WNED
invites Western New Yorkers to share memories and memorabilia related to the
area’s once thriving steel industry for an upcoming WNED-TV local documentary,
Voices of Steel.
The
goal is to document steelworkers’ reflections about the experience of working
in the mills as well as their way of life. Taking a broad perspective, the
documentary also will explore the powerful impact of the steel industry and its
demise on employees, families and neighborhoods.
“If you
were a steelworker or know someone who was, we would like to find out more
about your experiences,” says John Grant, WNED’s Chief Program and Production Officer. “We are
seeking personal stories, including memories of steelworkers’ families,
neighborhood life and plant closings.”
WNED
also is looking for photographs and home movies of the actual steel plants, or
of families, activities and neighborhoods in the Lackawanna/Buffalo area during
the steel-making era and its aftermath.
Those
interested should send information about what they are willing to contribute
(for example, personal stories, photos, video) to voicesofsteel@yahoo.com. A representative of WNED’s Production
Department will follow up.
Image: Library and Archives Division, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Hot Mill worker and buddy, by Erwin Ronski, ca. 1917. Caption on the back of the photograph reads, “l-r: Stanley Tanski, Stanley C. Ankowski. Ankowski started at J abnd L in 1915 as rougher and was a roller on #26 Mill from 1924 to 1939.”