2008 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Experience the next chapter of the classic American story at the most joyous, exciting and award-winning Broadway musical.

IN THE HEIGHTS is a sensational new show about chasing your dreams and finding your true home. With an amazing cast, Tony® Award-winning choreography and score, IN THE HEIGHTS is an exhilarating journey into a vibrant Manhattan community—where the coffee is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. Find out what it takes to make a living, what it costs to have a dream and what it means to be…IN THE HEIGHTS. PNC Broadway Across America —Pittsburgh Benedum Center / $22–$66 Also February 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7

in the heights | ®

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There’s no better way to introduce your family to the wonders of live theater than with the magic, the mystery, the memory of CATS. What began as a musical about cats after Andrew Lloyd Webber picked up a book of poems in an airport bookshop has become one of the longest-running shows in Broadway’s history. Winner of seven Tony® Awards including Best Musical, CATS features 20 of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s timeless melodies, including the hit song “Memory.”

PNC Broadway Across America —Pittsburgh Special Benedum Center / $23–$55 Also January 27, 28, 29, 30 & 31

cats |

Lawrence Loh, conductor; Sean Jones, trumpet. Join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for its fourth annual “Tribute” Concert: A Symphonic Celebration of African American Culture. This celebratory performance showcases a fusion of musical styles that reflect the diversity of music. This year’s concert features local jazz trumpeter Sean Jones performing with the PSO on a commission by Darin Atwater specially written for the concert. “Tribute” is presented in association with the August Wilson Center for African American Culture and the Hill House Association.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 7:30 p.m. / Tickets start at $5

“tribute” concert |

the rape of lucretia

28 thursday 1 rent | The exhilarating, landmark rock musical based on Puccini’s “La Boheme,” featuring a glittering and inventive musical score.

Pittsburgh Musical Theater Byham Theater / $12–$40 Also January 29, 30 & 31; February 5, 6 & 7

29 friday 1 bny mellon grand classics:

mahler’s chamber symphony | Manfred Honeck, conductor; Gil Shaham, violin; Sunhae Im, soprano. Haydn: Violin Concerto No 2.; Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 2.; Mahler: Symphony No. 4. Israeli-born violinist Shaham was awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding achievement in classical music in 2008. Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 is the smallest-scaled and most classical symphony of the nine he composed. The sublime final movement features a soprano solo that expresses a child’s vision of Heaven.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 8 p.m. / Tickets start at $17.50 Also January 31, 2:30 p.m.

30 saturday 1 the rape of lucretia | In this ancient tale that also inspired Shakespeare, the innocent Lucretia falls prey to an arrogant young man, her husband’s friend. Despite the tragedy, her fidelity remains radiant until the very end in Benjamin Britten’s intimate, even spiritual, “chamber opera.”

Pittsburgh Opera CAPA Theater / $45 Also February 2, 5 & 7

Visit pgharts.org for tickets, showtimes and additional information.

in the heights

4 thursday music 101 with betsy heston | “Why the Bass?” with PSO double bassist Betsy Heston. Presented by the Pittsburgh Symphony Association, Music 101 is a lunchtime lecture series of informal presentations, providing the community with opportunities to hear personal insights from PSO musicians, conductors and key personnel.

Free and open to the public. Doors open at 11:15 a.m. To reserve a Common Plea gourmet picnic lunch ($8.50), call 412-392-3303.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall /12:30–1:30 pm / Free and open to the public

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bny mellon grand classics:

honeck & mutter | Manfred Honeck, conductor; Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin.

Brahms: Violin Concerto; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” Legendary violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter has captivated audiences with her virtuosic and mesmerizing performances of the romantic Brahms Violin Concerto. Beethoven originally wrote his Symphony No. 3 to honor Napoleon, but angrily removed the dedication after Napoleon declared himself emperor. annesophie Pittsburgh Symphony mutter Orchestra Heinz Hall / 8 p.m. / Tickets start $20 Also February 6

6 saturday

mia farrow | One of Hollywood’s most iconic leading ladies, Farrow began her career at an early age and went on to star in more than 40 films, including “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Hannah and Her Sisters.” In a riveting personal account of her life behind the scenes, Farrow explores the challenges that helped shape her inspiring humanitarian efforts with UNICEF and in Darfur.

Pittsburgh Speakers Series Heinz Hall / 8 p.m.

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thursday

point park university’s conservatory dance company at the byham | Features riveting pieces choreographed by some of the top names in contemporary dance, including Gerald Arpino, Trey McIntyre, Doug Varone, David Parsons and Daniel Ezralow.

Point Park University Byham Theater / $18–$20; seniors $7 / students $8 Also, February 12 & 13

daniel bernard roumain: etudes4violin&electronix | Where Bartok meets hip-hop, violinist and bandleader Daniel Bernard Roumain blends funk, rock and jazz with the music of his ancestral home, Haiti, to create an intoxicating musical experience. Roumain’s works range from chamber music and orchestral pieces to electronica, each stamped with passion, imagination and flair. Roumain performs selections from his solo album, “Etudes4violin&electronix”.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture August Wilson Center / 8 p.m. / $28–$30

point park university conservatory dance company

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friday

nickelodeon’s storytime adventures live! | Nickelodeon presents the first-ever live tour featuring four of the top-rated preschool shows on television today. Audiences will join Dora and Boots from “Dora the Explorer,” Pablo, Uniqua and Tyrone from “The Backyardigans,” Ming Ming and Linny from “Wonder Pets,” and Kai-Lan from “Ni Hao, Kai-Lan” in their stage debut, as they celebrate classic stories. Nickelodeon’s brand-new live production is sure to be the hit preschool show of the season!

Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Benedum Center / $15.50–$39.50 Also February 20 & 21

tribute to phyllis hyman | Rediscover the regal beauty and vocal sophistication of the late Phyllis Hyman.

Whether in a recording studio, on the Broadway stage, or at an intimate jazz club, the Philadelphia-born, Pittsburgh-bred chanteuse sang with the kind of power and vulnerability rarely seen today. Local and national artists pay tribute to Hyman by performing her greatest hits, including “No One Can Love You More” and “You Know How to Love Me.” August Wilson Center for African American Culture August Wilson Center / 8 p.m. / $28–$33 Also February 20

friday

company b & in the upper room | “Company B” explores the realities of World War II America through the social dances of the 1940s and the swinging tunes of the Andrews Sisters.“ “In the Upper Room” is an edgy blend of ballet and modern dance that creates an energetic tour de force.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Benedum Center $20.50–$88.50 Also February 13 & 14

pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

To create this new work, Bodiography’s founding artistic director and choreographer, Maria Caruso, shadowed physicians and surgeons of the UPMC Advanced Heart Failure Program as they cared for heartand lung-transplant patients. Sponsored by UPMC and The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, “Heart” is shaped by the experiences, insights, struggles and victories of people with advanced heart and lung disease.

Features live accompaniment and original score by former members of Cellofourte.

Bodiography Contemporary Ballet Byham Theater / 8 p.m. / $26.50, $36.50, $45.50 Also February 20

Company B Artist: Eva Trapp / photo by Rieder Photography

heart (function vs. emotion) | daniel bernard roumain

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e n j oy c u lt u r a l d i s t r i c t d i n i n g Experience Pittsburgh s best downtown restaurants...

Meet for dinner and drinks before or after the show.

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friday

songs around the globe | Lawrence Loh, conductor. Want to play?

Discover the ways in which music has been handed down through generations and incorporated into favorite games around the globe. Whether you are at a sporting event or in your own backyard, music is found in the ways we play. You’ll feel like you are sitting in the stands as we sing along to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame!”

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 11:15 a.m.; Discovery Time Adventures 10 a.m. / $16 and $19

bny mellon grand classics:

an american voyage | Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Mason Bates, electronica; Gregg Baker, baritone. Bernstein: Three dance episodes from “On the Town”; Bates: “Liquid Interface”; Danielpour: “Pastime”; Gershwin: “An American in Paris.” Using both traditional orchestra and programmed electronic music, “Liquid Interface” is a musical exploration of the nature of water-calving icebergs, water droplets, the destructive force of hurricanes and the gentle flow of water. “Pastime,” by Composer of the Year Richard Danielpour, celebrates baseball legends Josh Gibson, Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. The concert ends with audience favorite, “An American in Paris.”

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 8 p.m./ Tickets start at $17.50 Also February 21, 2:30 p.m.

20 saturday 1 student reading session | PSO Composer of the Year Richard Danielpour visited and interacted with students at the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University and West Virginia University during his year-long residency.

For this session, Danielpour will choose one student’s composition from each university and give insights from the stage as they are performed by the PSO. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / 11 a.m. / Free and open to the public

23 saturday 1 xanadu | Put a bunch of smash hit songs, Tony® Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane and the cutest couple in town into a Broadway musical comedy blender and what do you get? “Heaven on Wheels” says the New York Times. Taking audiences back to 1980 California, this hilarious new musical follows the beautiful Kira, who travels to Earth to inspire a struggling young artist named Sonny, as she helps this aspiring painter to find his voice, discover true love and build the world’s first roller disco (not necessarily in that order).

PNC Broadway Across America-Pittsburgh Benedum Center / $62–$21 Also February 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28

25 thursday 1

third annual harambee read-aloud | Celebrate African

pnc pops:

broadway rocks with marvin! | Marvin Hamlisch, conductor; Anne Runolfsson, Rob Evan, Capathia Jenkins and Gary Mauer, vocalists; All-Star College Chorus, Robert Page, director. All your favorite musicals in one incredible show!

Marvin brings some of Broadway’s greatest numbers to Heinz Hall for an evening of sensational music, including hits from “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Hairspray,” “Wicked,” “Mamma Mia!,” “Dream Girls,” “Jersey Boys,” “Tommy,” and many more.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Heinz Hall / Tickets start at $20 Also February 26, 27 & 28

26 friday 1 aspen santa fe ballet | Encompassing a far-reaching aesthetic vision and expression, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s sophisticated repertoire is inspired by some of the world’s foremost choreographers.

The performance includes “Sue’s Leg,” one of Twyla Tharp’s earliest commissioned pieces. Set to the music of Fats Waller, “Sue’s Leg” re-jigs tap and Charleston with a scampering, luxurious flavor.

Pittsburgh Dance Council Byham Theater / 8 p.m. /$19.50–$42.50

Visit pgharts.org for tickets, showtimes and additional information.

aspen santa fe ballet

American literature at this family-friendly event featuring a full-scale production of a special African American children’s book, complemented by thematically related activities for all ages.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture August Wilson Center / Noon / $7

28 sunday 1 showcase noir: african american artist and designer exhibit and sale | Unique arts showcase featuring the region’s finest AfricanAmerican artists — potters, watercolor artists, fine jewelry designers, sculptors and more.

Includes a DJ, live jazz and works of art available for purchase. Presented in partnership with the Society for Contemporary Craft. Showcase Noir will take place prior to Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Trust Education & Community Engagement Byham Theater / 11 a.m.–7 p.m. / Free and open to the public

ladysmith black mambazo | The legendary South African group threads the intricate rhythms and harmonies of its native musical traditions with the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The resulting musical and spiritual alchemy has touched millions worldwide. During the past four decades, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has garnered praise and accolades within the recording industry and solidified its identity as a prolific cultural powerhouse.

Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Byham Theater / 7 p.m. / $20.50–$37.50

pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet photo by Lois Greenfield

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Theater Square forever plaid

655 penn avenue between 6th & 7th streets

wednesday wine flights 6:15 p.m., / $35 includes presentation, wine samplings & light fare

Dec. 2 muscat love | Having travelled from antiquity to modern times, the Muscat grape has impacted winemaking the world over.

Jan. 6 wines of argentina | Argentina is the world’s fifth leading producer of wines and home of the mighty Malbec and other great varietals.

forever plaid | Five years after they won your hearts at the CLO Cabaret, the boys are back by popular demand from the great beyond. Don’t miss their hysterically nostalgic return as this 1950s all-male singing group is miraculously revived to fulfill their dreams and perform the show that they never could when they were alive! Audiences will be rolling in the aisles and tapping their toes as “The Plaids” perform some of the 1950s greatest hits: “Catch a Falling Star,” “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” and “Magic Moments.”

Pittsburgh CLO Cabaret at Theater Square / $34.50–$44.50 / December 3 through March 28 Wed–Sat, 7:30 p.m.; Sat & Sun, 2 p.m.; Select Thursday Matinees bny mellon jazz presents jazzlive | Free live jazz showcasing the

Feb. 3 the heart of provence | A night of romance inspired by the noble wines and fare of Provence. wednesday wine flights

salsa fridays

region’s finest musicians every Tuesday from 5–11 p.m.

Dec. 1 Robbie Klein / Roger Barbour

craft beer school

8 Roger Humphries / Michele Bensen 15 Jay Willis / Fred Pugh 0 22 Don Aliquo / Alton Merrill 0 29 Kenny Blake / Roger Barbour 0

6:15 p.m. / $25 includes presentation, beer samplings & light fare

Jan. 5 Kenia / Kevin Howard

15 meet the brewer: Dec. 0 bell’s brewery | A holiday themed

12 Dwayne Dolphin / Maureen Budway 0 19 Tony Campbell / Puro Queso 0 26 Salsamba / Tim Stevens 0

session with Kalamazoo’s Bell’s Brewery, a creative and talented establishment that has improved the nation’s beerscape.

Feb. 2 Gerald Haymon / Don Aliquo 9 Jared Wilson / Patrick Arena 16 Carolyn Perteete / Jacob Yoffee 0 23 Jamie Moore / Tony DePaolis 0

late night cabaret | Saturdays 10 p.m.; doors open at 9:30 p.m. $5 / free for ticket holders of any earlier downtown show (space permitting)

jazzlive

Dec. 5 CMU Student Cabaret 12 Mystery’s Most Wanted presents…”Sleigh Bells 0 19 Pittsburgh Pundits Over Broadway” 0 26 0 The Serious Comedy Show

visit pgharts.org for information on current Late Night shows.

pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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19 texas drink ’em: Jan. 0 shiner beers | A special tasting of

the Lone Star State’s beloved Shiner Beers presented by Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Company.

16 meet the brewer: Feb. 0 yards brewery | Celebrate Presidents’

Day with Philadelphia’s Yards Brewery’s signature Ales of the Revolution and more.

backstage bar at theater square live entertainment, no cover, smoke-free 412-325-6769 / backstagebar.com

Forever Plaid photo by Matt Polk

salsa fridays | Cabaret at Theater Square, 10:30 p.m. / $5 / doors open at 10 p.m. free for ticket holders of any earlier downtown show (space permitting)

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All visual arts exhibits are free and open to the public (except where noted)

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Visual Arts

709 Penn Gallery 709 penn avenue

Wood Street Galleries 601 wood street (above t-station)

julien marie: matter and memory | The U.S. debut of French installation artist Julien Marie, who works with experimental forms of projection, highlighting simultaneously both the simplicity and the complexity of reality.

Through December 31

martin bonadeo | Retrospective of Martin Bonadeo’s works of projections, luminal sculptures, electronic objects and immersive interactive pieces that address approaches and measurements of space and time.

January 22–April 3

SPACE

nests, rhizomes, seeds: anna divinsky, joanna commandaros, karen page and holland williams | A collaboration evolving from a cabinet of curiosities becomes an investigation of body and nature.

Through December 31

adam welch solo exhibit | Curator for the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts / Pittsburgh Filmmakers, and the 2008 Emerging Artist of the Year.

January 8–February 26

o n g o i n g nests, rhizomes, seeds

812 liberty avenue

behind our scenes | Exhibiting 33 artists working “backstage” in Pittsburgh’s art scene, as well as providing an opportunity to celebrate and further unite this community of artists. Guest curators: Nicole Rosato & Laura Mustio.

December 11–February 1z

August Wilson Center 980 Liberty Avenue Call 412-258-2700 for admission info

pittsburgh: reclaim, renew, remix | Honors and preserves black culture in southwestern Pennsylvania. The modular exhibit uses imagery, film and oral history narratives to explore “Communities” and “Culture and Innovations.” Visitors can create unique collages of the region’s story from their perspectives. ongoing

behind our scenes: work by leslie clague

Future Tenant

707 Penn Gallery

819 penn avenue free and open to the public / 412-325-7037 futuretenant.org

707 Penn Avenue

associated artists of pittsburgh | October 30–December 31

communication through technology | Group exhibit exploring

anjali srinivasan: particulate behaviours | Particle of matter, pixel,

how technological advancements have changed communication.

January 15–February 13

point in space and gesture, this exhibit explores the threshold of olfactory sensation, optical phenomena and participatory environments through installations and objects of spice, glass and emergent technologies.

January 8–February 20

pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

vacant lot | A monthly anything-goes open mic night. See futuretenant.org for more details.

