ISSN 2330-6629
LAUREL MOUNTAIN
POST
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Westmoreland County Guide to Homes
Make It, Bake It, Or Grow It! Welcome to the Ligonier Country Market
Exhibition Celebrates Scrap and Recycled Materials Technology: Tool or Toy? Healing Habits, Healing Hearts The Road to Success ... Under Construction
May 2014
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST, September 2013 - 1
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2 - May 2014
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Table of Contents 5 6
Community Collage by Cathi Gerhard
8
Ligonier Market to Step Out in Style: Opening Day: Saturday, May 17
Make It, Bake It Or Grow It: Ligonier Country Market 1976 to Today by Linda Sinemus
by Lois Manon
9 10 11 12 13
Thank You, John West by Arlene Lowry
The Road to Success . . . Under Construction by David W. Martin Home Study by Brian Mishler “What You Don’t Know”
Natural Health by Granny Earth
2014 26
Off Trail by Joe Walko
28 30
Earth Talk “Food Safety”
32
Hydration & Holistic Wellness
33
That’s What They Say
34
Postmodern Tendancies
36
Information for Life
36 37
Classified Ads
38
May-June Community Calendar
44
Distribution & Subscription Information
46
End Notes by Cathi Gerhard
“Mullein”
Exhibition Celebrates Scrap and Recycled Materials
14
The Ligonier Chef by Scott Sinemus
17
Reversing Roles by Gretchen Fuller “Reminiscing About Life Long Ago”
18
Today’s Education by Clair Ward
“To Market, To Market”
“Technology: Tool or Toy?”
20 22
Community News
23
Trip to Historic Shenandoah Valley
24
Down on the Farm by Cathi Gerhard
“Healing Habits, Healing Hearts”
What’s Cooking in Fitness by Mark Rullo “The Biggest Exercise Mistake When It Comes to Fat Loss”
by Hayley Chemski-Horwat
by Rev. Marjorie Rivera “John Lennon”
by Megan Fuller “The Final Trauma”
by Michael Vernon “Help Clients Buy AND Sell Their Homes and Properties”
Blue Skies and Daydreams by Nancy A. Clark
“Made in Pennsylvania”
Summer of Creativity Planned at Latrobe Art Center
and Gregory Susa “A Time to Plant”
Single Distlefink The Distlefink was the good luck bird of the Pennsylvania Germans. It actually was a stylized version of the goldfinch. The goldfinch eats thistle seed, uses thistle down for its nest, and was called a thistlefinch – from which comes the Pennsylvania Dutch "Distelfink. This single distelfink sign is a symbol of good luck and happiness. The heart adds a measure of love and the tulips faith.
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 3
LAUREL MOUNTAIN
Enhance Your Life With Music piano • violin • viola • cello • guitar • voice flute • lessons • weddings • events
Lessons at Vittone’s in Greensburg 724-309-0553 • vmullmusic@gmail.com
POST The Laurel Mountain Post is an independent, monthly publication produced at Fairview Farm in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. All material printed herein is subject to copyright and permission to reproduce in any format must be obtained in writing from the publisher. This publication is registered with the US Library of Congress, ISSN 2330-6629. Cathi Gerhard, Editor & Publisher Megan Fuller, Managing Editor Gregory Susa, Co-Publisher & Circulation Manager Elizabeth Srsic, Art & Layout Editor Michelle White, Business Manager Carol Gerhard, Copy Editor Sales: Jason Ament, Mary Carlson, Allison Carmichael, Sarabeth Dei, Bryan & Kelly Johnson-Hill. Media: Joe Jerich, Eric Pensenstadler, Mary Fowler. Circulation: Jason Ament, Char Bukoskey, Nancy Clark, Sarabeth Dei, Gretchen Fuller, Cathi Gerhard, Bryan & Kelly Johnson-Hill, Scott King, Laurie McGinnis, Victoria Mull, Bob Raho, Doug Richardson, Elizabeth Srsic, Alice Susa, Gregory Susa, Lindsay Turchetta, Robert Williams. Columnists: please use contact information provided at the end of each article or on our website. Publisher cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy of the matter represented in the advertisements herein published. Please contact the advertiser to verify details. Laurel Mountain Post-style stories, links and photos EVERY DAY!
Second Chapter Books New and Used Books • Children’s Gifts Jewelry • Greeting Cards • Neat Stuff 139 East Main Street Ligonier, PA 15658
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Mailing Address PO Box 332 Ligonier, PA 15658
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www.LaurelMountainPost.com For Information call: (724) 331-6858
Every Story Begins At Home This advertisement sponsored by Vernon Realty Services.
4 - May 2014
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Community Collage “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” Herman Melville This issue came together as a collage of community events and collaborations. It began with an idea to highlight the opening of farmers market season, but blossomed into something much bigger. The farmers market is a great example of the community coming together once a week to connect and share. As The Ligonier Chef says (page 14), it’s as much social as commercial – especially in Ligonier. But this model repeats in many of our neighboring towns as well (Latrobe, Derry/Keystone, Somerset, Greensburg, etc). Each market represents a unique slice of life defined by the small contributions of many. More article submissions came in for this issue, all with this similar theme of connectivity. • Joe Walko wrote about community healing in his Off Trail column (page 26). • David Martin announced a new brand and focus for Latrobe and the
Every Story Begins At Home.
surrounding areas with the newly-renamed Greater Latrobe Laurel Valley Community Chamber of Commerce (page 10). • A new exhibition at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art celebrates scrap and recycled materials (page 13). My list could continue, but I invite you to keep reading for yourself. It takes a group of committed people to bring the Laurel Mountain Post to you each month, but even more for this May issue. A “series of unfortunate events” delayed the publication of this issue, and I would like to thank everyone who played a part in keeping us going: • West Penn Power who restored our electricity as quickly as they could (several times) with every auto accident, downed tree, power surge and other stormy weather factors. • Bradenville Volunteer Fire Department, who raced to the farm when a tree caught fire in the wind and blew up the transformer on our neighborhood pole.
• Fox’s Pizza Den, Scotty G’s, and China Garden, who provided us with takeout dinners by candlelight. • The staff at Latrobe Hospital for taking great care of my mother and copy editor, Carol, when she suffered some post-surgical complications last week. • My family and friends who kept me going when things like these get me down or get in the way of my work. • And everyone who responded with “how can I help?” as each new crisis developed. Life is such a group effort, formed from the overlapping colors of relationships and circumstance. Too often we take credit for our own contributions without considering all the other parts. Every formula for success is different, but each ingredient has value. It helps to take inventory every once in a while. — Cathi Gerhard, Editor
May 2014 - 5
Make It, Bake It or Grow It: Ligonier Country Market 1976 to Today
The year was 1976, the year of our nation’s festive Bicentennial celebrations, and area leaders felt a “Country Market” would be a great addition to the slate of activities planned in Ligonier. John West of Ligonier, Jeanne Witman of New Florence, Thomas Hughes of Derry and several others joined together to form a Board of Directors to oversee the first Ligonier Country Market, held on the Fourth of July weekend. That first Market was loosely assembled in the American Legion barn, currently occupied by Valley Youth Network. Twelve vendors showed up to sell freshly baked homemade pies, local farm-grown vegetables, and handmade crafts from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A community table allowed anyone else to sell extra produce from their in-town gardens. The Market was so well received that first season, the board decided it should be an ongoing entity. On March 4, 1977, Country Market at Ligonier was established as a not-forprofit corporation in Pennsylvania. The bylaws of that first board stated that the Market was established “to encourage increased production of locally grown vegetables, fruits, baked and canned goods and to encourage creativity in the production of local handcrafted articles.” It also was created “to encourage area residents and visitors to appreciate and purchase locally handcrafted articles and locally grown produce in season.” Those words still ring true, as Ligonier Country Market has grown into the largest open air farmers market in Western Pennsylvania that is a producer-only market. The mantra is “Make It, Bake It, or Grow It,” a nonnegotiable point still stressed to all vendors. From its humble beginnings in 1976, the Market grew in both the number of vendors and in its physical layout. Over the years the Market moved several times to accommodate 6 - May 2014
its growth. From the original site at the American Legion Barn, it moved to Ligonier Valley High School in 1981 and then back to the (then Millcreek) parking lot in 1990 where it had first started in the adjacent barn. Around 2001, the property across the road changed hands from the McConnaughey family farm to the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, which offered a much needed larger space to accommodate the Market’s continued growth. At that time the vendor count had grown to about 50, still a mixture of farmers and crafters. As the Market grew, it became clear that the Board could not handle the day-to-day operation on its own. It enlisted the help of paid Market Managers to help settle in the vendors on Saturday mornings, to keep records of the vendors’ contact information, and to handle customer questions or complaints. The first Market Manager was Evelyn McNall, who served faithfully every Market until 2001, when longtime Market vendor and Board Member Jim Mikula took over the reins. Jim served the Market well during its explosive growth period for 10 years until 2012, when Angela Iezzi was hired to take on the much larger role as Market Manager in a more
tech savvy world. Today, Angela not only tends to the daily operation of the Market, but keeps it updated on the web, and on Facebook and Twitter accounts. The Market also employs Larry Lohr as an independent contractor to act as operations coordinator. Ligonier Country Market entered the digital age by joining the internet in 2003 with a very simple webpage. It got a re-make in 2009, along with the addition of a Facebook page. Another update in 2012 made a big difference in the look and functionality of the website, and the Market is striving to improve its web presence again in the near future. Check out www.ligoniercountrymarket.com to see what is happening this season. The Board did some research around 2006 that led to the conclusion that they needed to attract younger customers. Those customers wanted to eat food on site, so “ready to eat” food vendors were recruited to serve the patrons. Today, you can literally eat your way through the Market, having freshly brewed coffee, breakfast sandwiches, hamburgers, gyros, pierogies, grilled pizza, and ice cream and pies for dessert. The many other options are too numerous to mention. That younger customer also had chil-
Ariel view of the Ligonier Country Market by Joseph Teplitz of Press 1 Photos LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
dren in tow, so the Special Features committee began offering activities for children. More and more customers found out about how great the Market experience was and started coming regularly every Saturday morning. By 2008 the Market was attracting over 2,000 visitors each week and had 100 vendors for them to visit. But the growth didn’t stop there. From 2008 through 2013, the Market expanded to a total of 175 available vendors and at the height of the Market season attracts more than 3,000 patrons weekly. Today there are generally about 120 to 130 vendors every week and visitors number 3,000 or more. That is due to many factors such as the addition of new, unique vendors, an expanded Special Features program that introduced music more often, a beautification project executed by Penn State Master Gardeners and the opening of the Children’s Garden in 2012. Also back in 2009, the Market started its wildly popular Christmas Market, held annually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday gift giving season. It has been held at the Ligonier Valley YMCA for the last 3 years and before that at the Millcreek Barn and the Ramada. Also contributing to the growth of the Ligonier Country Market was an increased public awareness about eating locally. “Locavores,” people who seek out locally produced foods, were becoming more and more prevalent around the country, and Westmoreland County was no exception. Being able to talk to the farmer who grew the corn you are buying for dinner or who raised the chickens that laid the eggs was appealing to people who were turned off by the mass merchandisers and supermarkets selling foods from China. In addition, there had been many health scares with salmonella and E. coli outbreaks from produce grown in Mexico. People felt safer buying local foods, and realized that they tasted much fresher and were better for you than foods trucked across the country. And because less gas is burned to get that food to you, it is a greener way to shop. Many people now embrace this environmentally friendly philosophy. Every Story Begins At Home.
More and more people continue to be drawn to Ligonier Country Market every week of the season. Not the least reason is the social experience. People see their neighbors, friends from high school, relatives, or longlost friends and catch up with each other while enjoying fresh air and good food, music and unique crafts. Sometimes it is difficult to walk down the center aisle with so many people stopping to have their conversations and
impromptu exchanges. None the less, it does not deter families and friends who come together to enjoy a casual, festive atmosphere, and in the process help support local farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs. This is consistent with the intent of the Market when it was established 38 years ago. Come and see for yourself every Saturday from 8 am till Noon, rain or shine, May 17th through October 4th. -by Linda Sinemus, LCM Board Member 2003-2013
Survey Says ... If you were strolling around Ligonier Country Market last summer casually perusing the wide array of vendor offerings and were approached by a cheerful Market representative carrying a clipboard and pen, you may have been one of the randomly selected patrons chosen to participate in the 2013 Summer Market Survey. The Market survey was conducted, according to board president, Yolanda Pavloff, to “assess the current market dynamics—where people are coming from, what they are buying, things they like best about the market, how long they stay, frequency of visits, as well as any recommendations they may have to improve the Market.” Results of the survey showed only a few surprises including where the customers surveyed reside. Over 25% identified out of county residences including Somerset, Allegheny, Fayette, Cambria, and Indiana Counties, as well as 7% of customers sporting out-of-state license plates from as far as Virginia and Florida. “It’s great to know that our out-of-county marketing is showing such positive results, said Pavlov, “and quite exciting that our local customers are bringing their out-ofstate guests to show-off our fantastic Market.” As might be expected, typical purchases at the Market for most patrons included fresh produce followed by plants, and prepared foods (think grilled pizza!). Meat and cheese purchases came in next, slightly ahead of crafts, jewelry and other. Recommendations for the Market, as noted by Manager Angela Iezzi, ranged from increasing the number of food vendors to adding more musical features, both of which are being addressed by the Market board for the 2014 season. “A frequent suggestion however cannot be addressed,” stated Iezzi. Many patrons ask for out-of-season produce early in Market season. “Since our produce vendors are local and they must stick to the Market rule of “Make It, Bake It, of Grow It”, customers will not find, for example, corn in May.” Other survey findings indicate that most of the Market patrons surveyed shop at the Market weekly or nearly every week, followed closely by patrons who shop once or twice per month. They typically spend less than one hour to two hours during each visit to the Market. And how much money do they spend during that time? Most reported spending between $21.00 to more than $60.00 on the day of the survey. When asked, “What is your favorite part of the Market,” a whopping 65% indicated that they enjoy the Ligonier Country Market because of the variety offered. Members of the Market Board report that there is even more in store for the 2014 season. And this writer’s favorite comment by an individual who participated in the Ligonier Country Market survey, “It’s good. Yes, the Market is good.”
May 2014 - 7
Ligonier Market to Step Out in Style Opening Day: Saturday, May 17 Ligonier Country Market will step out on a lively right foot this year. In keeping with the special country fair theme, the popular Larry Shew and the Shewstrings band will headline opening day, Saturday, May 17. Adding to the foot-tapping and finger-snapping will be lively routines by a group of young Westmoreland County 4-H square dancers. Westmoreland Fair Queen Hattie Henderson and Derry Township Ag Fair Queen Amanda Wiltrout will make appearances and circulate among market-goers. Children will be encouraged to vie for prizes in a scarecrow scavenger hunt, and to sign up for future activities in the on-site children’s garden, including planting, harvesting, and pumpkin painting. All these special features will only add to the lively shopping experience as row upon row of vendors share their wares, each following the founders’ 38-year motto—if you “Make It, Bake It, or Grow It” you can sell it at Ligonier Country Market. Shoppers can choose from an astonishing variety of pro-
ducts ranging from gourmet dog biscuits to artisanal cheeses, from organic beef to ready-to-eat pierogies, from grilled-on-the-spot pizza to homecanned preserves. Ligonier Country Market is a true farmers market, with fresh-from-thegarden vegetables and fruits available all season long. The opening day selection may include the very first spring lettuce, green onions, asparagus and spinach, grown with care by local producers. As the season goes on, marketgoers will be delighted with fresh strawberries, beets, tomatoes, peppers, corn, potatoes, mushrooms, squash, apples, and all other types of produce. If they can “Grow It,” you will find it at Country Market. Opening day vendors will offer truckloads of healthy perennials and homegrown bedding plants to help you make the most of your flower garden or vegetable plot. And for keeping up your strength while doing all that digging, snag a bag of biscotti or a loaf or two of crusty bread with a jar of local honey or maple syrup to top it
off. You might want to have brunch on the spot, and take home the fresh ingredients (or prepared entree) for dinner. Thinking of sprucing up your wardrobe for spring? Market artisans offer original jewelry designs on all price levels, as well as embroidered shirts and quilted crossbody bags for casual wear, handloomed scarves, handtooled belts, and made-with-love styles for babies and children. For your interior decorating, wooden items from delicately carved bowls to huge tree-stump coffee tables are offered by talented craftsmen. Many other types of arts and crafts, both functional and decorative, are available to perk up your country or contemporary décor. Special features will continue each Saturday, with music running the gamut from a one-woman band to bluegrass, dulcimer players, and a bagpiper. Chef Mark of Chef Mark’s Palate in Latrobe, as chef-in-residence, will present cooking demonstrations, and others also will show how to make use of Market produce. Civil War Round Table members plan to bring an authentic Civil War cannon, Wildlife Works will display several rehabilitated wild animals, 4H-ers will show their small animals, and several talented local authors will bring their books to discuss and autograph. The Weeders and Seeders Garden Club will present children’s programs, and Penn State Extension representatives will discuss gardening and water wells. Ligonier Country Market is the place to meet your friends and make new ones. Market is held from 8 a.m. to noon each Saturday, May 17 through October 4, at the Loyalhanna Watershed grounds, west of Ligonier at Route 30 and Springer Road. Watch for signs. For more information about vendors and special features, and to sign up for the online newsletter, see ligoniercountrymarket.com. – by Lois Manon
8 - May 2014
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Thank You, John West
John West, 88, founder of the Ligonier Country Market.
