Duquesne Club - Avenue 6 Magazine - Fall/Winter 2019

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AVENUE m a g a z i n e

FALL/WINTER 2019

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DESTINATIONS

PLUGGED IN

A touch of sweet Molly is only the beginning.

Connect with pets in a whole new way.

IN DUBLIN’S FAIR CITY From the Kildare Street and University Club you can travel down streets broad and narrow and discover why day and night in Ireland’s capital is so alive, alive-o.

PET TECH UNLEASHED From GPS tracking and hip health monitors to empowered playdates and ultra-cool carriers, we’ll hook you up.

100 CLUB HISTORY

DOLLAR PRINCESSES OF THE DUQUESNE CLUB Acquiring trans-Atlantic title American heiresses’ happy (and not-so-happy) European unions

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MADE IN PITTSBURGH

TOTALLY JAZZED It’s in our DNA. Pittsburgh’s jazz scene is not just legendary, it’s alive and happening all over town.

Sample it on select Fridays in the Reading Room or sip it seven days a week at clubs like Shadyside’s Con Alma.

On the cover: Executive Chef Keith Coughenour presents Beverly Hills Classic Sevruga Caviar paired with Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2007.

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THE VIEW ON 6TH CENTER STAGE: THE MAIN EVENT: ELTON JOHN BUBBLY IN THE BOTTLE CONNECTIONS: NEW MEMBERS AFTERNOON TEA MADE IN PITTSBURGH: FOR ART’S SAKE TO YOUR HEALTH: OARS UP, PADDLES DOWN ON THE SCENE CLUB CRAFTED: HONEYCRISP FIZZ ART UP CLOSE: “MY DEAR BEATTY… ” TASTE OF THE SEASON: CROWN ROAST OF PORK ON TAP: NOSFERATU IMPERIAL RED ALE GIVING BACK HOLIDAY HUB MEMBER DRIVEN SPACES FOR THE SEASON A LOOK BACK IN THE Q

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Welcome to the fall/winter edition of Avenue 6. The Club’s many time-honored holiday events are sure to delight both family and friends and are the perfect way to celebrate the season in effortless style.

We start the festivities with Oktoberfest and Haunted House Decorating, followed by the Thanksgiving Sporting Clays Shoot. Then experience luxurious Holiday Teas; Gingerbread House Decorating; the Holiday Champagne Tasting; and the spectacular Children’s Holiday Party. And finally, our New Year’s Day Open House is the perfect way to welcome in 2020.

We also have a wide-ranging selection of Society- and Club-sponsored events in the upcoming months that you won’t want to miss. They include the Art Society’s Frank Lloyd Wright Polymath Park tour. The Literary Society’s events will feature Stephen Chbosky, author of Imaginary Friend; Elaine Sciolino, author of The Seine: The River That Made Paris; Robert Matzen, author of Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II; and Barbara Burstin, author of Sophie: The Incomparable Mayor Masloff. The Beer Society’s events include Suds in the City and the Holiday Beer Tasting. And the Culinary Society’s events include a Chocolate Boot Camp and hugely popular Party in the Kitchen. And don’t forget the Rod & Gun Society’s lavish annual Game Dinner. Learn the evolution of the Duquesne Club kitchen and how the Club prepares for a cocktail party event at the Women of the Club’s kitchen event with Executive Chef Keith Coughenour. They are also organizing a Jewelry Display & Technique Demonstration followed by a Coffee Event. Finally, Health & Fitness is offering a fall outing to Nemacolin Woodlands Resort as well as the opportunity to participate in the fall Golf Simulator League.

Also in this edition of Avenue 6, keep the holiday calories in check by rowing on the rivers and visiting the area’s top art galleries. You can stay warm by learning about Pittsburgh’s vibrant jazz scene before exploring Dublin, Ireland, home to one of our reciprocal clubs – the Kildare Street and University Club. Nosferatu is on tap in the Cigar Bar, and Executive Sous Chef Mike Caudill serves up his holiday recipe for a pork crown roast. We’ll learn a bit about the history of afternoon tea. And we’ll tell you about the latest high-tech toys and equipment for your pets. Jessica Cox offers up a fascinating history lesson about the Dollar Princesses of the Duquesne Club (think Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers), while Barb Conner, Duquesne Club art director and curator, provides a glimpse into the friendship that led to the painting of Sir Alfred East’s “Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh,” which has recently been acquired by the Club.

And don’t forget, the Admissions Committee invites you to New & Prospective Member Receptions in October and December where you can introduce friends, family members or colleagues to the Club.

Enjoy the season and your DC experience,

Scott Neill Secretary and General Manager Duquesne Club 2 I Avenue 6

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Treat your friends, family, colleagues and clients who appreciate life’s luxuries to a complimentary reception.

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We’ll provide an open bar, hors d’oeuvres and an opportunity for new and prospective members to experience all the Duquesne Club has to offer.

o good it’s worth sharing.

NEW & PROSPECTIVE MEMBER RECEPTION

Wednesday, October 9 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 10 6:00 p.m.

RSVP on the private member website , DC app or to Jonathan Werth at 412.471.6580 or jwerth@duquesne.org.

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Temple Bar neighborhood

D E S T I N A T I O N S

explore

DUBLIN No one is a stranger in Dublin.

As one of the friendliest cities anywhere on the planet, Dublin has a uniquely Irish way of making you feel fáilte – welcome.

Kildare Street and University Club

Start at the club. Kildare Street and University Club is a fine example of Georgian architecture in the heart of Dublin City Centre, across from the beauty of St. Stephen’s Green. Within steps, you’ll find yourself on Grafton Street, energetic with shops, cafes, pubs and buskers of every description. Shopping in Ireland ranges from the crafts and handiwork of Irish artisans to trendy fashion and fabulous fun from virtually every designer name known.

Some things are musts here.

The Book of Kells, a true world masterpiece of hand-inked medieval art, is on display at Trinity College. And while you’re there, visit The Long Room, the spectacular center point of the Old Library where you’ll find Brian Boru harp – the symbol of Ireland.

Poets, playwrights, writers and musicians have made Dublin home for centuries, and the spirit of their muses can be found at any one of more than 750 pubs in the Fair City. Grab a pint, or two, and experience the inspiration, warmth and craic – great fun – of a Literary or Music Pub Crawl.

Guinness, the quintessential Irish stout, can be found in many of those pints.

To tour the Guinness Storehouse is to live the art, history, culture and more than a wee bit of the magic in the making of one of Ireland’s treasured national drinks. Sip the perfect pint at the top of the Guinness Gravity Bar, a stunning 360-degree glass-framed vantage point high above Dublin.

Feeling a little adventurous? Temple Bar is Dublin’s rowdiest neighborhood; a center of nightlife, traditional music, theater, pubs and cafés. It is a gathering point for travelers from all over the world.

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Dublin’s public places and spaces are of legend, and Phoenix Park is a prime example. This 1,750-acre enclosed park is one of Europe’s largest urban walled recreational areas. It is the home to the U.S. ambassador (yes, Mr. Rooney lived here), Ireland’s president, the Dublin Zoo, the Papal Cross (where Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in front of more than a million people) and countless monuments, gardens and vistas.

A club away from home.

Kildare Street and University Club 17 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland 00353 1 676 2975 www.ksuc.ie

Reciprocal Clubs DOMESTIC The California Club, Los Angeles, CA The Chicago Club, Chicago, IL Cosmos Club, Washington, DC

Want to take away a cool memory? Take out your camera or smartphone and snap away at the Doors of Dublin. You’ve seen the prints and posters. Now make your own collage from the brilliantly painted and decorated doors of stately Georgian architecture all over town. It may be lore, but locals say it started with the strict Georgian building codes and how they led to a confusing sameness in residences. This sameness led writer George Moore to paint his door green so that when his next-door neighbor and fellow writer, Oliver St. John Gogarty, came home well-oiled, he would not mistake Moore’s house for his own. Gogarty returned the favor with a different color on his door so that Moore wouldn’t end up in his home. If it all sounds a bit like a story, well, you’d be in Dublin among the Irish.

Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit, MI The Harvard Club of Boston Boston, MA The Metropolitan Club, New York, NY The Metropolitan Club of the City of Washington, Washington, DC Minneapolis Club, Minneapolis, MN New York Athletic Club, New York, NY The Olympic Club, San Francisco, CA The Rainier Club, Seattle, WA The Union Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH The Union League of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA University Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL The University Club of New York, New York, NY The Yale Club of New York City, New York, NY INTERNATIONAL Melbourne Club Melbourne, Australia Royal Automobile Club (RAC), London, England

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Embroidered Sheep from Jenny Vander Shop, Dublin

The Long Room at Trinity College

Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre in the Grafton Street shopping district

Dublin Castle

The Guinness Storehouse

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PLUGGED IN PET TECH, UNLEASHED

Connect with pets in a whole new way

Thanks to the popularity of pet ownership (estimates say 85 million American families have a furry BFF to call their own!), a whole new breed of high-tech gadgets is making life easier, safer and just plain fun for humans and their four-legged friends.

From GPS tracking and hip health monitors to empowered playdates and life-like companions, trendy tech innovation is going to the dogs.

WELLNESS TRACKER Furbo Dog Camera ($249) This interactive smart canine camera lets you see, talk and toss treats to your fur baby from anywhere, using your smartphone. With full HD video quality, infrared night vision and a 160-degree wide-angle lens, this two-way pet cam lets you hear and see what’s happening, then speak to your dog to stop any naughty behavior. Calm separation anxiety while indulging in playtime from afar by filling the Furbo canister with pooch’s favorite treats to play a game of catch.

WELLNESS TRACKER Link AKC Smart Collar ($129) This Internet-connected collar monitors your dog’s activity levels through the Link AKC smartphone app and locates them should they make a run for it. Small and lightweight, this premium leather collar also lets you record and share special walks, hikes and other adventures through a virtual scrapbook and digital album. Use the app to turn on a sound feature that helps with training and an LED light that makes your pup easy to see at night.

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DOOR ON DEMAND Wayzn Sliding Pet Door Opener ($399) Let your four-legged friend out of the house even when you’re away for long stretches of time with this system that converts your sliding back door into an automatic app-controlled pet door. Wayzn sends you a notification to open the door on a set schedule or when it senses your beloved furball at the door. Control the door using your smartphone app or connect it with Amazon Alexa and Nest to operate it from another part of your home.

DOG’S BEST FRIEND CamToy Laika Robot Toy (preorder for $460) Laika is a mobile robot and canine companion that chases your dog around and gives it treats.

Part toy, part robot, and part pet camera, the smartphone-controlled Laika premiered during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year and is available on IndieGoGo or via preorder. In addition to an autonomous mode that adapts its behavior to your dog, this clever companion features a microphone and speaker for two-way communication and, most fun of all, a treat tosser.

POST-SHAMPOO SAUNA Pet Connexion Pepe Pet Dryer ($660) The Pepe pet dryer is a spa-like sauna designed to dry every strand of fur for every medium-sized breed. Just put your pet inside the washing machine-sized dryer and set the temperature. A small-sized dog takes about 25 minutes to dry; the Singapore-based company says that dogs usually sleep during the treatment. Compared to conventional dryers, Pepe offers a quieter experience, multidirectional airflow for even drying, and Biolight therapy to improve pet health.

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STAGE After nearly 50 years in show business, Sir Elton John gives the world one last chance to catch his legendary talent live with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

This singer, composer, pianist and activist has sold more than 300 million records and has more than 50 Top 40 hits, minting him as one of pop music’s biggest success stories.

Spanning three years, this global tour celebrates the pop star’s retirement with a once-in-a-lifetime experience featuring a spectacular, over-the-top production and unforgettable hits like “Rocketman,” Daniel” and “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues.”

WHEN: Wednesday, November 13 WHERE: PPG Paints Arena TICKETS: Starting at $260 ppgpaintsarena.com 412.642.1800

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COMING ATTRACTIONS Friday, October 18 – Saturday, October 19

The Office! A Musical Parody This unauthorized sendup of the hit TV show “The Office” features songs such as “Welcome to Scranton (The Electric City),” “That’s What She Said,” “The Dundies” and “Marry Me Beesly.”

Monday, November 18

Thursday, December 12

Corey Cott

SING! An Irish Christmas

This graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama recently made his Carnegie Hall debut singing with the New York Pops.

Sing along with Ireland’s own Keith & Kristyn Getty for their eighth annual tour of modern hymns and carols. Virtuosic instrumentalists fusing Celtic, bluegrass, Americana, modern and classical music join the Gettys on stage.

Greer Cabaret Theater 7 p.m.

Byham Theater

Tuesday, November 19 – Sunday, November 24

7:30 p.m.

A Bronx Tale

7:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 24 – Sunday, October 27

Jersey Boys meets West Side Story in this streetwise musical based on the true-life story of Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri.

Thursday, December 26 – Sunday, December 29

Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat This irresistible family musical reimagines the age-old story of Israel’s favorite son. Catchy songs accompany Joseph as he endures trials and triumphs alongside his father, 11 brothers and the famous coat of many colors.

Byham Theater Multiple performances Tuesday, October 29 – Sunday, November 3

Mean Girls Direct from Broadway, this hilarious hit musical skewers a savage trio of frenemies as newcomer Cady Heron plots the demise of Regina George, the reigning Queen Bee of their suburban Illinois high school.

Benedum Center 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 13

Roseanne Cash One of the country’s preeminent singersongwriters, this Grammy Award winner has released 15 albums, including 21 Top 40 hits. This tour introduces her latest album, “She Remembers Everything.”

Byham Theater 7:30 p.m.

Benedum Center 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 26 – Sunday, December 1

Les Misérables This sweeping epic musical based on Victor Hugo’s novel gets a modern update with atmospheric video projections that create a lush cinematic backdrop.

Benedum Center 7:30 p.m.

Your Christmas Wish List Friday, December 6 – Sunday, December 29

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre: The Nutcracker

Benedum Center

The Illusionists: Magic of the Holidays Ring in the holidays with this mind-blowing spectacular that showcases the jaw-dropping talents of the most incredible illusionists on earth.

Heinz Hall 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, December 31 – Sunday, January 5

Jesus Christ Superstar Fresh from a hit run in London, this Olivier Award-winning version of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s groundbreaking musical laces together biblical drama with a propulsive rock and funk score.

Benedum Center 7:30 p.m.

One of the world’s favorite ballets and a can’t-miss Christmas tradition takes the original tale of breathtaking dance and adventure and adds Pittsburgh’s famous Kaufmann’s clock, the F.W. McKee mansion and a view from Mt. Washington across the three rivers to give the production a personal, hometown touch.

Benedum Center Multiple performances

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Bubbly by the

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BOTTLE

Perrier-Jouët BELLE EPOQUE 2007

“

Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2007 is a crystalline vintage whose subtlety and generosity highlight the precision of the House style. It is an epicurean wine.

HERVÉ DESCHAMPS, CELLAR MASTER

”

The cuvée Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2007 is the fruit of an astonishing year marked by a very mild winter and an exceptional spring. The temperatures in April, worthy of a summer month, caused the vines to flower early. Although the summer got off to a rainy start with low temperatures for the time of year, the sun’s return in August allowed the grapes to ripen fully, leading to an early harvest and an especially generous vintage.

WINE COMPOSITION While preserving the House style, Hervé Deschamps blended this cuvée to emphasize the unique character of the 2007 vintage. His blend brings out the freshness and elegance of the Chardonnay (50%) from the grands crus of Cramant and Avize. From the Montagne de Reims, the Pinot Noir (45%) display a generosity and delicate complexity that prolong the Chardonnay’s finesse. Finally, the rounded charm of the Pinot Meunier (5%) from Dizy provides the finishing touch to this beautifully balanced cuvée.

GENEROSITY WITH CRYSTALLINE FRESHNESS Appearance Light gold with an almost radiant clarity and fine, vibrant bubbles.

Nose Magnolia, honeysuckle and citrus aromas (bergamot, orange, lemon peel) clothed in just-ripe pear and peach notes with a hint of minerality.

