Nutbrown’s Christmas Tree Farm a family tradition

Several young ballet dancers have visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads as soon as they slip on their first tutu or pair of tights.

Kids will take some creative measures to avoid piano lessons.

"Get your haggis right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds! Good for what ails ya!" – Groundskeeper Willie, "The Simpsons"

By Culinary director Brandon Weimerskir

Austin Thomas knows exactly what he wants for Christmas.

Following the completion of a second phase of renovations, the Mt. Lebanon History Center has reopened. The Historical Society of Mount Lebanon welcomed the public in September to see the improvements to the building’s main floor and check out the exhibit “Mt. Lebanon’s Fire Department: 100 …

There’s something incredibly nostalgic about the holiday season – no matter how old you are. Some think of big snows and aluminum trees decked with Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments. Others remember gleefully unwrapping Cabbage Patch Kids under real trees adorned with Hallmark Keepsake ornamen…

Mt. Lebanon added the Distinguished Blue Devil category to its Hall of Fame and introduced its latest inductees during a ceremony at Cefalo’s Banquet Facility in Carnegie. Legendary coaches Art Walker (football) and Charlie Stull (tennis) headlined the first class of Distinguished Blue Devil…

When Marc Sheffler imitated Elvis Presley at his cousin’s birthday party at age 5, it would set the course for a career in show business.

Before the turn of the century, local grocery markets offering natural and organic food weren’t popular.

Anyone who delves as deeply into cuisine as Francine Segan is bound to hear someone inquire every once in a while:

Axes remind me of a grimly scowling Carrie Nation brandishing them to smash up saloons. No fun there.

Talk to Suzanne Palko about her new position chairing the Town Hall South board of directors, and she’s likely to share a list of the speakers that the lecture series has hosted since 1969. “Every time I look at this,” she says, “I’m impressed by the people who have come over the years, some…

Sweet soy glazed salmon with Asian cucumber salad

The Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District is one of just four museums nationally and the only site east of the Mississippi River to host the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission,” which will explore the Space Race and Apollo 11 mission,…

More than 600 guests were transported to “A Night In Old Havana” at St. Clair Hospital’s 21st Annual Summer Swing at St. Clair Country Club. Guests of Summer Swing enjoyed the sights, sounds and tastes inspired by Havana’s vibrant culture, including a Latin band, salsa dancers, conga drums, …

When the original Eat’n Park restaurant opened on Saw Mill Run Boulevard in 1949, it caused a traffic jam on Route 51. At the beginning, the restaurant was a carhop, with peppy servers bringing food and drinks to patrons’ vehicles. While Eat’n Park has been a Pittsburgh institution since its…

Check out this recipe for Bakn's Salmon & Arugula Over Fettuccine.

Walking around Bill Robertson’s Bridgeville home is like taking a time machine back 400 years.

Thirty years ago, they were big baseball players back at Bethel Park High School. Yet those Boys of Summer don’t sit around trying to recapture a little of the glory of their PIAA championship. Their scrapbooks stowed away in attics, they are not left with sharing boring stories with those who will listen as that fellow does in Bruce Springsteen’s classic “Glory Days.”

McMurray Rotary Club’s Dinner En Blanc was a night of white, from guests’ outfits to festive balloons to napkins for the waving.

Without both sides, there’s no way to properly tell the story of the Whiskey Rebellion that reached a climax throughout western Pennsylvania in 1794.

Bicyclist, bus driver, Big Band enthusiast: South Hills native Dale Abraham long ago left an accounting career behind and found happiness playing swing music on Pittsburgh NPR affiliate WESA-FM, home of "Rhythm Sweet and Hot."  

Waterskiing attempt goes awry, but a good time had by all

Bethel Park native Paul Petroskey is better known to the world as "Weird Paul," a YouTube star who calls himself the "original vlogger." Sharing VHS home movies and music videos from his childhood and even making new videos on archaic analog equipment, Petroskey's channel has attracted worldwide attention and is the focus of a new documentary.

The seven volunteer "friends" groups are like the spokes in the Montour Trail Council's bike wheel that have kept the trail humming for nearly three decades.

Performances are scheduled from May through September.

Third cousins Gene Czambel and Rand Gee – who met through Gee’s genealogical research – have co-written the first history book of the Thoms Run coal era. “Forgotten Mines & Coal Towns of Thoms Run” chronicles the history of the mines, life in five coal towns, schools, merchants, hotels, …

Upon entering Cefalo’s Banquet and Events Center in Carnegie, guests were handed small bottles with blue liquid and instructions: “Drink me.” It was fitting for the Mad Hatter’s Ball, which celebrated 50 years of the Mt. Lebanon Junior Women’s Club. The annual benefit donated a portion of th…

Having a conversation about conservation has become difficult.

Upper St. Clair native and former Pittsburgh Pirate Sean Casey is back at it again, though he hasn’t slowed his speed. The current Major League Baseball Network analyst is entering his eighth summer as president of the Miracle League of the South Hills, an organization he founded to provide …

A horse is a horse.

Yield: 1 large serving

The Hollywood Theater has new owners and new management, but some longtime supporters say they will not be returning to Dormont's historic movie theater.

Whether someone’s an amateur at home brewing or a flourishing professional, the process of making beer from scratch can be as easy or as complicated as they want it to be.

Yes, it hurts.

The way libraries operate is a common place for jokes. Television shows and commercials still portray a dark library with a 70-something-year-old librarian hushing patrons who are being too loud.

Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania Charter School is a public school in the South Hills. 

Whether someone’s an amateur at home brewing or a flourishing professional, the process of making beer from scratch can be as easy or as complicated as they want it to be.

While Donora isn’t located in the South Hills, it is going to be the topic of discussion at a March 27 Bridgeville Area Historical Society event. “Cement City, Donora, PA” will be presented by Brian Charlton, curator/archivist of the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum. The talk will b…

Nostalgia was the theme as Mt. Lebanon celebrated its collective sports heritage during its first-ever Hall of Champions recognition event. Former alumni, coaches and administrators gathered at the Circuit Center Ballroom, located on the South Side of Pittsburgh, to welcome the newly enshrin…

You can make BRGR's newest appetizer at home! 

Cheryl Moon-Sirianni was named in November as district executive of the state Department of Transportation’s District 11 division based near Bridgeville, replacing longtime executive Dan Cessna.

A recipe for Harvest Corn Chowder from Brick & Mortar in Heidelberg.

Regular readers of the Observer-Reporter editorial page may recognize the name Oren Spiegler as a frequent contributor of letters to the editor. The Upper Saint Clair resident, 61, is a government hearing officer who loves politics and public affairs and is never shy about discussing controv…

Meet South Fayette School District's new superintendent, Kenneth Lockette.

Check out photos from Bethel's Bounty.

An attempted coup d'état against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in July 2016 led to mass arrests and crackdowns on sources of possible dissent, with tens of thousands of teachers being suspended or having their licenses revoked, and hundreds of educational institutions being forced to shut their doors.

Hey, that’s B.B. King playing!

Ever since they began making apple cider in an old dairy barn at Trax Farm in 1964, workers here have spent the dog days of summer through the dead of winter cranking out gallons and gallons of the beverage to sell to the public.

But now I’m all set to join Jackie and co-star Nick Nolte in an underwater treasure hunt, as long as the treasure is no more than, say, four feet underwater. We can call it “The Shallow.”