Fayette County Cultural Trust
Spring 2022 $10.00
ON THE COVER Cover photo: Cloud Streets over Connellsville - December 28th. Cloud Streets are rarely photographed. -Daniel Cocks
Connellsville Contents
Spring 2022
IN THIS ISSUE 4-6 In Times of Trouble,
“You Gotta Have Heart and Hope” and Plans for the Future - Karen Hechler
7-9 Dawson Pennsylvania At 150, Healthy, Historic! -Roy Hess Sr.
10-12 The Girl Who Lived Above The Orpheum Theater -Karen Hechler
13 Connellsville’s Second Founding -John Soisson
14-15 Great American Rail-Trail 16-17 University of Pittsburgh 18-21 Rural Arts Collaborative -Carmelle Nickens
Cloud Streets are formed when long rows of cumulus clouds are oriented parallel to the direction of the wind. We rarely see them in photos taken from the ground, as in the photo above. Instead they’ve been seen most often over the past few decades in satellite photos. You can recognize cloud streets as long rows of puffy cumulus or cumulus-type clouds. They are most often straight, but might form patterns when the wind driving the clouds hits an obstacle. Cloud streets are formed by what are called convection rolls of rising warm air and sinking cool air. Rising warm air cools gradually as it ascends into the atmosphere. When moisture in the warm air mass cools and condenses, it forms clouds. Meanwhile, sinking cool air on either side of the cloud formation zone creates a cloud-free area. When several of these alternating rising and sinking air masses align with the wind, cloud streets develop. Cloud streets are technically called horizontal convective rolls.
22- 23 NPP Partners One of the Fayette County Cultural Trust’s initiatives is a Downtown Connellsville program. Please check out our new web site at: www.DowntownConnellsville.org
The Fayette County Cultural Trust is a fiscal agent for the Rural Arts Collaborative program. For more information please visit us at: www.RuralArtsCollaborative.org
Connellsville Crossroads
Fayette County Cultural Trust Volume 14, No. 1• Spring 2022 Executive Director Daniel Cocks President J. Michael Edwards Vice President Karen Hechler Treasurer Bryan Kisiel Board Members Gerry Browell John Coleman Mary Dreliszak Vicki McWilliams Lori Omatick
The Fayette County Cultural Trust will celebrate its 15th Anniversary this year! As you will see and read in this latest issue of Connellsville Crossroads the various initiatives that the Fayette County Cultural Trust has created continue to expand and evolve over time. Downtown Connellsville started its 13th year in 2022 and new businesses continue to fill storefronts and vacant lots, while the collaboration with various colleges and universities is building. Rural Arts Collaborative (RAC) now in its 10th year was the recipient of a grant from the Benedum Foundation to expand the program to more schools, artists and students throughout the county of Fayette. The Neighborhood Partnership Program (NPP) now in its 8th year has brought on new nonprofit partners to enhance the efforts of this project. The momentum of all of these efforts continues to show the resilience of our community even during difficult times. J. Michael Edwards
President Fayette County Cultural Trust
Graphic Designer Daniel Cocks Connellsville Crossroads Editor S. Joy Lewis Subscription orders may be placed on-line at www.FayetteTrust.org/ Connellsville-Crossroads.html. Or in person at the Connellsville Canteen, 131 W. Crawford Ave., Connellsville, PA 15425 Or by phone, 724-603-2093. Connellsville Crossroads magazine is published quarterly (March, June, September, December) by the Fayette County Cultural Trust, 139 W. Crawford
The coincidences always amaze me. What are the odds of two articles being submitted that mention the same 1843 trip? Stories tie together and mention the same incidents, but the details aren’t always the same. Was it Mordecai Cochran, the uncle, or Sample Cochran, his brother, who accompanied James on that first trip to Cincinnati? Not sure I will ever know, as it is not possible to go back and ask James. None of three local histories answer the question.
I welcome your comments and ideas for stories. Please email me at susan.joy.lewis@gmail.com www.FayetteTrust.org www.DowntownConnellsville.org www.ConnellsvilleCanteen.org www.RuralArtsCollaborative.org
Ave., Connellsville, PA 15425. The official registration and financial information of Fayette County Cultural Trust, Inc. (EIN 65-1283985) may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-(800)-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
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S. Joy Lewis
Connellsville Crossroads Editor
IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, “YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE HEART AND HOPE” AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
by Karen Hechler
Looking over and reliving the last two years has given us things to think about that we never expected in our lifetimes. Other generations have dealt with times of pandemic illnesses. By now, we have all heard about the 1918 influenza pandemic. We were informed about it as we struggled through the early stages of Covid-19 in the spring of 2020. Late February, 2020, we were crowded together at the New Haven Hose Social Hall for a gala celebrating the first 50 years of the memorable Connellsville High School musicals. In early March of 2020, the Connellsville Area Historical Society gathered at the Gibson House to share memorabilia from Connellsville history and enjoy light refreshments together. By later in March, our society was closed down along with schools and churches, and everything became virtual reality as we observed life via television and the internet. We were to avoid contact with others to stop the spread of the virus. We had no inoculations to give people. Children attended school while still at home, learning by using computers. Some children had no access to computers or the internet. Teachers and students had to learn a whole new way of educating and being educated. Going to church had to be creatively handled. Some church services were held over the internet, and some services were held in your cars in the church parking lot just like going to the drive-in movies. The hospitals, in some areas, were overwhelmed with patients stricken with Covid. Medical staffs were over-
whelmed with patients and hospitals ran out pf space to accommodate those patients with the deadly virus. In some cities, like New York City, the public was so appreciative of their brave medical souls that at a certain time every day, the public would go outside or open their windows and cheer for those who put their lives on the line to care for the sick and dying. It was very sad but very inspirational. Unfortunately, as we move into 2022, we see a new strain of Covid filling the hospitals with patients, many of whom are not yet inoculated against this virus. The health workers are weary and not being treated as well as they were earlier. But we hope that things will improve in the future. This pandemic and other issues have divided the American public. People have reacted to the pandemic in very different ways even now that we have very effective vaccinations for the virus. Some people see the vaccines as an answer to their prayers while other are not sure and are afraid of them. This time of difficulty has brought out the very best in us, and, unfortunately, the very worst in us. We suspect each other of cheating and using other’s fears to our own advantage. We have seen things that we never expected to see in our lifetime. Americans are accusing each other of inciting riots, destroying our election process, trying to abolish democracy in America, invading sacred government buildings. The anger and distrust of one another is traumatic. 4
stadiums. You have got to have heart and hope for the future. In the late 1930’s, the world was on the brink of the second world war. Many Americans were determined that we should not get involved. We had oceans to protect us from trouble in Europe and problems with Asia. As a nation and a community, we were putting on a positive face and looking toward a positive future. Bill Balsley, my mentor and the founder of the Connellsville Area Historical Society, shared a brochure printed in 1940 by the Connellsville Chamber of Commerce, then located on Brimstone Corner in Connellsville. The summary, intended to interest people in our community, included information on industrial opportunities, natural resources, a great place to live, and a historical sketch. The thumbnail sketch of Connellsville stated that the city was located on the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County, 48 miles southeast of Pittsburgh; had an average temperature of 52.2 degrees, 47 inches of rainfall, and a population (1940) of 13,500. “Living conditions are pleasant and everything is complete including 10 good schools, 32 churches, 3 theaters, State Hospital, State Armory, Carnegie Free Library, one of the finest golf courses in Western Pennsylvania, beautiful municipal parks, tennis courts, fully equipped mountain camp, flood-lighted stadium, and homes at reasonable rents and sale prices.”
