Articles written by Eric Shields
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Claysburg Community Theatre Presents 'The Sound of Music'
Claysburg Area Community Theatre presented "The Sound of Music" on Nov. 17 and 18 at Claysburg-Kimmel High School. This classic story follows Maria, who leaves the abbey where she's studying to be a...
Eicher Presents on Nationalism
Dr. John Eicher presented part three of his eight-part lecture series Modern Western Civilization (1500 to present) From Dawn to Decadence to Disillusionment in early November. This portion of the...
Arts Council Teaches Stained Glass Painting
The Hollidaysburg Arts Council presented A Stained Glass Christmas Workshop in early November. Board member and instructor Theresa McKeegan said that the class teaches stained glass art, a paint...
Eldred Presents on Charles Dickens' Visit To Hollidaysburg
Charles Dickens, his wife and George Putnam, the traveling secretary, passed through Hollidaysburg during the canal era. Dickens set out on his first two tours of America in an attempt to change international copyright law, as his books were very...
Claysburg Native Inducted Into Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame
Claysburg native Dick Lingenfelter, along with 42 other Blair County natives who played semi-pro baseball were inducted into the National Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this month at the...
Fall, Winter Events to be Hosted by Historical Society
Kate Rimbeck from the Historical Society announced the fall and winter events taking place at the Baker Mansion. On Nov. 15, the society will have the final installment for the year of its lecture series featuring “Altoona in Photos 1968-1971 Part...
Smail Presents Iron Furnaces to Genealogical Society
Author Byron Smail addressed the monthly meeting of the Blair County Genealogical Society to speak on about his book "Iron Furnaces of the Cove." Smail said that he wanted to get the history out...
ACE Award Posthumously Honors Hoover
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce held its annual Farm-City dinner at the Freedom Township Fire Hall in East Freedom on Nov. 1. Chairman of the Farm-City Committee Joe Diamond started off by...
'United We Can' Luncheon Featured a Hero
Attendees of the last United We Stand luncheon of the fall had a chance to listen to a real hero. Retired PA State Trooper Tim Strohmeyer is a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in the Gulf War during...
Hoover Presented with Lifetime Achievement Award
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce held its 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence on Monday, Oct. 23. This year's award was presented to Dan Hoover from Roaring Spring Blank Book...
Miss Pennsylvania Speaks at 'United We Can Lecture' Series
Miss Pennsylvania 2022 Alyssa Bainbridge recently spoke at the United We Can luncheon to help raise awareness about mental health and substance abuse disorders. Her message is success doesn’t just happen. According to Bainbridge, people assume...
'What Goes Up Must Come Down': Lecture Series Continues
The second in an eight-part lecture series was presented at the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library earlier this month. Professor John Eicher continued his series on Modern Western Civilization (1500...
Farm-City Dinner to Honor Agriculture Community
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce and the Farm-City Committee will hold its annual Farm-City dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Freedom Township Fire Hall in East Freedom at 6 p.m. The evening starts off with a milk punch reception with the dairy...
Bedford Chamber Recognizes Local Businesses
The Bedford County Chamber Annual Dinner and Awards Celebration took place recently at the Bedford County Airport. Chamber Director Kellie Goodman Shaffer said that the Chamber Awards Celebration is...
Canoe Creek Ranger: Park is for Everyone
Resource Ranger at Canoe Creek State Park James Effinger spoke recently during the history hour at The Hollidaysburg Area Library. Effinger focused on the park's ability to supply different enjoyment...
Former Steeler Speaks at 'United We Can' Opener
Former Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier spoke at the season opener of the United We Can Luncheon on Sept. 21 at The Casino at Lakemont. Bleier's message to the almost-capacity crowd was no matter what...
Altoona Basketball Court Honors Cove Native
Re-dedication of the Donald E. Witherspoon Memorial Basketball Court in Altoona took place on August 24. Witherspoon, a lifetime member of Blair County NAACP and longtime president, was born in...
