The Battle of Homestead Foundation presented a book talk event "Beyond Steel" by local author Christopher Briem. He spoke about Pittsburgh and the Economics of Transformation. This event was held at the Pump House, Homestead, Pennsylvania on June 8, 2026.
Joe Szalanski was an immigrant steel worker who lived in the early 1900’s. His father and friends worked long hours in the hot and dangerous steel mills. Not wanting to follow in their footsteps, he left the area for jobs elsewhere. When the Great Depression threw him into joblessness he joined the hobo life style and rode the rails through all 48 states. Returning home, he went back into the mills, only to be crushed to death by a steel slab.