Sep Oct GreeneScene 2017

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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GreeneScene

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GreeneScene Magazine •

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

2017

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

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Don’t Miss this VIEW!

2017 Fox Ford GreeneScene Road Rally

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hether you’re a regular “road rallyer” or a first timer, you’ll want to join the fun on Saturday, Oct. 14 for the 2017 Fox Ford GreeneScene Road Rally. Check-in is from 1-2pm at Fox Ford in Waynesburg, and we’ll begin sending vehicles out at 2pm.

If you’re not quite sure what the GreeneScene Road Rally is, and you’ve never tried it before – this is your year! The most important thing to remember is that the GreeneScene Road Rally is not a race and does not require any kind of special car. It is, however, a great way to enjoy Greene County’s renown fall foliage and quaint country roads – known to be among the best in the nation! (the foliage that is, we’re not commenting on the roads, though we do promise it’s all paved) A chance at $300 cash is another good reason, and don’t forget, the whole thing benefits our kids’ education!

It all starts with the strategic plotting of a course in advance. The “Course Master” chooses a scenic route with several interesting sites along the way to serve as OCC’s (On Course Checks) and then prescribes exact driving directions complete with progressive tripometer readings.

OK…that’s really just a complicated way to describe the most fun road trip you can take on the scenic byways of Greene County and, chances are, win a few prizes along the way! Remember, it’s not

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a race, and it doesn’t require a fancy car. What it really amounts to is a scenic drive with a passenger or “navigator” to read the directions and keep you on course with clues relating to signs and sites you’ll see along the way.

The road rally course is timed in advance with several trial runs at safe and legal speed limits, then averaged to determine the “target time” it should take to drive the course. Scores are based on how close you come to the target time, along with bonus points for finding the answers to site-specific questions from clues provided.

First prize is $300. Second and third place get prizes packages valued at over $100, and EVERY participant gets their own “Goody Bag” loaded with neat little doodads & discounts donated by Fox Ford & Direct Results, home of the GreeneScene Community Magazine. Plus, there’s a Chinese Auction and free after-rally dinner at the Fox Ford Showroom. Everything’s included in your registration fee, which is $30, plus $10 per passenger. Proceeds from the event benefit the Greene County Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund.

There’s a registration form right here…fill it out and send it in! Advance registration isn’t an absolute must – but it helps us plan, so please do!

If you need more information, call GreeneScene Magazine at 724-627-2040.

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Greene Gallery Continued

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I Love this P l a ce

rucible, the first coal patch town in Greene County, has another first to brag about. The Honor Roll monument by the post office was redone and rededicated in 2003, making it the first honor roll in the nation to have Glenn Toothman’s Memory Medallions embedded beside many of the names. These are the hard working immigrant miners of Crucible who were proud to become American citizens and serve their new nation since World War I. If you want to use the barcode app on your smart phone to see the faces and read the stories in those medallions, you have to know the way to Crucible.

Those who live near the Monongahela River are familiar with the scenic back roads between Crucible and the other old towns along the river - Nemacolin, Serbiantown, Rices Landing, Fredricktown.

But for those coming in from the West, the circle in Carmichaels is the place to start. Go straight through past the pizza shop and you’re on your way, through four miles of old farms and spectacular new estates into a village built where corn once grew in 1910. Crucible Steel bought enough acreage back then to create a “captive mine” named Crucible Fuel, whose sole purpose was to produce coal to make coke to make Crucible steel in Pittsburgh. It was a project that called for workers to live onsite and be available to work whatever hours the economy dictated.

In 1911 the shaft was sunk and by 1912 the first double occupancy houses had been built. The street was named Riverview and these first miners had a short downhill walk to the new mine.

Coming back up after a shift, covered with coal dust, bone weary and wearing steel toe boots was another story!

The late Val Moson did history a favor when he returned to Crucible in 1986 after retiring and found the mine abandoned and many familiar faces gone. When trips to the local libraries and historical societies turned up little mention of his hometown, he decided to do his own research, talk to his one-time neighbors, gather his childhood memories and write a book. Crucible is now in the stacks at Bowlby and Flenniken libraries, Cornerstone Genealogical Society and in the homes of many proud Crucible residents. Thanks, Val! In tracking down old photos for this story, I used Val’s book for reference and found some of what he used in the coal mining collection of Brice Rush of Carmichaels. His wife Linda Varesko Rush was born and raised in Crucible and has great family photos to prove it. Some of Brice’s Crucible artifacts came from the late Pete Busti, who worked in Crucible Mine through the 1960s and saved his UMWA ribbons, buttons (seen on these pages) and other everyday items that are now so rare. Pete’s wife Gertie still lives in Crucible and remembers cutting across Val Moson’s backyard in the 1930’s to get drinking water from a spring. Water was gravity fed into the neighborhoods from a couple of company water towers on higher ground and every street had a hydrant, but “Ah, it was bad! It came out black and my mother cut cloth to put over the faucet to filter it.” Gertie is 97 and full of vivid tales of life back in the day. She has honored history in her own cheerful way by not getting rid of the out-

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CRUCIBLE, PA

by Colleen Nelson

Miners coming off their shift in the 1950s. Left to Right - Earl King, John Fetscl, Willy Bober, Pete Busti, Jess Kronk, Mike Kovach, Mason Jareh.

Photo from Brice and Linda Rush collection

house in the back yard. I met her daughter Sharon Willison at St. Mary’s picnic on September 10 and she told me to stop by to see the ‘”last outhouse in Crucible.” So there we were a few days later, sitting with Gertie on her porch on Third Street, reliving the days of honey dippers coming to town once a year to do their business and what farmer’s field grew the best corn the next summer.

“Judge Toothman told me ‘Don’t you dare get rid of that outhouse! It’s the last one!’” Gertie beamed as she pointed to the neatly painted little building with two doors, standing by the back yard fence. The original path is still maintained and so are the memories. One door was for the coal shanty, one for the toilet. And yes, folks really did use the Sears and Roebucks catalogs. “I used to get mad because my brothers left me the shiny pages!”

These were once the only toilets in town, except for ‘bosses row” where the houses had basements, indoor plumbing and electricity. Rank and file miners’ homes wouldn’t get electricity until the early 1920s.

Company houses were hastily built of wood, with slate roofs and coal burning fireplaces in every room except the kitchen. They were painted gray and badly plastered, with wallpaper to cover the imperfections. Val Moson notes “the houses were neither all that great or all that bad” but the fireplaces were dirty and drafty and “needed constant attention with sparks that could crackle and pop out onto the floor.”

The Wolff family arrived from Germany in 1921 when Gertie was five years old. She remembers taking two-year-old-brother Hans from their

Crucible Mine shaft being sunk in 1911 and the mine in full operation in the 1930s (above). Photos from Brice and Linda Rush collection.

quarters next to the livestock and climbing to the first class deck to dance for the bits of food the passengers would give them. “I was always hungry on that trip. We came to Crucible because my father had a brother-in-law here.”

Gertie remembers being teased about her German accent and walking down Crucible hill to the company store where families were obliged to buy their groceries and furniture or risk being

fired. The post office was there, along with a doctor’s office, barbershop and a beer store – wine was something you made at home! There was also a movie house. “I saw my first Tarzan – it was a silent movie - and the actor’s name was Lincoln.”

Val Moson and Gertie share fond memories of the big field where the ball diamond was and the many teams that played there. When the mine was running full shift, carnivals were big affairs, with

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animals and plenty of games of chance. There were nuts and berries to pick, chowchow grass to chew and “Everybody had a garden - we looked forward to that! We used to pick berries in our bare feet. We saw snakes but we didn’t care. Now I’m afraid of a bug!”

