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2024-04-20. We are sad to share that longtime Swiss-American Society member Evelyn Baker Ruffing passed away on April 12, 2024. Her enthusiasm for Switzerland, Swiss culture, and the Swiss-American Society will be missed. More information will be shared as it becomes available. In the meantime, this Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article discusses Evelyn’s contributions to the creation of a Swiss Nationality Room in the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning.

2014-05-22, Pittsburgh.
Dear friends of the Swiss-American Society of Pittsburgh,
It is with regret that I must share with you today the news of my resignation as Honorary Consul of Switzerland, effective April of this year.
This news is both happy and sad; happy for me as I have decided to return to Switzerland permanently after being fortunate enough to have spent eight wonderful years in Pittsburgh. And, sad for me, as I will no longer be able to join you and attend all the special events of the SAS. I will certainly miss the exchange of the participation of these events, but most of all, I will miss the friendships that were created with the position of Honorary Consul.

The Consulate of New York will inform you regarding the succession planning of the Honorary Consul position accordingly. Thank you for all the good times we spent together, and for all the memories that will always be special to me. I send to all of you my very best regards – uf wiederluege!

Sincerely, 
Dominique E. Schinabeck

2013-12-31. SASP member Richard Sink’s Mountaineer Wood Industries was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2013 Best of the Best competition, sponsored by Custom Woodworking Business. You can review the publication showcasing the winners of the 21st annual Custom Woodworking Business Design Portfolio Awards, featuring a photo of the Swiss Nationality Room on page 25, on the magazine’s web site at http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/680452.

2013-10-23, Greensburg. SASP member Evelyn Ruffing received the Arthur St. Clair Historic Preservation Award from the Westmoreland County Historical Society on October 23 at the Greensburg Country Club on Route 130 west of Greensburg. Evelyn is a founder of the Derry Area Historical Society, and led the restoration of the Simpson Voting House, which was the polling place for the Simpson precinct for more than 100 years. The voting house structure was restored and the building can now again be used as a voting house. Evelyn is a long-time member of the Swiss-American Society of Pittsburgh and member of the Swiss Nationality Room Committee, for which she provided key guidance on historical and architectural decisions.

2013-10-01, Pittsburgh. As part of the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts (featuring the four-story-high Rubber Duck floating on the Allegheny River), the inventive Swiss directors duo Zimmermann & de Perrot will be staging Hans was Heiri at the Byham Theater at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, October 18, and at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 19. Zimmermann & de Perrot have crafted an original and mischievous marriage of theater, circus and dance. Poets as well as magicians, their choreography, music and set design overflows with cunning depth and humor. In Hans was Heiri, the stage design revolves on a horizontal axis, forcing the performers into the most unlikely positions. 

Tickets are available at the Box Office at Theater Square, online at TrustArts.org/First, or by calling 412-456-6666. Also, the Ballet du Grand Theatre de Geneve will be performing at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at the Byham Theater. Directed by Philippe Cohen, the Geneve Ballet is known around the world for its exquisite dancers and exciting artistic collaborations. Tickets are available at TrustArts.org/dance or by calling 412-456-1390.  

2013-09-14, Pittsburgh. Conrad Ostertag was honored by the Alliance of Germanic Societies of Pittsburgh at a recognition luncheon at the Teutonia Männerchor on September 14, 2013. As part of this recognition, Koni was mentioned in a Pittsburgh City Council proclamation declaring the date to be “German Heritage Parade Day” in the City of Pittsburgh. The proclamation includes the following: “Whereas, honoree Conrad Ostertag, whose father emigrated from Basel, Switzerland in the early 1920s, has served as the President of the Swiss-American Society of Pittsburgh, and is currently the President of the Swiss Singers, and Vice President of the Alliance of Germanic Societies, where he plays an important role as Parade Coordinator.” We congratulate Koni on this well-deserved honor. 

2013-09-01, Pittsburgh. The Swiss-American Society of Pittsburgh is a member organization of The Alliance Of Germanic Societies of Pittsburgh. On September 14, the Alliance is sponsoring its fifth annual parade on Pittsburgh’s North Side, which will be followed by a luncheon at Teutonia Maennerchor. The luncheon will honor SASP life member and past president Koni Ostertag, and will additionally honor the late Tom Pastorius, founder of Penn Brewery. 

A display of antique German and classic autos will take place prior to the parade from 9:30 to 10:30 at Allegheny Commons East. The parade begins at 11:00 a.m. at the Alliance Church on Union Avenue, and proceeds down East Ohio Street before finishing at Teutonia. A parade viewing / seating area will be located around the 520 block of East Ohio Street by the Deutschtown Blumengarten and Priory Fine Pastries. The luncheon at Teutonia will run from 12:00 noon until 1:30 p.m. We would like to have a good showing by SASP members at the parade and luncheon.

Luncheon tickets are $18.00 at the door. Also, if you would like to buy a ticket for the Alliance’s $1,000 prize raffle, please contact Koni. Tickets are $5.00 each and have two numbers, with the winner based on the 7 p.m. Daily Lottery drawing on September 14 (500 tickets are being sold).