But we must strive to be as positive as possible, for there have been other times of turmoil in our country’s history. We were established by the Revolutionary War, and preserved by the Civil War. We have seen great steps taken to ensure the rights of all Americans and the extension of voting rights to all Americans. We have seen the institution of public education made available to all Americans and the continued assurance of private education. I just finished reading Beneath the Apple Leaves by Harmony Verna which takes place in 1918 as the United States experienced the First World War. The anger directed at German Americans at that time was palpable, like anger directed at today’s minority groups. The 1918 pandemic was even mentioned. So we have been through such times before and survived similar experiences. Here in Connellsville in early 2022, our churches are open again, our schools have students in the classrooms, our restaurants are open, the drive-thru windows never closed, some meetings are still being held virtually but not all of them, many older Connellsville residents have gotten their booster shots, and children 5 to 11 have received their first shots of the Covid vaccine. I was able to send my ballot in for the November 2021 election. I am happy to watch college and professional football with stadiums full of people once again. It was strange watching games with almost empty
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Under the heading Industrial Opportunity it stated, “Fast, economic transportation service by rail (B&O, P.R.R., P&L.E., W M. P.&W.V.), by highway (Rt. 40, Rt. 30, Pt 22, and the new Super-Highway), and by air (Connellsville’s grade C airport) makes it easy to get materials into your plant and your production to market promptly.” Emphasis was placed on the opportunity to enjoy sports and the great outdoors. “The city lies in a mountainous county of great scenic beauty which abounds in a wide variety of plant and animal life. To the sportsman, the camper, the hiker and the nature enthusiast, the surrounding area offers recreational possibilities so diversified that it cannot be matched by any similar area in the United States.” I was particularly impressed by the way the brochure praised the beauty of the mountains. Too often we don’t stop to appreciate the natural beauty of our local area. “Hard surfaced roads give access to back-country area famous for seasonal charm. In the spring, the mountains are spangled with a host of strikingly colorful wild flowers. During the fall, the same roads are lined by hardwood trees whose brilliant coloration draws motorist for hundreds of miles to view their autumnal beauty.” In the historical sketch, I particularly liked the following: “In early history the location was known as Stewart’s Crossing, which was on Nemacolin’s Path, later known as Washington’s Road. This crossing, on the Youghiogheny River, was the head of keelboat navigation and a stopover for emigrants settling west of the Alleghenies and along the route for all messages between Cumberland and Fort Pitt. This section was the main battleground of the French and Indian War.” What an upbeat brochure telling the rest of the state and perhaps the nation that Connellsville was a progressive, positive city looking forward to the future. Lots of good people are still looking forward to the future in Connellsville in the first quarter of the 21st century as we face the difficulties that disrupt our nation at the current time. Go down to Water Street and see
The Churchill Cigar Lounge 136 South Pittsburgh Street
the new housing units being constructed on the site of the former Betters Bar and Grill. Some of the units are occupied and others are still under construction by Chelsea Ritenour Construction. The Comfort Inn of Connellsville has constructed a new porte-cochère, and is in discussions to purchase the property next to the hotel to build a structure which may include an events center, a winery and a restaurant. The Brimstone Building is being updated with new windows and offices will be available for rental. The Community Center, the former Connellsville High School on Fairview Avenue, is getting new windows and doors to make the building more useful for public events. Angie Hamman is renovating the former Gigliotti’s building to include a black box theater and other attractions. There will be a brewery on Arch Street under the direction of Matt Humes and Jason Bandemer where the former DeMarco’s Nursery was located, and a cigar bar recently opened by Anthony Ruvo and Kevin Johnston, where the Crawford Tea Room once was. Armstrong will soon be located in the building once occupied by Murphy Hall. This is a partial list of what is happening in Connellsville during this difficult time. It shows signs of progress and hope for the future, and we make up only a small bit of American society. Study your history and know that our great nation has weathered many serious difficulties in the past. I was watching a movie made in 1938 about Nazi organizations in the United States at that time and the danger that they presented. I have learned about Japanese concentration camps in California during World War II. We moved on and made progress to enhance our democratic way of life. We have got to have heart and hope that our country will weather these current problems and look with confidence to the future as we have over the last 230-plus years. This is a crucial time in our nation’s history. May we look back on this time and see how these experiences have helped us grow into a “more perfect Union.”
Connellsville Comfort Inn 325 North 1st Street 6
The River House 201 North 1st Street
Dawson Pennsylvania At 150, Healthy, Historic! Early in its 150-year existence along the Youghiogheny River, the little community of Dawson grew from a group of plotted farm lots to a booming industrial hub where it has been said, “A millionaire lived on every corner!” Coal and beehive coke production provided the fuel for rapid growth and accumulation of wealth. Railroads, mines and coke ovens employed the human machinery that kept the wheels of progress rolling toward a smoke covered population of 890 near the turn of the century. Even though Dawson owes its illustrious history to the coal and coke revolution it did not evolve as a patch town. The early families that engineered the town’s growth did so by building and living in the area. As a result of that dedication, some of the large, ornate homes still grace the town. Some streets bear the names of the surveyors who laid them out, or the magnate who lived there at the time. One such home was built and occupied by James Cochran, a pioneer in the mining and coke industry, who with his brother Mordecai, floated a log raft down the river and sold the first commercial beehive coke at Cincinnati, Ohio. “Little Jim’s” home still stands in Dawson’s historic district. Benefactors of the town proper laid out streets paved with locally fired bricks, and sandstone foundations supported well built homes framed with locally cut lumber. The Cochran family was very generous to the community with their wealth, and a municipal water system was fed by large wells on one of the Cochran farms. As the population grew, retail business increased as well as entertainment venues. Rare for a town of its size, Dawson boasted theaters and an opera house, two hotels, a bank, clothing, shoe and general stores, several groceries and a furniture store. Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Catholic Churches drew large congregations. Three different edifices were constructed in sequence on the property where Cochran Memorial United Methodist Church now stands. A frame chapel, the first building, was moved to Bryan where it stands today. The second, a huge traditional brick structure constructed by businesswoman and philanthropist Sarah Cochran, stood until around 1920 when Mrs. Cochran had it replaced with the magnificent stone church of today, dedicated to her late husband, Philip. No documentation or even a sentence about the illustrious past of Dawson could exist without the inclusion of at least a mention of Sarah B. Cochran. Deeply devot-
by Roy W. Hess Sr.
