Walter Hurd: a Member of “the Greatest Generation� A WORLD WAR II VETERAN SHARES HIS STORY
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Punxsutawney’s Walter Hurd is a World War II veteran and a member of the United States’ greatest generation. (photo by Vanessa Huey Photography)
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By Jim Lauffer of Hometown magazine n his book The Greatest Generation, published in 1998, journalist Tom Brokaw describes the generation of Americans who came of age during the Great Depression and who fought in World War II – or supported the war effort on the home front – as “the greatest generation.� Brokaw writes, “[This generation] is, I believe, the greatest genera-
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Walter Hurd (second from right) spends a bit of “down time� with a few of his buddies. (submitted photo)
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In June 2014, Walter Hurd, as part of the 82nd Airborne Division’s D-Day reunion trip, visited Munich, Germany. (submitted photo)
tion any society has ever produced,� and he argues that the men and women of this generation fought for neither fame nor recognition, but because fighting for their
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2 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
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country was the right thing to do. Punxsutawney’s Walter Hurd is a veteran of World War II. He fought in Normandy, Holland, and Belgium and was in Europe when Germany surrendered. Walter – who celebrated his ninety-second birthday on Oc- Looking dapper in his tober 15 – is a Army uniform, Walter bona fide mem- Hurd cocks his head and ber of the United smiles for the camera in Berlin, Germany, in 1945. States’ greatest (submitted photo) generation. Walter “Wally� Hurd, son of Hubert and
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Dove (Barrett) Hurd, was born in La Jose, which, according to Walter, is located “going out toward Westover.� A La Jose native son, Walter now calls Punxsutawney home. He lives with his daughter, Wendy, and her husband, Doug Depp, having moved into their Pine Street home following an illness three years ago. Walter grew up spending his days in the woods, hunting and fishing and trapping – usually with his brother Herbert “Bud� Hurd. “They called us ‘Indians’ because we spent so much time in the woods and because we knew every part of it,� he said. Tragically, while he was in ninth grade, Walter lost his brother in a trap-line mishap. “He accidently shot himself,� he said. “I was lost. I didn’t know what to do with myself for more than a month.� - Continued on page 4
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Missing the Good Old Days of Autumn
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By Mary Ellen Pollock-Raneri for Hometown magazine miss being a child – especially when fall rolls around. For me, the season was almost a magical time – maybe because my birthday was near Halloween. Or, maybe because I always loved color and it seemed like the whole world looked like a big pot of vegetable soup through my kid eyes. Maybe, I expected a witch to jump out from behind a tree in our yard and grant me a wish. I’m not sure why – I just loved the season! These days, while people are posting photos and memes on Facebook for and against their favorite or least favorite presidential candidate, I’m hard at work, looking up haunted hotels for a weekend stay, searching the area for parties and hayrides, posting funny Halloween pictures, scouring the Internet for old Halloween songs, and comparing and contrasting prices of a fortune teller costume. Recently, though, I started a “things I miss about fall” list. “So, here goes – enjoy!” I miss the old days in Punxsutawney when folks used a simple, real pumpkin as a decoration. We didn’t have orange lights, mechanical skeletons, maniacal clown figures, or electric jack-o’-lanterns on our porches. We just had honest-to-goodness pumpkins that came out of a neighbor’s field, and we put an honest-to-goodness lit candle inside it. My mom always reserved the little brick flower bed on our front porch to display her ceremonial, hand-carved masterpiece – that is, after she dried the seeds in the oven. Overwhelmed with joy, I would tiptoe outside, just to stare at the sheer spooky beauty of two triangular eyes that flickered in the night, and I was proud that our house had such a magnificent seasonal decoration. I miss jumping in a big pile of leaves that my father had just raked. We had the neighbor’s oak leaves in the front and two gigantic black walnut trees in the back. On chilly evenings, Dad would rake most of the leave into the garden and start a little bonfire. We didn’t have any regulations in Fairview for when and how you could burn stuff – you
just did it when it was time. The air was smoky with the scent of burning leaves, damp grass, black walnuts, end-of-the-season tomato stalks, and, well, fall. Sometimes, today, I wish I had a can of air freshener that smelled exactly like those autumn days. I miss watching my mom design my Halloween outfit. She was a crackerjack seamstress and mastered every detail of costumes, from real yarn pompoms on a clown hat to braids made out of discarded panty hose. I stood patiently on a step stool near her sewing machine as she clenched about ten straight pins in her mouth and stuck them one by one into the pattern she tested out on me. I was a clown, an Amish girl, a fairy princess, and a Japanese girl with a kimono. Yes, Mom was the queen of Halloween, and I was a willing courtesan. I miss Mrs. Corey’s huge maple tree. Every afternoon, on the walk back home from the bus stop at the top of the road that led to the Highway Department in Fairview, I crunched through a sea of red, orange, and yellow leaves that drifted to the alley between my neighbor’s driveway and our backyard. The leaves on the bottom of the heaps were slightly damp and stuck to my shoes, but the fresh ones on the top danced in the air and spun about like little tornadoes. I miss real apple cider. Real apple cider! Not the kind that is pasteurized and labeled with the calories, sugar, and carbs – all served up in a plastic container with a childproof seal around the lid. I’m talking about apple cider that famers used to sell at small markets or alongside the road. I’m talking about pulp and a tart, yet sweet, flavor; buzzing bees humming near my head; and a couple dead bugs floating in my drink. That’s what I’m talkin’ about! I remember a little orchard outside Punxsutawney that was a Sunday drive for my folks and me. A grey cement floor, decorated with a few renegade leaves, stems, and dinged-up apples, greeted us. The owners served little Dixie cups of cider to all the customers. Lots of local apples sat around in crates and baskets, waiting to be adopted. My mom would scrutinize every apple in the bushel and then take them home. The little guys were destined for pies, apple sauce, canning, and just good oldfashioned, juicy munching. Mom’s favorite apple was the McIntosh. In fact, I didn’t know that other apples on the planet existed
until I went to college. I miss Halloween parties at school. That was a great day at Bell Township Elementary School! Our teachers, Mrs. Wadding, Mrs. Elder, and Mr. Lowry always planned a little Halloween parade in the rooms and awarded a prize. I particularly remember the year that my mom made me a great clown outfit, complete with gloves, a pointy hat, and a homemade red nose. Thinking that I had the grand prize all “sewed” up, I proudly marched my polkadotted garb around the room and practically danced on air in my over-sized clown shoes. As fate would have it, a boy dressed as a scarecrow won first prize and it was welldeserved. I mean, he used actual hay and looked like he should have been dangling in the warm summer air from a weathered garden post in Farmer McGregor’s field. Mom almost flung herself on the floor and wept when I told her the news; however, she recuperated the next year enough to design another stellar costume for me. I miss eating black walnuts. We always dried those nuts on a little table covered with newspaper – alongside a few straggler tomatoes that we left in the garden. Smashing the hard shell with a hammer was great fun, but the dark stain from their skin remained on my hands for several days.
