#221 MARCH 2019

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Mother-daughter team renovates, restores, and rents historic Punxsutawney property

On the cover: Sharan Stahlman and Tanya Stahlman Mother-daughter team renovates, restores, and rents historic Punxsutawney property

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By Gloria Kerr for Hometown magazine he historic W.A. Bowers mansion on East Mahoning Street in Punxsutawney, originally built as a singlefamily home at the turn of the nineteenth century, has been getting a much-needed facelift and interior renovation in the past three years. Tanya Stahlman and her mother Sharan Stahlman, who fell in love with the threestory, yellow brick building with a storied past, have set about rescuing the mansion from neglect and restoring some of its best and most unique features.

W. A. Bowers built the mansion in 1902, but when he suffered some financial reversals, he moved his family out of the house in 1910 and

This classic postcard shows the original grandeur of the Bowers mansion with massive Corinthian columns, first and second-floor balconies that spanned the entire facade, and a smaller but still grand third-floor balcony.

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Alice Morris in 1944, her senior year at Punxsutawney High School, on the front steps of the mansion when she and her family rented it.

down the street where he built what is now Dr. and Mrs. John Quatrocheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home. Reportedly, his wife, a Winslow before she married, had not liked what she considered the coldness of their yellow brick house, so their new, less ostentatious home was red brick Dr. John H. Murray then bought the property and transformed the three-story mansion into a hospital. He called it a â&#x20AC;&#x153;sanitariumâ&#x20AC;? devoted to â&#x20AC;&#x153;the treatment of diseases of the stomachâ&#x20AC;? which operated from 1911 until his death in

1938 (See S. Thomas Curryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s article â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gifts of Historyâ&#x20AC;?). Dr. Murray renovated the mansion to include an operating room and patient wards. According to a Bowers family source, the third floor of the mansion had some large open space where the Bowers entertained when they lived there. Sara Bowers, W. A. Bowersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sister, remembered that they sometimes had bands play on the third floor for dance parties. Once even a boxing ring was set up for spectators to watch fights. Dr. Murray remodeled that large space to create rooms that were patient wards.

Upon Murrayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death, in 1939 the next owner initiated the rearrangement of the hospital sections to create apartments, two on each side of the central hallway, apartments that ran from the front to the back of the house.

However, the mansionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original kitchen and large dining room have never been significantly altered. Alice Morris, now 92-years-old and living at Grace Place, recalls living with her parents in the mansion from 1939 through 1946. (Her recollections are noted later in this article.) Her father, John Henry Smith and his wife, Ethel Sickles Smith, were the first tenants of the newly created apartment complex.

The Stahlmansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Vision for the Bowers Mansion Together Tanya and Sharan Stahlman bought the Bowers mansion from John Test in July 2014 with the intention to restore it as closely as possible to its original glory. They aim to make it look as it did on the vintage postcard

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2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Punxsutawney Hometown â&#x20AC;&#x201C; March 2019 - Issue #221

pictured above. The mother-daughter pair, which operates a rental business, saw the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential since it already had six apartments. The building has some beautiful, old woodwork and windows, and the original structure has not been â&#x20AC;&#x153;horribly cut up.â&#x20AC;? Tanya says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are in the rental property business, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re tired of seeing great old places around town becoming run down.â&#x20AC;? Another one of their rentals is a lovely, old house at 113 Church Street that they bought in 2006; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s listed with Airbnb. Tanya says of that rental, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were a hit with our 2019 Groundhog Day travelers!â&#x20AC;?

The mother-daughter Stahlman team work closely; Tanya is an only child. Having been widowed in 1990 when her husband Thomas, a self-employed carpenter, passed away, Sharan is a rather fearless entrepreneur. Tanya was eighteen when she lost her father. The pair is not daunted by what might seem to others an impossible task: tackling three-story high crumbling Corinthian columns that once supported two large balconies overhanging the front entry; replacing a faulty heating system; rewiring some outdated electrical infrastructure so that each apartment has its own meter; replacing old-fashioned radiators with tasteful modern units; tearing out dropped ceilings and boarded up fireplaces to reveal original beams and old fireplace brick; and stripping paint from wood floors and trim to show off gorgeous cherry wood that was cut and planed in - Continued on page 4

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Big Run Native Turns Love of Music into Lifetime Career

H

crashed into the ocean near Port Moresby,

By Shirley Sharp New Guinea. The impact of the war was for Hometown magazine being felt in the community as families elen Rimer McClammy, who grew up began receiving telegrams and letters telling near Big Run, made it to the Millen- them of the death of their soldier. Amid the nium Stage at Kennedy Center in grief was a sense of patriotism. And for the Washington D.C., on August 29, 2018. This Rimer family, there was an insurance payis an amazing accomplishment for the farm ment from Blaine’s death. girl, who was the ninth child in a family of During the 1944-45 school year, the Big ten raised by Olin and Barenice Peoples Run School was organizing a band. Helen Rimer. wanted to play in the band and she took corHelen began her musical career when, at net lessons at school. If she was to be in the age three, her mother taught her to read band, she needed an instrument. Her sister music and play the piano, Eileen graduated in the spring using the same lesson books of 1945 and moved to Buffalo she had used to teach herself to work. Early in the summer to play years before. Helen’s of 1945, Helen’s mother orformal education began in dered a cornet from a cata1940 when, at age five, she logue with $40 she had saved was recruited to attend first from the military insurance grade at the Schlemmer money. All summer, Helen School. The school teacher, put her energy into practicing.

Mrs. Cable, had only one She practiced in the house and child enrolled in the first grade out behind the barn in any and Helen would be her classspare moment she had. mate. Helen and her sister That fall, on November 26, Eileen, who was seven years although she was only in the older, walked the same path fifth grade, Helen Rimer their brothers and sister had marched with the high school walked to the one-room band in a parade at the kickschool. She completed the off event for the Big Run War first grade at Schlemmer and, Memorial Building. The in the fall of 1941, was entheme of the parade was “A rolled at the Big Run School Helen Rimer, age 6, had music Century of Progress” depicted where her sister attended high in her heart. (Photo courtesy on four floats showing develS.J. Sharp) school. opment from the log school During Helen’s first year at house to a modern educational facility. This the Big Run School, on December 7, 1941, was the first event for the school band that Pearl Harbor was bombed, and the United had formed just ten days before the parade.

States entered World War II. Her oldest two The following June, when the groundbrothers, Woodrow and Dale, went to work breaking event was held for the Big Run War in defense industries in Niagara Falls, NY. Memorial, the Big Run High School Band The next four brothers, Lavan, Blaine, Bur- performed and Helen’s mother was honored dette, and Russell, joined the service. The as a Gold Star Mother. youngest brother, Shannon, would not be Helen loved playing her horn and particiborn until July 1942. With the older boys pating with the band throughout her high gone, it was the girls who did the farm work school years until 1951, when school conwith their father. solidation caused the Big Run High School At the Big Run School Helen Rimer ex- to close. Henderson Township students were panded her musical ability by taking music transferred to Sykesville-Henderson Joint lessons from Vivian Reid, the music teacher. High School, while the Big Run students, On February 4, 1944, Blaine, who was in the who were Helen’s long-time school mates, Army Air Corps, died when his plane

were assigned to the Punxsutawney Area High School. At her new school, she was made aware that their band already had more than enough horns and had resigned herself to dropping out of band. The Band Director, Donald Routch, suggested she try the baritone horn which he felt was needed in the band.

He encouraged her to continue the development of her musical ability and explained the baritone by saying: “Trumpets blare and trombones blast but the baritone soars and hovers and sings.” After the first few practice sessions she was able to achieve the intonation and breathing requirements needed. She was in love with the baritone. She felt it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

She spent her senior year The Women of the Air Force (WAF) performed on the Millennium of high school at Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on August 29, 2018.