ed to God and her family, when she tragically lost both her husband and her only child, she defied the norms of the time when she kept, managed and guided the area’s largest company to incredible success. However wealthy, Sarah B. Cochran never abandoned her hometown attitude or compassion. She built magnificent churches but taught Sunday School classes. The beautiful mansion she had constructed at Linden Hall frequently welcomed public events. Mrs. Cochran was a devoted supporter of both education and women’s rights! Several colleges have buildings named for their benefactor, Sarah B. Cochran. While Mrs. Cochran remained in relative obscurity nationally, her philanthropy equaled and, in some cases, eclipsed that of her more well-known male counterparts. In possibly the only book about Sarah B.’s life, A Lesser Mortal, The Unexpected Life of Sarah B. Cochran, author Kimberly Hess accurately documents Mrs. Cochran’s colorful life. But to residents of Dawson, the name Sarah B. speaks of benefactress and legend! Early access to the town was by a major road (now PA Route 819) to Scottdale, northeast of Dawson, and a wooden plank/steel girder bridge across the Youghiogheny River to the south. The south end of the first bridge was later raised to allow passage below to the P&LE train. The bridge was built as a toll structure. When the bridge was paid for, the toll was ended. While the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie rail yards across the river grew and employed more and more workers, the Baltimore & Ohio railroad split Dawson, and carried coal, coke and passengers to the east and west.
Old B & O Railroad station located in front of the old Rush House. 7
Concerned with the welfare and economy of the towns of Dawson, Vanderbilt, Dickerson Run, and townships of Lower Tyrone, Franklin and Dunbar, the charter included representatives from each location. The goal of the historical society, as reflected in the mission statement, is “the preservation and exploration of the diverse history of the Tri-Town area………Additionally, the Historical Society will monitor the cultural and social needs of the area and assist wherever possible.” The historical society has been headquartered in Dawson since it was chartered, and most of the annual events are conducted in or around town. The society met originally in the former First National Bank building but later acquired the former Burdette Appliance building and modified the building to hold a national award-winning model train display. Other rooms in the museum-like headquarters feature a one-room-schoolhouse type classroom, 1950’s style Youngstown kitchen, a Native-American artifact room, and a military memorabilia room is planned. The Native-American collection was donated to the society by a local historian, the late Donald Keffer. Other displays include early American tools from the collection of the late William Colbert. The model railroad room displays a wall- size mural of the P&LE rail yards at Dickerson Run.
Dawson continued to grow and prosper along with the coal, coke and rail industry. But like the hundreds of southwestern Pennsylvania’s small communities whose existence was inexorably tied to the coal industry, progress in industrial practices, technology, and the depletion of the coal fields quietly signaled major changes to come. The first hundred years of Dawson’s history was measured by unparalleled growth and wealth. While the original layout of the town provided for spacious lots, business, industry and housing crowded into every available space. Photos taken at the centennial celebration reflected still existing businesses and population, but nothing like the “heyday” level. Gradually, workforce profiles were changing. Railroad employment, affected by declining coal and coke production, declined as well. Young adults found it necessary to travel further to get meaningful employment. A town that, like so many, depended on active foot traffic to fuel its businesses found many of those feet were on accelerator pedals, headed for the mall! When a few prominent citizens (in dedication, not wealth!) began discussing their shared concerns about the preservation of the rich history of the area, the Greater Tri-Town Area Historical Society was formed.
This photograph is dated 1890. Note the left storefront: First National Bank. The building we know as the First National Bank building was built in 1897. Of course, the Rush House is on the right. Photo credit: Tina Anderson 8
To expand its reach and abilities the historical society acquired 501-C-3 status. Continuing the efforts initiated by the original group, the society strives to keep the area’s illustrious history alive with displays, programs, and events designed to attract visitors and current and former residents. Past events have drawn visitors from nearly every state. This year the historical society is hoping to coordinate a sesquicentennial celebration befitting Dawson’s history. Dawson has an active volunteer fire department which has committed to participate in events. The local churches will sponsor special programs and observances, and veteran’s groups, clubs and individuals are encouraged to participate in the year-long celebration. The society is partnering with Cochran UMC to sponsor public meetings to share information and ideas for the year. At least three major events are hosted annually by the Historical Society: the homecoming, held the first weekend in June, the October craft expo and car show, and Christmas tours/light up night. The Tri-Town Area Historical Society meets the second Tuesday of the month at their headquarters on Howell Street in Dawson. Current officers are President Patty Lint, Vice President Nicole Anderson, Treasurer Claudia Hiles, Recording Secretary Frances Rosensteel and Parade Coordinator, John Pyda. New members are welcomed at any time!
Philip G. Cochran Memorial United Methodist Church
The James Cochran House, built in 1890, currently owned by Eugene and Patty Lint.
