Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report

The 180th "birthday" of McKeesport's first public school will be celebrated with a weekend-long celebration Sept. 29 and 30 at McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center.

Built in 1832 and originally located in the city's First Ward section --- now the site of U.S. Steel's McKeesport Tubular Operations plant --- the building once known as the "little red schoolhouse" was restored a decade ago and is now incorporated into the center's museum in Renziehausen Park.

Executive Director Michelle Wardle-Eggers says the center will spotlight the schoolhouse's heritage with family activities all weekend from 12 to 4 p.m. Sept. 29, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 30, including a "stuffed animal sleepover" on Saturday night.

Activities will include old-fashioned games such as checkers, marbles and hoop-rolling, and activities including a scavenger hunt, Wardle-Eggers says.

"We will have a children's story-time program schduled for 12:30 and 3:30 on Saturday and at 4 p.m. on Sunday," she says. "We have a symposium scheduled for adults at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 2:30 on Sunday, including a history of our schoolhouse, other one-room schoolhouses in the area, and memories of attending a one-room schoolhouse.

"On Saturday, kids can drop off their stuffed animals for an overnight in the schoolhouse, and come back on Sunday at 1 p.m. to see a slide show of all the fun things their animals did overnight!" Wardle-Eggers says.

The event is free and no registration is required. Free popcorn will be provided throughout the event.

For more information, visit the center's website or call (412) 678-1832. McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center, formerly known simply as the Heritage Center, is located at 1832 Arboretum Drive in Renzie Park, one block from Eden Park Boulevard.

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