Lake Erie Lifestyle Non-Profit Edition by ErieTimesNews

AUGUST 2019

Erie Gives Day HAS GLOBAL REACH

PLUS: ESCAPE TO A FREE MUSEUM, THE ERIE CANAL AND MORE

2 | LAKE ERIE LIFESTYLE

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AUGUST 2019

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contents

August ’19 VOL. 12 ISSUE 10

Erie Gives Day is Aug. 13 at the Erie Community Foundation. [SHUTTERSTOCK.COM]

bon appétit

giving

TOMATO TIME Take our word for this recipe

PRESIDENTIAL ALES IN WESTFIELD Abraham Lincoln gets a brew

ERIE GIVES How can you participate

ERIE GIVES NONPROFIT LIST More than 300 nonproﬁts will be involved

arts & entertainment 18

BUTLER INSTITUTE WORTH THE TRIP Free admission in Youngstown, Ohio

escapes 24

FLOAT ALONG THE ERIE CANAL

in every issue 10

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

LAST LOOK

Drive a boat, take a cruise

MORE THAN FISH National Aquarium is something to see

giving

on the cover AUGU

WHAT GIVES? Successful ideas bloom in fundraisers

FOR THE FUN OF IT Nontraditional fundraisers

VOLUNTEERS GO SOCIAL Fire department ﬁnds new funding stream

4 | LAKE ERIE LIFESTYLE

Luther Manus, left, and wife Connie Manus, right, join Mike Batchelor, Erie Community Foundation president, to discuss Erie Gives Day. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Erie G G L O B ives D ay AL R

HAS PLU

S: E SC

APE

A FR E

E M U

SEU

EACH

M, T HE

ERI

E CA N

AL A ND

ST 20 19

AUGUST 2019

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from the editor

Time for lazy summer days

that was at the top of my t all started in June bucket list. Just sitting when I wanted a new there and enjoying the wreath for the front door sun, the sounds of nature because the old one looked and all the geraniums pretty tired. and greenery we planted. We went to the usual They are thriving this stores, and what did I find year. but Halloween wreaths. Did Life is good. It’s really I mention it was June? a treat to slow down and That was followed up by Pam and Kim Parker honestly do nothing but email notices that it was watch the plants grow. time to plan stories for our And then I glance up at holiday issues. I thought that door and realize that that was ridiculous until I tired wreath just might make it through watched a few Christmas movies on one another year. Or I’ll toss it and put the of those Hallmark networks. witch up early and go watch a Christmas The realization that it’s almost August movie. as you’re reading this is weighing heavily Enjoy this month’s issue. on me — summer is disappearing and fast. That made me a little panicky, and then my friend Lindsey Poisson, who left the Erie Times-News a few months ago for Michigan, suggested I write about my bucket list for the rest of the summer. That sent me into overdrive on what to do first, and it was stressful. Pam Parker Then, my husband and I sat on the Editor patio with glasses of wine, and I decided

6 | LAKE ERIE LIFESTYLE

AUGUST 2019

EDITOR Pam Parker pam.parker@timesnews.com CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER/WEB DESIGN Magazine Design by Center for News & Design ———— Web design Dave Super PHOTOGRAPHERS Jack Hanrahan, Christopher Millette, Greg Wohlford ADVERTISING Bill Dietz, sales development manager bdietzjr@timesnews.com 814-870-1630 CONTACT US 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534 GoErie.com/lifestyle/lake-erie-lifestyle All content, including the design, art, photos and editorial content © 2019, Erie Times-News. No portion of this magazine may be copied or reprinted without the express written permission of the publisher.

AUGUST 2019

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contributors

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” — WINSTON S. CHURCHILL

Dick Davis takes a tour of the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, where admission is free and has been since its founding in 1919. Davis is a veteran writer with a passion for travel and food. page 18

Trill Dreistadt participates in some great fundraisers that are more fun than a traditional dance or run. She is a retired journalism teacher who is now a freelance writer and editor. page 38

Jennie Geisler shares a delicious salad recipe that makes the most of fresh tomatoes available right now. She is the resident foodie at the Erie Times-News and has shared recipes she makes at home for more than 16 years. page 11

JoLayne Green interviews fundraising professionals and ﬁnds out what it takes to pull together a successful event. She is a freelance writer and former reporter living in Meadville with her family. page 34

Halle Kostansek takes a tour of the National Aquarium in Baltimore and tells readers what to look for before you go and what to do while you are there. Kostansek is a communications specialist at WQLN Public Media. page 30

8 | LAKE ERIE LIFESTYLE

Steve Orbanek discovers a brewery that capitalizes on some history in Westﬁeld, New York. He also visits a volunteer ﬁre department in Edinboro that started its own social club. Orbanek is a marketing communications specialist at Penn State Behrend. page 12, 44

Pam Parker checks in on a former subject of one of the Lake Erie LifeStyle features and she interviews some interesting donors for Erie Gives. She is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News. page 10, 48

Stacey Wittig takes a tour of the Erie Canal from a canal boat and shares her six-day visit with readers. Wittig is a travel writer who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. page 24

Jack Hanrahan photographs a driver of one of the soapbox derby vehicles ready to roll down State Street in June. He is a photojournalist with the Erie Times-News. page 82

COMING IN SEPTEMBER It’s home, garden and wine and beer month. Find out what’s trending in indoor and outdoor living and beer and wine in the Lake Erie region.

AUGUST 2019

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Where are they now ... brought to you by Painted Finch Gallery

Millcreek Brewing was a hot spot for beer lovers Story by Pam Parker

Millcreek Brewing Co. opened its doors in November 2015 and it had done a remarkable job of transforming the former Sportsmen’s Athletic Club, 4102 W. Lake Road, into a brewpub made to look like a German bierhaus. In the January 2016 issue of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Steve Orbanek wrote about how the owners had 30 taps, and six were its own beer with names like Weiss Guy, the Belgianator, Dunkel Side of the Moon, Yinz MupBeer and Three Sheets to the Wind, to name a few. The brewery owners at the time included Tom Morris, Frank Kneidinger and Craig Sheehan. Morris now owns Black Monk Brewery, located directly behind Bierhaus International, 3723 W. 12th St. In March of this year, Rob Lowther, general manager and one of the owners of Erie Brewing, said his company had purchased both the building and the assets of Millcreek Brewing. It was a perfect deal because Erie Brewing, 6008 Knowledge Parkway, had been searching for a westside location. The former Millcreek Brewing was closed for renovations in March but should be reopening soon as Erie Brewing’s newest location. LEL

10 | L A K E E R I E L I F E S T Y L E

ABOVE: The main hall at the former Millcreek Brewing Co. was designed to look like a bierhaus. The former brewery is now owned by Erie Brewing Co. [FILE PHOTO GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

LEFT: A glass of “Weiss Guy” is poured at the former Millcreek Brewing Co. in Millcreek Township. The former brewery is now owned by Erie Brewing Co. [FILE PHOTO GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

bon appétit

Viral tomato salad

recipe stands test of time

A salad of avacado, cucumber, onion and tomato is simply addictive. [FILE PHOTO/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Story by Jennie Geisler

n a world where everything that seems awesome today is eclipsed by something that seems even more awesome tomorrow, it's good to look back once in a while. Not everything that "went viral" in 2016 is dead and gone (but please — don't bring back the ice bucket challenge). Seriously, a recipe that we swooned over that summer can be just as delicious today. As a product of this era, I had nearly forgotten about this amazing salad until I went looking for tomato recipes for this column, and a shadow from long ago pulled a lever and it dawned on me. My eyes widened and my mouth watered. My husband and I had sworn our undying love for this simple, lettuce-free concoction I found on Facebook — one of those time-lapse videos designed to show off just how simple a dish is to throw together. Well, some of them are and some of them aren't, but this one definitely is that simple and tasty, and it's worth every moment you spend chopping. It's the perfect time of year to make this, as we're coming into locally grown tomato season. It shows off delicious homegrown tomatoes, but also significantly elevates the trucked-in varieties. I made it in June this year with grocery store romas and it was every bit as good as I remembered. LEL

That crazy good salad from that video that went viral way back in 2016 Serves 4 • • • • • • • • • •

1 pound Roma tomatoes (4 or 5) chopped 1 English cucumber, sliced ½ medium red onion, sliced 2 avocados, diced ¼ cup (½ bunch) cilantro, chopped 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or sunﬂower oil Juice of 1 medium lemon (about 2 tablespoons) 1 teaspoon sea salt or ¾ teaspoon table salt ¹⁄8 teaspoon black pepper Place tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, avocado and cilantro into a large salad bowl. • Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine. • Just before serving toss with salt and pepper.

— Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com

AUGUST 2019

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bon appĂŠtit

WESTFIELD BREWERY credits Lincoln for its name 12 | L A K E E R I E L I F E S T Y L E

bon appétit

A statue, erected in 1999 in Westﬁeld, N.Y., in Lincoln-Bedell Statue Park depicts Grace Bedell, from Westﬁeld, who suggested that if Abraham Lincoln would grow a beard her brothers would vote for him and he would look better. The statue started an idea for a new brewery. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Story by Steve Orbanek

f you’re familiar with Westfield, New York, you’re likely familiar with Grace Bedell. As the story goes, Bedell was the reason that President Abraham Lincoln decided to grow a beard. In 1860, while living in Westfield, Bedell wrote to Lincoln, noting that for him to win the presidential election, he should grow a beard. Lincoln took the advice to heart and later visited Westfield, where he met Bedell in person.