8 p.m. / $5 admission (21+) December 10, January 7, February 18

Harris Theater 809 Liberty Avenue 412-682-4111 / pghfilmmakers.org Pittsburgh Filmmakers screens independent, foreign and classic films at the Harris Theater.

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how to order tickets Tickets are available online, by phone, or by visiting the Cultural District box office. A service charge is added to phone orders. Ticket sales are final; no exchanges or refunds. Seats are subject to availability. Ticket availability for some events may have changed since this was printed.

Online pgharts.org

By phone Benedum Center, Byham Theater & Cabaret at Theater Square

412-456-6666 August Wilson Center

412-258-2700 Pittsburgh Symphony Heinz Hall

412-392-4900 Pittsburgh Public Theater

412-316-1600

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The Cultural District

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winter Season at-a-glance [ productions listed in purple mark an event’s first night ]

pgharts.org

December sunday

monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

1 Rockettes

2 Wednesday Wine Flights

Plaid 3 Forever Rockettes

The Little Foxes JazzLive Mass 6 Funeral for Mozart

7

Rockettes The Little Foxes

8 The Little Foxes 9 Forever Plaid JazzLive

The Little Foxes

Forever Plaid Rockettes The Little Foxes

13 Chris Botti A Christmas Carol Forever Plaid The Little Foxes The Nutcracker

14 B.E. Taylor Christmas

Craft Beer School B.E. Taylor Christmas JazzLive

Mass 4 Funeral for Mozart

Mass 5 Funeral for Mozart Forever Plaid Rockettes The Little Foxes

Forever Plaid Rockettes The Little Foxes

The Little Foxes

10 A Christmas Carol 11 The Nutcracker Forever Plaid Handel’s Messiah The Little Foxes A Christmas Carol Forever Plaid The Little Foxes

12 Family Holiday Pops Regina Carter Messiah SIng Along!

A Christmas Carol Forever Plaid Handel’s Messiah The Little Foxes The Nutcracker

18 Family Holiday Show A Christmas Carol Forever Plaid Holiday Pops with Marvin!

The Nutcracker Second City

19 A Christmas Carol Family Holiday Show Forever Plaid Holiday Pops with Marvin!

Second City The Nutcracker

23 A Christmas Carol Forever Plaid The Nutcracker

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25

26 Forever Plaid The Nutcracker

30 Dreamgirls Forever Plaid

31 First Night® New Year’s Eve Salsa Dance Party Dreamgirls

16

20 A Christmas Carol 21 A Christmas Carol Family Holiday Show Forever Plaid Holiday Pops with Marvin!

The Nutcracker

22 A Christmas Carol The Nutcracker JazzLive

27 Forever Plaid The Nutcracker

29 Dreamgirls JazzLive

Forever Plaid

ladysmith black mambazo

tribute to phyllis hyman in the heights heart (function vs. emotion)

children’s music in the world pigeon party!

pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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17 Second City Holiday Pops with Marvin!

A Christmas Carol Forever Plaid

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Dreamgirls Forever Plaid

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

friday

January

Dreams 5 Cirque Illumination

6

Wednesday Wine Flights The Chief Cirque Dreams Illumination Menopause the Musical

Menopause the Musical JazzLive

7 Forever Plaid The Chief Cirque Dreams Illumination Menopause the Musical

saturday

1 Dreamgirls

2

8 Forever Plaid

9 Forever Plaid

The Chief Cirque Dreams Illumination Menopause the Musical

Dreamgirls Forever Plaid

The Chief Cirque Dreams Illumination Menopause the Musical 16 Academy Awards with Bill Conti Alonzo King's LINES Ballet Forever Plaid

10 Forever Plaid The Chief Cirque Dreams Illumination Menopause the Musical

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12 JazzLive

13 Robert Reich Forever Plaid

14 Academy Awards 15 Alonzo King's LINES Ballet with Bill Conti Academy Awards Forever Plaid with Bill Conti Forever Plaid

17 Step Afrika!

Academy Awards with Bill Conti Alonzo King's LINES Ballet Forever Plaid

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19 Craft Beer School JazzLive

20 Showcase 2010 Forever Plaid

21 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Forever Plaid Showcase 2010

25 24 Pigeon Party!

Forever Plaid A Midsummer Night’s... ..

26 Cats “Tribute” Concert A Midsummer Night’s...

JazzLive

27 Cats 29 Mahler’s Chamber 30 The Rape of Lucretia 28 Rent Symphony Cats Cats Forever Plaid Cats, Forever Plaid Forever Plaid Plaid Forever A Midsummer Night’s...

A Midsummer Night’s... A Midsummer Night’s... A Midsummer Night’s...

Rent Rent

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Cats Forever Plaid Mahler’s Chamber Symphony A Midsummer Night’s...

Rent

sunday

[ productions listed in purple mark an event’s first night]

monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

1

2

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4 Music 101

February 7 Forever Plaid

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Honeck & Mutter In the Heights A Midsummer Night’s...

The Rape of Lucretia Rent 14 Company B & In 15 the Upper Room Forever Plaid A Midsummer Night’s...

Point Park Dance Company

21 An American 22 Voyage Forever Plaid A Midsummer Night’s...

Nickelodeon Live!

28 Ladysmith Black Mambazo Showcase Noir Broadway Rocks with Marvin!

Forever Plaid Xanadu

Wednesday In the Heights Wine Flights A Midsummer Night’s...

In the Heights The Rape of Lucretia JazzLive

Midsummer 9 ANight’s Dream JazzLive

16 Craft Beer School A Midsummer Night’s Dream JazzLive

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Forever Plaid In the Heights A Midsummer Night’s...

friday

saturday

5 Honeck & Mutter 6 Forever Plaid In the Heights A Midsummer Night’s...

The Rape of Lucretia Rent

Daniel Bernard Roumain Forever Plaid Honeck & Mutter In the Heights A Midsummer Night’s...

Rent

10 Mia Farrow 11 Point Park 12 Company B & In 13 Company B & In the Upper Room the Upper Room Dance Company Forever Plaid Forever Plaid Forever Plaid Forever Plaid A Midsummer Night’s...

A Midsummer Night’s... A Midsummer Night’s... A Midsummer Night’s...

Point Park Point Park Dance Company Dance Company 17 Forever Plaid A Midsummer Night’s Dream

P 23 Xanadu JazzLive

23 Emperor Concerto 22 Jim Brickman Forever Plaid Emperor Concerto A Midsummer Night’s...

Forever Plaid A Midsummer Night’s... Showcase 2010 Showcase 2010 Gallery Crawl

24 Forever Plaid Xanadu

Visit pgharts.org for tickets, showtimes and additional information.

18 Forever Plaid A Midsummer Night’s Dream

20 Student Reading 19 Bodiography: Session Heart Bodiography: Heart Nickelodeon Live!

An American Voyage Tribute to Phyllis Hyman Forever Plaid An American Voyage A Midsummer Night’s...

Forever Plaid Nickelodeon Live!

A Midsummer Night’s... Tribute to Phyllis Hyman

25 Broadway Rocks with Marvin!

Forever Plaid Xanadu

26 Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Broadway Rocks with Marvin!

Forever Plaid Xanadu

27 Fiddlesticks Family Concerts Harambee Read-Aloud Broadway Rocks with Marvin!

Forever Plaid Xanadu

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neighborhood joints by j o s e p h s a b i n o m i s t i c k

Enrico’s Café authentic, delicious and hidden huck DiNardo, legendary food and drink impresario, operated the Hollywood Social Club in Shadyside into the 1970s. The haunt of politicians, every old mustache in the region and visiting celebrities, the “Sosh” was accessed through an unmarked narrow walkway, easily missed, between what is now The Pottery Barn and Kards Unlimited on Walnut Street.

That walkway led to a door that led to stairs that led to a door at the top with a little square cut-out through which you would be scrutinized before being granted entry. Much of the allure was just knowing how to get into the place, but regulars loved the camaraderie behind that final door.

Enrico’s Cafe in the Strip District, without the speakeasy tactics or late-night schedule of the long-shuttered Shadyside after-hours club, is a joint like that. In the narrow space between a bank and Enrico’s Biscotti, the flagship of Larry Lagatutta’s culinary empire, there is an opening adorned with the trademark iron sculpture of a flying biscotti.

You would be forgiven for walking past it and heading into the biscotti shop, which thousands have done, unaware of the discrete entrance to the cafe, but it would be a great loss. An authentic “Pittsburgh Italian” experience awaits in what was once Carlo’s auto repair garage.

The red sauce has a Pittsburgh provenance. Before coming to Larry, this recipe passed from Franco to John Tambellini to Rico to Luigi “The Barber” Caruso. The “beans & greens” is made with kale, just the way Larry’s nonna made it, and a daily frittata is composed of local seasonal vegetables.

Pizza is truly Neapolitan, with the right flour, Old World technique and a wood-fired oven, which is surrounded by the work of Bloomfield’s iron sculptor John Walter, who created the largest pot rack in Pittsburgh especially for Enrico’s.

“We only serve simple, authentic Italian food here,” Larry says. “You will never find a hamburger and fries here, and we will never serve a Caprese salad in January, when the local tomatoes are not ripe.”

Wine is made, as always, in the basement, only now it is a licensed winery, called Carlo’s Garage. For dessert, you will be urged to visit the glass cases at Enrico’s Biscotti Shop and bring back to your table whatever dolce you please.

Enrico’s Cafe is a gathering place, also available for private parties and catering. The monthly “First Friday Dinner” is a five-course nuovo Italian dinner for $45/person B.Y.O.B. On

photographs by John Altdorfer

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out-of-sight delight clockwise from top left: Ovenfired margherita pizza; Preparing chocolate ravioli; Sides from rustic wooden produce crates line an interior wall.

the last Friday of every month, there is five-course familystyle “Big Italian Throw-Down” for 50 bucks, B.Y.O.B. And for the best $20 deal in the ‘Burgh, you can meet the Enrico’s farmers, hear them talk about their products and savor the special dishes that include them. Then chase it all with a local East End Brewery beer.

Larry teaches classes on Italian bread, pizza and Italian cookies several times throughout the year. Trust him with one of your old family recipes, and you might keep it from becoming one of those dishes that too often disappear with the grandmothers who lovingly prepared them.

Food, drink and tradition inhabit the soul of Larry, who says, “I am so honored to be present—through my cookies— at my customers’ weddings, birthday parties, family celebrations (I’ve been to Iraq and Afghanistan)—at all the events that mark time in people’s lives.” pq Enrico’s Cafe, 2022 Penn Avenue., in The Strip. Monday– Saturday, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. (412) 281-2602. Enricobiscotti.com.

Joseph Sabino Mistick is a lawyer, law professor and writer. pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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o two games of Scrabble are ever the same.

But when the Pittsburgh Scrabble Club convenes on Wednesday nights, there’s a scene that replays itself over and over again.

1 “Someone will show up for the first time and say ‘I’m here because nobody in my family wants to play me. They’re all tired of me beating them,’ ” said Stan Angrist, 76, co-director of the Pittsburgh Scrabble Club.

“Sometimes they’re cocky. But usually, when they sit down and play one of our members, they end up losing by a big margin. A lot of them just don’t come back. Playing Scrabble at the kitchen table with family members isn’t what we do.”

For someone looking to play a more competitive brand of Scrabble, however, the Pittsburgh Scrabble Club probably is the place to go—provided you’re willing to take your lumps in the beginning and are willing to do plenty of studying.

“If you want to get good at Scrabble, you have to study,” said Angrist. “You don’t become a good player because of natural ability. You don’t know enough words. To get good, you need to know a lot of words, you need to know a lot of Scrabble strategy.”

To help new members with the study part, the Pittsburgh Scrabble Club hands out a “cheat sheet” and a list of 101 two-letter words with definitions from the National Scrabble Association’s Official Word List for tournaments and clubs—everything from “aa” (a rough, cindery lava) to “za” (a pizza).

Co-directors Angrist, a Squirrel Hill resident, and Terry Schroeder, of the South Side, will tell you it’s imperative to memorize all the two-letter words, as well as get used

>> word play

Members of Pittsburgh Scrabble Club meet Wednesdays in Squirrel Hill.

opposite: Louise Eckman (left) and Kimberly Barlow, mid-game. this page, from top: Gerald Schafer makes a move; Loraine Smith, of Mt. Lebanon, thinks over her letters. pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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>> to playing with a clock. During club and tournament Scrabble games, each player has 25 minutes to make all their moves.

The cheat sheet contains a list of three-letter words, short j words (like “jo” and “haj”), as well as short q, x and z words. The letters j and x (8 points) and q and z (10 points) are worth the most in Scrabble.

The cheat sheet also contains words with a lot of vowels (like “eau” and “aalii”), words with a lot of i’s and u’s and the most common seven-letter words. In Scrabble, when you use all seven of your letters during a turn, it’s called a bingo, and an extra 50 points are awarded. The top Scrabble players average almost two bingos a game.

n the Pittsburgh area, the top two players are Brendan Sullivan, 25, a graduate math student at Carnegie 1 Mellon University, and Dorcas Alexander, 48, coordinator of technical training for the business center at the law firm of Reed Smith.

Sullivan, a Shadyside resident, is ranked the fourth-best player in Pennsylvania by cross-tables.com and 273rd nationally by the National Scrabble Association, while Alexander, a mother of three from Bethel Park, is 10th in the state and 352nd nationally.

So, how did these two become so adept at the popular board game (more than 100 million sets sold in 121 countries) that was invented by New York architect Alfred Mosher Butts in the 1930s and now is found in one out of every three American homes?

Sullivan said he liked Scrabble from an early age, playing against family and friends while growing up in Shrewsbury, Mass.

Then, as a sophomore at Hamilton College (Clinton, N.Y.), he showed up one night at the Mohawk Valley (N.Y.) Scrabble Club, where he received a rude awakening.

“I lost all three games I played the first day, two of them to these older ladies,” remembers Sullivan. “It was demoralizing. I wanted to keep playing, so I knew I had to get better.”

He began playing Scrabble online, memorizing words and reading up on strategy. He now averages better than 400 points and has had three games of more than 600, with a high-game of 660.

In June 2008, Sullivan finished first and won $450 in the top division of Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Revival Scrabble Tournament, besting 11 other players, including a player from Michigan, ranked 261st nationally. He previously competed in the lower divisions of national championship tournaments in Reno, Nev., in 2005, and Phoenix, Ariz., in 2006.

Sullivan, who is working toward a Ph.D. in applied analysis for mathematics, is a Scrabble player to keep an eye on as far as

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to the letter Some players compare competitive Scrabble to chess. At Pittsburgh Scrabble Club in Squirrel Hill, players use timers and keep a log of moves. the national scene is concerned. He has been steadily moving up in the rankings. Although his play has been somewhat limited in recent months because of school studies, his overall record in Pittsburgh Scrabble Club matches is 141–3 (98 percent wins).

“One of the advantages that Brendan has is that he is a grad student in math,” said Schroeder, 61, who took on her duties as co-director with the Pittsburgh Scrabble Club three years ago.

“When you start to play in the upper echelon [national] tournaments, it is as much a game of statistics and probabilities as it is word knowledge.”

Alexander, who like, Sullivan, averages better than 400 points a game, joined the Pittsburgh Scrabble Club nine years ago. “When I first started out, I wanted to play the best [players] because I knew they were the ones I’d learn from,” she said.

Obviously, that strategy has paid dividends.

“I have a math brain and a word brain,” said Alexander. “The two combine to make me a good player.”

While luck in picking letters is a factor in Scrabble matches, “a really good player beats you almost every time, no matter what letters you get,” said Dennis Gallagher, 62, of Bellevue, a Pittsburgh Scrabble Club member for about two years.

Both Sullivan and Alexander use Web sites that help improve their word knowledge, anagram ability and game strategy.

Among the top players, “word knowledge” doesn’t necessar-

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ily mean knowing the definition of a word, but recognizing that it is a word. Under Scrabble rules, a player who puts down letters that aren’t an official word can be challenged, lose their points and next turn. Bluffing is part of the game at the club and tournament levels, but Sullivan said he doesn’t try it very often.

“Brendan puts down words and I’ll ask him, ‘What does it mean?’ And, he’ll just shrug his shoulders. Then, I’ll end up going home and looking it up,” said Schroeder.

“I remember after one of Brendan and Dorcas’s matches, they were sitting around doing this postmortem. I came over and was looking at their board. There was a seven-letter word—flokati—that Brendan had used. I knew it was a rug. So I said, ‘Brendan, do you know what flokati means?’ He didn’t have a clue.”

Sullivan readily admits he doesn’t know the meaning of some of the words he uses. He said he can see where a casual Scrabble player might look at words like

“ka,” “sh” and “pht” and say ‘This is a word? I can’t accept that.’ ” But in the world of club and tournament Scrabble, every word on the Official Word List is valuable.

“I relate it all to chess. You pick up the rook or the knight and you move it this way or that way,” said Sullivan. “Instead of playing chess pieces, I’m playing words.

