Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
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This is part six of an ongoing series featuring notable people who once called the Cove home. For longtime president of the Blair County chapter of the NAACP Don Witherspoon, human rights wasn't about color. He was also from Claysburg. Witherspoon's vice-president, the late Bill Sweet, said that Witherspoon would advocate for civil and human rights. "We would visit prisons and answer complaints from the prisoners," he said. "If they needed representation, we would sit down with them and listen...
This is part five of a continuing series of articles about people who have called the Cove home. This week's article features Dave Burket and The Burket Falls Farm. In the rural area of Blair County, known as Greenfield Township, in a section known as Pole Cat Hollow, is Burket Falls Farm. This farm is known worldwide for the registered Holstein dairy cattle with the polled (naturally hornless) and red hair coat genes that they have developed and bred. Today, over two-thirds of all polled...
This is part four of a continuing series about notable people who have at one time or another called the Cove home. This week's article features musician/promoter Steve Aungst. Aungst was the founder of the regional touring group The Vicksburg Quartet. He was the founder and organizer of The Pennsylvania State Singing Convention held annually in Martinsburg. If that wasn't enough, he was also a booking agent for local and regional music and variety acts and founder and director of The Meister...
Actress Joan Bennett once sent Hedda Hopper a $435 valentine. The $35 went for a skunk which carried a note, “Won’t you be my valentine? Nobody else will. I stink and so do you.” That is just an example of the type of relationships she had with the stars of the day. Blair County native Hopper was born Elda Furry on May 2, 1885 in Hollidaysburg. Her family moved to Altoona when she was three. According to Linda Barnes, a distant cousin of Hopper’s, Hopper also had ties to the Curryvi...
Born in Williamsburg on April 11, 1900, Wilmer Stultz joined the US Army Air Force in August of 1917 assigned to the 634th Aero Supply Squadron reaching the rank of sergeant. He was discharged on March 31, 1919. Then, he joined the US Naval Air Service in December of that year, training at Pensacola, FL. He conducted the tests made on the “Josephine Ford” plane in which Commander Richard Boyd made his famous journey to the North Pole. Following his discharge from the Navy Air Service in 192...
This is part one of a series of stories about notable people who once called the Cove their home. Steel Magnate Charles M. Schwab, began his career as an engineer in Andrew Carnegie’s Steelworks. He was promoted often, including to the positions of General Superintendent of The Homestead Works in 1887 and General Superintendent of The Edgar Thomson Steel Works in 1890. Born February 18, 1862, in Williamsburg, Schwab, at the age of thirty-five, became president of The Carnegie Steel Company. I...
Blair County Sheriff James Ott thinks that there needs to be more done about the battle with the fentanyl epidemic. He said that they are starting to make changes. Talking about his experience with the fentanyl problem, Ott said that he is in a unique position because he wears two hats. With his profession, it is a struggle every day that they see the increasing battles on the street with the abuse and the opiate addiction that they have. “We see that battle,” Ott said. “We watch family members turn themselves inside out trying to save loved...
Some of the Herald’s readers may know that I am also an author. I have written two books entitled “They Came From Blair County” volumes one and two. The books talk about people who have come from the area who have done notable things whether it be in sports, entertainment, business or politics. I am currently writing volume three. I am also working on “They Came From Bedford County” and “They Came From Cambria County”. Volume three is due out next year with the Bedford and Cambria County books due out within a year or so after that. I am al...
Blair County Chamber of Commerce saw the end of an era when their long-time President and CEO Joe Hurd retired on August 30. He said he enjoyed the job tremendously. “I’m so grateful for the people who I’ve had the opportunity to work with from the business community and the terrific staff that we’ve had,” Hurd said. He said the longer it goes, the more he thinks some events and programs are starting to look stale and it is time for some new people with new ideas. “It is time for a seventy-year-old guy to step out of the way and let some ne...
Central High School senior Kira Trexler had her chance to shine on a national level. The 17-year-old soccer player had a chance to play the game of Futsal for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. She played at the United Futsal National Showcase and the International World Championship that was held in Orlando, Fla. Trexler said that she had this connection with Marcello Antonelli, who was a pro-club coach for the Riverhounds in Pittsburgh. He also coached Orlando. He had this camp for my high school team,...
Before too long, school will be back in session, and preparations by the school staff are well underway. At Central High School and the Spring Cove School District, the maintenance department is finishing their summer projects. The custodial team is finishing deep cleaning of the classrooms and office spaces in all of the district's buildings. The office staff are busy preparing back-to-school paperwork and sorting all of the supplies that come in during the summer. They have several teachers...
