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No Strikes for Mr. Donner — The Homestead Strike
William Donner, the founder of Donora, never liked unions. He was a businessman seeking ever-increasing profits, and unions tended to cut into them. Donner had grown into his wealth during a time of…
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Blasts (Furnaces) From the Past
Who was Opechancanough, and what did he have to do with blast furnaces in Donora?
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Founder of Donora Biked ‘High’
Who was Prince Wells, and how did he get the great William Donner so blinkin’ high? William Henry Donner, founder of Donora, was an astute, no-nonsense businessman. He became business partners with some of the wealthiest men in history, including Henry Clay Frick and the Mellon brothers, Andrew and Thomas, owners of US Steel. He…
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The Carnegie-Donora Connection, Part 2: Donner Vertically Integrates Donora Mills
The second part of two posts linking Donora’s founder with the industrial titan Andrew Carnegie.
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The Carnegie-Donora Connection, Part 1: Frick Shows Carnegie Value of Vertical Integration
William Henry Donner, founder of Donora, was never a titan in the mold of Rockefeller, Carnegie, or the Mellon brothers were, but he learned a great deal from them all. Including how to build his mills in Donora.
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Should Chadwick Boseman Have Worked During His Cancer Treatment?
Could he have survived if he hadn’t worked so hard?
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I’m Not Dead Yet!
Once a great while it happens that death can fool even experienced healthcare professionals. It did me, certainly.
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The Pain of Dying Alone
One of the saddest days of my nursing career happened when I made shift rounds and found that an elderly patient was in the throes of death, alone. I didn’t know him, but I stayed with him until his final breath. No one should have to die alone. But with COVID-19, they are and will…
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Writing in the Time of Coronavirus
My writing life hasn’t changed while I’m in social isolation, but my mind sure has.
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Was There a 21st Victim of the Donora Death Fog?
I thought I had determined the final count of victims from the Donora Death Fog. I was wrong.