Palate Bold initial flavours are followed by a wonderfully persistent crystalline freshness, revealing white fruit flavours complemented by notes of almond milk.

y da i l The sophisticated, generous character of the cuvée Ho s ’ Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2007 pairs wonderfully . r ea er 3 with the salty freshness of seafood, tender poultry’s y is emb g h subtle flavours and the purity of lightly sugared n t i c t r u fruit desserts. Ideally served at 10-12°C, this e a n De d r g u cuvée can provide mouth-watering n r. i at ing o c e i f r matches to delight the eye and p mbe ill Tast y w palate in equal measure. a d ece ët gne i l u o o D h -J pa f l r o a e i nt h c rri Cham e e p s P o THE PERFECT SETTING

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C O N N E C T I O N S

NEW MEMBERS April 2019 – August 2019 LIFESTYLE RESIDENT Steven E. Malnight President and Chief Executive Officer Duquesne Light Company (Mark E. Kaplan, David T. Fisfis) M. Dean Mosites * President and Chief Executive Officer Mosites Construction Company (Harold S. Overholt, Leo R. McCafferty MD) Andrew L. Platt Director BNY Mellon Wealth Management (Thomas G. Donahue, Lucas B. Boyd) Gerald J. Ritzert Executive Vice President Dollar Bank (James J. McQuade, Joseph R. Toth) Kristina K. Williams Chief Operating Officer Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (Nicholas D. Varischetti, Winthrop Watson)

RESIDENT Christopher Amar Vice President AllianceBernstein/Bernstein Private Wealth Management (Matthew C. Lancaster, William E. Hallett) Michael J. Annichine Chief Executive Officer Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation (Chad D. Tomosovich, Carrie Coghill)

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Diana M. Charletta * Chief Operating Officer Equitrans Midstream (M. Elise Hyland, Donald “Blue” Jenkins) James T. Dietz President TwoPoint Solutions, Inc. (James A. Sullivan Sr., Alan L. Siger) Martin F. Earle Medical Oncologist UPMC (Robert J. Trombetta, Dennis Unkovic) Christopher M. Gemondo Managing Partner Gemondo & McQuiggan, LLP (Regis G. McQuaide Jr., Joseph J. Switala Jr.) Edward P. Kanai III President Edward P. Kanai Funeral Home Inc. (Timothy R. Smith, Edwin H. Haller IV) James Kimbrough Managing Director PNC Bank (Louis R. Cestello, Donald J. Heberle, Jr.) Elizabeth L. Kofmehl * Real Estate Agent Coldwell Banker (Robin Randall, Robert J. Lewis) Paul C. Kress Vice President Business Development Equitrans Midstream Michael Tomera * Donald “Blue” Jenkins **

Frank A. Kunkel MD President and Chief Executive Officer Office Based Anesthesia Solutions, Inc. And Accessible Recovery Services, Inc. (Matthew A. Helfrich, John J. Waldron) Bryan J. McCann Owner Steel City Spaces (Katherine R. Perry, David O. Brand) Steven M. Massaro * President Massaro Corporation (Peter P. Leone Jr., Gennaro J. DiBello) Blake E. McLean Senior Vice President, IR and Strategy EQT Corporation (David J. Smith, Robert J. McNally) Rafael Munoz * Vice President-Wealth Manager BNY Mellon (Ricardo A. Munoz MD, Thomas L. VanKirk) Daniel J. Pessy Senior Vice President Wealth Management UBS Financial Services (James W. Rimmel, John B. Matlak) T. Michael Price Chief Executive Officer First Commonwealth Bank/FCFC (David B. Buckiso, Gary R. Claus)

INTERMEDIATE Joseph V. Salvucci Jr. * Vice President Business Development PEAK Technical Staffing USA (Joseph V. Salvucci Sr., Avrum Levicoff)

Jarrett D. Watson President Bristol Capital Management LLC (Matteo Gruelle, Sean D.S. Sebastian)

JUNIOR Chase Nelson Bly * Analyst FODIS LP (James C. Bly Jr., Manning J. O’Connor) Tayler R. Fletcher * Senior Client Manager Willis Towers Watson (Andrew S. Fletcher, Charles A. Walsh) Christina Hapanowicz (Lifestyle) Wealth Advisor, Managing Director of Business Development Hapanowicz & Associates Wealth Management (Jacqueline M. McMenamin, Katherine R. Perry) Clayton R. Morris * Asset Manager Sampson Morris Group (Michael A. Morris, Brendan W. Surma)

NON-RESIDENT Neil Brown President, Owner Brown Timber and Land Company Acme, PA (Jason W. Ross, Edward A. Aiello) Mark E. Fischer Business Development Manager PTW Energy Services The Woodlands, TX (Kathryn Z. Klaber, Timothy B. O’Brien)

Patrick M. Flatley * Judge U.S. Bankruptcy Court –Northern District of West Virginia (Frank P. Chiodi, Robert T. Woodings)

SENIOR

John F. Hartner Chief Operating Officer ExOne West Palm Beach, FL (John Irvin, S. Kent Rockwell)

Mr. James Colker Elected March 9, 1982 Died April 30, 2019

Chester R. Marshall Jr. Chief Executive Officer Tapco Companies Wadsworth, OH (F. Lynn Foltz, John D. Harper Jr.)

Mr. Howard J. Burnett Elected November 2, 1970 Died June 16, 2019

Mr. David Klasnick Elected January 4, 1995 Died August 20, 2019 Dr. Charles S. Stone Elected September 10, 1979 Died July 15, 2019

Peter C. Varischetti * President Varischetti Holdings, LP Brockway, PA (Micholas D. Varischetti, John A. Staley IV)

RESIDENT

Edgar E. Weil III President Spring Works, Inc. Columbus, OH (James B. McDonald, G. Nicholas Beckwith III)

Ms. Cynthia N. McCormick Elected January 8, 2009 Died May 11, 2019

*Denotes Legacy Member, Sponsors in Parentheses

MEMBERS WE’LL MISS HONORARY

Mr. Eugene F. Maloney Elected July 3, 1996 Died July 20, 2019

NON-RESIDENT

INTERNATIONAL Mr. Thomas S. Baily Elected February 27, 1990 Died May 6, 2019

ASSOCIATE Mrs. Robert (Ruth) Casey Elected October 1, 1995 Died August 23, 2019

Mr. Walter J. Blenko Jr. Elected July 14, 1958 Died August 11, 2019

Mrs. Harry (Camille) Goern Elected October 31, 2014 Died March 29, 2019

Mr. Charles H. Booth Jr. Elected February 6, 1960 Died August 4, 2019

Mrs. Harvey (Florence) Zeve Elected January 10, 2014 Died May 2, 2019

Mr. J. Lee Miller Elected June 1, 1962 Died June 11, 2018

SPOUSE Mrs. Ellen Golonski (Spouse of Mr. Tom Golonski) Elected February 23, 1988 Died July 7, 2019

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The English have been obsessed with tea since its first introduction to British shores in 1658, when Charles II married the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza. A cultivated woman with sophisticated Silk Road tastes, her passion for the imported Chinese beverage soon made tea the most fashionable drink at court. However, since it took up to 15 months between shipments for new stocks to arrive, prices were steep, and only the very wealthy could imbibe. But despite its scarcity (or perhaps because of it), the London craze for coffee houses was soon replaced with elegant outdoor tea gardens, and specialist providers like Fortnum & Mason were formed to cater to the growing demand among the aristocracy. By the 1780s, taxes on tea and prices had diminished enough for it to become the national drink – replacing ale and gin – and consumption increased by an impressive 225 percent.

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from being an elaborate social hazing exercise, afternoon tea can be the most relaxing and civilized social occasion. After all, who wouldn’t welcome the chance to step away from the endless rush and noise of life, sit comfortably, and be restored to hope and good humor while eating and drinking something delicious?

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the Queen’s Royal household, she was obliged to follow the established palace routine of eating a substantial breakfast, a light luncheon, and then attending an elaborate formal dinner held late in the evening.

However, she often experienced “a sinking feeling” in the afternoon during the long hours between luncheon and dinner. So, she requested that a tray of tea and cakes be brought discreetly to her private quarters to bolster her until evening. This proved such a success that it became a daily habit.

Soon close friends were invited to join her, and this informal, private little repast grew into a relaxing hour of gossip, conversation, and delicate treats, and once again, the fashion quickly spread among the aristocracy.

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the bread, crisp hot-buttered toast, freshly baked scones, followed by moist, sweet cakes – served on the finest imported porcelain specially designed for the purpose. This included bone china teacups, saucers, and plates along with both a china teapot and a separate silver pot to hold fresh hot water so that the teapot might be refreshed accordingly. Lemon slices, milk, and sugar cubes were on offer, along with dainty silver spoons for stirring. As tea was loose leaf, a small tea strainer and a china bowl for tea dregs would also be provided. Little bowls filled with jam and clotted cream were on hand, as were crisp linen napkins and small silver knives and forks. In this way, the traditional tea service evolved.

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The continuing popularity of tea remained undimmed despite the disintegrating relations between China and Great Britain in the mid-1850s with the Opium Wars. But by then, Britain’s Empire was at its height, and soon Ceylon and India replaced China as the Empire’s tea growers.

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For this reason, going to tea remains one of the ways the English choose to celebrate events in their lives – from birthdays and anniversaries, to reunions with friends or out of town visitors. Whether it’s done at a fancy hotel dressed in smart frocks with additional glasses of champagne or at home in the living room with a store-bought Battenberg cy and informalit a m i cake, steaming mugs of PG Tips, and y. nt ti s i triangles of smoked salmon on s ei Irish brown soda bread – the result is invariably revitalizing.

Like the Duchess of Bedford, we all need a reprieve from that “sinking feeling.”

Afternoon tea is the perfect cure.

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In the stiff world of highly scrutinized Victorian manners, this cozy little gathering became the perfect antidote to the prevailing atmosphere of social rigidity.

Falling anywhere between the hours of 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., at that natural lull in the day when energy dips, spirits flag, and industry ceases to be productive, it often had no clearly defined beginning or end; guests were welcome to call in and join or leave the party at any time without being considered late or rude. By the same token, it was neither a full meal with defined courses nor a hastily grabbed snack, but something more flexible – depending on one’s mood and inclination. Customarily, it was served in the drawing room rather than the dining room, where visitors could more easily relax on armchairs and sofas in front of the fire.

In fact, everything about the practice of teatime was designed to delight the senses in need of refreshment – from the beauty of the china to the exotic perfume of the freshly made tea, to the comfort of the surroundings, the selection of treats, and, of course, the choice of company.

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Common Concerns Is there a right way to hold your teacup?

Yes – no pinkies in the air, please.

Should the milk be poured into the cup before or after the tea?

It makes no difference, although, if you pour it in before, you run the risk of your tea being too milky. The tradition of pouring cold milk in before the tea comes from a desire to protect precious bone china teacups from cracking due to the heat of boiling tea. Nowadays, our china doesn’t run this risk.

Is there a correct way to pronounce the word “scone”?

Not really – it can be pronounced in a variety of ways, and you can be sure that no matter how you say it, someone will correct you.

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What’s the proper way to eat a scone?

There’s a long-standing debate in the U.K. over the order in which clotted cream and jam should be applied to a warm scone.

In Cornwall, famous for their clotted cream production, they insist that the scone should be split, jam be spread first, followed by clotted cream. In Devonshire, (the other competing region of clotted cream production), they’re equally emphatic that the cream should be spread first and jam second. Either way, it’s the amount of cream and jam, and not their order, that ultimately makes the difference.

Both methods advocate that the scone be broken in two by hand (the clean break is considered the indication of a well-made scone), however – there are plenty of crumbly yet delicious scones that are best cut in half with a knife.

What is clotted cream?

Clotted cream is the most decadent thing on earth – a cross between butter and full-fat cream. If you’ve never had it before, you’ll be surprised at how territorial you become as soon as it starts to run low.

Should all tea be drunk with milk?

Customarily no. Only strong black teas – which include Assam, Ceylon, possibly Darjeeling, and blends such as English and Irish Breakfast and Earl Grey – are considered dark enough to be served with milk. However, this is entirely subjective. As a rule of thumb, fruit infusions and green tea are drunk without milk, but in the end, it’s your cup of tea, and you can have it exactly as you like.

Which is better, loose tea leaves or tea bags?

Loose leaves are premium quality and make a more rounded, complex cup of tea.

Because of the size of the tea bag, only smaller leaves are used, and therefore they lack the complexity of flavor available from larger leaves, though a bag is much easier and doesn’t require a tea strainer.

Why are there two teapots in a traditional tea service?

There is often a porcelain teapot filled with tea and a second silver teapot, containing extra hot water, on hand to refresh the tea when it’s running low or becoming too strong. But be warned- a real silver teapot filled with boiling water can be very hot indeed – handle with care!

How do I use a tea strainer?

There are several kinds of loose tea strainers. You can use a mesh metal ball filled with leaves that’s suspended on a chain in the pot. There is also a clamp-like

double-sided spoon with tiny holes that is stirred directly into a cup of freshly boiled water, then removed to one side when the brew has reached its preferred intensity.

And finally there is a small silver strainer that is balanced over each cup as the tea is poured, to catch any leaves. The strainer rests on a separate dish when not in use.

Is there an order in which the treats on the tiered cake stand should be eaten?

Not particularly. One could start with the savory finger sandwiches that are usually placed on the largest plate and then proceed upward to the scones on the second layer, finishing with the cakes on top, but it’s entirely up to you.

Teas at the Duquesne Club Holiday Teas at the Duquesne Club are a wonderful experience. Members and their guests are invited to relax and enjoy traditional style tea in the Club’s Library and Duquesne Room on Fridays during the holiday season. A selection of Harney and Sons Fine Teas, both loose and in bags, are offered, along with an array of scones, tea cookies, sandwiches and other delectable pastries.

This year, Holiday Teas can be enjoyed November 29 and December 6, 13 and 20.

Look for Winter Teas – one each month – January through March.

Afternoon Tea can also be arranged any time of year for private suite occasions.

For reservations, call 412-560-3015 or email events@duquesne.org.

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Marvel at the creative genius of the world’s established and emerging artists or get your hands on a masterpiece to call your own.

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Mattress Factory 500 Sampsonia Way, North Side Founded in 1977, the Mattress Factory is a contemporary art museum and experimental lab featuring site-specific installations created by artists in residence. Stop by for the recently opened Factory Installed 2019 that includes eight solo exhibitions from artists around the world plus new selections from the Greer Lankton Archive.

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Carnegie Museum of Art

117 Sandusky St., North Side

The first museum of contemporary art in the United States continues to lead the art world with its dynamic programming, exhibitions and publications. This fall, check out A Pittsburgh Anthology, which celebrates objects that reveal the city’s unique cultural character; the new sculpture commission

by Los Angeles-based Margaret Honda; and An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 2069-2018, six decades of the artist’s work in printmaking.

The largest collection of Warhol art and archives in the world spans seven floors and the underground Factory, where visitors can try out some of the pop artist’s signature techniques. Toss some mylar at the interactive Silver Clouds installation, and star in your own short film inspired by the Screen Tests Warhol made in the 1960s.

4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland

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Eclectic Art & Objects Gallery 8275 Ohio River Blvd., Emsworth The Eclectic Art & Objects Gallery’s wide selection includes oil paintings, watercolors, limited edition graphics, sculpture and decorative art from local and national artists. This 30-yearold art gallery provides local, national and international art enthusiasts, dealers, design professionals and home owners with world-class art and objects.

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The Andy Warhol Museum

Gallerie Chiz 5831 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside The collection at Gallerie Chiz showcases insider and outsider art in a range of styles and media including paintings, sculpture, photography, handmade books, furniture, clay, glass, wood, jewelry and wearable art. Curator Ellen Chisdes Neuberg’s mission is to introduce quality visual art in a fun, approachable atmosphere.

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts 6300 Fifth Avenue, Shadyside Exhibiting international and local contemporary arts, this nonprofit community arts campus also offers arts education programs, setting it up as a local hive for the visual arts with the ability to stage multiple exhibits at a time.

Here, visitors can learn, shop, make and view art in its many extraordinary forms.

Small Mall

Four Winds Gallery

Panza Gallery

Small Mall is the concept store for Casey Droege Cultural Productions, an arts business focused on growing Pittsburgh’s art economy. This experimental retail space sells art and design objects from some of the region’s most talented makers and creates a space for artists whose work lives somewhere between small DIY spaces and large cultural institutions.

5512 Walnut St., Shadyside

Professional framer and fine artist Mark Panza established his gallery in 1986 with the philosophy of an exhibitor rather than an art representative. This contemporary gallery features local talent and offers lifedrawing sessions twice a week for both accomplished sketch artists and novices looking to master the art of the pencil.

be Galleries

Concept Art Gallery

5300 Butler St., Lawrenceville

3583 Butler St., Lawrenceville Owner Joy Borelli-Edwards opened this gallery in 1978 in the North Hills, where it evolved into an exhibition space for regional artists and Japanese prints and paintings. In 2007, the galleries expanded into three large gallery spaces in an environmentally friendly green building in Lawrenceville.

James Gallery 413 S. Main St., West End This former horse stable structure offers 12,000 square feet of gallery space for regional, national and international artists from every medium. James Gallery partners with LYNNEL Art to Form to create unique pieces for feature walls, backlit images, mobiles, wayfinding applications, elevator interiors and more.

This venue sells high-quality Native American art while exposing Easterners to the desert culture of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

Four Winds has been exhibiting antique works of art and jewelry while curating a selection of contemporary pieces in silver and turquoise since 1974.

1031 S. Braddock Ave., Regent Square Contemporary graphics by well-known American and European artists mingle with contemporary realist paintings and historical and industrial images of Pittsburgh at this highly regarded gallery space.

Concept sells in the primary and secondary markets and conducts regular live auctions, with gallery directors Sam Berkovitz and Alison Brand Oehler serving as licensed auctioneers and certified members of the Appraisers Association of America.

115 Sedgwick St., Millvale

Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery 5833 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside Pittsburgh’s first and only gallery dedicated exclusively to contemporary studio glass, this space has been exhibiting glass sculpture, goblets and jewelry from emerging and established artists since 1997.

The shop’s jewelry selection ranges from glass beads to highly sophisticated designs, while the unusual collectible goblets for sale are both functional and sculptural.

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HIT ALL TIN RIG TH G HT E NO TES From the Club’s Reading Room to the latest hot spot popping up in Shadyside, Pittsburgh’s current jazz scene pays homage to its deep and soulful roots.

