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Vance Ross: A Lifetime of Service

  Three little pins that were found tucked inside a little cardboard box represent my Grandfather Vance Ross’ lifetime of service. The first is his Deacon Emeritus pin presented to him for years of dedication to the Clarksville Christian Church in Clarksville, PA. He did everything at the church from making sure the pipes didn’t freeze, filling the baptismal pool, to serving communion. The middle pin honors 40 years of commitment to the United Mine Workers of America, specifically Local 668 of Fredericktown, PA. He was a big union man who went over each contract with a fine-tooth comb. Just the thought of crossing a picket line was, in his opinion, a cardinal sin. And the third, a tie tack, recognizing over 40 years of service to Republic Steel, where he worked as a coal miner and later as an electrician. He was on-call at all times, often leaving the dinner table to drive to the shaft so he could fix the fan or get the elevator running. He never complained, he just put on his hat and
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Happy New Year: I’m all in for 2024

  I said I’d never do this again. Then I changed my mind! While finishing my second embroidery journal I thought of the free time I would have once I was done. I dreamed of all of the other things to do: some slow stitch Christmas ornaments, family tree research, reading some books, relaxing. My 2023 embroidery journal.  Then I saw all of the blank canvasses posted on my Facebook embroidery groups - including Stitching A Round. That’s when I felt like I was missing out and I started planning a 2024 journal. It also dawned on me that I will turn 60 in November and it feels like that’s worth commemorating.  My sister Morgan shared the Stitching A Round group with me in October of 2021 and I knew immediately, without hesitation, that I wanted to give it a try. I rushed out to buy supplies and started the next day. I had embroidered a bit in the past and done some cross-stitching, but I literally had no idea what I was doing. (I used a permanent pen at the beginning and made a mistake, so
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Our Historical Society's 15 Minutes of Fame! Bentleyville Historical Society looking for assistance with mysterious graveyard

Bentleyville Mayor Tim Jansante, Bentleyville Area Historical Society Vice President Randi Marodi & President Connie Gettings Bentleyville has roots that go all the way back to 1777 when founder Sheshbazzar Bentley purchased 1,077 acres on Pigeon Creek to build a mill. To start a village, Bentley rented, in 1790, 26 lots near the mill, located where Fox’s Pizza stands today. But it wasn’t until 1816 that his son, also named Sheshbazzar, established a village known initially as Bentleysville (sic). Since then, numerous generations of residents have come and gone, often leaving gaps in the historical record and questions that continue to baffle the local historical society. One such question concerns a small plot of land along Main Street in the middle of town that many current residents know little about. It’s a small plot of land currently confounding the Bentleyville Area Historical Society members, including that of the town’s mayor, Tim Jansante. The issue came to light when, in
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The Elephant Barn in Scenery Hill, PA (The Real Story!)

This barn adorned with a painting of an elephant sits along Route 40 between Scenery Hill and Washington and I pass it every day on my way to work. I have never stopped to take a photo of it, never asked anyone about it, or ever heard anyone discuss it.    But that doesn’t mean I haven’t wondered about it as I whizzed past.  Why an elephant? Usually, the barns around here have a “Mail Pouch” ad emblazoned on the side, but not an elephant.  Recently, I was looking in a book Westward of ye Laurall Hill when I stumbled upon a picture of the barn. The author Helen Vogt drew the photo in the book,  w hich  focuses on Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties during the period of 1750-1850.   There it was on page 327, in a chapter titled “Horse Racing - Red Fox Chasers - Picture Barns - Horses.” She maintains it was painted for the Triangle Oil Company, ca. 1940. “Another weathered grey barn at the side of the National Road west of Scenery Hill has the rather startling painting of an elephant
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How can we make this blog more interesting? Guest Bloggers!

Things should get interesting now! I just sent out invitations asking my daughters Abby and Kate, and sisters Kelly, Morgan, and Taylor to be guest bloggers. I'll add some photos and bios to this post  soon!
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Would you like some Nescafe’ with your cake?

  I love photos like this - a little slice of life, a random moment frozen in time. I’m not sure why it was taken, but the people sitting around my grandmother’s Formica table are very familiar to me: my aunt Janet Ross, Jerry Kowalczyk, my grandmother Ruth Ross, my grandfather Vance Ross, me, my uncle Ken Ross, and my grandmother’s friend Ada Shumaker. It  looks like we are celebrating something because there is a cake on the table, along with some Nescafe’ Instant Coffee, and an empty punch bowl. The photo says February 1972, but it looks like there is a Christmas wreath in the window. Maybe it was Janet’s birthday, which is at the end of December, or New Years Eve. I’m thinking the photo was taken in 1971 and the film was developed in February of 1972. This photo leaves me with so many questions. Like, why did Nana have summery paper plates on the table if it was winter? Why didn’t she make a real pot of coffee or was instant coffee all the rage? Did we drink the punch or was she ge
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The Market Street Quilts

The Duvet Cover The Double Wedding Ring These quilts from Clarksville, Pa. have been tucked in with my belongings for about 35 years. One was given to me by my grandmother Ruth Brown Ross, who lived on Market Street, while the other was purchased at the estate sale of her neighbor Jean Fowler. Unfortunately, I’m not 100% sure which quilt is which.  When my grandmother gave me one of these quilts she told me that it belonged to my great grandmother Lelia Sanders Ross. At the time, I only had this one quilt, so I didn’t mark it. So, now I’m hoping Jean’s son Gerald Fowler will be able to tell me if his mother’s quilt is the double wedding ring quilt (a design that was popular in the 1920s) or the duvet cover with buttons. I’m thinking the duvet cover is from the Ross family, but I can’t be sure. Maybe one of my Ross cousins, Lelia’s other great grandchildren, can help clear this up.  Either way, these quilts are both beautiful works of art made by talented women with a connection to my h
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