Gertie dreamed of going to college. “I didn’t want to marry. I wanted to be an attorney. But I was the oldest and we needed the money at home. So I worked in Waynesburg as a secretary. ” When Pete Busti set eyes on twenty-year-old Gertie Wolff at the Blue Moon, a big dance hall in Rices Landing, he had a bushy beard. “He asked to take me and my brother home and I said no. The next week he came back and he was shaved.” They married in 1940 and raised two kids, with only one complaint to report to me. “Pete was Serbian and I don’t like lamb!”

When St. Mary’s picnic happens, there’s plenty of ethnic food to enjoy, thanks in part to women like octogenarian Josephine Gresko and her 15 electric roasting pans. This year she was also the one who stopped by to deliver roast lamb from the Serbian festival in Masontown to Father John, who was holding court under the canopy where the raffle tickets were being sold.

Connie Staun was frying peppers, the Vibrations were playing polkas and singing in Polish

(I think!) and people were dancing the wedding dance. Tents of relatives clustered around their oldest family members and there was a whole lot of laughter in the air.

This picnic is when Crucible comes alive and relatives and friends return to eat, drink and remember. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

If you take the road down the hill past where the mine was, you will find a couple of “lasts” to celebrate about Crucible. The Arensberg-Crucible Ferry, built in 1814, was the last ferry in Greene County. Miss Margaret Mitchell owned and operated the “Nekoda” from 1953 until it sank in a flood in the 1980s. What remains can sometimes be seen in low water near Fredericktown according to SWPA Rural Exploration.

What’s left of the launch site is still on the riverbank beside the last completed stretch of Greene County’s Rails to Trails Park. From here you can hike or bike to Rices Landing and then to Greene Cove, where Ten Mile Creek flows into the Mon. Trains once ran on this old rail bed, bringing the supplies to build the mines that built Crucible and Nemacolin. Now, it’s a great place to visit if you want to catch glimpses of towboats through the trees, still pushing coal barges up and down the mighty Mon.

Gerti Busti and daughter Sharon Willison point out the last outhouse in Crucible that Gerti kept in her backyard as a reminder of the good old days. The house in the far left of the photo is where Author Val Moson grew up and it was his yard that Gerti cut across as a young woman to get good drinking water from a spring. Photo by Colleen Nelson.

Crucible Steel paddle wheeler that moved coal barges from Crucible Fuel mine in the 1930’s. From the Brice and Linda Rush collection.

News clipping of the last ferry in Greene County, which connected Crucible to Arensburg Fayette County. Photo from Cornerstone Genealogical Society archives.

Dancing the wedding dance at St. Mary’s picnic September 10, 2017. Photo by Colleen Nelson.

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Honor Roll beside the post office on Crucible Road is the first in the nation to have Memory Medallions to commemorate the lives of its veterans. William B. Doman Jr., a Viet Nam vet, points to the names of his father and Uncle James who fought in World War II. Photo by Colleen Nelson.

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By Colleen Nelson op and became a mission of the Fredricktown parish. Father John Greschner of St. Michaels signed Val’s baptismal certificate in 1926 and “he was the priest who came to the homes of the faithful” and carried miner’s chalk to “write something” above the door of each home, which stayed there until his next annual visit. Later, when Sunday services came to Crucible Val remembers going to church at the bottom of 4th Avenue, held in a three-room building with a cupola with a rope hanging by the door for the bell ringer. Father Julian Lachendro was the priest by then and it was his untiring efforts that got St. Mary’s funded and built in 1937, on five acres of land “purchased from Thomas Hartley for $2000 an acre.” Young Val was there to watch Hartley’s horses pull the scoop that dug the basement where great food is still served up at the annual St. Mary’s picnic.

Back then there were dances in that basement from time to time and an annual bazaar in the St. Marys Church & Stan Block. parking lot with carnival rides, live music, number f you want to meet the living heart of St. Mary’s wheels, bingo with corn kernel markers and appliChurch in Crucible, try showing up on a Sun- ances for prizes and a beer tent that was usually “the day in September – usually the one after Labor first one set up and the last one dismantled.”

St. Mary’s was destroyed by fire on December Day - when the parish and all its friends, neigh24, 1944 and the faithful went to mass at Sacred bors and wandering relatives gather to celebrate the coal mining ties that still bind them. Better come Heart Church in nearby Rices Landing until it was early – the kitchen in the basement opens at noon rebuilt in 1946. St. Mary’s is now part of a parish and this year the line stretched into the parking lot that includes Sacred Heart Church, Our Lady of by the time I got there at eleven thirty. There were Consolation, Nemacolin and St. Hugh’s Church, 1000 homemade pirogues, I heard someone say, Carmichaels. They are all shepherded by Father and countless pans of pigs in the blanket or halup- John Bauer, who arrived in 1999 and brought in the kis, depending on what your grandma called them. new century with the kind of cheerful, no-nonsense Home cooked everything, including hot sausage energy that makes parishioners pitch in to make with all the fixings, family tested side dishes and good things even better.

Case in point – the church picnic. tables filled with cakes and pies. I was there early on What was once a modest affair has grown September 10 to make sure I got my fill of Connie over the last 17 years, bringing the parish together Staun’s fabulous hot peppers, stuffed with cheese, dipped in beer batter then fried up on a gas grill to have a darned good time and raise funds for the in the parking lot. Not far away, a whole pig was churches to do their good work in the community roasting on a spit; a pig raised on my neighbor Jer- plus be the kind of reunion that brings home relary Whipkey’s farm in Holbrook. This is my yearly tives from states away to share the hometown vibe.

Word is out that the Diocese of Pittsburgh has pilgrimage to visit with in-laws, outlaws and every been discussing closing some of the friend and relative in between who parish churches, but no decision has call this festival a family reunion. yet been made, St. Hugh’s parishioBy all accounts, St. Mary’s has ner Arlene Mulholland told me as I been having this much fun ever since munched on hot peppers and took the first St. Mary’s was built on this notes. site in 1936.

Arlene spoke for the parish The late Val Moson, who wrote when she added: “We appreciate how the book Crucible, tells what spiritual hard Father John works to do masses life was like for immigrant families in all four churches.” that managed to sustain the faith Whatever happens next, parishthey brought with them to the new Father John Greschner. ioners are united behind Father John world. In the beginning, Catholics and their individual missions to visit took the train to Fredericktown to shut-ins, help with funeral and marSt. Michaels and many walked home riage dinners and join church societafterward because back then “riding ies, such as St Hugh’s Activity Group. the train didn’t make much better If you care to attend mass in Fatime.” The Greek Catholics went that ther John’s parish, here is his schedmuch farther – they had to pilgrimule: age to Brownsville to find a Sunday Saturday: 4:15 p.m. – NemacoMass, but celebrated Christmas on lin, 6 p.m. St. Hugh’s January 7 closer to home with a pig Sunday: 8 a.m. – St. Mary’s, roast in the “field in back of Kotches” 9 a.m.

– St. Hugh’s, 11 a.m. – Rices that involved “many kids running Landing around while an adult turned the Mass is celebrated daily at St. spit.”

Hugh’s at 9 a.m. and Andy Simkovic The first Roman Catholic serConnie Staun and her tells me he goes every day. vices in Crucible were held in 1925

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after the faithful petitioned the Bish-

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50’s Fest & Car Cruise

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ith a day full of sunny, mild weather, conditions were custom made for the 16th Annual 50s Fest & Car Cruise presented, as always, on the 2nd Saturday of September in downtown Waynesburg. Close to 150 classic or hot rod vehicles were present and hundreds of spectators turned out for the event, which is coordinated by Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful, Inc. Each year the committee honors the driver of the vehicle that traveled the most miles to get to the cruise with a prize supplied by sponsors WANB Radio & GreeneScene Community Magazine. For the 2nd year in a row, the award went to Happy & Diane Kiger of Wakeman Ohio (pictured above left) who drove their 1956 Pontiac to Waynesburg.

