Faces of the Valley category, Page 2
Faces of the Valley: Lower Burrell welder, 90, has ‘never worked a day in his life’
If it’s broken, Dale Wolfe tries to fix it. That’s been the 90-year-old’s motto since 1952, when he started welding in the Lower Burrell and New Kensington areas. “I’ve had a great life,” said Wolfe, who now works for his son Kevin at Wolfe Metal Fab Inc. in Braeburn Heights....
Garden council holds annual May Mart plant sale
The Westmoreland Garden Council is holding its 56th annual May Mart plant sale through 1 p.m. Saturday. The sale began Friday on the front lawn of the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center, 951 Old Salem Road, and will continue Saturday starting at 9 a.m.. A variety of perennials, annual hanging...
Faces of the Valley: Burrell teen to represent Team USA in Junior Roller Derby World Cup
From birth, Pippa Meyer was pretty much destined to thrive in the sport of roller derby. “Raygun is my middle name, and my derby nickname,” said Meyer, 18, of Lower Burrell, who goes by Pippa Raygun in roller derby circles. “My mom gave me a derby name at birth.” It...
Faces of the Valley: East Deer’s Linda Blackmore keeps Tarentum Easter tradition alive
If it’s the day before Easter, Linda Blackmore will be at Riverview Memorial Park in Tarentum. It’s been that way for 71 years — ever since her parents, Alfred and Shirley Perroz, began organizing the borough’s annual egg hunt. “My parents were part of the (now defunct) Tarentum Moose, and...
Faces of the Valley: Dick Pesci has been cutting meat, making memories at Golden Dawn for 62 years
Dick Pesci jokes that when he starts his car each morning, it already knows where to go. After all, he’s been making the same trip from his Natrona Heights home to Golden Dawn in New Kensington for decades. And the 10-minute commute to get to work by 5 a.m. is...
As head of Aspinwall Neighbors, Sarah Shaffer works to make ‘great place to live even better’
From snow angels to soup delivery to sustainable rain gardens, Aspinwall Neighbors is just what the moniker says — a way to help connect people. “We’re guided by the mission of neighbors helping neighbors to build a thriving community,” said Sarah Shaffer, group president. A senior marketing manager for global...
Faces of the Valley: 12-year-old Harrison boy a model railroad tycoon
A miniature world revolves around 12-year-old Tristan Eberle in the basement of his grandparents’ Harrison home. His train display fills up half the room, and even then, it’s only just enough space for several circular railways, a turntable and dozens of buildings. The citizens of this shrunken town have access...
Faces of the Valley: Hank Commodore’s mission to spread love and kindness
While recognition continues to pile up for Hank Commodore, the reward he cherishes most is seeing the children he’s helped grow into well-rounded adults. Commodore, 76, has received three city proclamations, the most recent from Pittsburgh. He also has proclamations from New Kensington and Ford City for his charitable work....
Faces of the Valley: Lower Burrell boy showcases creativity through art
Mindy White remembers looking at son Toby’s assignment years ago where he had not only written each letter of the alphabet, but also incorporated designs of animals, lizards and dinosaurs within and around them. While the additional designs weren’t part of the assignment, it stood out to her. “Toby has...
Faces of the Valley: Deer Lakes’ Bernie Donovan earns top prize in national poetry contest
Deer Lakes fifth grader Bernie Donovan loves her life — so much so that she wrote a poem to commemorate it. “Dear Future Self” speaks to how perfect the 10-year-old sees her existence as a girl who loves mac and cheese, soccer and her dog, Carter. “I like the way...
Faces of the Valley: Deer Lakes’ Carrson Vioral lives by the motto ‘never give up’
Carrson Vioral likes to keep himself busy. The 18-year-old Deer Lakes senior has found himself immersed in the school’s basketball and bocce teams and plans to join the swim team this winter. He also is involved in the school’s coffee shop and Best Buddies, a club fostering mentorship and leadership...
Faces of the Valley: Volunteering and firefighting is family affair for Lower Burrell woman
Nicole Hereda’s family quite literally is immersed in the Kinloch Volunteer Fire Department in Lower Burrell. Hereda, 39, of Lower Burrell is a safety officer and fundraising chair at the station, located off New York Avenue in the city. Her husband, Ted, is chief, and their sons, T.J. and Josh,...