Blair County Sports Hall of Fame Announces Inductees
When the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame holds its 20th induction ceremony on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at The Blair County Convention Center, there will be five individual inductees and one team...
Recovered Stolen Weapons On Display at Baker Mansion
It was a cold day in 1973 when Blair County residents opened their newspapers and discovered there was a story featuring the Baker Mansion and The Blair County Historical Society. Chairman of the...
Dr. Eicher Holding 'Entertaining and Unexpected' Lecture Series on Modern Western Civilization
Dr. John Eicher, associate professor of history at Penn State Altoona and current US National Endowment for Humanities Fellow, will present an eight-part lecture series titled "Modern Western...
Plummer Schokker Presents on Local Heroes
Local historian Julia Plummer Schokker (shown right) presented an homage to the WWII veterans, the local heroes, both alive and those killed in action during the war. The presentation, which took plac...
African American Heritage Festival Held in Altoona
This year's African American Heritage Festival was held on Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30. This is the second year of the event after Paige Lightner reintroduced the festival last year. Lightne...
Blair Co. Historical Society July Speaker Series Features Talk On Underground Railroad in Area
Community Historian Harriett Gaston spoke to a capacity crowd at the Railroaders Museum for the Blair County Historical Society's Speaker Series. She said that she was hoping to find, share and...
Genealogical Society Hears from Genealogist on Her Ancestors from Ireland
Professional Genealogist Mary Kircher Roddy from the National Genealogical Society made a stop at July's meeting of the local branch. She talked about her research on the Bradley family, her...
RS Native Makes Sculpture Honoring Brian Morden Foundation, Families Dealing With Childhood Cancer
After the late Dawn Morden lost her son Brian to cancer, she established the Brian Morden Foundation in 2003. With this, she began Altoona Gold Ribbon Game at Mansion Park. At this game, everybody...
County Mourns Loss Of Billy Sweet
Billy Sweet passed away at the end of June, and leaves behind a lifetime of service to Blair County. Sweet was an active fireman for over 45 years at Claysburg and vice president of the Blair County...
County Mourns Loss Of Billy Sweet
Billy Sweet passed away at the end of June, and leaves behind a lifetime of service to Blair County. Sweet was an active fireman for over 45 years at Claysburg and vice president of the Blair County Chapter of the NAACP for many years. “He wore a...
Central High School's Marah Goff Wins an Issac Award for 'Footloose' Performance
The Isaac Awards recognized Central High School at the annual awards ceremony that was held in May. Central's drama program was nominated for best dance for its title number "Footloose." Izzy Boyer,...
Blair County Genealogical Society Hosts Discussion on Highland Hall
Blair County Genealogical Society hosted a talk about Highland Hall at the May meeting. The hall is a good example of a public building created by a group of citizens who wanted to have a an...
Blair County Business Hall of Fame Induction Held on June 15
On June 15, the Blair County Chamber of Commerce held their 2023 Business Hall of Fame and Awards of Distinction ceremony. This year, the two businesses inducted into the hall of fame were Greenwood...
CACT Performs Clue
Claysburg Area Community Theater presented Clue on Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, at the Claysburg-Kimmel High School auditorium. Director Maria Leppert said that the show is based off of...
Blair County's Fallen Soldiers' History Discussed
Blair County's Fallen Soldiers were honored with a retrospective at the Railroader's Memorial Museum on May 17. James Lowe, chairman of the Board of Directors for Blair County Historical Society,...
Hoenstine Awarded Blair Co. Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship
The Blair County Sports Hall of Fame held its 2023 Scholarship Luncheon on Wednesday, June 7. The two scholarship recipients were Jeff Hoenstine of Central High School and Lydia Worthing of Bellwood...
Portage Railroad Subject Of Duncansville Historical Society Meeting
The Old Portage Railroad was the subject of May’s meeting of the Duncansville Historical Society. Amateur historian Donald B Miller talked about the rise and fall of the Old Portage Railroad. March...
