Blog Archives - Eight & 322/Eight & 27

Side gigs

3/28/2021

I've been asked to help document some projects receiving grants from the Crawford Heritage Community Foundation. All too often the monies used don't get proper follow up on how they are used and the efforts of others doing those jobs that usually go unnoticed. And a lot of times the photos taken are not of the work itself per se.

These are all good community oriented projects being doneand awarded funding. So when I was asked to use my abilities to document them, I was very pleased to say yes. And, as a forever curious dude, it really helps me learn more about the area and its people.

One recent job I went to showcased an empty home awaiting its owner's return. But in order for the elderly owner to be able to come home, a ramp was needed. Her local church sought some help. The Heritage foundation provided some financial assistance and the Ramps of Hope Ministry jumped in with a group of retirees with a penchant for power tools and figuring out complex angles.

The ramp now awaits the owner.

I met up with this group of mostly men who have built new and repurposed dozens of ramps for people in need all over northwest Pennsylvania. Between to sounds of saws, cordless drills and the random hammer or shovel scoop, they joke around, laugh and solve the worlds problems.

And they pray.

They know the work they are doing is important. It may not be flashy, but its gratifying. This temporary ramp was built in just about three hours on a weekday in March, but it could mean a fellow human will get to enjoy life again at home and not some facility.

And that is what they pray for.

Thanks to the efforts from their churches and grants such as the $1,500 they got from the Crawford Heritage Community Foundation, the Ramps of Hope Ministries are able to help lives be better.

This was fun for me to go out an hang out with these guys for an hour or so and see good happening before my eyes. And it's always fun to here old guy banter(wait, I'm getting to understand the jokes..... haha).

Thank you Christian Maher, the director of the foundation for this gift of helping document the good your organization and others are doing. I love my job and I'm pretty happy, after reading and watching the news every morning to get a restored faith in humanity by covering stories like this.

And it hit me as I was working on this as sort of a 'side gig,' that these fellas, all who are retired, also had this important calling as a "side gig."

Learn more about the Crawford Heritage Community Foundation here. https://www.crawfordheritage.org/

Learn more about Ramps of Hope at: allgodschildrenministries.org/programs/ramps-hope

Candy and bunnies

3/27/2021

The City of Franklin is at it again with help from arts and business organizations. The annual Easter egg hunt was once again modified due to the lingering COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings. So the team made up of area groups put together over 600 packages to give away to a parade of cars around the island in front of the courthouse.

Candy and coloring books were given to kids and a few adult gifts as well.

The Easter Bunny was on hand, though motorists were asked to not leave their cars. A few pedestrians would happen by to get a picture with the Easter Bunny.

Yes there is a way... A United Way

3/27/2021

Hams and Sander's Market gift certificates were given out Saturday morning at the Rocky Grove Fire Hall to give local folks a little something nice for their Easter dinner. Through an effort by the United Way and a healthy donation from a couple with a really big heart, 1,400 meals were provided. "The donor would only like to be recognized as a local caring couple," said the Venango County United Way director Will Price.

Dozens of volunteers helped load the meals into cars to keep everyone socially distanced and safe. After three hours a few hams were left so they took them to the Community Services of Venango County food bank. Price said the remaining hams will be passed out this week to families who weren't able to make it Saturday.

Franklin Chamber director Jodi Baker Lewis shared a lighter moment too. One of the volunteers was mistakingly crediting the free meals to the United Nations and not the United Way.

Either way, more people will have a nice Easter meal thanks to volunteers and a couple wh really care about others because of a united effort by the United Way.

Jumping into spring a little early...... oh wait

3/27/2021

We've enjoyed an early spring for sure this year. Though perhaps a little wintery weather is forecast for mid week, it doesn't appear like it will last long. These are a couple quick snaps from my backyard, but to get real in-depth looks at local nature please check out our nature columnist Anna Applegate's work in The Nature of Things in the top menu.

From mom's kitchen table to leading the Chamber

3/25/2021

It could be said that having a propensity for white boards and erasable markers is the key to Susan Williams' success as the president of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce. Her office is filled with notes and inspirational sayings, all with one thing in mind - goals for the chamber and it's businesses.

