The Polish Hill Voice May 2010 edition has been printed and mailed. However, through the wonder of technology, we are pleased to make our neighborhood newsletter available to you, Dear Reader. You can download a copy of your very own, to peruse at your leisure.

We wanted to share some very exciting news about the plans for the Community Bread Oven. The Ladies Hospital Aid Society is supporting the project! Following is an article from the May edition of the Voice, written by Leah Durand (PHCA Board member and Chair of the Community Bread Oven Committee), with an update about where we are in the construction of the oven and with a special thank you to LHAS for their support.

Brick by Brick:
Community Bread Oven Update
by Leah Durand

Good news on the Bread Oven front! The PHCA was recently awarded a $3,000 grant from the Ladies Hospital Aid Society for the construction of the Bread Oven! I would like to thank Susan Constanse, Adele Towers, and Terry Doloughty for all of their hard work and perseverance while working on the grant application. Also, a giant thanks goes out the LHAS for committing such generous financial support towards our project.

We’ve had a few meetings with various City of Pittsburgh departments in order to make sure we have the proper clearances and are working within certain codes in order to get the oven built and fired. While at times these meetings can be frustrating, we left the most recent meeting rejuvenated and re-committed to the project. Our next steps are to get the back two lots of the PHCA consolidated and obtain updated oven plans and information.

Again, thanks and recognition are definitely in order to neighbors who have jumped on board the project; Suzanne Pyle and Yoko Tai have been invaluable during these meetings with the city. I’m very grateful to Suzanne for making time in her schedule to attend this past meeting as a representative of the Health Department. Her input and clarifications regarding what the Health Department will expect and require has done a lot to move the project forward.

Yoko Tai drafted site plans and brought photographs that were quite useful in illustrating our plans for the placement of the oven. She has been a helpful, professional voice throughout our discussions regarding construction of the oven.

It is exciting and reaffirming to have so many people lend their expertise and time to help build the Community Bread Oven. Even though it’s still in the planning stages, the project is bringing the community together and I can’t wait to eat delicious pizzas and breads with everyone!