That’s how I think.”

Sullivan adds, “If you have a big vocabulary, you’ll do better. Beyond that, it comes down to memorizing long lists of words, shuffling letters in your head, problem solving, logic, probability. What separates the best players is their strategy.”

ight now, the best player in the world is Nigel Richards, 42, of Kuala Lumpur, 1 Malaysia, the reigning world champion. He took the title in November 2007, topping

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103 other competitors in Mumbai, India.

He pocketed $15,000 after 24 exhausting rounds and four days of competition.

Richards has career earnings of $135,567.

Dave Wiegand, 35, of Portland, Ore., captured the U.S. national championship this past August in Dayton, Ohio, and won $10,000. He has career earnings of $87,374.

Alexander said she has no illusions about ever moving up to No. 1. With a full-time job and family, she said, “I don’t have time to be No. 1 in the country.”

She said when she first started playing with the Pittsburgh Scrabble Club she studied much more, but that playing the game is still a challenge and the “primary challenge is to do better.”

ullivan does dream of one day climbing to the top of the Scrabble 1 mountain, or at least making a big impact in the national rankings. He points out that most national and world champions at the Division I level had years of experience under their belts before striking it big.

“If you play golf, the ultimate is getting a hole-in-one,” said Sullivan, who did play for his college golf team.

“If you do get a hole-in-one or make a great shot, you want to come back and play more golf so you can do it again. In Scrabble, I can remember these great moves of mine. The more I play, the more chances I have of doing it again.” pq

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The Pittsburgh Scrabble Club meets Wednesday nights in Squirrel Hill. For more information contact Stan Angrist (412) 422–7878. The South Hills Scrabble Club meets Saturdays (1–3 p.m.) at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library. For more information contact Bob Hagerty (412) 417–5415.

Steve Hecht is a freelance writer and former Post-Gazette reporter and copy editor. He lives in Ross Township.

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PORTRAIT OF

Penn Avenue If there is a single thoroughfare that embodies the diversity and spirit of Pittsburgh, could it be any other than Penn Avenue?

A photo essay by j o h n b e a l e

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hether the cultural district

or the Strip District, Garfield, Point Breeze or Wilkinsburg, Pittsburghers know Penn Avenue as the heart of every neighborhood that grew up along it.

Photographer John Beale, also a professor of photojournalism at Penn State University, has spent a year capturing images of life along Penn, and a portion of that work follows.

For more Penn Avenue images, please to go to pittsburghquarterly.com for an online slideshow. —Douglas Heuck, Editor

people of penn opposite, top: Sarah Hall, director of curatorial affairs at Frick Art & Historical Center, adjusts a blind in the sitting room at Clayton in Point Breeze. bottom: Bob Ostertag appears to become part of a mural in Wilkinsburg. this page, top: Frank’s Barber Shop opened in Lawrenceville in 1930. Barber Tony Crisafio, 90, is Frank’s brother and has worked in the shop since 1935. He’s given first haircuts to three generations of some families. bottom: Known as “Big Mama,” Brenda Franklin cooks up ribs at her Strip District restaurant, Big Mama’s House of Soul. pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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along the avenue opposite, top to bottom: A man relaxes in Katz Plaza, downtown, on a granite “eye” bench by artist Louise Bourgeois; A pedestrian walks outside Heinz Hall along Lorin Maazel Square, downtown; A performance of “The Real Me Lives Inside” at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty. this page, top to bottom: This rare circa 1940s diner in Wilkinsburg was recently revived by the Peppi’s sandwich chain; James Russell, left, and Truong Phung scale and prepare fresh fish at Wholey Fish Market in the Strip District; In East Liberty, Rafiq Brookins prays the traditional Islamic prayer Salat in Jamil’s Global Village, a shop owned by his father.

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penn paths clockwise from top, left: Darlene Keene of Indiana, Pa., comforts her grandson, Eric Keene, 18 months, as he is taken into surgery at Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville; East Liberty Presbyterian Church; Worshippers greet each other during a Sunday service at New Testament Baptist Church in Wilkinsburg; Kraynick’s Bike Shop has made its home in Garfield since 1976. Founded in the ’40s by Steve Kraynick, it’s now run by his son, Jerry; George Caldwell, left, pianist in “Ella,” and Harold Dixon, who plays Norman in the show, in their O’Reilly Theater dressing room, Downtown; Thomas Flack Sr., of Carrick, visits the graves of his wife and father in Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville.

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work hard, play hard clockwise from top: Thao Le, owner of Tram's Kitchen in Bloomfield, rings up an order for Vietnamese cuisine with Yvonne Truong Thi Bach-Cue, right; The day after a difficult loss, Wilkinsburg Middle School football coach Ernest Ruffin meets with his team in a locker room at Graham Field in Wilkinsburg. With just 16 players, team members must play both offense and defense; Jason Forck blows molten glass at Pittsburgh Glass Center in Friendship. At left is Brian Engel. pq

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To view the full body of Penn Avenue work

by John Beale, visit pittsburghquarterly.com for an online slideshow.

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the business of retirement living

Choosing Wisely

[ S ECO N D I N A S E R I ES ]

by c r i s t i n a r o u va l i s

For Dee Strunk, it came down to the screenedin porch.

She was touring retirement communities when she saw a charming porch in a carriage house at The Woodlands at St. Barnabus, and she knew this was it. The porch reminded her of the one she loved at her old house in McCandless. “It’s my own little place in the world,” the 78-year-old says of the retirement home she rents in Valencia.

For Marion and Robert Karl, the decision to buy a two-bedroom apartment in Friendship Village in Upper St. Clair was the culmination of four years of visits to retirement

Residents and experts advise care in selecting a retirement community

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communities. “It was the total package,” says Marion, 83. “There was flexibility with meals, free maintenance, and the balcony did not cost extra. And skilled nursing was in the same building as the apartment.

If one of us would be in the health center, the other person could visit without leaving the building.”

Harriet and John Burress were also methodical. They devised a chart of pros and cons of the five retirement communities they visited and revisited. Sherwood Oaks, their new home in Cranberry, came out on top of their system of rankings. They visited the skilled nursing facilities and asked detailed questions such as the number of baths health care residents receive every month. “We hope we never have to use the

>>

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skilled nursing care, but that is part of the package deal,” says Harriet, 74.

Choosing a retirement community is often a big and complicated decision. “For many seniors, it is their last move,” said Steve Maag, director of assisted living and continuing care for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aged.

Maag advises people to tour retirement communities the way a high school student tours college campuses. “There really is a culture and ambiance about retirement communities,” Maag says. “First and foremost, you need to visit the community and talk to people. Try to have a meal.”

Tracy and Sandra Miller, 66 and 68 respectively, ate in the dining rooms of the five retirement communities they visited, and they liked the food and presentation best at Sewickley’s Masonic Village. They chose to move into the retirement community three years ago for other reasons, including the wooded setting, the atmosphere of the nursing facility, and the Masonic affiliation, because Tracy is a Master Mason.

There is a saying in the industry: If you’ve seen one retirement community, you’ve seen one retirement community. Each has its own ambiance and set of activities.

To get an honest appraisal of a retirement community, talk to both residents and their relatives, advises Kathy Cameron, chair of the Consumer Consortium on Assisted Living. “Often family members are more honest than the resident.

Sometimes the older person doesn’t want to get anyone in trouble or they don’t want to say anything bad for fear that the person giving the care might retaliate and not do it as well.”

Look at the condition of the grounds, lobby and health center.

“It’s not just window dressing,” Maag says.

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the business of retirement living

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Overviews of local Continous Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) and other retirement communities, by feature:

1 Friendship Village a CCRC in Upper St. Clair

2 Longwood at Oakmont a CCRC in Oakmont

LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY IN: $61,267, alcove suite, depreciat-

LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY IN: $94,265 studio apartment (90

ing at two percent a month over 50 months. Monthly fee: $1,876 single occupancy, $2,967 double occupancy.

percent refundable). Monthly fee: $2,430 single occupancy.

MOST LUXURIOUS DIGS: $475,223 two-bedroom carriage home with den (90 percent refundable). Monthly fee: $4,107 single occupancy, $5,198 double occupancy.

MORE HELP: Unlimited days at skilled nursing facility for

same monthly fees.

AMENITIES: Free golf at adjacent Frosty Valley Golf Links for

residents teeing off before noon. One hole of the golf course on campus. Art studio with kiln and potterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wheel; fitness center; library; pub; bocce tournament; computer lab.

MOST LUXURIOUS DIGS: $455,310 three-bedroom country home. Monthly fee: $4,014 single occupancy, $5,220 double occupancy.

MORE HELP: Unlimited days at skilled nursing facility for same

monthly fees.

AMENITIES: Indoor heated pool and wellness center; tai chi and

yoga; personal trainer; walking trails near ponds; bocce and croquet courts; putting green; ballroom; lifelong learning series; musical and theater performances; dance classes; Wii fitness classes; cooking demonstrations; styling salon; pets allowed.

MEAL PLAN: Includes 30 meals per month, served in formal

MEAL PLAN: Includes 30 meals per month in three dining

dining hall.

rooms.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Traditional and polished. Balconies

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Traditional setting with modern conveniences. Patios or balconies in all units.

on units.

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3 Masonic Village a CCRC in Sewickley LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY IN: $107,000 for one-bed-

room apartment, depreciating to zero after eight years; $1,865 monthly fees for single occupancy and $2,891 for double occupancy.

MOST LUXURIOUS DIGS: $616,800 two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-car garage (90 percent refundable); monthly fees of $3,251 for single occupancy and $4,277 for double.

MORE HELP: Unlimited days for either assisted living

or nursing home care at same monthly fees.

AMENITIES: Heated pool and jacuzzi; computer

resource room; woodworking; lifelong learning center; fitness center with exercise physiologist; art studio; bocce; game room with billiards; computer room; three miles of outside sidewalk trails.

MEAL PLAN: Includes 30 meals per month, served in

cafe-style restaurant or formal dining room.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Arts-and-Crafts Mission style with lots of woodwork and fireplaces.

4 St. Barnabas Health System multi-location rentals; pay as you go The Village at St. Barnabas in Richland; The Woodlands carriage homes in Valencia; and The Washington Place apartments with concierge services, in Richland.

LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY IN: One-bedroom apartment with den at

The Woodlands for $1,500 a month. All units have a $3,000 application fee.

MOST LUXURIOUS DIGS: Three-bedroom, two-car garage home for $3,500 a month at Woodlands.

MORE HELP: Assisted living ranges from $1,500 to $4,500 a month.

Skilled nursing care ranges from $220 to $239 a day if insurance doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cover it.

AMENITIES: Heated pool; bocce court; fitness classes; libraries; wine

society; fishing pond; bank; hair salon; theater; computer classes.

MEALS: Four different eating areas, ranging from cafe to formal.

Meals are included at The Washington Place and The Village.

Various meal plan options available.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Traditional, with miles of walking trails on

two campuses.

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>> With news of some retirement communities running into financial problems nationwide, it is important to ask for annual reports and other documents to determine whether a community is on sound financial footing, experts say.

Another measure is whether a facility has accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. “If a community is accredited, it does not mean they are the best. But at least they have made a significant effort to meet generally accepted standards,” Maag says.

Seniors also have to decide whether they want to invest in a Continuous Care Retirement Community (CCRC).

Typically, that involves significant upfront fees, but gives security down the road, since the monthly fees usually remain the same if the person is moved to assisted living or skilled nursing, which often can cost more than $6,000 a month.

Pat and Dick Hamilton moved into Longwood at Oakmont, a CCRC, because they did not want to be a burden on their two children. “We felt very strongly about this,” Pat says.

They picked Longwood for the picturesque campus, just a few miles away from their home, and classes on everything from astronomy to Mark Twain.

“I said, ‘Dick, we are going away to college,’ ” she said. They liked it so much they did not look anywhere else.

Vinny Butz, 80, signed up for Providence Point in Scott two and a half years ago, based on blueprints of the retirement community, which opened this year. “It was a matter of faith. It was just a pile of dirt. I didn’t know it was going to be as beautiful as it is. It’s exquisite. It’s like living in the Ritz Carlton. I chose it because it was brand-new and was going to be ergonomically well done for someone my age. My daughter doesn’t have to call me every day.” pq

Cristina Rouvalis is a former Post-Gazette reporter who is now a freelance writer.

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5 Sherwood Oaks a CCRC in Cranberry LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY IN: $67,000

studio apartment for one person, depreciating to zero after 45 months. Monthly fee: $1931.

MOST LUXURIOUS DIGS: $481,000 three-bedroom patio home, 90 percent refundable at time of sale.

Monthly fee: $4,093 single occupancy, $5,216 for double occupancy.

MORE HELP: Unlimited days in

assisted living and skilled nurse at same monthly fee.

AMENITIES: Lake with rowboats

for fishing; walking paths; crochet; putting green; bocce court; playground for grandkids; indoor lap pool and jacuzzi; tai chi and yoga; covered walkways connecting buildings; ceramics studio; gatehouse security.

MEAL PLAN: Includes 30 meal credits per month, with seven carryover meals.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Spacious 84-acre campus; no high-rise buildings.

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6 Providence Point a CCRC in Scott LEAST EXPENSIVE WAY IN:

$173,200 one-bedroom apartment, depreciating to zero in 48 months.

Monthly fee: $1,982 single occupancy, $2,961 double occupancy.

MOST LUXURIOUS DIGS: $849,100 three-bedroom, three-bath, den and double garage with finished basement (90 percent refundable).

Monthly fee: $4,593 single occupancy, $5,572 double occupancy.

MORE HELP: Unlimited days at

assisted living or skilled nursing facility, but fee is weighted for all residents at $3,293 per month.

AMENITIES: Indoor heated swim-

ming pool; whirlpool; underground parking garage; wellness room with exercise equipment; day spa with salon and massage; theater; art studio; billiards room; gated security.

MEAL PLAN: Residents receive a $312 monthly allowance for use at three dining facilities.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Tuscan exterior and contemporary traditional interior. pq

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scene from a frac job Hoskins drill site in Washington County, Pa. is actively tapping the gas resources in the Marcellus Shale. A lean staff controls the daily operations, which require thousands of gallons of â&#x20AC;&#x153;slickâ&#x20AC;? water to fracture the shale and release the natural gas embedded below.

Bright colors on the derrick and drilling equipment aid in high visibility and safety.

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E N E RGY special section

F

a new “gold rush” is making western pennsylvania a strike-it-rich region again

or days, they had been rumbling up

the rutted dirt track that led to the top of the rocky dome above the rolling fields of Washington County; a ’round-the-clock procession of big rigs carting up thousands of gallons of water. They’d drop their loads, turn around as best they could in the axle-deep mud that had taken over the three-acre work site, and head back down to fetch another.

By Oct. 4, 2005, the last of the tanks was in place. There were more than two dozen of them, a million gallons of water in all, arrayed in two arching lines around the well head.

Generators roared as roughnecks channeled the water from the tanks to the massive mixer where the chemicals would be added—lubricants to make it slick, biocides to keep any bugs from the surface from souring the gas below, and proppants, tiny little balls of synthetic sand.

The once-quiet pasture looked like a cross between a moon launch and a Fourth of July picnic, right down to the roughneck flipping T-bones on a gas grill. The barbecue made sense—once things got started, there was no stopping, not even for meals.

None of the 100 or so roughnecks had ever seen anything like this. Sure, they had all done hydrofracking—frac jobs, they’re called, a process by which hundreds of thousands, sometimes up to a million, gallons of water mixed with biocides and lubricants and other chemicals are forced at astounding pressure thousands of feet into the ground.

The idea is to fracture the shale beneath the ground, creating channels through which natural gas can flow. Most of them had been in the business for years, and all but a handful of them had worked on small-scale frac jobs, the kind that had become typical in the Appalachian Basin. In fact, tens of thousands of small frac jobs

the story

had been done in the basin in the 40 years since Halliburton Inc. had first developed the technology in upstate New York.

But this was entirely different.

This was the largest frac job ever attempted east of the Mississippi River. The riggers had already hooked up the hose to the 10-foot-high fire plug that served as the well head, and the giant pump came alive, a 50-foot-long, gunship gray behemoth mounted around a 2,100 horsepower Cummins diesel engine. It had an Alison transmission with enough torque to pump slick water more than a mile straight down at sustained rates of thousands of gallons per minute and at a sustained pressure of 9,500 pounds per square inch.

Some 70 miles away, at Range Resource’s offices in Ohio, geologist Bill Zagorski was pacing in his office, fiddling with his mustache, and leaving a trail of half-full coffee cups behind him. There was no one who had more at stake in the highstakes gamble that was playing out at the old Renz farm in Washington County. He was the guy who had convinced his bosses that the company should spend millions of dollars, re-drilling an already failed well, in a bid to tap into the Marcellus Shale.