AUGUST 2019

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bon appétit

A statue that commemorates the meeting sits in the center of the town. The story has now been further immortalized with the opening of Grace and Abe’s, a new restaurant and brewery located at 14 N. Portage St. in Westfield. “We want this to be a place that really plays off of Westfield’s heritage,” said owner Kevin Daughrity. “When I approached Westfield about the idea two years ago, I reassured them that this was a place where everybody is welcome. It’s a place where you and your wife can go out. If some friends after work want to come in, just to relax and have some appetizers, it’s perfect for that as well. If you come in with the family, you’re going to feel perfectly at home here, too.” The brewery and restaurant, which opened Memorial Day weekend, sits inside a brick building and offers inviting, modern aesthetics on the inside. Square cherry-wood tables are positioned throughout. The brewery’s equipment is right on display for patrons to view as they enjoy a wood-fired pizza with a cold craft beer. That’s part of the reason that Daughrity, who also owns 7 Sins Brewery and Quincy Cellars, wanted to open Grace and Abe’s. “With how we were doing it at 7 Sins, the customer really couldn’t see the equipment, and they could not see what we were doing,” Daughrity said. “So we said, ‘Let’s make this into a full brewhouse experience and expose all of the equipment,’ and I’m naturally a foodie, so I thought ‘Let’s pair the food and beer to make an even better experience.’” Previously, the beer for 7 Sins Brewery was brewed at Quincy Cellars and sold across the street at Sensory Winery. While beer will still be available at Sensory, 7 Sins’ entire brewing operation has now been relocated to Grace and Abe’s. But Grace and Abe’s will be brewing more than just 7 Sins’ beer. As previously noted, Grace and Abe’s

14 | L A K E E R I E L I F E S T Y L E

7 Sins’ entire brewing operation has now been relocated to Grace and Abe’s. Between the 7 Sins beers and the new Abe’s Ales line of beers, Grace and Abe’s should have as many as 20 beers on tap at any given time. [PHOTOS BY STEVE ORBANEK/CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS]

All ages are welcome at the new Grace and Abe’s restaurant and brewery in Westﬁeld.

Grace and Abe’s, which opened Memorial Day weekend, pays homage to Westﬁeld’s heritage. The restaurant and brewery are named for former Westﬁeld resident Grace Bedell, who encouraged Abraham Lincoln to grow a beard in 1860.

bon appétit IF YOU GO Grace and Abe’s • 14 N. Portage St., Westﬁeld, N.Y. • 716-232-4056 • facebook.com/ga.westﬁeldny/ • https://graceandabes.com • Hours: Mondays through Wednesdays: 3 to 9 p.m.; Thursdays through Sundays: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

BEER AND WINE EVENTS FOR AUGUST Yappy Hours

Grace and Abe’s, in Westﬁeld, N.Y., is famous for its wood-ﬁred pizza.

The Brewerie at Union Station • 123 W. 14th St., Erie • Fridays, Aug. 2, Aug. 9 and Aug. 23, 5 to 8 p.m. Bring your favorite furry friend to The Brewerie at Union Station as part of their summer Yappy Hour series. Dog-friendly happy hours are held in the trackside beer garden. A portion of the proceeds from the Aug. 2 event will benefit NWPA K9 SAR, a portion of the Aug. 9 event will benefit Therapy Dogs United, and a portion of the proceeds from the Aug. 23 event will benefit Hope for Erie Animal Wellness.

Music in the Vineyards Concert Series plans to focus heavily on history, and so will the restaurant’s new line of beers: Abe’s Ales. “We’re just coming up with a brand-new label, and the premise behind it is that we’re doing everything pre-prohibition as best as we can,” Daughrity said. “We’ve been doing our research on the history of different beer styles and trying to find the same grains and same hops used back then.” So far, Grace and Abe’s had debuted three beers as part of Abe’s Ales: the 3XP (a pre-prohibition porter), a Kentucky ale and a California Gold Rush ale. Eventually, they will have a line of six different Abe’s Ales and, between that and the 7 Sins offerings, Grace and Abe’s should have as many as 20 different beers, brewed right in house, on tap. Grace and Abe’s is also developing a craft soda line for Grace. While the restaurant and brewery is still in its infancy, the response thus far has been strong. “It’s been huge, and that’s a tribute to this town and the support we’re getting in the entire region,” Daughrity said. “We have been nonstop swamped, and we just got our liquor license this week, so this was before we even had a liquor license. Every day, we are surpassing the numbers I am hoping for, and it’s just been great.” LEL

Penn Shore Winery & Vineyards • 10225 East Lake Road, North East • Saturdays in August, 5 to 9 p.m. Penn Shore Winery & Vineyards will host its summer Music in the Vineyards concert series through August. The concerts are free, and chef Dameon DeLoatch will be on site each night, preparing special menu items in their new kitchen. The schedule is as follows: Aug. 3: The Rooftop Project Band Aug. 10: The Goats Aug. 17: The Screaming Ducks Aug. 24: Kevin Howard Aug. 31: Duke Sherman Blues Band

Titusville Beer Festival Orr’s Brewing Co. • 109 S. Franklin St., Titusville • Saturday, Aug. 10, 1 to 4 p.m. or 5 to 8 p.m. Enjoy samplings from several area local breweries at the annual Titusville Beer Festival. Tickets cost $40 per person and can be purchased at Orr’s Brewing Co. or at the Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Sunday Morning Vineyard Walks Johnson Estate Winery • 8419 W. Main Road (Route 20), Westﬁeld, N.Y. • Sundays, Aug. 4 and Aug. 18, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Enjoy a 2-mile morning walk in the gardens and vineyards with Fred Johnson, owner of Johnson Estate Winery, followed by a brief winery tour and wine pairings in the tasting room. $10. Tickets can be purchased at www.johnsonwinery.com.

Dine in the Vines Liberty Vineyards & Winery • 2861 Route 20, Sheridan, N.Y. • Saturday, Aug. 24, 6:30 p.m. Join Liberty Vineyards & Winery for its annual prime rib dinner in the vineyards. Visit www.libertywinery.com for ticket information.

AUGUST 2019

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arts & entertainment

Free museum celebrates 100th birthday 18 | L A K E E R I E L I F E S T Y L E

arts & entertainment

Story by Dick Davis

alking through the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, is like being immersed in an illustrated history of America. Start at its 18th-century and 19th-century display near the institute’s main entrance, turn left to its Early 19th Century Gallery, proceed to its Mid to Late 19th Century Gallery, then to its Impressionism, Early 20th Century and other galleries and floors in a time-period layout. You’ll see paintings and other artworks of cowboys, Native Americans, the Wild West, the Colonial Era, World War II, 21st-century video, computer, electronic and modern art.

Wood carvings of vintage carousel horses are on display in the Americana galleries at the Butler Institute of American Art. Many consider the golden age of the carousel to be early 20th-century America. [DICK DAVIS/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

LEFT: “Cantabile,” a 2003 piece by Stephen Knapp, features light, glass and stainless steel. It is from the New Media Collection on view in the Bermant Gallery in The Butler’s Beecher Center. [THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART]

“Minor League,” by Clyde Singer, 1946, was a gift of the Friends of American Art in 1975. The work depicts a baseball game at Idora Park, in Youngstown, Ohio, featuring the Youngstown Gremlins, a minor league professional baseball team. Singer captures that moment in a game when success or failure comes down to a solitary swing of the bat. [THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART]

AUGUST 2019

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arts & entertainment

A recent visit to a display of new media in the institute’s Beecher Center so impressed a local fourth-grade girl that she wanted to stay overnight and live in the institute. The student was among 125,000 visitors last year to the site known in the art world simply as “The Butler.” Works covering four centuries in The Butler’s marbled halls and ornate galleries include famous American artists such as Erie’s own Richard Anuszkiewicz as well as Mary Cassatt, Audrey Flack, Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, Alfred Leslie, Georgia O’Keefe, Jackson Pollock, Frederic Remington, Norman Rockwell, John Singer Sargent, Clyde Singer, Andy Warhol and Grant Woods, to name only a few. Youngstown-area industrialist Joseph G. Butler Jr. was collecting American art a century ago while his friends were traveling the world and collecting European art. Butler founded the institute in 1919 as the first in the world to house exclusively American art. As inscribed above the institute’s front door, “pro bono publico” (for the public good), admission to The Butler is always free. The original institute building is an architectural masterpiece. Designed in the Italian Renaissance style by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “When one considers what (Joseph) Butler collected — contemporary paintings created by his contemporaries — that is a clear indication he would appreciate the fact that we are also collecting the art of our time as well,” said Louis Zona, executive director and chief curator. “I would certainly like to think that he would be pleased that we continue to collect not only historic paintings but new media as well.” Executive director since 1981, Zona graduated from Youngstown State University in 1966, earned a master’s degree in arts education from the University of Pittsburgh and a Doctor of Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined the Youngstown State faculty in 1971, was elected to chair its art department in 1978, and received two Distinguished Professor Awards along with the 1990 Governor’s Award for the Arts. The Butler trustees named the Zona Auditorium for him in 2001. “I am proud of a number of things,” Zona said, “including several additions to the facility, air conditioning the buildings, installing a

