Jan Feb GreeneScene 2018

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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GreeneScene Magazine •

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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“I

I Love this P l a ce

n the Beginning…” – What better way to start the New Year than by telling the Genesis story of Waynesburg – a town carved out of the wilderness by legislative decree to be the county seat of Greene County in 1796?

The survey lines that were drawn by John Gapen that year still mark every lot between East, West, South and North (now Wayne) streets – 201 in all. This is the original county seat and its first log courthouse still stands on Greene Street. It has been lovingly restored and is now home to Cornerstone Genealogical Society and its wealth of local history told by the families who made it. Let’s step back in time and see what Waynesburg looked like when America was fledging and the flames of revolution were almost relit here on the Western Frontier.

But first, a modern update on what you might have learned in history class.

The blockbuster musical Hamilton doesn’t have these lyrics, but if settlers were writing the score it would go something like this: “Yo! Alexander! What makes you think that taxing our rye whiskey is a shot we wanna drink?

Rethink! Frontier life ain’t pretty like livin’ in the city, get that straight! We fought and died for freedom, now you act like royalty…. you say we have to pay, we disagree!”

Local historians agree that the settlers of what was about to become Greene County were still pretty wound up about the 1791 Federal excise tax of “four pence per gallon on all distilled liquors” promoted by President Washington’s treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, to repay America’s Revolutionary war debts. Many were veterans, (including officers with large land holdings who were already being elected by their neighbors to represent them in state legislature), who had fought against taxation without representation from the Crown. This was America’s first tax – payable only in cash! - on domestic goods. It came as a shock on the frontier where money was scarce and much business was still done by barter. Farmers who turned their excess grains into whiskey were hemmed in economically from more lucrative markets westward – the Ohio territory was still held by indigenous tribes and Spain controlled the Mississippi River with its gateway to European markets.

The newly formed Federal government provided scant infrastructure or military protection from the ongoing territorial battles with displaced native tribes. But worse, the law had a loophole that let larger distilleries – mostly in the more settled East - pay a lower flat tax on the whiskey they produced, thus undercutting smaller farmers. Sensing the beginning of governance that favored the rich, farmers large and small refused to pay and the rebellion was on. The essence of the political parties of today was distilled in these back woods – strong central government versus states – and individual - rights.

That same year, Colonel John Minor, a successful farmer, mill owner and frontier militiaman who had staked his claim on Whitely Creek in 1778, was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature and immediately “commenced to agitate the forming of a new county” that would better serve this isolated southern corner of the state. The Whiskey Rebellion ended in 1794 when President Washington

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WAYNESBURG, PA

by Colleen Nelson

Greene County Courthouse showing the jail and sheriff ’s residence that was added in 1880-81. Further down Washington Street the steeple of the old Methodist Episcopal Church can be seen. It looks like the red brick of the courthouse also received a coat of paint and new shutters along with a new jail.

called the frontier’s bluff and mustered an army of 13,000 to scare the “Whiskey Boys” into submitting to Federal law. Leaders fled and the few “ringleaders” that could be found, including passionate protesters like Reverend John Corbly of Garards Fort, were marched to Philadelphia and tried in federal court. Most were freed due to lack of evidence, but two were sentenced to hang for treason. They were later pardoned by Washington, which earned him and his new government the grudging respect of local farmers and their representatives. But the lines were drawn in politics that still stand to this day – an uneasy balance of power between states’ rights – including that of the people to petition and have their voices heard – and a strong central government that serves the nation as a whole.

Through it all, Colonel Minor continued to win and lose elections yet still petitioned for a separation from Washington County. In 1796 he got his wish. This had the desired effect of putting more land into the hands of actual settlers, which helped reduce the land held by absentee landowners who held large areas for speculation. The frontier could now grow.

Homesteads along Ten Mile Creek had already been claimed before the Revolution, when this area was still considered part of Virginia. It included 385 acres that Thomas Slater is said to have “purchased from an Indian for a two-yearold heifer and a flintlock” in 1771. Slater registered his claim to “Eden” with Pennsylvania in 1789 and made a tidy profit seven years later by selling some

High Street during the Civil War was muddy, rutted and not covered with pavers until 1903. The Farmer and Drovers Bank, left, opened in 1835 and closed its doors after it crashed amid scandal in 1906. The building is now the Borough Police Station.

158 acres for $2,396 to a board of trustees appointed by the state. Lots were surveyed and advertised for sale in newspapers in Pittsburgh, for between $5 and $139 apiece. That sale money was used to kick start Waynesburg, build a courthouse and – what else? - start collecting taxes!

Not that there was much to tax those first few years – except whiskey. That hated tax would not be repealed until the nation, including the enthusias-

tic citizens of Greene County, elected citizens rights activist Thomas Jefferson to be our third President in 1801.

The log courthouse on lot 195 was built for James Hook, the first elected sheriff when court opened in 1797. It sat beside a tavern owned by Hook’s son and Whiskey Alley ran between them.

It’s lost to history who might have worked on their legal papers downstairs and warmed themselves

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in winter beside the turkey breast fireplace that has been recreated and well worth seeing if you stop by Cornerstone today. Doubtless, there was a jug of rye whiskey nearby! When the new brick courthouse was built in the center of town in 1800, High Street was a muddy clay path that farmers used to drive their livestock to market on the Waynesburg Turnpike Road that ran through town, through Morrisville and on to Rices Landing and the Monongahela River. Waynesburg was designed to do the business of law, with taverns, boarding houses, blacksmith shops and stables. James Layton started the Waynesburg Messenger newspaper in 1813, by 1815 Waynesburg had a public well in the town commons and a budget line to maintain it, one of the first but not the last town infrastructure projects. But main roads were still fit only for horses and drovers. A store was established in the early 1800s when William Crawford purchased a “load of goods from a settlement along the Monongahela River” and brought it to town to trade. Tea, coffee and manufactured goods coming by packhorse from Baltimore and Philadelphia were scarce and very expensive as the nineteenth century dawned, but Waynesburg mustered the resources to serve its citizens and its children with what it had on hand.

Education, to these hard working, first generation Americans, was the key to success and survival in a world they were literally making by hand, brick by brick. In 1811, John Gapen surveyed a plot of land bought from Snowden Slater for $5 and Robert Adams built the first schoolhouse for $170, with six windows and nine-inch thick brick walls. Parents paid a quarter a semester for each child and helped supply the firewood. By the time the state passed the Free School Act of 1834 there were school districts in every township of the county and school was open three months a year.

Bible reading was the primer of literacy on the frontier and mothers were the first homeschoolers, educating their own families and neighbor children if they lived close enough. Parishioners pitched in to build churches that doubled as schools and in 1851 Waynesburg College was founded by Cumberland Presbyterian Church as a coeducational institution, one of the first in the state.

In 1850 the old courthouse was taken down and the present one built within the year, stylish with its columns and a wooden statue of General Nathaneal Greene on the cupola. It was the first General to watch over Waynesburg, but it would not be the last.

Historic Waynesburg is a richly layered time capsule of architectural styles reflecting the economic times that caused buildings to be torn down and replaced, remodeled, refurbished and ultimately restored. This small town has retained its character and charm from its earliest days, through the boom times of the mid-1800s, into the 20th century and beyond.

There’s way too much information about Waynesburg available at Cornerstone and elsewhere to put into one story, but G. Wayne Smith’s books keep a wonderfully accurate record of Greene County happenings and there is a treasure trove of photographs in Glenn Toothman III and Candice Buchannan’s book Images of Waynesburg.

It was hard to pick just a few images of what they gathered from families, friends and newspaper clippings for this story, but the Downey House, which once stood on the corner of High Street on the west side of the courthouse is something worth remembering. Waynesburg in the oil boom days of

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the late 1800s had many hotels but nothing could son did. And that Waynesburg was named after tribes in Ohio territory two years before Greene compare to the Victorian elegance and fine dining General ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne because local mi- County was born. that was to be had at this topnotch hotel. When it litiamen fought beside him and won a final victory Stop by Cornerstone and pull some books off caught fire at 3 a.m. on December 23, 1925, a cold “The Battle of Falling Timbers” against the warring the shelf. You’ll be amazed at what you find! wind was blowing and Waynesburg did not have an organized fire company. The six-hour blaze destroyed an era and took some of the town with it, including the Presbyterian Church on Church Street.

In the sky above the courthouse, sparks from the fire caught in General Greene’s coat tails and the statue and copula were lost.

Insurance money paid for the next ten foot, 600-pound poplar wood general, who tipped his copper hat on the cupola until the 1967 Bicentennial renovation. Miles Davin carved another Nathanael and the old one was retired to the Greene County Historical Society.

Last year it was time to restore the courthouse once more and Fiske Restoration LLC, a family owned business known for its 95-year history of saving courthouses, churches and historic buildings in Western Pennsylvania, tackled the project.

Thanks to owner Jesse Fiske’s artistic skills and love of historic detail, the general now has his own face, modeled from his portrait that hangs in the courthouse.

The statue is also made of fiberglass and good to go for another generation!