When John West and his wife Vernie
were planning how they would celebrate the 65th anniversary of their first date, John suggested an excursion to Bedford Springs. Vernie said “yes” and in the time it would take most people to find the phone number, John had their getaway planned and booked. “This is typical of John,” Vernie stated, “He makes things happen.” John’s knack for making things happen was one of the main reasons Vernie and Dr. Shepherd “Shep” Whitman, chairpersons of the 1975 Ligonier Bicentennial Committee, asked him to set up a Country Market in the Ligonier Valley as one of the bicentennial events which might continue on into the future, another being the Ligonier Valley Endowment. John agreed to co-chair the Market project with Shep’s wife, Jeanne Whitman. The group surveyed the western Pennsylvania area for other markets to use as a model but none were found. A visit to a farmers market in Ann Arbor, Michigan gave John some ideas to get the ball rolling. And hence, the Ligonier Country Market, at that time called the Country Market of Ligonier, came into existence at the American Legion Barn in Ligonier with twelve vendors. Every Story Begins At Home.
At 87 years of age, John continhad many out-of-town visitors stop in ues to actively serve as a Ligonier the library and introduce themselves Country Market director and provide after meeting and talking with John.” the voice of experience for the ten John has been an unofficial good member volunteer board. Board treawill ambassador for Ligonier since his surer, David Maniago, credits John marriage to Vernie in 1952. After gradwith staying true to the roots on which uating from Pitt where the couple met, the Market was built. “When the Vernie was hired to teach in her homeboard is pondering ideas for the Martown of Ligonier. John started his caket, the bottom line for John always reer as a salesman for an advertising comes down to a few basic questions, specialties company and eventually stated Maniago, ‘Will it be good for the bought the business. He and Vernie market?’, ‘Will it help our vendors?,’ and have three sons, John Jr., Timothy, ‘Does it follow the Market’s fundamenand Ned and six grandchildren. All tal rule that the vendor must make it, three sons and their families reside bake it, or grow it?’” within four miles of each other in Elisa Glenn, who recently served on Allison Park, PA. the Ligonier Country Market Board, echAs Ligonier Country Market paoes Maniago’s sentiments, “John is our trons can attest, John faithfully arrives link to the humble past of the Market,” each Saturday of Market season to she expressed, “as a fellow board memsound the horn signifying that the venber he is a terrific teammate.” Glenn dors, now numbering over 120, are likens John’s presence on the Market open for business. He enjoys greeting board to binoculars to birding. “John old friends and welcoming new visibrings perspective to a crisp focus,” tors to what has become a favorite she explained, “He has the instituSaturday destination for locals, tourtional memory to know whether ists, and anyone seeking a wholesome, some ideas will work or not based on enjoyable way to start the weekend. past history. He narrows our field of vision so we do not have to look up the wrong tree!” John West’s dedication and support of community efforts extend beyond the Ligonier Country Market. Janet Hudson, Ligonier Valley Library Director, recalls “I met John and Vernie when I first started working Angela Iezzi, LCM Manager, presents John at the library in 1976 – with a framed aerial photo of the Market. the same year that the Market was organized. Both are enthusiastic library supportRichard Danforth, former Marers and continue to actively advocate ket board member perhaps sums it up for our library. John was instrumenbest, “John West is a wonderful man tal in revising the investment policy for whose sustained passion for the Ligonour endowment fund and raising ier Country Market has been instrumoney to build the children’s wing. mental in its development into the Hudson added, “John is very gregarigreat community asset it has become ous and enjoys bragging about today. If you like the Market, thank Ligonier and its many attractions. I’ve John West when you see him.” – by Arlene Lowry
May 2014 - 9
The Road to Success ... Under Construction by David W. Martin The Greater Latrobe Chamber has a new name … and a new look! As of May we will represent our membership as the “Greater Latrobe - Laurel Valley Community Chamber of Commerce.” I’ve had countless positive comments about our colorful new logo … representative of all the diverse communities in the wonderful area and the importance of working together to create something great. One of my favorite quotes was actually attributed to our area’s own Arnold Palmer. He said, “the road to success is always under construction.” That is so true. It is a reminder that building something great – something truly special – is work along a road filled with unexpected twists and turns. We see it in sports, in business and in our personal lives. How we adjust, adapt and respond to those “detours-along the-way” determines our successes, small and large. Since my move “home” from running a chamber in Delaware back in January, the job has had its share of twists and turns. Some welcomed, some surprising, a few were unexpected… each one, though, an opportunity. One of my biggest surprises from my many meetings and conversations was the
David W. Martin, President Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Chamber of Commerce
10 - May 2014
perception so many shared that our great communities often lacked working together and feeling “connected” in business. From a Chamber standpoint, as I look forward and look around our service area, I see so much to celebrate and many more prospects for success. Our new brand represents a commitment and a new focus on connecting business, community and education in the Chamber’s expanding service area. The Chamber will continue to pursue our goal of linking our great towns and neighborhoods to drive commerce and improve small business, speak with one influential voice and continue our unique tradition of supporting our local schools with impacting programs that provide direction and true career pathways for our kids. The Chamber’s Educational Foundation and fast-growing Industrial Consortium looks forward to exciting work with the Greater Latrobe, Derry Area and Ligonier Valley School Districts and the Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technical Center. Someone asked me why it was important to add the word “Community” into our new name. Across the country chambers are merging, consolidating, downsizing and re-creating themselves. Often when the dust settles, the end-result is the local, or the “community” focus of the chamber is lost. That will not be the case here. The Greater Latrobe - Laurel Valley Chamber’s mission will continue to be to advocate for business and industry, promote a vibrant local economy, encourage growth and interest in our towns and sustain positive cooperation and communication within our business communities. It is much more than a new name and a colorful logo. This is a new focus on membership value and LOCAL economic growth. Our NEW website will go “live” by June and our new domain is Latrobe
LaurelValley.org. Our Facebook page can be found at Facebook.com/ LatrobeLaurelValley, and the newly re-launched Twitter page is Twitter .com/LatrobeLaurelValley. We will “post” and we will “tweet” all that is special about our members and our great communities! Our new membership software platform will allow members to post to their own webpage on the Chamber site and provide a launching pad for “The Neighborhood Card.”
The “Neighborhood Card” program will allow all member businesses to offer discounts, promotions and savings to other chamber members and their employees. Discounts and offers will be listed on the Chamber’s new website, in a monthly newsletter and digitally via a future “Neighborhood Card App” developed by new member ALTRIS, Inc. I am excited about this program, as it will increase and create new business for many of our members and allow our service and industry membership to provide their employees with a money-savings “perk.” The actual “Neighborhood Card” will resemble a credit card featuring the new Chamber branding and be sent to current members and their employees starting in June. Exciting times… A partner in business. A voice in government. A leader in economic growth … with a local focus. A community focus. Welcome to the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Community Chamber of Commerce! Stay tuned …
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
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HOME STUDY by Brian Mishler
What You Don’t Know
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Every Story Begins At Home.
In the classes that I teach, “what is the most common problem you see?” is a frequently ask question. The answer, while simple is very diverse: Do it yourself repairs and projects. These eyes have seen all manner of repair attempts, improper deck construction probably most common, followed closely by improper and sometimes dangerous electrical work. Least common is DIY gas plumbing, although it is out there, as is everything in between. Rarely a day doesn’t goes by when “Harry the Handyman”, “Intrepid Homeowner”, “what was he thinkin?” or some other colorful phrase for the do it yourselfer pass these lips. Please don’t take me the wrong way; I’m not anti-DIY. I’m anti-ignorance. It seems my gender has an issue with “book learnin.” We men would rather cut our thumb off than read the manual for the saw. (Every man out there is saying “yeah, so?” right now!) Ladies, you know there’s trouble afoot when you hear “this’ll work…” The appropriate response is “for how long?” Or perhaps merely silence; we’re an obstinate bunch too. One source of my self-pride, and probably more occupational hazard than anything, is that I know what I don’t know. For instance, I know how to work a hammer, and I know the proper installation methods, materials and specifications to install a roof. The roof on my house is low, and easy to walk. And when it became necessary to replace my roof, I hired a roofer. Why you ask? A roofer knows the proverbial “tricks of the trade”. I know what the “book” says how a roof is to be installed. For much the same reasons you don’t want your surgeon consulting a reference manual during your operation, you don’t want me putting your roof on. We’ve all heard the adage: “A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client, and a jackass for an attorney.” Professionals in my industry frequently encounter folks who claim they used to do what we do or something similar; folks who assume they know what our jobs entail. Some take it further to think that they can do our jobs, occasionally they’re successful, but usually it creates unnecessary work, struggle, and expense. For instance, people often underestimate what a real estate agent does; “all they do is drive around looking at houses” is a commonly used under- estimation I’ve heard over the years. A real estate agent knows the ins and outs of the industry; they know the neighborhood, the various continued on page 23
May 2014 - 11
NATURAL HEALTH
Healing with Mother Nature’s Weeds by Granny Earth, ND
Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) Oh Mr. Mullein, what can I say? The first time I saw you, you captured my heart, with your downy leaves and your yellow blooms. How could I have known then, that you’d become one of my favorites, one of my dear, sweet children? Year after year you come back, making my life complete- thank you Mr. Mullein! Verbascum thapsus (I just love saying that name) is an upright, biannual- meaning that it appears the first year and grows a little. The following year it returns, growing very tall and producing small yellow flowers. And, that’s it! Then it dies off and depends on its millions of tiny black seeds to continue on with the legacy. Mullein likes to appear in open, uncultivated fields and along roadsides. If you’ve never seen him before, go looking this summer. Once you’ve found him, your life will never be the same! The leaves and flowers are the parts used medicinally. Traditionally, Mullein has been used as a cough remedy – particularly for bronchitis. Making a cough syrup is easy. You
12 - May 2014
might try to combine Mullein, Cherry bark, Horehound and Echinacea in glycerin. That should do the job. Mullein is considered to be ‘mucilage’ with expectorant qualities. It’s also calming, with anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves would be used in these cases, either in a tea or tincture form. Those little, tiny, yellow flowers that grow on the spike, are a real challenge. They don’t bloom all at once, but just a few at a time, so it will take patience and time to collect them. But, collect them you’ll want to – they’ll be a real treasure if you or anyone in your family should ever develop an earache. After you’ve collected as many flowers as you can, carefully put them in a glass jar that you’ve filled ½ to ¾ full with pure 100% Virgin coldpressed olive oil. Put the lid on and sit it on a window sill, so the sunlight can do its job. As the days go by and you collect more flowers, continue to add them to the oil, shaking the jar, once in a while. You can leave it in there for several weeks, until you think it’s ‘ready.’ Then strain it off and bottle into amber bottles that have a dropper lid. If anyone ever has an earache- at the first sign, warm up the bottle of oil in a pan of hot water and put a few drops into the ear. Do this several times a day until it’s healed. No need for antibiotics … no need for a medical doctor – my opinion. ADDED BONUS: The dried leaves of Mr. Mullein can be ‘smoked’ to relieve lung problems. Many years ago, I had a friend who was having severe lung problems. So, she and I smoked some dried Mullein leaves and it really helped her. Page 123 – 124 in ‘Do It Yourself Weed Medicine’. Stop by my booth at the Ligonier
Country Market this season to learn more about mullein and other herbal tobacco blends. This year’s Market starts on Saturday, May 17th - 8:00 am. As usual, I’m in the back row, next to the grassy field – Space A-12. I’ll have all my Natural Healing products: salves, creams, tinctures, teas, books and Newsletters, too. Stop by, say ‘Hi’ and chat a while.
***** Seventy-some years young, and following my lifelong passion, which is natural healing and teaching others about weed medicine, I believe that we each must do what we can to get back to Nature. In making your own weed medicine, you’re going to be going out looking and identifying certain weeds that grow around you–you’ll be outdoors, in the sunshine and fresh air–getting back to Nature. Maybe you’ll start growing your own weeds, turning your backyard into a weed garden! Granny Earth has a bachelor’s in Psychology from California University of Pennsylvania (which she earned at age 59), and both a masters and doctorate from Clayton College of Natural Health.
www.grannyearth.com grannyearth@zoominternet.net Phone: 724-542-9713 Granny’s monthly Natural Health Newsletter- ‘CONNECTIONS’ is available via- Snail-Mail. 12 pages- All good stuff! $35.00 a year (12 issues).
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Exhibition Celebrates “ Scrap and Recycled Materials What one person considers trash – like crushed soda bottles or a broken computer – is treasure to artists Mei Greer and Ronald Nigro. The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley’s latest exhibition, Scrap Redefined: Works by Mei Greer and Ronald Nigro, celebrates two artists who explore non-traditional subject matter to create evocative, visually interesting works. The exhibition opens May 2 and will remain on view through August 10. For more than twelve years, Greer has worked in the metal recycling industry. It has proven to be the perfect backdrop for her artistic en-
Ronald Nigro (American, b. 1957) Blue Vision, 2009 Mixed media, 28" x 7" x 6"
Every Story Begins At Home.
deavors. With her camera and artist’s eye, Greer finds beauty in scrap and recyclable materials. Her phot0graphy captures the essence of the circle of life, giving a rebirth to once beloved or useful materials since discarded and forgotten. The artist’s compositions combine colorful, glistening metal and manufactured parts with repeating patterns, resulting in twodimensional images that seemingly have a texture of their own. Greer was born in China during the Cultural Revolution. Early in life, her family migrated to Hong Kong where she grew up. She moved to Washington, D.C. in 2012 and has been a frequent visitor to Western Pennsylvania, where her husband has roots. Although she has had no formal training, Greer has dedicated herself to constantly improving her craft. Like Greer, Nigro also finds a muse in scrap metal. His sculptural assemblage works are created from a vast assortment of unrelated found objects that, when viewed in the context of the completed sculpture, seemingly could have no other purpose than to exist for the sake of the art. Through the repurposing of these discarded, disassembled materials, Nigro creates mysterious, futuristic subjects that often take on anthropomorphic characteristics. Many of his works involve moving parts, further drawing in the viewer to interact with the mechanical new forms. Nigro is a retired art educator and adjunct instructor at Seton Hill University. His work has appeared in juried, solo, group and invitational exhibitions throughout the region at locations including The Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, the State Museum of Pennsylvania and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. He is a member of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Society of Artists and Society of Sculptors.
Mei I. Greer (American, b. China, 1968) H035, 2005 Epson Ultrachrome K3 archival pigment print, 16" x 20"
The artists will be on hand for the Museum’s thirteenth annual Garden Party, “The Thrill of the Hunt for Art,” on Saturday, May 31. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a reception in the Museum gallery celebrating Scrap Redefined. Greer and Nigro will be in attendance to greet guests and discuss their works on view. The Garden Party will feature an evening of elegant cuisine, live music, silent and live auctions and a variety of hunt-themed activities, including a “Running of the Hounds.” Tickets are $125 per person. Reservations are required by May 21 and can be made by calling the Museum at (724) 238-6015. The Museum also will host a Lunch a l’Art with Nigro on June 12. The program runs from noon to 2 p.m. and will include lunch and a presentation by the artist. Cost for the continued on page 45
Ronald Nigro (American, b. 1957) San Luis Obispo, 2013 Mixed media, 16" x 3" x 7"
May 2014 - 13
THE LIGONIER CHEF by Scott Sinemus
To Market, To Market I have been going to the Ligonier Country Market since it was located in the hallways of the high school. Katie Marker always greeted everyone at the door in her wheelchair and told all the children to make sure they got their vaccines so they didn’t get Polio like she did. It was amazing to see the market outgrow that space and move over to the old American Legion barn for a brief stint. Its current location is great for getting in and getting out easily… driving that is. Most Saturdays I run into so many friends to chat with that it’s never a quick trip to the market; however, that is part of the charm. I cannot wait to enjoy my first gyro from the guys at Pitaland. I usually opt for just the meat and tzatziki sauce, it’s a bit more manageable than when it’s filled with lettuce, onion and tomatoes. Perfectly followed by a chocolate raspberry cookie from Sand Hill Berries. I have to get my fix during the summer as they never bring them to Fort Ligonier Days. The pies always look and smell delicious; but since childhood I’ve called raspberry pie, “gravel pie.” When I make a black raspberry pie I always cook the berries on the stove and sieve out the seeds then thicken the juice with minute tapioca. You get all of the flavor and none of the seedy crunch. The tapioca pearls also swell up to resemble the nodes of the berries. Our market is fortunate to have several ready-to-enjoy options available; but one thing I leave with every week are Gosia’s Pierogies. The only thing missing from the dry cottage cheese is fresh dill; otherwise they’re 14 - May 2014
exactly like the ones my grandmother used to make. Quite easily remedied, however, with a hand full of freshly minced dill tossed in the butter and onions before serving. There are several flavors available, for me though, the cottage cheese ones are the very best. The breads from Mediterra Bakehouse are phenomenal: it’s the closest product I’ve found to the breads we have enjoyed at the street markets in Paris. The most difficult
thing is trying not to buy a loaf of every single kind there is. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about the method and recipe for each, and will gleefully answer any questions, they even offer to ship bread from their location near Pittsburgh. At the start of the market most of the vendors are crafts and food. Some produce is available, usually just lettuce and spring onions; but the best week is when you find the first vineripened tomato!! I won’t plan my Saturday dinner until I’ve gone to the market to see what’s available. Our friends from the city come out to their cottage as many weekends as they can; because it’s her un-
wind time, Sarah picks up everything for dinner: meat, veggies, starch and dessert. There is always a bouquet of flowers from Mr. Ambrose on the table the entire weekend. Nearly every perennial we planted around the new terrace last year came from various vendors at the market. Quite a few of them are already peeking through the soil now. The varieties available and the health of the plants seem superior to the larger chain stores. The market is also the only place I buy my honey. For the last several years I haven’t needed to take any over-the-counter allergy medicine in the fall for my hay fever since I’ve started having a couple of spoonfuls of the goldenrod honey from Red Arrow Farms every day. I love that it’s so effective and tastes great. I swear this year I am going to buy one of the concrete garden decorations. The most difficult thing is picking just which one, as I want them all. They’re beautiful and very clever. It’s always interesting to check out the special guest as well. I don’t know who’s coming this year but it’s always entertaining. There are several farmers markets around the area during the week as well so get out there and treat yourself to some home grown food! ***** Scott Sinemus is a Chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from the Pennsylvania Institute for Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh. He’s continued his education with classes from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and The Greenbrier; and has travelled internationally in search of authentic cuisine.
