Women's History Month 2019 Erie Times-News

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HER TIMES | E1

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Picketing workers in national spotlight as UE Local 506 president speaks at Sanders rally, B1

Gutsy young women gain confidence wrestling on boys teams

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Smart-city tech eyed for other areas of Erie

WO M E N ’S H I STO RY M O N T H

By Kevin Flowers kevin.flowers@timesnews.com

Jennie Cleveland was a suffragette in Erie, as well as an educator and a photographer. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/

English teacher JoAnna Connell was a key player in the suffragist movement in Erie 100 years ago.

ERIE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY]

[CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Additional security cameras, LED lighting and free public Wi-Fi were introduced to downtown Erie in 2018 as part of a pilot program for what’s known as smart-city technology.

Mayor Joe Schember’s administration and other local officials want to bring the same technology to local neighborhoods targeted for reinvestment under the federal Opportunity Zone program.

Schember, in an interview last Schember week, said his administration — working with the Erie Innovation District and others — is working to bring “secure smart city” equipment and technology over the next 12 months to the eight Opportunity Zones in the Erie region that have been designated by Gov. Tom Wolf’s office and certified by the U.S. Treasury Department.

According to Schember, that would include security cameras that could read license plates and have facial-recognition capabilities; energy-efficient LED street lights; and free Wi-Fi in public spaces throughout the Opportunity Zone tracts.

The intent is to make those areas safer and more attractive for investment.

“It’s kind of an aggressive goal. ... But let’s get these areas done and within the next three years, I’d like to see that technology throughout the entire city,” Schember said.

The city areas approved for the Opportunity Zone program are Erie’s bayfront; the former GAF Materials Corp. site on the city’s west bayfront; the area near Dobbins Landing that is planned for Scott Enterprises’ $150 million Harbor Place development; the Erie Innovation District along State Street; and the neighborhoods near UPMC Hamot and Erie Insurance.

Helen Schluraff was a suffragette and the first woman in Pennsylvania to be elected county commissioner in 1931. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Suffrage centennial

Erie activists helped women secure vote Inside

By Sarah Grabski and Valerie Myers sgrabski@timesnews.com vmyers@timsenews.com

I

t was one of the largest grassroots movements in American political history.

One hundred years ago, in June 1919, women won the right to vote when Congress passed the 19th Amendment promising “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

In Erie Inc., D1: Why more Erie employers are opening lactation centers.

In Her Times, E1: Four young women are making their mark in wrestling.

In Her Times, E2: Visit Seneca Falls, home to women's rights movement.

By August 1920, the requisite 36 states, including Pennsylvania, had ratified the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment.” Millions of women See SUFFRAGE, A8

ABOVE: Women march in a Suffrage Parade held in Washington, D.C., March 3, 1913. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS]

About this project Our newsroom is recognizing Women's History Month with a series of articles under the Her Story Erie brand. You will find several of them in today's edition of the Erie Times-News, but the stories will continue throughout March.

See TECH, A9

Volume 19, Number 152 © 2019 GateHouse Media Questions? Call 870-1600

Obituaries .............. B2-5 Lotteries ................... C8 Puzzles ......................D5

Health .......................E6 Classified............. F6-G8 Employment ........... G1-6

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SUFFRAGE From Page A1

went to the polls for the first time that fall.

The votes were a long time coming.

Women in Erie County and nationwide had marched, protested and picketed for the right to vote for 50 years. The Civil War slowed the movement, but activists including Susan B. Anthony pushed hard after the war for equal rights for all.

By the turn of the 20th century the suffrage movement led by the National Woman’s Party and the National American Woman Suffrage Association had gained momentum — and drama. Women went on hunger strikes and picketed the White House to attract attention to their cause.

Women saw obtaining the vote as crucial to obtaining the social reforms needed to protect themselves and their children.

“We have been trying to get a children’s labor law in Pennsylvania the past 14 years, and the only way we will get it is to get the vote,” Lucy Kennedy Miller, of Pittsburgh, told Erie suffrage leaders in 1913.

Augusta Fleming, president of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Equal Franchise Association, urged Erie women to fight for the vote and for legislative reforms by marching in a suffrage parade during the weeklong Perry Centennial celebration in the summer of 1913. It was the first women’s suffrage parade in Pennsylvania.

“Gain victory over fear and walk firm and erect on July 8,” Fleming said.

“Remember that you are only one in a great army — that you are marching for a principle — and that being government of the people, for the people and by the whole people. Your motive is unselfish. You are trying to gain citizenship that you may do your part to bring about better legislation for the protection of home, children and the weak.

“All that you enjoy of rights to your earnings, to your property, to your children and to your very selves, the women of yesterday gained for you. All women should feel a duty to pass on to their daughters the rich heritage of political freedom,” Fleming said.

Hundreds of women answered the call and marched from suffrage headquarters at 202 W. Eighth St. up Sassafras Street, to 18th and State streets and north to Perry Square, according to the Erie Daily Times and Erie Dispatch. Marchers dressed in white and wearing blue Pennsylvania sashes and white hats participated.

Dozens of suffragists from Cleveland and Buffalo joined them.

Fleming and Helen Semple, of Titusville, president of the Federation of Pennsylvania Women, led the local activists. The women carried banners reading, “Abraham Lincoln said women should vote. What do you say?” And “Taxation Without Representation is Tyranny.”

One hundred members of the local Equal Franchise Association drew a float featuring a plaster replica of the Liberty Bell. The float had been drawn by a suffrage contingent in Woodrow Wilson’s inaugural parade in March 1913 and was shipped to Erie for the July 8, 1913, suffrage parade.

An “Equal Franchise” banquet followed that evening in the gold-and-white ballroom of the new Lawrence Hotel at West 10th and Peach streets.

The speakers included U.S. Rep. Charles Sutton of New York, the chairwoman of the Woman’s Suffrage Party and other nationally known suffrage leaders.

A delegation of Pennsylvania suffragists. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS]

A group of suffragists stand by the Liberty Bell. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS]

“Hundreds of women were present, and the purple, white and gold of the National Woman’s Party and gold of the Pennsylvania Woman’s Suffrage Association waved in the galleries and on the floor, many members having flags of the national party at their seats.”

Erie Dispatch, June 24, 1919

Pennsylvania Men’s League for Women Suffrage Votes by County 1915. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA]

A number of men attended.

“So many queries have come from members of the sterner sex asking if they are included in the invitation to the big suffrage banquet,” Fleming said the week before the banquet. “We desire to announce that the suffrage movement has always opposed discrimination on account of sex and does not propose to countenance it now. Our brothers are cordially invited to feast with us.”

Two hundred people attended the event. Another 200 were on a waiting list for tickets.

Prominent local leaders of the suffrage movement, in addition to Fleming, included Lavinia “Lovey” Nelson Clarke, a young widow and railroad telegrapher; Mary Spencer, wife of First National Bank founder and President William Spencer; longtime Erie educator JoAnna Connell; and Jennie Cleveland, an educator, photographer and a member of the Erie Art Club who photographed some of the local suffrage leaders and events.

By 1915, the women had public opinion on their side. A majority of Erie and Crawford county residents supported the women’s suffrage movement, according to a map and data by the Pennsylvania Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage.

In Erie County, 7,123 people surveyed said they supported women’s suffrage; 4,895 were opposed.

In Crawford County, 4,736 residents supported suffrage; 2,396 did not.

Momentum continued to build, and on June 4, 1919, Congress approved the 19th Amendment. As state legislators prepared to ratify the amendment on June 24, 1919, Erie County women were among those who went to Harrisburg to witness the historic vote.

“Hundreds of women were present, and the purple, white and gold of the National Woman’s Party and gold of the Pennsylvania Woman’s Suffrage Association waved in the galleries and on the floor, many members having flags of the national party at their

seats,” according to the Erie Dispatch.

The historic votes were overshadowed by the international news of the day.

In Erie’s newspapers, small, down-page accounts of the suffrage votes were overpowered by larger stories about celebrations welcoming “the boys” home after World War I, continuing peace negotiations with Germany, and the organization of the League of Nations proposed to help prevent future wars.

Debates about enforcing the coming prohibition against alcohol also dominated the news.

But the fight for political equality wasn’t over. Now that women had the vote, they quietly worked to make the most of their new rights.

Odessa Hunter Plate and Helen Stone Schluraff moved from the picket lines to elected office in Erie County within 15 years of the 19th Amendment’s ratification.

Schluraff was the first Pennsylvania woman elected county commissioner. Plate twice was elected Erie County recorder of deeds.

Suffragists Mabel Woodward Wright and Jane Weir Pressly were instrumental in getting ballot boxes replaced with voting machines in Erie

County in the late 1920s, according to the book, “Erie History — the Women’s Story” by Sabina Freeman and Margaret Tenpas.

Suffrage leaders additionally founded the Zonta Club of Erie in 1919 to support, empower and advocate for women. The local group was one of nine clubs to form the national Confederation of Zonta Clubs.

Former suffragists also organized the League of Women Voters of Erie County in early 1920 to educate women about voting.

“During those first few years it was necessary to do a great deal of educational work among the women, who up to this time had been classed with aliens and lunatics as far as voting was concerned,” wrote Ruth Bacher in “League of Women Voters of Erie County: Historical Highlights.”

Fleming, previously president of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Equal Franchise Association, was the group’s first president and hosted the first meeting of the local League of Women Voters in her home.

The group’s first task was pressing Erie County officials to do the legwork required for women to vote for the first time in the fall of 1920.

Women had to be “assessed” to be added to the voter rolls, according to the League of Women Voters history. Election boards had to verify women’s ages, addresses and citizenship.

Local women persevered and cast their first ballots that fall.

“This was the first successful project of the Erie League,” Bacher wrote.

Erie’s suffrage leaders laid the foundation for future generations and for society, according to a 1930 opinion piece in the Erie Dispatch: “Pennsylvania has good reason to be proud of the keen and intelligent interest their organized women have manifested in the cause of better government and improved social conditions. The direction of their exploration toward fundamentals and persistence of their search for and exploitation of knowledge essential to good citizenship set an example which puts to shame many seasoned male voters.”

Sarah Grabski can be reached at 870-1776 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNgrabski.

Valerie Myers can be reached at 878-1913 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNmyers.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

ERIE, INC.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

D1

Jim Martin Assigning Editor 870-1668 jim.martin@timesnews.com

HERE TO HELP

Dealing with snow plow damage to property

David Bruce

T

his winter’s freeze-thaw weather cycle has uncovered a common problem in northwestern Pennsylvania: Lawns, shrubs and mailboxes damaged by errant snow plows.

Plow drivers try their best to stay on the roads and driveways, but accidents happen. The damage can range from as minor as some upturned turf to as serious as a snow plow crashing into a house or garage.

How you deal with any damage depends on whether it was caused by a private company or a state/municipal snowplow driver.

Either way, property owners should contact the driver’s employer as soon as possible.

“We recommend that people visit our customer care center at penndot.gov,” said Jill Harry, northwest regional press officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. “They can also call 1-800-FIX ROAD, but the website is better because your concern receives a tracking number and puts a timeline on it.”

Private companies deal with property damage on a routine basis, said Kevin Gilbride, executive director of the Ohio-based Accredited Snow Contractors Association.

See BRUCE, D2

Talk to us Have a consumer question you’d like us to help you with? Call David Bruce at 870-1736, send email to david.bruce@ timesnews.com, or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

MOTLEY FOOL WINNER Frankie Vandermark is this week’s Motley Fool winner for correctly answering that Honda was the answer to last week’s question.

For a list of those who answered correctly, turn to D2. For this week’s question, turn to D6.

Under dimmed lighting, Tania Rodriguez, at left, 33, of Millcreek Township, with her son Ricard Rodriguez, seven weeks old; and Candace Goodwill, 36, of Erie, with her daughter Adellia Aman, two weeks old; watch an educational video about breast feeding in a new lactation room at the Women, Infants and Children clinic at the Booker T. Washington Center in Erie on Feb. 22. A recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management showed that the percent of employers who offer an onsite lactation/mother’s room has increased from 28 percent in 2014 to 49 percent in 2018. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Erie employers offer new lactation rooms

By David Bruce david.bruce@timesnews.com

B

reastfeeding mothers who worked at Saint Vincent Hospital once had to pump their milk in a renovated closet that offered little space or privacy.

Now they have a newly remodeled room on the Erie hospital’s fifth floor with recliners, footrests and its own bathroom.

“It can be stressful for a new mom to go back to work,” said Leah Madru, R.N., a Saint Vincent nurse who returned to work three weeks ago after giving birth to her second son. “But having a clean, private room in which to pump is a huge benefit.”

Lactation rooms are becoming more common at workplaces across the country. A recent survey by the

Laura Corwin is a registered dietician and the breast feeding coordinator at the Erie Women, Infants and Children clinic at the Booker T. Washington Center in Erie. Corwin is grateful to see more lactation rooms being made available at Erie-area locations recently, including at the WIC clinic. “So many mothers struggle to express their milk during their work day,” Corwin said. “It’s good to see more of these lactation centers open.” [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Society for Human Resource Management showed that the percentage of employers who offer an onsite lactation/mothers’ room has increased from 28 percent in 2014 to 49 percent in 2018.

Erie County employers were encouraged to create

lactation rooms with state grants awarded in 2015 through the Erie County Department of Health.

Sixteen employers, including Saint Vincent, used the grants to build rooms.

“We were able to move our lactation room from a

M OV E R O F T H E W E E K

THE BUZZ

Erie lawyer Bradley K. Enterline took over duties as president of the Erie County Bar Association effective Jan. 1 He is a graduate of McDowell High School, Ithaca College and Vermont Law School.

Enterline is an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and its Collaborative Law Committee and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He also served as the past president of the Collaborative Professionals of Northwest PA and is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Association on Conflict Resolution. He also is a member of Lakewood United Methodist Church and Kairos Prison Ministry.

He is a past commodore of the Erie Yacht Club, a member of the Great Lakes Cruising Club and a lifetime member of the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society.

Union Home Mortgage Corp. has expanded its capacity to serve homebuyers in Erie through a partnership with Liberty Mortgage Corp. As a result of that partnership, six new employees have joined the UHM branch in Erie.

To learn more or to contact the Erie branch visit, www.unionhomemortgage.com/branches/ pennsylvania-erie The Schoolhouse , located at 6610 West Lake Road, will host Connect 4 Coffee, a free networking event sponsored by the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership , on March 12 from

7:30 to 9 a.m.

Participants are encouraged to come prepared with a

remodeled closet to a former patient room that was renovated to accommodate new mothers,” said Kay Edinger, nurse manager of Saint Vincent’s labor and delivery and mother-infant units.

See ROOMS, D2

two-minute presentation about their business or program.

Coffee and light breakfast treats will be served.

Space is limited. For more information or to register, call 454-7191.

Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers has opened a new location at

6000 W. Ridge Road.

The state-of-the-art, 6,000-square-foot facility will offer massages, physical therapy and balance/dizziness treatments.

Physical therapists Curt Cardman, Christopher Bailey and Sarah Bailey will staff the center and have more than 40 years of clinical experience.

D2

Sunday, March 3, 2019

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

Is our love of the SUV starting to fade?

By Gabrielle Coppola and Keith Naughton Bloomberg

The U.S. auto market may be nearing the end of the go-go days for sport utility vehicles sold by the likes of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’s Jeep.

Fiat Chrysler posted its first monthly sales decline in a year, with Jeep registering a rare back-to-back drop in deliveries. The company joined Toyota, Honda and Nissan in trailing analysts’ estimates for February in a Bloomberg News survey.

Jeep’s rough patch after a yearlong growth spurt adds to signs the American SUV boom may be reaching its limits.

Rising interest rates rise and tighter credit are likely to make it more difficult to sustain the record prices fueled by consumers shifting allegiances to costlier pickups and other light trucks at the expense of sedans.

“Affordability is going to be a challenge for consumers going forward, and we’re beginning to see that,” Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for

ROOMS From Page D1

“When our entire fifth floor started undergoing renovation (in 2018), we moved the lactation room to another former patient room.”

Madru, who works eightto 10-hour shifts at Saint Vincent, uses the lactation room up to three times a shift. Since it accommodates up to two mothers and about 10 Saint Vincent employees are using the room, there is almost always a recliner available.

“I used to work at a hospital in New York state that didn’t offer a lactation room,” Madru said. “I used a closet, and it was not clean and didn’t have a bathroom.

I felt segregated.”

Hospitals and businesses aren’t the only facilities opening lactation rooms.

The Booker T. Washington Center, 1720 Holland St., opened one in mid-February in its Women, Infants and Children office.

Any WIC recipient who is

Snow covers Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Jeep brand sports utility vehicles lot at the company’s Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit.

[ANTHONY LANZILOTE /BLOOMBERG]

car-shopping researcher Autotrader, said by phone.

Sales dropped 5.9 percent for the lucrative Wrangler model, which entered February with inventory piling up at dealerships. Fiat Chrysler’s results wiped out a gain of as much as 1.7 percent, with the stock dropping 0.1 percent to

pregnant or breastfeeding is welcome to use the center.

They can pump, breastfeed or watch educational videos about breastfeeding, said Laura Corwin, breastfeeding coordinator for WIC of Erie County.

“Moms can come here if they have questions about breastfeeding or concerns about issues like having difficulty supplying their child with milk or finding a place at work to pump,” Corwin said. “They also have a place here where they can breastfeed.”

The lactation center also suppliesmotherswithitems including pumps and nursing pads. Women can make an appointment to use the lactation center or simply walk in, Corwin said.

“So many mothers struggle to express their milk during their work day,” Corwinsaid.“Someofthem have to pump in their cars.

That is not ideal. It’s good to see more of these lactation centers open.”

David Bruce can be reached at 870-1736 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ ETNbruce.

$14.71 as of 11:34 a.m.

Friday in New York.

“The overall industry is starting off slower due in part to weather, the U.S. government shutdown, and concern over tax refunds,” Reid Bigland, Fiat Chrysler’s head of U.S. sales, said in a statement.

Shares of General Motors

BRUCE From Page D1

Minor damage is often repaired by the company in the spring, especially if they also do landscaping work.

The best time to discuss any potential property damage is when you hire a plow service, Gilbride said.

“Ideally you should have a written agreement with the plowing company when you hire them that details what happens if there is any damage,” Gilbride said. “It can differ from contract to contract, but I don’t see major issues on the residential side.”

If the damage is the result of operator error, the company is responsible for the repair, Gilbridge said. In other cases, the property owner might have to contact their own insurer.

State/municipal snow plowers usually don’t return in the spring to repair lawn damage.

Deliveries of Nissan’s best-selling Rogue crossover plunged 16 percent, while Honda’s Pilot SUV posted an 8.8 percent drop.

“The results today suggest a much bigger story: The sales pace has finally shifted into a lower gear,” Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist of Cox

A Foot Locker sign displayed on the window of a store in downtown Chicago on May 13, 2018.

[CHRISTOPHER DILTS/BLOOMBERG]

Foot Locker soars on strong sales

By John J. Edwards III, Lisa Wolfson Bloomberg

Broken mailboxes will be replaced, as long as they aren’t in the plow’s right of way, Harry said.

“It’s a case-by-case basis,” Harry said. “If it’s in our right-of-way, it’s your responsibility.”

PennDOT will send someone out to assess the damage and determine who should pay for repairs.If a property owner is not satisfied with the result, they can submit a damage claim with the Bureau of Risk and Insurance Management, Harry said.

Here are some tips to reduce the risk of property damage from snow plows: Work with the plow company to mark your driveway. Don’t just plant the stakes yourself.

Extend the clear-out zone at the start of your driveway at least six feet in the direction from which the plow is coming.

Install your mailbox away from the plow’s right-of-way or install a cantilever mailbox support that will “swing” a mailbox out of harm’s way.

and Ford, which have switched to reporting U.S. sales only on a quarterly basis, also dropped.

Toyota sales in February fell 5.2 percent, dragged down by weak demand for the RAV4 compact SUV. Deliveries fell 12.5 percent for the Japanese company’s top model in the U.S.

Foot Locker Inc., which operates a store in the Millcreek Mall, shares jumped as much as 14 percent to the highest since May 2017 after the athletic-shoe retailer posted results that blew away estimates.

Comparable-store sales rose 9.7 percent, more than twice what analysts predicted. Excluding some items, earnings per share of $1.56 also topped projections.

In efforts to draw more customers to its stores, Foot Locker has been closing underperforming locations

Improvements in inventory were behind Foot Locker’s last big earnings surprise, in the first quarter of last year, and they helped in the most recent quarter, too.

Chief Financial Officer Lauren Peters said the company’s inventory turn exceeded its long-term target.

and renovating others. It upgraded or relocated 33 stores in the fourth quarter and shuttered 56.

