#236 JUNE 2020

2 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

Tomorrow Never Knows: Living in the Present with an Uncertain Future

By Emmet Jamieson for Hometown magazine went to the Punxsutawney Area High School today. It felt strange being back, as I knew I would never return. Last month, Governor Wolf closed all Pennsylvania schools for the rest of the academic year, and, since I’m a senior, it looks like this is the end of the road for me.

It was around 3 p.m. and sunny when I arrived there. The huge American flag towering godlike over Jack LaMarca Stadium billowed proudly in the soft breeze, and I didn’t see a cloud in the sky.

The time, as well as the beautiful weather, reminded me of the track practices I so sorely missed. In fact, I was at the high school to run. It was all too familiar. The only thing separating reality from those practices was that I was all alone.

All alone — is this how any of us envisioned our senior year ending?

Trudging through online review work, practicing sports in the backyard instead of at the track or on the court or the field, dreaming about what could have been instead of what was — all alone? Of course, we didn’t. Despite what our graduating year might suggest, we don’t have “2020 vision.”

There is so much that my class and I will never have. There are the physical things, of course, like prom and a traditional Variety Show and spring sports seasons and senior pranks and graduation, but there are the intangibles, too. We’ll never have the last cherished moments with our friends and teachers. We’ll never have the final victory alongside our teammates, and we’ll never have the satisfaction of a proper send-off into the world. Other classes could step confidently into the future with grad caps on their heads, “Pomp and Circumstance” in their ears, and hope in their hearts, but we’re all just plummeting from the nest like baby birds whose wings didn’t have enough time to grow.

But you can’t change the past, and you certainly can’t singlehandedly stop a global pandemic. So, I’ve found it pointless to complain. One way or another, that hard ground below is coming, and all we baby birds can do is brace ourselves.

We’re over a month into quarantine, and,

I

On the cover: on the cover Some of the PAHS Class of 2020 seniors proudly posing in their caps and gowns.

See all the graduates photos in the Graduation issue - part of this month's Hometown Magazine

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so far, life continues. Many people are dying, and many more are very sick, but mankind hasn’t given up yet, not even close. Healthcare workers are on the front

Emmet Jamieson. Submitted photo.

lines fighting every day, and, on the home front, we civilians are doing our part by staying inside and keeping our distance. In some places, even, the tide of the war is turning. Humankind’s strength in the face

of this disaster gives me hope.

And that’s what we need — hope. That’s how we stay sane, and that’s how we power through this. As a senior missing out on his final high school memories, I could look back and mope all I want, but I’d soon find myself in a dark, dark place where the world appears to be ending. So, instead of dwelling on what I’m missing, I’m choosing to think about the present. That’s how I hold onto hope.

The present is a much happier place because you can control it. Think about that! The past is static, the future is uncertain, but the present is as malleable as you want it to be. The present is where the magic happens, and no matter what’s happening in the world around you, there’s always some part of the present that’s yours and yours alone.

I’m choosing to use my present to do what my typical constricting spring schedule would have never allowed me to do. I’ve talked to some people who will be freshmen with me next year at Mizzou. I’ve written a few articles for the school newspaper about how the pandemic is affecting our school. I’ve gotten creative by writing short stories and rediscovering a love for Legos. I’ve explored a bunch of new music. I’ve become a better singer, and I’ve had some of the best runs of my life.

I’ve woken up early to run with the sunrise.

- Continued on page 6

As Our Next State Senator, Herm Suplizio has a record of getting things done for seniors.

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Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236 – 3

Mike D’Aurizio: Appreciating What Punxsutawney Has to Offer

By Emmet Jamieson for Hometown magazine ike D’Aurizio grew up in Toronto, the largest city in Canada. He currently lives in the New York City suburb of Jersey City, New Jersey, with his wife Louisa Roberts, a Punxsutawney native. Their apartment is near the epicenter of our country’s coronavirus pandemic. But for nine weeks, D’Aurizio and Roberts have been away from Jersey City. They’ve been staying in Punxsutawney with Roberts’ parents since March 16.

“We’ve been married now for nearly two years, but we’ve known each other for seven,” D’Aurizio said. “I’ve been coming to Punxsutawney for most of that time, though this is definitely the longest stretch I’ve been here. It feels like I live here now, you know?”

Like others across the world, D’Aurizio and Roberts left the city temporarily to stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic.

D’Aurizio said they expected the pandemic would hit the New York area much worse than it would hit Punxsutawney, and he was worried that if either he or his wife needed medical treatment (whether for the coronavirus, injury or another illness), local hospitals would be too overwhelmed with coronavirus patients to treat them.

M

They also decided quarantining in Punxsutawney would be more comfortable than doing so in Jersey City—he said their apartment is just over 800 square feet, and while he and his wife love to spend time together, he said they also wanted to have the option to spend time alone and with Roberts’s family.

Besides staying at home, D’Aurizio said he has spent much of his time in Punxsutawney exploring the area. He said he has learned how to navigate the area since arriving in mid-March, and that he and his wife have found new places to hike in the woods.

D’Aurizio’s preferred exploration method is cycling. D’Aurizio said he got into cycling three years ago. He used to run for exercise, but since the impact from running hurt his back, he decided to try a lower-impact sport. Since then, D’Aurizio reported he has developed a passion both for road cycling and gravel cycling.

D’Aurizio brought only his gravel bike, which he describes as “kind of a halfway between a road bike and a mountain bike,” to Punxsutawney. He said he has ridden from Valier to Winslow on the Mahoning Shadow Trail and on parts of the Redbank Valley Trail in Brookville.

D’Aurizio is thankful that Punxsutawney has a nice trail for him to ride on, and he

Mike D’Aurizio. Hometown staff photo.

added that he thinks it is one of the best aspects of the community.

“That [the Mahoning Shadow Trail] has been a godsend,” he professed. “I think it’s a real resource and a real gem for the community. I know people are making use of it, which is really encouraging to me. It’s probably one of my favorite features of the town.”

In addition, Altman Avenue is one of D’Aurizio’s favorite roads. He says it’s great for climbing and that taking it up to Gobbler’s Knob to get onto Woodland Avenue provides a little variety before returning to the trail at the skate park. Since he’s not from here, the cyclist has only recently discovered a fun detour through a rail-trail tunnel.

D’Aurizio has also been working from home during his time in Punxsutawney.

D’Aurizio is the investment director at Centrica, an energy services company.

He has worked for Centrica since he graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2010. Working for Centrica took him from Ontario to Sarasota, Florida, where he lived for several months before the company transferred him to Pitts-

burgh. D’Aurizio said Pittsburgh is where he fell in love both with his future wife, whom he met there, and Western Pennsylvania.

His job at Centrica moved him to Jersey City in 2014, where he has remained since. D’Aurizio explained that September of this year will mark his tenth year with the company. As Centrica’s investment director, D’Aurizio and his team invest in technology startup companies across the United States. As a company, Centrica mainly sells electricity and natural gas services, but D’Aurizio said the purpose of his team is to invest in promising startups that may make good partners for Centrica in the future.