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
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LAUREL MOUNTAIN
POST
Instant Access to Full Issues GPS Locator to Find A Print Copy Near You Content from Our Social Networking Pages Discounts from Community Merchants
APPLE & ANDROID
Mobile App Available in Late May! Every Story Begins At Home . . . Let’s Tell Yours
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 15
Indiana Office: 724-349-8500 957 Philadelphia St. Indiana, PA 15701
New Alexandria Office: 724-668-5080 412 W. Main St. New Alexandia, PA 15670
Blairsville Office: 724-459-9200 213 E. Market St. Blairsville, PA 15717
New Florence Office: 724-235-3062 213 Ligonier St. New Florence, PA 15944
Derry Township
#981596 – This home has beautiful views!Shape of home is Hexagon,With Architectural Design and One of kind! Custom kitchen Decora cabinets,Granite counter tops. Offered at $400,000
Indiana
#994532 – 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath brick home located in Brookwood Estates. Home features, living room, dining room, family room, sun room and a finished basement. Main floor laundry, large mud room. Enjoy the warmth of the 2 fireplaces, sit on the deck or relax on the back porch. Offered at $299,900
Fairfield Township
#1003746 – Brick farmhouse on 18 acres, with barn. Excellent views, detached pole building for garage or horses.# bedrooms on Main floor, nice location in country. Pasture is sloping and gas rights not included in the sale. Offered at $199,000.
Blairsville
#979371 – Enjoy country life with easy access to major routes and towns. This charming 2 story home sits on a beautiful 1 acre lot. Relax in the living room with warmth of the fire place. Enjoy your breakfast in the eat-in kitchen or sit down with the family in the spacious dining room. Bedrooms are spacious and the attic is finished with electric heat for additional space. Many updates have been made for your enjoyment. Offered at $126,000
Blairsville
#974000 – Beautifully maintained with amenities galore.Fully equipped oak kitchen w/granite countertops,black appliances,oak wainscotting in DR, oak doors and trim throughout, plenty of storage. Offered at $369,900
Blairsville
#997159 – Breathtaking Customized Home your family can grow into. A new floor plan & newly remodeled with real Oak Hardwood floors, crown molding, fresh paint newer carpeting,3 Fireplaces formal dining rm and Theater RM/Game rm reassessed lighting. Granite counter tops. Deck 16x38 and Pool. Offered at $279,000
Blairsville
#978955 – 4 Bedrm with nice size closet with Hard wood fls upstairs. Remodeled Kitchen floors to ceiling with all Stainless appliances, Quartz counter tops, Newer cabinets with soft close doors!!Open floor plan to dining. Sunken-in Living rm with wood burning Fire place and built in book case. Offered at $158,400
Blairsville
#1003880 – This immaculate two story features large living and dining room with burled wood style paneling, sunny kitchen w/appliances, nice kitchen eating area, and newer first floor bathroom with ceramic tile and skylight. Three bedrooms on second floor with all new bathroom. Huge clean basement with additional bath and shower, plenty of storage also. New roof and furnace. Large two car garage and carport and nice level lot. Offered at $119,000
Blairsville
#984521 – Stunning home back on the market with beautifully refinished hardwoods, 2 BR, 2 storage rooms and a full bath on third floor. Fully equipped kitchen w/ Corian countertops and butler's pantry. Offered at $325,000.
Indiana
#988146 – House built around 1840. This home features large rooms with a non working fireplace in almost every room. Kitchen features the old built in stove for cooking (nonworking). BONUS: two bedroom garage apartment. Located on 1.17+/-. Swimming pool and hot tub are included in the sale. Offered at $230,000
Homer City
#989835 – Immaculate large home with all the updatesroof, windows,furnace,wiring, siding,and more. Lots of oak trim, wainscoting and oak laminate floors make this a family friendly and easy care home. Large LR, DR and KIT w/appliances and full bath. Second floor has 3 large bedrooms and cozy long deck. Offered at $131,900
Blairsville
#983841 – Come home to this spacious cape code in Blairsville. Relax in the large living while you enjoy the warmth of the gas fireplace or cozy up in the sunroom. Looking to entertain, the dining room has enough room for friends and family. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the closet sizes in this house. Offered at $110,000
www.HewittRealEstate.net 16 - May 2014
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Reminiscing About Life Long Ago
or things we used to do, but wouldn’t think of doing today! Reversing Roles by Gretchen Fuller I was opening a bag of chips the other day, and I thought about how I was doing it. I cut off the top of the bag and then closed it with one of those chip bag clips. I remember getting ticked off when my mother was living here because she would cut a tiny little corner off of the bag that you could hardly squeeze a chip out of; then she’d put the chip clip on. Well, what’s the point of opening the bag if you can hardly get a chip out? Then I was visiting a friend, whose mother also lived with him, and discovered that she did the exact same thing. Maybe it has something to do with living through the Depression. My mother-in-law was a great one for saving on buying plastic wrap. She would take the wrap off of the meat packages she bought at the grocery store and wash them off and use them on something else. Can you imagine what the health department would say about that today?!! Since Easter has just passed, I was reminded of another thing we used to do when I was a kid. We ate our hard boiled eggs right out of the Easter basket without
putting them in the refrigerator immediately on Easter Sunday. Again what would the health department say about that? I don’t ever remember getting sick from the eggs. Speaking of life when I was a kid, my mom would iron many items that I would not think of ironing today. She ironed the sheets and pillowcases, handkerchiefs, tea towels and all my dad’s shirts. But my mother-in-law had her beat because she ironed my husband’s undershorts. You can imagine the conversation we had when we got married. He learned to wear wrinkled boxers! He also learned to eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast instead of bacon and eggs. When I was growing up we had a bathroom with a tub and shower, but we were not allowed to use the shower because it would get the towels that hung on a towel rack on the back wall wet. So all my childhood I took a bath. It wasn’t until I went to IUP that I learned the luxury of taking a nice hot shower. Taking a bath does present a problem when washing your
hair. I washed my hair twice a week in the bathroom sink and then slept (not very well) with huge rollers in my hair. My mother went to business school in the 1930’s. She lived in Greensburg and commuted to Pittsburgh on the train every day to attend classes at Grace Martin’s School of Business. She dressed up and wore a hat and gloves to school every day. Could you imagine getting today’s students out of their jeans and into fancy dress clothes and a hat and gloves? Many things have changed over the years and for the most part I am glad they have. Someday my children and grandchildren will reminisce about life today. I hope they have as good memories as I do. ***** Gretchen Fuller is the Real Estate Tax Collector in Pleasant Hills, PA. She came to that job by a very circuitous route: Gretchen spent many years substitute teaching or making the rounds of all the banks in Pittsburgh. She has a Bachelor of Science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Duquesne University. She is looking forward to retirement soon so she can spend more time with her six grandchildren.
My mission is to prove the continuity of life past the transition we call death.
Psychic Medium Rev. Marjorie Rivera Pittsburgh’s Premiere Psychic & Party Reader
412-884-7788 pittsburghmedium.com
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 17
TODAY’S EDUCATION
by Clair Ward, Head of School at Valley School of Ligonier
Technology: Tool or Toy? If you are over forty, you can remember the first cell phones. They came at a time when computers were still desktops, and the concept of technology that could fit in your back pocket was still a twinkle in someone’s eye. Now the advancements are coming at us more quickly than anyone thought possible when those first giant car phones made their appearance in the 80’s. Parents have their challenges as they work to raise this generation— now very commonly being referred to as digital natives. But schools also have their work cut out for them. From a hardware standpoint, the technology is quickly outdated as newer items appear. And from a values standpoint, we are now being charged with teaching children to behave, be kind and be safe in a world we have less and less control over. Furthermore, as “fun” as technology can be, it is increasingly important for schools to use technology to engage students while making sure it remains one of many tools (not toys) we use to educate them. Let me give you an example. Many schools have been incorporating robotics. Very basically, robotics units present children with a challenge. Students build robots to complete the task and generate the commands by using programming knowledge. This involves teamwork, problem solving, trial and error, etc. Even children as young as five and six are learning to program robots at school using simple left and right commands. This is technology being used as a tool. Contrary to this would be applications marketed to parents and teachers that primarily serve to occupy a child’s time. Sure, they appear to be
18 - May 2014
educational on the surface (and I am certainly not implying that all educational software is in this category) but ultimately do not provide instruction. For example, there is an entertaining app called Smash Your Food that appeals greatly to children. The goal is to correctly identify the amount of salt, fat and sugar in a variety of foods, press a lever that smashes the food item and then reveal how close you came. Used with instruction in a health classroom this is a supportive educational piece. But on its own, it is primarily entertaining. In spite of the educational content, this is technology being used mainly as a toy. Let me be clear, technology as entertainment has value even in an educational setting. But the point is that we have to be intentional about our use of technology as a means by which to reinforce values. Two years ago, a psychologist and sociologist by the name of Sherry Turkle gave a TED talk on the effects of technology on human behavior. She said, “Technology is making a bid to redefine the human connection … but it’s also giving us the opportunity to affirm our values and our direction.” So often conversation about technology has a threatening tone when it comes to our children. Ms. Turkle’s point is not that technology is inherently bad, but that we should be protective of the values we encourage or compromise by making certain decisions along the way. So if you are an educator working within a 1:1 technology program, or a parent simply trying to decide how old your child should be to have a mobile phone, please consider the tool vs. toy question. In so doing, you will be able to better assess whether or not your intent aligns with your outcome.
Technology is incredibly useful and offers us limitless opportunities for information and entertainment. Just be sure that whatever decisions that get made do as Ms. Turkle suggests: “…reaffirm our values and direction” rather than asking us to embrace a new culture that runs counter to what is valuable in our community. Allow me to share one of many resources that support both parents and educators. Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org) is an online clearinghouse of detailed information about movies, music and educational technology. Wondering about the real content of a movie you are considering for your children? It will give you the appropriate age and specific content that will allow you to evaluate whether or not it is consistent with your family values. Looking to evaluate new math apps? It will provide ratings and quality scores that will help. You can even find parent and educator blogs. In the end, our goal should be to embrace technology in a way that is consistent with our core values. Focusing on technology as a tool will allow us to do that. If we make choices that affirm what we ultimately believe about learning and communication, the ways that technology impacts our culture will stay within our control. And technology can remain one of the many ways we communicate and learn—not the only way. ***** Clair Ward was appointed in 2008 to the position of Head of School at Valley School of Ligonier (www.valleyschoolofligonier.com). Ms. Ward holds an M.Ed. from Boston College and a B.A. in English/Classics from Hamilton College. She lives in Rector with her daughter and husband, Bryon Williams, a doctoral candidate at Duquesne University.
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
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May 2014 - 19
YWCA Westmoreland County Circles of Diversity Discussion Series The YWCA Westmoreland County Racial Justice Committee presented the first of its Circles of Diversity Discussion series events on April 29, 2014. “Then and Now: Four Women’s Stories” was held at the YWCA and featured four women of different ethnic and racial backgrounds. Approximately 30 people gathered to listen to Nancy Brown, Carolyn Falcon, Ronda Goetz and Sister Lois Sculco share personal stories about growing up and living in Westmoreland County, as well as their thoughts on diversity and the way different groups interacted “then” in comparison to “now.” The discussion was facilitated by Joyce Clohessy. The YWCA Westmoreland County Racial Justice Committee works to establish programs that raise awareness; and promote diversity and racial justice in the community. The next Circles of Diversity event will be held on June 26 at the Seton Hill Performing Arts Center at 6PM. The featured speaker will be Patricia Prattis Jennings. Ms. Jennings was the first African American woman to be awarded a full contract by a major American symphony orchestra helping to break many years of discrimination in the world of classical music. The Circles of Diversity discussion series events are free and open to the public. Please call the YWCA at 724-834-9390 for more information. About the YWCA: The YWCA is the voice for every woman. For over a century, the YWCA has spoken out and taken action on behalf of women and girls. The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Over 2 million people participate each year in YWCA programs at more than 1,300 locations across the U.S. Worldwide, the YWCA serves more than 25 million women and girls in 125 countries.
Misty Hegan OFFICE: 724.238.7600 CELL: 724.972.8418 mistyhegan@thepreferredrealty.com • 115 S Market St • Ligonier, PA 15658
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g in iL st
Lot#4 Hi Acres/Charlotte Drive, Ligonier Residential lot in a great neighborhood just outside of Ligonier. Gently slopes, public water and sewage available. Nice view. $32,000
D EED UCC U D ED RRE
8 Cedarbrook Dr, Greensburg Move in ready, updated & charming 3b,2b, convenient to EVERYTHING! Custom cherry kitchen, freshly painted, great storage, trex deck for easy care, new roof & newer windows & doors. Large back yard with mature trees. Central to schools, shopping, dining & parks. Won't last, must see! Home warranty, too! $205,000
LD O S
Saving Pennies for Art Among Us On Monday, April 28, 2014, Prince of Peace students visited the Latrobe Art Center. Throughout the school year, the children saved their pennies every day for the “Latrobe Art Center.” Mrs Tina Schmitt and her AM Class presented us with a check for $400.00 to go toward our Art Among Us Program. We are so thankful for their dedication throughout the year and can’t wait to do a variety of projects with them next year! THANK YOU PRINCE OF PEACE! Pictured Above: First Row—John Nave, AJ Masecar, Emry Bridge, Vinny Razza, Grace Pittman, Tehya Uschock, Anderson Varchetti, Josiah Archer, Broc Archer. Second Row—Noah Skoloda, Leila Halula, Xander Permuko, Kate Thomas, Malorie Shaffer, Miss Gabi Nastuck, Hunter Ducmnich, Colten Earhart, Dustin Russell, Mateo Dorazio, Asher Payton, Jack Duda, Luke Semelka, Lexie Cunningham. 20 - May 2014
Buck Run ll, New Paris, PA Looking for a quiet getaway? Enjoy the peace of the mountains and nature. 2br/1ba cabin on 2+acres. Currently used for hunting, fishing, quad riding. $85,000
929 Orchard Ave, Greensburg Adorable brick home on 3 city lots. 3br/2ba, move in ready. Fenced in yard, great outdoor living space! Enjoy the convenience of in-town living but the privacy and space this property offers! $135,000
491 Weaver Mill Rd Rector Charming updated cottage on 2 acres in Rector. Detached garage with finished studio space. Perennial gardens. Lovely level 2 acres. Must see if you seek a quiet property with convenience to Ligonier. 199,999k
Calling All Sellers: Are You Ready to Move?? If you've been on the fence about listing your home, now is the time. With interest rates slowly creeping up, buyers are on the move. Ask any agent; we have buyers, we need listings to sell! Now is the time! Call today for a no-cost market analysis on your home and LIST IT! OFFICE: 724.238.7600 • CELL: 724.972.8418
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 21
Summer of Creativity Planned at Latrobe Art Center The Latrobe Art Center is excited to announce that they have packed this summer full of creativity! We are offering 7 upcoming sessions of pop the cork and 3 sessions of Palate to Palette. We are excited to host you at our Pop the Cork summer events! Grab your favorite friend, grab your favorite beverage, and tap into your inner muse for an evening of unbridled creativity. Individuals will follow step by step instruction to complete their piece of art. No experience is necessary to enroll in this class. The event is BYOB. Art supplies will be provided, along with wine glasses and bottle openers. Sweet treats in addition to coffee and hot tea will be available for purchase at the Neighborhood Café between 5:30PM- 7:30PM. There are limited seats available so sign up today. The fee is $35 for non-members and $20 for members. The times and descriptions for all three classes are listed below. POP THE CORK April 24, 2014, 6:00PM - 8:30PM • Paint it Purple – Relay for Life Night • Support the Greater Latrobe School District’s Relay for Life team by painting it purple. Bring your bottle of wine, and we’ll provide the brushes and a sweet treat! Hope to see you there! Portion of the proceeds go to the Relay for Life Organization. BYOB Event April 26, 2014, 1:00PM- 3:00PM • Paint it Blue – Walk NOW for Autism Speaks • Support Autism Speaks, Hopeful Hearts and Loving Hands team by painting it blue. Miss Gabi and her coworker Seth are Godparents to a beautiful 8 year old boy named Jack. Portion of the proceeds will go to the Walk NOW for Autism Speaks Organization in honor of Jack Snedecor. Come and join his family and friends as they have a great afternoon of painting, drinking, and of course eating! BYOB Event May 22, 2014, 6:00PM - 8:30PM • Limited space available . . . did you ever want a portrait of your pet? Well sign up this month and make it happen!! Miss Gabi and her staff will assist you in creating a beautiful masterpiece of your buddy. BYOB Event. Theme: Paint your pet! May 28, 2014, 6:00PM- 8:30PM • Pop the Cork @ Chef Dato’s • Limited space available . . . weather permitting Miss Gabi will be waiting in the Beer Garden at Chef Dato’s ready to paint, drink and eat! Chef Dato’s will have wine, beer, 22 - May 2014
and food available for purchase. It’s going to be fun…who knows where else Miss Gabi might POP up during the summer! Keep your eyes open!! Theme: Beach Scene with Palm Trees! June 19, 2014 – 6:00PM-8:30PM • Theme: You are a Hoot! – Owl Painting July 17, 2014 – 6:00PM-8:30PM • Theme: U.S.A. August 21, 2014 – 6:00PM-8:30PM • Themes: Gone Banana’s – Banana Split Pre-Party. In addition to painting, there will be a Do-It-Yourself Banana Split Bar for the guests that evening. So sign up today! Throughout the summer we will also dive into the art of cuisine as we host our third edition of our Palate to Palette Series. Linda Earnest of Earnest Gourmet will be our host for this summer series. This event is BYOB. The times and descriptions for all three classes are listed below. PALATE TO PALETTE SERIES III Quicker by the Dozen • Wednesday, May 14, 2014, 6pm-8pm • When you’re short on time and have unexpected company, these 12 quick bites will help you put together a great time without any stress! Miss Linda will prepare 12 appetizers for sampling. · BYOB Event. “Chill Out” Cold Soup Extravaganza • Wednesday, June 11, 2014, 6pm-8pm • Take an evening and chill out while Linda lets you sample excellent cold soups that will be great for summer parties on the deck! Miss Linda will prepare 7 different soups for sampling. • BYOB Event. Holiday Splendor • Wednesday, August 13, 2014, 6pm-8pm • It’s never too early to start planning the menu for all of those holiday parties. Miss Linda will share with you some of her best holiday dishes as well as some dishes that can be put together in no time with NO stress! • BYOB Event. If interested in signing up or if you would like more information please feel free to call the Latrobe Art Center at 724-537-7011 or visit our website at www.latrobeartcenter.org. We are excited to host you for a summer filled with art, cuisine, and creativity! LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Trip to the Historic Shenandoah Valley The Westmoreland County Historical Society is sponsoring a day-long motor coach trip from Greensburg to the historic Shenandoah Valley of Virginia on Saturday, June 21st. The first stop of the day will be the Cedar Creek Battlefield near Middletown, the site of a decisive Union victory in the Civil War. After viewing a brief introductory film at the Visitors’ Center, the group will receive a guided tour of the battlefield from a National Park Service Ranger. The next stop will be the Belle Grove Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, located adjacent to the battlefield. This beautifully preserved home, originally built by President James Madison’s sister, Nelly, and her husband Major Isaac Hite, was completed in 1797. After lunch at a traditional Irish pub in Middletown, the group will depart for Winchester and a tour of the Glen Burnie House, a magnificent country estate surrounded by six acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. The house, original parts dating to the late 18th century, was extensively renovated and expanded by Julian Wood Glass, Jr., a descendant of the first owners. Upon his death, the property was opened to the public in 1997 and is an important part of the regional history complex known as the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. Time will also be allotted for a visit to the Museum Galleries to view several special exhibits. On the return route to Greensburg, the motor coach will stop for dinner at the Parkview Tavern, located at the Country Inn of Berkeley Springs. America’s first spa town, Berkeley Springs, originally known as Bath, is a historic and art-filled town nestled in the West Virginia mountains. George Washington and his family visited several times to “take the waters.” The group will leave from the Greensburg Walmart parking lot at 6 AM and return the same day by approximately 9 PM. Cost for the trip is $120 for WCHS members and $130 for non-members. Non-refundable reservations are due by May 23rd. Seating is limited. Please visit www.westmorelandhistory.org for complete details, or call the Westmoreland County Historical Society to make a reservation at 724-532-1935 ext. 210. Follow our activities on the Westmoreland County Historical Society Facebook page, and on Twitter @WCHistory.
