#177 JULY 2015 by Punxsutawney Hometown Magazine

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Pictured above is Pearce with friends and family, as well as during an address to Penn State Dubois students. (submitted photos)

Around the World and Back Again:

On the cover: Dr. Craig Pearce

Pearce Reconnects with the Spirit of his Youth

(submitted photo)

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By Jennifer Skarbek for Hometown magazine fter three decades of venturing the globe in pursuit of knowledge, success, and happiness, professor, lecturer, author, and management expert Dr. Craig Pearce is reconnecting with the spirit of his youth; that is, returning to his hometown of Punxsutawney to embrace his roots while using his achievements to revitalize a key piece of this small town’s history. Pearce’s life adventures commenced when he graduated in 1983 from Punxsutawney Area High School’s science curriculum. “I knew then that I was on track for college,” he said. Thus, he enrolled in the Pennsylvania State University, or PSU, at the DuBois campus where he focused on combined studies in the areas of management and psychology. In retrospect, Pearce is extremely satisfied with the quality education that he received at PSU and would recommend the institution for others wishing to further their studies. He added, “The program at PSU is one of the best in the country.” In fact, Pearce believes in it so firmly that he recently created a scholarship, The Pearce Family Trust Scholarship Fund, for any Punxsutawney resident following a similar path to PSU. In order to strengthen the undergraduate degree that he had earned at PSU and hoping to get one step closer toward his ultimate goal, Pearce then pursued his MBA at one of the country’s largest systems of higher education, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the alma mater of some notables such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Joyce Carol

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2 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

Oates. Completing his coursework with honors, it was pleasing to Craig that before the ink on his degree even had time to dry he was beckoned to England for employment. At just 23 years old, Pearce was hired by the Rover Group – a well-known British vehicle manufacturing company – as a management consultant. “At a young age, I had extraordinary responsibilities,” Pearce commented. “It was crazy!” While at Rover, Pearce was recruited for some grand projects that called upon his implementing all that he had learned in his studies. In particular, Pearce was asked to help redefine the auto industry by rebranding the production giant through the creation of all new quality systems. Despite this being a mammoth undertaking for even a seasoned worker, for a newcomer like Pearce it offered a huge challenge. Regardless, Pearce put his best foot forward and was pleased with the results. Of the task presented to him Pearce simply remarked, “When you have to do something, you do it.” This experience at the auto group across the pond validated Pearce’s notion that he wanted to be a management consultant, but it also provided the young man with an eyeopening preview of the fundamental dynamics of a team within a company and the nature of its leadership, an observation that would highly influence Pearce’s future endeavors and focuses. He noticed at the auto group that, “leadership seemed to rotate,” noting that every situation called for a specific directive, one that could only be led successfully by an indi-

vidual of the company with a particular expertise. Pearce realized that as situations evolved from a genesis, the leader of the group dealing with each changed as well in order to best address the matter. Pearce termed this concept “Shared Leadership,” an idea that was very new to the business world of the day and one into which he wanted to delve deeper. In fact, Pearce was spurred by his time at the Rover Group to learn more about management, as well as this aforementioned discovery, that he decided to pursue his doctorate degree at the University of Maryland. Along with the coursework for the degree, Pearce began extensive writings on the idea of shared leadership, with his first publication hitting the shelves in 2000. Pearce’s theory of shared leadership involves the mindset that teams within a company are not fully productive when one member has sole control of the reigns. This person, although a specialist, is not an expert in every area that might be of topic. Rather, Pearce states that control should be shared, allowing individuals with expertise in his or her specific field to come forward and grab the reigns for that stretch of the course, leading the group around a bend until another should have a turn. The bottom line is that each problem or matter is then able to be addressed by the best possible means; in turn, allowing for a higher rate of success. Pearce and his associates have done numerous studies on the concept of shared leadership with data that speaks for itself. This research, combined with Pearce’s myriad of publications gained him notice from Peter Drucker, a management consultant, - Continued on page 4

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Leo and Mary Johnston: Memories of Fairview Neighbors with Hearts of Gold

By Mary Ellen Pollock-Raneri for Hometown magazine It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor – lyrics by Fred M. Rogers ven as a small child, I felt happy that Leo and Mary Johnston were my neighbors. They were two generous, kind, and thoughtful folks who moved into a lovely, white house at the foot of the hill – a stone’s throw from our place in Fairview. Surrounded by woods filled with lofty, dark green trees, the house boasted a beautiful front yard with two red crab apple trees and blossom-filled flower beds. A long driveway led to their side porch, which was secluded by wooden lattice and a variety of other posies. Clutching my dad’s hand, I often strolled with him down the hill that led to the Johnston’s home; it always reminded me of the cottage in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Fascinated, I loved to gaze at the welcoming front windows with decorative awnings; every evening they seemed like two warm, smiling eyes, illuminated by the soft glow of a lamp in the front living room. That charming Cape Cod-style house seemed magical to me, and I waited to see if a tiny fairy or a beautiful princess would peek out from one of the panes of glass. On summer mornings, Mary usually worked about the manicured lawn or the pristine driveway. Typically dressed in freshly ironed blue or gray Seersucker slacks and a crisp white blouse – her short white hair perfectly coiffured – she swept a random leaf from their pavement or bent over to yank a pesky dandelion out of the front grass. No leaf, weed, or stick was too small for her discriminating eye. Regardless of the task at hand, though, Mary stopped her chores and waved to us if Daddy drove past. She was never too busy to welcome a neighbor in for a cup of coffee or a piece of cake – no matter the time of day. Leo, on the other hand, mostly worked at their furniture store, located near the crest of the street on the way to the high school.

Sometimes in the early daylight hours or near twilight, he tinkered around their property in Fairview. Dressed in khaki pants and a big straw hat, he hoed and tended a flourishing garden that sat behind the house and his little workshop, where he did wood

brushstrokes and thick lines. Near the lower corner of the masterpiece, is the artist’s name, written in small, wispy black letters – Leo. In addition, my mom still owns a step stool that Leo crafted in his little workshop. Covered with a hot pink shag carpet remnant from his furniture store, the handpainted white step stool is decorated by big red tulips with bright green curlicue leaves. That footrest has been in our family for at least fifty years. Yes, it’s practically an in-

Mary Ellen’s neighbors – Leo and Mary Johnston – two wonderful Fairview neighbors who treated everyone like family. (submitted photo)

Leo Johnston gave this picture to Mary Ellen’s family when she was a child. It now hangs in her home and reminds her of the neighbors with a heart of gold: the Johnstons. (submitted photo)

working and painting. Always ready to give you a couple of juicy tomatoes or some green beans that he grew there, Leo smiled a little grin as he handed you a bag of his garden produce. If you were really lucky, Leo would also offer you something he made out of wood or, better yet, one of his paintings. Leo’s colorful artwork resembled Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs. Generally, our neighbor used big sheets of Masonite that he cut in long panels or big round circles. Even today, one of his paintings hangs in my home, and I feel nostalgic when I look at the huge, round, wooden plaque that Leo made for me. The picture itself is a large, gray fruit bowl filled with three bananas, one orange and a big green pear – all perched on a bright red tablecloth with a white border. The colors are primary and there is a Picasso-like quality to the bold

stitution that has supported everyone’s feet or behind at some time or another. Although the paint is a little chipped and the faded, Sixties carpet is flattened by time and wear, that stepstool remains at the foot of my mom’s bed even today. Although Leo and Mary had five grown children, I always felt like their daughter too. “What’s new, kid?” Leo typically greeted me in voice that made me giggle and feel welcome at the same time. He always sputtered out the word, “kid,” from the corner of his mouth in a comical way; however, I sensed that he was genuinely interested in whatever I did. One occasion, after swimming, my mom and dad and I visited the Johnstons on a warm Sunday evening. “Hey, kid,” Leo greeted me as we all sat on their carpet-covered back porch. I sipped

my iced tea and decided to make a proclamation to my neighbor. “Leo! Guess what?” I exclaimed, then asked, before telling him about my sevenyear-old swimming prowess. “I can hold my breath underwater for ten minutes!” “Wow!” Leo looked shocked and concerned. “Ten minutes is a pretty long time underwater,” he continued. “That’s amazing, kid, but be careful you don’t drown.” Then, Leo looked at me and smiled. I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or if he was really worried about my well-being. I certainly did not think that he didn’t believe me. As Leo and my dad continued their discussion about the weather, the garden, and the neighborhood, I decided to clarify my swimming ability. “Leo,” I interrupted them when the time was ripe. “I think I held my breath today for five minutes – not ten.” Leo looked serious. “Well, kid,” he stated. “That’s still pretty long. Don’t ya think?” Leo left the decision up to me. “”Ummm,” I reconsidered my underwater talent. “Maybe it was about a minute.” I hesitated and added, “Maybe a little less.” Leo seemed pleased and complimented me on my decision: “That’s good, kid. You keep practicing.” Upon reflection fifty years later, I suppose Leo could have made fun of a youngster caught in the act of stretching the truth with a dab of exaggeration. Or, maybe, he could have blatantly corrected me in front of everyone. But, he didn’t. He treated me just like a dad with his own child and coaxed just the right answer out of me in his own little Leo way. I think that’s why I liked him so much. Like Leo, Mary used a pet name for me: “kidsel.” I giggled when she called me that. I knew that she adored me and I adored her just as much. “How about a piece of pie, kidsel?” she offered wonderful homemade goodies every time my folks and I visited her home. It was the first place I had ever eaten raisin pie with walnuts and the first place I ever tasted a piece of apple pie with American cheese melted on top. Leo, on the other hand, cooked up some pretty interesting stuff as well. One day, I walked in, and a stewed beef tongue stared - Continued on page 25