Sykesville-Henderson Helen “Sandee” Rimer is in the back row with her euphonium. Photo courtesy of S. J. Sharp. To see this concert on the internet, go to: and graduated salutato- https://youtu.be/D4EI3YNYAMo. rian in the spring of 1952 at the age of 17. Knowing she did not have would enlist in the Air Force to become an the financial resources to continue her eduAir Traffic Controller when she turned 18. cation, she went to Tonawanda, NY, to stay While in basic training, the USAF Band of with Eileen and to find work. While in the West director, came into the classroom Tonawanda, she often went to the skating and asked for anyone who played an instrurink across the street from their apartment. ment to raise their hand.

One evening, she met an Air Force Recruiter, The next day Helen auditioned at the band Sgt. Margaret Onadako and decided that she - Continued on page 8

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Mother-daughter

for the Bowers mansion, both Tanya and her mom Sharan clearly love their work. ShaContinued from page 2 ran has obvious decorating the glory days of Punxsutawneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lumbering and design skills. She lives in business. the charmingly appointed old This past summer they had Bloxdorf ConCrissman house on the corner tracting of Mahaffey do extensive work on the of Pine and Sycamore Streets mansionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front facade to begin restoring the that was one of the highlights porch and balconies. The contractor removed on the 2017 Holly Tour of old, rotting woodwork and replaced the homes. Her current daytime houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature porch columns with new job is with Miller Brothers ones, resembling the originals but made of Furniture where she helps composite material that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rot. The customers choose decor Stahlmans had hoped to save some of the origwisely with her eye for color, inal porch and columns, but the joists were style, and design. rotted and the columns could not be salvaged.

Daughter Tanya is a trained They hope to get the second story balcony reveterinarian technician, but constructed this coming summer. she retired from that job in Tanya and Sharan started their ambitious 2007 to devote herself fullrenovating plans by tackling the right side time to managing her and her These side-by-side photos of the Bowers mansion facade then (left) and now (right) show just how much work the apartment on the third floor, m o t h e r â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s Stahlmans have completed but yet have to do to restore its original look. the one they saw to be in the rental prophints at the luxury of the original mansionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to work out regularly and keep herself fit and worst shape. Enjoying the erties. She loves old thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; rooms. (See photo of room far left). healthy. work of tearing out unstylish houses and antiques and On the right side of the house, facing DinsThe Mansionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First Floor renovations and discovering anything vintage. She has a more Avenue, is another portico roof where an The Stahlmansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work renovating the Bowthe mansionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original footvintage item booth at Noentry from that side has been boarded up. A ers mansion has involved some amateur deprint and bones, they commadic Trading in Punxdriveway curves from Dinsmore Avenue past tective work and historical research on the old pletely gutted that sutawney, another vintage the portico to exit on East Mahoning Street. houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original features. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve uncovered apartmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bath and kitchen. booth at Time Works in The Stahlmans speculate that it may have an open chute that extends from the basement Their go-to professional Smicksburg, and a third setbeen a patient drop-off site for the one-time to the third floor which has proved to be a helper with interior work has up at an antiques and artisan sanitarium. They plan to restore that doorway good space to hide some of the re-wiring been Fetterhoff Building and shop in Butler. She loves guttheyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had done. Maybe it was a laundry which, their gutting work shows them, once Remodeling. ting properties to renovate chute to the basement. Who knows? The origconnected with the first-floor main hall.

Having stripped and refinthem, but she confesses, inal kitchen space is intact, but they think there Tanya Stahlman maintains a Facebook page ished the hardwood floors, tongue-in-cheek, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hate to must once have been a butlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pantry with a for the Bowers mansion (Historic W.A. Bowrepaired and repainted the cook. I always say high dumb waiter between the kitchen and the aders Mansion) on which sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s posted interestwalls, and removed the tacky school shop class would have joining dining room, a feature that some later ing photos of last summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front porch and dropped ceiling, that thirdserved me better than home owner covered up or removed to put in a bathcolumn work, as well as photos of the apartfloor apartment now has its ec.â&#x20AC;? She loves the freedom room. ments for rent that showcase some of the old original ten-foot-high ceilthat her job as property manThe second apartment they remodeled is on mansionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vintage features. ings. Tanya has made that ager gives her to make her Alice Morrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Memories of first floor right. That roomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ceiling is now apartment her home; its four Tin ceiling panels in this reno- own schedule, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great finished with tin panels that, though not origLiving in the Bowers Mansion beautiful, cozy rooms and vated first-floor room mimic the being in a business where she inal, mimic the kind of materials homeIn the late 1930s, Alice Morrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; parents Mr. originals, and its fireplace, faced small bathroom include car- with builders in the late nineteenth century would and Mrs. John Henry Smith were rebuilding original soft green and white can put on display vintage peted bedroom and dressing tile and red brick chimney, has items in her collection. have used. Its hardwood floors have the look their lives and economic stability after they room, modern kitchen, and a been restored to its former glory. Laughingly she notes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of cherry thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long been prized for its beauhad lost everything in the 1936 floodâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;their sitting room artfully decono fun having pretty stuff and tiful, rich red grain commonly found in highhome on Liberty Street and Mr. Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bon rated with a wealth of vintage items Tanya has not enjoying it.â&#x20AC;? She and her mother are alend homes. A fireplace, faced with its original Ton Bakery situated where McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is collected. ways on the prowl for collectibles. Tanya is soft green and white tile and red brick chimtoday. They were renting a large house on As ambitious as their renovation plans are also a cancer survivor who makes it a priority ney, has been restored to its former glory and - Continued on page 6

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Mother-daughter Continued from page 4

Record Avenue in Punxsutawney where they also had rooms for extended family and an apartment for a renter. When that house’s owner, a bank, sold it, they needed to find a home that was large enough to accommodate their extended family and their renters.

Sharan Stahlman and Tanya Stahlman

Fortunately, the Bowers mansion came on the market for rent at that time. It had been converted into a rental property with apartments after Dr. Murray’s death in 1939, and it was just the right size for the hardworking Smiths, their family, and renters. With Mr. Smith’s baking skills and Mrs. Smith’s cooking skills, as well as her fastidious dining etiquette and social acumen, they earned some extra income serving dinner parties in the mansion’s large, elegant dining room.

Alice recalls that they moved at the end of her eighth grade school year in June 1939, and she spent her high school years in the mansion, leaving to take a job in the FBI’s fingerprint indexing offices in Washington, D.C., when she graduated from the Punxsutawney High School in 1944. She says that the mansion seemed so large to her when her family first moved in that she recalls getting lost when her mom told her to “go to the second floor bathroom.” She would have climbed a

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wide set of polished wooden steps with an impressive banister that winds from the first all the way to the third floor. On each floor a wide central hall with lovely wood paneling divides the house evenly in two with multiple doorways on each side.

John Henry Smith, Alice’s father, installed a small bathroom at the end of the first floor hall, and he rented apartments on all three floors. On the first floor right were a couple of bedrooms that Mrs. Smith called “bachelor apartments” for she rented them to salesmen who came through Punxsutawney and needed lodging. Another was a bedroom rented to tourists in the summer, but in the winter it became Alice’s parents’ bedroom.

Alice’s older brother Charles and his wife Nina McDowell Smith, a nurse who worked at the Adrian Hospital, had an apartment on the second floor. Alice’s maternal grandfather Sickels had rooms on the third floor. Alice’s bedroom was on the third floor, too, at the front of the house where her window looked out on East Mahoning Street next to the third floor balcony. However, she says she liked to go down a floor to the grand, second-story balcony to sit and do her studying. Old postcards of the mansion show that once there was a railed platform/walk on the roof of the house, too, but it was eliminated and the entry to it closed off when the house was re-roofed.