When day drops into dusk and dusk dips into darkness, jazz slides into the spotlight.

Pittsburgh’s night beats flow hot and cool all around town. And these days, they light up an increasing number of venues.

For the newcomer, Pittsburgh’s iconic jazz scene may come as a surprise. But our roots go deep and wide into virtually every jazz era and style.

The legendary Earl “Fatha” Hines is quoted as saying he was playing piano in Pittsburgh “before the word ‘jazz’ was even invented.”

Billy Eckstine was his protégé. And then came Roy Eldridge, Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey, Erroll Garner and so many more who made the 1920s and 30s Pittsburgh a crucible for jazz talent.

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BIR OF TH THE CO By the late 1930s, a young Billy Strayhorn was making history with Duke Ellington and the Crawford Grill in Pittsburgh’s Hill District was the epicenter of jazz performance in one of America’s most vibrant AfricanAmerican communities. But that was only a start. Clubs, cafes and late-night hideaways all swung to the rhythm of a big backbeat and a working-class cool.

Since then, we’ve put Lena Horne, Maxine Sullivan, George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Ahmad Jamal, Joe Negri and countless others on stage and into America’s vibe, always with a sophisticated, dedicated audience at home.

Today, Pittsburgh’s musical legacy lives on right here in the Club. Join family and friends in the Reading Room from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 11 and Nov. 8 for live jazz, cocktails and shared plates – the coolest way to slide into your weekend. It’s essential to book your table through à la carte dining, since this event is so popular. Standing guests are welcome if you want to simply drop in for the music.

Photo credit Adam Milliron. Food styling Ana Kelly.

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Jazz on Fridays in the Duquesne Club’s Reading Room.

Don’t be fooled by the wintry chill descending on downtown – Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s free JazzLive series stays sultry from every Tuesday evening until June. At the Backstage Bar on Penn Avenue in the Cultural District, some of the region’s finest jazz fixtures move things inside, where you can settle in and mellow out.

The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild is a national treasure – one part masters academy, one part performance curator, one part fabled jazz label, with an aweinspiring archive of live recordings from greats including Ray Brown, Joe Williams, Billy Taylor, Gillespie, and Turrentine. MCG Jazz is world famous, with a resounding spirit of hope and humility, so revere accordingly.

The MCG Jazz regular roster of four-day performances and recordings lends it a generous cult-like following, inspiring artists to return again and again to record a brand-new creation or play the 350-seat music hall. Whatever your musical tastes, you’ll find something to dig during MCG Jazz’s 33rd season, which kicks off on Oct. 4.

For cats who still can’t get enough, there is a spot on your dial where jazz comes alive, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Pittsburgh Jazz Channel lovingly broadcasts throughout the region at WZUM-FM 101.1 and WZUM-AM 550.

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WIT SO H UL If you need a jazz fix once those infectious Reading Room riffs work their way into your soul, head to Shadyside’s recently opened Con Alma where straightahead jazz plays every night starting at 8 p.m. Weekend devotees fall under the jazz revival spell twice nightly, when the blue notes can sound until the wee hour of 1 a.m. The Sunday brunch crowd can also catch the graceful rays of daytime jazz at Con Alma, says coowner and chef Josh Ross.

“We’re returning jazz to its rightful place at the forefront of the local music scene, and we feature only the best Pittsburgh musicians every night,” Ross says. “Paired with the Latin menu, Prohibition-style cocktails and a hand-selected wine list, the whole experience is transcendent.”

A natural progression from the dawn of jazz in Pittsburgh, Con Alma’s name is a bridge to early standards like Gillespie’s inimitable Latin jazz standard of the same title.

Spanish for “with soul,” Con Alma dishes up harmonious plates of Latin flavors with a touch of Asian influence in a lowtech speakeasy vibe. Jazz vinyl coasts along the currents between live sets.

The full-service supper club has made a name for itself among aficionados, serving 35 inside and 35 outside.

Every seat in the house – an intimate 1,900-square-foot space – can groove to the curated jams.

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All photos on this spread shot at Con Alma Restaurant and Jazz Club by Adam Milliron with food styling by Ana Kelly.

Based in Pittsburgh and New York, Adam Milliron is a food and lifestyle photographer servicing editorial and commercial clients around the world.

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ittsburgh is blessed with not just one, but three glorious rivers running through it. All three grow even more beautiful once the weather turns crisp and the fall foliage shows its vibrancy.Whether you’re new to river sports or just new in town, local boating clubs welcome all with training, races and other events to get you out on the water and burning major calories through the fall and winter chill.

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CHOOSE YOUR CRAFT Three Rivers Rowing Association (TRRA)

Pittsburgh Paddlefish

Canoe and Kayak Pittsburgh

Visit pittsburghpaddlefish.org to sign up

Visit ventureoutdoors.org for membership

This adult competitive dragon boat team welcomes new members to race at the local, national and international levels. No experience necessary. Check out a trial paddle, held indoors three times a week from November to April at the TRRA boathouse in Millvale.

Enjoy the simplicity and splendor of gliding through Pittsburgh’s waterways in a tandem canoe.

Each trip begins with on-land instruction from Venture Outdoors before heading onto the water for a one-of-a-kind glimpse at the region’s ecosystems. Or kayak the three rivers and the serene scenes of North Park Lake from Venture Outdoors’ three locations on the North Shore, Aspinwall and Allison Park. Guided trips include full moon paddles and beginner paddles.

Steel City Rowing Club

Pittsburgh Rowing Club

Visit steelcityrowing.org to register

Visit pittsburghrowingclub. com to register

Every Saturday in September and October, this Veronabased club’s Learn to Row program teaches basic skills to adults who’ve never rowed before. Canoe, kayak and paddleboard memberships are also available.

The fall season for this Coraopolis-based group runs through Nov. 3, with onthe-water practices on the Ohio River, starting from the Montour Marina, three days a week. After Daylight Saving Time, winter conditioning begins at the Robert Morris University Sports Center on Neville Island.

Pittsburgh Irish Rowing Club & Leetsdale Curragh Club

Visit threeriversrowing.org to sign up Learn the sport of rowing with TRRA’s Winter Rowing League.

Running October through May at the club’s boathouse in Millvale, this league is designed for newbies looking to train for a beginning masters or corporate rowing league.

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Contact team captain, Matt Carroll, for information at mattpatc@aol.com As members of the North American Curragh Association, both of these local teams give amateur athletes and fitness fans the opportunity to row a curragh, a handmade wooden boat that originated in Ireland.

EVENTS Saturday, October 5, 2019

Pittsburgh DB Festival Raise your heart rate as a spectator, or form your own dragon boat to compete against other community teams for medals and awards on North Park Lake. This free event features cultural demonstrations, food and an I Made It! Market.

Saturday and Sunday, October 5-6, 2019

Head of the Ohio This nationally recognized 2.6-mile course starts just below the Fort Duquesne Bridge at the confluence of the three rivers, passes eight bridges and finishes on the Allegheny River downriver from the 40th Street Bridge.

heartsofsteelpittsburgh.org/ event/2019-pittsburgh-dragonboat-festival

headoftheohio.org

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Saturday, February 29, 2020

The Seine: The River That Made Paris

Pittsburgh Plunge

Of course, Pittsburgh’s cherished confluence isn’t the only riparian treasure in the world. If the autumn air scares you back onto dry land, join Paris-based author Elaine Sciolino for a discussion at the Duquesne Club. Deeply personal, soulful and transformative, her latest book explores how important rivers are to people’s lives.

Sunday, October 12, 2019

West Penn Trail Triathlon Now in its seventh year, this adventure race challenges athletes to kayak, bike and run their way through beautiful historic Saltsburg. conemaughvalley conservancy.com

Leap Day is the perfect time to throw common sense to the wintry wind and jump feetfirst into the frosty Ohio River. Funds raised by these lionhearted leapers benefit the athletes of Special Olympics Pennsylvania. specialolympicspa.org/aboutpittsburgh-plunge

elainesciolino.com

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owing for health at the Duquesne Club Depending on your lifestyle and goals, rowing can be a low-impact exercise, a collegial competition, or a simple way to relax, unwind and breathe in nature.

Some fitness experts predict rowing classes could soon outpace indoor biking as the new go-to group activity.

Rowers come in all sizes, shapes and fitness levels.

Athletes with a larger body mass can develop more blood vessels, making additional oxygen available for the endurance needed to keep rowing.

Elite rowers pride themselves on having some of the highest scores of maximal aerobic capacities ever recorded.

Maximal aerobic capacity measures an athlete’s efficiency at delivering oxygen to working muscles.

Whatever your ability, rowing will get you fitter and stronger while torching calories fast.

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In April, Women of the Club hosted The Feminine Touch, a talk about an upcoming exhibition at The Warhol that will examine some of the lesserknown women and self-identified femmes who influenced Warhol’s life and career. The talk featured Jose Carlos Diaz, senior curator at The Warhol. In May, Women of the Club hosted a Tequila Tasting with Max Miller, president and chief tasting officer of Raise Your Spirits.

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OF THE CLUB

Maureen Kerr, Susan Creighton, Toto Fisher

Hon. Joy Flowers Conti (right) and guest

The Feminine Touch April 10

Annie Westbrook, Sherri Grasak, Colleen Pietrusinski

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José Carlos Diaz

On The

Karen Lautanen, José Carlos Diaz, Geralyn Huxley

Helene McQuaide, Sydney Renee Joyce, Wendy Parker, Renee Parker

Jennifer Susco Totten, Annie Westbrook, Colleen Pietrusinski, Sherri Grasak, Anne Brownlee-Fisher, Amy McCall

Helene McQuaide

Alexandra Bindus McCafferty and Leo McCafferty

Mary Anne Klein, Kim Haggin, Susan Boyle

Colleen Pietrusinski, Annie Westbrook

SCENE Hannah Lewis, Lori Csaszar

Christine Farrell, Tommie Kornekie, Susan Boyle, Kim Haggin, Mary Anne Klein

Larisa Murphy, Ann Dugan

Tequila Tasting May 8

Stefani Pashman, Mollie Hanna Lang

Dr. Christina Greathouse

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ArtSociety Monet and the Modern City May 23

In May, the Art Society attended a limited group preview of the Carnegie Museum of Art exhibition, Monet and the Modern City. The exhibition included a loan, consisting of a painting, prints and a drawing from the collection of members Sheryl and Bruce Wolfe.

Akemi May, assistant curator of Fine Arts, provided a private guided tour. In June, attendees of Snap and Chat – a photography workshop with photographer Richard Kelly – took to the streets of Pittsburgh to learn how to take better pictures with their smartphones. Duquesne Club docents continued to provide 30-Minute WarmUp Art Tours prior to Friday evening jazz events. In July, attendees of Swizzle and Swish enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while creating cards at this watercolor workshop.

John Eichleay, Barb Conner

Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, Eve Kellar

Akemi May, Julie Srodes, Kathleen Tessaro

Bruce Wolf

Akemi May, Barb Conner, Domenic Dozzi, Julie Srodes

Jeffrey Gray, Joy Starzl Bruce and Sheryl Wolf

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Art Tour

Art Tour

May 17

June 21

Barb Connor, Kelly Gray, James Dietz Barb Conner, Nancy and Robert Barry

Snap and Chat with Richard Kelly June 22

Richard Kelly, Rosemary Corsetti and sons Ron Lane, Karen Yocca, Frank DeChellis, Rosemary Corsetti, Richard Kelly)

Regina Elda Numrich

Ron Lane

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Swizzle and Swish July 16

Susan Cruz

Susan Cruz

Karen Greb, Kathleen Guinn

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Barb Conner, Karen Greb, Kathleen Guinn, Susan Cruz

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Chris Heston, Lee Schmidt

In April, members of the Beer Society gathered for The Beer Games where they were challenged on their beer knowledge while they enjoyed delicious food stations and camaraderie.

In June, the weather forced a Terrace tasting indoors, but summer prevailed with a Sessions and Shandies tasting lineup.

Jill Brodbeck (center) and guests

The Beer Games April 25

Larry Mangan, Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, Scott Neill

Larry Mangan

Ken McCrory

John Nicholson

Jill and Chuck Brodbeck (left) and guests 44 I Avenue 6

Kevin Meacham, Michael Von Lehman, Rafael Munoz

Sessions and Shandies June 20

Charles Muse, Caroline Muse

Casey and Angela Carr, Luna Fruensgaard, Mandy Merchant

Kevin Meacham, Tim Gallagher

Ronald Donatelli and guests

Harley Stone, Tom Frampton Daniel McGrane, Zachary Kappel Duquesne Club

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The Culinary Society learned about all things sous vide in April’s cooking class with Executive Chef Keith Coughenour and his culinary team. The Culinary and Literary societies teamed up in May for Biscuits and Bubbles, featuring Michael Volpatt, author of The Big Bottom Biscuit: Specialty Biscuits and Spreads from Sonoma’s Big Bottom Market. Also in May, the society teamed up with Health & Fitness for a culinary bike ride through the city. Members joined Pastry Chef Will Racin and his team in June for another Ice Cream Boot Camp. In July, Executive Chef Keith Coughenour and his team wowed attendees once again at the Chef’s Summer Vegan Dinner with Wine Pairings.

Sous Vide Cooking Class April 13

Judy White

Sous Chef Mike Caudill

Judy White, Executive Chef Keith Coughenour, Kathy Sanzo

Executive Chef Keith Coughenour, Dr. Robert Yakovac, Kathy Sanzo

Felicitas La Bruna

Susan Fitzsimmons, Executive Chef Keith Coughenour 46 I Avenue 6

Susan Fitzsimmons

Dr. Robert Yakovac

Felicitas La Bruna, Kathy Sanzo

Front: Dr. Robert Yakovac, Kathy Sanzo, Judy White, Susan Fitzsimmons Back: Executive Chef Keith Coughenour, Sous Chef Mike Caudill, Felicitas La Bruna, Pastry Chef Will Racin

Biscuits and Bubbles May 9

Michael Volpat, Raymond and Sharon Volpat

T. J. McCrady and guest

Dr. Robert and Tammy Yakovac

Michael Volpat

Marcy Mintz

Susan Cruz, Marita Brunner, Judy Rooney

Jolyn Fisher, Marcy Mintz, Colleen Kelly, Michelle Dialoiso Duquesne Club

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Rivendale Farms June 22

Barbara Barry, Executive Chef Keith Coughenour, Betsy Wotherspoon

Christine Grady, Dana Kotwica, Pastry Chef Will Racin

Mike Germinaro, James Ellermeyer IV, Dylan Holland

Dayl Jewell and guest

Bob Gaitens, Tom Gaitens Felicitas and Edgardo La Bruna

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Ice Cream Boot Camp June 29

Chef’s Summer Vegan Dinner July 11

Executive Chef Keith Coughenour

Ann and Carl Snyder (center) and guests

Michele and Harry Soose

Eben Adams

Rocky Bleier (right)

Michele and Harry Soose and guests

Peter and Lisa Germain

Wallis Katz, Andy and Michelle Aloe Duquesne Club

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n evening in April for a ty ie c o S ry ra oman in e joined the Lit k, The Only W t o o ic b d r e e n h e t B u e o Lamarr. ab Author Mari d star Hedy re she spoke o e o h w w y ll re o H tu f c d le n the life o g reception reception an ovel based o red an evenin n l so a n c o ri to sp is y h tl Architect join the Room, a ly American ry societies n ra O e e it L th d f n o a Art Pittsburgh d: The Story In May, the D. Astorino, in God’s Han is il u c o n L e g P n A ri , merican can – featu and lecture g in the Vati ctor, Italian A e in ir d il d , u B ro a a n n ri g to Desi Melissa Ma author, and d nter. n a t c e it h arc z History Ce in e H n h Jo r nato Program, Se

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Gail and Greg

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Dennis and D Author Marie

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A Pencil in

May 14

God’s Hand

Lou Astorino Rita Miller, Fa

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Carole Scalo,

Jean Astorino Carole Scalo,

Susan Bicket

Lou Astorino

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Miller

Gloria Hudoc

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Brian Hallora

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Ryan Holden,

Joe Totten an

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Melissa Mar

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Lou P. Astorin

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Sara Horsman

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In April, the Rod & Gun Society’s Revenge of the Taxpayers sporting clay shoot was held at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

Revenge of the Taxpayers Sporting Clay Shoot April 26 top left - Jim Eckles, Tony Burlando, Bud Steffan, Regis McQuaide second row right - Joe Gaydos, Pat Wallace third row left - Scott Neill, George Harakal third row right - Bill Perry, Ken Marino fourth row left - Joe Switala, Bill Perry fourth row right - Jim Eckles, Joe Gaydos fifth row left - Ty Ulrich, Joe Gaydos fifth row right - Andy Fletcher bottom left - Ken Marino, Andy Fletcher and Ty Ulrich

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In June, members got away for a few days of fishing at Harpster’s Upper Water of Spruce Creek.