As a little girl Williams developing her ability to listen to others needs from her mother. "Mom was sort of the neighborhood shoulder to cry on," she said. Friends and neighbors would drop by and they inevitable found themselves sitting around the kitchen table. Including young Susan. “Just sit there, have a cookie, dunk it and don’t repeat a thing,” her mom would tell her. She learned about people’s stories.

Susan also learned growing up in Rouseville how to volunteer in the community. Her dad, Gerald Ray, was the local postmaster and knew everyone and everything that was going on. He and her mom, Susie, took the family to help out with just about anything the community needed. That volunteer spirit provided life lessons for Williams on how teamwork and helping can really accomplish great things. She employs those lessons to this day.

“Having great relationships with people (in your community) just makes things easier,” she said. Connections is a word she uses a lot.

The Oil City High School grad hasn’t strayed far away from home for her base. She lives a couple houses down the street from where she was a little girl. When she was building her family and working for Mellon Bank she took a very strong interest in Oil City.

“I should know people here, this is a place that will impact my children,” she said. So taking a cue from her parents she began to volunteer and became interested in the playground development in the different neighborhoods around the city. “Playgrounds build community,” she said. “You meet your neighbors there and have conversations.”

She helped coordinate several playground projects with a team of volunteers. Their efforts around the city were recognized nationally when in 2002 they were named a finalist by the National Civic League for an All-American City status.

“We’re stronger together,” Williams said. Another example of her belief in teamwork. “This was a great experience and highly impactful for me,” Williams said of the connections she made around the country through the playground effort.

In 2004 she took those connections and experience into a new job at the Oil City Chamber of Commerce working with then director, Ron Shoup. Together they oversaw some changes, including the transition into the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce.

Three years later Shoup decided to retire and Williams took over the reins.

“I inherited a good chamber from Ron,” she said, never willing to take credit for anything.

Wouldn’t Trade it for Anything

To say Williams loves the area is an understatement. She, like her dad, knows everybody and knows the benefits of the region. This helps her with her mission as the chamber president.

She combines her connections to people with her seemingly endless curiosity. “It’s a rare meeting where I don’t go ‘ Hey can I ask you something?’ before we adjourn,” she said. She always wants to know the deeper story behind what a businesses produces. Who are the people? What is the mission? How does the business impact lives?

“There always has to be an element of listening,” she said as she talks daily with chamber members and members of the community. She and her staff delight in connecting people to resources.

“In the chamber, you are not alone,” she said. She believes that no question is dumb and it’s just a matter of listening and asking questions to help solve anything. “I don’t have to solve problems, but I can help connect resources that can.”

The Venango Chamber does what every chamber does. They help facilitate economic opportunities for the region through festivals like the Cranberry and Oil Heritage Festivals. They provide programs through their leadership training and business workshops.

“We never stop learning and things are changing constantly.” Williams said. She is a proponent of keeping up on technology and leans on her youthful staff to help her learn new ways of connecting people. The Venango Chamber has 435 members who represent numerous businesses and thousands of employees and staff. Members range from global corporations employing hundreds locally to the independent business owner.

She says it’s always important as a chamber to keep members connected, to pool resources and get things done. In this, she says the chamber hasn’t really changed much over the years, but how they accomplish this certainly has.

And she motivates her staff to keep up and move forward.

COVID-19 certainly provided challenges, but through their commitment to using the tools available, technology helped them remain connected and still provide their leadership classes and seminars.

“It’s a balancing act of where to lead and where to sit back and just help,” she said. “The most impactful things are not seen, building relationships, connecting resources.” She acknowledged the festivals and events are great public shows of the chamber’s work, but really the impacl comes from conversations with legislators, state officials and businesses as well as providing educational opportunities that connect business practices from all over the country.

“I get to be involved in so many interesting things,” she said.

