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The history of Squirrel Hill, Frick Park fire hydrants & the first Black and female City Councilors

Teenie Harris
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Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh: Heinz Family Fund
Mary Ellen Hodge and Paul F. Jones seated, with Harry Fitzgerald, Robert E. "Pappy" Williams, Thomas J. "Tommy" Smith, and K. Leroy Irvis standing, in auditorium of A. Leo Weil School, June 1958. Jones was the first African American city councilor.

Pittsburgh’s East End has some of the city’s largest parks, historic buildings and has long been home to trailblazers in city government. We’ll visit Squirrel Hill and answer some of your questions about the community’s past; we’ll hear the stories of two firsts in Pittsburgh City Council: Paul Jones, the first Black councilor, and Irma D’Ascenzo, the first female councilor; and we’ll walk through Frick Park, where old fire hydrants pop out of the woods.

(The Good Question! Podcast is sponsored by Eisler Landscapes, the CPA firm Sisterson and Company and Baum Boulevard Automotive.)

Katie Blackley is a digital editor/producer for 90.5 WESA and 91.3 WYEP, where she writes, edits and generates both web and on-air content for features and daily broadcast. She's the producer and host of our Good Question! series and podcast. She also covers history and the LGBTQ community. kblackley@wesa.fm