Rogersville resident Butch Deter was the win-

ner of the 50/50 drawing, taking home $343 cash.

Butch was also a participant, cruising into town in his 2012 Mustang GT. “We couldn’t have asked for a better day, it was sunny and perfect temperature in the low 70s, everyone had a great time,” said Shelly Brown, Chairperson of WP&B’s Promotions Committee. “Each year it seems like we have more people dressing in retro outfits also – there was a group of people from Greensburg area that came all decked out, and even some of the local spectators were in the “swing of things” this year. With Doug Wilson’s Greene County Gold Show broadcast from the courthouse steps, and parking right on the main drag like we do – it’s just a very unique event for classic car enthusiasts. The shopping was great, too – there are so many cool stores in downtown Waynesburg.”

hot peppers.

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Toothman Dental Center Re-Opens

Dr. Ingrid Toothman and staff of Toothman Dental Center pose with the humorous signs they discovered when the Center was re-opened.

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ith gratitude from many loyal patients, Toothman Dental Center reopened recently after a 7-week closure due to Dr. Ingrid Toothman’s unfortunate bicycle accident on July 7, 2017.

“It was a slow-motion fall from my bike, likely a combination of some gravel on the pavement and rear brakes not engaging properly,” said Dr. Toothman, whose injuries included a broken arm and mandible (lower jaw). While her right arm has healed, Dr. Toothman is still wearing braces, and is “wired shut,” going on 10 weeks now. “I drink my meals through a straw, and will find out soon if jaw

surgery will be necessary. I am thankful that my injuries were not more severe, that I don’t have any pain, and that I am healing,” she explains with her very positive attitude.

The story of Dr. Toothman’s misfortune got a little extra publicity when travelers along East Greene Street spotted the rather humorous signs that her husband posted at the dental center (without her knowledge) upon her return to work. If you know who Dr. Toothman’s husband is, you’ll know he’s in a unique position to joke about revoking her license to ride the “bad luck bicycle.”

No, the yellow bike is not the actual bike…

G ree n e Sce n e of the Pa st this was where Mary Prodan had her beauty salon set up in a side room.

Stan and Leona Block live within walking distance on First Street, in a neat little house with a fine back yard known as “Polish Park.” Go there to visit and you might hear the story of Crucible as it happened when they owned and operated Stan-Lees for 37 News clipping photo of Stan-Lees taken in the 1960s, when Stan & Leona years. When they retired in 1997 opened the store (reprinted in the book Crucible by Val Mosor) and celebrated with a big sheet cake, it was the end of an era. But t’s a sturdy one-story cement block building, it is also a snapshot of life in a coalmining town as with “for sale” painted on a front window, sit- the twentieth century drew to a close. ting on the triangular intersection of Crucible Stan Block grew up in nearby Nemacolin and Road and First Street. Built by Michael “Shim- was too young for World War II, but enlisted to do my” Demchak and some other men sometime in his part in the Korean Conflict. Times were changthe early 1930s, it was a dairy bar with a pool table – ing. Crucible Mine had sold its company houses to a place to get ice cream and sodas after a long shift at their miners after World War II and the town was the mine, a place for kids to get penny candy, a place getting a facelift. The battleship gray company paint where families could gather and the sound of old was giving way to colorful siding, additions were timers speaking Polish and Russian could be heard. expanding living space and a new generation was But for those who grew up in Crucible in the settling in to raise their families.

1960s, and into the 1990s, it was called Stan-Lees, In 1953 Stan came back to Greene County and with a pop machine out front and everything you got a job at Rapchak and Lewandowski’s grocery might need, from cold cuts to household neces- store at the other end of First Street in Crucible. sities, delivered to your door if you asked. This is Leona Udovich lived on Riverview Drive overlookwhere you bought what you needed and had it put ing Crucible Mine and had been working at the on your credit account and you could pay your wa- store since she’d graduated from Carmichaels High ter, electric and sewage bills here too.. For a while, School in 1951.

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“A buddy of mine- Tony Nickler - had a date and said ‘Why don’t you ask Leona to go?” Stan remembers. By all accounts it took some time for Stan to muster the courage to do so, but they both remember what happened next. “We went to Waynesburg for a movie and then to Uniontown to a restaurant.”

Theirs was a workplace courtship that lasted seven years after that first date, something they still smile over.

When Sam and Leona got married in 1959, they decided to give themselves the best wedding present ever – a store of their own.

Crucible mine was getting ready to close and business was slowing down in town, but that meant real estate prices were low and the old dairy bar was something they could afford.

“We used both of our used cars as collateral at First Federal and our mortgage was fifty dollars a month,” Leona remembers. “We bought the Dairy Bar and started adding things that people needed, like a deli, things they didn’t have to drive to town to get.”

The little store was renamed Stan-Lees, a fresh coat of paint was added and Stan and Leona settled in to raise a family that would grow up to help them mind the store.

Son Stan Block remembers working there with brother Gary while growing up, delivering groceries to the older residents around town.

“We delivered to a lot of our neighbors. Mrs. Patterson was so sweet. Our store had everything

by Colleen Nelson

Picture of Stan & Leona with a celebratory cake – a family photo taken at Stan-Lees in 1997 when they retired.

you see on American Pickers – old pop coolers, big meat slicer, a soda fountain. It was a great place to grow up. I wish I had some of that stuff now!”

For 22 years, Stan ordered up a yearly bus trip to Pittsburgh for a Pirates game, with a stop in Washington afterwards and his neighbors were happy to share the ride.

Leona remembers AFL-CIO president Richard Trumpka of Nemacolin, who would stop by the store as a kid, “He liked some girl in Crucible.”

Later, as a labor organizer, he would stop to visit.

“When he was UMWA president he came in with some other guys and I asked him – are those your body guards?” Stan adds with a grin. “He put up his two fists and said, “These are the only bodyguards I need!”

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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rive south toward Morgantown and travelers likely will think they’re crossing just a state line upon entering West Virginia.

But that border is much more. It’s steeped in regional, national and international history.

Greene County’s southern border is among the most famous in the world – the historic Mason-Dixon Line. Inexplicably, there are few signs along highways that commemorate this fabulous feat of 18th century engineering, but its reputation endures even as a forgotten frontier.

Our portion of The Line this fall turns 250 years old this, and a festival will celebrate that extraordinary milestone Oct. 14 and 15 at Mason-Dixon Historical Park, 79 Buckeye Road, Core, WV, about 3 miles southwest of Mount Morris.

For details of Mason-Dixon 250 in 2017, an event that will feature history, astronomy, surveying and a family festival area with food, arts and fun, visit md250.exploretheline.com.

So what do we know about the western end of the MasonDixon Line? Let’s travel through time to answer some common questions and clear up some misconceptions as we prepare to celebrate an astonishing 250 years.

What is the Mason-Dixon Line?

British surveyors and astronomers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were hired to survey what essentially was the colonial boundary line between property owned by the Calvert family of Maryland and the Penn family of Pennsylvania.

The work was done between 1763, when the men arrived Nov. 15 in Philadelphia, to 1767, when the survey reached what today is Mason-Dixon Historical Park between Core, W.Va., and Mount Morris, Pa. It is easy to think of the Mason-Dixon Line as Pennsylvania’s southern border, except for the curved boundary with Delaware. It also is Delaware’s western border with Maryland, because Delaware at the time belonged to the Penns.