Frank Ronzio, the man with the Pittsburgh Pirate hat, and his friend J. D. Baker standing on the old Dawson Bridge inspecting the work on the new Dawson Bridge in 1967 - The Daily Courier 9
The Girl Who Lived Above The Orpheum Theater
by Karen Hechler
Dauna Woodward Prinkey with her Aunt Louise Klitz
You have to be of a certain age to understand what going to the movies was like in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Think of a time when you didn’t have a VHS or DVD player or movies available on your computer or smart phone. Today, you can see a movie on your electronic equipment whenever you want to or have the time. Ages ago, unless you had a film projector and access to films, going to the movies was a big deal. My little movie theater in Rockwood, PA had three different movies a week. When we moved to Connellsville, there were three movie houses: the Orpheum, the Soisson, and the Paramount. I only visited the first two as I was never inside the Paramount. The Orpheum was a classy, elegant movie house with a large stage area and a beautiful stairway leading to the balcony, and the Soisson was the theater where kids could spend all day Saturday at the movies. When you see reruns on television of series like The Andy Griffith Show, you realize what a treat it was to go to the movies back then. What if your father was the manager of the theater, you could go to the movies whenever your parents allowed you to go, and you lived in the apartment building where the Orpheum occupied the entire first floor? What a dream! Well, Dauna Woodward Prinkey was that lucky girl in Connellsville. She was “The Girl Who Lived Above the Orpheum Theater.” Dauna is the wife of Pastor Ralph Prinkey who serves at the Connellsville Presbyterian Church as a guest pastor from time to time. After worship, we meet in the Fellowship Hall for coffee and refreshments. I knew something of Dauna’s background at the Orpheum and thought that her story would make a good article for Crossroads Magazine. Kids who once lived in a village like Gibsonville had fathers who worked at the Etna iron smelting furnace,
cut timber for heating the furnace, or hauled the wood, ore and limestone. Kids who lived in a coal patch town had fathers who worked in the mines. Kids who lived in the church manse had a father who was the pastor of the church. Our kid, Dauna, lived over the Orpheum Theater and her father ran it. The building that housed the Orpheum was built as the Royal Hotel in 1916. I can imagine Connellsville in 1916, a bustling railroad center for the active coal mines and coke ovens turning out coke for the hungry steel mills of Pittsburgh. People who were in and out of Connellsville on business needed a place to stay overnight or if you were employed by one of the industries having its home base in Connellsville an apartment to live in. The Royal Hotel offered both single rooms and apartments. People can’t work all of the time and need some entertainment, so the lobby area of the Royal Hotel was turned into a theater which staged vaudeville shows and silent movies. The first movie to seen at the new Orpheum on December 14, 1916 was titled Less Than the Dust and starred Mary Pickford, “America’s Sweetheart.” Silent films gave way to talkies in May of 1929, when the Vitaphone system allowed films to enter the “Sound Age.” The theater was owned at different times by Pete and Gus Mikalarias, Greek brothers. Pete had created the theater within the Royal Hotel in 1916, and it was he who installed Vitaphone in 1929 to equip the theater for sound. My friend, Fotenie Melassanos Mongell, told me stories about the local Greek families and their involvement in restaurants and theaters, not uncommon occupations for Greeks who had immigrated. Her father was born in Greece, and he eventually moved to Connellsville where he owned and operated the Star Restaurant. 10
The Daily Courier Connellsville, Pennsylvania - 11 Dec 1916, Monday Page 8
You may recognize this table. It once sat in the lobby of the Orpheum Theater. Donated to the Connellsville Canteen by Dauna Woodward Prinkey.
popcorn arrived already popped. It came in a big truck, and was stored in large bags. The popcorn was put in the warmer to heat it before it was sold to the patrons. The first 12 years of her life, Dauna lived in an apartment on the first floor of the hotel immediately over the theater complex on the ground floor. According to Dauna, the first floor had three apartments and one single room. The second floor had five single rooms and one apartment the entire length of the building. The third floor had a host of apartments and a big ball room. It was on the third floor that the residents had their washing machines. So you had to climb to the third floor to do your laundry rather than going to the basement. Being the only child living at the Royal Hotel, later known as the Royal Apartments, Dauna had her tricycle on the third floor and could ride all around this big space. There were lots of nooks and crannies to explore. The apartment building was her playground. Dauna’s grandmother and aunt and uncle lived on the second floor, and it was a grand time for her when the grandchildren came, and she had someone to play with. She told me about the great big fire escape and an office in the building where there were bars on the windows. Some teachers from the Connellsville schools had apartments in the Royal. Dauna remembered a Miss Wilhelm and a Miss Metzler. Her family apartment had high ceilings and fancy wallpaper. It had huge rooms except for the kitchen which
When you entered the Orpheum lobby, you could see the handsome stairway leading to the balcony. I don’t remember ever sitting in the balcony. The large stage area was used for live performances. Pastor Ralph told me that his mother, Geraldine Prinkey, and Sam Brooks’ sister, Jeanne Brooks King and Mildred Burkholder were in a minstrel show at the Orpheum. Ralph remembers seeing Paul Shannon, a Pittsburgh television celebrity, at the Orpheum, and the Mouseketeer, By Williams, at the Orpheum when he was a kid. Ralph said that on the days when celebrities were in Connellsville, the kids lined up around the block up to the Elks on Crawford Avenue to get into the theater and get autographs. Paul Shannon also showed a lot of Three Stooges movies which the kids loved. Dauna remembers that the films were huge and came in great metal cases. Her dad, William “Woody” Woodward, would meet the bus to pick up the new film and send the film just shown in Connellsville to the next theater on the schedule. There was a special machine used to splice the film together, and there were times when the film tore and had to be spliced during show time. The projectionist at the Orpheum that Dauna remembers was Irvin “Fats” Albright. Fats’ grandson, David Albright, lives in Uniontown, and he told me that his grandfather and great grandfather ran the projectors at other local theaters including the historic Colonial Theater on the South Side of Connellsville. Candy sold at the Orpheum came from the ABC Corporation, and 11
was galley style with a stove and refrigerator. A larger area next to the galley held a living room and dining room with a trellis dividing the room where you could display knickknacks, a bath room, and a bed room. She said there were large hallways as well. Being in the heart of downtown and having a balcony, the family had a front row seat for any downtown Connellsville special occasions. She remembers seeing a big parade in the 1950’s. Dauna was about 6 years old at the time. We figured out that she was watching the Sesquicentennial Parade in 1956. She also remembers when the White Front Apartments building burned on Feb. 4, 1961. There were 12 apartments in the building along with Gigliotti’s and the Double Dragon. Woody opened the Orpheum so that the firemen could go inside to keep warm. Living downtown as a youngster was a good place to grow up, according to Dauna. She went to elementary school at the Cameron Building, and she walked to school with other kids some of whom lived in the apartments over Oglevee’s Florist. Her mother, Nancy Kibble Woodward, allowed Dauna to stay up and go to the movies on Friday night if the movie was acceptable for children. After the movie, she and her parents would enjoy the nice store windows of Connellsville’s many merchants in the 1950’s, and end up at Judy Jean’s, in the north end, where they were making their wonderful fried doughnuts. Dauna could go to the movies with parental permission, and she did get in for free, but she had to pay for her candy and soft drinks. The theater was open every day when she lived there and on Sunday, it opened at 2:00 pm. Woody Woodward had a long history with the Orpheum having started there at age 17 as an usher. He went off to the World War II and eventually got married in 1948. By that time, Woody was the theater’s manager. He worked a very long day. He left the apartment at 11:00 am and did not come back to the apartment until midnight when the theater closed. The Orpheum was remodeled in 1965, but was closed on April 27, 1969. The last film to be seem at the theater was The Wrecking Crew featuring Dean Martin. On June 14, 1969, the Orpheum was demolished and became a parking lot. It had been a cultural highlight in Connellsville presenting live shows, silent films, and “talkies.” Many local kids worked their first job as an usher at the Orpheum. It had been a big part of William Woodward’s life, but in 1962, the family left the apartment to find a house with a yard. I know the importance of a yard to a kid. So, living over the theater, where your dad was the