We can only hope that 100 years Downey House, built in 1869, was once the best hotel in town, with fine dining, a banquet hall and a number of specialty shops from now people will still remember on the first floor. The fire on December 23, 1925 destroyed everything, including other nearby buildings and cost the lives of five that Greene County was named after a volunteer firefighters. It was replaced by the Ft. Jackson building at the south corner of Washington and High streets. much admired Revolutionary General, even though he never slept here but his

Washington St. looking towards Waynesburg College. The building on the left with the laundry sign was torn down in 1922 to make way for the new Citizens National Bank. Note the metal rooster on the roof of the wooden addition to the Messenger Building - it was the trademark of the Waynesburg Messenger.

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ST. ANN CHURCH, WAYNESBURG

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hen Felix Hughes of Jefferson requested a clergyman visit the 70 scattered Catholic families living in the Ten Mile-Muddy Creek area in 1785, he set off a chain of events that resulted in one of Waynesburg’s most established churches, and today’s familiar and neighborly lunches and dinners offered at St. Ann Catholic Church.

Felix only asked for a spiritual visit “at least once a year.”

Talk about blessings!

Felix and his neighbors had to depend on traveling missionaries on their way to Pittsburgh because of Father Francis stops to talk to Len Udovich of the few clergy available on the frontier. The Bishop of Nemacolin after Mass at Rolling Meadows.

Philadelphia finally dispatched Father Patrick Lonegan of Ireland to the “Redstone Area” in 1798. The good father ter and see how it went.” Donations of food and volunbuilt a chapel on the Youghiogheny River for a colony of teers kept coming and “It became the Lenten lunch that Irish immigrants, and then came to Waynesburg in 1799. never ended! When Waynesburg College students came He came hoping to build a church, but his flock was they could only volunteer on Saturday so that’s when the scattered for miles around. So for the next two years he Good Neighbor Lunch expanded. We would get donuts rode long hours to celebrate mass and gave sacraments from Yum Yums and have them with coffee and peanut at the homes of the local families. As dreams of another butter and jelly sandwiches in the morning for people church faded, Father Lonegan believed that if he bought who came early. My husband worked for the USDA so the land, someday his flock would build. St. Ann sits on we knew what to do. Other churches came to see how we lot 136, purchased with his own money that November. did it and started their own community dinners. It was an Father Lonegan left Waynesburg in 1801, after filing idea that kept spreading.” a will at the courthouse. He left his lands to the Bishop of Joan and John left St. Ann in 2003. The Spaulding’s Philadelphia and requested that the resident priest offer still tend to a flock of sheep at their farm on Rt. 221 near up five masses a year for his soul. He visited the Donegal Ruff Creek and Joan does social ministry whenever she Colony in Butler then headed down the Mississippi River finds a need. But the Good Neighbor Lunch continued, to Louisiana, where he died in 1804.

Joan said, “Because we had the best volunteers from all Work on the dream finally started in 1830 but the over the community. And they still do.” flock was so small that the brick walls waited eight years The basement of St. Ann does more than serve for a roof. When completed, the church was dedicated lunch, holiday dinners, and host community meetings to St. Ann (Mary’s mother) in 1839; and a priest from and fundraisers. It has classrooms for preschoolers durBrownsville celebrated monthly mass. By 1852 the build- ing the Central Greene school year and Community ing was crumbling and families went back to holding Foundation of Greene County helps with scholarships. mass at home. But the congregation continued its slow Church volunteers deliver Meals on Wheels every Friday but steady growth and the church you see today on and the Women’s Guild and Knights of Columbus serve Greene Street was dedicated in 1871. the community wherever they can.

Like a good mother, the doors of St. Ann are open Mission groups make yearly treks to help the nuns to all and its basement fills with the smell of lunch being and orphaned children at the San Bernardino Nutrition served on Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 11am and Center in Patzun, Guatemala. Volunteers fix windows, dinner at 5pm every Tuesday from tile walls, do electrical wiring and September through April. have built everything from play“We explain to the new priests grounds to restrooms, whatever that we say mass here five times a needs done. “And lots of cement year for Father Lonegan,” church work!” Tilly Shumaker said. “We’re secretary Marcie Snee said, smiling not all Catholic. Our group is people brightly from her desk in the house who know the mission and want to next door, purchased by the church do the work.” as the mission grew.

Tilly’s own work these days Thanks to another Greene also includes doing crafts with womCounty transplant – Joan Spaulding en at the County Jail every third – the tradition of Lenten lunches, Monday and taking what they make which are a tradition at many Christo Rolling Meadows, Evergreen and tian churches, found the inspiration Golden Living on Tuesdays as a at St. Ann to grow into meals year Nursing Home Ministries project. round for those in need.

The group is accompanied by Father “We moved here in 1986 and Francis Frasier, who performs mass. my husband John and I wanted to Father Francis also serves St. Thommeet the community so we joined as in Clarksville and St. Marcellus in St. Ann,” Joan said. The couple startJefferson and he’ll be rolling up his ed helping with the Lenten lunches sleeves to help serve fabulous fried From left: Judy Milinovich, Attilia and did it for one year and then the Shumaker, Marcie Snee, Frances Mattie fish in the church basement when next. “The people were great and I and Father Frances Frasier in front of St. Lenten Fridays start on February remember thinking ‘but people are Ann Catholic Church on E. High Street, 16.“It’s a wonder he gets everything hungry all year long’. So we decided back from a morning of holding Mass at done that he does!” Tilly said. “He’s to have two meals a week after Eas- Rolling Meadows and Evergreen nursing a wonder!” homes.

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2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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G ree n e Sce n e of the Pa st

by Colleen Nelson

The Victorian Era Wisecarver building (left) on W. High St had its top stories removed after a fire in 1935 and became an Art Deco storefront that housed McCrory’s chain store (above) until 2001. (Below) From left: Madison Burns, Aubrey Mayhle, owner Dolly Throckmorton and Brooklyn Burns are happy to tell you that it is now In Motion Dance and Fitness.

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f there’s one old building on High Street Waynesburg that is almost impossible to recognize now it would be the Wisecarver Building. Built in 1885, it was named for the family that built it, a family that at one time owned more than 4000 acres in Greene County.

Its three stories on High Street were a testimony to the style of the Victorian era, with ornate facades and space to house many stores, businesses, offices and even the town’s first business college.

G. Wayne Smith’s countless hours of careful research of old newspaper files on microfilm have yielded great tidbits about the goings on in the late 1880s, all happening right here on High Street.

When George Wisecarver died in 1894 and passed his legacy and his building on to son Timothy J., Waynesburg had already lived through the high politics of 1888 when native son Attorney Joseph W. Day, a Waynesburg College grad and Republican won the district’s US Senate seat. Thousands turned out to honor Day with a “spectacular” parade that included the “largest flag ever brought into the county” strung across High Street from “Town Hall (later the Opera House) to the Wisecarver building.”

George Wisecarver became the first president of Citizens National Bank of Waynesburg in 1890; and in 1893 Z.G. Call opened a Business College on the third floor of his building, teaching double entry bookkeeping, stenography and typewriting. T.J. took over the bank presidency and family assets when his father died the next year, with decades of relative prosperity on the horizon, for the Wisecarvers and Waynesburg.

Smith’s books have little to report about the other offices that might have been in the Wisecarver building, but in 1913, Waynesburg College graduated its first two nurses and a banquet was held for them in the Elks Clubroom somewhere upstairs. T.J.

also owned the biggest hotel in town - The Downey House - and Waynesburg was ready to welcome the changes that modern life was bringing. The J.G. McCrory’s five and ten cent store was the first national chain to come to Waynesburg. It opened its doors in 1916, with full-page ads offering “graniteware, jardinières and Turkish towels” and hundreds of other items for sale at a reasonable price. That year the first Christmas tree went up in front of the courthouse, a 50-foot spruce donated by John Hoge, with electric lights compliments of the county commissioners.

But where did the Art Deco look that we see on the front of the building come from? Newspaper articles report a building fire in 1935, most likely in some upstairs room and the top two floors were removed. McCrory’s was downsized to one story and continued business with a new modern look to compete with the store next door. G. C. Murphy’s five and ten cent store had opened in 1932, offering the kinds of discounts that heralded our present plethora of dollar stores. G.C. Murphy closed up shop in Waynesburg in 1984 but McCrory’s held out until 2001, when the company reopened it as the Dollar Zone. That closed a few years later and the building stood empty. In 2006 the Koloski family bought the building, remodeled and reopened as My Friends Place, with pastries, ice cream and antiques and collectables from early to mid 20th century small town life.

When John and Dolly Throckmorton bought the building from Koloski in 2009 it was ready for a new lease on life.

In Motion Dance and Fitness has been open for seven years now, teaching kids how to dance after school and keeping adults working out in the basement gym. It’s all happening in a building that has been around town for 133 years, well cared for by each owner, then passed on to the next. Waynesburg knows how to recycle!

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.

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2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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Greene: Earth and Sky

By Pete Zapadka

TIME AFTER TIME, EVENTS ACROSS GREENE COUNTY CREATE LASTING MEMORIES

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s it possible to travel through time?

In the strictest sense, we all are time travelers. We are born, we grow old, we watch the sun rise and set, and each year, we change the calendar, this time almost astonishingly turning the page from 2017 to 2018.

But as we travel methodically though time, we are able only to move forward. It does not seem possible, at least at this point, to move in another direction or at a faster rate.

Thankfully, it is possible, even pleasurable, to look back through time, to turn the pages of the book of our lives and revisit some special moments.

And in Greene County, those moments are common.