I miss trick-or-treating on any day at all. Nowadays, we usually have a designated date and time when droves of costumed little guys and gals pour up the sidewalk for goodies. Sure, I know it’s safer. Yes, I know it’s probably more convenient for everyone in these busy times. I’m just missing the shear spontaneity of it all. I miss those cold, spooky autumn nights when the doorbell would ring and a couple masked kids standing on the porch would yell, “Trick or treat!” I miss letting the Halloween visitors actually come in my home and stand there – not speaking a word – while we try to guess their identities. I miss the old-fashioned, plastic masks with a gum-band in the back, I miss ghostly kids in sheets with two holes for their eyes, and I miss Halloweeners hold- Continued on page 10
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Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 3
Walter Hurd
Walter Hurd snapped this picture of a downed Nazi jet with a German-made camera that he obtained during the war. (submitted photo)
Continued from page 2 Walter was seventeen years old when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The surprise attack shocked the American people and led directly to the United States’ entry into World War II. On December 8, the U.S. declared war on Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, and, on the same day, the U.S. government answered with declarations of war against those two countries. Walter heard about the Sunday attack on Pearl Harbor at a local restaurant. “I was at Grandma Spade’s with two cousins,� he said. “The radio was on, and a waitress hollered at me right away when she heard about it.� Like many Americans, the teenager’s response to the attack on his country was straightforward: “What can I do, and can I enlist?� Walter and one of his cousins went to the Air Force recruiting station to
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volunteer. His cousin was accepted, but Walter, who was still in high school, was told that he was too young. “I wanted to be a pilot,� he said, remembering his disappointment. A year later, in late 1942, Walter – eighteen years old, but still a student at Mahaffey High School – was drafted into the U.S. Army and entered active duty in early 1943. “I went in with a bunch of guys I knew from the area,� he said. “A cousin went in with me and some other guys I knew.� Walter recalled that, like him, about onehalf of the young men left high school to fight in the war. “After the war, we had a lot of guys go back to high school and finish up,� he added. The young draftees took the train to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where they – at the Army’s expense – endured six weeks of boot camp or basic training. “That’s where we got picked for different jobs and got ready to ship out,� Walter said. “I was trying to get into the paratroopers; that’s what I volunteered for.�
More than a dozen recruits from WalAmerican� because it was comprised of ter’s hometown area trained at Fort Bragg soldiers f rom all forty-eight states (Alaska and Hawaii had not yet joined the during the month and a half that Walter United States) – a nickname reflected in was there. During the years after WWII, the division’s famous “double A� insignia he and “some of the guys from the area� patch. Following the November 1918 have met again at Fort Bragg to reminisce and swap stories. A bond that cannot be armistice that ended the so-called “war to broken – the bond between soldiers who end all wars,� the division was deactihave fought side by side – connects them. vated and existed only as part of the Walter still keeps in touch with some of Army’s organized reserve. the men by teleIn March 1942, the phone. 82nd Infantry DiviAfter a brief trainsion was reactivated ing assignment at under the command Fort Shelby, Missisof Major General Omar N. Bradley. sippi, Walter reFive months later, ported to Fort the division became Benning, Georgia, the 82nd Airborne for jump school – to Division, comtrain to be a paramanded by Major trooper. The training General Matthew B. was intense, and, acRidgway. cording to Walter, the soldiers had to “We were the first make five jumps in paratrooper outfit,� order to qualify as a said Walter, “and we paratrooper. Walter were one of the credits his athletic most decorated.� training in high Receiving orders school with helping to Europe, Walter him to survive the and members of his physical demands of During World War II, Walter Hurd wore the dis- unit rode a train to the paratrooper tinctive “double A� - “ All American� - shoul- Fort Indiantown school. “I played der patch as a paratrooper assigned to the Gap, Pennsylvania, 82nd Airborne Division. (image of a football and baseball Army’s then to New York replica patch courtesy of WarHobby.com) in high school – and City, where they I boxed,� he said. “We had a lot of guys boarded ship bound for England. “We zigzagged across the Atlantic,� Walter drop out of jump school.� Walter continsaid, adding that he claimed a topmost ued to box in the service and remembered bunk. “I didn’t want to be under anyone being called upon to settle more than one disagreement. who got seasick.� The zigzagging was the Completing jump school, Walter, a ship’s ploy to avoid being sunk by a Gernewly minted paratrooper, was assigned man submarine. to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, After arriving in England in January the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment 1944, Walter lived, for the most part, in (PIR) – one of the division’s four infantry London and spent most of his time trainregiments. The 82nd Division was creing in the country. “We also trained near ated and activated in August 1917 during Cardiff, Wales,� he said. “There was a large area to train there.� World War I. Major General Eben Swift The 82nd Airborne Division trained in gave his division the nickname “All
- Continued on page 6
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Mysteries from the Punxsutawney Area Coal Fields
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By the Coal Memorial Committee for Hometown magazine he Case of the Missing Priest A change of priests at the Clayville Catholic Church was announced in the December 7, 1892, edition of the Punxsutawney Spirit: Change of Pastors “Rev. Father Weinker, who for the past few years has had charge of the Catholic congregations at Clayville and Adrian has by his own selection been transferred to the latter place. Father J. Gayduszek, of Eldred, McKean County, has taken Rev. Weinker’s place in Clayville. His duties will be to look after the spiritual welfare of his people at that place, Punxsutawney, Walston and Horatio.” Father Gayduszek was born in Austria and came to America in 1886. Prior to his assignment at the Clayville church in December 1892, he had been the pastor at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church at Eldred in McKean County. The congregation at Eldred had given him an elegant gold-headed cane as a token of their appreciation and in remembrance of his time with them. The priest made his necessary living arrangements, including purchasing furniture and securing housekeeping assistance. He also attended to the needs of his parish. During his time at the church, only three funerals were recorded in the newspaper. In late January 1893, the funeral of Paul Feraco, a miner who was killed instantly at Horatio No. 2 Mine. Feraco, died when a huge bolder fell on him and crushed his body. While the men retrieved the body and placed it on a stretcher to carry it to the miner’s house, a man went ahead to tell the family of the death. Upon seeing her husband’s mutilated body, the miner’s wife began to scream, tore her hair, and attempted suicide by striking her head against the walls of the house. Her grief grew stronger with time, and she had to be restrained by force. In March 1893, Mrs. Esther Morshan, age sixty-eight, of Walston, fell down the steep steps of her house in Walston, fracturing her skull and sustaining other serious injuries, which caused her death. And in the same month a funeral was held for the three-year-old daughter of Philip Strayer, of Clayville, who had died from pneumonia. It was somewhat surprising when the following article appeared in the Punxsutawney Spirit on July 12, 1893: WHERE IS FATHER JOSEPH? Mysterious Disappearance of a Catholic Priest “Father Joseph Gayduzek came to Lindsey from Eldred, McKean county, about six months ago and took charge of the parish there, Father Weinker taking the Adrian charge. Father Joseph was a young priest, only thirty-two years of age. He was a scholarly and talented man, and was quite popular with his congregation. But one day, the 23rd of May last, Father Joseph turned up missing, and no one knows where he is to this day. Neither the Bishop nor any of his closest friends know of his where-
abouts. He arose from his writing table on the day in question, leaving everything as though he had just stepped out for a moment, and that is the last that was seen or heard from him. “He had fitted up a house with new furniture, and this was sold at auction last week to pay his debts. He left behind him, besides his books and papers, receipts, etc., an elegant gold-headed cane presented to
him by his Eldred congregation, and which he prized very highly. “His sudden and mysterious disappearance has led to all sorts of conjectures, some of them perhaps wild in their nature, such as that he might have been murdered and thrown into a burning coke oven. “There are others, however, who believe that he has gone back to his home in Austria, which is probably the most plausible theory.” Did Father Gayduszek go back to Austria? Or, did he go west? The 1900 Census reveals that a clergyman named Joseph Gaydousek, age 39, born in March 1861 in Poland/Austria, came to the United States in 1886 and was living in a rented house in Ward 3, Kimbell City, South Dakota. A check of Catholic churches in the Kimball area of Brule County, South Dakota, shows
