Laurel Mountain Post :: Spring 2010

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST April hath put a spirit of youth in everything. – William Shakespeare

Spring Is the Thing A Tribute to “Nellie” the Swan Do-Si-Do With Your Partner Foreigners Take On Western Pennslvania The Nancy G. Hoffman Story

Maple Syrup and the Good Old Days Farm-Fresh at the Fairmont Latrobe Art Center Is Painting in the Rain

Open Season on Dust Bunnies

SPRING 2010 Every Story Begins At Home.

FREE Spring 2010 - 1

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Courtyard by Marriott Greensburg 700 Power Line Drive • Greensburg, PA 15601

We Love Having You Here.

W SPRING 2010

(Volume VII, Issue 1)

The Laurel Mountain Post is a quarterly publication designed to focus on the people, places and events from the heart of western Pennsylvania. We print stories about real people and their daily lives; feature local merchants, craftsmen and professionals; present short pieces of art & literature; and never lose sight of what makes this area a great place to call home. Most of our writers are not professional reporters, but accomplished local practitioners with years of experience in their respective fields who bring credibility and personality to every article.

In October 2006, the BBC News quoted us as “the voice of Pennsylvania.”

Laurel Mountain Post P.O. Box 227 Latrobe, PA 15650

724-537-6845 www.LaurelMountainPost.com PROFESSIONAL STAFF

Cathi Gerhard Editor & Publisher

Megan S. Fuller Managing Editor

Michelle M. Schultz Business Manager

Jason Ament Advertising Director

THANKS TO: Our writers, as well as those who help out behind the scenes: Carol Gerhard, Heather Haines, Chris Kantorik, Pat Kintigh, Doug Richardson, Elizabeth Srsic, Briana Tomack, Robert Williams and Devin Winklosky.

Special thanks to our advertisers for supporting this community publication!

Our distribution of 15,000 reaches beyond Westmoreland County into the neighboring counties of Allegheny, Washington, Armstrong, Bedford, Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Fayette.

Every day, more and more readers and advertisers across western Pennsylvania are discovering the Laurel Mountain Post.

Every Story Begins At Home.

God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.

– John Aughey

elcome . . .

MOUNTAIN VIEWS Cathi Gerhard

She Who Does the Laundry Keeps the Change We’ve been on hiatus since the holidays due to serious illness and injury within our family; in fact, I must have shattered a big mirror seven years ago. But late last year (just when I thought I’d cleaned up the mess, and my condemnation to bad luck was nearing an end) I apparently broke another one.

In looking back on my “life experiences” during this time, I realize that I’ve seen a lot in that reflection: near-fatal sinus surgery, a life-changing head injury with permanent brain damage, experiences with painkiller dependency, job loss, a bone tumor, an early hysterectomy, divorce, the extended illness and death of my dad, financial collapse (due in part to the overwhelming costs of healthcare), relocation, constant weight fluctuations, a daughter leaving my nest for college, a son newly-diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a car accident, a broken back, and ugly bruises to many relationships (both personal and professional) resulting from this laundry list of troubles.

It seems these kinds of tragedies just keep on giving in the form of collateral damage, with every diffcult experience leaving behind baskets full of torn and stained pieces. The more I let this dirty laundry pile up, the bigger and more overwhelming the chore becomes. At some point, I exhaust my supply of avoidance tactics,

and start wearing things inside out or scouring my closets for relics that are either too tight or not very stylish. Sometimes I decide to recycle and cut up the nastier pieces into rags or wish I had more fully developed my sewing skills so I could make a quilt. At other, more desperate times, I’m tempted to follow the wise words posted on Facebook recently by one of my

friends: “Wife to family – I finished your laundry. You will find the ashes in the fireplace.”

But since I’ll never be rich or wasteful enough to simply toss this dirty mess, I eventually pull myself together, pick up the load and start sorting. Once I have categorized things appropriately (lights, darks, in-betweens), it’s time to make some of those dreaded decisions.

Some things have to go - they are beyond repair and have no sentimental value; others become simply keepsakes. There are a few items that can hopefully be

repaired, cleaned up a bit, or even recycled. And the rest only need a bit of handwashing or a quick rinse through the gentle cycle. I usually re-discover quite a bit of change during this process: small coins and occasionally larger, paper denominations. These treasures go into my pocket for later admiration and cumulative assimilation into bigger and better things. Then I take everything I have left, and hang it up to dry in a fresh breeze.

Metaphors can be pretty powerful things, showing us just how close and simple the answers to complex situations really are.

Life is mostly hard work that we tend to complicate with our personal, compounding baggage.

It’s difficult for most of us to separate issues and handle one load at a time when life keeps piling up around us. And it’s even harder for others to help with this or see things from our own overburdened point of view.

Things appear to be settling down lately; most of my baskets have been sorted, laundered, folded and even put away. Though I’m not sure how many more times I can handle going through the ringer.

Some days I definitely feel closer to the rag pile than others.

Spring 2010 - 3

A Tribute to “Nellie” the Swan

by Beverly Burns

This is a story about my friend “Nellie the Swan” also known to many as “Grandma. “ After the tragic death of my friend Nellie, who lived on Ethel Spring Lake in Derry Borough, Derry, Pa. for more than 20 years, I thought people would like to know about her. She was unable to fly, rendering her defenseless from predators because her wings had been “pinned,” I’m assuming so she could not leave the lake. Her right wing was slightly deformed and one of her feet had an old tear in the web. The joints in her legs had been slightly swollen, presumably from arthritis. She was unable to feed like the rest of the Swans on the lake because she could not invert her body downwards under the water to feed from the aquatic plants.

She was a wary old Swan who would not approach just anyone, but she would come to me.

I met her about seven years ago, and we became friends. She would come into my yard to eat; especially before the cold weather of winter approached. After observing her condition and doing research on older large birds, I contacted a woman from the Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation in Ligonier. I told her I was thinking of giving her a formula for older arthritic birds along with her food. I told her this included MSM and she said this is given to birds. She also told me this would be good for her because she had some trouble walking and could not flap her wings. After awhile on this formula she was able to flap her wings high into the air, and the swelling in her leg joints diminished.

She first came into my yard to eat food that belonged to my cat, Peanut. She loved it so much that there was nowhere I could hide it. Mainly an indoor cat, Peanut liked to be outside in warm weather. I would come home in the evening after work, and the food would be gone.

I knew it was Nellie because the water in the bowl would be muddy. I disconnected my automatic garage door opener and left the door open a little more than a foot for the cat to access his food. That night when I came home the food was gone and the water was muddy from her beak. I wondered how this could be possible?

The next day I found out. I watched her as she “flattened “ her body and wiggled under the door.

It reminded me of someone doing the Limbo. It was hilarious. That’s when I gave up trying to hide his food and put a bowl out for her.

Another one of her favorites was popcorn.

So I bought a Hot Air Popper and gave her gourmet popcorn. She loved it! She would come to my sliding glass doors facing the lake and “knock” on it with her beak. There were times I thought a person was knocking on my door, and if I didn’t go outside to acknowledge her, she would come onto my side porch and knock on that door. I guess this meant, “Where is my food?”

4 - Spring 2010

Occasionally I would leave the door ajar so Peanut could come in and out. One day, lo and behold, I came into my family room, and there she was!! I think she thought of taking up residence. I picked her up and carried her back outside. LOL. She would also look on the front patio step or the side porch for the bowl. Several times I saw her coming up on the other side of my neighbor’s house—thru his front yard—and down my driveway to check out my front porch.

So much for the term “Birdbrain.”

Every year when she would molt I collected her feathers, and they are in all of my flower

arrangements. They all look beautiful to me. I would tell her she was bringing me a present when I collected her feathers in my yard.

Last spring I was walking around the lake, and when I reached the other side she was there with a group of other swans and ducks. I walked to the water’s edge and began talking to her. As I began walking down onto the water’s edge, she broke away from the group and began swimming along beside me as I walked. When we finished “walking” at the end of the path, I sat down on a rock. She came up to me, and I told her how beautiful and smart she was. She nodded her head and made her little snorting sounds as if to say, “I know I am.”

One day I was walking with several friends when I saw her and called out her name. She was in the middle of the lake and began swimming to me. They said if they didn’t see it with their own eyes they would never have believed it. She knew my voice!

Nellie came into my yard one June and was unable to put weight on her right leg. She kept lifting it off the ground. I said, “Let me see that foot,” because I thought it had been injured. She stood patiently while I examined it. After seeing there were no cuts on her leg or foot, I thought she probably “stoved” it while walking on the

rocks or coming down into the mote. I did some research and discovered a baby aspirin, crushed and sprinkled on a large bird’s food, would rid them of inflammation. I only used half of it, but it did the trick. She came back the next day, walking with no problem, flapping her wings and shaking her head back and high, as if to say, “Give me more of that stuff, I feel great!”

There were many days when I didn’t see her in my yard. It was mostly in the early spring and the beginning of fall—to fatten up before the cold weather set in— but I still liked to see if she was O.K. I would take a pair of my dad’s binoculars and look across the lake to see her and her mate. When driving around the lake I would slow my car down and see where she was.

Nellie knew hand commands— to come or stay. She also would come when I sounded a dog whistle blown in certain intervals, and she knew what the word “no” meant. She was a very intelligent Swan who also didn’t like to be dirty. When she came through the mote and into my yard her breast would have some mud on it. She would sometimes spend an hour preening herself until all dirt was gone.

Last year she sat diligently on a nest of eggs— although I was told the eggs and nest belonged to a white goose. Nellie’s mate kicked the goose off her nest and gave it to Nellie—sort of like an illegal adoption. LOL. He was very protective of the nest and Nellie.

They would take turns sitting on the nest. One day I walked over to see how she was doing, and he gave me a good “thump” on the shin with his wing as if to say “Get going or else!” I listened to him!! I’ve read that a fullgrown male can break the femur in a human with their wing. The time had come and gone for the eggs to hatch and she finally gave up the hope of having her “Cygnets” and returned to the lake with her mate. It usually takes 35 to 41 days for them to hatch, and it was already past 50 days. I really believe they would have taken care of the hatchlings no matter what they were. Nellie made another nest last spring but nothing happened—no eggs. She would have been a good mother.

Last year I noticed when she saw me she would “nod” her head in acknowledgement— much the same as one person does to another.

She would come into my yard to eat, and I would sit beside her. When I would talk to her, she would stop eating and listen intently—then she would make little snorting noises—much the same as if she was answering back to me.

She would also “Nod” her head when I fed her as if to say “Thank you.” Even though they say these type of swans are called “Mute Swans,” there was nothing mute about her.

She loved to “talk.”

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

Three weeks before her attack she started staying in my yard and sleeping on my patio. I thought this was odd. She would normally eat and return to the lake. One morning I looked out the patio doors and saw a large bird flying high above the pine trees. At first I thought it was a crane; then I saw it was her mate and he was calling for her. She immediately left the patio and went to my side porch where he couldn’t see her. I had to laugh at the time because I thought she was “hiding out.” The next day he appeared on the walking path in front of my yard and called to her as she was having “breakfast.” She did go back on the lake with him, but not for long.

On the Saturday before her attack she brought her mate into my yard for the first time ever. I watched as they both stood on the walking path. She nodded her head to him and proceeded down thru the mote and into my yard and he followed behind her. I noticed that his eyes are blue and hers were brown. They grazed on the grass and later returned to the lake. She was wise and wary and much older than he. I believe she knew there was a predator on the other side of the lake where they usually stayed and was trying to protect him from it. There had been a slight cut on her neck three weeks before her attack, but it could have been from anything sharp.

The Veterinarian who operated on her told me a predator was the likely cause of her injured wing. Although he tried everything to save her, he was unable, and she passed away on October 22, 2009. It was so sad because I thought she might outlive me. A swan—under the right circumstances—can live as long as 50 years. I’d already told someone how to take care of her in case I wasn’t around anymore.

Coyotes were reportedly spotted in the vicinity of the lake where she and her mate I called “Ned’’ usually stayed. Several days before I realized she had been attacked; he stood on the walking path and frantically called to me in my yard. I thought he was just calling for her.

Now I know he was calling for help.

As I look out upon the lake it seems so empty to me now. Even though there are still the geese and ducks and swans—she’s not there. I know her mate will miss her dearly. I will also always miss and keep her in my heart because I loved her. If there is a heaven for Swans I know she is there flying high in the sky.

Goodbye Old Friend.

DOWN ON THE FARM Practical Advice & Stories from Old Dad’s Agricultural Library

Do-Si-Do With Your Partner Planting time is finally here! I’ve been watching the weather change outside my window each day – right alongside my two housecats, Jim and Madge. Basically bedridden since breaking my back early in the winter, I’ve been sharing their longing for nature’s return in the yard. And since I can’t go out and plant my gardens this year (I’ve got several more months of recovery to go), I thought I could satisfy my earthy desires by drawing up some plans for next year and sharing them with those of you who can.

Throughout the blueprint stages for our new house on the farm, my husband and I have been dreaming about a backyard labyrinth of raised beds filled with companion plantings (as we discussed last year in the MayJune 2009 issued of LMP). Understanding the compatibility qualities of vegetables and flowers is only the first step toward years of beautiful and bountiful gardens. And if done correctly, your whole garden will hardly ever look the same twice.

Once you create the perfect symbiotic relationship among plants in a given patch of earth, it’s time to start caring for your dirt.

Soil becomes exhausted annually. Not only do families of plants draw and return varied nutrients from dirt, they also attract different varieties of pests and disease. So give that plot a break as a reward for a job well done, by sowing it with a different type of plant grouping next year.

For example, garden vegetables are classified into families, and should be rotated in the following cyclical planting order:

Feeders Legumes are nitrogen “fixing” plants that feed the soil. Bacteria called “rhizobia” live along nodules in the roots. They help absorb nitrogen from the air, and then release it back into the soil.

Leaves or Flowers Cabbages, lettuce, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, sweet basil, etc. all fit into this category. They are nitrogenloving plants, that thrive in spots where legumes recently lived and worked.

Every Story Begins At Home.

Fruits Fruits of the vine include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumber, peas, corn and potatoes. These plants enjoy high levels of phosphorous, but dislike nitrogen because it makes them too enticing to pests. By planting the leaf group before them, sweet and tasy nitrogen levels have been reduced.

Roots After the fruits have removed the phosphorous from the soil, it’s time to plant onions, garlic, shallots, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, rutabegas. About the only thing left in your plot now is potassium – the nutrient these plants crave. They also like an alkaline environment, so add a little lime. Roots break up the soil, making it nice and loose for legumes next year.

Cover Crops Sometimes called “Living Mulches” and “Green Manure,” cover crops (such as alfalfa, rye, and clover) are also designed to rebuild the spent earth by being worked back into the soil as nourishment. Every so often, a plot of land should be given this time to rest.

