#224 JUNE 2019

Page 1

STANDARD PENNANT — 100 YEARS STRONG! Standard Pennant Company is proud to be serving its Hometown Community for 100 years!

Standard Pennant Company

On the cover: Jim Casaday has been a key player in Standard Pennant Company’s history and success. Working there for many years as an artist before becoming a co-owner in 1995 and sole owner in 2002, Casaday prides himself in the fact that he runs a company that has been a long-time employer in the region, a place that is dear to his heart.

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100 Years Strong

By Gloria Kerr for Hometown magazine he Standard Pennant Company (SPC) is a small business that’s really a big business for the small town of Big Run with a population of 624, according to the 2010 census. It’s been em-

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James Casaday, SPC owner, with wife Colleen. He has a history of 38 years with SPC, over a third of the company’s 100-year life span.

ploying local people since Mrs. Shankle started the company in 1919 with eighteen employees. The current owner Jim Casaday has about twenty-seven employees. In the mid-1970s and 1980s, the company had up to forty workers, but some automation brought about by foreign competition has whittled down that number. James Casaday, Owner Casaday started working at SPC in 1976 as the company’s only artist under owner Richard Mowrey, who had taken over his father William Mowrey’s business only the year before. From a creative perspective, Casaday became stagnant and left SPC in 1985 to take another artist position with Sekula Signs in DuBois, Pennsylvania. But he came back to SPC in 1991 while the company was owned by Max and Dean Neal with more responsibilities as art director and an art department that employed four or five artists. At that time, very little work was automated, so all the art work was done by hand. SPC didn’t have its first automated graphic computer until 1994. When the Neals announced in March 1995 that they were closing the 76-yearold business, Casaday knew he’d be out of a job by June 2. At that point, entrepreneur John Griffiths called Casaday, who’d worked in the art department at SPC for a total of fifteen years over two stints, and the two joined forces to buy the company, becoming the official owners of the Standard Pennant Company in July 1995. Griffiths having sold his share of the business, Casaday became its sole owner in 2002. Jim Casaday is a hands-on owner who knows his business, coming into ownership after having been an employee who’s worked throughout the plant at various jobs as the need arose. At first in his owner

2 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

role, he had the misconception that business skills were all that he needed to be a successful business man, but he soon realized that being in touch with all phases of production and the people he employed made him a better manager. He says, “It’s not a science. There are technicalities, but creative perspective is vital, too, so looking and eyeballing is critical to adjust color, quality, design.� So Casaday listens to the people actually doing the work; thus, his workers have a vested interest in the products they make. This philosophy has made Jim Casaday a well-liked boss. Every employee interviewed commented on how much he or she likes working with and for him. As a result of his management style, a family dynamic of cooperation pervades the floor of this operation. Routinely, employees slip into another of the five departments when one is slow or another is under pressure to get a job done. SPC Office Staff The front office receptionist Tammi McKendree greets customers who come in the door; she also does order input and customer service. With SPC for seven years, she had worked part-time as a real estate agent, but she says she likes “working with people [at her Big Run job] better than real estate.� The mother of three children, her husband Eric is a mailman.

Standard Pennant Company Celebrates 100th Anniversary

Started in 1919, the Standard Pennant Company (SPC) in Big Run, Pennsylvania, is celebrating its one-hundredth year of continuous operation this year. Now owner James Casaday began working at the company as an artist in 1976, and he became one of its owners in 1995. All told, he has a history of thirty-eight years with SPC, over one-third of the company’s life span. Casaday’s wife Colleen, now retired from a position at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney campus, comes in weekly on a exible basis to do some ofďŹ ce accounting, customer service calls, and packaging. Colleen and Jim Casaday have been married for 42 years. They have two children, Nathan and Cara, and four grandchildren, Claire, Callan, Eliza and Parker. In 2015, the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce recognized the Standard Pennant Company as its business of the year. Currently Casaday serves on the Board of Directors of the Punxsutawney Area Chamber of Commerce. •••

- Continued on page 4

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Standard Pennant Co., Inc.

The Standard Pennant Company was located on the north east corner of Main and Thompson Streets in Big Run. The front portion of the building had a store on the first level and living quarters on the second level. Purchased by the Shankles in 1919, it was the home of the company for 58 years. Photo courtesy of PAHGS.

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By Shirley Sharp leather tanner in the coal mines and later at for Hometown magazine the Big Run Tannery until it closed. Sarah helped support the family as a dressmaker. hat does it take for a company to They raised two sons, Charles Ward and Alcontinuously operate for one hunbert Lynn. By 1910, their son Ward was dred years? Determination, commitworking as a bookkeeper in the company ment and adaptability, mixed with a little store at the Sagamore mines in Armstrong serendipity. County. Their youngest son Lynn also began The history of the Standard Pennant Comworking at the Sagamore Mines about 1911. pany of Big Run, Pennsylvania, reflects all of During the next six years life changed for these qualities plus one, persistence. What the Shankles. Their son, Ward, married Anna began as an effort to meet a local need for Hanson, a school recognition items, teacher, had two now virtually serves children and was dithe world. This small agnosed with tubercompany begun by a culosis. He needed woman, has continlight duty employued for 100 years in ment to support his a community of family. Sarah about 650 persons. Shankle, with Sarah Catherine Ward’s help, exSheesley Shankle, panded her business the founder of the to include the Standard Pennant sewing of gloves. Company was a deThey rented the termined woman space above the who turned her store located at the dressmaking skills south west corner of into a business. Born in Gaskill Township The second floor of the store located on the south Main and Mill in 1866, she was the west corner of Main and Mill Streets in Big Run, was Streets in Big Run, eldest child of Salem used by the Shankles as a sewing shop for their where they set up a Standard Pennant Company business. sewing room and and Jane Sheesley, fledgling Today, the building is occupied by Harvey's Counhired sewers. Stumembers of one of try Cupboard. Photo by S.J. Sharp. dents at the Big Run the pioneer families High School came to them with a request for which had settled in Gaskill Township in the pennants, banners and other items used in 1840s. When Sarah was young, the family recognition of student achievements. The moved to Grant Township, Indiana County. Shankles accommodated their needs. She married William A. Shankle, of Grant The Shankles purchased and moved to a resTownship, Indiana County, in Mahaffey in idence just east of the Presbyterian Church in 1885, and they established their home in Big Run in the spring of 1916. In 1917, both Gaskill Township. Her husband worked as a

sons registered for the draft brought about by of the settlement of the estate of her son, the United States entering the Great War. Ward. Mrs. Shankle purchased the property Ward was exempted from service due to his at a sheriff’s sale on August 16, 1924. On September 17, 1924, William A. Gibson, marital status and illness. Lynn served in the Army and was exposed to mustard gas which a native of Gaskill Township and contemposeverely damaged his lungs. By 1919, the rary of the Shankle’s sons, purchased fourbusiness was doing well; however, both sons fifths of the Standard Pennant Company. Sarah Shankle continued to hold one-fifth of were enduring serious health situations. The Shankles established the Standard Pen- the company. William Gibson, a graduate of nant Company and, in August 1919, they pur- Indiana State Teachers College, taught for several years before serving in chased a lot in Big Run which the Army during WW I. included 4,500 square feet of George S. Gibson, his younger land and a store-front building. brother, became his partner in It was located on the north side the Pennant Factory. of Main Street along an alley, From the end of the war until now known as Thompson 1928, William A. Gibson had Street. The land had previously been a partner in the Philiber been owned by Andrew Cox, a Beef and Provision Company physician, who operated a store of Butler. In February 1928, which included his pharmacy. he returned to the area to join Cox sold the property to David his brother at the Standard Thompson, a wheelwright, Pennant Factory. On February whose widow, Eva Thompson, 20, 1928, Sarah and William sold it to Uzella M. Pifer, who A. Shankle deeded their onein turn sold it to the Shankles. fifth share and William A. The building on the property had a large room on the ground This felt emblem for gradu- Gibson deeded his four-fifths floor and living quarters on the ates of Rossiter High School shares in the Big Run Property second floor. This building Class of 1945 illustrates the to the entity of the Standard served as the home of the Stan- detailed work performed at Pennant Company with prinStandard Pennant Com- cipal offices at Big Run, Penndard Pennant Company for the pany by the designers, cutsylvania. Mrs. Shankle about 58 years. ters and sewers. Alumni of Sarah Shankle faced a diffi- the school were proud to continued to work at the comcult time when her sons died wear this emblem of their pany as the superintendent within eight months of each success. Courtesy of PAHGS. until her health forced her retirement. The Gibson brothers other, Ward in October 1923 and Lynn in June 1924, leaving her to con- took on the tasks of management and sales. tinue the business. The property used as the William’s daughter, Eugenia, became the secoperating space for the Pennant Company retary for the company. George S. Gibson took an active part in the was mortgaged to the Citizens National Bank of Big Run which brought suit against civic and political life of the Big Run comCharles Ward and William A. Shankle as part munity, serving on Big Run Borough Coun- Continued on page 10

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SPC’s office staff: Jenna Matthews, sales representative; Lesa Hankinson, office manager; Tammi McKendree, front office receptionist; Colleen Casaday, Jim’s wife who does some accounting, customer service, and packaging; company owner Jim Casaday.

