McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center

06/03/2026

Consider doing your genealogical research at the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center. Our Gail Waite research library offers access to ancestry.com, newspapers.com, fold3 military records as well as 131 years of the McKeesport Daily News on microfilm. Your genealogical research awaits you.

06/03/2026

Hope to see you at the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.

Experience Kits are back for another year!

05/31/2026

Friday, May 29, was the Heritage Golf Classic for the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center. What a great time! Thank you to all of our sponsors, golfers, volunteers and board members who made the event seemless. We lucked out with beautiful weather and better attendance than originally anticipated. The event was not only great fun, but a huge success. Our winning team was Representative Dan Goughnour, Kenny Prokop, Matt Keller and Connor Shields. The trophy celebrating their victory will be displayed this year in Representative Goughnour’s office and will be passed on to next year’s winner. Longest drive winner was Adam Galaski and the longest putt was Alex Sutor. Thank you to Pribanic & Pribanic for your Gold Level Event Sponsorship, and thank you to Butler’s Golf Course for such great accommodations, we appreciate your team!

05/30/2026

Do you love local history, genealogy, or unique collectibles? Join us on June 3 at 6:00 PM for a special presentation, "Women Who Made a Difference," featuring a fascinating collection of historical dolls and the stories behind the remarkable women they represent.

Local genealogist and educator Amy Smart, an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, will share these inspiring stories and the history that connects them to our past.

📍 McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center
1832 Arboretum Drive, McKeesport, PA 15132

Admission is free for members and children under 8. Non-member admission is $5.

Bring a friend and spend an evening exploring history in a unique and memorable way. We hope to see you there!

For more information, call 412-678-1832.

05/29/2026

⛳️ A Wonderful Day on the Course for a Great Cause! ⛳️

The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center extends its sincere thanks to everyone who helped make today’s Heritage Center Classic Golf Outing such a tremendous success.

We are grateful to our golfers, volunteers, tee sponsors, event sponsors, and supporters whose generosity and participation made this beautiful day possible. Your contributions directly support our mission to preserve, protect, and share the rich history of McKeesport and its surrounding communities for future generations.

A special thank you to our Event Sponsor, Pribanic & Pribanic of White Oak, for their outstanding support of this year’s outing.

We would also like to recognize our Silver Sponsors:
🏌️ The Honorable Jim Brewster
🏌️ Penn State Greater Allegheny
🏌️ Charles Schwab
🏌️ Noretta Willig, in honor of the Willig Family
🏌️ River Materials, Inc.

Thank you as well to our valued Tee Sponsors:
• Strifflers Family Funeral Homes & Crematory
• White Oak Rotary Club
• The Lamp Theatre
• McKeesport Area Education Association
• Barrier Protection Systems
• TKO Gyros & Fries
• Wilson Baum Insurance Agency
• Jaycox-Jaworski Funeral Home & Crematory
• Tube City Beer on Walnut Street in McKeesport

We were blessed with beautiful weather, great fellowship, plenty of laughter, and a shared commitment to preserving our region’s history. It was a day filled with fun and community spirit, all in support of a cause that matters.

📸 Stay tuned—photos from today’s outing will be posted soon!

As you look through our event program and follow our future posts, we encourage you to support the businesses, organizations, and individuals who so generously support the Heritage Center. Their commitment helps ensure that the stories, people, and places that shaped our communities will continue to be remembered and celebrated.

Thank you again to everyone who made today such a memorable success! ⛳️🏆📚❤️

05/26/2026

Come see our wedding dress exhibit at the McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center. See what brides of yesteryear selected for that very special wedding occasion day. All at YOUR Mon Valley Museum.

05/25/2026

Today, we pause in remembrance of the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our nation. Memorial Day is more than the unofficial beginning of summer — it is a sacred day of reflection for those who never made it home.

At the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center, we especially remember the sons and daughters of McKeesport and the surrounding Mon Valley communities who answered the call of duty and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Their names, stories, and legacies remain forever woven into the history of our city and our nation.

We also stand in gratitude and remembrance for every fallen service member across this country — from every town, every state, and every generation — who gave their lives so that others could live in freedom.

Freedom is not free. It has always come at a very heavy price.

Today, may we honor their sacrifice not only with words, but with remembrance, gratitude, and a renewed commitment to never forget those who gave everything for this nation.