During the off-season, or times when photosynthesis does not occur (winter) they protect the earth from sun, wind, erosion and weeds, as well as provide food for beneficial insects and microorganisms. Think of cover crops as a moisturizing, sunscreen we use during a long beach vacation.

The number of planting groups is up to you.

Some categories can be further divided into sub-categories such as Roots: onion and nononion, and so on. Start with the basic sequence of four, working in a season of rest as needed. Keep a good garden diagram/log, and don’t forget to bring those companion flowers as you move vegetables from plot to plot: a list from last year’s article is now available on our website for your reference: www.LaurelMountainPost.com.

– Cathi Gerhard

Spring 2010 - 5

HOME STUDY

SALES ASSOCIATE, RECS/ASR

Brian Mishler

Get the Lead Out Cosmetic & Family Dentistry CEREC: 1-Appointment Crowns/Inlays

Frank G. Novak, Jr. DMD 483 Frye Farm Road Greensburg, PA 15601 724-537-2337

Day, Evening & Saturday Appointments

724-834-4688 271 Frye Farm Rd. Greensburg, PA 15601

Heather & Bob Kuban 136 East Main Street Ligonier, Pa 15658 724-238-2930

6 - Spring 2010

Ever think that your kids are smarter than you? The sad truth is that you’re probably right. At a recent class on lead based paint dust abatement, it was said that most adults over the age of 30 raised in the United States have some amount of brain damage resulting from exposure to lead based paint. Since lead based paint was banned in 1978, I.Q. scores have gradually been rising in children. The question now is what to do to reduce the exposure to the lead based paint still in millions of homes across the country?

Four of us, volunteers from Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, an Allegheny county non-profit organization that rehabilitates homes for financially disadvantaged seniors, spent a recent Saturday at the sprawling Honeywell corporate campus in Morristown, NJ. There we learned that not only has most of the boomer generation been exposed to lead dust as children, but that congress passed a law in 1996 to reduce lead exposure in children today. It took the EPA until 2008 to finally write the rules for contractors to follow.

Why was lead used, you ask? Lead was added to paint to add color and durability, and it was also added to some other surface coatings such as varnishes and stains. Unfortunately, children under the age of six are at the most risk from small amounts of lead. And, as kids this age tend to crawl and put their hands in their mouths, at the greatest risk of ingestion. Lead can be swallowed, or inhaled, and can cause nervous system and kidney damage, decreased intelligence, attention deficit disorder, and learning disabilities. In pregnant women, lead can cause mis-carriages, premature birth, brain damage, and low birth weight. In adults lead can cause high blood pressure, fertility problems, digestive problems, nerve disorders memory and concentration problems, sexual disorders and muscle or joint pain.

Beginning on April 22, 2010 contractors nationwide will have to begin to use what is known as lead safe practices when remodeling or performing work on surfaces suspected to have lead based paint or finishes on them. Most of these are in homes built prior to 1978 when such finishes were banned. Essentially, contractors will have to have at least one person on staff who is lead safe certified, and all members of the crew will need to be trained in lead safe practices. Briefly, lead safe practices provide a means to contain dust and debris during the work, and methods of cleanup and disposal at the end of the job.

It will require contractors to shut down the heating/cooling system in the house, cover the vents in the affected area(s), cover the floor with plastic, and seal any doors leading to other parts of the home. If the work is exterior, the contractor will have to cover the ground and shrubs near the home, provide means to prevent wind drift, and clean up afterward. Clean up will require the use of a HEPA equipped shop vacuum, and swiffer type pads to catch and contain dust. Debris and cleanup/containment plastic will have to be carefully bagged, sealed and disposed

of properly to avoid dispersal of the dust.

Critics of the program say that it’s overkill and unnecessary; that the rules are vague and that we have been exposed and we’re o.k., so what’s the big deal? Granted, it will add to the cost of renovating or repairing pre-1978 homes, homes that comprise the majority of housing stock in our region.

Further, because of bureaucratic delays, etc. lead testing kits await approval, and EPA has been slow to inform and educate the public and contractors alike. However, these measures are long overdue, and should be a step in the right direction to protect future generations from the hazards of lead in their environment. As the class taught it takes as little as 2 micro-grams of lead in the blood to do harm. A micro-gram is one one-thousandth of a gram. That’s like one penny out of $10,000. A typical packet of artificial sweetener is 1,000 micrograms!!

So if you plan remodeling or renovation work on your pre-1978 home, ask your contractor if they’re lead safe certified and follow the EPA guidelines. If not, consider the risk of what you might be exposing your family to. More information is available at http://www.epa.gov/lead/ Brian Mishler is a 15-year veteran of home inspection and is a past president of PRO-ASHI, the local chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors. You can get more information about home inspection at www.pro-ashi.com

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

Saint Vincent College will host the annual Westmoreland County Earth Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve. This year’s Earth Day theme is “Movin’ and Groovin’ Green” and will include educational activities, informative displays and booths for all ages and interests.

The event is free and open to the public.

Parking is available on the college campus and visitors can walk or take a shuttle to the Nature Reserve. The event will feature a “Green Market” with outside vendors ranging in products from jewelry, plants and much more. www.westmorelandearthday.org

Why Attend Westmoreland Earth Day? Between the hunting stories told at the Pheasants Forever booth to the wildflower prints being made with the Westmoreland County Botanical Society, there is something for everyone! Exhibiting organizations each have great information and activities that are sure to interest all ages! Go caving with the Mid-Atlantic Karst Society!

Discover Geocaching!

How Did Westmoreland Earth Day Begin?

In 2002, a group of environmental organizations gathered to create an event that would engage the surrounding community in their many activities. The result was Westmore-land Earth Day, a family focused event now in its fourth year. One of the state’s largest Earth Day celebrations, Westmoreland Earth Day brings more than 80 exhibitors to share information and activities with the community. These exhibitors are representatives of non-profit groups, state and federal organizations all working to protect, restore and enhance the environment in your area!

What is the History of Earth Day? The first official Earth Day Celebration took place on April 22nd 1970 and an estimated 20 million people participate nationwide.

Perfor-mances, speeches, rallies, marches and parades happened in various cities around the country. Former US Senator, Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin is credited with being the founder of Earth Day. Each year since the initial day of celebration in 1970, Earth Day has been officially recognized on April 22nd.

“Taste the Good Life” Event to Benefit American Red Cross Westmoreland-Chestnut Ridge Chapter On April 29, 2010, DiSalvo’s Station Restaurant will host the “Taste the Good Life” event, the largest bi-annual non-profit fund raiser of its kind in Western Pennsylvania. According to the founder of the event, Joey DiSalvo, proceeds from the fund raiser are donated to a different charitable organization each Fall and Spring “not only as a way to serve the community, but as a way to bring awareness to the hard work and dedication of local non-profit service organizations”.

This spring, the American Red Cross Westmoreland-Chestnut Ridge Chapter has been selected to receive the proceeds from the event which is hosted by Joey DiSalvo and his family who offer their guests extraordinary food, first class wines and spirits, the finest cigars, live entertainment and world class hospitality. The invitationonly event, takes place from 7:00PM10:00PM at DiSalvo’s Station Restaurant, located at 325 McKinley Avenue in Latrobe.

The Mission of the American Red Cross is help people prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.

How the Westmoreland-Chestnut Ridge Chapter serves that mission: • The Westmoreland-Chestnut Ridge Chapter of the American Red Cross is the Every Story Begins At Home.

sole provider of blood products to hospitals in Westmoreland County and The Monongahela Valley Hospital.

• Our volunteers respond to house fires in Westmoreland County and parts of the Mon Valley, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing comfort to displaced families along with funds for lodging, meals, medication and clothing.

• Trained volunteers are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist deployed military personnel and their families with emergency messaging services.

• The American Red Cross is the only organization in the country that is chartered

by Congress to respond to all disasters, small or large.

The Westmoreland-Chestnut Ridge Chapter of the American Red Cross receives no government funding. We rely solely on the generosity of the community we serve.

All donated proceeds from the “Taste the Good Life” event will be used to support local services provided by our Chapter in Westmoreland County and the parts of the Mon Valley in our jurisdiction.

To receive additional information about attending this event, contact Special Events Coordinator, Karen Sekora at 724-834-6510 x 116 or email devdir@westred.org.

Spring 2010 - 7

Norvelt: A New Deal Subsistence Homestead Author(s): Sandra Wolk Schimizzi, Valeria Sofranko Wolk, Foreword by Michael Cary. Images of America Series ISBN: 9780738572161 # of Pages: 128, softcover Publisher: Arcadia Publishing On Sale Now

It’s been a long winter for us here at the Laurel Mountain Post! A completely re-designed website is now live at www.LaurelMountain Post.com full of new content and features with RSS capability.

Book Description In 1933, the town of Norvelt became the fourth of 99 planned subsistence homestead communities subsidized by the federal government as part of the National Industrial Recovery Act for dislocated miners and industrial workers. The American Field Service Committee was recruited to implement and build the subsistence project and established a work camp in the summer of 1934. More than 1,850 people applied for 250 lots, and the first 1,200 homesteaders helped build their own homes on a lease-to-purchase agreement.

Homes were equipped with a grape arbor, 3.4 acres of land, and chicken coops. Cooperatively, homesteaders established community garden plots and raised livestock, hogs, and chickens. A format of cultural, political, and religious expression was provided to the residents, and through vintage photographs Norvelt: A New Deal Subsistence Homestead celebrates the remarkable life transformation the homesteaders were able to experience during the town’s formative years.

In 1934, the American Field Service Committee was recruited to implement and build the fourth of 99 planned subsistence homestead communities subsidized by the federal government. In 2009, the Norvelt community (previously named Westmoreland Homesteads) celebrated its 75th anniversary.

In over 200 vintage images, local authors Sandra Wolk Schimizzi and Valeria Sofranko Wolk commemorate the remarkable life and transformation the homesteaders were able to experience during the town’s formative years.

Highlights of Norvelt: A New Deal Subsistence Homestead • Features photographs donated from private collections of local residents and include early photographs of the building of Norvelt, as well as photos of original homesteaders • Describes how workers were required to participate in the construction of their houses and a man’s labor was treated as equity • Illustrates life in Western Pennsylvania coal towns and the poverty that developed due to the economics of that period A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book are being donated to the Westmoreland Homestead Historic Society.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places. Have we done a book on your town?

8 - Spring 2010

We’ve Got A New Website for You!

“

Eleanor Roosevelt was attracted to homesteading for its humanitarian promise of human dignity and the opportunity to develop a sense of mutual responsibility essential to a vital democracy.

”

About the Authors Sandra Wolk Schimizzi is the daughter of two original Westmoreland Homesteaders – Joseph Wolk and Valeria Sofranko Wolk – and grew up in Norvelt. Attaining a master’s degree in Rehabilitative Counseling, she is especially intrigued by how family and social histories shape individuals’ lives and their resiliency. Her interest in local history was formed by family-favorite vacations to historical sites, as well as her parents’ and grand-parents’ stories of early Westmoreland Homesteads. She enjoys reading and researching local history and compiling family histories.

She was pleased to have the opportunity to assist in writing two articles for the Westmoreland Historical Society. She served on Norvelt’s 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book Committee and History and Education Committee.

Valeria Sofranko Wolk, and original homesteader, moved to Westmoreland Homesteads with her family in 1935 and continues to live in Norvelt with her husband, Joseph Wolk, also an original homesteader. Her enjoyment of sharing early memories of life in Westmoreland Homesteads with her family led to her hobbies of compiling military and family histories and collecting memorabilia photographs of Norvelt. She served on Norvelt’s 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book Committee and History and Education Committee, and was delighted to have the opportunity to compile and edit the photographic history of Westmoreland Homesteads.

Michael Cary, who provided the introduction, is a professor of history and political science at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, and has spent countless hours researching the history of Norvelt for his upcoming book. He also contributed greatly to Norvelt’s 75th Anniversary Commemorative Book and History and Education Committee, and was keynote speaker at the anniversary banquet. He is in the process of writing (along with Tim Kelly, Professor of History at St. Vincent College, and Margaret Power, Associate Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology) a book on Westmoreland Homesteads called Hard Times and Community in Depression Era America: The Story of Norvelt to be published in 2011.

Pictured Above, Left to Right: 1941 class photograph of the Norvelt School (Courtesy of Josie Whishdosh Walton); Eleanor Roosevelt (courtesy of the Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library); the authors, Valeria Sofranko Wolk and Sandra Wolk Schimizzi.

Online Content for Subscribers Only This spring we will be working on special content and expanded stories just for our subscribers. All current print subscribers will have automatic access to our member lodge section upon registering, and new members can subscribe instantly online. Sample pages will be posted soon!

Updated Archive Files Due to the popularity of our Issuu online reader, our entire catalog of back issues is now available in this format. Simply select the issue cover from our bookshelf to read in the convenient flip-page style, or download a traditional PDF file to take with you.

Help Us Beta Test and Develop Our New Community Calendar There’s never enough time or space to publish listings for all that’s happening in the area, so we are currently developing a new interactive online community calendar system. Highlights of upcoming events will be shown on the home page, while an index of categorized items is found under our Calendar tab. Please let us know how it is working, and what things you would like to see. We’re adding more listings and photos every day, so check back often!

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

THE LIGONIER CHEF

Trout Season Begins April 17 at Keystone State Park

Scott Sinemus

Join us on April 17th for the opening day of trout at Keystone State Park! As in years past the Friends of Keystone State Park will have a variety of food, beverages and giveaways available at the Boat Rental Building (same location as in the past) starting at 6am and going into the afternoon. Prizes will be made available for children as supplies last. This Friends Group fund raiser has afforded the Friends the ability to hold other events at the park throughout the summer as well as help to make improvements at the park.

New for the 2010 year at Keystone State Park will be a bait and boat concessionaire. Bill and Judy Barker are the proprietors of Northwest Kayak and Canoe (www.northwestkayakand canoe.com). They will start operations at the park on the opening day of trout making not only boat rentals available, but bait and light tackle will also be for sale. Your selection of baits should range from minnows to red worms; and spinners to powerbait. For more information regarding pricing and available items please call Northwest Kayak and Canoe at 724.697.5280.

Spring is the Thing April, May and June… not just the months this issue focuses on, they are perhaps my three favorite months of the year; although I’m usually working too much to enjoy them like I used to. Everyone seems to be more partial to summer for some reason: they can have the mosquitoes and sitting in a puddle of your own sweat in the shade. Watching everything burst back to life in comfortable sunny skies is more for me. Smelling the hyacinths and lilacs first thing in the morning is an incomparable way to start the day.

This year we’re fortunate in Ligonier to see the growth of some new eateries as well!