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4 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

100 Years Strong

Continued from page 2 Jenna Matthews, the only on-the-road sales representative, appreciates the flexibility Casaday gives her. A mother of two girls, four and one, she says if one of her children is sick, she can stay home a day, take care of them, and know her job is secure. Her husband Rusty is in construction. With the company for ten years and seven of those in sales, Matthews’ territory covers all of Pennsylvania. She says that “Jim and Colleen are great to work for,” and she likes “working for a family-owned company.” She noted that, when artist Troy Hicks’ father passed away, all the staff visited the funeral home to offer condolences to one of their “family” members. One of Matthews’ customers is the Hero Kids Foundation based in Virginia, a nonprofit dedicated to “serving the children and family of military and civilian service individuals by giving support through Equine and Canine Psychotherapy and wilderness activities,” according to their website. SPC produces shirts and banners for their horse competitions. She says proudly that her boss recently was surprised when one of the Hero Foundation’s representatives made a trip to SPC to surprise Jim Casaday with an award for his support of their efforts. Office manager Lesa Hankinson has been with SPC for over nineteen years. With two grown sons and three grandchildren, she has no plans for retiring. She likes her job where she’s always learning and adapting to change. “Never bored” with her wide-ranging responsibilities, Hankinson is busy with payroll, purchasing, invoicing, going to trade shows, and servicing local corporate accounts, one of which is the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce Souvenir Shop. Her husband Jim works for Niagara Cutter in Reynoldsville. Commenting on SPC’s wide range of customers, Hankinson says SPC worked with Big Run on its 150th Anniversary Celebration in 2017, and it produced school pennants for the set of the musical Grease that aired on television in 2018. As owner Casaday himself says, “A business [like Standard Pennant] in a small town isn’t just a small business. It touches the world. …We can make anything for anybody.” In 2015-16 it produced banners for the movie The Promised Land starring Matt Damon. Filmed in southwestern Pennsylvania, it dealt with the environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing to extract gas and oil from deep underground. And in one SPC production area hangs a really sharp-

looking banner made for Nike with the famous “Just do it” slogan, a proud reminder for all who work at SPC of the way their products reach out to big and little operations all over the world. Tony Stewart’s NASCAR race team is also a regular customer; SPC has made over 50 banners that hang in Stewart’s race car manufacturing facility. Mark Burkett, Production Manager Standard Pennant Company’s operations are split up among five departments-screen printing, embroidery, banners, pennants, & chenille, plus an art department that interacts with all of them. Mark Burkett is the production manager who oversees the five and can run all the machines. He does maintenance work on them and stays late when necessary, and, like the other employees, he goes where he’s needed. With the company for twenty-five years, he moved back to this area from the Butler and Kittanning area where he’d worked in screen printing. Burkett’s first job when hired was cleaning ink from the screenprinting apparatus with heavy duty mineral spirits. He’s married to Lori Burkett, a Punxsutawney Area High School chemistry teacher. The couple have two sons, Jared and Lucas. Burkett came on board when Jim Casaday was taking over the company and starting over in 1995. He says SPC had lost all its sales people and had only five employees at that time. But Casaday gradually rebuilt the business and hired back many of its former employees. Like others at SPC, he says Casaday “is an amazing guy” who “always listens, a great boss.” He’s proud of his fellow employees, too, adding, “Everyone is so talented. They may not realize how hard it is to do what they do and do it well.” They’ve started a monthly company lunch day to which all bring a food or a dish to share. Absenteeism is not an issue either, for loyal workers know that, if they don’t show up for work, someone else has to do their job. Fall is the busiest time at SPC when schools put up banners in gyms and businesses place seasonal orders, while February (except for Groundhog Day) through April are slower months. The company has done well. Ten years ago, Burkett points out, the company was selling 13,000 banners and pennants annually, while last year they shipped out 113,000 of them, quite an increase. With automated production, the chenille, embroidery, and screen-printing departments get more work done six to eight times faster, and, in this small company, he says, “All try to do their best.” - Continued on page 6

The Best Place Around ML Carlton

Resident of Mahoning Riverside Manor

Mahoning Street Personal Care Home: Offering a Warm, Inviting Atmosphere for Residents and Guests Mahoning Riverside Manor

T

he administration and staff of Mahoning Riverside Manor is pleased to introduce to the public its complementary facility, Mahoning Street Personal Care Home (MSPCH). Newly built in the fall of 2018, the home is located adjacent to the manor and offers a warm and inviting atmosphere for its resident, as well as a multitude of services and amenities to accommodate the needs of your loved one. According to administrator Marcy Galando, she and her staff are united in their goal of respectfully providing their residents the highest level of care while maintaining each individual’s dignity and ensuring his or her happiness. In order to accomplish this, Galando says that MSPCH Marcy Galando, has been designed Administrator with the residents’ best interests at heart. To begin, the exterior of the structure, which sits at 919 on the corner of Mahoning and Foundry Streets, boasts beautiful siding with stone accents, a welcoming feature to anyone who visits. Next, a furnished gazebo area offers a relaxing and comfortable space for the residents to take in the fresh air or to socialize. Additionally, the parking area is close to the entrance, allowing residents and visitors easy access to and from the building. Last, and most importantly, Galando explained that all exit doors are alarmed, including wandering alarms for any resident who might have a tendency to leave the building without reason. At MSPCH, safety comes first; therefore, the building is equipped with full video monitoring of common areas inside and outside. As you enter the facility, you are greeted by an aesthetically appealing décor that is both beautiful and serene, yet cozy. The main lounge area features ample seating for a sizeable group, a big-screen television and a lovely fireplace. For less formal gatherings, MSPCH has a spacious living room/rec area where residents can visit, play board games and enjoy music. The

Mahoning Street Personal Care Home

nearby dining area offers a social eating space where the staff serves home-cooked meals that are delicious, nutritious and that meet the dietary guidelines of each resident. In addition, there is a separate dining and party room and full-kitchen facility, perfect for celebrations. Each resident at MSPCH can opt for single or double occupancy accommodations, dependent upon his or her preference. All rooms are handicap-accessible, have a call bell and twoway intercom, as well as TV and internet services, and offer home-like comfort with a bedroom area, sitting space, kitchenette and a private bathroom with a spacious shower and electric-operated toilets with warm seats and warm water wash sprayers. Additionally, the facility has a Whirlpool walk-in tub with wheel chair accessibility. Galando also pointed out that a private room is available for residents who require Hospice care. She said that the purposeful arrangement of the area allows for family and friends of the individual to come and go as needed, while providing a comfortable visiting space. Other amenities include a hair salon, a massage spa room and a private Connie Sunderland, prayer area. Activities Director Activities are also provided for the residents of MSPCH, under the direction of activities director Connie Sunderland. These activities meet the social, emotional, physical and spiritual needs of the residents and include the following: Arts and crafts; music programs; pet therapy visits; “Sing and swing” exercise; bingo; outdoor gardening Lorraine Cherian, R.N., B.S.N. and Certified and bird watching, Oncology Nurse to name a few. Under the supervision of co-administrator Lorraine Cherian, R.N., B.S.N. and Certi-

fied Oncology Nurse, MSPCH provides specific doctor-ordered services, including physical and occupational therapies, mild dementia care, Hospice and respite care and home health nurses or aides. In addition, regular physician visits are available. Galando stated that there are many factors which influence an individual’s or family’s decision to choose a personal care home. Among these reasons might be that help is needed in administering medication or monitoring blood glucose and insulin treatments, assistance is called for with dressing, bathing or preparing meals, or that the individual can no longer maintain a home and its upkeep. Whatever the cause may be, the administrators of MSPCH are confident that their personal care home offers the best in care and atmosphere for its residents and guests. To schedule a tour or to check-out the facility, you may contact Galando or Cherian at 814-938-4128 or 814-938-1745. Stay tuned as well for an upcoming Open House at MSPCH, when the public may stop by for a visit. ••• — ADVERTISEMENT —

© Punxsutawney Hometown magazine

A familiar face at Mahoning Riverside Manor is that of resident ML Carlton, a retired physical education teacher who spent her career getting the youth of Punxsutawney physically fit. ML came to the Manor almost a year ago, shortly after she and her daughter Terri toured the facility and were extremely impressed by its features. Foremost, ML was thrilled with the personal space that the facility offers each of its residents. She explained that her room is equipped with ample dresser space, a phone line, a private bathroom, a very comfortable bed and a television where she can watch her favorite network, The Hallmark Channel. “It’s like a little apartment,” ML added. A graduate of Slippery Rock University, ML has always led a healthy and active lifestyle. Therefore, she is most delighted to take part in daily exercise classes at Mahoning Riverside Manor, classes that she sometimes leads with her expertise. ML remarked, “I believe in keeping your mind and body healthy.” When ML is not relaxing in the tranquility of her suite, she can be found attending the many activities that take place at the Manor, some of which include, bingo, parties and church services. In fact, according to facility administrator Marcy Galando, ML even encourages the other residents to join in the goings-on, calling her the “resident social planner.” In short, ML is confident that her move to Mahoning Riverside Manor was one of the best decisions she ever made. She summed her feelings up when she said, “I couldn’t be in a better place. This is the best place around.” •••

A Beautiful Place Marge Brennan

Resident of Mahoning Street Personal Care Home

Retired business teacher Marge Brennan came to Mahoning Street Personal Care Home, or MSPCH, soon after she and her family came to the realization that living on her own wasn’t the best choice for Marge because she needed more personal care. However, she didn’t yet require the intense attention of a skilled nursing unit. Thus, MSPCH seemed to offer just the right amount of responsiveness while maintaining Marge’s sense of independence. Since her move to the facility, Marge has quickly become acclimated to her new home, expressing much satisfaction with the environment, people and services. According to Marge, she doesn’t possess any doubts about having had chosen MSPCH because the staff goes the extra mile to meet her individual needs. “They go out of their way to do things just for me,” Marge lauded. In particular, Marge is delighted with her private suite which boasts a bedroom area, kitchenette with microwave, sitting area and bathroom. Marge also enjoys spending time in the common lounge area where she can visit with other residents or welcome her own visitors. For Marge, the fact that meals are provided throughout the day was an important item on her must-have list when choosing a facility, since cooking for herself is not an easy task. In fact, Marge praises the home-cooked meals, saying, “The food is absolutely delicious.” Living her entire adult life on Woodland Avenue, with her now late husband John Brennan, a former principal at the local high school, Marge is thrilled that she could find a personal care home right in her hometown. Likewise, the newly-built facility offers a comfortable dwelling place for its residents. Marge summed it up well as she professed, “I like it here very much. I’m very happy. It’s a beautiful place.” •••

Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224 – 5

100 Years Strong Ruth Shick

Trisha Zanaglio

Continued from page 4

Troy Hicks, Art Department One of SPC’s newest and youngest employees is Troy Hicks, art department head, who was hired in April 2015. Owner Jim Casaday says that “Troy brought up considerably the level of quality” in that department. Recognized for his artistic talent while in high school, Hicks attended technical school and majored in graphic design. He’s been married since 2007 to the former Brandi Piszker, who is a registered nurse but prefers her job at Pizza Town where there’s less pressure and more social interaction. From 2000 to 2015, Troy Hicks worked on catalogues for a giftware company in Freeport, Pennsylvania, but he wanted to come home to this area. Seeing Standard Pennant’s help-wanted ad in the newspaper for a graphic designer, he applied, was hired, and now does creative digital work for SPC primarily on a computer using Adobe Illustrator. Hicks brought more original design talent to SPC, so he uses much less commercial clip art. He, too, likes working for Jim Casaday who, he says, “gives good directions but he’s open to ideas and seeing some new designs.” “All our clients are looking for the unique,” Casaday says, “and Troy has the talent and the eye for design to create that kind of product.” Working under Hicks in the art department is Ryder Ankerbrand who’s been in the graphic design business for over sixteen years, but he’s been with

