Dec greenescene 2017 web

DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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GreeneScene by Jeanine Henry

GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

Dear Santa, My name is Nathan and I am 6 years old. I should be on your “Nice List” this year because I helped decorate the Christmas tree at home and I helped my Mom carry stuff up from the basement.

I have one Christmas request. Could you please bring me a racecar with a tail on it?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. I will probably watch a Christmas movie before I go to bed. I will leave cookies and milk out for you. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Nathan Iams DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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I Love this P l a ce

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t’s pretty easy to miss the fact that Ruff Creek was once a toddling 19th century town serving up everything a farm family needed. If you’re getting off Interstate 79 at the Ruff Creek Exit with a scenic drive in mind, or maybe stopping for gas before continuing on your way, the only clue might be in the look of the landmark country store that Ray Stockdale once owned. It sits where Routes 19 and 221 make a meandering crossroads, and Ruff Creek twists and turns nearby. There are new BP pumps out front – Coen Oil bought the store from Ray in 2015 - but inside things still look much like they did when Jack, and later, son Ray sold everything from tractor tires to lottery tickets and sliced the lunchmeat by hand. It was called the Ruff Creek General Store and when the Interstate was finished in the 1960s it shared its homey atmosphere with the world.

“My dad took over the business in 1951 and I grew up here. We lived upstairs.” Ray said as he held up a photo of what the store looked like when Ewing and Earl Shirk built it in 1925.

The Shirks built their first store on their property in 1875 and were in operation for 50 years before moving across the road and selling everything, including gas, in 1925, Ray pointed out. “I figure that makes it the oldest continually operating general store in Western Pennsylvania. Every town needs a general store and we sold everything you didn’t want to drive to Waynesburg to get. And then some! If I could talk my wife into it, we’d disappear into West Virginia and I’d have myself another general store.”

In the 1800s there were other stores and community gathering places in Ruff Creek, but no photos remain of the grange hall from back in the day, or the blacksmith shop. The other general store that was here in 1843 when the neighborhood got together to build a Baptist meeting house, is hiding in plain sight. It sits as a private residence at the corner of Route 221, overlooking the current store.

Another wooden building with rows of windows, sitting behind the township office further up 221, was the Ruff Creek elementary school. It closed when Central Greene School district consolidated in the late 1950s. Ray remembers, “When I was four, Susan Cooke and Glenda Engle took me inside on the last day of school. By the time I was in first grade we were being bussed to Waynesburg.“ “I was 14 when we moved here – my mother

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RUFF CREEK, PA

by Colleen Nelson

Here is a photo of the Ruff Creek General Store today.

This is a sketch I did in the 1980’s from the original photograph of the Ruff Creek Store, shown below, for the Greene County Calendar.

June bought the old Ross farm. Now I live on the Shirk farm across from the store.” Washington Township Supervisor Walt Stout remembers Ruff Creek as a great place to grow up. “As a teenager all the kids went to Bethlehem Baptist Church and we played on the softball team. We played all the other church teams around here and we were a team that had to be dealt with! Ray was a few years older than me but we all knew each other and the store and the church were the heart of the community. Every morning people came in for coffee, after church people would buy the Sunday paper and sit on the bench and talk. All that was missing was a pot bellied stove! The store’s still there, but it isn’t the same without Ray.” The businesses, farms and houses of Ruff Creek are scattered for miles up and down these two highways that crisscross beside the general store.

Ruff Creek General Store with Earl Shirk standing in front, circa 1929. Notice Mr. Shirk’s two daughters in the upper left window.

GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

If you’re on your way to Waynesburg take Rt. 19 past Bethlehem Baptist Church and enjoy the view as you climb the hill. Go north on 19 and you’ll find yourself passing Barnhart’s Honda, then a few miles further, Rinky Dinks Roadhouse.

The road climbs the ridge to the frontier town of Amity and in a dozen miles or so you’ll be at the stoplight in Pancake on Route 40. Route 221 follows Ruff Creek to Lippencott and its historic Cox Farm Covered Bridge and you’re on your way to Jefferson. Turn onto Route 221 where it intersects Route 19 across from the store and you will pass the Washington Township building, then Greene Arc Inc. and the Ruff Creek Campus of the UMW training facility. Across the road is a pre Civil War two story “one room up and one room down” brick home with its stately post Civil War “two down two up” addition that once belonged to June Stout, beyond is the township park. The road runs straight for a few miles along Ruff Creek before cutting across hills on its way to Route 18 near Prosperity.

Whichever way you go, you will be in scenic rural America catching glimpses of its homesteading past, sandwiched between new homes and pastures returning to forests.

The name Ruff Creek has a catchy, Americana cadence that has managed to travel further than most of its earliest inhabitants who reside in the graveyard behind the church.

Some local musicians went down to that crossroads by the store in the 1970s and came back with the name Ruff Creek Band, playing country music and good old rock and roll.

Regional author Joe McHugh spent time at the store with Ray and was inspired to write Ruff Tales, High Octane Stories from the Ruff Creek General Store, in 1988. There’s a business in Waynesburg called Ruff Creek Crafts and Antiques. When Coen Oil bought Ray’s general store, the company branded its coffee and grab-and-go edibles “Ruff Creek

Markets,” a chain of 27 and counting convenience store gas stations in the area.

But local lore still remembers an indigenous chief named Ruff and the hunting camp he kept on the banks of the creek that runs through town on its way to the Monongahela River. When settlers arrived to turn forest into farmland they let it be known they were living on Ruff ’s Creek.

“There it is. See that mound of earth? That’s Ruff ’s hunting camp.” Ray was standing at the edge of the field that once belonged to the Davis Johns family on Route 221. Behind him was the homestead’s brick farmhouse and at the far edge of the pasture, Ruff Creek cut a path towards town. Another smaller creek came through a valley to join it further down the road, and a bump of land could be seen rising between them. A gas well related piece of equipment sat on top, illustrating the mound’s flatness, reflecting light.

According to item No. 142 of Andrew J Waychoff ’s Local History of Greene County and Southwestern Pennsylvania, “A few questions to Davis Johns” and a few other locals yielded this story: “Ruffs Creek was so called because of an Indian named Ruff. …He lived on a mound yet visible one and one-half miles up the creek from Ruffs Creek post office. …The mound, somewhat flattened, still remains.” Waychoff notes ruefully that the apostrophe had already been dropped by the 1870s and the U.S. postal authorities were asking that the town’s name be changed to Ruffcreek. “It will then have lost from vision its Indian tradition.”

Lucky for us, Ruff Creek may have lost its apostrophe and its s but it still remains Ruff Creek, in honor of the stream that loves to jump its banks when it rains hard.

“I’m thinking that’s why the Shirks finally moved their store across the road,” Ray said, grinning. “It can get pretty wet and muddy here when it rains.”

View of Ruff Creek from the Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Washington Township Supervisor, Walter Stout, is happy to say that the township’s comprehensive plan has been submitted and he invites anyone interested to stop in and read it.

Raymond Stockdale points out the white gas well equipment that marks the spot where Chief Ruff had his hunting camp on the banks of the creek that Ruff Creek is named for.

Picture of the current house where the Iams Store once was (see GreeneScene of the Past on page 9 for more information).

DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

Merry Christmas! (l-r) Stacie Brown, Ron Osthoff, Tony Celli and Melissa Vandervlist are here to tell you… Need Volunteers? Call Greene ARC Inc. The ARC offers recycling on-site and document destruction, mass mailing and volunteers to help with projects in the community wherever they are needed. Contact Carolyn Brown to see if ARC Services will fit your need. 724-627-5511 ext. 119.

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Dear Santa, My name is Aubrey and I am 6 years old. I have been a good girl this year because I always listen and I try to help my Mom and Dad. Could you please bring me a Hatchimal?

That’s all I want because I want to make it easier for you this year.

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. I will leave carrots and oatmeal out for the reindeer and cookies for you.

Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Aubrey Sotler

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W

hat better church to write about in December than Bethlehem Baptist Church in Ruff Creek? Its brick steeple rises castle-like into the sky above Route 19, inviting the faithful to come in for the kind of old time religion that was born on the American Frontier. That’s when European settlers recognized their rights of self-determination and put their faith in God to guide them as they forged their own destiny in the new world.

This is not the original church. Thanks to surviving records, we have a captivating glimpse into the lives and times of those first farm families who gathered together in April 1843 for a 17-day organizational meeting. They joined the Monongalia Association with a congregation of 57, and true to the music loving nature of their faith, the records show that James Huffman was made a Deacon and James Boyd the singing clerk before the congregation found themselves a pastor!

By October, Amos Pratt was pastor, Absolom Hedge was treasurer and meetings were held in the brick schoolhouse on the David Johns farm. By the next year Absolom and wife Nancy deeded two acres for the Bethlehem Baptist Meeting House and Burying Ground for $64 and parishioners pitched in to build it. That wooden building would house the faithful until the first brick edifice was built in 1886, modeled after the church in Waynesburg.

The records paint a picture of history drawn by the people who lived it. Services were held every second and fourth Sunday, with a business meeting every third Saturday afternoon. Anyone missing three consecutive meetings without good excuse would be “excluded” from the church. Exclusion was also the fate for swearing, drinking, dancing quarreling or immoral conduct – unless the accused apologized properly. One man, it was noted dryly, “thinks he will dance again if he chooses” and was duly excluded.

Another involved so many irate parishioners that the principal of Matthew 18: 15-17 was evoked and deacons from Waynesburg and Ten Mile churches came to settle the “misunderstanding and misinformation” to everyone’s satisfaction.

Pastors made $125 a year and when “Brother Davis” was hired as sexton he received $10 and permission to pasture his sheep in the graveyard. By 1862 a sexton made $25, but “had to furnish coal and oil.”

When the meetinghouse was carpeted in 1858 there was a new church rule: “members were prohibited from using tobacco.” That year, the church became a member of Ten Mile Baptist Association.

By 1862 members were allowed to tithe according to their ability and the records spell out the hardships of the Civil War: “The church is languishing, the love of many waxing cold. Our country being beleaguered with blood by a cruel and unholy rebellion.” In 1864 the church sold apples for 12 ½ cents a bushel to help make ends meet. However, by 1870 things were looking up and parishioners were outgrowing the old wooden meetinghouse.

The building project of 1886 was a community affair. Bricks were made in Ben Shirk’s bottom near the creek in a wood fired kiln. When the creek flooded it was a minor miracle that there were “enough brick saved to build the new church.” They were laid with white mortar and local boys helped to get their names in the cornerstone. The next 20 some years were a “pleasant” affair, complete with new carpeting and a furnace in the basement as the 20th century arrived.

But when the furnace boiler exploded at 4 a.m. on March 26, 1911, the church burned to the ground and parishioners found themselves back at the old

Getting ready to go caroling for Christmas! Front row: Josiah Earnest, Nicole Thomas, Elijah Earnest Back: Pastor David Earnest, Daniel and Debbie Caron

schoolhouse for services. But not for long. By April plans were made to rebuild and the congregation rolled up its sleeves and opened their purses. The new church, modeled after the one in Jefferson, used salvaged brick “where it wouldn’t show.” The church you now see, “sitting on the brow of the hill” was finished by November and dedicated on June 30, 1912.

Today, the ministry reaches into the community beyond Ruff Creek, with Vacation Bible School in June, summer camp for kids at Camp Carmel in Dunbar and shuttling kids from Waynesburg and Jefferson to the church Kids Club Program in the fall.

“Because of our growing children’s ministry, we hired Daniel Caron as our first Children’s Minister,” Pastor David Earnest said. Community involvement also includes the Victory 5K Run now entering its third year. “One of our members, Lawrence Calvert, is a coordinator of this event for local runners and the money raised helps support the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Waynesburg.”

Other programs at the church include Dartball on Mondays and a Wednesday night dinner before the Kids Club and Youth Encounter.

Every second Thursday the Daughters of the King meet to organize mission projects including care packages for soldiers, baby blankets and rolled bandages for burn victims in the Congo, and care packages for victims of natural disasters.

Pastor Earnest, wife Amy and sons Elijah, Josiah and Craig live on his family farm in Marianna.

“I grew up around here and I knew several people who attended this church. I’ve been pastor here for more than eight years. Amy is the daughter of Randy and Betty Anderson who are active church members with a heart for service. We have a great team of volunteers here that always rises to the occasion to respond to what we believe is the call from the Lord to minister in His Name.”

Weekly Attendence averages 60 parishioners of all ages. Sunday School begins at 9:30 a.m with Worship at 10:45 am. Dinner is served at 5:30 on Wednesday, with Kids Club and Youth Encounter following at 6 p.m.

For more information go online: www.bbcruffcreek.org or call 724-627-6218.

GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

G re e n e Sce ne of the Pa st

by Colleen Nelson

T

hat’s James Dorsey Iams and his family, posing for a rare photograph in front of their store in Ruff Creek. We know that James was born in 1860 and by the looks of his thick dark hair and the age of his children, it’s a safe bet that he is in his early to mid 30s.

The everyday details in this wonderfully clear image that Mary Iams Dobich came across while working on family history are a treasure trove of insights into life in the 1890s. Kids went barefoot until puberty moved them into the adult world of long pants, long dresses and having to wear shoes in summer. The bell symbol on the side of the building says there is a public telephone available inside – perhaps the only one in town. The dirt road that runs beside the store lets you know that State Route 221 has been cut much deeper over the years as it intersects with Route 19. This building, now a private residence, still stands guard at the corner of these two roads, across from the general store that Ray Stockdale sold to Coen Oil in 2015. If you look closely you can see houses along Route 19 and Bethlehem Baptist Church is completely hidden behind the store and the trees. Look really close and you’ll see that liver pills were a hot ticket item in Ruff Creek at the turn of the last century and judging by the curtains in the upstairs windows, the family most likely lived upstairs.

At Cornerstone Geneological Society in

Waynesburg, the file on Ruff Creek is slim, but amazingly, it contains a letter Marjorie M. Sutton sent the society detailing what her great-great grandfather William H. Sutton Sr. sold and kept track of in his Day Book from 1864-1870 when he was the owner operator of the Ruff Creek Store and Post Office. “Despite the fading of the ink-written entries, some damage to the front of the book by rats and time, the entries are fairly legible and offer not only many well known Greene County names, but an amazing variety of goods and items sold and the prices of all,” she wrote.

