People Archives - Page 8 of 21 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Jaffe, Ali, Hall, Sabundayo, Chakraborty, Rothenberger Read More »

Susan Jaffe is Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s new artistic director, succeeding Terrence Orr. Jaffe was an American Ballet Theatre principal for 22 years, hailed by The New York Times as “America’s quintessential American ballerina.” She has also performed internationally with The Royal Ballet, The Kirov Ballet and others. One of the highlights of her career was …

When Mother Came to Pittsburgh Read More »

When Mother Came to Pittsburgh

by Jim Roddey

In late 2001, I visited mother in Texas. She was 98 and living alone in the same condominium overlooking Corpus Christi Bay where she had been for 45 years. My stepfather and almost all her friends were gone, and I was there to persuade her to come to Pittsburgh. She had lost most of her …

Ken Gormley: Lawyer, Teacher and Author Read More »

Ken Gormley: Lawyer, Teacher and Author

by Jeff Sewald

I was the first person in my family to be born in Pittsburgh. My brothers and sisters have always said that this accounts for my “irrational” loyalty to the city. My dad grew up on a farm in Kentucky and was the odd person in his family—the one who left home to get a Ph.D. …

Vision and Action: A Remembrance of Paul O’Neill Read More »

Vision and Action: A Remembrance of Paul O’Neill

by Douglas Heuck

I first met Paul O’Neill 23 years ago. I was running a project at the Post-Gazette called PG Benchmarks, which compared Pittsburgh to regions across the country with the goal of elevating Pittsburgh’s moribund trajectory. Aside from publishing statistics and stories, we held periodic roundtable discussions, the first of which was on the economy. I …

The Neighbors

The Neighbors Read More »

The cookies had come out of the oven earlier in the week. Delicious and gooey and way too tempting. Free range brown eggs, Amish butter flavored with sea salt, and semi-sweet chocolate chips that had tumbled out of a shimmering gold bag from Ghirardelli, the same chocolate chips that had been pillaged from the shelves …

Happy Hour

The boxed wine seemed like a good idea. So did the cheese—smoked Gouda and Wisconsin cheddar that came in thick blocks and occupied all the real estate on a fancy cracker dusted with sea salt. So the place mats were arranged on the weathered picnic table that in another lifetime was painted a deep, forest …

Happy Hour Read More »

Just Askin’… Sabrina Saunders Mosby

Just Askin’… Sabrina Saunders Mosby Read More »

Q: What’s the most interesting thing about your job? A: My work involves a personal commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the region’s workforce. It means working with companies beyond just checking boxes and making statements about diversity. One of the most interesting aspects of my job is being able to move from …

To Thine Own Shelf Be True…

To Thine Own Shelf Be True… Read More »

The toilet paper was all gone. An entire aisle. Gone. No Charmin or Scott or Cottonelle. No double rolls or extra soft. Not even a box of Kleenex or paper napkins, either. Nothing but a sign. WE ARE LIMITING TOILET PAPER TO TWO PER CUSTOMER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. “As soon as we get …

Arrivals

Knapp, Kelly, Lamar, Golenor, Cornetti, Flisram, Martorella

Knapp, Kelly, Lamar, Golenor, Cornetti, Flisram, Martorella Read More »

Steven Knapp is the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh‘s 11th president. Knapp is president emeritus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where most recently he was a professor of English. Prior to joining GW, he served for 11 years as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. During …

A Walk in the Park

A Walk in the Park Read More »

The lake is stocked with trout. Rainbow trout and golden trout. Scales that manage to shimmer even on an overcast day, when the sun is trying but the clouds are winning. When fishing lines are being cast into water the color of army fatigues, creating a whisper of a ripple with the cast of each …

The Audition

“Are you getting too thin?” the agent asks from a small, windowless office, where beautiful faces hang, poster sized, all beaming, pouting, posing. “Too thin?” the model repeats, reaching for her Louis Vuitton tote. “Um, I don’t think so. But thank you! I tried on a bathing suit the other day. I was by myself …