Come along and enjoy a few time passages from 2017. They’ll help you remember how unique things are here in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania. And don’t forget to dig up your back issues of GreeneScene or visit greenescenemagazine.com to visit these stories from the recent past.

Enlow Fork Perhaps nowhere in Greene County does spring take hold with such exclamation than the secluded Enlow Fork valley. The bucolic region predominately lies in state Game Lands 302, an area of 1,460 acres north of Graysville and along the border with Washington County.

On the last Sunday of each April, outdoor enthusiasts flock to the valley for the annual Enlow Fork Wildflower Walk. Hundreds find themselves surrounded by spring wildflowers, from the dainty to the spectacular, that grow abun-

A white trillium, the crown jewel of the Enlow Fork Wildflower Walk.

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dantly.

Enlow Fork is famous for its collection of trillium, red and white. In recent years, the fragile and beautiful blue-eyed Mary has made a remarkable comeback, and now covers many of the hillsides and roadsides. Not as common but still worth seeking out are jack-in-the-pulpit, squirrel corn, Greek valerian, trout lilies, wild ginger, twinleaf and firepinks.

Yet one of the most precious blossoms at Enlow Fork does not grow with the teeming vernal plants. Instead, she is the chief organizer of the event and always a welcome sight for visitors. Attilia Shumaker of Sycamore greets everyone with a smile and kinds words from her station in the main tent. Be sure not to miss Enlow Fork, and be sure to stop and say hello to the lady called Tilly by her friends.

To learn more, go to enlowfork.tripod.com.

Riding the coal train Many little boys may dream of riding on a large, powerful train, especially one that hauls tons of coal from the mine to river barges. For one old editor, that dream came true in May with an invitation to board the Cumberland Mine Railroad.

The affable Rodney Grimes of Khedive engineered the excursion in which two passengers rode the 38-car train that runs about 17 miles from the Cumberland Mine near Kirby to Alicia along the Monongahela River, where coal is loaded onto waiting barges.

The ride was uneventful but exhilarating as we chugged along through the countryside, but admittedly, there are several frightening moments. In fact, they’re downright chilling.

A view from the locomotive of the Cumberland Mine Railroad as it crosses one of the narrow bridges on the rail line.

A wagon with its riders after crossing Whiteley Creek at the annual White Covered Bridge Festival near Garard’s Fort.

Pete Zapadka sits in the cab of one of the locomotives on Cumberland Mine Railroad. Photo by Colleen R. Nelson.

As the engine approaches a bridge, which it does several times on the route, for honest-togoodness sakes it looks as though it’s going to fall off the edge. Seriously.

Naturally, the train rolls on, and the novice passengers sigh and loosen their grip on their seats.

Experience a sample of this rail journey online at https://youtu.be/jGAgUU8xrn8.

The Covered Bridge Festival Years ago in an assignment at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I wrote “Greene County . . . can be the place to experience a fair to remember.”

There’s no doubt the Covered Bridge Festival at the White Covered Bridge near Garards Fort has grown to claim its rightful status as a memorable celebration of our heritage.

Over the past few years, the festival has expanded from a relatively small gathering to an impressive event that is host to multiple music

A Union soldier re-enactor stands guard next to a cannon at the annual White Covered Bridge Festival near Garard’s Fort.

performances, a yummy selection of food and a wide variety of artists and crafters. On that list is the amiable Rachel Angry of Angry Bee Designs, whom we featured in the November/December issue.

The event is held the third weekend of September and is one of the most scenic spots in Greene County, surrounding a covered bridge over Whiteley Creek. Attendees can ride along Roberts Run Road, across the bridge and back, and through the field on a horse-drawn wagon, and golf carts shuttle between a large parking area and the festival grounds.

No doubt: Be sure this one is on your calendar. Make it a family affair and visit the Carmichaels Covered Bridge that weekend, too.

Stone to Steel: Native American Heritage Weekend There is more to the Greene County Historical Society Museum than what meets the eye in its events, such as the popular Harvest Festival.

The Native American Heritage Weekend offered a realistic view of life by ancient local people, and all in the beautiful valley along the

Re-enactor at a simulated Native American encampment in the valley behind the Greene County Historical Society Museum during the Native American Heritage Weekend.

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small stream behind the museum. To be sure, the walk along the water was beautiful, not only with the atmosphere of early fall, but with the addition of knowledgeable re-enactors. Among them was Doug Wood, of Nitro, W.Va., who kept the attention of children and adults alike by wading in the stream and showing how native hunters caught fish and other aquatic creatures for food.

Watch for more events at the Greene County Historical Society Museum by visiting greenecountyhistory.org.

Re-enactor Doug Wood stands in the creek behind the Greene County Historical Society Museum during his presentation at the Native American Heritage Weekend.

Mason-Dixon 250 in 2017 The 250th anniversary of the end of the famous Mason-Dixon Line was a celebration fit for the king of England, but the truly astonishing aspect of the event in October was among the special guests who attended.

John Dixon, a five-time grand nephew of surveyor Jeremiah Dixon, came from Great Britain to attend the festivities. He was joined by his daughter Melissa Dixon, who also came to walk in the footsteps of their famous ancestor at Mason-Dixon Historical Park, about 3 miles from Mount Morris.

Also attending from afar was Janet Helgason, a direct descendant of Jeremiah Dixon. She and daughters Jody and Jackie came from Edmonton, Alberta, in western Canada.

It seems Greene County’s history has a strong voice, one that resounds across the globe. Plans are in the works for a follow-up event, the Mason-Dixon Line Fes-

tival, this autumn in the park. Watch for updates online at exploretheline.com.

It’s certain that more memories will be made all across Greene County in 2018. Be sure to make time for them.

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.

Janet Helgason of Edmonton, Alberta, during the dedication ceremony at the 250th anniversary of the end of the Mason-Dixon Line. Helgason is a direct descendant of surveyor Jeremiah Dixon.

Photo by Colleen R. Nelson.

John Dixon of England next to an original MasonDixon Line stone placed in 2017 in the Mason-Dixon Historical Park, about 3 miles southwest of Mount Morris. Dixon is a five-time grand nephew of surveyor Jeremiah Dixon.

BOWLBY BITS

Library will also be CLOSED Monday, February 19, for Presidents’ Day. LIBRARY LEGO CLUB - meets Saturday, February 3 at 11:00am CREATIVE CRAFTING FOR ADULTS – Thursday, February 8 at 5:00 pm. This month’s project is a heartshaped decomesh wreath. 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!

February 7 ~ Goodbye Christopher Robin February 14 ~ Wonder February -21 ~ Earth: One Amazing Day February 28 ~ The Case for Christ KNITTING CLUB - The Knitting Club meets 2x a month on the second & fourth Fridays - February 9 & 23 @ 10am-12pm. All skill levels welcome!

AFTER HOURS GAME SHOW NIGHT - Come on down! Friday, February 16, 4:00-8:00pm. Games & activities based on popular game shows for families of all shapes & sizes!

PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC PREMIERE PARTY - Saturday, February 17 at 11:00am. Join us for stories, snacks, crafts & advanced viewing of the new PBS show!

STORY STARTERS - Saturday, February 24 at 11:00am. Write On! Contest Workshop for kids in grades K-5.

Got a story to tell? Write it and you could enter to win prizes from PBS Kids!

BOWLBY ROCKS! - Adults are invited to participate in the latest craze - painting rocks! Will meet on Saturday, February 24 @ 12:00-2:00pm. This month’s theme: St. Patrick’s Day. Bring two clean rocks with you to paint!

READING COMPETITION CLUB - Kids in Grades 4-8 are invited to join the Bowlby Team! Join us Tuesday, February 27, at 6:00pm.

AUTHOR BOOK TALK - Local author Anthony Jarrell will visit the library to talk about his book, “Exile” on Wednesday, February 28 @ 6:00pm. Free & open to the public; light refreshments will be served.

BOWLBY BOOK CLUB - meets on the 2nd Monday of every month at 6:00pm. New members are always welcome! Book discussion on “Rosmeary: the Hidden Kennedy Daughter” YOGA CLASSES BEING OFFERED - In March, Beginniners Yoga will be taught by Christa Turner (RYT) of Yoga Precepts three times a month on Saturdays at 1:00pm ($30 for three classes). The fourth Saturday of the month is “Happy Hour Yoga” for a $5 donation to the library.

CPR/AED Certification Class - Thursday, March 1 @ 4:00-7:00pm. Cost for class is $45 and due at beginning of class.

CODE SQUAD - Students aged 6-12yrs, come join the Code Squad @ the Library! Classes begin in March!

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 www.evakbowlby.org

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Walnut Grove’s Morgan Horses N

By Danielle Nyland

ovember’s “I Love This Place” Lippencott story focused on several of the unique livestock operations in the area.

World-renowned lamb, rodeo bulls, and alpacas are all raised there. Nestled between these bucking bulls and fleecy alpacas is another of Lippencott’s awesome agricultural endeavors – the Morgan horses of Walnut Grove.

The Truebloods, Suzy and Randy, and daughter Meghan, own, breed, and raise award winning Morgan horses. Both Suzy and Randy work fulltime, so the farm is a family effort and everyone makes sure that the work is completed. Suzy and Meghan show the horses. Randy helps as a groom, mucker, trailer driver, and more. Suzy starts the training of the young colts and fillies, before they go to another trainer for finishing.