Spruce Creek June 14 top left - Andy Fisher, Rob Unkovic, John Elash top right - John Elash third row left - John Elash third row right - Rob Unkovic fourth row right - John Lally

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In April, the Wine Society welcomed Amber Mihna of Staglin Family Vineyard to speak at a tasting of featured wines from that vineyard. Count Sebastiano Capponi, owner and winemaker of Villa Calcinaia, joined the society in May for their annual Wine Society Dinner. The same month, Caleb Kilburn – master distiller for Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co – guided attendees through a sampling of Peerless Rye, 2 yr. old Single Barrel and Peerless Rye, 3 yr. old Small Batch. June brought a lively Wine Society Tasting and Annual Meeting that featured a portfolio of wines from Terlato Cru Imports. Rosé on the Roof in July continues to be a popular wine tasting event.

Staglin Family Vineyard Wine Tasting

Judy Stalder, Kevin Reynolds

April 9

Susan Cruz

Ken McCrory, Amber Mihna David and Kathleen Brand

Steve Michaux, Ashley and Andrew Wozniak, Linda Michaux

Ray Lane, Jim Stalder, Bob Capretto

Gillian Gaitens

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Kevin Reynolds, Bruce Miller

Wine Society Italian Dinner May 21 Frank Yocca, Teodori Dick

Richard Lopretto, Phyllis Bertok, Frank Yocca Michelle and Jeff Lawson Andrew and Ashley Wozniak, Linda and Steve Michaux

Zane Aurandt

Eve Kellar, Dr. Jeffrey Wilson

David Dahme, Count Sebastiano Capponi, Desiree and Jacob Hanchar, Betsy Wotherspoon, Barbara Barry

Gus and Penny Georgiadis, Count Sebastiano Capponi, David Dahme

Brian and Wendy Parker Phyllis Bertok, Richard Lopretto

Susan Cruz

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Steve Trinkala, John Pape, Jr., Caleb Kilburn

Kentucky Peerless Sampling May 22

Caleb Kilburn

Kevin Reynolds

Robert Blumling (right) and guests

Wine Society Annual Meeting and Tasting June 4 Jacob and Desiree Hanchar, Ian and Kathleen Stewart

Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, Eve Kellar

Ken McCrory, Scott Neill, Jill Kummer

Jim and Judy Stalder 58 I Avenue 6

Drs. Michael and Rita Toshok, Jeannine and Kevin Mullen

RosĂŠ on the Roof July 24

Steve and Grace Sherman and guests

Jacqueline McMenamin, Katharine Perry

Erin Smith (right) and guest

Charaka Kithulegoda, Maria Szymanski Kevin and Jeannine Mullen

Duane Swager and guest

Ken McCrory, Scott Neill, Colleen Kelly

Annie Swager, Cindy Cook, Vicki Abel

Ken McCrory, Tacy Byham, Marguerite McCrory

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CLUB-SPONSORED EVENTS The newly added taco night fits in nicely with the Reading Room’s popular repertoire of sushi, oyster and jazz evenings.

Other Club-sponsored events included Mother’s Day Dining in May, a Seafood Buffet in June, and the 15th anniversary of the Duquesne Club Golf Classic at Laurel Valley Golf Club.

New and Prospective Members April 3

Dr. Chingping Wan, Yuchi Song, Dr. Mark Piasio

James Dietz, Kelly Gray

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Scott Neill

Dr. and Mrs. Martin Earle, Neill Stouffer, Cathy Trombetta, Barb Conner, Bruce Harshman, Robert Trombetta

John Hartner, Angela Carr, Andrew De Silva

Will and Amy Minor

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Mother’s Day Dining May 12

John and Barbara Swiderski and family

Jennifer Kinross and children Beth Brown and grandchild

Josh Fischer and mother John and Nadine Engel (front), John and Annie Engel (back) and children

Margie Conley (center) and daughters Maria (left) and Gabriella

Mandy Merchant (right) and mother

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Mona and Jason Pappa Fava-Ray and daughter

Angela Carr and son

Drs. Michael and Rita Toshok and guests

Leslie and Evan Pohaski and children

Dave Fasulo and granddaughter Bill and Sandy Lambert

John Engel and daughter Bob Hernandez and guests

Jeff and Sheryl Broadhurst and sons

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Seafood Buffet June 14

Jazz on Fridays

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Frank Cunimondo

Benny Benack Trio

June 21

July 19

Duquesne Club Golf Classic 15th anniversary June 28

Walt Fowler

Brad Johnston, Scott Neill

Jonathan Spatz

Andrew Rickard

Matthew George

Lou P. Astorino

Brian Moyer, Pete Robertson, Brad Johnston, Gerry Cipriani

Andrew Rickard, Daniel Bartosh, Adam Szczepanski, Bob Wyche, Rob Rickard

Jim Leventry

Ken Marino

Andrew Fowler

Jonathan Spatz made DC Golf Classic history when he shot a hole-in-one Duquesne Club

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In May, Pilates instructors attended a weekend Pilates workshop at Health & Fitness that featured Andrea Maida; Health & Fitness and the Culinary Society sponsored a culinary bike ride through the city; and members enjoyed an offsite golf event at a private course in Ligonier.

Culinary Bike Ride Through the City May 18

Mark Bennett, David Fox, Eben and Ann Adams, Beth Levis, Ryan Kostura, Joe DiMenno

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Joe DiMenno, David Fox

Pilates with Andrea Maida May

Rolling Rock Club Golf Outing May 20

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club

CRAFTED HONEYCRISP FIZZ Bartender Ben James’ use of fresh Honeycrisp apple and Calvados – Normandy’s apple brandy – veers his version of the classic sidecar brilliantly toward autumn.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ounces Boulard Calvados V.S.O.P. • 1/2 ounce Liqueur Créole Clément • 1/2 ounce lemon juice • 5 drops orange blossom water • 1/4 Honeycrisp apple, diced, set peel aside for garnish

DIRECTIONS Muddle apple in mixing glass and add Calvados, Liqueur Créole Clément, lemon juice and orange blossom water.

Top with ice, and shake vigorously.

Double strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with hard apple cider, and garnish with an apple peel.

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HOTEL ROOMS & SUITES

Introduce friends, colleagues and traveling clients to the Duquesne Club Hotel Rooms and Suites.

An overnight stay at the Duquesne Club provides your guests with all of the pleasures and privileges of the city’s finest private club.

Enjoy luxurious comfort, fabulous food and unparalleled athletic facilities.

• Complimentary use of Health & Fitness • Wireless Internet Service (Wi-Fi) • Luxurious shower with L’Occitane products • Private dining and meeting rooms for banquets, meetings, and conferences • Valet parking And, of course, enjoy our famous DC macaroons at turndown service.

Sir Alfred East (1884-1913)

“My Dear Beatty … ” Glimpses into the friendship that led to the painting of Sir Alfred East’s Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh.

- Barb Conner, Duquesne Club art director and curator Thanks to the generosity of our members, and the matching funds graciously provided by the Duquesne Club Charitable Foundation, the 2019 acquisition of “Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh,” by Sir Alfred East, has joined our permanent collection along with “Wings of the Morning,” also by East, and presented by the Club’s Art Association in 1912.

Correspondence between Sir Alfred East (b. 1844, Kettering, England – d. 1913, London, England) and John Wesley Beatty (b. 1851, Pittsburgh, Pa. - d. 1924, Clifton Springs, N.Y.) underscores the significance of the friendship between these two men and their roles within the art world at the turn of the century.

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“My Dear Beatty,” begins many of the letters from English landscape artist East to his colleague and friend John Beatty found in the Carnegie Museum of Art Records of 1883-1962. Now housed at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, they include details relating to their mutual involvement with the Annual Exhibition of Paintings at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, now known as the Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Appointed by Andrew Carnegie as the first director of Carnegie Institute’s Department of Fine Arts, Beatty organized the inaugural Carnegie International Exhibition in 1896. He also oversaw committees, juries, and the network of services necessary to bring the mission of the annual exhibition to fruition.

Members of the foreign advisory committee helped Beatty by introducing him to other respected artists abroad. These annual exhibitions brought attention to Pittsburgh and promoted many Barbizon artists in its early years. The International still attracts prominent artists from around the world to both jury and exhibit.

UP CLOSE

Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh Duquesne Club

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East’s artworks were represented in the Carnegie Institute’s Annual Exhibition between 1899 and 1921, and he had a following here. East showed active support for the Carnegie International from 1904 on when he met Andrew Carnegie in person.

Although East was elected to the International Jury in 1904, he was unable to serve because of illness, he wrote that:

East was an accomplished artist in England and was recognized internationally for his romantic landscapes that show the influence of the Barbizon School and the plein air painting tradition.

The Beatty/East friendship had a bit of a rough start. East and other invited artists realized that an invitation to submit artwork to the annual exhibition did not guarantee inclusion. East did serve as juror on the London advisory committee in 1905, 1909 and 1912, but this letter of August 28, 1898, reveals his early dismay: My dear Beatty, After a considerable amount of hesitation, I have decided not to submit my pictures to your Com.tee in London. I was under the impression that after I had been invited the pictures would be sent direct, but I find that it is not so. I am very sorry to disappoint but an arrangement that led to a picture being refused last year does not commend itself to any artist of standing.

Initially, it’s assumed that East and Beatty became acquainted over the establishment of the foreign advisory committee, and an invitation to submit artwork to the annual exhibition followed. But, there’s a hint that East’s first visit to Pittsburgh occurred prior to 1899, as noted herein East’s letter of August 31, 1899, to Beatty: … if I was elected you know it would give me very great pleasure to see again your smoky atmosphere of Pittsburgh.

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I am very disappointed & unhappy about it ...

I think the greatest sense of disappointment was that I should miss the pleasant time I should have with you. But you will be coming over soon & I will arrange some pleasant times on this side of the water.

The friendship survived any earlier disappointments, and on October 3, 1905, Beatty wrote East that though he was unable to meet him in New York, they would meet October 12 at the institute. On October 6, 1905, Beatty wrote again: Mrs. Beatty joins me in asking you to come direct to our home.

The delay gave East the chance to complete two sketches that he had earlier made in Pittsburgh, which then joined his other works on display at the exhibition.

We may never know exactly how East chose Junction Hollow as a subject for his landscape painting. But his interview with reporter Gertrude Gordon, in the Pittsburgh Press, revealed his admiration of the city’s industrial grit and beauty in the same way that Monet and others chose the modern urban environment as subject matter.

So, how did East – primarily a painter of British landscapes – come to paint “Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh”? The catalog of the Thirteenth Annual Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1909, records a grouping of 25 paintings within that exhibition, and both “Wings of the Morning” and “Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh” are listed.

(Mr. Bruce Wolf recently gifted the art and library committee with a hardbound volume of this catalog.)

The International introduced a single-artist ‘exhibition within an exhibition,’ to which prominent artists were invited to contribute groups of around 20 pictures reflecting their lifetime’s work. Beatty tentatively invited East to exhibit, writing: I may be able to arrange for a group of seven to ten of your paintings …

The plan did not come to fruition, and East’s group had to be postponed until 1909.

Despite the delay, East was enthusiastic about sending a selection of works to Pittsburgh in 1909. East was in fact elected to the International Jury and was able to travel to the States before the exhibition opened.

The topography of the country round about is specially fitted for artistic achievement. The ways in which the hills and valleys and streams meet and mingle to form panoramas of beauty is a treat to any eye, but more especially to that of a painter …

I have been so impressed with the beauties of the city that I have painted two pictures which to me are typical of Pittsburg.

The article was illustrated by images of two of East’s paintings. One is titled “Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh” and the other is a view from a window in the home of John Beatty.

East’s one-man exhibition was so well-received that it traveled to five additional venues in the autumn and winter of 1909-10: the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy at the Albright Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York; and the National Arts Club in New York City.

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East stayed at the Beatty home from the time of his arrival for “jury duty” until his departure after Founder’s Day, April 29, 1909, when he left to tour Boston, Philadelphia, and Mystic, Conn.

Other visiting artists were also inspired by the contrasting and newly established structures within the landscape tradition, which included the surge of new building and construction around the Oakland corridor.

The Junction Hollow Bridge was an engineering feat. It was connected with Thomas Carnegie, C. W. King, John and Wm. Chalfant, Wm. Metcalf, and other prominent Pittsburghers. The inaugural ride of about 30 of the “moneyed populace” across the new bridge was noted in the October 1884, Pittsburgh Daily Post article, “Jaunt on the Junction.”

The trail of letters between East and Beatty showed that Beatty encouraged East’s travel arrangements.

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Beatty also suggested framing preferences, arranged studio visits, and continued to form a closer bond with East. Their families exchanged visits and Beatty gave East the personal telephone number for Andrew Carnegie in New York: Mr. Carnegie says he hopes you will call to see him.

Telephone 61 seventy-nine … ask for Mr. Bertram, his secretary.

East’s health is frequently mentioned in these letters; his correspondence was often halted while East regained strength.

Beatty continued his directorship and globetrotting on behalf of the Carnegie, and the final year of correspondence between East and Beatty captured the familiar aspects of travel, art, and visits that were shared between them.

March 17, 1913: My dear Beatty, Just a line to say that I have sold my picture The Enchanted Glade to Mr. [Mrs.] Benjamin Thaw. I forget if I told you before perhaps I did not as I have been so ill Best wishes for the Ex.n tell me some news of it.

Wings of the Morning

Friday, June [date unknown], 1913: My dear Beatty, Just a hurried line to catch the mail. & to say I rec.d your telegram & shall be delighted to see you & Mrs. Beatty tomorrow. Delighted to hear you are going to stay at my house.

June 10, 1913: My dear Mr & Mrs. Beatty, It was very kind of you to make the detour to see me. I appreciate it very much, indeed. I hope you had a pleasant journey & are feeling at home at our house. I am so sorry I am unable to be with you. I am writing these few lines with the Foundation pen, which is Bully.

The final letter from East to Beatty, written sometime in June 1913: My dear Friend Beatty, I am so glad you are settled down completely. I am sure my wife will do all she can to make you feel at home. It was very kind of you to tell me how you liked my picture “The Rainbow” in the RA Ex.n …& appreciate (the) words you have written coming from a man whose opinion I so highly value is a real pleasure to me. Please give my kindest regards to Mrs. Beatty & believe me with the most cordial good wishes.

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RESOURCES: • The East Family History Society http://www.eastfhs.org/sir-alfred-east-painter-sculptor.html • BOOK by Paul Johnson and Kenneth McConkey, Alfred East: Lyrical Painter of the Landscape, 2009 • https://www.kettering.gov.uk/info/210144/gallery/12261/about_the_sir_alfred_ east_art_gallery History of the Sir Alfred East Art Gallery • BOOK Southwestern Pennsylvania Painters: Collection of Westmoreland Museum of Art, ed. by Paul A. Chew, 1989, p. 60] • BOOK Gabriel P.Weisberg et al., Collecting in the Gilded Age: Art Patronage in Pittsburgh, 1890-1910 (Pittsburgh, PA: Frick Art & Historical Center, 1997).

• WEB [Citation: Monet and the Modern City exhibit, CMOA] • Dr. Alison Clarke, AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Ph.D., The University of Liverpool & The National Gallery, https://independentresearcher.academia.edu/ AlisonClarke Lecture: ‘Art knows no geographical lines’: Edwardian British artists and the International at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh Presented by Dr. Alison Clarke, Inaugural Terra Foundation-Paul Mellon Centre Fellow, Paul Mellon Centre for British Studies in Art, February 27, 2019

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• https://www.revolvy.com/page/Schenley-Tunnel?cr=1 • “Jaunt on the Junction: The connecting link of two great roads informally opened.”

Pittsburgh Daily Post. October 1, 1884. p. 4. Retrieved February 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com • “Ready for work: The last rail placed on the Junction Railroad.” Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. September 25, 1884. p. 2. Retrieved February 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

• Vicky A. Clark et al., International Encounters: The Carnegie International and Contemporary Art (Pittsburgh: The Carnegie Museum of Art, 1996) • Paul Johnson and Kenneth McConkey, Alfred East: Lyrical Landscape Painter (Bristol: Sansom & Co, 2009).

• Kenneth Neal, A Wise Extravagance: The Founding of the Carnegie International Exhibitions, 1895-1901 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996).

Of final note within the folders of this archive was the typewritten announcement of Sir Alfred East’s passing, and with it, the loss of a “gentle friend.”

Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, October 3, 1913: “The members of the Fine Arts Committee of the Carnegie Institute have learned with inexpressible sadness of the death of Sir Alfred East, and they desire to express to Lady East, and the other members of his family, the sympathy they feel.

1909 Carnegie International Back wall, second column, top painting: “Junction Hollow, Pittsburgh”, East, Alfred (British 1844 1913), exhibition view, 13th Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Carnegie Institute of Art, Pittsburgh, 1909.

Photograph (c) Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.

The several visits of Sir Alfred to America are recalled by all the officials of the Carnegie Institute with genuine feelings of affection for him, and they realize that by the death of this distinguished painter they have lost a gentle friend, whose spirit was always kindly and generous. In this respect, he has left a rich heritage. …”

Barb Conner is the art director and curator at the Duquesne Club. She holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and an MA from California University.

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eason S TA S T E O F T H E

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Crown Roast of Pork Recipe by Mike Caudill, Executive Sous Chef

Cranberry Kumquat Relish, Roasted Vegetables, Käsespätzle

h CROWN ROAST OF PORK 2 (8-bone) racks of pork, chine bone removed, fat trimmed, rib bones frenched 1 quart honey brine 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1/4 cup Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard 2 tablespoons chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage) 4 ounces small-diced onion 2 ounces small-diced carrot 2 ounces small-diced celery 4 ounces white wine 1 ounce tomato paste 1 quart brown stock 2 tablespoons cornstarch slurry

Procedure:

• Place pork racks into 2 large food storage

bags or an appropriate size pan, and add brine until it reaches the level of the bones.

