Week of April 25, 2024
Week of April 25, 2024
By NATALIE GORSUCH Williamsburg Correspondent Character, scholarship, service and leadership – all pillars of the National Honor Society and the headline of the Williamsburg School District’s annual National Honor Society banquet, Monday evening, April 22. Following a dinner at the Elementary school cafeteria, the standing-room only crowd took to the auditorium for the annual program. A welcome by NHS Advisor Kelly Over greeted the crowd, and then NHS Vice President Ayla Hileman introduced...
“There has been a significant increase in numbers,” Superintendent Lisa Murgas told the Williamsburg Community School Board during Tuesday night’s meeting as the budget for Vo-Tech was presented. Superintendent Murgas explained there was a cap on the number of students allowed to attend the Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center years ago, and since that cap has been lifted, the numbers have steadily increased. Superintendent Murgas presented that in the years of 2021-23, about 60...
A new thrift store has opened in New Enterprise at 3440 Brumbaugh Road. The new store, which is owned by Louise Martin and Maranda Brown, opened in March. Martin said she has always loved thrift store shopping and gets a thrill just going through everything on sale. She is a wife and a mother and is able to bring her child to the shop next to home to make this happen. Unwanted items may be dropped off at anytime. The hours of the store are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and...
The Blair County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Blair County Youth (LBCY) program will graduate 24 local students at a ceremony on May 8 at the Port Sky Café at Penn State Altoona. Cove-area residents are among the graduates. LBCY is a Blair County Chamber of Commerce program open to high school sophomores, focusing on servant leadership. The youth program is formatted similarly to the chamber’s adult leadership program. LBCY has been used as a model for leadership youth programs throughout Pennsylvania and the tri-state region. The LBCY...
Dairy farmers and industry representatives can learn about value-added dairy businesses by attending two “Women Rooted in Agriculture” events hosted by Penn State Extension in May. The first event, “Women Rooted in Agriculture: Goot Essa Cheese Tour,” will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 2 at 351 Wise Road, Howard, Centre County. Goot Essa is operated by Amish dairy farmer John Esh and his family. Attendees can tour Goot Essa’s cheese-making facility and cheese caves and sample handcrafted European-style cheeses made from cow,...
Lisa Litzenberger, a dedicated employee of McDonald’s in Roaring Spring, recently received the “Outstanding Women of Excellence” award from the company. The award was to acknowledge and celebrate women who made significant contributions in their respective roles. “It was humbling — I cried and my mom cried. You are just not used to getting that type of recognition, “ Litzenberger said. On the day she received the award, she was given flowers, a gift card, a monetary award, and a...
Explore Altoona, the official destination marketing organization for Blair County, has released its “2022 Economic Impact of Travel and Tourism in PA” report. The report shows that tourism in Blair County generated $371 million in direct visitor spending, a nearly 14 percent increase from 2021 and less than 1 percent below 2019’s pre-pandemic, all-time high of $374.4 million. If it were not for this amount of outside dollars in the form of leisure, business and event travel, each Blair County household would need to spend an additional...
Southern Cove Power Reunion held Plow Days on Saturday April 20. Despite the weather being a little cold folks came out for the event. The event got underway early, before 8 a.m. Numerous tractors were seen plowing the fields and spectators watched the process. Craft vendors were permitted to set up free of charge and they were busy getting their tables and goods ready for display. Items such as natural products, homemade candy apples, homemade place mats and tumblers were just a few. The newly...
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners on April 15 approved acquisitions that would add nearly 310 acres to state game lands. That involves the purchase of four properties. They are: • Roughly 20 acres in Catherine Township, Blair County, adjacent to State Game Lands 166. This acquisition connects two existing game lands tracts. • Roughly 67 acres in Snyder Township, Blair County, that’s an indenture to State Game Lands 278 and connects two parcels of the game lands. • Roughly 200 acres in Rockland and Cranberry townships...
Fourth grade students from schools across Bedford County including those from Northern Bedford County Elementary attended the Bedford Chamber of Commerce’s Touch-a-Truck event at the Bedford County Airport on Thursday, April 18. Jenny Delong of Bun Air which is in charge of all the flight operations at the Bedford County Airport said they host events like the Touch-A-Truck event to help the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce. This event has been at the airport for the last three years, and... Full story
Homes in Cove townships in Blair County are poised to be connected to middle-mile fiber infrastructure by 2026. This announcement comes as part of a nearly $2.5 million project funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), jointly undertaken by Allegheny Broadband Inc. (ABI) and Crowsnest Broadband. Dwayne Zimmerman, owner and founder of Crowsnest, said that the federal government allocated $200 million in ARPA funds for Pennsylvania. Following this allocation, the state invited applications...
In the book Blind Side, a homeless teenager is taken in by a married couple who see him on the side of the road and give him a place to live. He develops a close bond with them while he is with them, and when he starts going to a luxury event where many white Americans attend, he only has a few pairs of clothes. Although he doesn’t have the best grades in the world and is only beginning to play football, security is his top priority. As a result of his adoptive parents taking advantage of...
On April 4, my husband of almost 65 years turned 90. It was certainly cause for celebration, but what kind and how big? We remembered our son, Edwin, will be turning 60 in May so possibly, a double party? But wait, there is my brother, Jay, who will turn 80 in November and our grandson, Cory, who will be 40 in October. Calling in the family squad plus a few assorted friends, we planned a party for the birthday boys in June. It will be a four-day event in Virginia. They are the most loved men in my life and all of them have at least a slight...
A celebration of life gathering and potluck will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Hall Fellowship Hall. Arrangements by John K. Bolger Funeral Home Inc., Williamsburg. (www.bol...
Phyllis I. Keim, 89, of Martinsburg, passed from this earthly life into the arms of Jesus, Saturday morning, April 20, 2024, at Hilltop Health and Rehabilitation Center, Altoona. She was born March 19, 1935, in McKee, daughter of the late Jacob H. and Elsie (Nofsker) Freidenbloom. On June 30, 1955, she married Jon W. Keim at the Martinsburg Memorial Church of the Brethren. She is survived by her beloved husband, Jon of 68 years: two children: Eric Keim (Candy) and Lisa Smith (Kevin) both of...
Dennis J. “Jake” Ritchey, 75, of Claysburg, passed away Sunday, April 14, 2024, at the UPMC – Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh. He was born Dec. 1, 1948, in Roaring Spring, son of the late William and Jennie (Weyandt) Ritchey. He married Linda McNally on July 2, 1977, in Roaring Spring. He is survived by his loving wife, sons Matthew and Andrew (fiancé Abby Isenberg), granddaughter Mya Ritchey, a sister Margaret Hightower of Grasslake MI and a brother Kenneth (Jacqueline) of Ebensburg....
Richard “Ed” Holsinger, 65, Roaring Spring, passed away Friday, April 5, 2024, in Pittsburgh after an extended illness. He was born Aug. 11, 1958, in Roaring Spring, son of the late Richard and Mae (Heuston) Holsinger. He is survived by his sister, Debra McCready and husband, Woody, of Duncansville and their children: Amy, Philip, and Christine; and many great-nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Tina Marie and Denise. Ed was a 1977 graduate of Central High School. He was a member of the Roaring Spring...
Jennie Mae Curfman, 89, of Roaring Spring, passed away Monday, April 8, 2024, at Homewood at Martinsburg after a brief and courageous battle with cancer. She was born Jan. 29, 1935, on the family farm at Hickory Bottom, Woodbury, the daughter of John I. And Mary E. (Hoover) Ebersole. She is survived by her two sons, Victor L. Curfman and wife Susan of Altoona and Craig E. Curfman and wife Diane of Roaring Spring; her two grandsons, Christopher J. Curfman of Washington, D.C., and Clint E....
John Bush was raised in Martinsburg and graduated from Central High in 1961. He spent most of his adult life in the Pacific Northwest. He has many memories as a boy in the 1950s that give some insight to the people and culture of Martinsburg in the 1950s. John likes to tell stories and over the years he has repeated the stories of his youth many times. His belief is that those years in Martinsburg influenced him all of his life. Some of the stories are historical in nature, some are colorful, and some are personal. He wishes that you enjoy...
Herald of April 24, 2014 Northern Bedford’s 2014 Dance-a-Thon raised more than $28,248. That brought the six-year total of the event to more than $100,000. Funds raised by the event benefited the American Cancer Society and the family of Teagan Imler, 7, of Everett, who was diagnosed with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy this past year. On Sunday, April 27, Rev. Larry Graybill preached his last sermon as pastor of the Woodbury Church of the Brethren. After 42 years in the ministry – 29 in Woodbury. Doug and Veronica Smith, Martinsburg,...
Herald of April 28, 1949 A raging forest fire in the Woodbury Barrens destroyed 200 acres of woodlands in the heart of the Cove’s “deer country” and severely burned a sawmill operation. Fifty men marshaled by fire wardens Fred Kyler Benjamin Brumbaugh brought the fire under control by back firing. The fire was near the Blair-Bedford line between Baker Summit and Woodbury. Corena L. Sollenberger of Williamsburg was named editor of the “Scout,” a handbook for freshman at Juniata College. A junior at Juniata, she was the daughter of...
Herald of April 29, 1999 The Spring Cove School District paid tribute to three of the Cove’s pioneer educators at a ceremony at the middle school. Honored were Edward E. Byers, the founder of Morrison Cove High School; D.L. Shaffer, a principal and teacher at that school; and A. Emmert Frederick, a teacher at Cove High School and Roaring Spring High School. The Blair County Airport Authority voted 6-2 to authorize the signing of a contract that would turn over day-to-day operation of the airport to a private firm, Comarco Service of Marina...
Herald of April 25, 1924 The third annual school day was held at Cove High on April 15. About 450 joined in games and field events for young and old, both patrons and pupils. The baseball game between Huston and North Woodbury townships was the first morning event with North Woodbury the winner. A dozen schools were represented, and the top winner was the Curryville school. The champion girl was Anna Fluke and the boy was Frank Imler, both from the winning school. The New Enterprise High track team looked forward to participating in the...
Herald of April 25, 1974 Employees of Westvaco Corp. in Williamsburg were presented with certificates of commendaton from the National Safety Council for having no disabling injuries over a two-year time period, which included over 646,000 man-hours. Martinsburg Mayor Richard Moore honored borough employee Levi Wagner at a meeting of the Southcentral Pennsylvania Boroughs Association. Mr. Wagner was retiring after 41 years of service with the borough. Jean Patterson of Roaring Spring accepted a secretarial position with the U.S. Embassy in...
Herald of April 20, 1899 The grocery store of D.R. Ebersole at Lafayetteville was nearly destroyed by fire. The roof, rafters and gable ends of the upper floor were consumed in the flames. With hard work of neighbors, the flames were extinguished and the other buildings saved, but the stock was considerably damaged. Mr. Ebersole was not home at the time of the blaze. The fire was attributed to sparks from an engine going along the road, as there was no fire in the store for several days. Henry Heltzel and Charley Snyder moved their saw mill...
As we travel through life, it is a good thing to remember the "T" things that are involved. Hopefully they can help us to keep on the straight and narrow way and not to be greatly discouraged as we move on from the cradle to the grave. Life is a "T"est. We see this over and over but still we can easily forget. Of course not many children want to hear the words: "We will be having a test today." But the reason for tests is to see what we know or how we'll handle situations of life. There is a...
Our family recently returned from a trip to Africa with a stop in Dubai along the way. We are blessed in many ways, but one blessing that stands out to me is that of my wife and all the research she did. She researched things like what type of bug spray could help ward off the dangerous malaria-bearing mosquitoes but not harm us at the same time, where to obtain the metro pass in Dubai (as well as how to use it), what documents are necessary to enter Kenya these days, and the best neck pillow, etc. Maybe you’re a person who takes a relaxed...
This year of 2024 holds some special excitement for my husband and me as we wait to welcome two new great granddaughters. We know what one of the babies will be named and are excited to learn the name of the other sweet girl. Naming a child is an awesome task. Probably we could all share a name story. Maybe the story is how your parents determined what to name you. Perhaps it’s a nickname that you hold dear for yourself or for a loved one. Or maybe it’s how your name changed or evolved over the years evoking a change in you. As people of...
Form of Advertisement Sealed proposals will be received by the Williamsburg Boro, of Blair County, at 305 East Second Street, Williamsburg, PA 16693, until 3 p.m. on June 3, 2024, for the following: Item 1, 8,702 S.Y., Single Sealcoat with RS-2PM (E-2M).CRS-2PM (E-3M) Item 2, 4,163 S.Y., Double Sealcoat with RS-2PM (E-2M)/CRS-2PM (E-3M) Liquidated damages apply at the rate of $975.00 per calendar day. Proposals must be upon the forms furnished by the Municipality. For third class cities the bid must be accompanied by a certified check or bid... Full story