Suzy’s love of horses was something that was always with her. As a child, she begged her parents to get one for their farm in Michigan. She became acquainted with the Morgan breed through a friend and fell in love with them. Morgan horses are one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States and are best known for their versatility and good disposition. “I loved the breed and everything about them – their confirmation, how they’re built, the way they move, their intelligence. They can do anything – drive, plow, show,” explained Suzy. She rode horses with her friends and was active in 4-H as a youth, but wouldn’t get a horse of her own until she was an adult - a Morgan named Mr. T. Suzy used her horse for trail riding, and later befriended

Morgan Horses graze on the scenic hills of Walnut Grove Farm in Lippencott.

a trainer who introduced her to the world of showing while she was living in North Carolina. She also began breeding Morgans.

After moving to Greene County in 2005, she decided to continue showing and breeding her beloved Morgans. Currently, there are three horses at the farm and two more off site in training. Suzy usually breeds just one a year, but this year she has two mares in foal. The horses are bred for temperament so they will make good mounts for almost anyone. Suzy is passionate about her mares and their foals. “There’s a lot of satisfaction out of creating something. I like the babies and the foals. It’s like on a farm with the harvest, you get to watch it grow. Being able to show and sell something you created is very gratifying.”

One of the broodmares at Walnut Grove, MLF Calamity Jane, nicknamed Jane, was first an acclaimed competitor and show horse. She’s won numerous championships and awards, including Reserve World Champion Hunter Mare and Saddlehorse Report

People’s Choice Award, before becoming a broodmare. Now at age 22, this year’s foal will be Jane’s last before retiring as a broodmare. Her prodigy continues to bring acclaim to the farm. Walnutgroves Rebel, nicknamed Toby, Jane’s first colt born in 2012, is in training with Jodi Bertagnolli of Heritage Stables and has won a sweepstakes in New York and placed 4th in the 2016 World Championships in Oklahoma.

The Truebloods plan to continue breeding and raising horses at Walnut Grove Farm for the foreseeable future. “We’ll probably slow down for retirement, but we plan on doing this for a while,” Suzy said. “It’s exciting, especially the breeding and birthing,” added Randy, “You don’t know what you will get.”

Well, it seems what they get are pretty fine equine; and Greene County, Lippencott in particular, is proud to claim another unique and notable establishment. The Truebloods welcome visitors that would like to stop by and visit the horses. FMI about Walnut Grove Farm, visit http://www.walnutgrove-farm.com.

Jane and a newborn foal, just 48 hours old.

Titleist, also known as Tiger, another of Walnut Groves’ proud Morgans.

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GreeneScene Magazine •

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018

GCHS Log Cabin History Continued from last month.

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ast month, we featured a story about the log cabin located at the Greene County Historical Society. The article focused on the move and restoration of the house. Because of the story, Arlene Teagarden Lantzer, came forward to tell us a little more about the cabin and its owners history.

In 1784, Alexander Burns (1731/9-1826) was granted a pursuance of land. He used money from his service in the Revolutionary War to purchase the land, referred to as ‘The Big Lick’, in 1791. At the time, Alexander was living in what was called ‘Burns Camp’; this eventually became the village of West Finley.

Alexander’s first born, a son named James, was born in 1786 in Fort Lindley (now Prosperity).

James married in 1808 and settled down on the ‘Big Lick”, next to Owens Run, a small creek flowing into Wheeling Creek. In approximately 1815, James built a log house for his family; he built a sawmill on Owens Run around 1835.

James died in 1842 at the age of 56. His six sur-

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

By Danielle Nyland

2017 Toys for Tots

A

ccording to Buzz michaels Firehall, Toni Cline at Walters, comBobtown Firehall, Linda Pelkey mandant of the Tri at St. Hugh’s church, and Roy, County LeatherShirley & Shaun Negley in necks, the 2017 Toys for Tots Waynesburg. The Negleys have drive, “turned out to be the bigbeen involved several years. gest success.” 2017 was the 35th “I depend on the Negley’s and year for the Tri County Leathsite managers. I could not have ernecks and Toys for Tots and done it without them,” added over 900 children received toys Buzz. this year, making it their best The contributions these year so far and spreading a lot people, additional volunof happiness to local children. teers such as Diane Linsley, This year’s toy drive was Skip Black, Bruce Black, Bill dedicated to all former LeathWinters, Erma Wiley, and so ernecks and to Murray Wilmany more, are a huge part of liams, an original member of this special program’s success. the Leathernecks and a long“They are the ones to make it a time supporter of Toys for Tots. success year after year,” he emMurray passed away in early phasized.

2017. “He was my right hand Special recognition goes man,” said Buzz. to Tom and Jennie Hollowood, The first Toys for Tots who contributed 100 bikes this Murray Williams, one of the original drive had just one location: the Leathernecks, supporting Toys for Tots in year. Tom built and delivered armory in Waynesburg. Since the bikes to all sites, as well as Waynesburg. then, Carmichaels, Clarksville, bringing toys. and Greensboro/Bobtown have all been added.

Supporting businesses and organizations for viving children shared the inheritance of his estate. “We have come a long way since November 10, the above sites include Giant Eagle, Walmart, all A daughter named Sarah Anne married Hamilton 1982, when the Leathernecks were formed at Ca- area Community Bank branches, Dollar General, VFW, Basic Energy, Waynesburg University ComTeagarden, a local blacksmith in 1846. Hamilton puto’s Tavern in Dry Tavern,” Buzz stated.

The support was great this year, starting with munications Dept. and Prof. Richard Krause, and cleared the land for crops and livestock and they the site managers: Teresa and Laura Walters at Car- the local media. had a 1 1/2 story log house on the top of the hill.

Near the turn of the century, a log cabin was moved from farther down Owens Run to the area at the bottom of Hamilton and Sarah’s hill. This cabin is the house that would end up the Greene County Museum. According to Helen Vogt, a local historian, the original log cabin on Owens Run belonging to William Teagarden (1783-1829) was moved to its second to last location across the street from Robert Burns’ log home, near James Burns’ sawmill.

Alvin H. Teagarden remembered the moving of the house, as well as living there before moving into the log house on the top of the hill – he even recalled falling from an upstairs window. The lower house was rented out, and would eventually be bought by the Capenos family in the 60s. The log house at the top of the hill was also sold and is no longer owned GreeneScene by by the Teagardens. However, the rest of the land reKayla Patton mains with the Teagarden families.

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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SCAVENGER HUNT

WINNER! Congratulations to Katherine Jameson of Holbrook, PA. She is the winner of a $100 gift certificate to The Perfect Arrangement and Lily Bee’s.

Cindy Morrow and husband, winners of our Steelers Ticket giveaway, at the Steelers game against the Tennessee Titans!

Thanks for sharing!

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GreeneScene Magazine •

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018

Color Them Happy!

F

irst Federal Savings & Loan of Greene County hosted an award presentation and reception for all the winners in their 2017 Coloring Contest. The presentation was held during their annual Customer Appreciation Day on December 15th. Three winners were selected in each of three age categories, with first place winners receiving $50 each, second place receiving $40 each, and third place receiving $30 each. Pictured (L-R) are Hadley Rose Murtha, second place, ages 4 & 5; Emilee Bazzoli, second place, ages 8 & 9; Kaitlyn David, third place, ages 8 & 9; Emily Riley, third place, ages 6 & 7; Peyton Cowell,

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

first place, ages 8 & 9; Brayden Tedrow, second place, ages 6 & 7; and Judi Goodwin Tanner, President/CEO of First Federal of Greene County. Not pictured are Willow Cline, third place, ages 4 & 5, and Layla Burrows, first place, ages 6 & 7. Pictured separately with her winning entry is Payton Duncan, first place, ages 4 & 5.

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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RSVP WITH BLUEPRINTS

lueprints is looking for volunteers aged 55 seniors a few times a week. These friendly calls proand over who want to make a difference in vide increased social support and allow any issues, their community by joinlike going without heat, to be recoging Senior Corps RSVP nized so that resources can be made – Retired and Senior Volunteer available. Nancy Church, an RSVP Program. RSVP was made available caller, shared with use how much by a grant awarded to Blueprints for her clients appreciate these phone $78,577 this past summer, supportcalls and told us, “It’s reassuring when they see someone calling and ing 88 volunteers. This grant will checking in on them. It gives them a run through June 30, 2020. RSVP lift and shows that someone cares.” will provide additional support to The best part of this program is established programs. The grant adaptability: even homebound selasts for three years and will rely on support from local matches, donaniors can volunteer and times for calls are open. tions, sponsors, and fundraising opVolunteering with Blueprints portunities.

Nancy Church is one of and RSVP is pretty flexible. “We’re Currently there are 16 volRSVP’s telephone reassurance glad to work with volunteers to see unteers in the RSVP program – 13 callers. She said that one of what they want to do, what works Home Delivered Meals drivers and her clients told her “It’s so with their schedules,” said Jill Peth, 3 with Telephone Reassurance.* nice of you to call and check RSVP coordinator. “Volunteers can There are 5 RSVP opportunities on me.” even help just one day of the week, and in the future, Blueprints hopes or be on call in case someto expand RSVP into more community programs. one cancels.” Some of the Their advisory board will opportunities, such as the assist with this expansion, Home Delivered Meals, as well as exploring opporVITA, and Head Start Mentunities for fundraising, retors, do need volunteers to be available during certain cruitment, marketing, outtimes. reach, and more.