Squeeze out extra air and marinate for 8 hours in the refrigerator.

• Remove the pork from the brine, pat dry

and allow to come to room temperature, about 1 hour.

• Preheat oven to 300˚ F. • Upend both racks so they are parallel to

one another with bones facing up and slits facing out. Curve racks toward each other

so they meet at both ends to form a crown.

Holding pork in place, encircle racks with butcher string around the thickest part of the loin and also around the rib bones, and securely tie.

• Mix together the garlic with both mustards, chopped herbs, and rub onto the roast.

• Cover the bones with foil.

• Place the pork in a roasting pan on top of onions, carrots and celery.

• Place in the oven; cook until a thermometer reads 135˚ F in the center of the loin, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

• Remove roast from oven, and increase oven temperature to 450˚ F.

• Place pork back into oven until browned and crisp, about 5 to 10 minutes.

• Remove from oven; remove the pork from the

roasting pan, and allow to rest for 30 minutes before cutting into chops.

• Place the roasting pan on the stovetop, and deglaze with the wine.

• Add the tomato paste, and cook until it achieves a brick red color.

• Add the stock, and release the fond completely.

• Simmer until proper consistency and flavor is achieved.

• Thicken sauce with the cornstarch slurry,

and cook for a minute more before straining.

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Procedure:

• Cut kumquats in half and remove the seeds.

• Bring a small saucepan with water to a boil, add the kumquats, and cook for 2 minutes.

• Strain, and rinse the kumquats under HONEY BRINE Yield: 1 quart 2 cups water 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 2 ounces kosher salt 2 ounces honey 1 ounce brown sugar 1 shallot, sliced 2 garlic cloves, sliced 12 black peppercorns, cracked 1 sprig rosemary 1 sprig tarragon 6 bunches parsley 3 sprigs thyme 1 bay leaf 2 cups ice water, slushy

Procedure:

• Place all ingredients, except the ice water, into a saucepan and bring to a simmer; cover with a lid, and set aside to steep for 30 minutes.

• Add mixture with ingredients to ice water and chill.

CRANBERRY KUMQUAT RELISH 4 ounces kumquats 12 ounces cranberries 3 ounces orange juice 3 ounces triple sec 4 ounces sugar 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons butter Kosher salt to taste Black pepper to taste

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cold water.

• Add the kumquats to a medium saucepan

with the cranberries, orange juice, triple sec, sugar and red wine vinegar; stir.

• Cover the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring often.

• Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the berries

start to burst and the liquid begins to thicken.

• Remove from the heat and fold in the butter.

• Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

ROASTED VEGETABLES Seasonal root vegetables (carrots, beets, parsnips) Brussels sprouts Assorted squash Pearl onions or shallot Chestnuts 3 sprigs thyme Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 375˚ F. • Peel and cut vegetables to a uniform size.

• Toss with olive oil to coat, and season with salt and pepper.

• Place on a baking pan, and cover with foil.

• Bake for 20 minutes, remove foil from pan, and turn vegetables over.

• Continue to bake in the oven for 20 minutes more, removing vegetables as needed when cooked through.

KÄSESPÄTZLE

SPÄTZLE

1 onion, medium diced or julienned

3 eggs

6 tablespoons butter

2 ounces milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 ounces yogurt

8 ounces Emmentaler, Jarlsberg and Gouda cheese

2 teaspoons roasted garlic puree

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt, to taste

1 batch of spätzle

Black pepper, to taste

Procedure:

• Combine the onion with 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil in a saucepan with a lid, and cook on low heat until onions are caramelized, stirring often.

1 ounce herb puree or chopped herbs

Nutmeg, to taste 8 ounces all-purpose flour

Procedure:

• Add all ingredients except for flour to a large bowl; whisk to combine.

• Preheat oven to 375˚ F. • Butter an appropriate size baking dish with

• Work in the flour until combined, and allow

• Combine the spätzle with the cream, and

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer.

• Using a spätzle machine or colander, working

the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.

layer the spätzle with onions, then cheese, ending with cheese as the top layer.

• Bake until cheese is melted and edges begin to crisp.

to rest for 10 minutes.

in batches, drop the dough into the water and simmer 5 to 6 minutes.

• Remove the spätzle, drain and chill.

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on

TAP

in the Reading Room

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Nosferatu Imperial Red le Y

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

By Chris Hestin, chair of the Beer Society

BEERS FOR FEARS As summer turns to fall, beer lovers transition to the next season’s delectable offerings and all turn their eyes toward that most ghoulish of holidays – Halloween. What better way to celebrate the fall than with a brew and a good horror flick?

Beer has played a prominent role in many horror films. More specifically, imbibing must be what influences some unexplainable behavior of victims. Why else would a person forget how to run and trip over everything imaginable as the killer slowly walks toward them? Why else would anyone go down into a dark scary basement? For the extra beer in the extra refrigerator? Beer can also lead to a romp in the hay, which is a clear indication of who will be the next two murder victims.

So if you’re looking to visit Camp Crystal Lake this fall, pack some of Untold Brewing’s Voorhees American stout. Planning on spending some time in a cornfield with Malachai? Be sure to bring some of New Glarus Brewing’s Spotted Cow. Perhaps you’ll be visiting the Lutzes in Amityville? They are fans of AleSmith’s Evil Dead Red (and its 6.66% ABV.) Duvel pairs well with Michael Myers, as its 8.5% ABV can seriously sneak up on you, like the devil himself. Spending a few nights at the Overlook Hotel? Order Avery Brewing’s Mephistopheles’ Stout and its shining 16.83% ABV. (Jack certainly had a few.) And if you find yourself entertaining a zombie in your home, make sure you have Terrapin’s The Walking Dead - Blood Orange IPA on hand.

If you’re in the Club this fall, enjoy Great Lakes Brewing’s Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale. From Great Lakes: Taken with their “Imperial Red Ale’s claret color, our brewers conjured a frighteningly good name for this new creation: Nosferatu.

Let your eyes creep across our label artwork, and you’ll unearth film negatives referencing the classic German horror movie that inspired our spookiest brew. A unique style born from the American craft beer movement (Nosferatu was an early example), the Imperial Red Ale blends the bright, bitter hop characteristics of the American IPA and the toasty, caramel malt characteristics of the American Amber Ale. Add a higher ABV and more intense bitterness and roasted malt flavors, and you’ve got the Imperial Red Ale.

”

ABV: 8% IBU: 70 Malts: Harrington 2-Row, Crystal 77, Special Roast Hops: Simcoe, Cascade

Cheers!

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iving G

BACK Chad Barker, son of human resources assistant Mary Jo Barker, is a senior at Penn State majoring in secondary education mathematics with a minor in special education. Chad actively volunteers at Penn State with THON to raise money to fight pediatric cancer and with Harmony, a club that teaches musical theater to children and adults with special needs.

Chad works as an à la carte and banquet server at the Duquesne Club during school breaks.

Ruth Freeman, daughter of housekeeper Elaine Freeman, will complete her senior year in December at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she is majoring in finance with a minor in economics. Ruth plans to focus on the fashion industry after graduation.

Ruth was born in a refugee camp in war-torn Liberia and immigrated to the United States as a child. The Scholarship Fund supported Ruth every year of her undergraduate studies.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO 2019-2020 SCHOLARSHIP FUND RECIPIENTS

The Scholarship Advisory Committee, including program founder Eileen Mauclair D’Appolonia Muse and daughter Anne D’Appolonia Dickson, Duquesne Club general manager Scott Neill, Nancyann Letterio, treasurer of the Duquesne Club Charitable Foundation, and Christy Stuber of The Pittsburgh Foundation, met in May and awarded scholarships totaling $20,000 to five children of Club employees from the Camille Mauclair/Duquesne Club Employees Scholarship Fund:

Molly Klose, daughter of engineer Richard Klose and sister of fellow recipient Richard Klose Jr., is a second-year recipient and sophomore at Allegheny College. Molly is choosing her major and has enrolled in diverse classes and seminars to guide her decision. Molly worked in the Club’s Health & Fitness and Library this summer.

Richard Klose Jr., son of engineer Richard Klose, is a senior majoring in human resource management at Westminster College. Rick is the oldest of four children and has been supported by the Scholarship Fund every year of his undergraduate studies. He was selected by his fraternity to attend the Theta Chi National Conference in Las Vegas for training in leadership, risk management and education skills.

Rick works in the Club’s pastry shop as a pot washer during school breaks.

Bishal Sherpa, son of room attendant Laxmi Sherpa, is a junior who transitioned from Penn State’s Beaver Campus to University Park. A secondyear recipient, Bishal changed his major from astronomy to economics after being inspired by a professor and coursework.

All five children have incurred sizable student loans.

The Scholarship Fund assists children of employees with demonstrated financial need in realizing their educational goals at accredited colleges, universities and post-secondary vocational and technical schools. To be considered, students must submit an application, high school and college transcripts, SAT and ACT exam scores, Summary Annual Report (SAR) from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), reference letters and an essay describing how the scholarship will make a difference in their life. $241,625 has been awarded to 26 students since the Fund’s 2001 inception.

The Scholarship Fund makes an important difference in the lives of employees and their children and lightens their burden of student debt. We thank our members for their generous support!

DONATIONS TO FOUNDATION Thank you to members who made contributions to the Duquesne Club Charitable Foundation since the previous issue of Avenue 6: Scholarship Fund Matteo Gruelle 2019 DC Golf Classic General Fund Robert C. McCartney

MAKE A DONATION Donations to the Duquesne Club Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, are tax deductible and are accepted (by check or charge to member account) at: Duquesne Club Charitable Foundation Attention: Nancyann Letterio, Treasurer P.O. Box 387 Pittsburgh, PA 15230-0387

First row, seated (scholarship founder and her daughters) - Anne D’Appolonia Dickson, Eileen Mauclair D’Appolonia Muse, Carrie D’Appolonia Barmen Second row - Scott, Chad and Mary Jo Barker, Laxmi and Bishal Sherpa, Molly Klose, Elaine & Ruth Freeman, Richard Sr. and Suzanne Klose (missing from photo - Richard Klose Jr.)

Designate if your gift is intended for a specific qualified activity (maintenance and restoration of the historic exterior of the clubhouse, acquisition and preservation of artwork, or support of the Scholarship Fund). Otherwise, it will be added to the Board-directed general fund, which is used to pay accounting, tax filing, state registration, and other fees and periodically awards project grants. Note if your contribution is being made in honor or memory of someone or if you wish to remain anonymous.

For more information, telephone Nancyann Letterio at 412.560.3222, or email nletterio@duquesne.org.

Duquesne University graduate and 3-year scholarship recipient Carly Malezi with her father, banquet captain John Malezi, and scholarship founder Eileen Mauclair D’Appolonia Muse.

A copy of the official registration and financial information for the Duquesne Club Charitable Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

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D U Q U E S N E

C L U B

Holiday

HUB FROM THE DC KITCHENS TO YOUR HOLIDAY TABLE! Pick up deliciously prepared dishes, and leave the cooking to us.

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Enjoy roasted, smoked, brined or natural turkeys that are oven-ready or fully cooked. Also featured are popular side dishes, seasonal soups, festive salads, appetizers, hors d’oeuvres and full dessert buffets. A comprehensive menu can be picked up in the Club’s Front Office and Health & Fitness.

The deadline for Thanksgiving orders is Friday, November 22, by 2 p.m. Orders may be picked up at the Front Door no later than Wednesday, November 27, by 2 p.m.

The deadline for Christmas orders is Thursday, December 19, by 2 p.m. Orders may be picked up at the Front Door no later than Tuesday, December 24, by 2 p.m.

Call the Reservation Office at 412.471.6585 to place your holiday order and schedule a pick-up time.

EASY. MMAKEAKEIT ITJOYOUS.

HOST YOUR PRIVATE HOLIDAY PARTY AT THE CLUB. Throw the holiday party of the century or impress a small group of business colleagues with the Duquesne Club’s custom array of private dining and banquet options. Contact Banquet & Catering at 412.471.6585.

SEASON OF RICH AHOLIDAY TRADITIONS

Oktoberfest Thursday, October 3 Taste authentic Oktoberfest beers and experience a festive celebration of Bavarian culture. Celebrate by perusing authentic German food stations, sampling Oktoberfest-style craft beers, and listening to traditional German music.

Enjoy mingling with your fellow members as we welcome in the fall season at the Club.

Haunted House Decorating Tuesday, October 22 Boo! Conjure up some spooky fun by joining Duquesne Club Pastry Chef Will Racin and his goblins as children of all ages decorate their own haunted gingerbread house.

Gingerbread House Decorating

Tuesday, November 19, and Friday, November 22 Join the Duquesne Club pastry chefs as children of all ages decorate their own gingerbread house. This is a great family event and a fun way to create a holiday centerpiece for your home!

Holiday Teas

Fridays, November 29, and December 6, 13, & 20 Relax and enjoy traditional style tea in the Club’s Library and Duquesne Room with a selection of fine teas, scones, tea cookies, sandwiches and other pastries.

Wine Society Holiday Champagne Tasting Tuesday, December 3

Enjoy outstanding champagne selections and substantial hors d’oeuvres at this festive and elegant holiday event. Consider dining in the Club following the tasting.

Children’s Holiday Party Saturday, December 14

Celebrate Santa’s official arrival at the Club, where the party will feature visits and photographs with Santa Claus, special favors prepared by Santa’s elves, holiday entertainment, cookie decorating, and buffets for both children and adults. There is also an opportunity to give by donating books to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

New Year’s Day Open House Wednesday, January 1

Make a resolution to start your year off right by celebrating at the Club. Our lively open house provides an opportunity for members, their families and guests to visit the facilities and enjoy each other’s company with cocktails, a celebratory dinner, tours of the Club, a professional photographer and more.

Note: See “In the Q” on pages 98-99 for a more comprehensive calendar of events, covering October through January.

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To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

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– Winston Churchill

Five years ago, the Duquesne Club conducted a wide-reaching survey among its membership. We aimed to discover where and how we could increase member satisfaction and better serve your needs. The results were eye-opening and inspired the Board of Directors to initiate a schedule of improvements to physical spaces, branding, services, and social programming – all based directly on member requests. The Club’s online presence and digital communications were also improved.

We conducted a follow-up survey in April and are pleased to announce that the areas we targeted for improvement have received overwhelmingly positive acknowledgments. Members are enjoying far greater use of previously underutilized areas of the Club.

But, we’re not

content to rest on our laurels.

Once more, we’ve asked your opinion, and the member survey has again revealed some areas where we can improve. The Marketing Committee and Board of Directors are carefully examining your feedback and researching possible solutions. We hope to have some ideas to present to you in the coming months and remain committed to designing a club that continues to evolve with our membership.

Working together, we aim to deliver improved facilities, the highest standards of service and superior experiences at the Club.

Thank you for letting us know what’s important to you.

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eason S SPACES for the

The Duquesne Club is a special place year-round, but especially so during the Season – the fall months through the first of the year – when it truly comes alive, bustling with social events, private parties and grand holiday traditions. Larger spaces like the Main and the Garden Patio are often booked months in advance, but there are spaces for the season that are more readily available for celebrating on a whim!

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS.

Hotel Suites Our remedy for staving off the stress of the season is rather simple: Relax with a couples massage in Health & Fitness, enjoy a romantic in-suite dinner for two, luxuriate in one of the Club’s beautifully appointed hotel suites.

Repeat as desired.

Billiard Room Throw a cocktail party for up to 35 guests. With wall-mounted televisions, you can cheer on your favorite team while answering a challenge to a game of cutthroat pool. The Billiard Room is the perfect spillover room for larger parties of up to 150 in the adjacent Garden Patio.

90 I Avenue 6

La Cave Perfect for wine enthusiasts. Arrange a private wine tasting or enjoy a candlelit wine cellar dinner with pairings.

Executive Chef Keith Coughenour will create a meal to remember, complemented with wine selections from DC sommelier Kevin Reynolds. Seats 10.

Reading Room The Reading Room, while not private, is a great option for smaller groups to meet up for a special occasion. Reserve the communal table in the center of the room for a gathering of up to 12, or for a warmer feel, cozy into one of the banquet areas along the windows.

Suite 424 With its light, almost southern charm decor, this newly appointed private suite on the fourth floor of the clubhouse provides an opportunity to steal away for a warm and inviting evening with family and friends. The suite features a dining room, living room, television, and a powder room. Seats 10.

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Offsite Catering Be a guest at your own party!

Whether it’s an intimate dinner celebration with friends or a lavish affair for hundreds, the Duquesne Club’s talented team of culinary and event professionals will make your event truly remarkable.

Afternoon Tea Relax and enjoy traditional style tea in one of the Club’s private suites. Harney and Sons Fine Teas are offered, along with scones, tea cookies, sandwiches and other delectable pastries.

Sip on a glass of Champagne to add some extra sparkle to the occasion. If his schedule allows, arrange for Pastry Chef Will Racin to stop by for a chat about the process of creating your favorite sweets.

