For the Record – May 8. 2014
by Barb Mastriania
Great concert! …
It’s not a rumor. I’m told the Renovo Community Choir Spring Concert was one of the best ever if not the best, and the audience was the largest in years. The concert with a river theme featured songs about the Susquehanna, your hometown and mining and logging songs as well. The icing on the cake was a terrific video presentation by Rich Wykoff with additional commentary by Cindy Anderson Love, a Bitumen native and Young Charles LeForte of Tamarack.
Coming soon …
Rumor has it, not a clue if it’s true, but word has it that a sizzling Flag Day celebration is being planned for the Renovo area. In recent years Detachment 856 of the Marine Corps League and Western Clinton County Veteran’s Organization has been holding a Flag Burning ceremony. This year’s event is to include the flag burning but more activity as well. I’ll be posting more news here as we get closer to June 14.
Remember, there is a red flag collection mail box at Mastriania’s across the street from Tripp’s Grill and Six Pack.
Grassflat continued …
Several weeks ago I asked for information about Grassflat (mistakenly called it Flatgrass.) I’ve since heard from several people who gave me the correct name and location. This week Renovo native Carl (Copie) Helstrom tells us more about Grassflat, the small village along Route 53 near Kylertown.
Grassflat is one of the small villages similar to Bitumen here in Clinton County, that grew up around coal mines in the early 1900s. Other villages in the Grassflat area include Windburn, Lanse and Morrisdale. The inhabitant s of the mining villages was mostly immigrants of Polish, Slovak and Swedish heritage. Helstrom, who has done extensive genealogy research, said the mine owners had agents who would meet immigrants when they arrived in America and offer them employment. They would settle near the mines and when the mines were going full force the small villages would house the workers and their families. The villages often had their own schools, churches and stores where all sorts of provisions were sold.
There were Renovo ties to Grassflat. For instance, the daughter the Sten family who lived on 10th Street in Renovo married a man from Grassflat. There were other families with Grassflat ties including the Bergdohls and Ericksons to name a few.
Hometown memories …
The Renovo Community Choir concert Sunday has spurred a lot of happy memories, people are telling me. One woman, who raved about concert, said it brought back all sorts of memories for her. She remembers spending much time at the YMCA and remembers Sonny Jobson, who was the sports and activity director at Y. He was quite a dancer and taught tap dancing lessons. The Y was run by Pennsylvania Railroad “back in the day.” It was used as housing for railroaders as well as housing a swimming pool that’s still in use today and other athletic activities.
She also remembers going with her sisters to the movies at the Rialto every Friday night. The night at the movies cost the three girls $1.05. Admission was 25 cents each, there was 10 cents for candy, 10 cents for soda and 10 cents for popcorn. The girls shared the snacks and their parents never had to worry about the movies their daughters would see.
After the movies, they would go to Bratz’s where they would get home made potato chips in little brown bags and cherry Coco Cola.
Rumor has it …
Rumor has it, not a clue if it’s true, and I’m thinking this is hot off the press, the Renovo Women’s Club is sponsoring the Lindy Sisters appearance June 21 at the Seventh Street Methodist Church. More about this when I track down the facts.
Rumor has it, not a clue if it’s true … but the Knights of the Sportsman’s round table tell me their personal name cards have disappeared. Have these guys become celebrities of such stature that their name tags are collectibles?
Rumor has it, not a clue if it’s true, but I heard Matt Linberg has bagged a turkey in fishing season on the opening day of Spring Gobbler season.
Shirt Factory strike …
A correction is in order. A few weeks ago I wrote about a strike of the Bobbi Brooks sewing factory employees staged strike years ago. I’m told the Bobbi Brooks factory was in Lock Haven and that the strike in Renovo was at the shirt factory on 14th Street. I apologize for the error.
A question …
A question came up in a recent conversation. Who owned the Fairview Cemetery in Farwell before it was owned by Dick Getz?