20 | L A K E E R I E L I F E S T Y L E

This is a portrait of Joseph G. Butler Jr., who founded the Butler Institute of American Art in 1919 and wanted all of his collections to be free for all patrons to see. [DICK DAVIS/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

“Monstrosity” is a 2017 piece by John Mellencamp. Yes, it is THAT John Mellencamp. The mixed media on plywood assemblage was a gift from the artist. The Butler in 2018 hosted an exhibition of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician’s 40 large-scale oil portraits and mixed-media pieces on issues of the working class. [DICK DAVIS/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

arts & entertainment

A Century of Fashion by Pete Ballard in 2016 is an exhibition of historically accurate women’s fashion costumes modeled on speciﬁc period fashions and reproduced from fashion plates of the era brought to life on Ballard’s dolls sculpted of papier mache. The collection starts with fashions from the 1790s and continues through the 1800s. [DICK DAVIS/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

“Bisected Red Velvet,” by Richard Anuszkiewiez, 1977. Erie native Anuszkiewiez is known as America’s premier op-art artist. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Cafaro, 1983. [THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART]

state of the art security system, adding about 20,000 additional artworks to the collection, acquiring the church next door as an education center, then connecting the church acquisition with a glass bridge, and adding branch facilities in Warren, Ohio, and Salem, Ohio.” Zona published scholarly catalogues, “Master Paintings from the Butler Institute of American Art,” followed by “Masterpieces from The Butler,” and led the accreditation process from The American Association of Museums. Erie native Anuszkiewicz’s connection to The Butler dates back more than half a century. He is considered a living legend in the art world. The renowned optical painter was born in Erie in 1930, trained under Joseph Plavcan and graduated from Erie Technical High School. Anuszkiewicz next studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Yale University School of Arts and Architecture. “Anuszkiewicz is America’s greatest and most celebrated optical painter,” Zona said. “He had his first one-man exhibition at The Butler in the 1950s. We’re proud of this fact and pleased that the artist was born in Erie and has this Butler tie.” Throughout the institute, numerous posters read, “Touch with your eyes, not your hands,” reinforcing Zona’s concern for security. “We cannot afford to have a guard in every gallery,” he said. “But the whole question of museum security was raised when I saw that a college-aged fellow took a small painting off of the wall and began discussing the work to impress his girlfriend. It became clear that we were going to need a system that employed technology.” Zona and staff contacted Accuity, a company that designed software to protect Elvis’ jacket at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Butler became the first art museum to use the Accuity system. The facility’s Beecher Center, a $4.2 million, three-story, 28,000-square-foot addition to the building’s south side in 2000, is another of the projects Zona mentioned. “The Beecher Center is all about tomorrow,” he said. “The Butler is, of course, known for its collection of historic paintings spanning three centuries, with the earliest work being 1719. Most artists today are not standing in front of easels but rather are sitting in front of a computer. The Beecher Center is all about

AUGUST 2019

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arts & entertainment

new media including holography, digital photography, laser works and other light works, sound and movement pieces, video art, and so on. “Young people especially enjoy this part of The Butler. Last year, nearly 30,000 children visited The Butler in various groups and we’re probably going to surpass that attendance number this year. They love the new art. “One fourth-grade student sat down on the floor the other day,” Zona added, “and announced to her teacher and a docent that she was not going to leave and in fact would like to live in the Butler. That little girl touched my heart.” More growth came in 2002 when the 3,400-square-foot Andrews Pavilion, featuring a sculpture atrium, café and gift shop, was added to the rear of the facility. In 2006, The Butler purchased the neighboring First Christian Church and converted it to a performing arts and education center. Given the foresight of Zona and a dedicated staff, numerous special events, an extensive social media presence and the interest of young people, The Butler should continue to thrive in the next 100 years. LEL

Butler Institute of American Art • 524 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio • 330-743-1107 Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, noon-4 p.m. Closed Monday and major holidays. To schedule free guided tours, call 234-228-8526

The Butler Trumbull Branch (Howland, Ohio) • 9350 East Market Street • Warren, Ohio • 330-609-9900 Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, noon-4 p.m. Closed Monday, Tuesday and major holidays. Admission is free at both branches, per founder Joseph G. Butler, Jr. The Butler receives no revenues from the city or county; it relies on contributions from the community to meet its cultural mission. Website: www.butlerart.com, also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. A sculpture of Portuguese Queen Catherine of Braganza, by Audrey Flack, 1992, is more than 10 feet tall. The Butler Institute of American Art purchased it in 2014. The princess became queen of England when she married King Charles II in 1662. The New York City borough of Queens was named after her. [THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART]

22 | L A K E E R I E L I F E S T Y L E

ǋǖɤ ǖɤ ¨ n¨ǖŠ Š̤źɛʍǖɤźǷźǾʍ

IǖǬǬɤ .¨ʍ ź¨Š Vź źĻǋǾȑǬȑƷ̬ sźǷȑ̤źɤ Vź̥ xʍʩġġȑɛǾ .¨ʍ .ȑɛź̤źɛ ǖʍǋȑʩʍ n¨ǖǾ ]ɛ xʩɛƷźɛ̬ .]s

ȡɁ ȑ ̬ȑʩ ǋ¨̤ź ɤʍʩġġȑɛǾ Ɯ¨ʍ ȑǾ ̬ȑʩɛ ġźǬǬ̬ř ʍǋǖƷǋɤř ¨ɛǷɤř ȑɛ ĻǋǖǾɐ ʡɁ ȑ ̬ȑʩ ̥¨Ǿʍ ʍȑ źǬǖǷǖǾ¨ʍź Ɯ¨ʍ ƜɛȑǷ ¨ʍ Ǭź¨ɤʍ ȑǾź ȑƜ ʍǋȑɤź ¨ɛź¨ɤɐ ʔɁ ɛź ̬ȑʩ ¨Ǿ ɛǖź ɛźɤǖŠźǾʍř ¨Ʒź ʔƤǐɶƤɐ 9Ɯ ̬ȑʩ ¨Ǿɤ̥źɛźŠ ɕ̬źɤɖ ʍ̥ȑ ʍǖǷźɤ ȑɛ Ƿȑɛźř ʍǋǖɤ Ƿ¨̬ ġź ʍǋź Ƿȑɤʍ ǖǷȰȑɛʍ¨Ǿʍ ¨ɛʍǖĻǬź ̬ȑʩ ɛź¨Š ¨ǬǬ ̬ź¨ɛɁ 6źɛźɘɤ ̥ǋ̬Ř Vź̥ ʍźĻǋǾȑǬȑƷ̬ Ƿ¨Ǩźɤ ǖʍ ȰȑɤɤǖġǬź ʍȑ ʍ¨ɛƷźʍ ¨ǾŠ ǨǖǬǬ Ɯ¨ʍ ĻźǬǬɤ ǖǾ ̬ȑʩɛ ġȑŠ̬ř ǬǖǨź ȰȑǖǾʍǖǾƷ ¨ Ǭ¨ɤźɛ ƷʩǾɁ ǖʍǋ Ǿȑ Ȱ¨ǖǾ ȑɛ ɤʩɛƷźɛ̬Ɂ ȑʩ ǷǖƷǋʍ ġź ź¨ʍǖǾƷ ɛǖƷǋʍ ¨ǾŠ ź̪źɛĻǖɤǖǾƷɁ ʩʍ ̬ȑʩɛ ġȑŠ̬ Ɯ¨ʍ ǋ¨ɤ ɤǋǖƜʍźŠɁ ǾŠ Ǿȑ̥ ̬ȑʩɘɛź ɤźźǖǾƷ ǖʍ ǖǾ ȰǬ¨Ļźɤ ̬ȑʩ ŠǖŠǾɘʍ ġźƜȑɛźɁ 9ʍɘɤ Ǿȑʍ ̬ȑʩɛ Ɯ¨ʩǬʍɁ Vȑ Ƿ¨ʍʍźɛ ǋȑ̥ ǋ¨ɛŠ ̬ȑʩ ̥ȑɛǨř ʍǋȑɤź Ǭ¨ɤʍ ɤʍʩġġȑɛǾ ȰȑʩǾŠɤ Ƿ¨̬ ġź ɛźɤǖɤʍ¨Ǿʍ ʍȑ Šǖźʍ ¨ǾŠ ź̪źɛĻǖɤźƙ ǋ¨ʍɘɤ ̥ǋ̬ ̬ȑʩ ɤǋȑʩǬŠ ǨǾȑ̥ ¨ġȑʩʍƊ