Brittney Voss

SPC for just a couple of months. Trisha Zanaglio also handles many duties in the art department designing banner layouts and preparing cad-cut lettering for the sewing department. Hicks likes the people with whom he works. “In this world of incivility,” he says his co-workers are “down-to-earth and friendly.” Asked if he sees himself as working in a factory at SPC, without hesitation, he said, “No, this isn’t a ‘line’ and it doesn’t have the factory feel. …There are so many moving parts.” He also likes the freedom department workers have to make suggestions and talk to Jim Casaday about anything in their “very small work place.” Tammy Voss, Embroidery Department Tammy Voss has been head of the embroidery department since 2010. She came to SPC in the fall of 2008 with no experience and learned her skills on the job. Coworkers then Carrie and Lisa Yoder were her teachers. Since then, she says they’ve done online webinars on company time in one of the offices to learn proper backing, proper topping, and proper digitizing. She has three others working under her supervision: Ashley Wright, Darriene London, and her daughter Brittany Hamer. Asked what’s changed in her department in the last ten years since she was hired, Voss says that in 2008, SPC had three single-head embroidery machines. One of those singles was replaced with a 6-head machine, and then in the winter of 2018 another 8-head machine was added. Whereas once her department could embroider only three items at a time, now it

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can turn out sixteen identical items at once. Thus, the department’s highly skilled digital production has increased to meet the increased demand for quality SPC products. Voss’s team gets embroidery designs from the art department, and she and her team help tweak the designs so the automated machines can run the design properly. By watching webinars, she says, “we can see what needs changed in the design so the machine can embroider the best designs.” Then they take their suggestions to the art department which makes the changes.” She says they have that same cooperation when they work with the chenille or sewing banners department. Again, Standard Pennant’s workers have a vested interest in their products with some control over the quality of the work produced. Another group that’s part of the embroidery department is the trimmers. Very skilled at hand-cutting with scissors, the trimmers cut precise straight lines, curves, and angles to trim up completed emblems. Cross-trained like other SPC workers, Trish Zanaglio, part of the art department, is one of them. What Voss says she likes about her job is “the challenge of getting things done on time and correctly.” She’s married to Clifford Voss, Jr., who works full-time at Advance Auto Parts and also serves as a pastor. The couple used to live in Big Run, but now they live in Burkett Hollow in a family home on 32 acres that was her grandfather’s and then her father’s. Like her co-workers, she says, with a smile, that SPC employees “all get along; we don’t talk about politics or religion.”

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Buddy Gearhart, Screen Printing Department Buddy Gearhart is the “go-to guy with lots of experience” in the screen-printing department, Mark Burkett says, and “a hard worker who takes pride in the work he does.” He started working for the company when it was owned by both Casaday and John Griffiths. Gearhart fondly recalls helping with some of the demolition of the old factory building after the 1996 flood. Working in screen printing with Buddy are Zach Edwards, Gena Baxter, Kari Bish, Megan Wright, and sometimes Mark Burkett. Gearhart has left the company several different times but always came back. The first time he left to move to North Carolina with his sister but returned when his mother was sick, and Casaday rehired him. Then he quit to go to business school and work at Penn Arms in Punxsutawney with his business administration degree. When Penn Arms moved out of Punxsutawney, he went to SPC to pick up an embroidery order for them, and Mark Burkett asked Buddy to return to work in screen printing—so he did, and he’s been there ever since. He also appreciates that the company kept his job open for him when he was off fourteen days recovering from shoulder surgery and let him return to light duty until he fully recovered. He, too, noted the camaraderie of the workers’ monthly company lunches and their habit of walking across the street to Harvey’s Cupboard on other days on their half-hour lunch time. “I enjoy what I do, and Jim’s nice to work with,” Gearhart says. When his mother - Continued on page 8

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Punxsutawney “Firsts” in Street Car and Auto History Beginning in 1892, in Punxsutawney, the street car, or trolley, provided mass transportation for people during a time of industrial and economic growth in the area. The arrival of the automobile, with its convenience and individual freedom, is credited with the collapse of street car service. (1908 photograph courtesy Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society)

A

By S. Thomas Curry for Hometown magazine mong the “firsts” in Punxsutawney area history that have affected the everyday activities of citizens are the “firsts” in the people’s mobility by means of transportation. The significant impact is from individual mobility by walking on foot, riding on horses and horse and buggy (or carriage) to mass transportation by railroad or street car on the newly organized street railway. An earlier Hometown story in March, about the introduction of electricity in Punxsutawney in 1889, included a mention about the “first” street car run on the Punxsutawney Street Railway line on Punxsutawney’s Mahoning Street from a point in East End at Elk Street moving west about two miles to Clayville to a juncture at South Main Street and North Main Street (what is now Grace Way at West Mahoning Street in Punxsutawney’s West End). The advent of the street car (trolley) for transportation coincided with the period of major industrial growth in the Punxsutawney area after the first railroad train service entered the area in 1883. Within fifteen years, the street car line was extended to neighboring mining towns and villages. The electric street car service for Punxsutawney followed a year or two after Greensburg, Connellsville, Uniontown and DuBois had been in operation. Punxsutawney, with the others, had electric lines for street cars before Philadelphia. Its public transportation service was using horses to pull the cars throughout its service area. When the trolley service was introduced in Punxsutawney, advertisements were posted for men to “handle the reins of the electric horse.” In operation from 1892 until 1927, Punxsutawney street car history developed its own unique “firsts” as people and horses became accustomed to its daily schedule and operation in community life. When the first street car made its run in August 1892, adults expressed a positive feeling about the new transportation. Some remarks were “a great saver of time,” “convenient,” “it makes us feel less rural and suburban.”

After a few days, the weekly Punxsutawney Spirit shared more in its evaluation of the street car service. “The street cars so far have not been as great objects of terror to teams (of horses) as many people had supposed they would be. The trial runs scared but very few horses on the street. Drivers accustomed to leaving their teams stand on the street untied may find some inconvenience at first or until their horses get used to the cars. The only lookout necessary will be to not let the team stand on the track.” Some “firsts” in Punxsutawney’s Street Car History In The Punxsutawney Spirit news article about the “first run” on the street car, many facts were reported for the interest of readers and a historical record: “forty-two people loaded on the car,” “the financially interested, their friends, representatives of two papers, burgess and members of council of Punxsutawney and Clayville, contractors who built the street car line.” In the weekly Punxsutawney News there was another list of news notes about the event. In it is recorded what could be considered “the first accident” with a street car. That note stated “Harry Barto, of Young township, had his buggy smashed by the electric cars on the morning that they started up for the first run. The horse took fright and backed the buggy across the track and the car crushed into it and left it a total wreck.” However, three years after that initial run of the street car, the Spirit ran a story in May 1896 with a headline: “Our First Trolley Accident.” That story might more accurately have been listed as, “the first trolley accident involving a human.” The accident involved a five-year-old boy who was “returning from school at Clayville.” It happened when the street car slowed up at a railroad crossing. The boy attempted to get on and “his foot was caught under a wheel and crushed from the instep diagonally across the great toe,” (May 6, 1896, Punxsutawney Spirit) Dr. J. E. Grube, from his office in Clayville, dressed the wound with “a fear that amputation may be necessary.” The first use of whistles on street cars was - Continued on page 14

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100 Years Strong

Continued from page 6 passed away, he wasn’t employed at Standard Pennant, but “Jim and all the office staff came to the viewing. It meant a lot,” he added. He lives in Punxsutawney with his wife Danielle, who owns the Sweet Secrets Bakery in Rossiter, and three stepchildren. Shelley Niver, Sewing Department Shelley Niver is head of the sewing department but she herself doesn’t sew, for her team also makes banners with elements cut out by hand. She cuts felt and nylon letters or designs from stencils which the sewers then stitch on to banners. She recalls one they made for Saint Francis University that was so big it was taken up the street to the floor of the large War Memorial Building to lay it out and finish it. Working in Niver’s department are Joanne Rice, Sue Hetrick, Gale Reams, Skyann Dicello, Melinda Varner, Sharon Wright who cuts pennants, and Cheryl Means who helps Niver make banners. They also do heat transfers to put names and numbers on shirts and other individual products. Having worked at SPC for eighteen years this August, Niver says, “Things are done differently now than when I started—more modern and efficient. For example, in the past heat transfer letters were cut out by hand and placed one at a time; now the letters are cad cut [computer aided design] and spaced ready for heat transfer.” She likes being busy and being on her feet. Niver lives just down the street from her work place. With husband John Niver, she has two children, Kelli and John. She likes

the good teamwork in her department and says, “When we’re busy, time flies.” Phyllis Giroskey, Chenille Department Phyllis Giroskey supervises the oldest department, chenille, where operators use yarn to create athletic, band, and other letters sewn on jackets and sweaters that schools award to students for their participation, as well as other groups’ patches or emblems. Chenille is the French word for “caterpillar” as the letters’ finish is fuzzy, soft, and feathery, reminiscent of the feel of a caterpillar. To chenille, sewers draw many loops of yarn up through backing or scrim marked with a letter or pattern to create the fuzzy surface. Giroskey has worked at SPC for thirty years, and when she started, skilled women sewers did all the chenille work manually. Five of the hand-run machines are still in use, but now her department, she and Virginia Maines, has one 4-head automatic chenille machine that can make four duplicates at once and one single-head automatic machine. Sometimes she has to perform mechanical work on the machines, but if the machines have a timing issue, she’ll call in an outside technician. Her department does their work on frames; that chenille work then goes to the embroidery department where details are added, and then it comes back to chenillers who sew on backing. Giroskey became head of the chenille department in 1991 when Belle Hullihen, who worked at SPC for fifty years, retired. Hullihen’s record of employment at SPC is just one of the many testaments of employee loyalty to this small, Big Run business. The chenillers once made very sophisti-