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mortgages available and the rates, they know the laws, proper disclosure and the steps necessary for you to buy (or sell) your home. And they know people; buying and selling a home is an emotional time for buyers and sellers alike. ***** Brian Mishler is the owner of HomeStudy Inc., and a 20 year veteran home inspector. He began per-forming home inspection after 15 years in the construction industry convinced him that his body wasn’t made for hard labor. Brian is the former president of the Pittsburgh Regional Organization of the American Society of Home Inspectors (PRO-ASHI), and currently sits on the board of Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, a non-profit that rehabilitates homes for disadvantaged seniors and veterans, assisting them with pre-renovation inspection and selection. Brian also teaches a variety of real estate related classes, and has mentored other seeking to become home inspectors. He currently resides in Latrobe, with his better half Carol, their Boston terrier Gizmo, three cats, and three transient college students. When spare time is to be had, Brian can be found on a motorcycle, in a kayak, or hiking in the area. He can be reached at brian@homestudyinc.com. This advertisement sponsored by The Medicine Shoppe.
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 23
DOWN ON THE FARM by Cathi Gerhard & Gregory Susa
“Take thy plastic spade, It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants, They are thy colours.” – William Mason, The English Garden, 1782
A Time to Plant Greg has been watching the undergrowth in the shrubby and wooded areas around the farm for the past several weeks. The calendar might have said its Spring, but the weather and plantlife certainly disagreed – until a few weeks ago. Everyone is getting a late start this year, but at least we began some pots under grow lights in March. Each year, Greg prides himself on preparing a proprietary blend of garden soil. All I can reveal about this year’s mix is the unique ingredient: silt from our pond. Once we had planted all of the starter seeds, Greg set them up under lamps and added rope lights beneath the containers for warmth. We had tiny sprouts in just 4-5 days! Hopefully we will have enough tomatoes, zinnias, marigolds, peppers and melons for the garden once they harden up, weather permitting. In the meantime, we have been cleaning out the raised beds in the garden, mulching all the flower beds, and constructing some planters for herbs and greens from old pallets. You may have seen varied examples of recycled pallets on Pinterest, in magazines or elsewhere – we decided to try it. We chose a vertical salad garden for our test project (see photo at right). Greg stapled landscape fabric under each row of boards to create a container with good drainage. I decided to leave it rough and rustic rather than paint it a bright color. Now all we have to do is fill them up with soil and spread a mix of heirloom salad greens to start enjoying soon. One of our goals in developing Fairview Farm as a heritage garden is to cultivate our own landrace or “folk variety” stock of seeds and plants from 24 - May 2014
old-fashioned heirloom varieties – NOT GMO (genetically-modifed organism) or hybrids. By continuously sowing these open pollinated heirloom seeds in our local land and saving their seeds for the next year’s cycle, these plants will adapt to our area, making them stronger over time. Seeds from our future collections will perform better in Westmoreland County than
seeds ordered from a catalog or originating elsewhere. Currently, there are NO heirloom seed providers in Pennsylvania! I love the idea of naturally developing a truly local version of common plants. Two years ago we started with tomatoes, but were wiped out last year by blight. Because we had not saved enough seeds, we must start over. This year we ordered a new selection of heirloom tomato seeds along with salad greens for our new planter rack:
Tomatoes: Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Gold Medal, German Pink, Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple (some of which survived last year’s blight), Rose, and Unger’s Hungarian Cherry. Salad Greens: Red Iceberg Lettuce, Aunt Mae’s Bib Lettuce, Apollo Arugula, Winter Density, New Zealand Spinach, Amish Deer Tongue, Bronze Arrowhead, Crisp Mint, Flame, Forellenschluss, and Red Velvet. We will also be heading over to the Ligonier Country Market for opening day on May 17 to check out native plants the vendors have in stock. I would like to expand my perennial gardens this year, and enjoy looking at all the unique blooms. As each local farm market opens for the season (see our calendar, 3843), I hope to gather even more, and replace some things that didn’t survive the harsh winter. With each growing season, we plan to add more varieties of garden plants as well as grains such as wheat, rye and barley – not to mention the dream of a vineyard and a new viticultural region right here in Westmoreland County. Hopefully we’ll be able to open as a community garden and education center in a few more years. There’s a lot of work to be done, but we are taking things one small step at a time. ***** Best friends, but never quite college sweethearts, Greg and Cathi finally married 20 years later. Together they own and operate Fairview Farm in Derry Township, now an estate winery and heritage garden in the making, managed by two black cats, two devoted dogs, and a ridiculously bossy young kitten. “Down on the Farm” is a column originally started by Cathi’s father, Shelly Gerhard, about a day in the life of a family farm in western Pennsylvania.
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
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Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 25
OFF TRAIL by Joe Walko
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” - John Muir
Healing Habits, Healing Hearts Duff Park, a gem of a local park located just a block behind the main drag of Route 22 in the heart of “downtown” Murrysville, is the place to be in the spring for the ephemeral wildflower show. This time of year its’ steep hillsides are covered with trilliums, both the giant white and wake robin red varieties, and large patches of Dutchman’s breeches hang out their white bloomers like laundry on lines between Brooklyn apartments. In early spring, dainty candyswirled spring beauties, delicate creamy bloodroots, pastel Easter egg colored hepatica, and violets of purple, white, yellow, and rare blueeyed mary’s, push aside the leaf litter of fall and fill the woods with subtle color. Later columbines, trout lillies, virginia bluebells, wild geraniums, and the elusive and unique jack-inthe-pulpits fill in any remaining bare areas, firing my imagination and reawakening a heart dulled by winter. The ephemerals are only here for a bit, taking advantage of the perfect combination of the returning early spring warmth, and sunlight that only makes it to the forest floor this time of year, before the trees leaf out and gobble up the sunshine, leaving only shade until winter. The flowers sprout, bloom, go to seed, and then return to dormancy, all within a few short glorious weeks. It’s a special, colorful time of year, but timing is everything. Conditions have to be just right. This year winter hung on well into spring. The wildflowers are still mostly dormant, antsy just below the brown as I wander the Duff trails in mid-April. Still a week or so too early. Or maybe I am the one who is antsy. Recent events have pushed me into the woods early, searching for some comfort and reassurance. 26 - May 2014
Nature is always my place of refuge, always a place of beauty and perseverance, even after a long winter. And she is always full of surprises. When not focused on the ground, my eyes are free to scan the trees and forest canopy, still very open without leaves. I am hoping for some early spring migrant songbirds. A high pitched, wheezy, squeeze-toy sound draws my attention high into a massive oak. There, far out on a huge horizontal branch, is a wood duck pair! Wow! The wood duck is one of the most ornate and stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with intricate patterns of crests, swathes and streaks in all directions, seemingly made by a finger painter high on the giddiness of a brand new color set. The females are more drab, necessary for her maternal duties, but she, too, is elegant, with her distinctive profile and delicate white eye mask.
The birds live in wooded areas around swamps, rivers, lakes and streams, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches, which is why these two are comfortable high up in the oak. Comfortable enough that I can see that they are clearly a mated pair. It is only after soaking in the beauty of the creatures for a while that the significance of these ducks nesting here at Duff begins to sink in. Wood ducks need a healthy watercourse to raise young, for while the adults are mostly vegetarian, the early diet of their ducklings (up to about six weeks) consists largely of insects, aquatic invertebrates, small fish, and other high-protein animal material. It was only five years ago that the section of Turtle Creek that runs through Duff Park was completely devoid of aquatic life, wiped out in an instant by a catastrophic gasoline spill. November 25, 2008, was a cold, blustery late fall day. A winter weather advisory was in effect that day, the low, dark clouds pressing in and spitting snow. A maintenance crew was working on a gasoline transmission line, attempting to change a ball-valve. But an equipment malfunction closed the valve only partially, allowing highly pressurized gasoline to “fountain twenty (20) to thirty (30) feet into the air” and rain “down onto and into nearby businesses, parking lots, and the surrounding soils and surfaces”, according to the official PA DEP complaint. Busy Route 22 was shut down in both directions, evacuations of all nearby businesses, a personal care facility, and Franklin Regional High School were ordered, electricity to the area shut off, emergency staging areas were established in church and LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
grocery store parking lots, and news helicopters filled the air. Almost 12,000 gallons of fuel spewed from the rupture, contaminating businesses, real estate and vehicles in the heart of the Murrysville business district. 800 gallons flooded Turtle Creek, just upstream from Duff Park. Effectively all life in the creek for a three-mile stretch was impacted, the most noticeable evidence the extensive fish kill. Folks at the scene could not count the numbers fast enough as the dead fish were being washed downstream, and firefighters reported thousands of dead fish floating by before they could set the oil booms in the creek. Emergency response teams did a yeoman’s job of containing the damage, and clean-up began immediately, but the impacts seemed daunting after the accident. Eventually residents were allowed back home and back to school, but the hardest hit businesses remained closed for over a month. Secretly, I wondered if Turtle Creek would recover. Turtle Creek has never been the cleanest of western PA streams, even before the spill, due to its long history of pollution from mine drainage, as still evidenced in its milky-white color. But nonetheless, it was on the upswing due to local conservation efforts, with even a trout restocking plan implemented a few miles downstream from Duff in the season before the spill. Hope for its recovery and restoration was valid. The spill seemed like a fatal setback after so much work. But nature is resilient, even in the face of catastrophe. The circle of life starts at the lowest level. Slowly, algae grows back on the rocks, the bugs come to eat the algae, the fish return to eat the bugs, and wood ducks return to eat the fish. They choose to nest again in the area only when a plentiful supply of food for their young has been re-established, when the habitat has been healed. Are we any different than the fishes or wood ducks? We only want to find a mate, a good stream, a tall tree and a safe place to raise our children, with enough to eat, and a place to occasionally a walk in the Every Story Begins At Home.
woods and enjoy the wildflowers. Of course we have to compete with others for scarce resources, which can lead to conflict. Too often get too caught up in this race, especially when we don’t make enough time for flowers and ducks. We all need quiet time, solitude, and walks in the woods, though often times we forget. Catastrophes shock us awake and remind us of this, remind us of our fragility and our interconnectedness. We huddle together in a stupor at first, spending time in introspection and within ourselves. But then we must begin the hard work of cleaning up. It is slow and painful at first, and often times feels fruitless. Sometimes we need a few pioneering souls to show us the way to heal. That is how I felt that mid-April morning, a tragedy at the local high school in the back of my mind. I was looking for some pioneers, some leaders. I found some at Duff. Life is irrepressible, its zest for living and the glory of a new day worth the struggle. We will survive the dark winter days, we will rebound from life’s catastrophes, from the helcopters swirling above our communities. We will have to work at it, though, and sometimes we have to go looking for
color amongst the brown leaf litter, but life is still beautiful. Nature can show us the way, if we are willing to see. Get out to the parks and hillsides and wild creeks, and smell the flowers, learn their story of resilience and renewal. Listen to the vibrant birdsong in the morning, reverberating with the energy of life. Feel the river running through you, too, in a cold trout stream, in the tug on your line shared with friends and family. Nature provides countless shinning examples of renewal and opportunities for rejuvenation, like finding two beautiful wood ducks perched high above a once dead creek. Please feel free to join myself and Deborah Thackrah from Touch of Grace Healing for a healing hike at Duff Park on Tuesday, May 13, at 10 am. (see attached flyer) and at Twin Lakes Park in Greensburg on Saturday, May 10, at 9 am. SOURCES Wood ducks - http:// www.wildlifehc.org/new/wp-content/ uploads/2010/10/Wood-Duck.pdf continued on page 29
May 2014 - 27
What would you consider to be the key areas we need to improve to make our food safer for our health and easier on our environment? — Billy A., Oakland, CA Although we have come a long way in recent years with regard to the safety and sustainability of our food supply, we still have a long way to go. Toxic pesticides are still used on the vast majority of U.S. grown crops, while other hormone-disrupting chemicals are omnipresent in our food packaging. And excessive use of antibiotics in animal agriculture threatens to render many human drugs ineffective. Environmental leaders would like to see the federal government step up and institute regulations banning such substances in our food supply, but for now it’s still up to individual consumers to make the right choices. Fruits and vegetables grown on conventional (i.e. not organic) farms make up some 96 percent of the produce we eat—and expose us to many pesticides. Two of the most toxic, chlorpyrifoss and DDT, are also quite common: 93 percent of Americans carry trace amounts of the former in their bloodstreams, while 99 per-
cent of us have DDT residue coursing through our veins. These chemicals on our food can be harmful to adults, but health experts are even more concerned about what they are doing to our kids. The non-profit Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) points to recent studies showing that children with high pesticide exposures in the womb are at increased risk of being born with birth defects and are much more likely to encounter developmental delays, AD HD and autism spectrum disorders. A related issue is the hormonedisrupting bisphenol-A (BPA) in our food supply as a result of its widespread use in the lining of cans and other food and drink containers. “Nearly every person in America has some BPA in his or her body,” reports the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading green group. “And yet, this food-packaging chemical may cause problems in developing fetuses, infants and children by al-
tering behavior and increasing the risk of prostate cancer, as a government report concluded nearly two years ago.” Other studies have shown links between BPA exposure and a variety of human health problems including erectile dysfunction, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Another big hurdle to a safer, greener food system is our increasing reliance on antibiotics to fight bacterial infections in livestock. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has known since the 1970s that feeding large amounts of antibiotics to healthy livestock breeds antibiotic resistant bacteria, which can in turn render many of the antibiotics used for humans ineffective. In fact, antibiotic resistant infections are already killing 23,000 Americans each year. A 2012 FDA policy change calls on livestock producers to refrain from using antibiotics to boost growth rates for pigs, cows, sheep and chickens, but it remains to be seen if the industry will toe the line or use loopholes to keep up the steady stream of antibiotics. PANNA is one of many voices demanding an overhaul of how the FDA regulates our food supply. “We all want to believe that government agencies are protecting us and our food supply from chemical contaminants—but they are not,” reports the group. “They do not have the regulatory framework to do so.” The group would like to see the U.S. trade-in its policy that treats chemicals as “innocent until proven guilty” for something akin to Europe’s regulatory system, where a “health-protective precautionary approach” dictates which chemicals are approved for widespread use. ***** CONTACTS: PANNA, www.panna.org; NRDC, www.nrdc.org; FDA, www.fda.gov.