ǋź ɕnȑȰɤǖĻǬź Sǖɛ¨ĻǬźɖ ǋ¨ʍ IǖǬǬɤ ȑʩɛ .¨ʍ xʩɛȰɛǖɤǖǾƷǬ̬ř ʍ̥ȑ 6¨ɛ̤¨ɛŠ ŠȑĻʍȑɛɤ ŠǖɤĻȑ̤źɛźŠ ʍǋ¨ʍ ĻǋǖǬŠɛźǾ ̥ǋȑ ¨ʍź ȰȑȰɤǖĻǬźɤ Ʒȑʍ ŠǖǷȰǬźɤ ǖǾ ʍǋźǖɛ ĻǋźźǨɤɁ ǋź ŠȑĻʍȑɛɤ ɛź¨Ǭǖ̳źŠ ʍǋ¨ʍ ʍǋź ȰȑȰɤǖĻǬźɤ ̥źɛź Ɯɛźź̳ǖǾƷ ¨ǾŠ źǬǖǷǖǾ¨ʍǖǾƷ Ɯ¨ʍ ĻźǬǬɤƙ ǋǖɤ ɤǖǷȰǬź ǖŠź¨ř ʍǋ¨ʍ ĻȑǬŠ Ļ¨Ǿ ǨǖǬǬ Ɯ¨ʍ ǖǾ ̬ȑʩɛ ġȑŠ̬ ̥ǖʍǋȑʩʍ Ȱ¨ǖǾ ȑɛ ɤʩɛƷźɛ̬ř ǬźŠ ʍȑ ʍǋź Ļɛź¨ʍǖȑǾ ȑƜ ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷɁ

]ǾĻź Ɯ¨ʍ ǖɤ ʍɛź¨ʍźŠ ġ̬ ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷř ǖʍɘɤ ƷȑǾź Ɯȑɛ ƷȑȑŠɁ ȑʩɛ ġȑŠ̬ Ǿ¨ʍʩɛ¨ǬǬ̬ źǬǖǷǖǾ¨ʍźɤ ʍǋź Šź¨Š ĻźǬǬɤɁ ȑʩ Ļ¨Ǿ ɛźɤʩǷź ̬ȑʩɛ Š¨ǖǬ̬ ¨Ļʍṳ̈̄ǖʍǖźɤ ǖǷǷźŠǖ¨ʍźǬ̬Ɂ ǾǬǖǨź ǬǖȰȑɤʩĻʍǖȑǾř ̬ȑʩ ɤźź ǖǾĻɛźŠǖġǬźř ɤĻʩǬȰʍźŠ ɛźɤʩǬʍɤ ̥ǖʍǋ Ǿȑ Šȑ̥ǾʍǖǷźɁ

SźŠǖĻ¨ǬǬ̬ nɛȑ̤źǾ ]Ǿ Vź¨ɛǬ̬ ɭ SǖǬǬǖȑǾ nźȑȰǬź ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷ ǖɤ ʍǋź ȑǾǬ̬ . ǐ ¨ȰȰɛȑ̤źŠ ʍźĻǋǾȑǬȑƷ̬ ʍȑ ʍ¨ɛƷźʍ ¨ǾŠ ǨǖǬǬ Ɯ¨ʍ ĻźǬǬɤ ʩɤǖǾƷ ĻȑǾʍɛȑǬǬźŠ ĻȑȑǬǖǾƷɁ ǾŠ Ǿź¨ɛǬ̬ ɭ ǷǖǬǬǖȑǾ ̥ȑǷźǾ ¨ǾŠ ǷźǾ ǋ¨̤ź ġźźǾ ʍɛź¨ʍźŠ ̥ȑɛǬŠ̥ǖŠźɁ ¨Ǿʍ ʍȑ ơʍ ǖǾ ̬ȑʩɛ Ɯ¨̤ȑɛǖʍź Ȱ¨Ǿʍɤɐ LȑȑǨ Ʒɛź¨ʍ ǖǾ ¨ ɤ̥ǖǷɤʩǖʍɐ /źʍ ̬ȑʩɛ ɕȰɛźǐġ¨ġ̬ɖ ġȑŠ̬ ġ¨ĻǨ ¨Ʒ¨ǖǾɐ ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷ Ļ¨Ǿ Ʒṳ̈̄ź ̬ȑʩ ¨ Ǿź̥ ơƷʩɛź ¨ǾŠ ¨ Ǿź̥ ǬǖƜźɁ

ȑʩ Ƿ¨̬ ǋ¨̤ź ǋź¨ɛŠ ɛ¨Šǖȑ ȰźɛɤȑǾ¨Ǭǖʍ̬ Gźɤɤ ʩɛɛ̬ ȑǾ xʍ¨ɛ ȡ̷Ʈř ¨ɤ ɤǋź ŠźɤĻɛǖġźɤ ǋźɛ Ɯ¨ʍǐǬȑɤɤ ǦȑʩɛǾź̬ ̥ǖʍǋ ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷɁ xǋź ʍɛʩɤʍɤ ʩɤ ʍȑ ǋźǬȰ ǋźɛ ǬȑȑǨ Ɯ¨Ǿʍ¨ɤʍǖĻɁ ȑʩ Ļ¨Ǿř ʍȑȑɁ

ȑ ȑʩ ¨Ǿʍ ȑ .ǖǾ¨ǬǬ̬ Lȑɤź xʍʩġġȑɛǾ .¨ʍɐ ǋź ȰɛȑȑƜ ȑƜ ʍǋǖɤ Ǿź̥ ʍźĻǋǾȑǬȑƷ̬ ǖɤ ǖǾ ʍǋź ɛźɤʩǬʍɤ ǖʍ ȰɛȑŠʩĻźɤ Ɯȑɛ ̬ȑʩɁ ǋ¨ʍɘɤ ̥ǋ̬ ̥ź ¨ǬǬȑ̥ ̬ȑʩ ʍȑ ̤ǖɤǖʍ ȑʩɛ ɛǖź ǬȑĻ¨ʍǖȑǾ ¨ǾŠ ĻǬ¨ǖǷ ̬ȑʩɛ .ɛźź sź¨Šźɛɘɤ /ǖƜʍɤ ¨ʍ Ǿȑ Ļȑɤʍř ʍȑ ɤźź ǖƜ ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷ ǖɤ ɛǖƷǋʍ Ɯȑɛ ̬ȑʩɁ ǋź ơɛɤʍ ʍǋǖǾƷ ̬ȑʩ Šȑ ǖɤ ʍźǬǬ ʩɤ ǋȑ̥ ǷʩĻǋ Ɯ¨ʍ ̬ȑʩ ̥¨Ǿʍ ʍȑ ǬȑɤźɁ ǋźǾ ʍźǬǬ ʩɤ ̥ǋźɛź ̬ȑʩ ̥¨Ǿʍ ʍȑ Ǭȑɤź ǖʍ ǐ ǐ ġźǬǬ̬ř ʍǋǖƷǋɤř ¨ɛǷɤř ȑɛ ĻǋǖǾɁ 9ʍ Ƿ¨Ǩźɤ ¨ǬǷȑɤʍ Ǿȑ ŠǖƝźɛźǾĻźɁ ǋ¨ʍ ɤ¨Ƿź Š¨̬ř ̬ȑʩ ɤʍ¨ɛʍ ̬ȑʩɛ ǦȑʩɛǾź̬ Šȑ̥Ǿ ʍǋź ɤ¨Ƿź ɛȑ¨Š ʍǋ¨ʍ Ǿź¨ɛǬ̬ ɭř̷̷̷ř̷̷̷ ȰźȑȰǬź ǋ¨̤ź ƷȑǾź ġźƜȑɛź ̬ȑʩɁ ǋź̬ ¨ǬǬ Ǭȑɤʍ ɤʍʩġġȑɛǾř ʩƷǬ̬ Ɯ¨ʍ ̥ǖʍǋ ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷƙ Vȑ ź̪źɛĻǖɤźɁ Vȑ ŠǖźʍɤɁ Vȑ ǾźźŠǬźɤɁ Vȑ ȰǖǬǬɤɁ Vȑ Ȱ¨ǖǾɁ ǾŠ Ǿȑ Ǿź̥ ĻǬȑʍǋźɤ ̬ȑʩ Ļ¨Ǿ ġʩ̬ ̥ǖǬǬ Ƿ¨Ǩź ̬ȑʩ ǬȑȑǨ Ƿȑɛź ¨ʍʍɛ¨Ļʍṳ̈̄źɁ ǋź ĻǋȑǖĻź ǖɤ ̬ȑʩɛɤɁ ǋǖɤ ǖɤ ¨ ȰɛȑƷɛ¨Ƿ Ɯȑɛ ̥ȑǷźǾ ¨ǾŠ ǷźǾ ̥ǋȑ ¨ɛź ɤźɛǖȑʩɤ ¨ġȑʩʍ ǬȑȑǨǖǾƷ Ʒɛź¨ʍ ¨ǾŠ ƜźźǬǖǾƷ Ƿȑɛź ¨Ǭṳ̈̄źɁ ¨Ǩź ¨ĻʍǖȑǾ Ǿȑ̥ř ̥ǋǖǬź ʍǋǖɤ ȑƝźɛ ǖɤ ɤʍǖǬǬ ¨̤¨ǖǬ¨ġǬźɁ