The Ligonier Landmark Bakery is a particular favorite. I am pleased to say that Lori makes everything from scratch and in a proper classic European style. When is the last time you can honestly say you walked into a bakery and walked out with a briôche that was still warm?!? The sour dough bread is excellent as well. If you ask anyone if they’ve been there yet, more often than not the reply is, “Yes! Have you tried the cinnamon/pecan rolls?” We even eat the outsides without complaint — the texture of the dough is rich with butter and perfectly tender. Grilling them in a skillet with butter of course is the ultimate experience. Lori also specializes in one of a kind theme cakes for special occasions. The icing is real butter cream not the commercial grease, so you really can’t go wrong with even just a plain old fashioned traditional cake for dessert one evening.

There’s more than just the pastries though. A dozen specialty sandwiches all prepared with Boar’s Head brand luncheon meats and homemade soups and chili are also available. The meats and cheeses are also available for purchase by the pound to take home. There’s a seating area in the front by the windows with free wi-fi! Check them out online www. ligonierbakery.com or call 724.238.3838 to find out what’s available or to order your lunch ahead of time.

Wicked Googly is the name of the Ligonier pub located inside the bowling alley.

You might recognize the name as a Cricket term or from Jerry Seinfeld’s Amex commercials. There is a pub fare menu but so far I’ve only made it in to hear a band and have a drink. Our friends have vowed we’re going back to bowl and have nibblies.

Casa Chapala has reopened in the same spot just north of the diamond. Pedro is in the kitchen and Lourdes is back in the

Every Story Begins At Home.

dining room. The lunch specials are ample portions at a decent price, the soups are home made as well. There is currently an application for the liquor license in the window.

So for the time being it’s b.y.o.b!

The Fairfield Grill is another place currently offering bring your own. It is no longer the hot dog on a split bun hometown diner like it was. I haven’t made it in to try it for myself yet, so far the only negative reviews I’ve heard were from people that went in expecting to get a hamburger & fries for cheap.

I absolutely can not wait for the weather to be fine enough to sit outside and have dinner at Headkeeper in South Greensburg.

I can count on one hand the number of restaurants where I have never had a bad meal, and this is one of them. I always joke that you can’t eat the atmosphere, but the outdoor dining area is so nice it‘s only moments after you‘re there you forget you‘re sitting right along Main Street. Exceedingly comfortable furniture and landscaping done by a regular patron creates the perfect urban oasis to enjoy dinner. I must say their claim to fame is the huge number of imported and micro brewed beers that are available. When I look around the patio I notice that we’re usually the only people having a martini, but I usually only drink beer in Europe. Occasionally I’ll try something that Kate (the best server ever) insists we try, which is usually very good but no substitute for ice cold Kettle One. The menu is tapas style. Essentially everything is appetizer-sized. Although the menu changes to accommodate special ingredients, there truly is something for everyone. There always seems to be lamb chops and scallops, thank heaven, as they are always perfectly cooked. Chef and partner, Ray Flowers, makes sure of that. Ray has an instinctual ability to prepare food. I had the pleasure of instructing Ray in the very first class I ever taught at community college. After traveling around the country for awhile, he fortunately came back and is serving well thought out food with the attention to detail you’d find at a five-star restaurant.

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.

*Proceeds from this event will help fund projects and events through our Friends of Keystone State Park group of volunteers. This non-profit group is a partner of PPFF (the PA Parks and Forests Foundation), and was formed in 2005. Please consider becoming a friend today – it’s a great way to help us improve Keystone State Park.

For general information call the Park office 1-724-668-2939, or try the toll-free State Parks number 1-888-PA-PARKS. Visit us on the web at www.visitPAparks.com/parks/keystone.aspx or visit DCNR at www.dcnr.state.pa.us.

If you need an accommodation to participate in park activities due to a disability, please contact the park office or the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks at: 1-888-PA-PARKS (Voice), 1-888-537-7294 (TTY), 1-888558-2711 (international TTY), or 1-800-654-5984 (PA AT&T Relay Service).

The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks will gladly discuss how to accommodate your needs.

PA Fish-for-Free Days

Saturday Saturday,, May 22 and Sunday Sunday,, June 6 The PA Fish & Boat Commission has announced that no fishing license is needed to fish on either of these days. It’s a great way to introduce someone to the world of fishing. Remember that all other regulations apply.

Discover just how much fun fishing can be when you do it together at a PFBC Family Fishing Program.

Learn basic fishing skills like knot tying, casting, baiting the hook, and taking a fish off the hook. You and your family will have the opportunity to fish – no fishing license required. All equipment provided. The “catch???” Adults must bring a child and children must bring an adult. You’ll be learning and fishing together. Check the Laurel Mountain Post Online Community Calender for scheduled events near you or visit: PA Fish & Boat Commission at http:// www.fish.state.pa.us/mpag1.htm.

Barkley’s Derry King Route 217 Derry • 724-694-8552 Named Best Hot Fudge Sundae by The Ligonier Chef!

Spring 2010 - 9

[place UPMC Medicare ad here]

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UPMC for Life is a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. The benefit information provided herein is a brief summary, but not a comprehensive description of available benefits. Additional information about benefits is available to assist you in making a decision about your coverage.

This is an advertisement; for more information contact the plan. UPMC for Life is a product of and operated by UPMC Health Plan, Inc., UPMC Health Network, Inc., and UPMC Health Benefits, Inc. *You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium as applicable. **This service is not offered or guaranteed under our contract with Medicare and is not subject to the Medicare appeals process. Disputes regarding this service may be subject to the UPMC for Life grievance process.

H3907_H5533_10_368 (12/2009) 10 - Spring 2010

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

EARTH TALK

®

Questions & Answers About Our Environment I know that purchasing organic crib sheets, mattresses and baby clothes is better for the environment—but do they make any difference in terms of the baby’s health?

— B.B., Fairfield, CT

It’s true that conventional baby clothing and bedding—conventional referring to that made with cotton grown using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and bleached and dyed with yet more harsh chemicals—hasn’t seemed to present a problem thus far for generations and generations of babies. But more awareness of chemical sensitivities has many environmentalists and public health advocates wondering if the clothes and bedding children are exposed to could be impacting their health negatively.

Some 25 percent of the world’s pesticides and 10 percent of insecticides go to cotton crops every year. In addition, petroleum scouring agents, softeners, brighteners, heavy metals, flame and soil retardants, ammonia and formaldehyde are used in the processing of cotton once it is harvested. Beyond the environmental impacts of this onslaught in the vicinity of production facilities, there is increasing concern that residues of some of these chemicals might rub off on baby. According to Rachel Birchler of Mooi, a Pittsburgh-based organic children’s clothing boutique, a baby’s skin is more porous and thinner than that of an adult, and as such absorbs stuff more easily.

“This means that children are at greater risk for pesticide-related health problems than adults,” she says.

Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s leading purveyors of baby products, states on its

website that “a baby’s skin is thinner, more fragile and less oily than an adult’s” and is “less resistant to bacteria and harmful substances in the environment.” Lotus Organics, which makes organic clothing for both babies and

adults, reports that “millions of children in the U.S. receive up to 35 percent of their estimated lifetime dose of some carcinogenic pesticides by age five through food, contaminated drinking water, household use, and pesticide drift.”

So if organic cotton is so much better all around, why aren’t we all swaddling our babies in it and wearing it ourselves? It’s all about cost.

Clothing and bedding made from organic cotton is typically more expensive than similar

products made with conventional cotton.

Consumers watching their spending are often unwilling to pay more for a t-shirt or pants that are just going to get spilled on and beaten up.

But boosters for organic cotton say that paying less for conventional cotton items is penny wise and pound foolish. “Conventionally produced cotton material lasts 10-20 washes before it starts to break down,” reports Mooi’s Birchler. “An organic cotton material lasts for 100 washes or more before it begins to wear down.” How could that be? “Conventionally produced cotton takes so much abuse in production because it goes through scouring, bleaching, dying, softeners, formaldehyde spray, and flame and soil retardants before it is even shipped to be cut for patterns,” she explains.

Also, with more and more organic cotton products becoming available every day, from specialty shops to major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, the price premium for going organic is starting to shrink.

CONTACTS: Mooi, www.mooishop.com; Johnson & Johnson, www.jnj.com; Lotus Organics, www.lotus organics.com.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, c/o E – The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. E is a nonprofit publication.

Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe; Request a Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

My husband and I want to start a garden this year. I really want to make compost from leftover food scraps and yard materials. He says it will attract unwanted animals, and refuses to agree to it. Is he right? If so, how do we deal with that issue in a green-friendly, non-lethal way?

— Carmen Veurink, Grand Rapids, MI

It’s true that outdoor compost piles and bins can be a draw for wildlife—be it bears, rats, raccoons, skunks, opossums or some other creatures of the night—but there are ways to minimize the attraction. For one, make sure everyone in your household knows to keep meat, bones, fish, fat and dairy out of the compost. Not only will these items “overheat” the compost pile, they’ll also stink it up and attract animals.

Otherwise, home composters should keep in mind that critters aren’t actually eating the compost but are sifting through it to find fresh edible kitchen or garden scraps. To discourage animals, the website OrganicGardening.com recommends mixing kitchen garbage with soil or wood ashes before burying it in the hot center of your compost pile. Washington State’s Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends not putting any food scraps in open compost piles, but says that if you must, bury them under at Every Story Begins At Home.

least eight inches of soil and then place a wire mesh barrier over the top held in place with a heavy object or two.

Putting your compost pile in a pest-proof container is another way to prevent tampering with your precious organic soil-to-be. Compost tumblers are popular because they mix and aerate by just being turned occasionally, and they keep raccoons, rats, dogs and other interlopers at bay. Otherwise, compost bins with wire tops or sealed lids work well too, but require a little more manual labor in terms of stirring.

Of course, another option would be to make the compost indoors using a worm bin. You can still put kitchen scraps in just like in a bigger outdoor compost pile, but without the worry of attracting wildlife. The website Instructables.com offers instructions for how to create your own worm composting bin. Another good source is the blog One-Change.com, which offers a step-by-step guide to the process.

The long and short of it is that if you know what you’re doing, composting can be a rewarding, environmentally friendly and pestfree experience. For some great tips on how to get started, visit the website Composting101.com, a comprehensive and free guide for the home gardener on what to do and how to do it. Also, some forward-thinking cities such as Seattle are picking up food scraps with yard waste at the curbside along with garbage collection, and making huge amounts of commercially viable compost out of it. If your city or town offers a similar program you might want to consider saving yourself the trouble of doing it at home for the common good.

One more thing to keep in mind is that the garden itself may attract as much if not more wildlife than some food scraps in a compost pile. continued on page 19

Spring 2010 - 11

Springs Farmers Market

Saturdays May 22 - Sept 11 8 am - 1 pm A wide selection of fresh produce, home baked goods (fresh donuts made Saturday mornings!), quilts, antiques, plants, tools, etc. www.springspa.org Route 669 Springs, PA

Get Riding Early!

Equine Chic www.EquineChic.com On the Diamond in Ligonier 724-238-7003

Kids Starter Package Jodphurs, Boots, Helmet and Gloves

All for under $125 12 - Spring 2010

Foreigners Take On Western Pennsylvania

by Aja Hannah My English professor once said that From learning the English But, what surprised me the the people who come to western language to translating Pittsburgh most was the comfort I found in Pennsylvania can adjust to the or “Pixburg” slang, these students Wal-Mart. Walking through the cultural differences within a year. have worked hard to learn the automatic doors into the familiar However, their first impressions will Pitt-Penn policies. During a visit layout of this universal store, I linger. Foreigners find Western to The Point and the Steelers breathed a sigh of relief. Despite Pennsylvania fascinating, but stadium, Arnaudova caught on its corporate corruption and confusing. A familiar place like quickly. “I think my Kennywood turns into an extrafriends showed ordinary attraction. [these landmarks] Sophiya Arnaudova, who came to me because they to America only two years ago, said, are an important “We don’t have such amusement part of Pittsburgh. parks in Bulgaria and the scariest Who doesn’t know thing is the pirate ship. Kennywood the Steelers? Even and all the rollercoasters was a great, I, the foreign stuexhilarating experience for me.” dent who doesn’t This excitement extends to even understand Pittsburgh, the city built on bridges. the rules of the Cliona McConville calls the heart American football, of Belfast city home and described know who they are,” her first impression. “Back in she said.

August when I was coming in on Here, I must Seton Hill student and author Aja Hannah, the plane to Pittsburgh I thought it admit that until two with the city of Greensburg over her shoulders. was a totally beautiful city, with all years ago I knew the bridges and tall buildings, and nothing of the the waterfront. I couldn’t wait to Penguins. I originally hailed from the crushing power over the darling explore the city!” suburbs in Maryland where hockey small businesses of Greensburg, I From what they know of Amerwas hardly discussed. After arriving wanted it. ica, Arnaudova and McConville in Greensburg, I spent my first I cannot say Arnaudova did not described Greensburg as the “tradiweeks seeking out companies that want Wal-Mart or did not find it tional American town.” However, resembled my hometown chains and comforting. After all, having everyMcConville was surprised she had was surprised at the lack of IHOPs thing you could ever want in one to depend on cars.

(International House of Pancakes) place and at low prices seems “The lack of public transporand suburban-style BPs. comforting. However, her reaction tation is something that is exInstead, I found Eat N’ Park, a certainly wasn’t like mine. tremely difficult to get used to. It is nice change from IHOP who mostly “I was completely shocked and certainly a pity the stores are located served breakfast 24/7. I was also overwhelmed when I went to Walin places that are too far to Mart for the first time,” said walk,” she said.

Arnaudova. “So many difArnaudova knew nothing ferent things and people that of tipping and tax. “In the I couldn’t decide what I beginning I was really conwanted to buy. And you can fused when calculating how do self-check out? That was much money I can spend for amazing!” the night and then at the end So take a fresh look at the I had to pay more, because of town and, when you go out, the tip. Oh and tax. I wish I bring along someone new to knew that there is tax on area. Help that person learn almost everything.” their way around a “buggy” or Immigrants aren’t the to keep away from “jaggeronly foreigners in Pittsburgh. bushes.” In turn, they can According to CollegeBoard, spice up your view of the 250over 5,000 out-of-state stuyear-old city of Pittsburgh and dents make up the 18,000 + nearly as old Greensburg. population of the University of Pittsburgh. Students from Aja Hannah is student at Seton Sophiya Arnaudova, a student from Bulgaria, on a visit out-of-state make up a quarHill University, earning double to the White House in Washington, DC. majors in creative writing and new ter of population at the small media journalism. She is the school Seton Hill University. assistant editor-in-chief for Eye These numbers do not include Contact and the arts & entertainment students from outside the Pittsburgh introduced to the futuristic Sheetz editor for The Setonian. She divides her area; students from all across the and nearly stuffed myself on time between writing fiction and hunting for dinosaurs. large state of Pennsylvania. upscale – at least for a gas station – pretzels and hotdogs.