8 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

cated Boy Scout emblems, but Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has since made that a licensed business and many are made overseas. Those unique, quality BSA emblems once made by SPC have since become valuable collector’s items. Asked what work she’s most proud of in her department, she named the emblems of motorcycle clubs because their designs are so unique. She, too, says she likes working for Jim Casaday, and “producing products that customers appreciate” and she takes pride in her “department’s ability to get jobs done. …It’s a good place to work.” Never married, Giroskey still lives in the house where she grew up with her dog Sadie, a terrier maltese. Back in the 1960s and 1970s Before the Standard Pennant Company had any automated equipment, in the 1960s when Bill Mowrey owned and ran the company, sisters Lois Schaffer and Janice Grove worked there in the chenille department between 1961 and 1975. They recall that they didn’t punch a time clock as workers do now. In the morning, they would gather at the door to a set of steps that led up to the second story of the building, which was torn down in 1996 after the flood, and wait for a bell to ring to signal the beginning of the work day at 7 a.m. That same bell rang to signal the lunch break at noon and at 4 p.m. to end the work day. The girls back then, and a few male staffers, had an hour lunch break so many living in town went home for lunch. No official breaks were scheduled during the day, but workers could get up from their machines and go to the rest room. Someone came around during the day and sold soda pop and candy at intervals. The only days off were major holidays

like Christmas, Easter, New Years, and July 4. There were no employee benefits and no such thing as sick days. If a worker called in sick, she got no pay for that day. When work slowed down and they were laid-off, they could sign up for unemployment benefits. Asked what they liked about working at the Standard Pennant Company back then, they laughingly agreed, “the paycheck.” They also liked the people they worked with, but there really wasn’t any talking among them during the work day because of the loud noise of the machines. Co-workers they recall from that era include Molly Grove, Lois Lee Stewart, Elda Wineberg, Donna Ray Trithart, Pauline Haag, Doris Reed, Beulah Reed, Kathy Kerr, Mary Knarr, Ann Daugherty, Carolyn Westover, Genevieve Collins, Peggy Wachob, Faye Weber, Betty Humm, Martha Shepler, Lorraine Beck, Carol Brothers, Leora Pifer, and their sister and supervisor Belle Hullihen. Present owner James Casaday has greatly improved working conditions and employee benefits these days, some mandated by changing labor laws and some because he’s simply a good person and a good businessman. But he himself says he’s a better manager because of his own experience over twenty-five years working at, and then owning, the Standard Pennant Company. Casaday’s tenure at the Standard Pennant Company spans an impressive 38 years of the hundred-year-old company’s history. Fittingly, the citizens of Big Run honored him as the town’s Man of the Year at the March 2017 Peeper’s Banquet for his and his company’s support of the town’s Sesquicentennial celebration of its 150 years in existence. With continuing leadership like Casaday’s, the company can anticipate a bright future. •••

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By Marty Armstrong for Hometown magazine rom a map produced in 1936 of Jefferson County, showing its main roads and many rural schools, Bell Township appears then to have had eight such schools—Trout Run, Grube, Bell, Albion, Cloe (plural—probably two), Couch and Hoeh. From a list of school closures in the Punxsutawney Area School District that was prepared following closures in 1960, Bell Township is shown to have had eleven or twelve— shown here with closing dates: (1) North Grube 1919 (1)**Furnondaga #2 1925 (1)**Furnondaga #1 1926 Grube 1939 Hoch (Hoeh) 1946 Couch 1946 Trout Run 1946 Bell 1946 Cloe #1 1959 Cloe #2 1959 (2) Fairview 1959 *Albion #1 1959 *Albion #2 1959 *two rooms in single building **uncertain as to two rooms or two buildings (1) not on 1936 map, already closed by 1936

The Bell Township segment of a 1936 map of Jefferson County shows major roads of the time with locations of schools. Collection of PAHGS; displayed in Griffiths Galleries “Childhood” exhibit.

The Couch School was located on Bair Road near Cloe. It was this school which Bruce Lowry attended as a boy and to which he returned as a teacher for at least one term following his graduation from Mahaffey High School in 1925. The school closed in 1946. Courtesy of Kenton Scott from his website, “punxsypa.com”

(2) not on 1936 map, reason unclear By the time of the 1959 opening of the modern Bell Township School, the numbers had shrunk to four—Cloe #1, Cloe #2, Fairview and Albion (a two-room school). Bells from those four schools were relocated to the grounds of the new school where they became a prominent roadside feature. Don Armstrong, who attended all four of the closed elementary schools, has many vivid memories from those years in the 1950s—being chosen in first grade to play ball on his older cousin’s team, walking with Miss Thelma Krider and his classmates through the woods to the little cemetery in Cloe when a boy they all knew was buried and, especially, his teacher for fifth and sixth grades, Bruce Ayers Lowry (1905-1980). He remembers Mr. Lowry as a good teacher whom he admired and respected. In those years, Bell Township school board directors had come as close as they could to providing graded classrooms for township students. This had been a goal for educators for decades and in Bell Township, the number of grades in each single school or room was limited in the end to two— early grades in one school or room, middle grades in another and upper elementary grades in another. Though all the surrounding schools had educated eight grades initially, the late 1950s saw seventh and eighth graders from Bell Township attending junior high school in Punxsutawney. Mr. Lowry had a long association with the schools of Bell Township. Born in 1905, the son of Daniel McNees (Mac) and Mary Ella Ayers Lowry, Bruce attended the Couch School on Bair Road - Continued on page 20

HOMETOWN

Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224 – 9

Standard Pennant

Continued from page 3 cil, as a trustee of the Big Run Presbyterian Church, as a Director of the Big Run Bank and as the Republican State Committeeman for Jefferson County. He also served on the board of the Adrian Hospital in Punxsutawney. According to the census in 1930, there were 21 workers from Big Run, Gaskill and Henderson townships working at the factory. Their jobs were sewer, cutter, burner, stenciler, trimmer, janitor and clerk. Hannah Hanson was appointed as the foreman of production. By the time of the 1940 census, the workforce had more than doubled and 48 town residents were employees at the Standard Pennant Company. Under the Gibson brothers, a cadre of salesmen were deployed to call on high school upper classmen throughout the mid-Atlantic area. They were successful in making Standard Pennant Company one of the largest processors of woolen goods in the Eastern United States. The brothers diversified the business by adding leather and sheepskin items with images, burnt into the hides, which were popular with colleges and camps. During World War II, the Standard Pennant Company made clothing and bandannas in support of the war effort. George S. Gibson died suddenly in 1938. William continued operations until 1952, when Carl Frampton purchased the company. Carl, born in 1903, was the son of John and Phoebe Klein Frampton. He was raised in Gaskill Township as the step-son of David Sheesley, a cousin of Sarah Sheesley Shankle. During his youth, Frampton had lived with his sister Eva Mullins in Swissvale. Carl later worked for Westinghouse as a mechanical engineer, eventually becoming a salesman of electrical equipment for the company. He retired from Westinghouse in 1946 and returned to the Big Run area where his sisters Eva Mullins and Mabel Kellert were living. Mabel worked at the Standard Pennant Company, retiring with 36 years of service. Frampton began experimenting with screen

printing and air brushing as potential ways to expand the product line. He was also active in the community, serving as an elder with the First Presbyterian Church of Punxsutawney, serving as president of the Punxsutawney Club of Rotary International and joining the John Jacob Fisher Post of the American Legion and the Butler Lodge of F. & A. M. and the New Castle Consistory. On February 1, 1954, Frampton deeded the Standard Pennant Company property to William G. Mowrey, who was the first owner who did not have a direct connection to Gaskill Township. Mowrey had moved to Big Run from Sykesville in the 1930s to set up and practice as a mortician. He married Big Run resident Miriam Cleaver, daughter of Guy and Mary Cleaver. Mrs. Mowrey had worked at the Pennant Factory to earn money to further her education. In April of 1954, the Standard Pennant Company was reconstituted by William Mowrey and family members, Claude E., James I. and Leroy Mowrey. The Mowrey family expanded the operation into a national business, supplying high schools, colleges and corporations, large and small. They refined the screen printing operation and built a facility which housed the office and the printing department. In 1977, a twelve-hour rain storm flooded Big Run and the Pennant Factory. The original store-front building was beyond repair. It was removed and replaced by the modern building which houses the office and printing department and the floor of the factory was raised to be above flood level. The Standard Pennant Factory developed new product lines and continued successfully operating under the Mowrey Family until 1985. During these thirty plus years, the Mowreys significantly expanded the company and continued to provide stable employment in the community. Many of their employees remained with the company for their entire work careers. It was during the tenure of the Mowrey Family that the current owner, James Casaday first worked for the company as a designer. The next owners of the Standard Pennant Company were Max and Dean Neal, local coal operators who purchased the factory

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Pictured is the modern facility of the Standard Pennant Company in Big Run. The need for improved and expanded work space and floods in 1977 and 1996 which wreaked havoc on the original buildings made construction of this new facility a necessity. The facility houses up-to-date electronic equipment which creates many of today’s SPC products. However, the company continues to provide custom-stitched products. Photos by S.J. Sharp.

from the Mowrey family. During the ten years from 1985 to 1995, the Neals expanded the production area to over 20,000 square feet. They introduced automated technology. The workers became more technically sophisticated. Much of the embroidery and print work was able to be done automatically by machine. However, the company continued to produce quality, individuallystitched, top-of-the-line banners. The Big Run community and the Punxsutawney area was shocked in May 1995 when an announcement appeared in The Punxsutawney Spirit that the Standard Pennant Company would close after 76 years of successful operations. Local men, John Griffiths and James Casaday, through swift action, were able to rescue the company from closing. Within a month, the company was in renewal mode. Customers of the company never knew of the announced closing and many new customer accounts were developed. By August 1995, fifteen employees were back on the job. Tragedy struck the business again in 1996 when another monster flood inundated the factory, submerging the floor of the factory building and rendering it unusable. The building was demolished and the modern production facility constructed. During this crisis, the owners and employees maintained a positive outlook and were determined to get the business back into operation as soon as

possible. Through their “can-do” attitude and a philosophy of providing quality service to a wide and diverse clientele, the Standard Pennant Company succeeded in serving its customers. James Casaday, the current owner, has expanded the customer base locally, nationally and internationally using modern communications made possible by computers and the internet. The business continues to grow. The Standard Pennant Company has a reputation of being a company with the largest lines of custom-designed banners available in the market today. The employees are pleased to see the items they create being worn with pride by athletes, Groundhog Day visitors and groups of all types. Likewise, they are especially proud when they see their custom-made banners displayed at NASCAR events and in the Bryce Jordan Center on the Penn State Campus at State College. The Standard Pennant Company - which began with one woman’s determination to create employment for her family – has, for 100 years, created work for many women, enabling them to provide for their families. The company has had the good fortune to have been operated by committed owners who, with a great deal of determination and adaptability, have been successful; and, in their success, have maintained opportunities for employment in rural Pennsylvania. •••

