Monday night's Pet Show in Bandstand Park drew only a handful of participants this year. The Venango County Humane Society event had to be cancelled last year and planning for this year had to be on hold until the state began loosening some restrictions in order to make such events safer.

In years past the flurry of furry activity was almost chaotic, but this year it was almost quietly cordial. Barks only permeated the sound of heat waves and chirping birds a few times and only one near scuffle was witnessed near the end when two wet noses got perhaps a little too close.

​But for the few that were in attendance, fun was had and ribbons were still proudly worn. 
The only thing longer than the ribbons were the pooch's tongues hanging out in the heat.

I love my job!

Part of what I love to do is just sot of sit back and observe. Rocky Grove Firemen's Fair, like most fairs I suppose, is just loaded with symbolism and just plain old Americana. This area has a strong sense of wearing it's patriotism and showing its allegiances proudly.

I just observed and tried to make a few photos that showed the feel of the fair as well as the prevailing attitudes of most of the fairgoers. 

Not a lot of Joe Biden shirts were visible. In fact there were two booths with very similar materials on both sides of the midway hoping the next three years go quickly and Donald Trump can be elected back into office. 

One important thing though, people were getting back out and about and very few masks were warn as our area is closer to vaccination levels and a better sense of feeling safe. They came out in droves for this little fair that is a huge fundraiser for the fire department that looks after a very large township with its brother and sister departments.

And folks got out and had some fun, got some fair food and helped support the safety and well-being of their community. This may have been the driest Fireman's fair in ints long history. And as usually it ended with a bang! 

​Please visit our new calendar page to see what other events are coming up in our area!

Press release from the event:
​The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and several safety partners held a free children’s bicycle rodeo Thursday, June 24, at the Franklin Alliance Church in Venango County.
 
The rodeo took place in the church’s parking lot on Otter Street and was open to children between the ages of 5 and 12. The goal of the rodeo was to increase the children’s interest in bicycling, educate them on proper safety requirements, and instill safe biking habits.
 
The event included a bike and helmet safety inspection, and a variety of bike riding skill tests. Franklin Alliance Church provided a free hot dog dinner.  
 
Nine-year-old Aleeah Firster of Cooperstown was awarded a new bicycle courtesy of the Franklin Alliance Church. Firster was chosen through a random drawing and joined church representatives after the event to pick out an appropriately sized bicycle.
 
In the 5 to 8 age group, participants included 4-year-old Olivia Gramley of Franklin and 4-year-old Emma Firster of Cooperstown. Among the 9 to 12-year-olds, participants included 9-year-old Gabriel Gramley of Franklin, 6-year-old Zackary Crum and 7-year-old Dominick Crum of Franklin, and Aleeah Firster.
 
The free event was made possible through additional support from the Venango County Sheriff's Department, the Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Franklin, Keystone SMILES/AmeriCorps/Clarion-Venango Safe Kids, and Rep. R. Lee James.
 
A second free children’s bike rodeo will be held in the parking lot between the PennDOT District 1 office and the Venango County multimodal transit facility in Oil City on Saturday, July 24. More details will be released at a later date.
 
For more information on bicycle safety, visit www.PennDOT.gov/safety.

SHHHH!

​DON'T JINX IT!

Opening night and parade night were perfect fair nights for the good folks at the Rocky Grove Volunteer Fire Department. This department covers a lot of territory and the fair is one of their major fundraisers for the year and another way for them to connect with the community. They have been known to have a few soggy nights in fairs gone by, but so far this week its been picture perfect. 

So at Eight $ 322 we decided to make a few pictures. Hope you enjoy scrolling through these.

​After you scroll visit our calendar page to see what else is in store for the fair and around the county.

I admit, I've been riding the wave of uncertaintity! This has been a troubling year and a half. I had the rug taken out from under me..... but I survived!

I survived!

If you are reading this, so did you. It's not without a cost. I have had friends named Henry and Al and Ted and .... and .... and.... taken too early because of COVID.

I have a former boss who shared the loss of her brother with me. We can say it is part of life and those who were perhaps compromised already were a casualty....but they were taken before their time and way before we were ready.

I know......The folks I have lost would say....live! 

I would too in their spiritual shoes.

.............

I'm sorry I just had to take a moment there to cry a little. Because that is exactly what those folks would say. Don't shed a tear for me, embrace me with living!

Expletive!

Anyone who lost a single day lost a lifetime!

Sorry... this has been a tough year.

But I'm feeling like a bit of normal is creeping back. Suddenly new things are happening and old things are returning. This past week I witnessed a park full of folks braving the rain to listen to the blues an fill their bellies with BBQ, I saw a flag retirement ceremony, a century plus old band perform and just a little sign that we beat a pandemic overall..... I still miss my friends though. I really miss my friends!

All this diatribe aside, we are on the plus side toward normal again I hope, and in this vein, we've created a calendar of events we hope to grow and grow.

Forward!

Please send us your happenings to 8and322@gmail.com 

​There is so much life to live!

Only in Franklin can the skies open up and a festival just keeps on chugging along. That wasn't a reference to the fact there was a beer tent. The annual (if a pandemic doesn't interrupt it) Franklin Blues and BBQ music festival drew quite a crowd to Bandstand Park despite the threatening weather and occasional downpour.

Umbrellas went up and seasoned music festival goers just brought their rain gear and experience to just keep digging the blues grooves being tossed off the dry-ish bandstand stage.

Maybe it was a year of staying shut in, but folks just came out on a soggy Saturday and stayed. And the bands played. 

And they are expecting to play again Sunday with the following lineup to keep the park humming along: Miss Freddye's Home Cookin' Band, FHS Jazz Band, Bobby Thompson & The Groove and the Matt Barranti Band.

More information: Visit https://www.franklinbluesandbbq.org/

A tradition in the Boy Scouts to learn about the flag and provide a service to the community and country. This tradition brings them together on Flag Day to help with the official retiring of old tattered flags.

A service that is required for the proper disposal of flags no longer fit for flying.

Years ago you'd find a few dozen Scouts - the older ones helping the younger ones understand the importance of what they are doing. The older ones had learned it when they were little being taught by the older Scouts some of whom are now scout leaders.

​ It was tradition passed down.

Tonight only a couple Scouts and a couple scout leaders were there. Mike Gardinier, in a full dress suit helped tend the burn pit where the flags were retired. Only a couple hundred were retired in Franklin's ceremony.

There used to be thousands.

It wasn't like the old days. Scouts seem to be fading into history as troops are disbanding and fewer parents are getting their kids involved or being involved themselves as scout masters or volunteers. If it wasn't evident before, it sure was at Franklin's Flag Day ceremony.

The V.E.T.S Honor Guard was there also as usual, but they too are a smaller group. Age and the loss members who have passed have really diminished their numbers. This all begs the question, are these traditions something that will no longer be in 10 years? 

The Elks club members, who put this retirement ceremony together each year, are also no longer spring chickens. If these traditions are indeed important, who will take up the cause to continue them? Local scouting is in a dangerous place with only a handful of local troops able to put together programs for youth. Volunteers are hard to come by and packs and troops are folding left and right.

Maybe these ceremonies and functions aren't really that important and they can go the way of the Dodo? 

Perhaps flags can be just disposed of in landfills with other garbage and that will become OK?

The time it takes to cut the stars on the blue field from the stripes might not be as worth anymore as folks aren't as interested as they were years ago to learn about respect and the dignity of the flag and nation.

And coming together in a place place and time to learn the history of the symbol of America an, in turn, learn a little more about ourselves as a people just doesn't matter anymore

Times change and so do priorities. 

So the question is, as these traditions fade and we lose people, what priorities are important and what traditions are worth saving?

I marvel at good wildlife photographers because I am not one. I am a people storyteller and unferstanding nature enough to have the patience to capture it is not really my forte.
That said I still try when it presents itself to me to document the natural world.

In my back yard, just to the side under some heavy brush like cover it seems there is a group of deer that have taken to bedding down there. I believe they get full eating my hostas and day lilies and need a nap to digest these plants that I get to then refer to as stubs.

I saw and heard a little activity Sunday morning and had my camera handy. I slowly took a round-a-bout way to the back fence area and began to see a few deer moving around. I'm guessing abot five nest down there, but I may have seen more. I snapped a couple of the deer running away. Mostly I missed these photos but caught one almost side profile. Then I noticed one that held back to stare at me for a little bit. I almost felt it was playing peek-a-boo with me and then it started to move slowly before losing interest in me and funny sounding machine that was clicking away.

A couple years back, after totally my car.... AGAIN, I wrote a piece referring to these beautiful creatures as vermin and four-legged weapons of mass destruction. I stand by that when I'm weary eyed driving late at night when one dashes out in front of me, but in their natural setting they a grace and calm. I'm happy they have made their safe place so close to my house, but I do wish they'd eat mor of the weedy things than the plants I want to see in my gardens.

Oil City was the last of the four Venango County graduations I covered. At Franklin, Cranberry and Rocky Grove I saw a return to "normalcy" with very little evidence of a concern for COVID-19. Of the three graduations I'd guess no more than a dozen masks were worn. There was social distancing protocols at Rocky and Franklin, not so much at Cranberry, but Oil City was still on high COVID alert as they sent 167 of their own off into the future.

Masks, social distancing, fist bumps instead of handshakes(mostly), changing the way people sat in the stands and layout of the student body on the football had all been thought out to keep everyone safe.

2021 has been a strange year.

Nothing can be sugar-coated about the year. A week on, a couple days cyber, back on, then a couple days cyber.  This class had to endure it all and still look towards their futures. With the class positioned facing their school in stead of the crowd, families went to both sides of the field to keep socially distanced.

Students were asked to wear masks and probably 85% did. The administrators placed themselves so to keep a socially distanced protocol and they elected the fist bump over the handshake.

This wasn't their typical graduation, but they did it!

Below are more photos from this graduation. Congrats to the class of 2021. you all did something no other class has done in a century.

History is important, haha...still not sure about algebra.

Please visit: https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p959302090 for more photographs from the graduation.

Surrounded by portraits of some of the most notorious souls to ever set foot on Titusville soil, Ross Ruot, a native himself, revels in their controversial storied lives. In fact, he named his shop of collectables and unique treasures after perhaps the most gritty soul of them all.

No, not the wonderfully salacious lady of the evening French Kate, who was the Plummer darling that helped Pithole's claim to being the center of decadence and depravity,

Ruot, instead chose Stonehouse Jack, the infamous fire bug, as a tongue-in-cheek name for his business on the bottom floor of the fire ravaged building he saved from the wrecking ball.

In 2015, flames broke out in an apartment that would almost take down the entire block along W. Spring Street at the corner of S. Franklin. Luckily, the fire didn't burn everything to the ground and through cash and sweat equity, the block has been saved.

Ruot decided to buy one of the damaged buildings. He, unlike Stonehouse Jack who would rather burn a place to the ground rather than pay an owed sum, is about preservation and paying back to his community.

"We liked the way the community gathered together to run him out of town," Ruot said about Titusville having had enough with Jack's torching ways back in the day. "So why not name a business after him? His name conjures up a community to me."

"It's our schtick," Ruot said, as he looked around the cleaned and renovated second floor of his downtown Titusville get-a-way and business. He gets the irony. 

With the historic buildings disappearing downtown, perhaps saving one damaged by fire is the perfect place to preserve the infamous Stonehouse Jack's story? Or is it a kick in the old legend's legacy that he couldn't have this building too?

"Not this one Jack, you couldn't take this one down."

When Ruot heard the building was being considered for demolition after a March 2015 fire, he knew he had to act. The building suffered damaged but wasn't destroyed. The adjacent Towne Square building really sustained heavier damage. The building where fire originated suffered water damage and had a torn-up upstairs, but the building remained something viable for the right person to restore.

​In stepped Ruot.

"It is a labor of love," Ruot said. Being able to preserve a downtown building and make it vital thriving part of the community is source of pride for Ruot.

COVID-19  slowed downhill business a bit, but his current social media postings show things are picking up again. "I want this to be a destination shop," he said.

He talks about the nice market and dining opportunities just a stroll away from Stonehouse Jack, so he sees people from miles away making a day of it to visit Titusville and see what unique things he has to offer. Ruot also hopes the upstairs becomes a place of culture and fun parties.

The store isn't so much glorification of a notorious arsonist as it is an homage to how a place can rise up and overcome, either by driving a scoundrel out of town or by accepting a native son who wants to preserve and build.

Keep up on the happenings at Stonehouse Jack on their face book page here!

Every single day is a learning experience in life. The more we realize everyone reaches us on a level of learning, the better we can move forward and learn more. Valedictorian Grace Beach was more of a cheerleader for what they experienced, shared and accomplished. The two set the tone for this class who endured a strange couple of years and still managed to graduate.

To view even more photos please visit: https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p768181026

Things come up so fast you often don't know where you are going to be the next day until the day arrives. I will be here tomorrow morning, not that I would've admitted that two days ago when I thought we were still eons away, but I agreed to take part in an art happening in Meadville that apparently is tomorrow. Haha

Not that art in my life is something I usually prepare for anyway.

Today I stopped by to have a look at the space I'd be creating something for tomorrow and met Bill Brunken, a Slippery Rock painter who couldn't be here tomorrow but came up early to create a wall piece for the space.

Saturday(tomorrow) starting at 9 a.m. event organizer hopes a lot of people will come out and make art on the sidewalks in the ARC of Crawford County green space located near the cornor of Arch and Market Street. This event is in conjunction with the Second Saturday at the Market House event that draws people to downtown for fun, food and community. Geffen has asked a handful of regional artists, like Brunken, to come participate along with anyone in the community who would like make some art to enliven this space tat was recently a couple buildings that were taken down to create parking and this green space.

The event, which Geffen spearheaded, is a collaborative effort between The ARC of Crawford County, My Meadville, Second Saturday Market, the Meadville Neighborhood Council, Meadville Council on the Arts and The Chalk Shop. 

​Anyone who wants to participate is welcome. More information can be found on their Facebook page here!

I hope to be there not making horrible things and documenting the event.

- Cranberry class of 21 president Megan Heckathorne

When I see a mother hug her son so hard as they both cry I know exactly what this means. This was a test for this young man that I am guessing some never thought would come to fruition. This young man, Trevor Davis, stood strong in his mothers arms, both weeping uncontrollably, because what he accomplished was massive. Trevor did not have a valedictorian speech, but he stood on a stage with the top ranked student as her equal, a member of the Cranberry High School Class of 2021 having earned the right celebrate his accomplishment with the 74 other graduates.

One notable thing returned - the handshake.

But a few fist bumps were still employed.

And some fun handshakes and hugs with good laughs. Principal Ritt Smith emphasized that this was a good class to have throughout their years.

Most masks were gone, but a couple still take precautions for their own personal choices, the danger of COVID still exists, but we've entered the phase where choice is more personal than the direct need that it was a year ago.

Cranberry's salutatorian Sara Allaman took time to have each student stand in groups of those going into the workforce or taking a gap year, those headed off to college and those who have decided to serve in the military. She asked for rounds of applause for each group. Valedictorian Ava Ferringer told a story of her first day of school at Pine Grove Elementary School and how she never wanted to go back, but here she is giving a commencement speech. A reminder that even if the next step ahead for her and her fellow classmates is a bit scary, they have all been there before and things can work out better than they imagine.

At the end they all managed to snag their diplomas and are now headed out into their future without the collective they've known for the last 12 or so years. Their plans will likely change many times along the way.

Here are some more photos from the night.

See more photos by Eight & 322 at ​https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p290427707

Valedictorian Kaycee Jolley touched upon how each will grow in different ways as she delivered her speech emphasizing that education is an on-going endeavor that by no means ends on this day of celebrating their achievement of getting through high school.

Wherever they head next, they take with them the experience of being this class, at this school and at this time.

Sunday's graduation was held at the football stadium instead of their traditional march from Central Elementary School through Fountain Park for the ceremony in Bandstand Park. In years past the ceremony would be held in the high school's auditorium if inclement weather. In 2020 they held individualized ceremonies due to COVID. 

Several teachers said that the move to the football stadium may be permanent, though they will likely make it an evening ceremony to avoid the mid afternoon sun-drenching heat

Regardless of where future graduations will be held, COVID has wreaked havoc with schedules and venues and as the country gets closer to being vaccinated those things will be discussed. But for today, for the class of 2021.....THEY MADE IT!

​Congrats.

Prior to the outdoor ceremony another small ceremony was held inside the gymnasium to award medals to the senior class officers. Marcy Lusher, a senior class advisor, brought each officer up to participate in a tradition of taking a moment of reflection and calm while each stood with their eyes closed.

This was not a tradition.

Lusher had to devise a scheme to surprise the class treasuer, Janna Harvey with a very special surprise. Her sister Jill had snuck back into town the night before and stayed with a friend. As Jenna stood with her eyes closed reflecting on her service she could feel the medal being put over her mortar board and around her neck, what she didn't know was Lusher had handed the medal to Jill to do the honors.

When Lusher told Jenna she could open her eyes, Jenna exploded with Joy wrapping her arms around her big sister in a gigantic hug as the entire class watched.

​And then it was time to get the party started.

View more photos here: ​https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p898654977
​

One more photo: As I was leaving I saw this young woman decorating a car. As I approached to make pictures I asked if it was her car and she said it was. Justus Lind had just graduated, has a future set up to go to Pitt and also into the navy.  She was having fun creatively writing out a request for graduation gift money be sent to her Venmo account for her future,

​Everyone has a story.

COVID-19 has truly screwed us. Artists can be solitary creatures, but performing artists need a crowd. We're getting there. The Thomas School of Dance figured a way to hold some rehearsals with social distancing and masks so that they could be ready for their annual spring recital.....modified.

This year was about close family members being allowed to be at the performance and that all imortht DVD so people elsewhare can watch too.

This week the Barrow-Civic theater has it going on. Every night the Thomas school found a way to break their recital into chunks so parents to see their kids in person.

And they got to see their kid perform again.

Visit https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p1072813088 for more photos.

Peter Greene stood in front of a very small crowd sitting in lawn chairs on the rain soggy grounds of Bandstand Park Thursday night and gave a history of a band that overcame adversity for more than a century. And 2020 was a poignant reminder of what adversity throws at us.

The Franklin Silver Cornet Band is one of the oldest volunteer community bands in the country. Greene talked about a time a fire destroyed all the band's stuff..... but they survived. So COVID-19 wasn't as dire situation for the band as one would think, it was a hiccup that they had to get through.... safely.

"Thank you to our sponsors, thank you to the weather for holding out tonight and thank you for coming out," Greene said to the small crowd, "We've missed you!"

Greene emphasized how much these players just want to play.

​And they played.

Greene joked that the age of the band reflected more about experience than it did.... well.... age! They haven't been able to get together to practice safely so they relied on experience of their members to pull off Thursday night's return to performance.

Below are more photos from this week of the band, which has a current member who can boasts ancestry back to the beginning. Greene said the member is the  great-great grandchildren of early band member.

Editor's Note: I am a person who grew up and left his hometown. I won't deny this. I truly didn't appreciate the rich history of my hometown. It is possible I still don't because I've moved forward. I've lived in western Pennsylvania now for almost 30 years. I do have to say there is something special about Franklin that in my five years at The Derrick I may not have fully realized, but in the last year of this pandemic I've truly come to realize. 

This town combines history and optimism like no other town I've come across.

​Truly good stuff!

I sometimes either run out of steam or I forget and don't put my photographs in a place where folks can get at them. The photographs I take are sometimes things people want. A memory, an action that no one else captured o just something they want for whatever personal reason they have.

When I don't upload them to a site where folks can buy them, I sometimes hear about it.

Nicely of course, but when a mom or granddad sees a photo of their kid at play I'll sometimes get a request for a print or two. (Actually a dad just messaged me too and it could very well be grandma as well.)

I'm always happy to oblige and feel bad I didn't just do it in the first place. (See first sentence of this post!)

I got a very nice and patient request for photos I made on Memorial Day of the Rocky Grove baseball game. I uploaded them today along with Wednesday's game.

I also created a folder of just Rocky Grove events on this site if you remember an earlier game or even another sport, there are lots to look at there.

You can find them here: ​sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p1067194320