It is clear that when the survey was finished in 1767, it was nearly a century before America’s Civil War, so The Line originally had nothing to do with the War Between the States.

Are there any original Mason-Dixon stone markers on the Greene County border?

There are no original stones in our area because there were no original stones.

At the survey’s beginning, Mason and Dixon placed heavy stones quarried in England as border markers at every mile. The markers bore an M for Maryland and a P for Pennsylvania on the side facing that state. At each five miles, crownstones were set that also bore the Penn’s and Calvert’s coat of

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By Pete Zapadka

Surveyors in August install a locally found stone at the new Third Crossing of Dunkard Creek Recreation Area. Here, visitors can stand right on the Mason-Dixon Line.

arms.

When the survey team reached the eastern face of the Appalachian Mountain range, about the location of present-day Hancock, Md., it was decided the stones would go no farther. It would have been a great feat in the 18th century to haul the stones, each weighing from 300 to 700 pounds, over the mountains.

So to mark The Line, the surveyors used piles of stones found locally, supplemented with mounds of earth, as they progressed westward.

But I’ve seen stones here on the Mason-Dixon Line.

In our area, the Mason-Dixon Line originally was the border between Pennsylvania and Virginia, but West Virginia became our neighboring state in 1863 during the height of the Civil War. During the nation’s reconstruction, leaders of the two states decided to resurvey their common boundaries, and Cephas H. Sinclair and C.H. van Orden were charged with the job.

The survey team started in 1883 on the Ohio River, moved south to Pennsylvania’s southwest corner, then began working east when something familiar happened – the money ran out when the team reached about the Monongahela River.

Two years later, Sinclair returned to finish the job, taking the resurvey to the states’ common border with Maryland.

For the most part, any stone found today on Greene County’s borders likely is emblazoned with

This closeup of the completed Third Crossing of Dunkard Creek Recreation

an 1883. East of the MonongaheArea shows the base of a stone that previously sat on the Mason-Dixon la, the stones are marked with an Line southeast of Gettysburg. It is the base of the former Crownstone 75 1885. that was damaged over the years. When the crownstone was replaced Where does the Mason-Dixwith a modern stone, this base was discovered and was donated to Mason-Dixon Historical Park. on Line end?

This might be the most common question asked of Masontion most local historians consider the end of the Dixon researchers in our area.

Mason-Dixon Line. It does not proceed to the Ohio It is easy to consider the 1883 marker atop River nor beyond.

Brown’s Hill in Mason-Dixon Historical Park as the So who completed the Mason-Dixon Line? end of The Line, but there is more to consider.

Toward the end of the American Revolution, a Mason and Dixon were charged with survey- temporary, or ex parte, line was measured by Col. ing the property of the Penns to a full 5 degrees Alexander McLean and Joseph Neville that by 1783 in longitude from the Delaware River – which is reached the 5 degrees from the Delaware River. The Pennsylvania’s present-day southwest corner, that southwest corner of Pennsylvania officially was set rural location that sits just beyond the village of by Andrew Ellicott, David Rittenhouse and others Ned. in 1784.

Just after the surveyors reached a Native Ellicott’s team then began the survey of the American warpath that runs near what today is western border of Pennsylvania – a line that runs Mount Morris and they crossed Dunkard Creek due north from the end of the Mason-Dixon Line three times, Mason took note in his journal that the some 155 miles to Lake Erie – and is called the Ellichief who accompanied them said the “War Path cott Line. was the extent of his commission . . . that he should It is nearly impossible to describe the labors go with us, with the Line; and that he would not of Mason and Dixon, and their contemporaries, in proceed one step farther Westward.” Other tribes, anything less than several volumes, but visitors to some hostile, occupied the lands to the west.

Mason-Dixon 250 in 2017 will learn some of the So Mason and Dixon decided discretion is secrets of the past and have a chance to walk in the the better part of valor, so their survey stopped 21 footsteps of history. miles, 769.1 feet short of their goal – the southwest To reach author Pete Zapadka about the Macorner of Pennsylvania. son-Dixon Line or MD 250 in 2017, e-mail him at Indeed, then, the southwest corner is the loca- jeremiah@exploretheline.com.

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1080 East High Street Waynesburg, PA 15370

(724) 627-5766 www.CSTirePros.com

Congratulations to our

WINNERS

Tailgate Party Winner!

Steelers Tickets Winner!

Congratulations to Cindy Morrow of Waynesburg, lucky winner of our Steeler ticket giveaway, compliments of Waynesburg & Rice’s Landing Giant Eagle stores! “I have a feeling I will suddenly have some new ‘best friends’,” Cindy said when we handed her tickets to see the Steelers take on the Titans on Nov. 16 at Pittsburgh. The free tailgate party from the Giant Eagle Deli and hot foods dept. went to Cindy Crawford of Waynesburg. “I was hoping for the Steeler tickets, but I’m happy with this, too. I shop Giant Eagle all the time – this is great,” Cindy said. Both winners are pictured here, Cindy Crawford at left, and Store Manager Amanda Throckmorton with Cindy Morrow on the right.

PICTURE PUZZLE WINNER! FFour our Wheel Alignment Expires 10/22/2017

724-943-4076

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Emily Cobaugh was our winner of the Domino’s Pizza giveaway. She knew that the answer to last issues Picture Puzzle was School Bus. Now they have to make a decision on what and when to eat their bounty - may have to watch a football game or two.

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Arianna’s Crosses come to Greene County

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n September 15, 2017, a little girl named Arianna, who lives in Illinois, sent an assortment of 15 hand-made tiny plastic crosses to the Greene County Sheriff ’s Department in Greene County, PA. There is no special connection between this little girl and Greene County, except that she is praying for our local officers, for their protection and safety, and sharing God’s love with them – and that is pretty special.

Arianna is an 8-year-old girl on a mission to spread her love for God. Beginning in September 2015, Arianna started crafting little crosses out of Perler Beads. Ari then began handing out her little 6-bead creations to everyone she could, including family, friends, neighbors, fellow church members, teachers and her principal at her school, her classA note came with 15 of Arianna’s crosses to the Greene County mates, wait staff at restaurants, and anySheriff ’s Dept. on Sep 19, 2017. one else she met. As she started running out of people to give them to, she had an idea to give them to police officers and firefighters crosses inspire prayer, and in prayer, God’s blessto “protect” them since “they have dangerous jobs”. ings. Ari also hopes her crosses are a reminder to What started out as a small project has now grown those who carry them that she is praying for them.

On Sep 20 of this year, Arianna celebrated into a mission of Arianna’s to try to reach as many Police and Fire Departments across the US, and the two-years since she gave her first cross to a police world, as she reasonably can. Her goal is to “spread officer. Since that time, she has made and given just God’s word” and “protect” the officers and firefight- over 32,000 crosses to first responders. She asks for ers. She realizes a little one inch plastic cross won’t nothing in return for her gift, but hopes to receive physically protect anyone, but rather she hopes her pictures of her crosses reaching their intended destinations, which she posts on her Facebook page: Arianna’s Cross Mission.

Sheriff Brian Tennant was happy to oblige. He has no idea how Arianna decided to pick the Greene County Sheriff ’s Dept. she just reached out to them.

“The Greene County Sheriff ’s Office is extremely honored to receive the care package from Arianna,” Sheriff Tennant said, “For this young lady to take the time to spread love in the way that she is, is great. Everyone could learn a lesson from her.” The Greene County Sheriff ’s Dept. is sending a care package of its own back to Arianna as a thank you.