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Continued from page 2 teacher, and writer who is credited as the founder of modern business. Drucker invited Pearce to join his teaching staff at the Drucker School of Management in Claremont, California, and he accepted without hesitation. “I was a very fortunate man to be offered the position,” Pearce said. “Drucker was my mentor.” In addition to Pearce having his work published in 2000, that year he was also offered a position at the Panda Restaurant Group, a national giant in Asian dining, where he could use his skills to handle all executive development. Pearce jumped on board and has been influential in directing how employees are trained at the company’s university all with the shared leadership model. Since Pearce’s start at Panda, he said that the company has grown tremendously from a mere 300 restaurants to well over 1,000. Fifteen years later, Pearce is glad to still be a major player in the restaurant’s operations. As Pearce added more items to his list of publications and successes, he continued to get notice from schools and businesses alike. One such place was the University of North Carolina where Pearce was offered a faculty position. Although this job took Pearce from one side of the country to the other, he contently served four years in the job before backtracking across the nation for another opportunity as director of innovative leadership in Lincoln, Nebraska. On his continually receiving employment offers Pearce said, “I’ve not had to ever look for a job.” Probably Pearce’s most exciting adventure thus far came when he was recruited to go to Africa. In this distant continent, Pearce joined the staff at the American University at Nigeria where his role as dean placed him in charge of three-quarters of the university: a huge responsibility. While in Africa, Pearce was amazed at his gamut of acquaintances and friends. It was not uncommon for Pearce to spend time with a farmer or laborer and then turn around to be in the presence of diplomats and kings. Pearce pleasantly recalled a time when he was invited onto the porch of a palace where he and a king were treated to a parade. Another day, Pearce said that he casually ran into a king in the cafeteria of the university while the aristocrat was there for his son’s orientation at the school. Pearce was invited to the palace, and the two gentlemen became so close that Pearce was one of the first people notified when the royals had their next baby. Finally, Pearce is most proud to be able to claim an instance of honor when he was privileged to share a stage with the president of South Africa. Even though Pearce enjoyed his time at the university he returned to his homeland to continue his work on projects already in progress, such as his duties at Panda. Pearce mentioned that he is thankful that his responsibilities in the U.S. called upon him; for, the very place in which he resided in Africa is now in a state of total chaos. “Then I got a call from a top manager,” Pearce said. “I had the opportunity presented to me to teach in Istanbul.” Pearce accepted the position in Turkey and began another international experience in teaching the basics of shared leadership. In addition, Pearce joined a board of individuals at a Turkish school for highly-gifted children. The team is conducting a multi-

decade experiment with students and shared leadership, a fact that truly excites Pearce. He said, “I am very keen on education.” Other noteworthy accomplishments for Pearce have been the chance to teach at Harvard and Duke, as well as a six-year period he spent in Spain where the scholar would study the Spanish language every morning and then teach classes during the afternoon. However, in his global jaunt no aspect of sharing has touched Pearce the most as his decision to share his life with his wife, Christina Wassenaar. Pearce met Wassenaar, a Dutch-American, while at the Drucker School. She was a director of academic programs, and the two took turns being the other’s advisor for different periods of their co-working experience. Finally, the ultimate merger was made when the two wed and began their life-long partnership. Although they have to work around each other’s busy schedules, they make time for their relationship regardless. With his lines cast in various pools of interest around the world, over 150,000 air miles traveled every year, visits scheduled in more than eight countries this summer alone, and only one blank page left in his passport, Pearce has determined that it’s time to come back to his beginnings in Punxsutawney. “I’ve been gone for over three decades,” Pearce said. “I decided that it was time to reinvest in my hometown.” In Pearce’s usual trend to set his sights high at anything he attempts, he has purchased one of the town’s best-known landmarks in hopes of breathing new life into the edifice. Having grown up on Record Avenue, Pearce was always intrigued as he gazed out his window at the tallest building in his town, The Spirit building, and admired its architectural appeal. He still remembers the awe he experienced when he was allowed the chance to tour the structure as a second-grade student. Thus, when he saw the advertisement for the sale of the building last year he immediately was drawn in full force. “The building was going farther into disrepair,” Pearce commented. “I didn’t want this historic landmark to meet the wrecking ball.” Pearce saw the purchase as the right opportunity to revitalize his community. Therefore, in a partnership with Ed McGinnis, the two bought The Spirit Building in the summer of 2014 and, since that time, have been hard at work on repairs and remodeling. Pearce feels that the partnership between him and McGinnis couldn’t be a more perfect match. He said, “We met and we cliqued; it’s an historic partnership for the revitalization of an historic building.” An added element of appeal to the project is that Pearce has also purchased the rights to the remains of the yellow brick mansion which graced the main street of Big Run and was torn down over the past year to make way for a contemporary discount store. He is repurposing much of the intricate woodwork and gorgeous stained glass from the home into the lobby and living units of The Spirit Building. While adding some period garnishments from elsewhere and preserving some of the structure’s original earlytwentieth-century character, the men are likewise installing modern updates that will bring the structure into the new century. Among the improvements that Pearce and his crew have made on the building are a restoration of the elevator system, the reclaiming of over 15,000 square feet of hardwood flooring, painting of the entire interior, the carpeting of several units and the addi- Continued on page 8

Samuel Rinn, a first-generation German American, rose from a farm boy to the largest local coal operator who made significant contributions to the economic development and community resources of the Punxsutawney area. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society)

Theodore M. Kurtz was the son of a pioneer physician, miller, miner, newspaper man, coal operator, and a State Senator who represented the 27th District of Pennsylvania in the State Legislature. (photo courtesy of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society)

Kurtz & Rinn: Brothers by Marriage, Brothers in Coal By PRIDE for Hometown magazine lthough the Irish were the predominant immigrants to the United States in the decade between 1845 and 1855, more than a million Germans fled the political unrest and economic hardship in their home country and came to the United States. They did so mainly because the U.S. was one of the few places that permitted German immigration. Many German immigrants were skilled craftsmen, professionals, and farmers who came with sufficient resources to enable them to purchase land and establish themselves in their new country. The majority of the German immigrants found new homes in the Midwest and in cities, including New York City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Milwaukee. During this decade, the Punxsutawney area also experienced an influx of German settlers. Names like Haag, Hartzfelt, Hoeh, Henneman, Merwine, Knarr, Kurtz, Rinn, Snyder, Zeitler, Zimmerman, etc., began to appear on deeds and the tax roll. The immigrants found the area attractive because land was affordable and the landscape was similar to that of their German homeland. Many of these settlers were farmers, who cleared the land, who established productive farms, and who, by the hand of fortune, also came into possession of the rich coal beds under their farms. Daniel Frederick Rinn, from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, settled in North Mahoning Township, Indiana County. John Rinn, his son, was seven years old when they arrived in the area. He helped his father carve a farm from the forests. In 1854, John married the former Margaret Haag, a widow with two daughters, Margaret and Elizabeth. They had six children: Louisa, Samuel, David, Sarah, Catherine, and Minerva. About 1867, John Rinn purchased virgin land in Perry Township, Jefferson County, where he operated a store while clearing his land and creating a productive farm. He and Margaret actively participated in the farming community and at the Punxsutawney Fair, winning prizes for their livestock and produce. When their eldest son, Samuel Rinn, was about twenty-one years of age, he came to Punxsutawney where, in 1881, Walston Brown, an entrepreneur from Ohio, was building a railroad and

opening a mine just north of the town. Mining was the most exciting work of the day, and young Samuel Rinn found work at the mine. He was an astute learner and soon worked his way up through the various levels of responsibility and became a mine superintendent. In 1888, he was in charge of opening the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Coal and Iron Company mine at Eleanora. Dr. George Kurtz and his wife, Sarah, came from Wurttemberg, Germany. He had studied medicine before leaving Germany and completed his medical studies in Philadelphia. He then purchased 150 acres of land situated on a tributary to Saw Mill Run in Young Township, southern Jefferson County. Dr. Kurtz served as the physician for many of the German-speaking immigrants at that time. After his wife, with whom he had no recorded children, died sometime between 1860 and 1862, Dr. Kurtz remarried. His second wife, Salome Hartzfelt, was the daughter of Christian and Salome Hartzfelt of Brady Township, Clearfield County. The Hartzfelts emigrated from Bavaria when Salome was thirteen years old. Five children were born to George and Salome Kurtz: Anna, George, Theodore, Viola, and Joseph. Dr. Kurtz died in 1881, leaving his young family to follow the development of Walston’s mine near their farm. In 1884, Anna Kurtz married the young miner, Samuel Rinn, beginning the connection between the Rinn and Kurtz families. The timber on the Kurtz farm was sold to Jonathan R. Pantall in September 1885, for about $4,000. Rinn and his bride had a “fine dwelling house” built at what was by then known as Walston. A.H. Murray of Clayville was the contractor, Elijah Kellar did the plastering, and George H. Torrence the painting in the Rinn’s home. In November 1885, an advertisement appeared, offering first class coal for eight cents a bushel at the Kurtz Coal Bank only three miles from Punxsutawney. Theodore M. Kurtz was about eight years younger than Rinn. He attended Waynesburg College, and after graduation he returned to Punxsutawney where he engaged in the flour and feed business with T. C. Zeitler for three years. He married Alice M. Rowan, the daughter of James H. and Alice Fair Rowan on September 11,