Improvements in inventory were behind Foot Locker’s last big earnings surprise, in the first quarter of last year, and they helped in the most recent quarter, too. Chief Financial Officer Lauren Peters said the company’s inventory turn exceeded its long-term target.

Foot Locker’s close relationship with Nike Inc. “puts the retailer in a unique position for growth,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Chen Grazutis wrote in a note. Its position as the largest U.S. athletic-shoe chain gets it better product allocations than rivals, he said.

Foot Locker shares rose as much as 14 percent to $68 in New York trading, their highest level since May

MOTLEY FOOL WINNERS

The following people correctly responded that Honda was the answer to last week’s Motley Fool trivia question: Susan Gomolchak, Carolyn M. Welther, Nanci Dunton, From Pat and Jim Heidecker, Len Jefferson, Bernice S. Fox, Barbara Alonge, Roger Aaron, Deb Cole, Mary Ann Fogle, Leon J. Buczynski Jr., Kathy Martin, Greg Tower, Ross Feltz, Vance

L. Duncan III, Paul Scholl, Val Crofoot, Gregory L. Swanson, Jerry Kraus, Paul and Frances Kuzma, Frank Bonanno, Dave Halas, David Milk, Kristina Straub, Mike Roesch, Jerry Lutz, Rita Fronzaglia, Sam and Karen Amendola, Greg Lessig, S. Anne Kribbs, Frankie Vandermark, Sheryl Carpenter, Keith and Laura Farnham, Beverly Zarella, Peggy

Alexander, Jill Gomes, Malcolm Pollard, Dick Forbes, John McClelland and Bill Detter.

Think you know the answer to this week’s question?

Send your answer to jim. martin@timesnews.com.

Or, mail your answer to Motley Fool, Erie Times-News, 205 W. 12th St., Erie PA 16534.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Sunday, March 3, 2019

PEOPLE | E5

H E R STO RY | E 7

PASSION FOR PERFORMING

WOMEN IN ERIE HISTORY

Erie native David Jeffrey Heid has an impressive musical resume

Meet Laura de Force Gordon, a journalist, lawyer and suffragette

HER TIMES

E1

Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

TEENS BRIDGE BOYS AND GIRLS

WRESTLING

By Pam Parker

pam.parker@timesnews.com

G

irls who wrestle on boys teams have one thing in common: confidence.

When just a few of the girls aged 15 to 18 were interviewed for this article, one thing was clear. They are confident — and they have guts.

They also have mentors in their male teammates and coaches.

During Women's History Month, it's only fitting that we call attention to some of the young women who are paving the way for those who follow them.

Meet four teens who are pinning their hopes on a sport that gains momentum every year.

Start with a pin Soccer, track and wrestling are Amy Nam's sports of choice. The Harbor Creek High School sophomore wrestles at 106 pounds and made her debut on the varsity team by pinning her opponent in a minute and five seconds.

Nam's dad wrestled, and she felt she could too. Her friend, however, said she would never make it. That was kind of a dare, and she proved him wrong.

“I was concerned about making the team, but l know that I can push myself and be mentally prepared,” she said.

Many friends were supportive. “They said, 'You're a girl going out for a guy's sport. I'd never have the guts to do that,'” she said.

Other friends were concerned about injuries and with good reason. Nam, 16, damaged the cartilage on her ribs in a January See WRESTLING, E3

Amy Nam, at left, and Andie Przybycien, at right, both wrestle on their high school varsity teams. Nam, 16, is a sophomore at Harbor Creek High School. Przybycien, 15, is a freshman at Fort LeBoeuf High School. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Explore history at Susan B. Anthony home

By Stacey Wittig Contributing writer

The exterior of the Susan B. Anthony House was restored decades ago. It was Anthony’s home and headquarters for the National American Woman Suffrage Association and is located at 17 Madison Street in Rochester, N.Y. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

What better way to celebrate National Women's History Month than a girls' getaway to Rochester, New York? I recently visited the region that is said to be the birthplace of the women's rights movement. The Flower City, as it is known, is full of parks, fun eateries, craft breweries and festivals that can make for entertaining rest stops between educational venues.

Standing in the parlor of The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, I felt an unexpected surge of patriotism. Experiencing first-hand the spot where the suffragette was handcuffed and arrested for voting in 1872 gripped me. I could only imagine the amount of persistence

needed to change a nation's frustrating stance against giving women the right to vote. What the docent shared next stunned

me: For more than 30 years, the determined Anthony appeared before every Congress to ask for passage of a suffrage amendment.

I knew that "Susan B.," as she is sometimes called, was an activist for voting rights, but See HOME, E2

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Sunday, March 3, 2019

E3

HER TIMES

WRESTLING From Page E1

match, and she later sprained her shoulder. At one point, she was hesitant about continuing, but support from teammates kept her on the mat. “It's like family, and we're all so close,” she said.

Track season is next, followed by soccer season.

Then, she plans to return to wrestling. The best part of it, she says is “being on the team with all the guys.”

The worst part was cutting weight. Nam, at 5 feet, 3 inches tall, weighed 120 during soccer season and had to work out in the gym every morning before school and after to get down to 106.

Her parents, Paul and Jennifer Nam, are, of course, her biggest fans, but they didn't start off in favor of the idea of wrestling with boys. “My mom was a little hesitant, and my dad didn't like it at all. He didn't want his little girl wrestling, but they both were really supportive and came to all my matches,” she said.

Wrestling has opened the door to higher education, as well. Nam is considering college at Gannon University, which offers a wrestling program for women, and she plans to major in physical therapy or sports medicine.

Choosing wrestling gave Nam a feeling of accomplishment. “I've always been kind of fearless and I know that I'm pretty flexible. I'm capable of doing it (wrestling) and I know what I can accomplish.

I'm really proud that a girl can do a guy's sport. It's such a good feeling.”

How many girls wrestle on boys teams?

Joe Stabilito, president of the PA Chapter of USA Wrestling, estimates that more than 200 girls from 140 schools are currently involved in wrestling programs throughout Pennsylvania. “There are even more at the junior high level,” he said. About 250 girls from 129 schools are involved. “This is our future,” he said.

Stabilito has been involved in wrestling for more than 50 years and is currently working with the PIAA to sponsor girls' wrestling programs at high schools. “There are processes we need to go through,” he said. He added that New Jersey has a girls high school program in place for the first time this year. “We're working to recognize these girls and give them their own programs. We need to feed colleges and recognize professional scholarship programs,” he said. “We see a lot of talent up there in Erie.”

On March 10, the Pennsylvania High School Girls State Championship, sponsored by PA Chapter of USA Wrestling, will take place in Gettysburg, and several Erie girls will participate.

Wrestling is a family affair for some students For some young women, wrestling is in their DNA. Corry's Megan Gourley, 18, has a dad, Andrew Gourley, who wrestled and coached.

Her brother, Dylan, currently wrestles and so does her cousin, Jesse. Gourley wrestles in the 190- to 285-pound weight classes.

That's quite a range. “I was always wrestling people who weighed more,” she said. Gourley, who is also the daughter of Jessica

Megan Gourley, top, 18, of Corry, wrestles during a high school match in this file photo. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Amy Nam, left, a Harbor Creek High School sophomore, wrestles on the boys team.[CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Gourley, is 5-foot-10-inches and weighs about 197.

She started when she was about 5 years old because she spent a lot of time around family on the mats. Her dad coached her through seventh grade and said it was her choice if she wanted to continue, and she did. As she entered middle and high school wrestling for Corry, she found some opponents refused to wrestle a girl and forfeited the matches.

She was the first girl to ever win a contested match for Corry High School.

In April 2018, she started wrestling for Renegades Wrestling, 11223 W. Ridge Road, Girard, and wrestles only girls in competition. That led to a national ranking. “I'm 10th in the nation, and I wasn't expecting a national ranking,” she said. “My Renegades coach really wanted me to go a tournament at Cornell, and he didn't tell me until afterward that it was for national rankings,” she said.

Adam Bernhardt, 41, a coach and one of the founders of Renegades Wrestling, said the club is in its third year and offers girls an opportunity to train and work out away from school. “We have 10 girls who work out regularly here, but we have boys too,” he said. The girls range in age from 7 to 18, and Gourley has been active in helping younger wrestlers.

“When younger girls ask me about (wrestling), I say, 'You're gonna get beat and get better— stay with it,'” Gourley said.

After 13 years of wrestling with boys, Gourley said, “Sometimes you get tired when you get beat so many times. It's hard to wrestle, and it can bring you down, but we have a really good team (at Corry).

Every single one of them supported me, and I was the only girl for years.”

She now wrestles yearround for Renegades and did not participate at Corry High School this season, but she said her teammates were always proud of her. “They would brag about me being the only girl,” she said.

Andie Przybycien, left, a freshman, is the first girl in Fort LeBoeuf history to win a contested dual wrestling match. [KYLE KESSLER/ CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

There are bad days too, and she said those made her a better person. Next up for her is the Pennsylvania High School Girls State Championship.

Fulfilling a dream

Karleigh Steiner, 16, a high school sophomore from Saegertown, made it into the postseason with a record of nine wins and 11 losses. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Gourley had to deal with injuries several times. She was slammed to the mat in an eighth-grade match and broke her wrist, while her opponent broke his arm.

She later had surgery on her wrist and recovered, but her freshman year, she tore her ACL, meniscus and dislocated her kneecap. She didn't wrestle her sophomore year but returned with a knee brace as a junior, and she still wears it.

Equipment for girls is important, Gourley said.

Hair nets are required if your hair touches your ears or neck, and she wears headgear to protect her ears from a common result of wrestling called cauliflower ear. She also adds protective padding and shirts to protect her breasts.

Her Corry coach, Mark Munsee, said she had “30 wins wrestling for her high school team going against the big guys up at 195-220 and 285.”

In an interview with Wrestling Magazine, Gourley said, “I wrestle because I like to stand out and prove to not only myself but all women across the states that 'men's' sport or 'men's' activities aren't just for men. I like to prove that we (women) can and are just as capable of doing the hard and enduring work and being good at it.”

What's next? She's planning to attend Gannon University for prelaw and wrestling.

On March 10, she will participate in the

Pennsylvania High School Girls State Championship.

Family, friends encourage In Waterford, Andie Przybycien, 15, is a 4-foot11-inch freshman at Fort LeBoeuf High School and is the first girl in the school's history to win a contested dual wrestling match. She pinned her opponent at 113 pounds in 3 minutes and 19 seconds.

“It (wrestling) goes back to when I was younger. I'd watch my dad coach and I was just intrigued because it was a cool sport. There were no girls there, but I thought I would give it a try anyway,” she said. At 8 years old, she wrestled at the novice level and liked it so much she continued into the junior high program. “I had a genuine love for the sport,” she said.

Her brother, JoJo, wrestles, and their dad, Joe Przybycien, encouraged her to participate. Her mom, Marcelle Przybycien, was supportive, and the teen has a big fan section.

“My friends are my biggest supporters,” she said.

She advised younger girls to “go for it. If you can weather the storm, the reward is worth the cost.” Like other girls on boys wrestling teams, she has seen boys forfeit because they didn't want to wrestle a girl.

This year, Przybycien had 12 pins, and she also wrestles for the Renegades.

Her future could include wrestling in college.

Karleigh Steiner, age 16, is a 4-foot-11-inch 94-pound sophomore at Saegertown High School and was one of the few girls who made it into the postseason with a record of nine wins and 11 losses. She came in sixth at sections.

She got involved in wrestling because she comes from a family of wrestlers. Her parents, Robert and Stacy Steiner, were in favor of the sport, and she had two uncles who wrestled. Her mom had wanted to wrestle, but her parents wouldn't let her. “I'm kind of fulfilling her dream,” Steiner said.

She started wrestling in junior high. “I thought it was hard, but it was a lot of fun,” she said. She's also been wrestling for the Renegades and trains all summer with them. She is also on the cross-country team at Saegertown.

That's not to say any of it is easy. “Sometimes, the feeling of defeat is rough, but as long as you give it your all, it's the best you can do,” Steiner said. She added that she loved everything about the sport. “A team is like family. It's awesome,” she said.

Steiner plans to wrestle in college, and is hoping for a scholarship.

Scholarships are on the minds of girls, coaches and PA Chapter of USA Wrestling's Stabilito, who cited Gannon University as one of the colleges that recently introduced a women's wrestling program. “We've had interest from colleges outside Pennsylvania as well,” he said.

Pam Parker is the editor of House to Home, Her Times and Lake Erie LifeStyle.

She can be reached at 8701821 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HerTimesErie.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

HER TIMES WO M E N I N E R I E H I STO RY YO U D I D N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; T K N O W A B O U T

Meet Laura de Force Gordon Did you know the first woman to run a daily newspaper in the United States was from Erie County?

But she did much more than just that in her career.

Meet Laura de Force Gordon, who was born in 1838 to Abram de Force and Catherine Doolittle Allen and grew up in North East.

She was one of nine children. Following the death of one of her brothers, her family converted to Christian spiritualism, which believes in communicating with the spirits of the dead. The religious movement also mandates equality between men and women and individualism.

This laid the foundation for de Force Gordon's roots in the suffrage movement.

She watched her mother support her large family as a seamstress because her father struggled with rheumatism and could not work.

When she was just 15, she began public speaking and left home to tour the country to give lectures. In 1862, she married Charles H. Gordon,

A portrait of Laura de Force Gordon. [LIBRARY OF CONGRESS]

a doctor. The couple eventually settled in Lodi, California, in 1870.

In 1873, she became an editor and reporter for the Stockton Narrow Gauge. A year later, she bought the Stockton Weekly Leader, converted it into a daily newspaper and became the first female publisher of a paper in the United States.

During this same time, she gave more than 100 speeches focusing on equal rights for men and women in California and Nevada.

She also steadfastly pursued a career in law.

She was barred from

attending law school in 1879, but studied on her own and passed the bar exam. In 1880, she opened her own law firm in San Francisco, practicing criminal and general law. She later became the second woman admitted to the Supreme Court bar in 1885.She was instrumental in the passage of the Women's Lawyer Bill, which allowed women to practice law in the state of California.

De Force Gordon died in 1907 at the age of 68 in California.

Compiled by Sarah Grabski

E R I E WO M E N M A K I N G H I STO RY

Linda Althof

Mary Jo Anderlonis-Fulton

Malinda Bostick

Amanda Burlingham

Julie Chacona

Phyllis DiNicola

Renea Kovski

Nancy Marchini

Sister Phyllis McCracken

Nancy Morris

Heidi Parr Kerner

Nicole Reitzell

Mercy Center to honor 13

By Pam Parker pam.parker@timesnews.com

The Mercy Center for Women will honor 13 women on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at theMary Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Angelo Performing Arts Center at Mercyhurst University, 501 E. 38th St. The event is free.

The women are: Linda Althof, Mary Jo Anderlonis-Fulton, Malinda Bostick, Amanda Burlingham, Julie Chacona,

Phyllis DiNicola, Renea Kovski, Nancy Marchini, Sister Phyllis McCracken, Nancy Morris, Heidi Parr Kerner, Nicole Reitzell and Nichole Schreiber.

Paul Lorei has taken the women's' portraits.

They are on display in the lobby at Saint Vincent Hospital until Wednesday, when they will go up at Mercyhurst for the night.

This is the 27th year for the Women Making History event, which

Nichole Schreiber [PAUL LOREI/CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS]

celebrates women who are dedicated to helping others and making an impact on the community. Congratulations to the 13 recipients.

Pam Parker is the editor of House to Home, Her Times and Lake Erie LifeStyle. She can be reached at 870-1821 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter. com/HerTimesErie.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

FOOD Ham loaf dinner: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunday, Lake City Fire Department, 2232 Rice Ave., Lake City.

Ham loaf, potato, veggie, salad, roll, beverage and dessert. $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-10, free for children 4 and younger.

Spaghetti dinner: 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 816 W. 26th St. Homemade sauce and meatballs; theme baskets, raffle, bake sale. Takeout available. $9 for adults, $5 for ages 6-12, free for younger. sarthaony@hotmail. com.

D R AW I N G

WIN A COOKBOOK We have a copy to give away of “The Ultimate One-Pan Oven Cookbook,” by Julia Konovalova.

The cover promises “complete meals using just your sheet pan, Dutch oven, roasting pan and more.” The sturdy paperback has tons of photos and takes you from breakfast through dessert.

To enter, send a postcard to Jennie Geisler, Erie TimesNews, 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534, or email jennie.geisler@ timesnews.com.

Include your mailing address and the name of the book. No purchase necessary.

The winner of “Air Fryer Perfection” is Roxanna L. Locke. It will be mailed.

PICK IT UP

L OAV E S & D I S H E S

Courthouse cook pleads guilty to self-taught skills Jennie Geisler

T

he first thing you need to know about cooking like Lisa Heidelberg is to just let yourself be you and get after it. All selfjudgments, secondguessing and negative thoughts best stand back, because this woman doesn't have time for them.

She really doesn't.

Chef Lisa, as she likes to be called, cooks all the food you can buy at the Courthouse Cafe, in the Erie County Courthouse, Mondays through Fridays. She is a personal chef to several clients, and she caters events, preparing everything out of her commercial kitchen on West Eighth Street.

A kitchen that doesn't even have a stove.

Five things I learned: You don't even need a stove. Heidelberg has two electric cooktops that sit on a counter and she plugs them in whenever she needs to pan-fry or saute. She has three or four multi-cookers (Instant Pots), including one Ninja-brand machine I took for a canister vacuum.

That thing is a beast.

"My Instant Pots are my besties," she said.

The stove has to wait.

Probably for a while. It would require ancillary work to meet city building codes that could top $10,000 and she's renting. So the cooktops stay.

"I have learned to get

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WEGMANS ADDS CURBSIDE The Wegmans store at 6143 Peach St. is now offering curbside pickup, which saves you the delivery fee.

Customers can place their orders at instacart.wegmans. com or log on to the Instacart app, select a pickup time and pay for their order.

Customers will receive an order confirmation with instructions about pickup. When the order is ready, pull into the designated curbside pickup lane and a Wegmans employee will load the groceries into the vehicle.

Wegmans joins Walmart and Giant Eagle in the curbside pickup business.

The option is only available at the Peach Street Wegmans at this time.

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Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

E AT S

COMING UP

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Personal chef and caterer Lisa Heidelberg, 52, who cooks for the Courthouse Cafe, describes a custom spice blend while working in her Erie kitchen. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

around it," she said.

She also has a double convection oven, a refrigerator and a freezer.

She keeps a roughly 20-square-foot section of wall painted in chalkboard paint, where

she lays out her weekly schedule. In front of her cooktops on another section of wall, she has the same information and a clock in the shape of a KitchenAid stand mixer.

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Squeeze bottles line the backsplash containing extravirgin olive oil, light olive oil, coconut oil, agave, honey and raw honey. A See LOAVES, D2

L O O K W H AT I F O U N D

May the romanesco be with you Meet star veggie of ‘Star Wars’

By Pat Bywater pbywater@timesnews.com

Found: Whole Foods Co-op, 1341 W. 26th St. Cost: $3.99 a head

I

t looked like something from outer space — a bowlingball-size, rubbery, lime green clump of little pointy pyramid shapes upon little pointy pyramid shapes that formed bigger pyramid shapes.

Its spiral, fractal surface was mesmerizing, beautiful and remarkable, and a total surprise to find in the produce aisle at the Whole Foods Co-op. I had never seen such a thing, and I do spend time in produce aisles regularly. This vegetable would have looked great hanging on a wall,

or as a centerpiece, but clearly, it was meant to be eaten, and I was up for an adventure.

What I encountered was romanesco, a lesser-known relative of cauliflower and broccoli that appears to be growing in popularity, particularly among Whole Foods' regional customer base.

General manager LeAnna Nieratko explained that the romanesco for sale at the co-op in late February was from California. It was specially ordered due to customers' requests and it was going quickly.

Another shipment due in last Friday was also expected to sell fast.

Romanesco is grown in our region, and with the right conditions, it can be harvested in the spring and fall.

See FOUND, D2

Customers of Whole Foods Co-op, 1341 W. 26th St., make special requests for fresh romanesco. [PAT BYWATER/ERIE TIMESNEWS]

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Wednesday, March 6, 2019

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

FOOD

LOAVES From Page D1

shelf is stacked with airtight containers of her own hand-mixed spice blends.

"I was raised by Southern women," she said. "I don't do 1 tablespoon of this, one cup of that. No, I just put some of this in and some of that in. Sorry."

She's not sorry.

She's sorry Majestic Bakery closed. That's where she got the rolls she used for her pulled pork. It closed recently, but she's adjusting, and so far likes what she's been getting from Bill's Bakery, 1825 W. 26th St. She showed off a loaf of Italian bread she'd torn a piece off for herself as breakfast that morning and complained about how nervous she was to have a reporter and photographer with her.