Vȑ̥ ̪ȰǬȑɛź ȑʩɛ ]ȰʍǖȑǾɤ ȑ ǋźǬȰ ɛǖź ɛźɤǖŠźǾʍɤ Ƿ¨Ǩź ʍǋź ɛǖƷǋʍ ĻǋȑǖĻź ¨ġȑʩʍ Ɯ¨ʍ Ǭȑɤɤ ʍǋǖɤ xʩǷǷźɛř ̬ȑʩɘɛź źǾʍǖʍǬźŠ ʍȑ ¨ Ȱ¨ĻǨ¨Ʒź ȑƜ ʔ .ɛźź /ǖƜʍɤ Ɯȑɛ ¨ ǬǖǷǖʍźŠ ʍǖǷźɁ ʍ V] Ļȑɤʍ ¨ǾŠ V] ȑġǬǖƷ¨ʍǖȑǾ ʍȑ ġʩ̬ ¨Ǿ̬ʍǋǖǾƷɁ xǖǷȰǬ̬ ġɛǖǾƷ ʍǋǖɤ ¨ɛʍǖĻǬź ʍȑ ȑȑǬ sźǾź̥ SźŠxȰ¨ ̥ǋźǾ ̬ȑʩ ɤʍȑȰ ǖǾ Ɯȑɛ ̬ȑʩɛ ɕ.¨ʍ ź /ȑǾź .ȑɛź̤źɛɖ ȑǾɤʩǬʍ¨ʍǖȑǾ ¨ȰȰȑǖǾʍǷźǾʍ ¨ǾŠ ɛźĻźṳ̈̄ź ̬ȑʩɛ ʔ .ɛźź /ǖƜʍɤŘ

.s s sɘx /9. x ɤ ¨Ǿ ɛǖź ɛźɤǖŠźǾʍř ̬ȑʩ ¨ɛź źǾʍǖʍǬźŠ ʍȑ ʔ .ɛźź /ǖƜʍɤɁ xʩȰȰǬǖźɤ ¨ɛź ǬǖǷǖʍźŠř ɤȑ ȰǬź¨ɤź ¨Ļʍ Ǿȑ̥Ɂ ȑ ɛźɤźɛ̤ź ̬ȑʩɛ ƷǖƜʍɤř Ļ¨ǬǬ ƂȡƮǐƮ̷ʡǐƂɶȄɭɁ ȑʩ Ʒźʍ ¨ǬǬ ʍǋǖɤŘ ĺ .ɛźź /ǖƜʍ ȏȡŘ ȑǷȰǬǖǷźǾʍ¨ɛ̬ ɕ.¨ʍ ź /ȑǾź .ȑɛź̤źɛɖ ȑǾɤʩǬʍ¨ʍǖȑǾř ɛź̤ź¨Ǭɤ ʍǋź ɤʩɛȰɛǖɤǖǾƷ ɤźĻɛźʍ ʍȑ ɛ¨ȰǖŠř ȰźɛǷ¨ǾźǾʍ Ɯ¨ʍ Ǭȑɤɤ ȲůƤ̷Ɂ̷̷ ̤¨Ǭʩźȸ ĺ .ɛźź /ǖƜʍ ȏʡŘ V¨Ƿ¨ɤʍź V¨ʍʩɛ¨Ǭ xǨǖǾĻ¨ɛźɁ ȑʩɛ ĻǋȑǖĻź ȑƜ .¨Ļź Sȑǖɤʍʩɛǖ̳źɛř .¨Ļǖ¨Ǭ Ǭź¨Ǿɤźɛř ȑɛ ̬ź xźɛʩǷɁ ȑǷźǾ ȑ̤źɛ ɶ̷ ɤ¨̬ř ə ǚʑǏǚȂ Ť¨̰ɨŝ ǻ̰ ƥȂž ǰǚȂžɨ ¨ɟž ĥ¨ɟžǰ̰ ʑǏžɟžɅ ǻ¨̷žŤ ̩ǚʑǏ ʑǏž ɟžɨʭǰʑɨƝɚ ȲůƤƂɁ̷̷ ̤¨Ǭʩźȸ ĺ .ɛźź /ǖƜʍ ȏʔŘ ůʡ̷̷Ɂ̷̷ x¨̤ǖǾƷɤ ȑʩĻǋźɛ ȑǾ ȑȑǬxĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷ ɛź¨ʍǷźǾʍ ¨ǬǬ Ǿȑ̥ř ƂȡƮɁƮ̷ʡɁƂɶȄɭɁ ǋźɛźɘɤ Ǿȑ ȑġǬǖƷ¨ʍǖȑǾ ʍȑ ġʩ̬ ¨Ǿ̬ʍǋǖǾƷ ǐ ǐ Ǧʩɤʍ Ļ¨ǬǬ ʍȑ ź̪ȰǬȑɛź ̬ȑʩɛ ȑȰʍǖȑǾɤƙ ȑʩɛ sź¨Šźɛɤ /ǖƜʍɤ ź̪Ȱǖɛź xźȰʍźǷġźɛ ʔ̷ř ʡ̷ȡȄ ȑȑǬɤĻʩǬȰʍǖǾƷ ġ̬ ȑȑǬ sźǾź̥ SźŠxȰ¨ ǐ ȡƂȡȡ IʩǾʍ̳ sŠɁř ɛǖźř n ȡɶƤ̷Ȅ ]ǾǬǖǾź ¨ʍ ̥̥̥Ɂ ȑȑǬsźǾź̥SźŠxȰ¨ɁĻȑǷɁ ]ɛ Ļ¨ǬǬ Ǿȑ̥ ƂȡƮǐƮ̷ʡǐƂɶȄɭ

AUGUST 2019

¨Ǩź ʍǋǖɤ ɏʩǖ̳Ř

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6ź¨ɛŠ ]Ǿ xʍ¨ɛ ȡ̷Ʈ s¨Šǖȑ

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escapes

The Fastest Way to Slow Down:

ERIE CANAL BOATING

Erie Canal boat travelers, from left, Tammy Gladwell, Becky Anderson and Stacey Wittig spent six days on the Erie Canal outside of Rochester.

Story by Stacey Wittig

ome folks dream of riding along canals in Europe, but we can do the same thing much closer to home. Two of my friends and I navigated a 41-foot packet boat for a roundtrip voyage of 88 miles on the Erie Canal from Macedon, New York, near Rochester, to Holley, New York. A packet boat is a canal boat, a flat-bottomed barge-like boat that carries people and freight. We rented the boat from Mid-Lakes Navigation. During our six-day voyage, we cruised through locks five times and gained passage under lift bridges a dozen times. We met plenty of interesting people along the way, who shared history with us. One was Tom Grasso, president emeritus of the Canal Society of New York State.

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Author Stacey Wittig and friends operated a canal boat, a 41-foot packet boat, to cruise through the Erie Canal and its locks during a six-day voyage that covered 88 miles. A packet boat is a ﬂat-bottomed barge-like boat. [STACEY WITTIG/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Knotty pine adds to the cozy interior of the canal boat. [STACEY WITTIG/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

[CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

LEFT: A tour of the Erie Canal takes in the Fairport Lift Bridge in Fairport, N.Y. [STACEY WITTIG/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

“You think that you are seeing New York going 65 miles per hour on the turnpike, but hop on a canal boat to experience the history and the countryside,” Grasso said. “Going canaling is the fastest way to slow down.” We visited with him during one of the stopovers. “The towpath (originally trod by mules that towed the early packet boats) are now bike paths, and the bicyclists are going faster than you,” he said with a laugh. We discussed canal history while enjoying a gourmet feast at Richardson’s Canal House in Bushnell’s Basin in Pittsford, New York. It’s decorated in the Federal style with original chair rails and wall stencils the same as you would have found in western New York in the 1800s to 1820s. This restaurant, a favorite landing for canallers, is on the western Erie Canal just south of Rochester. The canal, built from 1817 to 1825, connected the Hudson River north of New York City to Buffalo. Erie’s population had just topped 400, Buffalo was still a fort, and Albany was just a swamp before the hand-dug channel opened those areas to trade and settlement. Earlier, Grasso had taken us around Richardson’s welltended grounds to show us remnants of the original canal,

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which wasn’t much wider than a ditch. “See that indentation in the lawn?” he said, pointing to a U-shaped depression that goes right up to the inn’s back porch. “This was the front of the inn when the canal came through here. It’s said that the boaters didn’t like the bartender, so they drove their mules so fast past here that the boat’s wake flooded into the door of the bar.” I tried to imagine what that bartender did to provoke those canallers. You can see the remnants of the old canal yourself by walking to what is now the back side of the inn, which faces Marsh Road. During one of the canal enlargements, this bend was cut off as engineers straightened the water highway that passes through pastoral Americana.

“You cut off enough U’s, you get a shorter canal,” explained Grasso. “Thirteen miles was cut off the loops.” Founded in 1818, Richardson’s flourished as the Erie Canal truncated at its door while builders struggled to finagle the canal across a deep valley just to the west. One solution to crossing the valley was a proposed wooden bridge that would support a water canal across its top. However, locals opined that Lake Ontario’s heavy winds would blow over the five-story structure. Finally, they went back to the original idea of building a tall embankment and putting the canal on top of the earthen structure. Solutions engineered with the primitive technology of the day make up great stories of early American engineering feats.

