Founded in Pittsburgh in 2008, the nonprofit is dedicated to bringing veterans, family members, and the public together in what it calls \u201ccommunities of listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
By THOMAS LETURGEY
For the MVI<\/p>\n
This weekend\u2019s 21st annual All-Class Clairton High School reunion picnic will be more than just catching up with old friends \u2014 it will be a chance to honor and preserve the stories of our nation\u2019s heroes.<\/p>\n
During the reunion, there will be opportunities to interview veterans as part of the Veterans Breakfast Club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be conducting 30, 60-to-90-minute interviews to get people on camera,\u201d said Todd DePastino, executive director of the Veterans Breakfast Club. DePastino is quick to point out that he isn\u2019t a veteran, but a historian who has a great reverence for each veteran\u2019s service.<\/p>\n
The group was founded in 2008 and over that time they have had more than 1,000 sit-down interviews with veterans who have served in all branches of the military. \u201cIt\u2019s all about their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Veterans Breakfast Club is partnering with the Clairton Veterans History Project, the City of Clairton and the Clairton High School Alumni Association to collect and preserve these first-hand accounts from veterans stemming from World War II until today.<\/p>\n
DePastino said the effort frequently leads to veterans sharing experiences they\u2019ve never talked about before. \u201cIt happens all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a breath of wisdom.\u201d He says the revelations come because the military provides \u201ca different subculture\u201d that\u2019s \u201ctransferred through that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interviews will be conducted on two days: from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Friday during the Clairton History Event at the Clairton Municipal Building; and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday at Clairton Park in conjunction with the alumni reunion weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s of great value to listen to veterans,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still time to register at veteransbreakfastclub. org. There are also Zoom options available.<\/p>\n
DePastino says Western Pennsylvania has long been a stronghold for military service. He finds that it\u2019s generational. A grandfather is drafted and serves, a parent follows, and then current day members of the military often carry on those traditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an extraordinarily rich population,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd very patriotic.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes that the project will land about a dozen or so veteran interviews. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, what branch. We are interested in hearing their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that includes the newest and smallest branch of the military: Space Force. \u201cIt\u2019s an off shoot of the Air Force,\u201d said DePastino. He said they already have their own customs, anthem and pageantry. \u201cThey are a more cerebral type,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Alumni weekend<\/p>\n
The Alumni Weekend is now in its 21st year, said Co-Chair Mary Ann Walker. The event gets underway at 11 a.m. Saturday, and wraps up later in the afternoon, as attendees sometimes hang out until 4 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person before the event, $30 for Saturday<\/p>\n
walk-ups. The money goes for fundraising, lunch and entertainment, which is generally a live band (that usually features a local musician or singer).<\/p>\n
The event has been a highlight in Clairton for more than a quarter century. In 2000, Marjorie Henning Fairchild (Class of 1955) wrote some time ago that her class decided they wanted to get together more often than every five years, so a picnic was planned for the next year at Andrew Reilly Memorial Park. Unfortunately, Henning Fairchild couldn\u2019t attend because on the same day, legendary Pittsburgh Pirate Bill Mazeroski was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. As a long-time fan, she didn\u2019t miss it. However, the mission began there.<\/p>\n
Over the years, the group has tallied attendance and reviewed the caterers that provided food for registered people, as well as walk-up alumni. Lunch is served at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have less people than when we started,\u201d Walker said. As for much of Western Pennsylvania, Clairton\u2019s high school classes were much larger than now. \u201cAt the peak (2011) we had about 900 people attending the alumni weekend.\u201d There\u2019s a good mix of attendees, including those who arrive via walkers. \u201cIt is a struggle to get the younger generation\u201d involved, she continues. \u201cSome need a nudge to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
A week before the event, there are between 200-250 expected to come, as there were 250 last year and 300 the year before. Walker said last year she was one of about a dozen classmates who attended her graduating class, that had 265. It\u2019s still a unique event for Western Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Trish Brilhart Roberts started the Clairton history archives at the Clairton Municipal Building. According to their website, the historical group describes themselves as \u201ca group of local residents with a goal to conserve and promote the rich history of the City Of Clairton and its people. Our mission is to collect, preserve, and exhibit materials related to all aspects and periods of our city\u2019s history. The vision is to educate current and future generations and to foster a sense of pride and appreciation for our community\u2019s heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group is always in the process of seeking historical materials with a direct connection to Clairton. These materials can be photographs identifying localities, buildings, businesses, industry, events, and people. Objects include Clairtonbased souvenirs and memorabilia with Clairton featured prominently.<\/p>\n
Anyone with anything can email them at clairtonhistoryproject@ gmail.com.<\/p>\n
Organizers raise other funds through a 50\/50, \u201cShare the Wealth\u201d and basket raffles, and letters to Clairton businesses. They were also active at the Ninth Annual Salute to Veterans Concert this past weekend.<\/p>\n
For more information on the picnic, go to www.chsreunionpicnic. com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Founded in Pittsburgh in 2008, the nonprofit is dedicated to bringing veterans, family members, and the public together…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-278608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}