Rivers of Steel Heritage Foundation president outlines future initiatives

Monumental events in small towns that changed the course of the region’s history are being revived to attract tourism in eight counties, including Fayette, Greene and Washington, as an upcoming initiative of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.
“Just because the mines may not operate, the mills may be gone and the railroads are not running the same way they used to that doesn’t mean the spirit that embodies us as people and still does is gone,” said August Carlino, Rivers of Steel president and Chief Executive Officer.
Carlino discussed the Rivers of Steel Heritage’s future plans recently with community members at the Connellsville Canteen as part of the Lunch and Learn series hosted by the Fayette County Cultural Trust and the Seton Hill University E-Magnify program.
Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area encompasses the greater Pittsburgh area and the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio River valleys. Pennsylvania is one of 49 heritage areas across the country.
Established in 1996 by the U.S. Congress and state, the national heritage area has been working to identify, conserve, promote and interpret the cultural, historical, recreational and other resources associated with steel and steel-related industries.
Carlino stressed the challenge of getting people to believe again in the places that they live and how they could be preserved to become part of a broader economic redevelopment tool.
“We had to change people’s attitudes at a time when so many people here were on the heels of their economic well being, had lost their jobs, moved away…even more scary than that was what our future generations were going to have in these places,” said Carlino.
In Connellsville, Carlino said the community and organizations are recognizing the importance of linking its industrial heritage to tourism such as the Youghiogheny River and the bike trail.
“Twenty years ago how much of the town was boarded up and now on a Saturday like we just had how much of that parking lot is filled with people’s cars that have bike racks with people coming not just from Pittsburgh, but Maryland and West Virginia,” added Carlino.
Another example, said Carlino, is the W.A. Young Foundry and Machine Shop in Rices Landing, Greene County. “This facility is a snapshot in time where there’s an operating blacksmith and foundry machinery that date back to the civil war…it’s become a center point for this town in connecting that with the Greene County trail, the river and the Great Allegheny Passage.”
While Carlino said Rivers of Steel realizes that not all buildings or sites can be preserved, it takes on the approach of how they can become an economic factor in a town and region’s rebirth.
“It’s about the legacy we pass on, our towns we live in and the stories we are as people,” said Carlino.
One of the largest places Carlino said Rivers of Steel is currently involved with is the Carrie Furnace at the former Homestead Mill in Swissvale, where a 40-foot deer head was constructed by an artist from molten metal.
“It’s a representation of how our region is transforming itself on an old industrial site,” said Carlino.
As part of the National Park Service, Carlino said Rivers of Steel has evolved into a coalition that is gaining momentum across the country by using receptive services to promote heritage tourism.
“This year over 54 bus loads of people are scheduled to come through southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Carlino. “We sell these (packages) at trade shows around the world.”
Carlino pointed out that a study by the U.S. Conservation Department found that national heritage areas account for over $12 billion a year in economic activity compared with Goodyear at $13 billion and Southwest Airlines at $16 billion.
Carlino said the study also revealed that 150,000 jobs were created across the country with 94,000 of them directly tied to heritage area activity.
In 2013, Carlino said the heritage area had $6.1 million in revenue generated from state and local taxes. “When we showed those numbers to congress, the budget for the heritage areas increased…now we’re in the third fiscal year of at least $2 million more.”
“We have cornered a story and its history and heritage,” said Carlino.