92 I Avenue 6

Room 407 Also newly appointed, Room 407 features enhanced technology and accommodates up to 14 guests for meetings or private dinners with a great view of Sixth Avenue and its churches.

Chef’s Table Right in the center of a busy commercial kitchen in action, experience a chef-created menu with wine pairings. This is a rare opportunity for up to 10 guests.

Limited availability.

Golf Simulator With seating for five and television, small groups can reserve the space to watch a game and enjoy food and beverages from the Health & Fitness Café while taking turns at the Club’s state-of-the-art golf simulator.

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94 I Avenue 6

K C A B K O

O L

A SILVER CUP FROM THE DC ARCHIVES It’s a mystery. Recently an engraved silver cup was

discovered in the Club’s archives. It’s inscribed to Edwin Zug Smith from members of The Round Table.

Front inscription:

Left side inscription:

To

Edwin W. Smith Sam’l McClay George Shiras 3D J. M. Shields G. E. Shaw

Edwin Zug Smith From The Round Table 1858 – November 18 • 1908 Solem Enim E mundo tollere videntur qui amicitiam e vita tollunt

The Latin inscription is an excerpt from Roman statesman and author Marcus Tullius Cicero’s treatise on friendship, Laelius de Amicitia, written in 44 BC., and is translated as: Robbing life of friendship is like robbing the world of the sun.

T-----------------

-----------------

Lewis McMullen F. W. Smith S. U. Trent

Right side inscription: J. S. Young W. D. Porter C. C. Dickey P. C. Knox J. A. Evans W. H. McClung Thos. Patterson J. J. Miller C. P. Orr

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Who was

Edwin Zug Smith?

Attorney E.Z. Smith, as he was more familiarly known, was born in 1858 and died on August 24, 1944, and lies in Homewood Cemetery.

His list of credentials is long and impressive.

He was:

• One of the founders of the State Bar Association.

• Served as a member of the Allegheny Board of Viewers.

• Served on the Allegheny County Board of Tax Revision.

• Director of the

Pittsburgh Thrift and Loan Association.

• The first president of the Pittsburgh Civic Club.

• One of the founders of

Oakmont Country Club.

• A director of the

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

• President of the

Pittsburgh Art Society for 10 years.

• Served on the orchestra committee of the

No doubt one of Smith’s more interesting positions was serving as president of the Thorn Hill School for Boys. While Thorn Hill sounds like an exclusive private school to today’s ears, it was actually a facility used to “make good citizens” out of delinquent boys from Allegheny, Butler and surrounding counties.

The school was established in 1910 and closed in 1979.

Thorn Hill Industrial Park now sits on the lands that were used by the school.

z And this, dear reader, is all that is known about E.Z. Smith. The trail grows even colder as we search for any information on the Duquesne Club “Round Table.”

original Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

• A life member of Calvary Episcopal Church where he served as vestryman.

• Active in the Pittsburgh Diocese Church Club of the Episcopal Church.

96 I Avenue 6

The cup is on display through January 2 in the library on the second floor of the clubhouse. Any information on The Round Table, its members, and why this cup may have been presented will be gratefully received.

A TALE FOR ALL TIME An Immersive Experience Through the Gilded Age

An entertainment of incomparable distinction.

Duquesne Club On Friday, the twenty-eighth of February Two thousand and twenty

omen OF THE CLUB

A charity event to benefit United for Women, a program of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania that is MAKING a positive IMPACT for WOMEN in vulnerable stages.

O

in the

OCTOBER 12

- Chocolate Boot Camp with Pastry Chef Will Racin - Wright’s Polymath Park Tour and Lunch (offsite) – sponsored by the Art Society

15 3 7

Oktoberfest Luncheon Speaker Series – Stephen Chbosky, Imaginary Friend – sponsored by the Literary Society

8 9 10 11

Perliss Estate Vineyards, featuring winegrower Anthony Perliss - sponsored by the Wine Society

New & Prospective Member Reception

Kitchen Event – sponsored by Women of the Club - 30-Minute Warm-Up Art Tour – sponsored by the Art Society - Jazz on Fridays in the Reading Room

98 I Avenue 6

Bank of America Art Collection, featuring speaker Evan Beard, National Art Services Executive for Bank of America Private Bank sponsored by the Art Society.

17&18 21& 22 22 23 28

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort Golf Outing – sponsored by Health & Fitness

Woodmont Hunting Trip – sponsored by the Rod & Gun Society

Haunted House Decorating – sponsored by the Culinary Society Rod & Gun Society Kickoff Event

Culinary Society Party in the Kitchen – sponsored by the Culinary Society

29

Evening Reception & Lecture – Elaine Sciolino, The Seine: The River That Made Paris – sponsored by the Literary Society

NOVEMBER 8

- 30-Minute Warm-Up Art Tour – sponsored by the Art Society

20

- Jazz on Fridays in the Reading Room - Rod & Gun Society Pheasant Hunt – Colonial Farms Hunting Preserve

13 14

Jewelry Display & Technique Demonstration – sponsored by Women of the Club

- Suds in the City – sponsored by the Beer Society - Louise Sturgess: Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Evening Reception and Lecture – sponsored by the Art Society

15 17&18

Game Dinner – sponsored by the Rod & Gun Society Woodmont Hunting Trip – sponsored by the Rod & Gun Society

21

Champagne Tasting

5

- Rod & Gun Society Holiday Happy Hour - (tentative) Ron Donoughe – Studio Selections artist meet and greet – sponsored by the Art Society

6, 13 & 20

Holiday Tea

14

1

Evening Reception & Lecture – Robert Matzen, Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II – sponsored by the Literary Society

Thanksgiving Seven Springs Sporting Clays Shoot – sponsored by the Rod & Gun Society - Holiday Tea - Turkey Burner Group Cycle Class, burn off up to 1,200 calories – sponsored by Health & Fitness

10

11 12 14 26

Luncheon Speaker Series – Barbara Burstin, Sophie: The Incomparable Mayor Masloff – sponsored by the Literary Society

Gingerbread House Decorating – sponsored by the Culinary Society

Tor Wines Event – sponsored by the Wine Society

27 29

DECEMBER

3 4

19& 22

New & Prospective Member Reception

Coffee Event – sponsored by Women of the Club

Holiday Beer Tasting – sponsored by the Beer Society Children’s Holiday Party

Jingle Bell Ride Group Cycle Class, burn off up to 1,200 calories – sponsored by Health & Fitness

JANUARY New Year’s Day Open House

Motivational Speaker – sponsored by Women of the Club

29

Evening Reception & Lecture – Marie Benedict, Lady Clementine (Churchill) – sponsored by the Literary Society

Events are subject to change. Watch your email and visit the Club’s website for the most up-to-date listing.

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C L U B

H I S T O R Y

D P ollar

of the

rincesses

Duquesne Club

Jessica Cox, independent historian and history writer

100 I Avenue 6

Fans of the television drama Downton Abbey know that Lady Cora Crawley, the fictional estate’s American mistress, was scooped up, along with her sizable dowry, by her English husband Lord Crawley. Then she was brought home to Yorkshire to live happily ever after and save the flagging fortunes of his ancestral estate. But even though Cora Crawley may be fictional, her story is based in fact. At the beginning of the 20th century, it is estimated that European noblemen claimed as many as 800 American heiresses. They pumped billions of dollars into a threadbare aristocracy and came to be known collectively as the American Dollar Princesses.

E

conomically and socially, it was a perfect match – ancient estates were modernized, heirs secured, and the self-made American industrial nobility gained the blood and titles they could never have achieved by their common birth. The happiness of the daughters themselves, however, was not always guaranteed. Most famously, Consuelo Vanderbilt wept at the altar before New York’s

Four Hundred as she was all but sold off to Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough. The dowry? The equivalent of $75 million in railroad stock. Not all the matches of the American Dollar Princesses were quite so troubled, but neither were many famously happy. Among these were a handful of daughters and granddaughters of Duquesne Club members, who carried a bit of the Smoky City with them into the ancient houses of the Old World.

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T

he Thaw family was among Pittsburgh’s most prestigious and powerful.

Their new railroad wealth, augmented by old-name marriages, placed them at the top of the city’s social heap. They moved regally through the glittering realm of high society, but also through a private universe of secrets and scandal. Insanity, believed Mrs. Thaw, ran on both sides of the family tree,1 and she was ever-ready to open her purse to tamp down trouble. This was particularly true when it came to her profligate son, Harry Kendall Thaw, who had been responsible for many bizarre, sexual, and violent episodes that were never mentioned in polite society.2

Alice Cornelia Thaw was the reserved, sheltered, unpretentious baby of the Thaw family, known for attending the opera in a plain shirtwaist, and for being far more interested in “her dogs, her horses and outdoor life than in the doings of the social world.”3 When her father died in 1889, Alice, age nine, received a 1/16th share of his estate, valued at $1 million – about $30 million today. And in due time she stood to inherit yet more from her independently wealthy mother.4

game at the Duquesne Gardens6 – would soon follow with an equally suitable match. In January 1903, however, fate took a turn. Alice visited her brother Harry at his winter home, the Cameron House in Washington DC,7 and was introduced to George Francis Alexander Seymour, the Earl of Yarmouth and heir of the 6th Marquis of Hertford.8 The Earl was handsome, charming, worldly, and landed. But he was also stone broke with a decidedly eccentric reputation, being a failed actor,9 and a famed “skirt-dancer”10 — not a skirt chaser – known for “all-male house parties” at a remote Australian estate.11 Well aware of the breadth of the Thaw fortune, the Earl set out to secure Alice as his American bride. It was a match which was initially favored by Brother Harry but not by Mother Thaw, who disapproved of the current fashion of international marriages.12 Her concerns were justified when, hardly 30 days after the announcement, rumors were already swirling.

In March, it was said that the Earl had broken off the engagement when the Thaw lawyers would not allow Alice more than $25,000 per year in cash.13 Then, the wedding itself was mysteriously delayed for 45 minutes. It took place at Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh on April 23, 1903, and included 500 invitees, as well as 5,000 Yarmouth uninvited spectators who had to be held back by police.

The Thaws maintained that the Earl had simply forgotten to bring the marriage license,14 and took his time in retrieving it. But gossip maintained that the delay was caused by the Earl’s solicitor who had traveled from England with the groom’s parents, the Marquis and Marchioness of Hertford. The solicitor was there to demand that Alice’s dowry be increased or the wedding would be called off on the spot.15 And that wasn’t the only hiccup.

Alice Cornelia Thaw Countess of

When Alice’s sister Margaret married George Lauder Carnegie, Jr., a nephew of world-famous Andrew, in 1898,5 the occasion fell into the Thaw tradition of advantageous marriages. So everyone assumed that Alice – whose debut ball two years later was an informal skating party and hockey 102 I Avenue 6

The mercurial Harry was supposed to give his sister away but never even showed up for the ceremony, due, it was said, to his indignation over the Earl’s demands.16 Mother Thaw herself later released a press statement to deny the rumors, but they persisted nonetheless.17 In May, following Alice’s presentation to King Edward IV,18 the newlyweds arrived in Alcester, England, to take possession of the Earl’s estate, Ragley Hall.

Before their appearance, the estate had been leased to others due to lack of funds. The roads leading to the house were “gaily decorated by the tenantry,” who had no doubt heard of the new mistress’ wealth, and there were cheers when the couple announced their intention to take up permanent residence.19 But no sooner had the Earl installed Alice at Ragley, and sweet-talked her into upgrading the estate and paying off his gambling debts, than he announced that he “disliked women,”20 and set off to Monte Carlo to rack up more losses. Time and again, Alice paid the Earl’s bills, and time and again, the absentee Earl presented her with more bills. The Yarmouths made several trips to America together, but the Earl never hung around long, either returning quickly to England21 or setting off with friends for points unknown.22 Already by 1904, rumor had it that the couple had separated.23

Then, in June of 1906, the lives of the Thaws would change forever when the unstable Harry shot and killed the famed New York architect Stanford White during a performance at the Madison Square Roof Garden, which White himself had designed. Thaw said it was in retaliation for White “ruining” his wife, Evelyn Nesbit. Nesbit was a famous “Gibson Girl” model, chorus girl, and Tarentum, Pennsylvania, native who had been involved with the notorious womanizer White before she married Thaw. No person alive could remember a sexier, more salacious society scandal. The trial that ensued was covered in every major newspaper on both sides of the Atlantic and was the first to be known as the “Trial Of The Century.”

The Earl was annoyed by the endless media coverage, which invariably noted the Countess of Yarmouth as the defendant’s sister. He became even more so when Alice announced she would return to America

Ragley Hall

to support her brother.24 In the end, Alice would sit by her mother’s side in New York through not one, but two trials, during which reporters perpetually hounded her family, and the Thaws’ private details were paraded before an insatiable public. The Earl, rather than supporting his aggrieved wife, set off again for Monte Carlo.

In New York, Harry became the center of Alice’s world. When he was lonely in his poshly decorated cell at the Tombs prison in Manhattan, or at the Matteawan State Mental Hospital at Fishkill, she braved the horrors and smells of bedlam to visit.25 When the courts threatened to auction his property, she submitted bids to buy it all.26 When Justice Mills of New York went camping in a remote part of Maine, Alice walked 20 miles through the woods in a driving rain, wearing a corduroy dress, to try and persuade Mills to release Harry into her custody.27 Years later, when Harry decided he had been rehabilitated enough, he escaped Matteawan State Hospital by merely walking out the front door.

His way had no doubt had been smoothed by hefty payoffs from his mother.28 The shadowy woman seen with him during his escape was more than likely Alice.29 She also supposedly rented a large, secluded home near the Canadian border which, it was said, would have made an excellent hideout.30 By 1907, it was openly said that the Yarmouths were heading for divorce.31 Alice had moved out of Ragley Hall and into Park Hall,32 a nearby estate which she also swiftly upgraded. Then she sent to her Pittsburgh lawyers for her marriage license and financial documents.33 Although her motherin-law, the Marchioness of Hertford, tried valiantly to patch things up, 34 Alice had made her decision.

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The Earl of Yarmouth, meanwhile, unsuccessfully courted a few other heiresses, but never married again and died without issue in 1940. The title of Marquess of Hertford and Ragley Hall passed to his nephew, Hugh Seymour, who, faced with insurmountable upkeep and repairs, started a trend. He became one of the first of the British landowners to open their stately homes to the public on a for-profit basis. Although the model has spread across Europe, Ragley Hall remains one of the best restored examples, and the Seymours remain in residence.

Park Hall

When the Earl was presented with divorce papers, he announced that he would fight the suit.35 But then when it was subsequently leaked that certain “medical evidence”36 would prove that their marriage had been a sham, the Earl relented. In the end, he did not even show up for the hearing.37 The Yarmouths’ marriage was annulled on February 5, 1908, on the grounds of non-consummation,38 and although a small sum was yet again settled on the Earl,39 Alice soon put her lawyers back to work. They reclaimed her half-million-dollar dowry,40 which may or may not have been forcibly negotiated at the altar.

Following the annulment, Alice moved first to New York to be with Harry, then to the RingoldCarroll House in Washington, D.C.41 Finally, in 1913, she took some happiness for herself, marrying unknown stockbroker Geoffrey George Whitney Sr. of Boston in a quiet ceremony at her sister Margaret’s house on Cumberland Island, Georgia.42 The Whitneys had two sons, and lived contentedly in Milton and Woods Hole, Massachusetts, for the rest of their lives. When Alice passed away in 1955 at the age of 75, she was buried in the small Woods Hole cemetery across the street from her summer home, Little Harbor Farm.43 Her wealth and prestige entitled her to substantial obituaries in newspapers across America, but the eye-catching headlines generally noted her, not as heiress Alice Thaw, or Mrs. George Whitney, or as the former Countess of Yarmouth, but simply as “Harry Thaw’s sister.”44 104 I Avenue 6

References: 1

Pittsburgh Press, January 14, 1908, p 2, Newspapers.com

2

See Paula Uruburu, American Eve, Riverhead Books, New York:2008

3

New York Tribune, April 26, 1903, p 34, Newspapers.com

4

Pittsburgh Daily Post, February 18, 1903, p 5, Newspapers.com

5

Pittsburgh Press, October 6, 1898, p 2, Newspapers.com

6

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 5, 1900, p 2, Newspapers.com

7

Pittsburgh Daily Post, February 18, 1903, p 5, Newspapers.com

8

Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, February 1, 1903, p 4, Newspapers.com

9

Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, February 18, 1903, p 6, Newspapers.com

10

Pittsburgh Press, January 4, 1908, p 2, Newspapers.com

11

Robert Aldrich, Gary Wotherspoon, “Who’s Who in Gay and Lesbian History: From Antiquity to World War II,” Routledge, New York:2001, p 476.

