< Previous%Locally SourcedLocally Sourced Nestled around a seemingly ordinary house at 183 Shafer Road in Moon Township are an array of nature-centric sensory treats. There are seven delightful gardens, a peaceful trail through the woods, bee houses, water features and, of course, wildlife enjoying the welcoming environment. This isn’t just any ordinary residential property, however. It’s the home of Hope Grows, a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire hope through nature while empowering caregivers to seek wellness of mind, body and spirit. It’s also an oasis for caregivers, a place where they can find emotional and mental health support and respite in garden walks and other programs in person or virtually. Soon, Hope Grows will provide a new level of support for the caregiver community. In 2022, it will become the Iris Respite House, a bed and breakfast that offers a uniquely therapeutic and inspiring overnight break specifically for caregivers. Unlike professional caretakers, caregivers (aka family caregivers) are typically not trained or paid to provide care to their dependent loved ones. All too often, as they try to balance caregiving with work, parenting and other life responsibilities, their personal needs and self-care fall by the wayside. Though the caregiving journey has its joys, it often results in chronic stress, compromising caregivers’ physical and mental health; and can present career and financial hardship. Hope Grows incorporates nature therapy and connection to the natural world as key elements of its programming, not only because of nature’s relaxing and restorative value, but also for its representation and illustration of life’s beauty, challenges, and cycles - all of which are very relatable to caregiving. The natural setting at Hope Grows provides opportunities to experience inner peace and gratitude, gain or reestablish perspective, and regain balance and a sense of well-being. It can also spark curiosity, adventure, and creativity as it awakens the senses. It offers a constant reminder of resilience. These are all things that can easily get lost as caregivers spend much of their time and energy on day-to-day caregiving duties. Through three core areas of service - counseling and support, therapeutic respite, and education - Hope Grows helps caregivers direct some of their focus on self-care. This promotes health and well-being, helping to prevent burnout and other negative physical or mental health manifestations that can arise from unchecked caregiver stress. Specific services include: individual counseling, support groups, monthly check-in phone calls, weekly caregiver tips, short breaks, healing and restorative gardens, day of rest and relaxation, free turkey meals at Thanksgiving, and, coming soon, caregiver overnight breaks at the Iris Respite House. Hope Grows programs and services are available at little to no cost to caregivers. The need for caregiver support is growing. Typically, Hope Grows serves 300 to 400 caregivers each year. In 2020, they served 712 caregivers. If you or someone you know is a caregiver in need of support, you are not alone. Hope Grows is here for you. Visit HopeGrows. net or call (412) 369-4673. If you are interested in supporting the valuable work of Hope Grows or sponsoring the renovations needed to open the Iris Respite House doors in 2022, visit HopeGrows.net or call (412) 369-4673. Hope Grows offers an oasis for caregivers CONTENT SUBMITTED Gardens are part of the therapy at Hope Grows. NOW HIRING! Oces located in Robinson Twp. & Monaca 412.494.2000 ExpressPros.com Full-time and part-time job opportunities in a variety of positions: Administrative, Professional, Industrial, Skilled Labor, Skilled Trades, and Skilled Professional. Call to schedule your interview! No Fees! 10 • Allegheny West Magazine • June/July 2021CAround Your Town Around Your Town On Nov. 28, 2020, Dan Hanczar of Oakdale passed away at the age of 68 following a lengthy battle with COVID-19. Many area residents would likely remember Dan not only from his 37 years of teaching at West Allegheny Middle School, but also for performing with numerous local bands over the years at various community events. Hanczar was a staple at area fairs and seasonal events such as Oakdale’s annual light-up night. His original hymns have long been sung at Oakdale Presbyterian Church and anyone who ever stopped by Riley’s Pour House in Carnegie may have caught him performing with one of his bands on St. Patrick’s Day. He also organized several fundraising performances to benefit Teal for Heal, the organization established to help his niece, Julie. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Hanczar family couldn’t hold a normal funeral when Dan passed. Instead, only immediate family were able to attend a viewing and, even then, they had to say their goodbyes through a sheet of glass. “It was very surreal,” recalls Dan’s daughter Danielle. No less surreal was when people would come by to leave food on their back patio and have to wave at them through the window, she recalls. It wasn’t until recently that members of the Hanczar family were finally able to make plans for the memorial that they’ve been wanting to host in remembrance of Dan. That memorial is scheduled to take place July 17 at Oakdale United Presbyterian Church. The family is inviting anyone who would like to pay their respects to stop by during visitation hours between noon and 2 p.m. Naturally, they’re planning plenty of live music. “We want it to be a