Alice recalls that the basement of the house was very nicely finished. One half of the space was originally a large furnace room. The other half was a large laundry room with a Blackstone washing machine and three big granite washtubs. There was a shower room down there, too, maybe for Dr. Murray’s sanitarium patients Alice says the most glorious parts of the mansion were the tiled vestibule/entry with its leaded glass panes, and first floor parlor, dining room, and kitchen on the left side of the main hall way. The spacious parlor had large, exposed wood beams and a fireplace, and all the sliding door entries were wide enough that hospital gurneys could move through them.

The huge, gorgeous dining room had, and still has, fantastic woodwork. Her father, who had once owned the Bon Ton Bakery, which he

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6 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2019 - Issue #221

lost in the 1936 flood, was a talented baker and her mother was a terrific cook. They began serving dinners to hospital boards, card clubs, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and other groups at the long dining table.

Mr. Smith always dressed in white, like a baker, and wore a white beanie cap for these occasions. “He made the best cloverleaf buns,” Alice says.

A high school student at the time, Alice was called on to help serve at such dinners—once she had her schoolwork done. She remembers one special Christmas party for a Mrs. Vincent and her friends, as well as a twelfth special guest that evening.

When it was over, that special guest came into the kitchen and complimented Alice’s mother on her impressive table centerpiece. Its base was a large mirror that reflected beautifully the light from candles on the table.

Strewn artfully among them were pinecones and ornamental twigs Mrs. Smith had painted white, along with fresh greens. Alice says her mother This photo from summer 2018 shows Bloxdorf Conknew how to present a dinner table that struction of Mahaffey using a crane to set one of the new, composite Corinthian columns after they had removed was both elegant and correct, adhering old structures from the mansion and rebuilt the porch. to all the rules of formal table setting. whose historic homestead is visible from the In fact, one of the wedding gifts she gave her mansion’s back porch to the left just beyond a daughter when Alice married William Morris row of lilac bushes, now gone, separating the after World War II in 1947 was a cookbook; properties. Ray and Roberta Dinsmore still Alice says in its table of contents, table setting live there. and canning preceded any recipes.

Epilogue The mansion’s kitchen adjacent to the dinRenovating an old house not only restores ing room was spacious, too, and Alice recalls the house; it also restores the story of the home clearly the existence of a butler’s pantry beand the neighborhood. Tanya and Sharan tween the kitchen and dining room. However, Stahlmans’ efforts to restore the W.A. Bowers some later owner has installed a bathroom in mansion are doing just that—saving one of that space. The Stahlmans haven’t found its Punxsutawney’s historic residences, remindfootprint yet, but Alice clearly recalls that the ing us of the stories and people connected with doorway connecting the kitchen and dining it, and improving the East Mahoning Street room featured on the left a dumb waiter, landscape. Neighbors are likely gratified to see which is an elevator operated with hand pultheir neighborhood getting a facelift, for acleys to move food and dinnerware between cording to an old Czech proverb, “A good floors, and on the right a large floor-to-ceiling neighbor increases the value of your propset of shelves for linens and dinnerware. erty.”

Finally, Alice Morris’s memories include her ••• good neighbors, particularly the Dinsmores

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Regional Tribes Part II

A

By Marty Armstrong for Hometown magazine

many such captives, like Mary Jemison, who had been adopted by the Seneca, took pains to avoid a return to white society. tribe found along the eastern Other captives, such as the young sister of seaboard in what would become Barbara Leininger, who no longer rememNew Jersey, Pennsylvania and bered her early life, were returned. Their Delaware is known to themselves as Lenni account in German has become the subject Lenape; Lenape roughly translates as “origof a book and inspirational movie, “Alone inal people.” Europeans dubbed them Yet Not Alone.” The movie has good vi“Delaware” because Count De La Ware sual presentations of the landscapes and once anchored off the coast, giving his lifestyles of the period but does not always name to the bay, the river, the people who address the perspective of natives who lived nearby and, eventually, the colony. were warring to keep their native lands.

These peoples, when first encountering EuPunxsutawney is not named in the movie. ropean settlers, found over time that they White Eyes, named Koquethagechton (c. were an unwelcome presence and chose to 1730 – 5 November 1778), was a leader of move westward for better hunting and conthe Lenape people in the Ohio Country genial surroundings. during the era of the Wanting to establish American Revoluvillages in central and tion. White Eyes western Pennsylvania, was a war chief and the Lenape needed to a tireless mediator seek permission from in difficult times, the Seneca who connegotiating the first trolled these areas. native treaties with (The Seneca connecthe newly-formed tion to the PunxUnited States, and sutawney region was always working toreported in Hometown ward his ultimate magazine Issue 219.) goal of establishing Permission was given a secure territory and a significant for his people.

Lenape settlement After the French sprang up in Kittanand Indian War, ning. The large settlewhen European ment of Shamokin colonists began set(modern Sunbury) in tling near the the east central part of Lenape villages Pennsylvania came around Fort Pitt in Chief Windsor H. Pierce and Lee S. North at about when the Lenape July 26, 1936, Barclay Square dedication of na- western Pennsylvawere forced to move tive mill stone and designation of Punx- nia, the Lenape there after the “Walkmoved further west ing Purchase” deception by to what is now eastern colonists.

Ohio. (This explains why During the mid-1700s, Engthere is a Delaware land and its North American County in Ohio.) By this colonies were in competition time, many Lenape had with France and its North converted to Christianity American colonies for control under the influence of of frontier lands to the west.

Moravian missionaries The Lenape, willing to aid the and lived in villages led British, were insulted and re- Cone-shaped birchbark artifact, by these missionaries. approximately 15” in length. Sebuffed. They then allied them- cured with leather lacing. Similar The missionary towns selves with the French and in style to authenticated birch- also moved to the Musktheir other native allies. These bark moose calls. Displayed in ingum area so that the alliances were doomed efforts the “Early Peoples” exhibit in the Lenape, both Christian Bennis House Museum of to prevent incursions into the PAHGS, 401 W. Mahoning Street. and non-Christian, could west by settlers, many of stay together. Though not whom disregarded their government’s proa Christian, White Eyes ensured that the hibitions on settlements west of agreed-to Christian Lenape remained members of the boundaries. The French and Indian War larger native community. saw many attacks on settlers by the native When the American Revolution began, allies of the French. In 1755, a massacre White Eyes was negotiating a royal grant and taking of captives occurred near to secure the Lenape territory in the Ohio Shamokin. Young captives deemed capable Country. Afterwards, he had to start over of travel were forced to travel westward. with the Americans. In April 1776, he adAmong them were two young girls and dressed the Continental Congress in their friends and neighbors, who, with their Philadelphia on behalf of the Lenape. Two captors, rested for several days at a Lenape years later, he completed an alliance of the camp at Punxsutawney. The girls, Barbara Delaware with the United States by a treaty Leininger and Marie LeRoy, were eventusigned in 1778 at Fort Pitt. It promised to ally taken to Kittanning and then, further establish a Lenape state, with representawest. After a number of years, they and two tion in the American Congress, provided other captives escaped to Fort Pitt, held by that the Congress approved. The treaty proBritish forces. They were debriefed and vided for the Lenape to serve as guides for subsequently returned to their families. the Americans when they moved through Others from their group were among the the Ohio Country to strike at their British captives later released following a negotiand native enemies to the north, in and ated treaty. The Lenape and other tribes around Detroit. were reluctant to part with captives who In early November 1778, White Eyes had been adopted as family members, and - Continued on page 10

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Helen Rimer

In September 1960, Helen returned to federal service and was employed as a Management and Computer Systems Analyst at Continued from page 3 various locations throughout the United quarters. A week later she was advised that States with the Departments of the Air Force, she would be reassigned to the Women in the Army, Navy (Marine Corps) and Labor. She Air Force (WAF) Band after completion of and the girls accompanied Mac to his her basic training and that her orders to Air changes in duty assignments with the USAF Traffic Controller School were canceled. At and made their home in San Antonio, TX, that time the WAF Band was in Washington, Biloxi, MS, Denver, CO, and Kansas City, D.C. for band school.