"I find that I'm getting requests to do cooking demos and I'm terrified of them, but I figure since my goal is to get my own TV show, I'd better get over that, huh?" she said with a laugh.

Heidelberg is a little apologetic about her background."I'm not a graduate of any cooking school," she said. "I went to the CIG, the Culinary Institute of my Grandmother.

That's my story. Anybody can do this."

Heidelberg said she started cooking to release stress. "I wasn't born cooking," she said. "But when my daughter was born, I thought, 'Oh my God, there's someone who is depending on me.' And I was desperate to give her the best I could in the world."

She explained all this while cooking wild sockeye salmon fillets over one of the cooktops, in a copper frying pan, which she had oiled as it heated.

She explained that once the fish is in the pan, you don't want to move it until it's properly seared.

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"The secret here is don't touch anything," she said, as she barreled ahead on the Wedgy Salad she was to serve with the salmon.

Taking a whole head of lettuce, she slammed it, root side down, onto the cutting board, dislodging the core, no knife required.

It was impressive. And a little frightening. But, sure enough, out came the core and she cut the head into wedges.

She'd check on the salmon periodically, poking a spatula gently underneath once piece to see if it would loosen, adding that she doesn't like it cooked all the way through, though some do. When she thought it was ready, she flipped each piece and went back to the salad.

She had already made the blue cheese dressing, so she simply dipped a ladle into the bowl and let it spill over the light greens, sprinkling the top with bacon bits, craisins, chopped scallions, magically finishing at the same time as the salmon, which she artfully positioned on the plate with the salad.

CIG or no, the woman has skills.

Heidelberg said she tries to cook healthy food, but to her what's more important than calories and fat grams are foods made with real ingredients and served in moderation. "Food is supposed to be satisfying," she said. "I like to find fun ways to sneak in healthy ingredients."

She listed her Turkey Taco Soup, Curry Chicken Wrap and Salmon served on Cauliflower Steaks as examples. "It's healthy, but not overly so," she said. "It's familiar, but it's elevated, with my twist on it."

Chef Lisa’s Cajun Salmon • 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets • 1 tablespoon Chef Lisa’s Cajun Seafood rub, recipe follows • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Rub each fillet with some of the seafood rub.

Heat frying pan over medium-high heat and add oil. When the pan is hot, add salmon, skin-side down. Allow it to cook three to four minutes, or until skin releases from the pan with a spatula. Turn over and cook 3 to 4 more minutes. Fish should release from the pan when it is properly seared. Don’t overcook.

Remove from pan and serve.

Caterer and personal chef Lisa Heidelberg cooks wild salmon at her Erie kitchen. [GREG WOHLFORD/ ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Lisa Heidelberg

Chef Lisa’s Cajun Seafood Rub

Chef Lisa’s Blue Cheese Dressing

• 1 tablespoon lemon zest, dried • 1 tablespoon onion powder • 1 tablespoon garlic powder • 1 tablespoon dried thyme • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 1 teaspoon salt • Healthy pinch of cayenne

• 4 ounces blue cheese crumbles • 2 cups buttermilk • 2 teaspoons fresh dill • 2 teaspoons fresh, chopped parsley • 1 teaspoon fresh, chopped oregano • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste • 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Mix and store in air-tight container.

Note: Amounts estimated.

Lisa Heidelberg

Stir and refrigerate in airtight container for up to two weeks.

Lisa Heidelberg

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Jennie Geisler writes about her adventures as a home cook. You can reach her at 870-1885. Send email to jennie.geisler@timesnews. com. Follow her on Twitter at www. twitter.com/ETNgeisler.

Learn more

A wedge salad with wild salmon and homemade dressing, prepared by personal chef and caterer Lisa Heidelberg, is displayed at her Erie kitchen last month. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

See more photos from Lisa Heidelberg's kitchen: www.GoErie.com/Photos

Chef Lisa’s Wedgy Salad

Dinner Is Served By Lisa Personal chef & catering services 334 W. Eighth St. 218-2222; 870-9058 www.facebook.com/dinnerisservedby

FOUND From Page D1

Somehow I missed its Hollywood moment when it appeared as part of a meal in 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

But I felt less embarrassed as a romanesco newbie whenNieratko mentioned that she had

not been familiar with the vegetable for long, having experienced it recently for the first time through her community supported agriculture program.

Romanesco can be steamed, roasted or prepared in just about any way you prefer your broccoli or cauliflower.

After chopping the buds from the stems, I coated the buds lightly in extra virgin olive oil

• 1 quarter wedge iceberg lettuce • 2-3 tablespoons Chef Lisa’s Blue Cheese dressing • 2 tablespoons crisp bacon, crumbled • 2 tablespoons craisins (dried, sweetened cranberries)

and added garlic salt and paprika to taste. I roasted the romanesco at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes and then sprinkled some shredded mozzarella cheese on top, giving it just enough additional time in the oven to melt. After all, everything is better with cheese.

Prior to cooking, I read that romanesco tastes lighter and sweeter than broccoli, and I found those

• Tomatoes, chopped, to taste • Fresh chopped scallions for garnish Arrange lettuce wedge on a dinner-sized plate and drizzle with dressing.

Layer other ingredients on and around the wedge.

Lisa Heidelberg

reviewers on target. I also found it more succulent.

My increasingly picky teenage daughter tolerated it, so in my book, it landed squarely in the "big win" column.

I look forward to romanesco appearing in my house again, though I suspect next time I may figure out a way to display it as art for a while before it hits the menu.

As Yoda would say: Try

romanesco, you must!

FIND SOMETHING? If you run into something new at the store and you want to know more about it, let us know, and we’ll dig into it. Send requests to jennie.geisler@ timesnews.com (subject Look What I Found); or by regular mail to Jennie Geisler, Look What I Found, 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

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Thursday, March 7, 2019

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SHOWCASE GoErie.com

SHOWCASE GoErie.com

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Thursday, March 7, 2019 11

FILMS R O U N D U P : 1 3 E M P O W E R I N G F I L M S T H R O U G H O U T C I N E M AT I C H I S T O R Y

Heroines on the big screen

O Times-News staff

ne thing we’ve learned from Women’s History Month is that women have taken on work traditionally performed by men for centuries, and they’ve been successful. And cinema has shown us how it’s done thanks to the unforgettable heroines in must-see classics dating all the way back to the silent era.

While countless movies could make a list of favorites that feature women in empowering roles, it’s all subjective. But here are a few of the films we believe stand out.

“Sparrows” (1926): Silent film star Mary Pickford produced and starred in this silent film about Molly, the heroine who protects children from the evil owner of a baby farm and uses a pitchfork to hold him at bay. The actress was one of the most famous of the silent-film era and starred in movies for about 50 years.

“Gone with the Wind” (1939): No one can forget Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara and her efforts to save her beloved Tara, no matter what. The Civil War drove her character from southern belle to plantation manager/heroine, earning Leigh an Academy Award for best actress while co-star Hattie McDaniel was the first black performer to be nominated and win an Oscar for her supporting role.

“His Girl Friday” (1940): This classic romantic comedy sets Rosalind Russell up as a plucky star reporter who contemplates leaving her career for her second marriage, though her ex-husband and newspaper editor (Cary Grant) has other ideas that involve colorful ploys to keep her employed and win her back.

“Adam’s Rib” (1949): Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn star as husband-and-wife lawyers Adam and Amanda Bonner facing off in court.

Hepburn’s character defends a woman who attempted to shoot her philandering

Octavia Spencer, center, Taraji P. Henson, left, and Janelle Monáe, back right, star in 2016’s “Hidden Figures.” [TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX]

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Mark Hamill, left, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford star in 1977’s “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.” [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho), left, and the demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) in 2016’s “Moana.” [DISNEY]

husband, while Tracy portrays the assistant district attorney who prosecutes the case in this Oscar-nominated film.

“The African Queen” (1951): Another great film by Katharine Hepburn, who plays a British Methodist missionary forced to flee a German-raided African village with the help of a rough-hewn boat captain (Humphrey Bogart).

Despite their differences and the perils they face along the river, though, they scheme to blow up a German warship, among other things, to avenge the death of her brother.

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“Wait Until Dark” (1967): Yet another Hepburn — this time Audrey Hepburn — puts in a great performance as a blind woman who uses her lack of sight to help outsmart drug dealers and killers invading her home. The film ranks No. 55 as the American Film Institute’s “100 Years ... 100 Thrills” series, and earned the actress a deserved Oscar nomination.

“Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” (1977): Carrie Fisher takes the princess role to a boss level with Leia Organa, a rebel fighter, spy and so much more. The character becomes more

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powerful throughout the original trilogy, where she more than holds her own opposite the handsome cad Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Fisher — who died in 2016 — also reprised her role in the most recent sequels (2015’s “The Force Awakens” and 2017’s “The Last Jedi”), and is expected to posthumously appear in the ninth episode that’s still in development.

“Norma Rae” (1979): Sally Field earned an Oscar for her role as a woman who — despite the wishes of her family — rallies her coworkers in a textile mill to unionize. No one can forget that memorable scene in which Norma

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stands on her work station with a piece of cardboard that reads “UNION.” “A League of Their Own” (1992): Starpower elevated this film based on the real first female professional baseball league during World War II, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. While the script is fiction, watching Madonna, Penny Marshall, Rosie O’Donnell, Geena Davis and other stars come together as a team will make you cheer and maybe even tear up a little — even if Tom Hanks’ cantankerous coach says “there’s no crying in baseball.”

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“Erin Brockovich” (2000): Based on a true story, Julia Roberts stars as a single mother of three children who goes to work for an attorney and uncovers evidence that a family’s medical issues are due to high levels of chromium in the water. She then becomes instrumental in persuading the town’s plaintiffs to sue the company poisoning the water. Roberts won an Oscar and multiple other awards for her role.

“Million Dollar Baby” (2004): This Oscar-winning film gave Hilary Swank a moment to shine in her role as a female boxer Maggie Fitzgerald coached by tough old trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood, who also directed the film). Oscars went to Eastwood, Swank and supporting actor Morgan Freeman, and the film also won best picture.

11

Spencer Tracy, left, and Katharine Hepburn in a scene from the 1949 film “Adam’s Rib.” [THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]

12

“Hidden Figures” (2016): Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson and Janelle Monáe star in the true story of the three black women responsible for figuring out the complicated mathematical calculations that put a man on the moon in the 1960s. The inspiring film shows how they battled racism and earned the respect of astronauts and male coworkers in this acclaimed, Oscar-nominated film.

“Moana” (2016): No list would be complete without an animated Disney film, and there are dozens of uplifting and female-empowering movies to choose from. This Oscar-nominated film, featuring hit music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, follows a Polynesian chief’s brave teen daughter, Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho), who sets sail to save her people from suffering a terrible curse.

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Sunday, March 10, 2019

H E R STO RY | E 2

H E A LT H | E 8

WOMENINERIEHISTORY

COLON CANCER

Meet Ada Lawrence, the first black person to be hired as a full-time teacher by the Erie School District

Colorectal surgeon Jennifer McQuade says screening guidelines have changed

HER TIMES Mural to celebrate suffrage centennial

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Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

H E A LT H Y T R A N S I T I O N

By Valerie Myers valerie.myers@timesnews.com

A public art project will celebrate the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which gave U.S. women the right to vote.

The League of Women Voters of Erie County and the Erie Downtown Partnership are planning a downtown mural to honor women who led the fight to vote and have led the way in our communities since.

The public will be invited to participate.

“We want to have community painting days where, once the concept is firmed up, it can be transferred onto polytab material in really large squares, brought to community events and taken into schools,” said Emily Fetcko, assistant director of the Downtown Erie Partnership. “It will be sort of a paint by numbers by the public. Then the artists will give it a lot of detail and finish it up.”

The material can be affixed to a building when painted. The public will paint parts of the mural this spring through fall.

The work will be finalized by artists next year and unveiled in August 2020, the 100th anniversary of 19th Amendment ratification.

Seven teams of artists submitted mural proposals. Teams were required to be led by a female artist. All seven teams were comprised solely of women, Fetcko said.

Chosen to lead the project was a team of six artists who double as art educators: Kathy Johnson, a teacher at McKean Elementary School; Christina Martin, a teacher at James W. Parker Middle School in Edinboro; Mary Elizabeth Meier, an instructor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; Jennifer Peters, a teacher at Waterford’s Fort LeBoeuf High School; Suzanne Proulx, professor and assistant art department chairperson at Edinboro University; and Barbara Wegner, a Fairview High School teacher.

Their concept is a work in progress.

“The initial concept they sent to us has a historic look of where we have been and where we’re going,” Fetcko said. “We will find a way for it to include prominent Erie women who blazed a trail not just in voting in Erie County but in positions of leadership in Erie County. It also will look to the future.”

Also yet to be finalized is where the mural will be placed. Blasco Library and the Erie County Courthouse are possible locations, Fetcko said.

“We want to have a very visible location and still are advocating for a good place See MURAL, E2

[SHUTTERSTOCK]

Erie-area women stepping up into health care jobs

By JJennie i G Geisler i l jennie.geisler@timesnews.com

S

he never let them see her cry.

“I came into medicine at a time when very few women were surgeons,” saidJustine M. Schober, 60, a urologist surgeon at UPMC Hamot.

During her residency program, she said the other residents called her names, made fun of her and tried to make her feel like she “didn’t deserve to be there.”

A supervisor eventually pulled her aside and

offered her some advice.

“Just don’t ever let them see you cry,” she said she was told. “If they see you cry, they’ve won. They’ve hurt you. Go home and cry. Then, after crying, get mad. Come back here stronger, more intelligent, more capable and better than all of them.”

“It was the best thing that anyone ever told me,” she said. “I did everything that he said I could be: smarter, harder working, more capable. It worked.”

Before 2017, when women for the first time made up more than half the student body in medical school, women old enough to be their grandmothers were forcing their way into the medical field— and not just into nursing, which had been their mainstay.

“When I graduated nursing school, you stood

to give the physician the seat or the chair,” said Anne Pedersen, 60, director of nursing at UPMC Hamot. “Physicians could be irritable and angry and frustrated with the performance of nurses. It was more allowed and acceptable.”

Silvia Ferretti, D.O., now provost, vice president and dean of academic affairs at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, went into osteopathic medicine in part because it was more inclusive of women.

“When I went into medicine in the 1970s, women were relegated to women’s med schools,” she said. “Except in osteopathic medicine. There, 30 to 50 percent of the class were women.”

The founder of osteopathic medicine, Andrew

Taylor Still, opened his first school with the statement: “Women are admitted on the same terms as men. It is the policy of the school that there shall be no distinction as to sex and that all shall have the same opportunities, and be held to the same requirements.

They pursue the same studies, attend the same lectures, are subjected to the same rules, and pass the same examinations.”

Ferretti said she saw some minor differences.

“When we went to the surgical suite to scrub, there was a doctors’ section and women went to the nursing section,” she said. “But I never felt anybody mistreated me.

In osteopathic medicine, people are united around a patient.”

See HEALTH, E3

‘People are comfortable here’ Kevin Flowers

N

Richford Arms is a 100-unit apartment building overlooking Perry Square in downtown Erie. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

ear the end of our recent telephone interview, Mary Wnukowski explained why she and many of her neighbors enjoy their downtown Erie home.

“People are comfortable here,” Wnukowski said. “It’s a good place that provides

everything they need.”

Wnukowski, 52, was referring to Richford Arms, the 100-unit apartment building at 515 State St. that has been the subject of widespread rumor and much speculation since the Erie Downtown Development Corp. began pushing forward with its plans to bring marketrate housing, commercial space and other improvements to the center city.

That effort, launched in 2017, is fueled by more than $27 million See FLOWERS, E3

E2

Sunday, March 10, 2019

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

HER TIMES W O M E N I N E R I E H I S T O R Y YO U S H O U L D K N O W

Meet Ada Lawrence Ada Lawrence will go down in Erie history as a trailblazer.

She made Erie history on Sept. 3, 1946, when she became the first black person, a woman, hired as a fulltime teacher by the Erie School District.

She was 26 at the time.

She was born in 1920 to Earl E. Lawrence and Belle Clark Lawrence. She graduated in 1939 from Strong Vincent High School and went on to attend Cheyney State Teachers College, where she received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She later earned her master’s degree from Gannon College and worked as a teacher for 36 years.

“First of all, you were just glad you had the chance. ... To finally get what you knew what you were capable of doing, I appreciated that. It felt good that you got the job you wanted to do,” Ada Lawrence said in a 2008 interview with the Erie Times-News.

Her father, a music teacher, had worked at other local schools since the late 1800s, but never in the Erie School District. She grew up watching him and imitating him, lining up her dolls on a screened-in porch overlooking Presque Isle Bay and lecturing about reading or math or history.

She began her career at a segregated school in

Organizers and artists meet to discuss a planned mural celebrating 100 years of voting rights for women. The mural is part of a yearlong local commemoration of the 19th Amendment. From left: Barbara Wegner, Christina Martin, Kathy Johnson, Lorraine Dolan, Lisa Songer, Honey Stempka, Suzanne Proulx, Mary Elizabeth Meier and Jennifer Peters. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

In this 2008 file photo, Ada Lawrence poses for a portrait at Sunrise Assisted Living in Erie. Lawrence was the first black teacher hired by the Erie School District. [FILE PHOTO/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cambridge, Maryland.

“That was an eyeopener for me,” Ada Lawrence said in a 2004 interview.

“It was completely separate, even though Maryland we wouldn’t think that as being southern.”

She was first hired at what was then Wayne Elementary School.

In a 2004 interview with the Erie TimesNews, Lawrence said she was actually the second black person hired by the Erie School District, but the first woman cleaned and did not teach.

Ada Lawrence was already making inroads in Erie before the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that ended segregation in public schools, Brown vs. Board of Education, which banned “separate but equal’’ public education.

She was fascinated by history, particularly her family’s history in

the Erie area. She often recalled enjoying the visits of Harry T. Burleigh, a family friend and legendary black composer and singer, to her childhood home on West Front Street, between Sassafras and Myrtle streets.

Ada Lawrence was one of the founding members of the Poisettes Bowling Club and was extremely involved in the Erie community.

She was one of the original incorporators of the Bayfront NATO’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center.

Lawrence died in 2014 at the age of 93.

In 2012, Erie City Council renamed West Front Street, between Sassafras and Myrtle streets, in honor of Ada Lawrence, who lived most of her life in the family homestead there before moving to assisted living.

— Compiled by Sarah Grabski

MURAL From Page E1

in the Perry Square district because historically it’s a place where people come to gather and have their voices heard.

It also does have both courthouses,” she said.

Mural cost is estimated at $15,000.

Grant money will pay most of the mural and associated costs.

A student essay contest and a star art project may complement the project. Stars would be created and placed at 100 Erie County locations in honor of the suffrage centennial.

“Stars were very important in the suffrage movement. Women would create stars and wear them,” Fetcko said.

The suffrage movement changed the face of American democracy, Lorraine Dolan, of the local League of Women Voters, said in February in detailing the yearlong project. “Half the public that had been disenfranchised could vote

when the 19th Amendment was ratified,” she said. “The suffragette movement has been under-appreciated.”

Not all American women were able to vote in 1920. Some states passed laws restricting blacks’ voting rights.

“We are trying to evoke everybody’s voice, including women of color and women

of different backgrounds,” Fetcko said.

“We are very aware that the 19th Amendment was only the beginning and that a lot of women still did not have the right to vote.”

Valerie Myers can be reached at 878-1913 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNmyers.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Sunday, March 10, 2019

E3

HER TIMES

HEALTH

More info

From Page E1

According to the 2012-2017 American Community Survey five-year estimates:

She said people often asked her if she ever felt discriminating conditions due to her gender.

“I really didn’t,” she said. “It’s not that they didn’t exist, but that was not my experience.”

Health care occupations combined

Change is healthy No matter what time period you look at, it is impossible to overstate the influence women have had on the health care profession and how that is picking up speed. One simple traditional reason is that nurses and aides far outnumber doctors. But there’s more to it than that.

“Women really control health care in their decisions that they make for their children,” Ferretti said. “And women are requesting women in certain specialties. And women are nurturing and have the children and we can’t deny those factors.”

Schober points out that women are streaming into the health care field in droves. “Women in medical schools exceeds the number of men and in dental school and pharmacy school, and some professions that are traditionally women still are, including nursing and pharmacy techs and respiratory techs. A lot of the staffing, such as medical assistants, are women.

“I think that culturally, across the world, women are the caregivers.”

Schober said she welcomes the changes to the makeup of the world of physicians.

“I think it’s wonderful to teach women,” she said. “I think the world is different now. We are much more respectful of many differences. My institution at this time would never tolerate sexual harassment. The surgeons I work with are such good people. My residents are such good people.

“They are better than we were ... It’s a different world.”