Back to sitting around a table

Though she has embraced the Zoom meeting during COVID, Williams does miss face-to-face discussions. Before the state restrictions for gathering were implemented, Williams had begun randomly inviting people to have a cup of coffee and engage in conversation. This was just an effort to get to know people better with no other agenda.

To connect to the community.

Her mom's lessons around the kitchen table live on with this chamber director.

Williams would take this writer out behind the shed if I didn’t take the emphasis of this article off her and explain more about the chamber’s work itself, which, as she says almost every other sentence, is a team effort.
The Venango Chamber is comprised of a 15 person board of directors with connections to non-profits such as Bridge Builders and small business like a bed and breakfast to large employers such as UPMC Northwest and Clarion University.
Even during the pandemic Williams managed to keep her staff of three together for the most part.

“The newsletter is our life!” Williams said during an interview a day before deadline.
Each month the chamber puts out a fairly large newsletter that is sent out physically and digitally to its members and is available online for all to see. Ads for businesses are featured along with a few feature stories and tons of member updates.

They also let everyone know what the chamber itself is working on.

During COVID-19 they have created several online seminars and education opportunities. They have initiated a long term goal of connecting businesses with local storytellers in an effort to not only showcase the local business wares, but put a human connection out into the community. Who are the people behind the product.

They have been proactive in pandemic information and getting the word out about protective measures and recently the vaccines.
Their young professionals sub group, Flex, is growing and bringing the next generation into community growth discussions and connecting them to more opportunities.
They connect legislators, the media outlets and more with their members.

They are always working on plans for their festivals and events. Each summer the Oil Heritage and Cranberry Festivals are coordinated through their office.
Their educational opportunities range from their popular leadership program to bringing in business training from other successful small businesses around the country.
And they recognize local leaders with the citizen of the year, volunteer of the year and business partners of the year awards usually given out at an elaborate members dinner and awards ceremony.
The chamber often acts as an advocacy agency engaging businesses and government with issues that directly affect the community. They are in frequent contact with Rep. R. Lee James and Sen. Scott Hutchinson’s office and more.

Their Be Here campaign showcases all the benefits the region offers especially to businesses looking to start up and families looking for a better life away from the hustle and bustle of larger cities. They are strong advocates for the natural beauty the area offers.
And they create several chamber events to showcase as much as they can in the region. Mixers at different businesses connect and showcase. They also maintain a hefty community calendar on their website for everyone to keep up on what is going on.
So as you you can see, this is not a one person job as Williams points out repeatedly.

To learn even more visit their website at: https://venangochamber.org

Lady Hawk to turn 30 this year

3/22/2021

So you're one year old and you get hit by a car. You're a bird so chances are one was all you get in this world. But there are folks who find you, help you and, 30 years later, you're still here. And you're still the face of one of Northwest Pennsylvania top wildlife rescues and rehabilitation sites.

Lady Hawk, who calls Tamarack Wildlife Center in Saegertown her home, will turn 30 this year. Not many red-tailed hawks live so long. In fact, the oldest recorded red-tail living in the wild was around 30. In captivity some hawks have lived longer.

She seems healthy and could be going for the record soon. According to the Greely-Tribune newspaper, a hawk named Sebastian made it to 32.

Lady Hawk was admitted for treatment for a broken wing in 1992. She was found along side the road. It's not certain what happened to her, but it was certain she wouldn't survive without help.

After rehab, it was apparent she'd never be able to fend for herself in the wild, so she became a permanent resident of the center. She is now the longest running ambassador and education specialist at Tamarack.

Tamarack director Carol Holmgren said they are planning a birthday celebration, but are waiting for COVID-19 restriction guidelines to ease up.

The center relies entirely on grants and donations for its operations with the over $100,000 a year budget. They are always looking for help with supplies and money.

Holmgren said they are moving into a typically busy time at the center. In the spring animals are on the move and little ones are beginning to roam around more. The center gets a lot of calls for rescues during this time.

I was out documenting some of the center's use of grant monies they received from a local foundation. I will follow up with more information on that soon, but for now I wanted to share that Lady Hawk is still with us and nearing a very impressive milestone.