MO. They returned to Texas when Helen When basic training was was offered the Regional over, she was assigned as a Systems Manager position casual awaiting orders to with the U.S. Department pull KP (kitchen police) at of Laborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dallas Region. the chow hall for three They have made Texas weeks before receiving their home since August transfer orders to Wright1977. Helen retired from Patterson Air Force Base in Federal service in April Ohio. This was confusing 1990. because the WAF Squadron Music had been an imthere was scheduled to be portant part of her life abolished. After three from her early years and, months at Wright Patterson, in 1997, it became so she was transferred to Ofagain. Former members of futt AFB, Nebraska. the United States Air Force In June 1954, while she WAF Band held a reunion was at the base swimming in San Antonio that year pool, a runner from the and re-opened the door.

Wing Headquarters came to For the past 20 years, tell Helen she was being Helen â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sandeeâ&#x20AC;? Rimer, in her dress Helen has been a musisent on temporary duty to whites WAF Band Uniform in 1954. cian, playing with any the WAF Band at Lackland (Photo courtesy S.J. Sharp) band that would accept a Air Force Base, San Antolady euphonium player. nio, Texas. The WAF Band director was CapShe has performed with the following: the tain Marybelle J. Nissly. Helen served with reunited WAF Band at their annual reunions the WAF Band from June 1954 through the and concerts; the Mesquite Symphonic end of her enlistment in May 1956. It was Band; the German-American Blasmusik when she was with the band that she acquired Texas; the Czech Symphonic Orchestra; the the nickname â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sandee.â&#x20AC;?

Rockwall Community Band; the Hella During the two years with the band, she Shrine Band; and the Froeshinn Kappelle, in played for concerts, marched in parades and Texas. And during summers in Pennsylvania, performed at military bases and at public Helen played with the DuBois American Leevents. The standard comment on the quality gion Band and the Punxsutawney Commuof the band was that they performed every nity Band. In 1999, she traveled with function as well as their male counterparts Blasmusik (Wind Music) Texas, on a twoand they did it wearing skirts and heels. week concert tour through Germany and Upon her reenlistment in the Air Force she France. In 2002, she was selected as a musiwas assigned to the 3723rd Basic Military cian with the 100-member National ComTraining Squadron as a Personnel Technician munity Band under the direction of John in their Orderly Room. There, she met and Bourgeois, Col., USMC, Retired, former Dimarried W.E. (Mac) McClammy. She served rector of the United States Marine Band. six years of active military duty before her In August 2018, the WAF Band held their discharge in May 1959 pending the birth of 20th reunion in Arlington, Virginia. As part of their first daughter, Stacie Lee, in October. this reunion they played two concerts. The Their second daughter, Crystal Lynn, was first on Wednesday, August 29 on the Milborn in September, 1963. Both Stacie and lennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, WashCrystal served with the U.S. Navy, married ington, D.C., and the second on August 30, Navy men, Steve Rose and Kip Harris, re2018, for the veterans at the Armed Forces spectively, and have each presented Helen Retirement Home. The Kennedy Center and Mac a grandson and a granddaughter: Concert, which includes a history of the Stephen and Shannon Rose and Marissa and WAF Band, may be viewed on-line at: Jeremy Harris. https://youtu.be/D4EI3YNYAMo. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

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10 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2019 - Issue #221

I

t’s that time of year again to get out your sneakers and get ready to support the Arc of Jefferson and Clearfield Counties/Camp Friendship. The 40th annual Run or Walk for Someone Special is coming up on Sunday, April 7, 2019. All monies raised at this event will be used to provide children and adults with special needs from Jefferson and Clearfield Counties summer camp (Camp Friendship), Autism Camp and support for other programs run throughout the year.

Participants who pre-register and donate $20 or more will receive a tshirt. On the day of registration, all participants with $25 or more in donations will receive a t-shirt (children 12 years of age and younger may participate for free).

To pre-register visit, https://www.firstgiving.com/event/thearcofjeffersoncounty/Ru nWalk40 or go to the website at www.jcarc.org and print a registration form, complete and return.

Pre-registration must be completed by Friday, April 5 at midnight!

Pre-registration can also be done by completing this form and mailing to: Sarah Walker, 1023 Sunset Lake Rd., Rockton, PA 15856.

Regional Tribes

Continued from page 7 joined an American expedition under General Lachlan McIntosh as a guide and negotiator. Soon after, the Americans reported that White Eyes had contracted smallpox and died during the expedition. Others believe that he was murdered by an American militia officer and the deed covered up by officials. After his death, the Lenape alliance with the Americans eventually collapsed as the Americans by then had no interest in supporting a state under Lenape control.

The divisions and troubles of the American Revolution pushed them farther west.

In the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma and surrounding territory) under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in Oklahoma, with some groups living in Wisconsin and Ontario.

In 1936, Chief Windsor H. Pierce and other native representatives journeyed to Punxsutawney for a dedication ceremony in Barclay Square, acknowledging Punxsutawney as a native village. Interestingly, participants in the ceremony included members of the local Order of the Redmen, an organization made up of whites-only Americans who adopted terms, rituals and dress from native tribes for their activities.

During History Daycamp 2018, con-

Bring this registration form to the “checkin” station the day of the Run along with the money collected.

There will also be Zumba on Sunday before the race from 1:30-2:30 p.m., anyone is welcome to join in!

Registration begins at the Sykesville Town Hall at 1:30 p.m.; the race begins at 3 p.m.

Anyone wishing to participate has the option to run or walk two miles or run five miles. Trophies and ribbons are awarded to finishers in a variety of age groups for both the 2-mile and 5-mile.

At the Hall, there will also be games, food, and prizes, as well as a silent auction. Prizes will be given to the top money collectors!

We would like to thank all the local businesses who contribute donations, and all the volunteers who help make this event possible. A special thanks is extended to Commonwealth Press for donating the shirts!

We encourage you to please come out and join us.

You can also obtain forms and information by contacting Erin Cameron at 814952-0490 or Bill Cuba Jr. 814-591-6800 or emailing run_walk@yahoo.com.

•••

ducted by the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, participants studied the published illustration, “Indian Paths of Pennsylvania,” which highlights the Great Shamokin Path. In part, it follows Route 119 into the Punxsutawney area from the north and was the trail taken by the war party and Shamokin area captives.

Route 536 follows part of another trail to Kittanning, along which has been found evidence of native use.

When the Society first established a museum in the Bennis House at 401 W. Mahoning Street, many people generously donated items from Punxsutawney’s past native heritage. There is a display of such items on the first floor, along with several items intended to “set the scene.” One donated item is a birchbark cone of uncertain provenance or purpose. Todd Johnson, native reenactor, visited several years ago and suggested it could be a moose call. Its size, shape and material are similar to such calls.

While moose are not present in our local woodlands, they are known to have been present in New England and northern reaches of New York. It is also known that early peoples traveled great distances for many purposes, including hunting. Having a possible moose call in our exhibit is not out-of-bounds.

All these bits of information, and more besides, are part of the Society’s efforts to educate the people of the Punxsutawney region about the early inhabitants of Punxsutawney, a name of native origin roughly translated as “Home of the Sandflies.”

•••

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James Madison

Third President 1801-1809 Fourth President 1809-1817 State Represented: Virginia State Represented: Virginia Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): At age 33, he drafted the Declaration Fact(s): Louisiana and Indiana became states of Independence. He constructed his during his term. He helped form mountain top home, Monticello. the Bill of Rights.

James Monroe

Fifth President 1817-1825 State Represented: Virginia Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): He was the first president to ride a steamboat. He made the Monroe Doctrine.

John Q. Adams

Sixth President 1825-1829 State Represented: Massachussets Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): His father was president.

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Andrew Jackson

Seventh President 1829-1837 State Represented: Tennessee Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): He was in the war of 1812.

He studied law.

James K. Polk

Eleventh President 1845-1849 State Represented: Tennessee Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He died from exhaustion and hard work soon after he left office.