Pedersen said she noticed a real change in medicine because the profession is becoming more tolerant of the worklife balance choices its employees have to make.

“The rise of the hospitalist role, working certain shifts and regular schedules so child care can be managed around those,” she said, adding that more medical fields with controllable schedules, such as radiology and emergency department physicians, are making it easier for families to manage careers in medicine.

FLOWERS From Page E1

from local business and community leaders.

I was interviewing Wnukowski, an auto parts store employee, for a story on Richford Arms, downtown development and concerns about gentrification, or the process of displacing residents via urban renewal.

A recent report by the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, included suggestions for downtown improvements and focused on Richford Arms, despite the fact that EDDC does not own the property.”The Richford Arms block is key to the reimagining exercise,” the ULI report states.

Chiropractors, dentists, dietitians, nutritionists, optometrists, pharmacists, physicians, surgeons, physician assistants, podiatrists, audiologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, radiation therapists, recreational therapists, respiratory therapists, speech-language pathologists, exercise physiologists, therapists, veterinarians, registered nurses, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, health diagnosing and treating practitioners, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, dental hygienists, diagnostic related technologists and technicians, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, health practitioner support technologists and technicians, opticians, miscellaneous health technologists and technicians, other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations.

In Erie County: 2,010 males, 7,084 females Median salary earnings in Erie County: Women: $46,545 Men: $63,424 • This means women earn 73.4 percent of

“There’s been a dramatic change,” Pedersen said.

“I’ve watched the affiliation of Hamot join UPMC with the corporate guidelines that have truly demonstrated a corporate culture of dignity and respect. That has taken front and center.”

She admits there’s no magic wand.

“I also know it’s not perfect,” she said. “We’re still working on that. It’s a century of unlearning certain things and changing the culture and valuing all for what they bring to the hospital every day, but the values are there and we’re going to get there.”

Healing the pay gap

what men make in these positions.

Median salary earnings for the United States: Women: $51,585 Men: $74,725 • This means women earn 69 percent of what men make in these positions.

Specific fields Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations In Erie County: 1,499 males, 4,799 females Median salary earnings in Erie County: Women: $52,866 Men: $74,620 • This means women earn 70.8 percent of what men make in these positions.

Median salary earnings for the United States: Women: $61,455 Men: $102,016 • This means women earn 60.2 percent of what men make in these positions.

Health technologists and technicians In Erie County: 511 males, 2,285 women Median salary earnings in Erie County: Women: $32,017 Men: $31,766 • This means women earn 100.8 percent of what men make in these positions.

Median salary earnings for the United States:

“I would never give a woman less,” Ferretti said. “In fact, in positions of leadership, we try to give the best chances to other women.

We want to develop them.

We have a special interest in making sure women get developed in the sciences.”

Which is not to say she or anyone else at LECOM would pass over a deserving man.

“We’re going for equality,” she said. “That’s the point of all this. I think we’re getting to that point and let’s just keep it going. Who is the best person for the job?”

Pedersen said she thinks the pay gap is narrowing and pay parity in the medical profession is within reach because so many more women are entering the profession and rising into leadership roles, and, in one category— health technologists and technicians— men and women in Erie County do earn roughly the same amount. In the U.S. at large, women still earn only 85 percent of what men do in this category.

Despite their dominance in numbers within health care, women are still consistently earning less than their male counterparts. In the broad overall health care category, women earn 73 percent of what men do in Erie County. Across the U.S., that number is 69 percent.

In the highest paid category of health care workers in Erie County, women make only 71 percent.

Ferretti wonders if the category is misleading because the broad overall category would include everyone from lab techs to heart surgeons. Women are more likely to be employed in the lower paid positions within the category.

“For example, a rehab doctor wouldn’t make what a cardiologist makes,” she said. “I would think that doctors of pharmacy have achieved parity. And in dentistry, the same is true.”

She herself hires doctors.

Katie Adamczyk, 29, a LECOM Health physical therapy assistant, is a product of this new world. She said she always knew she wanted to work in the health care field, and never gave her gender a second thought.

“I, personally, don’t look at gender,” she said. “If I’m going to see a physician or any type of health care specialist, if they have a good reputation and are respectful and compassionate, that’s what matters to me.”

“The panel feels the renovation of the existing senior low-income housing apartment building is fundamental in presenting the public a new face of Erie.”The panel also believes that significantly more residential can be located in the site,” according to the report, which also suggests that “existing low-income residents should either be allowed to stay in the rehabilitated building or given the opportunity to relocate to a location where similar services can be provided.”

Wnukowski told me that she tries not to worry about the speculation.

But she’s aware of the hearsay, which goes something like this: as downtown development pushes forward, tenants at places like Richford Arms — where tenants range from people

in their mid-20s to seniors in their early 90s and nearly everyone receives federal rental subsidies or other housing assistance — will likely be pushed out.

“Some of the people there, disabled people and older people, I don’t think they would want to move,” Wnukowski said.

Several other Richford Arms tenants I spoke with had similar takes. And a number of them made the following point: they shouldn’t have to move, because there’s room for all types of people downtown.

“I feel like there’s a place here for everybody,” said Ethel Wheat,a 69-yearold retired hairstylist who lives on the eighth floor at Richford Arms.

“We are turning into one big family unit here, and God’s got our backs.”

Looking forward

Women: $35,563 Men: $41,717 • This means women earn 85.2 percent of what men make in these positions.

Service occupations related to health care Women in Erie County make significantly more than their male counterparts in one broad category of health-related service occupations. The category includes nursing, psychiatric and home health aides; occupational therapy assistants and aides; physical therapist assistants and aides; massage therapists; dental assistants; medical assistants; medical transcriptionists; pharmacy aides; veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers; phlebotomists; and healthcare support workers.

In Erie County: 486 males, 3,144 females Median salary earnings in Erie County: Women: $21,853 Men: $17,217 • This means women earn 126.9 percent of what men make in these positions.

Median salary earnings for the United States: Women: $23,138 Men: $26,014 • This means women earn 88.9 percent of what men make in these positions.

U.S. Census Bureau

She said what matters in a health care provider is not found in one’s gender but in a person’s motivation, understanding and nurturing instinct.

“It’s definitely not cut out for everyone,” she said.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Gannon University and continued her education at Mercyhurst North East to become a physical therapist assistant.

“I am where I want to be in my field,” she said. “I would like to grow more as an assistant, taking more continuing education and being more specific with different therapy techniques.”

She thinks more women are entering health care because the entire field is growing so quickly.

“There are more opportunities out there with schooling and jobs that help bring women and men into the field,” she said. “Having a degree within the field almost guarantees job stability.”

She listed health insurance, job security, flexible schedules, good salaries and opportunities for growth as motivations for women to go into health care.

“I think there are more opportunities out there with schooling and jobs that help bring women and men into the field,” Adamczyk said. “The health care system is only growing and it will continue to get bigger and better.”

Jennie Geisler can be reached at 870-1885 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNgeisler.

Displacement is always a risk when it comes to big-scale development.

Plenty of major cities have seen that.

And gentrification often shifts the racial and ethnic composition of entire city blocks via more expensive housing and businesses.

That not only can push people out, but it also can leave those who remain feeling like strangers in their own neighborhoods.

The EDDC and Mayor Joe Schember insists that’s not the goal when it comes to downtown renewal.

Both John Persinger, the EDDC’s CEO, and Schember have said there’s room for market-rate housing and new businesses among downtown’s existing residents.

And representatives of Richford Arms’

Justine Schober is a urology surgeon at UPMC Hamot.

Katie Adamczyk is a LECOM Health physical therapy assistant.

Silvia Ferretti, D.O., is provost, vice president and dean of academic affairs at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Anne Pedersen is director of nursing at UPMC Hamot.

[CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS]

Boston-based owner, Beacon Communities, insist they have no plans to sell.

“We have a major interest in seeing the city thrive and develop,” Josh Cohen, the company’s vice president of development, told me.

“We look forward to being a partner with the city of Erie and its stakeholders in the further revitalization of downtown in particular and Erie in general.”

Sounds like Richford Arms — which debuted in 1928 as a 400-room luxury hotel — could be around for a while.

And I suspect Wnukowski, and other tenants, would be fine with that.

Kevin Flowers can be reached at 870-1693 or kevin.flowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at www. twitter.com/ETNflowers.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

ERIE, INC.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

D1

Jim Martin Assigning Editor 870-1668 jim.martin@timesnews.com

HERE TO HELP

Verizon customers lose service for six weeks

David Bruce

B

eing without a landline phone for almost six weeks was a hardship Lana Gartner doesn’t want to go through again.

Gartner was one of at least several dozen Verizon customers in southern Erie and the Belle Valley section of Millcreek Township whose landline and internet services were disrupted in late January when a line was severed along Route 8. Her service wasn’t restored until Monday.

“When it was obvious that we would be without phone service for a while, we had to call everyone we knew and tell them to contact us on my husband’s business cell phone,” said Gartner, 74. “I was scheduled to have knee surgery and my husband was suffering from an eye infection, so we had to call all the doctor’s offices and let them know in case they needed to call us.”

Phone outages are not unusual but officials with the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission and the Office of Consumer Advocate both said they rarely last as long as this one has. The last few affected customers were expected to have their service restored late last week, Verizon spokesman Andy Choi said.

See BRUCE, D2

Talk to us Have a consumer question you’d like us to help you with? Call David Bruce at 870-1736, send email to david.bruce@ timesnews.com, or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

BUSINESS | D2

CHANGING TO SURVIVE Former IBM innovation officer Linda Bernardi offers her thoughts on business, technology and the future during a visit to Penn State Behrend.

Nancy Dusckas shows detail on a casket in the casket display room at Dusckas Funeral Home, 2607 Buffalo Road in Erie. Dusckas, 65, is the owner, supervisor and a funeral director at the east Erie funeral home. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Final arrangements

Women on their way to outnumbering men in funeral directing

By Valerie Myers valerie.myers@timesnews.com

Adrienne Kloecker missed the opening game of the PIAA girls’ state basketball tournament when Villa Maria Academy defeated Elizabeth Forward on March 9.

Kloecker was a member of three state championship Villa teams and now is an assistant coachfortheDistrict10champion Victors.

She’s also a funeral director andhadafuneraltooverseethe day of the tournament.

Kloecker,24,makesnoapologies for missing the game.

“My families always come first,” she said. “I’m not going to a basketball game instead of being here for them.”

Kloecker is a fourth-generation funeral director and one ofagrowingnumberofwomen in a profession traditionally dominated by men. Four decades ago, only five percent ofthenation’sfuneraldirectors were women; today, about 43

Adrienne Kloecker is shown in the funeral home’s preparation and embalming room. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

percent are women, according to the New York State Funeral Directors Association.

And that number will continue to grow.

Womenstudentsoutnumber men in the nation’s mortuary scienceschools.In2016,nearly 60 percent of American mortuary science students were female.AtthePittsburghInstitute of Mortuary Science, the training ground for most local funeral directors, the number in2016wasslightlyhigherat62 percent, according to Funeral Business Advisor Magazine,

an industry magazine.

One reason that more women are entering the field may be that they traditionally are the family caregivers and are discovering that they are well suited to the work, Nancy Dusckas said.

Dusckas, 65, is the dean of womenfuneraldirectorsinErie County.Shewenttoworkwith her father, Constantine “Gus” Dusckas,athisfuneralhomeon Buffalo Road in 1981.

“You have to be compassionate.Youhavetocareabout people. Women have that

M OV E R O F T H E W E E K

THE BUZZ

Erika R. Thomas has joined the Youth Leadership Institute of Erie, where she serves as education program manager. In that role, she is responsible for the implementation and coordination of Connected in 5, a community-based education and career training program for high school students.

This specialized program provides long-term support for at-risk youth, assisting them in the completion of high school and the pursuit of post-secondary education.

Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Gannon University, while serving an internship with the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. She later served as a tip staffer at the Erie County Courthouse.

The Youth Leadership Institute of Erie works to develop high school students into leaders who are informed and motivated.

Jerry Clark, retired FBI special agent and associate professor of criminal justice at Gannon University, has acquired Fisher Security, an Erie-based business that’s provided security guard and patrol services since 1973.

Prior to his retirement, Clark was the lead investigator on the “Collar Bomb” or Major Case No. 203.

As the owner of Erie’s only locally owned and operated security and patrol business, Clark’s goal is to help organizations and private residents reduce risk and liability through preventative security.

Interstate Mitsubishi on Route 99 in Summit Township has been recognized by Mitsubishi Motors of North America Inc. with its 2018

tenderheartandcompassion,” Dusckas said.

Lydia Stroul, 22, of Fairview, didn’t grow up in a family of funeral directors and instead was attracted to the job by the opportunity to help people through difficult times.

An apprentice funeral director for Schoedinger Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Columbus, Ohio, Stroul knows something about difficult times. She was diagnosed with leukemia as a child.

See FUNERAL, D2

Best in Class award for Dealership Sales Satisfaction.

According to the company, the award recognizes Interstate Mitsubishi as the brand’s top dealer in the nation for its continued focus on improving the sales experience and purchasing process throughout 2018.

Great Lakes Home Healthcare has changed its name to UPMC Home Healthcare, and Great Lakes Hospice has become Family Hospice.

The name change follows a legal change a year ago when Great Lakes Home Healthcare, which has served the community for more than 30 years, became part of UPMC Home Healthcare on Feb. 1, 2018.

D2

Sunday, March 17, 2019

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

Bernadi: Changing to survive

By Jim Martin jim.martin@timesnews.com

Howard Fineman, a journalist and political commentator, will be the keynote speaker at the Erie County Bar Association’s annual Law Day luncheon. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Journalist Howard Fineman to speak at Law Day lunch Journalist and political commentator Howard Fineman will be the keynote speaker at the Erie County Bar Association’s 2019 Law Day luncheon on May 9.

Fineman will address this year’s Law Day theme: Free Speech. Free Press. Free Society.

He will also hold an audience with local high school and college students before his talk at the Bayfront Convention Center.

Tickets for the noon luncheon are $40 per person or $320 for a table of eight. Tickets can be purchased

at https://www.eriebar.com/events/ ecba-events/15452019-law-day-luncheon.

The pre-lunch discussion for high school and college students is free.

Reservations can be submitted online at https://www.eriebar.com/events/ ecba-events/1565-student-time-with-howard-fineman.

Reservations for both events are due by April 24. The bar association will also recognize the recipients of the Liberty Bell, Chancellor of the Bar and Pro Bono awards at the luncheon.

BRUCE

be fixed Feb. 13. I called them back Feb. 14 when it wasn’t fixed and they said everyone would have service returned Feb. 28 by 9 p.m.”

When Gartner’s service was restored, Verizon hung a notice on her door handle.Besides having her service restored, Gartner said Verizon credited $72.60 to her account.

The utility never told her why the repairs took almost six weeks.

According to Choi, They took so long because“each involved line had to be identified at each end before repairs could begin.”

Gartner and a couple of other affected customers complained to thePUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services, which is investigating the outage, said Dave Hixson, the PUC’s deputy press secretary.

“It is certainly unusual to have that length of time without service,” Hixson said. “In this particular case, it appears there was a significant amount of damage to major underground cables and splicing was necessary. Splicing and testing of wires can be very time-consuming— impacting restoration time as well.”

Utility customers who want to file a complaint or have questions about their service can call the PUC’s hotline at 800-692-7380. It is recommended they first call the utility to try to solve the problem.

From Page D1

The outage began Jan. 29 when an Erie Water Works crew accidentally severed a Verizon line while repairing a broken water main in the 5000 block of Wattsburg Road in Millcreek Township.

“We had contacted Pennsylvania One Call before we dug to make sure there were no lines in the area,” Erie Water Works CEO Paul Vojtek said. “A Verizon representative marked the area ‘all clear’ but when we drilled a test hole, it severed the Verizon line.

They had laid the line pretty much on top of the water main, which is an unusual practice.”

Choi said he could not confirm how the line was damaged. He also said Verizon was “not going to be able to share” the number of customers affected by the outage but that it was a fraction of the several hundred initially reported by an Erie television station.

Gartner had a similar problem getting information from Verizon. She called the utility four times and was given several different repair dates.

“I have everything written down,” Gartner said. “Verizon first told me it would be fixed Feb. 5. I called them Feb. 6 when it wasn’t fixed and they said it would

Linda Bernardi, who spoke last week at Penn State Behrend as part of the school’s speakerseries,describesherself as a technologist, provocateur, entrepreneur, ex-CEO, strategist, lecturer and board member.

She has credentials on all fronts, including these key resume bullet points: She served as the chief innovation officer at IBM and the founder in 2001 of ConnectTerra, a software provider that connectedRFIDtechnologytolarge enterprise IT. In technology circles, RFID is considered to be the technology that enables what’s now called the Internet of Things, the world of 23 billionnetworkeddevicesthatwill oneday,accordingtoBernardi, begin to think for itself.

Bernardi, the author of “Provoke: Why the Culture of Disruption Is the Only Hope for Innovation,” spent a few minutes chatting with the Erie Times-News. Her responses were edited for brevity.

Question: What’s your message?

Answer: I think it’s the realization that the world is changing. Many things in technology are evolving

FUNERAL From Page D1

“It was incredibly important to me to find a career where I could help people because of the support and care my family and I received when I was undergoing chemotherapy. Each doctor, nurse or specialist I met with was incredibly compassionate and patient, treating each patient and family like they were the only ones they were serving,” Stroul said. “That level of dedication to every person they cared for, to each tired family, to every sick child, left an incredible impact on me.”

When Stroul decided that she wasn’t cut out for medical studies, she opted to help grieving families. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration/ mortuary science at Thiel College in Greenville and completed her mortuary science studies at PIMS in 2018.

“After a bit of searching, I felt funeral directing would allow me opportunity to serve people in a meaningful way,” she said.

Women’s traditional role as caregivers suits them well as a funeral director, Kloecker said.

“Women want to take care of people — take care of everything. Families really appreciate that,” she said.

Adrienne Kloecker earned two bachelor’s degrees in business from Mercyhurst University in 2016, in management and marketing.

She graduated from PIMS in 2017 with her brother, Francis Kloecker III, 22. Their dad, Mark Kloecker, is the supervising funeral director at their Kloecker Funeral Home & Crematory at 2502 Sassafras St.

Linda Bernardi [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

at the same time. If you are in business, you can’t sit there and say I’m not going to worry about AI (artificial intelligence) or IoT (Internet of Things). More fundamentally, if you are doing things the same old way, you won’t survive, period. We will talk about why disruption is important. The second thing is how do businesses invert into the new economy. If you are an Airbnb, an Uber or a Facebook, you were built from the beginning to include these things. But what happens when you are a Caterpillar, a GE a Boeing, a Marriott? How do you change your operations so you can move into a

“In high school, I always said I would be a funeral director. I always took pride in being a fourth-generation funeral director,” Adrienne Kloecker said. She grew up doing lawn work, cleaning, maintenance and sometimes greeting people during calling hours at the funeral home.

“Once I got in college I started loving the business side,” she said. “I thought long and hard about it and decided I needed to give this a chance first and use what I learned in business here.”

Kloecker revamped the business website, got its Facebook page up and running, and personalizes each funeral down to the prayer cards.

“Ourprayercardshadalways been the same for everyone.

Now I can use a Dolphins logo for a Dolphins fan. I can do anythingonacomputertopersonalize them,” Kloecker said.

Women interact especially well with the people making funeralarrangements,shesaid.

“I’ve seen firsthand that the people in charge of making arrangements are women — almost every single time. They relate well to a female funeral director,” she said.

Women tend to arrange most major family events.

Arranging a funeral makes use of those skills, Dusckas said.

“I tell people that you take a year to plan a wedding, arranging for the church, flowers, clergy, food — all the details. We do the same things in three days,” Dusckas said. “It’s a very detailed job. You’ve got to be creative. You’ve got to be strong in the science part of it. You’ve got to be compassionate. And you have to be able to handle the details and paperwork.”

Women also must be able

world of understanding that consumer experience? What does it need to look like in 10 years in order to survive?

Q: As you look at the growth of technology, is there anything that concerns you? Is this a world of opportunity, or a minefield?

A: Without a doubt, we have to figure out issues around security and privacy. I see people comfortably continuing to use technology despite all the hacks and there has been no remedy. And yet the world goes on. I think of all of the things we have control of, if we lost that control there is a danger there. People don’t realize the GPS data that’s maintained on all of us. There are so many points of entry, so many points of attack.

Q: Erie is working to develop an innovation district, trying to position itself as a center of expertise in the area of cybersecurity. Does that seem like a winning strategy for a rust-belt city?

A: I am delighted to hear it.

It’s excellent news. If Erie is able to draw startups to come in, that is tremendous.

Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www. twitter.com/ETNMartin.

to do some manual labor.