Volunteering with The home delivered RSVP is something that meal program had already benefits both the volunteer been established at Blueand those they work with. prints. But the grant re“Having a place to be and ceived will help provide supplemental car insurance, Bob Willison, longtime Home Delivered Meal Vol- something to do can ease the retirement transition, as well as mileage reimunteer in the Carmichaels area with Donald when you’re going from bursement to drivers. MileYarish, a Home Delivered Meal recipient. Not age reimbursement may pictured is Bob’s dog, Bella, who accompanies Bob working 40 hours a week to none,” said Peth. And there’s also be available for other on his Home Delivered meal route. the benefits. “Volunteers programs, such as Head Start mentors. These mentors will work directly also have increased health benefits, lower rates of with children in Head Start under teacher supervi- depression, and greater levels of well-being.”

RSVP, established in 1971, is part of the Senior sion. There are 6 Head Starts in Greene County and the goal is to match a RSVP volunteer (or two!) to Corps, which is itself a program of the Corporaeach Head Start. tion for National and Community Service (CNCS).

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is CNCS, the federal agency for volunteering and also another previously established program ben- services, engages millions of Americans each year efitting from RSVP. VITA provides assistance with through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Social Inincome tax filing and volunteers will help with novation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund preparation and filing. RSVP volunteers will also be programs, and leads volunteer and civic engageworking as instructors of a Financial Literacy course ment initiatives for the nation. FMI, visit www.nacalled ‘Money Smarts for Older Adults’ that aims to tionalservice.gov. help older adults with future planning and how to Blueprints is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizaavoid financial scams, including financial exploita- tion agency that has served and strengthened comtion. The financial literacy course has a pre-made munities southwestern Pennsylvania for 52 years. curriculum and VITA provides training, so those Services to seniors are an integral part of Blueprints’ interested don’t have to be financial experts – they continuum of services designed to Break Barriers just need to familiarize themselves with the materi- and Build Futures.

FMI about RSVP, call 724-852-2893 or visit als.

A new program is Telephone Reassurance, myblueprints.org. where volunteers place phone calls to homebound * There are plenty of volunteer opportunities available.

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GreeneScene Magazine •

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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Community Foundation Fall Grants

Rep. Ortitay Donates 2018 Pay Increase to Blueprints In December, Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny) visited Blueprints and donated his 2017-2018 automatic legislative pay increase to the organization.

“We appreciate Representative Ortitay’s commitment to community, and are pleased that he chose to invest in our work,” said Darlene Bigler, CEO of Blueprints. “The support of elected officials like Representative Ortitay is critical to our success in breaking barriers and building futures.”

“Blueprints offers a wide variety of assistance to those in our community who are in need,” Ortitay said. “Whether someone needs help gaining computer skills, taking steps to become a homeowner or a safe place for childcare, Blueprints is there to fill the void. I’m pleased to donate my pay increase to such a worthwhile organization.”

During the tour of Blueprints’ main office in Washington, Ortitay briefly addressed a meeting of the Head Start Policy Council, comprised of par-

L-R: Front row: Katie Sleasman, Guidance Counselor, GCCTC; Kathy McClure, Executive Director, Bowlby Library; Jessica Hathaway, Teacher/Broadcasting, Carmichaels Area High School; Christina Becker, 4-H Educator, Penn State Cooperative Extension – Greene County; Gary Yaquinto, Director, Catholic Charities Greene County Outreach. Second row: Joseph Orr, Superintendent, Jefferson-Morgan School District; Keith Herrington, CFGC Board Member; Lucy Corwin, CFGC Board Member & Grantmaking Committee Chair; Dr. Morris Harper, Chairman, CFGC Board of Directors; Rich Pekar, Superintendent, Southeastern Greene School District; Andrew Erjavek, Assistant Vice President, Business Development Officer, First National Bank of Pennsylvania; Sheila Stewart, Vice President & Waynesburg Branch Manager, First National Bank of Pennsylvania.

ents and community representatives, and read the book “Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear” to Head Start students. At the conclusion of his visit, he donated his $700 raise to Blueprints.

A native of Avella, Ortitay serves the 46th Legislative District, made up of portions of Washington and Allegheny counties. He is the current secretary for the House Committee on Environmental Resources and Energy and serves on the House Appropriations, Gaming Oversight and Urban Affairs committees.

Ribbon-cutting at Parkview Knoll The County Commissioners participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Friday, Dec 15th at Parkview Knoll, a 75-unit affordable hous-

ing community in Carmichaels. County commissioners donated money in support of Human Services to provide low-income housing for families. A Pittsburgh real estate developer purchased the complex with plans for renovation; the plan included modernizing the 65 apartments and 10 townhomes at the complex, upgrading security and building a 3,200-square-foot community center for the residents, with expectations of spending about $38,000 on renovations per unit. Greene County commissioners gave the developer $50,000, contingent on securing Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) funds. Cumberland Township supervisors also offered $50,000 to the project once state funding came through.

Humane Society & Catnip Acres Receive Funds The Greene County Commissioners allocated $15,000 to the Humane Society of Greene County at their regular meeting on November 16, 2017.

The Greene County Commissioners also allocated $10,000 to Catnip Acres at their regular meeting on November 16, 2017.

Pictured (L-R) are Commissioner Blair Zimmerman; Craig Wise, Humane Society of Greene County Board of Directors vice-president; Michael Welsh, Humane Society of Greene County Board of Directors president; Commissioner Archie Trader; and Commissioner Dave Coder.

Pictured (L-R) are Commissioner Blair Zimmerman; Carol Pultorak, Catnip Acres founder; Toni Ferencak, Catnip Acres volunteer; Commissioner Dave Coder; and Commissioner Archie Trader.

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The Community Foundation of Greene County recently announced a distribution of grants totaling more than $8,500 to local nonprofits and schools. Grants were awarded from several different funds as part of a fall grant application process.

CFGC Board Chairman, Dr. Morris Harper, said, “It is a privilege to be able to support these programs conducted by our local schools and nonprofits, and especially to be able to make a difference in the lives of our children and families. As much as we at the Foundation would like to take the credit for making these grants, it is a great honor to work with the donors who make these grants possible.

They are truly the philanthropists who have the desire to help our community.”

The Early Intervention Enrichment Fund is a donor advised fund that was established this year to assist Greene County Early Intervention programs in offering enrichment activities to children and encourage parent participation. A grant award for $3,000 was awarded to the Greene County Human Services Early Intervention program for the Play Zone in Early Intervention project to purchase tickets for outings, food and supplies for parents and child interaction activities.

The Excellence in Education Fund is an endowed fund established in 2010 with a Consol Energy contribution to provide small grant support to public schools and teachers to assist with class supplies. A grant of $500 was awarded to the Greene County Career and Technology Center (GCCTC) for a Video Production and Editing project. The equipment will be used to showcase student skills and portfolio items for applications, and produce videos of student activities.

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program Educational Improvement Fund was supported this year by First National Bank of Pennsylvania.

Three schools received grant awards of $2000 each.

One went to Carmichaels Area School District for the Media Broadcasting class to update equipment and software. Another went to Jefferson-Morgan School District to help purchase a 3-D Printer and a Laser Engraver/Cutter for their Project Lead the Way Engineering Initiative. Southeastern Greene School District also received an award for their Artist in Residence Program at Mapletown Jr/Sr High School.

The Cindy’s Wind Fund for Women and Girls was established as an endowed Field of Interest fund by Cindy Bailey in 2015 to help women and

girls meet their full potential. A grant of $500 was awarded to Eva K. Bowlby Public Library for the “So You Want to Babysit! Essentials” project, teaching young teens about the basics of childcare, including CPR. The CFGC Community Grants are made possible through the Bob Bradford Fund and the Forever Greene Fund. These unrestricted funds come from monies available for the operation of the Foundation that has been set aside each year to be used for grants to meet unmet or emerging needs.

The following organizations were selected from the applications to receive a grant from the Fall Community Grants: $1,500.00 to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh for the Working for Greene project to assist job seekers and new employees with jobrelated expenses to ease initial costs of finding and starting a job. $2,000 to the Eva K. Bowlby Public Library to purchase new laptops for the Code Squad project which teaches elementary age children the basics of computer programming and animation. $500 to the Penn State Extension Greene 4-H program to assist with Progressive Agriculture Safety Day in May. This day covers a variety of topics youth encounter in their everyday lives through mini-workshops and activities. All third grade classes in the county are invited to attend. $500 to the Penn State Extension Greene 4-H program for a Birding Camp in June 2018 in partnership with the Ralph K. Bell Bird Club of Greene County. The camp is a summer day camp to help students age 8-18 gain an understanding and appreciation of the environment and animals around them. $2,000 to the Pennsylvania Behavioral Health and Aging Coalition to assist with the “All In: Trainings That Make A Difference” project to provide training on older adult and mental health-related topics with first responders and emergency personnel. $2,000 to the Weekend Food Program to provide packs of food for food insecure students in county schools.

Since 2001, CFGC has awarded more than $3.1 million in grants and scholarships to improve the lives of Greene County residents. For more information visit www.cfgcpa.org or email cfgcpa@ gmail.com.

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2018

We are pleased to share pictures of a few of our Greene County area hunters who have earned the right to

BRAG!

