Jan 13, 2019 3 min read

About 14 years ago, pretty much the beginning of my career, I wanted to do a piece on a bartender at Mario’s South Side Saloon in Pittsburgh. Mainly because it was a place that I frequented, and because it was timely since St. Patrick’s Day was coming up. If you’ve ever been to the city on the day of the St. Patrick’s Day parade, you know that it’s packed with revelers. At any rate, I reached out to them, and they suggested speaking with their bartender Johno Prascak, who was also an artist. An incredible artist.

His bright, colorful paintings of Pittsburgh sports icons were starting to catch some attention – he had five limited edition prints on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, at the time. For this issue’s cover, I decided to circle back to Johno. Not only did he grow up in Dormont, but his art has really taken off since the last time I wrote about him. He has done commissioned works for President George H.W. Bush, “Will and Grace” – both the original and the reboot – and has had work on display in numerous Eat ‘n’ Park restaurants, Heinz Field, the set of KDKA’s “Pittsburgh Today Live,” Sarris Candies chocolate boxes, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s office … I could go on and on. It was great catching up with him, and you can read our Q&A on page 12.

Being that this is the Fourth Annual Q&A Issue, we’ve also got interviews with Pittsburgh Pirates announcer Joe Block, who tells the story of the time he met “Al Coop from Detroit” and he didn’t realize exactly who Al Coop was until after he left. If you aren’t sure who I’m talking about, turn to page 18 and read staff writer Harry Funk’s interview.

On page 20, Almanac sports editor Eleanor Bailey spoke with Karen Fung Yee, a Bethel Park resident who not only serves on the University of Pittsburgh’s Nationality Rooms council and the Chinese Nationality Room committee, she also teaches classes at Phipps Garden Center in Shadyside on the ancient floral art form of ikebana.

Finally, on page 16, I interviewed two women who have been making an impact on the South Hills for quite some time – Kathy Kanotz and Carolyn Yurkovich, president and founder, respectively, of WOMEN of Southwestern PA. The organization aims to support women with social gatherings, philanthropic efforts and networking. The timing was great – WOMEN’s annual fundraiser, Symphony of Food, takes place Jan. 25 at Bella Sera.

It’s great getting to know some of the folks who are making things happen in the South Hills and beyond. It’s also great catching up with people who get to continue doing what they love, and spreading their work to even bigger audiences as the years go by. And it’s one of the best things ever when they still call you “young lady” even though that’s not entirely accurate. I’ll take it though!

Here’s to a great 2019,