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Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177 – 5

Kurtz & Rinn Continued from previous page 1890. He and his family continued to live in the Walston area where he operated the coal bank: “T.M. Kurtz has opened a coal bank on his farm near Walston and will keep coal on hands at all times. Coal will be delivered to customers in Punxsutawney at seven cents per bushel. Leave your orders at Thad. Zeitler’s feed store” (Punxsutawney Spirit, December 2, 1891). In 1892, Kurtz purchased Davis Goheen’s interest in the Punxsutawney Spirit and was actively engaged in the newspaper business for six years before leasing his interest to John P. Wilson in 1896. In 1893, brothers-in-law Theodore M. Kurtz and Samuel A. Rinn became business partners when they chartered Kurtz and Rinn Mining Company. Kurtz brought his business management expertise and Rinn his mining expertise to their company. By 1898, the Kurtz and Rinn Mining Company had proven

to be a successful venture. Samuel A. Rinn resigned from his position as superintendent at the Rochester and Pittsburg Coal and Iron Company to operate their mine at Walston and to open mines at Dayton and Valier. Both Kurtz and Rinn built large houses on West Mahoning Street. In 1901, they were among the men who organized the Punxsutawney National Bank. The bank was located in the east room of the Kurtz block and had the modern equipment of the day, including a large fire- and burglarproof fault. The bank was a significant asset to the mining companies because the money for payroll could be placed on deposit at the bank, enabling the miners to be paid by check rather than cash. This system kept the large mine payrolls from being an attraction to robbers. Robbers, however, were still around and looking for opportunities as described in this article from the Punxsutawney Spirit, published on January 10, 1906. Robbed at Walston Bandits Held up Miner and Forced Him to Disgorge

Bernard p.

sNydeR coroner of Jefferson county

6 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

“Last Saturday being payday at Walston and Anabale Calabresi and his father, Italians who work in Kurtz & Rinn’s mine, being busy asked the superintendent to get their checks cashed for them, agreeing to call for the money Saturday evening. “The request was granted, but as Anabale, who is about 24 years old, was on his way home with the envelopes containing his and his father’s money at about 5 o’clock, he was stopped near No. 1 tipple by an Italian who wanted to borrow a match. When Anabale replied that he did not have a match he was confronted by a second Italian who pointed a revolver in his face and told him to pass over his money. “The young man reached in his pocket and drew forth the envelope containing his own wages $17, and did as he was commanded. When asked if that was all the money he had, Anabale told them that it was all of his wages and if they did not believe it they could search him. The bandits taking his word for it made no further search, thus missing an envelope containing the elder Calabresi’s wages, $58.

“After securing the money the villains started for Adrian with their victim, who was cautioned on penalty of death not to make an outcry, between them. As they passed a house which stood some distance from the road, Calabresi saw a man and attempted to give an alarm when one of his captors made a desperate thrust at him with a stiletto. The point of the weapon struck a watch in Calabresi’s vest pocket and stopped a blow which otherwise would have meant a serious wound if not instant death. The villains then continued on until they came to Crawfordtown, near Adrian, where they attempted to hold up a Hungarian, Calabresi was turned loose and told to get back to Walston instanter or be shot. “As the Walston miner beat a hasty retreat he discerned that the Hungarian had gotten the upper hand of the robbers, who broke and fled precipitately. Having had enough excitement for one night, Calabresi continued on his way home. “The robbers have not yet been appre-

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Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177 – 7

\ Now AccepTiNg ApplicATioNS

The Spirit Building Customizable Executive Residences

• 1, 2 & 3 bedroom residences • Tons of historical architectural detail and tons of closet space • Commercial Storefronts built to specifications • Off-street parking available

814-591-1769 • www.spirit-building.com www.facebook.com/spiritbuilding

Grow an extra room. Expert advice. Quality products. Guaranteed.

Around the World

Kurtz & Rinn

Continued from page 4 tion of security cameras – all making an ideal environment in which to live. “We are not doing anything halfway,” Pearce added about the task. It may baffle some that Pearce, with such a distinguished presence in the world of business, is so handy with a hammer and a saw, making a lot of the improvements with his own hands. However, Pearce said that construction is his outlet, a skill passed onto him by his father, the late Clayton Bud Pearce. Pearce alluded to events from his youth that taught him so much about life and what he knows today. When Pearce was just an adolescent, the home of Pearce’s family at 114 Record Avenue tragically burned to the ground. Thankfully, all of the members survived and Clayton and his wife, Sally, decided to build a home by Cloe Lake. Even though the loss was hard, Pearce and his family remained optimistic. Pearce said, “All things can be replaced; they’re just things.” Pearce said that he learned the basics of building when he was 12 years old as he helped his dad construct their new home. He added, “My father was very helpful. He showed me everything he knew.” Now, Pearce is using this “know-how” on the Spirit renovation. Once finished, Pearce expects that the building will offer twenty residential units, both apartments and suites, as well as three storefront locations. He hopes to create not only a sound place for living but also a type of community within the walls of the “turn-of-thecentury jewel.” Unique to this development, Pearce said that he and McGinnis will both be occupants in the revitalized building. Although Pearce currently resides in three places: Punxsutawney, Istanbul and Los Angeles, he is hoping to spend the most time here in his hometown. In fact, he is anticipating living in the building and having the awesome chance to greet the morning from his apartment’s balcony, especially looking upon the spot on Record Avenue where, as just a boy, he dreamed of his future. With eyes that have seen many worldly places, lips that have spoken languages of people near and far, a mind that has created fascinating ideas, and hands that made welcome people from many walks of life, Pearce has experienced much in the thirty years since he embarked from the boundaries of Punxsutawney. However, he has come back to the place that he says evokes a “warm and friendly feeling” and it is his heart that will overflow with immeasurable joy as he can say that he is finally home. •••

Continued from page 6 hended.” By 1907, the partnership of Kurtz and Rinn had the largest payroll among the local mine owners. Only the mines operated by the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg and the Berwind-White coal companies exceeded their payroll. Other local mine owners at that time included John McLeavy and Bowers Brothers. Theodore M. Kurtz became interested in politics and after serving as the mayor of Punxsutawney; he served as county chairman of the Republican Party for four successive terms. He ran for the office of State Senator from the 27th District of Pennsylvania and was elected to a four-year term in 1908 and reelected in 1912. Samuel A. Rinn continued to manage the mining company and served the local community by bringing into existence the first Board of Trade, the forerunner of the current Punxsutawney Area Chamber of Commerce. He purchased the Carmalt farm from the Rochester & Pittsburg Coal and Iron Company for $1 million and sold it to the people of Punxsutawney for $1,000 cash and a $3,000 note. The farm was developed into the Punxsutawney Country Club. Rinn was instrumental in reviving the Punxsutawney Fair Association. Throughout later life, Rinn used his financial ability as president of the Central Bankers Association and organized banks in Indiana and Rural Valley. In addition, he was active in many of the local civic organizations. These two men – both first-generation German Americans – seized the opportunities in their day and, through their work in the coal industry, became successful businessmen who contributed significantly to the community. They are memorialized at the Punxsutawney Area Coal Memorial by Dr. Michael Vancheri, DMD, who owns and occupies the house constructed for the Theodore M. Kurtz family at 312 West Mahoning Street. Resources used in the preparation of this article are available at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library and the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society This article has been prepared by the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. Persons interested in purchasing a memorial tile for a worker in the coal industry, including mining, coking, railroading, or other coal-related work, may request a form from the Historical Society by sending an e-mail to punxsyhistory@verizon.net or by dropping into the Society’s Lattimer House, 400 West Mahoning Street, Punxsutawney. Comments about this article may be directed to PAHGS, P.O. Box 286, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. •••

WHITE’S

Variety Store Quality Friendly Service

724.465.5684

1880 Route 119 Hwy N, Indiana Northern hardy trees, shrubs & perennials 8 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

Frogg Toggs rainwear Hip Boots • Chest Waders Waist Waders Vests • Wading Shoes Fishing Boots for the Entire Family

(724) 465-8241 • Mon-Fri 9-7; Sat 9-2 1845 Philadelphia St., Indiana

R.D. Brown Memorials All Cemetery Needs

314 N. Findley St.,Punx’y • 938-2100 Daily 9 to 5; Sat 9-12 • Sun & Evenings by Appt.

Large Indoor & Outdoor Display “Carved in Stone”

From Our Our From Distinguished Past Past Distinguished

Comes An Even Brighter Future!

Christ The King Manor For almost a half-century, Christ The King Manor has set the standard for professional caring in DuBois. What has been the “past" is merely a "prologue" for the future at Christ The King. The high standards of detail to medical and health care will continue to always improve as the caring staff and management seek better and more efficient ways of servicing all those who come through its doors. See for yourself how Christ the King is preparing for the future and building on the past. Call 814-371-3180 for a guided tour of the past, present and future at Christ the King.

Christ The King Manor 1100 West Long Ave • DuBois, Pennsylvania

814-371-3180 www.christthekingmanor.org Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177 – 9

Calling all Brides!!!

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814-938-6131 Mon., Tues., Fri. 10 am - 5 pm; Wed. Closed; Thurs. 10 am - 8 pm; Sat. 9 am - 2 pm

www.simpleelegancebymichelle.com

SO yOU FIND US ON RT. 36, COOK FOREST

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CALL FOR INFO TODAy!