12

Pittsburgh Daily Post, February 18, 1903, p 5, Newspapers.com

13

Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, March 23, 1903, p 1, Newspapers.com

14

The News-Herald, April 28, 1903, p 6, Newspapers.com

15

Pittsburgh Press, April 7, 1935, p 33, Newspapers.com

16

Harrisburg Daily Independent, June 26, 1926, p 2, Newspapers.com

17

Philadelphia Inquirer, April 30, 1903p 1, Newspapers.com

18

Pittsburgh Daily Post, February 6, 1908, p 3, Newspapers.com

19

Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, May 13, 1903, p 1, Newspapers.com

20

Pittsburgh Press, January 4, 1908, p 1, Newspapers.com

21

Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, August 29, 1904, p 1, Newspapers.com

22

Pittsburgh Daily Post, February 9, 1906, p 7, Newspapers.com

23

Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, August 28, 1904, p 1, Newspapers.com

24

Pittsburgh Press, December 14, 1907, p 2, Newspapers.com

25

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 21, 1909, p 2, Newspapers.com

26

Pittsburgh Daily Post, January 7, 1910, p 2, Newspapers.com

27

Buffalo Enquirer, August 18, 1909, p 6, Newspapers.com

28

The Scranton Truth, August 19, 1913, p 1, Newspapers.com

29

Pittston Gazette, August 19, 1913, p 1, Newspapers.com

30

Harrisburg Telegraph, August 18, 1913, p 8, Newspapers.com

31

Pittsburgh Press, December 14, 1907, p 2, Newspapers.com

32

Pittsburgh Daily Post, January 4, 1908, p 6, Newspapers.com

33

Pittsburgh Press, December 14, 1907, p 2, Newspapers.com

34

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 4, 1908, p 1, Newspapers.com

35

Pittsburgh Press January 4, 1908, p 1, Newspapers.com

36

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 4, 1908, p 1, Newspapers.com

37

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 6, 1908, p 2, Newspapers.com

38

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 6, 1908, p 2, Newspapers.com

39

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 5, 1908, p 1, Newspapers.com Pittsburgh Press, January 5, 1908, p 4; Pittsburgh Daily Post, June 9, 1910, p 4, Newspapers.com

40

41

Philadelphia Inquirer, May 21, 1911, p 31, Newspapers.com

42

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 17, 1913, p 11, Newspapers.com

43

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179160415/alice-cornelia-whitney

44

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 11, 1955, p 26, Newspapers.com

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ne of the earliest of the Pittsburgh Million Dollar Princesses was Ann Elizabeth Watson McKay, the daughter of bankerindustrialist James McKay. There are two stories as to how she met her husband, and both are almost too good to be true. The first was that handsome, young Englishman Ernest Craig was called upon to rescue some trapped Westmoreland County miners and saved the day.

Afterward, he was invited to the McKay home on Amberson Avenue1 for dinner.2 The second story is that Ernest met James McKay, a part-owner of the Yankee Girl gold mine in Colorado,3 while inspecting some of his own mining properties, and was invited back to Pittsburgh. Either way, by the time of the Pittsburgh Homeopathic Hospital Fair in December 1885, Ernest was smitten with McKay’s young daughter, Ann. Ann was working as one of the “maids” at the “Japanese booth” at the fair, where whichever girl received the most votes would win a prize antelope.

Seeing that Ann wanted the antelope for her own, Ernest stationed himself at the ballot box and matched every vote with one for his Lady sweetheart. At the end of the night, Ann was the owner of a new antelope.

the McKay home, spilling the beans. The McKays were surprised but happy,4 and Ann set off to accompany her new husband, “that prince of mine owners and gentlemen, Mr. Ernest Craig.”5 Their first stop was to New Mexico where he operated the well-known Last Chance Mine in Mongollone.6 Then they arrived in England where, in 1912, he was elected to Parliament, serving for 20 years as the representative for the Crewe division of Cheshire.7 Their adventures were not over though. During World War I, Ernest was instrumental in settling a rash of British mine strikes which threatened the war effort and was subsequently awarded a non-hereditary baronetcy in 1924.8

Ann McKay Craig

The couple was thereafter presented to King George V as Sir Ernest and Lady Ann Craig.

Ann devoted much of her time to charity among her husband’s miners and their families, making herself extremely popular. Interestingly, because of the couple’s progressive “belief in sharing profits with workers,” the Craigs were not counted as wealthy among their peers. They had a comfortable apartment in London and a country home in Alsager”9 known as Milton House, where Ernest died in 1933. Lady Craig then divided her time between England and California, where their daughter, Ernestine Wheaton-Smith, settled after also marrying a mining engineer. Their descendants remain residents of the American West.10

References:

In 1887, the McKays took a sightseeing trip to Denver where Ernest was permitted to chastely escort them. Sometime during the journey, however, the young lovers managed to sneak away long enough to be secretly married at St. Mark’s Church, with the officiating minister sworn to secrecy. Ernest then remained in Denver as Ann returned to Pittsburgh, but a few weeks later a letter arrived at

1

Now part of the UPMC Shadyside Hospital property

2

Pittsburgh Press, January 17, 1932, p 26, Newspapers.com

3

Pittsburgh Daily Post, April 30, 1906 p 4, Newspapers.com

4

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 27, 1887, p 2, Newspapers.com

5

R. S. Allen, “The Mogollone Mines,” McKeen, 2003, excerpted at “Mogollon Memories,” mcguiresplace.net/Stories/Mogollon (2019)

6

Santa Fe New Mexican, December 13, 1990 p 11, Newspapers.com

7

Kate Simon & Suzanne King, “Cheshire,” Brandt Travel Guides, London, 2018, p 129

8

Pittsburgh Press, January 17, 1932, p 26, Newspapers.com

9

Pittsburgh Press, January 17, 1932, p 26, Newspapers.com

10

Santa Fe New Mexican, December 13, 1990 p 11, Newspapers.com

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E

dith Ann Oliver, the daughter of James B. Oliver of the Oliver Iron and Steel family, was a teenage archaeologist. She passed her days unearthing arrowheads in the hills above Edgeworth1, Pennsylvania, when she and her mother made the Grand Tour of Europe shortly after Edith’s debut.

There, the “brilliantly uniformed Marchese [Alfredo] Dusmet Du Smours, scion of a noble house and officer in the Royal Italian army, bowed over Edith’s hand at their first meeting.”2

From the very first year of their marriage, the “Dusmets,” as they were known stateside, made regular trips back to the Sewickley Valley, crossing with their three children, their servants, and assorted pets in high Edwardian style on luxury liners – the Lusitania,7 the Mauretania,8 the Deutschland,9 the Olympic10 – for weddings,11 funerals,12 and, of course, the hunts13 and horse shows14 around which a summer in Sewickley revolved. In 1909, a special nine- by seven-foot cabin had to be built on the deck of the Kaiser Wilhelm II to transport Caesar, the Marchesa’s outsized Newfoundland dog.15

Edith was in turn charmed by this living connection to antiquity, and the Marchese, unable to resist Edith’s beauty “of the Egyptian style,”3 returned to Pittsburgh with the Olivers to be properly introduced to Pittsburgh society.4 In October 1904, the couple was married three times. First, there was a civil ceremony at the Italian Consulate in downtown Pittsburgh.

Then they were married by the Justice of the Peace in Leetsdale. And finally, Marchesa Dusmet there was a restrained church service at St. James Roman Catholic Church of Sewickley.5 At this ceremony, the general solemnity and total lack of either decorations or gossip disappointed the members of Pittsburgh’s so-called “Pig-Iron Aristocracy.”6

Edith Ann Oliver

106 I Avenue 6

Du Smours

Although Edith was said to have incurred her father’s displeasure in her choice of husband16 – no doubt it was initially whispered that the Italian nobleman was interested only in money – she was quickly forgiven. And soon the two families blended their widely differing cultures with ease. The Dusmets’ eldest children, Giacomo and Francesca, bore titles longer than their actual names and would also marry high in the Italian nobility. But they were known in Sewickley as simply “Jimmy” and “Fanny.” And they were “as much at home at [their] grandmother’s house”17 above Edgeworth as in the royal court at Rome.

The trans-Atlantic travel of the two families never ceased.

Following the death of her husband in 1905, Mother Oliver wouldn’t think anything of boarding a ship for long visits to the Villa Dusmet in Rome.18 In between, the Olivers and the Dusmets met regularly in Atlantic City,19 New York,20 Palm

Beach,21 Newport,22 and St. Moritz,23 or traveled together to see the sights at Yellowstone National Park.24 In Pittsburgh, Edith attended dinners given almost daily in her honor at the Allegheny Country Club,25 where she could often be spotted playing bridge on the terrace.26 In Europe, she was the “center”27 of a circle of well-heeled archaeology buffs that traveled the world to see antiquities unearthed before their eyes. And Edith wrote two books espousing the “beauty and greatness of the Egyptian religion.”28 She also authored and participated in private plays and tableaus dramatizing Egyptian lore. One production at the Oliver home drew 100 attendees and featured a five-man chorus decked out as Egyptian slaves.29 As members of the Italian nobility, the Dusmets were personal friends and outspoken supporters of Italian Premier Benito Mussolini. Edith proudly praised him in Pittsburgh newspapers as “the greatest man who has ever lived,”30 and criticized American media coverage as being too biased.31 Her son, Giacomo, and her two noble sons-in-law, Count Francisco Campello and Duke Fillipo Lanti della Rovere, served enthusiastically in the Italian campaign against Ethiopia in 1935,32 with Giacomo wounded severely in Libya.33

References: 1

Pittsburgh Press, January 19, 1932, p 18, Newspapers.com

2

Pittsburgh Press, January 19, 1932, p 18, Newspapers.com

3

Pittsburgh Press, October 22, 1904, p 5, Newspapers.com

4

Pittsburgh Press, September 18, 1904, p 20, Newspapers.com

5

Pittsburgh Press, October 23, 1904, p 10, Newspapers.com

6

Pittsburgh Press, October 22, 1904, p 5, Newspapers.com

7

Pittsburgh Daily Post, October 13, 1907, p 28, Newspapers.com

8

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 28, 1911, p 16., Newspapers.com

9

Pittsburgh Daily Post, October 27, 1907, p 28, Newspapers.com

10

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 28, 1924, p 46, Newspapers.com

11

Pittsburgh Press, June 17, 1907 p 2, Newspapers.com

12

Pittsburgh Press, June 27, 1907 p 2., Newspapers.com

13

Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, November 8, 1937, p 14, Newspapers.com

14

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 5, 1923, p 8, Newspapers.com

15

New York Times, July 21, 1909, p 7, Newspapers.com

16

Harrisburg Telegraph, December 6, 1905, p 2, Newspapers.com

17

Pittsburgh Press, April 6, 1933, p 26, Newspapers.com

18

Pittsburgh Press, August 24, 1906, p 14, Newspapers.com

19

Pittsburgh Press, March 15, 1906, p 14, Newspapers.com

20

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 18, 1933, p 8, Newspapers.com

21

Pittsburgh Press, January 2, 1934, p 24, Newspapers.com

22

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 23, 1932, p 8, Newspapers.com

23

Pittsburgh Press August 23, 1931, p 17, Newspapers.com

24 25

Pittsburgh Press, July 23, 1920, p 19, Newspapers.com Pittsburgh Daily Post, October 17, 1913, p 5; Pittsburgh Press, October 18, 1913, p 8; Pittsburgh Press October 19, 1913, p 43; Pittsburgh Press, October 20, 1913, p 16, Newspapers.com

26

Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, November 19, 1933, p 31, Newspapers.com

27

Pittsburgh Press, April 6, 1933, p 26, Newspapers.com

28

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 18, 1915, p 10, Newspapers.com

29

Pittsburgh Daily Post, October 18, 1911, p 5, Newspapers.com

30

Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, September 9, 1935, p 21, Newspapers.com

31

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 27, 1937, p 4, Newspapers.com

32

Pittsburgh Press, October 6, 1935, p 27, Newspapers.com

33

Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, July 21, 1943, p 2, Newspapers.com

34

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 1, 1939, P 15, Newspapers.com

35

Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, July 21, 1943, p 2, Newspapers.com

36

Pittsburgh Press, December 31, 1948, p 18, Newspapers.com

As the war progressed, however, the family grew both less mobile, with trans-Atlantic visits curtailed. They also became less vocal, with the Marchesa renouncing her Italian citizenship and her title in a Pittsburgh court in 1939. Edith gave no public explanation, but the naturalization board believed she aimed to protect herself if war intensified in Europe,34 which it shortly did. When Edith’s mother died in Pittsburgh in 1943, Edith was trapped in Rome with bombs falling across the city and had no contact with the family for six months. She learned of her mother’s death through a cable received via the Red Cross but was unable to return to the United States.35 Edith herself died five years later, August 29, 1948, in neutral Switzerland, leaving her collection of archaeological antiquities to the gallery of antique arts in the Palazzo Corsini in Rome.36

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F

rances Myler Kier had a face and figure made for the flapper age. Delicate and petite with movie-star looks, she was the great-granddaughter of Samuel Kier, the father of the American oil industry. It was said she “had everything a kind providence and an indulgent family could give her – beauty, talent, luxury.”1 Her red hair and her greatgrandfather’s lucrative sideline in refractory brick led newspapermen to dub her the “Brick-Top Brick Heiress.”2

Young Frances loved art, and wanting to develop her skill as a portraitist, went to Paris to study.

While there, she was introduced to Baron Jean de Pellenc, a 24-year old Sorbonne-educated3 French aristocrat, who was the nephew of the King of Sweden.4 The Baron was a decorative artist of some note,5 and he shared her love of art, fashion, and travel. Frances and the Baron became quickly enchanted with each other, and when she returned to her parents’ home at 1201 Beechwood Boulevard6 in Pittsburgh, Baroness the Baron shortly followed.

He was forced to return to Paris alone, however, as Francis was only 17, and had not yet even been presented to society.

and chrysanthemums[,]”8 being deemed “the most attractive of the girls being presented this winter.”9 No doubt a number of local swains were eager to begin their pursuit of the fair heiress, but they had no opportunity. Presented in early November, Frances’ engagement to Baron Pellenc was announced before December had arrived.10 Her Christmas Eve engagement party was unlike anything that Pittsburgh had seen before. Most of the Kier home had been decked out in traditional holiday decor, including a huge “silver tree hung with enormous green balls.” The dining room and garden, however, were transformed into a tropical fantasyland. The walls were banked with palm trees and screens simulating a “realistic tropical twilight.” There were dozens of live canaries in cages hanging from palmetto garlands. Four live parrots flew free through the party. A monkey chattered alongside a Hawaiian orchestra. And a massive chandelier was draped in orange silk and smilax to “give the effect of a Southern moon just rising.”11 Two weeks later, the couple sailed on the German ocean liner SS Europa12 to be married at the Church of St. Phillipe Roule in Paris.13 A large ceremony had been Pellenc planned, but when Jean’s father, Baron General Andre 14 de Pellenc died unexpectedly, the wedding had to be canceled.15 Later it was reinstated on a more restrained note with only immediate family. If the bride felt a pang of loneliness at being unattended, she would hardly have time to think about it before a whirlwind of travel began.16

Frances Myler Kier

Her coming-out party was held November 7, 1930, at the Kier home,7 where she took her bow “before a solid wall of orchids, gardenias, roses,

108 I Avenue 6

De

The Pellencs honeymooned in the Balearic Islands of Spain before returning to the United States.17 They were there for a visit at “Inwood Lodge,” the Kier family’s beloved summer retreat in Traverse City, Michigan.18 Then, in October, they moved into their permanent home at 1 Avenue du Marschal May Maunowry in Paris.19 But they were back in Pittsburgh for Christmas,20 and then off again on a nine-month tour of Egypt, Singapore, China, Japan, India, and the Hawaiian islands. While in India, they were feted by the Maharaja21 himself.

Finally, they returned to the United States via New York, Chicago, Traverse City, and Pittsburgh before returning to their home in Paris.

When not abroad, the Baron and Baroness worked daily together in their small art studio, then dressed for dinner, the theater, or a party.22 Frances took up her portraiture once again,23 as the Pellencs were the hub of a glamorous group of artist-aristocrats who met regularly at their flat.

Baron Pellenc also set to work on a book of his travel experiences under the title “Diamonds and Dust: India through French Eyes,”24 which gathered a fair amount of literary attention.

(Women’s Union of France). One of their activities was collecting and knitting garments for French women and children. The couple’s daughter, Francine Gabrielle, was born in Pittsburgh while her father was overseas.27 Six months later, tragedy struck. While summering at Inwood Lodge in Traverse City, the Pellenc’s four-year-old son, Jean, drowned in a small lake on the property. While his nurse was changing in a bathhouse, he had tumbled into the water trying to retrieve a toy sailboat blown by the wind.28 Frances raced frantically to the shore and pulled her son out of the water herself, but it was too late. Since the Baron’s exact whereabouts were unknown, the Kiers were unable to notify him. And so he did not receive news of his son’s death until well after the event.29 Nor could anyone find the Baron’s mother, feared trapped in Paris during the invasion.30

Frances’ father died in 1934, a short four years since she had left home, but her grief was balanced by the birth of a baby boy, Jean Francois, in March of 1936.25 Baron Pellenc, now with a beautiful wife, a fine son and heir, a healthy bank account, and a burgeoning art and literary career, must have thought life could not be more perfect.

Then World War II came.