D’Aurizio’s position typically involves a lot of in-person interactions and travel, especially to New York and California where most of these technology startups are based. However, coronavirus has changed the game. Since he arrived in Punxsutawney, D’Aurizio’s work has mostly consisted of video conference calls. Although this is a significant - Continued on page 6

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4 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

Brian Smith is endorsed by the Gun Owners of America, Pennsylvania Realtors PAC, Clearfield-Jefferson Association of Realtors, and is the recommended 2nd Amendment candidate by Firearms Owners Against Crime!

As your next representative, I proudly endorse the American Anti-Corruption Act and have signed the U.S. Term Limits on Congress Pledge.

Hello, my name is Brian Smith and I am asking for your vote on June 2nd. With the ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus, it has been difficult to get out and meet everyone like I planned.

I graduated from Marion Center High School and attended Penn State University for business and accounting. My wife, Linda, and I have raised three children and over the last twenty plus years I have built four family businesses from the ground up that are still operating today.

As your next Representative in the 66th District, I am committed to going to Harrisburg and fighting for our conservative family values, creating fiscally responsible budgets, introducing common sense laws to help individuals and businesses flourish, supporting incentives to recruit and retain first responders, and combating the opioid epidemic.

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PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF BRIAN SMITH Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236 – 5

Tomorrow Never Knows Continued from page 3

I’ve tried out roads I’ve never seen before, and I’ve hit the runner’s high a few times, too!

Sure, I haven’t seen my friends for a month, and I haven’t run a single race this spring. I won’t have prom or graduation. I won’t sing “Yesterday” or act in a skit at the Variety Show, and I might never see some of my friends and teachers ever again.

When you think about it that way, my lot in life seems impossibly tragic.

But I’m a journalist, and I know how important angles are to how you interpret a story. So why don’t we look at this another way? If quarantine had never happened, would I have gotten to know some of my future friends as well as I have? Would I have had such an interesting topic to cover for the paper? Would I have written any stories or brushed the dust off those plastic bricks from my childhood? Would I have expanded my music taste or found out how much I love to sing? Would I have discovered so many new places to run or appreciated running in the way that so many early morning solo runs have made me appreciate it now?

And there it is! You see, this isn’t the end of the road — it’s the beginning of a new road entirely! It’s not the road every past high school graduate has taken, sure… but we’ve read Robert Frost, and isn’t it true that all the difference lies on the road less traveled?

We need to live in the present, but that doesn’t mean we should burn our bridges

behind us. Although we can never return to the road that brought us here, we shouldn’t forget it, as it’s the road that made us who we are. I remembered the road behind me on my run today. I left the high school and ran the Walston loop my teammates and I have done so many times, and I found that as long as I kept those happy days in mind as I went, I was never running alone.

So, here we are. The road stretches into the horizon before us, and although it’s not the road we started on, a bright future still awaits at the end. On the edge of our vision so far ahead, the sun is still rising. We’re traversing our roads alone for now, but we can find solace in knowing that even though we’re physically apart, we’re facing these struggles together. This pandemic will end, and, eventually, we’ll leave our houses and return to life as we knew it.

Things will never be the same, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

I’ll miss high school, of course. Everyone will. But I never bought into that nonsense about high school being the best years of my life. They’re incredible and transformative years, yes, but I know that a better future is waiting for me. And although quarantine makes it hard to see, I expect that a better future is waiting for you, too.

Personally, I’m taking John Lennon’s advice on this one: Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.” This may not feel like living, but it’s not dying, either.

Just surrender to the void and trust along with me that everything will be alright.

•••

Mike D’Aurizio

Continued from page 4 change of pace, he admitted that he feels lucky to still be able to do his job from home.

“A big part of my job up until now has been face-to-face networking,” D’Aurizio said. “That’s been a big part of how to do this job forever, really, and that has suddenly changed. But it’s been a fairly

Mike D’Aurizio. Submitted photo.

easy adjustment for me. I’ve been very fortunate that I can do it from here.”

And, D’Aurizio said he’s happy to be here. He and his wife have been keeping in touch with friends back in Jersey City, who have told them, firsthand, how badly the pandemic has impacted the area.

Hudson County, of which Jersey City is the county seat, has had 15,769 reported cases of coronavirus and 845 deaths as of May 4, according to New Jersey’s government website. Compare that to Jefferson County, which has had just seven

cases and no deaths, according to Pennsylvania’s government website.

According to D’Aurizio, the main difference he has noticed between Punxsutawney’s and Jersey City’s reactions to the pandemic is the varying senses of danger. He said people back home have had “an endless sense of insecurity” while people in Punxsutawney have generally been able to go about their lives as normal. He believes people in Punxsutawney should “count their blessings” but take the proper safety precautions — after all, the coronavirus isn’t gone just yet.

However, D’Aurizio’s safety is not the only reason he is happy to be here.

For one, he said he has come to appreciate the community. Since coming here, he stated that he has learned more about the things that make Punxsutawney unique below the surface of just the area’s physical geography, especially the culture and economic and social history.

Also, D’Aurizio likes how Punxsutawney is unlike any other place he’s lived before. He said he’s noticed how much quieter it is, as well as how dark it gets at night — unlike in Jersey City, he can see the stars and has even watched for the International Space Station as it makes its orbit around Earth. He also has enjoyed seeing the area’s wildlife.

“I’ve really noticed and appreciated how much more you can see wildlife when you’re here,” D’Aurizio said. “We have deer coming across the yard often, and you can see them in the woods sometimes, all kinds of different birds that I’ve rarely seen in the city, too. I’ve also occasionally seen a wild turkey.”

D’Aurizio and his wife Louisa Roberts plan to return to Jersey City when it’s safe to do so. He said city life is part of his nature, and he always wants it in his life. He feels that his nine weeks in Punxsutawney have given him a new dream, though: buying a second house in the countryside.

He said he would prefer to have a house in the forest rather than in a town, and ideally, he wants his future second home to be in Western Pennsylvania or even Punxsutawney, which has become one of his favorite regions of the United States.

“I think it’s beautiful here,” D’Aurizio said. “It’s a really great part of America that often gets overlooked sometimes, and I wish more people would look at it because it’s a place that’s really going to stick with me.”

•••

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6 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

manent teacher and taught for 51 continuous years in the Punxsutawney school system.

Before her death in December 1908, Mary A. Wilson taught “the first room” (first grade) in the East End school building, as her former students remembered. In 1913, that East End school building was named the Mary A. Wilson Elementary School. The school was the first public building in Punxsutawney to be named to honor a Punxsutawney citizen. The school building no longer exists, its familiar appearance incorporated into the Punxsutawney Graystone Villa in East End. The name Mary A. Wilson, too, will be lost to history and in memories of that school.