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

Maple Syrup and the Good Old Days

by Joe Charlesworth

Plush Teddy Bears Provide Comfort to Pediatric Patients If daffodils are a sure sign of spring, the ubiquitous teddy bear is certain to spread cheer to a child. The Westmoreland County chapter of the American Cancer Society (ACS) delivered 130 limited edition Boyds Bears to pediatric patients being cared for by Excela Health.

According to Dawn Keefer, senior income development specialist for ACS, “Project CARE” is animportant part of the organization’s annual Daffodil Days celebration.

“Through this project, teddy bears are given anonymously to pediatric cancer patients at hospitals and treatment centers throughout the country. It’s a simple gesture that lets these special children know someone cares about them and wants to brighten their day.”

For every $25 donation during Daffodil Days, another child gets a teddy bear. This

Every Story Begins At Home.

year, several children who are receiving Hospice care from Excela Health were among the recipients. Likewise, children who will be served by the pediatrics inpatient at Westmoreland and the child and adolescent behavioral health unit at Latrobe will benefit from the project, regardless of their diagnosis.

Members of Westmoreland Hospital’s pediatric team technical partner Dena Leighty (left) and RNs Tara Roberts and Allison Haines – are pictured with Lynn Mance, Latrobe Hospital MRI tech and Keefer. Mance has been an ACS volunteer for 18 years and a member of this year’s West-moreland County Daffodil Days Committee.

Beyond the bears, ACS also provided daffodil bouquets to Home Care staff to deliver to patients.

Did you ever think you’d like to go back in time? I do quite often. Yep, the good old days. Well, things that were done back then were different, but yet fun in a way. Me, I like to do things in that manner (such 3 as making maple syrup from scratch) just to see how they did it in the olden days.

The first thing I did was research to see how in the world it was done. Here is what I found. You can use about any hardwood tree for the sap. Maple is the most popular used. You need to drill a hole about three inches deep to put the drain tube in. Well, stop right there! The good old days didn’t have tubes or drills, so what I did was made a tube from a small limb of the tree; split it in half and cut a “v” in both halves, and tied them together to make a tube. I used my knife to drill a hole in the tree about three feet from the base. Now the tube has to fit and seal the hole so it doesn’t leak. Here I could have taken my electric drill with the proper bit, made the perfect hole, and put a metal tube in within minutes; but I’m glad I did it the old fashioned way. It took hours to get it right.

This idea came to me in September, knowing that it would take about a cord of wood (that’s cut down a tree or two, cut it up, spilt it, stack it, let it dry). Well I’ll only go so far for the good old days. So I rough it with my Coleman stove.

That March (when the sap runs up the trees the best) I made the hole in the tree in the back yard, and the sap came out. It filled a twogallon bucket every three days, and I stored that in the basement until Friday afternoon. I started the boiling process (which took 6 hours that day) and on Saturday added two more gallons at 8:00 am.

At 3:00 pm, I added one gallon (that’s five gallons so far) and at 8:00 pm, another gallon, before refueling the stove. At midnight I tried some.

Before I tell you what it tasted like, let me tell you that at my grandma’s house they use to make it on the old wood stove that was fired day and night for cooking and hot water. Boy do I remember that! The maple syrup was always on the back of the stove. After it was boiled down enough, it would be put in jars, waxed over, and kept in the root cellar. I have one at my

house, and it keeps vegetables just like you picked them.

Well the last batch of syrup, which was weeks later, was always used for maple candy poured into old wooden molds someone carved out of wood. The shapes were leaves, flowers and so on. I remember this because I had to use lard to cover the molds, then put salt on the mold, then turn it over to take off the excess. Then I filled

the molds with thick candy, let it cool down, and knocked them out.

Don’t that sound good?! But the maple candy was so good, that it didn’t last too long.

Now all total this took the better part of the week to gather enough sap to boil down, and about three good days of steam boiling to get that pint. Well the memories that came from doing this project made it worth doing. And by the way, at midnight that night the taste was well worth the time doing all this.

Sunday night I had boiled down a total of 20-some gallons of sap and ended up with 1 pint of the best Maple syrup I have every tasted since I was a boy. So my three grandsons and I could hardy wait for the pancakes. We sat there that next morning enjoying what we had made, talking about mine and their “good old days” and came up with other ideas that we could do.

Just thinking back on this makes me appreciate how difficult things were. Makes you wonder how this ever came about. Like most things, I guess there are those who come up with the ideas and those who benefit from them. Anyways, there are still a lot of other things that I have on my bucket list that I would like to do. Hope you do too.

Joe Charlesworth has lived all over the country and currently resides in Lycippus, PA. He is currently researching the art of traditional cheesemaking.

Spring 2010 - 13

WHAT’S COOKING IN FITNESS Mark J. Rullo, MS, CSCS, MES – My Fitness Kitchen®

Two Simple Strategies for Starting and Maintaining a Fitness Progam From my years in the health and fitness industry I have noticed that for the majority of people there are two simple reasons why they either achieve the goals they want or fail to achieve them – Direction and Motivation.

What I mean when I talk about direction is a correct road-map game plan. The challenge is that people are blaming themselves for failed results when many times their reason for their lack of results wasn’t effort but rather misguidance. To illustrate this point I often tell people it is like wanting to see the sunrise in the morning but not knowing which way to look. It doesn’t matter how much you want to see the sunrise if you are directed to look west in the morning it won’t be there. We all know the sun rises in the east.

Unfortunately we have many products and services with outstanding marketing appeal to tap into our emotions that lack the principles necessary for long-term success and send you in the wrong direction relative to your health and fitness goals. Whether it be an avoidance of a macro-nutrient (Protein, Carbohydrate, Fat) from your diet such as No carbohydrate or No Fat diets, fasting and cleanses to induce extreme caloric restriction, or telling you one special exercise will spot-reduce or be that “miracle” movement that will solve all of your problems. We continue to make it more complicated by looking for the latest and greatest quick fix technique when the bottom line is that it comes down to making sure you’re addressing four simple components (supportive nutrition, cardiovascular activity, concern for muscle and relaxation/recuperation) into your lifestyle. I referred to these components in previous articles as ingredients in your “recipe” for a healthier you.

As for motivation, we at My Fitness Kitchen® like to refer to that as your “Y-Factor”. This is not logical or objective in what we can 14 - Spring 2010

measure, like a goal would be. For instance you may have a goal to lose 30 lbs. The “Y-Factor” is the emotional connection to your goal.

It is usually either a fear that someone is trying to avoid, a pleasure one is trying to achieve, or a combination of both. Losing 30 lbs may be the objective, however what is the deeper reason WHY losing 30 lbs is so important?

It may be to avoid going on medication, or an opportunity to get off medication all together. You may have a vacation planned at the ocean and have a fear of being seen in a swimsuit, or just want to be able to enjoy playing with your kids because right now the 30lbs is preventing that. Y-Factor is personal for many; however it is very powerful. In the 20+ years I have been in the fitness industry, those who were able to identify their “Y-Factor” not only achieved their goals but surpassed them. It is easy to work out and eat right when not stressed and time crunched, but when you will be stressed and time crunched what’s going to motivate you not to skip that workout or opt not to choose a bad food choice? It isn’t going to be the goal of 30 lbs weight loss, but rather will be the emotional benefit that will be achieved by doing so.

Therefore, while establishing your Fitness goals be sure to attach your “Y-Factor” to your goal and keep reminders handy where you would more likely need that extra kick of motivation; for example on your vanity mirror, your fridge or even your car dashboard to remind you to make the better choice that day by being more active and eating healthy.

Finally, we also must tackle our fitness goals with some kind of reality. If you want to have any chance of establishing a healthier lifestyle, then pace yourself. Yes you can obtain quick results in a month by drastically changing everything; however you are also more at risk of burn-out and seeing yourself return to your previous

lifestyle in less than a month or two. It takes 4-6 weeks to form a habit and that should be your first priority. Focus on getting into the habit of implementing exercise and better food choices the majority days of the week NOT being perfect all-day, every day. One hour per day invested back into your health by being more active via exercise is only 4.2% of your entire week.

Most people with a 401K retirement plan, put a higher percentage into their personal financial investments from their weekly income than into their personal health.

Imagine the difference we all could make with our health if we only invested 4.2% of our week to exercising our heart, lungs and muscles.

Mark Rullo is an Exercise Physiologist, Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, Medical Exercise Specialist, certified Golf Fitness Instructor and owner of My Fitness Kitchen® www.myfitnesskitchen.com 724879-8523.

Something far from your traditional, intimidating gym, My Fitness Kitchen® in Latrobe 30 plaza is Where Fitness & Nutrition Come Together. From the moment you enter My Fitness Kitchen® regardless of your fitness level it’s all about “You”.

The supportive staff, welcoming atmosphere, and friendly members combine to create the most unique and comfortable environment for your fitness success.

Whether it is Fitness, Nutrition or both, you can be confident My Fitness Kitchen® is the solution to a healthier you!

Mummy Dearest

The Outreach Lecture Program, funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, announces a new familyfriendly program, Mummy Dearest.

This highly illustrated PowerPoint program explores how mummies were made and why they hold such a fascination in our popular culture.

Dr. Stephen Phillips takes us on a journey to his excavation sites in Egypt and the discoveries made there. Some of his discoveries may surprise you! Dr. Phillips is the Archaeological Site Supervisor for the on-going Cairo University-Brown University Expedition at Giza. Call Unity Library during regular library hours to register for this allages program.

April 25 at 2:00 pm Unity Library Unity Twp Municipal Building 156 Beatty County Rd Latrobe Phone: 724-532-1840

Fitness Tip: BLT’s BLT’s or bites, licks, and tastes, can derail even the best nutrition plans. A few BLT’s throughout the day can really add up. Imagine if every time you pass by the candy dish at work or home you have just a few M&M’s; if you walk by that dish just 4 times a day, every day for a week, having just two or three M&M’s each time you pass, that would add up to an extra 200 calories each week, amounting to an extra 5 pounds of weight gain per year. So, when you are feeding your kids, cooking dinner, or walking by the candy dish at work, stay focused on your goals and eliminate those BLT’s from your day.

(Courtesy of Alwyn Cosgrove)

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

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123456789012345678901 123456789012345678901 123456789012345678901 123456789012345678901 123456789012345678901 425 Frye Farm Rd 123456789012345678901 123456789012345678901 Greensburg, PA 15601 123456789012345678901 Phone: (724) 537-0700 123456789012345678901 123456789012345678901 www.JerryDFeltonPT.com 123456789012345678901 123456789012345678901 Experience all the charm that Ligonier has to offer as homeowners graciously invite you inside their homes for the 6th annual "Inside Ligonier Valley ~ A Home Tour" on Saturday, June 19th from 10 am to 4 pm. Visit www.ligonierhometour.comor call 724-238-9030 for ticket information. Tickets are $25 each/ $30 the day of the event.

Benefiting organizations are the Ligonier Valley Historical Society, the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor and the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Every Story Begins At Home.

America

the Beautiful

Spring 2010 - 15

The Paper House

Martin’s Specialty Shop

Cards & Collectibles

Spring is in the Ligonier Air!

•Polish Pottery •Loova Glycerin Soaps •Poo Pourri •Candles •Greeting Cards •And More!

On the Diamond 121 W. Main St. in Ligonier 724-238-3160

On the Diamond

ANTIQUES Multi-Dealer Shop

Men’s & Women’s Casual Clothing and Footwear

On the Diamond in Ligonier Since 1900 Woolrich • Columbia • Hush Puppies Rockport • Born / • Eliza B

116 East Main Street • Ligonier, Pennsylvania 15658 Mon - Sat 9-5; Closed Sunday 724-238-6811

•

•

A

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AMICA ~

203 E. MAIN ST • LIGONIER, PA • 724-238-8545

Free Sunday Evening Band Concerts

110 East Main Street Ligonier, PA 15658 (724) 238-2226

Mary Jo Culbertson Proprietor (724) 238-0497

OPEN SUNDAYS! BAGGALLINI PURSES BEAUTIFUL SCARVES NEW OKAb SANDALS

Sundays, May 30 thru August 29 7PM on the Bandstand

Classic Car Show June 4: On the Diamond 5- 8PM

Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce Golf Outing June 8: at the Ligonier Country Club

Antiques on the Diamond June 12: Antique Show and Sale on the Diamond, 8AM-4PM

SEC OND CHAPTER BOOK SECOND BOOKSS For more information, please contact us:

209 East Main Street in Ligonier 724.238.7933

134 West Main Street Ligonier, PA 15658 724-238-4608

Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce 120 East Main Street Ligonier, PA 15658 724-238-4200 www.ligonier.com

16 - Spring 2010

Children’s Gifts • Jewelry Cards • New/Used Books

Distinctive Children’s Clothing & Gifts and Something for Mom as Well!

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

Men’s Shop

Ligonier’s Landmark

Bakery

Deli & Coffee Cafe Fresh Breads, Soups, Deli Sandwiches Full Service Deli featuring Boar’s Head Meats & Cheeses (free of additives and preservatives) 106 North Fairfield Street www.LigonierBakery.com • 724-238-3838

On The Diamond 113 West Main Street Ligonier, PA 15658 724-238-4015

104 East Main Street Ligonier, Pennsylvania 15658 Telephone: (724) 238-9235

Needlepoint • Counted cross stitch Fibers • Accessories

Shorts • Knit Polos • Sport Jackets Slacks . . . And More

www.thestitchboutique.com

“When How You Look Matters”

Ligonier Outfitters

Rustic Country Treasures

127 W. Main Street Ligonier, PA 15658 724-238-4900

Fly Fishing Center Casting and Tying Lessons Guided Fishing Trips Men’s and Women’s Apparel Home & Gift Ideas

FREE UPS SHIPPING with catalog orders www.ligonieroutfitters.com

Where Country Has Old-Fashioned Flair!

Johnston Benchworks Furniture Handmade Primitives Lamps/Country Prints Berries/Twigs/Garland Wood Signs Flags/Stars Denims/Purses and a whole lot mroe!

Mon-Thurs 11-4, Fri-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-4 231 East Main St • Ligonier, PA • 724-238-3376 April Rob, Proprietress

Ligonier Sweet Shop Pathfinder Photo Betsy Ann Truffles Wilson Fudge Sugar Free Chocolates Ligonier Souveniers 119 W. Main St • Ligonier, PA 15658-1212 • (724) 238-6060 Manfred & Veronica Sander

FULL SERVICE YARN SHOPPE

Campbell House Bed & Breakfast

Equine Chic

Campbell House Elopement Packages A romantic, affordable, solution for couples wanting to escape and get married in the quiet, quaint, romantic Village of Ligonier.

Enjoy a quiet get-away, have your private marriage ceremony at Campbell House or in Ligonier’s beautiful gazebo. Take advantage of the Laurel Highland’s many local attractions to make your honeymoon a beautiful, memorable experience.

For Horse, Home & You!

You don’t have to own a horse to find a great gift!

On the Diamond at 100 East Main Street in Ligonier 724-238-7003 • www.EquineChic.com

Every Story Begins At Home.