Green groups like the Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) would like to see the U.S. trade-in its policy that treats chemicals as “innocent until proven guilty” for something akin to Europe’s regulatory system, where a “health-protective precautionary approach” dictates which chemicals are approved for widespread use. (Photo Credit: Heather Buttrum, courtesy Flickr) 28 - May 2014
EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com.
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continued from page 27
Turtle Creek Spill http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/ 2014/03/05/dep-proposes-2-3-millionfine-for-2008-gasoline-spill-fromsunoco-pipeline/ file:///C:/Users/debbieandjoe/jmw/ DownloadsCase%20Study%20%20 Murrysville%20Gasoline%20Line%20 Leak%20-%20112508.pdf Duff Wildflowers - http:// www.murrysvilletrails.org/documents/ Spring%20Wildflowers%20of%20 Duff%20Park%20_final%20draft_.pdf ***** Off Trail is a monthly column devoted to exploring our diverse and beautiful natural heritage, especially the the hidden gems and special places off the beaten path. Joe Walko is a full time widowed parent to two beautiful but challenging boys, now unemployed by choice after a 25-year career in corporate finance. He is a writer and blogger searching for his voice, a seeker of his truth, a nature and adventure junkie discovering whole new worlds and beauty in the glorious struggle, in the ordinary, in his own backyard, and mostly, in his heart. Contact him at jwalko1019@gmail.com.
May 2014 - 29
WHAT’S COOKING IN FITNESS by Mark Rullo MS, CSCS, MES
The Biggest Exercise Mistake When It Comes to Fat Loss All exercise contributes to weight loss; however not all exercises are created equal. Therefore there are some forms of exercise that are more effective in shedding the unwanted fat than others. Those who have read or heard me lecture on the “Hierarchy of Fat Loss” now know and understand that after nutrition, resistance training (aka – weight training) is the most effective form of exercise when it comes to fat loss. Weight training is top ranking primarily due to the EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption) effect that this anaerobic form of exercise creates to maximize the “after burn” for when you are unable to exercise or be active. Body fat is lost when there is a daily caloric deficit (which is why caloric management trumps exercise) causing the body to replace those deficient calories from fat stores. All exercise contributes to fat loss by increasing your caloric burn above resting levels when a caloric deficit is managed. However, resistance training is the best at fat loss because, depending on the quality of the resistance training workout, it can keep the metabolism elevated above resting levels. This elevated metabolism can last for as little as 12 hours to as long as 36 hours after the workout, allowing for better caloric deficit management. Unfortunately, in the 26 years I have been coaching thousands of people, helping them transform their body and weight via the “Hierarchy of Fat Loss,” the most misunderstood concept regarding exercise is WHY and HOW to effectively weight train. We struggle enough to get people to understand WHY weight training is the number one form of exercise for fat loss, but the struggle doesn’t end there. For those who do move into the arena of weight training, the challenge is getting them to weight train correctly (not just safely) so that it delivers that EPOC. Most people end up thinking what they are doing is weight training when it is really just cardio activity with weights. 30 - May 2014
For most people, they believe as long as they have a weight in their hand, they are weight training. However for an exercise to be considered truly weight (resistance) training it must: · Provide a progressive overload to break down the skeletal muscle · Create a momentary period of muscular fatigue (MMF) · Movement/exercise should be a period of short duration To separate the mere act of having a weight in your hands to actual weight lifting begins with understanding these variables. Progressive Overload as it states is no different than education. We do not complete 12 years of education in the first grade. Rather with progress each year, moving from first grade to second, second to third and so on. The good news there is multiple methods to progress or challenge the muscular-skeletal system. The obvious is to increase weight, for instance go from 10lbs to 15 lbs etc… However there will be a point where one just can’t lift/move any more weight for a particular exercise/ movement. In addition to increase in weight, individuals can provide overload by changing the base of support, and the tempo at which the movement is performed. Progressive Overload has been one of the hardest variables for people to understand due to the concept of acclimation. For a new exerciser, anything is progressive; however in a short time the body will adapt to it. This can be explained by the example of a bricklayer. Anyone starting a job as a bricklayer for the first time will be beat-up, tired and sore for the first couple of weeks. However after enough time, the body will get used to it. Since the brick does not continue to progress in size and weight, eventually the bricklayer is basically doing cardio with weights (bricks) once adapted to it. This is the same as those body-weight boot camps and any aerobic class in which the participants use lightweight dumbbells. It is also equivalent to when individuals fail to challenge themselves with their weight exercises and have been doing the same
weight and reps week after week, month after month etc. In essence they are mastering the skill of a movement at a particular rep and weight not actually breaking down any muscle. Momentary Muscular Fatigue is the point at which the muscle can no longer perform the movement. This is when the breakdown of the muscle occurs, causing that EPOC to support the recovery process thus increasing caloric expenditure at rest. A common mistake with this variable is completing an exercise at a pre-determined number of reps, such as a set of 10 reps. The muscle does not understand numbers; muscle only understands fatigue and recovery. Therefore it is best to utilize a range of numbers to target your fatigue. Then you make your adjustment in intensity based on the number of reps you performed and the rest you will provide between sets or exercises. Simple guidelines for a fat loss program: the majority of the time, you should be in the Hypertrophy stage (technical term for increasing lean body mass and decreasing body fat) which is a rep range of 8 to 15 with rest of 30 to 60 seconds. Duration of the exercise bout can also signal if you are truly weight training or creating an illusion of weight training. This occurrence is common with many of the newer forms of exercise workouts/ programs sold on TV, performed in boot camps and gyms, called metabolic training. When the workout follows a format of minimal recovery between sets with sets that last for greater than 2 minutes, weight training takes a back seat to the metabolic demand of the exercise bout. Although these can be very good workouts, they do not have as great of an EPOC demand as pure weight training. This is why they will need to be done with greater frequency. Now please do not read into this statement as discrediting these metabolic workouts. As weight loss specialists, we definitely incorporate metabolic workouts into our programming here at My Fitness Kitchen. By utilizing both forms of exercises—weight training and metabolic—one can truly LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
become the best FAT burning machines they can be well after the workout is completed. Yes, we want to maximize the caloric expenditure during a workout but that only lasts one hour per day at most. More effective fat loss programs leverage the caloric expenditure during the “other 23 hours” of not exercising via the “Hierarchy of Fat Loss”. For more information, please feel free to consult with any of the fitness professionals at My Fitness Kitchen®. Additionally, as an on-going thank you to Laurel Mountain Post and its readers, mention this article for a FREE, no obligation, personalized, metabolic nutritional formula and fitness program that will leverage the “Hierarchy of Fat Loss.” If you are serious about achieving a body transformation goal, then you need a program; as any goal without a plan is really only a wish! As an added incentive for people new to My Fitness Kitchen®, by mentioning this Laurel Mountain Post article and after meeting with one of My Fitness Kitchen’s Fitness Professionals for a private consult as offered above, you will receive $50 “Kitchen Cash” to be used toward our norisk, no obligation, 100% money guarantee 30-Day Weight Loss JUMPSTART program
at My Fitness Kitchen®, as a courtesy of the Laurel Mountain Post. *****
www.myfitnesskitchen.com 724-879-8523 results@myfitnesskitchen.com My Fitness Kitchen® is where weight loss is made simple. My Fitness Kitchen® is located in Latrobe 30 plaza, Latrobe PA. My Fitness Kitchen® is a weight loss and body transformation center that also happens to have a fitness center connected to it. From the moment you enter My Fitness Kitchen® regardless of your age, fitness level or experience, it’s all about “You.” The supportive staff, welcoming atmosphere, and friendly members combine to create the most unique and comfortable environment for your weight man-agement and fitness success. Whether it is Nutrition, Fitness or both, you can be confident My Fitness Kitchen® is the solution to a healthier and thinner you. About the Author: Mark Rullo, MS, CSCS, MES is an Exercise Physi-ologist, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, Medical Exercise Specialist, Certified Golf Fitness Instructor and owner of My Fitness Kitchen® www.myfitnesskitchen.com 724-879-8523. Mark and his team at My Fitness Kitchen® specialize in weight loss and body transformation helping thousands meet and exceed their goals through evidence-based scientific programming.
This advertisement sponsored by The Toy Box of Ligonier and Twisted Vine Ecelectic Market.
maximize the caloric burn both during the workout and well after the workout has been completed. As a guideline, we recommend at least one day per week (preferably 2-3 on non-consecutive days) of weight training the skeletal muscle and then maximizing the oxygen flow to those skeletal muscles with as much metabolic and traditional cardio as your time and energy allows. Some individuals, particularly women, fear that weight training will make them bulky, stating that they tried weight training before and got bigger. The problem was twofold: they were not correctly executing weight training in the necessary manner to create the EPOC; and they were not managing the necessary caloric deficit that would allow the body to use their fat stores to refuel. Essentially, the “bulky” outcome of weight training is not a problem of the muscle getting too big. Rather, it is the failure to remove the FAT on top of the muscle by not following the “Hierarchy of Fat Loss”. Execution of this knowledge of weight training and EPOC is a key strategy in our programming. At My Fitness Kitchen, our goal with exercise is to support the caloric management by helping individuals
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 31
Hydration & Holistic Wellness by Hayley Chemski-Horwat, MSN, CNRA Water makes up approximately 70% of the Earth's surface. Water also makes up approximately 50-60% of YOU! Without water, the world would not run efficiently, and your body would also be unable to function at a high level of activity. As a Nurse Anesthetist and fitness professional, I spend a great deal of energy each day focused on one element of health and wellbeing - HYDRATION. Some may find it hard to believe that fluid balance can promote or inhibit health to any degree, but truth by told ... hydration may be one of the leading predictors of holistic wellness. In the operating room anesthesia providers consistently manage their patient's fluid volume status. If our measurements and predictions are "off," our patients may drop their blood pressure, wake up weak and fatigued, and face an uphill climb in the immediate post-operative period related to fluid and temperature changes. As a fitness professional, I see the same signs and symptoms with my clients who are chronically dehydrated (fatigue, dizziness, fainting, poor endurance, and a lingering weakness after workouts). Water is crucial to wellbeing as it regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, assists in digestion by moving food through the colon, and moves nutrients to cells while eliminating wastes (esp. those wastes associated with fat burning). By maintaining hydration your body will also eliminate excess fluid and decrease bloating! If you do not drink enough liquid throughout the day your body will hold onto fluid (bloating) as to prevent dehydration. Fluid is routinely lost by breathing, urinating/defecating, and sweating. These losses must be replaced. To maintain water balance, drink water BEFORE you become thirsty as thirst 32 - May 2014
is a late sign of dehydration. When you are thirsty, the body is already screaming for fluid. Creating a habit of drinking water as often as every two hours may help keep thirst at bay! Water losses are high in children and are exacerbated during intense and/or long exercise, hot summer months, and during times of sickness (vomiting and diarrhea).
Children are known as "bags of water" because of their bodies' mass to water ratios. Therefore, special care should be taken to encourage children to drink fluids frequently, especially when ill. A quick calculation we instruct our clients at Building Bodeez is to drink "40 ounces of water for 40 minutes of moderate exercise" or to drink two glasses of water for one hour of movement. By drinking clients are overcoming fluid shifts related to heat and evaporation (sweat). Low fluid status can create fatigue in the muscles, decreasing one's exercise performance while creating muscle cramps. Moreover, if dehydrated prior to or during a workout, a client may become dizzy, pale, stop sweating, and possibly faint! Finally, summer brings about more sweat and losses through evaporation and sickness clearly reduces the body's fluid volume. Vomiting and diarrhea also create electrolyte imbalances associated with abnormal fluid shifts.
An added bonus to maintaining hydration is that researchers have proven hydration creates a leaner body. Speculation is that fat burning cannot occur on a molecular level without proper hydration, yet other professionals feel that water assists in weight loss simply because you are fuller longer! How do you know if you are properly hydrated? Well ... how do you feel? Does your brain start to sag mid-day? Do you have common headaches? Do you feel tired, all of the time? Do you have a dry mouth? Do you feel shaky and dizzy with changes in position? Is your skin dry and flaky? Have you noticed that your urine is dark yellow/orange/brown? It may be time to focus your attention on hydration! Finally, consider the baseline fluid calculation for daily balance: drink as many as ounces/day of clear liquids as you weigh (in kilograms). (NOTE: kilograms = weight in pounds/2.2) Speak with your health care professional or fitness trainer/instructor and discuss how hydration (or lack thereof) can be helping or hurting you. Water, as mundane as it may seem, is your best friend! ***** Hayley is a Certified Fitness Trainer and the coowner of Building Bodeez Fitness Center, located at 154 Pandora Rd in Derry, PA, as well as a fulltime Nurse Anesthetist with the University of Pittsburgh Physicians, currently based at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Fox Chapel, PA. Hayley offers a wealth of fitness and health knowledge, serving as the Group Fitness Coordinator and Wellness Programs Director at Building Bodeez. She has developed several programs at Building Bodeez including initiation of the first ZUMBA classes in the area, as well as AerobaDANCE and Yogilates (her unique creations), and the wildly successful Building Better Bodeez weight loss intensive program. Building Bodeez is located at 154 Pandora Road in Derry Township. 724-739-0105. www.building bodeez.net.
Building Strength • Building Community • Building Bodeez LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
That’s What They Say Thought-Provoking Insights on Common Quotations by Rev. Majorie Rivera
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” – John Lennon How many of us don’t understand life? I know that in looking for deeper meaning the answers are often elusive and cryptic. I might suggest that in order to understand life a bit more, study what brings you joy. Not the “things” that bring you joy, but perhaps the circumstances. We are not our things. A new car may make you happy momentarily, but eventually the newness will pass and then you must obtain some other thing to make you happy. Let go of any attachment to “things” and take a look at what really brings you a sense of wellbeing. If you feel joyful when in nature, take a walk more often. If you feel connected to something bigger than you are and so peaceful when you go to church, make a commitment to yourself to go there as often as you can. If you are task oriented and feel a wonderful sense of contentment when you have
organized a closet, by all means ask your friends if you can help them get organized too. Sometimes life is not about following your passion, it becomes about naming your passion and then offering it as your gift to all humanity. Learn to take pleasure in every experience, good and bad, because they are all truly a gift. You are not going to like every experience you have, but you will be able to know more about which ones have brought you more happiness and then choose to create more of those moments, consciously, every day. We are the architects of our own happiness. Are you aware of what you are building? If your teacher in life gave you a homework assignment, to decide how to be happy as you grow. Could you do it? Can you accept a happy life? What does happy mean to you?
Suggested reading: “The Art of Happiness, A Handbook for Living” by The Dalai Lama
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Be sure to stop by on Saturday, May 17 for our Junk in the Trunk Sale! Shopping begins at 9 am. Contact us for merchant information.
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 33
POSTMODERN TENDANCIES by Megan Fuller
The Final Trauma Ahh! The end of the semester, so many summer possibilities it makes it difficult to stay inside and study; those dang final exams acting as the last obstacle on the course to freedom. This time of year always takes me back to the first “firing squad” oral defense I had to face. My graduate program required a seminar in anthropological socio-cultural and linguistic theory. At the end of the semester we were given five questions for which we had three days to complete. Each answer was to be five pages long and then we had to defend our written answers orally while being questioned by five or six professors – hence a “firing squad.” Students who did not pass this seminar were kicked out of the program so it was a very high pressure situation. I was so nervous – my heart was beating out of my chest, sweat was rolling down my forehead; and I was sure that I was going to forget everything. Holding my breath, I entered the conference room of doom. A friendly professor started off with questions like: tell us what you know about xyz. “Okay, I can do that,” I think as I nervously pick at a broken chip of Formica on the table. Questions continued along the lines of “explain why you wrote this” or “can you expand on that?” I was still nervous but starting to feel just a little bit confident – like maybe, just maybe, I was going to be okay and pass this seminar and get to remain in the program. It was going okay until Professor MK decided to ask the final question. She had the reputation of being the toughest, no baloney acceptable, professor in the department and to make 34 - May 2014
it worse she was the only one across the table from me that I had not had another class with or even any kind of relationship at all. I knew I wasn’t going to get any slack from this lady. She said, “You use the word culture throughout all your answers, can you tell us, what is culture?” Um, okay, at first this seemed like an easy one, “Well culture is …” I was picking furiously at the Formica chip.