Erie Canal boaters dined with locals to enjoy some history and camaraderie at Richardson’s Canal House in Bushnell’s Basin. From left, canal boat travelers Becky Anderson, Tammy Gladwell, and Stacey Wittig, met with Liz McAndrew, Bill Sweitzer and Tom Grasso. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

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Author Stacey Wittig and friends piloted a canal boat along the Erie Canal. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

“It’s a great engineering story unless you’re an engineer,” quips Grasso. “They built it (the Great Embankment), and five months later, the whole thing collapsed.” The boat we used to travel the canal in was easy to operate, and it included two cabins, two heads, a shower and a galley with stove and fridge. Training included boat operation, radio communications and boat safety. In the evening, we tied up at village docks that offered water and electric hookups for free or a small fee. Some dockside amenities include showers, Wi-Fi and bicycles. While the boat was easy to pilot, I feared taking it over another early engineering marvel, the aqueduct in Rochester. Just the thought of a bridge, that looked to be three stories high, with a channel of water on its top to carry boats over the mighty Genesee River, gave me an irrational fear. There’s a word for that: Gephyrophobia. It’s the fear of bridges. You see, although I’m fascinated with historic bridges, like those remarkable structures that I’m admiring along the Erie Canal, I’ve been terrified of crossing tall, wide-spanned bridges since I was a child. Fortunately, my fears abated when I learned that the aqueduct, one of four on the Erie Canal system, was decommissioned in 1919. The canal now has a spur that deadheads into Rochester but truncates short of the massive stone aqueduct: our next day’s journey. And so the next evening, before dinner at Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester, we walked over the Genesee River on Main Street to get a view of my nemesis, the Rochester Aqueduct, now the Broad Street Bridge. Its hand-cut stones form seven handsome arches. The aqueduct was decommissioned around the time of the final Erie Canal widening. So we weren’t going to be traveling over it. Teddy Roosevelt, while governor of New York, pressed for a wider and deeper canal to accommodate large freight barges. The “ditch” was upgraded using giant steam shovels from 1905 to 1918. The renovated channel, renamed and rebranded as “The Erie Barge Canal,” utilized natural waterways by incorporating seven rivers and five lakes on the east side of the now 500-mile-long canal system. Yet it would have been on the narrower canal and on packet boats similar to the one

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we self-skippered that sandstone blocks were shipped from Medina, New York, for the construction of Erie’s St. Peter Cathedral from 1875 to 1893. The magnificent stone walls of the cathedral in downtown Erie are constructed from sandstone quarried at Medina, a charming Erie Canal village. We passed by countryside that I’ve admired in Early American landscape paintings, but I had no idea that idyllic forests and meadows still existed in this neck of the woods. New Englanders settled the charming villages where we moored our boat for the evenings. A resurgence in restoring these historic towns makes for a variety of fun shopping, captivating museums and trendy restaurants. On our last morning, we stood on the Fairport Lift Bridge talking with its operator, Larry Marling. This is the guy who raised the bridge for us and, as a canal worker for more than 10 years; he knows his Erie Canal. “The bridge was built on a twist in the road back in 1914. Not one piece of the bridge is cut at the same angle,” he almost shouted over the hum of car tires on the steel grating of the bridge bed. Besides being engineered for the road twist, the bridge floor is built at a 4% incline to compensate for the canal banks’ uneven elevations. The only lift bridge in the world built on a slope earned the Fairport bridge a mention in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” The boat rental was $2,200 for four nights. Other expenses included overnight dockage fees. Some are free and others are $10 to $14, plus what you would spend at a restaurant or for groceries. You can also set sail on your own boat, a rental boat or on half-day or multi-day cruise boats. Learn more at https://eriecanalway.org. You can also explore the Erie Canal along the 365-mile long, off-road Erie Canalway Trail by foot, bicycle or kayak. Many of my friends, who want to navigate small barges on canals in France or the United Kingdom, were surprised when I told them I was doing such a thing on this side of the pond. The nature, wildlife and pleasant New England-style villages along the Erie Canal rival those of Europe. Convenience and lower total travel costs made me ask them, “Why go to Europe when you can experience canalling right here?” LEL

The Union Street bridge in Spencerport., N.Y. , travels over the Erie Canal. [STACEY WITTIG/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

The Rochester Aqueduct originally carried the Erie Canal over the Genesee River. In 1927, a roadbed was added to carry automobile trafﬁc. [SHUTTERSTOCK.COM]

This is a canal boat view of Richardson’s Canal House in Bushnell’s Basin in Pittsford, N.Y. [STACEY WITTIG/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

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escapes Mid-Lakes Navigation

New York Canal Corp.

Visit Rochester

• 1125 Marina Parkway, Macedon, N.Y. • 315-986-3011 • https://midlakesnav.com

• 518-449-6024 • www.canals.ny.gov

• 800-677-7282 • www.visitrochester.com

Peaceful views are all along the Erie Canal. [STACEY WITTIG/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO] AUGUST 2019

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Baltimore's National Aquarium ranked among

TOP 3 IN THE NATION

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Story by Halle Kostansek

rom the moment we stepped through the front doors, greeted by a two-and-a-half story waterfall plunging into a pool where Australian freshwater fish as long as your forearm swam beneath swirling mist, my beau Dan and I were struck with a sense of wonder and of adventure to come. This feeling stayed with us throughout our daylong visit to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, in early March. The aquarium opened in 1981 as the centerpiece of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor redevelopment project. Its mission is to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures, and it is consistently ranked one of the nation’s top three aquariums, with more than 20,000 fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and marine mammals in an array of award-winning exhibits. I’ve been enamored of the aquarium since my first visit there 20 years ago, when I stood mesmerized before the angelfish drifting silently in their tank, seeming to fly through crystal clear water. I still have the tee shirt. (It no longer fits.) We’d booked our tickets weeks ahead to secure our choice of entry time to this world-renowned attraction that entices visitors to “see the world from below the surface.” The welcome staff stood us before a green screen for the obligatory souvenir photo that we later had the choice to overpay for. This felt more like an homage to the classic tourist trap rather than a trap itself because the rest of the aquarium experience was much less commercial and much more education- and fascination-oriented. It’s even possible to not exit through the gift shop. We arrived well ahead of our designated entry time, so we wandered around the north side of the Inner Harbor, eyeballing historic ships and strolling through the concise arboretum that helps bring some nature to the concrete apron that ties the aquarium to several other attractions. This relaxed and wide-open pedestrian-friendly zone offers photoworthy scenes of skyscrapers or seafoam in all directions. A Safety Guide took our photo and chatted about nearby attractions and harbor revitalization. Safety AUGUST 2019

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Guides are employees of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, a nonprofit which works to make the harbor more welcoming, including aiming to make it swimmable and fishable by 2020. The Guides populate most Inner Harbor pedestrian areas and offer dining and entertainment recommendations, maps, directions and even an escort from place to place if given advance notice. The aquarium staff are not sticklers for punctuality, at least when the crowds are moderate, so after we admired the lobby waterfall, we slipped into the main museum a little early, checked our coats, and hopped on the escalator up to what is, in my book, the star attraction. A massive stingray tank, visible up-close and from a number of thoughtfully designed vantage points on multiple levels, has been the centerpiece of the National Aquarium since it first opened. There’s no line to see this amazing exhibit, and no special ticket; just sidle up to the railing and peer down. You’ll see an engaging ballet of gentle sea turtles, leopardprinted rays, schools of shimmering fishes and other amazing denizens of the deep making their way through a veritable city of coral. This innovative exhibit underwent a major redesign and renovation in 2012-2013 and was recognized for Significant Achievement in Exhibit Design by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Now known as Blacktip Reef, named for its resident blacktip reef sharks, the enchanting exhibit replicates Indo-Pacific coral reefs and was no less breathtaking on my fourth visit than it was the very first time. There are a number of guided

A stingray swims in a tank at the National Aquarium [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Sharks swim in a tank at the National Aquarium. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

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behind-the-scenes tours, creature-specific tours, and even a guest diver opportunity available. But for a first-time visit, I recommend simply guiding yourself through the five stories of permanent exhibits and special installations. It’s effortless, as this well-designed museum winds you through each exhibit, with little risk of getting lost, missing out, or having to backtrack. Interpretive writing is prominently displayed for each habitat and species, kid-height risers front most of the aquariums and terrariums, and there are plenty of opportunities to step away and avoid information overload, perhaps finding a niche in which to meditate on the graceful creatures in the ray tank below. The permanent exhibits are divided into several discrete habitats, honing in on the local and then continuing with a look at the flora and fauna of sea cliffs, kelp forests and Pacific coral reefs. Each habitat includes an array of small tanks or terrariums that invite a Where’s Waldo-type hunt for the tiniest, best-camouflaged creatures from around the world. The fifth-floor Amazon River Forest, a conservatory-style upland tropical rainforest exhibit, surrounds guests with thousands of rainforest plants and animals from endangered habitats. Omnipresent guides and staff point out where some of the shy creatures, such as the arboreal two-toed sloth, reside. Exiting the rainforest, follow a gently corkscrewing ramp down five increasingly dark levels that bring you face to face with the rainbow colored fishes of the Atlantic coral reef and the sinister (but kind of cute) sawfish, rays and sharks of Shark Alley.