Brands include: Noro, Sublime, Ella Rae, Elsabeth Lavold, Cascade, Araucania Retailer of Ashford Spinning Wheels • Accessories include Nantucket Bagg Co., Clover ‘Takumi Velvet’ & ‘Addi Turbo’ needles • Books and patterns, too!

www.campbellhousebnb.com 305 East Main Street in Ligonier, PA • 724-238-9812

Spring 2010 - 17

The Nancy G. Hoffman Story

by Donna McClure

A cancer diagnosis is devastating to a patient and family. Fear of the unknown, fear of pain, loneliness, and possible death pervade the patient’s thoughts.

This is a true story about Nancy G. Hoffman (a former nurse), and her dream of helping patients battle cancer and other serious diseases with modern medicine and with proven complementary methods.

After her cancer diagnosis in September .of 2000, Nancy read many articles concerning complementary medicine. She became convinced that Latrobe Area Hospital patients could benefit from a program that included enhancing ones sense of control with faith, yoga, massage therapy, music therapy, relaxation CDs, and reading uplifting books. Nancy talked to her friends constantly about how a complementary program could be helpful at Latrobe Area Hospital.

When Nancy lost her battle to cancer in late Dec. of 2001, her old friend, Donna McClure and her hospital friend, Diana Kreiling, and a newer friend Tina Kelly (also a former nurse) felt they could not let “Nancy’s Dream” die. It had already been tried successfully in many hospitals across the country, including Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh. Nancy’s husband, William J. Hoffman M.D. and her children Elizabeth, Ben, Anne and Bob were all very supportive as well.

Diana, Donna, and Tina began to meet with Mr. Douglas A. Clark, former Executive Director of Latrobe Area Hospital and with Thomas P. Gessner, former Medical Director of the Hospital, about raising funds to begin a Complementary Medicine Program at the hospital. The three also wished to have the program named the Nancy G. Hoffman Complementary Medicine Program. The Board of Directors at Latrobe Area Hospital approved of beginning a 18 - Spring 2010

small, well-chosen program that actually had scientific data that proved helpful to patients. They also approved of the program’s name— The Nancy G. Hoffman Complementary Medicine Services.

A Fundraising Committee was formed by Kelly, Kreiling and McClure, and the Committee grew quickly as Nancy had so many wonderful friends. Everyone who knew her was elated to begin raising funds for the program.

Three fundraisers took place in

2002-2003. An Auction was held at Latrobe Country Club, an Art Auction at Rolling Rock Club with art secured by Nancy’s daughters, Anne Macdonald and Elizabeth Keresey, and a Monte Carlo Night. The three events netted $78,000 with the help of many donors and friends. Later, a “Nancy’s Dream” walk at Legion Keener Park added $4000 to the program. Many friends generously donated auction items for these fundraisers!

The hospital formed a Nancy G. Hoffman Complementary Medicine Program Committee. Amy Meade was the first Committee Chairman after her experience in working with the hospital’s bereavement

program. Dorothy Hufford , Director of Public Relations, selected Fred Balzer as Chairman until his retirement. Peggy Hayden, President of Excela Health Latrobe Hospital has been directing the program until a new chairman is selected at the next meeting.

As the program progressed it included yoga, massage therapy, music therapy, art therapy, helpful books, relaxation CDs, and finally radiation therapy robes, became part of the program.

A physician’s wife, Dawn Davoli, suggested that the Nancy G. Hoffman Complementary Medicine Committee consider sewing, or purchasing robes to give women more privacy when receiving radiation treatment. Dawn’s idea was approved unanimously! They

chose Janet McNees, a retired teacher, and excellent seam-stress to Chair the Sewing Committee. Her group of devoted seamstresses has sewn over 1018 robes since 2003!

One of the sewers, Clara Carnes, has sewn over 300 robes! Many of the seamstresses are cancer survivors and wish to pass hope along to patients. Labels with Nancy Hoffman’s name are sewn into every robe as well as a card placed in each

pocket which includes a greeting from the seamstress who created the robe. Each patient may select and keep her own robe. The colors and prints vary —Pittsburgh Steelers fabric has been among the most popular! Many patients have sent grateful thank-you notes because they truly appreciate their own robe.

Hayden, ecently stated “As a patient cared for by her community hospital, Nancy Hoffman recognized that while the best in medical treatment would impact her quality of life in the face of a serious illness, the programs that resulted from memorial gifts in Nancy’s name, address body, mind, and spirit. Music and massage therapy are two of the complementary health services that bring comfort to patients undergoing cancer treatment at the Arnold Palmer Pavilion, Excela’s joint venture with UPMC Cancer Centers. Women needing radiation therapy find the handmade robes provide dignity and the sense of normalcy that a traditional hospital gown does not. Other offerings, such as weekly yoga classes, teach relaxation techniques, so essential to whole-body wellness. Through the generosity of Nancy’s friends and family, these complementary services will continue to improve the health and well-being of our community for years to come.”

The Nancy Hoffman Program is kept small and manageable in order that it be ongoing for years.

If anyone wishes to donate to the Nancy Hoffman Program, simply write a check to: The Latrobe Hospital Charitable Foundation.

Send to: LAH Charitable Foundation, 1 Mellon Way, Latrobe PA. 15650. Designate: “The Nancy Hoffman Program” on the lower left at bottom of check.

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LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

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Loyalhanna Review Seeks Poems, Essays, and Short Stories The Loyalhanna Review, a literary journal focused on bringing innovative, high-quality poetry, essays and short stories and to western Pennsylvania readers, has announced a CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS of both text and art for its annual issue. The deadline is May 1.

“Our publication provides an opportunity for some of the talented authors and artists here in our region to share their work with an extended and appreciative audience,” said Ruth McDonald, editor of The Loyalhanna Review.

Loyalhanna Review Submission Guidelines: • Writers: Please send two letter-quality, typed copies of unpublished fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction to Editor, The Loyalhanna Review, 409 Sheffield Dr., Greensburg, PA 15601. Your name should appear on only one copy. Writers may submit three poems and/or one prose piece no longer than 1,500 words.

• Artists: Please submit your work either on a CD or as a JPEG file. See the website, LVWonline.org, for exact requirements. The Review's trim size is 8 1/2 by 11 inches. We're looking for a full-color vertical piece of art for the front cover, a full-color piece, either vertical or horizontal, for the back cover, and several black-and-white pieces of various sizes inside the magazine. There are no restrictions on medium, style, or subject matter.

Every Story Begins At Home.

• Submissions will not be returned and must be postmarked by May 1, 2010. Submissions should be accompanied by a cover letter that includes an email address, street address, phone number, prose word count, and a brief author/ artist bio. They should also be accompanied by a release stating, “I grant The Loyalhanna Review permission to publish [name of work] in the 2010 print and 2010 online editions.” Before submitting, check the website (www.LVWonline.org) for more detailed guidelines.

While The Loyalhanna Review gives special consideration to work connected with southwestern Pennsylvania, all quality writing and art are considered.

About Ligonier Valley Writer: Launched in 1986 to serve writers and readers throughout western Pennsylvania, Ligonier Valley Writers holds informational events and workshops, sponsors an annual writers’ conference, a flash fiction contest, and a children’s poetry contest, and has published The Loyalhanna Review continuously since 1992. For more information about programs, publications, writing contests, or the summer conference (July 17 this year), visit www.LVWonline.org.

EarthTalk, continued from page 11

Strategically placed fencing and wire mesh can frustrate some critters enough to keep them moving along, but you can be sure some of your neighborhood wildlife will reap the harvest that you’ve sown. And as long as they leave enough for you, who can’t live with that?

CONTACTS: OrganicGardening.com, www.organicgardening.com; State of Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, wdfw.wa.gov; Instructables,www.instructables.com; One Change Indoor Compost Bin, one-change.com/ blog/2006/04/indoor-compost-bin/; Composting101.com, www.composting 101.com.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, c/o E – The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. E is a nonprofit publication. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/ subscribe; Request a Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial. EarthTalk® From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

April is a promise that May is bound to keep. – Hal Borland Spring 2010 - 19

DERRY REMEMBRANCES Ruth Richardson

Spring in the 1950’s Was Open Season on Bunnies . . . Dust Bunnies!

I traveled back in time this morning. Yes, we all know this is not an unusual trip for me! When I glanced out the window and saw the brilliant sun climbing over the Chestnut Ridge, I couldn’t help but grab my mug of coffee and head out the door to check on my clusters of crocus bulbs. I had watched their little green shoots pop up through the last of the snow and I was impatient for the first sign that our very long winter was indeed coming to an end. I was delighted to see that those sweet purple blossoms had burst open and were dancing happily in the soft spring breeze. The sky was blue, the sun was warm on my face, and I thought of my mom, and what a Monday like this would have said to her. The thought of it sent me to my laundry room, and I smiled as I pulled the freshly washed sheets from the washer, piled them in the clothes basket and headed for the clothes line in my back yard. I don’t use that old line very often any more, but today my mom was whispering in my ear, “What a great drying day this is!” And let’s face it, there is nothing quite like the fresh scent of sheets that have been dried in the sun. Just as I finished clipping the last clothes pins onto the pillow cases, a big gust of wind caught one of the sheets and sent it flapping towards the sky. I watched as the whole line of wet bedding rose into the air and quickly back down again, treating me to an old, familiar loud clap of noise. How many times had I heard that noise as a child while watching my mom’s sheets snapping in the wind?

Back in those days, the sheets and the rest of the laundry was always hung on the line to dry. And that was not just the case on a lovely spring day like this. Summer and winter, the clothes lines all over my neighborhood were filled with ‘the worsh’, and raised to the heavens by those old wooden clothes props.

I remember my mom’s beautiful hands on those chilly Mondays.

They were red and chaffed and cold 20 - Spring 2010

as ice as she hurried back into the house from the line. She would rub them together and sometimes touch my neck with a laugh, just to hear me squeal. I also remember days when it was cold enough that the sheets were actually frozen when she took them down and tried to fold them. On rainy Mondays or during the coldest days of winter, the clothes went on the lines in the cellar, since my mom didn’t have a clothes dryer. Had the clothes dryer even been invented back then? If it had, I certainly didn’t know anyone rich enough to

Mom, shortly after she married and received her degree in “Domestic Engineering.”

have one. My mom didn’t have a ‘laundry room’ either. We had a Maytag wringer washer in the cellar, right beside the old wash-tubs.

Being a ‘housewife/mom’ in those days was a much different proposition than it is today. Don’t get me wrong; raising children and keeping a home is still one of the

most important careers of all. It remains a full time job for a lot of women (and the occasional man), and takes skill, hard work, and a special gift for organization. But technology has clearly taken a lot of the labor-intensive chores out of the equation. And to that end, let’s travel back in time together, to remind ourselves that the ‘good old days’ were sometimes not really that great! Every year, at winter’s end, in most every household in West Derry, a long held ritual was observed: Spring Cleaning. A ritual that has thankfully lost its appeal in today’s world, at least in MY world. Why my mom looked forward to this yearly ceremony with such anticipation has always eluded me.

But anticipate it she did, with numerous lists, equipment and supplies. And thus we will revisit my memories of that most grueling and time-consuming custom. To this day, I am baffled by my mom’s enthusiasm for this back-breaking and seemingly thankless task. But mom really loved her career as a housewife and yes, she very much thought of it as a career. She would delight in a sparkling kitchen floor, and perfectly organized kitchen cupboards. I remember her whistling her way through laundry day. She enjoyed planning her menus, making notes for the grocery store, and clipping coupons.

She loved cooking and baking, and would exchange recipes with the ladies at church and experiment with new desserts. Homemaking for her was not a tedious responsibility, it was her favorite activity.

When it came to spring cleaning, Mom would attack those chores like a skilled general in her war against winter’s leftover dirt and dust. She had a long list of tasks and a pretty short list of products to assist her in the battles she would wage. When I walk through the vast cleaning products aisle at the grocery store today, I am amazed at the selection of cleaners, the number of brands, and the sheer confusion of it all. We have the

bleach added cleansers, and the environ-mentally safe stuff. There are specific items for your kitchen counter tops, and some for just the stove-top. For the floors, we have some with wax added, and then the no-wax versions. There are products for your hardwood floors, different ones for vinyl, and still more for ceramic tile. Next we have little bubbles that supposedly do the scrubbing for you and stuff that will melt away soap scum from every available surface. There are lemon and lime and orange-scented cleaners, with names that sometimes make them sound good enough to drink. And when did the laundry aisle start offering 5 bazillion choices? It takes me 10 minutes to find a bottle of my old stand-by, Cheer, and I dread running out of Clorox because it means I have to search five rows of bleach to try and find it. God bless my husband when I send him to the store to pick up a cleaner, and he doesn’t know exactly what the label looks like. But knowing the label doesn’t even matter so much any more, because they change them all the time, and I’m convinced it’s just to confuse us consumers!!!

Mom would have tsk, tsk’d and reached for her old reliables. Her windows were always sparkling clean, and she used a bucket of water with vinegar and ammonia added. We didn’t use paper towels.

Did they even have paper towels in the ‘50’s? We used rags, which were comprised of the ‘end-of-theroad’ of our wardrobes, after they had been mended, handed down, and almost worn out. Those last vestiges of our fashions went into the rag pile. They were then used and reused until there was not much left. ‘Waste not, want not’ was the mantra of most households in my neighborhood.

On laundry day mom used four products - Ivory Snow detergent, a little box of La France Bluing, a bottle of Clorox, and a box of Niagara starch. The starch was mixed with LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

water, then collars and cuffs, ruffles on dresses and skirts, my mom’s lace curtains, and her hand crocheted doilies were all starched before ironing. It made them all stiff as a board, which was pretty uncomfortable, but very pretty to look at! The Bluing was used for whitening, like the Clorox. I don’t know what the difference was.

Come springtime, laundry, cooking, and any leisure time took a back seat to the larger task at hand. The entire house was scheduled to be scrubbed, dusted and polished - top to bottom. All the beds were stripped and the bedspreads, blankets and pillows would join the sheets on the line. Since the pillows were all feather stuffed, they couldn’t be washed. They just hung on the line and were beaten to within an inch of their lives. My brother and I liked this job. How the dust would fly along with little feathers. We also got to beat the throw rugs that were either too big to fit in the washer or that couldn’t be laundered. These rugs were also hung on the line and Mom had specific rug beating tools for us to whack them with. This was also great fun, at least for the first few moments. All of the mattresses were vacuumed, using the old Electrolux canister model, and flipped and vacuumed again, and the springs wiped down.

Next came the windows. My mom loved lace and ruffled chiffon tie-back curtains, which after washing, were starched and set on curtain stretchers in the back yard to dry. Curtain stretchers were wooden contraptions that required an engineering degree to assemble. All the thin boards on the frame had sharp little nails measured out in rows to hook the curtains on, but more importantly, to stab us with.