It had been a long road to that moment, and Zagorski had no idea whether it would be a dead end.

Range Resources, the energy company Zagorski worked for, needed this to work. Collapsing energy prices in the late 1990s, along with what executives would later describe as a couple of bone-headed business decisions, had sent the company’s stock spiraling downward. It had collapsed from a high of nearly $27 a share to the point where in 1997 you could buy a share of Range Resources for $1.29. As John Pinkerton, Range’s plain-spoken president, put it, “you could have bought the whole company for your loose change.” >>

of the

marcellus shale

written by s e a m u s m c g r a w | photographs by d o u g w e l l s pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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>> field of fortune

I

n the fall of 2000, then in his early fifties,

Out in Range’s home state of Texas, the Barnett Shale Play was just starting to heat up and it was changing the way people—drillers included—thought about natural gas. In no small part, the collapse of natural gas prices at the end of the 1990s had been a bet by the market that the halcyon days of gas—such as they were—were over.

From that point on, the market analysts figured, gas would be on a long, slow curve to commercial irrelevance. But a chance discovery at an all-but-played-out well called the Simms No. 1 had changed all that. When Mark Whitley and Dan Stewart pumped a few hundred thousand gallons of slick water into it with the reluctant approval of their boss and the even more reluctant approval of his board, they proved once and for all that these tight shales—these “unconventional” plays as they were called—not only held vast riches, but could be cajoled into giving them up.

It is impossible to overestimate the magnitude of that discovery to the industry or to the debate about where it fits in America’s energy future. Its impact was sharp, measurable and immediate.

Some analysts, who just a few months earlier had been predicting the demise of the domestic natural gas industry, were now saying that the Barnett represented a tectonic realignment of America’s energy fortunes.

There was a brave new world of unconventional gas just begging to be explored and in no time, a wild land rush was rippling like an earthquake all the way across the Barnett. Competition for acreage was getting stiff, and that was turning into a real challenge for the guys at Range. The company had a strong position in the Barnett, but not as formidable as some of the other major players. The call went out from Range’s corporate headquarters. “Find the next Barnett.”

Zagorski, a native of western Pennsylvania, had spent most of his career working in the Appalachian Basin. He knew as well as anyone the story of its successes. And he knew about its failures, many of them the failures of creeping middle age, at least in the geological sense. They were too numerous to mention. So numerous in fact, that by 2000, the underground potential of the Appalachian Basin had been written off by the industry and the nation in the same way that all the wheezing coal towns and dying steel towns above ground had.

As Zagorski would later put it, “the Appalachian Basin (was)… perceived as a ‘has been,’ ” the kind of place that had its heyday, had some great fields and great production, but now was basically played out.

All the same, Zagorski decided to take a stab at it.

Because Zagorski hails from an older generation, a generation that came of age in the days before every piece of data in the world was digitalized, he had an affinity for doing things the old-fashioned way. That included studying the old paper records filed decades ago.

Sitting in his office, poring over those old records, Zagorski stumbled across something interesting. Back in the 1940s, there had been a fair amount of drilling done in the area, particularly around a plot of land that Range had leased, a place belonging to a farmer named Renz. There had been several reports of strong, brief showings of gas; in fact, on several occasions, there had blowouts.

One of them, a mishap at the Kelly-Sutherland well, had been powerful enough to blow several hundred pounds worth of rigging 30 feet up the well bore.

Bill Zagorski stands at the location of the original gas strike—the Renz

No. 1. The land is now reclaimed, illustrating the look of the area after the process is completed.

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E N E RGY special section

boom businesses

The Marcellus Shale has spurred the growth of related businesses. left: Alan Bennett,

of Boyd, Texas, president of Red Oak Water Transfer, Inc., which supplies copious amounts of water necessary to drill sites. right: Paul Battista, 54, started Sunnyside Supply, Inc. when gas exploration in the area took off.

“You don’t ignore blowouts,” he said to himself.

He drove out to take a look at the site. To the untrained eye, the place looked like any other farm tucked away in the gently rolling hills of Washington County. But geologists see things a little differently. What Zagorski saw when he looked at the place was not some peaceful Currier and Ives scene. He saw a couple of hundred million years’ worth of violence and upheaval, an ongoing war between forces of nature that had created a potentially gas-rich strata of rock and then had driven it back in forced retreat to the point where it now garrisoned itself, like the guys at the Alamo, inside a last-ditch fortress, a dome of rock that rose above the rest of the land around it. To a geologist, such domed structures are often a sign that gas and oil may be lurking beneath.

Zagorski is no Luddite, and so he ordered up the seismic tests and a host of other studies. Those tests confirmed for him that the rock formation he had targeted was part of larger and potentially rich strata that had, up to that point, gotten comparatively little attention called the Lockport Dolomite. It was more than promising. It was rich, and not only that, it was far closer to the surface than the Trenton Black River formation, the strata that had yielded the most recent successes in the Appalachian Basin, and that meant that it could be far more economical to recover.

By 2003, Range was ready to test Zagorski’s find, and they pulled together that spectacular circus parade that is a drilling operation. After just a few days of drilling, they had their first show

of gas, and then more, and more. It was rushing up out of the ground. The over-pressured rock was making so much gas that the riggers were having a hard time keeping up with it.

But almost as quickly as it had appeared, the gas from the Renz well vanished. The company had spent millions and wasted nearly three years and had nothing to show for it.

That wasn’t going to make Range’s shareholders happy. It wasn’t going to make chief operating officer Jeff Ventura, who had OK’d the project, happy, and it didn’t make Bill Zagorski feel all that good about himself either.

No one had said anything to Zagorski— no one had taken him to the woodshed—but he suddenly felt an overpowering urge to get out of town for a while.

It just so happened that a friend of his from Houston, another veteran of the gas industry, had called Zagorski out of the blue looking for some advice about a shale play he was considering exploring in Texas called the Black Water Basin. He invited Zagorski to come out and take a look at the stuff that had been collected as part of the initial exploration.

Zagorski took him up on it. As they sat together going over the data from the Black Water Basin and studying similar reports that by then were starting to trickle out of the Barnett, Zagorski had the nagging feeling that all of it looked terribly familiar.

The composition of the shale, the history of blowouts, the seemingly random pockets of gas that collected in some places and not in others, all of it was identical to the stuff he had seen back in

there is anecdotal evidence that the marcellus may be so large and so rich that it could change the economics of the gas industry

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special section

Pennsylvania, identical to the Marcellus Shale. Suddenly, all of it made sense. The old logs hadn’t misled him, he had misunderstood them. The Renz well hadn’t failed him—that was just its way of telling him that he was drilling into the wrong rocks.

In what can either be described as a supreme act of self-confidence or the thoroughly desperate act of a man who in middle age was watching his last chance for redemption float off like the last

few man crew Frac job sites typically require little staff; those present tend to be experienced in the process and hail from elsewhere. “Tiny,” age 24, also known as ”Big Nasty,” hails from Texas and works a dangerous job high on the rig changing water pipes.

hissing wisps of gas from the Lockport Dolomite, Bill Zagorski arranged a meeting with Ventura and explained precisely what he wanted to do.

Looking back, even Zagorski is a little surprised at himself.

“Here’s a guy—me—who’s just been responsible for the company putting a couple million dollars into a well and nothing’s coming out and I’m bold enough or dumb enough to say, ‘Hey I’ve got another idea!’ ” Even more surprising was Ventura’s reaction.

After silently chewing over Zagorski’s audacious proposal for a few nerve-wracking moments, Ventura leaned forward in his chair and said simply; “Let’s put the big slick water frac on it.”

And so, not long after they had trundled away from the dolomite dome at the Renz farm with their tails between their legs, they returned, ready to try again.

And sure enough, it worked.

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T

he renz No. 1, the first true

Marcellus well, reportedly brought forth some 300,000 cubic feet of natural gas that first day. Though those numbers would soon be eclipsed by two orders of magnitude by initial production rates at later wells drilled into the Marcellus, it was as good as or better than the initial production from most wells in the early stages of the Barnett.

Zagorski, given an impossible assignment by his bosses, had done it. He had found them the next Barnett. And then some. And he had found it right here, only a few miles from Downtown Pittsburgh.

What is now known as the Marcellus Play is a 31,000-squaremile shale deposit that stretches from southern New York State to northern Kentucky and west from the Catskills to Ohio.

Geographically, it is five times larger than the Barnett field in Texas. Even now, the experts don’t know how rich the Marcellus might be. Recent estimates by Professor Terry Engelder at Penn State indicate that nearly 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could be recovered from the Marcellus.

In fact, there is anecdotal evidence that the Marcellus may be so large and so rich that it could change the economics of the gas industry. Just as the inland sea that formed the Marcellus, by dint of its own size, was big enough to create its own weather, the Marcellus may create its own economic conditions. It may be able to defy downturns in the national and world economy; it may be so big and so rich that it can shrug off the effects of falling energy prices in a way that no play before it ever has. As major gas exploration companies shut down drilling rigs elsewhere in the U.S., they are increasing operations in the Marcellus, and in the five years since the power of the Marcellus was unleashed at the Renz well, the discovery has drawn some of the biggest names in the energy industry back to Pennsylvania.

There are a number of reasons why the Marcellus has become among the most attractive opportunities in the world for drillers.

Economics is chief among them. Because gas shipped to the east coast of the U.S. fetches a 10 percent premium over gas shipped to other hubs, there is a financial incentive to drill in the Marcellus.

But there is also a sense of urgency.

The leasing that had given them access to all that beautiful, domestically produced natural gas had started in the early part of the decade. Under the terms of those leases, the drillers had up to five years, sometimes less, sometimes a bit more, to actually drill on the land; otherwise, the contact expired, and either the driller, or one of his competitors, would have to negotiate a new lease. If, on the other hand, the driller had sunk a well on the land, the original contract remained in effect—held by production, it was called—indefinitely. Many the early leases would expire in the following year or two. The gas companies, however, wanted to hold onto their acreage and be able to claim the reserves that were beneath it in their annual reports and other corporate documents without having to write off the original lease price and start all over. There was only one choice, a choice adequately summed up

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>> on a bumper sticker that became fairly popular in Pennsylvania during the summer of 2008: “Drill here, drill now.”

There were political concerns as well. Some were state matters. Unlike most gas-producing states, Pennsylvania has no severance tax—a charge levied on drillers on the well head for gas taken from the ground. And though there had been mounting calls for one, particularly when it became clear that the worldwide recession was going to gut Pennsylvania’s state budget, the Republicans in the legislature had managed to effectively bat that movement down, forcing Gov. Ed Rendell to use some $400 million that the state had received in lease payments for state lands to close its budget gap. That had outraged a lot of people across the state, environmentalists in particular, who argued vociferously that state law required that money to be spent exclusively on state land and environmental matters. So far, the legislature had been able to hold firm, as the drillers repeated their magic incantation against higher taxes—“if you tax us too severely, we’ll just pick up our rigs and go somewhere else.” But that was wearing thin even among some of the leaders of the GOP, who recognized the same thing that the drillers had, that the Marcellus was their best hope for the future, at least for the time being, and there was no place better to drill than Pennsylvania. That made it even more urgent that they get in and get the gas out before the Republican bulwark against higher taxes failed.

E N E RGY

The way the drillers saw it, the best special section defense against the vagaries of fortune and the shifting sands of Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg was the tried and true response to every challenge. “Drill here, drill now.”

And that was precisely what they did.

In the past year alone, the number of drilling rigs headed toward Pennsylvania increased spectacularly. By April 2008, the number of operating rigs in the country had dropped by 44 percent from the year before. In Canada, the number had plunged by 60 percent. But Pennsylvania was different. By last spring, there were 325 wells already drilled in the Marcellus and another 864 permits had been issued.

There is no question that the development of the Marcellus in Pennsylvania will have a profound economic impact on the state.

But how widespread that impact is, and whether there might be hidden costs remains a matter of debate.

Terry Ooms, the executive director of the Institute for Economic Development, a consortium of colleges and universities in northeastern Pennsylvania, has predicted that there would be such a dramatic change in the economics and in the size of the population in the areas where the drilling takes place that local and state officials needed to prepare immediately for the new economy or risk being overwhelmed. “You’ve got local governments that

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have been declining since 1950, losing population, losing revenue, struggling to put out fires on a daily basis,” she said “You suddenly tell them that this region is transforming, that there’s going to be population growth and that they now have to sit and start really putting together long-range plans—not just do the day-to-day seat-of-your-pants stuff— and nobody knows how to act.”

The way she saw it, billions of dollars was headed for the Marcellus and it couldn’t help but lift the region out of poverty. The drillers would need services, they’d need their trucks and equipment repaired, and little by little, local companies would spring up to provide those repairs. Yes, in the earliest days of the play, the drillers would import their labor, bringing in experienced hands from fields in Texas and Wyoming and West Virginia and elsewhere, but that would soon change, she said. Local men and women would be trained to do those jobs. In fact, the University of Pittsburgh had recently set up a training program in the old town of Bradford in the north-central part of the state to train Pennsylvanians in the arts and sciences of drilling, skills that had largely been lost here in the birthplace of the gas and oil industry after a generation of hard times. Other schools were following suit, and it was only a matter of time before “a high school grad can go through a 90-day certification course and get a $52,000 job on a rig,” she said. And in the meantime, those imported workers would need a bed and three squares a day, and that too created opportunities in a host of industries. Her predictions echoed the findings of a study conducted by Texas economist Ray Perryman, who found that state’s Barnett Play had produced significant economic benefits for the entire region.

But there were others who had been urging caution almost from the beginning.

Timothy Kelsey, an economist from Penn State, for example, had warned that the Perryman study could not be superimposed on Pennsylvania because there were such dramatic differences between the two places.

While the gas and oil industries had been well established in Texas for generations, Pennsylvania’s gas and oil fields had long been in decline. The result was that, at least for the time being, those with gas industry skills would have to be imported. In other words, Texas, home of several of the major

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E N E RGY drilling companies and many of its workers, was likely to see more benefit in the short term from a Marcellus hiring boom than Pennsylvania would. To their credit, companies such as Range and other players have begun working to develop local talent and expand training opportunities for jobs in the gas industry.

There was another key difference between Pennsylvania and Texas. In Texas, as in most other states where large-scale drilling happens, the industry made a major contribution to the state’s coffers through a severance tax. In Texas, that money could be used to maintain the roads that the drillers tore up and to school the children of all those workers who had been added to the local economy as a result of the Barnett boom. But Pennsylvania, which had been caught off-guard by the meteoric rise in the business of exploring and exploiting its natural gas resources, has no such tax.

To some critics, such as Barbara Arrindel of the Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, which has vociferously opposed drilling in the Marcellus, the state’s deals with gas companies to lease its land is a deal with the devil. The state, she argued, was already far too cozy with the drillers, and this was an effort by the drillers to further subvert oversight by the state by making it even more dependent on the driller’s fortunes. But even moderates like Kelsey warned that, in the absence of a state severance tax or some similar mechanism to offset the cost of drilling to the public, the burden would fall on the communities themselves, some of them among the poorest in the state.

“Local jurisdictions with natural gas wells very likely will face

higher demands for services and thus highspecial section er costs, and yet receive little new revenue to pay for those services,” he wrote. “The result likely will be higher local taxes (paid for by everyone, not just those directly benefiting from lease or royalty revenues), or cuts in other services. Because Pennsylvania law limits municipalities’ and counties’ abilities to use land-use planning tools to influence the location of natural gas drilling activities, local governments will have little ability to prevent or affect drilling in locations which will significantly affect local service costs and taxes.”

T

here is no question that the race to develop the Marcellus Play in Pennsylvania and beyond is a matter of critical national importance. The gas trapped deep in the ground sits in fields now marked by access roads and buried pipelines and pits to hold a heavily diluted witch’s brew of chemicals used to blast the gas out of the ground. This gas can buy America time to develop other less-noxious energy sources. It’s not an open-ended offer, though.

Natural gas is not limitless, and though it may take another 40 years or more to develop it fully, eventually it will all be developed. And eventually it, like the oil that came before it,

>>

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will run dry.

But in the meantime, it can and must be developed in an environmentally sensitive way, says Rich Weber, president and chief operating officer of Atlas Energy Resources, one of the most active drillers in southwestern Pennsylvania. Weber’s goal is development “in balance with the environment so it leaves a legacy we can all be proud of in 50 years.”

Natural gas, as promising at it may be as a fuel to replace coal in power plants and to stoke our industries, can also help slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are blamed for rising temperatures around the globe. But even its most fervent supporters concede that it can’t stop it, not alone.

Perhaps nothing can. But for there to be even a chance, there has to be a comprehensive energy policy on a national level. And so far, that has not happened.