Martin Van Buren

Eighth President 1837-1841 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Democratic-Republican Fact(s): He gave us the word "OK" or "Okay" which was an abbreviation for the name of his New York home "Old Kinderhook."

Zachery Taylor

Twelfth President 1849-1850 State Represented: Louisiana Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): He served in the Mexican War. He died while President.

William Henry Harrison Ninth President 1841 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): He was the first president to die in office.

Millard Fillmore

Thirteenth President 1850-1853 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): He had eight brothers and sisters. His wife started the White House library collection.

John Tyler

Tenth President 1841-1845 State Represented: Virginia Party Affiliation: Whig Fact(s): Loved to play the violin.

His first wife died while he was president.

Franklin Pierce

Fourteenth President 1853-1857 State Represented: New Hampshire Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): Served in Mexican War.

Punxsutawney Hometown â&#x20AC;&#x201C; March 2019 - Issue #221 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11

James Buchanan

Fifteenth President 1857-1861 State Represented: Pennsylvania Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He was elected five times to the House of Representatives.

Abraham Lincoln

Sixteenth President 1861-1865 State Represented: Illinois Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He had to struggle for a living.

Lincoln's mom died when he was 9.

Andrew Johnson

Seventeenth President 1865-1869 State Represented: Tennessee Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): His wife taught him to read.

Ulysses S. Grant

Eighteenth President 1869-1877 State Represented: Illinois Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was a Civil War General.

Fought in the Mexican War.

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James A. Garfield

Twentieth President 1881 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Died in office.

Chester A. Arthur

Twenty-First President 1881-1885 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Was a General in the Civil War.

12 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2019 - Issue #221

Grover Cleveland

Twenty-Second & Twenty-Fourth President 1885-1889 & 1893-1897 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): Angered the railroads by ordering an investigation.

Benjamin Harrison

Twenty-Third President 1889-1893 State Represented: Indiana Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was the same height as James Madison. His grandfather was president.

William McKinley

Twenty-Fifth President 1897-1901 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He became the leading Republican tariff expert in Congress. He died in office.

Theodore Roosevelt

Twenty-Sixth President 1901-1909 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): Born and died in New York. First president to ride in a car while president.

William H. Taft

Twenty-Seventh President 1909-1913 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was the son of a distinguished judge. He preferred law to politics.

Woodrow Wilson

Twenty-Eighth President 1913-1921 State Represented: New Jersey Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He was a good student in college.

His first wife died while he was president.

Warren G. Harding

Twenty-Ninth President 1921-1923 State Represented: Ohio Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He had gray hair. He died of a heart attack while president.

Calvin Coolidge

Thirtieth President 1923-1929 State Represented: Massachusetts Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): His nickname was "Silent Cal."

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Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thirty-Second President 1933-1945 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): First president to ride in an airplane while president.

Harry S. Truman

Thirty-Third President 1945-1953 State Represented: Missouri Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He was a captain in World War I. He was Vice President for Franklin Roosevelt.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Thirty-Fourth President 1953-1961 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was the first president to ride in a helicopter while president.

John F. Kennedy

Thirty-Fifth President 1961-1963 State Represented: Massachusetts Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He liked to swim. He represented Massachusetts in the House and the Senate.

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Thirty-Sixth President 1963-1969 State Represented: Texas Party Affiliation: Democrat Fact(s): He signed a civil rights bill, established Great Society programs.

Richard M. Nixon

Thirty-Seventh President 1969-1974 State Represented: New York Party Affiliation: Republican Fact(s): He was president at the end of the Vietnam War.

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hile the month of February guarantees Punxsutawney a moment of world-wide attention each year, the month of March has become an opportunity for Big Run to garner publicity with the emergence of the Big Run peepers.

For many years John London had recorded the early peeps of the tiny frogs in the center of his beloved hometown. His ceremonial recording of the moment to announce spring was not widely known, not until 1993, anyway, when London’s particular way of weaving a story caught the attention of a reporter for an area newspaper. That printed story eventually went nationwide over the wires of The Associated Press.

In Big Run, as with many small towns, residents’ lives were interwoven with nature and weather by the experiences of hunting, fishing and trapping. Stories of encounters and conquests would become legendary.

As early as 1888, one particular story had appeared relating to “the wilds” of the area of Big Run, the quiet little settlement of about 1,000 residents.

It was late September of 1888 when news

stories were appearing about “some gigantic animal resembling a gorilla” reportedly running at large through the forests near Big Run. The creature’s tracks were described. They

Big Run’s John London made his Big Run Peepers famous nationwide.

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16 – Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2019 - Issue #221

toes and having long nails or claws.

In early October, another news item gave an account of the appearance of these strange footprints in the vicinity. By that time, the foot prints had been examined by “principal citizens” of Big Run who described them as “resembling in some degree a human footprint.”

However, human footprints were discounted as these strange footprints had toes that were too long and “the foot too wide in front and too narrow behind.”

Those who trailed the footprints in the nearby forest for weeks later reported seeing a strange creature walking along the woods “near the old Kramer oil well,” a “monster of hideous mien.”

To one eyewitness, it appeared “to be a man” with long, shaggy hair all over his body, with “tremendous long arms, and an enormous mouth, filled with huge, white teeth.” This sighting was in broad daylight, the news story reported. The veracity of the witness never was questioned. The story stated, “Mr. Depp is a perfectly reliable young man, not given to exaggeration.”

Later in October, George Schwem, proprietor - Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page of the McClure Hotel in Big Run reported a sighting, printed in the Big Run Commercial Gazette. His description was of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;form . . . tall and bent, his hair long and straggly, and he wore a sheep skin over his broad shoulders, with the wooly side out.â&#x20AC;?

At that time, the creature was seen gathering chestnuts.

In another incident, in the summer of 1918, a snake story emerged in the newspapers. Out of Big Run, Onondaga (now Robertsville) and that vicinity there began the report of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;monstrous reptileâ&#x20AC;? in the Mahoning Creek.

The snake was first sighted in late August 1918 in the water across from Alahoe Park (between Robertsville and Foxburg, adjacent to Big Run). There, it swam up and down the creek five or six times, the eyewitnesses reported. The news story described the sighted creature as â&#x20AC;&#x153;some sort of a snake or some such reptile, 30 or 40 feet long with a head the size of a man and a body as thick as a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trunk

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Living in Big Run at the time of this giant repIn another sighting, a man claimed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has a tile news story was local squire Quint (Q.S.) head as big as a cow and a body as long as Reams, considered a foremost naturalist. In Main Street in Big Run.â&#x20AC;? his response to the many reports, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The It had been observed on the bank of the creek, impossible doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen, you know.â&#x20AC;? Reams wriggling in the mud and creating a path â&#x20AC;&#x153;alopined the â&#x20AC;&#x153;monster snakeâ&#x20AC;? actually was a long most wide enough and line of muskrats chasing deep enough to form a new each other up and down the th 26 Annual Spring channel for the creek.â&#x20AC;? creek. After all, it was the Many of the excited men of season when muskrats did Peepers Banquet Big Run went gunning for their cavorting, he claimed.

Sunday, March 17 the creature. In one atAnd, in another explanatempt, dynamite was extion, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It must be at the Big Run War Memorial ploded to force it out of Social Hour 5 p.m. â&#x20AC;˘ Dinner 6 p.m. muskrats, because thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hiding for crack huntsmen about the only kind of aniSee page 15 for Ticket info to blow it out of existence. mal that can get by in the After another week, the sulphuric waters of the (no tickets sold at the door) monster snake was spotted Mahoning Creek.â&#x20AC;? in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;swamp south of the Punxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;y brewery.â&#x20AC;?

By the end of March or early April, those who On that same day, it reportedly was seen in awaited the sounds and sights of the Big Run Sawmill Run in the West End of Punxâ&#x20AC;&#x153;peeperâ&#x20AC;? will have made their report, and the sutawney. That report was discounted because story from the swamp in central Big Run will Sawmill Run was not considered big enough have been recorded. The most celebrated legto hold the reptile described in the weeks beend of Big Run will have had its day in the fore. Each of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;credibleâ&#x20AC;? sightings were atspring sun. tributed to a dozen persons by name. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

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18 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Punxsutawney Hometown â&#x20AC;&#x201C; March 2019 - Issue #221

Education: Juneau Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Path to Future

By Marty Armstrong for Hometown magazine

In the photograph and postcard collections of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, there are many, many scenes of streets and buildings (primarily within the Borough) and a very modest amount of surrounding communities. Most of the scenes from outlying areas are of several mining communities. Of other communities, there are but few.

One unusual postcard is of the Covode Academy, created as an invitation to an upcoming reunion of former students.

To find out more about the Academy, one can study the Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s copy of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Covode and Surrounding Areaâ&#x20AC;? compiled

by William H. Shields. One section of this work gives the history of the Academy and a C.M. Stoops at age 41. lot of detail about the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Career: U.S. Postal purpose, founders, students Service (Lindsey Station and course of study. Another P.O. Superintendent); section in the book lists many business owner of the teachers of the oneEducation: Canoe room schools of North MahonTownship Common ing Township with notations as Schools â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8th Grade Covode Academy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to which ones attended the Academy. Other interesting inTeacher Training formation includes teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; salaries and length of the school year for which they were hired. Prior to 1865, terms of employment were for three months only, increasing to four months that year and five months in 1874.

Of course, Academy graduates did not just teach in North Mahoning Township; many young people from adjacent townships, including some within what is now the Punxsutawney Area School District, attended the Academy after completing their work in the one-room common schools of the area.

An example of such a young man is Cyril Miller Stoops (1877-1965) from the Juneau area. A farm boy, Miller attended the Covode Academy and by the age of 17 was teaching in a Canoe Township school. Teaching was a stepping stone for him as it was for many others. By 1900, Miller was married to Jennie Larue Barry and had one child. Jennie died in 1908 leaving two young children. At some point between 1900 and 1908, Miller had obtained work as a trolley operator in Punxsutawney. He was subsequently married to Orpha Maude Anthony in 1909. They set up housekeeping in Punxsutawney and he began a career with the U.S. Postal Service, retiring as the Superintendent of the Lindsey Station post office in Punxsutawneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s West End. Along

(â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Our Past,â&#x20AC;? researched by S. Thomas Curry, features items of interest from past editions of Punxsutawney and area newspapers.)

February 8, 1890 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; HOT RAILROAD - Six months ago, when the B. R. & P. Railway began its extension to Pittsburg, it was compelled to raise the grade at the Punxsutawney street crossing twenty feet. In order to do this a fill was made one thousand feet long and twenty feet high at the highest point. For this purpose the ashes and cinders from the Walston and Adrian coke ovens were used. They were brought down on coal flats, and some of them were hot. Although there was a plentiful mixture of clay and rock, the coal smoldered away over six months, heating up the whole interior, and causing the smoke to issue from it in considerable volume. (Punxsutawney Spirit) [Note: The â&#x20AC;&#x153;crossingâ&#x20AC;? is where the bridge crosses over West Mahoning Street near the Punxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;y Plaza.]

February 10, 1886 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Institute held at Sprankleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mills last week came to an abrupt termination during the evening session by the floor of the building beginning to give way. The Institute was being held upstairs, and the room was very much crowded. Fortunately the floor did not give way entirely, and the audience made their exit with only a little fright.

(Punxsutawney News) February 23, 1871 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; We expect to publish in our next issue an essay written by a blind

Postcard invitation to the first reunion of the Covode Academy held in 1911. The Academy, founded in 1863 by members of the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church and later supported as well by the Methodist Episcopal Church, provided training for those who wished to teach in the common schools. Subjects taught included mathematics, Greek, Latin and empirical sciences; within a few short years, bookkeeping, shorthand and vocal and instrumental music were added.

Students were required to participate in the literary club which focused on science, literature, composition and oratory. Additional activities included cultural, recreational and social pursuits. The Academy building, designed by architect James W. Drum of Punxsutawney, was erected on a lot owned by the church and adjacent to it along what is now Routh 119 leading into Covode from the north. The last class held was in 1908. Possibly, this is because those who aspired to teach were able to attend one of the Normal Schools such as the one in Indiana, Pennsylvania, (now IUP) in greater numbers.

Neither the Academy or the church now stand.

Numerous Punxsutawney area persons served on the first reunion committee. They included the Hon. S. Taylor North, Maj. N.S. North, S.S. Hamilton, MD, Orvis C. Hoffman, J. Miles Grube, MD, William H. Tyson and William Enterline.

The first day of the event drew former students who had gone on to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, ministers, bankersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;people from every walk of life. Events were held in nearby Walkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s/Elkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grove (now Groundhog Park) which was reached by B.R.&P. and B.&S. excursion trains.

the way, the family built a new home on Dinsmore Avenue, then purchased and moved to a business property on East Mahoning Street in the vicinity of the current Civic Center, where they established a bakery. Their final move was to the Perry Township home of Maudeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s widowed mother.

Education was at the forefront of Maude and Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambitions for their children and they did their best to encourage each to do well in school, pursue church, civic and cultural activities and get the best possible training for their future lives. Practicing what he preached, Miller was active to his last days in church and Sunday School as teacher and superintendent, also serving for a time as county superintendent. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

young man, Willie M. Gillespie, son of Mr. J. U. Gillespie of Clayville. Willie is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Blind Asylum, located in Philadelphia, and our readers, no doubt, will be anxious to see his writings titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Proof of the Existence of a God.â&#x20AC;? (Punxsutawney Plaindealer) [Note: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Willie Gillespieâ&#x20AC;? is recognized in Punxsutawney history as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Blind Billy Gillespie, a highly respected attorney in the early 1900s for his intelligence, legal knowledge and skill, though blind from birth. His plantationstyle house is across from the SSCD church on West Mahoning Street.]

March 3, 1908 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Several members of the old Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Band last night â&#x20AC;&#x153;spruced upâ&#x20AC;? and started out on a serenading tour. The music was enjoyed by hundreds of citizens and many business places, and suggests the idea that a reorganization of the old band with frequent serenades would tend to add lustre to the town and be a source of continued delight. (Punxsutawney Spirit) March 10, 1886 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The frog that has been thumping his cold nose against the ice all winter, will soon have an opportunity of giving some of his melodious spring solos. After a rest of four months he will be able to appear before the public with his voice very much improved in strength and volume. (Valley News) March 14, 1894 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sassafras and horseradish are two marketable spring delicacies that have made their appearance. (Punxsutawney News) â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

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Printed 02-19

Punxsutawney Hometown – March 2019 - Issue #221 – 19

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Local Coal Boom Brought Need for Food and Supplies

R

ston Mines, entered into a contract to supBy the Coal Memorial Committee ply D.H. McIntire, the manager of the Mafor Hometown magazine honing Supply Stores serving Walston and ailroads were built to the PunxAdrian, with meat. The cattle were shipped sutawney area for the purpose of from the west and delivered by Pantall to transporting coal and coke to marbutchers, who prepared them for sale in the kets across the country. Coal was hauled to company stores.

Buffalo and Canada and later to New York About 1900, innovations in the railroad to fuel ocean liners, and even later to marindustry brought refrigerated freight cars kets in the West. Transportation of people enabling the shipment of dressed carcasses and goods, a secondary function of the coal of beef, pork and lamb, along with other roads, brought changes to the community.

The rapid increase in the local population, as a result of the opening of the mines, required food for those living in the mining communities. Miners and their families could, after becoming established in their new homes, have a “kitchen garden” where they raised fresh vegetables for their tables. However, they did not have sufficient land upon which they could raise grains and fodder to feed domestic animals for their meat and dairy items. Therefore, mining The Lauderbach-Barber Company building was built on the site companies established stores of the old North Hotel and opened for business in January 1910.