🇺🇸 We remember them. Always. 🇺🇸

05/23/2026

Yesterday, we were honored to gather with friends, family, supporters, and members of the community for the dedication and unveiling of the Gail Waite Research Library at the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.
For more than 30 years, Gail Waite served as the welcoming heart of the Heritage Center. Her kindness, knowledge, and dedication touched countless lives, helping visitors uncover family stories, connect with local history, and always feel at home within our walls. It was a truly meaningful day as we officially dedicated our research library in her memory and honor.
Guests were welcomed with heartfelt remarks from Executive Director Tim Kunes, former Director Michelle Wardle-Eggers, and Gail’s daughter, Nicole Hanna, who each shared touching memories of Gail’s lasting impact on the Heritage Center and the community she loved so dearly. A wonderful crowd attended the ceremony and shared in the special unveiling of the Gail Waite Research Library.
We are also deeply grateful to the generous donors whose support helped make this project possible while also providing new computers and expanded research resources for our visitors and members. Special thanks to Temple B’nai Israel, Donald L. Green in memory of his brother Dale W. Green, and James and Melissa Klein of the McKeesport Altrusa Club for their generosity and commitment to preserving local history.
Gail’s legacy will continue to live on through every story discovered, every family connection made, and every visitor welcomed into the Gail Waite Research Library for generations to come. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this very special dedication.
Gail’s daughter’s daughters, Nicole Hanna and Heather Waite Smith are pictured with other family members Eric Hanna, Savannah Smith and Tim Hanna. We hope our community will visit the newly dedicated Gail Waite Research Library.

05/19/2026

Today, our community came together in solemn remembrance and deep gratitude as we honored the lives of the McKeesport 23 — twenty-three young men from our city who gave everything in service to our nation during the Vietnam War. This meaningful tribute was a combined effort between the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center and the McKeesport Area High School Class of 2026, working together to ensure that the memory and sacrifice of these brave men continue to live on for future generations.

We proudly remember:

1st Lt. Richard Michael Arnovitz
PFC James Francis Brooks, Jr.
PFC Tyrone Gregory Burse
1st Sgt. Donald Robert Donaldson
SPC4 Vincent Edward Galka
SPC4 Curtis Taylor Gay
SPC4 John Alan Germek
GYSGT Raymond Gibel
PFC Louis Howard Huff II
PFC Norman Wallace Johnson
PFC Kenneth Gordon Kline
SPC4 James Robert Long
CPT Terry Jack Martell
PO2 Patrick Robert McNelis
SSGT David Lloyd George Moser
PFC Michael Joseph Nemchick
PFC Michael Dennis Pliska
MAJ Jack Claire Plumb
LCPL Gregory Francis Popowitz
PFC Tibor Sotak
LCPL Thomas James Sweeney
PFC James Edward West
SSGT Thomas John Winklevoss

These men were sons, brothers, classmates, neighbors, and friends. Though decades have passed, their courage and sacrifice still echo throughout our city and throughout the Mon Valley. Their names remain etched not only on memorials, but in the hearts of a grateful community. They are fallen, but never forgotten.

The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center extends heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s Memorial Roll Call such a moving and meaningful tribute.

Thank you to the McKeesport Area High School Senior Class and their advisors, Brian and Stacey Tharp, for their continued commitment to honoring the McKeesport 23 and helping carry this tradition of remembrance forward.

We are deeply grateful to the MAHS AFJROTC students, under the direction of retired Master Sergeant Jason DeFelice, for their dignified presentation of the colors:
C/Lt Col Jordan Golden
C/A1C Orlando Stanford
C/Capt Rayonna Gatley
C/Capt Jason Moore-Gray

Thank you to the MAHS Senior A Ca****la Choir students, under the direction of Beth Eger, for their beautiful and heartfelt musical selections:
Alexander Paulus
Lucas Sotereanos
Antoine Smith
Michael Pfeffercorn
JJ Wunderley

A special thank you to Bowie Koisor for the moving performance of Taps, which brought a moment of reflection and reverence to all in attendance.

We also thank Ryenn Thomas, President of the MAHS Class of 2026, for the respectful reading of the Memorial Roll Call, along with Class Officers:
Elani Wanzo
Cimone Scruggs
Madison Martino
Bailey Mellon

Together, they respectfully placed 23 flags at the McKeesport 23 Memorial beneath the Heritage Center’s flagpole — a powerful tribute symbolizing each life lost and each sacrifice made.

We would also like to extend special recognition and gratitude to Jay West, brother of McKeesport 23 serviceman James Edward West. Jay honorably laid a wreath at the McKeesport 23 Memorial on behalf of the families of the fallen. His presence served as a moving reminder that while the war may have ended long ago, the love, loss, and sacrifice carried by these families never truly fades.

Most importantly, thank you to every family member, veteran, student, teacher, musician, volunteer, and community member who attended and stood in reverence during this ceremony. Your presence ensured these young men were remembered with the honor, dignity, and respect they so deeply deserve.

McKeesport remembers.