Faces of the Valley: Long-lost photos bring family history to life for Buffalo Township woman
Charles and Catherine Waggoner were quite the amateur photographers on their homestead in rural Ohio, capturing not only the stiffly posed portraits typical of early 1900s, but somewhat candid moments, too. Using a wooden, boxy Kodak camera that took cartridges about the size of a postcard, the couple produced dozens...
Faces of the Valley: Anne Lindsay frequents farmers markets with a business baked from scratch
Like many people, Anne Lindsay took up a new hobby in the early days of the covid pandemic, looking to kill time after a day of virtual classes as a Freeport Area High School student. The difference is, she stuck with it, turning a hankering for sourdough bread into a...
Faces of the Valley: Freeport Scout’s project aims to help feed Leechburg community
Being a Boy Scout is in Keagan Bowser’s DNA. Bowser, a rising senior at Kiski Area High School, has been a Scout since he was 11. His father, Shawn, and older brother, Caleb, were Eagle Scouts, so it was only natural that Keagan would follow in their footsteps and earn...
Faces of the Valley: Beloved Deer Lakes teaching couple to say goodbye after long, enriching careers
Craig Taliani gets a bit emotional when thinking about what the Deer Lakes School District has meant to him and his family. He thinks about meeting his now-wife, Lisa, in a high school teachers lounge in 1991 while he was a day-to-day substitute and she was in her first year...
Faces of the Valley: Teenage trio starts faith-based charitable endeavor in Freeport
Who says social media is all bad for young people? A YouTube video gave 16-year-old Dawson Gaillot the idea to start The Hope Project, a Catholic charitable venture whose first undertaking is a hygiene pantry along High and Fifth streets in Freeport. After watching the video in January, the Freeport...
Faces of the Valley: O’Hara’s Sarah Jones parlays passion for teaching into Volunteer of the Year Award from National Aviary
O’Hara resident Sarah Jones calls herself a lucky duck. After retiring as a first-grade teacher from the Wilkinsburg School District, Jones spread her wings and found a new passion — birds — while still keeping her love for teaching close. She began volunteering in 2014 at the National Aviary on...
Faces of the Valley: Harrison’s Diane Umile connects children with music through Pete’s Heartstrings charity
A passion for music runs in Diane Umile’s family. The Harrison resident has orchestrated a way to stoke that passion for others through a new nonprofit, Pete’s Heartstrings. Run from her home along McWilliams Drive in the Birdville section of the township, Umile’s efforts provide musical instruments to people in...
Faces of the Valley: Buffalo Township man gives away household goods with a side of puns
Matt Achilles’ cleanout business, I Noah Guy LLC, rolls three of his foremost passions into one. He gets to collect oddities and antiques found on the job, help others by giving away the more practical items and tell dad jokes. In fact, the company name is rooted in his passion...
Faces of the Valley: New director seeks to expand impact at Northern Westmoreland CTC
John Augustine knew he would have to let Jason Hicks move on to bigger things. Augustine has been a career and technology center director for 24 years, the past 18 at Greater Johnstown, where for several years Hicks was his right-hand man. “I could tell he had more capabilities than...
Faces of the Valley: Harrison’s Bob Barrage dedicates decades to Scouting
Bob Barrage recalls bringing home a flier in third-grade — nearly six decades ago — seeking students interested in Cub Scouts. “I told my mom I didn’t want to join and then I ended up going anyway,” said Barrage, who grew up in Harrison. “About halfway through the meeting, something...
Faces of the Valley: Kiski Area fourth grader takes center stage in ninja skills competitions
A Washington Township 10-year-old is climbing to new heights in the competitive ninja sports world. Caelin Kaminski won the championship in the mature kids (9- and 10-year-old) division at the 2023 World Ninja League Premier Series Championships in November in Forox Ninja Park in Brooklyn. “It was really awesome,” Caelin...
Faces of the Valley: Leechburg woman volunteers countless hours at Alle-Kiski Valley organizations
Volunteering is more than a word for Leechburg resident Robin Patton. It’s a lifestyle. Patton volunteers at four Alle-Kiski Valley organizations: Leechburg Area Food Bank, Cat Crusaders, Homeless Cat Management Team and Gilpin Volunteer Fire Department. “I’ve met a lot of special people in all the groups I work with...
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