The company was first established as Platt-Barber and headto provide these necessities for quartered at Philipsburg. It opened a branch in Punxsutawney miners and their families. The in 1902. In 1905, the name was changed to Lauderbach-Barber.

Mahoning Supply Company The business was first housed in the former Punxsutawney Brewing Company’s bottling plant, which was located on the Stores provided for the mining corner of South Gilpin and Indiana Streets. Later, the firm was communities of the Rochester located in the Ford Building on East Mahoning Street before and Pittsburg Coal and Iron moving to the North Hotel site. As Lauderbach-Barber and later Company and the Eureka Lauderbach-Grier, the company served Punxsutawney stores well as those in the mining communities throughout the Stores served the people of the as area. Accessibility to railroad transportation facilitated the deBerwind-White mining com- velopment of the business. Photo courtesy of PAHGS. munities.

Prior to the opening of the meat products, by rail. The packing house mines, food stuffs which could not be proindustries in Chicago were looking for outduced in the local area were brought by lets for their products. This led to the dewagon from the nearest railroad head at Invelopment, in January 1891, of the diana, Pennsylvania. Local farmers were Punxsutawney Beef Company as agents for the main providers of food which they sold Armour & Company Dressed Beef and Provision House of Chicago. The local company leased land from the railroad and constructed a building to the specifications required by Armour & Company. The building was constructed near the Railroad Yards on Findley Street, which connected to the road leading to Walston. The front part of the building housed the office as well as a store room.

Pictured is the second Merris Beef Building as it stands in The large room at the rear was a 2019. The Merris company began at the height of the Coal refrigerator where sides of beef Boom, operated in Punxsutawney for 35 years and was dis- and other meats were hung on solved in May 1928. Armour continued the meat processing plant here until 1929, when it closed. Since that time, the fa- hooks. The refrigerator room cility has been used for a variety of purposes. After an ex- held two railroad carloads of tended unoccupied period, the building is currently being meat. The walls, constructed of refurbished. Photo courtesy of S.J. Sharp brick, were fifteen-inch thick with an overhead designed to hold 83 tons at regular farmers’ markets held in the of packed ice. The cold temperature in the space provided on the north side of Maroom was maintained constantly year honing Street across from Barclay Square. around. Water from the melting ice was diHucksters sold their produce and meats in rected out of the building. This ice was retown and small villages in the area. placed four times a year. Mounted beneath In the early years of industrial mining, the overhead was a network of rails on food supplies for the company stores were which hooks, hung on wheels, held the shipped by railroad. Most arrived in barrels sides of meat. These rails worked much like and had to be portioned out for purchase at the railroads and had switches to direct the the company store. Meat was shipped on hanging meat to different places in the the hoof. An 1889 item in the Punxroom with a simple push. sutawney Spirit reported that Theophilus Pantall, whose farm was close to the Wal- Continued on page 22

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The Punxsutawney Beef Company, under the management of I.J. Campbell and E.E. Shaffer, held a grand opening of this new facility on January 21, 1891. Its first delivery of dressed beef and provisions included 23,237 pounds of meat and meat products: 120 quarters of beef, 14 cases of lard, 10 hogs, 10 sheep, boxes of sausage and a number of smaller meat items. N. J. Baker, of Rochester, N.Y., was employed as the meat dresser. The Punxsutawney News reported that the refrigerator was in “spickand-span” order and the meat looked clean and ready for the frying pan.

The Punxsutawney Beef Company functioned mainly as a wholesale operation, supplying local stores with fresh meat. Before they transported the processed meat to the retail store customers, it was wrapped with clean heavy paper and placed in a sack. This ensured the meat was thoroughly covered and as clean as it was when it left Armour & Company at Chicago by the time that it reached the local customer.

In November 1893, the Punxsutawney Beef Company was sold to the Merris Beef Company, owned by J.E. Merris, James E. Long and Mal.(Is this an abbreviation?)

Wise of DuBois, and H.I. Merris of Ridgway. The Merris Beef Company maintained the connection with the Armour & Company Dressed Meats of Chicago. In order to expand its operation, Merris Beef Company employed a corps of salesmen who called upon local retail stores throughout the area and established the practice of providing them with quality fresh meat to sell to their customers.

By 1905, traffic in the railroad at Punxsutawney had increased and the railroad need to expand their yard. The Merris Beef Company was asked to move from the railroad right of way to enable the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad to have use of the land. The Merris Beef Company needed to remain close to the railroad and to have access to the Walston Road and the rural communities in that area.

In October 1905, for a consideration of $5,000, they purchased the title to the property of John McQuown, which was located on the east side of North Findley Street across from the North Hotel. The lot contained a house and stable and was fifty by one-hundred and fifty feet which provided sufficient space to build an up-todate modern Merris Beef House. In the spring of 1906, the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Railway facilitated the move of the Merris Beef Company by having a side track laid across Findley Street to reach the lot.

Having a siding provided an opportunity for another wholesale company to locate in the same area. In September 1906, the heirs of the North estate sold the North Hotel and property to the Lauderbach Barber Company for $7,000. This company also served local retail stores by providing food. It stocked and sold to the local retailers all manner of canned and packaged goods which were warehoused in the old North Hotel Building.

This new Merris Beef House included a brick building fifty by one-hundred twelve feet, two stories high, with a basement.

Walls were 30 inches thick with eight inches of rock wood in the center making them heat proof. The refrigerator room was

thirty-five by sixty feet and lined with white enameled brick. The business offices on the lower floor included a private office for Robert Criss, the local manger. Also on the ground floor was a stable for four horses and the delivery wagons. The building included ice bunkers and three smoke houses large enough for smoking 90,000 pounds of meat per week. The cold storage contained the necessary overhead tracks for holding the meat. All of the machinery was operated by electricity. The McQuown house was moved to the rear of the lot and rented. The estimated cost for this building was $20,000.

The new Merris Beef House was completed early in December 1906. A grand reception was held for the public to see the new Merris Beef House and was described at length in the Punxsutawney Spirit on January 23, 1907.

The railroad wasted no time removing the old Beef House. At five o’clock Saturday, December 15, the removal began and by five o’clock Sunday, December 16, it was completely gone.

Across Findley Street, the Lauderbach Barber Company’s business was expanding and it also needed more space. The property was conveniently located alongside the railroad and instead of moving, the company decided to replace the North Hotel Building with a new, modern building. It temporarily moved its operation to the Ford Hotel Building in the east end while the new building was being constructed. The new facility was a substantially built large brick building fifty by one-hundred and twenty feet, with four stories and a basement, which was completed in late 1909 at an estimated cost of $30,000.

These two building housed the wholesale operations made possible by the railroads which were constructed to transport coal.

Local retail merchants were supplied by them with much of the food for the residents of the Punxsutawney Area. These businesses continued to thrive for a quarter of a century until another cultural change occurred and highways and trucks enabled the new concept of chain-stores which replaced local retail operations.

Today, the buildings stand at the foot of the hill on North Findley Street as a reminder of the time when the road to Walston passed between them and the railroad yard in front of them brought goods from and hauled long trains of coal to distant markets.

This article has been prepared by the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. Information used in the preparation of this article is available at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society and on-line resources including Wikipedia and Newspapers.com.

Comments on this article may be directed to PAHGS, P.O. Box 286, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. Individuals desiring to honor a coal or coal related industry worker in 201,9 are encouraged to purchase their tile

by June 30, 2019. Forms for purchasing a Coal Memorial tile to honor any person who worked in any aspect of the coal industry including railroads may be found online at www.punxsyhistory.org or may be picked up at the Lattimer House, 400 West Mahoning Street, Punxsutawney. Forms may also be requested by e-mailing: punxsyhistory@outlook.com, or calling 814-938-2555.