“Well Steward says …” I furrow my brow thinking. “But White thinks …” I stop my picking for a second. “Malinowski says …” I take a deep breath and look right at Professor MK and say, “I don’t know,” and then I was ready to die. Oh please, I prayed, turn me into a Popsicle and let me melt into a puddle on the floor right now. I JUST TOLD THE TOUGHEST PROFESSOR IN THE PROGRAM THAT I DID NOT KNOW WHAT CULTURE IS! That is my whole major, anthropology, the study of culture. I had zero doubt in my mind that I had just totally screwed myself right out of the university. The professors sent me out to wait in the hallway while they discussed my grade. Since I was sure that I was going
to be kicked out, I starting planning for what I could do next. I sat on the steps and decided I would start doing stand-up comedy; I was in Las Vegas, after all. My routine could be all about an ex-boyfriend, sometimes known as the laziest man in the world. I had tons of great stories about him. When the professors called me back inside, I resolved not to cry and braced myself for the impending blow. I’m sure I looked about as hang dog as a person could when I entered the room. I didn’t sit down, just stood there waiting to be dismissed. My favorite professor said, “Okay, you passed, have a nice vacation.” I was dumbfounded. I was about to ask, “Are you sure?” but I realized that I should just get out of there before they changed their minds. It turns out that this experience, this one small moment in time, has had a profound effect on the rest of my life – as you can probably guess since I’m writing about it 20 years later. Although I’ve had to face stressful situations since, including firing squad type defenses and interviews, I’ve never worried about giving an honest “I don’t know” as an answer. Sometimes there is wisdom in not knowing the answer. I wonder what would have happened if I’d taken to the stage doing stand-up. ***** Megan Fuller is an applied cognitive anthropologist with postmodern tendencies who grew up in the exciting Pittsburgh suburb of Pleasant Hills and had the distinct pleasure of earning a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from IUP. In 1993, Megan moved out West to get a Master’s Degree. She also picked up a husband and hasn’t quite convinced him to move back to Western PA. To maintain her authentic Pittsburgh accent she regularly watches Pittsburgh Dad and engages anyone wearing black and gold sports gear in conversation.
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Valley School Ad
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 35
INFORMATION FOR LIFE by Michael Vernon
Vernon Realty Services 305 West Main Street Ligonier, Pa. 15658 (724) 238-0443 - Office (724) 331-6858 - Cell Phone www.vernon-realty.com mike@vernon-realty.com
Classified
Ads
________________________________
For Sale
Help Clients Buy AND Sell Their Homes and Properties When a client falls in love with a house it is an emotional thing. You can see the closing just around the corner and a satisfied customer and a commission check for your time. But what happens when it is time for that borrower to sell that house 5 years from now? Will they contact you or will they hold it against you that you didn’t warn them of potential resale issues? Before you close that deal, make sure you discuss the items that may negatively affect the next transaction for the next buyer. A few things to keep in mind are relatively obvious but they still are worth mentioning. These include a busy street, lack of a yard, high tension wires, steep driveway, unusual easements or restrictions, an A-typical style, a non-functional floor plan or a house that is over improved for the area. Remember, there are subtle ways of mentioning these items without squelching the deal so just make sure you are up front with your buyers and they will come back to you when it is time to sell and hopefully you will have closed a dozen or so other referrals in the meantime. This is a great business to be in and I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of it. I value all of my relationships with all of my referral sources and I’m sure you feel the same. Please, if you ever have any questions about anything related to real estate please do not hesitate to call. Look out for more of my Information for Life.
__________________ Custom-Engraved Tags and Dog Collars Lots of styles and colors to choose from; tons of fonts available. FREE DROP-SHIPPING when you mention this ad. Call 724238-7003 or stop in at Equine Chic (For Horse Home and You), located on the Diamond in Ligonier. www .E quineChic.c om www.E .EquineChic.c quineChic.com __________________________________
Planning a Spring Garage Sale? Consider advertising it here in the Laurel Mountain Post. All classified ads are only $30 for up to 50 words. Choose the color for your headline or add a graphic with fewer words. Order online at www.Laurel MountainPost.com or by calling 724-537-6845. Deadlines are the 15th of each month. We also cross-promote all ads on social media. ___________________________________
Twisted Vine Eclectic Market Saturday, May 17 Shopping Starts at 9:00 am 2367 Route 30 in Ligonier, PA _________________________________
Miscellaneous __________________ Grow Your Business with Bark for Life events across the country present an opportunity for people to be empowered through their canine companion partnerships and to contribute to cancer cures through the mission of the American Cancer Society. Our 2014 Bark For Life/Latrobe PA event will be held on May 10, 2014 at the indoor 150' x 250' climate-controlled B & D Creekside Activity Center in Latrobe, PA. Everyone is invited to attend this event, and you can be a participant by registering yourself and canine friends online at www.relayforlife .org/barklatrobepa. All events of the day are posted on the Bark website. We will be having demonstrations by the Latrobe Police K-9 unit including "Re-
36 - May 2014
membrance for K-9 Rocco" and the Greensburg VFD Bloodhound team plus Contests such as "Canine Survivor of the Year," "Canine Caregiver of the Year," "Crowd Favorite," "Best Costume," "Best Trick," "Highest Fundraising Team & Individuals," and more. There will be a "Celebrate" lap for owner/ canine cancer survivors, "Remember" lap to honor those who have lost their battle and a "Fight Back" lap for those who are currently fighting cancer. Enjoy our Canine Wellness area, Canine CPR training, Children's Fun area, vendor booths, raffles, prizes and more! Plenty of free parking, free admission (donations welcome). www.relayforlife.org/barklatrobepa
Laurel Leaders! All local business leaders are invited to attend a weekly meeting of BNI (Business Networking International) held each Wednesday at the Ligonier Country Inn, Laughlintown, from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm. Visitors are welcome (no reservations needed), free of charge. www.bnilaurelleaders.com _______________________________ Place your Classified Ad for only $30, up to 50 words (per block). Sections include: Celebrations, Help Wanted, For Sale, Memorials, Discounts and Miscellaneous. Color headlines and artwork available at no extra charge! Call 724-537-6845 or place your online order at: www.Laurel MountainPost.com. Deadline for Classifieds is the 20th of the month: (March 20 for the April issue).
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Blue Skies and Daydreams A Mother’s Legacy by Nancy A. Clark “I’ve become my own mother when it comes to weeding,” Marge sighed, adjusting her sunglasses and settling into a comfy lounge chair. “Dandelions don’t reach adulthood in our gardens,” she added. “Mom is a blue ribbon weed-puller, and my garden gloves hang right next to hers.” There was no hiding her pride in the legacy. My friend and I were sipping iced tea under the canopy of a cloudless mid-summer sky, admiring the scarlet sage, sunny coreopsis, blue forgetme-nots and lavender lupines flourishing free of invader vines and killer chemicals in her backyard garden. “How are you like your mom?” Marge asked. I paused, mid-sip, to assess the just like my mom-isms exploding like popcorn kernels inside Pandora’s Box of Possibilities. “For openers,” I started, “I see more of her than of me when I look into a mirror these days.” The comparison is a common one we “of a certain age” are apt to make. But there are so many more ways by which I see me becoming my mother. I’ll never inherit her title as Queen of the Kitchen, but I’m right on her tail when it comes to cookbook collecting. Mom was an avid “foodie,” and her extensive collection of cookbooks (we quit counting at 800) and innumerable shoeboxes full of “clipped recipes” is legendary. Today, dozens of her books keep company with dozens of mine on our bookshelves. I won’t even mention the number of recipe shoeboxes hiding in my closet. I am my mother reincarnated when – like her – I cry at the movies, revel in the crunch of dry leaves beneath my feet, swoon in the fragrance of lilacs, or dig my fingers into yeast dough.
Every Story Begins At Home.
As for her habits, I’ve adopted many, including several I promised me to never practice – i.e. our shameful personal “savings accounts.” Today, our children echo me from decades ago when I said, “Mom, why in heaven’s name are you saving all these plastic bags, used sheets of aluminum foil, slivers of soap, butter tubs, and
peanut butter jars?” One day they’ll discover my shopping bag full of empty spice jars and boxes of fabric scraps and follow up with, “What was Mom thinking?” I really want to be like my mom when it comes to her “gifts” of whimsy, imagination, fortitude, and uncanny ability to find and then share life’s simple delights with others. She was a champion improviser who found joy and sharing it in whatever free props she had at her disposal. I vividly recall the “cloud classes” she held as we stretched out on a scratchy wool Army blanket in the cool shade of a tall pine in our backyard. Her “black board” was the blue sky, and her chalk the frothy cumulus clouds that upper stratus winds whipped into ever changing shapes. “Look up and tell me what you see,” she’d said, pointing to a particular bank of lofty fluff. Before we
could answer, she’d cut in with, “There’s a white puppy sitting on a loopy carpet…oops, now he’s a teddy bear. Oh, now teddy is a whale with a big tail.” She’d panted to keep up with the evolving trio before they evaporated. “As for those nasty dark clouds chasing them,” she’d said, “they’ll soon be gone and new surprises will take their place. Just watch and see.” Whereas some people read tea leaves, Mom read the clouds. She used them to analogize the inevitable setbacks and disappointments she knew would come our way, and she interjected her own insightful experience to teach us how to handle them. She cited cloud “mountains” to emphasize the “peaks” in life, the importance of high standards and setting our sights just beyond reach. A static cloud layer represented peaceful lulls we’d seek to pause and refresh, to reexamine or regroup. Fast moving clouds spelled “caution; move slowly,” especially when plans go awry. While we looked for puppy dogs and teddy bears in the sky, Mom laid the groundwork for maintaining hope and order in our lives, even when storm clouds threatened. This is but one legacy to which I aspire. The ice cubes in my tea glass were melting, and a bank of cumulus clouds insinuated themselves into the blue palette above as Marge waited to hear which of my mother’s traits I most reflect. “How am I like my mom, you ask? Let me count the ways,” I answered. “But first, look up and tell me what you see…” ***** Nancy Clark and her husband, Tom, rejoice in 50 years of marriage, three children and three grandchildren. She dabbles in freelance and memoir writing when she isn’t baking, knitting, reading, or building a jigsaw puzzle.
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MAY-JUNE COMMUNITY CALENDAR
“The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.” – Hanna Rion
5/1/2014 - 5/3/2014 Quilt Camp Camp Harmony 1414 Plank Rd., PO Box 158, Hooversville, PA 15936 814.798.5885 facebook.com/events/678166292220579/ Some may think quilting is becoming a lost art, but that’s just not so at Camp Harmony! Come learn something new or enjoy the company of fellow quilters at Quilt Camp. On Thursday, travel with other campers to gather supplies and peruse local quilt shops, then spend Friday and Saturday working on unfinished projects or a small project. 5/1/2014 - 6/7/2014 Cajun Dance BMNECC Hall 449 W. Eighth Avenue, West Homestead, PA 412.247.6604 grandbonrein.com Here’s the current monthly first-Saturday dance series schedule from October 2013 through June 2014 at the Bulgarian Macedonian Beneficial Association Hall in West Homestead near Pittsburgh. Dance instruction starts at 7:30 p.m., and live music starts at 8:30. No partners are necessary, and the hall has a cash bar. 5/1/2014 - 6/10/2014 Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle Bloomfield Bridge Tavern 4412 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15224 412.682.8611 calliopehouse.org The Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle is a program of Calliope dedicated to exploring, promoting and practicing the art and craft of songwriting. The circle meets monthly at the historic Bloomfield Bridge Tavern to share songs and ideas and to commune with people from diverse backgrounds and points of view who share a compulsion to write songs. 5/1/2014 - 6/15/2014 Paperweight Exhibit Mount Pleasant Glass Museum 402 E. Main St., Suite 600, Mount Pleasant, PA 15666 724.547.5929 The first exhibit of the Mount Pleasant Glass Museum will be a three-month display of a collection of paperweights. Paperweights come in an infinite variety, but there are basically two types: advertising and whimsical. We will have both. None of our three factories manufactured paperweights for sale on a regular basis, but paperweights were created in the factories. That is the third type of paperweight and it is called a bucket job (jobs men did on their lunch hour and then took home in their lunch buckets). They are
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wild, wonderful, and unique: one of a kind. We will have bucket jobs in the exhibit too. There will also be paperweights for sale in the Museum Shoppe. 5/1/2014 - 11/1/2014 Transformation 9: Contemporary Works in Ceramics Society for Contemporary Craft 2100 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412.261.7003 Featuring work by the most innovative and cutting-edge craft artists, the Transformation series is a biennial juried exhibition focusing on one of six traditional craft media - wood, metal, clay, fiber, glass, and found materials - in rotation. 5/2/2014 - 5/4/2014 Accomplice Greensburg Garden & Civic Center 951 Old Salem Rd., Greensburg, PA 15601 724.836.8000. ggccevents.org Unique thriller by the author of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Part murder mystery, part sex farce, completely entertaining, suspenseful and funny. To tell you more would be criminal! 5/2/2014 - 5/11/2014 Pittsburgh Fringe Festival Shadyside neighborhood Ellsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 . pghfringe.org Pittsburgh Fringe Festival supports adventurous and exploratory performing artists by showcasing their uncensored artistic expression in a professional environment to equally as adventurous audiences and opportunities. We further seek to enhance this connection through performances, continuing education, workshops, discussions, and forums. 5/2/2014 - 5/5/2014 KID MANIA Kids Seasonal Consignment Event Washington County Fairgrounds 2151 N. Main St., Washington, PA 15301 724.344.1815. kidmaniasale.com Brand named items at the lowest prices around! Offering Children Clothes sizes Newborn to Size 12, Maternity Clothes, Shoes, Coats, Costumes, Strollers, Car Seats, Swings, Pack & Plays, Exersaucers, High Chairs, Cribs, Bouncy Chairs, Bassinets, Changing Tables, Dressers, Rocking Chairs, Baby Items, Diaper Bags, Bedding, Bath, Home Decor, Toys, Puzzles, Books, Movies, Video Games, Video Game Systems and more! 5/2/2014 - 5/4/2014 Mayfair
Schenley Park 4100 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412.682.7275 http://festivalnet.com/67846/PittsburghPennsylvania/Art-and-Craft-Shows/ Mayfair-at-Schenley-Plaza Arts and Crafts fill the Schenley Plaza. Come and see all the delightful, and different artists and Crafters have to offer. 5/3/2014 - 5/3/2014 6th Annual Model Railroad Home Tour Ligonier 3032 Idlewild Hill Lane, Ligonier, PA 15658 724.238.7819. lvrra.org Come for the 6th Annual Model Railroad Home Tour! The tour will visit multiple layouts and displays in Westmoreland County. The tour is from 9am-4pm. 5/3/2014 - 5/4/2014 Alchemist Picnic Touchstone Center for Crafts 1049 Wharton Furnace Rd., Farmington, PA 15437 724.329.1370. touchstonecrafts.org The Alchemist Picnic is a gathering of metalsmiths and jewelers from the midAtlantic region and beyond. This weekend event on May 3–4 is hosted by Wayne Werner, renowned for his metalsmithing expertise, jewelry design, musical talent, and ebullient personality. He is the perfect emcee for this occasion, and Touchstone, with its beautiful woodland campus and well-equipped metals studios, is the ideal setting. Aspiring students, emerging makers, and seasoned professionals are all invited to share their creative and professional journeys. The Alchemist Picnic offers a rare opportunity to network for your guild, school, and/or organization, as well as to share your own talents and aspirations with a regional community of metals artists. 5/3/2014 - 5/3/2014 Art of Fashion Latrobe Country Club 346 Arnold Palmer Dr., Latrobe, PA 15650 724.537.7011 latrobeartcenter.org The Latrobe Art Center will hold its third annual Art of Fashion Show, on Saturday, May 3rd 2014 at the Latrobe Country Club. This benefit is to support the art education programs and events that keep art alive in our community. 5/3/2014 - 5/3/2014 Some Like it Hot Palace Theatre 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg, PA 15601 724.836.8000 thepalacetheatre.org River City Brass presents Some Like it Hot at 7:30pm
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
5/3/2014 - 5/3/2014 Spring Open House Glades Pike Winery 2208 Glades Pike, Somerset, PA 15501 814.445.3753 gladespikewinery.com 5/3/2014 - 5/3/2014 Opening Day Activities Historic Hanna’s Town 809 Forbes Trail Rd., Greensburg, PA 15601 18th-century militia drills, colonial gardening practices, & games 5/3/2014 - 5/3/2014 Pittonkatonk: a May Day Brass BBQ Vietnam Veterans Pavilion Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 412.251.6158 pandemicpgh.com Pandemic presents the first annual May Day music festival is a brass festival that will use the unifying medium of brass music to bring together diverse communities, from high school marching bands to traditional cultural bands to gypsy punk bands. The May Day Brass Festival is a Free outdoor weekend that will feature a variety of brass bands. 5/3/2014 - 5/3/2014 Spring Fling Craft and Plant Show Home Economice Bldg. 1900 Brownsville Rd., South Park, PA 15236 http://festivalnet.com/68318/South-ParkPennsylvania/Art-and-Craft-Shows/SpringFling-Craft-and-Plant-Show We will have over 30 crafters and vendors with items for sale for the public. The event is held by Windover Hills United Methodist Church. 5/3/2014 - 5/4/2014 Kentucky Derby Party! Ligonier Country Inn 1376 U.S. 30, Laughlintown, PA 15655 724.238.3651 ligoniercountryinn.com The race is on! Join us May 2-3rd for the annual Kentucky Derby! Enter the best dressed hat contest and the Derby wagering
contest on Saturday! Sip Mint Juleps and cheer the winners circle! Plan to make a weekend of it. Book your room now! 5/4/2014 - 5/4/2014 Museum Free Day Ligonier Valley muliple locations compassinn.com Participating museums are: Fort Ligonier, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier Valley Railroad Museum, Antiochian Village Museum, Lincoln Highway Heritage Experience, Compass Inn Museum 5/4/2014 - 5/4/2014 Family Outdoor Show Keystone State Park 1150 Keystone Park Rd., Derry, PA 15627 724.744.7344 dcnr.state.pa.us Come enjoy the outdoors at Keystone State Park! There will be local and national vendors, exhibits, demonstrations, door prizes and food! 5/6/2014 - 5/16/2014 Westmoreland County Senior Games Mammoth Park 724.830.3950 www.co.westmoreland.pa.us An Olympic style competition for senior sports men and women ages 50 and over. Over thirty events including boccie, bowling, golf and shuffleboard are offered at Mammoth Park and various Greensburg locations. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded to winners in each age bracket. 5/9/2014 - 5/9/2014 Hair State Theatre Center for the Arts 27 E. Main Street, Uniontown, PA 15401 724.439.1360 statetheatre.info From the Company that brought us last year’s Fiddler on the Roof, HAIR- the Broadway musical live on stage is at once both a joyous celebration of youth and a poignant journey through tumultuous 1960’s America! This exuberant musical
about a group of teenagers searching for truth, peace and love in Vietnam War era America has struck a resonant chord with audiences of all ages. Hair features an extraordinary and multi-cultural cast singing a long list of chart topping hits including “Aquarius,” “Let the Sun Shine In,” “Good Morning, Starshine,” and “Easy to be Hard.” Let your HAIR down and “Let the Sunshine In!” 5/10/2014 - 5/10/2014 Hair Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center 450 Schoolhouse Rd., Johnstown, PA 15904 814.269.7200. upjarts.org This Tony Award-winning Broadway musical celebrates youth and a poignant journey through a tumultuous 1960’s America! This exuberant musical about teenagers searching for truth, peace and love has struck a resonant chord with audiences of all ages. Hair features an extraordinary and multi-cultural cast singing a long list of chart topping songs, including “Aquarius,” “Let the Sunshine In,” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Easy To Be Hard.” Show starts at 7:30pm 5/10/2014 - 5/10/2014 Toy Story-Art Class Westmoreland Museum of American Art 4764 State Route 30, Greensburg, PA 15601 724.837.1500. wmuseumaa.org Children ages 7-10 can expand and explore their creativity through innovative and engaging programs taught by professional artist instructors. Classes are from 10 AM-12 PM and are $10 per class. Registration is required. 5/10/2014 - 5/10/2014 Car Cruise Rockwood Mill Shoppes 450 Main Street, Rockwood, PA 15557 Spring has finally arrived. It is time to take off those dusty car covers and buff up that wax job on those classic and antique cars. Show them off in Rockwood Mill Shoppes’ parking lot. After the cruise, please join us for the Opera House show! 12pm-5pm 5/11/2014 - 5/11/2014 Jane Yolen Discusses The Devil’s Arithmetic Prime Stage Theatre 6 Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 814.362.7532 www.primestage.com Newbery Award author, Jane Yolen, will attend the world premiere opening performance of ‘The Devil’s Arithmetic,’ and present a post-show discussion with the audience, including children of Holocaust survivors. 5/11/2014 - 5/11/2014 Antiques & Collectibles Market Historic Hanna’s Town 809 Forbes Trail Rd., Greensburg, PA 15601 Good buying and selling opportunities. Over 100 dealers.