In 1870, James Iams would have been a ten year old barefoot boy, coming into the store he would someday operate, perhaps to buy a pound of coffee – 69 cents and maybe three pounds of sugar – 90 cents, for his mom and getting the mail while he was there. His dad would have no doubt been in there almost every day or so with ten cents in his pocket. Marjorie notes in her letter: “throughout the book one of the most frequently purchased items are plugs of tobacco – a dime - and snuff. All other items, materials, foodstuffs, etc. seem to be equally mentioned, but in cycles.”

Barrels of salt cost $9.50, an indication of how much was needed on the farm for everything from pickling meat and vegetables to feeding livestock.

“The payment for the items purchased was mainly in cash but there are a good many entries

where the customer brought in things in trade in payment. One of the most mentioned is butter, ” Marjorie reports.

Goods for the woman of the house ranged from yard goods – flannel – 6 yards for $5, $3.60 for muslin, to Sunday go-to-meeting necessities – trimmed bonnet - $5, silk parasol $2.71. Sweet oil, that ingredient for everything from earache medicine to perfume was ten cents a bottle and a quarter pound of tea could be had for 37 cents.

It’s not hard to imagine little J.D. Iams bringing in his mother’s fresh churned butter and trading it for two pounds of rice – 30 cents, and a quart of molasses – 37 cents. Maybe if he was prompt, polite and honest he would earn a piece of candy as a gift from shopkeeper Sutton and go home dreaming of being the person behind the counter with all those wonderful things for sale.

What we know from this photo and this letter is that Mr. Iams and his family ran the store in the roaring ‘90s and had all the modern conveniences of communication. We also know that, according to Marjorie Sutton, her great grandfather “quit the operations of the Ruff Creek store” and later “opened and ran a store in the Hopewell area. In the mid 1880s Mr. Sutton was elected Register Recorder for the county and closed the Hopewell store and moved to Waynesburg to live.”

If you have an interesting old photo from the area you’d like to share, just send it to: GreeneScene of the Past, 185 Wade Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370. Or email to: info@greenescene.com with GreeneScene Past in subject line. The GreeneScene Community Magazine can even scan your original in just a few minutes if you bring it to our office. We are particularly interested in photos of people and places in the Greene County area taken between 1950 and 1980, though we welcome previous dates, too.

DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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Dear Santa, My name is Braydan and I am 6 years old. You will see that I’ve been a good boy this year because I helped my Mom decorate the Christmas tree and I helped her bake cookies.

I have a couple of Christmas wishes.

Could you please bring me a toy car set and a train?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve! I will leave marshmallows out for your reindeer and cookies out for you. I promise to go to sleep before you come. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Braydan Richter

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GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

Dear Santa, My name is Joel and I am 7 years old. I have been a good boy this year because I helped my Grandma and Pap decorate their house for Christmas. I have a couple of Christmas wishes.

Could you please bring me some toy cars and Legos?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve! I will leave carrots out for the reindeer and cookies for you. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Joel Grimes Dear Santa, My name is Ali and I am 6 years old. I have been a good girl this year because I am always nice and remember to say thank you to people. I have a couple of Christmas requests.

Could you please bring me sparkly red lipstick and bring my brother a book about Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. If my Mom says it’s okay, I will leave you some milk and cookies.

I promise to be asleep when you come. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Ali McCullough DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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Spo rt Sh or t s

by Jason Tennant

FALL ALL-COUNTY TEAMS

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s the winter high school sports season gets underway, the close of the 2017 Greene County Fall season was marked with the announcement of the AllCounty Team.

In the past, there have been various entities that have put together separate “All-County” teams or put together various “All-Star” recognitions.

This year, for the first time, there is one All-County team that was selected by a committee.

The Greene County Athletic Directors As2017 Fall Sports All-County Football consists of 33 players: Brock Bedilion (West Greene), Nathan Brudnock (West Greene), Ronnie Burkholder-Walter (Mapletown), Evan Burnett (Carmichaels), Isaac Courtwright (West Greene), Colten Davidson (Jefferson-Morgan), Zach Gamble (Jefferson-Morgan), DL Garrett (Jefferson-Morgan), Ben Jackson (West Greene), Kevin Kelly (Carmichaels), Eli Kiger (Waynesburg), Spencer Lesinski (Waynesburg), Andrew Litton (West Greene), Jacob Lowry (Carmichaels), Connor Main (West Greene), Avery McConville (Waynesburg), Nick Mundell (Carmichaels), Brennan Pelzer (Carmichaels), Zach Pettit (West Greene), Lane Powell (Mapletown), Chad Ruse (Carmichaels), Dylan Rush (Mapletown), JJ Scott (Mapletown), Dylan Scritchfield (Waynesburg), Jacob Shaw (Carmichaels), Caleb Shriver (Waynesburg), Austin Strahan (Carmichaels), Jake Turner (Carmichaels), Kolin Walker (Jefferson-Morgan), Tanner Weston (Mapletown), Wyatt White (West Greene), Dylan Wilson (Carmichaels), Tyler Wilson (Jefferson-Morgan), and Jonathan Wolfe (Jefferson-Morgan) In Soccer, though Waynesburg is the only school with a soccer program, there are students from other districts that participate through a coop program.

Boys Soccer features 8 standout players (all Waynesburg students): Will Behm, Scott Benco, Gavin Benson, Caleb Blair, Blake Brewer, Jack Church, Lucas Garber, and Kyle Stoneking

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sociation that includes John Krajnak of Carmichaels, Linda Messich of Mapletown, Scot Moore of Jefferson-Morgan, Bill Simms of West Greene, and Justin Stephenson of Waynesburg Central, invited GreeneSpots.net’s Jason Tennant & Adam Brewer from the Herald Standard to join the process of selecting the All-County team.

The following student-athletes were recognized recently at a luncheon at the Greene County Career & Technology Center, representing the best the county has to offer in each of the five fall sports.

For Girls Soccer, each of the starters from the WPIAL Champions are recognized: McKenzie Booth (Waynesburg), Madison Clayton (Jefferson-Morgan), Bailey Fudala (Waynesburg), Claire Garber (Waynesburg), Elle Hampson (Waynesburg), Jillian Kijowski (Waynesburg), Rhea Kijowski (Waynesburg), Emily McCarty (Waynesburg), Kaley Pell (Waynesburg), Kylie Sinn (Carmichaels), and Abby Virgin (Waynesburg) In Volleyball there were 18 selected: Kristina Aeschbacher (Carmichaels), Jadyn Barnish (Carmichaels), Makenzie Cree (Mapletown), Caitlyn Dugan (Jefferson-Morgan), Aubree Ferek (Carmichaels), Abby Fisher (Waynesburg), Emerson Foringer (Waynesburg), Peyton Foringer (Waynesburg), Abby Gibbons (Waynesburg), Hanna Headlee (Waynesburg), Morgan Helmick (Mapletown), Bailey Machesky (West Greene), Lexie Mooney (West Greene), Bailey Pauley (Waynesburg), Meighan Spishock (Carmichaels), Linzee Stover (West Greene), Taylor Vanata (Mapletown), and Katey Wolfe (Jefferson-Morgan) Eight Golfers were selected: Matthew Barrish (Carmichaels), MaCottie Denjen (Waynesburg), Delaney Lohr (Carmichaels), Remmey Lohr (Carmichaels), Trey Rohanna (Waynesburg), Taggart Shea (Carmichaels), Kyle Shriver (Waynesburg), and Aaron Yorio (Waynesburg) The Cross Country selections feature 6 runners: Ashley Cumberledge (West Greene), Rachel Jones (West Greene), Madison Lampe (West Greene), McKenna Lampe (West Greene), Kullen Thomas (Waynesburg), and Jersey Wise (West Greene)

Dear Santa, My name is Aiden and I am 6 years old. I have been a good boy this year because I washed dishes at home and put them away. I have a few Christmas wishes. Could you please bring me a Puppy Monster Machine and a real dog?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Aiden Pattison

GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

Dear Santa, My name is Grace and I am 6 years old. You will see that I have been a good girl this year because I always help my Mom clean the house. I have a couple of Christmas requests. Could you please bring me a Shopkins airplane and a Barbie van?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve! I will leave carrots out for your reindeer.

Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Grace John

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DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

11

Greene: Earth and Sky

By Pete Zapadka

Trailblazer for the historic Warrior Trail to step down after more than two decades

D

uring a 2009 trip to Europe, a couple from southwestern Pennsylvania were in awe at the base of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. They stood breathless at their first sight of the ancient edifice that stood majestically as a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis.

The Parthenon was built in the fifth century B.C., and it stands today, having endured the passing of time and the unintelligent ravages of mankind. With its signature rising classic columns, the unmistakable white marble building stands at about 230 feet high, more than 101 feet wide and 228 feet long.

“How wonderful!” the woman exclaimed as she and her travel partner stood hand in hand. “It is so wonderful!

We don’t have anything like this at home.”

“Yes, we do,” the man said without hesitation.

The woman looked at him, puzzled by his statement.

“We have the Warrior Trail,” he said.

Research has indicated that the Warrior Trail, a former Native American trading path that runs across present-day Greene County, was used as long as 5,000 years ago. While it clearly lacks magnificent ancient buildings, it is about twice as old as the Parthenon.

Llew Williams is an unabashed ambassador and enthusiastic spokesman for the historic trail, but at the end of 2017, he is stepping down after 18 years as president of the Warrior Trail Association. Make no mistake – he has garnered a lot of the historical knowledge of the ancient Indian trade route.

The Warrior Trail “goes east to west, over into the Flint Ridge area of Ohio,” Williams said. “The reason it existed primarily was to get flint back over to this area. We really have no flint here. The flint was a really important thing back in prehistory. Before the Europeans came here with metal, there was no metal . . . so if you needed a knife, a projectile point or a scraper, you needed flint.”

The eastern starting point of the modern Warrior Trail is at Greensboro along the Monongahela River. It heads west for about 45 miles, following the divide between the Dunkard and Whiteley creeks, and much of it runs about 6 miles north of the Mason-Dixon Line. There are 22 miles in the West Virginia panhandle where it follows the divide between Fish and Wheeling creeks.

The nonprofit volunteer Warrior Trail Association, which maintains the rural pathway, was incorporated in

1966. Williams said he became involved “maybe 22 years ago . . . I saw these yellow dots on telephone poles and trees, and I started following the dots.

“Somebody told me you could buy a trail guide in Waynesburg, so I did. I found out they had meetings, and I went to a meeting . . . I started doing work hikes, they put me on the board, and I’ve been president for 18 years,” said Williams, who will be succeeded at the helm by Frank Pecjak.

“People in Greene County, particularly in rural areas, are very supportive of the Warrior Trail. Many through hikers have told me that they were surprised at how welcoming people were. People are proud of the trail. It’s been on their farm, it’s been in their family for years,” he said.

Williams grew up in Finleyville but lived for 18 years near New Freeport. He now has a home off Goshen Road near Morgantown, W.Va. Friends look forward to the maple syrup he produces each year.

Not to be consumed in his role as a caretaker of history, Williams has a newfound passion for space – traveling to explore the spaces in far-flung places in the modern world.

“In the past four years, I’ve been to Nepal three times . . . I went to Annapurna Base Camp the first year, then Everest Base Camp last year, and this year, I did a real nice trek into some remote area there that’s little visited by tourists.”

He also visited St. Croix in 2013 and has hiked the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Last year, Williams hiked the Lost Coast Trail, about 200 miles north of San Francisco. He has done cave exploring and loves to visit Dolly Sods in West Virginia.

Stuck on the couch? Williams offers this exuberant advice.

“Get outside. Pay attention. Greene County is a unique area,” he said. “We have scenic beauty, we have history . . .

I just think it’s beneficial to get outdoors and pay attention and shut your head off once in a while and look around.”

Llew Williams at a rural site in Nepal in 2017.

Access information about the Warrior Trail Association on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WarriorTrailAssociation/.

Pete Zapadka is a Greene County property owner and a retired local news editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He can be reached at pzapadka@yahoo.com.

Llew Williams with snow-covered mountains in Nepal in 2017.

A native stands with Llew Williams in Nepal in 2017.

Llew Williams, third from right, and colleagues in front of the old schoolhouse in Fordyce that has served as the Warrior Trail Association headquarters since 1968.

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GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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GreeneScene by Jeanine Henry

Dear Santa, My name is Kenzlee and I am 6 years old. I should be on your “Nice List” this year because I helped clean my Dad’s truck and I helped my Mom do the dishes. I have one Christmas wish. Could you please bring me a Hatchimal?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. I will leave out reindeer food and cookies with milk for you.

Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Kenzlee Hill 14

GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

PICTURE PUZZLE WINNER Jack Kurilko of Dilliner, PA was our lucky picture puzzle winner for he knew the hidden image was a Pilgrim Hat. Jack’s wife Marge (pictured to the left) picked up his winnings for him. Congratulations to Jack and Marge from all of us at GreeneScene Community Magazine.

DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

Dear Santa, My name is Bret and I am 6 years old. You will see that I have been a good boy this year because I helped my Mom and Dad put lights on the Christmas tree and I am always nice and quiet at school. I have a few Christmas wishes. Could you please bring me a remote controlled car and a Flip Scooter?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. I promise to sleep well that night.

Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Bret Scott 15

Dear Santa,

My name is Brady and I am 7 years old. I should be

on the “Nice List” this year because I helped my Dad carry wood. I have one big Christmas request. Could you please bring me a drone?

I can’t wait

for you to visit on Christmas Eve. We are going to watch a Santa movie and read a story before bed. I will leave reindeer food out for the reindeer and cookies for you. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Brady Carpenter Dear Santa, My name is Jessica and I am 6 years old. I have been a good girl this year because I paid attention in class and I helped people with their morning work. I have a few Christmas wishes. Could you please bring me some blue lipstick and a big Hatchimal that cracks by itself?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. I will leave oatmeal out for your reindeer and cookies with milk for you. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Jessica Keener

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2017 Christmas Parade

t’s Christmas time in Waynesburg and everyone was getting into the Christmas spirit the first Saturday in December. The Greene County Chamber of Commerce held its annual Christmas Parade on December 2 in downtown Waynesburg. The execution of the Parade was underwritten by First Energy Foundation.

