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WHEREAS, German American Heritage Month has been celebrated since October of 1987, and is now a national holiday celebrated in the month of October; and,
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WHEREAS, in the 1800s, the first ethnic German church parish opened in Pittsburgh, German Jewish immigrants founded the community’s first synagogue, Pittsburgh schools taught German, which was noted to be a necessity for businessmen in the community, and Pittsburgh always had at least one German language newspaper; and,
WHEREAS, among the many German-speaking citizens arriving in the 1840s, were John Henry Heinz and Anna Margaretha Schmidt, parents of Henry J. Heinz, founder of the H.J. Heinz Company; and,
WHEREAS, Pittsburgh’s German community ran much of Pittsburgh’s beer and saloon trade and established an especially strong presence in then Allegheny City, in an area known as “Deutschtown”, which is still a thriving part of Pittsburgh’s Northside; and,
WHEREAS, German Americans make up the largest European ancestral group in Pittsburgh, and gave us Heinz ketchup and Iron City Beer, proving Pittsburgh just would not be the same without its German roots; and,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize our German-American residents and honor the achievements of German-Americans throughout our country; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare, October to be “German-American Heritage Month” in the City of Pittsburgh.