Dedicated in 1907, shortly after Clayville was consolidated into Punxsutawney, the former four-story yellow-brick Jefferson St. School building was the only high school building in Punxsutawney for thirty years and a Junior High School building until it was demolished. For years, school experiences in the building were expressed from many school memories. Images are views of the Jefferson Street building in the 1930s. (Color post card and black & white photo collection of S. Thomas Curry)

Punxsutawney’s First Superintendent of Schools A few years before Miss Mary’s death in 1908, the Punxsutawney school system Hired in 1906 as Supervising Principal in the Punxsutawney school system, A.M. Hammers was elected Superintendent of Schools in June 1907. The first superintendent of schools in Punxsutawney, he dedicated the opening of the Jefferson Street High School in September 1907. In the 1850s and 1860s, Mr. Hammers’ father was a Punxsutawney schoolteacher at the time Mary A. Wilson began to teach. (photo of A.M. Hammers a copy from 1908 issue of The Punxsutawney Spirit)

A “First” in Punxsutawney School History

By S. Thomas Curry for Hometown magazine riting at this time, in early 2020, is a difficult task with much of the news based on life in a world of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. Life goes on and there is good news to be found in the sacrifices being made by nurses, doctors, hospitals. Also, the police, emergency personnel, and volunteer fire fighters continue their public service in communities with an unfamiliar virus possibly present in the environment.

Through many donations, volunteers are continuing to feed children and families assigned to “stay-at-home” duties and routines. Education continues online through the warming days of the spring season while school buildings are closed for the year, preventing learning schedules to be completed and traditional memories to be recorded.

As it will be for many school districts in Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, this time in

W

2020 will be a first in Punxsutawney school history. And that history is not finished to be written.

In the Punxsutawney Area School District, “school days, school days, good old-fashioned school days” will be missed as the PASD moved away from face-to-face instruction in schools. In its place are student packets or online learning programs on a regular schedule for what is called an “enrichment review process” or “modified continuity education plans” to complete the school days.

For sure, there will be memories from students, teachers, administrators and all citizens to be shared for future generations, about the school year and the class of 2020.

There are many memories from those earlier school days in Punxsutawney school history. Many experiences are forgotten in memory, and only need an important word or two to refresh the recollection or to stir the interest again.

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In previous Hometown issues, there was shared information about the first music teacher in the Punxsutawney public schools, 22-year-old Miss Nellie Monks, of Punxsutawney, hired in April 1902. Readers were also reminded that a local young woman was one of the first females to join the WAVES in 1942, during World War II. That was Miss Miriam Cokely, a popular Latin teacher in the Punxsutawney High School for 39 years.

For many who knew Mrs. Virginia Shick, they were reminded that she was the first kindergarten teacher in the Punxsutawney school system when she was hired in 1944 and began her career at the Mary A. Wilson Elementary School.

In the distant past, generations of Punxsutawney residents had gone to school to “Miss Mary.” Mary A. Wilson began her teaching career as a substitute teacher for Miss Elizabeth Cooper who became suddenly ill in the winter of 1857. The following year, Wilson was hired as a full-time, perFamily Owned Since 1909 324 INDIANA ST. PUNXSY

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began a major change in school needs, appearance and educational programs and activities.

As the desire and the voices for the consolidation of Clayville borough into the greater Punxsutawney borough became louder and more complete, it was obvious the population of the new Punxsutawney would increase and the school population correspondingly. A new schoolhouse would be needed to replace the old high school built in 1867 on North Jefferson St. near the rail- Continued on next page

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road. After the borough limit was extended in 1889, to include the East End section and the Hospital Hill area, new schoolhouses were built, the East End School in 1890 and the Jenks Hill School in 1902. Also joining the Punxsutawney school system would be the West End School on Winslow Street of the former Clayville.

That the public schools of Punxsutawney would be overcrowded was evident to those on the school board with the responsibility to

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Demolished in 1999, all that remains of the Jefferson Street School building are memories encouraged from old PHS yearbooks and saved photos. After demolition, it was replaced by the Jefferson High-Rise Social Center. (photos courtesy S. Thomas Curry)

In addition to former students saving many yellow bricks after demolition, a prominent architectural feature of the building was retrieved. Displayed on the north side of the Social Center is the large stone once over the doorway entrance to the school building. The massive three-ton, eight-foot long stone was placed in April 1907. Engraved in the stone is “JEFFERSON STREET SCHOOL.” (photo of stone by S.Thomas Curry)

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8 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

provide for a competent leader for the local school system and the education goals. From a long list and search, the school board secured A. M. Hammers in June 1906 for the position of Supervising Principal. He had been one of the instructors in the Indiana State Normal School prior to his position as Superintendent of Indiana County public schools.

With “Prof. Hammers” as Supervising Principal, in June 1907 there was serious discussion for Punxsutawney to become an independent school district, separate from the powers and direction of a county superintendent as in the past. With consolidation, and the population of the larger population expected to be near 10,000 in the 1910 census, it seemed to be the right time for the change. On Tuesday June 11, 1907, the issues of an independent school district and a Superintendents of Schools instead of su-

pervising principal were approved. With the goal of a new Punxsutawney High School building met, the dedication of the new fourstory Jefferson Street School Building in September 1907 was led by Punxsutawney’s first Superintendent of Schools, Aubrey. M. Hammers.

Hammers was re-elected as Superintendent in May 1908. In the summer of 1908, he had vacationed in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and, when he began the fall term of school early in September, he was “a picture of health and robust manhood.” In mid-September his health began to fail, his illness diagnosed as gall stones. Critical in early November, he was taken to Dr. John E. Grube’s new hospital on S. Gilpin Street at Pine Street.

In early 1907, Dr. Grube bought property on North Gilpin Street, near Pine Street, for a new hospital site. The cornerstone for the new building was laid in May 1907 and it was first occupied in April 1908.

The new hospital opened as “The Punxsutawney Hospital” and Dr. Grube was its first superintendent. A staff of 22 physicians and surgeons, in and out of town, became a team to meet the demands of the increased work in the very conspicuous yellow brick building in the downtown across from the English Lutheran Church. (Part of that building was demolished and replaced by Grace Place at the corner of N. Gilpin and Pine streets.)

The main entrance to the building was on North Gilpin Street where the former residence of J. B. Eberhart was retained, and remembered by older residents as the studio of AM radio station WPME when it when on the air in 1953 as the first radio station in Punxsutawney, in modern times. (Eberhart built a new, brick house on Union Street at South Findley Street, which is now the residence of Phil and Judy Hampton.)

Following complications from an operation at Dr. Grube’s Punxsutawney Hospital, for fourteen large-sized gall stones, and several smaller ones, A. M. Hammers, “Superintendent of Punxsutawney Schools, lecturer, traveler and church worker,” died November 18, 1908, age 51 years. (Punxsutawney Spirit, November 19, 1908) When Prof. Hammers was re-elected Superintendent in May 1908, a new principal was selected to follow. Brought to Punxsutawney to be Principal of the Punxsutawney High School was Frank S. Jackson, supervising principal at the Big Run school for five years. Upon Hammers’ death, F. S. Jackson was elected Superintendent of Punxsutawney Schools in January 1909. When he began his service.