814-752-2361

Upstairs or Downstairs depending on the number of guests ~ Minimum 50 up to 215 persons

NOW BOOKING FOR 2016 238 E. Mahoning St., Punx’y Call Lisa at 938-9976 or 938-2448

SYkESvillE TOWn HAll

Italian Deli, Restaurant & Catering

A Charming Place to Hold Your Next Event • Large dance floor • Accommodates up to 300 people • Indirect lighting • Air conditioned hall All New Tables & Chairs

894-5638 Call Kathie to book your reception, banquet, anniversary or special occasion

350 N. Ben Franklin Rd., Indiana (1/2 mile from YMCA)

724-465-6242

Tues.-Wed.-Fri. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Thurs. 11 a.m. - 7p.m., Sat. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. judysstudio350@gmail.com Judy Hicks, owner

windgate

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vineyards & winery Private Label Wines Gift Certificates & Gift Baskets

Now booking the Vine Room and Winery for special events in 2015-16 Four Locations to Serve You: The Shop at the Winery 1998 Hemlock Acres Rd., Smicksburg • (814) 257-8797

Indiana Mall, Pittsburgh Mills & The Country Cupboard www.windgatevineyards.com www.windgateantiques.com

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it's a gReat sPaCe FoR PaRties, Weddings, shoWeRs, and many otheR events... Call Us For Rates 814-952-2092 LoCated JUst oFF Rt 36 2915 WinsLoW Rd., PUnxsUtaWney

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FLORIST & GIFTS

We offer MORE than just flowers!

Let Us Help You With All Your Wedding Floral Needs Plus browse our store to find that special gift you have been looking for. 126 W. Mahoning St., Punxsutawney

938-7364

This edition can be seen online all the time...

www.punxsutawneymagazine.com

10 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

THIS IS WHAT DATA COLLECTION LOOKS LIKE.

pncgrowupgreat.com

Printed 06-15

Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177 – 11

dunlap lawn & garden of brookville

TrOyErS Saw ShOP North of Big Run on Rt. 119

LOGGING SUPPLIES Generators, Snowblowers & other Power Equipment

www.dunlaplawnandgarden.com

(814) 849-7197

Aluminum • Glass Enclosure • Screen Rooms • Florida Rooms • Door Hoods • Patio Covers • Awnings

Quality, Integrity and Professionalism... Making life smoother.

custom Made

Commercial & Residential

814-236-7450 or 1-800-611-3908 “serving your area for over 69 years”

roducts… LoCAL P People! LoCAL

handmade - Right heRe!

Financing Available

BUILT To LAST DELIVERY AVAILABLE Dealers Welcome at Wholesale Prices

Family-Owned Business • Picnic Tables • Porch Swings • Chairs • Swing Sets • Wishing Wells • Arbors • Rockers • Gliders • Double Gliders • Bridges • Planters

Quality Window & Door Products …with Installation Done RIGHT!

Kurtz Lawn Furniture 30 Rowley Cemetery Rd., Cherry Tree, PA

FREE Estimates 938-7303

814-743-5070

www.burke-sons.com 110 GASkiLL AvE., Punx’y

Monday thru Friday 8 to 6, Saturday 8 to 4, Closed Sundays

Authorized STIHL® Dealer 4365 Rt. 119, Punx’y

Voicemail: 814-427-2345

better water. pure and simple.®

• Home & Industry • Reverse Osmosis • Salt Delivery Service Sales • Sales-Rental-Service • Culligan Preferred Credit Rental • FREE Water Analysis Service

114 Horatio St., Punx’y

938-2240 or 1-800-828-4267

Keith

sPeCiaLty stoRe Plumbing • Heating • Electrical

Your small, hometown-attitude company Water Pumps, Pressure Tanks, Plastic Storage Tanks, Well Supplies, Drain Pipe, Culvert, Plastic Water & Gas Line, Steel Pipe, Wire, Conduit, Electric Panels & Breakers See our website for stock & current prices

Check out our monthly special page!

www.keithspecialty.com

Pick up your purchase here, or we will ship it to you.

724-397-8838 800-705-8838

or toll free

6791 Rt. 119, marion Center

HOPkinS

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Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning of Punxsutawney

LeSLie MaLBurg (814) 715-7319

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110 Pickering Street BrookviLLe

Subject to terms, conditions and availability. Savings vary. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Co., Allstate Indemnity Co., Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Co. © 2015 Allstate Insurance Co.

Sales & Service & Small Engine Repair

Canvas • Backlite • Retractable • Awnings • Patio Cover • Many More Styles

126 good st., curwensville 16833 Call us today for a FREE estimate.

PA8019

Asphalt Paving s Grading Line Painting s Topsoil & Compost s Sealcoating Chip Sealing s Crack Filling FREE Estimates! Phone: 849-8838 or Toll-Free (877) 4-Paving www.jeffersonpaving.com

12 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

(814) 938-9207 or (814) 939-9999 PA#039563

Whistle’s midstate metal sales f post frame f roofing

Supplied by Everlast

814.427.2989 Office 814.427.5123 Fax delivery available

For all your retreat & conference needs

Laurel Lake Camp & Retreat Center

ENJOY THE FAIR!

Ideal for church groups, businesses, organizations, family reunions, vacations & wedding receptions Activities include: Horses, Camping, Water recreation, Swimming Sledding/tubing, Hiking

See website for details

WWW.LauRELLakECaMP.oRg 76 Lodge Rd., Rossiter • 938-9300

Miller Welding & Machine Co. FABRICATION • MAChINING • WeldING PAINTING • MeChANICAl AsseMBly

www.millerwelding.com or find us on

814.849.3061

111 2ND ST. • P.O. BOx G, BROOKVILLE, PA 15825 auto • Home • Life Business • Health

Edner & Kness insurance & investments

John Kness • Dave Edner 407 S. Main St., DuBois

814-371-6756

great daily specials!

the PLaCe WheRe great meaLs Begin

Route 36 N, Stanton

849-6396

Mon, Tues 6:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Wed, Thurs & Fri 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sat 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. • Sun 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

enJoy the FaiR!

specializing in the finest quality Beef, Pork, Chicken & smoked meats

427-2363

• PaCKage deaLs avaiLaBLe • daiLy sPeCiaLs We accept Visa, Mastercard and Access Card Mon.-Thurs. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

6036 Rt. 119, Punx’y Fri. 8 a.m. -7 p.m. Sat. 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. John Biggie, Jr. North of Big Run

we have all your Favorite treats! tRy some oF oUR neW in hoUse made hand diPPed iCe CReam! daily specials • hot sandwiches Combo meals • side orders shakes • Floats • Cones Beverages • ice Cream Cakes Fruit smoothies & more!

country938-2058 cone rt. 36n

Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177 – 13

SATURDAY, JULY 18 • Noon, Deadline for Arrival of all Market Steers • 2-6 p.m., General Exhibit Entries Including 4-H General Entries & Project Books SUNDAY, JULY 19 • 10 a.m., Deadline for arrival of 4-H & Voc. Market Animals • Noon, Deadline for Open Sheep, Goat & Swine Entries • Noon-3:30 p.m., Rabbit Entries • 1-5 p.m., Poultry Cooping • 1-6 p.m., General Exhibit Entries Including 4-H General Entries & Project Books • 1:30 p.m., Opening Ceremonies, Karen Uplinger, emcee; Pastor Leon Blose, speaker; Youth Praise Group, music • 2:30 p.m., Princess, Jr. Queen & Queen Competition • 4 p.m., Rabbit Judging • 4 p.m., Mini-Horse and Full Size Horse Pull

ALL WEEK LONG EVENTS: • Exhibits open at 2 p.m. Mon-Fri; earlier on Thursday & Saturday • Outdoor Community Stage Under Roof Hosted by “Dazzle U Productions,” Karen & Mike Uplinger • Animal Alley, Exotic Animal Displays • T & D Chain Saw Carvers • Jefferson County 911 Command Post on site all week • Carnival Rides & Games by Bartlebaugh Amusements opening 4 p.m. on Wed.,1 p.m. on Sat., 5 p.m. other days • Livestock & Equipment Displays, Flowers, Veggies and Fruit • Fine Food Concessions • Commercial Exhibitors • Entertainment Every Evening on Track & Community Stage MONDAY, JULY 20 • 9 a.m., General Exhibits & 4-H General Entries Judging • 9 a.m.-Noon, Poultry Cooping

• Noon, Deadline for arrival of all other Livestock Entries • 5:45 p.m., 4-H Swine & Breeding Swine Show • 5 p.m., CARNIVAL OPENS • 6 p.m., Milking Contest • 6-9 p.m., Family Fun Night organized by the Girl Scouts • 7 p.m., ATV Racing Extravaganza • 9-11 p.m., Karaoke TUESDAY, JULY 21 • 9 a.m., Draft & Mini Horse Show • 9 a.m., Antique Machinery Judging • 10 a.m., 4-H Poultry Judging • 5 p.m., CARNIVAL OPENS • 5:45 p.m., 4-H (& Open) Beef, Dairy Feeders, Sheep, Goat Shows • 7 p.m., 4X4 Gas/Diesel Truck & Hot Tractor Pull • All evening, Helen Hammett & Puppets • 7-9 p.m., Old-fashioned HoeDown by the Hidinger Band • 9-11 p.m., Band TBA

come see us at the fair for great fair specials!