You can learn more about this fascinating mission and the impact it is having Deputy Amanda Stauffer, left and Deputy Marshall Simmons for first responders across the nation by show off the tiny little cross they can carry in their pockets, a visiting young Arianna’s Facebook page. reminder of a little girl’s’ – and God’s – love.

GreeneScene by Becky Sharratt

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Punt, Pass and Kick

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ichael Duke’s mom, Audrey, recently ran across this 1967 clipping from the Brownsville Telegraph, and shared it with him. Michael, who now resides near Waynesburg, grew up in Mather and fondly remembers the annual Paletta Ford Punt, Pass & Kick event in which he participated. Sponsored locally at that time by Paletta Ford of Fredericktown, the event was actually part of a national NFL program to encourage youth football and was open to all youth ages 6-15. Contestants who won at the local level would advance to sectionals, then another round in their respective NFL markets and finally a national championship. “I don’t remember if anyone from here ever went beyond the sectional, which I think was held in Washington somewhere,” recalls Michael.

Initiated in 1961, the popularity of the Punt, Pass & Kick (PPK) program has waxed and waned over the years, and local contests fell off. It did receive renewed interest nationally in 1995 when Kendra Wecker, a 12-year-old girl from Kansas,

made the finals in her age group and competed on an equal basis with male competitors. She would later become an All-American in basketball at Kansas State University and played in the WNBA for the San Antonio Silver Stars and Washington Mystics. PP&K began offering separate competition for boys and girls in five different age groups, until May of this year, it was announced that the Punt Pass & Kick competition would be terminated after 56 years.

The names of the boys pictured here from Nov. 1967 were provided in the caption, but not in the order pictured. Rather, they are listed in age order for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. Michael Duke, who was a first place winner in the 9 yearold-group that year, is kneeling in the front row, 3rd from the left. He knows a few of the other boys, but we thought if would be fun to challenge our readers to find themselves, or anyone they may know. Give us a call or email if you do, 724-627-2040 or info@ GreeneSceneMagazine.com.

Famous PPK competitors include: • Wade Wilson: Quarterback for East Texas State Univ. and now Quarterback coach of Dallas Cowboys • Andy Reid: Head coach of Kansas City Chiefs • Kendra Wecker: WNBA player • Chad Kelly: Quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels • Mike Gminski: Center for Duke University and New Jersey Nets of the NBA • Pat McAfee: Former Punter of the Indianapolis Colts and now CEO of Barstool Indy

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GreeneScene Magazine •

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

2017

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re you concerned about your infant or toddler’s development? Has your pediatrician recommended an evaluation for your child? Early Intervention(EI) services can help infants and toddlers with disabilities and delays to learn many key skills to catch up in their development, and help nurture a supportive environment for the entire family.

Similar backgrounds and a shared desire to work with children and their families brought Kristie Pekar-Rohrer, M.Ed. and Valerie Kerr-Lapana, M.S.CCC-SLP together to establish STARS-Specialized Therapy and Related Services,LLC, serving Greene and Fayette counties. With over 30 years of combined experience in Early Intervention services, Kristie and Valerie and their team of experts are well qualified to accomplish STARS primary missionworking side-by-side with families, empowering them with the skills necessary to optimize their own children’s development.

STARS, can provide experienced therapists that work with your family to provide a comprehensive delivery of services to best meet the child’s and family’s needs. Their team of licensed, professional, Physical, Occupational, Speech Language Therapists, Teachers of Specialized Instruction and Behavior Teachers can provide EI services to you and your family in your home/natural environment.

Eligible children can receive EI services from birth through their third birthday at no cost to the family. The STARS team will help families and children learn the basic and new skills that typically develop the first three years of life.

Helping to achieve that goal for all is STARS Foundation, Inc., a separate 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization located in Carmichaels. The mission of the Foundation is to support individuals, children and their families to reach their full potential by providing social, educational and health/welfare opportunities in Southwestern Pennsylvania with their primary focus on children ages zero to five and their families living in Greene and Fayette counties.

Providing high-quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood programs will produce short and long term effects on children’s cognitive and social development. New science tells us that

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

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our children’s first years are when they develop the foundation for all future learning. From the earliest years, children engage in the world in ways that can promote learning that can relate to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). STARS Foundation has created an early learning curriculum, based on research, that incorporates teaching foundational STEM skills while maintaining national and state early learning standards and goals to children and families at Tot School, a free, early learning playgroup focusing on Kindergarten readiness skills, ages 0-5 years.

STARS Foundation with support from STARS (Specialized Therapy and Related Services) welcomes families to join the fall session of Tot School at two locations: Wednesdays – 10:am to noon (September 13-December 6) at the St. Ignatius Social Hall in Bobtown and Thursdays – 10:am to noon (September 14-December 7) at the CrossPoint Assembly of God in Carmichaels. Come and enjoy music, crafts, snack and play. Parent/Caregiver must be present.

STARS Foundation with support from STARS (Specialized Therapy and Related Services) will also be hosting a CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER Preschool Family Science Night on November 9th, 6-8pm, at the American Legion in Carmichaels.

This event is sponsored by the Community Foundation of Greene County PA, MEPCO, and Community Bank.

If you would like additional information on STARS, Early Intervention program and/or the STARS Foundation Inc., please contact, 724-3192043, www.facebook/EiStars or www.facebook. com/starsfoundationinc to learn more.

Families from STARS Early Intervention program and Tot School participate in a STEM experiment at the summer picnic.

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4-H Shotgun Team Hits the Mark

Victory 5K Delivers!

The successful partnership of Bethlehem Baptist Church of Ruff Creek and Rolling Meadows Church of God, Waynesburg, in coordinating the 2017 Victory 5K resulted in funds totaling $3,503.62 for Crisis Pregnancy Center of Greene County. There were 96 registered participants in the race and the related food drive collected 182 lbs. of food for Corner Cupboard Food Bank. The event also donated 40 left-over event shirts to Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA for emergency shelter clothing. Organizers thank sponsors, supporters, volunteers, participants and spectators for making The Victory 5K 2017 a success. Pictured is Jessie Rush of Rolling Meadows Church of God (left) delivering a check of $3,503.62 to Marie (Cricket) Coffman of Crisis Pregnancy Center of Greene County.

National College of Distinction Waynesburg University was recently named a national College of Distinction for the second consecutive year in recognition of its continued dedication to high-impact educational practices.

“We are honored to name Waynesburg University as a 2017-2018 College of Distinction for its continued commitment to student success,” said Tyson Schritter, chief operating officer for Colleges of Distinction. “Colleges of Distinction applauds Waynesburg University for pushing the envelope with its up-to-date curriculum, enriching the college experience with High-Impact Educational Practices, and providing every student with an education that stretches far beyond what’s typically required from an academic major.”

Institutions that are named a College of Distinction must demonstrate results in the Four Distinctions, which include engaged students, great teaching, vibrant community and successful outcomes. The assessment process also includes a

review of each institution’s freshman experience, as well as its general education program, strategic plan and alumni success, satisfaction measures and more.

“Colleges of Distinction is much more than an annual ranking of colleges and universities. Our goal is to select the best schools that are 100 percent focused on the student experience, and producing the most well-rounded graduates that are prepared for a global society and economy,” said Schritter.

“Becoming a College of Distinction, like Waynesburg University, is proof that institutions we select are fully invested in their students’ success, beginning on day one, and continuing through the rest of their lives.”

Waynesburg was also named a Christian College of Distinction and a Pennsylvania College of Distinction. For more information or to view Waynesburg’s profile, visit collegesofdistinction. com.

The Bridge is Complete!