Daniel Lagaza

Barry Huffman

5th Buck in 5 Years

Long Stalk Buck

Daniel Lagaza of Waynesburg, age 9, hunting with father, John A. Lagaza, takes his 5th buck in 5 years.

He got his buck on the last day of regular deer season in Whitely Township, with a Browning A-Bolt 243 WSSM Winchester Super Short Magnum. After harvesting the deer and starting to drag it, both antlers pulled off the deer, with skull attached. Daniel has successfully harvested a buck every year since he was 5. Good job, Daniel – keep on bragging!

Barry Huffman of Pine Bank spotted this deer from a distance in Pine Bank. After a long stalk, he was able to get a shot and landed this 8 point buck on November 29th. His brother Rodney Huffman shared this great shot. Your patience paid off, Barry!

MENTORED YOUTH HUNTING PROGRAM Pennsylvania has a long, rich hunting heritage. The Mentored Youth Hunting Program is geared to help children become better, more responsible hunters, as well as learn about Pennsylvania’s hunting heritage at an early age. The program allows children under 12 to receive hands-on hunting experience with adult mentors. These mentors make sure to train these unlicensed hunters about ethics, safety, and more. These children are not required to take a Hunter-Trapper course to be eligible; however, once they turn 12, the mentor program ends and they must then complete an HTE course to obtain a junior license. This program allows a mentored youth to hunt squirrels, rabbits (cottontails), doves, woodchucks, coyotes, deer, and turkeys. There are rules and restrictions applicable to what the mentored youth can hunt and how they hunt.

John Lagaza, a Brag Mag entrant from previous issues, shared some of his experience with the program. He has mentored his daughter, age 17, his son, age 9, and his nephew, age 7. In addition to teaching them safe hunting practices, he works with them before hunting season to teach them proper gun use and how to use a scope. They begin shooting with a .22 that is the same size as the .243 WSSM they will use while

Eli Tennant

hunting. To learn how to use the scope, John picks things for them to find using the scope.

John also spends a lot of time teaching them safety, “I taught them the safety goes on after every shot,” John wrote.

While in the field, he lets them locate the deer in the scope and say ‘ok’, and then he takes the safety off. They make sure that deer is still aligned correctly and follow with another ‘ok.’

Once the deer is in the right position, John tells them when to shoot, starting with broadside shots and eventually moving on to facing shots. And, of course, the safety goes back on after every shot.

John’s thorough teaching methods and dedication to the mentor program have helped his children become great shots and educated hunters. His daughter, Kadie, is a senior on the school’s rifle team and his son has harvested a deer each year since the start of his mentoring – 5 bucks in 5 years, including a 300-yard shot last year on a doe. Son, Daniel and nephew, Eli Tennant, are featured in this year’s Brag Mag. There is also a mentored adult program that is designed for first-time hunters age 18 and over to gain hunting experience with a licensed mentor. The mentored adult program also has rules and restrictions concerning what can be hunted and how. FMI, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website at www.pgc.pa.gov.

First Deer

Eli Tennant of Waynesburg, age 7, hunting with his uncle, John A. Lagaza, shot his first deer on December 2nd. He harvested his deer in Whitely Township, with a Browning A-Bolt 243 WSSM Winchester Super Short Magnum. Eli is the son of Brad and Janice Tennant. His uncle John submitted this photo.

Congratulations, Eli!

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

Joe Zieglar

Big Buck

Joe Zieglar of Dilliner took this beautiful mule deer buck on the Nebraska gun opener on November 11th. It scored an impressive 195” with double drop tines. His friend Rich Pekar submitted this photo for our brag mag and we agree with Rich – go ahead and brag, Joe!

Kevin Kuharcik

10 Point Buck

Kevin Kuharcik of Rices Landing bagged this 10 point buck with an impressive 17” spread by bow on November 4th in Dry Tavern. Congratulations, Kevin!

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Ray Kimmell

10 Point Buck

Ray Kimmell of Garards Fort has had a good year! He harvested this imposing bull elk with archery equipment on September 20th in New Mexico. On December 1st, he shot this 10 point buck in Greene County. His proud wife, Linda, shared these photos from Ray’s hunts.

Way to go, Ray!

Addyson Teagarden

First Buck & Doe

Addyson Teagarden, age 10, got her first buck and doe this year while hunting for the first time with her dad, Jimmy, near their property in Lippincott. “It was quite a big deal in our house,” said Robin Teagarden, “My husband has been waiting for this moment for a very long time.” On their first morning out together, Addyson shot her doe with her dad’s 30/30 around 8:45am. It was a very special moment – the gun she used for her first deer has been used by every man in the family. Less than two hours later, while waiting for dad Jimmy to get his doe, a 6 point buck came out of the woods and he let Addyson take the shot. Addyson bagged the buck with a clean shot through the shoulders, making Jimmy one proud dad. Robin says, “It was a pretty great first time for her and she said ‘make sure to send my pic to the brag mag!’” Brag big, Addyson, you had a great first day!

David Moore

First Buck

David Moore, co-owner of Moore Brother Services, finally got a day to go hunting with his brother, Samuel Moore, and his father, Arthur Moore, on December 9th.

At 9am, David got his first buck in Clarksville, PA. This photograph was taken by his aunt Lori Moore and shared by his proud father Arthur. Brag away, David!

Joey Kurincak

Coyote & 9 Point Buck

Joey Kurincak of Carmichaels got this coyote with a 0.243 rifle in Walden, Colorado. Bernie Kurincak, Joey’s father, writes, “This is Joey’s 1st coyote and it was a big one!” Joey also got this 9 point buck on January 6, 2018 with a 50 Caliber Hawken Flintlock Muzzleloader. Joey plans on putting his $50 winnings into his college fund – he wants to be an electrical engineer. You’ve got a lot to brag about, Joey!

$50

WIN

NER

Bernie Kurincak

3 Bull Elks

Bernie Kurincak shared this picture of himself and two others hunters proudly showing their bull elk skulls.

From l-to-r, Jason Delani of Somerset with a 6x6 elk, Tom Burrie of Carmichaels with a 5x4 elk, and Bernie Kurincak of Carmichaels with a 5x4 elk. All three bull elk were taken with a bow in Idaho. Brag big, guys!

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2018

Wayne Toth

8 Point Buck

Wayne Toth of Center Township shot this 8 point buck on December 1st. He harvested the deer in Sycamore with a 28 Nosler.

Congratulations, Wayne!

Jonathan Toth

8 Point Buck

Jonathan Toth of Center Township shot this 8 point buck on opening morning. He brought his buck down at 374 yards with a 338-378 Weatherby Magnum in Sycamore.

Brag all you can, Jonathan!

Justin Toth

9 Point Buck

Justin Toth of Center Township, age 7, brought down this 9 point on opening morning. This 9 point deer is actually a 10 point with a broken tine. Justin shot his deer with a 243 rifle in Sycamore. Good hunting, Justin!

Jessica Taylor

7 Point Buck Aiden Delansky

Jessica Taylor of Jefferson harvested this 7 point buck during rifle season on December 2nd in Jefferson.

Congratulations, Jessica!

Rick Kubasik

5 Point Buck

Aiden Delansky of Dilliner, age 12, shot this 5 point buck on the very first day of hunting season at his family’s hunting camp. He used a 30-06 rifle to bring down this deer with one shot, after his father pointed out where the deer would come from – almost as if a rope led it. His proud father, Bobby Delansky, shared this photo and wrote, “He was so excited and drug it out mostly by himself.”

Go ahead and brag, Aiden!

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

8 Point Buck

Rick Kubasik of Jefferson harvested this 8 point Greene County brute on the opening day of rifle season, at approximately 4:15pm, near Jefferson. Way to go, Rick!

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Jesse Courtwright Karen Santucci

8 Point Buck & Antelope

Jesse Courtwright of Holbrook shot this 8 point buck on December 2nd on his property. “I sat in my treestand for 10 minutes… thought I heard a squirrel, turned out to be this buck,” Jesse wrote. “One shot from my 300 Win Mag at 50 yards and down he went.” Jesse also brought down this antelope during a fall hunt in Wheatland, Wyoming with his father, Dean Courtwright, and friend, Donnie Reynolds. Brag it up, Jesse!

10 Point Buck

Karen Santucci of Clarksville shot this buck on the second day of the season, near a farm in Clarksville. Karen used a 270 rifle to bring down this 10 point buck with a 17.5” inside spread.

You’ve earned the right to brag, Karen!

Kace Burrie

Devin Villareal

First Deer

Devin Villareal of Clarksville harvested his first buck on the first day of the season in Denbo with a 243 rifle. Devin brought down the 3 point buck with his first shot – making Devin’s first day of his first year a successful one. Fantastic work, Devin!

7 Point Buck

Kace Burrie of Carmichaels, age 9, bagged this 7 point buck on December 2nd in Carmichaels. Kace and his dad saw the buck from across the field, so they snuck across the field and hid behind a round bale. Kace got his buck with a 45 yard shot. Great work, Kace!

William Orndoff

Bear

William Orndoff of Graysville poses here with the mature Mountain Grizzly he shot in the Talkeetna Mountains of Alaska this past spring. A large bear, this color phase Grizzly was 7 ft. plus in height. Will took him with a 375 H&H Magnum at about 50 yards. That’s a very big brag, William!