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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 May 31 & June 1: Grange’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 June 1: George C. Brown Community Pool opens! n June 1: Beer, Wine & Shine Festival, 4 to 8 p.m., at the Stumble Inn, New Bethlehem. Fundraiser for Just Us for the Animals. Also features crafters, food & music. n June 1: Trash & Treasure Sale, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oliver Township Fire Hall. n June 1: 10th Annual Olympic Club ATV Ride for Make-A-Wish, 9 a.m., at Rathmel Run, Reynoldsville. Email lherzing@greaterpawv.wish.org for information. n June 1: Family Nature Palooza, 10 a.m., Blue Spruce Park, Indiana. n June 2: Bridal Flea Market, noon to 3 p.m., at The Crossroads Farm, Corsica. For information, visit the Crossroads Farm Facebook page. n June 4: First Tuesday Community Meal, 5 p.m., at Punxsutawney Presbyterian Church. Free & open to the public. n June 5: Strawberry Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., various locations in Smicksburg. n June 7: Blood Drive, 12:30 to 6 p.m., at First Church of God. Benefits American Red Cross. n June 8: Get Into Summer Festival, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Mapleview Schoolhouse Market & Event Center. n June 8: Walk on the Wild Side, at

the Clarion-Little Toby Trail, between Ridgway & Brockway. Features presenters, a scavenger hunt & youth raffle. For information, email info@tricountyrailstotrails.org. n June 8: Sally’s Bazaar, 9 a.m., at The Salvation Army, Indiana. Vendor & craft show. n June 8-9: 2nd Annual Jimmy Stewart Airshow, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Indiana County Jimmy Stewart Airport. See jimmystewartairport.com for ticket information. n June 13: Community Classic Golf Tournament at the Punxsutawney Country Club. Benefits the Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce, Weather Discovery Center, Make-A-Wish Foundation & Punxsutawney Community Center. n June 13, 14 & 15: 2019 Expo & Flea Market, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the Coolspring Power Museum. Featuring Electric Lighting & Gen Sets. n June 14: Flag Day. n June 15: Benefit dinner, noon to 7 p.m., at Big Run War Memorial. Benefits Stacey Magagnotti. n June 15: Community Yard Sale, 9 a.m., Marion Center. n June 15: Hunter-Trapper Education class, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Big Run Firehall. For information, visit www.pgc.stae.pa.us. n June 15-23: Laurel Festival 2019, Brookville. n June 16: Father’s Day. Remember your father with something special from one of Hometown’s advertisers. n June 17: Coping with Loss Support Group, 7 p.m., at First Church of God. Call 814-938-6670 for information. n June 18: Blood Drive, 12:30 to 6 p.m., at SSCD Church. Benefits American Red Cross. n June 20: Music in the Park at Bar-

clay Square. Bring a lawn chair. n June 22: Sloppy Science Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Weather Discovery Center. $10 per child & $6 for non-participating adults. Visit weatherdiscovery.org for information. n June 22: Multi-Vendor Yard Sale, 9 a.m. at The Salvation Army. n June 22: Hogtoberfest, 3 to 8 p.m., at Gobbler’s Knob. Craft beer festival & home brew competition. For tickets, go to www.groundhog.org n June 23: PAHS Alumni Band concert, 2 p.m., at the PAHS auditorium. n June 24-28: Roar! Vacation Bible School, 9 a.m. to noon, at Grace UMC, Punxsy. A joint project of Crosstown Ministries, Punxsutawney First Church of God & Punxsutawney Salvation Army. Registration information can be found at vbs.punxsycrosstown.org. n June 27, 28 & 29: Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild presents “Many Moons� and “Thirteen Clocks� by James Thurber at the Punxsutawney Area Community Center, 7:30 p.m. Thursday & Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets available at the door. n June 30 – July 6: 53 rd Annual Groundhog Festival, held in Barclay Square. n July 4, 5, and 6: Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild presents “Many Moons� and “The Thirteen Clocks� at 8:00 p.m. at the Sawmill Theater in Cook Forest. Reservations are suggested. Phone the box office at 814927-6655. PTAG patron tickets cannot be used at the Sawmill Theater. n June 4, 5, & 6: Hot Dog Days, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Shop N Save, benefits Punxsutawney Memorial Library. n Registration for “Summer Quest: A Universe of Stories,� is open at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library. The

program starts June 17. Check the library’s website or Facebook page for registration information. There is also a “Summer Questâ€? activity for adults. n The Citizens Band of Punxsutawney practices at 6:30 p.m., Tuesdays, at the First English Lutheran Church. Go to www.punxypa.com/band for information. n The Knights of Columbus at SSCD are holding a Fishing Charter Giveaway. Tickets are $20. Trip dates are Aug. 10, 24, Sept. 7 & 14. There will be 5 winners. Contact Chris Lento or Joe Nogacek or any Knight for tickets. Drawings will be July 29-Aug. 7, based on the 7 p.m. Pick 3 Lottery number. n The Jefferson County History Center is featuring a Stones N’ Bones exhibit, regarding geology & fossils in PA, a Gone but Not Forgotten art exhibit and a Living on the Land exhibit. Visit jchconline.org for information. n If you’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, ‘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. •••

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• 7 a.m., Pancake Breakfast, Dr. Walter Dick Park • 3-5 p.m., Laurel Festival Art & Photo Show, Create Café, Main Street • 2 p.m., Strawberry Festival, Town Square, Christian Rock Music, Town Square • 3 p.m., CMA “Worship Team Band” • 4:30 p.m., “Reach the Masses” • 6 p.m., “To the Throne” • 7 p.m., “Alan Scott Band”

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FAMILY FUN DAY

• Rebecca M. Arthurs Library annual Used Book Sale. Books, audio books, music CDs, puzzles and more! Continues all week! • 6-9 p.m., Main Street, Barrel train rides, Bouncy house, Build a Friend, DJ, Dunking Booth • 6:30 p.m., Hot dog eating contest • 6:30 p.m., Kids pie eating contest • 7 p.m., Rock and Roll Pet Store • 6 p.m., Pet Parade, Courthouse Lawn • 8:30 p.m., Light Twirlers workshop

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For many years, the mobility of people and goods in Punxsutawney’s downtown was a combination of foot traffic, horse and buggy, bicycle and street car. When the “horseless carriage� was introduced in 1901, traffic became more complicated. The new vehicle was named the automobile and the driver an “autoist.� (circa 1910 photographs courtesy PAHGS)

Punxsutawney “Firsts�

Continued from page 7 reported in August 1902. Whistles replaced the old way of ringing of a bell as a signal of arrival and departure and for warnings. Sadly, reported in April 1907 was the “first fatality caused by the trolley cars.� The threeand-a-half-year-old son of the Abe Besser family on West Mahoning Street was killed by a trolley car on its return trip east from Punxsutawney’s West End. The boy was hanging on the rear of a wagon traveling west on the street. He dropped off the wagon and started to run across the street car track as the car came along. With the wagon in front of him the boy did not see the approaching street car. Because of the wagon, the car “motorman� could not see the boy until it was too late to prevent hitting him. The father took the boy on the street car to the Sprankle & Elwood “undertaking rooms� for burial in the Jewish cemetery at Cloe. The local street car service for the area became a losing venture for the owners. It came to a close in September 1927. Men and women growing up in that era would cherish the memories of their experiences of over 35 years. In addition to the day the “first street car� was operated, there were other “firsts� to be recalled: the first free ride for the children, the first summer open-car was used. The arrival of the automobile at the beginning of the twentieth century, with its convenience and individual freedom, is credited with the downfall of the street car and mass transportation. And, another history begins. Punxsutawney “Firsts� with the Automobile “Although the old-timers of the past had worked long and hard, their social life had tended to be slow and leisurely. Those days

were gone forever, with the advent of the auto,� is the summary of transportation at the beginning of the twentieth century by one of the writers for the 1949 Punxsutawney Centennial book. Street cars were transporting people between towns on regular twenty-four hour schedules and people could take advantage of two railroads with their improved steam power to greater distances. They could transport any amount of personal luggage needed for a long trip over rocky roads and steep hills. They could go anywhere they wanted to go and as rapidly as a person would ever need to travel. Considering the condition of town streets and rural roads, only the horse could be depended upon for any mobility in all kinds of weather. Even more than the bicycle that became popular in the 1890s for individual freedom and leisure travel from their immediate neighborhoods. The first “horseless carriage� to come to Punxsutawney was a Locomobile steamer in 1898. At first described as a “steam carriage,� it was owned by P. O. Freas, manager of the Punxsutawney Bicycle Company who operated the popular Freas’ Cyclery Store. The store sold and repaired bicycles. In Punxsutawney history, Mr. Freas is considered “one of the automotive pioneers in these parts and also a pioneer in the sale and servicing of bicycles,� (June 20, 1960, Punxsutawney Spirit) The locomobile steamer was “chain driven and tiller steered, with welded bicycle-like frames.� It had a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour. Water to produce the steam was stored in a five-gallon tank hung in the front of the car while the boiler was beneath the seat. Generally, the locomobile used up all its

14 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

- Continued on page 16

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Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224 – 15

Punxsutawney “Firsts”