“When a person passes who weighs 400 pounds, you’ve got to be able to help move him as well as a guy does,” Dusckas said.

Dusckas earned a degree in social work from Taylor University in Indiana and worked as a counselor at the Edmund L. Thomas Adolescent Center. She was completing a master’s degree in counseling at Gannon University when her dad began to have health issues.

“He said, ‘I’m not pushing you. But if you are thinking about coming into the business, now is the time,’” Dusckas said. She graduated from PIMS and worked with her father for seven years before his death in 1988.

Nancy Dusckas now owns Dusckas Funeral Homes at 2607 Buffalo Road and 536 W. 10th St. She is a co-owner of Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home at 4216 Sterrettania Road and Dusckas-Taylor Funeral Home & Cremation Services at 5151 Buffalo Road.

Drawbacks of funeral directing are the same for women and men and include irregular work schedules, being called out in the middle of the night, and missing out on some holidays and milestone events with family and friends, including the Villa Maria basketball game.

Still, these women say the drawbacks don’t outweigh the rewards of the work.

“I have yet to have a day where I have a real dread of going in to work the next morning and seldom find myself at my desk pleading with the clock to tick faster,” Stroul said. “I enjoy what I’m doing.”

Valerie Myers can be reached at 878-1913 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www. twitter.com/ETNmyers.

MOTLEY FOOL WINNERS

The following people correctly responded that Chipotle Mexican Grill was the answer to last week’s Motley Fool trivia question: Barbara Alonge, Len Jefferson, Carolyn M. Welther, Kathleen Chandler, John McClelland, Harry and Barb Blount, Jared Daly, Mike Zeller, Roger Aaron, Bernie Smith, Deb Cole, Susan Cenfetelli, Paul and Frances

Kuzma, Mary Ann Fogle, Debbie Bowers, Christie Adams, Peggy Alexander, Vance L. Duncan III, Paul Scholl, Frankie Vandermark, Leon J. Buczynski Jr., Ross Feltz, Nanci Dunton, David Milk, Dave Halas, Jerry Lutz, Kristina Straub, Val Crofoot, Gregory L. Swanson, Sam and Karen Amendola, Jerry Kraus, Susan Gomolchak, Mike Roesch, Beverly

Zarella, Keith and Laura Farnham, Greg Lessig, Greg Tower, Dick Forbes, Malcolm Pollard and Bill Detter.

Think you know the answer to this week’s question?

Send your answer to jim. martin@timesnews.com.

Or, mail your answer to Motley Fool, Erie Times-News, 205 W. 12th St., Erie PA 16534.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | H E R STO RY | E 2

H E A LT H | E 8

WOMEN IN ERIE HISTORY

FOOD ON WHEELS

Meet Adella Brindle Woods, one of Erie County’s first female doctors and a fierce public health advocate

Jenna Snider, an environmental protection specialist with the Erie County Department of Health, dispels food truck myths

LIVING Kids’ phrases amuse, inspire

Sunday, March 17, 2019

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Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

Q&A

Joan Benson-Cacchione

I

made plenty of predictions based on the first word beyond “Ma” or “Da” that our firstborn uttered.

“Ight!” my baby boy would say at 9 months when I’d hold him near a switch plate and let him flip the light switch up and down.

“Engineer! Cosmologist! Astronaut!

Philosopher!” I’d think whenever he’d say “ight!” with such joy.

Turns out it was more likely the cause and effect — on, off; on, off — that sparked fascination, not the workings of the lightbulb itself.

Needless to say, he moved on from Mom and the magic light switch and has since used his many other interests and abilities to build a happy life and career. It would have freaked me out to see him floating in space anyway.

So, back to babies and how they acquire language. Few things are as amazing and delightful as how children experiment with words and meaning.

That same child, at age 4, asked me to play “He-Man” one day.

“OK, so you’ll be He-Man,” I said.

“Who will I be?”

He thought briefly, then solemnly said, “He-Mom.” Hilarious! This was the kind of onthe-spot creative thinking I could only hope to aspire to.

When our secondborn was learning to talk, we would often stifle giggles at the thoughts that tumbled out of her mouth.

“See dese damn lights?” she once said to a visitor at the door.

She was inviting my sister inside to see the tangled strands of mini-lights my spouse was laboring to wrap around our prickly, sap-oozing Christmas spruce. With each unwieldy branch, he heedlessly uttered a choice word or two in front of our impressionable 2-year-old.

On another occasion, she sang out, “Coon eat peet-zee!” when we saw that a raccoon had torn open a sack of garbage at the See PHRASES, E4

Tish Bartlett, 49, executive director of the Autism Society Northwestern Pennsylvania, is shown just prior to hosting teen club at the society’s office, 1062 Brown Ave. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

NOT ALONE

Tish Bartlett helps those affected by autism live full lives

By Lisa Thompson lisa.thompson@timesnews.com

Tish Bartlett, 49, is executive director of the Autism Society Northwestern Pennsylvania. She talked with Lisa Thompson about her family's experience with autism and the growth of the agency under her leadership. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. To listen to a longer conversation, visit https://omny.fm/ shows/from-the-newsroom-go-erie.

What is autism?

Autism is a developmental disorder of a neurological origin. It will affect, often severely, someone's ability to communicate and socially interact with others. This can manifest at

different levels. We have individuals who are profoundly affected by autism who will need a lifetime of support with simple things, such as caring for themselves daily, or those who are very, very high functioning.

What are some of the things that individuals with autism might experience differently?

The sensory challenges differ with every child. It could be lighting in a room. Fluorescent lights have a small hum and an individual that has a sound sensitivity can hear that hum, or the air conditioning, the heat, the furnace shutting on and off, when they're hypersensitive to sound, that's where their focus is going to be.

Clothing is a big item. If they have a sensitivity to touch, certain clothing could bother them.

You may see an older child at a sporting event with noise-canceling headphones on in order to censor out some of the sounds. Those sounds can be overwhelming.

The number of people in a room and a specific place can be debilitating to an individual that has a hard time "reading the room." What do they do when they enter the room? Where do they go? How do they navigate that?

That can be extremely overwhelming.

How did you come to be involved

with the Autism Society?

In February of 2004, our little boy was born and he did not develop according to the milestones. When he was 14 months old, he was evaluated and rated as an 8-month-old. We had a lot of fears.

Our family doctor was the first person who mentioned autism. And I'll be honest, at that time, I had a very hard time understanding and accepting. So when Garrett was officially diagnosed at 3½, I dived in to learn everything I possibly could about autism and how we could help our son to have the most successful life possible.

At that time, I was a firm administrator for a local law firm. I ended up resigning. I threw myself into learning about autism to help my son as a kind of a career-path change. So we discovered the Autism Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania. We were looking for other parents who were in See Q&A, E3

Women’s Hall announces Class of ’19

By The Associated Press

Sonia Sotomayor is among the 10 members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Sotomayor was nominated to the nation’s highest court by President Barack Obama in 2009, and is the third woman and the first Latina justice to serve on the Supreme Court. [NATIONAL WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME CLASS]

NEW YORK — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, actress Jane Fonda and attorney Gloria Allred are being inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. They are among 10 members of the Class of 2019, announced recently.

The other honorees are: civil rights activist Angela Davis; Native American lawyer Sarah Deer; retired Air Force fighter pilot Nicole Malachowski; the late suffragist and cartoonist Rose O’Neill;

New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who died last year; composer Laurie Spiegel; and AIDS researcher Flossie Wong-Staal.

“We are pleased to add these American women to the ranks of inductees whose leadership and achievements have changed the course of American history,” hall of fame President Betty Bayer said.

The formal induction ceremony will take place in September outside Seneca Falls, the upstate city considered the birthplace

of women’s rights where the hall is located.

The eight living and two deceased honorees will join 276 other women who’ve been inducted to date, including suffragists, sports and political figures, authors and entertainers.

Those honored are nominated by the public and judged by a team of experts across the various fields.

More about this year’s class: Gloria Allred has represented women in numerous See HALL, E4

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Sunday, March 17, 2019

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

HER TIMES WO M E N I N E R I E H I STO RY YO U S H O U L D K N O W

Meet Adella Brindle Woods Adella Brindle Woods emerged as one of Erie County’s most progressive and advanced doctors at a time when it wasn’t popular for females to practice medicine.

Brindle grew up in Erie and knew she wanted to pursue a career, despite the societal norm for females to raise children at home. In 1866, Erie established a free public high school and Brindle was determined to enroll, even against her parents’ wishes.

She moved into a rented room, where she survived on cold food during the week while she attended classes. In 1869, she and Ottomar Jarecki became the high school’s first graduates.

Brindle returned to high school in the fall of 1869 to teach. She taught for three years but knew she wanted to practice medicine. She enrolled at the University of Michigan, one of the only universities to accept female students at that point, then transferred a year later to the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. She earned her medical degree in 1876.

When she returned to Erie, she married Arthur A. Woods, also a doctor, who was the son of Mary A.B. Brooks, the first female doctor to practice in Erie County.

Adella Brindle Woods and her husband began a practice specializing in the diseases of women and children. They had two daughters, Bertha and Ethel, before separating in 1897.

Brindle Woods poured herself into her career. Her interests centered around public health.

She aided in securing mandatory pasteurization of milk marketed in Erie. She fought for regular medical exams of public school students and saw the beginnings of immunization from childhood diseases. She was also instrumental in

Adella Brindle Woods was a public health advocate and one of Erie County’s first female doctors.

[CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Avoid tossing in the towel right when everything you have been working so hard for is about to come to fruition.

[SHUTTERSTOCK.COM]

Stick with it to avoid getting stuck

By Debbie Peterson Contributing writer

establishing a central water pumping station and filtration plant to ensure a pure water supply for the city.

She also traveled to the Caribbean in 1910 when the Panama Canal was under construction to examine it for publichealth purposes.

Brindle Woods was involved with the Erie County Medical Society, serving for two years as its secretary.

She was one of the founders of the College Women’s Club, now the Erie Branch of the American Association of University Women, and served as its president four different times.

She also became the first woman to be presented as a candidate for school director in Erie, although she was defeated. Her run for that position was thought to have paved the way for the city’s first female school director in 1911, Mrs. R.C. Stevens.

Brindle Woods died in 1930 at age 78.

She is buried in Erie Cemetery.

Compiled by Sarah Grabski

Have you ever heard the quote, “All good things come to those who wait?” Are you, right now, wanting to roll your eyes because you’ve heard it from your mother or perhaps some other adult as you were growing up? I know, I rolled my eyes too.

What I’ve come to find out in building my business is that it really is true. Maybe not necessarily waiting, but sticking with something and seeing it through, longer than I would have anticipated. In your business or career, sticking with it is an essential element for success and here’s why.

Because we give up too early. We give up right before we should. We toss in the towel right when everything we have been working so hard for is about to come to fruition. We give up on not only what we’ve been working for, but in a sense, we also give up on ourselves and our ability to make something happen that moves us towards what we want.

Have you ever reached out to a prospect and not heard back? Then you don’t reach out a second time. Or perhaps you reach out a couple

Think pink for beer collaboration

By Stefani Dias The Bakersfield Californian

On International Women's Day, we celebrated how far women have come in society, in politics and in economics. It was also a collaboration brew day for which Bakersfield Beer Co. and Great Change Brewing have teamed with Pink Boots Society for a new beer.

When the beer is released on March 29, $1 from each pint purchased will go to the society, which offers education and networking to women in the beer industry via scholarships, educational opportunities and community support.

Tara Douhan, who owns Bakersfield Beer Co. with husband Tim, said she was interested

in getting in on a brew made with Yakima Chief Hops that are specially selected for Pink Boots. This is the second year Yakima Chief Hops has partnered with the nonprofit to sell the hops blend to Pink Boots Society members, who then brew their own recipe on International Women's Day. As a new member of the society's Central Coast chapter, Douhan was excited to get on board. She reached out to friend Kyle Smith, who's also the brewmaster at new brewery and BBC neighbor Great Change, to develop the beer.

"I really deferred to Kyle Smith," Douhan said. "I'm not a brewer. I know how to drink beer and pick

nice beers for my shop.

"We're going to brew a double IPA. We're aiming for 8 percent (alcohol by volume). It should be nice and hoppy."

It will be at least two weeks until the beer is ready, and Douhan said they delayed the release until March 29 "just in case something's not ready."

The beer, tentatively named Pink Boots Brew, will be on tap in California.

Even without the beer in hand, Douhan's already thinking ahead to next year.

"I was recently speaking with the head brewer (Kyle Pittser) at Dionysus, so we might do one with Dionysus next year. Doing a collaboration with everyone in town that would be so much fun."

of times but you don’t want to be a bother so you don’t reach out again.

Have you ever gotten a “not this year” or “not at this time” email? How about “we decided to go in another direction”?

Maybe it was a “we are sorry to inform you …” email. Perhaps you feel a bit down or defeated.

You start to take it personally. Maybe, like me, you start to feel that something is wrong with you.

Don’t.

It’s not about you. It’s not a “no,” it’s a “not yet.”

Don’t go down the

rabbit hole of selfdoubt but instead focus your energy on creating selfdiscipline which becomes your bridge to results. Building a career or business takes time, and it’s not about perfection, it’s about effort.

Identify the people you need to connect with to create visibility in your company or industry so that you are promotable.

Have a plan to connect with prospects and build the necessary relationships to be of good service to them.

Know what the next step is for you and take

it, every day, because it’s not the things you do once in a while, it’s the things that you do consistently that will take you where you want to go.

Remember, the greatest oak was once a nut that held its ground. Be good to yourself and here’s wishing you the clarity you deserve.

Debbie Peterson, of Getting to Clarity, is a business keynote speaker, author, and career mindset strategist helping professionals to elevate their mindset and accelerate their results.

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HER TIMES

Q&A From Page E1

the same situation as us to surround ourselves with a community of understanding. We started attending some of the support groups and, to my surprise, a group of our very close friends came together to do a fundraiser for the Autism Society, which deepened our connection.

We raised $10,400 for the Autism Society. I didn't do this in order for the next path to happen, but with that connection, they were looking for somebody to run the office and they asked me if I would be interested in joining the Autism Society. At that time, it had one employee part-time, who was leaving, so I was replacing her. Ten years later, I am the executive director full-time and we have added a part-time office manager and volunteer coordinator.

So it's really growing and thriving?

Yes, we have grown tremendously. We've added a lot of new programs, activities and supports, and I'm proud to say that we've gone to the next level.

Tish Bartlett, 49, center, executive director of the Autism Society Northwestern Pennsylvania, speaks with Jacob Leninsky, 18, right, and Carrie Galbreath, 49, prior to teen club in Erie. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

What kind of resources do you offer here?

First and foremost, the Autism Society is a parent support organization.

We're not a provider. We depend 100 percent on fundraising dollars to meet our mission goals. We offer sensory-friendly and social opportunities. We go out into the community monthly with our families and in a sensory-friendly environment, give our families the opportunity to bond with one another, to build that family structure and to let them know that they're not alone.

Most importantly, it is to give the individual on the autism spectrum the opportunity to experience some of life's fun.

Multiple venues here now offer sensory-friendly spaces and events. We have worked really hard to raise awareness of the needs of community neighbors who want to attend an event, but it's overstimulating. How can we work together to make it so everyone can enjoy the opportunity? And so our monthly outings are twofold. Part of it is to educate the community. The other part is to give our families a comfortable environment so they can enjoy family entertainment that other residents participate in.

Besides that, we have a monthly Lego social club for children ages kindergarten through 10th grade. They think they're coming to be creative and build Legos when we are also teaching them communication skills, verbal and nonverbal. And we're teaching them social skills— how to interact with their peers, patience, whole-body listening, taking turns, sharing— that they're going to need when they transition out of the formal educational setting and into the workforce.

Once they age out of the Lego club, we offer a teen club that is for people ages 13 to 21.

We're a very social society.

Unfortunately, many of our teens at that age feel really awkward, not sure where they fit in. They're not joining school clubs, school sports or extracurricular activities. So we're giving them a club that is theirs. We always start with dinner and working on our interactive social skills. Then sometimes it's fun activities. Sometimes it's more educational.

In the fall, we do a transition program utilizing an amazing curriculum about neurodiversity and the workforce. It's to help them prepare for adulthood when

Tish Bartlett, left, speaks with Jack Nygaard, 15, as people sign in for teen club at the Autism Society Northwestern Pennsylvania in Erie.

[GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

they are going to have a job, we hope, and when they are going to have to leave home. They are going to need to have some more independence skills.

That's our goal. Give them the skills and wings that they need to soar.

It sounds like you are making sure that people aren't isolated.

Absolutely. Many of our parents, when their child is first diagnosed, they do feel isolated. And so we are here as the Autism Society to ensure that they don't have those feelings and that they know they're not alone. I mean, the numbers are one in 59 are affected.

There are ways to get out there and enjoy what the community has to offer and absolutely know you don't have to feel intimidated.

What gains in terms of resources have you witnessed?

My son is 15 and I feel like from a parent's perspective that there are more resources at your fingertips than there were even 15 years ago. There's more at your fingertips to reach out to get you connected with getting a diagnosis, getting services, even specialized school programs.

Our educators have done a really good job of learning more about autism and how to support our families. As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot more businesses offering sensory opportunities.

Our community as a whole is doing a wonderful job of stepping up, acknowledging the concerns, working with professionals to find out

how they can better serve the families in the population on the spectrum.

What challenges remain?

We're doing a great job in Pennsylvania of supporting individuals age 21 and younger. We've really stepped up early intervention, early detection, early diagnosis, getting those important therapies in place for better outcomes.

But an individual diagnosed with autism at age 3 will be a 30-year-old with autism. There is no cure.

It's a lifetime disorder. We are not doing a tremendous job after age 21. A lot of our parents talk about it being the cliff when you move from children's mental health care into the adult world.

There's not enough assistance to help these individuals transition into independent living. It's going to look different for every individual, just as it does for our neuro-typical population. Some may have to go into a group home.

Others may be able to live in an apartment of their own with somebody who kind of checks on them. Our parents are hitting their senior years. It's scary.

Who's going to look after their son or daughter when they're no longer around?

So we are raising that awareness that just because you have a disability or you have autism does not mean you should be unemployed.

There are studies that an individual with autism actually could be your best employee. They are

structured. They are rule followers. They're going to be on time. On the other side, there's that social development component. They might not always say the appropriate things. If somebody is wearing strong perfume, it upsets them. They might say, "that smells bad."

They are going to be great employees. They just might need some extra help understanding the rules of the office or what is expected of them.

Where did your family find the inner strength to navigate this experience?

Surrounding yourself with supportive family and friends is so important for the success of the family.

I've told my husband, David — we've been together for 17 years now — after those early years with Garrett, there's nothing that can divide this family. It is trying on your parenting skills and it's so easy to blame the other one, to say, "Well, if you had done this, we wouldn't have this tantrum." That's the first thing you have to not do. You can't blame yourself. You can't blame your spouse, because that's just going to hurt your family. When my son was first diagnosed, I blamed myself.

I went back and tried to figure out, what did I do?

And my husband was amazing and saying that this is no one's fault. Let's just move forward. That helped me realize, OK, I'm not doing anybody good with my selfpity. Let's move forward and see what we need to do to

help him be successful in life.

Now you help other people do that.

When our board president at the time came to me and asked if I'd be interested in joining the Autism Society, my husband kept telling me, this is where you're meant to be. And 10 years later, I have to believe him.

It made a huge difference in my life. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

I've just gotten so attached to all of the young people who come here. They're amazing. To watch them develop and build friendships, I feel like it's all worth it and that we're helping them, give them the tools in their toolbox to develop social relationships and to be successful throughout their life no matter what that looks like for them.

Do you have any advice for parents?

First and foremost, if you suspect that your son or daughter might have autism, don't wait. Have the evaluation. If it says they have autism, it's OK. Your life might take a different path than you originally planned, every parent that's had that diagnosis has had those thoughts, so it's OK. But reach out to the Autism Society. We're here to help you through those beginning years and throughout the lifespan. You won't be alone.

Lisa Thompson can be reached at 870-1802 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com /ETNthompson

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HER TIMES

HALL

Sarah Deer, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, is among the 10 members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019. An activist for indigenous women, a lawyer and a professor, she is noted for her work on violence against Native American women.

From Page E1

high-profile and celebrity cases, including several women currently accusing singer R. Kelly of sexual abuse.

In more than 40 years in practice, she has been honored for her work on behalf of marriage equality, LGBTQ civil rights and against the exclusion of women from private clubs.

Angela Davis has been politically active for decades, including as a member of the Black Panther Party, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Communist Party USA. More recently, she has been an outspoken supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

Sarah Deer is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma and an activist for indigenous women. A lawyer and University of Kansas professor, her work on violence against Native American women has been recognized by the American Bar Association and the Department of Justice.

