When a heavy, smelly mixture of smoke and fog blanketed Donora in late October 1948, life went on as usual for several days. People went to work, to the Halloween parade and to the high school football game between arch rivals Donora and Monongahela. But 20 people ultimately died in that killer smog and an estimated 6,000 were sickened.

Although it is not something to celebrate, the 60th anniversary of the environmental disaster will be commemorated this week.

More than 35 members of The Donora Smog 60th Anniversary Commemoration Committee have been working for nearly a year to put together a respectful tribute.

"We feel the people who died in the smog should be remembered," said Don Pavelko, a Donora council member and president of the commemoration committee. "They did not die in vain," he said, because Donora's killer smog marked the beginning of the environmental movement and a national push for cleaner air.

"Clean Air Started Here" is the logo emblazoned on banners in Donora's business district and on $10 T-shirts being sold.

The 1948 events started Oct. 26, when an air inversion trapped sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and metal dust over the town, turning day into night. The mix came from the Donora Zinc Works, which was the largest plant of its kind in the world. The zinc works and nearby steel mills continued to operate and the zinc smelters were shut down for one day, Oct. 31. The next day rain broke up the smog.

"The federal clean air acts and the establishment of the environmental regulatory agencies came about because of what happened here," said DeAnne Pavelko, secretary of the smog commemorative committee and a staff member at California University of Pennsylvania. "We, as a community and as a university, can really help get out that message."

The state-owned university 13 miles from Donora has played a strong supporting role in the 60th anniversary activities.

The logo on the banners and the several hundred T-shirts that have been sold were created by Ross Hardy, an art student at Cal U. The color scheme is orange and black, the colors of Donora High School, which later was merged into the Ringgold School District.

When a Weather Channel crew came to town last summer to film a show about the smog, actors in the TV production wore outfits from the costume collection of Cal U's Department of Theatre and Dance. A segment was filmed for a regular show called "When Weather Changed History," which will air Nov. 2.

"We never dreamed that we would be selecting costumes for a national TV show," said Hilary Moss, a student who worked on the project with costumer and facility manager Igor Roussanoff. "It was an honor and a lot of fun."

Walls in the Smog Museum are decorated with murals painted by Todd Pinkham, an assistant professor in the department of art and design. Communications students recorded oral histories of disaster survivors.

Old photographs collected by the Donora Historical Society have been converted to a digital format by instructional specialist Nick Roberts.

"So far, we've digitized 220 items, but we're not done yet," Mr. Roberts said. "They're fascinating because they really help you understand what the times were like."

A full schedule of activities is planned for the upcoming week:

Tomorrow -- 11 a.m., grand opening of the Donora Smog Museum, 595 McKean Ave. Participants will include Dr. Devra Davis, a Donora native and epidemiologist, who is director of the Center for Environmental Oncology of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The killer smog is featured in her 2002 book, "When Smoke Ran Like Water -- Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution." It was a National Book Award finalist.

Following the opening will be a symposium at the Donora Municipal Building, 603 Meldon Ave. Those attending will include representatives of The Library of Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Environmental Protection and Washington County officials.

California University of Pennsylvania will feature student art in the Art Space, located across from the museum.

Tuesday and Wednesday -- 7 p.m., theatrical presentation by Ringgold High School drama students at the Donora municipal building.

Thursday -- 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., free health screenings hosted by Mon Valley Hospital at the Donora municipal building. Line up begins for the commemoration parade at 5 p.m., starting at Third and Meldon avenues. The parade begins at 6 p.m. and includes a fly-over by the National Guard.

Friday -- 1 p.m and 3 p.m., free health screenings by Mon Valley Hospital at the Donora municipal building.

Saturday-- 11 a.m., Football Alumni Recognition at Donora Legion Field to remember the players, cheerleaders, majorettes and band members from the Donora and Monongahela high schools who participated in the 1948 game played in the smog. Ringgold High School band will perform the alma maters of the former high schools, which were merged into Ringgold. Lunch will follow in the Donora Elementary Center cafeteria, next to the field. Commemoration banquet with guest speakers Don Welsh and Larry Holley, directors of the EPA, begins at 5 p.m..

A "sneak peek" will be shown of the Nov. 2 segment of "When Weather Changed History."

Next Sunday -- 2 p.m., memorial service with the Interfaith Choir at Our Lady of the Valley Parish-St. Phillip Neri Church.

Go to www.donorasmog.com for more information about events or to order T-shirts, or call Diane Martin 724-379-7387 or Marcella Hynok 724-379-9041.