That means, for now, it’s up to people who are working in the Marcellus—the drillers, the state agencies charged with overseeing that drilling, and most importantly the people who live in the hardluck former farm communities where the drilling is taking place— to answer the most important question of all: Can we do this in a way that benefits the nation, the state, and the communities themselves, or is this just one more example of the long history of reckless exploitation of a natural resource that will leave in its wake a legacy of ruin?

Manfred Honeck

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John Lithgow

Anne-Sophie Mutter

There are those who are convinced that the commonwealth of Pennsylvania can and will properly guide the development of its newfound natural gas resource, that it will spend the money and allocate the resources necessary to monitor adequately the drilling and enforce its regulations. DEP Secretary John Hanger is certainly one of them.

“I can say today here in Pennsylvania we run an agency that is absolutely committed to appropriately enforcing our environmental laws… and we are also focused on producing the gas,” Hanger said. He says he has been given simple but direct marching orders from Gov. Ed Rendell. “He said, ‘produce the gas and protect the water’ and we have to do both.”

To that end, Hanger says, the state has hired 37 new inspectors to watch over not just the drilling, but the storage and handling of the potentially dangerous frac fluids that it produces. That’s a challenge that the drillers have acknowledged. Several of the major firms, including Range, Atlas and Chesapeake, have been experimenting with recycling frac water in an effort to reduce both the amount of fresh water drawn from the state’s waterways, and to deal with the vexing problem of disposing of frac water, which contains not only the chemicals the drillers added to it, but salts and other materials picked up during its time underground.

Range now maintains that all its Marcellus wells use recycled water, and Atlas has also been making “great progress” on its work continued on page 145

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A CLE

N

C

L A O

Oxymoron or opportunity?

Local scientists are leading the charge to create CLEAN COAL technology written by j e f f e ry f r a s e r rom pittsburgh to the hills of West Virginia, a small army of scientists is racing to tame the billions of tons of carbon vented from coal-burning power plants, working with data sets, computer models, cost analyses and other such tools that belie the drama of their high-stakes investigation.

Burning coal casts off nasty pollutants, including carbon dioxide, a notorious member of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases blamed for warming the planet to dangerous levels. Congress is on the brink of clamping down on CO2 emissions. The big questions are how and at what cost?

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Coal-fired power plants today generate nearly half of the electricity Americans consume. That electricity is inexpensive. Our appetite for it is increasing. And there is nothing ready and waiting in the wings—wind, solar and other renewables included—to replace coal-produced electricity anytime soon.

For Greater Pittsburgh, there is more at stake. A large share of power plant coal is mined from seams snaking beneath southwestern Pennsylvania and its nearby neighbors. “If there were ways to burn it without producing carbon dioxide, we wouldn’t be sitting on coal,” says Andrew Gellman, head of Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Engineering.

“We’d be sitting on gold mines.”

Although there’s no getting around the fact that burning coal makes CO2 and a host of air pollutants, there are ways to reduce its potential for environmental damage. And in recent years, southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia have emerged as a hub of scientific investigation into the technologies necessary to do that.

More than 100 university-based, government and industry scientists in the region are working on a broad portfolio of research projects to develop and refine technologies, from advanced turbines to coal gasification, that could extend the life of coal in a carbon-restricted world,

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graohic by James Hilston; source: National Energy Technology Laboratory

E N E RGY buying time for alternatives to mature and assume a larger role in generating electricity.

And among the carbon management technologies under investigation, none has attracted more attention and support worldwide in recent years than carbon capture and sequestration, a method of reducing CO2 emissions that’s particularly well suited for large industrial facilities, such as power plants.

In fact, carbon capture and sequestration is on the short list of strategies widely considered essential to achieving significant CO2 reductions. That list also includes improving efficiency, expanding use of renewable energy and conservation.

The top industry research organization, the Electric Power Research Institute— which adds building new nuclear power plants to the list of essential decarbonizing strategies—recently concluded that capture and sequestration of coal plant CO2 would be technically feasible by 2020.

The concept is simple enough: CO2 is separated from power-plant flue gas, converted to a fluid-like state, then pumped into underground porous rock, such as sandstone, where it stays trapped beneath formations of impermeable rock, such as shale. If it works without a hitch, as much as 90 percent of the CO2 emitted by a highly efficient power plant might some day be prevented from polluting the atmosphere. Adding to its appeal is the fact that commercial technologies for capturing CO2 from industrial gases have been used for years in natural gas treatment and the production of hydrogen, ammonia and ethanol.

But plenty of thorny technical, economic, regulatory and legal challenges still stand in the way of capture and sequestration becoming a viable option for reducing CO2 coming from power plants. The issues range anywhere from ensuring that highly toxic concentrations of CO2 injected into the ground stay put to determining who legally owns the tiny pores in the rocks into which the CO2 is injected.

Nothing like carbon capture and sequestration has been tried on a largescale commercial power plant. That has to be done—and successfully—before the power industry will seriously consid-

er investing billions of dollars to install the new technology. Even then, it will require a powerful incentive to do so.

That incentive will likely be legal limits on CO2 emissions and penalties for violating them, an approach that’s been taken to reduce sulfur dioxide and other pollutants from industrial sources. “Carbon capture and sequestration won’t be used until CO2 is regulated,” says John Thompson, Coal Transition Program director for Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based environmental nonprofit. “Nobody is rushing out to do it because there’s no carbon price driving it.”

The climate change bill narrowly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year calls for a cap-and-trade approach to achieve a 17 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 and an 83 percent reduction by 2050.

It also contains money to support early adopters of carbon capture and sequestration systems. But work on the Senate side

was slowed by special section debate over health care reform, leaving the timing and specifics of greenhouse gas regulation unclear.

Such legislation is driven by concern over dire scientific forecasts of widespread damage to the environment and societies worldwide from increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Because greenhouse gases such as methane and CO2 absorb and emit heat, an increase in their concentration in the atmosphere tends to have a warming effect on the planet. While measurements of some regulated air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, show concentrations have thinned in recent years, concentrations of greenhouse gases have been steadily increasing.

In the case of CO2, concentrations have risen from 280 parts per million during

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united states, 2007: COA L M I N I N G P R O D U C T I O N A N D COA L- D E R I V E D E L E C T R I C I T Y G E N E R AT I O N , BY S TAT E

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pre-industrial times to a level of 382 parts per million recorded in 2006, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that a 20 percent increase in CO2 concentrations occurred between 1990 and 2004 alone.

The consensus of scientists who’ve studied climate change is that human activity deserves most of the blame for escalating levels of greenhouse gases.

Although not without controversy, that conclusion—and the weight of climate change evidence reported by influential science panels such as the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—have pushed curbing CO2 and other greenhouse gases up near the top of the to-do lists of lawmakers.

Whether any such law will lead to the use of carbon capture and sequestration in commercial power plants will depend on the specifics. Setting the carbon price too high or requiring steep CO2 reductions too soon could, for example, push the industry away from coal toward other mature options, such as nuclear or natural gas. But if the carbon price is set too low, industry would have little economic incentive to invest in the expensive new technology.

And few doubt that carbon capture and sequestration will be expensive, particularly during the early years. Estimates suggest that carbon capture and sequestration would increase the cost of generating electricity by 60–80 percent at coalfired power plants and by 30–50 percent at coal gasification plants, of which there are only a handful in the world. “But until we actually do this on a big commercial power plant, we won’t know for sure what it will cost,” says Edward Rubin, alumni professor of environmental engineering and science at Carnegie Mellon, who shared the 2007 Nobel Prize as a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on carbon capture and sequestration.

“Right now, if you ask me, the major barrier is money. Where to get the money to get the technology off the dime.

Because to do this at a big power plant— to build and operate a system for five years to get that experience—we estimate it would cost close to $1 billion. There’s

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E N E RGY at a glance: C A R B O N C A P T U R E & S E Q U E S T R AT I O N

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been talk about demonstrating this at full scale for the last three or four years and they’re still talking.”

The cost of carbon capture and sequestration is expected to drop significantly once the technology is developed and utilities are given incentives to reduce CO2 emissions.

To finance the first wave of commercial start-ups, Rubin suggests a trust fund created from fees on fossil-fuelgenerated electricity. This summer, legislation was introduced in the House calling for a $1 billion annual trust based on that concept.

Such steps are critical to the longterm future of coal, he says. “The only way I know today to seriously deal with coal emissions is with carbon capture and sequestration technology.

It’s a make-or-break technology for coal in the sense that if you want to have a stable atmosphere and deal with climate change, the options are to continue to use coal for some period of time with capture and sequestration or coal goes away and you try to use a lot more of everything else.”

For some, abandoning carbon cap-

A

s policymakers consider

laws for reducing greenhouse gas, one dilemma they face is how to make big cuts in the carbon dioxide emitted from coalfired power plants that generate much of America’s electricity. Most scientists agree the best bet to date is carbon capture and sequestration.

Carbon Capture: Post-combustion capture is seen as a system that could be installed on an existing coal-fired power plant to extend its life in a carbon-regulated world. In post-combustion capture, a chemical solvent strips CO2 from the plant flue gas. An amine solution is most common, but a “chilled ammonia” process that uses an ammonium carbonate solvent could be more energy efficient, reducing costs.

The solvents bind with the CO2. This mixture is separated from the flue gas and heated to drive off the CO2, which is then compressed and ready to be stored as a fluid-like supercritical substance.

The solvent is cooled and reused.

This capture phase of the technology is well understood and used in natural gas treatment and chemical production.

special section

It has not, however, been installed on a commercial-scale power plant.

Carbon Sequestration: In geologic sequestration, wells are drilled a mile or so underground into porous rock structures, such as sandstone or brine formations that rest beneath layers of nonporous rock, such as shale.

The fluid-like CO2 is injected into the porous rock, where it is trapped in the tiny rock pores. In brine, the CO2 may harden into solid calcium carbonate over time. The nonporous rock above the injection site serves as a cap to prevent the CO2 from leaching to the surface.

The injection process has been used for years to free oil from near-depleted reserves.

Storing CO2 in much shallower coal beds that cannot be mined is also being studied. In that process, CO2 is injected as a gas into the coal seam, where it is absorbed. In addition, the injection of CO2 displaces methane that can be harvested for energy.

Key Challenges: Geologic sequestration poses some of the biggest challenges. CO2 has long been used to enhance oil recovery, but the notion of storing it underground for a million years is relatively new. Key challenges include finding reliable ways to monitor subsurface CO2 and identifying sequestration sites with the proper geology to ensure safe storage.

Installing carbon capture and sequestration systems on complex commercial power plants is a significant challenge that has yet to be met. But the defining challenge may well be holding down costs to enable the industry to generate power at a price consumers will pay.

Timetable: The Electric Power Research Institute believes capture and sequestration of coal plant CO2 exhaust will be technically feasible by 2020.

That doesn’t take into account the time required for permitting and construction, which could add years. pq

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ture and sequestration and the whole notion of generating electricity with coal is the more prudent approach to addressing climate change. In a recent report, Greenpeace International, noting the uncertainties associated with carbon capture and sequestration, calls it a “scam,” arguing that money would be better spent finding ways to use energy more efficiently and to ramp up the development of renewable energy sources.

Other environmental organizations see it somewhat differently. “Coal use is one of the most devastating environmental activities around,” says the Clean Air Task Force’s Thompson. “But I’m not willing to bet the planet that coal is going to go away. If it’s that we can’t live with it and can’t live without it, then I think it’s important to be realistic and change the way we use coal.”

The fact is, abandoning coal-fired power plants would leave a huge gap in the industry’s capacity to meet rising demand.

As a base-load power source, coal-fired plants offer the around-the-clock generating capacity counted on to provide as much electricity as needed, when it’s needed, while peak-load sources like wind and solar are intermittent energy producers.

“You can’t expect to replace a baseload power source with electricity from a peaking source,” says Tom Sarkus, senior manager and technical analyst at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in South Park Township. “We need more wind. We need more solar. But

it’s unrealistic to think that in the near- to mid-term those sources are going to pick up enough slack to replace base-load power sources. What we need is a good mix of sources.”

NETL research centers in South Park and Morgantown, W.Va., are members of the regional brain trust working to develop cleaner fossil fuels for a carbonrestrained future. Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University are other key players, both through their individual research and work done as part of a research consortium organized by the NETL and supported by $26 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding.

Few other regions can boast such a collection of talent focused on clean energy research. “It’s not the only hub in the world, but it’s certainly a pretty concentrated level of expertise and investment,” says Carnegie Mellon’s Gellman, consortium research director. The consortium itself includes about 180 faculty, graduate student and postdoctoral researchers working on more than 100 projects that span eight areas of investigation, including carbon management.

The region is also home to significant private sector research directed toward developing cleaner fossil fuel technologies, including a demonstration of storing CO2 in unmineable coal seams led by Canonsburg-based Consol Energy, one of the world’s leading coal producers.

With 4.5 billion tons of recoverable coal reserves and some 7,000 employees in

united states, 2007: E L E C T R I C G E N E R AT I O N S O U R C E S in thousands of megawatt hours (net) COAL

NATURAL GAS

48.5%

21.6%

2,016,456

896,590

OTHER

0.4% 18,788

NUCLEAR

19.4%

806,425

PETROLEUM

1.6% 65,739

RENEWABLES

2.5%

105,238

HYDRO

6.0% 247,510

graohic by James Hilston; source: National Energy Technology Laboratory

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its coal operations, it’s no surprise Consol is willing to spend $4.2 million on a CO2 sequestration project in addition to supporting the industry’s largest research and development lab. “If you’re a betting man, you’d have to say we’re going to have carbon management legislation at some point,” says Tom Hoffman, Consol vice president of communications. “That means our customers who use coal are going to be pressed to come up with solutions to their carbon emissions if they want to keep operating their plants. To the extent we can, as a fuel provider, also provide them with a way to deal with their emissions, that’s a plus for us as a company.”

In Marshall County, just across the Pennsylvania border in the West Virginia panhandle, Consol researchers, working with NETL and West Virginia University scientists, have drilled horizontal wells to the Upper Freeport coal seam into which they are injecting CO2. The project allows researchers to look at a couple of important issues.

One is the process of injecting CO2 to free methane trapped in the coal, much the way it has been used for years to squeeze oil from underground rock formations. For the power industry, the ability to recover methane or oil as a marketable byproduct could make the idea of investing in expensive carbon capture and sequestration technologies a bit more attractive.

“The reason this works in coal beds is that CO2 replaces methane at a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio,” says Doug Patchen, a geologist with West Virginia University, who is an expert in geological sequestration. “Every time you put a molecule of CO2 down there, it kicks off two or three molecules of methane. That’s the value-added aspect of this.”

Researchers are also investigating the behavior of the CO2 they are storing in the coal seam, as well as the accuracy of available techniques for monitoring it. “The critical part of getting this approach to carbon management accepted is that, when you put this stuff into the ground, is there an expectation that it’s going to stay where it is supposed to?” says Hoffman. “The answer is, yeah, we expect it to. But the only way you can prove it is to put it in the ground and monitor it for a period of time.” continued on page 145

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by w i l l i a m s . d i e t r i c h i i

O

The short happy life of the ASP ascendancy

W

nce upon a time in America, when the going was good, there emerged what looked like a ruling class.

We’ll call it the WASP Ascendancy. Standing for White AngloSaxon Protestant, WASP was coined by University of Pennsylvania sociologist E. Digby Baltzell (1916–1996). This WASP Ascendancy traces a soft 20th century parabola reaching its apogee in 1940. We are talking about one tenth of 1 percent of the population—one in a thousand, or 130,000 of the country’s 130 million.

America never had a landed aristocracy. But in Europe, the economic and political power of the aristocracy, as well as its social position, was rooted in the possession of land.

Primogeniture held it together, with the eldest son receiving both land and title. Under feudalism, and even before, the aristocracy was a warring class; land as the spoils of war was parceled out in proportion to one’s contribution to the victory.

By comparison, democracy began in large scale only upon the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1789. After visiting the U.S. in 1831, French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in “Democracy in America”: “In America… I saw the shape of democracy.” He saw rich and poor, educated and uneducated. He noted the equality of social conditions, “At bottom [Americans] feel themselves equal and are.” The Frenchman also perceived that the modest American experiment would unseat millennia of aristocratic rule.

In the agrarian America of Andrew Jackson, Tocqueville saw equality of economic conditions quite distinct from Europe.

With the vast outpouring of industrial wealth after the Civil War, the gulf between rich and poor Americans widened dramatically.

Could capital replace land as the economic basis for an even watered down bourgeois/aristocracy? The WASP Ascendancy represented a modest attempt.

The WASP Ascendancy was quite exclusionary: no Jews, no Blacks, no Hispanics, no southern or eastern Europeans, no Irish and, of course, no women. WASP men were closely defined by education. Perhaps half were graduates of Harvard, Yale or Princeton—the Big Three—with the remainder from other Ivies, Stanford and a smattering of East Coast colleges. They were even more closely defined by secondary education. At the core were the New England boarding schools, along with select private schools. A WASP was most likely a business executive or owner, a banker, lawyer or prominent physician. He belonged to the best clubs in his city. On a summer’s day you might pick him out on the street—dark suit, plain or pinstripe, white shirt, rep or paisley tie, black wingtips and hat. He was likely tall, slender, good looking and with a discernable suntan from lots of golf and tennis; he was a good athlete.