manager, had its “perks,” and you got to see events that others didn’t since you lived downtown. These days theaters, in our area, are found in Malls. Our girl, Dauna, had a unique experience living in Connellsville. You can read about The Girl on the Train, or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but we have The Girl Who Lived Above the Orpheum Theater. The Daily Courier 21 Mar 1916, Tue • Page 1
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Connellsville’s Second Founding
by John Soisson
James Cochran
On April 1st, 1843, one of the most important events in Connellsville’s history took place. That was the day Little Jim Cochran and his brother Sample pushed their homemade flat-bottomed boat into the rushing spring current of the Youghiogheny River and headed 300 miles south to Cincinnati. Their cargo? 12,000 bushels of high-grade coke they had produced themselves in two coke ovens they rented near Dawson. It was a trip that in 50 years made Connellsville the energy capital of the world. It’s hard to imagine today the courage it took to make that trip. In 1843 there were no flood control dams on the river system, no reservoir at Confluence to contain and control the spring rains and runoff in the Yough. Some people surely thought that those two young men were on a fool’s errand. Little Jim had already made the run downriver to Pittsburgh several times, and sold barges filled with sand he dug from the river bank near his home in Dawson. But a trip on the spring flood waters all the way to Cincinnati with a load that big was another thing. And they had only the barest hope for a sale of their untested coke at the end of their wild ride. A few years ago, my friend Paul Whipkey and I followed the Cochrans’ wake as far as Pittsburgh. We made the trip in a 30-year-old 16-foot Mohawk canoe – a stable craft that was easy to maneuver and that only carried a load of a few hundred pounds. We canoed the route in August, when the water in the Yough was low and slow. So, we used our imaginations and tried to guess what it was like for the Cochrans. The speed of the water. The struggle to control the barge. The eddies that pulled them towards shore. The constant danger of running aground or being flipped by an unexpected boulder. Paul and I took three days to get to Pittsburgh, canoeing a gentlemanly six to eight hours a day. We slept nights in warm, dry beds back in Connellsville. The Cochrans had no such luxury. They floated day and night and slept – if they slept at all – on their barge atop the coke. When they got to Cincinnati, they found a man who owned a foundry – Miles Greenwood – and convinced him to give their coke a try. Greenwood was reluctant. Connellsville coke had never been tried and he had a bias against the fuel because of the poor coke he had 13
tried in the past. But the young boatmen were persuasive and Greenwood gave it a test. No promises. Yet the results were so good that he bought the entire load for 7 cents a bushel. A total of $840 dollars (that would be about $30,000 today). This was the first Connellsville coke sold for money and with the sale the Cochrans demonstrated that there was a market for coke made from the rich Connellsville coal seam. The sale marked the beginning of an industry that brought millions upon millions of dollars and tens of thousands of people to Fayette County. Six years after the Cochrans made their groundbreaking trip, Henry Clay Frick was born in nearby West Overton. By 1880, when he was barely 30 years old and Little Jim was pushing 60, Frick had outpaced the Cochrans in the mining of coal and the production of coke in Fayette and Westmoreland counties and Connellsville coke had become an essential ingredient in the manufacture of steel in Pittsburgh, the steel that was used to build America and drive the industrial revolution westward across the United States. By 1900 – about 60 years after the Cochrans’ fateful river run – Connellsville had become the energy epicenter of the world, the Saudi Arabia of the 19th century. Little Jim was a skillful river pilot and for 25 years after that first trip to Cincinnati he piloted boats three or four times a year down the dangerous channel from the Yough to the Monongahela to the Ohio, a feat that very few other men could perform. When he died in 1894, the business he headed owned 1,200 coke ovens and thousands of acres of coking coal. But it was that first courageous trip 179 years ago, when he was only 20 years old, that started it all and that made Connellsville more than a wide place at which to cross the Youghiogheny River. That’s something worth at least a brief moment of reflection once in a while. John Soisson was born in Connellsville and returns to his roots there almost every summer. These days, he lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.
Great American Trail - Washington DC - Washington State The Great American Rail-Trail is the most ambitious biking initiative this country has ever seen. Stretching an extraordinary 3,700 miles from the nation’s capital across 12 states to the Pacific Ocean, west of Seattle, it’s an idea that’s been ruminating for 50 years. The Rail-Trail will connect more than 125 existing multiuse paths, greenways, trails and towpaths. An official route was announced to the public in May 2019 by the Railsto-Trails Conservancy (RTC), the Washington DC-based nonprofit leading the effort, when the trail was already more than half completed. The trail is largely built atop or next to abandoned railway lines (hence the name) with surfaces ranging from crushed stone to smooth asphalt. These railbanks – abandoned railway corridors converted into trails – account for more than 24,000 miles of multiuse trails crisscrossing the US. Once it is fully completed – estimated to be before 2040 – almost one in six Americans will live within 50 miles of the route, and it will offer an unparalleled experience of the country people can’t see from 36,000 feet or through a car window. The timing couldn’t be better. According to an RTC study, in spring, trail use across the US spiked by 200%, in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic. With team sports and gyms mostly off people’s minds now and for the foreseeable future, the boom in outdoor, physically distanced activities such as cycling and hiking is expected to last for years. On the East Coast, the trail starts in downtown DC, passing a stone’s throw from the Smithsonian Museums and the National Mall before heading northwest across Maryland. There, hikers and cyclists can overnight at a series of 19th-century lockhouses along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, an Industrial Revolution marvel that played a pivotal role in providing troops’ supplies during the Civil War. In the 1800s, these buildings were home to lockkeepers who collected canal tolls on the Appalachian lumber and coal that helped fuel US westward expansion. Following the C & O Canal, the trail then enters the Great Allegheny Passage passing over the Eastern Continental Divide and descending through small towns in Pennsylvania onward to Pittsburgh. For those heading west, the trail passes through the heart of Ohio’s Swartzentruber Amish country, a community that completely eschews modern technology and continues to speak Pennsylvania German as their first language. In hollowed-out Rust Belt towns fighting
to get back on their feet, the echoes of thriving manufacturing communities once linked by rail in southwest Pennsylvania and Indiana tell the story of boom-andbust capitalism. Further west, the trail crosses the Mississippi River that famously inspired Mark Twain and has long shaped US history and culture at Moline, Illinois, before spanning the Continental Divide in Montana. In Idaho, encounters with moose and other wildlife aren’t uncommon along the historic Coeur d’Alene trail that was carved out of mountainous rock by gold prospectors seeking their fortune in the mid19th century. Nearing the route’s end, the ferry trip crossing the Puget Sound in Seattle is another highlight, as travelers pass through a region once home to thriving Suquamish, Duwamish, Nisqually, Snoqualmie and Muckleshoot Native American settlements before skirting the northern fringes of Olympic National Park, one of the largest temperate rainforests in the country. The lapping waters of the Pacific Ocean greet you at La Push, Washington. While the broader health benefits of spending time outdoors are well-documented, trails along the “Great American,” as it’s known, are already playing a key role in helping revitalize economies in dozens of post-industrial towns across the Heartland: Steubenville and Dayton in Ohio; Muncie, Indiana and Joliet, Illinois, all have burgeoning brewery scenes situated close to the trail. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy estimates the trail could generate as much as $138 billion for communities that build campsites, eateries and water and other adventure companies along the route. Embarking on such a major undertaking, however, hasn’t been easy. Large sections of the trail, particularly across Wyoming, where only 2% is currently completed, are yet to be built or mapped out. The Rails-toTrails Conservancy has taken on the mammoth task of working with trail planners, local and state agencies, elected officials and governors’ offices along the route, with 250 meetings held over 18 months in 2018 and 2019. About 300 trail plans were studied to determine the route. Still, while some western states have work to do, in places such as DC, Maryland, Illinois and Pennsylvania, more than 86% of the route is already open. If you averaged 60 miles per day on a bicycle, it would take you about 62 days to travel 3,700 miles by bicycle from Washington, DC to Washington State.
