Shaler Area School District holds Storytelling Event as part of 50-year celebration

A lot can happen in 50 years, and some of the bigger stories of five decades were discussed during Shaler Area School District’s March 24 Storytelling event.

“The idea behind the night [was] to create an event where we bring different storytellers and panelists back to the district to talk about some of the key moments in times that really speak to the community and the family aspect of the Shaler Area School District,” said district superintendent Dr. Sean Aiken.

The event was part of the school district’s continuing 50th-anniversary celebration.

Thirty storytellers were on the docket to talk about homecoming, wrestling, softball, performing arts, the flood of 2004 and the legacy of multigenerational families.

Lia Sorce and her husband Nick Nelson, who have lived in Chicago for the last years, were invited to take part as storytellers since Sorce was on the softball team when she attended Shaler and Nelson was on the wrestling team. Nelson was not able to take part in the event, but Sorce detailed her experiences on the softball team from 2004-2007, when the team went to the state championships three years in a row – and won the state title twice.

“The Shaler Area softball program was such a memorable, fun part of my life,” Sorce said. “My teammates and I are bonded for life, and I will always say yes to any opportunity to get together and reminisce with them.”

Etna Borough manager Mary Ellen Ramage told her story about the 2004 flood and how the district and the community came together for those affected by Hurricane Ivan – Etna was one of the hardest-hit areas.

“Etna’s story is all about the support given to the community and our residents after the devastating events of the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004,” Ramage said. “The school board, the maintenance staff and the administrative staff were instrumental in helping our operations get back up and running so we could assist our residents and get our infrastructure repaired, while many teachers and other district staff were assisting our residents directly by providing clean-up support, food and other necessities so very much needed at that time.”

Shifting gears, Shaler Area band director George Tepshich highlighted performing arts programs at the school district.

He describes the program as a “school within a school” with a family atmosphere that starts early and includes band, choir, orchestra, musicals, plays, dance, majorettes, silk line, marching band, tech/stage crew and more.

“Our primary school lays the foundation and all of the different performing arts programs throughout the district – each plays a role in the development of the program and the students within the program,” Tepshich said.

Tepshich has been teaching in the district for about 16 years and is happy to have his own children be part of the traditions that go along with attending school in Shaler.

“We have so many wonderful traditions in Shaler Area and now that my children are going through the district, I am watching the impact that all of these traditions have on my own kids,” he said.

The celebration of 50 years will continue with The Great Big Shaler Area Scavenger Hunt, the weekend of April 8-10.