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Visitors look out on one of the pools of sea life at the National Aquarium. [NATIONAL AQUARIUM/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Floor-to-ceiling windows look directly into the depths where these species skulk and shimmy by. The odd diver comes to feed these fantastic creatures, motioning for the crowd to gather. Feeding times for most species are posted inside the museum’s main entrance, and the free downloadable app also offers a plethora of schedule information, updated daily. In another wing of the aquarium, the Jellies Invasion exhibit brings you up close to eight species of jellyfish. The Living Seashore exhibit’s touch tanks allow guests of all ages to get hands-on (gently!) with jellies, horseshoe crabs and more. Helpful interpreters keep guests and creatures safe, answer questions and point to the all-important hand-washing station. In a pavilion on the other side of the aquarium, the Australia: Wild Extremes three-story glass house immerses you in a northern Australian river gorge, where freshwater crocodiles and snake-necked turtles plunge into the water, colorful finches and lorikeets dart overhead or stop at a feeder, and the beautiful silvery barramundi swish by in the pool below. Over 70 distinct species inhabit this space, many of them found only in Australia. Our five hours at this worldclass museum seemed like a blink of the eye. We were so engaged in the self-guided exhibits that we didn’t make time for the daily dolphin show or a movie in the 4-D immersion theater. While the aquarium’s focus is science and education, it nevertheless feels like magic. If we have our way, we’ll return to the National Aquarium quicker than the flick of a ray’s tail. LEL

This reef exhibit is part of the National Aquarium. [NATIONAL AQUARIUM/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

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The ﬁrst-ever, student-designed shirt was created by Bella Wojtasik, 10, for the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House’s 2019 Art & Sole 5K. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

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Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Erie changed its former ball and gala to a more informal club atmosphere to encourage greater attendance of all age groups and to offer a more relaxed atmosphere. The event has been called Club CC for the past few years. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Fundraisers change up

tradition Story by JoLayne Green

s the saying goes, money makes the world go round. It also gives nonprofits the ability to do the good work they do. The money isn’t easy to come by, and organizations are stretching their creative muscles to keep the donations coming. “There’s only so much money to go around,” said Erin Sekerak, executive director of the northwest region of Junior Achievement Western Pennsylvania. “I feel like it’s getting harder to find companies to sponsor events. It’s a lot more competitive market.” The issues aren’t unique to Junior Achievement. Fighting off stalwart events going stale and trying new ones all together are what local organizations face to keep their fundraising flowing.

Dance goes contemporary Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Erie has in the last couple years revamped its traditional charity ball. Now called Club CC night, gone is the formal event of two decades that had raised money for the individual ministries of Catholic Charities. “We kind of refreshed it and decided it would be less formal,” said Ann Badach, executive director. The change was initiated after listening to feedback after the event when a community member, Dawn Schaaf, a longtime attendee, came up with the “new and novel” suggestion to give the event more of a contemporary night club feel. Out went the formal stuffiness and in were a DJ, conversational areas and heavy

appetizers instead of a formal meal. “Even the furniture we rented gives it a club atmosphere,” Badach said of the contemporary couches and high boys set on the perimeter. The changes were implemented in 2018 and repeated at this year’s event. Badach called it a “brilliant and beautiful idea” by Schaaf. “People are dancing longer and staying longer,” Badach said. Badach would love to see Club CC become what she called “a thing” that people continue to put on their social calendar, as well as attract new people. “I’m energized by it. It appears to be reaching a different crowd,” she said. “Erie folks love a good party, and I think we put on a great party, and that’s a win-win.”

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Professional bowler Bob Learn Jr. attempts a trick shot with Junior Achievement board member Tim Rozic, of Wabtec. Learn is using a towel to launch the ball that will go between the legs of the chair Rozic is sitting on. The special event was part of the annual Bowl-aThon that raises funds for Junior Achievement Western Pennsylvania. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Bowling with a twist Sometimes an event does not need an overhaul but rather some touches to set it apart. Junior Achievement has had much success with its annual Bowl-a-Thon, an event the organization holds across the nation, but the key to its continuing success is not to let the event stagnate. “I think the key for a nonprofit to be successful in their fundraising events, they’ve really got to think out of the box and bring something new to the table,” Sekerak said. “It’s hard to keep their attention every year, and if you are able to do that you will

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have a successful event.” One way Junior Achievement keeps it popular is to provide high-level prizes and incorporate different themes each night of the event. It regularly draws several local companies. “I think what makes it successful is it’s a good outing for our companies,” Sekerak said. “It’s nice to see the internal competitions too,” she said, citing a battle of the banks. The businesses involved often add their own touches, such as Off-Road Express bringing in television and radio personalities to the teams.

“That was a unique and different spin. We try every year to bring something new to the table,” Sekerak said. “The real success of it is the repeat teams that come every year.” To add some flair to the event, Junior Achievement brought in food trucks and food vendors as well. “Erie people like to eat,” Sekerak said. Giving the people what they want is key, and Junior Achievement has parlayed that idea into a new fundraiser called the Golden Meal Ticket, a raffle of restaurant gift cards based on the state lottery.

giving

Golfers, from left, John Alberstadt, Ron Oliver, Jim Martin and Danny Jones, are excited to participate in this year’s Community Cup Golf Tournament that beneﬁts veterans, women, children, mental health and education initiatives. Martin is volunteer committee chairman for the July 29 event at the Kahkwa Club. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Kelli Proctor and Mike Williamson, winners of prizes during the 2019 Art & Sole 5K for the Neighborhood Art House, chose their artwork from the many selections behind them. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

At the 21st Annual Taste of the Arts event held in September, Raniyah Smith, 10, center, and her mosaic teacher, Sharon Bannon, right, are amazed at the live auction bidding war going on over her mosaic mirror held by co-chair Annalynn Shuttleworth, left. The mirror raised $1,050 for the Neighborhood Art House. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

Not just another 5K Food seems to be a key component to another event that might seem typical, a 5K run, but the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House’s Art & Sole 5K has found a large draw. The Benedictine Sisters of Erie work on this one. Kelly Stolar, development director of the art house and also president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals NWPA Chapter, said the race offers unique prizes. The top three finishers in each category get to “shop” for a prize in a tent that is a kind of an art gallery. They take home a piece of art created by the students at the Art House. More than 100 prizes are awarded. “Some people enter just so they can try to win the artwork,” Stolar said. Other hits at the event have been a DJ and a fun run for kids. “Anything that is family-related and outside helps, as long as the weather cooperates,” she said. Stolar said tying the event to the organization’s mission also is vital. She added that another event, the annual Taste of the Arts, offers patrons samples at food stations and the opportunity to bid on pieces of student art. While trying new things can be a risk that pays off, Stolar said she has seen some trends start to fade, such as purse bingo and color or mud runs. Other fundraisers might prove to be too expensive to be profitable. According to AFP, the most frequently held fundraising events are dinners or galas, auctions and “thons.” The key is to know an organization’s audience.

Golf for a good cause One area golf tournament adds some touches to make it stand out. The Community Cup kicks off the event with the National Anthem and a “God Bless America” sing. A procession of horses from Hope on Horseback presents the colors, and bag pipers play. “Those are items I’ve not seen in northwest Pennsylvania before,” said Jim Martin, the volunteer commitee chariman for the Community Cup and a volunteer with Veterans Miracle Center Erie, one of the beneficiaries. “Those are fun things that are fresh and appealing.” Another aspect is inviting celebrities to play, sometimes unconventional ones such as a competitor in the Iditarod trail sled dog race in Alaska or turkey calling champions who ended up demonstrating their abilities. Martin said the celebrities represented “the flavor of our audience.” “There are a lot of different nuances to fundraising,” Martin said. “You really look to have it be entertainment.” With the challenges of finding a date, venue and dealing with unpredictable weather, the focus on a meaningful event that is fun seems to be the way to get the money to follow. “Whatever you do, it has to be when people leave they talk about it as a positive experience and they talk about it for next year,” Stolar said. LEL

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Poker Paddle participants row at the Presque Isle lagoon boat launch in pursuit of the event’s best ﬁve-card poker hand. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

EVENTS PUT THE FUN in

fundraisers Story by Trill Dreistadt

have been an avid supporter of nonprofits for more than 30 years and love the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life who are also having a great time supporting causes close to their hearts. Fundraising, over the years, has become a creative, unique and entertaining event plan that appeals to all ages and fitness levels. Whether it’s racing, walking, bike riding, horseback riding, wall scaling, stone skipping or any other crazy idea the organizers come up with, there’s a fun factor for everyone. And there’s always good music and food — lots of food. Here are a few of my favorites:

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Poker Paddle/Presque Isle Partnership Pack up your favorite paddles and head out to the lagoons at Presque Isle with your kayak, canoe, or board Aug. 18 for the Fourth annual Poker Paddle that helps fund all those improvement projects, upgrades, conservation efforts and restoration undertakings that make Presque Isle one of our favorite places to have fun in the sun, not just in the summer but all year long. “We realized that the love for kayaking, canoeing and paddleboarding is really exploding and that we should do something unique involving these sports at the Peninsula to give people a fun opportunity to help raise money

for the park,” said Jon DeMarco, executive director of Presque Isle Partnership. So he and his creative team, headed by park volunteer and avid kayaking fan Jim Butts, came up with the idea of transferring the idea of poker runs typically seen at motorcycle rallies to the beautiful waters and vistas of Presque Isle. “The Poker Paddle is not a race at all but rather a way to engage the public to get out in a fun, healthy, unique way to explore our fabulous park and become familiar with the workings of Presque Isle Partnership.” The user-friendly Poker Paddle works like this: When participants check-in at the lagoons (Graveyard Pond) they receive a