Jane Fonda, an actress, author and political activist, has received Academy Awards, Golden Globes, a Primetime Emmy and the AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2018, she was the subject of the HBO documentary “Jane Fonda in Five Acts.” Her anti-war activism in the 1970s stirs debate and demonstrators to this day.

Fonda acknowledged making a “terrible mistake” by posing atop an anti-aircraft gun during a controversial 1972 visit to North Vietnam.

Col. Nicole Malachowski was the first woman to fly for the Air Force’s elite Thunderbirds team. She went on to serve as an adviser to former first

PHRASES From Page E1

curb and dragged out discarded pizza crust.

We struggled to mask our amusement then, just as we tried not to laugh when the first try at some words got mangled.

The word “family,” for example, came out as “famule.”

“Parking space” came out as “sparkin pace.”

These phrases worked their way into our family lexicon. I still hear my spouse talk about finding a “sparkin pace,” or taking the “famule” out to lunch.

These days the amusement continues, now that there are grandchildren in our famule.

Remi, age 2, is pretty verbal, and one of her early phrases — “No want to!” — gave insight into her steely toddler resolve.

Put on your shoes?

“No want to!”

Who could argue with such a useful, no-nonsense phrase? I employ it myself now, to my family’s dismay.

Often, the mix of toddlers and technology

[NATIONAL WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME CLASS]

Actress, author and political activist Jane Fonda is among the 10 members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019. [NATIONAL WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME CLASS]

Gloria Allred poses for a portrait to promote the film “Seeing Allred,” during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Allred is among the 10 members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019. [TAYLOR

Angela Davis, who has been politically active for decades, is among the 10 members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019. [NATIONAL

WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME CLASS]

WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME

JEWELL/INVISION/ASSOCIATED PRESS]

CLASS]

lady Michelle Obama and helped promote a social media campaign, #WomenVets, that showcased stories of women veterans.

Rose O’Neill, who died in 1944, is the country’s first published female cartoonist. She is the creator of the cherubic comic strip characters, Kewpies, and the popular Kewpie dolls. O’Neill used her fame as a cartoonist in the early 1900s to campaign for women’s right to vote.

Louise Slaughter, a Kentucky coal miner’s daughter, had represented her western New York district for 31 years when she died at age 88. The Democrat championed a 2008 law intended to protect people with genetic predispositions to health conditions from facing discrimination from employers or health insurers.

She also helped write the Violence Against Women Act and was the chief force behind a 2012 law to ban insider stock trading based on congressional knowledge.

Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to the nation’s highest court

by President Barack Obama in 2009. She is the third woman and the first Latina justice to serve on the Supreme Court. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, she has written several books, including the 2013 autobiography, “My Beloved World.”

Laurie Spiegel’s electronic music compositions have been used in the “Hunger Games” movies, museums and appear on NASA’s “golden records,” shipped out on the Voyager spacecrafts to offer future listeners a taste of Earth’s

life and culture. She is known for her pioneering work with early electronic and computer music systems.

Flossie Wong-Staal was part of a team of scientists at the U.S. National Cancer Institute whose work was instrumental in proving HIV to be the cause of AIDS. She was named the top woman scientist of the 1980s by the Institute of Scientific Information.

yields interesting results. A few weeks ago, Remi, still 2, tried to get the stereo at our house to play the “Baby Shark” song, a favorite with the 6-and-under set.

“Lexa!” she called out from across the room.

“Play ‘Baby Shark.’”

Silence.

“Lexa!” she shouted.

“Play ‘Baby Shark!’”

Still no response.

“Dada!” she said, looking over at our son, who couldn’t contain his amusement. “What her name?” she demanded to know. Because this clearly wasn’t the Alexa who would do her bidding at home.

“That’s not a smart speaker, like the one at home,” he explained.

It wasn’t the first time it’s been revealed that the grandparents’ electronics aren’t up to snuff.

We are better, perhaps, at low-tech fun, such as horseplay and bedtime stories.

Here, too, though, the grasp of complex systems and abstract concepts, in the youngest minds, can be of the highest order.

The other night, my husband and I were babysitting. The

6-year-old and the 2-year-old rummaged around and found old Halloween costumes.

Eli put on a superhero suit, and Remi found her brother’s outgrown gecko outfit.

I helped her into the one-piece green suit lined with faux scales.

Then she climbed up onto my husband’s lap for a story.

He read and she listened, all while she continued to adjust the green fabric mask over her face and eyes.

When she had finished, she looked up at him and said, “I’m still Remi.”

Just a reminder, lest he think she was now a lizard.

Good to know!

Even better? Here was yet another fun phrase to tuck away and trot out when it suits me, sometime in the future.

When I become more cranky, wrinkly and disagreeable, as the famule wheels me around the retirement facility, I’ll say, “No want to! Don’t mess with He-Mom! I’m still Joan, you know!”

Joan Benson-Cacchione is a freelance writer in Erie.

Flossie Wong-Staal is among the 10 members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019. WongStaal was part of a team of scientists at the U.S. National Cancer Institute whose work was instrumental in proving HIV to be the cause of AIDS. [NATIONAL

Col. Nicole Malachowski is among the 10 members of the National Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

Malachowski was the first woman to fly for the Air Force’s elite Thunderbirds team. [NATIONAL WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME CLASS]

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

FOOD

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

D1

Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

L OAV E S & D I S H E S

Flavors of Punjab Women share secrets of Indian comfort food

Jennie Geisler

I

don’t make a lot of Indian food, though I have enjoyed some of the classics from time to time, such as Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala.

I’ve defiled freshly baked naan, or soft, delicious Indian bread by making pizzas out of it, though that really doesn’t count.

But I’ve barely poked the surface of an ocean of flavors and textures that can vary in striking ways, in their homeland, from that made just a two-hour drive down the road.

“In India, when I left, I was 9, there were 22 states,” said Mona Kang, 43, a physician at UPMC Hamot, who is a member of one of the 15 Sikh families that belong to the Erie Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Temple, 1144 W. Eighth St. “Now there are almost twice as many, each with its own language and culture and dress and food. If I went to the next state, I would not understand their language.”

Kang and her motherin-law, Santosh Kang, 79, with the help of what seemed like several (but I think was only two) other women in the temple, wordlessly but with generous smiles, recently cooked at least 10 dishes (they were working so fast, it was hard to keep track) native to their home state of Punjab.

They treated me and photographer Jack Hanrahan like visiting dignitaries and took pride in explaining each dish. They worship

Mona Kang shows off Chana Masala at the Sikh Temple kitchen in Erie. [JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

in the temple every Sunday and, afterward, serve anyone who walks in and removes their shoes at the door. Women are also asked to don a bonnet (kept in a basket near the door).

“We’ve served up to 200 people,” Mona Kang said. “But usually it’s more like 50.” She said the temple expenses are paid in full by the families. They make occasional trips to Cleveland to stock up on specialty Indian groceries not available in Erie and offer them freely to anyone who asks.

Make more Find additional recipes for Indian food: www.goerie.com/ lifestyle/food

Five things I learned: “People are often afraid 1because to cook Indian food they think it takes

too many ingredients, too many spices,” Mona Kang said. “But really, we only use a few basic ones and you can find most of them here. This is See LOAVES, D2

Gurjeet Kaur fries spicy Indian samosas at the Sikh Temple kitchen in Erie. [JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

L O O K W H AT I F O U N D

A cutter above standard holiday shapes

By Jennie Geisler jennie.geisler@timesnews.com

Found: Stiletto cookie cutter in Wegmans kitchen items area Cost: $3.99

I have a respectable cookie cutter collection. It started with a four-piece Christmas set, joined when my son turned 1 by a set designed to create a long freight train, complete with caboose and signal signs.

Now I have most holidays covered — and a couple of specialty cutters I really like: One is a large 4- or 5-inch looped ribbon (you have to cut or draw in the loop hole yourself) that you can decorate any color, depending on the cause

you're baking in support of. And I recently bought a new one — fittingly — on impulse.

Some women I know would hit me with a wet noodle if I used my precious newspaper space to perpetuate the stereotype that all women love buying impractical shoes on impulse. And they may rightly do so. It's just that I do love buying shoes on impulse, and if you tried to question the practicality of my black clogs with pink lip prints all over them, well, I'd have to agree with your skepticism on that. So, when I saw the stiletto cookie cutter, my mind went immediately to our monthlong Her Story series, and thought a plate

of bright red heels might add a layer of levity.

Anyway, Wegmans has this awesome stand (like a small coat tree) in the kitchen and bakeware aisle full of Ann Clark brand stainless steel cookie cutters in all kinds of unusual shapes. They are all pretty good sized. And if you have something specific in mind, you can try the Ann Clark website at www.annclarkcookiecutters.com. There they offer cutters for anything I could imagine, such as baby shower sets including baby bottles, onesies and rattles; gift-tag shapes (which would require more decorating skill than I possess); martini glass; Mason See FOUND, D2

This stiletto cutter from Wegmans creates one of many unusual cookie shapes. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

D2

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

|

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

FOOD Chana Masala (savory Indian chickpeas) Serves 4

Clockwise from far left, Dahi Vada, rice with peas, Moong Dal, custard with fruit, Gulab Jamun and samosas were among dishes prepared by women at the Sikh Temple kitchen in Erie.

[JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

LOAVES From Page D1

simple food, healthy and homemade.”

While all the women who were cooking did so without ever glancing at a recipe, they gave me the names of the dishes and I went online to find recipes that seemed the closest to what they had prepared. There were some versions that called for crazy stuff, but there were also simplified versions that contained no more spices than your average pot of American chili.

The most exotic 2 ingredients I came upon included

rose water, urad dal (small yellow lentils or split mung beans), chaat masala (a spice blend), black salt and tamarind paste. I found them all on the Peach StreetWegmans website. You can also expand your horizons with a visit to UK Supermarket at 1105 Parade St. My favorites were 3 the samosas, even though they were

pretty spicy; Moong Dal (spiced yellow lentils— and I thought I hated lentils), Saag (much like slow-cooked collard or mustard greens of Ameican soul food fame); and the sweet, syrupy Gulab Jamun (spongy spiced dough balls soaked in rose-scented syrup.)

4

Sikhs believe all men and women of any faith should be treated with compassion, generosity and tolerance, Mona Kang said, as she boxed up what could have passed for a small Thanksgiving dinner for Jack and me to take with us — after we were both too blissfully full to take another bite.

We tried to tell the women to keep it and eat it themselves, but they demurred, and we didn’t want to offend.

They made sure to mention that if you find yourself hungry anywhere in the world, if you can find a Sikh Temple, you are assured of shelter and food.

“If you see the words ‘Gurdwara Sahib’ on the sign, they will be happy to serve food and make it for you,” Santosh Kang said.

One thing miss5 ing from the feast, which nearly escaped

my notice, was meat.

Mona Kang explained that they do eat meat in their homes, but do not prepare it in the temple.

Fine with me. I’ll just be over here in the corner with the samosas, some Saag and the Gulab Jamun. And more than a few napkins.

Jennie Geisler writes about her adventures as a home cook. You can reach her at 870-1885.

Send an email to jennie.geisler@timesnews. com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNgeisler.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil • 1 large onion, chopped • 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced • 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed • 1 to 2 teaspoons garam masala or curry powder

Samosa (spiced potato-stuffed pastries) Total: 1 hour; prep time: 15 minutes; cook time: 45 minutes; makes 18 samosas • ¾ teaspoon salt • 2¼ cups self-rising flour • 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter, cut in small pieces • 9 tablespoons water Filling: • 1½ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks • 1 cup fresh or frozen mixture of peas, corn and carrots • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 1 medium onion, chopped • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic • 1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger • ½ habanero pepper, minced (Leave out if you don’t like spicy food) • ½ teaspoon garam

Moong Dal (vegetarian Indian yellow lentils) Prep time: 10 minutes; cook time: 20 minutes; serves 4 • 1 cup mung dal (use small yellow lentils or split mung beans) • 2 cups water or vegetable broth • 1 teaspoon turmeric • Dash cayenne pepper (or more, if you like spice!)

• ½ teaspoon salt

Gulab Jamun (spongy spiced dough balls soaked in rose-scented syrup) Prep time: 30 minutes; cook time: 20 minutes; makes 20 balls

Indian food is known for its pungent spices and aroma.

[JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

FOUND From Page D1

jar; pineapple; bowties; mustaches; wine glass (perhaps this list is starting to say more about me).

Just remember, as I am reminded every time I set out to make cutouts: It’s a project. You have to make the dough, chill it, roll it out, carefully cut out the shapes and bake them and get them off the sheet without breaking them. It might feel like you’re done at this point, but no.

Then you have to make/choose an icing, get it the right color, summon whatever dexterity you have in applying the icing to the cookies, let them dry and God help you if you have to transport those suckers anywhere.

Depending on the intricacy of the design, I figure a 50 percent breakage from baking sheet removal to arrival at final destination.

But don’t let me stop you. Cutout cookies are showstoppers whenever they finally get where they’re going— just like every woman I know, regardless of what she has on her feet.

• 1 cup dry milk powder • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), melted • ½ teaspoon baking powder • ½ cup warm milk • 1 tablespoon chopped almonds, optional • 1 tablespoon chopped pistachio nuts, optional • 1 tablespoon golden raisins, optional

• ½ teaspoon turmeric • 2 teaspoons grated fresh or jarred ginger • 2 large tomatoes, diced • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro, or to taste • Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute until

masala spice blend • ½ teaspoon turmeric • 1 teaspoon red chili powder • 1½ teaspoons salt • ½ lemon, juiced • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro • Vegetable oil, for frying

To make the dough: Mix the salt and flour in a medium bowl or a food processor. With a pastry blender, incorporate the butter until crumbs have formed.

Add the water a few tablespoons at a time, until you can form a ball. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

Let it rest for about 15 minutes more. You can prepare the dough in advance and refrigerate it.

To make the filling: Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside. Mash them.

If using fresh carrots, chop and simmer

• 2 tablespoons olive oil • 1 onion, diced • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds • 2 whole cloves • Black pepper to taste

In a large soup or stock pan, combine the mung dal, vegetable broth, turmeric, cayenne and salt. Bring to a slow simmer. Cover partially with a lid and allow to cook for at least 20 minutes, and up to 30 to 40 minutes if you prefer a smoother

• 2 pinches ground cardamom divided • 1 quart vegetable oil for deep frying • 1¼ cups white sugar • 7 fluid ounces water • 1 teaspoon rose water

In a large bowl, stir together the milk powder, flour, baking powder and a pinch of cardamom. Stir in the almonds, pistachios and golden raisins if using. Mix in the melted ghee, then pour in the milk and continue to mix until well blended. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

In a large skillet, stir together the sugar, water, rose water

A hand-decorated shoe cookie was made using a stiletto-shaped cutter found at Wegmans. [JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

FIND SOMETHING? If you run into something new at the store and you want to know more about it, let us know, and we’ll dig into it.

Send requests to jennie.

geisler@timesnews. com (subject Look What I Found); or by regular mail to Jennie Geisler, Look What I Found, 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

the onion is golden.

Add the chickpeas, garam masala, turmeric, ginger, tomatoes, lemon juice and about¼ cup water.

Bring to a simmer, then cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. This should be moist and stewlike, but not soupy; add a little more water, if needed.

Stir in the cilantro and season with salt.

Serve in shallow bowls over a hot cooked grain, if desired.

in water to cover, in a small pot. Add the peas and corn to barely cook.

Set aside to cool.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic, ginger, and chile and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garam masala, turmeric, chili powder and salt and cook 2 minutes more.

In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, the onion and spice mixture, carrots, peas, corn, lemon juice, and chopped cilantro.

Mix well.

To assemble the samosas: Divide the dough into 9 equal size balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 5-inch circle. Cut each circle in half.

Brush the straightedge side with a little water, fold it in half, and align the two straight sides so they overlap to form a cone

shape. Squeeze the straight edges together to make a tight seal.

Place approximately 1 generous tablespoon of filling inside each cone, leaving the top edge clean. Moisten the inside top rim of the cone and press the edges together to make another tight seal.

Place the samosas on a tray until ready to fry.

Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Heat approximately 3 inches of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan.

Fry several samosas at a time, being careful not to crowd them. When 1 side turns golden brown, flip it over to brown on the other side.

Drain on paper towels.

dal. You can add a bit more liquid if needed.

In a separate skillet, saute the onion, cumin seeds, and clove in olive oil for just a few minutes, until onions are soft.

Add the onions and spices to the mung dal and allow to simmer for a few more minutes, stirring well to combine. Sprinkle with a dash of black pepper and add extra salt to taste, if needed. Serve

plain, as soup or over rice.

Dal tends to thicken as it cools, so you may want to add a bit more water, depending on personal preference.

and a pinch of cardamom. Bring to a boil and simmer for just a minute. Set aside.

Fill a large heavy skillet halfway with oil.

Heat over medium heat for at least 5 minutes.

Knead the dough and form into about 20 small balls. Reduce the heat of the oil to low, and fry the balls in one or two batches. After about 5 minutes, they will start to float and expand to twice their original size, but the color will not change much. After the jamun float, increase the heat to medium and turn them frequently until lightly golden. Remove

from the oil to paper towels using a slotted spoon and allow to cool.

Place the balls into the skillet with the syrup. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, squeezing them gently to soak up the syrup.

Serve immediately or refrigerate.

www.epicurious.com Nutrition information per serving: 320 calories; 6 g fat; 12 g protein; 56 g carbohydrate; 6 g fiber; 645 mg sodium

www.foodnetwork.com Nutrition information per serving not available.

www.thespruceeats.com Nutrition information per serving: 188 calories; 6.8 g fat (0.9 g saturated); 0 cholesterol; 295 mg sodium; 12 g carbohydrate; 1.7 g fiber; 1.2 g sugar; 2.8 g protein

www.allrecipes.com Nutrition information per serving: 143 calories; 7.9 g fat (3 g saturated); 10 mg cholesterol; 40 mg sodium; 17 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 16 g sugar; 2.2 g protein

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | H E R STO RY | E 2

PEOPLE | E5

WOMEN IN ERIE HISTORY

TAKING UP THE BATON

Meet Elizabeth Waters, a teacher and the mother of famous composer Harry T. Burleigh

Retired teacher Noel Burgoyne will serve as a guest conductor for the Erie Philharmonic

HER TIMES CHEAP IN ERIE

Legacy worth saving

Sunday, March 24, 2019

E1

Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

WILD WOMEN

Dana Massing

M

y maternal grandmother loved giving presents covered in wrapping paper.

Whatever the occasion — birthday, Christmas, wedding, graduation — Mabel Miller liked to put presents in pretty paper.

Born just five years before the 1929 stock market crash, she once told me she received very few gifts during the Great Depression and those that were given were usually covered by plain brown paper or nothing at all.

I’m pretty sure that’s why, later in life when she could afford to buy wrapping paper and presents, she so enjoyed taping it on gifts to give to other people and removing it from her own. And reusing it.

I can remember her carefully taking wrapping paper from packages and setting it aside to be taped around another box for another occasion in the future. It was a tactic for balancing frugality and generosity that she taught my mother, who taught me and I’m now teaching my daughter.

It’s one of the handme-downs from the lean years my grandmother lived through in the 1930s and 1940s that she passed along to her children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. Nine years after her death at the age of 87, I still practice many of her thrifty ways.

These days, I find myself using and reusing decorative gift bags more than wrapping paper. If my daughter or I receive a present in a gift bag and the bag isn’t damaged, it goes into the attic until it’s our turn to give someone a gift.

Same with the tissue paper that’s usually in the bags.

I often think of my grandmother when I’m headed to the attic for a bag or paper.

She also passed along her love of travel. Although I don’t think she ever set foot on an airplane, she and my grandfather drove around the country in their station wagon. They took me with them to Ocean City, Maryland, to Charleston, South Carolina, to New Orleans, to Atlanta and more places.

With one exception, known forever after in our family as the “roach motel,” my grandparents always found us nice but affordable accommodations, another lesson I’ve taken to heart. A hotel See MASSING, E6

Some of the staff of the Erie Zoo are shown there on March 7. From left are: Roo Kojancie, 41, animal care staff supervisor; Jennifer Salandra, 50, curator; Lisa Rekitt, 54, assistant curator, shown here holding Hansel, a one-year-old male alpaca; Kim Gasper, 41, head zookeeper; and P. J. Polumbo, 60, zoo veterinarian. Of all the Erie Zoo staff, 80 percent are female, said Scott Mitchell, president and CEO of the Erie Zoological Society. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Erie Zoo staff is 80 percent female

By Sarah Grabski sgrabski@timesnews.com

Lisa Rekitt and Jennifer Salandra remember a time at the Erie Zoo when they were in the minority.

Both recall that when they were first hired at the zoo three decades ago, the staff was comprised mostly of males.