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>> And then there were WASP women.

Being slender and attractive was their stock in trade. Most were not college educated. Their principal education/ socialization was at expensive and socially selective boarding schools such as Dobbs, Ethel Walker, Farmington, Foxcroft and others. More important than being educated was being “turned out.” Their goal was often to marry someone who in certain ways resembled their fathers. Future generations of WASPs would follow.

T

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he admissions process began to resemble that of a private club.

Personal visits to mainline boarding schools were introduced. Cards for each student were placed in categories ranking desirability. This system gave the admissions office the flexibility to reject the most brilliant and admit the most stupid, all in the name of that illusive and plastic term, character.

T

keys to the kingdom The best vantage point

to view the rise and fall of the WASP Ascendancy is in the admissions policies of Harvard, Yale and Princeton throughout the 20th century.

Nobody did more to create the WASP man than Endicott Peabody (1857–1944).

A member of a distinguished Puritan family, young Peabody moved to England in 1870 when his father took a job with Junius Morgan—J.P. Morgan’s father. In Peabody’s five years at Cheltenham, an English public (private) school, he excelled in sports. After five years at Trinity College, Cambridge, he returned to the U.S. in 1880, a staunch Anglophile and as much British in voice and demeanor as American.

After a short turn at the blue-blood Boston banking firm of Lee Higginson, he enrolled at the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cambridge. Upon graduating in 1883, the “Rector,” as he was thereafter called, fixed upon his life’s work by founding a boarding school based upon the English public school. Groton (1884) soon became the elite among elites in the boarding school world, which included St. Paul’s, St. Mark’s, St. George’s and Middlesex. Collectively, they were known as “St. Grottlesex.” A dozen or so nearpeer institutions followed, and together they were to secondary education what the Big Three were to higher education.

Groton offered religious education while balancing culture and athletics. Tall, broad-shouldered, blue-eyed and authoritative, Peabody laid out his school’s intent in three words: it would cultivate “manly

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Christian character.” By 1900, the 24-student school had on its storied rolls the names of the American ruling class: Adams, Biddle, DuPont, Roosevelt, Saltonstall and Whitney. The motto Peabody chose for his school was cui servire est regnare—to serve is to reign.

Pride and admiration were equally shared by the rector and his most distinguished alumnus, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Throughout his life, Roosevelt would look up to Peabody with reverential respect.

The two maintained a lifelong correspondence, with Roosevelt beginning, “My dear Mr. Peabody,” and the rector with, “My dear Franklin.”

In 1900, the Big Three were the most prestigious universities in America, but as graduate research institutions they were second to both Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago and well behind the great universities of Germany. Admissions policies were not particularly rigorous.

Class size was not limited, but varied with the number of successful applicants.

However, with U.S. male high-school graduates increasing from 95,000 in 1900 to 311,000 in 1920, something had to change.

V

barring the door Vast waves of Jewish immigration during the early 20th century meant increasing numbers of qualified Big Three applicants. Limiting the number of Jews would be at the heart of Big Three admissions policies for two-thirds of the century. This was anti-Semitism to be sure, but it was more. It was the vanguard

of even more fundamental change. The non-WASP, gentile public school applicant pool was growing as well.

Always the most democratic of the Big Three, Harvard felt the pressure first.

By 1918, the Jewish population of Harvard’s freshman class had risen to 20 percent from 7 percent in 1900. It was three times the percentage at Yale and six times that at Princeton. Harvard President A. Lawrence Lowell—a man possessed of more than a little hubris— attempted to confront the problem headon. The Lowells arrived in Boston in 1639, and Lowell was the sixth generation of his line to attend Harvard. The “Jewish menace,” as Lowell called it, represented a two-edge sword. More Jews and fewer WASPs might, in turn, lead to “WASP flight” due to a less congenial social atmosphere.

Before 1920, the Big Three had no admissions offices. The faculty fashioned the entrance examination—you passed it and you were in. To their credit, the Big Three faculties consistently advocated meritocratic admissions standards throughout the 20th century. And Lowell’s call for explicit quotas soon became a matter of public debate, with luminaries such as future Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and the pre-eminent journalist of the day, Walter Lippmann, in opposition, along with several notable gentiles.

Lowell was rebuffed, and Jewish enrollment rose to 25 percent. Yale and Princeton, however, learned from Lowell’s mistakes and he, in turn, applied their methods to achieve the desired result. By

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1930, an unspoken quota reduced the number to 15 percent.

Yale dealt with the matter behind closed doors. Numbers tell the story. By 1923, freshman Jewish enrollment at Yale reached an all-time high of 13 percent. In 1922, the Yale Corporation set a limit of 850 on the incoming class. Jewish participation dropped below 10 percent, a number that would not be exceeded for another four decades. Other non-WASPs suffered along with the Jews. From 1920 to 1930, public school graduates dropped from 24 percent to 19 percent, while the sons of alumni advanced from 13 percent to 24 percent.

In 1930, eight private schools accounted for nearly one-third of Yale freshman: Andover (74), Exeter (54), Hotchkiss (42), St. Paul’s (24), Choate (19), Lawrenceville (19), Hill (17) and Kent (14). At the same time, the public schools of New York, Chicago and Philadelphia sent a grand total of 13 students. Never before was Yale so insular; the WASP Ascendancy was running near high tide.

The “problem” was not as acute at Princeton. By 1921, Jews were a modest 4 percent, along with a 7 percent sprinkling of Catholics. Increased applications forced Princeton to limit class size to 600. In 1922, non-selective admissions ended with Princeton establishing an Admissions Office and appointing Radcliffe Heermance as dean of admissions. He would hold the position until 1950 and become one of the two most influential admissions officers in Big Three history. A bear of a man with a resounding voice and forceful personality, Heermance was described by a friend as “always conjuring a vision of a cavalry officer, saber at point, galloping toward a line of green hills.”

Heermance’s path was partially cleared by the British industrialist and empirebuilder, Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902). He endowed the now famous Rhodes Scholarships for study at Oxford with specific criteria: “4 tenths for scholarship, 2 tenths for athletics, 2 tenths for manhood and 2 tenths for leadership.” Princeton had sent more Rhodes Scholars to Oxford than any American university. Rhodes, Peabody and Heermance shared a common ideal of Groton and Princeton students and Rhodes >> scholars: The WASP man.

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Princeton reduced the importance of entrance exams and objective criteria, and the admissions process began to resemble that of a private club. In addition to a letter of recommendation from the headmaster, along with three additional letters, Heermance emphasized the personal interview. Subjective factors became paramount.

Leaving nothing to chance, he introduced personal visits to mainline boarding schools to interview prospective applicants. Cards for each student were placed in one of four categories: Class I—very desirable; II— desirable, III—possible, IV—undesirable.

This neat little system gave the admissions office complete flexibility at both ends of the spectrum. It could reject the most brilliant and admit the most stupid, all in the name of that illusive and plastic term, character. On character, Heermance might have paraphrased the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart on pornography: “I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it.” With minor variations, the basics of the Princeton system were applied with enthusiasm at both Harvard and Yale. The ugliness of antiSemitism was clearly at work, but broader objectives operated at a deeper level.

The world’s largest economy was creating more wealth and educating more people than ever before. The upwardly mobile achievers (Jews and gentiles) were beginning to push hard for their position at the peaks of economical, political and social power. At the Big Three and throughout society, the WASP Ascendancy was still barring the door.

I

cracks in the wall

In 1933, the brilliant chemist James Bryant Conant succeeded Lowell as president of Harvard. Conant (1893–1978) is arguably the century’s preeminent figure in higher education. His institutional power base rested upon the Harvard bully-pulpit as well as his service as a member of the Top Policy Group for the atomic bomb.

The Top Group also included Vice President Henry Wallace, Secretary of War Henry L. Stinson, Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall and fellow academic Vannevar Bush. Reporting directly to FDR, the Top Group was the Mt. Everest of the

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American power structure. Conant’s influence was further buttressed by a vast intellectual reach seldom found in men of affairs.

Conant propagated a bold vision of the future of American society. He took as his sacred text a couple of lines in a letter Thomas Jefferson sent to John Adams in 1813: “…there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents...” Jefferson compared this to what he called “an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth.” To Conant’s eye, the sons of the WASP Ascendancy often floated through the halls of Harvard, Yale and Princeton on a cloud of wealth and birth.

He meant to change this with words and deeds. The deeds came first.

While Conant stood on the bridge with his gaze fixed on a meritocratic future, Henry Chauncy (1905–2002) was down in the engine room laboring to make Conant’s vision come alive. A product of Groton and Harvard, Chauncy majored in philosophy. Harvard had no psychology department, and philosophy was as close as he could get to slaking his thirst for psychological testing. In 1929, he became an assistant dean at Harvard.

During his first year as Harvard’s president, Conant tasked Chauncy and Wilbur Bender (a future director of admissions) with setting up a national scholarship program. Those selected would receive full room, board and tuition. Conant also wanted a new type of test for his new national program. Since 1900, the Big Three and Ivy League admission tests had been administered by the College Entrance Examination Board, a clubby association of New England boarding schools and the Ivy League. The College Board administered a week-long battery of essay examinations which essentially tested the mastery of the boarding school curriculum; the schools taught to the test. College boards were not IQ tests, nor were they scholastic aptitude tests. They were achievement tests, and they pretty much gave the boarding schools a stranglehold on Big Three admissions. Conant wanted an objective nonessay test that would accurately predict academic performance.

Chauncy and Bender found what they were looking for at Princeton with psychology professor Carl Brigham, the author of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

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During the World War I, Brigham had helped the Army set up its massive IQ testing program. He tweaked the methods and created the SAT—exactly what Conant was seeking. Chauncy and Bender scoured public schools in the Midwest and, by means of SAT tests (along with transcripts and recommendations), enrolled 10 Harvard national scholars. The tests were validated in 1928 when the scholars graduated, all with honors; five summa, three magna and two cum laude.

By 1942, Harvard had enrolled 253 national scholars, but in academia things always move slowly. In 1940, of the 77 applicants from the St. Grottlesex schools, 76 were admitted. Jewish enrollment had inched up to a modest 15 percent. The adoption of SAT testing proceeded at a moderate pace, still under 20,000 nationwide in 1940. Ten years later, it was still business as usual in the Big Three.

Nevertheless, in two groundbreaking articles in The Atlantic Monthly, Conant laid out his vision for America’s future. In “Education for a Classless Society,” he argued that the very survival of America as a free society rested upon the ability of its educational system to sunder the bonds of heredity, wealth and privilege. The WASP Ascendancy was clearly in his sights. In “Wanted: American Radicals,” he pushed his case a step too far, encouraging his American radical to “...be resolute in his demands to confiscate (by Constitutional methods) all property once a generation.”

Conant advised his American radical “not to place a higher value on property rights than human rights.” “American Radical” was a big mistake, and it almost cost Conant his job. Only his towering reputation enabled him to ride out the storm.

Though Conant had called for the SAT to be used across the board as early as 1937, its progress was slow. However, within weeks of Pearl Harbor, the College Board eliminated essay questions as too administratively cumbersome in a time of national emergency. And in one fell swoop the SAT test became by default the sole test for admissions to America’s most prestigious colleges.

On Jan. 1, 1948, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) opened for business at Princeton with Chauncy as president and Conant as chairman. After World War II,

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college enrollment soared, and with it the fortunes and influence of ETS and the SAT. By the time Chauncy retired in 1970, over 2 million men and women were taking these make-or-break tests.

Despite the crush of applications brought on first by returning veterans and later by millions of baby boomers, the advance of the meritocracy against the WASP Ascendancy played out in slow motion during the 25 years between 1945 and 1970. The WASP Ascendancy and its supporters in Big Three admissions offices put up stiff resistance.

Social hierarchies on campus were buttressed by well-defined club systems. At Harvard, a select 100 were culled from the sophomore class and elected to the venerable Institute of 1776. From this group, the ultra select were then named as members of final clubs, with Porcellian at the pinnacle. Theodore Roosevelt and his sons, Theodore Jr. and Kermit, were members.

FDR was not chosen and later admitted it was “the greatest disappointment of my life.” At Yale, 15 percent of the class were elected to six secret senior societies, with Skull & Bones as the Holy Grail. George W. Bush, his father and his grandfather were all Bonesmen. Public school men occasionally made it, but in 1928, of 60 entrants to the top four senior secret societies, 58 came from boarding schools.

Princeton was not called by F. Scott Fitzgerald “the pleasantest country club in America” for nothing. At Princeton, the club system was all-pervasive. Almost all upper classmen were to be elected to one of 17 eating clubs. The hierarchy was quite specific, with Ivy at the top along with Cottage, Colonial, Tiger Inn and Cap & Gown constituting the “big five.” At Harvard and Yale, final clubs and secret societies had at least the saving grace of taking in a modest minority and for one year only. To be clubless at Princeton was to be nearly homeless.

meritocracy rises

T

The sea change between the relative positions of the meritocracy and the WASP Ascendancy played out in two acts.

The first was at Harvard. When, on Oct. 4, 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, America began to fear continued on page 146

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to boldly go by c h r i s a l l i s o n

I, teacher lo c a l d e v e lo p m e n t s i n c o m p u t e r - b a s e d m at h l e a r n i n g arly in Isaac Asimov’s speculative fiction classic “I, Robot,” a little girl named Gloria becomes more attached to a robot named Robbie than to her own parents.

Originally wary of Robbie, Gloria’s parents grow to love and respect the tin man after it saves their little munchkin’s life by sweeping her away from the path of an oncoming tractor. If we transport from 1950 to 2010, conventional wisdom about remote learning via the Internet is evolving in an eerily similar fashion.

In years past, if someone told you they got their degree from on online school, you’d think they weren’t wearing their academic underwear. But those views are changing as interactive learning companies are saving the academic lives of scores of young people not through robotics, but artificial intelligence (AI).

Two Pittsburgh companies in the forefront of the interactive learning arena are Carnegie Learning and Apangea Learning. For both, the key to innovation is not only technology, such as algorithms and avatars, but fundamentally changing teaching.

Both firms’ products are similar, in that they teach mathematics to students from primary school age through high school, each with interactive software used through a browser. But their approaches differ in execution.

illustration by Stacy Innerst

E

| Andy would be proud Carnegie Learning didn’t pick its name because it sounded good for a Pittsburgh-based company. The technology, founders, and some start-up dollars all emanated from Carnegie Mellon University. The university remains a shareholder, and some of its founders continue to serve on the CMU computer science and cognitive psychology faculty.

Essentially, the Carnegie Learning software gives students problem-solving tasks and watches them work through the problems. It sees their errors and sends information to the classroom teacher about where to focus. It also provides automatic feedback to the students.

This is all accomplished through an artificial intelligence algorithm that watches over the students’ progress like the HAL-9000 from “2001, A Space Odyssey.” Of course, it doesn’t say things like, “Dave, the square root is incorrect.

I’ve turned off your life support.”

Districts using the product make it central to their math curriculum. The students work three days a week in a collaborative manner with the product, which is a combination of textbooks and interactive software. The other two days a week, students work on their own with the aid of an instructor.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;What sets us apart is data,â&#x20AC;&#x153; says Steve Ritter, Ph.D., a founder and chief scientist of Carnegie Learning. The company focuses on â&#x20AC;&#x153;how people learn and whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s working. Our product gives constant reporting on how the kids are doing.â&#x20AC;?

The distinction of in-process reporting is critical. In most settings, a teacher may not know that a student doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand the material until lousy test scores uncover a problem. By that time, the student may be so far behind, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost impossible to catch up.

The Carnegie Learning product also has changed the language of how math is taught. The product helps students â&#x20AC;&#x153;understand math by connecting it to things that they see in the real world,â&#x20AC;? said Ritter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For example, an exponential function is discussed relative to Facebook.

How fast can Facebook grow based on how many users are hitting the site?â&#x20AC;?

The other key innovation is changing each studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of their own math proficiency. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Socially, students decide around middle school if they are a math person or not,â&#x20AC;? says Ritter. Carnegie Learning â&#x20AC;&#x153;relates it to exercising your brain. The outcome is getting smarter.â&#x20AC;?

Andrew Carnegie would probably be happy because the company is improving the educational lives of some 500,000 students across 2,600 school districts in states such as Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. And as a result, the 10-year-old company has grown 30 percent, year-overyear since 2005.

Andrew Carnegieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business associate Henry Clay Frick, is also watching over Carnegie Learning in a weird sort of way.