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2018

Co o l at Sc h o o l

by Tyler Whipkey

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at Waynesburg Central Elementary

O

n January 10th, 2018, Waynesburg Central Elementary School partnered with local law enforcement agencies to celebrate Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (L.E.A.D.).

L.E.A.D is a national day of support that is held annually on January 9th. WCES students celebrated on January 10th due to a school delay the previous day.

WCES sponsored 6 different police stations from the Greene County area for the event. The Kindergarten class was assigned the Greene County Sheriff ’s Department, 1st grade to the Pennsylvania State Police, 2nd grade to the Waynesburg Borough Police Department, 3rd grade to the Waynesburg University Security Department, 4th grade to the Greene County Regional Police Department, and 6th grade to the Cumberland Township Police Department. The students also honored Central Greene’s School Resource Officer, Officer Andrew Zimmer.

Students in each grade created cards during class to show their appreciation.

Each grade was also responsible for creating a banner during their art classes. The banners had a blue line with the words ‘Thank You’ surrounded by the students’ handprints on a black background. Students also col-

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lected donated candy and cake goodies to create “Grab Something Sweet Before You Hit the Streets” baskets. These items were donated by parents, teachers, staff, and administration. Each station received a basket, along with a box of baked goods donated by Lindaz Little Bakery in Rices Landing. Approximately 760 students participated in the day in some way.

The officers where welcomed by Principal Scott Headlee, and Assistant Principal, Edith Woods upon their arrival. They reported to their respective grade levels, greeted by cheers and high fives from students, teachers, and staff lining the halls. Students displayed their banners and handed their officers their homemade cards. The officers spent time with each class of their grade level talking with the students, taking pictures, and answering questions. Most visited other grade levels, as well. School Resource Officer Andrew Zimmer completed an interview with the 5th grade media crew to be shown during the weekly news along with a short inspirational video honoring law enforcement.

The decision to celebrate L.E.A.D. came from a group of teachers and staff members with strong ties to the law enforcement

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community. L.E.A.D. is new and not many people are aware of this day. “We wanted to give the officers the recognition and respect they deserve and bring attention to the fact this day exists so people can do something each year to show their appreciation for the sacrifices these brave men and women make to keep our communities safe. We want our students to realize that the men and women behind the badge are the good guys and they can trust them and go to them when they need help or are in danger,” said Amy Caldwell, event spokesperson.

L.E.A.D. was founded in 2015 to thank officers across the country for their hard work and dedication to their communities.

It is a day to spread encouragement, respect, and support to those in law enforcement.

Everybody at WCES really pulled together to make this special for our police officers,” Amy added. The committee would like to thank all the WCES parents and students, administrators, teachers, staff, Lindaz Little Bakery, Bee Graphix, and Wal-Mart for helping make this a successful event.

They would also like to thank the officers from all the stations for taking the time to visit with the students and participate.

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By Danielle Nyland

L

ights, Camera, Action… in Southwestern Pennsylvania? It’s true – Hollywood has been bringing plenty of big-budget productions to the Pittsburgh area and independent filmmakers are also using Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania as part of their productions. Recently, Waynesburg has been the site for two film productions, Night Zero and A Jury of His Peers, from Tredd Productions. These movies are part of the growing trend of filming in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Filming in southwestern Pennsylvania isn’t a new thing there have been more than a handful of movies and television shows filmed around the area in the past 40 years, but Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas, is rising in the ranks as a great place to film, ranking 5th in

productions have been scattered across Greene, Fayette, and Washington counties.

One of the first movies filmed entirely in the area, specifically Brownsville, PA, was Maria’s Lovers (1984), starring Natassja Kinski, John Savage, Robert Mitchum and Keith Carradine. The plot follows Savage’s character Ivan as he returns home from war and his relationship with Kinski’s Maria. For the film, Brownsville was transformed into a post-WWII small town. While watching the movie, viewers will see the now-absent Fredericktown Ferry, High Point restaurant in Coal Center, the Orthodox Church in West Brownsville, and many other familiar locations. Maria’s and Ivan’s homes were both in Brownsville – in fact, one of the homes used during filming was for sale a few years back.

Many of the resident’s of Brownsville have fond memories of the time that they were ‘in the movies’ – several worked as extras and others have collections of movie memorabilia related to the film, such as Matthew Brockman’s mother.

He tells us that she Filming Maria’s Lovers outside of the Orthodox Church in remembers being “toBrownsville. Photo courtesy of Barry Niccolai. tally star-struck and

a study by FilmLA. It’s not a surprise that the area has what film scouts are looking for. Within the region there is a range of scenery: beautiful landscapes, rolling farms, big city lights, and industry such as steel works and coal mines. Many films bank on that industrial background especially – movies like Out of the Furnace (2013), My Bloody Valentine (2009) and The Deer Hunter (1978) all center on either mining or steelworks. There’s also the state film tax credit, considered one of the best in the country.

This 25% tax credit goes to films that spend at least 60% of their total production budget in the state.

Before southwestern Pennsylvania began to see so much recent film traffic, it had already played a part in a few film productions. These

A scene from Night Zero, filmed in Waynesburg.

Filming a scene from Maria’s Lovers at the High Point Restaurant in Coal Center. Photo courtesy of Barry Niccolai.

1980s Brownsville has been transformed into a post-WWII town.

Photo courtesy of Barry Niccolai.

Charles Bronson as ‘Jock’ Yablonski campaigning from Act of Vengeance.

The Nemacolin VFD ambulance can be seen in this scene from Act of Vengeance, filmed at the Nemacolin Mine in Nemacolin, PA.

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hanging around the sets everyday during filming.

I can remember her and many of the ladies in West Brownsville hanging around the trailer of Robert Mitchum just to get his autograph and a kiss.”

Filmed not too long after Maria’s Lovers, the TV movie Act of Vengeance (1986), starring Charles Bronson and Ellen Bursytn, not only had locally filmed scenes, but also focused on a local story – the murders of Joseph Yablonski and his family in their family home near Clarksville.

Yablonski had opposed corruption in the UMWA and was murdered on the orders W.A. Boyle, the UMWA president. The story was turned into a novel called Act of Vengeance, by Trevor Armbrister and this novel was used to create the film. The Nemacolin Mine in Nemacolin, PA was used in the filming of the coal mine scene and the Nemacolin VFD was paid for the use of their fire trucks. Patty Blumish remembers, “The movie company covered over the name on the sides of one of the trucks they used in filming. When they removed the cover, it peeled away some of the original Nemacolin VFD lettering and they had to have it custom lettered all over again. My uncle Steve Repko was an extra in the movie. He was such a sweet man, quick to smile. Died several years ago, but always laughed about being a ‘movie star’ at his ‘old age’. A lot of men in town were extras.”

Going into the 90s, there weren’t a lot big studios filming locally and most movies made in southwestern Pennsylvania stayed pretty close to Pittsburgh and only ventured south for brief scenes. Things started to pick up once the 21st century rolled around.

Carmichaels, PA and its annual King Coal celebration became the focus of a 2005 documentary The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania.

Sarah Rush, an actress and reigning coal queen of 1972, along with Patricia Heaton and David Hunt, worked on the documentary. Their focus was the 50th anniversary of the week long celebration, its pagThe Fredericktown Ferry during a scene from Maria’s Lovers. eant and contestants, as well as the community as a whole. Jess Levo was one of the contestants that year and looks back on the experience with fondness. “As a 16-yearold, the filming was a blast. I felt like a celebrity. This was before the reality show “boom” so we had no idea what to expect. The entire crew was so sweet.

Everyone from Sarah Rush, to Patricia Heaton and her husband David were incredibly kind.” One of the memories that stick in her thoughts is meeting Patricia at the film’s premiere when she looked at Jess’s dad and said, “I feel like I know you!” Jess finished with, “My dad is a coal miner so I was, and still am, so proud to have represented my A scene from Act of Vengeance, filmed at the Nemaschool, my town and my family in the colin Mine in Nemacolin, PA. You can see parts of Coal Queen pageant.” the mine and the Monongahela River.

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Another film that capitalized on Greene County’s coal mining backdrop was The Road (2009), starring Viggo Mortensen. The Road filmed various scenes in Greene and Fayette County. Most noticeable of the local scenes are the use of the Nemacolin Mine slate dump in Nemacolin as post-apocalyptic America and Rubles Run Bridge, part of the MonFayette Freeway in Fayette County, for a wrecked 18-wheeler scene where the characters take refuge.

During the Nemacolin filming, a base camp was set up on the lot where the old shirt factory used to be on Nemacolin Road. The production even utilized the Nemacolin VFD to handle traffic control through the area.

Brownsville has been the site of several films after Maria’s Lovers. The pilot for the CBS medical drama Three Rivers was filmed at the former Brownsville Tri-County Hospital in 2009. Abduction (2011) starring Taylor Lautner, spent most of its time filming scenes in the Pittsburgh area, but ventured south to film a few scenes in Brownsville – most noticeably a shoot-out scene in the famous Fiddle’s Restaurant. Riddle (2013) starring Val Kilmer, also filmed the majority of its scenes in and around Brownsville – the Brownsville Public Library was even converted into a sheriff ’s office –

as well as the Layton Bridge and Tunnel in Layton, PA. Other scenes were filmed at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington. Riddle was entirely a local production; its crew and directors were Pittsburgh natives.