Punxsutawney had a vision of its future as “a 20th century city.” His thirty years as Superintendent of Schools had its many “firsts” to be recognized. That will follow at another time.

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10 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

This is an early picture of the Walston Coal Mining Operations. Coke ovens may be seen by looking past the smoke stacks at the left of the picture. Clayton Palmer and his brothers Duke and William worked here in the early days of the operation. Photo courtesy of PAHGS

Clayton E. Palmer, A Legend

don’t get excited. Then grabbing the pike from his hands he slashed it over their heads and put them all to route.” layton E. Palmer, a legend in the his(NB a pike is a long pole used in battory of the Punxsutawney Area, lived tle.) during the dynamic decades when Clayton E. Palmer, the youngest of these the community was transitioning from the brothers, worked at Walston from 1882 to era of lumber through the era of coal, to 1891. In 1891, Clayton moved from Walthe beginning of the era of modernization. ston to Punxsutawney where he became a He was born in born in Marchand, Indiana policeman, earning $10 per month. By the County, June 19, 1864, the time he had been employed youngest son and the fifth of 10 years, he was receiving the six children of Daniel and $50 per month.

Amanda Shields Palmer, pioClayte, as he was familiarly neer residents of that section. known, was a policeman beDavid Palmer’s four sons fore there were police acadewere large, strong men. Durmies, police cars, two-way ing the 1870s, the family radio communications, bulletmoved to Latrobe, Westmoreproof vests, or dashboard land County, where David and cameras. Yet, in his time, he three sons, William, Douglas, was an effective police offialso known as “Duke”, and cer. He served Punxsutawney Clayton worked as coke drawfor 33 years, twenty-two of ers at the nearby Monastery those years as Chief of Police.

Coal and Coke Works, operSidney Smith described ated by Carnegie Bros. & Co. Clayton E. Palmer was the Clayte in his “I Remember” The Palmers had a reputation Punxsutawney Borough column in the April 15, 1953 for their pugilism. In 1882, an Policeman for thirty-three issue of The Spirit as “…a big altercation in the Latrobe area years. Photo courtesy of man with small hands and PAHGS. prompted the Palmer brothers feet, powerful and fast…” to seek employment at the new coke Clayte’s qualifications for the Chief of works being developed at the Walston Police position for Punxsutawney inmine near Punxsutawney. cluded experience at the Monastery Coal An item from the Punxsutawney Tribune, and Coke Works and at Walston, which reprinted in the March 4, 1885 edition of provided him with a keen understanding the Indiana Weekly Messenger reported of human behavior and the dynamics of a that on Saturday, February 24, an altercamulticultural environment. His imposing tion had taken place near Walston between stature, tall and weighing in the neighborDuke Palmer and several of the foreign- hood of 300 pounds, presented a formidaborn miners. Duke had defended himself ble presence in any situation. His using his pugilistic skills. pugilistic ability enabled him to hold his On the following Monday, the foreign own in any situation. And, his lack of fear miners retaliated and a melee took place. enabled him to take charge and succeed, They fought, whooped, yelled and bled all no matter how stressful the situation. The over town and in part of Young Township. Indiana Gazette, on January 16, 1895, The foreigners, armed with clubs, pikes, opined that the bad men of Punxsutawney knives and revolvers, in their rage, at- would “as soon think of hurling themtacked everyone they met who looked like selves from Kinzua Bridge as resist arrest a miner. The Tribune related comments by when Clayte goes after them.”

William Palmer, who said that he had been The life experiences of Clayte Palmer attacked three times between Punx- ranged from the mundane to the thrilling. sutawney and Walston: Among the mundane were the issues of “One of them advanced toward him youngsters on the verge of becoming and said: ‘Me cut you.’” adults. He provided strong incentives to “Hold on now,” said William encourage improvements in their behavPalmer, calmly at the same time ad- ior. The young men he found playing vancing towards his man with every poker under the grandstand at the East End show of meekness and submission, - Continued on next page

By Coal Memorial Committee for Hometown magazine

C

This view is of Mahoning Street looking east from Gilpin Street. Note the trolley in the distance.

Chief Palmer and Railroad Detective Kohut would have taken the trolley to the West End to arrest the shoe thief. Photo courtesy of PAHGS.

Clayton E. Palmer

band she was eloping. Chief Palmer and the husband headed for the East End RailContinued from previous page road Depot where the woman was checkBall Park were taken before Burgess ing her trunk and preparing to board the Mundorff for a hearing. For the young- 3:05 p.m. passenger train for Bellwood. A sters he found to be out after curfew, there lively conversation ensued. When each was a trip to the chief’s office where they had their say, the chief rendered his sound waited for their parents to retrieve them. advice in “expressive English” which the couple understood meant that they would Few returned for a second experience.

The night of March 31, 1910, a both be arrested. The situation ended with thief broke into a freight car in the yards of the woman tearing the tag from the trunk and agreeing to return to her home and children.

M o r e volatile situations revolved around labor disputes both at the mines and at the sites where railroads were being constructed.

In 1903, the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad Company was Seen here is the Pennsylvania Rail Road Station, which was the East End constructing a new Railroad Depot where Chief Palmer counseled the Eleanora Couple. line from PunxPhoto courtesy of PAHG sutawney to Indiana.

The company had the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Railroad. He found shoes, which were being 300 workers on the job and was using railshipped to merchants further up the line. road cars to house the workers. On The thief took fifteen pairs of the shoes Wednesday, March 15, the company atand left. The break-in was reported. Chief tempted to put 50 additional men to work Palmer quickly learned from Carl Hall, along the line. The 200 employed workers coke boss at Walston, that about 3 o’clock refused to allow the newcomers to go to that morning a man with a long string of work and went on strike. Thursday, March shoes over his back was seen, going from 16, many of the striking workers were disoven to oven attempting to sell shoes to charged. Early on Friday, March 17, train coke drawers. He also learned that the crews with locomotives were sent to Cloe, man had been seen at the Punxsutawney Juneau and Locust Lane to get the cars in Iron Works peddling shoes to the workers which the strikers were housed. The strikat the morning shift change. Chief Palmer ers drove the train crews away. Later that telephoned a description of the man to day, company officials, accompanied by several businesses in the west end of town. Chief Palmer and Coal and Iron PoliceShortly before noon, the unsuspecting man Milt Wall, of Punxsutawney, went out thief entered a West End hotel, where the along the line to assist the train crews in proprietor recognized him and called the retrieving the cars. The strikers retreated chief. The chief and Railroad Detective into the cars. The cars were hooked to the Kohut took the trolley to the West End locomotives and 300 striking miners were and, before noon, on April 1, Charles taken, in custody, to Punxsutawney in the Chappin of Philadelphia was charged with cars in which they had been living: a peaceful solution to a volatile situation. the theft.