Every Story Begins At Home.
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5/12/2014 - 5/16/2014 Junie B. Jones Mountain Playhouse 7690 Somerset Pike, Jennerstown, PA 15547 Book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler, music by Zina Goldrich 5/14/2014 - 5/14/2014 Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience Palace Theatre 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg, PA 15601 Elko Concerts presents Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience 5/15/2014 - 5/15/2014 Westmoreland Jazz Society Event: Judi Figel Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, PA 15601 724.837.1500. www.wmuseumaa.org Judi Figel is a dynamite singer and pianist who performs a wide variety of music styles in and around Pittsburgh including jazz, pop, country, light rock, Broadway and standards. Her fun-loving personality along with strong vocals captivate audiences. 5/16/2014 - 5/16/2014 National Road Festival National Road Heritage Corridor muliple locations 724.437.9877 www.nationalroadpa.org For nearly 300 years, a simple, unassuming, 90-mile patch of land cutting across the southwest corner of Pennsylvania has defined the path of American history and been witness to the most important revolutionary events that transformed the United States into the country it is today. Visit the historic National Road and take the road trip of a lifetime...a nation’s lifetime. 5/16/2014 - 5/16/2014 Who’s Bad-Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center 450 Schoolhouse Rd., Johnstown, PA 15904 Who’s Bad’s live performance is an unrivaled celebration of pop music’s one true King. Their power-packed performance of Michael Jackson’s expansive catalog has ignited crowds on every continent and can only be described as a jaw-dropping, musical mustsee. As the longest-running Michael Jackson tribute band, and the only one to predate his untimely passing, Who’s Bad has awed even the skeptics, selling out nearly 50 venues in the United Kingdom including London’s O2 in December of 2010, the venue where the King of Pop was slated to end his career with a 50-show “This Is It” concert series. 5/16/2014 - 5/17/2014 May Mart Flower and Craft Festival S&T Bank Arena 495 E. Pike Rd., Indiana, PA 15701 724.465.2665 http://festivalnet.com/34306/IndianaPennsylvania/Festivals/May-Mart-Flowerand-Craft-Festival Local nurseries and greenhouses will be selling a wide selection of annuals, peren40 - May 2014
nials, herbs, and shrubs. Over 90 vendors selling hand crafted, home & garden items. Homeless plants from members’ gardens will be for sale at Orphan’s Court at great prices! Live entertainment and gardening related demonstrations. Informative educational displays by: Penn State Master Gardeners and Environmental Organizations Wonderful Kids’ Korner Craft 5/16/2014 - 5/18/2014 Ambridge Nationality Days Downtown Ambridge Fourth St. and Merchant St., Ambridge, PA 15003 http://festivalnet.com/25104/AmbridgePennsylvania/Ethnic-Music-Festivals/ Ambridge-Nationality-Days The areas largest and oldest street festival celebrates the rich ethnic heritage of the region with food, crafts, music, dancing, and children’s activities. 5/17/2014 - 10/4/2014 Ligonier Country Market Ligonier Corner of W. Main St. & Springer Rd. 724.858.7894 www.ligoniercountrymarket.com Every Saturday from May 17-October 4 5/17/2014 - 5/18/2014 Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Fest Green County Fairgrounds 107 Fairgrounds Rd., Waynesburg, PA 15370 http://festivalnet.com/33743/ Waynesburg-Pennsylvania/Fiber-ArtsFestivals/Waynesburg-Sheep-Fiber-Fest The 11th Annual Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Fest. This is a growing festival celebrating the sheep and fiber industry in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Our juried craft show is not limited to fiber related items. We welcome all hand made crafts. If you are a fiber crafter, we also welcome your animals for display. Enter our juried fiber arts or photography contest and win cash prizes. Fiber arts classes available for fee. 5/18/2014 - 5/18/2014 Northmoreland Park Fishing Derby Northmoreland Park 724.830.3950 www.co.westmoreland.pa.us A free event for fishermen of all ages from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Trophies and prizes will be awarded to both adults and youth. A door prize drawing will be held for all registered participants. Co-sponsored by the Westmoreland County Sportsmen’s League and Gander Mountain. 5/18/2014 Westmoreland Craft/Vendor Show Ramada Inn - Ligonier, PA. 216 West Loyalhanna Street~ Ligonier, PA 15658 Phone: 724-238-9545 Fax: 724-238-9803 www.RamadaLigonier.com. 11 am - 5 pm Fundraiser for Westmoreland County Food Bank. Local musician Tom Beckman will play at the event with over 35 vendors. 5/18/2014 - 5/18/2014 Orienteering Workshop
Keystone State Park 1150 Keystone Park Rd., Derry, PA 15627 ALL PARTICIPANTS must wear appropriate clothing (shoes that cover the feet and long pants). There are ticks and other biting insects. Using insect repellant is an exceptionally good idea. It is spring, so it is likely to be somewhat wet or muddy. 5/21/2014 - 5/21/2014 Tiny Wonder Time “A Seed Story” Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve 744 Walzer Way, Latrobe, PA 15650 Tiny Wonder Time is an hour of nature play for children ages 2-4 on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Each session includes a story and a craft. Children must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver. 5/24/2014 - 5/25/2014 French & Indian War Military Encampment Fort Necessity 1 Washington Parkway, Farmington, PA 15437 5/24/2014 - 5/24/2014 Geranium Festival Connellsville 139 W. Crawford Ave., Connellsville, PA 15425 5/24/2014 - 5/24/2014 Shower The People-A James Taylor Tribute Arcadia Theater 1418 Graham Ave., Windber, PA 15963 814.467.9070 www.arcadiatheater.net 5/24/2014 - 10/4/2014 Springs Museum Springs Folk Festival Grounds 1711 Springs Rd., Springs, PA 15562 814.634.1489 Depicting life of the settlers of the Casselman Valley. Large two-story museum with antique equipment annex.
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
5/24/2014 - 9/20/2014 Springs Farmers’ Market Springs Folk Festival Grounds 1711 Springs Rd., Springs, PA 15562 240.310.2086 Produce, Baked Goods, Antiques, Flea Market, Collectibles, Artwork & More!
Somerset County Farmers’ Market is a producer-only tailgate market at Georgian Place in Somerset PA. The market opens the end of May and is on Saturdays and Wednesdays throughout the summer until the end of October.
5/25/2014 - 8/31/2014 Sunday Evening Summer Band Concerts 120 E. Main Street, Ligonier, PA 15658
6/1/2014 - 9/28/2014 Farmers’ Market Keystone State Park 1150 Keystone Park Road, Derry, PA 15627 Every Sunday there will be a Farmers’ Market in the beach parking lot at Keystone State Park. The hours are 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Venders are welcome and the cost to set up is $10 per table.
5/26/2014 - 9/1/2014 Live Music & Beer Tasting Ohiopyle House Café 144 Grant Street, Ohiopyle, PA 15470 5/30/2014 25th Annual Spring Reception Adams Memorial Library Make plans to join us for the 25th Annual Spring Reception! This annual party celebrates the library and its place in the community. Each year, the library's Board of Directors selects a candidate to receive the Harold A. Stewart Award, which recognizes an individual or group that exhibit commitment to reading, Adams Memorial Library and the communities which the library serves. Also known as the "Amicus Libri" (or Friend of the Book) Award, this year's recipients are Pamela and D. Scott Kroh. A donation of $25.00 per person is requested to attend the event, which features a nice sampling of local wines, plenty of hors d'oeuvres and a lively mix of people all sharing their support of the library. If you wish to join the fun, simply pick up an invitation from any branch or give the library a call. We'd love to have you with us Friday, May 30th at 7:00PM! **Find out how your Spring Reception donation can mean even more in 2014! Stop by the circulation desk or call the library for details at 724-539-1972.
6/3/2014 - 10/21/2014 Latrobe Farmers’ Market Latrobe Community Revitalization Program 816 Ligonier Street, Suite 307, Latrobe, PA 15650 724.805.0112 www.latroberevitalization.org The Latrobe Community Revitalization Program (LCRP) is a community-driven, comprehensive effort to encourage and strengthen economic development, prevent downtown deterioration and promote a sense of community within the historic preservation of our downtown business district while advocating a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment and rebuilding based on our unique assets for the benefit of the greater Latrobe area. 6/4/2014 - 8/27/2014 Lincoln Highway SupperMarket Latrobe Community Revitalization Program 3435 Route 30 East, Latrobe, PA 15650 This summer, there’s a terrific supper alternative to “drive-thru fast food”- the Lincoln Highway SupperMarket. It offers great food from a variety of select regional restaurants; something to satisfy everyone’s tastes.
6/4/2014 - 6/4/2014 Pablo Cruise The Palace Theatre 21 W. Otterman Street, Greensburg, PA 15601 . $45, Starts at 8 pm 6/5/2014 Bike, Beach & Brunch Keystone State Park. Visitors Center. Derry. www.dcnr.state.pa.us Bring your own bike and exercise as you learn about the nature and history of Keystone State Park. We will start at the visitor center, cruise along Lakeside Trail, and stop for a yummy snack at the beach Food Concession. Dress for the weather and wear sturdy shoes; bring a beverage, insect repellent, sunscreen and friends! 11:00 am Registration is required: Pam McQuistian (724) 668-2566. kpnature@nb.net 6/5/2014 - 6/8/2014 South Pacific Geyer Performing Arts Center 111 Pittsburgh Street, Scottdale, PA 15683 Directed By: Martha Oliver & Bill Dreucci 6/5/2014 - 9/11/2014 Thank Goodness It’s Summer The Palace Theatre 21 W. Otterman Street, Greensburg, PA 15601 Every Thursday. Local entertainment, free admission, food available, rain or shine 6/6/2014 - 8/29/2014 SummerSounds St. Clair Park 135 North Maple Avenue, Greensburg, PA 15601 Every Friday. Great FREE concerts featuring national acts. 6/7/2014 - 6/7/2014 Laurel Highlands Garden Party Faranda Farm 1711 Penn Avenue, Hollsopple, PA 15935
5/31/2014 - 6/1/2014 125th Anniversary of the Johnstown Flood Johnstown Flood National Memorial 733 Lake Road, South Fork, PA 15956 5/31/2014 - 5/31/2014 An Evening of Pink Floyd The Palace Theatre 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg, PA 15601 724.837.1850 May 31, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra featuring Jeans n’ Classics (London, Ontario) present “Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety as well as highlights from “The Wall.” The evening is an incredible concert experience combining a full orchestra with rock vocalists and musicians. Conducted by Artistic Director Daniel Meyer. 5/31/2014 - 11/15/2014 Somerset County Farmer’s Market 800 Georgian Place Drive, Somerset, PA 15501 814.279.5620 www.somersetcountyfarmersmarket.com
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Grow Your Business Every Wednesday with Laurel Leaders (www.BNILaurelLeaders.com) All local business leaders are invited to attend a weekly meeting of BNI (Business Networking International) held each Wednesday* at the Ligonier Country Inn, Laughlintown, from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm. Visitors are welcome (no reservations), free of charge, and encouraged to come network with us and learn more about important topics:
May 14: Printing, Marketing & Web Design Allen Martello, Altris, Inc 724-259-8338, www.altrisinc.com
May 21: Laurel Mountain Christian Camp Jenn Gunter 724-238-2400, LMChristianCamp.org
May 28: Financial Planning Ken Glenn, Estate Assurance 724-532-1884, eassurance@verizon.net
June 4: Accounting, Bookkeeping Sharon Glenn, Estate Assurance 724-532-1884, eassurance@verizon.net
June 11: Real Estate Misty Hegan, Berkshire-Hathaway Home Services 724-238-3600, misty@thepreferredrealty.com
June 18: Commercial Insurance Scott King, BP Insurance 724-238-2148, panichelleagency.com
For more information about a presentation, please contact the scheduled speaker. (*Our meetings are cancelled whenever Ligonier Valley School District closes due to inclement weather)
www.bni-westernpa.com
6/7/2014 - 6/8/2014 Loyal Hanna Quilt Guild 25th Annual Display & Sale Saltsburg Jr/Sr High School. 10-6, 12-5. During Saltsburg Canal Days Festival. Including crafts, food and entertainment all weekend. Donation: $1 includes parking, quilt vendors, “People’s Choice” and quilted items for sale. Raffle Quilt: Tickets for the guild’s “Delectable Mountain” king size quilt will be sold at the door or from any guild member. Tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5. Winning name will be drawn Sunday, June 9th at 4:00 p.m., winner need not be present. Please contact Jean at (724) 6687615 if you are interested in participating or contact quiltingonthefarm@gmail.com for a registration form. Entries are accepted thru Tuesday, June 3rd from 10 a.m. - 12 noon. 6/7/2014 - 6/8/2014 Westmoreland County Air Show Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, Unity Twp Featuring US Navy Blue Angels Discounted tickets for the 2014 Westmoreland County Air Show will go on sale Thursday, May 1st, at all area Shop 'n Save stores. Advance tickets cost $14, with each ticket good for admission for the Saturday or Sunday show. Tickets purchased at the gate will cost $16. Military personnel and children under age 10 will receive free admission. Parking at the airport is $3. All proceeds from parking benefit local volunteer fire departments. Gates open 8 am. Show begins at 11am. 6/8/2014 - 6/8/2014 Antiques & Collectibles Market Historic Hanna’s Town 809 Forbes Trail Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 724.532.1935 www.westmorelandhistory.org Over 100 dealers. Morning show. 6/8/2014 - 6/8/2014 Pavilion Music Series: Black Magic Band Christian W. Klay Winery 412 Fayette Spring Road, Chalk Hill, PA 15421 Enjoy classic rock favorites! Complimentary admission. 1 to 4 pm. 6/12/2014 - 6/14/2014 National Road Chainsaw Carving Festival Addison Fike Lane, Addison, PA 15411 6/13/2014 - 6/15/2014 Italian Festival of Fayetter County Fayette County Fairgrounds 132 Pechin Road, Dunbar, PA 15431 6/13/2014 - 6/13/2014 Miners Day Celebration with Lynn Anderson Arcadia Theater 1418 Graham Avenue, Windber, PA 15963 814.467.9070 arcadiatheater.net 6/13/2014 - 6/15/2014 Miners’ Memorial Day Festival Downtown Festival Area Windber, PA 15963
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LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
6/14/2014 - 6/14/2014 Las Vegas Then and Now Rockwood Mill Shoppes Opera House 450 Main Street, Rockwood, PA 15557 Join Las Vegas Entertainer Lee Alverson as he takes you on a musical journey to the “Strip” as he performs songs from current Las Vegas Shows as well as a salute to Vegas of Yesterday with Sinatra and Elvis hits. The show includes a Tribute to The Venetian Casino’s Phantom of the Opera productions with Lee in costume as The Phantom as well as his renowned Elton John impersonation. To top it off - Lee shares stories of his experiences in show business including the time he spent the night in Liberace’s guest bedroom. Tom Jones’ eccentric backstage rituals, hanging with Elton John’s Drummer. The Blue Man Group, Beach Boys and more! 6/15/2014 Twin Lakes Fishing Derby Bass Season gets underway with this free event for fishermen of all ages from 8:00 am-1:00 pm. Trophies and prizes will be awarded to both adults and youth. A door prize drawing will be held for all registered participants. Co-sponsored by the Westmoreland County Sportsmen's League, 1480 WCNS, and Gander Mountain. 8 am. Contact Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks & Recreation, (724) 830-3950. 6/16/2014 - 6/16/2014 Fort Kids Camp I Fort Ligonier 200 South Market Street, Ligonier, PA 15658 Day camp for kids who have completed grades 2, 3, 4, or 5 (pre-registration rq’d).