Eighty entries appeared on Saturday representing various schools, churches, civic organizations, and businesses from all over the county.

The parade is being broadcast for on WCYJ Television from Waynesburg University, who videotaped, narrated and edited the parade for broadcast on local stations. WCYJ is a student operated television station under the direction of Bill Molzon. A broadcast date will be announced as soon as it is available.

Float Winners

1st Seldom Seen Farm

2nd WWJD Christian Center

3rd Waynesburg VFW Auxiliary

Most Original – Corner Cupboard Food Bank

Most Spirit – Rolling Meadows Nursing

& Rehab

Best Design – Greene County 4-H Clubs The “Miss Merry Christmas” winners were also selected at this annual Christmas celebration.

The 2017 Miss Merry Christmas line-up is pictured here in front of the Greene County Courthouse.

L-R: McKayla Jacobs – West Greene High School, daughter of Amy Thomas and Dave Jacobs, Olivia King – Waynesburg Central High School, daughter of Gary and Shalene King, Riley Payo – Jefferson Morgan High School, daughter of Margaret and Jaison Abell.

The Greene County Chamber of Commerce would also like to thank all those businesses and individuals who helped to make this year’s parade a success. Photos by Jeanine Henry.

2017 Miss Merry Christmas representatives

Dear Santa, My name is Josie and I am 6 years old. I should be on your “Nice List” this year because I have been a good girl and I always help my friends with their schoolwork. I have a few Christmas wishes. Could you please bring me a Hatchimal and a Fingerling?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve! I will leave carrots for your reindeer and milk with cookies for you. I promise that I will be asleep when you come. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Josie Mason

1st Place Float from Seldom Seen Farm.

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Greene County Historical Society Log Cabin

By Danielle Nyland

BEFORE

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n our September issue, we published a GreeneScene contest, asking our readers if they recognized this very distinctive stone fireplace. As the entries came in and more information was learned, interest grew in the little cabin and how it came to be at the Greene County Museum.

Before its move and restoration, the log cabin resided on Ackley Road near Graysville and belonged to property owner Ed Capenos. It had been used mainly as a hunting lodge. Ed Capenos sold his property to CONSOL to be part of a refuge they were creating. He was given a year to have the cabin removed before it would be bulldozed. As the year quickly passed, having had no luck selling the cabin, Capenos contacted the Greene County Historical Society and offered to donate the cabin, as long as they could remove it from the property.

When Linda Rush, a member of the board, heard about the offer, she immediately contacted her husband, Brice. Brice, a log cabin enthusiast since youth, had previously completed a log cabin restoration on his own property from a log cabin uncovered in Ceylon, so he joined the group of board members that traveled to Graysville to look at the cabin and make the decision to move and restore it.

What they found when they got there was a cabin that was in pretty good condition along three sides, although the fourth side was not. The cabin rested on four stone pillars with no original foundation, and the logs along the bottom of the cabin were in very poor condition. The logs of this cabin were also very skinny and could make restoration difficult. Inside, the lower level floor was in decent condition; however, the upper floor beams had been broken and spliced, leaving the ceiling/upper floor weak. But for the most part, the cabin was salvageable.

In November 2009, the very beginning stages of the cabin’s dismantling began. Before the cabin could be fully dismantled, Brice planned out the teardown and transportation logistics. He measured all aspects of the cabin, created blueprints and began the process of logging where each piece of wood was located within the cabin. To keep the logs used for the outside of the building organized, he used a system of color-coded metal tags hammered into the wood, marked with letters A-Z, with A at the bottom. The floors were also marked so that they could be laid down in as close to original position as possible. Because of the damage to parts of the cabin, the restoration would not be an exact replica of the original.

After the measurements and markings had been made, Brice, his twin brother Bruce, older brother Albert, and his nephew began the process of taking the cabin down piece by piece, while making sure that they could salvage as much as possible.

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AFTER

In a stroke of luck, another cabin was donated to the GCHS that would greatly help with the cabin restoration. Cumberland Mine had already had a log cabin near Oak Forest dismantled, so they contacted the GCHS and offered the pile of logs as a donation. These logs – a pile almost as big as the original cabin – would come in handy during the restoration. Many of the logs were in better shape than the logs from the other cabin. Incorporating the logs from the second cabin allowed the final cabin restoration to have a bigger footprint, as well as include the second floor.

Once the first cabin had been dismantled, transportation was arranged. Greene County donated a boom truck, a dump truck, and a couple of county employees that could be used to move the cabin over the span of two days. They also donated the use of a truck and employee to move the remnants of the second cabin. The Rush family loaded the pieces of the cabin onto the county trucks and the county brought them to the GCHS. The dismantling and transportation stage of the renovation lasted until May 2010 and took approximately 540 hours to complete.

The construction of the cabin began in April 2012. A full foundation was built to support the cabin. The walls, floor and roof were placed and then the chimney work began. The original chimney had used many tiny, fine pieces of rock and would be extremely hard to recreate. Tom Busoletti was brought into create a new chimney. “We let him use his artistic license on the chimney because his work is amazing,” Linda Rush said. And he did. He carved three large fish into the sandstone of the chimney of the upper floor, each one tinted a different color. He created the lower floor’s mantelpiece from hand carved ash. And of course, he created the sunburst pattern in the fireplace. The cherry upper mantelpiece was hand carved with various wildlife by Shirl Vernon.

Many of the materials used in the construction were donated or found. Cheryl Hart donated block for the foundation, rebar, and some hand cut stones. Other hand cut stones were found already at the Museum and were able to be used. Rick Bartoletti donated a tractor that could be used during construction. Bruce Rush also donated a tractor that could be used. Tom Pevarnik loaned his dump truck that was used to haul almost 25 tons of stone for the fireplace. Hoys donated 10 yards of concrete for the footer. Frank Lewis donated a lintel stone from an old family house to replace the cracked lintel stone from the original cabin.

Dallison Lumber, a logging outfit in West Virginia, provided one of the biggest donations. Large beams were needed for the ceiling of the first floor and couldn’t be found. Brice called Dallison Lumber to see if they had any stock that would work. They didn’t, but sent a

Cabin Moving Day.

Cabin Reconstruction.

Original Cabin Chimney.

Reconstructed Cabin Chimney.

GreeneScene Magazine •

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forester out that day to get them cut. Within two days, the beams were ready. When Brice and Paul Weitzel went to pick them up, Dallison informed them that they were donating the $1600 beams to the project. “That was an extremely nice donation and very helpful. “ Brice declared. “They even gave us a tour of the sawmill operations, which was very interesting to see.”

Not only were many of the materials donated, most of the work was done by volunteers. Brice and his brothers worked on most of the project throughout all the different phases. Other volunteers would come by to work on special projects or just donate a day of their time to get the project completed. GCHS worker Charles ‘Pete’ Moyers worked with Brice on the cabin.

One of the most instrumental volunteers was Paul Weitzel. Paul had previously restored a log cabin and was a great help in making sure this restoration ran smoothly. He donated some of the short logs needed for construction. He also volunteered many hours to work on the construction. “Paul had a template used to recut the notches in the logs from his own restoration. That was really helpful, saved us a lot of time. He probably worked on the project for about 300-400 hours,” Brice said.