After four years of construction, state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington, proudly cut the ribbon on the $15.1 million bridge project near the intersection of East High Street and Sugar Run Road in Waynesburg on Sep. 17.

“Thousands of drivers rely on the new Freedom Bridge on a daily basis,” Snyder said. “Those using route 19/21 will now be able to get from one end of the community to the other without being forced to take a detour.”

The project began in the spring of 2013 but ran about a year behind schedule because PennDOT

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had to not only replace the road bridge going over Ten Mile Creek but the former railroad overpass nearby in order to successfully expand traffic from two to four lanes. This created complications and extended the completion date.

“Bridges and roadways deteriorate over time,” Snyder explained. “It’s my responsibility as an elected official to ensure transportation upgrades are top priority in order to keep our community safe and running efficiently.”

Gulisek Construction LLC was the contractor for the project.

(L-R) 1st row: Club leader Brian Sanders; members Jesse Wolfe, D.J. Jones, Elijah Earnest, Benjamin Archer. 2nd row: member Cameron Cernuska, leader Dave Cole, member Tristan Cole, leader Jon Wolfe, and members Ryan Grecoe and Kyle Schultz.

More than 580 youth from across Pennsylvania participated in the annual 4-H State Achievement Days at Penn State’s University Park campus in August. Eight Greene County Shotgun Club members were among them.

Greene County took two teams of four members; one senior team and one junior team who qualified through their shooting participation in the county program. The state competition was held at Shenecoy Sportsman Club in Huntingdon, PA. Greene County’s Senior Shotgun team placed second in the state competition with team member, Cameron Cernuska, earning the title of first place individual Shotgun marksmen in PA 4-H. Cameron is the son of Stever and Juliann Cernuska of Jefferson. Other members on the senior team included Elijah Earnest, son of David and Amy Earnest of Marianna; Kyle Schultz, son of Cindy Orndoff of

Waynesburg; and Jesse Wolfe son of Jon and Jennifer Wolfe of Carmichaels.

The county’s Junior Shotgun team secured the winning spot in the Junior PA 4-H Shotgun competition. The first place team included Tristan Cole, son of Dave and Tracy Cole of Waynesburg, who earned first place individual junior shotgun competitor, and team members Benjamin Archer, son of Dave and Robin Archer of West Finley; Ryan Grecoe, son of Michael and Bobbie Grecoe of Washington, who earned 3rd place individual; and D.J. Jones, son of Kenneth and Kimberly Jones of Wind Ridge, who secured the 7th individual spot.

Administered in Pennsylvania by Penn State Extension, 4-H is a community of more than 6 million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. More information about 4-H can be found online at http://extension. psu.edu/4-H.

Blue Cap of the Year Buzz Walters of the James T. Maxon Post American Legion, Mt. Morris, Pa, recently received the designation of John C. “Ace” Mann Blue Cap of the Year, designed to recognize a Legionnaire who exemplifies the goals and objectives set forth by The American Legion.

This nationally awarded distinction cited Buzz Walters’ efforts in his community including his 42-year membership in the American Legion during which time he has also been a member of the Greene County Veteran’s Council, assisting with the planning of numerous community events; his 30 year service in coordinating the local Toys for Tots program; service as project manager of the Crouse School House preservation and maintenance fund; his career as a teacher, mentor and wrestling coach for West Greene School District (including being named WPIAL Class AA Coach of the Year in 1974 and induction into the Southwestern PA Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1996).

Buzz’s nomination for the award included letters from State Senator Cameron Bartolotta, State Representative Pam Snyder and the Greene County

Board of Commissioners attesting to the contributions Buzz has made to this community. GreeneScene Community Magazine joins these dignitaries, and the many, many people in our community who appreciate his efforts, in congratulating Buzz Walters on this well-deserved honor.

GreeneScene Magazine •

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Greene: Earth and Sky When it comes to fall foliage, there’s no place like home

By Pete Zapadka

A blaze of colors in October, 2013, along Higgins Cemetery Road in Jackson Township.

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s the seasons methodically slip past each year, a small group of Greene County naturalists invariably pose a question of wonderment, one to which they know there is no proper answer: “Which is more fleeting: the delicate, colorful flowers of spring, or the blazing foliage of fall?”

Perhaps it’s a state of mind, but the vernal colors that draw so many visitors to areas such as Enlow Fork for a great floral display in April and May just don’t seem to last.

But at this time of year, we wait so impatiently for the onset of autumn. It’s difficult to contain our excitement as we watch the trees slowly turn from their summer green to brilliant autumnal colors of reds, violets, yellows and oranges … and then, alas, to the drabness that starts in November. It’s akin to riding a roller coaster in nature.

Now, at the cusp of autumn, it’s appropriate to focus on the imminent visual explosion of color coming to our woodlands.

Are you excited?

The previously undisputed kingdom for attracting leaf peepers in our region certainly is the Laurel Highlands. From Pittsburgh and all across Western Pennsylvania, travelers head to the mountains in Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties and the surrounding area for some fabulous natural eye candy.

But in 2007, there came a slight change in mindset.

The change came about because of the Sep-

tember issue of Martha Stewart Living, a New York-based magazine that at the time was part of a broad organization run by the well-known businesswoman.

Margaret Roach, the company’s editorial director, and Andrew Beckman, editorial director of gardening for Martha Stewart Living, caught wind of the fall beauty that appears annually in our little corner of Penn’s Woods. So among the locations they listed as impressive, scenic autumn foliage sites across the country, Greene County was listed as second best in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Really? Greene County?

The news was little surprise to residents. We know it’s easy to enjoy nature’s colorful canvas without filing the gas tank and driving east. But regionally and even nationally, a lot of eyes were opened, and an inquisitive legion wanted to know what was so special about our foliage.

The largest newspaper in the area, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was part of the media asking about the autumnal magic of Greene County. Reporter Mackenzie Carpenter was dispatched to take a tour. She traveled our backroads, hills and valleys, then wrote a, well, colorful report that appeared Sept. 17, 2007.

Carpenter learned that Greene County has a “dazzling, biologically diverse woodlands.” How true! Think about the variety to which we pay little heed each day. It is easy to find an abundance of trees that include buckeyes, black cherries, maples, sycamores, box elders, elms, oaks, willows, ashes and more. Adding to their glory are the vines of Virginia creeper and poison ivy that climb the trees and usually display their fall colors earlier than the trees. And so much of our local landscape, featuring rolling hills, scenic roads, streams and ponds, barns, and covered bridges, accentuate our picturepostcard views.

There are few wrong turns that can be made in Greene County when it comes to a fall foliage tour.

One retired journalist suggests stopping at one of the county’s general stores to stock up before your tour. Route 18 to the southwest from Waynesburg toward Garrison offers changing elevation and a variety of views. Don’t forget Route 21 west to Wind Ridge, then down Bristoria Road into Ryerson Station State Park. To the east, there are spots where Route 88 hugs the Monongahela River. Go south along Route 218 toward Spraggs and Blacksville, W.Va., but don’t forget that Lake Wilma is nearby. So is Dunkard Creek.

And certainly there are a multitude of back roads where the sights can leave you breathless.

It’s pretty hard to pass up Bluff Ridge Road,

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.

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though. It’s a lofty trail that rides along ridge tops from Route 218 west to Oak Forest Road, then onward to the village of Bluff. Don’t be afraid to drive along some of its intersecting roads, such as Maple Run, Phillips Ridge, Old Scale, Log Cabin and Hargus Creek.

Where in Greene County are you favorite spots for viewing fall foliage? Please send me an e-mail to the address below and tell me.