A few years earlier, in the fall of 1896, a The chief also dealt with situations in family life. On a Saturday in January 31, reign of terror prevailed in the vicinity of 1909, a resident of Eleanora appeared Horatio. The railroad had two-hundred wanting the “Big Chief” to keep his wife contract labors, housed in a shanty town, from running away with a boarder. The at work digging the Simpson tunnel on the woman, a mother of six children, had Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg extenpacked her trunk and informed her hus- sion. The county commissioners were re- Continued on next page

Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236 – 11

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12 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

Continued from previous page ceiving complaints from the farmers in the area who were victims of serious theft: hundreds of chickens stolen, daylight robberies, produce taken. The hold-ups were quite bold and perpetrated upon persons supplying food and goods for the shanties.

The tunnel workers had guns and used them indiscriminately. Suppliers were arming their drivers. One afternoon, the driver of the brewery wagon returned to town with his team and wagon wearing only his underclothes and socks. He reported to his boss that he had been robbed.

An investigation revealed he had engaged in a friendly game of poker with the workers, and, during the game, the tunnel workers had “legitimately flimflammed” him out of his money, clothes and a portion of his load of beer.

All the complaints, however, prompted the county commissioners to enlist the assistance of Chief Palmer, who organized a posse of fifteen men. The posse went to the tunnel and shanties, where they conducted a search. They did not find anything upon which an arrest could be made.

It seemed that bad element among the workers had advance warning and had left the area.

Sometimes a mundane case can quickly become thrilling. On February 24, 1899, M.H. Morris, a clothier whose shop was in the Pantall Block, discovered that the vest and pantaloons of one of his best suits was missing. Thinking the two men who had just left his shop may have taken it, Morris sent his clerk Frank Neff to alert Chief Palmer. Knowing the quickest way out of town was by railroad, Palmer and Neff immediately started for the depot, Neff ran ahead to have the engineer hold the train until Palmer arrived. Palmer, upon entering the front door of the smoking car, saw two men, Robert Scott, and Lin Harris in the front seat on the righthand side.

According to The Punxsutawney Spirit of March 1, 1899, Chief Palmer said, “I want to look at those packages you have there.” As he reached for the packages, Scott, the man nearest him, drew a revolver from his pocket. Palmer grabbed the gun with his left hand and at the same time grasped the man by the neck with his right hand, while bending over the man in an effort to wrench the revolver from his hand. The second man, Harris, stood up and pointed a large 41 caliber Colt revolver at Chief Palmer. Palmer reached up and pushed the man’s revolver to one side,

just as the man pulled the trigger. The bullet passed through Scott’s hand. Harris shot a second time. The second bullet entered Palmer’s face on the right side of the chin, passing through the cheek outside of the jaw-bone, and followed a downward course through his neck, lodging in his back near the right shoulder. The two men jumped off the train and ran. They were vigorously pursued by the crowd that had gathered. Both were caught and lodged temporarily in the Punxsutawney Lock-Up awaiting transfer to Brookville for trial.

Chief Palmer wore the scar from this incident for the rest of his life.

Also among the thrilling is the case of “Red Socks.” For about five years before Troop D of the Pennsylvania State Constabulary arrived in Punxsutawney, Sarafini Solanano, alias “Red Socks,” had run rough shod over the community of Walston and neighboring mining towns.

Most of the burglaries and cuttings in that area were attributed to him. He gained the moniker “Red Socks,” because he wore flaming red socks with his trousers rolled up so they could be seen. Italians throughout the area were in mortal fear him. Although he committed many depredations, no one could be found who would file a complaint against him. About 1905, when the State Constabulary arrived in Punxsutawney, Red Sox and about seventy-five other Italians disappeared mysteriously from the Walston area.

In 1906, Chief Palmer received a warrant for Siranano’s arrest from Indiana County for robbing the Company Store at Creekside. Chief Palmer checked his intelligence sources and found information about Siranano in the area. Then, on September 26, 1907, word was received that Siranano was working at the Camp Run mine. Chief Palmer contacted Captain Robinson of Troop D and requested two men to investigate. Sergeant Chambers and Private Haas left on the 11:20 a.m. car for Reynoldsville where they secured a rig and drove to Camp Run. They waited outside the entrance to the mine. Shortly after four p.m., Siranano appeared, carrying a hatchet in his right hand. When Sergeant Chambers approached him and asked if he was Siranano, he raised the hatchet, while denying that was his name.

Haas grabbed the hatchet and threw it to the ground. Chambers took hold of Siranano’s arm and quickly had him on the ground so Haas could put chains on him.

As Chambers and Haas escorted Siranano from the grounds, the miners cheered.

Siranano was taken to the Indiana - Continued on page 16

SHYLOH’S EXCAVATION RIO HOMES MR. CONCRETE Pictured are students of the former Zion School, Porter Township, with their teacher, Mrs. Martha Gillung. The school was located adjacent to the Zion Church along the Porter Road between Route 536 and Porter. Names, according to several pictured are: Teacher - Mrs. Martha Martz Gillung, Florence Kunselman; (back row from l. to r.) Betty Lou Dinger, Karen Minich, Betty Geraldine Shick, Vickie Lettie, Linda Shick, Elmer Hopkins, John Goss, Vaughn Dinger; (next row down) William Todd, Dale Bish, Debbie Kunselman, Carl Shick, Ron Snyder, LaDawn Justice, Linda Freedline, unnamed, Audrey Mauk, Andy Kunselman; (front row) John Wampler, George Bish, Harry Lingenfelter, Blake Lettie, Darrell Lettie, Larry Dinger. Photo c. 1957, courtesy of LaDawn Justice Wampler and John Wampler.

Porter Township: Pupils and Teachers, Parents and Schools

By Marty Armstrong for Hometown magazine n the south westernmost corner of Jefferson County, in one of the most distant corners of the Punxsutawney Area School District, there is Porter Township.

Organized in 1840 and named for then Pennsylvania Governor David R. Porter, the township was drawn from within the former boundaries of an older, larger Perry Township. It is small, both in geography and population. Kate Scott notes in her 1888 history of Jefferson County that the township is comprised of hills with gentle slopes, valleys with small streams and flat uplands. Additionally, William James McKnight notes in his Jefferson County history, published in 1917, that it is a “great fruit and agricultural township.” So, the township is predominately rural and the children of the township went to one or another of the several schoolhouses provided for them.