celebratory event,” says Nils, Dan’s oldest son. Though the lineup of musicians is still in the works, it promises to be impressive. Dan played with many area bands over the years, including the Route 30 Band, the Trinity Band Orchestra and the Dan Hanczar Band. He also worked with many talented local musicians on several albums he recorded, including “Be Thankful,” “Summer” and “Christmas of the Ancestors.” Before he passed away, he submitted an original song, “Dolores Kelly,” to a songwriting contest hosted by WYEP. The radio station played a special tribute to Dan following his passing. Immediately following the church memorial visitation, there will be a continued fellowship and musical celebration of Dan’s life at the family farm on Hill Road in Oakdale until 8 p.m. All friends are welcome. Details are to follow at www.danhanczar.com. Memorial planned for Dan Hanczar on July 17 STORY AND PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY Dan Hanczar June/July 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 11CAround Your Town Around Your Town Firefighting has changed a lot since Ray Petrick first joined the North Fayette VFD in 1972. The department’s longest serving member, Petrick, 90, can remember back when the department’s calls were fielded out of an office at a nearby hospital, training hours were about half of what they are now and trucks were both much smaller and cheaper. For instance, Petrick recalls how, when the department went into service in 1973, its first pumper cost just $38,000. “Today, you can’t even buy tires for that,” he quips. That same year, the North Fayette VFD finished building its first station along Steubenville Pike. Since then, it has continued to operate as the department’s primary station. Department chief Gary Hamilton says that the department had been well aware for some time that it was in need of a new building. For many years, they couldn’t even fit some of their larger trucks in the old garage. “I’ve been here over 20 years,” says Hamilton. “For at least 15 of those 20 we’ve been talking about getting a new building. With that in mind, we never upgraded that building. We constantly let things go…” At the same time, the department saved while raising money through fund drives and receiving support from the township. “We have great cooperation from our township supervisors,” he says. “They take great care of us and we like to think we do a great job taking care of the township.” After a few different attempts to get a new station built failed, Hamilton says that former department president Mike Saville eventually picked up the project’s reins and got things moving. Planning started in 2017 with final approvals and permitting coming in late 2019. Earlier this year, after experiencing construction delays due to COVID-19, the new building was completed. It sits on the same site as the old station, though its footprint has been rearranged a bit. The garage that once sat in front of the social hall was demolished and a new one added adjacent to it. The social hall, meanwhile, was converted into a combination of office and flex space. Half of the building will still be used for meetings, training sessions, voting and other official business. However, the department is no longer planning on renting out the facility for private events. In total, the project cost just under $1 million. “Any new fire station you see anywhere will have cost well over a million and in some cases, several million,” says Saville. “It’s not the Taj Mahal but it provides us with what we need to function properly with the equipment and vehicle needs of today.” In a ceremonial display around Easter time, members moved all of their gear into the new building. They also honored Petrick by asking him to park the first vehicle in the new garage. Department members then informed Petrick that they intended to name the new building after him and to hang a plaque outside the station in his honor. Petrick, who was also present when the original department broke ground in 1972 and went on its very first call in 1974, says he was honored but felt those more directly involved in the planning phases deserved the credit. The new building provides the department with plenty of upgrades and updates, including a much larger garage that is now capable of housing its largest vehicles. Because of the additional ceiling height, members can now lift the trucks’ cabs to perform maintenance indoors rather than moving the trucks outside, Hamilton says. He says initial plans for the garage also called for an area in the rear for storage or possibly training. Later on, those plans were changed to accommodate an additional bay so that one of the department’s smaller trucks could get out quickly. The department also got a dedicated laundry room outfitted with three gear extractors, which are essentially large industrial washers. One of those washers was donated through Firehouse Subs and the other through FEMA, says Hamilton. The washers remove carcinogenic chemicals that collect on firefighters’ clothing. “This is a big important thing for us because firefighter cancer is a huge topic and has been,” says Hamilton. Grant money also paid for a Plymovent system that vents diesel exhaust from the trucks. Saville says that while that’s good for firefighters’ health, the fumes can, over time, also eat away at firefighters’ gear. To avoid any potential accidents, gear storage was also relocated into a separate room so firefighters don’t accidentally walk in front of a moving truck while getting dressed. A new sprinkler system was also installed throughout the structure. Though North Fayette’s department has never experienced a fire, others have. A number of years ago, the Groveton Fire Department caught fire as a result of an electrical issue. Saville says they decided to repurpose the department’s social hall after conducting an analysis that showed the department was New North Fayette VFD moves into new station dedicated to longest serving member STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY ABOVE: North Fayette VFD members pose for a picture after moving their gear into the new station for the first time. BELOW: The station is to be named after the department’s longest serving member, Ray Petrick. PHOTOS BY DAVE NOVAK 12 • Allegheny West Magazine • June/July 2021making very little - if any - money off its hall rentals. Instead, the department now has some much- needed office space that will help it keep up with its considerable clerical work. It also has two lounges and a small room with some weight equipment. Saville says those amenities and others were included in the event that the department should ever decide to hire full-time personnel. For the time being, Hamilton says he’s hoping all of those comforts will encourage volunteers to stick around and thereby cut down on response time. “We’re not waiting for a home response,” he says, referring to when volunteers are present at the station. “If we can get rigs on the road quickly, that’s the goal.” Another improvement that will help with response time is an air pressure system that helps prime the trucks’ brakes and suspension system. Without it, trucks need to run for awhile before leaving the station, Saville says. The new station also has an indoor hydrant so firefighters won’t have to fill the trucks outdoors in the middle of winter anymore. A number of other forward-thinking measures were also put in place, including room for a larger compressor that will eventually be needed to fill oxygen packs. All in all, he says lots of planning went into the project. While in the beginning there were many meetings with engineers and architects, later on the department also had to ensure that it wouldn’t need to replace an expensive piece of equipment during construction. As a result, the department replaced one vehicle before taking on the project. Saville also says that the project wouldn’t have been possible without the work of Hamilton and fellow VFD member Rob Toth, both of whom saw the project through to completion. He also credits member Roger Bombard with securing the loan for the project and lining up the financing, and the township for its ongoing support. “It’s very important for volunteer fire departments to have a good working relationship with their local elected officials and leaders, and we certainly have that here,” says Saville. Hamilton says the department is always looking for new members. Because the department’s operations are so varied, he says they could use just as much help from those who want to fight fires as those who want to do accounting and fundraising. “It’s not always just the firefighters,” he says. “It could be people who do administrative things. People who come in and do financial stuff or secretarial things.” As for Petrick, he currently serves an important role reviewing and updating the department’s fundraising mailing lists. He retired as a line officer in 2008 and received a proclamation from the Allegheny County Council for his longtime service to the department. Today, Petrick also advises younger firefighters who, like him, joined out of a sense of duty to their community. “I was always willing to try and help someone,” he says about why he originally joined. “Somebody is always in need.” Anyone interested in learning more about the North Fayette VFD or joining can visit www.northfayettevfd.org. Members enjoy a number of benefits, including paid training, college tuition credits, insurance coverage incentives and more. The North Fayette VFD’s new garage is large enough to fit the department’s biggest vehicles, including its ladder truck (top). Also located in the new garage is a laundry room with gear extractors (middle) and a locker room partitioned off from the garage (bottom). PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY June/July 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 13CAround Your Town Around Your Town Just like a lot of young football players, Scott Orndoff grew up dreaming of one day playing in the NFL. Unlike the majority of those young players, Orndoff actually made that dream become a reality. Following a standout college career as a tight end at the University of Pittsburgh, Orndoff signed as an undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017. An untimely hamstring injury, however, sent him home on injury waivers and Orndoff ended up bouncing around between a half dozen different practice squads in search of a roster spot over the next two years. Though he never did land that permanent position, Orndoff recently found another job that’s made him pretty happy. “Lucky for me, I ended up hitting the lottery and getting hired in Findlay,” says Orndoff, who joined the township’s police department at the start of this year. For a lot of players, the transition to an occupation outside of football isn’t easy, particularly for those who have reached the professional level. Orndoff, though, was already thinking about life after football when he was at Pitt and decided to major in criminal justice. For awhile, he considered a couple different career paths but by the time he was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, he knew exactly what he was going to do next. “I already had a plan,” he says. “I applied to the police academy in October of 2019 and a week later got a call from an agent to sign with the Philadelphia training squad. I told my wife, ‘Either way I’m done with football, either once I’m released or the end of the season.’” By that time, Orndoff had also spent a season with the Orlando Apollos in the Alliance of American Football league. In December of 2019, Orndoff ended up being released from Philadelphia. Just three weeks later, he was enrolled at the police academy. “There was no down time,” he says. “I went right into my next endeavor which I think was beneficial to me.” Orndoff says he was prepared to take a position with any number of departments in the Pittsburgh area. That he ended up being hired in Findlay was fortuitous, however, since Orndoff’s wife, Kristen, teaches at McKee Elementary School. The couple were thus able to make both their home and careers right in the West Allegheny community. Kristen says that while it was tough seeing her husband walk away from something he’d always enjoyed, she knew that it was the right move. “Mentally and physically it was best for him to transition into his new career and we could not be more excited,” she says. “I was wrapping up my first year as a full-time teacher here at West Allegheny, and we were definitely ready to have him back home, and begin our ‘forever’ careers.” Orndoff says that between all of his travel and time with different teams, he never got to know much about Findlay until he was hired by the department. He says he started taking drives around the township just to get to know it. “I never knew anything about it,” he says. “But I really like it here and I’m really thankful that I got the job I did.” He says he’s also been impressed with the department. “It’s a small department but they do everything to a really high standard,” he says. “I’ve seen how other departments operate and [Findlay is] leaps and bounds above. Their standards are so much higher than other places.” While Orndoff would have relished a roster spot on an NFL team, he says he was ready to move on after the constant travel and ups and downs that a free agent endures while fighting for a roster spot. “It’s a crazy life,” he says. “Unless you’re around someone who has been through it, you don’t know how stressful it can be. It’s so emotionally exhausting. You get a call and fly out somewhere thinking you could get signed only to find out they weren’t really interested, they just wanted to get a look at you. Eventually, you just get tired of it.” By that same token, he says he wouldn’t do anything different. “Looking back on it, I have no regrets about anything,” he says. “When I was a kid, my dream was to play in the NFL and I got to play with all these different teams.” Among the people he met who left the biggest impression on him was Jonathan Hayes, who was the tight ends coach in Cincinnati when Orndoff signed with the Bengals. “It’s always nice when you have a coach who played at the highest level for a long time,” he says. “With Coach Hayes, it wasn’t a, ‘I’m your boss and you have to do something the way I tell you.’ It would be more of a dialogue and how to get the job done. In the game, players have instincts and he was always open to new ideas on how to attack certain things.” At Pitt, Orndoff was an all-academic ACC player for three of his four years. He was originally recruited by Paul Chryst out of Seton LaSalle High School after helping the football team make a string of playoff appearances. After Chryst left Pitt to take Scott Orndoff’s path from NFL to Findlay PD STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY Scott Orndoff catches a touchdown pass against Clemson (above) and a pass against Penn State (below) during the Panthers’ 2016-2017 season. Pitt won both games. PHOTOS COURTESY PITT ATHLETICS Scott Orndoff PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY 14 • Allegheny West Magazine • June/July 2021the head coaching job at Wisconsin University, Orndoff played under Pitt’s current head coach, Pat Narduzzi, throughout his junior and senior years. Two of Orndoff’s biggest games ended up coming in his senior year. The one that stands out to him the most now is when Pitt upset second-ranked Clemson in what could still be considered one of the program’s biggest wins since joining the ACC. In that game, Orndoff grabbed two critical touchdown passes, including a 55-yard pass from Nathan Peterman, to secure the huge upset win on the road. Clemson would go on to win the national championship, with that loss being their only one on the season. “The offense was playing well and we figured we could put points on them but we didn’t know if we could beat them,” recalls Orndoff. “We played against Deshaun Watson in that game. It all just kind of came together and we found a way to win. That game is the one that will always stand out to me.” The other game that’s most memorable to Orndoff is when Pitt defeated Penn State that same season. That game, which Pitt won, was the first in a revival of the old rivalry. Orndoff says that while knocking off Penn State was pretty sweet, what stands out to him most was the packed parking lot of tailgaters and a raucous Heinz Field, which was usually pretty muted on game days. “I remember pulling into the parking lot and thinking, ‘Whoah, so this is what a tailgate looks like,’” he recalls. Pitt also wrapped up that season with a bid to play in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Orndoff says that, too, was a great experience, but that the memory of dropping a potential game-tying touchdown pass still stings a bit. Findlay Township police chief John Hart says that Orndoff isn’t the first officer in the department who started their career in another profession. However, he says Orndoff is the first professional athlete he knows of to work there. He says he wasn’t sure what to expect from Orndoff when he called him in for an interview, but he was happy to encounter a mature and humble young officer ready to jump into the position. “I’m excited to have him,” says Hart. “He’s a great employee and just a great young man.” June/July 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 15CAround Your Town Around Your Town An old strip mine isn’t exactly the kind of place one would think people would flock to in order to enjoy world-class gardens and plant life. Yet just outside of Oakdale, one such regional attraction built on a reclaimed strip mine called the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden has been drawing visitors for the past six years. The PBG sits on 60 acres of land that was once surface mined for coal, but has been reclaimed and converted into a sprawling park, complete with a lotus pond, a meadow and a multitude of gardens. The venue has also played host to numerous events over the years, including weddings that it hosts out of a converted barn on garden property called the Davidson Event Center. On April 1, the PBG unveiled one of its most ambitious projects to date: a 7,500 square-foot, $10.5 million welcome center. The modern building sits back a bit from Pinkerton Run Road, on a slope at the edge of the tree line not far from the Davidson Event Center. Walking inside, visitors get a view through story-high windows of the tree canopy just outside. When visitors come to the PBG, they will now enter through the building, where there is a welcome desk, a gift shop and a new café called the Canopy Café. The dining area features both indoor and outdoor tables, with about 100 seats in total. The café is open for lunch on days the PBG is open and dinner hours could be coming in the future. “It really helps us provide an improved visitor experience,” says Keith Kaiser, executive director of the PBG, about the welcome center. “It lets us see who is there and help them through their visit and see them on their way out.” An equally important yet less grand feature that also opened alongside the welcome center is a new parking lot that the PBG has cleverly called its auto garden. The lot expands parking at the garden by 63 new spaces, more than doubling its old capacity. Before, parking was limited to about 54 cars, says Kaiser, which would overflow during busy events. The new welcome center also features a gathering area called the Zappala Woodland Room with seating and ample wall space for rotating art exhibits. Currently, the PBG is showing work by Pittsburgh-based artist Atticus Adams. The pieces consist of screens that have been formed and painted to resemble large hydrangea petals. Also inside the welcome center is a large meeting room that can be partitioned off into two smaller rooms. The room spills out onto an enclosed outdoor patio with a water feature. Kaiser says that the garden is utilizing the rooms for its own educational programming and is leasing them out for meetings and corporate events. Both sides of the room are equipped with digital projectors and magnetic walls that are marker-friendly. Like many organizations and businesses, Kaiser says the PBG took a financial hit during COVID-19, losing upwards of 40% of its event revenue. However, he says that the garden also saw a 44% uptick in admissions in 2020, as people were looking for safe things to do close to home. Just as the PBG was seeing that surge in new visitors, it opened its new sensory garden and some children’s play installations that are located on the slope above the welcome center. “The timing couldn’t have been any better,” Kaiser says about those areas opening. “That was exactly when people wanted to get outside.” The fact that the PBG is also an outdoor events venue has helped it rebound following COVID-19. Currently, Kaiser says the garden has about 80 weddings planned for this year. Now that the PBG’s welcome desk has moved from its old location out of the Davidson Event Center, wedding parties will be able to utilize the entire building. Kaiser says the downstairs, where the welcome center was formerly located, will now be utilized as a groom suite. Coming up, the PBG is planning to host an outdoor installation exhibit in October by Toronto-based landscape designer Gary Smith near its lotus pond area. Kaiser says the interactive piece, which is titled “Carbon Cycle and Earth Art Exhibit,” is inspired by the history of mining on the PBG site. In the future, Kaiser says the PBG is looking forward to planning some additional projects, though nothing quite as large-scale as the welcome center. One area he says they are eyeing is the lotus pond, which could see some significant improvements in the coming years. Though he wouldn’t go into detail, he says about the pond that, “It’s really in its infancy. There’s a future there that’s going to be expanded.” For more about the PBG, including ticketing and information, visit pittsburghbotanicgarden.org. The garden also lists regular kids’ programs, gardening seminars, and health and wellness programs online. Some upcoming programs are listed on page 43. Hours through Oct. 31 are Tuesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday- Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., and Friday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The Canopy Café is currently open on the same days as the garden, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with a special lunch menu served 11 a.m.-2 p.m. PBG opens new welcome center STORY AND PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY Visitors to the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden will now enter through its new welcome center. Just inside the center is the Zappala Woodland Room (top two photos) and a new cafe (bottom photo). 16 • Allegheny West Magazine • June/July 2021CAround Your Town Around Your Town In 2026, the U.S. will celebrate its semiquincentennial, or 250-year anniversary since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. In honor of that milestone, Congress passed the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission Act in 2016. That legislation established a commission tasked with organizing the commemoration and festivities in the lead-up to the big celebration. It also identified four historically significant cities: Boston, Charleston, New York City and Philadelphia. Two years later, in 2018, Pennsylvania established its own commission called America250PA. Like the federal legislation, this act also established its own commission. This one, though, was tasked with engaging people across the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since then, the commission has added representative members from across the state and been working to engage local organizations, legislators and others in the commemorative effort. It currently has the support of every living past governor of Pennsylvania and Gov. Tom Wolf. Commissioners from this area include Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center; Kiya Tomlin, local entrepreneur and wife of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin; Jim DePoe of IBEW Local 29; and Judge Brandon Neuman. In late April, commission members met in the area and visited places such as the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, the University of Pittsburgh Oakland campus and others. Cassandra Coleman, executive director of America250PA, says the group has been working with those organizations and others to devise ways to honor the places, people, industries and historic events that have played a significant role in shaping the area. In the process, America250PA intends to share those achievements with the rest of the state by driving visitors to this region and others. “We want to make sure we’re listening and including every Pennsylvanian,” says Coleman. “We want to know what’s important in their communities, whether it was 50 years ago or five years ago. We want to make sense of what makes Pennsylvania proud. So we’re really excited to learn what Pennsylvanians want to see from this celebration.” The commission is also adding a number of interactive components to the effort. Coleman says they’re exploring ways to develop an interactive digital map, possibly through a mobile app. They’ve also partnered with Pennsylvania health systems to market a physical component, one where individuals will be encouraged to log either 250 miles by foot or 2,500 miles by bike. For instance, a visit to the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, the Whiskey Rebellion Trail or an area park could involve a hike that would count toward the challenge. “The road to 2026 is a way for America250PA to help create a healthier Pennsylvania by 2026,” she says. Coleman says that the commission is also working with the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia to expand their curriculum and to bring that curriculum to a Pittsburgh-area school this fall. As well, America250PA is planning to place bells as markers at significant locations around the state. Cabot Oil and Gas is sponsoring the first of a handful of semiquincentennial bronze bells that will be placed at seven locations. One temporary fiberglass bell will also be placed in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties closer to July 4, 2026. Coleman likens the fiberglass bells to similar sculptural efforts that have taken place at various cities over the years, such as the Cows of Chicago and Hearts of Seattle. The commission is currently fielding design ideas from Pennsylvania artists to make each of the bells unique. Details are available at their website under the “Celebrate” tab. The url is listed at the end of this article. George Stark, director of outreach for Cabot Oil and Gas, says that the idea behind the effort isn’t just a one-day or one- week celebration, but a multi-year effort that will give Pennsylvanians an opportunity to explore and learn about their state. “Everyone has to realize you don’t celebrate it then,” says Stark, referring to July 4, 2026. “It’s everything you do leading up to it.” Watch for updates regarding America250PA in future editions of Allegheny West Magazine. For more about America250PA, visit www.america250pa. org. America250PA coming to area STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY 18 • Allegheny West Magazine • June/July 2021 June/July 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 19Next >