The Pellencs were in America when the crisis arrived, and the Baron was immediately drafted into the French service. As it was too difficult for the entire family to return to Europe, he left Frances – pregnant again – and his toddler boy in Pittsburgh. The Baron reported to Morocco where his orders were to cultivate the desert and grow crops for the French army.26 While he was away, Frances, as Pittsburgh’s official French aristocrat, co-chaired the Pittsburgh chapter of the Auxiliary Committee de L’Union des Femmes de France

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Frances, already grieving for her lost son, her absent husband, her missing in-laws, and her once-perfect life, remained in Pittsburgh. But then her mother, desiring to relocate to California, closed the Kier family home. She put the 44 room Beechwood house and its entire contents up for auction. Draperies, furniture, knick-knacks, paneling, marble – the elegant trappings of

Entrance to la Gazelle d’Or

Frances’ glittering childhood – were all stripped bare and sold to the highest bidder. The threestory, polished limestone mansion itself, built as a showpiece in 1925 by George Mesta of Mesta Machine Company, was sold to the Third Order of St. Francis. The frugal Franciscans then covered the floors with linoleum, laid in religious statuary, and used the house as a retreat center.31 The Baron, meanwhile, had purchased a property in Morocco which he would use after the war as an artistic and architectural outlet. Known as the Gazelle d’Or (the Golden Gazelle), it began as a small hunting lodge. But then it was enlarged and aggrandized at the Baron’s whims until it became a property like no other. He set his signature in the unusual “double zodiac” patterned circular drawing room and covered the walls with his own paintings depicting Moroccan subjects and motifs.32 His talent for cultivation in the desert, developed during the war, also found full realization at Gazelle d’Or, which became a lush oasis resplendent with palm, eucalyptus, argan, orange, olive, banana, and lemon trees, as well as mimosas, hibiscus, roses, daisies, and geraniums.33 Quickly, Gazelle d’Or became the Moroccan stopover for the mid-century jet set. Guests included Barbara Hutton, the supposed Princess Mdivani and subject of the book Poor Little Rich Girl. Barbara liked her solitude and preferred to rent the entire complex for $40,000 per week.34 This lucrative stream of hospitality income eventually prompted the Baron to officially make Gazelle d’Or a hotel in 1961.35

Courtyard of la Gazelle d’Or

110 I Avenue 6

After the war, the Baron spent the majority of his time in Morocco, and Frances was variously listed either as a resident of France, California,36 or Pennsylvania.37 So it is unclear what became of their relationship. The couple never divorced, but the scant evidence available suggests that they led

somewhat separate lives. In 1953, they did travel together to the summer house in Michigan, site of their son’s tragic death.38 Baron Pellenc passed away in 1974, around which time the Moroccan government appropriated the Gazelle d’Or property without compensation. But Gazelle d’Or was hardly the only property Morocco seized. Other “non-U.S.” property owners had settled “for only pennies on the dollar.” So it was reasoned that “giving Mrs. Pellenc anywhere near what she deserves” would have created pressure on the Moroccan government to re-open other cases.

Although the lawyers involved believed that Frances “is right that she is not getting a fair deal from the Moroccans,” they felt that “she appears not to need the money,” being “apparently a wealthy

woman.” They also knew they would have little chance of a successful conclusion, so they did their best to reconcile Frances to the loss.39 The estate was eventually revived by new ownership in the 1980s and today is one of the most lavish hotels in Morocco. But Frances passed away in France in 1998 having never recovered Gazelle d’Or.

References: 1

Pittsburgh Press, January 18, 1932, p 20, Newspapers.com

2

Philadelphia Inquirer, January 11, 1931, p 123, Newspapers.com

3

Pittsburgh Press, March 12, 1931, p 22, Newspapers.com

4

Philadelphia Inquirer, January 11, 1931, p 123, Newspapers.com

5

Philadelphia Inquirer, January 11, 1931, p 123, Newspapers.com

6

The News Herald, December 1, 1930, p 5, Newspapers.com

7

The News-Herald, October 27, 1930, p 5, Newspapers.com

8

Pittsburgh Press, December 12, 1932, p 22, Newspapers.com

9

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 1, 1930, p14

10

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, November 30, 1930, p 4, Newspapers.com

11

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 25, 1930, p 24, Newspapers.com

12

Pittsburgh Press, January 4, 1931, p 41, Newspapers.com

13

The Pittsburgh Press, March 4, 1931, p 20, Newspapers.com

14

Pittsburgh Press, September 30, 1933, p 4, Newspapers.com

15

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 20, 1931, p 14, Newspapers.com

16

The Pittsburgh Press, March 4, 1931, p 20, Newspapers.com

17

Pittsburgh Press, March 12, 1931, p 22, Newspapers.com

18

Pittsburgh Press, July 19, 1931, p 16, Newspapers.com; Inwood Lodge was also the name of their home on Beechwood Boulevard in Pittsburgh.

19

Pittsburgh Press, September 13, 1931, p 18, Newspapers.com

20 21

Pittsburgh Press, December 7, 1931, p 22, Newspapers.com Baron Jean Pellenc, “Diamonds and Dust: India Through French Eyes,” John Murray, Paris, 1936, p 169

22

Philadelphia Inquirer, January 11, 1931, p 123, Newspapers.com

23

Pittsburgh Press, October 4, 1933, p 24, Newspapers.com

24

Baron Jean Pellenc, “Diamonds and Dust: India Through French Eyes,” John Murray, Paris, 1936, p 169

25

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, March 4, 1936, p 3, Newspapers.com

26

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 30, 1940, p 1, Newspapers.com

27

Pittsburgh Press, May 12, 1940, p 55, Newspapers.com

28

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, July 30, 1940, p 13, Newspapers.com

29

Pittsburgh Press, July 30, 1940, P 1, Newspapers.com

30

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 30, 1940, p 1, Newspapers.com

31

Pittsburgh Press, October 20, 1957, p 179, Newspapers.com. The property was sold again in 1973, and demolished not long after.

32

Coleman Andrews, “In The Moroccan Desert, An Oasis Of Luxury That’s No Mirage,” Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1990, www.latimes.com/archives, 2019

33

Claire Frankel, “Palmy Days at a Hideaway in Morocco,” December 31, 1989, New York Times, www.newyorktimes.com/1989, 2019

34

C. David Heymann, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Life and Legend of Barbara Hutton, Pocket Books, New York, 1983, p 338-339

35

Claire Frankel, “Palmy Days at a Hideaway in Morocco,” December 31, 1989, New York Times, www.newyorktimes.com/1989, 2019

36

Ancestry.com, California Voter Registrations, 1900 - 1968

37

“Possible Meeting With Frances Kier Pellenc,” Carnegie Mellon University Library Digital Archives, http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/awweb/ awarchive?type=file&item=472564, 2019

38

News-Herald, July 10, 1953, p 4, Newspapers.com

39

“Possible Meeting With Frances Kier Pellenc,” Carnegie Mellon University Library Digital Archives, http://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/awweb/ awarchive?type=file&item=472564, 2019

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A

lice Cornelia Thaw, Countess of Yarmouth, and her sister Margaret Thaw, Comtesse of Perigny, had a cousin named Florence Beatrice Thaw. Although “Beatrice” was not technically a daughter of the Duquesne Club as her father never maintained a membership, the Thaw whirlwind nonetheless impacted her. Her family, the Alexander Blair Thaws, resided happily in New York City until her halfuncle, Harry Thaw, shot architect Stanford White.

Afterward, Beatrice’s father decided it would be prudent to relocate – all the way to Rome.1 There, Beatrice, a “noted linguist” and “charming conversationalist,”2 met Marchese Leone Francesco Theodoli di San Vito e Pisoniano, Conte de Cicciliano.3 He was a “handsome and athletic”4 officer in the Bank of Rome5 and the “smallest man in the noble guard of the Vatican.”6 Initially, Beatrice’s family disapproved of the match due to the troubles lately had by her cousin Alice and the Earl of Yarmouth.7 The Marchioness But for Beatrice, it was said to be “love at first sight.” It was true, too, that the Count’s mother, a “Miss Lily Conrad of New Orleans,”8 had also been a well-to-do American bride. But the Marchese assured them: the Theodolis considered it a point of pride to never marry for money, and only for love.9

Beatrice and Francesco were married first in a civil service in London on April 27, 1909,10 and then in a religious ceremony in the conservatory11 of the Thaw villa on June 3.12 The couple quickly became fixtures of Italian society. Interestingly, there was already a prominent Pittsburgh woman in Rome.

The Marchesa Dusmet Du Smours (formerly Edith Ann Oliver) was much older than Beatrice.

But the two became friends and worked together frequently at social and charitable functions.13 Even then, no member of the Thaw family could fully escape Harry – when Beatrice gave birth to a daughter, Flaminia, in 1914, the headline in the Pittsburgh Press referred to her as the “Marchioness Who Is Thaw’s Relative.”14 Beatrice suffered somewhat as World War II came to Italy, when her American fortune was hit particularly hard by Mussolini’s 1934 decree seizing control of foreign (American) investments, to which much of her income was tied.15 Together, alongside the similarly-impacted Marchesa Dusmet Du Smours, Beatrice prayed for yet another Pittsburgh girl who had recently married into the Italian aristocracy.

She was the Countess Helen O’Brien Colacicchi and was the daughter of the Pittsburgh Theodoli billboard king G. G. O’Brien.

The Countess Colacicchi’s husband was also an officer in the noble guard of the Vatican,16 and their son Paolo was a soldier in the Italian army. Like the Marchesa Du Smours’ sons, Paola had been captured by the British at Tunisia and was imprisoned in England, his fate unknown.17 Paolo, Helen, Edith, and Beatrice all ultimately made it through the war safely,18 but their lives would never be the same.

Florence Beatrice Thaw

112 I Avenue 6

Afterward, Beatrice lived a quiet life, devoting herself to her family “like the Roman matron [who] considers her children her jewels.”19 She also devoted herself to Italian society where she was still considered “a hostess of note” and “one of the richest women in the world” as late as 1964,20 passing away sometime soon thereafter. Her son, Fillipo Theodoli, likewise married an American girl and, as “the inventor of the open sport yacht,” relocated to Miami. There he purchased Magnum Marine, the world’s premier manufacturer of performance and luxury yachts. In 1978 a newspaper article discussing the purchase mentioned that Fillipo’s great uncle was Harry K. Thaw. It had been 72 years since the infamous event.22

References: 1

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 4, 1909, p 9, Newspapers.com

2

Pittsburgh Daily Post, May 18, 1909, p 6, Newspapers.com

3

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 4, 1909, p 9, Newspapers.com

4

Pittsburgh Press, May 26, 1909, p 1, Newspapers.com

5

The Sentinel, June 14, 1909, p 4, Newspapers.com

6

Buffalo Courier, March 7, 1915, p 66, Newspapers.com

7

Altoona Tribune, May 31, 1909, p 1, Newspapers.com

8

Pittsburgh Press, January 20, 1914, p 2, Newspapers.com

9

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 13, 1909, p 1, Newspapers.com

10

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 13, 1909, p 1, Newspapers.com

11

Allentown Morning Call, June 4, 1909, p 1, Newspapers.com

12

The New York Sun, May 16, 1909, p 9, Newspapers.com

13

Buffalo Courier, April 6, 1913, p 45; The Scranton Republican, October 28, 1928, p 8; New York Times, January 25, 1914, p 18; Buffalo Courier, May 18, 1924, p 55, Newspapers. com

14

Pittsburgh Press, January 20, 1914, p 2, Newspapers.com

15

Pittsburgh Press, December 10, 1934, p 12, Newspapers.com

16

Pittsburgh Press, October 6, 1935, p 27, Newspapers.com

17

Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, July 21, 1943, p 2, Newspapers.com

18

https://www.myheritage.com/names/paolo_colacicchi

19

Pittsburgh Press, January 20, 1932, p 24, Newspapers.com

20

San Francisco Examiner, August 13, 1964, p 26, Newspapers.com

21

http://magnummarine.com/project/filippotheodoli-1976-1990

22

Republican and Herald, October 6, 1978, p 15, Newspapers.com

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M

argaret Thaw led a happier married life than her sister Alice, marrying George Lauder Carnegie, Jr., in 1898, before 1,600 guests,1 and enjoying 23 years together before his death in 1921.2 Then, despite her sister’s bad luck, in November 1923, Margaret too would marry a title, quietly wedding Count Roger M. F. S. de Perigny in Paris. They were married in a pair of small ceremonies, first at the American Church in the Rue de Berrie (now located at 65 Quai d’Orsay), and at the Church of St. Phillipe du Roule on the Rue de Courselles.3

If anyone had thought for a moment that Margaret had somehow escaped the Thaw curse for scandal, they would soon be proven wrong. No sooner had Margaret married the Count than she was sued for “alienation” by Madeline Helen Modica of Flatbush, New Jersey.

Madeline was the wife of Emmanuel Victor Modica, a young, puppy-eyed car salesman and chauffeur for whom the 47-year-old The Comtesse Margaret had showered with gifts of cash, automobiles, and European travel.4 Proof of their affair, claimed Madeline, was found in more than 200 steamy love letters from the Countess, which Madeline turned over to the court.5 Abandoned, with a six-month-old baby to feed, Madeline decided that the only cure for her broken heart was a half-million dollars.6

But once again, the Thaw curse was balanced by Thaw money and some luck. After assuring the court that she had no intention of going abroad before a decision in the case was rendered,7 Margaret promptly packed up and boarded an ocean liner bound for Africa.8 She left the car salesman behind, but her Count came with her. When process servers tried to subpoena her aboard ship, four brawny bodyguards blocked her stateroom door.9 Then when they tried to force the summons through a porthole, the porthole was promptly shut and locked.10 Margaret sailed guiltlessly to Africa, where she purchased a 15,000-acre cattle farm in Kenya. Later, she built Kongoni Lodge, a luxurious Great Rift Valley estate which is today considered one of the most beautiful hotels in the region. From Kongoni, Margaret continued to halfheartedly fight the alienation suit until a judge, annoyed at the tardiness of a prosecuting attorney, threw the entire case out.11 The Countess Perigny died at Kongoni Lodge in 1942, and, like her sister, she was also buried in a cemetery across the street from her house.12 Her obituary noted her merely as “Harry Thaw’s sister.”13

Margaret Copely Thaw

114 I Avenue 6

De Perigny 5

References: 1

Monongahela Valley Republican, October 13, 1898, p 2, Newspapers.com

2

Pittsburgh Press, November 16, 1921, p 8, Newspapers.com

3

The Buffalo Commercial, November 13, 1923, p 7, Newspapers.com

4

Brooklyn Times Union, February 11, 1924, p 2, Newspapers.com

Pittsburgh Daily Post, May 17, 1924, p 2, Newspapers.com

6

Brooklyn Times Union, February 10, 1924, p 1, Newspapers.com

7

Pittsburgh Daily Post, February 14, 1924, p 8, Newspapers.com

8

Pittsburgh Press, February 17, 1924, p 1, Newspapers.com

9

Pittsburgh Press, February 17, 1924, p 1, Newspapers.com

10

Philadelphia Inquirer, February 17, 1924, p 3, Newspapers.com

11

Scranton Republican, February 3, 1927, p 1, Newspapers.com. A motion to reinstate was accepted, but no more was heard in the press, suggesting that the Countess may have settled quietly out of court.

12

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/189939493/margaret-copley-de_perigny;

13

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 10, 1942, p 4, Newspapers.com

Kongoni Lodge

Duquesne Club

I 115

d o I From

to the dance floor

Let the Duquesne Club take care of all the details.

A Duquesne Club wedding is one you and your guests will never forget. Our talented team has both the experience and the expertise to execute your vision.

We’ll set up your space, design breathtaking decor, provide a decadent food and wine menu, and prepare a luxurious stay for your guests in our hotel rooms and suites.

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Every detail of your wedding will be trusted to our exceptional banquet and catering team – from the ceremony, to the cocktail hour and on to the reception.

For more information, visit www.duquesne.org or call 412.471.6585.

GET INTO YOUR SWING At the Duquesne Club Health & Fitness stateof-the-art golf simulator you can improve your game, relieve stress, or get away at lunch and have some fun. You can even play Pebble Beach or bring a date!

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Want to meet new people and improve your game?

Join one of our golf simulator leagues. Or you can get personal and sign-up for lessons with Dustin Patrizi, our golf instructor. You can even bring in your own clubs or use one of the variety of in-house clubs we keep on hand for women, men and leftand right-handed players.

Just contact the front desk at 412-471-6599 or email Ryan Kostura at rkostura@duquesne.org for more information or to schedule an appointment.

D U Q U E S N E

C L U B

Health & Fitness

Building from our Past and Protecting Your Future.

Experienced Insurance Professionals for over 60 Years.

412.922.1651

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6

ADVERTISING IN AVENUE

Advertising in Avenue 6

Submitting Content

Duquesne Club members are invited to advertise in Avenue 6.

Club members are also welcome to submit editorial content – photos, articles, ideas – for inclusion in the pages of Avenue 6.

The Club’s exclusive magazine can put your brand in the hands of Pittsburgh’s most interesting thinkers and innovative leaders.

Avenue 6 is distributed seasonally to Duquesne Club members and is on display throughout the Club, providing advertisers the prestige of being seen among the very best in this beautiful, high-end publication.

ADVERTISING: Philip Elias philip.elias@elias-savion.com

EDITORIAL: Gregg Liberi gliberi@duquesne.org

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One PNC Plaza 249 Fifth Avenue Downtown Pittsburgh 412.471.5727