“I think it was traditionally considered a man’s job because of

the physical aspects of it,” Rekitt said. “But we’re just as physically capable. We’re out there feeding and cleaning exhibits, just like they do. Now it’s the opposite. I’d say it’s three-quarters female and one-quarter male.”

Salandra is the zoo’s curator and Rekitt is the zoo’s assistant curator. The zoo’s veterinarian, P.J. Polumbo, and head zookeeper, Kim Gasper, are also female. Of all the Erie Zoo staff, 80 percent are female, said Scott Mitchell, president and CEO of the Erie Zoological Society.

“It’s been really neat seeing

Zoo women at work See more photos through the years of some of the longserving female employees of the Erie Zoo: www.GoErie. com/Photos

the makeup of our staff changing. I don’t think it was necessarily intentional, but the women in this field are some of the best candidates now,” Mitchell said.

See WOMEN, E3

Feminist book club helps readers get personal

By Grace Dickinson The Philadelphia Inquirer

A feminist book club in New Jersey meets four times a year to discuss books written by women, about women. [SHUTTERSTOCK.COM]

CHERRY HILL, N.J. — On a recent Tuesday evening, 20 women gather in a circle at the Cherry Hill Public Library. They’re there for one purpose: to discuss Christina Dalcher’s “Vox,” a dystopian thriller that imagines a world where women are only allowed to speak 100 words per day.

It’s one of the many selections of the Cherry Hill Feminist Book Club, a group that meets four times

a year to discuss books written by women, about women. From memoirs and short stories to comedic essays and literary journalism, each text explores feminist themes, shedding light on topics that often feel very close to home.

This night, the group explores how unconscious bias affects Sonia, one of the main characters in “Vox.” A question draws out personal anecdotes from the dozen-plus participants in the room.

See BOOK, E3

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Sunday, March 24, 2019

E3

HER TIMES

WOMEN From Page E1

Women who hold science and biology degrees working as nutritionists, curators, researchers and veterinarians aren't rare at zoos across the country anymore. According to a 2000 survey done by the American Association of Zoo Keepers, 75 percent of zookeepers nationwide were female.

Seventy percent of graduates of veterinarian schools each year are women, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The job duties have changed over the years, Salandra said. The job requirements aren't necessarily just about getting the labor done anymore, but about connecting with the animals and fostering relationships.

"It's so much more training-oriented and it's come a long way. It's about enrichment, spending time with the animals. It's not just cleaning pens anymore," she said. "It's my little way of giving back to the animal world. Since I can't travel to Africa, I can take care of the animals of the world in our little corner here."

Another part of the change in the field may be due to the salaries that accompany veterinary and zoo medicine, Polumbo said. Veterinarians made a median salary of $90,420 in 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

"Economically, it's been the woman's income in a traditional household is a second income," she said. "Now the field makes for incomes that are sometimes primary income figures and it's OK for women to be making that type of money."

With the rise of emergency care centers and emergency vet care, the typical veterinarian role also provides predictability and certainty that a lot of women crave to achieve work-home balance, Polumbo added.

"I'm still on-call 24/7 but that's rare now in the veterinary world," she said.

"You'll find a lot of vets with scheduled hours and that can enjoy time off."

The gradual gender shift in the staff at the Erie Zoo has made for better communication as the zoo continues to expand and grow.

"There's definitely a team feeling now and I think we all know how important it is to work as a team and work

WATERS From Page E2

spelling of its name from “Burley” to “Burleigh.”

BOOK From Page E1

“I remember when I went through the VA to get a mortgage, and I was forced to sign a document that said I wouldn’t get pregnant,” recalls Norrine Regetz. “I was young and frightened, and I needed a place to live, so I signed it.

It’d be unheard of today.”

Another reader talks about her first job, a position she and a male counterpart entered at the same time. “Guess who

Nigel the giraffe gets a snack while veterinarian P.J. Polumbo, center, checks for a reaction to a tuberculosis test. Polumbo was making a regular visit to the Erie Zoo animals on Jan. 16. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Lisa Rekitt, zookeeper and assistant curator at the Erie Zoo checks on a Canadian Lynx named Hunter on Jan 16. [JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Jennifer Salandra, who was then the head zookeeper for the Erie Zoo, shown moving a chicken from an outdoor coop in November 2010. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

together," saidRoo Kojancie, animal care staff supervisor. "That's a change. We didn't have that before."

Polumbo agreed. Most of the women have desks in an open-air office and share plans, ideas and suggestions for the zoo's animals.

"The keeper staff are the first eyes on all these animals for us," Polumbo said. "This communication is vital and important."

Rekitt said animal care staff members fill out daily report sheets to document behaviors, too.

"We document any abnormalities or anything we see that may be a little bit off or needs attention," she said. "We shoot ideas off each other frequently.

If something comes up

with an animal, someone will say, 'Hey, why don't we try this?' Functionally, it works very well."

The dynamic, while it's changed over the years, was created by many of the women who began their careers at the zoo.

"A lot of us, we grew up here together. A lot of us started here right out of school or even when we were in school," Salandra said. "So it's hard to explain how we work together so well. It's been fantastic to see how we've all grown together."

The couple welcomed their first baby, Reginald, on Nov. 14, 1864, and their second son, Henry, on Dec. 2, 1866.

The family called the second baby Harry. They also went on to have two

daughters, Eva and Ada. Elizabeth Waters Burleigh also occasionally worked as a maid for a woman when she held musical gatherings in her home.

She attempted to work

as a teacher in Public School No. 1 in Erie after her husband’s death. She was refused and instead was given work as a janitor. Harry and Reginald would sometimes join her at work and the family

would often sing together during those times, Harry T. Burleigh later recalled.

She went on to marry again, to John Elmendorf. She died in 1903.

was the designated coffee gopher for the next year— not him,” she says.

Moments like these— when members open up— are in part what prompted Laverne Mann, director of the Cherry Hill Public Library, to launch the book club.

“Because it’s a group of like-minded feminists, strangers often feel comfortable sharing really personal experiences here. They become these moments that empower us all,” Mann says.

On the heels of the Women’s March in January 2017, Mann noticed exponential growth in the amount of contemporary feminist literature

coming through the library.

She wanted to make sure some of those books landed on her to-read list, and also to create a space where women felt at ease discussing gender equality. She started the Cherry Hill Feminist Book Club in March of that year.

The participants’ ages range from 23 to 75 years old— a multi-generational span that is perhaps one of the club’s greatest attributes.

“People grew up in all different time periods, which always brings so many different perspectives and makes the conversation really rich,” says librarian Tierney Miller, who co-leads the group with

Mann. “This really hit when we read the book ‘Everyday Sexism.’ It’s an analysis of the different types of harassment and sexism most women experience.”

Miller recalls that some of the older women spoke about very overt displays of sexism, like being turned down from a job solely because of being a woman.

Younger participants shared past sexual harassment experiences, both on the street and in maledominated workplaces.

“There was definitely shock on both sides,” Miller says, “younger women who couldn’t believe what the

generations before them had to go through, and older women who were shocked at the extent of what women are still dealing with today.”

Miller and Mann keep a list of potential book options.

“If we’ve read something difficult and grim, we’ll aim to provide options with more humor on the next go-around,” Miller says.

Next up is “Shrill,”

by Lindy West.

“Storytelling is the best tool we have for change,” Miller says. “When people hear and read other people’s stories, they start to understand others better, and this creates empathy.”

Sarah Grabski can be reached at 870-1776 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNgrabski.

Roo Kojancie, then a 37-year-old zookeeper at the Erie Zoo, feeds a red panda named Syringa in a den at the zoo in 2014. [FILE PHOTO/ ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Compiled by Sarah Grabski

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Sunday, March 24, 2019

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

ENTERTAINMENT

Now 30, ‘Little Mermaid’ paved way for Elsa, Anna MASSING From Page E1

from the beach can be significantly less expensive than one right on the shore but still be nice and allow easy access to the sand. A cheap motel with clean sheets that also includes free breakfast saves you the price of a meal for each family member.

Wherever our room was, my grandmother packed snacks to eat in it and for the ride there. No need to pay expensive vending machine prices.

She also made sure that if she opened one of the little bottles of shampoo or lotion or bars of soap in a hotel and didn't finish it all there, she took it home. Nothing went to waste.

Despite her frugality, my grandmother, who left school after eighth grade to go to work, always made sure to tip the hotel maids and tip them well. I think it was a nod to her own workingclass background.

My daughter, who is nearly 4, never met her greatgrandmother. But I'll make sure she receives Grandma's legacy of generously giving gifts placed lovingly in recycled bags, of traveling her country without maxing out her credit cards on overpriced rooms, and of respecting those around her who work hard and save money.

Dana Massing can be reached at 870-1729 or dana.massing@ timesnews.com.

Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter. com/ETNmassing.

By Mark Kennedy AP Entertainment writer

NEW YORK — It’s not uncommon for people to just look at Jodi Benson and burst into tears.

Sometimes they hyperventilate or scream. But mostly they break down and start sobbing. Benson will hold them, heaving in her arms, and pat their back gently.

Benson isn’t a household name but for many, she’s an intimate part of their childhood.

She supplied the singing and speaking voice of Ariel, the heroine of the 1989 animated Disney hit “The Little Mermaid,” which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Benson says she will sometimes watch as the stunned movie’s fans virtually go back in time in front of her.

“It triggers a memory for them,” she says.

“They remember who they were with when they saw the movie the first time. Maybe that sibling is no longer with them, that grandparent is no longer with them. It reminds them of a relationship that had been broken with a parent. So they have all sorts of emotions that go on.”

“The Little Mermaid “ has changed a lot of lives, not least of which is Benson’s, who has continued to perform Ariel virtually every weekend in concerts as well as on film in the “Wreck-It Ralph” franchise.

“The Little Mermaid” also had a big role in making Disney into an animation juggernaut and reviving the art form. Many believe we’d never have Anna and Elsa from “Frozen” without first having Ariel.

“Disney was starting to get into a groove that would continue, but I feel like a lot of that started with ‘A Little Mermaid,’”

This image released by Disney shows Ariel, voiced by Jodi Benson, in a scenefrom “The Little Mermaid.” The film, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, also had a big role in making Disney into an animation juggernaut. Many believe we’d never have Anna and Elsa from “Frozen” without first having Ariel. [DISNEY]

says Ron Clements, who co-wrote and co-directed the film.

Benson was a rising Broadway star when Ariel came into her orbit. She had been in a short-lived musical “Smile” when Howard Ashman, the musical’s lyricist and story writer, invited the outof-work cast to audition for his next project, an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.”

Producers wanted the singing and speaking voice to be supplied by the same actress. So Benson, a lyric soprano, sang the signature “Part of Your World” on a reel-to-reel tape and was handed a few of pages of dialogue.

“I ran into the ladies’ room,” she recalls “and waited for everybody to get out of the stalls and started talking to the mirror, sort of trying to come up with what would she sound like at 16.”

Benson, it turned out, was a master mimic.

She had spent countless hours in her room as a child with her guitar, singing along to records by Barbra Streisand, Carole King, James Taylor as well as Marvin Hamlisch’s “A Chorus Line.”

“I would start to just sing like them. But it wasn’t like I was trying to be them. It’s just

that’s what I heard. And so that’s just what you do. You just sound like what you been listening to,” she says.

A year or so after auditioning for Ariel, she got the call that she’d won the role.

“I completely forgot that I had auditioned,” she says. Back then, voiceover work wasn’t very glamorous and big celebrities wouldn’t consider it.

“It wasn’t a good job. Doing voiceovers was what you would do when your career was on the back half, when it was tanking,” says Benson. She thought Ariel would be just another notch on her resume. It was not.

“Things just changed overnight,” she says.

Propelled by such Alan Menken songs as “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl,” the film won two Grammys and earned three Academy Award nominations. It was critically acclaimed, with Roger Ebert calling it a “jolly and inventive animated fantasy,” and would go to earn $211 million worldwide.

Parents of children with learning disabilities have told Benson their child’s first words were from the film.

A live-action remake is in the works, featuring new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda,

who created “Hamilton.” He loved the 1989 animated film so much its partly the reason he named his first child Sebastian — the mermaid’s crab friend.

It was the kind of hit that Clements and his animators at Disney had long been hoping for. He had started at Disney in 1974 and was part of a new generation of artists trying to change the notion that animation was just for kids.

Clements had pitched a two-page treatment of the musical to then-studio head Michael Eisner and was given the green light.

For Clements and his partner, John Musker, the stakes were high: It was the first fairy tale Disney had done for some three decades.

“There was a feeling

— all through ‘Little Mermaid’ — that this film had potential to be the film that could break through and work the way we were all hungry for and hoping for,” recalls Clements, who went on to co-direct “Aladdin” and “Hercules.”

“It was really, really gratifying that it did break through. It broke through the stigma that animated films were just for kids. It became a date movie.

People started taking Disney animation seriously again.”

Over the past 30 years, Ariel has become the bridge between classic princesses like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and modern ones like Mulan and Merida. And Benson has become the official Ariel ambassador, tapped to do sequels, video games and shorts, in addition to voicing other characters like Barbie in the “Toy Story” franchise.

Her arms are always open to fans and she’s now welcoming the fourth generation to “The Little Mermaid.” So feel free to cry on her shoulder.

“It doesn’t feel like a job. It just feels like a way of life more than anything else,” she says. “You have this multigenerational moment that families can share together.

And I get to be a small piece of the puzzle of their story.”

CITY & REGION | B1

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Teacher Milton Robinson, 50, at center, instructs Markell McCullum, 18, a senior, at left, and Envonyia Curry, 17, a junior, in a geometry class at Erie High School. Robinson is one of 31 nonwhite teachers in the Erie School District. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Making a difference.

Erie School District by the numbers

Erie School District seeing early results in effort to diversify

By Ed Palattella ed.palattella@timesnews.com

T

he Erie School District is hoping students like Jessica Nizeyimana represent the future of its teaching staff.

Nizeyimana, 17, who is black, is taking education courses in a program that is expanding at Erie High School. A professor from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania teaches three college-level education classes at the high school, and an introductory education class is to be added next year.

The program is designed to get students interested in teaching as a career. The goal is to have the students return one day to teach in the Erie School District, which is trying to increase the number of teachers who are nonwhite and thus more a reflection of the student body.

The student population in the 11,000-student Erie School District is 41 percent white and 59 percent nonwhite: 36 percent black, 14 percent Hispanic and 5 percent Asian, with students of other races making up the difference, according to state data.

See DIVERSIFY, A6

804 31 18

“

You learn better with someone who understands you. It is very important.”

full-time teachers

are nonwhite, or 4 percent

percent of all teaching hires during this academic year have been nonwhite

100

the minimum number of nonwhite teachers NAACP’s Erie chapter has called for to be hired in the school district

JESSICA NIZEYIMANA, a junior at Erie High School

Erie-area women unite to run for office More than 70 women are currently on the ballot in Erie County

By Pam Parker pam.parker@timesnews.com

Our #HerStoryErie series of articles during Women’s History Month has mostly been a look back at the fight for the right to vote along with stories about a number

Volume 19, Number 180 © 2019 GateHouse Media Questions? Call 870-1600

of women who had inspiring accomplishments. As we wrap up our series, we are turning our attention toward some women who are hoping to make an impact on our community by running for public office. Some are experienced in government and politics. Others are taking the first steps in the races for judge, city council and county council. In all, more

Obituaries .............. B2-5 Lotteries ................... C8 Puzzles ..................... D5

than 70 women will be on the May 21 primary ballot.

Why so many women, and why now? Erie City Councilwoman Liz Allen said she thinks a lot of inspiration comes from the Women’s March in January 2016. “We see a lot of women working together,” she said. “It’s not just candidates. We have a network of female friends working together for

Health ...................... E6 Classified............. F1-G4 Employment ........... G1-4

change.”

Caitlin Handerhan, executive director of the Public Policy Fund at Penn State Behrend, said the political climate has changed and the Pink Wave — the term used to describe the record number of women running for office nationwide — is alive in Erie.

See HER, A7

Inside A Q&A with Erie Insurance’s Christina Marsh, D1 Lawyer Colleen Stumpf reflects on reaching goals in legal field, E1

TO DAY

M O N DAY

T U ES DAY

A snow shower 33° / 24°

Partly sunny 37° / 28°

Milder 51° / 38°

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HER From Page A1

“Women are not happy with the way the national dialog is going, and there are a number of women running nationally for that reason, and it’s also filtered down to the local level,” she said.

The number of women running is encouraging, said Erie County Democratic Party chairman Jim Wertz and Erie County Republican Party chairman Veral Salmon. But they also agreed that there are not enough candidates — men or women — to fill all the slots available. Auditor positions, school board directors, judge of elections, council and township positions are among those the party chairmen suggested to get started in public service. Erie County’s election office is the place to start.

Nevertheless, here are 11 Erie women who are trying to make a difference this spring.

Who is running for City Council?

Ten Democrats and one Republican are running for three Erie City Council seats.

Four women are among the candidates.

Vanessa R. Belen, 38, was born in Puerto Rico and spent most of her life in Erie. The Democratisanassistantproperty manager and is currently the single mother of two children. Her son, Elijah Jackson, was shot and killed in 2015.

This is Belen’s first bid for public office, but she has been active as a volunteer on many levels— including the Governor’s Advisory Commission of Latino Affairs; as an advocate against gun violence; and as the founder of a group called ErieUP (Erie United People), which unites people who suffered loss due to violence. She is also on the Erie Latino Leadership Association.

“I want to accomplish

Women running for public office in the Erie area gathered recently at the Erie Times-News. Seated, from left, are Kim Clear, 43, Mary Rennie, 60, Christal Lepak, 48, and Jasmine Flores, 25. Standing, from left, Rita Bishop, 65, Davona Pacley, 31, Erin Connelly, 41, Veronica Rexford, 50, Vanessa Belen, 38, and Freda Tepfer, 68. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

something and be a representative, not a politician,” she said. “I want to represent the people. Erie is changing, and I want to be a part of those changes.”

Jasmine Flores, at 25 she is the youngest woman running for city council. The Democrat is a personal care attendant who grew up in Erie. She wants to see some younger people in office.

“I always knew I wanted to be in politics, but I never had the education,” she said. “But I found it was possible to be a regular person in the community and get involved.”

Flores says she takes the bus to work every day and lives on the lower east side. She said Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, is her inspiration.

“I feel like it’s the year of the woman. There’s so much going on,” she said.

Christal Lepak, 48, is an instructor in general education at Fortis during the day whoteachesleadershipclasses

tochildrenintheevening.This is the first time the Democrat is running for government office and she credits her inspiration to several women, most notably Joyce Savocchio, aformerteacher,principaland mayor as a mentor. Lepak was a student at Strong Vincent High School when Savocchio was a teacher.

“She’s the first and only woman mayor, and she inspired me when she was a teacher. She was a big influence on me,” Lepak said.

She has a degree in history from Penn State Behrend and a master’s in education from Mercyhurst University.

Lepak said she can relate to people in the community with heartache, poverty and job loss. Her eldest daughter was killed by a drunk driver. She is now the divorced mother of five children and has two grandchildren. Her only son is in the military and serving overseas.

D a v o n a P a c l e y, 31, is employed at Sarah A. Reed

Children Center residential unit as a social worker.

The Democrat credits her wife, Angelica Spraggins, for encouraging her to run for office. She also said Rhonda Matthews, associate professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, inspired her while she was in school.

“I want to see leadership in the city and I want to be part of the solution,” she said, noting that this is her first run for public office.

She is one of the founders of People for a Livable Erie, a coalition that has come together to “demand that elected representatives support racial, educational, and economic equity and a healthy, livable city.”

Judge Two open seats are in play, and five attorneys are running. One woman is among them.

Erin Connelly, 41, is the chief deputy district attorney who

Sunday, March 31, 2019

A7

said she is running because she loves what she does.

“I really enjoy being in the courtroom,” she said. She has worked in the District Attorney’s Office for 16 years, specializing in domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

The Millcreek Township Democrat received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and her law degree from Duquesne University School of Law in 2003. She is married and has two stepchildren.

This is Connelly’s second run for judge. She finished third in the judicial race for two seats in 2015. One of those seats had been her father’s, Judge Shad Connelly.

“I do feel we need more women on the bench,” she said.

If elected, she would be the third woman to be a judge after Stephanie Domitrovich in 1990 and Elizabeth Kelly in 2000.

County Council District 7, which covers western Erie County The seat is held by Carol Loll, 70, who is not running again. Four Republicans and two Democrats are running, including two women: Rita Bishop, 65, is a Democrat who hopes to follow in Carol Loll’s footsteps.

“I always told Carol Loll I was going to run for her spot if she ever retired,” Bishop said. Bishop currently works for the county in information technology and she previously worked for UPMC Hamot and had her own business called PCI, a personalized computer instruction company.

