News Release

Faculty members capture Steelton’s past in new book

June 4, 2008

For much of the 20th century, the name Steelton represented a great industrial complex that stretched nearly four miles along the Susquehanna near Harrisburg.

Immigrants from all over Europe, particularly Slavs and Italians, worked with African Americans from the South at the Bethlehem Steel Company and gave Steelton its reputation for rich ethnic diversity, linked to its fame for industrial productivity.

Two Penn State Harrisburg faculty members have now taken more than 200 vintage photographs to creatively capture the town’s colorful past in Images of America: Steelton, just published by Arcadia Publishing.

Professor of American Studies and Social Science Michael Barton and Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Folklore Simon Bronner, both well-known historians and observers of American culture, worked with the John B. Yetter collection of more than 2,000 Steelton photos to create the extensive visual history of the town presented in the book. Yetter donated his collection to Penn State Harrisburg and it is maintained by the Center for Pennsylvania Culture Studies in the college’s library.

The authors hope the book will “remind them (readers) of what Steelton has done and what it still stands for.” The 126-page volume:

• Features Steelton’s past athletic greatness and scholastic sports legends, which is reflected in its continuing tradition of Steelton-Highspire High School’s recent football and basketball championships
• Shows the former Bethlehem Steel Company at the height of its power
• Helps residents remember old downtown Steelton as the present downtown is under major redevelopment
• Displays the strength of community bonds from past to present, and
• Showcases the customs and groups of the various churches, especially the distinctive ethnic congregations in the region including Macedonian, Croatian, and Serbian.

Dr. Barton, well known for his research and writings on the history of Harrisburg, says “Steelton is famous for industry, ethnicity, and sports and I think readers will be interested in the fresh facts and photos we’ve discovered in those areas.”