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A stadium, a community, a future

Last Friday, as the flood lights flickered on and the initial notes of the marching band echoed through the stands, something extraordinary happened. After years of debates, delays, and difficult decisions, Mifflin County spectators finally took their seats for the historic Husky home opener at Chapman Stadium. There’s no need to rehash the details of how we got to Aug. 22. At the end of the day, for reasons of safety, maintenance, and equity, we took on a task as monumental as the century-old stadium we set out to replace. Friday’s achievement never could have happened without a ...

My favorite unsung holiday: National Thrift Shop Day

Can I get a hip, hip, hooray from all my fellow thrift shoppers? This Sunday, Aug. 17, is National Thrift Shop Day! While thrifting has recently become the “in” thing to do, I’ve been at it for as long as I can remember, not because it was cool or trendy, but out of pure necessity. Growing up, my father worked hard but never made a lot of money. My ever-resourceful mother found countless ways to stretch our dollars, and secondhand shopping was one of her favorite secret weapons. Back then, we didn’t call them “thrift stores.” They were “rummage sales,” and to my ...

I ruined my ‘surprise’ party, so I joined in the planning

Is it wrong to ask for Father’s Day gifts from your four kids and wife who just threw you a semi-surprise 60th birthday party in which you were showered with love, gifts and baked ziti, along with dozens and dozens of homemade cookies? OK — so before I request some Father’s Day swag (that’s what the kids call gifts these days for you old folks like me who don’t use, or understand the origin of the word swag) — let me tell you about my birthday party. My wife, Ann Marie, says I have always wanted a party, and she is partly right. I did but I didn’t want to have to pay ...

Small town adventures make big memories

Recently, I promised two of my grandchildren, Oliver, 5, and Sloan, 6, that we’d go on an adventure. I was barely out the door when Oliver exclaimed with an impatient grin, “Nana, hurry up, you are taking for ages!” With that gentle nudge, I picked up the pace and off we went. I expected a day filled with laughter and discoveries. What I didn’t expect was to come home feeling more grateful than ever to live in a place where kindness is a way of life and people go the extra mile. Our first stop was Asher’s Chocolates, where the kids took their time choosing the perfect ...

Restoring a sacred place

Four years ago, a friend mentioned a community project grant being offered by a local box store. That sparked a conversation within the Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau about how we might use such an opportunity to make a lasting impact. As we explored ideas, one kept returning to my mind, something I had passed by countless times on my walks through Victory Park with my dogs: the African American Memorial Cemetery near the boat launch. Although the Lewistown Borough was faithfully maintaining the grass, the cemetery itself had ...

Home Run Derby is a spectacle

It was more than a Major League Baseball All-Star Game and other festivities when the spectacle came to Pittsburgh in 1994. I remember my stepbrother Dave Zook and I — along with a few of Babe Ruth players — driving out to Three Rivers Stadium for the Home-Run Derby and other contests the day before the All-Stars took the field. The game was a celebration of professional baseball in Pittsburgh. Just 21 months after winning the Pirates’ last division championship in 1992. The atmosphere was joyous and electric. Pittsburgh had a chance to shine, and it did. I remember sitting ...