Dinner Held for Distinguished Alumni of HASD
The Hollidaysburg Area School District Alumni Association honored this year’s distinguished alumni at a dinner held on Feb. 11 at the U.S. Hotel. HON. STEPHANIE MARTZ 2023 Distinguished Alumnus The Hon. Stephanie Martz, a 1987 HAHS graduate, is...
Smith Presents for 'United We Can'
The last United We Can luncheon of the year welcomed former professional basketball player Tyler Smith. Smith spoke about his basketball career that took him all over the world. However, his main...
Jake Webb Hall Of Fame And Museum Opened in the Name Of Bodybuilding Champion
When Jake Webb looks around at the museum that holds his memorabilia and collection that showcases his career, the former bodybuilder sees more than that. "I have a chance to look at my life," Webb...
Typhani Russo Presents at United We Can Luncheon
Bookworms Against Bullies was the featured subject at the latest United We Can Luncheon. Author and Bookworms founder Typhani Russo (shown) shared her experiences with bullies. She also explained...
Off Pitt Street Theater Expands to Johnstown, Ready for Upcoming Events
Off Pitt Street Theatre in Bedford is in the process of expanding its operations to the Johnstown area. “I happened to be in Johnstown last October,” Director Dawn Ziviello said. “I was in at a coffee shop called Classic Elements on Main...
Claysburg Hall of Fame Induction Held Last Weekend
The ninth Claysburg Hall of Fame induction was held on Saturday, April 1. The hall of fame committee is made up of members of Claysburg P.A.S.T. Family or friends nominate prospective inductees by...
Stolen Artifacts Returned to Blair County Historical Society
Dozens of artifacts stolen during the 1970s have been recovered and returned to the owning institutions. This includes the Blair County Historical Society. This was done through a repatriation...
Blair Co. Historical Society Program To Visit Three Cove Libraries
Blair County Historical Society’s lecture series has officially started. The third Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m., the society will host a lecture at the Railroaders Memorial Museum. The lecture series will be as follows: • April 19, 2023...
Second Hee Haw Show Rescheduled for Tomorrow
The Claysburg Community Chorus and The Claysburg Rotary presented the 20th annual Hee Haw show this past Friday, March 3, at Claysburg-Kimmel High School. A second show was scheduled for Saturday,...
Hollidaysburg Heritage Tours Fall Schedule To Be Announced Soon
Hollidaysburg Heritage Guided Tours is currently organizing its fall tour schedule. Right, now there are three tours which include Canal Basin, Allegheny Street-Walnut Street and the Diamond to North Montgomery Street. “These tours talk about the...
Stuckey Presented with Chamber Award
Hollidaysburg businessman Matt Stuckey received the Donna D. Gority Servant Leadership Award at The Blair County Chamber of Commerce's 2023 Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation, which was held at...
Duncansville Native Inducted into the Mt. Aloysius College Athletic Hall of Fame
Duncansville native Aaron Kovach was a complete player. He played great defense. He had great speed. He stole some bases. He was a hitter, a pure hitter. Because of his success on the field, Kovach wa...
Baker Mansion Gearing Up for Christmas
Christmas is coming to the Baker Mansion. The Blair Garden Club will be decorating the three trees that will be on the first floor. Executive Director of the Blair County Historical Society and the Baker Mansion Museum Kate Rimbeck said that Baker Ma...
Claysburg Community Theater to Put on 'Elf the Musical'
The Claysburg Area Community Theatre will present "Elf the Musical" at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19, at the Claysburg-Kimmel High School Auditorium. Director Dan Crist said that most...
Duncansville Bridge Dedicated for Vietnam Veteran
"People are going to drive by and see the sign and they're going to remember that this bridge is dedicated to an awesome brother and patriot to this country," said Gail Regets, sister of Ralph Hammel,...
Haunted Mansion Tours to be Held at Baker Mansion
Baker Mansion is hosting a Haunted Tour by candlelight of the mansion, which will be held Oct. 14 and 15 and Oct. 21 and 22 from 7 to 10 p.m. Kate Rimbeck, executive director of The Blair County...
