Nifty 50: Town Hall South celebrates stellar legacy
Jon Meacham
Lara Logan
Adam Steltzner
David Eagleman
Francine Segan
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 of the great names.”
Determining the most impressive is a matter of speculation. But there are plenty of candidates, just from the first five seasons for starters: Vincent Price and Betty Furness. Mike Wallace and Art Buchwald. Maya Angelou, David Brinkley and Hugh Downs.
And Olivia DeHavilland, the sole surviving cast member of “Gone With the Wind” when she was a sprightly 57.
As Town Hall South gets ready to launch its 50th-anniversary season as an independent lecture series, Palko also fondly recalls some not-quite-as-famous folks who have graced the stage in the Upper St. Clair High School Theater in recent years. For example, she’ll admit to sitting in the audience a few years ago wondering about the morning’s speaker: Bill Strickland? Who’s that?
Turns out that the inner-city Pittsburgh native who founded the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild became one of her all-time favorites after she heard his tale of inspiration. “That’s what I love about this series. Some of the lesser-known names are the people who are just so impressive.”
Over the years, Town Hall South has featured many of those lesser-knowns who go on to become household names.
A 1970 guest, for example, spoke about his book “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.” But it would be six years before Alex Haley really hit the big time with “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” and the subsequent record-breaking miniseries.
Another author, Jon Meacham, makes his second Town Hall South appearance to open the 2018-19 season, but this time with much more name recognition. “We picked him, and then after Barbara Bush died and he did the eulogy,” Palko says about the former first lady’s funeral in April, “we’ve been getting a lot of phone calls about people wanting to come to hear Jon.”
The selection process for each season’s speakers begins well over a year in advance, with the board member in charge of programs – this year, Bonnie Bacik takes over from Nancy Koch after her lengthy stint – developing a list of 30 or more possibilities.
“Come the second week of September, the board sits down and we go through all of those 30, and come up with the five that we’re going to feature,” Palko explains. “We try to keep equal numbers, male/female, as well as having a variety, so we don’t have everybody speaking on the same topic.”
A Peters Township resident and professor in the California University of Pennsylvania nursing department, Palko emphasizes the mission of Town Hall South since its inception: “Our major purpose is all of our proceeds go immediately to local charities.”
The total donated since 1969 exceeds $600,000, with 2017-18 recipients including Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Family Links, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, Southwest Interfaith Movement, Washington City Mission Inc. and Zonta Club of Washington County, part of an international service organization that advances the status of women.
Of course, the educational component remains a Town Hall South priority, too.
“I love walking away and everybody’s talking,” Palko says, “and you’re sharing with people what you’ve learned.”
For more information, visit www.townhallsouth.org.