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The Great American Rail-Trail is a signature project of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the nation’s largest trails organization—with a grassroots community more than 1 million strong—dedicated to connecting people and communities through a nationwide network of public trails, many from former rail lines. The “Great American” is the most ambitious project in its TrailNation™ portfolio—the organization’s initiative to encourage the rapid replication of regional trail networks across the country. Follow @greatamericanrailtrail on Facebook and Instagram for updates on their progress.
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University of Pittsburgh, Appalachian Teaching Project Encompasses Connellsville and the Surrounding Area
The University of Pittsburgh, Appalachian Teaching Project encompasses Connellsville and the surrounding area Realizing Regional Resilience: Appalachian Bridges to the Future. University of Pittsburgh students, alongside an interdisciplinary team of faculty, collaborated with the Fayette County Cultural Trust (FCCT) to develop a pilot platform for community-engaged research and pedagogy about how to sustain and enhance the economic development of rural and small urban spaces in the southwestern Pennsylvania region. This interdisciplinary platform brings together a wide range of students and research skills to evaluate how to address the consequences of the rural brain drain in the post-Covid-19 era. At the start of this long-term partnership, students worked with the FCCT to identify the cultural, artistic, historic, and natural assets that are most appropriate for engaged research at this time. Through the partnership, students will have the opportunity to help FCCT in ongoing established efforts to curb the brain drain and to help identify new approaches and possibilities. As part of this project students constructed a Scope of Work and presented their findings to community partners. In addition, throughout the course students were asked to critically reflect on their experiences through prompts on a public blog. The desired outcome of this collaboration is for the team to serve as a valuable resource for their community partner and for the two to continue working towards building a more resilient future for the region. Through an Appalachian Regional Commission grant, a University of Pittsburgh study is looking at how Connellsville and other distressed communities in this area can use their resources to spur economic development
and turn around a decadelong “brain drain” — where college-educated residents leave to go elsewhere for better jobs, higher pay or a different lifestyle. Bryan Schultz, director of Pitt’s global and experiential programs at Pitt’s honors college is heading this project in cooperation with the Fayette County Cultural Trust. University of Pittsburgh seniors will be spearheading this project to study area assets of Connellsville and the area, and the difficulties these assets face. These area assets include historical sites, national parks and other areas that attract visitors. The study is designed to evaluate the area’s natural resources, infrastructure assets and human capital, to basically enhance our competitive position and quality of life in the post-pandemic period. Appalachian communities such as Connellsville might become attractive places to live because of the lower cost of living at a time when working from home and flexible work schedules are becoming more popular. It’s always a good idea to see, from the younger individuals, what would attract them here and what would make them stay in this area. The Fayette County Cultural Trust gave the University of Pittsburgh students a tour of the city on October 19, 2021. The students then met with business owners and city officials who gave students a sense of what they can build on in the future. The challenges are daunting for any economic recovery in Fayette County. The poverty rate in Fayette County was 17.5% in 2019, about 21% of its population is over 65, the per capita income was only $27,360 and only 17% of the residents are college-educated, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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The unemployment rate in the county was 8.3% in September, and there were 4,600 jobless workers, according to the state’s Department of Labor and Industry. The county’s unemployment rate typically is the highest among the seven counties in the Pittsburgh region. The students were impressed with how many people and organizations were committed to helping turn around the local economy. Their findings were presented to the Fayette County Cultural Trust at a meeting on November 19. Edwin Coffman, Payne Gabrielle and Jenna Vangellow, Pitt students, will continue to serve internships in Fayette County, with the Cultural Trust, to further this project. Their focus will be on beautification, solar power and other FCCT projects related to economic development initiatives. The project will continue with a different group of students in the fall of 2022. The first week of December, the Appalachian Regional Commission hosted 150 students from 15 Appalachian based colleges and universities at the 21st annual Appalachian Teaching Project (APT) Conference. APT is an applied-research academic program training college and graduate students to design community-based economic development initiatives across the Appalachian Region. As part of ATP, students enroll in a for-credit course and conduct field research to identify and solve community development issues during the fall semester. As a capstone to this work, students present their work to other student delegations from ATP participating institutions, ARC leadership, and community leaders in a formal peer-to-peer conference setting hosted by ARC. Normally, this conference is held in Washington, D.C. where students use the trip as an opportunity to meet with policy leaders and learn more about the city. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ATP Symposium was held online. Student delegations from the following schools participating in this year’s ATP gave presentations focusing on addressing community needs and challenges, economic development, tourism, and capacity building:
University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh — Bradford, Bradford, Pennsylvania University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia Young Harris College, Young Harris, Georgia Since 2001, over 2,650 college and graduate students from across Appalachia have participated in the Appalachian Teaching Project. Many ATP alumnae have gone on to careers in public service, community development, and other related fields across the region. Summaries of each research project are available at www. arc.gov/atp. ATP is one of four academies and institutes sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Through these experiential learning opportunities, participants build networks, hone skills, and cultivate an enduring commitment to Appalachia’s future.
