From research and notes by Miriam Newman Wiener and Janice Auth.
In 1909 Martha Louise Root, a journalist from Cambridge Springs, PA became a Baha’i in Pittsburgh. She went on to become one of the most distinguished teachers of the Faith. Miss Root was employed by several Pittsburgh newspapers; one of her articles describing Baha’i history and teachings appeared September 26, 1909 in the Pittsburg Post. The first Local Spiritual Assembly in the area was organized in August, 1909. Some members of that early community were Miss Ethel Hanna who acted as secretary and Mr. and Mrs. Adolph M. Dahl, who received a tablet from Abdu’l-Baha.
The highlight for the community will ever be Abdu’l-Baha’s one-day visit on May 7, 1912 which had been arranged in large part due to the efforts of Martha Root. An audience of over four hundred came out on a rainy evening to the Hotel Schenley in Oakland to hear him speak.
The community continued to grow throughout the twentieth century, increasing in size and diversity as world events brought an influx of believers from Asia, then Iran; and students from all over the world came to attend the universities and to work or study at the teaching hospitals. Currently, the Baha’i community in the Pittsburgh area conducts a variety of activities, from regular children’s classes and adult study sessions to public events and service projects. The Baha’is of Pittsburgh, like similar communities around the world, work to “increase understanding among the races, to raise children to be free of prejudice, to honor the importance of the family, and to create a united, loving, welcoming community which draws its strength from the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.”*
*from the website of the Baha’is of Philadelphia
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