While the starched curtains were drying in the sun, it was time to wipe down the Venetian blinds, a task that still runs a chill down my spine. This was my most dreaded job, and was used, year-round, as a punishment when I didn’t listen.

Mom would use her magic window cleaning concoction to make the glass sparkle. All the furniture was vacuumed and polished, then moved to the center of the room so she could clean underneath, and any removable, upholstered cushions were taken outside and duly beaten.

Since we lived on what I now realize was a pretty meager income, painting the walls didn’t Every Story Begins At Home.

It was a lot of work getting ready happen very often. So my mom to be rinsed with fresh water and for summer back in the ‘olden scrubbed all the walls down and the scrub rags. After they dried, the days.’ Perhaps life in general was ceilings, too. A more daunting task, final step was to apply a coat of floor a lot more work. Our houses I cannot remember. After I got wax, then buff them to a shine. weren’t air tight like they are married, I think I scrubbed the walls Even the bucket of dirty scrub today, and I remem-ber the black once. After that, we would paint water wasn’t wasted. It was dust from the railroad seeping in when we could afford it, and as for poured on the porch and swept and settling onto the those in-between years, window sills. The old I chose not to look at coal furnaces weren’t them too closely. When the cleanest burning the wall washing extravheat source either, aganza was complete, and the dust, well, I mom cleaned out all the guess there will kitchen cupboards, always be dust. But my relined the shelves parents didn’t comwith fancy edged shelf plain very much, at paper, and wiped each least that I can recall. individual item before They loved their little she put it away. Then house, and loved to she scrubbed the exmake it shine. They terior of the cabi-nets, took pride in their emptied and wiped the work, whether it was entire refrigerator and a ‘career’ at Derry cleaned the stove. Next Westinghouse’s grindcame the oven, which Notice the freshly-starched doilies and ruffled curtains, and the look of fear on my face because those venetian blinds ing department, or a was self cleaning – that are right behind me . . . just waiting! ‘career’ as a West meant she cleaned it Derry domestic enginherself with a little eer. They worked putty knife, a can of happily at those same jobs all of Bab-o and a wad of fine gauge steel around by my moms Lions club their lives, retiring to that same wool from my dad’s workbench. broom. Next came a little spray little house where they lived to the Last came the scrubbing of the rinse with the hose that also end. Even after retiring, they never watered the flower beds. seemed to slow down very much; Our Dads were not immune to there always seemed to be a the spring-cleaning, sprucing, and project or two underway. My mom fixing ritual either. The difference stayed busy, whistling and for them was that most of their experimenting in the kitchen, and chores were outside. Chores daddy was forever tinkering at his weren’t equally shared by mom work-bench. They were happy, they and dad back in the ‘good old days.’ worked hard, and they were Most work was divided into very contented with their lives. Maybe distinctive gender-related catewe should use their example and gories, and the outside stuff was remember to enjoy the fulfillment ‘Men’s Work.’ Sometimes the occaof a job well done, even if that job is sional dad enjoyed cooking, (mostly as mundane as scrubbing the floor. on the grill) and that was For today, I will savor the scent of acceptable, but the household my sheets, fresh off the line, and chores were strictly ‘Woman’s be grateful for the good health that Work’. I remember daddy carrying allows me to keep my home fresh the ladder around the house, and tidy. Remembering my mom digging the leaves out of the in her apron filling the scrub gutters, and taking the storm bucket with hot, soapy water gives windows out and replacing them me the incentive to ‘get cracking!’ with the screens. The blades of the But, mom, don’t expect me to old push mower always needed dust any Venetian blinds - Ross sharpening and I can still see them Refuse hauled them away a long held tightly by the big red vice on time ago ... my dad’s workbench while he ran the file over them until they gleamed and were razor sharp.

The winter tires had to be taken Ruth loves to share memories with you. off the car, hung on the garage wall, and replaced with the Email her at: summer treads. About every Ruth-Elaine@comcast.net other spring daddy would white or look for her on Facebook! floors, on hands and knees with a wash the cellar walls. We were scrub brush, a bucket of hot water, never allowed to help do that job; some Spic and Span, and a capful he said it could burn our eyes. of Lysol. The soapy floors also had Spring 2010 - 21

Farm-Fresh at the Fairmont

3804 Route 30 Latrobe 724-539-1900 •

•

Michael J. Brownfield, O.D. Sheila Drexler, O.D.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Chef Andrew Morrison of the new Fairmont Hotel in Pittsburgh. Most recently the Executive Sous-Chef of the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta GA. But has worked and traveled all over the US and the world. The construction wasn’t finished yet so I didn’t get to see most of the hotel, but the kitchens are absolutely phenomenal! The show kitchen is unrivaled in the city. There are two wok stations pumping out so many BTU’s I’m surprised the woks don’t melt! Ted Jude who came down from the Fairmont in Boston by the wharf to assist with the opening was perfecting the naan bread recipe for the authentic tandoor oven.There are black granite countertops throughout the show kitchen, the ones located at the window to the dining room have hidden heating and cooling units inside to keep the food the appropriate temperature.

Below the enormous window to the dining room, named Habitat there is a communal table that seats up to 16 people. The immediate proximity to the kitchen will offer the guests a completely interactive experience with the chefs and their meal preparation. The dining room itself only seats about 100 people so be sure to make reservations.

The attention to detail isn’t just for the show kitchen. The garde manger is completely temperature controlled as is the chocolate room.

The pastry department and the banquet kitchens have the most state of the art equipment as well. At one point I said you wouldn’t even need to know how to boil water with this equipment the food could almost take care of itself.

The food is another aspect that sets this hotel apart from nearly any other in the area. Chef is making a consorted effort to offer the freshest and most local ingredients. He’s

A city of rivers, bridges and sports fans is a homecoming of sorts for Chef Andrew Morrison. Born in a county named after two rivers— Tyne and Wear— in Northeast England near Newcastle, Morrison was raised in Cheshire just south of Manchester, home of the famous Manchester United soccer team.

22 - Spring 2010

already familiar with the strip district and noted that in about 20 min in any direction you can find a farm near the city. His metallic blue eyes sparkled when I told him that the Laurel Highlands are blessed with abundant supplies of Morel, Chanterelle and sheep head mushrooms. So anyone looking to make a little extra spending money should consider contacting Chef Morrison with their finds.

The menus will reflect the season and the best ingredients available.

The day I was there they were working on some sauces and plate presentations. The steak salad was beautifully done with brilliant mesclun greens, just the right amount of dressing, a perfectly cooked steak, and instead of dead common French fries, there were potato “croutons”. It’s the attention to the minor details that will make Habitat an unforgettable dining experience.

As Chef becomes more acquainted with the area and we become familiar with him he expects to find some favorite dishes that might become staples, but there will always be nightly specials featuring selected cuts of meats or ingredients that are only available in small amounts or for a short time.

Andy’s Bar downstairs is also going to be an exquisite treat. Two unique features will be the flights of wine paired with either cheese or chocolates! Not just any cheese or chocolates mind you; but, artesian cheeses and chocolates handmade on the premises with avante-garde flavors like curry and hot peppers.

The hotel itself is on the top 10 floors of the building. The rooms feature all the amenities expected from a 5 star establishment, with the added bonus of floor to ceiling windows with views of PNC park and the south side of the city. Every effort was made to make the hotel as ecologically friendly and green as possible. Even the adhesive used for the floor tile was considered for it’s non-toxic qualities.

All essential aspects of getting a Gold Certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

We are very fortunate to be at the forefront of this Although the ballroom has the capacity to seat 500 people the grand opening party has been sold out for weeks. It seems that everyone in town is waiting with breathless anticipation to see and experience the hottest and latest design. And to that fact the hotel is offering a special package for locals. It’s called, “A date in the ‘burgh”. For just $179 you will get a Fairmont room with view of PNC park, $75 food and beverage credit, and 25% off spa treatments. So for essentially $104 a night you can indulge in the city’s newest jewel. This package is only good until June 30th and is based on a two night stay. Available dates are selling out quickly so be sure to log on or call for reservations soon.

–Scott Sinemus, The Ligonier Chef

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

SHOPS AROUND THE CORNER PRIZES Local Businesses Sponsor Quarterly Giveaways for Our Subscribers Only!

With each issue, all current subscribers (both print and online) are automatically eligible to win a prize package from local businesses. It’s our way of thanking you for being loyal readers, as well as supporters of local commerce! All winners will be listed on our website. Register as a new Laurel Mountain Post subscriber by May 15, 2010 to be included in our Spring 2010 drawings for the following prizes:

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Spring 2010 - 23

TECH TALK Bob Appleby

What Is the iPad and Is It Something That Might Be Right for Me? Apple and Steve Jobs at the end of January threw a little party to discuss an upcoming product release in March, described as: “Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device” and you will “see and touch your email like you never did before” and it will be “the best way to experience the web, email, photos and video, hands down”.

Sounds like a really exciting product, doesn’t it? You may be asking yourself if this device is something that you can’t live without. Apple thinks so… Let’s take a closer look.

If you know me, you know that I am not an Apple Fan Boy. So you may wonder why I am even writing about an Apple product if I am not entrenched in their camp. Well, I do love gadgets, and Apple makes great gadgets. Since acquiring my iPhone, an Apple product, it has become a central part of the way I work, and play as well.

Take a look at the blue break out box to the right. Now that’s a lot of information. Let’s boil this down and see what it means to us.

You have a nice 10 inch (almost) screen to view what you are working with. With the built in accelerometer it will sense how you are holding the screen and flip the display to the current viewing angle that you are holding the device in. It is light, has a big bezel to allow you easily grab onto. Drawbacks: you will probably not be able to drop it into your pocket to carry around with you.

Consider the iPad as a “Content Consumption Device”.

This is not a term that I came up with but it fits perfectly. What does it mean? The iPad was designed to easily consume or view information digitally. This is not a good fit for someone who is creating content.

So if you want a device to read books (like you would with a 24 - Spring 2010

Kindle), watch video (movies, TV shows, home videos, YouTube), view and share your photos, grab and respond to eMail, surf the web (more on this shortly), and use any of the over 140,000+ iPhone/iPod Touch applications that are currently available in the iTunes Store, you are a possible candidate for the

keyboard it will be slow going with the onscreen keyboard.

Apple iPad. I love listening to my books from Audible.com and this is supported as well. Did you notice that this is almost all consumptive activities? You are not creating anything, except possibly composing email. So when I say this is best used as a media consumption device you can now see what I mean.

Some of us are not just consumers though. Some of us may want to share our ideas or talents with the world. Writing is this first thing that comes to my mind but there is so much more. How about using this as a drawing tablet? It would be perfect.

There are some Apps in the iTunes store that will allow this but they are pretty low end. To do it right you would need a stylus. Not available…

But if I wanted to work on a movie or a photo or write a full length article, you would be hard pressed to do it on his device. There will be a keyboard accessory, so maybe that won’t be so bad. But if you are touch typist without the

Imagine reading an article and seeing a video frame in the middle of the page. Click on it and watch your screen launch into a video showing you more information on the subject you are reading about.

View a lab experiment or view panoramic shots of building or location.

How about a video on a debate or a lecture? All of this is possible. It extends the book experience to be part of the Internet as well. So you get a richer experience with the interaction between your written media and video that can be linked to it. This could be amazing in the classroom as well as in the home and office environments.

Networking will be important and with 802.11n connectivity this device will fit in nicely in the home.

Adding a device like a Verizon MiFI unit for road will give you internet access over Verizon’s Cell/Data network. You won’t need the AT&T 3G configuration and for about the same price as the AT&T 3G plan you will be able to connect up to 5 wireless devices to the same instead of just one. Bluetooth compatibility is another nice feature allowing wireless headphones and the Apple Wireless Keyboard to connect to the iPad.

Is the iPad a Kindle Killer?

Steve Jobs thinks so. Books can be designed to be more interactive and can become especially more useful for students on this kind of device.

Internet Browsing “The iPad will be the best internet access device that you have ever touched!” Whoa!!! As a person that lives in the CLOUD, I find myself needing a little something called FLASH! While Adobe’s Flash product has its problems it is widely used in websites for animation and other functions. In Apple’s opinion Flash is poorly designed and they have decided to exclude it on their phone OS based devices (iPhone, iPod Touch and now the iPod).

It’s great they are making a stand but with as much as 70% of the websites out there utilizing Flash in some manner, is it really such a good decision? So how does this affect our web experience?

The iPod is being advertised as an entertainment device. Hulu and Netflix come to mind almost immediately as applications that employ Flash to stream their content. How can you have the best web experience if over have of the animation on the web will not work on your device because you refuse to allow Flash to be a device driver? Argh!

There is an App that allows YouTube to work; H.264 and the new HTML5 will work, so things will come around eventually – and the world will be right again! Is not having Flash a deal breaker? Probably not, though everyone’s situation will be different. Take a look how you use the Internet to determine what your experience will be.

What else do I think is missing?

There isn’t a USB or SD Card slot on the unit. So, unless you connect iPad to your PC or use the camera kit you are not going to move data onto the iPad easily or add storage capacity to it either. Storage limitations are probably the biggest problem that could have easily been eliminated with the addition of a standard USB port or SD Slots.

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

Free Writing Workshops Planned in Ligonier

As a hand held device I would have thought that a webcam would have been a perfect addition to the unit. It would have given you the ability to dial up friends and family and have a little video conference with it. It was probably not included because this is definitely not a phone and even though Skype is working just fine on an iPhone and iPod Touch this is something that was probably left off for just this reason. It would have been nice to have though.

If you are looking to just sit back and read a good book, listen to some music, take a quick glance at your email, or look at some home movies or a photo slide show, the iPad is probably a great fit for you. If you want more then you will need to look elsewhere.

Pricing There will be six versions of the iPad. The first distinction will be whether it has 3G service built in or not. You will pay about $130 more on the device if you want this capability. Think instead of the Verizon MiFi, you might find it more useful. The iPad will be available in 16, 32 and 64GB versions priced at $499, $599 and $699. With 3G they are priced at: $629, $729 and $829.

Named Best Hot Fudge Sundae by The Ligonier Chef!

B. P. Insurance, Inc. Brian E Panichelle Panichelle_Agency@nwagent.com 3720 Rt 711 Suite 9 Ligonier, PA 15658-5004 (In Ligonier Valley Mini-Mall ) (724) 238-2148

SEVENTH ANNUAL

Do I recommend buying the iPad? If it fits within the way you would use it, and it is the price range you are willing to pay for an entertainment device… Yes. Also consider if you can use it at work as a presentation device? Then again I would answer… Yes. If you just have to have the latest new gadget, well… Yes. If you are a content creator and you want to use the iPad for this purpose, well, it might not be the right device for you. I would probably look at one of the many new tablet netbooks that are showing up on the market instead. There are some really exciting things happening there as well.