Alfred State College, Alfred, New York Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee Fairmont State University, Fairmont, West Virginia Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky Ohio University, Athens, Ohio Radford University, Radford, Virginia 17
The Big Bang in Arts Education by Carmelle Nickens, Founder, Rural Arts® Collaborative Most recently, as we said goodbye to 2021, a year still fraught with challenges in our personal lives, in our schools and in education because of an ongoing pandemic, we welcomed 2022 with a bang…literally a “big bang” in Southwestern PA. On January 1st, a sonic boom that literally shook several counties, including Fayette, could be heard and felt in households and communities in the region. Some thought it an earthquake, others a storm, but some simply thought, nature was having a big idea. The Rural Arts® Collaborative (RAC) Arts Education Project is a prime example of how the “big bang” of an idea can lay the foundation for amazing things never thought of, for students and schools, to experience and appreciate the arts in a different and meaningful way. Ten years ago, the “big bang” of an idea started for the Rural Arts® Collaborative Arts (RAC) Arts Education Project: to enhance the existing arts education curriculum in rural schools, so those students, who often do not have access to rigorous arts programs, were able to experience an engaging and unique experience that would, hopefully, impact their lives and their journeys in life to come. After several years of being involved and working with after-school arts programs that were designed to extend the art education experience for students, it was clear that there was a need to focus on developing a project that would work alongside existing arts curriculum in the classroom and align with other disciplines to give students a co-curricular, hands-on experience. Not every child who is involved in arts ed classes is destined to be an artist, but we do know that the arts enhance learning abilities in math, science, and other disciplines, and are an excellent foundation for fostering and developing the learning process: “The “hands-on” experience fosters the 10 primary skills that are essential for learning across the board: Creativity, Confidence, Problem Solving, Perseverance, Focus, Non-verbal Communication, Receiving Constructive Feedback, Collaboration, Dedication and Accountability,” (Washington Post, Strauss, 2013). Since its creation from “big bang” idea to inception, with Fayette County Cultural Trust (FCCT) as the RAC fiscal agent, we have received funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, EQT, the Community Foundation of Fayette County, Grable Foundation, and others to recruit professional teaching artists to
work in school districts in the southwestern PA counties – Fayette, Greene and Washington, with the intent to infuse a diverse arts education approach into existing curriculum, enhance social and cognitive learning for students, and contribute to sustained partnerships amongst educators, artists and students in the region in their arts programs.
RAC Artist Hiromi Katayama teaches students at Bentworth Middle School in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
Dedication of a mural in the city of Johnstown. This mural was painted by Artist Hiromi Katayama’s students at Johnstown High School in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. 18
The “teaching artist” concept is not new and has been extraordinarily successful as an enhancement to existing arts curriculum for many years. This term applies to professional artists in all artistic fields. Teaching artists have worked in schools and in communities for many decades. Teaching artistry as a field really began in the 1980s. In response to the arts education cutbacks in schools during the Reagan Administration, arts organizations began to provide services directly to schools, and artists were employed to deliverer those services. In recent years, surveys and data has shown that teaching artists do not become replacements for art teachers and the professionalization of teaching artistry inculcates respect, more preparation and inclination to build good partnerships with school art teachers, and a greater range of ways to have students succeed in arts education and other disciplines within the school culture. With FCCT as the fiscal agent for the RAC program, over the past ten years, we have created incredible and amazing relationships with some extraordinary artists who not only deliver amazing skills working side by side with students and teacher teams, but also cultivate an attitude of long-term learning for students who are a part of these project. The learning experience becomes an experience about, in and through the arts. The RAC project has demonstrated through surveys and outcomes, that it promotes cognitive development, behavioral and social development in students, who develop a sense of focus, dedication and creativity while involved in these projects – truly a “big bang” for them on many levels. Given their mission to enhance art in the region, FCCT was aware that a robust arts education program contributes to creativity, problem-solving skills, and academic achievement across the disciplines. Creating and developing a program utilizing teaching artists, teaming with classroom teachers, offering a content-rich experience in the classroom for a full semester has been beneficial for everyone, particularly the students of Fayette, Greene, and Washington county school districts. Prior to the pandemic, each residency was a full academic year placement, in-class, working with a lead art teacher or a team of lead teachers in those residencies who prefer a cross-curricular approach. However, due to the ever-changing day-to-day challenges presented by Covid, we have had to scale back to one full semester, albeit in person, hybrid or totally virtual. But the beauty of this is
in the outcomes – the final “big bang” for the students, schools, teachers, artists, and the regional communities has been just as impactful. The artists and students have been as adaptive and committed as they were prepandemic, giving their all to produce amazing final outcomes. The RAC Teaching Artists utilize a project-based learning approach, requiring a final project outcome in the form of an exhibit, mural, public art piece, installation, drama or dance performance or video to create some lasting and impactful end to the project for the students, the schools and their communities.
Attack Theater teaching students at Bentworth Middle/ High School in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
Bricolage teaching students at Trinity High School in Washington County, Pennsylvania. 19
Currently, the RAC project is underway for the 202223 school year in the following Fayette County school districts in PA: Albert Gallatin, Brownsville, Frazier, Laurel Highlands and the Fayette Career and Technical Institute (CTI). In Greene County, we have presence in these districts: Carmichaels, Central Greene, Southeast Greene, and West Greene, and the Intermediate Unit #1 (IU#1) Waynesburg Campus alternative school. We are concluding projects in Washington County in Bentworth and Beth Center school districts. During the past ten years, RAC has served a substantial number of the IU#1 campuses, been in over 70 PA schools, and touched the lives of over 20,000 rural students. In 2017, partnering with Oglebay Institute, FCCT introduced the RAC project into West Virginia’s northern panhandle schools - private, public, and Diocesan - and has since cultivated a successful delivery of these projects, working interstate with both PA and WV artists who are multi-talented and adaptive in whatever school or community they find themselves placed. FCCT also recently expanded RAC into Jefferson County, in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, and is partnering with the Contemporary American Theatre Festival (CATF) on a project that was created to foster diversity and literary cultural awareness for students in rural schools and communities, and also expose these students to a more robust arts education curriculum that they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to experience. With a host of multi-talented and exceptional artists, in both PA and WV, we have been successful in creating
amazing projects and outcomes for rural schools, students, and communities. Among those artists who have been a “big bang” for the RAC project, we would like to acknowledge those who have collaborated with us over the past 10 years: Diane Adams – muralist Glynis Board – journalist Adam Booth - storyteller Hiromi Katayama – Japanese watercolorist and origami artist Rebecca Kiger - photographer Michael McKowen – installation and multi-media; dramaturgy Laura Jean McLaughlin - ceramics James Moore – musician (trumpet) Frank Morgan – muralist Jes Reger – watercolorist Michelle Sabol – glass artist and jewelry maker James Simon – ceramics and mixed-media Calvin Stemley – musician (saxophone) Nancy Tyrone – collage and painting Cody Vanata – screen-printing Robert Villamagna – installation and multi-media Attack Theatre (Michele de la Reza & Allison Popieski) – dance Bricolage Production Company (Sam Turich, Jeffrey Carpenter, Tami Dixon) – theatre and immersive art production Contemporary American Theatre Festival (Margaret McKowen) – theatre
RAC Artist Diane Adams and her students from Washington High School, Washington County, Pennsylvania created a mural about the Whiskey Rebellion on the exterior wall of the Bradford House Museum. 20
When challenged with the rigors of going into unfamiliar territory, meeting students on their own turf and terms, and giving them a memorable experience that, hopefully, will impact their lives in so many ways, albeit they become artists or not, each artist or organization has done that on so many levels. As professional artists they bring their skill and craft to light the way and create that “big bang” in offering their individual talents and perspective in the arts for students to embrace a “new way of seeing, thinking, being and doing” – which is the Rural Arts® Collaborative mantra. Fayette County Cultural Trust has been the force and “big bang” behind the Rural Arts® Collaborative and arts education in this region to build a strong home for the RAC. The project continues to flourish in Southwestern PA school districts (as well as in WV with our partner Oglebay Institute) with continuing support from the Benedum Foundation, and additional funding from EQT and Grable. We are ever grateful to our funders, supporters, schools, teachers, and administrators for believing in this project that has made a difference for so many rural schools and students in our region. Always believe that you can make a difference and create a “big bang” idea that with arduous work, dedication, and perseverance, can eventually become a reality to make a positive impact on a student’s path and journey. Let us continue to light the way with a “big bang” in the arts for our students and for our future.
Michelle Sophia Sabol teaching students at Madonna Catholic School in Monongahela, Pennsylvania
For more information on RAC please visit our website at RuralArtsCollaborative.org
Carm Nickens, RAC Founder
This mural, painted by artist Diane Adams and funded by the Rural Arts Collaborative, features a Conestoga wagon, which carried freight along the National Road, the first federally-funded highway. Opening circa 1818, the road passed through Washington, from East Maiden Street to Main Street to West Chestnut Street, and stimulated growth in population, businesses and industry in the region. Bradford House Museum, Washington County, PA. 21
Neighborhood Partnership Program 2022
The Fayette County Cultural Trust is pleased to provide the Connellsville Community, through the NPP Program, much needed funding to some of its nonprofit organizations. This funding was made possible through the Fayette County Cultural Trust and its Neighborhood Partnership Program funding supporters, Somerset Trust Company, TriState Capital, PNC Bank and former partner UPMC Health Plan. Since 2014, the Fayette County Cultural Trust has provided Connellsville nonprofit organizations with a total of $92,000. Through this program we are also able to support a Downtown Connellsville initiative focusing on business retention/expansion and improvements. The Neighborhood Partnership Program is a Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Program that provides tax credit funding from the above supporters. The Partnership is funded through the Pennsylvania Neighborhood Assistance Program, which is a tax credit program offered through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The program offers tax credits of 80% against applicable Pennsylvania business taxes to businesses who commit at least $50,000 per year for over 5 years. This program is administered to serve in distressed areas. Projects must fall under one of the following categories: affordable housing programs, community services, crime prevention, education, job training or neighborhood assistance. This year we were able to add Alternatives.Yes to the NPP Program. Pictured here are Daniel Cocks, Executive Director of the Fayette County Cultural Trust and Andrea Pritts, Executive Director of Alternatives.Yes receiving a check for $2,500. Alternatives.Yes Pregnancy Support Center is a nonprofit charitable organization that has been serving the community since 1987. They provide FREE and CONFIDENTIAL services to women and men experiencing a pregnancy or caring for an infant.
This year we were able to add the Learning Lamp to the NPP Program. Daniel Cocks with Dr. Leah Spangler, President & CEO of the Learning Lamp, Laura Martin and little Jimmy receiving a check for $2,500. They believe success in the classroom is the foundation for success in life – and that no child should go without the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. Founded in 2003 with a single program, The Learning Lamp now serves thousands of children each year, working with families and schools to meet the needs of students. We have supported the Connellsville Police Department’s K-9 Unit for two years. Pictured to the right are Connellsville Police Chief Bill Hammerle, Daniel Cocks, Executive Director of the Fayette County Cultural Trust and K-9 Handler J. Tyler Garlick receiving a check for $2,500. So far we have given them a total of $5,000.
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This is the 8th year NPP has supported the Connellsville Carnegie Free Library. Pictured here are Daniel Cocks, Executive Director of the Fayette County Cultural Trust and Sharon Martino, Library Director, receiving a check for $5,000. Through the NPP Program we have given them a total of $40,000.
This is the 8th year NPP has supported the Connellsville Area Community Ministries. Pictured here are Daniel Cocks, Executive Director of the Fayette County Cultural Trust and Barry Craig, President Connellsville Community Ministries, receiving a check for $5,000. Through the NPP Program we have given them a total of $40,000. Connellsville Area Community Ministries is an extension of the church to all hurting people needing support in life’s development and the struggle to obtain justice and a healthful life grounded in God’s love.
This is the 8th year NPP has supported the Wesley Health Center. Pictured here are Marilyn Weaver, Executive Director of the Wesley Health Center and Daniel Cocks, providing a check for $5,000. Through the NPP Program we have given them a total of $40,000. WHC provides services to individuals 19 and older without regard to age, ancestry, color, race, disability, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, political affiliation, union membership, marital status or ability to pay. This is the 8th year NPP has supported the Connellsville Parks & Recreation Board. Pictured here are Daniel Cocks, Executive Director of the Fayette County Cultural Trust and Dr. Francis Jacobyansky, President of the Connellsville Parks & Recreation board, receiving a check for $5,000. Through the NPP Program the Trust has given the Connellsville Parks & Recreation Board a total of $70,000. This funding was instrumental in replacing the roofs on the pavilions at city parks and also updating some of the parks with new playground equipment and accessible swings and seesaws.
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to our Neighborhood Partnership Program sponsors!
Neighborhood Partnership Program (NPP) The Neighborhood Paretnership Program is a long-term collaboration (five years or more) of business, government and community leaders to produce a comprehensive, asset-based and relationship-driven approach to community development. A tax credit of 75% or 80% can be awarded based on the length of the program.
The Connellsville Crossroads Magazine makes a great gift. Connellsville Crossroads is published 4 times per year. You can renew your Crossroads Magazine or give a gift subscription by visiting us online at: www.fayettetrust.org/crossroads-magazine