Continued from page 14 water in 20 miles. Not having success with the steam cars, the manufacturers moved to a gasoline engine. At his “cyclery shop” in June 1901, P. O. Freas received two automobiles from the Rochester Gasoline Motor Carriage Company. The arrival of the “new fangled vehicles” was reported in The Punxsutawney Spirit as an historic event. “These being the first automobiles that ever poked their heads into Punxsutawney naturally created considerable interest and excitement. All day long and far into the night, they chased up and down streets at a rattling pace to the admiration and astonishment of a large number of people who had never seen a horseless carriage. Crowds of curious spectators wanted to know all about them.” The Punxsutawney News reported the day’s excitement in other words, “The carriages were unloaded in the morning, during the day they were given a good trial. The automobile was run about 35 miles over hills and through the roughest kinds of roads. They are guaranteed to go anywhere a horse can go and pull a vehicle. The driving power is generated by steam and the vehicles run almost noiselessly. They were the first automobiles ever seen in Punxsutawney.” The manufacturing company in Rochester sent a representative to give instructions on handling the vehicle. One of the cars was “quite handsome, while the other was less pretentious as to appearance,” described the Spirit about the two automobiles. Captivated by the experience on the trial run, George W. Kipp bought one of them, “the pretty one,” it was reported. Kipp was a partner in the Clark, Kizer & Kipp lumbering and saw mill company at Cortez, near Anita. Having experienced a trial run that day, the editor of The Punxsutawney News expressed, “We had the pleasure of a ride in a horseless carriage the other day with the president of the company that manufactures the automo-

biles in town. He is here for exhibition and orders. We were very much pleased with the ride. In future years they will be as common as ordinary buggies, and possibly greatly improved in every respect over the kind in use now.” In July 1901, the editor of The Punxsutawney Spirit cautioned, “In spite of automobiles, bicycles, and all the new fangled contrivances for conveying human kind over the surface of the earth, good driving horses are in greater de- The first “horseless carriage” to come to Punxsutawney was a Locomobile steamer in 1898. P.O. Freas was one of the first to own one. Mr. Freas managed the Punxsutawney Bicycle Shop that sold and repaired bicycles. In the 1903 photo (left) mand at better prices men he is in his locomobile with sons Phil, Bill and Jay Freas. Photo (right) is the steam-powered locomobile owned by McKean than ever before. The Harl, who operated a lumber yard in Elk Run. The “horseless carriage” is shown on the Harl family property on Graffius Ave. horse is too fine an ani- Harl was the grandfather of local resident Frank Harl. (Freas photo, Hometown file photo, Harl photo courtesy of PAHGS) mal to be superseded by by electricity.” The styles of vehicles were opened in 1904 by P. O. Freas in his former any inanimate thing. They are here to stay.” listed as, “the runabout to the handsome big bicycle shop on West Mahoning Street. That The new automobiles in town in 1901 besite became too small for the growing busitouring car that will accommodate from 8 to came numerous, but improved as experiness; so, Freas bought the Myer’s Livery Sta10 people.” The report recognized, “the town ments were tried with electric cars and ble on North Jefferson Street to remodel. has one of the largest garages outside the big internal combustion gas engines. “Buzz When it opened for business in “a newer and cities.” wagon” was the new name that replaced better arrangement for autos” the Spirit headThe location of the garage, previously the “horseless carriage” when the new steam carsite of the First Baptist Church for forty years, line read: “Punx’y to Have An Automobile riage was introduced. then for a period of time a livery stable and Stable.” In August 1901, when the Punxsutawney then a garage for the first automobiles in After the remodeling, the former livery staFair was to be held at the fairground and Punxsutawney, will be remembered by older ble from the past became a combined garage where, in past years, horse-racing was a stanreaders as where had been Altman’s Garage. and livery stable, the front of the garage on dard event, it was announced that automobile North Jefferson St. for “housing and caring The outdoor plaza of the Jefferson St. Hi-Rise races would be scheduled, “the first to introfor cars” and the rear of the building for a livbuilding is seen there now. duce automobile races in this part of the state, ery stable and carriage house. The 18,000 feet In the early years of the history of automoit was stated.” A half dozen were listed “the of floor space was suitable for thirty cars. biles in Punxsutawney, there are others swiftest autos made.” Owners of the vehicles Statistics reported in a local newspaper in “firsts” to be recognized. In March 1910, would be called “autoists.” Punxsutawney area citizens welcomed the May 1908 was evidence that automobiles had From a few cars in the early 1900s, the aulatest thing in automobiles - a funeral car to become as plentiful as bicycles were a decade tomobile business grew rapidly and soon carry the casket of a deceased loved one to earlier, in the 1890s. Twenty “buzz wagons” garages would be necessary for repairs and burial, with family and friends following bewere listed at an estimated total cost of sales. Former livery stables for horses were $40,000, with more automobiles on order. hind in their vehicle of choice. In the brief noremodeled for the demands focused on autoThe vehicles were identified as, “some protice the article commented, “After its use mobiles. pelled by steam, some by gasoline, and some becomes general we may all expect at least The “first garage in Punxsutawney” was - Continued on page 18

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By the Coal Memorial Committee for Hometown magazine

ummer is the season when the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society shifts into high gear with activities highlighting the legacy of the coal industry in the area. The goals of the committee are to preserve the history of the coal industry and its impact on the Punxsutawney Area, to provide information and experiences for the public which encourage understanding of that history and to preserve related artifacts. In accomplishing these goals, the Coal Memorial Committee and the Society work with a variety of community groups and volunteers. The Punxsutawney Garden Club developed the flower garden at the Coal Memorial Site. Those who have traveled West Mahoning Street in the past month have seen the wonderful splash of color with the daffodils in bloom. The beauty of this garden is that the plantings provide color throughout the summer as different flowers bloom. During the

Coal Memorial Players Bob Lott and Bob Nastase tell about their mine explosion experience in True Stories from the Mines.

warmer weather, volunteers refresh the memorial flower garden and clean the memorial tiles at 404 West Mahoning Street. This year something new has been added at the Coal Memorial site. The Punxsutawney Arts Association has installed a miner at the site and plans to add a second mining related art installation this summer. These public art installations came about under the Physical Improvement Committee of the Visioning Project undertaken by PRIDE (Punx-

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sutawney Revitalization Investing, Developing and Enhancing) as part of the community’s effort to improve Punxsutawney, while informing our visitors of our heritage. The Committee’s annual “Race to the Face� will take place on July 27 in the Eleanora Shaft Mine area which is rich in local mining history. The race course is on country roads including blacktop, tar and chip, and gravel, but mostly dirt. The race provides participants, both novice and skilled, an opportunity to walk, run or bike the course. There is a 3.5-mile loop which provides a challenging yet doable experience for novice runners and walkers, a 7.5-mile loop for those runners seeking a greater challenge and a 15mile challenge for the bikers. Participants in the race enjoy the changing environment from the flat land area and open fields at the kick-off point through the cool forested area along Big Run Creek, to the challenge of the final hill. Pre-registration by July 15 is required to guarantee a t-shirt for participation. As summer wanes there will be the dedication of the 2019 tile additions to the Coal Me-

morial on September 2. From the Memorial Tiles purchased this year, there will be honorees included who worked at Adrian, Crawfordtown, Eleanora, Kramer, Rossiter and Timblin. These workers were employed by large mining and small mining companies. They include immigrants and native-born miners. Sponsors wishing to order a memorial tile in honor of a friend or family member must do so by June 30, 2019, the cut-off date for this year’s installation event. Attendees at this event will be treated to music by the Punxsutawney Citizens Band and a presentation of “True Stories from the Minesâ€? by the Coal Memorial Committee Players. For more information on these activities and events, visit the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Soci- A Public Art Installaety’s web page at tion can be seen at the punxsyhistory.org. Punxsutawney Area Photos courtesy of Coal Memorial. S.J. Sharp. This article has been prepared by the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. 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 2019 are encouraged to purchase their tile by June 30, 2019. Forms for registering for the Race to the Face or 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. •••

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Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224 – 17

Punxsutawney “Firsts”

its way about the streets of Punxs’y.” On May 23, 1911, People’s Planing Mill announced it had put into service a “monster Continued from page 16 motor truck, the largest thing of the kind ever one automobile ride.” seen in Punxsutawney.” Fourteen feet in During that time, when horse-drawn waglength with a hauling capacity of two tons, it ons were used, economists showed that oats was used to haul heavy lumber. On its initial cost more than gasoline. Other studies run the new delivery truck made a trip to showed the advantages of using “the self-proAnita and experienced no trouble in getting pelled vehicle” for commercial purposes. The over the hills, it was reported. hauling and delivery of goods and merchanBy 1912 there were listed a dozen “motor dise to customers benefitted from the introtrucks” being used for deliveries in Punxduction of the automobile into society sutawney, assuring the merchants and the The “first motor truck” in Punxsutawney, to public “quicker and surer deliveries, wider rareplace the wagon, was introduced by W. R. dius of delivery, heavier loads.” Also, conCole, of the Peoples’ Planing Mill. He made sidered was an advertising value with the changes to one of the small “runabout” autos name of the company on the vehicle. On that to deliver his lumber to customers. The Punxlist, in addition to People’s Planing Mill, were sutawney Spirit opened its story in July 1908 familiar firms such as the Punxsutawney Beef with, “The motor dray wagon made its advent & Provision Co. and Elk Run Brewing Co. Also, in 1912, two men of Punxsutawney had invented shock absorbers for automobiles. In October, F. H. Babcock, an engineer on the B. R. & P. Railroad and Dr. J. G. Bethune, a Punxsutawney veterinarian, applied for a patent for their invention. On the principle of an air spring it was advertised as, “easily adjusted for light or heavy shocks to suit the vehicle on which it is placed.” It stated further that the shock absorbers “not only saves The P.O. Freas garage was located where is now the plaza area of the Jefferson St. Hi-Rise on North Jefferson Street, and where, at the springs, but prevents them from bumping the ocone time, was Altman’s Garage. (photo by S. Thomas Curry) cupants of the vehicle in in Punxsutawney yesterday when W. R. Cole the road. Rocks and ruts lose their terrors completed some radical changes on the body, when this attachment is used, the passenger anterior parts and wheels of a runabout and goes along as smoothly as though riding in a pressed the odd looking vehicle into service.” boat.” A vintage 1904 car was transformed by reConvinced of the benefits of shock abmoving the woodwork back of the seats in the sorbers, seven prominent men of Punxolder automobile and in its place a “bed” was sutawney purchased them for their constructed. On that day Mr. Cole loaded his automobiles, each of them the bigger “touring new delivery truck with lumber and “puffed car.” The shock absorbers were made by G.

