While Muse has a professional interest from being with the Penguins, he has a deep personal investment as well.
His grandfather spent his entire career in engineering for U. S. Steel at their plant in Fairfield, Alabama, about 10 miles from Birmingham, as did his two brothers. There, he met Muse’s grandmother, who worked as a secretary for U. S. Steel. Muse’s mother was born in the hospital that was there for U. S. Steel employees.
“And so, my entire life I've heard about it, and I’ve felt that passion just from my mother's family,” Muse said. “So, really cool to be here today.”
As Muse walked through the plant, he and one of the guides started talking about the generations of families that come through the doors at all of their plants across the United States.
“We have people here at the mill that are third and fourth generations, here at the plant. Fairfield was the same way,” the guide said. “Like, people move into areas and they love the areas, right? Your grandparents didn't move, right? They weren't moving no matter what. The same thing happens here.”
“One thing I do know is how much pride he took in it, with the way he talked about his work for U.S. Steel, him and his brothers,” Muse said. “He was retired when I was born. But there was definitely a lot of pride in everything. I remember in his living room, he had a painting, it was a cool picture of Fairfield and U. S. Steel.”
At that point, they were watching raw materials combine in blast furnaces to produce liquid iron, which is then refined to create steel.
“I was telling the guide when they were pouring it in from the big ladle, the only time I've seen that before was in Super Mario, I think, from Bowser,” Karlsson said with a big grin.
He was thoroughly impressed with the process of making material that is used in products that are so important to everyday life, as U. S. Steel serves customers in the appliance, automotive, metal building and home construction industries.
After the tour wrapped up, Heidi Chappell, Senior Director of Community & Stakeholder Engagement at U. S. Steel, pointed out how the steel they saw today is most likely going to be in somebody’s washer or dryer or refrigerator.
“When you go home, you can say to your kids, that (your appliances) have part of the steel you saw today. Get a magnet, show them that’s what steel is,” she said.
Karlsson plans to share his takeaways of the experience with his family and friends for years to come.
“Happy to have the chance to play here, obviously, but also see what Pittsburgh is about, and obviously, Steel City is the main reason why Pittsburgh exists,” Karlsson said. “So, it's cool to have this experience. I'm sure looking back when I get older, like, oh, yeah, I played in Pittsburgh, and people are gonna ask, oh what did you do and what did you see, and this will definitely be one of those experiences that I will share with my near and dear in the future.”