It is unfortunate there is no official county fall foliage map to highlight some of the best viewing spots, so let’s see what we can do to get the word out.

We may not have the reach of a Martha Stewart, but showing pride in our bucolic areas certainly is our cup of tea.

Fallen leaves across a country road in 2012 in western Greene County.

Civil War re-enactors march beneath brilliant fall foliage in October, 2010, at the Greene County Historical Society Museum.

It was a rainy autumnal day along Higgins Cemetery Road in Jackson Township in late October, 2009.

The late-day Sun seems to set ablaze this foliage in 2013 along Higgins Cemetery Road in Jackson Township.

GreeneScene Magazine •

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YOUTH OUTDOOR WORKSHOP

Local youth participate in hands-on archery training during a free outdoors workshop conducted by Team Greene Outdoors offered on Sep 23rd near Hundred.

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sunny Saturday morning, just one week before the opening of archery season in Pennsylvania & West Virginia, made a perfect day for the Youth Outdoors Workshop offered Sept. 23rd near Long Drain School in the Hundred, WV area. Coordinated and sponsored by the local United Methodist Charge, the two-hour event was free to area youth ages 6-18, who enjoyed hands on archery training and a turkey calling experience conducted by Team Greene Outdoors.

Team Greene Outdoors, based in Greene County, PA, was formed by a group of hunting and outdoor enthusiasts whose min-

8-year-old Logan Lopez of Coburn receives archery training from Team Greene Outdoors member Rich Pekar during a free outdoors workshop offered on Sep 23rd near Hundred.

istry is promoting the Good News of Christ through their love of outdoors. From youth shoots and workshops to Adult sportsmen’s events and demonstrations, and even through their recent Dish Network TV series on hunting, the group is gaining followers throughout the region.

“You could tell the kids were really into it and had a great time,” said Shelly Brown, one of the event coordinators from Thomas Chapel UMC. “We had kids ranging in age from 6 to 17, some of them already experienced hunters and others who had never held a bow before. It was definitely hands-on, they even had a competition and

prizes, and the parents and adults present had fun too. I know I learned more about wild turkeys than I ever knew before.”

According to Pastor Elizabeth Carson, the local UMC Charge made up of four churches (Rush Run, Hundred, Littleton and Thomas Chapel) plans to offer the event again next year, perhaps in the spring and the fall.

To learn more about Team Greene Outdoors, visit TeamGreene. net or search Facebook & YouTube. To receive notice about the next free Youth Outdoors Workshop in the Hundred area, email Shelly Brown at fiddz@frontier.com.

BOWLBY BITS Library will be CLOSED on Monday, October 9, for the Columbus Day holiday.

FALL STORY CLASSES BEGIN OCTOBER 3! Call Children’s Dep’t. to register your kids -- 724.627.9776 CPR/AED TRAINING CLASS - Monday, October 2 @ 5:00 pm. FREE & open to the public. Sponsored

by Greene Co. Memorial Hospital Foundation.

CREATIVE CRAFTING FOR ADULTS – October 5, at 5:00 pm. Project is a faux fabric pumpkin. Cost for materials: $20. Please call library for more info at 724.627.9776.

CODING SQUAD - for kids ages 6-12. Meets on Thursdays at 5:00pm, October 5 - December 7 FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT – October 25, watch “The Emoji Movie,” beginning promptly at 6:00 pm. FREE popcorn and beverages!

ANNUAL WINE TASTING EVENT - Sunday, October 8, 1:00-5:00pm at Thistlethwaite Vineyards. Many raffles, door prizes, 50/50, vendors & live music by Tomorrow’s News. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Admission is FREE! FRIENDS & AUTHORS EVENING - Tuesday, October 17, 5:30-7:30pm. Meet several local authors; this event is free & open to the public.

AFTER HOURS - Fall Festival for children & families on Friday, October 20, 4:00-8:00pm.

AFTER-AFTER HOURS FOR TEENS - Fall Fest Fun for teens 13-18yrs, Friday, October 20, 8:00-10:00pm.

BOWLBY ROCKS! - Adults are invited to participate in the latest craze - painting rocks! Will meet on Saturday, October 14 @ 12:00 pm. Bring two clean rocks with you to paint!

DINOSAUR TRAIN - Saturday, October 21, 11:00am-1:00pm, for kids ages 3-8years. Part of the Inquire Within initiative; sponsored by Chevron.

KNITTING CLUB - Friday, October 27, at 10:00am. Bring your projects or start a new one! Share your knowledge with someone new.

HAUNTED LIBRARY TOURS - Saturday, October 28, 7:00-9:00pm. Not recommended for children under 8 years old. Admission is FREE. T.O.P.S. - weight management support group meets every Sat., 9:30-11:30am.

LEGO CLUB – October 7 at 11:00am. All ages! Library provides the Legos.

BOWLBY BOOK CLUB – October 10 at 6:00pm. New members are always welcome!

FREE TEST PREP for adults studying for SAT, GED, Civil Service exams, Drivers Licensing and Life skills, and for basic reading and math skills. FREE after school tutoring & homework help for school age children. Call to schedule appointments with the Family Literacy Department.

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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By Linda Moon

ROOM AT THE TABLE

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nce a month the fellowship hall of the First Baptist Church of Waynesburg is transformed into a room filled with tables and chairs for “Room at the Table.” Room at the Table is a free meal offered to anyone - regardless of need - who would like to enjoy a free, nutritious meal. It is held the 3rd Friday of every month from 5:30 to whenever the last person has left.

Sally Johnson, long-time member of the church, is the organizer of Room at the Table. The idea for the program evolved from a simple question posted to Sally by her son Jonathan, who felt there was more that could be done to help the community, and wouldn’t serving nutritious meals be a good start? Sally jumped on the idea and Volunteers serving at the monthly Room at the Table diner at within four days Room At The TaFirst Baptist Church. ble was born.

The first night they served only six people; today anywhere from 40-50 peo- packs of hotdogs to take home with them. At ple find Room at the Table each month, thanks to Christmas, small gift bags containing little things the help of more than a dozen volunteers rang- like hand or body lotion are given to diners. ing from small children to Tom Ellsworth, a spry Even though Sally does most of the cook80 something who takes care of the coffee. Sally ing, she still makes time to go out and talk to does most of the prep work, and also cooks. The those eating and will sometimes sit with them. rest of the volunteers help prepare the food, serve She lets them know that if they need help in any the food, do the dishes and clean up the fellow- way or are struggling with some family issue, that ship hall. someone is there to listen.

Most of the funding for the monthly dinner And the willing volunteers she has keep the comes from the Fellowship Fund of the church. effort going each month. “This could not be acOnce a month during Sunday service, an offer- complished without the help of volunteers. Eving is accepted that goes directly to the fellow- ery month the same group of volunteers show up ship fund. The dinners are free to all who attend. ready and willing to work,” she said. On Sunday The typical fare for a meal consists of a meat, Sept. 17th, the Room at the Table volunteers were vegetable, salad or coleslaw, fresh fruit, bread and honored during the regular Sunday Service at rolls and 2 or 3 choices of a dessert. Diners are First Baptist Church. A towel is a symbol of serserved buffet style in the kitchen, then find seat- vitude, so each volunteer received a towel with ing in the dining hall. Many diners are singles their name and a cross on it. Mr. Ellsworth the who can share a table, or dine alone, whichever “coffee man” received a hat with “coffee man” on is their preference. On special occasions, like it.

Thanksgiving dinners, volunteers encourage “I love it,” exclaims Sally. “I have the satisdiners to join together for a family style setting. faction of knowing that people are getting a nuOccasionally, when there’s a surplus of tritious meal when they might not otherwise get supplies, diners are offered a small bag to take one. Doing this is not a chore. I look forward to home with them. For example, the First Baptist this every month.”