Bob Appleby is a partner at Computer Connections which is located in Greensburg, PA. He has been working with computers and technology in some capacity since 1973 and has been with his partner, Jude Daigle, at Computer Connections for over 28 years. Be sure to visit http://BobsTechTalk.com for all sorts of technology news and reviews and visit our website at: http://www.localsupport.com.

Every Story Begins At Home.

Benefits Westmoreland County’s Oldest No-Kill Shelter

April 30, 2010 6:00 PM Four Points Sheraton, Greensburg Join Us For an Evening of Food, Fun, Friends and a Chance to Win Lots of Great Items! Friday, April 30, 2010 at Four Points Sheraton at 7PM with 6PM Preview. $25 Admission Featuring: Hors D’oeuvres & Cash Bar; Silent, Live and Chinese Auctions (Art Décor, Leisure, Pamper Yourself, Kids, Pets, Sports, Antiques, Gift Bas...kets, Outdoors, Home Interior, Retail); Door Prizes & Raffles. Something For Everyone! Dean Zug, Professional Auctioneer.

For Tickets: Call Gretchen at 724-961-7363; Visit Wild Bird Store, Beatty Crossroads; AFA Shelter on Route 217; afahsboard@aol.com http://members.petfinder.org/~PA60/ afa_auction.html

The Ligonier Valley YMCA and Ligonier Valley Writers present “Practical Writing” as part of the Writer’s Voice series. The free workshop will be held at the Ligonier Valley YMCA, 110 W. Church St. in Ligonier, on Saturday, April 17, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. To register, call the YMCA at (724) 238-7580.

Instructor Judith Gallagher will present samples and give advice on writing effective resumés, college application essays, complaint letters, condolences, and more.

If you’re struggling with a piece of writing, you may bring it with you for a critique that will address both content and presentation.

The next writing workshop in the YMCA series is “How to Write a Mystery Play,” taught by Mary Ann Mogus, scheduled for May 15.

Judith has 30 years of experience writing textbooks, specializing in literature and grammar books for grades 6-12. She is also the author of Top 50 Reading Skills for GED Success (McGraw-Hill) and co-author of Handbook for Practical Letter Writing (NTC).

She is the publicity director for both Ligonier Valley Writers and the Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association.

Ligonier Valley Writers has been serving writers and readers throughout western Pennsylvania since 1986. Tickets are still available for the interactive dinner theater play, Murder by Trowel and Error, April 16 and 17. Reservation deadline is April 9; call Ron Shafer at (724) 853-7769.

The talk by Oprah Book Club author Tawni O’Dell is April 18. Contact Judith Gallagher at (724) 593-7294 or jgallagher@LHTOT.com for O’Dell reservations or for information about the LVW conference July 17. Faculty members are Jan Beatty for poetry, Anahita Firouz for fiction, Greg Joseph of The Clarks for songwriting, and Chris O’Toole for nonfiction (feature articles).

The submission deadline for The Loyalhanna Review is fast approaching (see page 19). Submit your essay, short story, or poems by May 1; see www.LVWonline.com for guidelines. May 1 is also the awards ceremony for winners of the Student Poetry Contest, 4:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble. Check the LVW website for information on other events and writing contests.

Spring 2010 - 25

SPRING 2010 COMMUNITY CALENDAR Thursday, April 15 @ 7:30 p.m.

Westmoreland Jazz Society presents Tony Campbell Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg Tickets are $15 and may be purchased by calling 724-837-1500 x 27 Friday, April 16 @ 7:00 p.m.

Bald Eagles Lecture with Pat Snickles Blue Spruce Park Lodge, Blue Spruce Park, Indiana For information, call 724-463-8636.

Friday, April 16 @ 7:30 p.m.

Elko Concerts presents Barlow Girl “Love & War Tour” The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets $18, $23 & $30 and may be purchased by calling 724-836-8000.

Carey Performing Arts Center, St. Vincent’s College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe. Tickets are $15. For information, call 724-805-2565.

Friday, April 23 Shakespeare’s Birthday Fundraiser Green Gables Restaurant, 7712 Somerset Pike, Boswell

Monday, April 19 @ 6:00 p.m.

Cook and Dine with Sergio YWCA of Westmoreland County, 424 N. Main St., Greensburg Crab cakes are the featured meal. To register, call 412-953-6424.

Friday, April 23 @ 7:30 p.m.

Four Bitchin’ Babes present Hormonal Imbalance Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, on the UPJ campus, 450 Schoolhouse Road, Johnstown. Tickets are $25 & $23 and may be purchased by calling 814-269-7200.

Monday, April 19 @ 7:30 p.m.

Travelogue: Barbados Islands in the Sun Greensburg-Salem High School, 1 Academy Hills Place, Greensburg. Free.

For information, call 724-834-0126.

Tuesday, April 20 @ 7:00 pm—10:00 pm Taste of the Good Life Spring 2010 Celebration DiSalvo’s Station Restaurant, 325 McKinley Ave., Latrobe For information, call 724-539-0500.

Monday, April 26 @ 6:30 p.m.

Elko Concerts presents Mastodon The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased by calling 724-8368000.

Saturday, April 17 Wilderness Survival Workshop with Dr. Todd Burd Derry Area School Complex, 982 N. Chestnut St. Ext, Derry A program for children in grades 1-6.

For information, contact DerryPAGE@ gmail.com or call 724-694-5550.

Saturday, April 17 @ 2:00 p.m.

Wind and Solar Power Lecture with Mike Shaffer Yellow Creek State Park Environmental Learning Classroom, 170 Route 259 Hwy, Penn Run. For information, call 724-357-7913.

Saturday, April 17 @ 7:00 pm—10:00 pm 9th Annual Taste of Italy Wine & Food Sons of Italy Frank Ricco Lodge No. 731, 16 Race St., Brownsville. Tickets are $35 before April 2 and $40 after. For information, call 724-685-9331.

Saturday, April 17 @ 7:30 Tom Sawyer Geyer Performing Arts Center, 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale For information, call 724-887-0887.

Saturday, April 17 @ 8:00 p.m.

Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra presents Springtime Treasures The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets are $9, $18, $25 & $37 and may be purchased by calling 724-837-1850.

Saturday, April 17 @ 8:00 p.m.

St. Vincent College Concert Series presents Leonardo Capalbo, Tenor

26 - Spring 2010

Saturday, April 24 @ 2:00 p.m.

Come Fly a Kite with Barney and Beth Ann Richards Yellow Creek State Park Beach Area, 170 Route 259 Hwy, Penn Run For information, call 724-357-7913.

Saturday, April 24 @ 8:00 p.m.

Westmoreland Cultural Trust presents Craig Ferguson The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets are $35, $45 & $ 52 and may be purchased by calling 724-836-8000.

Friday, April 16 & Saturday, April 17 @ 7:30 pm & Sunday, April 18 @ 2:30 pm Ligonier Valley Players presents Charlotte’s Web Ligonier Theatre, 210 W. Main St., Ligonier. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children 6—17, and $5 for children 5 and under. For tickets, call 724-238-6514.

Saturday, April 17 @ 10:30 p.m.

Silk Scarf Workshop with Marci Mason Latrobe Art Center, 819 Ligonier St., Latrobe. Cost of class is $40. To register, call 724-537-7011

Saturday, April 24 @ 8:00 am—4:00 pm Earth Day Laurel Hill Visitor Center, Laurel Hill State Park, 1454 Laurel Hill Park Road, Somerset. Volunteer to plant trees and shrubs and prepare the park for the summer season. Bring garden gloves!

Wednesday, April 21 Spruce Run Nature Walk Strong Medicine Lane, Livermore Sponsored by the Loyalhanna Herbal Thymes Club, the fee is $5.00.

Register by calling 724-335-4965.

Wednesday, April 21 @ 10—11:30 a.m.

Tiny Wondes Time: Scratch and Sniff Herbs Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at SVC, Route 981, Latrobe. For information, call 724-537-5284.

Thursday, April 22 & Friday, April 23 @ 9:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. & Friday, April 23 @ 7:30 p.m.

Ballet LaFayette presents Alice in Wonderland The Geyer Performing Arts Center, 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale For information, call 724-877-0877.

Thursday, April 29—Saturday, May 1@ 8:00 p.m. & Sunday, May 2 @ 2:00 p.m.

The Great American Trailer Park Musical Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Road, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Thursday, April 29 @ 8:00 p.m.

Lord of the Dance Fisher Auditorium, 411 Sutton Hall, Indiana. Tickets are available by calling 724-357-1313.

Thursday, April 29—Saturday, May 1 @ 8:00 p.m.

Stage Right’s! All County Musical: Sweeny Todd The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Adult tickets are $20 & 15; student tickets are $10 & $5 and may be purchased by calling 724-832-7464.

Friday, April 30 @ 10:30 am & 8:00 pm MacBeth Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center, Greensburg. For information, call 724-552-2929.

Friday, April 30 & Saturday, May 1 @ 8:00 pm & Sunday, May 2 @ 2:00 pm Greensburg Civic Theater presents Cabaret Greensburg Garden and Civic Center, 951 Old Salem Road, Greensburg For information, call 724-836-8000.

Friday, April 30 @ 7:00 p.m.

Brewski Festival Seven Springs Mountain Resort, 777 Waterwheel Drive, Seven Springs For tickets, call 866-703-7625.

Friday, April 30—Sunday, May 2 Table Magazine presents Out of the Woods Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, 1001 Lafayette Drive, Farmington For information, call 866-344-6957 Saturday, May 1 @ 7:45 a.m.—7:30 p.m.

Venture Outdoors presents Laurel Highlands Hiking Quest #2 Laurel Ridge State Park, 1117 Jim Mountain Road, Rockwood. Cost is $12 for non-members, $8 for members.

Register by calling 412-255-0564 or by visiting www.ventureoutdoors.org.

Saturday, May 1 @ 10:00 a.m.

Saturdays at the Barn: Mother-Daughter Tea Party Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve @ St. Vincent College, Rt. 981, Latrobe Tickets are $5 and may be purchased by calling 724-537-5284.

Saturday, May 1 @ 2:00 p.m.

Heavenly Hummingbirds Yellow Creek State Park Environmental Learning Classroom, 170 Route 259 Hwy., Penn Run Build a trellis and learn what plants attract hummingbirds. Cost $10. Bring your own battery-powered drill. For information, call 724-357-7913.

Saturday, May 1 @ 5:00 p.m.

Amish Wedding Feast The Country Cupboard, 45 Clairon St., Smicksburg. Cost is $22.95 p/p. For reservations, call 814-257-0192.

Saturday, May 1 @ 7:30 p.m.

Valley Players of Ligonier presents the Anne Murray Tribute Show Ligonier Theater, 210 West Main St., Ligonier. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased by calling 724-238-6514.

Thursday, April 22 @ 7:00 p.m.

When Art Worked, the New Deal, Art, and Democracy Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. Free.

For information, call 724-837-1500 x 10 Thursday, April 22 @ 8:00 p.m.

Kenny Vance & the Planotones, Eddie Holman, and Johnny Angel & the Halos The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets are $28, $38, and $48 and may be purchased by calling 724-853-4050

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

Saturday, May 1 @ 7:30 p.m.

Cabaret Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, on the UPJ campus, 450 Schoolhouse Road, Johnstown. Tickets are $37 & $39 and may be purchased by calling 814-269-7200.

Sunday, May 2 @ 2:00 p.m.

Women’s Bike Hike Yellow Creek State Park, Lake View Pavilion-Bike Trail, 170 Rt. 259 Hwy., Penn Run. For information, call 724-357-7913.

Sunday, May 2 @ 3:00 p.m.

River City Brass Band presents Cirque du Brass Band Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, on the UPJ campus, 450 Schoolhouse Road, Johnstown. Tickets are $25 & $23 with a $2 discount for students and seniors and may be purchased by calling 1-800-292-7222.

Tuesday, May 4 @ 12 noon Randy Clark: Singer, Songwriter & Nashville Recording Artist Rockwood Mill Shoppes & Opera House, 450 W. Main St., Rockwood For tickets, call 814-926-4546 or visit www.rockwoodmillshoppes.com.

Wednesday, May 5 @ 6:45 p.m.

John Noble’s 14th Annual Westmoreland Night of the Stars The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. See scenes from the musicals produced by the local high schools. For information and tickets, call 724-925-1123 or visit www.thepalacetheatre.org.

Thursday, May 6—Saturday, May 8 @ 8:00 p.m.

The Great American Trailer Park Musical Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Road, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Friday, May 7 @ 7:30 a.m.—4:00 p.m.

Nemacolin University presents Understanding Branding and Social Media Marquis Ballroom at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, 1001 LaFayette Dr., Farmington. Tickets are $99 and include continental breakfast, seminar and deli lunch and may be purchased by calling 866-344-6957.

Friday, May 7 & Monday, May 10— Friday, May 14 @ 10:00 a.m. & 12 noon & Sunday, May 9 @ 3:00 p.m.

TheatreWorks/USA presents If You give a Pig a Pancake Mountain Playhouse, 7690 Somerset Pike, Boswell. For children in kindergarten through 4th grade. For tickets, call 814-629-9201 x290.

Friday, May 7 @ 6:30 p.m.

The Laurel Highlands Chorale “From Stage to Screen” Rockwood Mill Shoppes & Opera House, 450 W. Main St., Rockwood For tickets, call 814-926-4546 or visit www.rockwoodmillshoppes.com.

Friday, May 7 & Saturday, May 8 @ 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 9 @ 2:30 p.m.

Valley Players of Ligonier presents See How They Run Ligonier Theater, 210 West Main St., Ligonier. Tickets may be purchased by calling 724-238-6514.

Every Story Begins At Home.

Saturday, May 8 @ 1:00 p.m.

Rabies Clinic Latrobe Freewill Hose House, Corner of Ridge and Lehmer Streets, Latrobe Fee is $8.00. All animals should be on a leash or in a cage.

Saturday, May 8 @ 2:00 p.m.

Mushroom Walk Pine Ridge Park Lodge, Pine Ridge Park, Blairsville. For information, call 724-463-8636.

Saturday, May 8 @ 7:30 p.m.

Johnstown Symphony Orchestra presents American Fireworks Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, on the UPJ campus, 450 Schoolhouse Road, Johnstown. Tickets may be purchased by calling 814-269-7200.

Saturday, May 8 @ 8:00 p.m.

River City Brass Band presents Cirque du Brass Band The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets are $24, 26 & 31 with a $2 discount for seniors and students. For information and tickets, call 1-800-292-7222 or visit www.thepalacetheatre.org.

Monday, May 10—Friday, May 15 Snow White’s Back Yard Brawl Geyer Performing Arts Center, 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale. A play for children. For tickets, call 724-887-0887.

Thursday, May 13—Saturday, May 15@ 8:00 p.m.

The Great American Trailer Park Musical Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Road, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Thursday, May 13 @ 7:30 p.m.