For more information and to sign up for the center's newsletter visit: https://tamarackwildlife.org/

"Irish Eyes Are Smiling" filled the air outside St. Pat's Wednesday

3/17/2021

"May ye be in heaven an hour before the devil knows your dead!"
-old Irish proverb

When St. Patrick's School closed last year, more than just a beloved school was lost, several traditions were also lost.

One tradition kept alive, at least for one more year. was the St. Patrick's Day sing - a - long.
Former St. Patrick's student Stella Ruscak, who left St. Pat's last year as a fourth-grader, asked her mom if they could have the sing along again. She mentioned that they got together around Christmas to sing carols in the park and thought why not get together on St. Patrick's Day. She told her mom she really misses things like the sing-a-long.

Annie, her mom, got on a group text that included long time teacher Paula Klinger and within a few days the sing-a-long was organized with a growing list of interested participants.

Wednesday evening a bit after 6 p.m. just under 50 former teachers, family and students of St. Pat's joined together for a few laughs and to lift their voices in song - including several old Irish standards including "McNamara;s Band," " Hibernia's Patron Saint, All Hail" and of course "Irish Eyes Are Smiling."

The smaller kids played in the yard beside the church while the older students sang along with their parents, grandparents and former teachers. There was a lot of green.

A sound idea for Elizabeth

3/15/2021

The Reverend Elizabeth Ivell's somewhat soft voice shimmered across the sanctuary of St. John's Episcopal Church during a Christmas Eve service over a year ago. Her words could be heard in the back, but not without some effort. The church does have a sound system, but the young preacher's words were not bouncing off the famed Tiffany glass windows as loudly as they could.

"That's why we need a new sound system," she laughed during a recent interview

A new sound system upgrade will make sure sermons and the word of God are clearly reaching the people in the pews. And its not just for those hoping to connect with the almighty - the church conducts several tours a year to show off their Tiffany windows. A sound system would help everyone hear the historical details as they roam about getting closer looks.

Mother Elizabeth is happy they are upgrading their sound, but also wanted to help the more severely hard of hearing. So she came up with an idea to raise some funds using her feet to purchase personal hearing assist devices.

She runs for exercise and figured she might be able to challenge herself to run a marathon if the community was willing to sponsor her miles. All proceeds raised will be going towards the sound enhancement devices.

She has trained and competed in triathlons in the past, but admits between the swim, biking and running, the running is her least favorite part. The 2011 Allegheny College graduate said she has run for a long time because in college her friend ran everywhere she went. "So I had to run to keep up."

Now, when she runs it's not to chase her friend to the store or class, but for herself as she reflects on a higher purpose as she leads her congregation. "It's part of my prayer and meditation time, it gets me out into nature connecting with God."

She has mapped out a route (below) starting on Buffalo Street in front of St. John's at 8 a.m. on April 10. She says her route will take her through several neighborhoods so she is hoping to see some friendly faces along the way for encouragement.

"The furthest I've run is 15 miles," she admits but is confident she can make the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. "I will walk or I will crawl. I will make it one way or another," she said with a chuckle.

Ivell said she is over halfway to raising the $2,000 for the equipment but wouldn't mind surpassing the goal. "We'll just buy more devices," she said.

Anyone wishing to support this effort can donate athttps://onrealm.org/stjohnsfranklin/-/give/now (select the Building Improvement Fund.)
Marathon level is $26 or $1 for each mile she will run on April 10.
The Hearing Assist Level donation of $100, the cost of one hearing assist device.
Or if someone wants to donate $1 for her planned training miles they can give $250.
Of course any donation is welcomed.

Everything is relative

3/9/2021

Franklin High School returns to the stage with production
of the musical "The Theory of Reletivity"

As I sat in the virtually empty theater Monday night listening and making photographs of the first all-cast dress rehearsal for this week's opening of Neil Bartram's "The Theory of Relativity," one story from my past kept circling through my mind.

I was getting off a public transit bus in Providence, Rhode Island in 1987. As I stepped off the last step, I noticed someone trying to get on the bus. I looked up and my eyes met the eyes of another woman who I had never met. We both had an almost startled look on our face. In that split second glance we fell in love, dated, got married, had children, grand-children and lived a long happy life before we both died on the same day completely content with the life that began that day at the bus stop.

Of course she got on the bus and I continued to catch my next bus on my way to my college classes. We never saw each other again.

The Theory of Relativity explosres these kind of happenstance occurrences that show people struggling with their own self-conscious lives in search of meaningful love.... or not.

This fairly new play premiered in 2016. It features a few intermingled story lines combining monologues and songs that begin and end with entire ensemble songs.

"I chose this piece very specifically so that we could have as many performance options as possible due to Covid-19," said director Sarah Gilbert who tried to put this show on in the fall only to have further restrictions put in place just days before the performance.

She says the socially distanced stage allowed for options in case they had to do an all virtual performance and even piece together home recordings. If the state mandated restrictions wouldn't allow a stage production, she was bound and determined to still have a show for the kids.

"It gives the seniors a chance to have one more show," she said.

The characters don't share too many scenes together and they have been blocked to accommodate the pandemic guidelines.

As a result they will be performing this show as a hybrid of limited socially distanced live audience - a 150 capacity and online through a on demand live stream which can actually accommodate thousands.

Gilbert hopes the live attendee ticket sales fill up to cover the costs of the production. She says the rest of the virtual ticket sales then go towards future productions.

Pre-pandemic Franklin and Rocky Grove decided to team up to hold two shows a year, one at each venue open to both schools. This performance only features on Rocky Grove student. The show was originally slated to run last fall.

Cast members include:
Elijah Cowles (’21, FHS)
Gavin Empson (’21, RGHS)
Tyler Walkowski (’21, FHS)
Emmalee Baden (’21, FHS)
Clarice Miller (’21, FHS)
Alyssa Shick (’22, FHS)
Grace Turk (’22, FHS)
Josie Fish (’22, FHS)
Silas Adams (’23, FHS)
Sydney May (’23, FHS)
Moravia Beach (’23, FHS)
Charlie Showers (’24, FHS)

Stage Managers:
Erin Ohler (’21, FHS)
Eren McKinley (’21, FHS)

Stage Crew:
Lily Songer (’21, FHS)
Karl Kestner (’21, FHS)
Toby Greenawalt (’23, FHS)
Grace Freer (’23, FHS)
Arika Songer (’23, FHS)
Izzy Ramfos (’23, FHS)

The pit band includess:
Music Director, Keyboard, Zach Covington
Keyboard 2, Preston Yoder
Guitar, Jacob Creighton
Bass, Wendall Holmes
Drums, Beth West

Costumes were done by Alysha Graham
Poster and artistic design, Darrellyn Freeman
Technical director, Tim Gilbert
Director is Sarah Gilbert

Those nterested in seeing this performance and supporting Franklin and Rocky Grove High School arts bus purchase their tickets in advance by visiting: www.showtix4u.com/#streaming

Tickets prices are:
In person student - $6.00
In person adult - $9.00
Livestream single - $9.00
Livestream family (1-4 people) - $15.00
Livestream watch party (5+ people) - $20.00
"Of course, these tickets for the livestream are made through an honors system," Gilbert stresses hoping people understand the importance of supporting the school and their art offerings.

Gilbert also added the importance of this musical play's message. "The final question the show asks: “Even if my path doesn’t directly intersect with someone else’s, do I have the ability to change their life trajectory?” she wrote in a press release.

"Of course, by the end, I think the answer will clearly be - yes”

Last chance to sign up for this education opportunity in Franklin. Click on ad for more info.

Click on photos to enlarge

To view even more photos visit: https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p892765619

Just one more

Agreed Kyle, agreed

3/7/2021

Featured photograph of the day

by Anna Applegate

This photograph really made me smile today so I asked our columnist Anna Applegate if she'd allow me to share it as a featured photo. She says it is of Kyle drinking some water, but I thought it looked like a commentary of winter.
Warmer weather is coming this week if the ole' weather folks know what they're talking about.

Check out Anna's frequent columns at The Nature of Things blog.