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The Donora Story an excerpt from the account of At present, Donora is a community of about 12,000 people. These people are typical of the robust industrialized communities of America in general but unusual in its heterogeneous grouping of nationalities and races. The Scotch, Irish, English, Slovak, Italian, Russian, Croatian, Assyrian, Spanish, Mexican, French, Polish, African Americans, Lithuanian, Scandinavian, German, Hungarian, Austrian and Jewish people give the town a manifold culture that has been swirled into one to make Donora “The Home of Champions.” The town itself is situated on a neck of land that slopes stiffly down to the Monongahela River. The wide river which collars Donora, almost makes an island of the community and then, reluctantly, winds its placid way northward to Pittsburgh. The little town of Donora, snuggled between the hills of Western Pennsylvania has reached national importance in two fields, industry and athletics. Its chief industries are the Donora American Steel and Wire Works and the Donora Zinc Works of the American Steel & Wire Company. Coal mining is also extensive in the area immediately surrounding the town itself. The Pennsylvania Railroad reaches a branch of rails through Donora, connecting it with Pittsburgh and the Donora Southern Railroad rolls the huge steel output to the rails of the nation. It is a steel town, a zinc town, and a town of healthy, cheerful, hospitable people. Donora has given Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals to an acclaiming nation of baseball fans and idol to the youth of the nation. Arnold “Pope” Galiffa, All-American quarterback at West Point in 1949 has thrilled the nation with his superlative generalship on the football field and his skill as a forward passer. “Pope” recently won national recognition again in Korea where he accomplished the unheard of feat of throwing a grenade accurately into a nest of Reds 75 yards away. And then, in 1945, Donora High School was rated as having the second best high school football team in the nation. CONTACT THE DONORA PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR DETAILS ON OBTAINING THE REMAINDER OF “THE DONORA STORY” BY J.P. CLARK THE SMOG INVERSION OF 1948
“Major federal clean air laws became a legacy of this environmental disaster that focused national attention on air pollution. In late October of 1948, a heavy fog blanketed this valley, and as the days passed, the fog became a thick, acrid smog that left about 20 people dead and thousands ill. Not until October 31, did the Donora Zinc Works shut down its furnaces--just hours before rain finally dispersed the smog.” Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Historical Markers
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