The Audition Read More »

That’s How the Cookie Crumbles

That’s How the Cookie Crumbles Read More »

The wood fired oven sits in Dan Cardone’s perfectly manicured back yard in a residential development in the North Hills. A stately, towering thing made of brick, mortar, stone, and some marble that was going to be a headstone for a grave. “They spelled someone’s name wrong and couldn’t use it,” he says. He spent …

Obituaries

Nathanson, Cannon, Jansons, Hartford, Wolf, Armstrong, Siewers, Goodfriend

Nathanson, Cannon, Jansons, Hartford, Wolf, Armstrong, Siewers, Goodfriend Read More »

Harvey C. Nathanson, 83: Nathanson was chief scientist for Westinghouse Research Labs, pioneering numerous technologies including micro-electro mechanical (MEMS) devices. An electrical engineer, he had more than 50 patents and was honored with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Millennium Medal. Glenn Cannon, 72: Cannon was a dedicated and successful public servant, leading emergency …

Backstage

The guys are hanging out in the dressing room, the green room, the whatever room. Donnie Iris, Dave Granati, Ricky Granati, Hermie Granati and Joey Granati—five guys occupying subterranean quarters underneath The Strand Theater in Zelienople, 30 minutes before their gig is supposed to begin. The Granatis’ mom should have been here already but she’s …

Backstage Read More »

Jim Roddey, Business Executive and Community Leader Read More »

Jim Roddey, Business Executive and Community Leader

by Jeff Sewald

I was born in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1933, when the city was still pretty small, and lived with my parents in a little house at the foot of a mountain. My father was the comptroller for the city but, more importantly, he was a passionate ham radio operator, and a lover of electronics—and flying. …

It’s a Sip of Wine… It’s Summertime!

It’s a Sip of Wine… It’s Summertime! Read More »

Kenny Chesney is at Heinz Field. White cowboy hat. Sleeveless shirt. Jeans. Leader of the “No Shoes Nation” and wearing cowboy boots. Sweating. Singing. And totally irritating the hospital security guards. “I’d like to kick Kenny Chesney’s ass,” says one as he steps outside of the hospital and into the 76-degree night, a few steps …

Tim Smith, Pastor and Founder of Center of Life Read More »

Tim Smith, Pastor and Founder of Center of Life

by Jeff Sewald

My mother’s name was Emma Liaura Muskelly and my father’s name was Virlie—Virlie Joseph Smith. Mom was from Pittsburgh, one of nine children, and worked in many of the schools that my siblings and I attended, tutoring, doing teacher’s-aide stuff, and lunchroom work. Dad was from Virginia, a little place about 45 minutes from Roanoke …

They Call Him the Rapper…

They Call Him the Rapper… Read More »

Donnie Iris is sitting in what’s supposed to be his dressing room on the second floor of the Rivers Casino. Down the hall from the Grand View Buffet and a line of people waiting behind velvet ropes for the $14.99 crab legs. “This is my cousin Petey… and my other cousin Petey,” he says, pointing …

Arrivals

Barker, Jarzebowski, Henderson, Mustain, Breese, Interiano

Barker, Jarzebowski, Henderson, Mustain, Breese, Interiano Read More »

Elizabeth E. Barker is the executive director of The Frick Pittsburgh and the first woman to lead the institution. Her appointment begins in December. She comes to Pittsburgh from Belmont, Mass., where she was the director of the Boston Athenaeum, an independent library, exhibition center and cultural venue founded in 1807. There, she helped increase …

The Fight

“Tell me to be brave.” Jarrell “The Samurai” Brackett is in the basement of the Grand Hall of the Priory on Pressley Street in the North Side of Pittsburgh. Sparring. Pacing. Praying. He’s sporting a purple mohawk. Fu man chu mustache. A mouth guard is garbling his speech. He’s got lime green Title boxing gloves …

The Fight Read More »

The Delay