Mrs. Thomas B. Adams wrote in 1916 about her early childhood in Porter Township and her school experiences then. Her reminiscences are part of the Porter Township section of McKnight’s Jefferson County history. Some of her remarks, printed initially in the Punxsutawney News, follow: “I was born at Loop, Indiana County, February 24, 1848, lived there two years and then moved to Porter Township, Jefferson County. . . . I can remember since I was four years old. I started to school when I was five years old. I went to a little log schoolhouse in the woods, called Pleasant Grove school. There were two windows in the schoolhouse, very small ones, one on the boys’ side and one on the girls’ side. There was a long bench on each side of the schoolroom facing the wall to which a board was attached and which the pupils used for a desk. These benches were for the larger pupils that would write. There were also two benches for the smaller pupils. They had no desk, as they didn’t write. There were no backs on our seats to lean against. The schoolhouse was awfully cold as there were

I

cracks between the logs in the wall and floor and the fireplace, which was built in one end of the schoolhouse, did not distribute the heat as evenly as the modern heating stove found in the schoolhouses today.[1916] Our teachers were very strict and cross. I remember one that used to pull our ears if we turned our heads sidewise. . . . I remember another one that would make some of the larger pupils do all the teaching while he combed his hair and swept the floor which seemed to be all he got done. If the weather was stormy and the pupils (scholars we called them in those days) would make the least bit of noise in the schoolhouse during recess or dinnertime, he would call books immediately. He got drunk sometimes, and one morning he came to school with nothing but his underclothes on, carrying his pants on a stick. He put out the fire and went home.

“We had one real good teacher who used sense and judgment in controlling the school. He could explain everything so clearly. His name was George Travis. [A Mr. Travis is noted in the 1954 compilation of Jefferson County school history as the teacher of the first school in Porter Township about 1837.] About three studies were the limit for the advanced pupils, spelling, reading and arithmetic. A few studied German a little. The textbooks used then principally were Cobb’s speller, McGuffy’s reader and the Western Calculator. One of the principal events of those days was the spelling bee. We used to go three or four miles to attend them. . .”

Scott reports that, as of 1886, there were four township schools but does not name or locate them. She goes on to say that the school year averaged five months and there were three men and one woman teaching.

Elsewhere, there is a reference to the Fairview School. McKnight relates that three persons were elected in 1915 as township school directors—R.R. Adams, W.M.

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Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236 – 13

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Shown are past and present views of the former Fairview School, Porter Township. It was located on Fairview Road off the Porter Road somewhat beyond Porter. Both views show the two-section structure, achieved with the rear addition of building components from the former McGreagor School. The date is unknown for older view but certainly after the McGreagor and Fairview closing in 1951 and 1960. Courtesy of Kenton Scott (www.punxsypa.com). Newer view, photograph by Marty Armstrong.

Porter Township Continued from previous page

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The former McGreagor School, Porter Township was once located on the Porter-Hamilton Road. It was generally referred to as the “Swamp School.” Once demolished, the structural elements were reconstructed as an addition to the Fairview School. Date unknown, courtesy of Kenton Scott (www.punxsypa.com).

town (1950), McGreagor (1951), Shrauger (1952), Fairview (1957) and Zion (1960).

That final closing represents the opening date for Mapleview School to which Porter students were bussed.

The Zion School, positioned a good distance along the Porter Road leading from Route 536, but just short of the community of Porter, still stands, across level farmland from the Zion Church. Which came first?

The church cornerstone provides a date of 1875 though the Jefferson County Pomeroy map of 1866 shows both a Methodist church and school without names in that location.

The former schoolhouse is a basic frame structure which would have been painted white but, at least as early as the 1950s, was covered with brick-look asphalt shingles.

The Zion school students of 1957 are pictured with their teacher, Mrs. Martha Martz Gillung. LaDawn Justice Wampler was one of her students; she very much liked Mrs. Gillung who was also her teacher when she transitioned to fourth grade in 1960. She de- Continued on page 19

Martha Martz: Teacher at Eighteen

By Marty Armstrong For Hometown Magazine Martha Bernette Martz (1925-2016), daughter of Frank W. and Geraldine Burns Martz of Ringgold, graduated from Punxsutawney Area High School with the class of 1943 at the age of seventeen. The country was at war; many young men who were teachers became soldiers and school directors everywhere were faced with the need to hire replacements. While in high school, “Marty” had participated in a number Martha Bernette of school activities: Martz (1925-2016) French Club; Home graduated with the Economics Club; P u n x s u t a w n e y Red Cross and High School Class more. With a birthof 1943.

Punx- day in August, she herself sutawney Mirror found PAHGS Yearbook teaching in September in a rural collection. school, having just turned eighteen. She was not alone; many young people, recent high school graduates, were hired to fill classroom positions during that time and in earlier times. The school population was growing and the need was great. Of course, they immediately embarked on a path of teacher training. This could be done during summers and evenings. In earlier years, they attended local academies such as the one at Covode or Pennsylvania state normal schools such as those all over Pennsylvania.

By the 1940s, young teachers in training in the Punxsutawney region often went to the former normal schools at Indiana or Clarion, by then transformed into state teachers’ colleges. Martha continued to teach in the rural schools near her home while simultaneously pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Clarion State Teachers College. Over a much longer period, she earned a master’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.

From the surname files at the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, a clipping describes Martha’s wedding in 1948 to Don E. Gillung, Jr. of Brockway. Mr. Gillung is noted as having served in the Pacific during WWII with the 31st Infantry Division.

It was as Mrs. Gillung that LaDawn Justice, John Wampler and others from the Porter area first knew her. She was their teacher at the Zion School for the 1957-58 school year and is remembered fondly by them all. She continued a decades-long career in education, later marrying Jay Walter Ames. They are buried together at the Langville Cemetery. Etched in the monument above her name is a school handbell and the words “Educator 40 Years.”

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16 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

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: At press time, some events were being cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus restrictions. Other organizations, such as the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, the George C. Brown Community Pool, the Weather Discovery Center, and the Historical & Genealogical Society, were still awaiting opening dates. Please check with the host organization, website, or Facebook page for up-to-date information. n Hometown Trivia Winner, The lucky winner of last month’s Trivia Giveaway is Dan Engle of Punxsutawney. Dan chose to redeem his certificate at Smokin Pete’s BBQ in Punxsutawney. Congratulations, Dan! Dan answered the following questions posed last month correctly: 1. Answer: B.; 2. Answer: C.; 3. Answer: B. n The PAHS Class of 2020 plans to release its Variety Show, “A Million Dreams,” on May 26 on the school district website and YouTube channel. n May 30: 5th Annual Snacks to Grow On Ladies Luncheon & Basket Raffle at Punxsutawney Country Club. Tickets $25.

Visit Snacks to Grow On Facebook page for information. n May 30: Jags Vs. Vikings, 1 to 4 p.m. at Harmon Field. Jefferson County Jaguars take on the Moshannon Valley Vikings. n May 31: Children’s Fishing Rodeo, 1 to 3 p.m. at Cook Forest, for kids ages 4-12.

Pre-registration required. Go to the PA Fish & Boat Commission for more information. n June 2: Primary Election in Pennsylvania. Don’t forget to vote. n June 3: PAHS Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Ceremony, 6 p.m., on district television channel 18 and YouTube. The ceremony will be posted to the school district website at a later date. n June 6: Strawberry Saturday, various locations around Smicksburg. n June 6: Hike It Event, 1 to 3 p.m., Punxsutawney Rails to Trails. n June 6: River Road Pottery Artist Show, 10 a.m., Worthville. Vendors, food, music. n June 6: 2020 Airshow at Jimmy Stewart Airport, Indiana, opens at 8 a.m. n June 6 & 7: 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. May be available by appointment.

Please check Grange’s Helping Hands’ Facebook page for more information. n June 13 & 14: 6th Annual Walston Grounds Benefit Tournament, 8 a.m.

Check Facebook for tournament information & registration. n June 14: Flag Day. Fly the American colors! n June 16: Blood Drive, 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. at SSCD Church. n June 18: Community Golf Classic.

Benefits Weather Discovery Center, Make A Wish Foundation, Community Center and Chamber of Commerce. Contact the Chamber of Commerce for more information. n June 20: Hogtoberfest, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gobbler’s Knob. Craft beer festival: Register at Groundhog.Brewcomp.com or go to www.groundhog.org.

n June 20: PGC Hunter-Trapper Education Class, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Heritage House in Brookville. n June 20: Body, Mind & Spirit Fair at Kovalchick Center, Indiana, 11 a.m. $5 or non-perishable food donation for admission. n June 21: Father’s Day. Remember your father with a special gift from one of Hometown’s advertisers. n The Punxsutawney Festival in the Park is set for June 27-July 4 at Barclay Square, presented by the Chamber of Commerce. Go to www.punxsutawney.com for information. n July 9: Music in the Park will start July 9 and run on thursdays through July and August. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy some music at Barclay Square. n The First Church of God offers a Celebrate Recovery program. Contact the church or visit its Facebook page for information. n The Punxsutawney Area Hospital Call Center Hotline, 814-938-4955, is accessible for people 24 hours a day. This number is to be used for people with questions about symptoms and those presenting to campus with potential symptoms.

•••

Clayton E. Palmer Continued from page 12 County jail to be held for prosecution on charges of robbery, resisting an officer and felonious cutting, on which, if convicted, it was predicted that “Red Socks” would serve a long term in the Western Penitentiary.

Clayton E. Palmer, the legendary police chief of Punxsutawney, had the unique ability to discern what was needed in each instance. He could be tough when the situation demanded it and tender with a gentle hand to guide those in need. These are but a few of the many cases Clayton E. Palmer handled during his tenure as Punxsutawney’s Chief of Police. He began his career in the coal industry and used what he learned to be a successful officer of the law during the era of the Punxsutawney Area Coal Boom.

This article has been prepared by the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society. Resources used in preparing this article are from Newspapers.com, the Mengle Memorial Library Punxsutawney Spirit at the digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org, and the Library of Congress at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. 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 2020 are encouraged to purchase their tile

by June 30, 2020. A Coal Memorial tile may honor persons who worked in any aspect of the coal industry including railroads and ancillary services. Additional information and forms 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 2020 - Issue #236 – 17

Who Is This? - Be a Mystery Solver!

Photo #35 1966S Anna Hunger (Front Center) and Elizabeth Hunger (Second Row, Left) pose with their friends in a more relaxed stance.

(“From Our Past,” researched by S. Thomas Curry, features items of interest from past editions of Punxsutawney and area newspapers.)

#35 1966S

By Deonne Hunger Weaver for Hometown magazine olunteering has its own set of rewards, as I’ve recently experienced while working on the PAHGS glass negative identification project. While working with these glass negatives, I had an unexpected joy of finding two of my

V

Photo #35 1976S Anna Hunger (Second Row Left) and Elizabeth Hunger (Top Left) are among this group of women.

#35 1976S great aunts in two interesting group photos.

As I scanned the glass negatives during the cataloging process, I had looked at these photos several times. Each time, I wondered, “Who are these young ladies and what were they doing in these playful photos? Holding pillows as props, dressed in lovely lounge wear, kimono-like attire, hair up in one photo, hair down in the other photo…were they promoting a play?”

One night as the photos were displayed, largely and brightly on my computer screen, I recognized that my great aunts,

Elizabeth Hunger (1877-1965) and Anna Hunger (1883-1973) were in these photos!

These kind aunts from my childhood memories were nurses, having graduated from Adrian Hospital Training School for Nurses, in 1906. This led me to believe the other young ladies in the photos may also had been student nurses there at that time.

If readers can identify others in these group photos and add to the story, PAHGS would enjoy hearing from you. While the facilities of the Society are currently closed due to the current COVID-19 emergency, you may send your information to punxsyhistory@outlook.com, or write to the Society at PAHGS, P.O. Box 286, Punxsutawney, PA 15767.

Please include the number located in the bottom left of the photo.

Additional photos can be found on social media by searching #punxsywhoisthis.

Please forward/share these pictures with other Punxsutawney friends, relatives, acquaintances and past residents, who may have Punxsutawney past or present connections. Whether or not you recognize anyone in these photos, our hope is that you’ll enjoy these photos for the insights they give us into the times, fashions and interests of Punxsutawney people from an era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries of Punxsutawney history!

•••

18 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236

May 31, 1907 — On Decoration Day yesterday, from seven o’clock until eleven, the Jefferson Park was probably the busiest place in this section of the country. In order to accommodate the crowd, the Jefferson Traction Company ran three cars to the park every twenty-five minutes. These cars were, one every trip, filled to more than their capacity. People hung on the steps, on the bumpers and one or two crawled on top of the cars. One of the smaller cars on one trip, one way, registered one hundred and forty-five fares. The vaudeville acts made a special hit. (The Punxsutawney Spirit) [Note: Jefferson Park, an amusement park, was located along what is now PA Route 310, in the village of Harmony.]

June 1, 1908 — At the heart of Decoration Day this year, a crowd of about 1500 people surrounded the tomb of Capt. E. H. Little, late of Company I, 62nd Regt., Pa. Volunteer infantry, who at the battle of Gettysburg, and while bravely repulsing the enemy in that awful attack in the wheatfield, gave up his life for his country. Saturday forenoon a handful of veterans, members of Capt. E. H. Little Post, G.A.R., paid a fitting tribute to the memory of the country’s fallen defenders. (The Punxsutawney Spirit) [Note: The annual ceremony was held at the North Findley Street Cemetery. Capt. Little’s grave is on the hillside of the cemetery.]

June 9, 1886 — The new planing mill started up on last Wednesday; and the machinery runs very nicely. The sound of the planer gives variety to the rattle of railroad cars and the whistle of train engines which

is so annoying in the school rooms at this place. (Valley News) [Note: The reference to “planing mill” is what later became People’s Planing Mill on North Jefferson Street along the railroad tracks. The “school rooms at this place” were later replaced in 1907 by the new Jefferson Street School Building.]

June 15, 1887 — A gentleman wellknown in Punxsutawney assures us that he will build an opera house this summer, the opera to be on the ground floor. We need something like this. (Punxsutawney News) [Note: The 1500-seat Mahoning Street Opera House opened in September 1889,

by Charles Fish. A year later, a new schoolhouse was built east of the opera house.