Valley Players of Ligonier presents Pennharmonics (Penn State’s choral group) Ligonier Theater, 208 W. Main St., Ligonier For tickets, call 724-238-6514 or visit www.valleyplayers.org.

Looking Under Water Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve @ St. Vincent College, Rt. 981, Latrobe For children aged 2—4 accompanied by an adult. To register, call 724-537-5284.

Friday, May 21 & Saturday, May 22 West Newton Heritage Festival Vine Street Park, West Newton. Dinner, dance, Civil War speakers and reenactment. Visit www.dwni.org.

Thursday, May 20 @ 7:30 p.m.

Westmoreland Jazz Society: The Collective Jazz Octet Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg Tickets are $10 for WJS members, $15 for nonmembers and $3 for students and may be purchased by calling 724837-1500 x 27 or by visiting www.wmuseumaa.org.

Saturday, May 22 & Sunday, May 23 Spring Antique Show at Georgian Place 309 Georgian Place, Somerset For information, call 814-443-1244 or visit www.collagepineantiques.com.

Thursday, May 20—Saturday, May 22 @ 8:00 pm & Sunday, May 23 @ 2:00 pm A Bench in the Sun Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Road, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Saturday, May 22 @ 7:00 p.m.

Fun Around the Campfire Yellow Creek State Park Beach Area, 170 Rte. 259 Hwy., Penn Run To pre-register, call 724-357-7013.

Thurs, May 27—Sat, May 29 @ 8:00 p.m.

A Bench in the Sun Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Rd, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Friday, May 14 @ 2:00 p.m.

Latshaw Productions presents Charlie Prose The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets are $30, $40, & $50 and may be purchased by calling 724-836-8000 or visiting www.thepalacetheatre.org.

Friday, May 14 & Saturday, May 15 @ 7:30 pm & Sunday, May 16 @ 2:30 pm Valley Players of Ligonier presents See How They Run Ligonier Theater, 208 W. Main St., Ligonier. For tickets, call 724-2386514 or visit www.valleyplayers.org.

Saturday, May 15 @ 6:00 p.m.

The Mansfield 5—Oldies Group Rockwood Mill Shoppes & Opera House, 450 W. Main St., Rockwood For information, call 814-926-4546 or visit www.rockwoodmillshoppes.com.

Saturday, May 15 @ 7:30 p.m.

Rock, Roll & Reminisce Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, on the UPJ campus, 450 Schoolhouse Road, Johnstown. Tickets are $10. To order tickets, call 1-800-846-2787.

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Wednesday, May 19 @ 10:00 a.m.

Tiny Wonders Time

Spring 2010 - 27

Saturday, June 5 @ 5:00 p.m.

Amish Wedding Feast The Country Cupboard, 45 Clairon St., Smicksburg. Cost is $22.95 p/p. For reservations, call 814-257-0192.

Monday, June 7—Friday, June 11 @ 9:30 a.m.—12:30 p.m.

Camp Curtain Call— Dr. Seuss, Quite a Character!

Geyer Performing Arts Center, 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale A theater camp for children aged 6 and up. To register, call 724-396-1987.

Deadline for the Summer Issue of the Laurel Mountain Post is June 15.

Friday, May 28—Sunday, May 30 Memorial Day Weekend Seven Springs Mountain Resort, 777 Waterwheel Dr., Seven Springs. For reservations, call 866-703-7625.

Saturday, May 29 @ 7:45 am—7:30 pm Venture Outdoors presents Laurel Highlands Hiking Quest #3 Laurel Ridge State Park, 1117 Jim Mountain Road, Rockwood. Cost is $12 for non-members, $8 for members.

Register by calling 412-255-0564 or by visiting www.ventureoutdoors.org.

Sundays beginning May 30 Sunday Evening Band Concerts Diamond Area, 120 E. Main St, Ligonier.

For information, call 724-238-4200.

Wednesdays & Saturdays beginning June 2 Somerset County Farmers Market Back lot of Georgian Place Mall, 707 Georgain Place, N. Center Ave., Somerset. For information, call 814445-7520.

Thursday, June 3—Saturday, June 5 @ 8:00 p.m.

A Bench in the Sun Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Rd, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Thursday, June 10—Saturday, June 12@ 8:00 p.m.

Everybody Loves Opal Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Rd, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Friday, June 11 @ 12 noon Richard Kiser—Guitar Classics featuring his Smokin’Muffler Guitar Rockwood Mill Shoppes & Opera House, 450 W. Main St., Rockwood For information, call 814-926-4546.

Saturday, June 12 @ 7:45 am—7:30 pm Venture Outdoors presents Laurel Highlands Hiking Quest #4 Laurel Ridge State Park, 1117 Jim Mountain Road, Rockwood. Cost is $12 for non-members, $8 for members.

Register by calling 412-255-0564 or by visiting www.ventureoutdoors.org.

Saturday, June 12 & Sunday, June 13 @ 10:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m.

Jimmy Stewart Airport and Museum Festival Jimmy Stewart Museum, 800 block of Philadelphia St., Indiana For information, call 724-349-6112.

Saturday, June 12 Laurel Ballet presents Swan Lake The Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St., Greensburg. Tickets: 724-8368000 or www.thepalacetheatre.org.

Saturday, June 12 Antiques on the Diamond Diamond Area, 120 W. Main St,Ligonier.

For information, call 724-238-4200.

Saturday, June 12 @ 6:00 p.m.

Chris Denem presents A Tribute to Neil Diamond Rockwood Mill Shoppes & Opera House, 450 W. Main St., Rockwood For information, call 814-926-4546.

Sunday, June 13 @ 10:30 a.m.

25th Annual Nell Jack Golf Event Indiana Country Club, 495 Country Club Road, Indiana. Admission is $160 and includes golf, cart, lunch & dinner. To register, call 412-491-0537.

Sunday, June 13 @ 12 noon—4:30 pm Community Day— The Return of George Washington Fort Ligonier, 200 S. Market St, Ligonier.

For information, call 724-238-9701.

Wednesday, June 16 @ 10:00 a.m.

Tiny Wonders Time—Animals Hiding Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve @ St. Vincent College, Rt. 981, Latrobe For children aged 2—4 accompanied by an adult. To register, call 724-537-5284.

Wednesday, June 16 @ 2:00 p.m. & Thursday, June 17—Saturday, June 19@ 8:00 p.m.

Everybody Loves Opal Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Rd, Delmont. Tickets $19; 724-468-5050.

Friday, June 18 @ 6:00 p.m.—11:00 p.m. & Saturday, June 19 @ 12 noon— 10:40 p.m.

Laurel Highlands Bluegrass Festival 44 Firehall Road, Rte. 271, Ligonier. For information, call 724-238-8646 or visit www.laurelhighlandsbluegrass.com.

Saturday, June 19 Beer and Gear Festival Falls City Pub, 103 Garrett St., Ohiopyle For information, call 1-800-272-4141.

Saturday, June 19 @ 11:00 am—4:00 pm & Sunday, June 20 @ 1:00 pm—5:00 pm Children’s Living History Weekend Compass Inn Museum, 1382 Rt. 30 E., Laughlintown. Tickets are $9 for adults, $6 for children, and free for children under 6. For information, call 724-2384983 or visit www.compassinn.com.

Monday, June 21—Friday, June 25 @ 9:30 a.m.—12:30 p.m.

Camp Curtain Call—A Romeo and Juliet Spinoff, West Side Story Geyer Performing Arts Center, 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale. A theater camp for children aged 6 and up. To register, call 724-396-1987.

Thursday, June 24—Saturday, June 26@ 8:00 p.m.

Everybody Loves Opal Apple Hill Playhouse, 275 Manor Rd, Delmont. Tickets are $19 and may be purchased by calling 724-468-5050.

Thursday, July 1—Sunday, July 4 Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival Twin Lakes Park, Greensburg. 724834-7474 or www.artsandheritage.com.

Friday, July 2—Sunday, July 4 July 4th Weekend Seven Springs Mountain Resort, 777 Waterwheel Dr., Seven Springs 866-703-7625 or www.7springs.com.

Saturday, July 3—Monday, July 5 Celebrate Our Country in the Country 138 E. Kittannning St., Rt. 954, Smicksburg. For information, call 814257-0192 or visit www.smicksburg.net.

Saturday, June 19–10 am, to 4 pm Inside Ligonier Valley: A Home Tour www.ligonierhometour.com or call 724238-9030 for ticket information. Tickets are $25 each/ $30 the day of the event.

Benefiting organizations are the Ligonier Valley Historical Society, the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor and the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Leechburg, PA: Photo by Joe Jerich

Fridays starting June 4 Summer Sounds, Greensburg’s Summer Concerts in the Park St. Clair Park, 135 N. Maple Ave., Greensburg. Call 724-838-4323.

Friday, June 4 & Saturday, June 5 @ 7:30 p.m. & Sunday, June 6 @ 2:30 p.m.

Godspell Geyer Performing Arts Center, 111 Pittsburgh St., Scottdale. Tickets are $10; 724-887-0887.

Saturday, June 5 @ 10:00 a.m.

Saturdays at the Barn: Hypertufa Workshop Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve @ St. Vincent College, Rt. 981, Latrobe Tickets are $10 and may be purchased by calling 724-537-5284.

Saturday, June 5 @ 11:00 am—8:00 pm Vandergrift Fine Arts Festival Grant Ave., Vandergrift For information, call 724-567-5286.

28 - Spring 2010

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Spring 2010 - 29

Latrobe Art Center Is Painting in the Rain Latrobe Art Center’s Gallery Members have been hard at work painting umbrellas. Latrobe Artist, Susan Hrubes, came up with this great Spring fundraiser idea.

“What a wonderful way to support the local Latrobe Art Center. These umbrellas will put a smile on your face even on the rainiest of days!”

On Thursday afternoons, during Open Studio, artists create wonderful works of art on adult and children’s umbrellas.

“Umbrellas are scattered everywhere; it’s such a fun afternoon seeing the artist’s come up with such unique creative designs.

Our front window is filled with umbrellas, and we even have them hanging from the ceiling as you walk in the gallery. We cannot keep the umbrellas in stock! “ says Gabrielle Nastuck, Administrative and Artistic Director of Latrobe Art Center.

The waterproof umbrellas are $35.00 for the adult and $25.00 for the children’s size. They can be purchased at Latrobe Art Center and Rose Style Shoppe. If you would like to special order a design on your umbrella you can call or come into the Latrobe Art Center. They have had five requests, and the demands just keep on coming! It would make a wonderful gift for that certain someone who has everything!

Stop into the Center and see these unique umbrellas that will definitely put a smile on your face!

Displaying the umbrellas in the window are, left to right: Sue Hrubes (Latrobe) and Eileen Stoner (Greensburg). Looking from outside are Dolly Lynch and Jan Sabatos (both of Latrobe).

A great big thank you to the dedicated artists who have turned an ordinary umbrella into a beautiful piece of artwork! Judy Bazzone, Ellie Brendlinger, Doreen Currie, Shari Davis, Joyce Gazdick, Christine Gilotty, Sue Hrubes, Dolly Lynch, Linda Monzo, Carole McCray, Peg Panasiti, Kathy Rafferty, Jan Sabatos, Eileen Stoner, and Sharon Yoder.

819 Ligonier Street • Latrobe, PA 15650 • 724.537.7011 www.latrobeartcenter.org • info@latrobeartcenter.org

Ligonier Valley Writers’ Conference to Take Place July 17 The 23rd Ligonier Valley Writers’ Conference will take place at the Ligonier Camp and Conference Center on Saturday, July 17. Four renowned faculty members will work with both emerging and experienced writers. As always, workshops will be offered in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. New this year is a workshop on songwriting.

Songwriting: Greg Joseph has • been with The Clarks for 23 years as a bass player, singer, and songwriter.

The band has sold more than 300,000 CDs and toured widely. In 2006 Greg released a solo CD called American Diary, an 11-song collection about life, death, desire, and broken hearts. His songs have been used in the soundtracks of many movies and TV shows. The Clarks performed one of his songs on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Poetry: Jan Beatty’s book Red • Sugar was a finalist for the 2009 Paterson Poetry Prize. Boneshaker was a finalist for the Milton Kessler Award, Mad River won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize, and her chapbook Rav-

30 - Spring 2010

enous won the 1995 State Street Prize.

Her poems have appeared in Quarterly West, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review, and Court Green, as well as many anthologies. Jan hosts and produces the radio show Prosody. She directs the creative writing program at Carlow University, where she runs the Madwomen in the Attic writing workshops.

Jan will also give the Thoburn Lecture.

Nonfiction (feature and travel ar• ticles): Christine O’Toole is an awardwinning writer of feature articles on topics ranging from Japanese art to neonatal care to the greening of Pittsburgh. She has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the International Herald-Tribune, and USA Today, as well as numerous airline magazines. She is a contributing writer at Pittsburgh magazine and h (the Heinz Endowments’ quarterly magazine). She has written several travel books.

Fiction: Anahita Firouz is the au• thor of the novel In the Walled Garden, which is set in prerevolutionary

Iran. Anahita grew up in Iran and lived for the 2010 edition of its literary in France, Spain, and Switzerland bemagazine, The Loyalhanna Review. fore coming to Pittsburgh nearly 30 The party will be on Friday, July 16, years ago. She has been a TV interfrom 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Latrobe viewer and producer and Art Center on 819 Ligonier has taught in Carlow’s St. in Latrobe. Loyalhanna MFA in Creative Writing Review authors will read program. She is a foundfrom their work. Beautiful ing member of the Pittspaintings and photoburgh Middle East Instigraphs (some of them retute and chaired the produced in the magazine) institute’s 2009 conferwill be on display in beauence. tiful surroundings.

For a conference broGuests will have a chance chure, contact Judith to talk with the authors Gallagher at jgallagher and artists whose work is @LHTOT.com or (724) 593featured in the magazine.

7294. Registration forms Submissions of both will be available soon at text and art for The www.LVWonline.org. The Loyalhanna Review are still Songwriter Greg Jospeh of The Clarks Ligonier Camp and Conferbeing accepted. The deadence Center is at 188 line is May 1. The Review Macartney Lane in seeks high-quality poetry, Ligonier (just off Route 711, 1.5 miles essays, and short stories under 1,500 north of the Diamond). There will be words. For guidelines, see www.LVW a catered lunch.To kick off the LVW online.org. The Loyalhanna Review Conference weekend, Ligonier Valley has been published continuously Writers is hosting a publication party since 1992.

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST

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Central Westmoreland Habitat for Humanity, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, seeks to eliminate poverty housing as it uses volunteer, community labor in partnership with selected families to build affordable, decent housing.

Central Westmoreland Habitat for Humanity will become synonymous with affordable, decent housing in our service area.

“I see life as both a gift and a responsibility. My responsibility is to use what God has given me to help His people in need.”

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Every Story Begins At Home.

Spring 2010 - 31

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32 - Spring 2010

LAUREL MOUNTAIN POST