that there were Catholic churches in the area and that during the late 1890s, many of the churches held services monthly and were supplied by priests from Kimball. Could this have been the priest from Clayville? The Bismarck Daily Tribune, dated May 2, 1906, of Bismarck, North Dakota, carried the following story: “Fire Saturday evening destroyed St. Adalbert’s, a Roman Catholic Church, and seriously damaged the residence of Father Gayducek, next to the church building, at Wahpeton. The loss is estimated at $10,000. The church building cost between $4,000 and $5,000 and the furnishing were valued at as much more, and the residence was damaged to the extent of about $1,000. There was some insurance on the church - Continued on page 24
Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 5
Walter Hurd
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6 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
Gliding into battle, Walter’s fra gile aircraft took fire. “They shot at us the whole way down. We were hit with shrapnel,” he said, “but it mostly burned our faces and hands.” The glider, somewhat surprisingly, held together – it was made of canvas stretched over a steel-tube frame and had a plywood floor – and the men safely landed in a hollow area. Immediately, they were pinned down by enemy fire. “We had a tough time getting out of there,” said Walter, who manned the machine gun he’d carried with him on the glider. Operation Market Garden – which superseded the Normandy invasion as the largest airborne assault in history – began on Sunday, September 17. After fighting its way out of the hollow, Walter’s unit
Continued from page 4 England for nearly six months, but Walter and his fellow soldiers didn’t know what they were training for, though they had their suspicions. “France and other countries were building up and building up,” Walter recalled, “but we didn’t know for sure why.” During the first week of June 1944, the soldiers received word that clarified the reason for their training – the Allies planned to invade Europe. On June 6, D-Day, the 82nd’s paratroopers boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders to begin the largest, up until that time, airborne assault in history – the invasion of Normandy, France. Dropping behind German lines, Walter, as member of the 505th PIR, was among the first soldiers to fight in Normandy. Cutting off enemy reinforcements and supply lines, the soldiers of the All American Division fought along the front lines for more than a month. Relieved on July 8, the division returned to England on July 13 – not for rest and relaxation but for refitting to return to battle. The division’s post-battle report succinctly sums up its time in Normandy: “… 33 days of action without relief, without replacements. Every mission accomplished. No ground gained was ever relinquished.” During those thirty-thre e days, more than 5,200 paratroopers were killed or wounded or were missing in action. “More than seventy percent of our paratroopers died or were wounded when we jumped into Normandy,” Walter said. “We have some guys buried in a cemetery outside London. They were shot in the planes and were brought back to England and buried there.” Home was never far from the minds of soldiers who fought in World According to Walter, War II. These two soldiers – posing for Walter Hurd’s camera – were eight of the dozen or so from Atlanta and Brooklyn. (submitted photo) area men who were with came upon a church, which the men enhim in boot camp were killed during the war – some on D-Day, others during the tered. “There were twenty-five Germans Battle of the Bulge. Walter was injured in in the church worshipping,” said Walter, Normandy, but not seriously. “I took “and t hey all gave up.” Capturing the Germans created a probshrapnel in the leg,” he said. “I didn’t dig lem for the Americans. “We had to get to my ‘hole’ deep enough, and my knee was an assembly point – I think it was a windsticking up.” mill – and we couldn’t take that many “I didn’t go to the hospital, and I didn’t prisoners with us,” said Walter. The unit take the Purple Heart,” Walter continued. located an engineering officer, explained “I didn’t want to leave my outfit; I didn’t the situation, and handed over the prisonwant to leave my guys.” ers. “He took the prisoners,” said Walter, Three mo nths after D-Day, in mid-September 1944, Walter took part in Opera“but later we found out that he took credit tion Market Garden in Holland; however, for capturing them.” After weeks of fighting in Holland, the he did not jump into this battle; he rode a 82nd was relieved by Canadian troops glider. The 82nd had inaugurated the use and received orders to France. “We were of gliders during the invasion of Norin Reims, France, until the Bulge broke mandy – “It was the first airborne excurout,” said Walter. “I was on a weekend sion in this way,” said Walter – and pass when my unit was called up.” The gliders were also part of the division’s assault in Holland. - Continued on page 8
Honor veterans on Remembrance Day
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, World War I fighting ceased. The war, which had raged on throughout Europe for a little more than four years, claimed the lives of more than nine million combatants and seven million civilians. The Allies squared off against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the conflict involved nations from all over the world. World War II was even more devastating. Ultimately, 100,000 Canadian soldiers lost their lives in these two wars combined. It is in their honour — and in the name of all the servicemen and women who continue to risk their lives in service of their country — that Remem-
services free of charge to former soldiers. • Show your patriotism. Be proud of your heritage and the rich history of the country. Fly the flag, participate in the voting process and teach children about the country’s founding principles and how much the nation has evolved. Read
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documentaries on the life-changing wars that transformed the world. Remembrance Day is a time to honour the patriotism of selfless soldiers who sacrificed their lives to make Canada — and the world — a safer place. •••
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8 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
Walter Hurd
Continued from page 6 Battle of the Bulge began when, on December 16, 1944, the Germans launched an offensive through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. The surprise attack caught Allied forces off guard. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest, and perhaps the fiercest, battle fought on the Western Front during the war. The soldiers of the 82nd joined the battle one day after the Germans had be gun their attack – moving into action on December 17. “We were the first ones up there to provide relief,” Walter said. In addition to recalling the division’s movements during the Battle of the Bulge, Walter remembered something else from those winter days in Belgium. “They finally came out with sleeping bags,” he said. The Battle of the Bulge, which ended in late January 1945, proved to be the Germa ns’ last major offensive of World War II. Following the battle, Walter spent time in France and Germany. As the war wound down, he joined a boxing team. “I did a lot of roadwork,” he said. “My captain didn’t know where I was half the time. When he had time, Walter also hunted for deer and rabbits – pursuing the passion rooted in the woods around his hometown. “Hunting helped me survive the war,” he said. Walter also took pictures with a German-made camera that he’d obtained. The small-format, black-and-white photographs bulge from a worn album. “I’d take pictures of the guys, and sometimes the guys took pictures of me,” he said. Walter pictures include one of a downed German jet and another of a tall pole filled top to bottom with signs that “pointed” soldiers to their hometowns and that included the di stances to those towns. One of the guys took a picture of Walter and a group of his buddies sitting in a field and drinking from their messkit cups. The war in Europe ended with German’s unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945. “I was in Epinal, France, when I heard the war ended,” said Walter. “I was stunned at first and thought, ‘Is the war really over or do we continue to fight in Japan?’” After Germany surrendered, the 82nd was ordered to Berlin, Germany, for occupation duty. “We were scheduled to go to Berlin because we were the most decorated outfit,” said Walter, adding that “we thought were going to the Pacific.” Walter spent only a few weeks in Berlin before receiving the orders that sent him home. Those orders took him to the port city of La Havre, France, back to England, across the Atlantic Ocean, and home to the United States, where he was discharged in January 1946. He served nearly three years in the Army, spending almost two years overseas. “I spent 200-plus days on the front lines,” Walter said. He fought in Normandy, Holland, Belgium, France, and Germany. He survived a nighttime jump into Normandy, a glider incursion into Holland, and shrapnel that stung his face and body. Walter a nd his unit received fourragère unit awards - in the form or braided cords worn around the left shoulder - from Belgium, France, and Holland for service to those countries in 1944-45. “I was scared all the time,” he said,