Oklahoma Salem Road, DuBois

814-583-7197

UTV CX700

Z-Force - S - 48 with Steering Wheel

Max 26 XL Tractor Loader

MS271 VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT 14 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

3230 Mendenhall Rd. Brookville

814-849-7197

• Your local Cub Cadet, Mahindra and Stihl dealer • 45 years serving the community • All of our service and warranties are done in house by our factory trained technicians • Great financing available

Three generations here to serve you. Find us on Facebook, call or stop out and see us to get more tractor for your money.

www.dunlaplawnandgarden.com

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 Sarvey Insurance Day at the Fair • 9 a.m., Horse Halter & Riding Show • 9 a.m., Dairy Show for all Breeds of Milking Animals • 4 p.m., CARNIVAL OPENS • 7 p.m., Street Licensed Truck Pulls with “PA Posse” Semi-Trucks, Work Stock Diesels, and Super Farm Tractors • 6-8 p.m., Pat Hibbert & Crossfire Band • 9-11 p.m., Moore Brothers Country Band THURSDAY, JULY 23 • 9 a.m., Open Horse Games Show • Senior Citizens Special Event (lunch reservations made with Area Agency on Aging) • 1-2 p.m., Village Voices • 5 p.m., CARNIVAL OPENS • 7 p.m., 4-H Livestock Sale • 7 p.m., Enhanced ATV, Car & Truck Mud Bog • All evening, Howard Mincone, Strolling Entertainer

• 6-8 p.m., Country Pride Band • 9-11 p.m., Band TBA

Admission $8.00: includes Parking, Carnival and Admission to all Fair Activities, Pit prices will apply.

FRIDAY, JULY 24 • 9 a.m., Youth/Adult Horse Fun Show • 5 p.m., CARNIVAL OPENS • 7 p.m., Premier Showmanship Contest • 7 p.m., Rawhide Professional Rodeo • All evening, Howard Mincone, Strolling Entertainer • 7-9 p.m., Steve Clark & The Rockers Band • 9-11 p.m., Band TBA

Gates open at 2 p.m. Mon-Fri, 11 a.m. on Sat.

SATURDAY, JULY 25 • 9 a.m., Memorial Horse Show • 1 p.m., CARNIVAL OPENS • 2 p.m., Figure 8 Races • 6 p.m., T & D Chain Saw Carvers Auction • 7 p.m., Full-Size Car Demolition Derby • 1-5:30 p.m., Kim Thomas’ Fiddle Contest, register at Noon • 5-7:30 p.m., The Banned (Sam Sears & Jared Thomas) • 8-11 p.m., Blair Hindman Band • Release time for all animals, TBA

www.jeffcofair.com www.facebook.com/ jeffcofairpa Special Appearances

by Miss Ohio, Mackenzie Bart

All events subject to change, additional events may be added.

"What a Girl Want s"

S ALE

Friday, June 26 - Sat urday, July 4

20% off

everything in the store* T his sale includes all your favorites

We Ship!

Gift Certificates

Be sure to s top in during t his event!

ENJoY THE FAIR! Dean’s Dairy Products found at your local grocery store.

Dean Dairy Products, Inc.

www.fairladycompany.com 100 West Mahoning Street, Punxsutawney, PA 15767

Call 814-938-1255 for more information

*Consignments excluded

1-800-851-5902 Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177 – 15

Caring for you... today, tomorrow and always

Enjoy the Fair! Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Professional Nursing

814-849-8026 • 417 Rt. 28 North, Brookville

Made fresh daily with a variety of premium greens including crisp chopped roMaine, baby spinach and baby kale. plus a vegetable blend that mixes edaMaMe, red bell peppers, and snow peas. Finally topped with sliced alMonds and Mandarin oranges for a guaranteed flavorful bite. Made just for you and served with low-fat sesaMe ginger dressing. also available with

crispy chicken breast or grilled chicken breast

www.jeffersonmanor.net

Family Dentistry

WISE

VETERINARY CLINIC

203 CLEARFIELD AVE., PUNX’Y

938-8554 938-5800 New Patients Welcome!

Dr. Bill Wise, vMD Dr. Ben Wise, vMD veterinarian v Animal care 3460 rT. 410, PuNxSuTAWNEY

Amy Peace Gigliotti, DMD ronald j. walker III, DMD

427-2424

Bernard p.

sNydeR coroner of Jefferson county

Located 1 mile South of Exit 81, i-80 on Rt. 28 S. Brookville, PA 15825

For more information or a personal tour, call Steve or Kristen Mazzaferro, RN

814-849-3924

16 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

Family-owned and operated, family-centered care

Inner Circle Announces New Member C

Dan grew up in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania. He is employed by Howard Hanna-Allemang Realty as a realtor and appraiser. He has a lovely wife, Maryl, a daughter name Daley, and a baby on the way. Dan’s favorite part of Groundhog Day is Phil’s prediction, and his favorite childhood memory of the day is watching Phil on TV as a child. Dan has participated in many Groundhog Club events and activities over the years. His favorite event – other than Groundhog Day – is taking Phil through the streets of Pittsburgh for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Dan has been (Photo courtesy of Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, Inc.) assisting Dave Gigliotti (The Thunder Conductor) Circle! Tom Uberti (The Big Windmaker) on the stage during multiple Groundhog is the newest Emeritus Member of the Inner Day celebrations, so his face is one you will Circle. Thank you for all your years of recognize for sure! ••• service! ongratulations to Dan McGinley (Moonlight), who is the newest member of the Groundhog Club’s Inner

Around Town

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 and happenings coming up in our area: n June 28 to July 4: Groundhog Festival! Fun at Barclay Square all week. n June 25, 26, 27 and July 2, 3 & 4 The Fox on the Fairway, presented by the Punxsy Theatre Arts Guild, at the Sawmill Theatre in Cook Forest. For tickets, call 927-5275. n July 4: Independence Day! n July 7: First Tuesday Community Meal, 5 to 7 p.m., at Punxsy Presbyterian Church. Free & open to the public. n July 16: Music in the Park, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Barclay Square, featuring Del Sinchak Band, playing polka music. Bring a lawn chair. n July 18: 4th Annual Community Yard Sale at Gobbler’s Knob, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Day at the Knob includes the yard sale, a concession stand, a nonprofit

showcase, and free Groundhog Games for the kids. For information on available spaces, call 618-5591. n July 20: Blood Drive, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Jefferson County Housing Authority, sponsored by the American Red Cross. n July 22: Blood Drive, 1:30 to 7 p.m., at Salem Lutheran Church, Smicksburg, sponsored by the American Red Cross. n July 23: Music in the Park, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Barclay Square, featuring Lounge Lizards, playing ’60s & ’70s music. n July 24-26: Church in the Park weekend, at Barclay Square, sponsored by the Punxsutawney Area Ministerial Association. Activities Friday and Saturday, and community worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. n July 24: Blood Drive, noon to 5:30 p.m., at Sykesville Town Hall, sponsored by the American Red Cross. n July 30: Music in the Park, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Barclay Square, featuring Moore Brothers, playing variety. •••

DRoP ANCHoR At tHE NEw ANCHoR INN e Area’s Favorite Family Rtaurant BAnquET FACiliTiES AvAilABlE

FEATURING ITALIAN AMERICAN CUISINE EAT in Or TAkE OuT

route 310, Elk run Ave. Tues., Wed., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

938-8060

Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p. NoW oPEN SUNDAYS

Casteel Chiropractic To restore function you need to restore posture.

address the cause, not the symptom" DR. Ian Casteel "WeNoW ACCEPTING

Our job is to keep your spine in line for a better, healthier you!

NEW PATIENTS X-Rays (on your first visit)

410 East Mahoning St.

Highmark, UPMC, Medicare, Access & More

938-4400

Regular Hours: Mon., Wed., & Fri. 9-1 & 3-8; Closed Tuesday & Thursday

NOW SELLING TIRES!

You’re In ...You’re Out WE DO IT RIGHT!

gRouNdhog instant lube and oil

NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY FOR OIL ChANGES State Inspection & Mechanic Work by Appointment

SPRinG HouRS: 8 to 5 Mon. thru Fri. Saturday 8 to noon

938-3449

Rt 36 South in Cloe, 2 Miles South of Punx’y

30 east main st., Brookville

#1 hotline 1-800-927-6167 or 814-849-8313 www.brookvillegmdealer.com

We really will save you money! Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177 – 17

VacanciEs

GracE PlacE sEnior aPartmEnts • 1 & 2 bedroom apartments • For those 62 Years & older

• Income Limits Apply

814-938-3008

• Section 8 vouchers welcome

graceplace@ndcrealestate.com

carry out & deliVery

hoovers

punxsy boro business delivery for lunch 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. & home delivery after 5pm

(5 mi. radius) HOOVER’S IS PROUD TO USE ONLY THE BEST

call about our

party trays

1056 Valier dr., Valier

814-938-4349

Fresh Dough Pizza, Toasted Subs and Oven Baked Hoagies featuring top quality products made fresh for you, with a hometown touch!

Need insurance? We can help. Call or e-mail us.