The company employs 100 people in the Frick Building, Downtown, and the original door from Henry Clay Frickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office can be seen in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lobby.

| TRON comes to class *TOcR $gL 4PR *TOcR $gL 4PR

^TccbHe`PRF`cb \`P ^TccbHe`PRF`cb \`P

In 1982, Walt Disney released a film called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tron,â&#x20AC;? in which actors Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner became inhabitants of a video game and did battle with the evil nemesis Sark, played by David

Both of these programs benefit users by spotting learning problems and responding to them instantly.

Warner. The film was revolutionary because it incorporated live action with digital computer animation.

Apangea Learning is creating a similar revolution in the classroom, because its math students create computer alter egos of themselves, called â&#x20AC;&#x153;avatars,â&#x20AC;? as they learn math. While Apangea isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t making math video games, it is trying to make learning math fun.

The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product combines online learning with live teaching by instructors working from Apangeaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offices on Liberty Avenue, Downtown.

Students can work with Apangeaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faculty from early in the morning to past midnight.

Each student can access the Webbased lessons and then work through problems with a specially created computer-animated avatar. If a student gets stuck, they can speak with a math teacher using an Internet phone hook-up or through text messages.

If they really have problems picking up a concept, the teacher can send the student to the blackboard. In this case, students can access an interactive whiteboard, where Apangeaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teachers show students how to solve problems over the Internet rather than in a classroom.

In addition to avatars, Apangea makes learning fun through a special reward program. Students can earn points if they work through problems. They can redeem points for T-shirts or make donations to their favorite charity.

Apangea Learningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product is based on a five-step problem-solving process, which was developed by the U.S. Air Force. The company has exclusive rights to the Air Forceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intellectual property

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based on its cognitive research.

The company’s biggest contract to date is providing its product and services to all of the schools in the state of Idaho.

| Teach your children well The growth of Carnegie Learning and Apangea Learning speaks to the effectiveness of their product offerings, but somehow I wonder what all this will mean to education.

Clearly, one can see educational improvement, in that both companies can spot learning problems and respond to them instantly. Maybe some kids won’t get pigeon-holed as “not a math person.”

Bear in mind that I went to school when dinosaurs ruled the earth. We weren’t making goo-goo eyes to a cell phone in hopes that a text message soon would appear.

And I remember the teachers who really had an impact on me. One was Father Leo. He scared the bejesus out of me every time I went to the blackboard, because I wasn’t much of a mathlete.

After class, he would spend hours working problem after problem with me, trying to drill algebra into my brain until I finally got it. What I didn’t know then, but know now is this: Father Leo really cared and wanted me to learn algebra.

A few years ago, my classmates from St. Mark’s High School in Erie sat around at a picnic, drank beer and wondered what became of the old prince of the polynomial. We laughed until we cried.

Thirty years from now, the students of today will probably have all developed adult-onset diabetes and heart disease because they never went outside to play.

But I wonder whether they’ll look back fondly and say, “Remember that old Toshiba satellite? Now there was a teacher.” pq

Chris Allison, a founder and former CEO of Tollgrade Communications Inc., teaches entrepreneurship at Allegheny College.

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R E G I O N A L I N D I C AT O R S

by j o h n g . c r a i g j r . | p i t t s b u r g h to day. o r g

Risking women’s health Low testing rates for female Pittsburghers is just one regional problem noted in recent health data

f I told you that breast cancer kills pittsburgh women pittsburghtoday.org is an initative to establish a comprehensive information system by comparing the Pittsburgh region to 14 regions of similar size. Its purpose is to improve the quality of civic debate.

Benchmark regions: Baltimore | Boston Charlotte | Cincinnati Cleveland | Denver Detroit | Indianapolis Kansas City | Milwaukee Minneapolis/St. Paul Philadelphia | Richmond St. Louis

at a higher rate than women in other cities, and that Pittsburgh women die of heart attacks at a higher rate than women in other cities, what would you say?

And what if I compounded the negativity by telling you that African American women are at particular risk?

“I just don’t believe it. Check your data.”

“There you go again, pointing out something bad about our region.”

Or, would you say, “That is something worth our attention”?

My choice would be the latter, but 30 years of experience reporting on another nagging regional problem—black infant mortality—suggests that, when it comes to matters of public health, most particularly women’s health, we Pittsburghers are slow to move the needle.

Dealing with the last subject first, here are a few facts that have been published on the Pittsburgh Regional Indicators Web site over the past three years: The incidence of low-birthweight babies among black women in Pittsburgh is higher than the rate in any other benchmark region. At 14.6 percent, it exceeds the Minneapolis rate of 10.8 percent—the best among benchmark regions—by 26 percent.

The number of black women in the Pittsburgh region who report not smoking during pregnancy is 73.5 percent, a lower rate than in any other benchmark region. Charlotte rates highest of the 15 regions at 90.1 percent.

The incidence of pre-term deliveries, the leading cause of neonatal deaths not connected to birth defects, is slightly better; four benchmark regions (Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis

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>> and Richmond) have higher rates of pre-term births than Pittsburgh. The benchmark average is 16.8 percent; the Pittsburgh rate is 18 percent.

It should be noted that smoking during pregnancy is higher in Pittsburgh than in any other benchmark region for both whites and blacks. This includes a separate measure for smoking

by Pittsburgh teenagers, which is also a benchmark region high.

Smoking is the highest known risk factor for low birthweight births, and Pittsburgh’s rate of low-weight births is topped by only Denver, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Cleveland. On the other hand, pre-term births among all Pittsburgh women occur at a lower rate than in all benchmark regions but three (Kansas City, St. Louis and Minneapolis). This dramatically underlines the particular regional problem with black infant mortality.

More recent data on two other major health issues—heart disease and cancer—present an equally grim picture for Pittsburgh women and black women in particular.

The rate of fatal heart attacks among relatively young Pittsburgh women in the most recent Indicator report (an average for the years 1999 to 2005) is very high, as are the rates for all Pittsburghers, male and female, black and white. Regional

Indicators publishes data for two age groups, 35–64 and 35–54, because its health committee believed the region’s high average age might skew the numbers high.

Again, racial disparities are particularly disturbing. Black Pittsburgh women in both age groups have higher fatal heart attack rates than their counterparts in all benchmark regions but St. Louis. Their rates of 16.8 percent and 30.7 percent for both age groups, respectively, exceeded the average fatality rates for benchmark regions (11.1 and 21.0), as well as national averages (15.0 percent and 27.7 percent).

The overall fatal attack rates for both men and women, black and white, were high, but it was black women who had the highest rates among their peers in the eight categories measured over the seven-year period.

Now for cancer, the subject of the most recently published Health indicators. This sentence from the authors of the investigation gets right to the point: “Data from the nationwide Center for Disease Control telephone survey in 2006, show that we are worst among the 15 comparable regions in mammography rates for black women and 14th among white women. We also rank 14th among 15 cities for Pap smears, which test for early cervical cancer, among white women.” The data from the 2008 survey are

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not quite so bad for white women and mammography, showing us ranking just slightly below the benchmark and national averages. (Figure 1). But the rest of the bad news continues.

The 2008 figures show that black women in the Pittsburgh area rank next to last among all comparison areas in mammography rates, and, for Pap smears, the rate for Pittsburgh area white women is at the bottom of the list. (Figure 2).

The authors are Dr. Bernard Goldstein and Tanya Kenkre.

Goldstein is retired dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, with which he and Kenkre are associated. Their essay and cancer data can be found on www.pittsburghtoday.org, the Indicator project Web site.

They found that black women in our area do far worse than white women in reported mammography rates.

Nationally, black and white women had about the same usage rate in both of the two-year surveys they analyzed—about 75 percent. In benchmark regions, there was a slight difference between the black and white rates—77.1 to 74.5 in 2006; 74.8 to 73.8 in 2008. Pittsburgh, however, reflected a different and very negative story: Both white and black Pittsburghers were below national averages, and black women were very much

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below in mammography testing. The numbers are 72.5 for whites and 57.9 for blacks in 2006; and 74.5 percent for white women and 63.1 percent for black women in 2008.

There are legitimate questions about this report, which the authors concede. For example, how good are the data?

Telephone surveys have limitations, and the CDC admits some problems with theirs. Sampling a proportion of the overall population results in fewer black than white women in the survey, which leads to the data for black women being less robust. Also, what are the relative conditions of Pittsburgh women, black and white, when it comes to health insurance coverage and economic circumstances? Again, available data are mixed and hardly determinative. Health insurance coverage in the Pittsburgh region is high by national and benchmark standards. On the other hand, black women in Pittsburgh report much higher rates of concern about the inhibiting nature of health care costs than do whites. Yet despite this negativity, black Pittsburgh women are more positive than their counterparts in other benchmark regions and the nation when their economic concerns relate to health.

But for all the extenuating circumstances, the reality of the data remains: The rates at which Pittsburgh women use proven tests that are unarguably helpful in the reduction of cancer deaths is low. And as Goldstein and Kenkre report, this makes a difference: “Unfortunately, the breast cancer mortality rates in the Pittsburgh region are higher for both white and black women than for the rest of the United States and the benchmark regions. The mortality rate for white women in 2004 (the last year for which data are available) was 27.3 per 100,000, compared with the benchmark average of 24.9 and the national average of 23.8. For black women, the Pittsburgh MSA mortality rate for breast cancer was 34.2, as compared to the benchmark average of 31.7 and the national average of 32.3...”

“Data can be expected to move back and forth through the years, but the findings are consistent. Mammography is a proven preventive measure for the early detection of breast cancer when it is far more likely to be treatable. Low mammography rates predict that more women in our area will die of breast cancer—and that is what is happening.” (Figure 3).

The prosecution rests. pq

John G. Craig Jr., retired Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editor, is president of Pittsburgh Today. (www.pittsburghtoday.org)

for Pittsburgh, and a deep commitment to its people.

There are many options for creating a fund — they are as wide-ranging as the interests in our communities.

If you would like to know more about what we do and how we can help you build a fund to bridge the generations, please call us at 412-394-2653. pittsburgh quarterly | winter 2010

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Ron Freeman continued from page 67

DNA from spent bullet casings?

It wasn’t from lack of trying. Forensic scientists from the FBI crime lab at Quantico, Va., among many others, had tried—and failed. Freeman contacted that facility, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms lab, the U.S. Army crime lab, and metropolitan facilities in New York, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Los Angeles and New York City seeking answers. No one had any. Firing a bullet removes DNA from the cartridge, they said.

He approached Dr. Lisa Ludvico, a professor at Duquesne’s Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences. She told him DNA burns at 207 degrees. So he called the labs back to ask how hot a cartridge gets when the bullet inside it is fired. They didn’t know, so he got his students involved.

The Internet gave no answers. But Freeman was not about to give up. He knew that the person who loaded the bullet into the gun was nearly always the same person who pulled the trigger. And shell casings were often recovered at the scene of the crime.

So he went to the police academy’s firearms section and got permission to have his students fire test rounds. He borrowed an instrument used by firefighters to determine the temperature of a burning building and whether their ladders can withstand the heat.

“We knew that a state crime lab down in Virginia had fired 30 rounds and been unsuccessful,” Freeman said. “We fired over 1,000 rounds.”

They put the thermometer in a vat of ice water, measured the temperature, then fired a bullet. They took the expended cartridge and immediately placed it in the vat of water. They controlled for 38 variables. They measured the change and determined that the act of firing a bullet heated the cartridge to anywhere from 106 to 109 degrees, depending upon the number of shots you fired in succession.

They placed the cartridges in sterile containers and returned to their lab to seek a method to recover the DNA.

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And with Professor Ludvico’s help, they found one.

They submitted the resulting research paper to the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, which accepted. They presented at the academy’s annual meeting in Denver. ATF agents approached them after the presentation and said the bureau intended to publish the work.

“Why don’t you try this with explosive devices?” one of them asked.

So Freeman’s class now is in a joint venture with the city’s bomb squad, attempting to recover more DNA evidence where none existed before.

If they find a solution, they will, of course, share it with the U.S. military for use in Afghanistan and elsewhere. It would be Freeman’s first contribution to battling international terrorism. Not that he wanted it to be the first.

“I always wondered why they didn’t ask people like me and Dennis Logan for our advice on interrogating prisoners,” he said. “Cops are the people who do it for a living.”

Certain pairings of occupation and avocation are rarely found.

Prizefighters rarely are ballet aficionados.

Policemen are seldom accomplished

artists. Freeman is an exception.

Years before he retired as head of Major Crimes, in January 2001, Freeman began taking wood sculpting classes from Joseph Stachura.

“Stachura was an internationally admired artist,” said Pat Pristera, who was Freeman’s classmate until Stachura died.

Pristera, the proprietor of a hairstyling salon in Squirrel Hill, inherited the mantle of teacher and, along with it, Stachura’s studio, a carriage house in Edgewood.

“I wanted to share it with another artist who admired Stachura,” Pristera explained. So he and Freeman now work side by side, finding and liberating the beauty in branches and blocks of wood.

“You have to get the judges out of your mind to be an artist,” Pristera said. “Ron and I are helping each other with that.”

Freeman also does beadwork and combines it with semi-precious stones to make jewelry. But his crowning artistic achievement is a voluptuous, 18-inch-high statuette sculpted from South Carolina cedar and polished to a gleaming finish to accentuate the wood’s natural beauty. It is named for his sweetheart and muse, Evelyn Levine, a retired North Hills High School teacher. He calls it Evie Revealed.

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Finally, a Rashomon tale that begins over lunch with Kim Stanley, a good friend of mine who happens to be a Pittsburgh policewoman.

“What are you up to these days?” she inquired. I told her about this story.

With a wry smile, she said, “The most embarrassing moment of my career involved Ron Freeman.”

She was working alone, driving a cruiser near the border of Squirrel Hill and Greenfield. “Dispatch asked me to check the well-being of an elderly woman who lived close by. Neighbors were worried. They hadn’t seen her in more than a day.”

Another officer replied by radio. “I know her,” he said. “She was the target of a home invasion a few years ago. She testified, and the guy was convicted and sent away. He threatened to get even when he got out. I’m in the area, and I’ll back you up, just in case.”

They arrived almost simultaneously.

They knocked, then tried the front and back doors. Both were locked. They asked the dispatcher whether the bosses wanted them to force their way inside.

“Under the circumstances,” they were told, “Yes.” They argued about who would enter and open the front door for the other.

“You’re primary,” he said. “I’m just the backup.”

“You’re the guy,” she replied. “I’m just a girl, and just in case she’s in there dead, I’m not going in first. I don’t do death.”

They settled the matter by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. He lost and made his way in through a window. When he opened the door, he said, “This is not good.” She smelled a foul, almost overpowering stench.

A chair and end table were overturned. Dishes, a cup and silverware lay where they had fallen.

“There’s a stain on the carpet,” he said. “It might be blood.”

No sign of the possible victim. They debated who would enter the bedroom first. Rock, Paper, Scissors again. Again she won.

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>> Mon. – Fri.

7am – 10am Bloomberg Surveillance 10am – 11am Money Matters with Gary Goldberg 11am – Noon The David Magee Show Noon – 2pm The Ray Lucia Show 2pm – 6pm Pittsburgh Business Radio with Ron Morris 6pm – 7pm Bloomberg On The Economy 7pm – 10pm The Lou Dobbs Show

He walked to the back of the house and pushed open the bedroom door, already ajar. He groaned and said again, “This isn’t good.” There on the carpet, motionless, lay the home’s occupant.

Naked. They checked for signs of life but couldn’t find any. They called it in.

“Back out of there right now,” they were instructed. “We’re treating it as a possible crime scene. Don’t touch anything. Commander Freeman lives very close by. Stand by; he’ll be there shortly.”

“Excellent,” Stanley said to herself.

“Three years on the job and I’m getting to work a case with the legendary Ron Freeman.”

He showed up in moments and began to examine the body. He grasped a shoulder and turned her slightly to look for a wound, since none was visible. Then the “corpse” shrieked, “What are you doing to me?”

“His hair stood on end,” Stanley recalled.

Freeman remembered the incident.

“You mean Irene (not her real name),” he said.

She had suffered a sudden, violent attack of gastritis, while eating dinner in the parlor, which accounted for the stench, the stain and the debris strewn on the floor. She had raced for the bathroom and almost made it in time, but not quite. She was naked because she had torn off her nightgown and tossed it into the toilet before she collapsed on the bedroom floor.

“Officer Stanley should not be embarrassed,” Freeman said. “I thought she was dead, too, and I’d seen a lot more corpses than she had. But I’ll tell you something she didn’t tell you because she doesn’t know: “When Irene cried out, I told her who I was and said, “You’re going to be OK now. I’m going to get a blanket and cover you up, all right?’ ” Irene, who was well into her eighties, raised a bony hand and tugged him closer.