Automobiles in Punxsutawney became popular and numerous. The first auto garage in Punxsutawney was opened in 1904 in Freas’ bicycle shop on West Mahoning Street. The site became too small, so Freas remodeled the Myer’s Livery Stable on North Jefferson Street in 1907 for his “Automobile Stabile,” to service and store cars. (1908 photograph courtesy PAHGS)

W. Porter & Sons at the Star Iron Works in the West End, “so well made that they all work perfectly and last indefinitely, outlasting a dozen automobiles.” (October 1, 1912, Punxsutawney Spirit) The economic progress in the Punxsutawney area in the years between 1900 and 1910 encouraged other business ventures by enterprising men. To be included among the “firsts” in Punxsutawney automobile history would be the establishment of taxi service. In 1912, Arthur I. Eberhart recognized that the time was right to begin “taxicab service” in the area. Hotels had provided “Taxi” service for many years from railroad and street car passenger stations, but in horse and buggy or wagon. This taxi service was in a Ford model, enclosed luxurious “town car.” Two cars were purchased by Mr. Eberhart. A nominal fee of 15 cents was charged “for trips to dances,

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journeys to and from the Country Club grounds, short trips in or out of the town.” Headquarters was set up at the Pantall Hotel, with a telephone to receive calls for service day or night to any place in or near Punxsutawney. Promoting the service, local people were enticed by other advantages, “Having a taxi call at your home to take you to one of the early morning trains and save you a lonely walk at an unearthly hour is a luxury that but few Punxsutawneyites can dare pass. “ When the taxi service was established in Punxsutawney there were folk in town who expressed that the town was not of sufficient size to afford the upkeep of two luxurious cars for the prestigious taxi service customary in larger cities. After two and a half years in operation, the fees, at the price of 25 cents in the second year, could not keep the taxi in operation and the service was discontinued. Punxsutawney’s “first motor ambulance” began service in January 1918 at the Punxsutawney Hospital on Pine and North Gilpin Streets. The hospital was founded by Dr. John E. Grube as a private hospital and opened in 1908 in the large, yellow brick building on the site downtown. The ambulance was built on a Cadillac chassis, spacious in size to carry two patients. One bed was suspended from the ceiling and the other was on the floor. Two stretchers were stored along the top and seats were provided at one end for an attending physician. So, these are more “firsts” in Punxsutawney area history that might forever have been lost in history or kept from the history books, except to be put in print again over a century later. •••

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18 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

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By Melissa Salsgiver of Hometown magazine s national pet adoption day passed on April 30 this year, many of us heard life changing stories of adopted pets - life changing for both the pets and their owners. One rescue dog named Chase was a recent celebrity when he was invited to

them various degrees of writing and life experience to the group. The group uses writing exercises to start getting words down on paper, like coming up with topics such as “What I See from My Swing.” Punxsutawney also has a writing group who call themselves the Stained Glass Writers. They refer to their members as a dedicated group of writers. Interestingly, they started out meeting at Debbie Gilson’s stained glass art studio, but soon outgrew the location. The name remains and is the domain name of their website, stainedglasswriters.org, that recently went live as the group celebrated their first-year anniversary this May. According to their new website, The Stained Glass Writers formed with the intention of providing a local place for writers to “write, share, discuss, and exchange ideas about their and other’s writing.”

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Chase the Former Rescue Dog at School.

Punxsutawney Christian School where two of the stories he inspired his owner Peggy Zortman to write were featured in a bit of Readers’ Theater put on by Danise Hartle’s 5th-6th grade Speech Basics class. Chase’s owners, Peggy and Bill Zortman, adopted the five-year-old border collie, basset hound mix when he was threeyears-old. He ended up at a shelter after his heartbroken former owner had to surrender him. Chase was very well behaved during his visit to the school. His “Mister” and “Missus,” as he refers to his parents, say that Chase can sit, come, stay and heel. He even enjoys riding around in his mister’s truck, which he refers to as the “Chick-Magnet.” Immediately after bringing Chase home, Peggy began to write stories from Chase’s point of view. Instead of writing from the first-person perspective, Chase’s adventures are told through the “first-canine perspective.” Chase has had many adventures, and as one of Mrs. Hartle’s students pointed out, Chase’s next story could be about his recent trip to school. Fifth grade performed their reading of Peggy’s story “KP Duty,” in which Chase details his experiences and miscommunications in the kitchen. Then, sixth grade read their story called “Beds,” in which Chase explains he had a bed at the shelter, but it wasn’t his to keep. Now, he has many beds and special places to nap. Peggy also read a new installment of her series in which Chase recounts his fun and experiences at a flea market. Then the kids presented Chase and his Missus with flowers and a goodie bag filled with toys and treats to take home and enjoy. Peggy is member of the writing group, The Writers Block Party in Brookville. Her stories have been published in The Watershed Journal which is published quarterly. The Watershed Journal was started as a stepping stone for getting poets, writers and photographers published. The group meets monthly at the Fusion Cafe in Brookville. Without giving away anyone’s age, the group boasts a span of sixty years between its youngest and oldest members, all bringing with

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“Whether you are a daily writer, an occasional writer, or would like to try your hand at writing” the group invites you to join them. Stained Glass writer Jane Murphy, a retired English/Special Education teacher and long-time writer, explained that writers are free to choose their own topics and they start each meeting with providing feedback for those who want it on something they’ve written. The group is interested in writers of all backgrounds. Murphy explained that the group encourages each other and helps push each other into something they otherwise might not explore with their writing. The group meets from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month at the Punxsutawney memorial Library. Murphy describes the group as a good place to read other’s work and get responses and feedback on your own. They also bring in writers and speakers to discuss writing and aspects of publishing. If you have any former shelter pets like Chase and you want to share their story, or any story for that matter, these two writing groups have the resources to help you write your or your pet’s story and even help to one day get published, like Chase the former rescue dog. •••

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20 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

Bell Township

This nostalgic painting of the Fairview School was produced by Lucius Warner (1903-2003), a noted artist originally from Punxsutawney.

Continued from page 9 during all of his elementary years. He subsequently went to high school in Mahaffey, graduating in 1925. The time it took to achieve this hints at one of Lowry’s earliest challenges; he had been stricken with polio as a very young child and even in adult life could be seen to walk a bit awkwardly. Perseverance must have been his motto as many who sought high school diplomas during those years were unable to complete their schooling. Just getting to school was difficult as class notes from 1925 reported that most of the class came “from outlying districts and they had to provide their own transportation to school, some by train, others by horseback but mostly by “Shank’s Mare.” The census of 1920 shows the Lowry family residing in Bell Township in J e f f e r s o n County; their property was located on Bair Road. Perhaps the greatest personal challenge during Lowry’s A family photograph of school young Bruce Lowry high shows the youth at about years was the 10 or 12 years of age. loss of both mother and father in 1924 and 1925. The class motto was “What you do, do well.” Bruce Lowry must have done quite well while in high school as immediately following graduation he was employed by the Bell Township school directors to teach at the Couch School. He is listed as the Couch School teacher in the October 1925 School Annual, Jefferson County Teachers’ Institute, held at the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Brookville, Pennsylvania. This is consistent with the hiring of Louise Harriger from Oliver Township to teach in the

The Fairview School, located on Fairview Avenue, is well cared for and maintained by the Hobba family. The school building sits peacefully among many surrounding trees and other plantings. It was closed in 1959 as one of four surviving Bell township schools when the modern Bell Township Elementary School was ready for use. Bruce Lowry taught fifth and sixth grade students here before becoming the first principal of the new elementary school. Photograph by Marty Armstrong.

Laurel Ridge School immediately following her graduation from Punxsutawney High School. (Hometown 223). Like Miss Harriger, Lowry also continued his education by attending college classes. His name is to be found along with Maude Means’ (Hometown 222) in the 1926 “Instano” of Indiana State Normal School where he is described as having portrayed Banjo in the July 1925 “Abraham Lincoln Episode.” Among the collections of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogy Society is a workbook titled “Problems of The Rural Teacher.” Published in 1924 by the Public School Publishing Company of Bloomington, Illinois, the book consists of 74 case studies drawn from real life by the author, Marvis S. Pittman, Ph.D. Each is designed to encourage the aspiring or beginning teacher to think what he or she might do in situations such as applying for a position, choosing a boarding place, planning for the first day of class, raising funds for classroom equipment, preparing a Christmas program, seating pupils for efficient work, preparing for eighth-grade examinations and socializing work in language, arithmetic, spelling, history and agriculture. “Socializing” is meant, as seen by suggestions, to make subjects relevant to students with daily living or local examples. A number of these case - Continued on page 22

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Bell Township

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22 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

Continued from page 20

(“From Our Past,” researched by S. Thomas Curry, features items of interest from past editions of Punxsutawney and area newspapers.) May 11, 1887 — William Palmer, better known as “Bully Bill,” advises American workingmen who have plenty of muscle and a boy or two, and are not afraid of work, to come here and pull coke. He makes from twenty to thirty dollars a week and does it easy, and he thinks the “country borns” should either quit howling about the foreigners coming in here and doing their work, or else show a disposition to do the work themselves. (Punxsutawney Spirit) [Note: The phrase to “pull coke” is reference to the many coke ovens at mining towns of Delancey (Adrian) and Walston.] May 21, 1902 — The carpenters are now at work raising the new Eberhart block. This is the first building erected in town to use heavy iron girders and pillars in the construction. A building of this size, however, calls for extra-ordinary heavy timbers. (Punxsutawney News) [Note: The “Eberhart block” is now the building of the IUP Academy of Culinary Arts, the former Murphy’s 5 & 10, at the corner of West Mahoning and South Findley Streets.] May 25, 1871 — On Monday afternoon last, while Mr. John Evans was engaged in hoisting shingles to the top of R. C. Winslow’s new building, a hatchet which was sticking on the roof fell and struck him on the thumb, inflicting a severe wound. The bone was badly shattered and the leader cut entirely off. (Punxsutawney Plaindealer) [Note: The reference to “Winslow’s new building” would be to what is known in Punxsutawney as the historic “Winslow Mansion” built on Pine Street facing North Gilpin Street.] June 4, 1887 — The little boys were strolling through the woods north of town last Sunday afternoon when they came upon a sight that almost froze their young blood. They saw a game of baseball in progress, while those who could not play at ball were grouped around playing cards. (Valley News) June 6, 1888 — Richards, the liveryman, has lately secured a team of beautiful milk white horses. They are very pretty steppers and almost perfectly matched. This team is in great demand among the young men who are partial to the blonde type of beauty, but no red-headed girl has thus far had the courage to accompany any of them. (Punxsutawney Spirit) June 11, 1887 — The Mahoning Gas and Heat Company intend drilling a new well near what is known as the “old salt well” east of town. A Mr. Brown, of Pittsburg, has the contract to do the drilling. (Valley News) [Note: The “old salt well” was located in Punxsutawney’s East End, on land where is now The Primary Health Network at the end of Prushnok Drive.] •••