•••

Hometown Community Happenings

F

By the staff of Hometown magazine rom the staff of Hometown magazine and the Community Calendar at Punxsutawney.com, here is a list of events coming up in our area: n March 1 & 2: Grangeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Helping Hands free clothing at Grange Church of God, Friday, noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. n March 1, 2 & 3: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Fabulous Fable Factoryâ&#x20AC;? & â&#x20AC;&#x153;Treasure Islandâ&#x20AC;? will be performed by the Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild, at the PAHS auditorium, Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, 2 p.m. Tickets available at the door. n March 2: Indoor Yard Sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Salvation Army. Lots of vendors. n March 2: Boy Scout Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge program, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Punxsy Weather Discovery Center. $20 per person. Eagle-level program. Pre-register by calling 814-938-1000 or email info@weatherdiscovery.org n March 5: First Tuesday Community Meal, 5 p.m., at Punxsy Presbyterian Church.

Free & open to the public. n March 6: Ash Wednesday. Begins the religious season of Lent. n Every Friday during Lent: Catholic Daughters Fish Fry at SSCD Auditorium from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Take-outs available. Call 938-6540 ext. 218. n March 7: Punxsy Theatre Arts Guild regular meeting, 7 p.m., at Yonder. Call Tracey Young at 814-938-9084 for information. n March 8: Community Meal, 5 p.m., at First United Methodist Church. Free & open to the public. n March 9 & 10: Spring Fever Art & Craft Market at Mapleview Schoolhouse Market, Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. & Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. n March 10: Daylight Savings Time begins.

Turn clocks ahead one hour. n March 16: Punxsy Rotary Radio Auction, 8 a.m., broadcast on 104.1 FM WPXZ. Visit www.punxsutawneyrotary.com for more information. n March 16: Craft Show, 9 a.m., at Big Run War Memorial. n March 16: Ladies Night Out, 6 p.m., at Clymer Vol. Fire Dept. n March 17: St. Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day! Wear some green! n March 18-22: Week of Giving, Punxsy Area Community Foundation & Bridge Builders Community Foundation. n March 18: Coping with Loss Support Group, 7 p.m., at First Church of God. Call 814-938-6670 for information. n March 19: Blood Drive, 1:30 to 6 p.m., at Grace UM Church, Sykesville. Benefits American Red Cross. n March 20: Blood Drive, 1 to 6:30 p.m., at American Legion, Reynoldsville. Benefits

American Red Cross. n March 23: Boy Scout Weather Merit Badge program, 9 a.m. to noon, at Weather Discovery Center. $10 per person. Register by March 18, at 814-938-1000 or info@weatherdiscovery.org. n March 23: Bowl for Kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Sake, 4 to 6 p.m., at Brookville Lanes. Contact The Guidance Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Big Brothers Big Sisters program at www.bbbs-jem.org. n March 24: Legacy Five in concert, 4 p.m., at Punxsy Area Community Center. $20 donation for general admission. n March 30: Snacks to Grow On 4th Annual Ladies Luncheon & Basket Raffle, 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Punxsy Country Club.

Tickets required. n March 30: Spring Gun Bash, 5 p.m., at Reynoldsville Vol. Fire Dept. n April 1: Blood Drive, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Punxsy Area Hospital. Benefits the American Red Cross. n The Patriots beat the Rams in the Super Bowl by a score of 13-3. Jim Atcheson won the Hometown football contest with a guess of total points of 42. Jim will redeem his gift card at Pizza Town. Congratulations, Jim! This wraps up the Hometown football contests until next fall. You must play to win. See you in the fall! n The Punxsy Memorial Library is holding Fine-Free Fridays through March 29. Bring those overdue items back! Exceptions to this policy can be found on the libraryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Facebook page. n Free income tax preparation (VITA) is available in aPunxsy by calling 814-849-3096.

There are eligibility guidelines. n The Jefferson County History Center is featuring a Stones Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bones exhibit, regarding geology & fossils in PA. Visit jchconline.org for information. n If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to volunteer at the Jackson Theater, call the Punxsy Area Community Center at 814-938-1008. n The First Church of God offers a Celebrate Recovery program. Contact the church or visit its Facebook page for more information. n Jeff Tech offers several Adult Education classes. Visit www.jefftech.info for information on what courses are available and starting dates. n The First United Methodist Church holds a prayer service at 7 p.m., Thursdays. n The Punxsutawney Memorial Library offers several programs, including computer classes, Teen Club, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tween Group, Book Club for adults, adult coloring and activities for children. n The Punxsutawney Area Community Center offers several programs. Check the website or call 814-938-1008 for program availability. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

Historical and Society PUNXSUTAWNEY AREA Genealogical

Guild Show Offers Fun and Surprises for Young at Heart

T

he members of the Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild (PTAG) re-create two literary classics to demonstrate the fun of live stage performances as they launch the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 44th anniversary season.

The double feature consisting of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Fabulous Fable Factoryâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Treasure Islandâ&#x20AC;? will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3, at the auditorium of the Punxsutawney Area Senior High School.

Tickets will be sold at the door.

Commenting upon the show, veteran director, Kathy S. Dinsmore, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Various times, the Guild has been asked to consider doing a production that will appeal to young people or to present a play that will give some area children an opportunity to perform on stage. This program of two one-act plays does both of those things. â&#x20AC;&#x153; Dinsmore continued, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe that the combination of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Fabulous Fable Factoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Treasure Islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a great way for parents and grandparents to introduce children to live theater. To make it a truly family-friendly experience, PTAG will offer kids (12 and under) tickets for just $2.00 when accompanied by an adult. â&#x20AC;&#x153; Joseph Robinetteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whimsical story of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Fabulous Fable Factoryâ&#x20AC;? features a cast of nine actors who help to bring Aesopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best known fables to life. Newcomers Lisa Doty as Mrs. Aesop, Harmony Wilbur as Margo and Katelyn Dotts as a fable maker are featured alongside PTAG regulars Tim Cooper, Kelly Wilbur, Kathy Dinsmore, Krystol Elkin, Jef Dinsmore, and Debra Dinsmore as the rest of the fable makers.

The delightful story centers around an inquisitive youngster who discovers an old

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NOTE TO READERS: As noted, the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society has a great many pictures and postcards of scenes from within the Borough and of some of the nearby mining communities. In addition, the research library shelves have a number of community histories done in recent years which have good pictures. Examples of these are Adrian, Big Run, Coolspring, Covode and Henderson Township. For a lot of the surrounding communities and rural townships, there are not many images. Since the Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission includes history not just in the Borough but outside it, more pictures of businesses, churches, schools, farms and more would be good to have.

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factory operated by Mrs. Aesop and an assembly line of fable makers. Among the tales that are re-enacted are â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Ant and the Grasshopper,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lion and the Mouse,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Tortoise and the Hare.â&#x20AC;?

While the fables come to life, the youngster surprises everyone with the ability to make morals for the stories. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Treasure Islandâ&#x20AC;? is a participation play where children in the audience will be chosen to become part of the action. Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Steve and Kathy Hotchner have created a magical production in which the entire audience will create a storm at sea, a mosquito-infested jungle, and a treasure cave filled with eerie ghosts. Five children team up with the fearsome Ben Bulba to help defeat Red the Pirate Queen and save Long John Silver.

Emily Wisnesky makes her debut with the Guild in the role of Jamie. The co-stars include Tim Cooper as Captain Smollet; Jef Dinsmore as Long John Silver; Krystol Elkin as Red; Kelly Wilburn as Crossbun, and Debra Dinsmore as Ben Bulba.

Director Dinsmore concluded, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Guild hopes that the young and the young at heart will plan to attend this show that offers surprises and fun. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an excellent opportunity to encourage children to turn off their screens and gadgets and to experience the power of using their imagination.â&#x20AC;?

Tickets are $9.00 for adults; $8.00 for seniors; $5.00 for students (age 13 and up), and $2.00 for kids age 12 and under, when accompanied by an adult.

For additional information, phone Dinsmore at 814-938-0378.

The production is presented by arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

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