And those are just some of the bigger productions that have filmed in the area. Independent film production groups are filming features in the area without major studio backing, like Craig Quits His Day Job, filmed in Canonsburg. These films are usually created and worked on by local crews with local actors, and are often put on the festival circuit and rarely play in major theaters. These local productions may see their films premiere in the few smaller, independent theaters that still operate in the area, such as the Hollywood Theater in Dormont.

Southwestern Pennsylvania can continue to look forward to being the scene of new films and TV shows as more people see the beauty and range that the area has to offer with each movie filmed here. If you are interested in learning more about the film industry in Pittsburgh – they always need extras! - visit the Pittsburgh Film Office’s website at pghfilm.org.

2003 Coal Queen contestants with Patricia Heaton and David Hunt from the Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania premiere. Photo courtesy of Jessica Levo.

This scene from The Road, featuring Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Viggo Mortensen was shot in Nemacolin, PA ‘slate dump’.

A scene from Riddle showing Market Street in Brownsville.

The Layton Tunnel & Bridge in Layton, PA. Riddle, Silence of the Lambs, and Justified filmed here.

Another scene from The Road on Rubles Run Bridge in Fayette County, PA.

nsylvania area t in the Southwestern Pen sho s film ny ma so n pling of Southwestern There have bee list them all. Here’s a sam to le orssib po im be uld wo that it ventured into our neighb and TV shows that have Pennsylvania area films hoods.

Farmhouse.

(1990) Washington, PA – Night of the Living Dead l’s house exterior.

Bil o ffal Bu 91) Layton, PA – Silence of the Lambs (19 town – State Theater.

Bob Roberts (1992) Union County Courthouse ngton, PA - Washington shi Wa 93) (19 lf Ha rk Da e Th on College. and Washington & Jeffers n. tow Diabolique (1996) Union 02) Bentleyville, PA. (20 es eci ph Pro r; Washington, PA The Mothman PA - Convocation Cente a, rni lifo Ca 14) (20 r che Foxcat . shington, PA – Washington High School ton Bridge & Tunnel, Wa Lay – PA , ton Lay 10) (20 Justified Exterior Courthouse nnellsville Airport and r, PA - Joseph A. Hardy Co Outsiders (2016) Dunba other areas. & Jefferson College. ngton, PA - Washington Mindhunter (2017) Washi Alfred Molina and Taylor Lautner filming at Fiddles in Brownsville during a scene from Abduction.

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2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

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Great Backyard Bird Count For at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, February 16-19, 2018, simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see. Count birds from as many places – anywhere in the world, as long as you can, on as many days as you can. You can even count birds on the go with the eBird mobile app!

Snowman Army

During the count, you can explore what others are seeing in your area or around the world.

Share your bird photos by entering the photo contest, or enjoy images pouring in from across the globe. You can even add photos and sounds to your checklist.

Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the GBBC was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time. Scientists use the information to get the “big picture” about what is happening to bird populations. The data gathered will help answer questions about how climate change and disease affect birds, migration patterns, bird diversity, and more. FMI, visit http://gbbc.birdcount.org and use the “Get Started” tab.

Greene County Tourism is accepting apPhoto by Peter A. Liven- plications for Tourism Grants until February 9 good of Pennsylvania, among at 4pm. Applications and additional information the 2017 photo contest winners can be found at: http://greenecountytourism.org/ member-access/grant-application/.

Community Events & Projects Grant (up to $2,500) provides financial support to partners planning special events designed to bring tourists into Greene County of for special projects tatives will be available 24/7 to take your call.

Jackson and Joel Grimes (ages 9 & 7) from Holbrook built 60 snowmen on January 8th. They were happy that West Greene School District was closed so that they could make this awesome army of snowmen to guard the house!

2018 Greene County Tourism Grants

Free Income Tax Assistance Blueprints would like to help you make your taxes less taxing this year. Their Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA), in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service and the United Way of Southwestern PA, will offer free online basic income tax filing from January 23rd to April 4th, 2018.

If you are a resident of Washington or Greene County and earned less than $54,000 in 2017, you may be eligible for this program. To make an appointment or find out if you are eligible, please dial 2-1-1 on your phone. Represen-

Appointments will be offered in Waynesburg every Tuesday from 4 PM to 8 PM and in Washington on every Wednesday from 1 PM to 8 PM. Appointments are required; you will also need to bring a valid photo ID, a social security card for every person on the tax return and all 2017-income documents. You can even have your refund deposited directly to your bank account, just bring your account information on an official Cindy Morrow of document with your routing and account numWaynesburg sends us bers on it, such as a check. this picture of a double rainbow over Greene Street, taken on October 24.

designed to enhance the experience for tourist in the county. The funds must be used for marketing/advertising purposes.

Capital Development & Improvements Grant (up to $5,000) provides financial support to partners that demonstrate a financial need and are committed to developing amenities and experiences that increase Greene County’s appeal to tourists.

Double Rainbow

Lucky Lottery Winner!

Sharon Stump, one of our lucky PA Lottery winners last month picked up some of that Candy Cane Cash! She won $90 on her scratch-off tickets. “The money couldn’t have come at a better time,” Sharon said. “I want to thank Direct Results and the GreeneScene for the opportunity to enter the contest and to be a winner.” You’re welcome and congratulations, Sharon!

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Funding Opportunities for Greene County Non-Profits The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) is accepting applications for the Spring Cycle Grant Awards. Organizations must be tax-exempt non-profits (IRS Section 501 (c) (3) or equivalent). Deadline is March 1.

Requests of up to $10,000 will be accepted from non-profits in both Fayette & Greene

Counties with projects focusing workforce development, economic development and health and human services. FMI or to apply, visit www. cffayettepa.org. No paper applications accepted.

Contact Clara Pascoe or Renee Couser at 724437-8600 with any questions.

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2018

Sp o r t Sh or t s

by Jason Tennant

GreeneSports Announcers Lend Their Voice to Broader Network Coverage

G

reene County high school wrestling has been a staple of GreeneSports’ coverage since the website’s inception in 2009.

Now in their ninth season of wrestling coverage, GreeneSports announcers have the opportunity to dive a little deeper into the wrestling scene, not only in Greene County, but across the entire WPIAL. GreeneSports has always been a proud affiliate of the former MSA Sports Network, the media home of the WPIAL. This past summer was a time of uncertainty for MSA Sports. The network potentially would be without a parent company and there was a period where there was doubt the network would continue to operate. In stepped Trib Total Media, and MSA Sports became the TribLIVE High School Sports Network. When the newly named network had to deal with a void in staff for wrestling coverage, it turned to GreeneSports.

“The TribLIVE High School Sports Network has always been proud of the great work our affiliate GreeneSports has done over the years with outstanding coverage of all Greene County high school sports,” said Don Rebel of the TribLIVE High School Sports Network. “So when we needed some help with our in-house network coverage of high school wrestling, it was a no-brainer to turn to Jason (Tennant) and his guys, who have always done a great job broadcasting the sport to help us increase our district-wide coverage of WPIAL wrestling.”

If the decision to approach GreeneSports was an easy one for the TribLIVE High School Sports Network, it was just as easy for the announcers to sign on. “It’s no secret that I’m passionate about the sport of wrestling,” professed Lanfer Simpson of GreeneSports. “When given the opportunity to expand and help out TribLIVE, it was ‘sign me up coach, I’m ready to go!’”

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For the GreeneSports guys, who are still totally dedicated to the coverage of the Greene County wrestling teams, it just means more wrestling to broadcast. “This not only provides more opportunities for our announcers, it also allows us to see firsthand some wrestlers and teams that we would not normally see until postseason events,” said Jason Tennant of GreeneSports. “That only enhances our knowledge of the sport as a whole from a district-wide standpoint.”

That knowledge will become very useful as the season rolls on. Every season, GreeneSports covers the individual wrestling postseason, start to finish.

It begins by focusing on Greene County wrestlers in Sections and at the WPIAL Championships, but their coverage expands to a WPIAL-wide focus as the postseason progresses to Regional and State levels.

This season, on a typical Wednesday night of wrestling, GreeneSports will staff their regularly scheduled Greene County match(es) and also staff a match for TribLIVE. That means having announcers spread from Greene to as far away as Butler County at the same time.

In addition to covering matches for the network, the staff gets the opportunity to host “Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle,” a weekly talk show covering all the bases of WPIAL Wrestling. The show is every Monday night from 7:00 to 8:00 at Forty Bar & Grille, west of Washington on Route 40. GreeneSports’ Rusty Pettit, with previous radio talk show experience, is taking the lead on producing the show. Most of the shows will be coanchored by Pettit and Simpson.

“It’s a great opportunity to go in depth with one of Western PA’s proudest sports,” said Pettit.

“The high school wrestling season is one of the most exciting times in WPIAL sports each year, and this gives us one more way to shine a spotlight

2018 • GreeneScene Magazine

Lanfer Simpson anchoring the weekly talk show, “Inside the WPIAL Wrestling Circle.”

on it.”

“When we go to Hershey, we expand our local coverage to include all of the WPIAL,” added Simpson. “This is just like packing up your gear and heading to Chocolate Town, except we get to do it for 10 weeks.”

As always you can find GreeneSports coverage of Greene County high school wrestling at GreeneSports.net. For their expanded coverage of WPIAL wrestling including “Inside The WPIAL Wrestling Circle,” log on to tribhssn.triblive.com.

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