Jacque Perry Insurance jacque@jacqueperry.com

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In 1905, the enactment of the law establishing the Pennsylvania State Police Force brought many young men to Punxsutawney, assigned to serve with Troop D located in Punxsutawney. The mounted troop made its first public appearance in early 1906, with a drill at the old Fairgrounds. Among that local unit of 47 men were, left to right: Pvt. Olaf D. Carlton, Pvt. Nathan Kohut and Sgt. Joseph F. Logan. (Hometown file photo – troopers’ photos courtesy of Lorna Ondrasik)

Two to Remember in Troop D By S. Thomas Curry istent in the state’s rural counties and townof Hometown magazine ships. In some of the “country counties,” new mining towns had been built, and young men n May 2 of each year, the Pennsylvania – including many immigrants from foreign State Police celebrate a “birthday.” On countries – were hired by the mining compathat date in 1905 Pennsylvania Governies. nor Samuel W. Pennypacker signed into law That era of our area’s history was a time of Senate Bill 278, creating what is considered rapid growth and development and was also a in history “the first uniformed police organitime of new people, zation of its kind in new neighborhoods, the United States” new businesses, and (Pennsylvania State new industries. InPolice website, evitably, the time psp.pa.gov). also included culIn that legislation, tural clashes among the 45,000 square people who had miles of Pennsylvania learned different were divided into four values in their regions, to be pahomelands. trolled by four troops. Constables and Troop A would be sheriffs were elected headquartered in to deal with lawlessGreensburg, Troop B ness and with enin Wilkes-Barre, forcing laws. The Troop C in Reading. regions identified in Punxsutawney was the state’s legislaselected as headquartion had the greatest ters for Troop D. The need for an organmission of the newly ized police force to formed troops was to keep the peace. police the rural areas Mining towns in the of the state that lay area were riled up outside cities and metropolitan areas – Pierre “Pete” Carlton, left, and Nathan F. Kohut dis- from labor disputes, such as Pittsburgh or play valued artifacts from the service of their father strikes and riots, Philadelphia – that and grandfather in the original Troop D. Pete holds brawls, long drinka pair of leather pattees (leggings) from his father’s ing bouts at feasts had their own police uniform, and Nate holds his grandfather’s .38-caland weddings, robforces. The only re- iber revolver. (photo by S. Thomas Curry) beries, assaults and gion not assigned a murders, and any number of incidents caused troop was the Central Region, principally a by an element of people from southern and farming region back then – think “Happy Valeastern Europe who had not adapted to life ley” around State College. under local laws. In those early years of the twentieth century, strong police departments were nonex- Continued on page 20

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(Editor’s Note: “From Our Past,” rethere is less brain and more giggle in the searched by S. Thomas Curry, features average church choir than any other instiitems of interest from past editions of Punx- tution we know of. To stare and gape at sutawney and area newspapers.) each new arrival, and to make themselves conspicuous seems to be the biggest end of June 1, 1890 — BACK TO ITALY – a very great many members of our church Since the strike at Adrian and Walston the choirs. (Punxsutawney Spirit) Italians recently employed there have been pulling up stakes and leaving for their own July 11, 1888 — The Fourth of July celecountry. The great majority of them have bration in this place at the fairgrounds, the gone already, and if the strike is protracted program of amusements which was in the a few weeks longer only a remnant of the hands of the K. of L. [Knights of Labor], army of Italy will be left. (Punxsutawney attracted a large crowd. The fireworks in Spirit) the evening were witnessed by throngs of people at the Public Square. No accidents June 5, 1895 — A petition is being circuoccurred to mar the pleasure of the day. lated among some of the property holders (Punxsutawney News) in the East End asking the Town Council to place a fire plug in a certain vicinity where July 15, 1869 — THE PUBLIC there is none. It is true there is a large area SQUARE. – Nothing perhaps adds more to in that part of town without fire protection the beauty of a town than its Public Square. and it would not be out of place to put one The Square in this borough is beautifully or even two at plug points where they will located, is ample, and could be made one likely be the most available when needed. in of the most inviting spots town, or in the (Punxsutawney News) county. If proper care was taken of it by those having the charge of these things. For June 22, 1898 — The contract for paving instance by tacit consent and most highMahoning street was let to Sweeney & handed abuse several roads are permitted Houston, of Pittsburg. The Council has dethrough it, converting into a mortar bed, cided to use Nordstrom brick for street and subjecting to all the inconvenience of a paving, providing the brick is ready and can highway. . . . Will not our Town Fathers stand the required test. (Punxsutawney take the matter in hand, and by restraining News) [The O. H. Nordstrom Brick plant the liberty of cattle, swine, and geese, and was located on Gaskill Avenue and Indiana by stopping the travel, planting trees, etc. Street.] discharge their duty to themselves and the people. (Punxsutawney Plaindealer) July 1, 1885 — OBSERVATION – That •••

Music in the Park Series Underway M usic in the Park – the summertime series founded by John Serian a number of years ago – kicked off its 2015 series of concerts on Thursday, June 18, with the acoustic blend of the group B&B. In addition to six Thursday evening concerts, Music in the Park will feature Rock ’n’ Roll Sunday, an afternoon of music that will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 12, with country and gospel music singer Annie Morgan. She will be followed by Mid-Life Crisis, whose members will begin playing their versions of rock classics at 2 o’clock. All concerts will be held in Barclay

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tion of the Pennsylvania State Police Force in bold headlines; however, a brief article detailed the organization and conveyed the satisfaction that now small villages, townships, and rural counties would have a police force “much the same as that given by the police force of a city.” As could be expected, the new concept of law enforcement under the state’s power – as compared to the tradition of enforcement under local control – was met with some distrust and criticism. After all, this period of history was marked by a strong spirit of individualism and the existence of self-rule. Punxsutawney was growing from the new wealth and the enterprise of its leading men. Many people feared that a State Police Force would take away local rule and liberty! Local mine workers were concerned that the new police force was formed to control the “foreign” people. Some of the new people that had flowed into the area to work thought that the fifty-seven young men who enlisted for duty in “the Force” could be easily “bought” and influenced by political henchmen and, thus, would lose their allegiance to “justice for all.” The new recruits were not inexperienced boys. Ninety percent of those recruited were former soldiers, sailors, or marines who had provided honorable service to the United States, with some serving in the Spanish-

- Continued on page 22

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In full uniform, trooper Olaf D. Carlton poses on his horse “Dynamite” in a photograph circa 1908. With the collar insignia denoting the number 20, and “D” for Troop D, the view shows a leg pattee worn by a mounted trooper. (photo courtesy of Pete Carlton)

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Troop D Continued from page 18 Punxsutawney, in the center of the area’s industrial revolution as a result of coal mining and railroad-related industries, had its legendary one-man police force of Clayton Palmer. Neither of Punxsutawney’s two weekly newspapers announced the eventful organiza-

American War, which ended in 1898. Having prior military experience, the young men knew loyalty, discipline, esprit de corps, and devotion to purpose. Under the act that established the State Police (often called the “State Constabulary” by the news media), the troopers were “empowered to make arrests for all violations of the law which they may witness, and to serve and execute warrants issued by the proper local authorities.” They were also authorized to act in other ways for law enforcement in the region, as evidenced in the State Police Superintendent’s annual report for 1906. “Illegal fishing and hunting has been almost stopped … the men have assisted in extinguishing numerous forest fires, in some instances only after hours of hard dangerous work. They have also several times assisted the local health officers, notably at Rossiter, where for then days a detachment of the Force maintained a quarantine during a small-pox epidemic.” (Punxsutawney Spirit, February 20, 1907) The local “Force” – as would be expected for its time – was a “mounted” patrol. In late December 1905, two railroad cars of horses, from a ranch in Texas, arrived at the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Punxsutawney’s East End section [where the U.S. Post Office is now]. Most of the horses were bridled, but there were enough “wild ones” that the young troopers took several weeks to break them in for drills. The Punxsutawney Spirit reported their arrival: “Some of them can bite, kick, strike and buck all at the same time.” The Punxsutawney Board of Trade, in a spirited rivalry with DuBois, had touted Punxsutawney as the location for the troop headquarters and agreed to provide a suitable barracks for the new recruits. An old, flimsy exhibition building on the fairgrounds off North Findley Street would be “fitted up” as a temporary quarters. Work to remodel the building and stables at the fairground began in December 1905. Until a complete set of uniforms could be furnished, until the barracks was completed by local carpenters, and until the horses were trained as well-drilled animals, the men could not be sworn-in for active duty and sent out on their patrols, which in the troop’s first years were to cover “towns and boroughs within 20 miles of Punxsutawney, every day except Sunday.” They could act only when called upon by police officers of the community to provide assistance. In the early weeks of 1906, the equipment for the horses and uniforms for the recruits arrived in Punxsutawney in piecemeal fashion. The men’s puttees, or leggings, arrived in late February. Within two months, the horses were broken in and trained. They were “the most sleeklooking, well-fed, well-drilled animals that ever came down the pike,” the Spirit’s city editor reported (March 6, 1906).