The Edinboro University graduate was the first one in her family of nine children to graduate from college. Her first elected office was as an auditor for Conneaut Township and she held a six-year term.

See HER, A8

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

ERIE, INC.

Sunday, March 31, 2019

D1

Jim Martin Assigning Editor 870-1668 jim.martin@timesnews.com

HERE TO HELP

Lastminute tax tips

David Bruce

T

ax returns are due in about two weeks but there still is time to save money on your 2018 return.

Consumer Reports recently suggested several tips that people can do right now in order to pay less or receive a bigger refund when they file their 2018 form. Some of these tips are relevant only for certain filers but others may be helpful for many of us.

Contribute to your individual retirement account. You can add to

a 2018 traditional IRA up until April 15. Any money you contribute to the IRA potentially reduces your total taxable income.

The maximum you can contribute is $5,500 if you are younger than 50 and $6,500 if you are 50 or older. The deduction you receive will be limited based on your income and whether you and your spouse have work-related retirement plans, Consumer Reports said in an online article.

If you own a small business, you might be eligible for higher income and contribution limits through a simplified employee pension IRA. Visit www. irs.gov for details.

Contribute to a relative’s IRA. You can also

reduce your son’s or daughter’s 2018 taxes, if they earn less than $31,500, by contributing to their IRA before April 15.

See BRUCE, D2

Talk to us Have a consumer question you’d like us to help you with? Call David Bruce at 870-1736, send email to david.bruce@ timesnews.com, or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

MOTLEY FOOL WINNER Ross Feltz is this week’s Motley Fool winner for correctly answering that Tata Motors was the answer to last week’s question.

For a list of those who answered correctly, turn to D2. For this week’s question, turn to D6.

Erie Insurance Chief Community and Economic Development Officer Christina Marsh, 53, is interviewed in Erie on Tuesday. [GREG

RISING

WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

to the challenge “Chris has demonstrated a willingness to adapt and grow throughout her career at Erie (Insurance). She has worked in accounting, finance, human resources, program management and currently in community and economic development... She has a keen sense of being able to anticipate change, great vision and the leadership skills to drive results.”

—Tim NeCastro, CEO of Erie Insurance

By Jim Martin jim.martin@timesnews.com

Long Island native Christina Marsh thrives on a challenge. Maybe that’s something she learned from her father, a New York City truck driver whom she describes as a brilliant, selfeducated man.

Marsh, the chief community and economic development officer for Erie Insurance, grew up thinking she might want to be a teacher. A class in bookkeeping led one of her teachers to suggest she consider a future as an accountant. A visit from an admissions counselor made her fall in love with the idea of attending what’s now Mercyhurst

University.

That’s where her father came in.

“My dad was always one who motivated us by challenging us,” she said. “He challenged me by saying you will never be able to get enough scholarships. And I thought, ‘Yes, I will.”

It was the same when she decided to pursue her CPA. “My dad said I don’t know why you are going for that,” 53-year-old Marsh said.

Later, “He had me fax him a copy of my certification.

He wanted proof is what he told me.”

She discovered a different version of the truth at her father’s funeral, attended by many of his friends at ConEdison which employed him as a truck driver for more

than 30 years.

“At his funeral, all his colleagues knew that I was a CPA. He had bragged about his daughter to all his friends,” she said.

Marsh, who helped develop what’s become the Erie Downtown Development Corp., said she finds herself thinking about her late parents a lot these days as she works in a role focused on improving the community that she’s called home since college. She talked about her role last week in a conversation with the Erie Times-News. Her responses have been edited for clarity and brevity: Question: What brought you to Erie Insurance?

Answer: I first met Tim NeCastro (now CEO of Erie

M OV E R O F T H E W E E K

THE BUZZ

Eriez Manufacturing has promoted Dave Heubel to the newly created position of senior

The Ashley Home Store will host BusinessAfterHours,afreenetworking event of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. The event will be held April 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. at 7200 Peach St., next door to John V. Schultz Furniture.

Participants can tour the new showroom.Toregister,call454-7191.

sales director.

In his new role, Heubel oversees sales in the United States, Canada, Central and South America and certain Middle Eastern countries. He will lead the sales team in developing and implementing strategies to achieve sales and growth objectives.

Heubel joined Eriez in 1990 as a technical sales representative and has served in numerous roles with the company.

Past positions include separation product manager, national sales manager and, most recently, director of North American sales.

Heubel earned a bachelor’s degree in management, a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business administration, all from Penn State Behrend.

In a competition sponsored by the American Distilling Institute, Cart/Horse Distilling in Washington Township won the silver medal, the top prize awarded this year, in the Herbal/Botanical/Spice Liqueur category. Cart/Horse, which has been in business for two years, was also given the title of “Certified Craft Spirit” for the product.

Root Digger is a traditional-style

Insurance) when we worked together at Ernst and Young when they had an Erie office.

He was a great mentor. He and I worked on many of the colleges and manufacturers that we audited. I left there for Erie Insurance 25 years ago. I was getting married and knew I wanted to cut down on my travel time.

I wanted to be at home more. (At Erie Insurance) I was a corporate accountant in financial reporting.

I was responsible for the financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission when the (publicly traded) Erie Indemnity Co. was formed.

I loved building new. In my career, it’s all about building new. It’s about helping others build their own competence, their own capabilities, helping other women succeed in business and growing their own leadership. There is always that teacher in me.

Q: Did you play a role in bringing Tim NeCastro to Erie Insurance in 1996?

See MARSH, D2

root beer liqueur made with whole herbs and spices, brewed in small batches and blended with cane sugar spirits.

The Erie Indemnity Co. will hold its 94th annual meeting of shareholders onApril30at9:30a.m.intheauditorium of the company’s Perry Square building at 100 Erie Insurance Place.

An election will be held to elect directors who will serve for the next year.

Cannon’s Chophouse, located at 7165 Peach St., will host Connect 4 Coffee, a free networking event of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. The event will be held April 9 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. To register, call 454-7191.

D2

Sunday, March 31, 2019

|

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

Dick’s pays price for gun sales change

By Eben Novy-Williams Bloomberg

Last February, when Dick’s Sporting Goods boss Ed Stack announced he was restricting gun sales at the country’s largest sports retailer, he knew it’d be costly.

At the time, Dick’s was a major seller of firearms.

Guns also drove the sale of soft goods-boots, hats, jackets. What’s more, Stack, the retailer’s chief executive officer, suspected the position could drive off some of his customers on political principle. He was right.

Dick’s estimates the policy change cost the company about $150 million in lost sales, an amount equivalent to 1.7 percent of annual revenue. Stack says it was worth it.”The system does not work,” Stack said. “It’s important that when you know there’s something that’s not working, and it’s to the detriment of the public, you have to stand up.”

The 2018 school massacre at Parkland, Florida, touched a nerve for the company.

Nikolas Cruz, the shooter, had legally purchased a shotgun from Dick’s a few months before the attack. A day after Cruz was arrested, police in Vermont apprehended a teenager with plans to shoot up his high school. He, too, had legally purchased a shotgun from Dick’s.

The two incidents were a last straw for Stack, a onetime Republican donor who in 35 years had turned his father’s bait-and-tackle shop into the country’s largest sports retailer.

Two weeks after those arrests, Stack announced he was pulling assault-style rifles and high-capacity

No longer a go-to store for many gun-owners and hunters, Dick’s is now navigating its new reality. [DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG]

magazines out of all Dick’s stores. He vowed he’d never sell another firearm to anyone under 21.

The response was predictable. The National Rifle Association criticized his “strange business model.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation expelled Dick’s from its membership. Gun manufacturers like Mossberg refused to do business with him at all, and some shoppers followed suit.

Some people applauded the CEO’s decision and promised to show their appreciation with their business— a phenomenon called

MOTLEY FOOL WINNERS

MARSH

The following people correctly responded that Tata Motors was the answer to last week’s Motley Fool trivia question: Harry and Barb Blount, Len Jefferson, Carolyn M. Welther, James Heidecker, Barbara Alonge, John McClelland, Mary Ann Fogle, Deb Cole, Bernice S. Fox, Susan Gomolchak, Susan Cenfetelli, Roger Aaron, Peggy Alexander, Leon J. Buczynski Jr., Paul and Frances Kuzma, Martin J. Farrell, David Milk, Paul Scholl, Gregory L. Swanson, Nanci Dunton, Vance L. Duncan III, Jerry Kraus, Susan Rote, Frankie Vandermark, Sam and Karen Amendola, Ross Feltz, Greg Lessig, Kristina Straub, Sheryl Carpenter, Kathleen Chandler, Beverly Zarella, Bill Detter, Malcolm Pollard, Dave Halas, Keith and Laura Farnham, Mike Roesc h, Jill Gomes, Dick Forbes and Greg Tower.

From Page D1

Think you know the answer to this week’s question?

Send your answer to jim.martin@ timesnews.com. Or, mail your answer to Motley Fool, Erie Times-News, 205 W. 12th St., Erie PA 16534.

A: When I came over here, there became an opening for an internal audit officer and I immediately thought of Tim. I told him, ‘I love Erie Insurance. I think you might too.’

I brought him to Erie Insurance. He did the rest on his own.

Q: How did you move into your current role?

A: There are a lot of steps but they are all very good steps. Erie Insurance has done a good job of giving me the opportunity to be the servant leader I most enjoy being. (Recent career steps have included serving as senior vice president of human resources under CEO Terry Cavanaugh and as senior vice president of the Enterprise Portfolio Management Office at Erie Insurance.)

When Tim became our chairman in 2016 it wasn’t long after that he knew from our chairman Mr. (Tom) Hagen that it’s time to get into the community more. Tim called me one day and said there is something brewing here. There is an iceberg ahead of us. I am

BRUCE From Page D1

Adding to their IRA can save them money by making them eligible for a $1,000 tax credit and reducing their taxable income.

Add to a health savings account. If you had a

“buycotting” — but those people didn’t stick around.

“Love is fleeting. Hate is forever,” Stack said.

What happened at Dick’s confirms new study results out of Stanford University.

Respondents said they were more likely to buy a product to support a CEO’s political stance than they were to boycott in disagreement, but their actions revealed the opposite. When asked for specific examples, 69 percent could name a product they’d stopped buying, and only 21 percent could recall a product they started buying.

The 64-year-old Stack is

an unlikely champion of gun reform. Earlier this decade, he helped Dick’s double-down on its outdoor roots, buying licensing rights to “Field & Stream” and launching both a private brand and a new series of stores dedicated partially to hunting. He’s a gun owner himself and insists he’s not anti-firearm, just in favor of whathelikestocall“commonsense gun reform.”

No longer a go-to store for many gun-owners and hunters, Dick’s is now navigating its new reality. In August, the company announced it would remove hunting supplies and equipment entirely from 10

Christina Marsh is photographed in her office at Erie Insurance.

[GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

not sure how big it is or what it looks like underneath the water. But I think it could be really exciting. He knew me well enough to know my values and thought I think you will want to be part of

this. He wanted me to join him on that effort.

Q: Can you describe your job?

A: It’s to further the needs of the community. Our footprint is larger than Erie,

high-deductible health insurance plan in 2018, you can still contribute to the health savings account that is used to pay for eligible medical expenses that the insurance plan doesn't cover.

You can contribute up to $3,450 for an individual HSA and up to $6,900 for a family HSA. People 55 or older can add another $1,000 to those amounts.

The deadline to create and fund these accounts is April 15 at midnight, according to Consumer Reports.

Take another look at your 2017 tax return. In

some situations, taxpayers can carry over losses or unused tax benefits to subsequent tax years.

For example, if you have a home business that lost money, you can carry over an unused

stores. Sales jumped in the test stores, and the company will implement the change in 125 additional stores, about 17 percent of the total fleet. After a dip in the last 12 months, the company expects same-store sales to be flat or rise a little.

Thenthere’sField&Stream.

The outdoor label, which includes kayaks, camo jackets and sleeping bags, is the company’s top-selling private brand. Stack acknowledged that the gun decision has hurt Field & Stream sales and that the company faces a potentially larger decision about its 35 Field & Stream stores, including one in Millcreek

Pennsylvania. We say we are helping to raise civic awareness across the communities that we serve, starting with Erie, Pennsylvania. It starts with the civic engagement piece to help the community.

Does Erie Insurance care about that? Of course, we do.

Our people are our greatest asset. We need vibrant communities wherever we are in order to attract and retain the best talent. A vibrant urban core is critical to us being able to do that. Something Erie Insurance can do is provide leadership in the community.

It’s a lot of coordinating and convening.

Q: How optimistic are you that you can make a difference in this role?

A: I am optimistic. Otherwise, I don’t think I would stay in it very long. My husband and I raised our three boys here. We love the community and we want to see it thrive. This is personal and professional on so many levels. It’s certainly a way to give back. In my career, this has been the most fulfilling role for all that we are able to see and do. It’s been very exciting.

Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email.

Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.

home-office deduction, Consumer Reports said in the article. That's because if you based the deduction on your actual costs, you weren't able to take a deduction to reduce your business income.

Taxpayers can also carry over charitable donations if they were so large that they reached the IRS deduction limits. These can carry over for up to five years,

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | H E R STO RY | E 2

KEEPING IT COOL The French Creek Curling Club’s 44 members gather on the ice in Meadville

Meet Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt, the first woman in Erie County to serve on a jury

HER TIMES

Pam Parker

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WOMEN IN ERIE HISTORY

Her Story celebrates Erie women

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

Q&A

‘Make your mark’

t's the end of March and that concludes Women's History Month and our newspaper's series of Her Story Erie features.

Every year that I've had the honor to participate in this project, I am amazed at the terrific women we meet.

In one of today's news stories, we talked to some of the women running for Erie City Council, County Council and judge.

During the photo shoot here at the Erie TimesNews, it was heartwarming to see these women — many running against each other — embracing, sharing ideas and encouraging one another. Davona Pacley and Jasmine Flores, both running for Erie City Council, collaborated on how to make their own campaign buttons and save money doing it.

These women, ranging in age from their 20s to 60s, are worth watching as they approach not only elections but also volunteerism and community activism.

In the historical series Sarah Grabski wrote on Women You Should Know (on page 2 of this section), we met women from different centuries who were often refused admission to schools.

But they persisted and became lawyers, doctors, teachers and more. Many became the main financial support for their

Probably my type-A personality.

When you go into law, that ultimate prize is partnership. That's what everyone aspires to, and sure that would be nice and that's what I wanted to do, but I wanted to do a good job for my clients and I wanted to do a good job for my partners. I wanted to do a good job for those around me, and that part of my personality, of doing the best that I can, paid off dividends.

I was driven to make sure that I was doing the work that was assigned to me, going out and getting the work as I needed it, developing those relationships, but it was really that focus of wanting to do the best that I could for those around me.

I have to give it my all to do the

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Erie lawyer Colleen Stumpf on reaching goals in the legal field

By Madeleine O'Neill madeleine.o'neill@timesnews.com

Colleen Stumpf, 37, was named a partner at the Quinn Law Firm in her early 30s, making her one of the youngest people to reach that accomplishment. She was also only the second woman to be named partner at the firm, where she works in estate planning and business law, among other areas. She began working at the firm while she was still in law school at Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law and has stayed in Erie, where she is raising two children with her husband.

Stumpf talked with reporter Madeleine O'Neill about how she reached her goals in the legal profession and maintained a balance with her family. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What did it take for you to become a partner at such a young age? What do you think made you stand out?

Colleen Stumpf was one of the youngest people and only the second woman to be named a partner at the Quinn Law Firm. [JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

To glam or not after giving birth

By Leanne Italie The Associated Press

Britain’s Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge leave the hospital in April 2018 with their third baby. With another baby due in the royal family next month, the debate over postpartum perfection is alive and well. [ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO]

NEW YORK — As Danielle Bayard Jackson was putting together her birthing team, she made sure to include a doula, all the details she wanted taken care of during delivery and how bright the lights should be for ambiance.

She passed on the makeup artist.

“I even looked up various prices, but something about that felt frivolous,” said Jackson, who lives in Tampa, Florida. “I decided I didn’t want to worry about that after such a monumental moment.”

Therein lies the debate centered on pregnant women in today’s social media-saturated world: to glam or not to glam soon after a whole human being exits your body, or do as Seattle-area mom Robin Rucinsky did by the time baby No. 4 rolled around: “I didn’t pack a single cosmetic. I brought a toothbrush and chapstick.”

With the Kate Middleton postpartum hair blowout (three times!) fresh in our minds and another royal birth upcoming, the debate over perfection during labor and just hours after giving birth looms large for some women.

“I’ll tell you who it’s not fun to be pregnant at the exact same time as.

Meghan Markle,” Amy Schumer, suffering from chronic nausea throughout her pregnancy, cracked during her new Netflix comedy special. “She’s out there in, like, 6-inch heels, adorable outfits.”

While we won’t know whether Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will follow in the footsteps of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, when it comes to postpartum perfection, we have an inkling Meghan will at least slap on some See GLAM, E7

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

HER TIMES W O M E N I N E R I E H I S T O R Y YO U S H O U L D K N O W

Meet Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt

S

arah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt couldn't have guessed the lasting effect she would have in Erie.

Not only was she was the first woman in Erie County to serve on a jury, but she was also the mother of H.O. Hirt, the co-founder of Erie County's largest employer in 2018, Erie Insurance.

The ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote and along with it, granted women the right to serve on juries for the first time.

Sarah Hirt answered the call.

She was first summoned for jury duty by the Erie County Sheriff on Jan. 13, 1921, to serve at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, 1921.

She had been born in 1853 to Isabella Chidester Hill Melhorn and the Rev. John K. Melhorn, the oldest of their eight children.

Her mother was born in Washington County and her father was born in Lancaster County.

Her father's family

ttraveled by covered w wagon in 1828 to Fairview and settled on several hundreds of acres of land along Lake Erie.

The Rev. Melhorn was an 1850 graduate of Jefferson College and taught at Erie Academy.

He became a prominent Lutheran clergyman in Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania for more than 50 years.

He and Isabella Melhorn both died in 1904.

Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn, affectionately known by her family as "Lizzie," married Frank William Hirt in 1876. Frank Hirt worked as a machinist and a shop foreman at Erie City Iron Works before he founded the Erie Mantel and Tile Co. in 1895. The business was monumental and successful in one of the leading industries of its kind at the time in Pennsylvania.

The couple had five children: Zoe Isabella Hirt, John Melhorn Hirt, Kate Estelle Hirt, Jennifer Etta Albertina Hirt and H.O. Hirt. The family moved in 1893 to 1016 Wayne St., which would become known as the family's homestead.

Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt certainly blazed a trail of success for generations to follow in her family.

Her youngest son, H.O. Hirt, founded Erie Insurance in 1925. One of her daughters, Zoe Isabella Hirt, became a highly respected public school teacher and principal at McKinley Elementary School.

She was the first psychologist in the Erie School District. She also started the Erie Guidance Center.

Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt's granddaughter, Susan Hirt Hagen, was the first female to be elected president of the United Way of Erie County.

She was also the first woman to serve on the Board of Directors of Erie Indemnity Co., as well as on the boards of various subsidiaries of the Erie Insurance Group.

Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt died later in 1921, after she served her jury duty, at the age of 68. She is buried in Erie Cemetery.

Compiled by Sarah Grabski

Female scientists average less federal funding

By Alison Bowen Chicago Tribune (TNS)

A new study, released in JAMA by researchers from Northwestern Medicine and the university’s Kellogg School of Management, revealed female scientists received less federal funding than male scientists.

The study analyzed nearly 54,000 grants from the National Institutes of Health to first-time principal investigators and found women received about $40,000 less than men on average. Analyzing grants given from 2006 to 2017, researchers found women received an average grant amount of $126,615, while men received on average $165,721.

Teresa Woodruff,

professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the Women’s Health Research Institute, said the research was startling.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I’ve been disadvantaged my entire career and didn’t really know it.”

Previous research has shown women receive lower startup funds, but she said this was the first to analyze such a large range of federal funding.

Boston researchers examined what support scientists received at the beginning of their career in a 2015 article in JAMA. They found men received higher financial startup support than women.

“We’ve known for a long time that the money that males and females get to start their labs has been unequal,” Woodruff said.

This means female scientists are disadvantaged at the start of their careers, Woodruff said. Having fewer resources might slow down research, which then has an impact on patients.

She noted that people awarded funding had similar backgrounds before receiving their first NIH grant — publishing the same average number of articles, which received the same average number of citations. This indicates, she said, women performed on par with men but received less funding.

This is a photo of Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt, the first woman to serve on a jury in Erie County.

A portrait shows the family of Frank William Hirt, front left, and Sarah Elizabeth Melhorn Hirt, front right. In the back row, left to right, are daughters Jennifer and Zoe and sons H.O. and John. In the front center is daughter Kate. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS]