As you watch the Barrow-Civic Theatre's production of The Wizard of Oz, it is easy to forget that Dorothy, who is supposed to around 10, is being played by someone who is only 14. Judy Garland was only 16 herself in the movie.

Aiofe Salusky. becomes Dorothy on this small stage in Northwest Pennsylvania and has the audience eating out of her tiny basket for the three hour-is performance. It's a demanding role for anyone, but for a 14 year-old it is amazing that she is able to command the stage night after night the way she has.

In a few hours she will take the stage with the large cast for the rare "Before Applefest" Thursday night performance. The show will run Oct, 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. No matinee show this coming Sunday due to the Applefest car show that draws thousands of cars and people to Liberty Street.

And if you really want to experience cute beyond cute, check out the munchkins who truly own the part. And the Wicked Witch's cackle is something that will stand the hairs on your neck straight up. And if you don't want to give Ian Best (the cowardly lion) a hug after curtain call then you're like the Tin Man before he gets his heart. So if you you're looking for something to do this weekend or next, seeing this show is a no brainer.

Below are some more photos from last week's show you can follow this link for even more photos including a few from dress rehearsal.

Something perhaps unintentional happened Sunday in Franklin's Bandstand Park as local firefighters joined together to remember those lost in the first Firefighter Memorial and Honor Service.

​There was an overwhelming cry for help.

​Volunteerism across the country is down and that was repeated by nearly every speaker who bellied up to the podium to address a crowd of around 100 people, mostly volunteer firefighters already or their family members.

This service was held a week earlier than the national "Bells Across America for Fallen Firefighters" observance due to that date being smack dab in the middle of Applefest.

The event was organized by a committee led by Sandycreek chaplain Sandy Lewis and featured speeches from state Representative. R. Lee James, State Senator Scott Hutchinson, Venango County Commissioners, Mike Dulaney, Chip Abromovic and Sam Breene as well as keynote speaker Chaplain Paul Hammaker. Opening prayer and benediction was given by Rev. Mark Fultz and chaplain Sany Young handled the memorial service.Franklin High School's madrigal singers opened the event and Noah Taylor and Andrew Rugh played taps. Matt Perry played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.

Another surprise testimonial came from someone in attendance who felt compelled to walk to the podium during a silent period where the passing of the boot for donations and passing out of tiny bells took place.

Suddenly broken by the shaking voice od Betty Ghering. "A few years ago I died." she said telling the tale of how a heart attack caused emergency personnel to respond to her home  in the middle of the night for what seemed like a hopeless resuscitation. Even the ER doctor on the phone said to stop CPR after it appeared their efforts weren't going to start her heart again. But Betty's heart slowly, perhaps miraculously, started beating again and the firefighters and paramedics on scene said they now had a pulse and were bringing her in to the ER. They were now bringing a person under their care back to life.

​Ghering pointed to one of the firefighters in the crowd. "If it wasn't for Sandy Creek fire department I wouldn't be hear today."

Stories like Ghering's were not lost on the local political leaders who got up to express their admiration for the people before them that go into danger instead of running away from it and who serve their community daily by being the ones who try to help people during the worst moments of their lives.

One by one they agreed more volunteers were needed. Commissioner Mike Dulaney said that nearly 35,000 Venango County residence are served by volunteer departments and just over 16,000 are covered by paid and volunteer staffs He called for more volunteers emphasizing the numbers across the state are dramatically down. In 2018 it was estimated that only about 38,000 volunteers were answering calls compared to over 300,000 in the 1970s. Fundraising for volunteers are also strained with less volunteers to help.

Though Sunday's event was in part meant to be a solemn remembrance of those lost, it was also a poignant honoring of those still stepping up to serve. The crowd may have been mostly made up of those who already are answering the call, but you could hear in the voices of the speakers a need to heard beyond those in attendance.

And the remembrance of those lost is also acknowledgment that those local firefighters who have died have also not all been replaced.

Organizer Sandy Lewis asked all fire departments to provide rosters to show what the numbers looked like and to be sure those serving were recognized. The lists came in showing in the neighborhood of a $1,000 dues paying members.

​These members are all important but it is also important to note that there are not a 1,000 members who are capable of entering burning structures. Only about 20 to 30% of members go to calls and this includes the fire police, support staff and EMS crews.

​Lewis emphasized all members are important in making a department work. Fundraisers are crucial to keeping  the gear up-to-date and functioning properly. Having to purchase a new truck can devastate a small community volunteer fire company.

Lewis hopes this becomes an annual event. "What people don't realize, that when a firefighter is lost in the line of duty, or even even just passes away, that the support for that individual is moving, but that person is not there to see what they meant to the community," she said. "I want this event to something that every firefighter sees the support they have.I want them to know they truly make a difference."

Not only the volunteer departments were honored, the paid Oil City and Franklin departments were also honored in the ceremony.

Also at the event small bells were given out in hopes that on October 3 at 4 p.m. everyone takes a moment to to reflect on the men and women responders who have been lost as the nation observes the "Bells Across America for Fallen Firefighters" together. You can ring them at Applefest even.

​Below are a few more photos from this event.

The annual Oil City Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally was held Thursday with a parade from Penelec all the way downtown along W. First Street to Central Plaza. All fall sports teams from Cranberry and Oil city were recognized. Cranberry also crowned Maria Anderson and Josh Hacherl their homecoming queen and king. The Oil City king and queen will be crowned Friday during the homecoming game against Harbor Creek. The combined homecoming dance will be held this Saturday at Cranberry High School.

Peter Greene makes some notes Wednesday evening as he prepares to direct a dress rehearsal for "The Wizard of OZ" musical set to open Friday night at 7 p.m.
Eight & 322 was lucky to sit though some of the dress rehearsal Wednesday and take some photos. They can be seen on the Calendar Page along with more information on the dates you can all catch the show. 

Oil City workers construct the bon fire teepee on Central Avenue Plaza Thursday morning preparing for the evening's homecoming pep rally. The rally immediately follows the Homecoming Parade down W. First Street from Penelec to the plaza. This gathering recognizes all of Oil City fall sports programs and support organizations like the band, cheers and all that make of fall athletics happen. The bon fire is the backdrop for the couple hour long event that celebrates what the community does for the sports programs, and what the sports programs do for the community. Hundreds of people pack the plaza for this rite of passage celebration.

The parade kicks off around 6 p.m. The Oilers face Harbor Creek Friday night at 7 p.m., obviously at home.

In covering the Franklin football team we decided to write a piece about the efforts to build the team instead of focussing so much on the losses.

​In the article the coach talked about family. 

Click here to see more photos from Franklin's game against Warren.

With all the issues and unknowing future of the latest round of COVID restrictions, Oil City High School was not about to let a rite of passage tradition be a victim. So they filled in their off week with a game and made sure they got to recognize their seniors. Prior to the game (which we were unable to make in time) the football team was recognized. Instead of a halftime performance by the band, the band and cheerleader seniors were recognized. 

To view photos from the game and halftime by us at Eight & 322 please visit this link.

Our good friends Eric Elliott and Kelly Malek were on hand for the football player recognition as well as halftime and the game. You can see their photos by clicking on their names. A lot of memories were captured Friday night on the Oil Field. The Oilers host Harbor Creek this week for their homecoming game.

For Your Car Connection, an annual big supporter of the festival, offered up a car for the kids to paint and draw on, always a popular part of the festival.

Dozens of vendors were able to spread out together in one section. Lots of food and craft choices as well as information tents with the services available to folks around the county.

And as always, the popular car show brought dozens of classic vehicles to be gawked at and envied. (By the way this photo was making me chuckle as I took it. I love to see these fun moments in time that really tell us a little bit about life and how fun it can be.)

I asked Anna if we could periodically use some of her photos as photos of the day, today I commented on this butterfly photo and then later this frog photo. I love her work and her The Nature of Things column that everyone should check out and follow.

This past weekend a wanderer came through Franklin. A seeker really, a documenter, a man alone but among many, a former missionary on a different kind of mission, a paddler.

Neal Moore set out from Oregon on a Columbia River in a red 16-foot Old Town Penobscot Royalex canoe right around the time the Coronavirus was hitting the states. Being alone in a canoe was taking social distancing seriously, but that wasn't his motivation. This world traveling ex-patriot author and super curious self-identified middle-aged man was going to explore his country of origin after having been away for so long.

"What I’m trying to do traveling across America is to listen and learn," Moore said about why he is traveling in what would seem a very erratic pattern of 22 rivers across the continental United States from Oregon to the Statue of Liberty where he hopes to land in the middle of December.

His stop in Franklin is 19 months into his Journey. Along the way he has chronicled his encounters in dozens of handwritten journals, a blog on his website, and instagram account and countless stories that meander in and out of topic like the rivers he paddles.

In fact, he appears to crave meandering. From the swirls sent behind his paddle that mix and move with the current as they become one with the rhythm of the stream, to the mixture of bird calls intertwined with far off car horn reminders that civilization's hustle and bustle hasn't stopped during his journey.

"I think a lot," Moore said about his average 25 miles a day paddling on the rivers. Each place he visits gives him even more to think about, more people to weave into the fabric of his memories, more conversations about life to ponder the similarities we share despite the differences we hold in our outstretched hand stopping ourselves from getting too close to one another. "Once we put the party politics aside we have so much in common," he said about his many stops along the way meeting people of all walks of life and political ideologies. "I just try to listen, no judgement."

And that's what they did.

Boocks presented a treasured paddle he had received from Kruger to Moore as a gift, Moore said he never met Kruger. This was quite an honor for him to receive this and vowed to use the paddle as well as eventually find a younger paddler to pass it along to in order to further pay this gift forward. 

Moore departed the next day adding Franklin and his encounters to the list of treasured memories and his scratched notes in his journal.

His goal is to get up north while its still milder temperatures knowing it is best to beat the famed western New York first snows of the year on his way to the Hudson. He is hoping to reach the end of his journey, the Statue of Liberty, by December 14. "I'm approaching her from the American side," he said adding that this country is so filled with those whose ancestors approached her from the other side, and that many still are. Adding again to the fabric of who each of us are as Americans.

Moore might realize the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but straight lines are boring and zigzagging is more fun and allows more time for reflection and encounters. Making connections is exactly what this journey is all about for him. How we are connected by water, how we are connected by similarities and sometimes even differences, how we connect to strangers and friends alike. That is what hours alone with one's thoughts can do, find those connections and add them to ones personal spirit that has grown from the experiences.

Carrying people with him and how to follow his journey
Moore has been collecting signatures on the canoe. Some have faded or washed off in the journey, but many remain. All who signed are with him in his strength to go on. He has written also a quote from Richard Bock, the famed auther of Jonathan Livingston Seagull 
"Bad things are not the worst thing that can happen to us, nothing is the worst thing that can happen to us.“

Moore tells a story like following a map of rivers with tangents and off-shoots. He has a penchant for describing adventurers of the highest caliber as "badass." At 49 he is in the best shape of his life and his body and mind have allowed hime to stay focussed for thousands of miles of hard paddling. He is earning the badass title.

Follow his journey on his website at https://22rivers.com/storytelling/ 
or on instagram at ​https://www.instagram.com/riverjournalist/?hl=en
​

Eleven high school bands took to the Oil Field Saturday night for the annual Music in Oil Country showcase. The event, which happened on the twentieth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America, featured a closing festival tribute. All bands came back on to the field to play together the Lee Greenwood country anthem "God Bless the USA."  

Prior to the performance Oil City band director Dan Cartwright asked all veterans as well as all who work in fire, rescue and police to stand up and be thanked for their service.
​
It was a beautiful night with some fine performances as each school got a chance to show off their halftime routines.
​

This praying mantis seemed as intrigued by me as I was with it. Here's hoping we can share a bit of good luck with each other as we both make our way through this world - it without a portion of its back leg and me on my adventure of storytelling. 

It was a perfect day to pet a little donkey, rub a dogs wet nose and have a snake rubbed into your hair. Well maybe not that last part, unless you were one of the kiddos encircling Jungle Terry as he showed off his sometimes squirmy friends.

Sunshine, warm temperatures, and and even water smiling faces created the perfect day for Pet Fest's return to Bandstand Park in downtown Franklin. Not to mention the abundance of tail wagging.

The day, now dedicated to all things animal, is a traditional doggie festival that has morphed from it's origin of Duke Fest, still draws more canine attendees than anything else, but there are also visitors of all sorts. 

Dozens of vendors offering their wares gave adults even more to do as they looked for more pet related items. A large tent offering a giant raffle of various items. ​

Updated 9/12/21. Originally posted 9/10 with fewer photos.

Brian Knickerbocker added one important thing to hi full firefighter gear - the American flag. He and over 100 others participated in a 9/11 remembrance Friday night at the Crawford County Fairgrounds. The event, organized by Evan Kardosh with help from the county commissioners and other local fire, emergency and police personnel, consisted of a brief ceremony and a stair climb to simulate the dedicated rescuers' heartbreaking climb up the towers 20 years earlier.

No one in attendance believed for one minute what they were doing equated what those responders faced, but it became evident quickly what an extreme mission they were on. Agreed, the adrenaline of an attack and the honor of remembrance are two different things as well, but this event emphasized the extreme dedication and loss of those killed in those attacks on this country.

Kurdish had 80 pre-registered step climbers, each paying $25 for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which assists families of firefighters killed in the line of duty. There were far more than 80 people participating Friday night.

​Saturday, September 11, 2021 marks 20 years since the coordinated attack on America resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths of Americans on American soil. Since then, countless others have died from residual affects of the attacks. Militarily speaking, thousands of more have died in the Global  War on Terror.

So the small remembrances, like this one in Crawford County, are more important than they may seem on the surface. Each step these people took, whether it was fit folks running up and down, or older folk walking at a pace they could handle, meant something. And for the firefighters strapping on their full gear lumbering up and down and sometimes taking breaks, it drew them even closer to the brothers and sisters they lost in 2001.

This was a reminder to those in attendance of who we are together, when we realize we are together in this life as Americans.

Quietly they pass under,
some with remembering,
some with sad thoughts,
some oblivious.

America lets us be oblivious.

Quietly they pass under,
the shouts and fears long...
are here in some,
gone in others and
in some topics in a history class.

America lets them fade to black.

​Quietly they pass under....

Hess may very well be a madman, but he's the right kind of madman to attempt producing six short plays that are written, cast, directed, blocked, staged, rehearsed and performed within a 24-hour period.

This past week at the Barrow-Civic Theatre a fairly large audience got a chance see the results of this maddening effort with impressive performances. Hess and his team of Brooke Lawrie, Yelena Carvin and his equally energetic mom Bridget Tomaszewski intermingled veterans with inexperienced actors to create the ensembles. Along the way, some new directors learned they can direct and some old actors learned they can write.

The outcome - they put butts in theater seats for a unique entertainment experience of raw, original work and once-in-lifetime performances. And they do it here in little ol' Franklin, Pennsylvania.

Below see a few more photographs from the performance. Tto see even more visit this website.

When Bossa Nova decided to close its doors earlier this year, the wheels were already spinning inside Tammy Bible and Danielle Benson's minds about a way to fill this gourmet coffee void in town.

Bible is the gutsy owner of the colorful and fun Olive Vault on Liberty Street in Franklin. She and her husband bought a building with a lot of space and potential. Their shop has successfully grown from a little shop hidden inside a building to a full blown main street storefront in downtown Franklin.

They sell olive oil and vinegars. 

In a small town in northwest Pennsylvania where pierogis and fried anything is king, they sell olive oils and vinegars. Try selling this business model here? Well the Bible's did and are finding ways to make their dream grow. 
​
Enter Benson who is a world class chef and culinary business advisor to projects all over the world. She is hired by billionaires to cook for them in exotic lands, helps foodie type businesses establish, and sets up shop in kitchen galley's on million dollar yacht's and paradise homes. But roots are strong and she finds herself back home in Franklin, starting a restaurant of her own.

The Homegrown Kitchen is a work in progress. Set up in the back of Bible's shop, Benson is currently offering takeout meals and with possible inside table and chair dining just around the corner.

Bible said the plans are to open the Olive Vault up so that The Homegrown Kitchen and her store become a feng shui of culinary experiences and delight. They will be tearing down walls to open the store from front to back so both businesses will coexist almost as one.

"We are not good for each other," Bible joked about this relationship with Benson. "I have big ideas, Danielle has big ideas... we need someone keep us grounded."

But their big ideas are soaring this building on the corner of Liberty and Rotary Way alley into into a foodie center centerpiece in downtown Franklin

Starting Tuesday morning, their outside the box thinking will result in Franklinites being able to get a sweet cup of joe, some tasty treats and other specialty drinks from a walk up window along Rotary Way, an ADA compliant walkway between Buffalo and Liberty streets.

Coffee In Between is the latest big idea brainchild of Bible and Benson who saw a void needing to be filled.

Bible said even if Bossa Nova sells the business to a new coffee shop owner she thinks this venture will still be worth the effort. "They have a big space and a place for music," she said welcoming the opportunity for that type of venue to remain in Franklin. Bible said this town is so unique that anyway to bring people downtown to enjoy what it has to offer is good.

​And no better way to do that than with a cup of coffee in hand.

The window will open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, September 7. The menu will vary slightly due to the imagination of the proprietors, but there will be good old standards offered. They have tried gallons of coffees to find a roast that fits their personalities perfectly. Plus they've had fun creating drinks using items from the Olive Vault to increase flavors in lemonades and the like.

​Fun stuff to try.

To keep an eye on what they offer, visit their Facebook page or stop at the Olive Vault. You can also knock gently on the alley window during their hours and you'll get a smile and a chance to get just what you need to make your morning soar.  And in the coming months look for some outside seating and special events in the alley too.