while talking about the end of World War II and his service in that war. Nonetheless, Walter emphasized that he would endure it all again: “I was glad to serve; everyone did it. You got to stand up and protect your country.” As a whole, the 82nd Airborne Division saw heavy action during World War II. Collectively, the division spent 422 days in combat and suffered more than 9,000 casualties – a number that includes soldiers killed or wounded in action, captured, or missing. “I never thought much about what I did during the war,” said Walter. “Now, it’s coming back to me – sometime s when I’m trying to sleep at night.” Walter thinks about how his story might have ended if the Air Force recruiter had rejected his request to enlist. “I might have been a pilot,” he said, “and a lot of pilots never made it back from Normandy – many were shot down with their men still in their planes.” After the war, Walter returned home to La Jose and married the late Ruth (Johnston), whose brother “Sonny” was in Normandy at the time as Walter. Together they raised five children (from oldest to youngest): Randy, Rick, the late Richy, Wendy, and the late Wally. He was stepfather to the children of his second wife, the late Cloyann (Reig): John Reig, Dave Reig, and the late Stephanie (Reig) Georgak. Walter is grandfather to three generations of grandchildren. The family gets together each Thanksgiving and Christmas to celebrate the holidays. They meet at the family camp at Clover Run, near McGees Mills. Walter is an active member of the Mahoning Valley VFW Post 2076 and the 82nd Airborne Division Association, which was formed in England prior to the Normandy invasion. He has traveled to Europe approximately a dozen times to visit WWII-related landmarks and the graves of soldiers who never returned to the United States. His most recent visit was in 2014 to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of D-Day. One of the goals of the All American Association is to “further develop the bond between current and past Airborne forces of the U.S. Military” – a mission that Walter supports in word and deed. “A few years ago, I went back to Fort Benning and got to pin [paratrooper] wings on a couple young guys,” he said. With a simple gesture, Walter established a bond between the paratroopers of the past and those of the present. The roots of Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation reach back to 1984 and his participation in the fortieth anniversary of D-Day and to 1994 and his broadcast from Normandy’s beaches for the invasion’s fiftieth anniversary. Brokaw writes, “There on the beaches of Normandy I began to reflect on the wonders of these ordinary people whose lives were laced with the markings of greatness.” Walter Hurd, no doubt, considers himself an ordinary man – a regular guy from La Jose, a guy who once bagged a firstday buck for thirty straight years, a guy committed to his family and friends. Yet, in listening to Walter’s stories of his World War II service in the 82nd Airborne Division, one can only marvel at the wonder of his life – a life, in Brokaw’s words, “laced with the markings of greatness.” •••
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10 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
SMILING FACES Members of the 2016 Punxsutawney Area High School Homecoming Court – as selected by the Class of 2017 – share a laugh during halftime of the Friday, September 30, varsity football game against the Flying Dutchman of St. Marys. The court includes (from left) Morgan VanLeer and escort Sammy Gigliotti, Ashley Vite and escort Nick Constant, Michaela Johnston and escort Trenton Stouffer, Anna Heitzenrater and escort Jacob Horner, Amber Huffman and escort Lucas Ambler, and Kaitlyn Ray and escort Brady Young. Anna and Michaela were crowned Homecoming Queen and Princess, respectively. (photo by Jennifer Roberts)
Missing the Good
Continued from page 3 ing open a brown paper bag for their treats – not a fancy, plastic pumpkin thingamabob with electric eyes and a mechanical lid. Lastly, we only trick-or-treated at the houses of people whom we knew. Undoubtedly, I am a Halloween dinosaur. I miss watching Chiller Theater, the familiar, scary saxophone that introduced the show, and Chilly Billy on a moonlit Saturday night in the fall. Nothing was scarier than watching I was a Teenage Werewolf (with Michael Landon, no less!) as Hal-
loween got closer. I miss watching my mother can peppers and tomatoes. Typically, she got out her old charcoal grill and roasted big red peppers on it – just until the skin charred. Then, I got the lucky job of peeling off the scorched hide from the meat of the peppers. Mom canned them; later, they were seasoned with olive oil and garlic. Also, we always had a big table, outside, near the garage door, that was specifically designed for tomato ripening. My mother gathered all the late-ripening tomatoes. You know, the ones that were mostly green and just starting to turn before the frost came and destroyed the garden. Her OCD was obvious, since she sorted and lined up the tomatoes according to size, shape, and color. Worst (or best) of all, I had to rifle through them every day – resorting and arranging them in a cooking pecking order. I guess, though, it was all worth the labor because we had tomato sauce, paste, soup, and anything else tomato all winter long. Again, I never realized you could actually purchase tomatoes in a can at the store
until later in my life. I was a sheltered tomato user. I miss waking up and seeing toilet paper strung in the trees and corn kernels on the porch and sidewalk. Of course, most people might think that these Halloween shenanigans are a nuisance. I’m not denying that opinion. But, I can’t help it – I get a warm fuzzy feeling, even today, if I see a few scattered kernels of dried corn on the street, kernels strewn there by some mischievous youth who are keeping alive the pesky tradition of “corning.” Nowadays, I rarely see either prank in my neighborhood, and I sometimes long for the days of the old seasonal tomfoolery. So there you have it – my nostalgic lookback at autumn, as remembered by someone who as a kid who grew up on the outskirts of Punxsutawney. Today, I plan to take my mom to a farm in Harrison City. I want to buy some red peppers and watch her roast them on our gas-notcharcoal grill. Plus, I dug out all the Halloween trappings from a big box in my basement. Some of the decorations are electric or have batteries – like a crazy screaming witch and a talking zombie. Sure, I have a few plug-in pumpkins, but I plan to carve a real one and roast the seeds in my oven. And, a couple days ago, I discovered some black walnuts on my walk at Twin Lakes Park. I picked them up and sniffed their pungent, lime-like hides. Then, I tossed the green nuts back to a few hungry squirrels that scampered about near the tree. But, I still remembered all those days when my folks and I cracked them open on the sidewalk near the back porch. Yes, I’ll patiently wait for trick-or-treaters on October 31st with my porch light shining. I even have a few tomatoes ripening on a little table on my deck! See, I will try to preserve old traditions because without them, our lives would be as shaky at those trembling dry autumn leaves on that maple tree in my front yard. And, too, I will remember, in Carly Simon’s words, to “stay right here ’cause these are the old days.” •••
Hometown Community Happenings
F
By the staff of Hometown magazine rom the staff of Hometown magazine and the Community Calendar at Punxsutawney.com, here is a list of events coming up in our area: n Oct. 26: Winter Coat & Blanket giveaway, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at The Salvation Army. No signup needed. Free & open to the public. n Oct. 28: Fall Turkey Shoot, 7 p.m., at Rochester Mills Rod & Gun Club. n Oct. 28 & 29: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 7:30 p.m., at Punxsy Area Middle School. Performed by the Punxsy Area Theatre Arts Guild. Tickets at door. n Oct. 29: Halloween Fest, noon to 5 p.m., at Barclay Square. Fun activities and entertainment! n Oct. 29: Phil’s Trick or Trot 5K, check in at noon, starts at 1 p.m., at Gobbler’s Knob. Registration $20 before Oct. 20 or $25 after Oct. 25. Visit www.groundhog.org for information. n Oct. 29: Author & Tea Event, featuring Karen Anna Vogel, 12:30 to 2 p.m., at Laska’s Pizza. $10 tickets available at Punxsy Memorial Library. Proceeds benefit the library. n Oct. 30: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” 2 p.m. at Punxsy Area Middle School. Performed by Punxsy Theatre Arts Guild. Tickets at door. n Oct. 31: Last day for Treasures for Children Christmas signups, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at The Salvation Army. n Oct. 31: Halloween Parade, 5:30 p.m. at NAPA, trick-or-treating until 9 p.m. in Punxsy Borough. n Nov. 1: Red Kettle Campaign begins at different locations around town & runs through the holiday season, benefits The Salvation Army. n Nov. 1: First Tuesday Community Meal, 5 p.m., at Punxsy Presbyterian Church. Free & open to the public. n Nov. 1: Meet & Greet New Police Chief Matt Conrad, 5 to 7 p.m., at Lindsey Fire Hall. Sponsored by the Punxsy Chamber of Commerce. n Nov. 2: Toys for Tots applications, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Jefferson-Clarion Community Action, Punxsy. Call 938-3302, ext. 236, for information. n Nov. 3: Toys for Tots applications, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Foundry, Reynoldsville. n Nov. 3: Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon at Punxsy Country Club, catered by 1904 Steakhouse. Social time at 11 a.m., lunch at noon. Business of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to the Community Awards will be presented. Guest speaker will be Brad Lashinsky of the Jefferson County Development Council. Reservations required. Contact the chamber for more information. n Nov. 3: Weather & War Exhibit opening reception, 6 p.m., at Punxsy Weather Discovery Center. Free admission for veterans, $3 donation for others, $6 regular admission includes Weather & War. n Nov. 4: Toys for Tots applications, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Heritage House, Brookville. n Nov. 4 & 5: “A Bazaar for all Seasons,” at Woodland Ave. United Methodist Church. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday & 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Homemade
a.m. to 8 p.m. n Nov. 10: PAHS Powderpuff Game, 6 p.m., at Jack LaMarca Stadium. Junior girls vs. senior girls. Benefits charity. n Nov. 11: Veterans Day. n Nov. 11: Community Dinner, 5 p.m., at First United Methodist Church. Free & open to the public. n Nov. 11: Punxsy Memorial Library closed for Veterans’ Day. n Nov. 11: Deadline to register for the Home for the Holidays Parade. Call the Punxsy Chamber of Commerce at 9387700 ext. 2 for information. n Nov. 12: A Windcrest Country Christmas, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2915
crafts, baked goods, lunch available. n Nov. 4, 5, 6, 12 & 13: Smicksburg Old Fashioned Country Christmas. See www.smicksburg.net for information. n Nov. 5: Girl Scout Brownie program, “Wonders of Water Journey,” at Weather Discovery Center. Pre-register at 938-1000 or e-mail Amanda@weatherdiscovery.org. n Nov. 6: Daylight Savings Time ends. Turn your clocks back. n Nov. 6, 7 & 8: Mahaffey Camp Prayer Retreat. Call 814-277-5544 or visit www.mahaffeycamp.com for more information. n Nov. 8: Election Day! Polls open 8
Winslow Rd., Punxsy. Benefits the Punxsy VFW Fund. n Nov. 19: Annual SSCD School Christmas Bazaar, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Weinker Hall & Gym. Features a variety of crafts & vendors with lunch available. n Nov. 19: Community Thanksgiving Meal, 4 to 6 p.m., at Salvation Army. Free & open to the public. n Nov. 22: Blood Drive, 1 to 6:30 p.m., at Reynoldsville Eagles. Benefits the American Red Cross. n Nov. 24: Thanksgiving! n Nov. 25: Black Friday, traditional start to the holiday shopping season. Shop local and visit the advertisers in Hometown Magazine! n Nov. 25, 26 & 27: Small Business Weekend in Smicksburg. See - Continued on page 20
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Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 11
Look Up! Punxsutawney’s Fascination with Aviation
I
S. Thomas Curry of Hometown magazine n the early 1900s, there was a fascination with aviation history in the Punxsutawney area. Stirring the interest was the historical flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright with their first powered flight in a heavier-than-air “aeroplane” at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in December 1903. Flying hundreds of feet above the firm and sure landscape and having an extraordinary view of the dwellings of people over the vast countryside was a dream adventure in the minds of many of the citizens. A human being entering airspace above the earth had become a reality years before. Memories or knowledge of the use of air balloons in the Civil War might have been shared by many Civil War veterans. The air balloon was the simplest of “flying machines,” either floating with the wind or tethered to a fixed point. With a basket suspended beneath the balloon carrying two to five people, aerial reconnaissance and artillery spotting could be conducted during the war from hundreds of feet above the battlefield. In addition, the writings of Jules Verne in the nineteenth century might have excited young men’s imaginations about the possibilities of adventures in space. Published in France in 1863, Verne’s Five Weeks in a Balloon was a novel about three Englishmen’s journey across Africa in search of the continent’s secrets. Verne’s adventure novel Around the World in Eighty Days, published in 1873, was also popular among readers. Possibly, a few older residents remembered John Townsend Trowbridge’s
poem “Darius Green and His Flying Machine,” published in his 1869 collection The Vagabonds, and Other Poems. In the poem, his fictional character, “D. Green, the son of a farmer, age fourteen” had the thoughts of many “who, seeing the birds fly ... would wonder why he couldn’t fly.” The fictional teenager also held a prophetic opinion about air travel: “Darius was clearly of the opinion / That the air is also man’s dominion / And that with paddle or fin or pinion, / We soon or late shall navigate / The azure as now we sail the sea.” Trowbridge’s poem was often reprinted in magazines and newspapers of the era, ensuring its popularity. In 1895, many residents in area cities and towns subscribed to the lithographed drawings of two itinerant artists, T.M. Fowler and J.B. Moyer. Their detailed drawings portrayed bird’s-eye views of communities and became known as panoramic maps. The artists visited Punxsutawney and Clayville in April 1895 to prepare their drawings. They took to the streets with their sketch pads to record the buildings, trees and other landscape features, topography, and infrastructure. Neither of the two Punxsutawney newspapers contains any indication that the artists’ efforts to sketch the towns were completed by a view from an air balloon. The advances made in lithograph drawing in the late nineteenth century made it possible for publishers to produce the drawings in multiple editions. The detailed lithograph maps were produced at a time when few people might have experienced a bird’s-eye view of their town from a balloon ride at any of the town’s fairs. Finished 20-by-24-inch drawings were delivered to local subscribers in
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October 1895. The visual aerial experience of Punxsutawney and Clayville residents through the map preceded the visit of balloonist N.A. Crissey, of Johnstown, who was in the program of the Punxsutawney Fair in 1899. At 5:30 p.m., he ascended from the fairground to 1,800 feet to make a special daring “parachute descent” – an act never before performed. The large crowd of people present for the event held their collective breath in
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During Punxsutawney’s Old Home Week celebration in August 1909, the East End baseball park was the site of a special attraction – the Strobel airship, “a big, cigar-shaped bag,” guided by an aviator and powered by a gas motor. The airship – like the one shown here with Strobel aviator Stanley Vaughn in a 1907 photograph – rose from the ballpark and glided over the town from the East End to the West End and back again, captivating residents’ interest and causing them to lift their eyes to the sky. (photo of ballpark by S. Thomas Curry, who took the detail picture from the original 1895 lithograph bird’s-eye drawing of Punxsutawney; image of the Strobel airship is reprinted courtesy of Rosebud’s WWI and Early Aviation Image Archives)
horror as they witnessed an awful sight. The daredevil act of the twenty-threeyear-old “aeronaut balloonist” failed. Turning over and over, Crissey “approached the earth with fearful velocity” as he fell to his death (from the September 6, 1899, edition of the Punxsutawney Spirit). A decade later, Punxsutawney area res- Continued on page 18
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14 – Hometown Punxsutawney – November 2016 - Issue #193
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Hometown Punxsutawney – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 15
- THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM!
Tonya Geist
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Hometown Punxsutawney – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 13
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JEFFERSON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY VOTE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
Salute our Vets
16 – Hometown Punxsutawney – November 2016 - Issue #193
Stop in for some of our delicious sandwiches and something to quench your thirst!
Mon.-Sat. 11-7; Fri. 11-10
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GT THOMPSON - U.S. CONGRESSMAN PAT TOOMEY - U.S. SENATOR JOE SCARNATI - SENATOR JACK MATSON – COMMISSIONER HERB BULLERS – COMMISSIONER BERNARD SNYDER - CORONER MAXINE ZIMMERMAN - COUNTY AUDITOR MABEL DUNKLE - COUNTY AUDITOR DIANE MAIHLE KIEHL - REGISTER & RECORDER CARL GOTWALD, SR. - SHERIFF JIM “MOON� VANSTEENBERG - TREASURER PAID FOR BY THESE ELECTED OFFICIALS
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Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 17
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Ombudsman Program Nov. 17th - 11 am Debra Gressley from aging services will speak about the program!
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18 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
Look Up!
Continued from page 12 idents experienced another event in the progress of air flight. In the summer of 1909, aviation history in Punxsutawney was marked with the first “airship” to glide overhead, back and forth from East End to West End and back. The event was promoted as being “a first view of a human aviator.” This daring exhibition of man’s flight in space was one of many features during the weeklong celebration of Old Home Week in Punxsutawney. “Old home week” celebrations became popular events in the early 1900s. For Punxsutawney, it was the time to promote the town’s growth from a small, rural village and, with pride, to brag a bit about the town’s accomplishments, including new industries and the major construction of new buildings downtown and new homes in the neighborhoods. The event’s many parades, amusements, exhibits, events, baseball games, concerts, and vaudeville shows enticed visitors and prompted former residents to return. In early August 1909, the Spirit reported that the contract with Charles Strobel was signed to bring one his seven airships to the big celebration. One of his experienced aviators would accompany it and between flights would give lectures to explain “its detailed workings and the science of aerial navigation.” The Strobel airship was described as “a big, cigar-shaped bag, 58 feet in the clear, from which is suspended a 34-foot frame.” The “air bag” itself was made of a “specially wove Japanese silk, covered with eight coats of linseed varnish, four outside and four inside, which renders it perfectly impervious to gas or water. ” A photograph of the Strobel airship appeared in the Punxsutawney Spirit with the announcement about the event. Unlike air balloons, which depended on air currents to glide, the airship was inflated by hydrogen gas and powered by propellers driven by an air-cooled gas engine. The navigator rode in the frame below the inflated bag, sitting as in a saddle. The gas engine was located beneath the frame. The fastest recorded time for a Strobel airship was twentytwo miles per hour in calm weather. For the Old Home Week celebration, the daring air exhibitions were held at the East End baseball park “every afternoon that the meteorological conditions will permit.” (The baseball park was located behind the former Mary A. Wilson School, the present-day location of the Hoffman Co. and Valley Tire Co.)
Before Orville and Wilbur Wright’s historic 1903 flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, popular nineteenth-century reading material, such as Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, published in 1873, excited imaginations about “flying machines.” The novel remains popular and has been printed in many editions, including the Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading edition shown at left. The photograph of Jules Verne, circa 1878, was taken by famous French photographer Nadar, who was an advocate of manned flight. (images of Jules Verne and Around the World are reprinted courtesy of Wikipedia and Amazon.com, respectively)
The management of the Old Home Week experience assured residents that “the machine, which the multitude have wondered at and applauded, is not of the treacherous kind and in such perfect weather as prevailed here, it is a delight for the operator, as well as the onlookers.” Flights were scheduled for 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. “subject to change without notice, depending on atmospheric conditions and the humor of the big ship’s machinery.” Flight times were selected so that they would not interfere with the schedule of baseball games during the week. At the ballpark, the airship was “stabled” off the southeast corner of the ball field and displayed in a fenced-in area. A small admission fee was charged for the privilege of a close-up view. The general public, however, could witness, free of charge, the “ascension and excursion over the park and through sections of the town.” A half hour before every scheduled flight, the public was alerted with three two-minute blasts from a train whistle at the nearby Pennsylvania Railroad yard, or from a fire siren at the municipal building downtown. The reporter for the Spirit described the airship’s first flight: “The operator arose from the shed area ... with perfect ease, cut a reverse curve over home plate, and then made a bee line for West End, Punxsutawney. The whirl of the propeller and the distant beats of the little engine caused everybody to turn their gaze heavenward and have a look. The beautiful machine sailed gracefully to West End, turned about and cut figure eights on the homeward stretch, following generally the direction of Mahoning Street.” It was reported that the airship flew over the town at a height of 500 feet. One young man who saw the flight over town said, “It’s one of the most interesting feats of these modern and strenuous times.” Following his viewing of the “sky journey” the editor of the Spirit, W.O. Smith, wrote: “To see a human being on whatever sort of a vehicle he may choose, chasing at will through the ambient atmosphere above, produces a real thrill.” To some extent, for many, Jules Verne’s stories describing flights into space and John Townsend Trowbridge’s poem about Darius Green and his flying machine had become reality. The fascination with air flight by man would continue during those years a century ago. In celebration of the conquest of air by early aviators, in 1912, an Avi- Continued on page 22
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Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 19
Historical Society to Offer Heritage Ornament Workshops
W
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110-point star. Forms of the star were soon adopted throughout the Moravian Church hile it still seems a bit early to as symbols of Advent. have Christmas ornaments on Although we in the Punxsutawney area store shelves, making one’s own may not have Moravians in our midst, we takes time. know that Moravian This year, in acmissionaries traknowledgment that versed western Pennthat Punxsutawney’s sylvania in the roots extend worldmiddle and late wide, the Punx1700s. From his sutawney Area diary, we know of the Historical & Getravels of the Revnealogical Society is erend John Ettwein planning a series of in 1772 through the workshops to create Lenape village of ornaments highlightPunxsutawney. ing many heritages. Other ornaments These will take will use different place every Saturday forms of needlework morning in Novemsuch as crochet, ber, beginning at 10 hardanger embroia.m., in the Reschini The Moravian star is a traditional Christmas dery, knitting, and decoration in Germany – and one that makes a Room of the Lat- sparkling treetop ornament. The Punx- needlepoint to illustimer House, 400 sutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Soci- trate our varied EuroWest Mahoning ety is planning a series of workshops to create pean traditions. Street. We hope to Christmas ornaments that highlight the area’s Russia will be reprediverse heritage. The workshops will be held make ten or so dif- at 10 a.m. every Saturday in November in the sented by tiny nestferent ornaments. Reschini Room of the society’s Lattimer ing dolls, which we Most Saturdays, we House, 400 West Mahoning Street. For addi- will paint. Additioninformation or to register for the workwill be able to make tional shops, please call 938-2555. (submitted photo) ally, we will create two or three, but one two woven ornaSaturday will be reserved for the making ments. We hope these workshops will apof a Pysanky egg, under the direction of peal to many. A donation of $5 per society director Jeanne Curtis, using a traSaturday will help cover materials used. ditional design that fits well with ChristPlease call 938-2555 to register. mas. Marty Armstrong is a member of the ColAccording to Wikipedia, a pysanka lections Committee of the Punxsutawney (Ukrainian: писанка, plural: pysanky) is a Area Historical & Genealogical Society,, Ukrainian Easter egg, decorated with traInc. ditional Ukrainian folk designs using a ••• wax-resist (batik) method. The word pysanka comes from the verb pysaty, “to write,” as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax. Many other Continued from page 11 eastern European ethnic groups decorate www.smicksburg.net for information. eggs using the wax-resist method for n Nov. 26: Home for the Holidays PaEaster. These include the Belarusians (піrade, 6 p.m., starts at Punxsy Plaza, ends санка, pisanka), Bulgarians (писано яйце, at Barclay Square. Brings Santa to town & pisano yaytse), Croats (pisanica), Czechs opens the holiday season in Punxsy. (kraslice), Hungarians (hímestojás), n Leaf collection by the borough runs Lithuanians (margutis), Poles (pisanka), through November. Pile leaves at the curb Romanians (ouă vopsite, incondeiate, or for pickup. impistrite), Serbs (pisanica), Slovaks n The Punxsutawney Area Commu(kraslica), Slovenes (pisanica, pirhi, or renity Center offers indoor cycling, batting menke), and Sorbs (jejka pisać). cage, Fifty & Fit, SilverSneakers, AM The photograph that accompanies this men’s basketball, Pilates/yoga, and gymstory is of a sparkling Moravian star that nastics. Call 938-1008 for more informawill make a beautiful tree top ornament. tion. Again, according to Wikipedia, a Moran Football Contest Winner Anvian star (German: Herrnhuter Stern) is an illuminated Advent, Christmas, or nounced This month’s winner of HomeEpiphany decoration popular in Germany town’s Steelers Football Contest just and in places in America and Europe might have a future in sports-score progwhere there are Moravian congregations. nostication! On Sunday, October 2, the The stars take their English name from the Pittsburgh Steelers – wearing their infamous “bumblebee” uniforms – decisively Moravian Church, originating in Moravia, defeated the New York Jets 31-13 at Heinz a historical region of the modern Czech Field. John Niver of Big Run submitted Republic. the exact total of 44 points scored. ConThe first Moravian star is known to have gratulations to John, who wishes to reoriginated in the 1830s at a Moravian deem his gift certificate at Pizza Town. boys’ school, most probably as a geometry ••• lesson or project. The first mention is of a
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20 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
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814-371-3180 Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 21
In June 1912, nearly nine years after the Wright brother’s famous flight in December 1903, Brookville aviator Earl Sandt, having been engaged by area businessmen, flew from Brookville to Punxsutawney’s fairground – a flight of twenty minutes – where a crowd greeted him with awe and appreciation. (Hometown file photograph)
Look Up!
Continued from page 18 ation Week was planned for Punxsutawney. The event advertised “five big days of flying,� featuring Ted Stockman, of Washington, D.C., in his four-passenger biplane at the old fairgrounds. (Many will remember the fairgrounds as the “carnival ground,� which is now the Armory Field of the Pennsylvania National Guard.) The flights were canceled after Stockman crashed his small plane on the first flight, a test flight. It splintered upon impact and was not able to be repaired. A local newspaper had written: “alas for the frailties of aeroplanes, bi-planes, monoplanes, and all other aircraft by whatever name you wish to call it – Punx’y has yet to see one in actual flight.�a Another “day of aviation� was scheduled for June 1912. The famed aviator
Earl Sandt, from nearby Brookville, was engaged by the business community for a flight into Punxsutawney from Brookville to arrive at the fairgrounds for a day of exhibition and flights. The “young birdmanâ€? arrived safely in a flight that took twenty minutes. A crowd of nearly 3,000 people waited at the fairgrounds, on building tops, or at windows, looking to the north and listening for “the peculiar buzz and hum which accompanies an air ship in its flight.â€? The formation of “Aero Clubsâ€? for young men interested in air flight soon followed. From their interest, local airfields were developed. Fascination with air flight continues. Once, folk gleefully said, “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!â€? Over many years, people have been able to exclaim: “It’s a dirigible! It’s a jet! It’s a spaceship! It’s a helicopter! It’s a blimp!â€? And now: “Look up – it’s a drone!â€? •••
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By Tracey Young of Hometown magazine he Tunes for Tots events are nearly upon us, and organizers ask for – and will appreciate – your help and support in making a better Christmas for less fortunate children in our local community. Three different events are scheduled. The first will be held on Saturday, No-
Kevin Ceilo, Mike Venturini, and Rob Burkett. All musicians for this evening of music will donate their time and talents to the Tunes for Tots cause, and event organizers appreciate and are thankful for their generosity and support – as well as for yours! The second Tunes for Tots event will take place on Friday, November 25, at 7 p.m. at the Walston Club. The entertainment for the evening will be the band M.T.R. There will be a $5 cover charge per person, age 21 and over, and a new, unwrapped toy would be appreciated. The third and final event will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, December 2, at the Punxsutawney Moose. The band M.T.R. will again provide the entertainment, and the cover charge is again $5 per person, age 21 and older. In addition, a new, Tunes for Tots volunteers include (back row, front left) Michael Waite, Tom Vardy, Rob Burkett, Kevin Cielo, Bruce Walker, Mike unwrapped toy would be Venturini. (Front row, from left) Lt. Shane Carter, Amy Binsberger, great! Denny Fetterman, Deanna Venturini. Absent from Photo Donna All proceeds from the Vardy. (Photo taken by Tracey Young) events benefit the Salvation Army in Punxsutawney and the organization’s Tunes vember 19, at 6 p.m. at the Punxfor Tots program. Please support this sutawney Eagles and will include nine fantastic campaign to help our commuacoustic acts. The cost of admission is nity’s less fortunate children during the just $5 per person, age 21 and older. holiday season. Put on your dancing Fox’s Pizza will be available for purshoes and come out and sing and dance chase. Donations of a new, unwrapped the night away! For additional informatoy would be appreciated and will be action, to ask questions, or to make a docepted at the door. nation, please call Bruce Walker at (814) Featured entertainment will be Bruce 249-3300 or Denny Fetterman at 952Walker, Steve Duffalo, Chris Hepfer, Joe 6936. Pascuzzo, Mark Gagliardi, Matt Taladay, •••
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Exhibit to Highlight the Impact of Weather on Military Operations
O
n November 3, the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center will debut an exhibit entitled Weather & War, a display of military uniforms, accoutrements, and stories about the impact of the weather on wars and military opera-
tions through history. The exhibit is funded by a grant from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and with help from the Mahoning Valley VFW Post 2076 and the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society. Bob Lott, quartermaster and adjutant of the Mahoning Valley post, inspired the exhibit when he proposed that the Weather Discovery Center apply for a VFW grant. “I learned about the availability of the VFW Foundation Community Service Grant a few days before our post accompanied the veterans from the Butler VA Hospital to the Weather Discovery Center last Groundhog Day weekend,� said Lott. “When I observed that there was nothing
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military related at the center, I thought that the grant might be used for some type of display.â€? Area veterans and their families are invited to attend an opening reception for the exhibition at 6 p.m. Thursday, November 3. Refreshments will be available. There is no charge for Veterans to view the exhibit. For others, the admission cost for Weather & War is a $3 donation. Full admission to the Weather Discovery Center costs $6 (children two years old and younger are admitted free of charge) and includes the Weather & War exhibit. A special part of the exhibition is the showing of a video about weather forecasting methods that evolved as a result of military operations. The feature is narrated by Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel and produced specifically for this exhibit. Other videos, also produced by The Weather Channel, about the influence of weather on wars will be shown as well. Lott, who was involved in the planning for the exhibition along with Weather Discovery Center board and staff members, is pleased with the use of the grant funds. “I believe this display will appeal to young and old alike and give everybody a deeper appreciation of what our men and women in uniform have to deal with,â€? he said. Weather & War will run through Friday, December 16. The Weather Discovery Center is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information is available at WeatherDiscovery.org, on the Center’s Facebook page, or by calling (814) 938-1000. •••
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“From Our Past,� researched by S. Thomas Curry, features items of interest from past editions of Punxsutawney and area newspapers.
October 21, 1885 — Mr. P.A. Stockdale of Smicksburg, who has been working in Punxsutawney the past summer, has moved with his family to this place, and will occupy one of John Zeitler’s houses on Findley Street. Mr. Stockdale has the reputation of being a first-class miner and will operate Jas. E. Mitchell’s coal bank in Elk Run. (Valley News)
October 30, 1889 — John G. and Thomas Bennis, of this place, have purchased the two vacant lots of North Findley Street, rear of Johnson & Fink’s store, and it is their intention to erect a fine business block thereon next spring. The building will contain four nice store rooms, with dwelling apartments upstairs. (Punxsutawney Spirit) [Note: The Burrow is now located on the North Findley Street site, the location of the Punxsy Hotel before it was destroyed by fire in December 2011.]
October 31, 1888 — The opening of the municipal building last Wednesday night for the benefit of the J.A. Weber Fire Company, was a signal success with receipts over two hundred dollars, principally from the sale of lunch baskets. The ladies prepared the baskets and gentle-
MCMILLEN ’S CARPET OUTLET
November 11, 1869 — FOOT CRUSHED. – Mr. Alex. Hughes, of this borough, who is engaged in hauling goods between here and Indiana, had his left foot badly crushed on Friday last. While walking along-side of the wagon, he by some means slipped, and his foot was caught under the wheel, which passed over it. There was about 3,000 pounds on the wagon at the time. (Punxsutawney Plaindealer)
November 15, 1905 — John Fish, who has secured the contract for the outside advertising for the new opera house, is have a large number of additional billboards erected and will be in a position to handle at least 3,000 sheets during the remainder of the season. The surrounding mining towns and Reynoldsville will be billed for all shows and attractions coming to Punx’y in the future. (Punxsutawney Spirit). [Note: The “new opera houseâ€? on North Findley Street would be named the Jefferson Theatre.] •••
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men bid for them. Fifty-nine baskets were prepared and were sold ranging from 70 cents to $15. The fire company will order a hook and ladder truck with accompanying equipment. (Punxsutawney News)
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Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 23
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24 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
Continued from page 5 building but none on the furnishings. Mrs. B. Simmer, who was helping to take the furniture out of the residence, became frightened at the rapid spread of the flames and jumped from the second story window, sustaining slight injuries. The origin of the fire is a mystery.” Could this have been the priest from Clayville? Father Weinker returned to the Clayville Catholic Church in 1893 and continued to minister to the congregation, and in 1895 Father Joseph Zubrzycki came to the Adrian Church as its pastor. The Case of the Lost Children On June 28 1893, the Punxsutawney Spirit carried a story entitled “The Lost Children.” On a rainy evening, two small children were found outside a residence on Church Street. The children were young and didn’t know where they lived. The girl gave her name as Maggie, and the boy was content to be called Eddie. The Church Street resident offered to accompany the children to their home. “Can you show me where you live?” he asked. The little girl took his hand and started up street, and the boy stayed close to her. When they reached the East End Train Depot, the resident began to think they were not going in the right direction; however, the girl pressed forward, saying every now and then that her house was “up here.” About 10:30 p.m. they stopped at George Torrence’s residence to ask for assistance. George called his sons from their beds and asked if they knew the children. They said they did not. About this time the sleepy and weary little girl said she lived in Clayville. The Church Street resident turned the children around, and they walked toward Clayville. On their way, they met a number of local residents, including Orey Pantall, Ed McGaw, and Clarence Minish, who agreed to help find where the children lived. They carried the tired children, and at the Clayville line, they met a young man who said he knew a man, who could, he thought, identify the children. They roused Wood Shirley from his bed, and he told them that the children’s last name was Rose and that they belonged to Benjamin and Ed Rose, who lived in the extreme northeast quarter of Walston. The group trudged out to Walston, arriving about 1:30 a.m., where the night watchman looked at them and said, “Ah, you have the lost children!” The watchman took them to a house where they found the fathers of both children. Everyone in the household was wide awake. They had been searching for the children between Walston and Adrian all night, looking into old wells, in the ponds and brooks, and in the woods. Was Eddie the child of Edward Roose, who was killed in a tragic accident at No. 5 Horatio mine in 1899? Mr. Roose, previously employed at the Walston mines, had taken his tools to begin work at Horatio and in order to save time, he climbed down the ladder at the shaft on the banks of Mahoning Creek. Realizing he had left something behind, he was climbing back up the ladder and was near the crossbeam when the engineer lowered the cage, crushing Roose between the cage and the beam and killing him instantly. According to the Spirit’s article, Mr. Roose left a wife and seven young children, including a son named Eddie, who would have been about four
year old in 1893. The little girl, Maggie, was the daughter of Benjamin Roose. She was born in 1887 and was about six years old when she and her cousin Eddie were lost. The Case of Railroad Men Dropping Dead On Thursday, August 16, 1894, the railroad was blasting a cut through the hills about a quarter of a mile from McGee’s Mills. The cut was about seventy feet deep and would require a huge blast. A fortyfoot-deep hole was drilled and squibbed. One hundred and fifteen kegs of powder were poured into it. A steam shovel was ready and waiting to be used to clear the debris. About twelve men were on hand to work the cars and the shovel. Engineer William Stevens and William Brick were on hand to watch the blast. When the blast took place an immense quantity of rock was torn loose. Stevens and Brick headed into the cut and immediately dropped over. Others rushed in to see what had happened, and they too fell over as if shot. The excitement was intense. People gathered around, and attempting to drag the prostrate men out of the cut. John McManus, son of the walking boss, was able to drag a man a little way before he fell and with extreme difficulty was resuscitated. George Clark, the pit boss was overcome while trying to rescue a man, and it was thought that he could not recover. By the time help arrived there were twenty-five men lying prostrate on the ground, some dead and others gasping for breath. No one knew what was happening. Dr. Morehead, of Punxsutawney, arrived on the scene to find the men lying on the ground, lifeless. His first action was to pull out their tongues and turn the bodies face down. Their tongues were paralyzed and in some instances had dropped back into their throats, suffocating them. In half an hour, two more doctors arrived. They worked diligently to save those who still exhibited signs of life and applied batteries and other resuscitative measures to those who had ceased to breathe. Five victims had died, and their skin turned black. A postmortem was performed on two of the bodies, Stevens and Brick. Dr. Moorehead, who assisted, said that the blood had also turned black, and that it was of a watery character, the globules having been completely disorganized by the effects of the gas. What caused these men to die? Later it was determined that blackdamp caused these deaths. (Historically, miners referred to non-breathable gases in coal mines as “damp.” Blackdamp, sometimes called “choke-damp,” is a suffocating mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.) Apparently, the blast broke into an abandoned coal bank filled with blackdamp. The noxious gas was freed and carried out so rapidly by the blast that the fresh air did not have time to dilute it. This was the only case on record where men were killed by blackdamp in an open cut. Resources used in the preparation of this article are available at the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, the Mengle Memorial Library, and the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society. This article was prepared by the Coal Memorial Committee of the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. Comments on the article may be directed to PAHGS, P.O. Box 286, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. •••
PREP POINTERS FOR THE UPCOMING HUNTING SEASON
Hunting is a popular hobby and sport enjoyed by millions of people across North America. Over the last 10 years, data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicates that more and more females are taking up hunting. Hunting seasons vary depending on where you live. Regulations designed by local conservation, game, fish, and wildlife departments often dictate the start and end of hunting season. Although the licensing, seasons, limits, and fees for hunting may differ geographically, the preparation that goes into getting ready for hunting season is similar regardless of geography. Many seasoned hunters realize hunting season does not begin on "opening day." Rather, it can take weeks or months to get ready for a successful season. Considering hunting seasons can be brief, preparation helps hunters make the most of their time spent in the field. • Purchase your license, tag or stamp. Many wildlife departments require hunters register in advance of the season, and this registration includes securing a hunting license. Because there is a limit to how many animals each hunter can hunt, tags for the animals they're hunting also will be issued. Hunters planning on going out for the season should stay apprised of when licensing and registration begins and ends so they can hunt legally. • Scout areas. The landscape can change from year to year depending on a host of factors, including construction, commercialization and weather. Areas once open to hunting may now be restricted lands. Map out your potential hunting location and be aware of any new landmarks or changes. • Check and replenish gear. Inspect
weaponry, field-dressing supplies, clothing, and other supplies for wear and tear. Address any issues that need to be fixed, or replace items as necessary. If a rifle, bow or shotgun hasn't been fired in a while, take it to a range to verify accuracy and sighting. If you hunt out of a tree stand or blind, make sure it is sturdy and in good condition prior to use. • Get in shape. Hunting often requires hiking in and out of the great outdoors in various terrain. It's helpful to increase physical activity leading up to the hunt to prepare your body for the physical demands of hunting. • Organize and pack gear. Ensure your equipment is clean, in working order and packed away in your travel bags. Establish a system of organization and a checklist so you're certain you will have what you need. Don't forget to bring along your hunting license and animal tags; otherwise, you may be levied with costly fines. • Always hunt safely. It is quite easy to get swept up in the moment when tracking game. Don't let overzealousness cloud rational judgement and safety precautions. Otherwise an injury or even death can occur. Hunting season is on the horizon and that means preparing now for the few weeks of sport to come. ••• SINCE 1997
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Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 25
MAKE ELECTION DAY GO SMOOTHLY
Election Day gives voters throughout the United States a chance to participate in their government. The right to vote is something to cherish, as many people across the globe do not get a chance to elect the officials who govern their countries. While Election Day is an exciting time, voters may find it frustrating if they do not take steps to ensure things go smoothly when they head to the polls. The following tips can help voters prepare for Election Day. • Confirm your polling location. Polling locations may have changed since last year, and voters who have moved in the past 12 months may now have to vote in a new location. Voters can contact their local board of elections or visit www.Vote411.org to confirm the correct polling locations. Voters should also learn the hours when the polls are open so they do not arrive too early or too late to vote. • Bring photo identification. Voter identification laws vary by state, but voters who want to avoid hassles or holdups may be able to do so by bringing current photo identification with them to the polling place. While such identification is not necessarily a requirement, voters who bring along a driver’s license or state identification card may get in and
out of the polling place more quickly than those who do not. • Confirm registration. Voters can confirm that they have registered to vote by contacting their local board of elections in advance of Election Day. Sometimes voters’ names may not appear on the registration list when they arrive to vote, even if they previously registered. Poll workers can help voters who find themselves in such situations. But voters who want to avoid such hassles on Election Day can confirm their registration beforehand. • Be familiar with the candidates and issues on the ballot. Voting is a privilege and a responsibility, so voters should familiarize themselves with the candidates and issues on the ballot in the weeks leading up to Election Day. In addition to national or statewide candidates and issues, voters should learn about local issues that may have a more direct impact on their daily lives. The more voters learn about the candidates and issues in advance, the more quickly they can cast their votes and get to work or return home. Voting on Election Day is a privilege that voters should not take lightly. Taking certain steps in the weeks ahead of Election Day can make it easier for voters to cast their ballots. •••
R.D. BRO OWN W MEMORIALLS Carved in Ston ne • Allow small children draw the face of the pumpkin and have an adult carve it out • Jack-o-lanterns with candles should be kept out of the way of trick-or-treaters so their costumes won’t accidentally catch on fire • Remind kids not to get into cars or talk to strangers, look both ways before crossing streets and follow traffic lights that tell you when to cross • Make sure an adult accompanies your young children • If your older kids are responsible enough to go out without an adult, plan a safe route and set a time for them to be home • Explain the difference between tricks and vandalism to your children • Remind your children to stay in groups and well lit, populated areas • Do not let your kids eat any treats until they are examined by you at home • Have your child carry a flashlight, glow stick or reflective gear so they are more visible for cars
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26 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193
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3. Enter one of the participating advertisers on this page in the space provided to redeem your coupon should you be the contest winner.
4. Clip and forward the coupon to:‘Steelers Football Contest,’ c/o Hometown magazine, 129 Aspen Road, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. PLEASE MARK YOUR TEAM PICK & TOTAL POINTS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE ENVELOPE. 5. All entries must be received by 4 p.m. Thursday, November 3. 6. No purchase necessary to participate. All entries must be original magazine coupon (no photocopies).
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Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193 – 27
28 – Punxsutawney Hometown – November 2016 - Issue #193