Other funds for the reconstruction came from Jean Zimmerman and Direct Results. Jean Zimmerman had left money from her estate to GCHS and it was routed into the cabin reconstruction. Direct Results contributed the money raised from the annual GreeneScene Road Rally, in memory of B.J. Quallich, to the museum to be used for the reconstruction, as well. To honor both of these ladies and the large part these funds played in the reconstruction, their names have been carved into the chinking on the wall by the fireplace on the first floor.

“We had an interesting time working on the restoration. People’s donations, the time people volunteered, it really helped a lot. A lot of hours went into making the cabin. It was some adventure,” Brice exclaimed. “The stories I could tell!”

The full history on the cabin has not been completed, but it is known that it belonged to two families – the Teagardens and the Burns. The cabin is setup to replicate a 1850s, pre-Civil War era cabin, although some changes have been made to structure and design that

are not completely historically accurate. The steps have been moved to the right side of the door when they normally would be placed closer to the fireplace so that heat could travel up the stairs and warm the upper floor, saving on costs. The hand-carved upstairs cherry mantle would be less intricate and be a simple, functional mantle. And the outside sunburst on the chimney would just be basic stonework, similar to the original cabin.

While mostly finished, the cabin still does have some work that needs completing. Electricity work needs to be completed, the ceiling needs finished in the upstairs loft, a lean-to in the back needs to be built, and some other minor projects are needed to wrap up work on the cabin.

“The cabin will become a dedicated space to house the Museum’s Civil War collection, as well as a place for the re-enactors to hold meetings, “ stated Museum Administrator and Curator Eben Williams. “We’re looking for someone that can create some blueprints and build a lean-to on the building. The lean-to would be used to store a collection of cannons, provided by John Eckerd,” he added.

If you are interested in helping with the cabin or would like more information about it or the GCHS, please contact the Greene County Historical Society by phone at 724-627-3204 or by emailing gchsmuseum@greenecountyhistory.com.

Various cabin interior photos after reconstruction.

Dear Santa, My name is Mark and I am 7 years old. I have been a good boy this year because I helped people clean their desks at school and I always do my chores at home. I have a couple of Christmas wishes. Could you please bring me a Hoverboard and a Nintendo Switch?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve! I will leave carrots out for your reindeer. I promise to go to bed early that night. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Mark Wassil DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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B

Butterfly Angels

By Danielle Nyland

utterfly Angels began in 2013 when founder Elizabeth Shultz lost her infant daughter, McKinley Anne. “I had a textbook pregnancy.

Everything went just the way it should,” Elizabeth explained. However, at week 37, Elizabeth suffered a complete placental abruption that resulted in the loss of her baby.

“What a cruel waste of happiness, of hope. It was all just ripped away.”

A comfort and support team visited with her and her husband at the hospital. While they were there, they mentioned something that stuck with them – the state of Pennsylvania doesn’t offer any type of financial assistance towards funeral and burial costs for children. Even the help that West Virginia offers, through the Dept. of Health and Human Resources, runs out very early each year.

Elizabeth and her husband began the process of dealing with arrangements and their grief.

One day while driving to Cabela’s, they talked about how to continue McKinley’s legacy. “I felt like there was something I needed to do for her, “ Elizabeth said. “We both remembered what the support team had said about lack of financial assistance for child loss. We felt this was the direction we should take.”

Elizabeth’s cousin had a child that died 17 hours after her birth. Her cousin started the Sadie Rose Foundation in her honor and Elizabeth witnessed the good done though that foundation.

And so, with a little help from their four year old daughter who referred to McKinley as a “butterfly angel” and their families and friends, Butterfly Angels: The McKinley Ann Foundation was formed.

At first, the foundation worked to offer financial support to those that needed assistance with funeral, or burial costs but eventually expanded into monthly grief shares, as well as remembrance events to help with the long-term effects of loss. In September they held a remembrance ceremony at Valley View Farm that included a picnic, readings, singing, reading of names and culminated in a live butterfly release.

This December they will hold a candlelight remembrance service with a speaker, slideshow, and if the weather permits, releasing of lighted sky lanterns.

The financial support Butterfly Angels offers isn’t just with funeral and burial costs. “One of the women that we helped lost an infant and she wanted to donate her breast milk to a breast milk bank so that it could help others. Her insurance wouldn’t pay for a pump,” Elizabeth said. “So we bought her one.” They are assisting another woman that her lost her daughter years ago with the purchase of a headstone that she had never been

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Butterfly Memorial Wall.

Butterfly Angels House Of Hope.

able to afford.

Elizabeth runs the foundation with a lot of help from friends and families, as well as other volunteers. Becky Casto, who lost a child in 2009, came to the group for support and has become Elizabeth’s “right-hand man” and is part of the advisory committee. Other volunteers come from the group shares, such as Candy Adamson.

Candy, who lost a 13 year old granddaughter, volunteers for everything and has even sold t-shirts and donated the money to Butterfly Angels.

“Everything we do is at no-cost to the families,” Elizabeth said. To keep it that way, the foundation holds a variety of fundraisers. Even helping at the fundraising events is a form of therapy for some. “It’s time given to your child, our way to spend time with them.”

The foundation has brought awareness to the issue of child loss, infant loss or even adult child loss – something that isn’t talked about often. It’s also given those suffering from loss a safe place with people that understand. Butterfly Angels has helped families throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. They’ve never turned someone away and they don’t set a monetary restriction to the amount of help they will offer.

If you would like to get in touch with Butterfly Angels or know someone that could benefit from their services, you can reach Elizabeth Shultz at 724-986-1874 or visit butterflyangels. org. You can also reach out to them through their Facebook site.

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Homet is Headed to Gardner-Webb

Operation Christmas Child The Greater Purpose Team Ministry composed of United Methodist Churches located in Denbo, Fredericktown, Howe, Jefferson, Rices Landing and Roscoe participated in the annual collection of shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. The churches came together to complete 282 shoeboxes that were delivered to First Church of the Nazarene for the next step in their journey to a child.

“Last year we completed 255 boxes. We increased that by 27 boxes to a new total of 282 boxes, “ said spokesperson Susan Christopher. Pictured (L-R) are Wendy Haywood, Susan Dolfi, Marjie Shaffer, Susan Christopher, Pat Wilson, and Fred Dolfi. Not pictured: Pastor Brian Carrol, Jerry Wilson, Skip Smith, and Tracy Pennant. “We thank Tammy Amalong for the cards

Kyle Homet, a senior wrestler at Waynesburg Central High School has received both academic and athletic scholarships to attend Gardner-Webb University, where he plans to study economics and finance in the fall of 2018. He is pictured signing his National Letter of Intent with Gardner-Webb

that were placed in each box. The Missions Committee would like to thank all who donated boxes, items, money or their time,” Susan added. You can find more information about Operation Christmas Child at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/whatwe-do/operation-christmas-child/ or contact the First Church of the Nazarene in Waynesburg, PA.

WU Makes Top 50 in Nation

University. Also pictured behind Kyle, from left to right, are Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Justin Stephenson, parents Laurel Homet, Todd Homet, coach Joe Throckmorton, and Principal Bob Stephenson.

$1,100 Raised with Calendar Party A “Calendar Party” held on Nov. 11 at the Waynesburg Community Center raised $1,100 to help pay the Center’s rent. This was the second such event held this year at the center, and according to a center spokesperson, the success of these calendar parties makes it very likely there will be more in the future.

For those who may be unfamiliar with calendar party fundraisers, the events usually have 12 monthly or seasonal tables, each assigned to a different hostess who decorates the tables with a

particular theme befitting their month or season of the year. Favors for the guests are typically included also. The Waynesburg Community Center sold tickets to the party, which is open to the public, for $10 each, with all proceeds benefitting the Center.

The Waynesburg Community Center offers a place for older adults to socialize and engage with others to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.

For more information about this or other upcoming events at the Waynesburg Community Center, call 724-627-6366.

Waynesburg 6th Grade Basketball Champions

Waynesburg University’s Nursing Program was recently recognized online as a Top 50 RN to BSN Program by RNtoBSNOnlineProgram.com.

Waynesburg ranked No. 18 on the list, which measured schools according to tuition and graduation rate data from the CNN Money College Cost Calculator and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, as well as accreditation information provided by each school’s website.

“The continued national recognition of our program is a testament to our faculty and students,” said Nancy Mosser, professor of nursing and chair and director of the Nursing Department. “Everyone associated with our program should feel a sense of accomplishment for what we are achieving here at Waynesburg.”

The Nursing Program at Waynesburg Uni-

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versity has consistently been recognized for excellence and value. Within the past year, the school has been ranked nationally as a top nursing school

by Nursing Schools Almanac, ranked in the top five percent for value nationwide by College Factual and ranked No. 2 in Pennsylvania by RegisteredNursing.org. RNtoBSNOnlineProgram.com is a site dedicated to connect nurses with a directory of schools and helpful information about pursuing a nursing career.

Additionally, the BSN program has achieved seven years of a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) since 2008. For more information regarding Waynesburg’s Nursing Program, visit www.waynesburg.edu/nursing.

Congratulations to the Waynesburg Central 6th Grade girl’s basketball team on their championship win! On November 20, girls became the 6th Grade Champions of the 2017 Fall Girls Basketball League. The Raiders defeated Cannon Mac in the Brownson House League with a score of 24-22 to capture the 2017 championship title.

Pictured (L-R) Front Row: Josie Horne, Kaley Rohanna, Kayla Strelick, Lake Litwinovich, Chloe Holloway. Middle Row: Colleen Lemley, Addison Blair, Taylor Sibert, Emma Kindervater, Keelan Sproat. Back Row: Head Coach Natalie Blair, Assistant Coaches Ryan Litwinovich, Nikki Rohanna.

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Dear Santa, My name is Ty and I am 7 years old. I have been a good boy this year because I helped my Mom with laundry. I have one big Christmas wish. Could you please bring me a Nintendo Switch?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve! I promise to go to bed early. I am planning to leave a book out for you to read. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Ty Crouse

Tourism an Essential Boost to Greene County Economy

By Grace Hutchison, Associate Editor, The Yellow Jacket

The following feature originally appeared in the Nov. 16, 2017 issue of The Yellow Jacket, Waynesburg University’s award winning, student-run newspaper. GreeneScene Community Magazine is pleased to share this and future stories from The Yellow Jacket with our readers, as we give these young journalists an opportunity to broaden their audience and share the good news of our region and campus with you. You can also follow The Yellow Jacket online at https://issuu.com/wuyellowjacket.

J

oAnne Marshall sits typing determinedly at her desk, in a private office separate from the lobby of the Greene County Tourist Promotion Agency office, in Waynesburg. Strewn across her desk are informational packets, paperwork and folders, as she places the final touches on an email updating

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recipients of upcoming Greene County events.

Marshall, the communications director of tourism for Greene County, squeezes productivity into each part of her day: in pauses of conversation she types emails and answers calls. According to Marshall, the “chaos” of her days is the only

commonality between them.

“A day could be focusing on what’s coming this weekend, with emails letting our partners internally know what is coming up, or we could be focusing on next year on advertising campaigns and trying to identify where our target audience is,” Marshall said.

“We’re always thinking ahead.”

“Thinking ahead” to what the future holds for tourism in Greene County.

“Essentially, every day revolves around our partners and the events and attractions in the area and what is going on at the time,” Marshall said.

“Helping to promote Greene County outside of Greene County, to bring in tourists to stimulate our economy.”

Marshall took a secretarial position in the office in fall 2015, and she said that she applied for the position because “the description matched a lot of my capabilities.”

“Life always throws you chances,” Marshall said.

The secretarial job, which she remained in until she became director in April 2016, allowed her to create content for the office as well as work one-onone with the previous director.

“It fed a lot of my creative desires,” said Marshall, who was a photography and digital imaging major at Virginia Intermont College.

During her six months as secretary, she began to see the magnitude of tourism within the county.

“I made a lot of connections within the com-

munity...and essentially seeing all of their passion for their certain attraction, event or business, really fed into me that there is so much more in Greene County that we can be,” Marshall said.

Greene County events attract more than local citizens, Marshall said.

“The more I started researching and finding our background statistics through our grant program, we’re discovering that there is so much more of an outside tourist presence attending these events than we were ever aware of,” Marshall said.

For example, at the 50s Fest and Car Cruise sponsored by Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful Sept. 9, out of the 124 registered cars only 56 percent came from within Greene County.

Blair Zimmerman, commissioner and board chairman for the Greene County board of commissioners, explains the direct repercussions of tourism on the economy of Greene County.

“For a county our size, every business and industry has an impact,” Zimmerman said.

Greene County has lodging, restaurants and businesses offered to tourists, some of whom might take the exit off the interstate, and others who choose this county as their specific destination.

“Tourism in Greene County has often been overlooked from the standpoint that people aren’t realizing how much we are in fact impacted by tourists,” Marshall said. “It is key.”

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Dear Santa, My name is Heavenlee and I am 7 years old. I have been a good girl this year because I have been nice to my brother and I helped my Mom clean the dishes. I have a few Christmas wishes. Could you please bring me a big bag filled with makeup and a big doll that looks like me?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. I will leave milk, cookies, and carrots out for you and the reindeer. I will pray to have a good sleep that night and the next day I’ll have lots of presents! Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Heavenlee Headley

Dear Santa, My name is Sarah and I am 6 years old. I have been a good girl this year because I helped my Mom wash dishes and I helped Dad go to the junkyard and clean things.

I have just one Christmas wish.

Could you please bring me a Mickey Mouse toy car?

I can’t wait for you to visit on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas Santa!

Love, Sarah Phillips

Bowlby Bits Library will also be CLOSED Monday, January 1, for New Year’s Day, and Monday, January 15, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. CREATIVE CRAFTING FOR ADULTS – January 4, at 5:00 pm. Winter Project TBA. Cost for materials: $20. Please call library for more info at 724.627.9776.

MOVIE NIGHTS @ THE LIBRARY – Enjoy a movie here at the library every Wednesday evening beginning at 6:00 p.m. FREE popcorn and beverages!

January 3 ~ Everything, Everything

January 10 ~ Leap!

January 17 ~ 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain

January 24 ~ A Dog’s Purpose *starts @ 5:45pm*

January 31 ~ On Wings of Eagles KNITTING CLUB - The Knitting Club meets 2x a month on the second & fourth Fridays January 12 & 26 @ 10am-2pm. All skill levels welcome!

BOWLBY ROCKS! - Adults are invited to participate in the latest craze - painting rocks! Will meet on Saturday, January 20 @ 12:00-2:00pm. Bring two clean rocks with you to paint!

WILD KRATTS STORY TIMES - Saturday, January 20 (Theme: TBA) at 11:00am. Join us for stories, snacks, crafts & show.

READING COMPETITION CLUB - Kids in Grades 4-8 are invited to join the Bowlby Team!

Meetings this month will be Tuesdays, 9 and 30, at 6:00pm.

LIBRARY LEGO CLUB - meets Saturdays, January 6 & 20 at 11:00am BOWLBY BOOK CLUB - meets on the 2nd Monday of every month at 6:00pm. New members are always welcome!

Call or stop in Eva K. Bowlby Public Library for more info or to register for any of the above events.

724-627-9776 • 311 N. West St., Waynesburg, PA 15370

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Track the New Year The 2018 edition of the Greene Country Calendar, by Wendy Saul and Colleen Nelson, is now available! Just $15 each at many local retailers, including Waynesburg Milling Company, Artbeat, Specialty Herbal, PA Mug Company and Direct Results, Home of the GreeneScene Magazine in Waynesburg.

You can also find it at Thistlethwaite’s Vineyards in Jefferson, and Gloria’s Ceramics in Rogersville. Featuring pen-and-ink drawings of many local scenes, the Greene Country Calendar makes a great gift- even if it’s a gift for yourself. If you can’t find one in your neighborhood, Colleen Nelson can be reached at crnelson@windstream.net. She’ll make sure you get one!

Got A GreeneScene?

GreeneScene Community Magazine encourages our readers to keep their smart phones and cameras ready to snap pictures of the sights, scenes, activities and beauty of Greene County and surrounding area!

Then submit your photos for consideration as GreeneScenes inside the magazine, on our Facebook page, or even a Front Cover shot!

We’re looking for photos that depict the good life we live and the natural beauty that surrounds us here. People, nature, pets, scenic views, community activities…our small towns and country lanes, farms and woods and creeks – there are plenty of opportunities for GreeneScenes. If your photo submission is selected as a GreeneScene Magazine Front Cover, you will receive a free

GreeneScene T-shirt or ceramic camp mug and $25! Pictures that appear inside the magazine as GreeneScenes will earn the photographer a free t-shirt or ceramic camp mug…and the privilege of seeing your picture in the area’s most popular publication.

Pictures not printed in the GreeneScene Magazine may be posted on the GreeneScene Facebook page, so make sure to like our Facebook page to see all the fantastic GreeneScenes that we just don’t have the room to print!

We’re looking for colorful, candid shots that celebrate the season. Photos must be of good quality, high resolution and properly submitted by the person who took the picture online at www. greenescenemagazine.com or by email to info@ greenescenemagazine.com. Name of photographer, address, phone and date and location of picture must accompany all submissions. Submission implies permission to publish and treat photos (crop, resize, enhance, etc.). Submissions may be kept under consideration for up to 12 months.

Blueprints Accepting New Adult Education & Family Literacy Students Blueprints’ (formerly Community Action Southwest) Adult Education & Family Literacy Programs are enrolling new students/families. The Adult Education program assists residents age 17 or older to obtain their GED and/or increase their learning skills in order to secure employment or attend a trade school or college.

The Family Literacy Program helps parents improve parenting and literacy skills so they can better help their children achieve educational gains.

A full schedule of classes is in-place in Washington and Greene Counties. Classes are taught every Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week at the Greene, Mon Valley and Washington PA CareerLink sites. Additionally, Blueprints also offers classes in Canonsburg, Carmichaels and Bentleyville each week.

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Upon enrollment and orientation, PA-Certified Instructors work with students to determine the appropriate level of classes they will attend in addition to establishing their weekly class schedule.

Students enrolled in the programs are also partnered with a trained case manager who will work with them on job development and trade school or college enrollment procedures. With the help of their case manager, students are able to explore their career options and overcome their barriers while being connected to some of the area’s largest employers and postsecondary schools.

Blueprints’ receives funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Postsecondary & Adult Education in addition to the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development to operate its Adult Education Program. FMI call 1.877.814.0788 ext. 530.

Flenniken Library Adult and Children Programs Flenniken Library is offering a variety of programs for both childrens and adults. Children’s educational programs focus on the aspects of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). A new 4-H Robotics and Engineering Club meets twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Monday from 5:30 – 7:00 pm.

The club is accepting 20 members age 8-18 (age on January 1, 2018). The library also offers the Flenniken Fabulous Fabricators (F3), which gives students a chance to participate in different STEAM activities. F3 meets Thursday evenings from 6-7pm and is open to children in grades

3-8. Camp Code is also available for younger children ages 5-8 to learn coding. Camp Code meets the 1st and 3rd Saturdays at 11am and is limited to 10 students. Crafternoons are available on Thursdays from 3:30-5pm. During Crafternoon, children complete small crafts that they can take home.

For adults, Flenniken has a monthly Book Club that meets on the 1st Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm. They also offer a Coloring Club for Adults that meets every 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6pm. FMI call the library at 724966-5263.

Caregivers Support Group of Greene County The Caregivers Support Group meets regularly in the Guesman Room, second floor of Washington Health System, Greene, on the third Wednesday of each month at 7pm. Anyone who is caring for a family member at home or is re-

sponsible for a resident of a nursing or personal care home is cordially invited to participate.

Come join us as we share Experience, Encouragement and Information. FMI: Carol Patterson 724-833-9062.

Wreaths Across America The annual laying of wreaths on veteran’s headstones will continue this year, expanding into two cemeteries in Greene County. This annual event, held in many cemeteries across the nation, seeks to further the Wreaths Across America mission of Remember, Honor, Teach, ensuring that the memory of those who served our country endures.

The Greene County Composite Squadron 606, Civil Air Patrol, will host a wreath-lying ceremony at Greene Mount Cemetery in Waynesburg on Saturday, December 16 at 12:00pm. Coordinated and led by local volunteers from Greene County Composite Squadron 606 Civil Air patrol, donations of wreaths for the headstones of fallen

service members have been obtained from local merchants and citizens. Ryan Armstrong will complete the welcome, followed by a minute of silence and then the advancement of colors. The guest speaker will be Colonel Michael Belding.

The Carmichaels Women’s Civic Club will be hosting a wreath-lying ceremony at the Laurel Point Cemetery in Carmichaels on Saturday, December 16 at 12:00pm. Preceding the ceremony at 11:30am will be music by the American Legion Band. Carmichaels High School student Peyton Armstrong will be singing the Star-Spangled Banner and leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Fred Morecraft will be the guest speaker.

Albino Wildlife Sighted Around Greene County

Ashley Hughes of Rogersville spotted this albino doe near the Greene County line. She also spotted this albino hawk in flight near the West Greene High School.

Nathan Pierce got a surprise visitor in his own backyard! This albino buck was spotted in the Spraggs area.

GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017

DECEMBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

27

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GreeneScene Magazine •

DECEMBER

2017