6/22/2014 3rd Annual Lavender Festival Christian W. Klay Winery, 412 Fayette Springs Rd in Chalk Hill, PA. 724-439-2434 11 am - 4 pm. www.cwklaywinery.com
6/17/2014 - 6/17/2014 Big Wheels Race of Memorial Drive Legion Keener Park Latrobe, PA 15650 Register at 5 pm, race starts at 6.
6/23/2014 Midsummer Night’s Ice Cream Social Fulton House in Derry, PA. 7 - 9 pm Derry Area Historical Society - all welcome
6/20/2014 Family Nature Experience: Pollinator Day Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at St. Vincent College in Latrobe. www.wpnr.org 10 am - 3 pm. 724-537-5284 to register. Celebrate pollinators, but especially bees on this special day. Learn about the bee life cycle, honey production, and much more! FREE for families of all ages.
6/28/2014 - 6/28/2014 Inside Ligonier Valley-A Home Tour 724.879.4241, www.compassinn.com Visit several Ligonier Valley Homes on this self-guided surprise tour, including “WOW” homes.
6/21/2014 Fish For All Day - Derry Borough Ethel Springs Lake, 6 am. Contact Derry Area Revitalization Committee for more info: DerryRevitalization@gmail.com or www.derryarea.net 6/21/2014 - 6/22/2014 Living History Weekend: Children and the Environment Compass Inn Museum 1382 Route 30 East, Laughlintown, PA 15655. compassinn.com Hands-on-history. Visit us to learn about history and the environment.
Every Story Begins At Home.
6/28/2014 40th Anniversary Celebration Historic Hanna’s Town Historic Hanna's Town began its reincarnation as a museum in 1974 when Hanna's Tavern opened to the public for guided tours. Celebration activities include a barbecue picnic, reenactment of a special court case, and 18th century music and dance. Pictures of the inspiring community effort to put the Tavern under roof in one day will be displayed as we honor the many volunteer fire departments and other organizations who undertook this impressive feat! Advance reservations are required. Fee: $25 for adults: children $5. Includes a guided tour and activities earlier in the day. Contact: Anita, 724-532-1935 history@westmorelandhistory.org
7/3-6/2014 40th Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival Twin Lakes Park, Greensburg www.artsandheritage.com The acclaimed Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival offers the best in visual and live performing arts, traditional and fine crafts, cultural heritage activities, humanities, and exciting ethnic foods, providing something for everyone’s tastes and keeping people coming back year after year. An annual summer celebration, the free Festival takes place at Twin Lakes Park in Greensburg, July 3 through July 6, 2014. Times are from 11am-8pm each day. Annual attendance is over 150,000. The mission of the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival is to present exceptional visual arts, traditional crafts, educational activities and live performing artists to enlighten, entertain and enrich the community, while preserving and demonstrating Pennsylvania’s historical and living cultural heritage. For more information call 724-8347474 or email info@artsandheritage.com
Submit items for our community calendar: Family-friendly, cultural, and nonprofit events take precedence when print space is limited:
calendar@ laurelmountainpost.com or
Laurel Mountain Post Calendar PO Box 332 Ligonier PA 15658 May 2014 - 43
Where Can I Find A Copy? Laurel Mountain Post Distribution List Seventy-five percent of our distribution remains within Westmoreland County, while the remaining 25% is circulated throughout key locations in the surrounding counties. The Laurel Mountain Post can be found free of charge at hundreds of local shops, office waiting areas, restaurants, museums, and festivals. We keep up-t0-date location and delivery information on our website: www.laurelmountainpost.com. If your business would like to carry the LMP, please contact us at 724-537-6845 or complete the online distribution form.
Derry Area
Schultheis Automation (Jones Mills)
Action for Animals Allison Chiropractic Barkley's Derry King Building Bodeez Caldwell Library Chef Dato's Derry Medical Dr. Scott Morgan First Commonwealth Bank Hansen & Torba - Dentists Jean Marie Flowers & Gifts Laundromat Mastrorocco's Market New Derry Municipal Authority Palombo's Restaurant S&T Bank State Farm Insurance Sugar Bears Sunoco
Greater Latrobe
Adams Memorial Library Barnes House Buchanan Tag Chamber of Commerce Chestnut Ridge - Bursch Division Chicora's Chris Pakos, CPA Christ UC Church Coffee Bean Commercial Bank - Downtown Commerical Bank - Route 981 Dainty Pastry Denny's Doggie Divas Dunkin Donuts Eat n Park Excela Health Quick Draw The Eyeglass Shoppe Delmont, Murrysville, Export Fantastic Sam's Four Seasons Brewing Co. Fringe Center for Rehab Dancer’s Closet Gino's Pizza Gyno Associates David Nadar Hanna Insurance Delmont Public Library Dr. Scott Hudimac Dick’s Diner Jaffre's/Tin Lizzy, Youngstown Excela Outpatient Jerald Jewelers EnV Hair Salon Joe's Store - Lawson Heights Ferri’s Kids Care Pediatrics First Commonwealth Bank L&L Quik Lube Drs. Hilliard & Tarnoff Holiday Inn Express Dr. Patrick Lally John’s Barbershop Latrobe Animal Clinic King's Family Restaurant Latrobe Art Center Kunkle's Auto Latrobe Athletic Club Dr. Matthew Levin Latrobe Hardware Lamplighter Restaurant Latrobe Hospital Manordale Service Center Latrobe News Stand - Downtown Martello Hair Care Latrobe News Stand - Laurel 30 Murrysville Library Laurel Highlands Village Nature Nail Spa Laurel Nursery Neff Commercial Cleaning Latrobe Post Office Panera Bread Lincoln Highway Experience PT Group Little Shop Salem Crossroad Apothecary Loyalhanna Care Center Shields Chiropractic Marge’s Hair Salon - Tara Stowers Terri's Place McCarl Coverlet Gallery UPMC Rehab Services The Medicine Shoppe Wagon Wheel Restaurant Drs. Mucci & Campfield, DDS My Fitness Kitchen Donegal Pizza Siena ProAdjuster Chiropractic BP/McDonald’s - turnpike Racer’s Tavern Brady’s Roadman's Country Living Dairy Queen Rose Style Shoppe Days Inn Rusbosin's Furniture Donegal Pharmacy S&T Bank Gerry’s Western Shop (Champion) Scotty G's Holiday Inn Express Senior Center Honeybear Shop n Save Tall Cedars SpringHill Suites The Inn at Ligonier St. Vincent De Paul Sarnelli’s St. Vincent Gristmill Store
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Total Service Unity Township Building, Library UPMC Vascular Institute Valley Dairy - downtown Valley Dairy - Route 30 Vasco Federal Credit Union WCNS/Unity Building Westmoreland Federal Westmoreland Historical Society Wigs n More Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve Wingate Greensburg All About Me Boutique Barnes & Noble Berkshire Medical Offices Cafe Barista Courtyard by Marriott Dancer’s Closet Eat n Park Frye Farm Road Medical Offices Greensburg Art Center Greensburg News Greensburg YMCA Hampton Inn Hampton Office Products Jioio's - Carbon Dr. Matthew Levin L&S Machine Nature's Way Market The Palace Theatre Palmer Pavilion - Mt. View ProAdjuster Chiropractic RaggZ Fiber Art Dr. John Ridinger Seton Hill University Super Spa Girl The Westmoreland @rt 30 University of Pittsburgh Vittone's Music Westmoreland Dermatology Westmoreland Hospital Ligonier Valley A Touch of Grace Abigail's Coffee Amica BP Insurance Barb's Market - Rector Berkshire Hathaway Bo Peep Fine Yarns Carol & Dave's Roadhouse Celtic Culture Connections Cafe Creative Differences Darlington Inn Davies Real Estate Diamond Cafe Diamond Hair Cuts Diamond Rug Gallery Dovecote Duley’s Fort-Town Deli Equine Chic
Excela Health First Commonwealth Bank Flavors Cafe Fox's Pizza G Squared Get Go Giant Eagle Gino's Granny Earth Howard Hanna Real Estate Ligonier Chamber of Commerce Ligonier Country Market Ligonier Library Ligonier Outfitters/Newstand Ligonier Tavern Ligonier Valley Railroad Museum Ligonier Vallery Real Estate Loyalhanna Realty Mack M. Darr Main Exhibit Gallery Martins Modern Elegance Mommy Gear On the Diamond Antiques The Paper House Persnickety Post and Rail Ramada Inn Rosalia Jioio's Little Italy Rustic Country Treasures Ruthie's Diner Scamp's Toffee Second Chapter Books Song of Sixpence Subway The Strawberry Crow Thistledown at Seger House The Finishing Touch The Toy Box The Twisted Vine Tree House in Ligonier UU Church Vernon Realty Services Valley School of Ligonier Wicked Googly YMCA Laughlintown Compass Inn/Historical Society First Commonwealth Bank Ligonier Country Inn Pie Shoppe Washington Furnace Inn New Alexandria BP - 819 crossroads First Commonwealth Grabiak’s Johna’s Hair Salon Kaufman's Chiropractic Keystone Pharmacy Keystone State Park Kids Care Pediatrics Library
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Roadhouse Quik Stop Sheetz Speal's Tavern Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival Laurel Valley Hardware Loyalhanna Veterinary Clinic Main Street Wine Bar Mt. Pleasant and Southern Westmoreland County Market Crystal Concepts The Frick Fun Services The General Store Herbalicious Kraisinger's Market Lenox Leo's Mericonda Beer Distributor Mount Pleasant Glass Museum Mt. Pleasant Library Nino's Orourke Crystal Sandhill Berries Speedy Meedy's Vicky's Crossroads Volero Gas West Overton Deli West Overton Quilt Shop YMCA Youngwood - coming soon! Allegheny County Allegheny General
Children's Hospital Downtown Hotels Manchester Bidwell Monroeville Library Pleasant Hills Library Strip District merchants Squirrel Hill businesses UPMC Hospitals: Monroeville, Presbyterian, Mercy, Shadyside, Hillman Cambria County (Johnstown) Comfort Inn & Suites Dancer’s Closet East Hills Family Pharmacy Holiday Inn - Downtown Holiday Inn Express - Richland Nature's Habitat - Galleria The Sleep Inn Fayette County Adrian's - Hopwood Braddocks Inn Restaurant Chalk Hill Flea Market Miller’s Grocery Store Nemacolin Inn - Farmington Ohiopyle Falls Ohiopyle Pub Summit Hotel - Route 40 Indiana County Blairsville Cokeville Produce Market Comfort Inn The Coventry Inn Dean's Diner Hampton Inn - Chestnut Ridge Senior Center Sheetz Clarksburg Shaulis Convenience Market Indiana 119 Professional Center The Artist's Hand Book Nook Cucina Mia
Would You Like to Subscribe? Laurel Mountain Post Print Subscriptions 189 Fairview Lane • Derry, PA 15627 Secure Online Ordering in Our Web Store: www.LaurelMountainPost.com
Diamond Drug Downtown Indiana Association Hampton Inn Dr. Hilliard & Tarnoff Indiana Chamber of Commerce Indiana County Tourism Indiana Hospital Lobby Indiana Free Library Indiana University of PA Jimmy Stewart Museum Ninth Street Deli Rustic Lodge Starbucks Saltsburg exclusively at: Saltsburg Pharmacy Somerset County Jennerstown Green Gables/Mtn Playhouse Our Coal Miners Cafe Three Rivers Dental Somerset Area Comfort Inn Eat n Park Econo Lodge Hampton Inn Holiday Inn Express Oakhurst Tea Room Sheetz (route 31) Somerset Family Eye Care Somerset Historical Center Summit Diner Quality Inn
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program is $15 or $12 for SAMA members. Reservations are required by June 6. Please call the Museum for reservations or additional information. The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley is located at One Boucher Lane and Route 711 South in Ligonier. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tues-day through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. weekends. The Museum is a handi-capped-accessible facility and is open to the public free of charge. For more information, please call the Museum or visit www.sama-art.org.
Seasonal Events Around Western Pennsylvania
Even more great locations coming soon!
Mei I. Greer (American, b. China, 1968) H068, 2005 Epson Ultrachrome K3 archival pigment print, 16" x 20"
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Print subscriptions are available for $30/year for 12 issues ($2.50 each), and will arrive via 1st Class US Mail. To order, please complete and return this form with payment: NAME: ____________________________________________________ ADDRESS: __________________________________________________ CITY: _____________________________________________________ STATE: ___________________ ZIP: _____________________________ EMAIL: ___________________________________________________ Where did you pick up this copy of the magazine? ________________________ Your subscription will start with the next issue following receipt of this order form. We only use your information to contact you regarding the Laurel Mountain Post. It will NOT be shared with outside parties or added to any other list. May 2014
Every Story Begins At Home.
May 2014 - 45
END NOTES by Cathi Gerhard
Made in Pennsylvania Some Facebook and other social meAmerican-made products and the lifeNone of this money gets funneled dia posts get more attention than othstyle they provided us. As more and through a corporation and trickled ers. We recently shared a photo from more of the country returns to these down over time. If I do save some the Made in America Movement, and values, there is one aspect of econommoney, it stays in Vasco Federal Credit statistics showed that it was liked ics that makes sense among the swamp Union in Latrobe (where my grandfamore than 95% of our typical posts. I of media banter and political arguther was a charter signer) – and is don’t think this means that our followments: money spent at local, small made available to other members of ers generally do not enjoy our social businesses stays in the community. the community in the form of low-rate media material – rather, this auto or home equity loans. one struck an important nerve. Some of the money I make As a child, I never underis invested back into the comstood the big deal my parents munity through local chamused to make about things beber of commerce membering “made in America.” I was ships or student internships. born here in Pennsylvania just I also donate a portion of my in time to witness a major colnet earnings to varied nonlapse in American manufacprofit organizations such as turing, when 75% of the comChrist UCC Church, the panies left the Pittsburgh Westmoreland County Food area. It was a tragedy that Bank, Girl Scouts of Western played out repeatedly across PA, Union Mission, Ligonier the country. Unfortunately, YMCA, Life Way Pregnancy all I could understand was Center, The Community that Toyota made a better car, Foundation of Westmoreland Sony invented the Walkman, County, and Action for Aniand things from China were mals. Money made here in much cheaper. Those were the Pennsylvania stays in PennMADE IN AMERICA MOVEMENT FACEBOOK POST: Support your local immature values I applied to sylvania – because I make a community. #TakeThePledge to #BuyLocal and help your neighbors. Together politics and economics back thoughtful choice to do so, we are making a difference! http://bit.ly/TakeThePledgeBuyAmerican then – when Reagan became whenever I can. www.TheMadeInAmericaMovement.com our 40th president, and sociI am in no position to deety taught us to value the acbate the politics of a global cumulation of wealth. As a small business owner here in economy, and that’s not my intent. I I sometimes recall that global shift Pennsylvania, I have used my earnings love my English tea and enjoy tropical as the simple transition from metal to do all of the above: pay for music fruits, but imported goods make up a and glass to plastic. Suddenly everylessons at Vittone’s, buy soccer equipsmaller portion of my overall footprint thing was “fake,” but I could have a lot ment for the Derry rec league, buy gronow. I cannot control world trade, but more of it. My friends stacked “Swatch” ceries at Mastrorocco’s Market, send I CAN make a positive contribution to watches up their arms, wore big cheap a mortgage check to my lender in Pittsour community by shopping locally for earrings or several small ones, bought burgh, and write tuition checks to IUP goods and services. Sometimes they Chuck Taylors in every color, and col(Indiana University of Pennsylvania). cost more; but in the end, we’re more lected jeans from each designer. Our My commissioned sales people tell the richer. fashion screamed “look at me, look similar stories about their earnings: I encourage all of you to consider how much I have!” paying the rent on a Ligonier store the value of our community, not just Turns out, we had lost so much front, buying subs from the Latrobe on Small Business Saturdays, but evmore than we ever gained. It took a Fire Department, or making a down ery day of the year. It’s time we started few generations to realize that quanpayment on a house in Derry. investing in each other. tity could never replace the quality of 46 - May 2014
LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST
Vernon Realty Ad
Every Story Begins At Home.
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LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST