Harry Funk stories, Page 10

Editor’s note: This story will conclude in the December issue of the Signal Item. For fans of fine dining, Wright’s Seafood Inn was something of a paradise. Fans of singer Joni Mitchell will know the rest of the story. Yes, a parking lot now stretches across the spot that the...

Pay a morning visit to a coffee shop and watch the baristas be bombarded by beverage orders That would be right up Kendal Astor’s alley. “I love the stress and the pressure, like when there’s a whole line of things,” the Chartiers Valley High School senior said. “I work really...

Today’s second-grader is tomorrow’s grandparent telling a possibly incredulous child: “I once met a World War II veteran.” Fast-forward, let’s say, half a century, and an 8-year-old may be the one who’s hearing the story. Do the math, and you’re looking at the youngster being born a full 120 years...

The 1980s were a relatively quiet time for the American military, between the end of the Vietnam War and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. As a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Bethel Park resident Haya Eason — community members may know her as working at the municipal building — once tended to...

A change in careers can be sweet. “I moved here after college to take a full-time job doing tax accounting,” Bethel Park resident Becca Battista said. “And then during the pandemic, I kind of had a change of heart and needed something a little bit more creative, rather than doing...

The sounds emerging from his father’s bedroom prompted young Calvin Stemley to knock on the door one day. How was it, the boy wondered, that Zackery Stemley Jr. could produce dazzling melodies just by using the three buttons on his trumpet? “Instead of him answering the question, he said, ‘Have...

Four-plus centuries of Shakespeare fans can’t be wrong. Count a group of today’s teenagers among them. When Michael Flynn announced the Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh’s 2023 high school play would be “The Tempest,” his students weren’t exactly thrilled about performing in something so antiquated. “They always want to do a...

From the 19th-century writings of Lewis Carroll to the 20th-century lyrics of Grace Slick, rabbits white and otherwise have come to symbolize departures from the ordinary. Plum resident Bob Freyer continues the tradition with his latest art exhibit. “It’s really just taking me away from all the stress and aggravation...

For most young men, Friday nights often mean heading out for a night on the town instead of staying home to chat with an elderly neighbor. Robert McCormick remembers telling a friend that he was choosing the latter option. “He looked at me like I was dead crazy,” the Bethel...

While many young men tend to view their fathers as heroes, the Rev. Christopher Edmonds had no idea about the degree to which his own dad lived up to the standard. As Hampton Middle School students learned when the Tennessee pastor visited Oct. 23, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds...

People with a penchant for penmanship may think that taking a couple of classes will make them calligraphers. “Then once they try it, they realize, wow. This is going to take a bit more work,” Calligraphy Guild Pittsburgh member Debbie Seman said. She is co-chairing the guild’s exhibit in the...

A group of Moss Side Middle School students learned firsthand that Johnny Appleseed may have faced a tough time back in the day. “I was talking with one girl and she told me, ‘I never planted a tree before. It’s more complicated than I thought it would be,’” Lindsay Dill...

Despite an anticipated 2.4% increase in expenditures, Monroeville’s proposed 2024 general fund budget maintains a real estate tax rate of 4 mills. If council adopts the final budget as proposed, the owner of a property valued at $110,600 — the municipal median, according to Allegheny County — will continue to...

Four Bethel Park High School seniors have been recognized for academic excellence by one of the country’s best-known and longest-running scholarship programs. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. has designated Bryce Clancy, Henry Gaston, Lucas Hertzel and Lupe McElvenny as 2024 NMS commended students. Clancy and Gaston have also been named...

Dressed in perhaps the campiest pirate costume imaginable and uttering nonsense like “avast, ye scurvy dogs,” a character called Capt. Calico Drake scowls at a video camera to address his audience. “Welcome once again aboard the Swashbuckler’s Haunt, the most disreputable ship of the Three Rivers and the Seven Seas,”...

For more than half a century, youngsters have watched the filmed-in-Pittsburgh TV series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” hearing a friendly, gentle voice guide them toward safe, fulfilling lives. Although Fred Rogers (1928-2003) ended the show’s production two years before his death, episodes still run in syndication and on streaming services, giving...

On a sunny late-September morning, a group of Chartiers Valley High School students ventured outside for phys ed class. Some participated in a softball game on their stadium’s field. Others walked the track along its perimeter. They were among the first to enjoy the results of the first phase of...

Welcome to Kings School Cemetery, at least for the Halloween season. That’s what the sign says in the suitably decorated yard of Bethel Park resident Joe Villella.” “Every year, we have a different theme,” he said. “Last year, I had a carnival theme.” Whatever he and his family members choose...

Your dresser drawer has a limited amount of space. So maybe it’s time to say goodbye to that Pink Floyd or Pitt Panther shirt you haven’t worn in years. If so, say hello to Kait. Heidelberg resident Kaitlyn Alyce thrives on converting discarded fabrics into new creations, taking recycling a...

Seventeen current students and 2023 graduates of Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh in Hampton earned AP Scholar Awards for their achievements on AP Exams during their high school years. The awardees achieved one of three levels: AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor and AP Scholar with Distinction. The AP Scholar award...

Half a century ago, the Monroeville Government Study Commission drafted a home-rule charter with a requirement that the municipal manager be a local resident. Today’s municipal officials seek to remove the stipulation through a ballot question in the Nov. 7 general election, asking voters to amend the charter accordingly. “It’s...

Imagine a Monroeville with farms, farms and more farms, as opposed to the trappings of a bustling suburban near-metropolis. A visit to the Monroeville Historical Society’s annual Heritage Day Festival provided guests with a pretty good idea of what life was like a century or two ago. Dubbed “A Tribute...

Every four years, the winter TV schedule is dominated for a few weeks by competition among the world’s finest skaters. At least, that applies to the ones who take to the ice. “We’ve been trying to get into the Olympics for as long as I can remember,” Hampton resident Kathy...

Thanksgiving comes early in China. Compared with its American counterpart, the Mid-Autumn Festival starts about two months prior to the latter part of November, and those who celebrate it are more likely to eat sweet pastries filled with bean paste than succulent turkeys full of stuffing. As a prelude to...

Farmland may be disappearing from Western Pennsylvania, but some property owners are bucking the trend. Greg and Kim Serakowski of Plum, for example, guarantee that their 36 acres off Elicker Road is preserved in perpetuity. On Sept. 26, they greeted guests with custom-made ball caps and T-shirts to celebrate Serakowski...