This line drawing of Mahaffey High School was used as the cover design for a single compilation of MHS graduate class pictures, rosters of names and class notes from 1902-1955. Historical notes indicate that several of the earliest classes graduated from the “old” schoolhouse behind the street level school. Collection of PAHGS.

study problems were undertaken by young Bruce Lowry in June, July and August of 1925, as he filled in his name and dated pages. As noted, Lowry started teaching in the Couch School. He later taught in Fairview School until 1959 and former students remember his no nonsense approach to classroom management and instruction and count him as a favorite teacher. When he said it was time to take up a new subject, that’s what his class did. Lowry’s childhood bout with polio didn’t keep him from playing outside with students at recess; he was said to throw passes of 70 yards with a football. When the final four Bell Township schools closed in the spring of 1959, he faced new challenges, the transition to the modern Bell Township Elementary School where he continued to teach until his retirement and service as the first building principal, a responsibility for which he was prepared. Outside of his career in education, Bruce Lowry was a family man. The 1930 census shows him living with his sister, Florence, and brother-in-law Victor Youngkin, also a public school teacher, and their young daughter. He married Merna Marie Good from the Marion Center area. The 1940 census shows the couple, married with children, living in Punxsutawney but a 1950 directory places them back to rural living in Bell Township. Grandchildren and great grandchildren followed. (Some were his students too, creating another challenge; they knew, however, that Mr. Lowry, with his reputation for strictness, would show them no special favors.) Their church affiliation was with the Woodland Avenue Methodist Church. Bruce also served as Bell Township Assessor and Secretary of the Bell Township supervisors. He met his life’s challenges and is well remembered by family, friends and students. Bruce and Merna died in 1980 and 2004, respectively. •••

online all the time at: www.punxsutawneymagazine.com

Join us for Summer Quest 2019:

A Universe of Stories R egistration now open. Apply at the library or download your forms at www.punxsutawneylibrary.org and bring them in the next time you visit the library. How can children, tweens and teens participate? One of the wonderful things about the Summer Quest program is that there are two ways to participate: 1) Attend weekly programs when it’s convenient for your schedule and/or 2) Print off/pick-up an activity log that can be completed on your own time. The youth participant can pick-up prizes at the library upon completion and return of their activity log(s). Contact the library for more information. Activity Logs After we have your registration form on file, children are welcome to complete (1) activity log (which includes a survey component) and as many bonus logs as they can complete prior to the Monday, August 17 deadline. Activity logs will be available online and at the library starting June 17. Program Groups • Baby & Me at the Library (0-18 months): Thursdays at 11 a.m.

• Wee-Read! (18-35 months *Not yet started preschool): Tuesdays at 11 a.m. • Pre-K Reads! (3-5 years *Not yet started Kindergarten) Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. • It’s Elementary! (Just finished K-3rd grade): Thursdays at 1 p.m. • Tween Group (Just finished 4th-6th grade): Mondays at 4 p.m. • Teen Club (Just finished 7th-12th grade): Mondays at 5 p.m. ** Please note that we are flexible with age group/skill level, so register in whichever group you believe your child will best succeed. Adult Summer Quest Punxsutawney Memorial Library will hold its stamp-card program for adults when they check out reading material. Every completed stamp card that’s returned to the library between June 17 and August 17 will be an entry for the Adult Summer Quest drawing. Stay tuned with what’s happening at Punxsutawney Memorial Library by visiting our website at www.punxsutawneylibrary.org or finding us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Feel free to call the library at 814-938-5020 with any questions. •••

PTAG’S Summer Show Offers Double Fun for Whole Family

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elieving that “the show must go on”— in spite of challenging changes, the Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild’s (PTAG) summer production is shaping up to be a theatrical treat for the whole family. The Guild will be staging “Many Moons” and “The Thirteen Clocks,” two stories adapted from original works by 20th-century humorist James Thurber. Performances will take place over two weekends. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. June 27 and 28 at the Jackson Auditorium of the Punxsutawney Area Community Center with the final local presentation set for 8:00 p.m. June 29. Those attending are advised to notice the change of venue to the Center and the later start for the June 29 performance. Tickets are sold at the door. The following week finds PTAG at the Sawmill Theater in Cook Forest where the production will be presented at 8 p.m. July 4, 5 and 6. Tickets are sold by reserving them via a phone call to the box office at 814-927-6655. Patron tickets are not valid at the Sawmill. A cast of ten fills all the parts. They portray characters in magical fairy tales with Thurber’s unique gift of wordplay. The plots are complete with villains and kings, the endangered princess and the hero to save the day and plenty of colorful, funfilled characters along the way. Featured performers include several young people who are making their debut in a Guild show. They are Abi-Gail Keith and Charlie Compton. Katelynn Dotts and Emily Wisnesky return after their appearance in the spring shows, “The Fabulous Fable Factory” and “Treasure Island.” Veteran adult actors in the Thurber double feature are Debra Dinsmore, Jessica Schidlmeier, Ilona Fye, Doug Fye, Tim Cooper and Jef Dinsmore. Matthew Dins-

more is the chief technician in charge of lights and sound. Karen Rummel will provide piano accompaniment for the musical numbers in “The Thirteen Clocks.” Director Jef Dinsmore states, “As it gets harder and harder to find casts for shows, it causes us to dig deeper into the play catalog to find fun and doable shows for the local stage. I packaged these shows together to create a whimsical evening of theater. “ The first of the two one-acts that make up the program is “Many Moons,” dramatized by Charlotte B. Chorpenning for Dramatic Publishing. The story tells of Princess Lenore who has fallen mortally ill. Her father, the King, promises her anything she wishes to make her happy, even so much as to promise her the moon...and that ends up as exactly what she wants. But, how to get her the moon? The King calls his court to hatch a plan, and the end result is a delightful fairy tale for audiences of all ages. The second Thurber adaptation is a musical titled “The Thirteen Clocks.” The book is by Fred Sadoff with music and lyrics by March Bucci and James Thurber for Music Theatre International. The story, at first, sounds like a traditional fairy tale as we are presented with the Prince who is out to save the Princess from the evil-hearted Duke, but unexpected characters and lively songs make it a truly charming tale to be told. The show’s directors, Jef and Kathy Dinsmore, invite area families to experience the fantasy and the smiles that are part of the summer’s PTAG show. For an enchanted evening of wholesome entertainment, the Guild will double the fun at the Punxsutawney Area Community Center in late June and at the Sawmill Theater in Cook Forest during the weekend of July 4. For more details, phone the directors at 814938-0378. •••

Hometown’s 2019 Mother’s Day Giveaway Winners

$25 Gift Certificate Smokin Petes BBQ Kathryn Coulter by Bill Coulter

$20 Gift from S&T Bank Patience Carley by Payton & Caden

Hanging Basket Certificate ($25 Value) Reagle’s Notary Christina Duvall by Fiona Duvall

$30 Gift Certificate CNB Jennifer Ferko by Linda Uberti

$25 Gift Card Walmart Sharon Fryer by Leslie Archibald

Coffee Mug & Package of Coffee Punxsutawney Phil’s Official Souvenir Shop Susan Grantz by Shawna Grantz $20 Gift Certificate Shop’n Save Liz Jordan by Crystal Jordan $20 Gift Card

Pizza Town Sara Macormac by Don, Caden, Maddock Macormac

Emergency Roadside Safety Kit, Kengersky Nationwide Insuraance Pam Lettie by Dylan Lettie

$25 Gift Certificate The New Anchor Inn Judy McAdoo by Jackie Neufeld

$25 Gift Certificate Hanzely’s Garden Diane Oberlin by Thelma Oberlin

$20 Fox’s Gift Card Fox’s Pizza Tracy Pearce by Hannah & Jake Pearce $15 Gift Certificate Biggie’s Meats Bobbi-Sue Stiver by Bo Stiver

$25 Gift Card CRW Home Center Vickie Spencer by Marsha Carley $25 Gift Certificate

Yoder’s Furniture Ruby Straitiff by Sue Brown Lee

$20 Gift Card to Advertiser of Choice in magazine Punxsutawney Hometown magazine Doris Yount by Charlene Smilo

$20 Gift Card McDonald’s MaryAnn Troyer by Margaret Troyer

$10 Gift Certificate Country Cone Mary Waltman by Matthew Waltman $25 Shop ‘n Save Gift Card Christ the King Amy Yeager by Morgan Pierce

$25 Gift Certificate The Burrow Muriel Grube by Pamela Hogan

If you are a winner, please email hometown@punxsutawneymagazine.com or call 814-938-0312 to arrange how receive your gift. Happy Mother’s Day!

Father’s Day

GIVEAWAY

FATHER’S DAY IS JUNE 16

Register Dad to win one of these great gifts from participating merchants on Pages 14 & 15

Contest rules: 1. No purchase necessary. Clip and complete coupon on this page and mail to: Father’s Day Giveaway, Punxsutawney Hometown magazine, 129 Aspen Road, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. 2. All entries must be received by Thursday, June 6, 2019. 3. One entry will be selected for each participating business through a random drawing from all entries to be held in our Hometown office on Friday, June 7, 2019. Participants can only win once per contest. 4. By participating in the contest, all entries are subject to contest rules. 5. One entry per envelope please. No purchase necessary 6. Winners will be announced on our Facebook page after June 7. to enter the contest. Must be 18 years or & in July Hometown magazine. older to enter.

All you have to do to register to win is clip, or photocopy, and complete the coupon and mail to:

Punxsutawney Hometown magazine’s ‘Father’s Day Giveaway’ 129 Aspen Road, Punxsutawney, PA 15767

Father’s Name_______________________________________________________ Entered by__________________________________________________________

Address______________________City_________________State___Zip________ Your Phone #_______________________________________________________

E-MAIL TO NOTIFY YOU___________________________________________

Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224 – 23

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IUP.edu/pxy 24 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2019 - Issue #224

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