Church’s popular Touch A Truck event ended For more information on Room at the Tawith a surplus of uncooked hotdogs last year, ble, visit the First Baptist Church at 303 W. High and the Room at the Table diners were given free Street in Waynesburg, or call 724-627-6444.

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Towering Tomatoes

Approaching ten feet tall, Dino Palone’s tomato plants not only looked mighty this summer, they produced some mighty nice fruits!

Raymond “Dino” Palone and wife Sandy live in Jefferson in an “off-

grid” cabin, and have developed what Dino calls an “oasis” in their backyard. From the looks of these pictures, we agree Dino! Thanks for sharing.

GCASR Helps Hurricane Harvey Victims

Members from the Greene County Association of School Retirees (GCASR) journeyed to Texas recently to present a check to member Patty Jones (who now resides in Texas) in the amount of $1625.00 for victims of Hurricane Harvey. Pictured (l-R) are Melaney Dufalla, chapter RECREO treasurer; Rosemary, chapter RECREO chair; Patty Jones, GCASR member; Nancy Fox, GCASR RECREO member and trip guide; Colleen Valosen, GCASR Member and representing Jefferson Seniors who also donated; Myleen McCollum, GCASR president.

Crafty Creations Classes The Greene County Department of Recreation is offering a series of ‘Crafty Creations’ classes. All classes will be held at the Greene County Fairgrounds in the 4-H Building. The cost of materials and supplies is included in the registration fee. Participants must pre-register and pre-pay for each class a week in advance. Class schedule: • Sun. Oct. 8 at 2pm: Fall Wreath or Centerpiece, ages 8 and up, $35 per individual.

• Thurs. Oct. 12 at 6pm.: Fall distressed Wood Painting, ages 8 & up, $35 per individual.

• Sun. Oct. 22 at 1pm: “Mommy and Me” Paint & Sip Class, $45 per couple. Cookies and apple juice will be provided.

• Sun. Dec. 3 at 2 pm: Christmas Wreath Class, ages 8 & up, $35 per individual.

Classes may be canceled due to participation or inclement weather.

Announcements will be made on WANB Radio and the Greene County Commissioners Facebook page. FMI or to register, call 724852-5323, or visit www.co.greene.pa.us.

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5th Annual Trivia Contest Do you like games like Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit? Are you just a plethora of useless information?

Then you should put those smarts to work for a non-profit organization that could use and would greatly appreciate some extra funds. Gather some friends, enter a team(s), and join the excitement during the 5th Annual Trivia Contest presented by Central Greene Scholarship Trust. It’s happening on Sat., Oct. 14 at 6pm at Waynesburg Central High School. Teams will play for their favorite charities. 1st place earns $1000, 2nd earns $500, and the 3rd place team will earn $250 – all for the teams’ charities of choice.

The prize money is dependent on

the number of teams playing and is subject to change. Additional proceeds will be donated to the Central Greene Scholarship Trust Fund, which offers scholarships to students in Greene County.

Through the success of this event, the Central Greene Scholarship Trust has awarded scholarships to 20 local students and has provided over $7000 in additional support for local charities. The event is sponsored by C.G.E.A. and Community Bank. For more information or to enter a team, call Mike Camilli at 724-557-8201, Jim Caruso at 724-366-1690 or Mark McCurdy at 724-255-3478. You can also find the event on Facebook.

2017 Champions/ 25 Years of Service

The Canonsburg Knights of the Washington-Greene Adult Baseball League won the post season 25+ play-off. They defeated the defending 2016 champions Monongahela Orioles 5-0 and 11-3 in the bestof-three series held at the JeffersonMorgan HS field. Pictured (l-r) front row: Rich Adkins, Eric Lang, Aaron (buck) Caldwell, Alex Herrnberger, Andrew Andronas, AJ Wargo; back row: Chris Dittmar, Sean Russell,

Aaron Wiegel, Brandon Dittmar, Ryan Devine, Sean Douglas, Chris Douglas, Ian Wallace.

A plaque for 25 years of “service and appreciation” to the adult baseball community of Washington & Greene Counties was presented to Gary Rankin (2nd from right)

by John Greenlee (far right), President of the Washington-Greene Adult Baseball League. Gary has been a player, manager and league officer in the Washington Adult Baseball League, predecessor of the combined Washington- Greene league and continues to be a player and advisor.

Also pictured are John Quayle, (far left) past vice president and Anthony Brnusak, past president.

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SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

2017

Spo r t Sh o rt s

by Jason Tennant

Unprecedented Success for West Greene Girls Cross Country

T

his fall season has been one of unprecedented success for the West Greene Girls Cross Country team. The team is off to a 6-0 start and have had very good results at a couple of local invitationals as well.

What makes this season so remarkable is that as recently as a year ago, the Pioneers had trouble even fielding enough runners to score as a team at WPIAL events.

Girls Cross Country is a relatively new sport to West Greene as Mikayla Sonneborn became the first female at West Greene to run cross country.

She ran independently in 2010 as a junior and was good enough not only to qualify for states, but also good enough to earn a scholarship to Tulane University where she ran for four years prior to graduating earlier this year.

From there, Mikayla’s mother Marcia, who is the only head coach the program has known, has worked with her husband Rick as an assistant coach to build the program to where it is today. In 2011, they became a club team. In 2015 they became an official WPIAL team.

However, even as a WPIAL team, the roster numbers were not where they needed to be for West Greene to be competitive. Up until this year, the Pioneers would have enough to score at some meets but not consistently through the season.

This season, the Girls team boasts a roster of 12 girls, and that has translated to consistent success!

“All the girls are working hard,” said Marcia Sonneborn. “It’s so exciting and nice to see the girls be able to compete without having to worry about a runner going down with an injury or an illness, and as a result, not being able to score as a team.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

Now we have the numbers, and that’s no longer an issue.”

Not only are they able to consistently score as a team, they are consistently winning as a team.

West Greene started the season on September 9th by becoming the first West Greene team to score at the prestigious Red, White and Blue Classic at Schenley Park. The girls took 6th place in class 1A and were ninth overall.

Just three days later, led by Ashley Cumberledge and McKenna Lampe, the team swept Avella and host Belle Vernon to start the season 2-0.

They would collect 4 more wins at a meet on September 19th at Chartiers-Houston. This time

2017 • GreeneScene Magazine

McKenna Lampe recorded the overall winning time of 22:52 as the Pioneers defeated Waynesburg, California, Burgettstown, and Chartiers-Houston.

With each meet, the girls are getting stronger as a team.

“They are learning to run as a pack,” said Marcia Sonneborn. “It’s been exciting to watch them develop as a team.”

That team in addition to Cumberledge and McKenna Lampe, includes Rachel Jones, Madison Lampe, Jersey Wise, Elizabeth Brudnock , Amber Black, Danielle Fox, Dakota Filby, Sydney Gilbert, Rory McGowan, and Morgan Mooney.

So far the team’s shining achievement came at the A.J. Everhart Invitational in Uniontown on Sep-

tember 23rd. There, the team won the 1A title and finished 5th overall in a field of 25 schools. Cumberledge finished 19th in the field with McKenna Lampe closely behind in 21st place. Four others placed in the top of the field with strong outings also from Jones, Wise, Madison Lampe, and Brudnock.

As this very successful campaign continues on, the future looks bright for this program as well, as Jones and McGowan are the only two seniors on the team.

The 2017 team, easily the best team in the program’s history, looks to be laying the ground work for a very successful program moving forward.

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GreeneScene Magazine •

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

2017