“Not just yet,” she whispered. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been naked in this room with a man.” pq

Bruce Keidan is the former sports editor and columnist of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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Marcellus Shale continued from page 118

to reduce the salts in recycled water and to beef up its pumps and other equipment so that when the water is reused, it doesn’t cause lasting damage to the equipment.

As promising as those developments are, and as welcome as the 37 new DEP inspectors might be, they’re hardly enough to monitor adequately the thousands of wells that will likely be drilled as the development of the Marcellus continues to expand, critics say.

There are other issues as well. The development of the gas field already has brought money to the region, and a lot of it—in southwestern Pennsylvania, Range recently announced that one of its new horizontal wells had an initial production rate of more than 25 million cubic feet a day, turning at least five once-poor farmers into millionaires. But the economic benefits to the state at large have not yet been as spectacular as many had hoped. While places such as Washington County have been bearing the brunt of the development, dealing with the traffic and the potential risks of drilling, most of the people who live there have not yet experienced a significant boost from the wealth that it has generated.

That may change as more and more gas flows out of the state and more and more money flows into it, Hanger said. But for now, there remains a great disparity between the promise and the reality.

And there is the vexing question of trust. All but the most ardent opponents of natural gas drilling believe there is, at least in theory, a way to develop the Marcellus to protect the environment and also the economic well-being of the places where it lies.

But this is Pennsylvania. The state’s history is rife with examples of cases where the energy industries of the past have used the land, taken the resources that lay beneath it, and left in their wake a scarred environment. In many cases, those industries, if they weren’t cheered on by the state, were at least largely left alone. The legacy of that neglect is part of the collective memory in Pennsylvania.

Hanger acknowledges that and goes one step further. In the wake of last year’s banking disasters, scandals and fraud that the government failed to recognize, Hanger says, people are wondering why they should

trust business or the government agencies that are supposed to monitor them.

“I think that’s a fair question given the horrendous fraud and… malfeasance that we’ve seen recently on Wall Street and elsewhere,” he said. “These are times that have made people question generally… and I don’t think that reaction is without… a basis in the real world.”

Hanger contends that Pennsylvania has both the will and the resources to make sure that the Marcellus is developed so that it unlocks its potential riches in a way that will benefit not just the state, but the nation.

And the resources that the state has, he says, go far beyond a few dozen new DEP inspectors. “There’s a lot of eyes and ears out there,” he told me. “There are too many people out there who have a… motivation for blowing the whistle.”

In other words, in a nation that has no comprehensive national energy policy and a state that must draw the cash it needs to regulate the gas industry from that very industry, the ultimate responsibility for making sure that the Marcellus Play fulfills its promise falls squarely on the shoulders of the people of Washington County and anywhere else the rigs appear. pq

Seamus McGraw is a freelance writer whose family’s farm is in the middle of the Marcellus play. His yet untitled book on the Marcellus is due out in 2010 from Random House.

Coal continued from page 125

In Texas, University of Pittsburgh geophysicist Bill Harbert, NETL scientists and others are exploiting one of the few large reservoirs of underground CO2 in the world to see if they can calibrate imaging technology widely used in oil and gas exploration to accurately detect and define CO2 concentrations nestled 1.3 miles below the earth’s surface.

Plates underneath heavy trucks vibrate on the surface of the SACROC oil field, sending ultrasonic waves down to 93 million tons of CO2 that had been injected over decades to free oil from cavities that otherwise would not have been tapped. Scientists listen to the reflected waves, process the data and construct images of the supercritical CO2, whose properties lie somewhere between those of a gas and those of a fluid.

“Every single drop of oil and every cubic foot or meter of gas we have was discovered with this sort of technology,” says Harbert. “In that respect, these technologies are very mature. But the focus has been completely on determining the presence of oil and gas because there’s been a tremendous financial incentive to do so. There’s been no economic incentive to look at CO2 and, in that respect, the technology is not very mature.”

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So far, their experiments have proved successful. But more work is necessary to make sure the images are accurate, including comparing their data with a large CO2 deposit beneath the North Sea that others have defined using a different imaging technique.

For the moment, though, the carbon capture and sequestration experiment drawing the most attention is the one just getting under way in New Haven, W.Va., a town along a stretch of the Ohio River that’s thick with power plants known as “megawatt valley.” There, the technology’s biggest commercial test to date is taking place at the 1,300 megawatt Mountaineer power plant, one of 25 coal-fired plants owned by American Electric Power, the nation’s largest electricity producer.

A little less than 2 percent of Mountaineer’s flue gas is being diverted to a small chemical plant where a “chilled ammonia” process drives off the CO2, which is then compressed to a supercritical state and pumped into sandstone almost a mile and a half under the ground. Scientists will study the process over several years to assess the technological and economic feasibility of retrofitting an entire commercial power plant with the new technology.

“We’ve allowed ourselves operational flexibility to tune different parameters, temperatures, pressures and other things so we can determine the most economical conditions for running the system,” says Gary Spitznogle, the company’s manager of coal gasification and CO2 capture engineering.

“It’s more expensive to build it that way, but it’s a necessary step in development.”

One costly problem is the technology’s voracious appetite for electricity. Estimates suggest that older coal-fired power plants might find conventional carbon capture and sequestration systems consuming as much as 40 percent of the electricity they produce.

American Electric Power is hoping Mountaineer’s chilled ammonia approach, which uses less energy than conventional carbon-capture methods, and other efficiencies will lower the technology’s energy demand to less than 20 percent of the electricity the plant makes.

And for all of the technical issues the experiment may help clarify, it’s the outcomes related to cost that, says NETL’s Sarkus, “has a lot of us in the research com-

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munity crossing our fingers and holding our breath.” pq

Jeffery Fraser is a Pittsburgh-based freeelance writer and former newspaper journalist.

WASP continued from page 133

for its technological and military superiority. Big Three faculties had long pushed for higher meritocratic-based admission standards, and the Soviet threat placed the issue front and center. The noted Russian chemist, George Kistiakowsky, a key member of Robert Oppenheimer’s inner circle at Los Alamos, led the charge. He called for rigorous screening of the top 1 percent of high school seniors by means of SAT scores—no manly Christian character, no athletes, no interviews—just raw brain power. This was neither practicable nor desirable, but it spurred the young dean of the Harvard faculty, Boston Brahmin McGeorge Bundy (Groton and Yale), into action.

Mac Bundy appointed a Special Committee on College Admissions Policies, chaired by rising young historian Franklin L. Ford. The committee comprised an all-star faculty roster with just two representatives from the administration. A central issue was the yawning gap in academic performance between public and private schools. Academic rankings of the 79 schools that provided four or more students told the story. Of the top 30 performers, not one was a private school. St. Grottlesex did not cover itself with distinction as St. Mark’s, St. Paul’s and Middlesex ranked 63rd, 65th and 76th respectively. Public schools produced the majority of the summas and magnas while private schools led with flunk-outs and dropouts.

Fortunately, the thrust of the commission was tempered by a question from the noted historian and Rhodes Scholar, Crane Brinton: “Do we want École Normale Supérieure, a ‘cerebral school’ aimed solely at preparing students for the academic profession?” Harvard’s answer, albeit in muted tones, was a decisive no. But when the committee issued its landmark final

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report on April 11, 1960, the balance between manly character and academic excellence had shifted decisively in favor of academic excellence.

high noon at yale While James B. Conant provided the philosophical underpinnings for meritocracy in higher education and for society as a whole, it was Kingman Brewster and Inslee Clark who made it a reality during a tempestuous five years from 1965–1970. In 1963, Brewster became Yale’s 18th president. He was a direct descendent of Elder William Brewster, the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1620. He was not a scholar in the Conant mold, but had been a commanding presence in the Yale class of 1941.

He was the chairman of the board of the Yale Daily News and did the unthinkable by turning down an invitation to Skull & Bones. The ’60s were a decade of tumultuous change; Brewster did more than ride out the storm, he paddled the boat.

In 1965, he took a huge and hugely successful gamble on 29-year-old R. Inslee (Inky) Clark Jr., whom he named as Yale’s director of admissions. While the product of the public schools (Garden City High School on Long Island), Clark had a notable four years at Yale. He was a varsity golfer, president of his fraternity and the Interfraternity Council, editor-in-chief of the yearbook and, not least, a Bonesman.

His blood ran deep blue; he was an insider, but he had an outsider’s perspective.

In a tradition-bound academic environment, Clark moved at warp speed. He inherited a staff of 11, all Yale men inclined to replicate themselves in the freshman class. He replaced nearly all with non-Yale public school graduates including a firstever black admissions officer. He instituted recommendations of the dormant 1962 Doob Report calling for intellectually brilliant candidates “…to be sought out and admitted without regard for any other criteria save those indicative of emotional maturity and good character…Yale is first and foremost an intellectual enterprise.” He eliminated from the interview checklist any reference to physical characteristics. While two years earlier, Yale had begun need-blind admissions, references to family finances

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were still in the candidates folder. He removed them.

Clark inherited a private school rating system, ABC: A (admission virtually guaranteed), B (still in the running), C (rejection virtually guaranteed). These ratings had been developed in two- and three-day visits to key feeder schools in conversation with the headmaster. It allowed for early acceptance that in part short-circuited the testing process. Clark killed it. He described his mission as “talent searching.”

His goal was to find “the most promising secondary school graduates in the country.”

Clark made no attempt to sugarcoat his broadside at the boarding schools. When asked by a student during a visit to Andover what Yale thought about the bottom quarter of the class, Clark pulled no punches, “Yale can do a lot better than the bottom quarter at Andover. We’re looking for the top kids at Andover. If you haven’t performed well at Andover, what makes you think you can perform well at Yale?”

The early results were dramatic. As recently as 1960, private school admissions had been 56 percent—down from 66 percent in 1950; in 1967, they were 39 percent.

Legacies fell from 16 percent to 11 percent.

Jewish enrollment skyrocketed from 11 percent in 1961 to 30 percent in 1966. In 1958, Yale admitted two blacks, and in 1966, 35.

And as the culmination of Clark’s five-year

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tenure in 1969, Yale became co-educational.

Naturally there was pushback. Publicly, the loudest voice was that of political commentator William F. Buckley Jr. (’50). As part of his quixotic, insurgent campaign for a seat on the Yale Corporation, he wrote in an Atlantic Monthly article: “It is true that a Mexican-American from El Paso High School with identical success on the achievement tests and identical ardent recommendations from their headmasters had a better chance of being admitted to Yale than Jonathan Edwards XVI from St. Paul’s school.” With this artful construct Buckley dinged a trinity of alumni grievances: public schools, racial and ethnic minorities and declining alumni influence.

Clark was called before the Yale Corporation board, where a prominent banker was more blunt: “You’re talking about Jews and public school graduates as leaders, look around… these are American leaders. There are no Jews here, there are no public school graduates here.”

If this banker returned for a corporation meeting today, he would find a much different cast of characters. But even then he had lost the battle, as the meritocratic horse was out of the gate and running hard.

Inky Clark adopted a Wayne Gretzky approach to admissions, skating not where the leadership puck was, but to where it would be.

The WASP Ascendancy was not only giving way to the meritocracy at the Big Three, but also at their private school power base. To protect their positions as purveyors of high-quality students to the Big Three, these schools sought out the talented, through increased financial aid and the admission of women, blacks, increased numbers of Jews and other nationalities.

The Big Three admissions policies throughout the 20th century provide a convenient keyhole from which to observe fundamental societal changes. But at a deeper level, they reflect the grinding tectonic plates of economic and technological change. The last 300 years have seen the economic base of society move from land to capital to knowledge—all at increased speed. The landed aristocracy or a WASP Ascendancy requires a stable hierarchy and moderate change. Our modern social structure must be flexible and informal to accommodate accelerating rates of change.

Today our leaders live not in a castle or a mansion but in a vehicle.

At the height of its power before and after World War II, the WASP Ascendancy provided this country with extraordinary leadership. It was the capstone of what journalist Tom Brokaw called “the greatest generation.” To men such as Dean Acheson, Chip Bohlen, Douglas Dillon, James Forrestal, Averell Harriman, George F. Kennan, Frank Knox, Bob Lovett, John McCloy, Henry L. Stinson, Sumner Wells, John G. Winant, and, not least, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the country owes a great debt of gratitude.

The WASP Ascendancy is now gone. It was not overthrown in a revolution—no rush to the barricades—no walk to the Finland station. The bright, proud plumage of the Ascendancy was simply bleached out by the infiltration of the meritocracy. It died a quiet and almost unnoticed death.

The writer wishes to acknowledge Jerome Karabel’s book, “The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton” in the research of this report. pq William S. Dietrich II is a trustee and chief investment officer of the Dietrich Charitable Trusts.

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the last chapter J. Wray Connolly, 75

Dr. Carl Marnatti 73

Connolly played a pivotal role in the transition that brought Chancellor Mark Nordenberg to the helm of the University of Pittsburgh.

Connolly spent his career at the H.J. Heinz Co., where, among other things, he was credited for the pioneering transition of putting Heinz Ketchup in a plastic bottle. It was at Pitt, however, that Connolly made a decisive impact during his six years as chairman of the board. After then-Chancellor J. Dennis O’Connor resigned, Pitt was embroiled in controversy and in disarray. Connolly was instrumental in elevating Nordenberg to chancellor, a move that has spurred dramatic and widespread success at the university.

Dr. Marnatti was the former chief of family medicine at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital.

The son of a coal miner from Jefferson County, Dr. Marnatti was a family doctor for 40 years, known for his empathy and willingness to treat patients even when they could not pay.

James Zona, 55 Zona imagined creating a product that would allow people to “walk on water.” The company he founded, Pittsburgh Plastics Manufacturing, has become a global leader in gel sole shoe inserts.

Lincoln Maazel, 106

Sandy Staley, 69

Maazel was a talented actor and singer who became devoted to the musical education of his only child, Lorin Maazel, who eventually became conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The son of Russian immigrants, Maazel’s father was a concert master with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and he grew up around the stage. Named after Abraham Lincoln, Maazel joined the Navy at the age of 15 but was later discharged for being under age. He became a vaudevillian and later acted in films in Los Angeles. Maazel came to Pittsburgh in the late 1930s so his virtuoso son could continue working with his conducting teacher who had moved to Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, the elder Maazel continued his acting, including a role in George Romero’s “Martin.”

She was one of the region’s best and best-known jazz singers. A native of Brackenridge, Staley started singing in her father’s jazz band at four years old. Her performances both at the piano and the microphone were full of personality and warmth, and she was a master at drawing a wide range of emotion from her audience.

Clyde Hare, 82 A native of Bloomington, Ind., Hare came to Pittsburgh to work with the famous Roy Stryker on the landmark Pittsburgh Photographic Library Project, documenting Pittsburgh’s first Renaissance in the early 1950s. His iconic work led to a 50-year career in the region, with his realistic images of steelworkers and other Pittsburgh staples appearing in national magazines and galleries in Pittsburgh and across the country. Hare taught at Carnegie Mellon University from 1968 until 1981 and in 1994 published a book entitled, “Clyde Hare’s Pittsburgh.”

Jack Gordon, 97 In 1952, he opened Gordon’s Fine Furniture, and the business grew to become a successful local chain.

Gordon was also a strong supporter of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama and was chairman of the Holocaust Center of Greater Pittsburgh, starting a project to collect oral histories from concentration camp survivors and their liberators.

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— place —

Laurel Hill Creek by t h o m a s d . s a u n d e r s photograph by pa u l g w i e g m a n

I

n Somerset County, the cold, clear

waters of Laurel Hill Creek run through forests and farmland, state parks and backyards, joining the Casselman River and, just downstream, the Youghiogheny.

This picturesque Laurel Highlands stream sustains native trout populations, the rare eastern hellbender salamander, and a way of life. Laurel Hill Creek draws locals and tourists alike to fish, swim and kayak, or to hike or relax along its banks.

It’s also the source of drinking water for thousands of area residents.

The stream has managed to escape the legacy of abandoned mine drainage that scarred so many regional rivers and streams, but today, the waterway faces new, serious threats. Excessive water withdrawals are depleting the stream at an alarming pace, causing it to be ranked No. 7 on the list of “America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2009” by the conservation organization American Rivers.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is working to protect Laurel Hill Creek. In 2008, we conserved 2,300 acres along its banks, forming Laurel Hill Creek Forest. Now a permanent addition to Forbes State Forest, this land will remain natural and undisturbed—contributing to the watershed’s health and enabling the creek to renew itself.

We plan to conserve more land along Laurel Hill Creek and within the broader Laurel Highlands region, where the Conservancy has protected 78,000 acres. This biologically diverse landscape is close to Pittsburgh, sought after for recreation, and appreciated for its vistas and, in places, its near-wilderness qualities. It is one of the many exceptional places in our region that we’ll visit in the future through this column, which we hope will inspire you to take an actual trek or two into the glorious outdoors of Western Pennsylvania. pq

Thomas D. Saunders is president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the region’s exceptional places. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.

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