Dedicated in September 1890, it was later renamed the Mary A. Wilson School.]

June 24, 1869 — FORGOTTEN - Civilized nations and people have always honored and revered their dead. It is a Christian duty to hold in grateful remembrance those who were once the living and moving element of our community, but are now passed away to populate that “Silent City.” And what more beautiful thought can the mind conceive than that kind friends will bear us to the tomb, and our last resting place be beautiful and cared for by those who love us. But hard, indeed, would it be for the citizens of our town to hope for such care and remembrance, after once having observed the condition of our graveyard. The fences have fallen down, broken tombstones are scattered here and there, and herds of cattle are pastured among the tombs. (Punxsutawney Plaindealer) [Note: Reference to “our graveyard” in 1869 is to the “town cemetery” on North Findley Street.]

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he week of May 4 through May 8 is celebrated as “Teacher Appreciation Week.” Senior Jaci Mennetti stated, “Teachers are some of the most important figures in the lives of students. Most teachers would have celebrated this past week in their classrooms with their students. Unfortunately, due to the challenging times we are currently living in, that was unable to happen in 2020.”

Gretchen Caruso, President of DCC noted, “I am continually impressed with the amount of time and energy my teachers put into helping our students succeed.

They are certainly among the very best in education and I’m proud to employ them at DCC.” Although celebrating in classrooms with their students was not permitted this year, teachers were shown appreciation by receiving cards and gift cards, messages from their students, pictures, videos and signs and positive comments thanking them for a job well done.

The writers of DuBois Central Catholic website, Cardinal Chatter, were asked to submit something in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. Mennetti went on to say, “All teachers at DCC are respectable for their hard work, diligence, and commitment to their job.” She noted Mrs. Lisa Blasdell as someone who exhibits those characteristics along with patience and kindness to her students.

Senior Dan Cooley mentioned Mr. Andy Rice as an example of one of the great teachers at DCC: “Mr. Rice is very charismatic, fun loving and knows how to mix schoolwork with amusement. He enjoys interacting with his class and truly does care about their wellbeing. He gives many assignments and projects that not only test the

mind of the student, but also help them express themselves in ways most projects cannot.”

Senior Samantha Harris stated, “…Every teacher in our DCC family is perfect in their own, subjective way. They have their strengths and weaknesses that work in tandem with each other. Every individual teacher is part of a team that works together to make the school the best place it can be, and a safe space for us.”

And, senior Rachel Aravich may have shown a little partiality to elementary teacher, Brenda Aravich being they are related, but all would agree, Mrs. Aravich arrives at school waiting to see her students with a big smile, laughter in her voice and “makes the environment for people around her enjoyable.”

The positive side of being educated through the COVID-19 Pandemic is that everyone realizes now, more than ever, the sacred relationship between teachers, parents, grandparents and guardians in the education of their children. “Hard work, diligence, commitment, patience and kindness; being fun loving, caring about the student/child; having strengths and weaknesses, knowing you are part of a team and trying to make the environment for people around them enjoyable,” are all attributes and characteristics not only of our state certified instructors, but also of our parents, grandparents and guardians. As a team, we all bring together our time, gifts and talents to assist our children in developing their God-given talents.

On behalf of the DCC administration, faculty and staff, we applaud and thank you, our parents, grandparents, guardians and students for the great teamwork and success of our remote learning program!

•••

Hometown’s 2020 Mother’s Day Giveaway Winners Hanzely’s Garden Center $25 gift certificate Jesse Hockenberry

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To arrange how to receive your gift if you are a winner, please email hometown@punxsutawneymagazine.com or call 814-938-0312

Porter Township

Continued page 14 scribes the transition to the large school “traumatic” but did appreciate getting to know a larger group of children. Mrs. Gillung, she felt, was very supportive in helping them all adjust. LaDawn’s fifth and sixth grade teachers at Mapleview were Mrs. Maude Means Dinger (profiled in Hometown #222) and Mrs. Eleanor Snyder Caylor, both of whom had taught in a number of Perry and Oliver Township one-room schools before teaching at Mapleview.

LaDawn appreciated them both very much.

Carl Shick and Darrell Lettie were students of Mrs. Gillung at Zion as well. Carl remembers her as being very encouraging.

Darrell remembers her early attempt to have him, a left-hander, use his right hand to write. When that proved unsuccessful, she wisely abandoned the effort.

The Fairview School was located on Fairview Road, which intersects with the Porter Road somewhat beyond Porter. This school, too, is still standing and is kept in good repair by the township for use as a community center. The old and new pictures of this school, in addition to showing the “fair view” of the location, show that the building seems to have two differently-sized sections. Usually, when two-room school buildings were created, either initially or due to a growing student population, they were expanded under an extended roofline, or, occasionally, by means of creating a second story. Rod McDivitt explains that the rear section was actually created by tearing down a nearby closed school, moving the components and reconstructing them into the addition. This was done by the township after both schools had closed to provide a separate meeting room for the local sportsmen’s club. That nearby closed school was the McGreagor School, commonly referred to as the “swamp school.”

The McGreagor School, undoubtedly named for nearby property owners whose land was used for the school, was sited on a hillside, not swampy at all. The father of LaDawn, mentioned earlier, attended all of

his elementary years at this school. Edith, his wife, remembers him describing one of his teachers, Mr. Ira Baily, featured just last month in Hometown #235. Edith and Rod both explain that the McGreagor School was located along the Porter-Hamilton Road.

The Shrauger School was formerly located on Windy Whiz Road in the northern part of the township. No pictures of this school have yet surfaced but would be welcome.

The name matches an early family of the township, as shown on the 1866 Pomeroy map of Jefferson County.

Corbettown School was at the former mining community of Corbettown on the road between Dora and Timblin, obviously built to accommodate the miners’ children and closed when no longer needed. This location creates a difficulty. Corbettown is described on internet mapping and geographic sites as having been located in both Ringgold Township and Porter Township. Once organized, county historians note that the borders were altered in small ways in earlier years. Scott does mention in her Jefferson County history that the area was blessed with excellent deposits of coal.

Pleasant Grove School, the earlier log school referred to by Mrs. Good in her reminiscence, cannot be pinpointed on early maps bur was surely not far from her father’s property. The William Howard property appears on the 1866 Caldwell map in the north central portion of the township, not far from the unnamed school and church located where the Zion schoolhouse and church building are located today Could each be successor structures, built to replace the earlier school and church? As of yet, there is no such confirming documentation.

Only five or six schools compared with the nine or more schools in several other townships near Punxsutawney—a function of the township’s small size and small population.

But the residents of the township share with those from other townships the interesting and rewarding rural school experience. A page from the 1991 reunion log of Porter Township school students and teachers provides the names of 30 who came together to greet old friends and reminisce.

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20 – Punxsutawney Hometown – June 2020 - Issue #236