The 30th Annual Little Miss Claysburg Pageant was held Saturday, August 10 to kick off Claysburg Area Community Days. Fifteen contestants participated in this year’s event. Pageant Hostess and Director Diana G. Walter-Dively said that some of the duties of the winner include coming to the event as well as going to ribbon cuttings, drawings and raffles. The crowning of the 2024 Little Miss Claysburg Queen and Her Court are as follows: 2024 Little Miss Claysburg Queen- Bailee Grace Claar 1st R...
The 48th Claysburg Area Community Days took place on August 10 and 11 at the community park. According to co-chairman Nancy Musselman, the event started as an effort to help out the non-profits within our community organizations, school groups, fire companies, and any organization. They set up, primarily, food and game booths. She said if the committe brings in enough entertainment, it gives people a reason to come to the event, and allows non-profits to sell their wares. They can use this as...
The bridge on Ski Gap Road over South Poplar Run in Greenfield Township, Blair County was dedicated as the Cpl. Clyde E. Walter, Jr. Memorial Bridge during a ceremony held on Tuesday, July 23. The event was held at the Ski Gap Community Center in Claysburg. State Rep. Jim Gregory said they were honoring Walter. "The family is here - It is a big family," he said, about the nine siblings present along with the Honor Guard. Gregory said it is a testament to how much the people of Blair County love...
Several Cove area high school softball players were named to the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association All-State Team. Being selected to the first team was Claysburg-Kimmel senior Emalee Cavender, who was picked as a first team utility player in Class 1A. "I was super happy because that was something that I worked for all year and I like people to know how hard that I worked for my senior softball season even though I am not going to be playing in college," Cavender said. She...
The Claysburg Area Hall of Fame inducted its latest class. The 2024 inductees included Dahl Bowser, Lynn and Janice Crist, Brent Miller, Dolan Mosser with Bill and Suie Burket – Bill's Place receiving the Pioneer Award. Each inductee received an individual award, citations from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania Senate and will have his/her name engraved on The Hall of Fame Monument located in the Claysburg Community Park. Dahl Bowser Dahl Bowser was introduced by h...
The Bedford Sports Hall of Fame held its 2024 induction ceremony on Saturday, June 29 with two sessions. The first session honored the individuals. The second session honored the teams that were inducted along with some special recognitions. Jeff Batzel, secretary of the Hall of Fame, says that the Hall represents the best in Bedford County sports history. "I think it is very important to honor people who have brought publicity to our county, to our communities and to our area via athletics -...
Bedford County native Leah Shackley came up short in the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium. Shackley said that she is completely proud of how she handled such a long meet. “With such a long meet, you have so many ups and downs. Your emotions are never the same — so, everyday is different, “ she said. Shackley began Saturday night June 15 by competing in the women’s 100-meter butterfly. She finished sixth in her semi-final heat in 58.44 out of the eight competitors and did not qua...
Everett photographer Della Watters competed in the World Photographic Cup. Her photo "Showered with Blessings" was taken at a summer wedding in Bedford at the Community Light Fellowship Church. Watters said the photo was a simple and pure wedding in the morning with a lunch reception. It was very similar to a church worship service with a sermon and hymns and was a reverent occasion. In the photo, she said the just-married couple was exiting the church to go to their vehicle and the entire crowd...
It’s not every day that a community gets to send off one of their own to compete in the Olympic Trials. That’s just what happened at the Blair Regional YMCA on Thursday June 13. Bedford County native Leah Shackley made the trip to Indianapolis to compete. However, before her journey began, she was given a send off party at the Y. “I could not have done any of this without you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, “ Shackley said to the crowd, which consisted of dozens of well-wi...
Claysburg Community Theatre will present Murder on the Orient Express on June 14 and 15 at the Claysburg Kimmel High School Auditorium. Director Maria Leppert says that the play is based off of the Agatha Christie book by the same name. It is about several passengers on the Orient Express and obviously a murder takes place. So, we see how the person is murdered. “If you have ever read any Agatha Christie books, you know that it’s a good story,” Leppert said. “We have some really great actors...
The Baker Mansion will be hosting the From Civil War to Civil Rights guided tour of the mansion on Friday June 21 at 7 p.m. This event will highlight the Baker Mansion’s new exhibits on African American Heritage and the Underground Railroad in Blair County and Blair County in the Civil War. The event will begin with a presentation by Dr. Jared Frederick on the events that preluded the Civil War, and from there guests will be guided through the exhibits by local historian Harriett Gaston and E...
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce is presenting its first ever Awards Gala on June 20 at the Blair County Convention Center. For many years, the Chamber has had their annual meeting where they have given out different types of awards to individuals and businesses. They also had their Hall of Fame dinner, which also had a full slate of awards. Those two award events have been combined. Now all the awards will be presented at a red carpet event. Linda Stotler, Communications and Marketing Manager for the Blair County Chamber of Commerce said...
The 19th annual Isaac Awards was held Memorial Day weekend at the Mishler Theatre. The ceremonies were divided into two evenings with half of the schools being honored on Saturday evening and the other half on Sunday evening. Executive Director of Altoona Community Theatre Tara Enedy said that the Isaacs were created to recognize excellence in high school musical theatre. She said that for the last nineteen years, they have been supporting the local high schools through these programs both with...
Claysburg Kimmel’s tennis court was recently dedicated and named for Don Witherspoon, who passed away in December 2020. Witherspoon’s widow Linda Witherspoon says that she is just overwhelmed. “I can’t believe all of the honors that Don is still getting — I can’t believe all of the honors are still coming in for him,” she said. Linda says that the principal of the school contacted her and he said that they redid the tennis court and they were going to name it after Don. “Don would be so pro...
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Retired Secretary of Agriculture Sam Hayes and Executive Vice President of Penn Ag Industries Association Christian Herr visited Renaissance Nutrition in Roaring Spring. “When I travel around the state because we have 67 counties, of which 48 are rural —I always like to say that we have more cows than people in Bradford County,” Garrity said, who is a Bradford County native. Because of this, it has allowed her to understand how important agriculture is...
On April 18, the Blair County Arts Foundation hosted the Blair County Historical Society for the grand premiere of Blair County: A People’s History. This film traces the cultural influences of the county through interviews, reenactments, photos and archival footage to tell stories of the past. Executive Producer Julia Plummer Schokker said that her job was to find the money and to find the director. “I had very few requirements for the director — one he had to be local and would be a great...
The Claysburg Hall of Fame has announced the induction of its 10th class on Saturday, April 13, at the Claysburg-Kimmel High School Auditorium. The ceremony begins at 3 p.m. with a reception following. The public is invited to attend. The dress is business casual. This year’s inductees are Dahl Bowser, Lynn and Janice Crist, Brent Miller and Dolan Mosser. Bill and Suie Burket will be receiving the Pioneer Award. Dahl Bowser Retired Master Sergeant Dahl E. Bowser enlisted in the U.S. Army a...
Claysburg-Kimmel will present the musical “Camp Rock” at the high school auditorium on Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 24, at 2:30 p.m. The show is based on the Disney movies Camp Rock 1 and Camp Rock 2. It is about a group of kids at a music camp for the summer. There is a rival music camp across the lake that they do battle with. Theatre advisor and show Director Maria Leppert said that this is the first show that the school has done since 2011. She said that the district wan...
The Claysburg Rotary is presenting its 21st “Hee Haw” show at the Claysburg Kimmel High School auditorium at 7 p.m. March 15 and 16. The comedy variety show offers jokes and skits and singing and dancing. Performing on Friday evening are Will’s Mt. Cloggers, Mt. City Grass, Becky’s School of Dance, Marshal Neff, Lauren Albright Hall, Cindy John and Ridge Hershberger. On Saturday night, there will be the Horseshoe Cloggers, Country Traditions, Shining Stars Twirl and Dance, Marty Walters...
After a hiatus, Central High School is putting on a production of “Bye Bye Birdie,” a musical comedy set in the 1950s, according to show Director Rachel Wagner, who is also a first-grade teacher in the school district. Tickets can be purchased online at centralhigh.booktix.com or at the door. The play will be presented at Central High School Thursday. Feb. 29, through Saturday, March 2, in the high school auditorium at 7 p.m. Wagner said that the school chose the show because of the music and th...
The Off Pitt Street Theatre (OPS), located in downtown Bedford, has announced its winter and spring events. On Feb. 5, the group will offer its monthly writing club, “Monday Muse” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. On Feb. 17, OPS will host the “Bad Romance”show with five headlining performers, and in line with the group’s theme for February. At the end of February, OPS will hold auditions for the eighth annual Winners Showcase. The top two winners of the annual script-writing competition will be produced. Auditions will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on...
Hollidaysburg businessman Brian Gates grew up in a small area “up the mountain,” as the local saying goes. His father was a hard-working entrepreneur who worked all kinds of odd jobs. Gates, who is an International Protection Specialist, said, “That gave me a lot of drive, watching him work. Things like that. He also taught me how to dream. You really want to be able to do something instead of saying that ‘I wish I could do that’, say ‘How can I do that?’ or ‘How can I achieve that goal?’ Mos...
Have you ever wondered how the star came to be up on top of Chimney Rocks? Shining brightly every Christmas season, the star that overlooks the borough of Hollidaysburg has an interesting story. Between 1960 and 1964, the Hollidaysburg Jaycees was formed and local businessman Richard Meadows was elected to be the first president. One of the first projects that they discussed doing was something for the community that everyone could appreciate. One of the topics that came up was putting a star...
Hollidaysburg native Dr. George Walker was a local dentist and founder of the Blair County Chapter of the NAACP. Chairperson of the African American Heritage Project of Blair County Harriett Gaston spoke at the Hollidaysburg Library’s Talking History Lecture Series in early December about Dr. Walker. Walker was a native son of Hollidaysburg and was very much involved in the Civil Rights in the Commonwealth of PA. “We need to realize that he was very much into the Civil Rights,” Gaston said. At the end, though, his rights were violated becau...
John Eicher presented The 19th Century Industrial Revolutions during part four of his eight part series “Modern Western Civilization (1500-present) From Dawn to Decadence to Disillusionment” at the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library earlier this month. It is the processes that created the entire built environment that we live in and the technologies that were produced during that time. Eicher wanted the audience to understand that the 1800s was the era that saw the idea of the development of progression, the idea or often assumption that the...
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 nun to become the governess for Captain Georg von Trapp's seven children. The story that follows is one of love, growth, family, struggles and very real fears in the pre-WWII era. Director Dan Crist said that he hoped to show the playoff between the Austrians and the Germans, as the audience is...
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 lecture series was titled "Nationalism, an Invented Tradition." Eicher talked about Nationalism and how it is a relatively recent concept in western history, only maybe about 200 years old. It was actually invented by people. There are a few specific things that feed into the growth of Nationalism....
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 medium that looks like leaded glass once dry. "We are doing ornaments using Christmas themed ideas or they can use some geometric ideas," McKeegan said. This is the second stained glass workshop and the first ornament class. Board member Jill Bulman said that the council does adult workshops, children's...
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 popular in the United States, but he wasn’t making any money from them. Author Keith Eldred presented the story of Dickens’ journey through Hollidaysburg at The Hollidaysburg Area Public Library’s history hour earlier this month. Eldred said looking at how difficult it was travel back then, we shoul...
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 Blair County Convention Center. Lingenfelter began his baseball career, playing in The Blair County Twilight League in 1953. When the Twilight League disbanded, local Claysburg teams joined The Greater City League. He started out as a catcher, but quickly moved into the pitching position. During his...
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 II: AHS Railroad Areas Before Urban Development” by Dr. Michael Farrow. This event will be held at the Hawthorne Building, Penn State Altoona Campus at 7 p.m. A tree lighting ceremony will take place on Nov. 17. This will be the lighting of the outside tree, according to Rimbeck. “Our Christmas tours...
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 there for the people of the Cove and their ancestors who worked those furnaces and mining. "There wasn't a whole lot of information on them," Smail said. "Curiosity made me want to look into it." Smail did this and tried to piece together how those in the furnaces and mining worked, how they were run...
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 saying, "We are paying tribute to a special family member of the Farm-City Committee family who, along with her family, helped showcase the agriculture industry here in Blair County." He was referring to the late Stacy Hoover, recipient of the 2023 ACE Award. "I knew Stacy for 27 years. She knew that she...
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 Operation Desert Storm and is a State Police Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient. He is also the 2013 International Police Officer of the Year recipient, awarded by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. On Dec. 21, 2012, a man named Jeffrey Michael decided that he was going to...
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 and Spring Cove Container. The dinner was created 22 years ago. "This is essentially an event where we present the Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Excellence for the year to somebody in the business community, who has done very significant positive things for our business community over a...
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 things come easy to others. “The reality is that I had to try four times,” Bainbridge said. “It took several years before I could achieve that dream (of becoming Miss Pennsylvania). With failures and setbacks along the way, I didn’t give up. I didn’t give up fighting. I used those times where I didn’t be...
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 to present) From Dawn to Decadence to Disillusionment. His presentation "What Goes Up Must Come Down" featured the period from 1750 to 1830, which includes the Enlightenment, Napoleon and the Romantic Movement. Building on the lecture series themes of abstraction, bureaucracy and control, which...
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 princess. The family-style dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. Event Coordinator Jennifer Fleck said that every year at the dinner, the Farm-City Committee honors somebody with the Blair County Agriculture Community Excellence (ACE) Award. This year, they are posthumously honoring Stacy Hoover. The awar...
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 the Chamber's signature celebration of business of the Bedford County region. It is one of the two major award ceremonies; the other - the Hall of Fame - is held in spring for businesses that have been in business for 25 years or more. There are 16 fall awards. They are given for a variety of areas...