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20 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

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issues. Stiver, 76, of Coolspring, Jefferson County, worked with his family doctor, Joseph Prusakowski, DO, and his urologist, Kumaresan Ganabathi, MD, to monitor his Prostate-Specific Antigen or PSA numbers to

make sure that the cancer was gone. For many years, Stiver went to Penn Highlands Brookville for regular blood work, and for years, those numbers seemed fine. Then his PSA numbers started to climb. Stiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doctors recommended he see the medical oncology specialists at Oncology Hematology Associates of Northern Pennsylvania in DuBois. The physicians there told him that the cells in the area where his prostate used to be were now also showing signs of cancer. They recommended radiation therapy at Hahne Regional Cancer Center of Penn Highlands Healthcare. It was there that Stiver met Radiation Oncologist Grae Schuster, MD. Schuster told Stiver that the center had just upgraded its radiation therapy equipment. A new Varian TrueBeam Linear Accelerator could provide high-dose radiation therapy, making treatments about half the time as the older model. The TrueBeam technology also helped the Hahne staff provide those treatments with pinpoint accuracy. Stiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s healthy cells would be spared from receiving the majority of the radiation and the treatments would have much less affect on him. Stiver arrived for his first of 41 treatments on March 18, nervous about what might happen to him over the next three months. After just one treatment, Stiver said, that fear went away. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was comfortable at the first visit,â&#x20AC;? Stiver said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take long for them to make me feel at home. I got to know the people. It was stressful and I was scared - it is cancer after all. But once I got to know the people and I saw what I had to do, they made it seem eas-

ier.â&#x20AC;? Stiver said he and his wife have a large family, four children, nine grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. He now considers the staff at Hahne Regional Cancer Center his family, too. Stiver said he made friends with members of the staff, with the doctors and even with the other patients. From the time the Hahne van picked him up to take him for his treatment, to the time it dropped him back off at his home, he made a connection with everyone he met, even the other patients. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the people who set Hahne apart from other facilities,â&#x20AC;? Stiver said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would recommend them to anyone who needs them.â&#x20AC;? And Stiver did just that. A close relative found out he also had prostate cancer following Stiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s treatments. Stiver didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any trouble explaining to his cousin the benefits of having his treatments at Hahne, too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I told him thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing to it,â&#x20AC;? Stiver said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I liked the doctors, I liked the staff and I even knew Traci (Tyger, Physician Assistant at Hahne) from my church. I like Hahne and everyone here.â&#x20AC;? Stiver admits that it makes him a bit uncomfortable that he liked coming to Hahne so much. He said many people may think that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bit crazy to feel so good about something that seems so bad. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many of our patients feel strange about admitting that they like coming to Hahne for cancer treatment,â&#x20AC;? Hahne director Laura Adams said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our patients and staff become close friends. Sometimes that helps the patient forget theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fighting cancer.â&#x20AC;? Adams said that all of the cancer treatment areas throughout the system strive to provide patient-focused care. At Penn Highlands Brookville and Penn Highlands Elk, the medical oncology team at Oncology Hematology Associates of Northern Pennsylvania have follow-up visits so that patients donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to travel far from their homes. The Nathaniel D. Yingling, MD, Cancer Center in Clearfield is a state-of-the-art facility that allows local patients to receive chemotherapy without having to travel. Penn Highlands Healthcare makes localized cancer care a priority. If I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have had cancer I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have gotten to know all these nice people,â&#x20AC;? Stiver said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I got attached to the staff and I really missed them when my treatments were over. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know cancer is scary,â&#x20AC;? Stiver said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I have faith. I have faith in God and now I have faith in Hahne, too.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

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22 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

Private Nathan Kohut (left), of the original Troop D, was a best friend of trooper Francis Zehringer (right). Zehringer was the second of the two Troop D members who were killed at the battle with “Black Handers” in 1906, at the mining town of Florence. (photo courtesy of S. Thomas Curry)

In uniform on Thursday, February 28, 1906, the members of Troop D held their first mounted drill on the running track at the fairgrounds, witnessed at various times by large crowds of people. The next day the troop paraded through town, again attracting a large crowd of spectators. About the troop, The Spirit reported: “The troop is composed of a fine-looking and welldrilled lot of men and their conduct since coming here has been such as to make friends for them of all with whom they come in contact.” The young men – with varied personalities and from many trades – came to town as strangers from cities, small towns, and farmlands throughout Pennsylvania and eighteen other states, but eventually proved themselves to the people of Jefferson County and the region that had been affected by violence and lawlessness for decades. They established a relationship with the community by forming baseball teams, football teams, and their own dramatic club that performed in the newly opened Jefferson Theater. Many of the young men met local girls, married, and established homes in the area. The many challenges to peace and order that called for the organization of the Pennsylvania State Police Force in 1905 – often simply referred to as “The Force” back then – combined to form a unique moment in the history of the Commonwealth in general and of the Punxsutawney area in particular. [For additional information about this time, please see the related story “Mounted for Duty – Punx’y Home to First State Police” in the May 2005 issue of Hometown magazine.] An infamous moment in the history of the

State Police and the Punxsutawney area occurred on September 2, 1906 – just seven months after Troop D began its active service in March. That sad moment is described on the Pennsylvania State Police website as “the first two State Policemen were killed in the line of duty in Florence, Jefferson County.” The bold letters of the lead headline of the weekly Punxsutawney Spirit read “BLOODY BATTLE AT FLORENCE – State Police Shot Down By Desperate Outlaws.” The fierce battle took place late Sunday, September 2, in the little mining town of Florence, seven miles from Punxsutawney and two miles from Anita. The weekly Punxsutawney News boldly headlined the news as “CRAZY ITALIAN KILLS TWO CONSTABULARY.” Two young troopers of Troop D, Pvt. John F. Henry, age 26, and Francis A. Zehringer, age 35, were killed in the line of duty in a confrontation against elements of the “Black Hand Society.” The News referred to the outlaw men as “desperate foreigners.” The barrage of gunfire in the conflict came from a boarding house in Florence. In 1918, researcher and historian Katherine Mayo, a native of Ridgway, wrote about the battle in her book The Standard Bearers – True Stories of Heroes of Law and Order. Chapter 1 of her book, “The Honor of the Force,” begins with the history of Pennsylvania’s new police force. Mayo wrote that the “D Troop, quartered at Punxsutawney, was impatient to get into service.” One day during that time of training and preparation – according to Mayo – Clayte Palmer, Punxsutawney’s Chief of Police approached First Sgt. Lumb at the troop’s headquarters at the fairground off North Findley Street. Chief Palmer, she wrote, had remarked, “Here is a fact that one day may be useful to you: Half the bad trouble in this whole region is hatched just seven miles from this very town. On the map the place is called Florenza, but we folks all say “Florence” – just Florence, and a regular hotbed of mischief it is.” Mayo gave a detailed account about the gunfight at Florence. On the last page of the Chapter 1, she writes: “The names of Henry and of Zehringer will never be forgotten. The Force owes a lot to those two.” John Henry was the first trooper to lose his life in battle when he approached the boarding house in Florence. Francis Zehringer was killed while leading charge by the troopers into the house from which the criminal “Black Handers” were firing away. Troop D – Connected to the Present Ancestors of two Punxsutawney area men were among the original members of Troop D in Punxsutawney and participated in events to enforce “law and order” in the midst of early twentieth-century-lawlessness. Among our friends and neighbors today with that relationship are Pierre “Pete” Carlton and - Continued on page 24

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The bodies of Pvt. Zehringer and Pvt. Henry were escorted by Troop D members through Punxsutawney to the PRR passenger station for burial near Philadelphia. Pvt. Kohut was among four troopers who accompanied the bodies on the train. (postcard courtesy of Punxsutawney Historical & Genealogical Society)

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24 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

Continued from page 22 Nathan Kohut. olaf D. Carlton, Troop D Pierre “Pete” Carlton, retired linotype operator for the Spirit Publishing Company and resident of Cambria Street, is one of the men with knowledge about the troop and the “Bloody Battle of Florence.” He is the son of Olaf D. Carlton, who came to Punxsutawney at age twenty in that first group, enlisting in 1905 for a two-year term. Pete was the youngest of five boys in the Carlton family, and he learned the stories of the troopers’ experiences from his older brothers Bill, Sid, Dick, and John. Last of the brothers, at age eighty-five on his most recent birthday on May 22, Pete retains many stories of that moment in history. Before Troop D was organized in Punxsutawney, O.D. Carlton learned to be a blacksmith in Philadelphia. He attended Temple University and had been a member of the First City Troop of Philadelphia, one of Pennsylvania’s top cavalry organizations. “Then he read about the recruiting for the new state police troops,” Pete shared about his father. Physically, O.D. was described as “over 6 feet, two inches.” “He was known to whistle as he walked, and he talked to the neighbors along the unnamed street leading from the barracks to downtown,” Pete recalls easily. When off duty, O.D. walked from the barracks at the fairgrounds to Church Street, where he dated his girlfriend Imogene Smith, daughter of W.O. Smith, editor and publisher of the Punxsutawney Spirit and a prominent Punxsutawney gentleman. That street is now named Carlton Avenue. Pete shared another story. On one of his visits to Imogene, O. D. had tied his horse, named “Dynamite,” at a spot on the Smith property. “The horse pulled on the reins and eventually broke loose. It headed to the barracks,” Pete said. “At the fairgrounds, when some of the troopers saw the empty horse, and knew it was O. D.’s, they hid it until trooper Carlton returned.” Another path that troopers used from the barracks to visit the downtown, a street farther west from Carlton Avenue, is now called Logan Street – named for Sgt. Joseph Logan of Troop D. In the assault at Florence, Sgt. Logan made the initial contact with the outlaw men that resulted in an evening of heavy gunfire in September 1906. In “the Bloody Battle of Florence,” when a call came to the barracks from Sgt. Logan for reinforcement, the rest of the troop was sent. Olaf Carlton was among the fifteen men who reported, by horse, galloping at rapid speed. It took about twenty-five minutes to reach Florence, recalled Mr. Carlton. On March 27 1907, one year after the four

state troops went on active duty, State Police Superintendent John C. Groome dictated that enlistments were open only to single men. His order stated, “To maintain the efficiency of the force and owing to the fact that married men do not live in the barracks and are not immediately available at all times for service, on and after this date members of force getting married will be honorably discharged.” About the planned marriage of O.D. Carlton to his sweetheart Imogene Smith, Pete remembered the story from his brother Dick. W.O. Smith had remarked, “I don’t want my daughter to become a widow.” Aware of the penalty of dismissal then in effect, the couple was married on January 29, 1910. O.D. Carlton left Troop D after four years of duty and was honorably discharged. He went on to organize a police force for U.S. Steel at New Castle. In 1911, he was in construction work in the Panama Canal, returning to Punxsutawney in 1915 to be chief of police for the R. and P. Coal Company. In 1934, when the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board was organized, he was one of the first members of that enforcement agency. Olaf D. Carlton died in 1943 at age fiftyeight. Nathan Kohut, Troop D Nathan Kohut, a native of New York City, was born in 1876. He grew up in NYC and spent a short time in Pittsburgh before he joined newly formed Troop D in 1905. He was the grandfather of Nathan F. Kohut, who retired as a Pennsylvania State Trooper in 1997 and who resides on Scotland Avenue Extension. Nathan F. Kohut is the son of the late Francis N. Kohut. There’s something about that name! It all relates to the early years of the State Police in Punxsutawney, and particularly the “Battle of Florence” on September 2, 1906. In 1905, the twenty-one-year-old Private Kohut was six feet, two inches tall when he enlisted as a member of Troop D. According to Katherine Mayo in her 1918 book, The Standard Bearers, he was “built for service.” Mayo also described an event that involved Nathan Kohut and the group of criminal men in the mining town of Florence during the bloody shooting that left two troopers dead. Near where Pvt. John Henry’s body lay after being shot from the window of the boarding house, Pvt. Kohut was on duty to prevent any criminals from escaping the boarding house where Francis Zehringer had also been killed during the shooting. During his night watch, the private detected the sounds of someone passing his way. Mayo wrote, “Then his straining ears caught a sound of cautious moving, and presently he could discern two figures stealing down. When they were almost upon him, he suddenly stepped across their path.” Mayo further described the encounter, - Continued on page 26

Leo and Mary Continued from page 3

at me from its resting place on a plate by the stove. I couldn’t believe my eyes; I had never seen anything like it in my whole seven-year-old life. “Hey, kid. Want some tongue soup? Leo offered and grinned at me. Barely seven years old and just a hotdog and baloney sandwich connoisseur, I shook my head, appalled at the gigantic, boiled thing that sat on one of her Currier and Ives blue-and-white printed dishes. Mary persisted, “How about a sandwich with sliced tongue and brown mustard?” I shook my head again. Mary giggled. “It’s good, kidsel. C’mon. Try some. The taste buds kind of tickle your throat when you swallow it.” Now, I’m sure they loved the deliciousness of tongue, but getting me to eat it was way out of the question. Nevertheless, none of us could stop laughing, and we all enjoyed the typical lighthearted banter at the Johnston residence. You see, we never needed fancy entertainment to amuse us back then. I couldn’t wait to stroll down to Mary and Leo’s house on an otherwise boring summer afternoon! Mary customarily took the opportunity to show us some new recipe or a different household item. I will never forget the day Mary, my mom, and I stood around their toilet bowl as we watched the water turn blue from a newfangled tablet that kept the commode clean with every flush. Mom and I just stood there with our mouths hanging open as Mary told us why the water might turn green; then, we all chuckled. Sometimes, too, on a Friday night, my mom and dad and the Johnstons ordered fish sandwiches for all of us from Joe’s Drive In. Mary permitted me to eat it in their living room on a tray while the adults shot the breeze in the Johnston kitchen. I was also allowed to read all the leftover Mad magazines that their son, Michael, left at the house, or she let me study the Book of Knowledge collection that sat idle in their game room. I loved reading all the condensed stories in that encyclopedia set and spent hours in a rocking chair in Mary and Leo’s basement game room as I devoured stories like “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Tales of the Arabian Nights.” One day, a few years later, my mom called me into our kitchen and showed me a gift Mary had given us: her family’s very own set of the Book of Knowledge that I loved so much. It was now mine. I was so excited to own that encyclopedia myself

and used those big brown volumes time and time again for school projects or just for reading. Mary and Leo’s kindheartedness was not limited to just me and my family. They cared about everyone in our little Fairview community and showed compassion and generosity to all. When a neighbor fell ill, Mary and Leo sent over hot meals. A devout Catholic, Mary had a little kneeler in her dining room and there on her knees, she prayed for every child in the neighborhood, as well as for her friends and her family. She even bought my mother a small Infant Jesus of Prague statue that sits on my mother’s dressing table to this day. Leo, too, was a community guy and chaired many of the activities at the little one-room schoolhouse that we used for our community center. I can still picture my mom and Mary the year they decided to dress up like old hobos for our center’s Halloween party. Mom even shooed me away lest anyone guess that she and her cohort were the two neighborhood women inside the long underwear with tea stains on the back flap of their outfits. During the costume parade that evening, Mom and Mary thumped heavy wooden canes and acted like two crotchety oldsters. Their act won them first prize, though, and provided food for a lot of laughter in the many years that followed. Fifty-some years later, my mom’s face will still light up when I remind her about her and Mary’s politically incorrect costume that they designed for the Halloween party at the little Fairview school house. Eventually, though, time passed and the old neighborhood changed a bit. Mary and Leo relocated to a new place; so did my mom and dad. I went away to college and later moved to another community. Sometimes, though, on one of my trips to Punxsutawney, I can’t resist cruising up the hill where the Johnston’s white house is still nestled, still surrounded by tall trees, still charming and, now, filled with memories that peek out the windows. Lingering there, before the front yard with the red crab apple trees, I can picture Mary as she whisks a stray branch or leaf from the clean blacktopped drive. Leo is bent over in the garden, weeding his tomato patch. Both of them look up at me as I study the house; they wave a big neighborly “Hi!” and smile at me, just like always. I suppose I should carry on and complete all my errands, but it’s just too tempting to stay awhile and remember all the good times my family and I had with Leo and Mary – two neighbors who had hearts of gold. •••

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26 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177

he Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society’s Coal Memorial Committee is sponsoring the 2015 Race to the Face, a 12K / 6K Trail Race and a 3K Fun Run-Walk. Both the race and the walk will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 25, at Del a n c e y (Adrian), Pennsylvania. The third annual Race to the Face will feature a 6-kilometer loop around Delancey (Adrian) on reclaimed strip Bob Lott (l) checks the time mines. This is a for runner Number 32 in the 2014 Race to the Face as trail race and another runner quickly apfalls in the proaches the end of his trail “easy” category run. (submitted photo) as it is not too technical. There is no single track; however, there are physical challenges associated with the terrain and the weather. Participants will be briefed on these the day of the race. Participants in the trail race will leave from the Adrian Softball Field and follow a trail that circles Adrian and passes by Anita, two former mining communities in the Punx-

Troop D Continued from page 24

“The two snatched at their gun pockets. Their gesture was just a thought less quick than that of the big Trooper. Seizing each by the scruff of the neck, he knocked their heads together with a force that dazed them. So he held them, limp and feebly swearing until the First Sergeant sent to gather them in, and to substitute handcuffs for the weight of deadly weapons confiscated.” Confiscating concealed weapons was the legacy of Pvt. Kohut as a member of that early Troop D. In November 1907, a Punxsutawney Spirit headline announced in all capital letters, “ANOTHER ONE FOR KOHUT.” The story reported that Kohut had broken all records for the number of arrests for carrying concealed weapons. It was Kohut’s fiftieth arrest. Since the arrival of the troop, and on active duty since March 1906, Kohut was recognized as having “done more to eradicate the practice of carrying deadly weapons than any other man in the country.” According to retired trooper “Nate” Kohut, his grandfather Nathan Kohut and Francis Zehringer were the best of friends before Zehringer died in the shooting in Florence.

sutawney area. Participants in the 6K will travel the circle once before passing through the “Face.” Runners participating in the 12K will complete the circle twice. They must complete the first loop in less than one hour in order to start the second loop. Awards will be given to the top male and female runners in these two races. Entry fees are: $20 if paid by July 16 and $25 if registering after July 16. Participants must preregister by Bob Lott (r), the Race to the Thursday, July Face coordinator, gives last minute instructions to 2014 16, to be guaranrace participants about fea- teed of receiving tures of the trail and obsta- a T-shirt featuring cles for the runners. Dynamite Jack, (submitted photo) mascot of the Race to the Face. Late registrants may register by e-mail and make payment the day of the race or may register the day of the race from 8 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. For more information and registration forms, please contact Bob Lott at (814) 9384589 or visit www.runpunxsyrun.org. ••• When Pvt. Zehringer’s body was taken from Punxsutawney to Conshohocken, his hometown near Philadelphia, for burial, Pvt. Kohut escorted the remains on the train ride. In December 1907, eight months after the edict that had limited enlistment to single men, Pvt. Kohut married Eva Stiver. After four years he “honorably” left the force and took a position as detective on the BP&R railroad. Kohut died in 1924 at age forty-eight with a surviving son. It was written of him: “He was a big man, well adapted for his chosen work.” At his birth, the son was named Francis Nathan Kohut, a name given to him by the father in 1910 in memory of his “chum” Francis Zehringer. The young lad will be remembered, in his adult years as an employee of the Punxsutawney Beef and Provision Company, and later as warehouse manager for Barletta Grocery Company and its Quaker Markets. Francis Kohut married Eugenia Guignet in 1938. A daughter, Kathy, and son were born to the couple. The son was named Nathan Francis Kohut, honoring two names in the history of Troop D that was organized in Punxsutawney those first years of state police history more than a century ago. •••

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28 – Punxsutawney Hometown – July 2015 - Issue #177