Emil Winter's Grave

May 26

I was driving through Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville on Wednesday evening and was intrigued by Emil Winter's mausoleum. The Egyptian style caught my eye, and seemed a bit odd for a Pittsburgh cemetery. At a closer look I noticed the sphinxes and thought it was even stranger. What an odd choice of design to have mark ones grave for all eternity. A little more into on Emil Winter...he died in 1935. He was president of the Workingmen's Savings Bank and Trust Company and head of numerous other companies having to do with metal production. He had a large plant in Austria for processing magnesite ore, financed the Harsgirg process for producing magnesium from the ore, and introduced the Ottobriede process for seamless steel tubing into the United States. He was one of those who formed the Pittsburgh Steel Co., whose plant was at Monessen. His mortal home, "Lyndhurst" on Beechwood Boulevard in the Squirrel Hill part of Pittsburgh, was as grand in its way as the tomb is, having been built first for William Thaw and greatly remodeled for Winter.

Justin Merriman

Justin Merriman is a freelance photojournalist, commercial photographer, licensed drone pilot, and filmmaker based in Pittsburgh. His career began in Southwestern Pennsylvania, where he worked as a newspaper photographer dedicated to community storytelling and politics. Since then, his work has been recognized with regional, national, and international awards and has appeared in publications around the world.

After covering the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001, Merriman committed to documenting the U.S. military’s War on Terror, reporting from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and across the United States. His international assignments have also included life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba, India’s campaign to eradicate polio, the aftermath of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution, Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea, and the uncertain future of Guantanamo Bay in 2015. That same year, he traveled the full U.S.–Mexico border to document immigration issues.

In addition to photography, Merriman works as a director and filmmaker, creating recent films on refugees in Turkey, Jordan, India, and South Africa.

Closer to home, he frequently covers stories across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, focusing on the intersections of economic, environmental, and political life. Most recently, he reported on the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and its impact on the community.

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Merriman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg with a B.A. in English Writing. In 2009, the university awarded him its prestigious Alumnus of Distinction award. He is a founding member of Argo Collective, a group of photographers sharing diverse visions of America. He lives outside Pittsburgh with his wife, Stephanie Strasburg, a photojournalist with PublicSource.

http://www.justinmerriman.com

Emil Winter's Grave

Patriotic Play

Turkey Trot