Letter to the Editor

Editor:

Below is a community letter to the Renovo area residents.

Dear Current and Prospective Members,

Happy New Year, just a little late! Heritage Park has been exceptionally busy despite the challenges of the global pandemic.

Our calendar of events is one filled with many different fundraisers and community outreach programs. I am very happy to report that we will have a relaunch of the Renovo 4H Club scheduled very soon. We, unfortunately have not been able to meet face-to-face with our members of 4H and a relaunch is very necessary. Stay tuned for that in the next month or two. Rich Wykoff has been training on an exciting addition to the club…Robotics! I am certain we will be more successful with the relaunch than we were before. One of our board members, Amy Strong is also a Master Gardener so the community garden will also happen this year.

January and February we had to postpone events that were major fundraisers for us due to the rising numbers of COVID cases in our area. Both the bingo and the Dinner Theatre will happen in April and May, respectively.

This past election, we added members to our crew that we are very excited to announce. Coming onboard was Terry O’Laughlin, Martha Sykes, Amy Strong and Margaret Riggle. As you may or may not have heard we did lose our office manager and board member Linda Goodling. The pandemic sure has taken its toll on everyone; however, this particular board is unstoppable. The board finds ingenious ways to stay afloat, secure grants and carry on with the mission at hand.

Our past President Rich Wykoff stepped down in that position to allow time to do what he wants to do and work closer with his passion of the CCC projects, tech issues and naturally visiting children and grandchildren. His wife, Kim has also retired and we are elated for them. Have you checked out the Podcasts that are on our website? Terry, Rich and Dave Barrows, Charlie Barnum and more brought that program to fruition and it is incredible. Believe me: Rich is not slowing down entirely and his efforts also keep Heritage Park in line.

We have been extremely blessed to have the Probation Work Crew working with our members as time allows. In fact, they are here today (Sunday) helping with shelving in our Maxwell Building. The shelving units were donated to us by Bucktail High School and they will be perfect for securing and organizing our artifacts (treasures).

Our grant committee works tirelessly to secure grants for our Tipple, Museum and many other projects. We were thrilled to be the recipient of a grant through the county to replace the Maxwell Building roof which should happen this summer. We feel one floor at a time will eventually be how we tackle these projects and the end result will be incredible. Securing our roof in that building was a priority, naturally. The Tipple remains in our sights and steps are being taken to repair and restore the tipple so we can maintain that historic landmark. As time and funding allows that will happen.

We were just awarded a grant from the Clinton County Community Foundation which will be used for a summer concert series. Last year our concerts were held every Sunday and the crowd grew with each concert. During the concerts we invited local nonprofit organizations to prepare food for purchase for the attendees. The entire series was a huge success. Heritage Days will be held in June again with many great activities planned. For three days our crew gets together for entertainment, history and fun. It is a great time. Our calendar of events will be seen on our website as well.

I hope to reach out to you, our members, quarterly as the President of Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park but in the meantime, stay safe and know we appreciate your support. It truly does “take a village”.

Sincerely,
Mary George Rhone, President
Renovo, PA