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laminated grid of all 52 cards in a playing deck on a neck lanyard that is worn for the duration of the 5-mile cruise. “We have the launch set up in waves,” DeMarco said. “Every 15 minutes, 20 paddlers will go out, and they will alternate directions so bottlenecks aren’t created.” It starts at 9 a.m. Five stops are set up around the course where enthusiastic volunteers are ready with snacks, beverages, smiles and high-fives for all participants who are having an absolute party journeying around the five-and-onehalf mile circuit which continues from the lagoons into Marina Lake, out the Marina Channel into the Bay. It continues past the Perry Monument, into Horseshoe Pond, around the houseboats, and then back to the start at the lagoons. At each stop, participants randomly select, from a deck of cards, one card that is then punched out on the individual’s laminated grid. One of the stops is at a houseboat which will be great fun for anyone who hasn’t seen one of these homes up close. By the end of the Poker Paddle, each participant has a player’s grid with five cards punched out that reveals a 5-card poker hand. And, of course, much of the fun is watching your own particular poker hand develop from stop to stop and conversations include such exclamations and high hopes as “Man, one more ace and I’ll have a full house!” and “This is my lucky stop. I can just feel that seven of hearts coming at me that will round out my straight!”

Participants ready their watercrafts for the Poker Paddle at the Presque Isle lagoon boat launch. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

“The goal is to accumulate the best fivecard poker hand by the end of the circuit,” DeMarco said. The winner takes home $300. And even the worst-hand holder goes home happy after a fun day in the park with $150. In its continuing mission to preserve and conserve our park, Presque Isle Partnership encourages participants to pick up trash along the way and to dispose properly of their own trash. “If you bring any litter back to the start and dispose of it properly,” DeMarco

said, “you have earned the chance to select an extra card to be used to improve the poker hand you have randomly drawn.” “The first year we registered 105 participants; the next year we had 280 come out to paddle kayaks, canoes, or boards and try their hand at poker,” DeMarco said. “Pennsylvania gaming laws require poker players to be 18, but we encourage people of all ages to come out and enjoy paddling the waterways with family and friends.”

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Visitors of all ages gather at the Arthurdale Heritage Museum in West Virgina before the third annual Goat Gallop. [TRILL DREISTADT/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

The $39 registration fee includes the player’s card, a safety whistle, a specially designed Poker Paddle T-shirt, and the post-paddle picnic. People are encouraged to preregister at https://www.discoverpi.com and sign up for launch time and view all the details of the activity. The post-paddle picnic will be set up at the launch site at the lagoons boat launch area offering delectable summer fare: burgers, dogs, pulled pork sammies, chips and beverages. Stick around for creative door prizes and the chance to win a kayak. Live music will keep things rocking as friends and family gather to enjoy the beauty of the lagoons. EVENTS COMING UP IN 2020

Goat Gallop/ Arthurdale Heritage Museum Goats don’t actually like to gallop. They prefer more of a sauntering gait. But that didn’t stop the fun-loving volunteers and staff at the Arthurdale Heritage Museum in

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Enthusiastic dogs and their owners race along the beer-keg course at the third annual .01K race at Erie Ale Works on May 17. [TRILL DREISTADT/ CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

West Virginia from gathering up these frisky, convivial creatures and “renting” them out to the enthusiastic participants of the Third annual 5K Goat Gallop, held June 15 in the historic district of FDR’s first New Deal community. This family-friendly event featured a run or walk that is also open to pets, strollers, wheelchairs and bikes. The $20 rental fee includes the race and a T-shirt. If your rental goat was having a pre-race

cooperative moment, it might choose to nimbly follow along on your 5K; however, those whose goat was not in a come-along mood just left it pastured with the others to frisk about until we returned from our race. Scattered among the 185-participant group at the start line, just to keep the Goat Gallop authentic, were adorable goats handled by their very own volunteer goat keepers. A horn blast and off we went. We were greeted along the way at water stops by these amiable creatures that loved the petting and treats we offered as we ran past. After the 5K, participants, friends and neighbors enjoyed an afternoon of fun and socializing on the Arthurdale historic grounds playing with the goats, sporting our Goat Gallop T-shirts and enjoying homestead life featuring old-fashioned games like corn hole toss, hula hoops and jump rope. Smokin’ Jack’s BBQ food truck was serving up West Virginia pulled pork and smoked ribs. Local musician Travis Stimeling entertained the crowd with Appalachian folk music strummed from his mountain guitar.

sports & adventure GETTING THERE Age-group winners were presented with wooden disc awards carved individually by local artist Terry Day, as well as a homemade mini-pie baked by Kay Basile, a descendant of Richard Arthur, the original owner of the land. Randy Weaver, original homesteader descendant, was on hand with the museum’s 1938 fire engine red American Co-op tractor to take pictures of laughing children holding sweet-tempered goats. Event organizer and AmeriCorps staff member Torey Siebart shares her experience with this fundraiser. “It’s a big community event with neighbors and volunteers leading goats along the race course that winds through the historic district of homestead houses,” Siebart said. “We host about 185 runners/walkers and 50 children for the 1-mile kids’ dash. It’s a fun time for the whole neighborhood.” The event is held in mid-June each year to help fund restoration projects for the museum. Check out goatgallop5K.wordpress.com for details on the 2020 running of the goats. .01K Race/Erie Humane Society Runners laced up their shoes, lined up their canine friends, set their watches and did their pre-race stretching in anticipation of the Third annual .01K race (that’s 11 yards, folks!) held in the parking lot of Erie Ale Works at 416 W. 12th St., May 17 to benefit the Erie Humane Society. Co-owners Jeff McCullor and Steve Anthony were inspired by the oval car stickers they saw around town designating runners who had finished 26.2- or 13.1-mile races. But it was the 0.00K that got them laughing and thinking of a fundraiser. “If we held a .01K,” McCullor said with a laugh, “we could actually get some activity in with the beer we brew and sell here. People arrive early with friends for a brew and conversations, laugh through a brisk jaunt, enjoy another beer, have a BBQ sandwich, and support the Humane Society.” McCullor’s wife Emily, marketing manager for the Humane Society, also thought it was a fabulous idea and worked hard to get the event off the ground. Most participants arrived at the brewery long before the 6 p.m. start time to socialize with friends over a cool pint of craft beer, maybe Mango Woman (a blonde ale) or Get Hip or Split (an oatmeal stout,) brewed by co-owners Jeff McCullor and Steve Anthony.

Goat Gallop • Arthurdale Heritage Museum • 18 Q Road, Arthurdale, West Virginia • www.arthurdaleheritage.org • $20 entry fee includes race/ walk and T-shirt .01K Race/Walk • Erie Ale Works • 416 W. 12th St., Erie • www.eriealeworks.com • $5 entry fee Kiss-A-Pig • Presque Isle Downs & Casino • 8199 Perry Highway, Summit Township • www.presqueisledowns.com • $30 entry fee covers T-shirt, race and brunch buffet Poker Paddle • Lagoon Boat Launch • Presque Isle State Park • www.discoverpi.com • $39 entry fee covers player’ card, safety whistle, T-shirt and post-paddle picnic

Nearly 100 people gathered to run, or cheer on, racers as we dashed the 11-yard course lined with beer kegs and crossed the finish line in front of the — be still my heart — Que Abides food truck to dig into a loaded Smith dog topped with candied pork belly and beer cheese or The Dude, a pulled pork hoagie topped with North Carolina coleslaw. We exhausted racers wound our way back into the brewery with our friends to quench our thirst and recover — way too much fun! Nicole Bawol, CEO of the Humane Society, loves this fundraiser because “People just have a blast meeting new people and petting the mascot I bring from the shelter to represent our animals,” she said. “At $5 per registration, we’ll bring in between $400$800 that helps fund our outpatient services for animal surgeries too complicated to be performed at our site.” Find information on next year’s May .01K at www.eriealeworks.com or by calling 814-314-9089. KISS-A-PIG/ BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF ERIE You don’t really have to kiss a pig to participate in this 5K run/walk held at the

racetrack at Presque Isle Downs & Casino. The only one kissing the live pig, right on its cute pink snout, is Director of Slots Dan Cuic, who will entertain the crowd in June if the casino fundraiser brings in more money than other competing companies’ fundraisers. A word of advice to runners and walkers: The 5K is three times around the one-mile, oval track, with a 10th of a mile added at the end, that is a unique surface of a synthetic material called Tapeta Footings which is a mixture of sand, rubber and fiber with a wax coating. DO NOT wear those brand-new $150 Asics to this race; pull out last year’s model and go with it. The track surface can be mushy, tacky and will definitely discolor whatever shoe you are wearing. But don’t let this sticky shoe issue dissuade you from participating in this so-much-fun event that attracts runners of all ages and abilities just for the experience of galloping, if you will, around an actual horse racing track, and benefits the Boys & Girls Club of Erie. Held in May and organized by the Erie Runners Club, it featured a 1-mile fun run, the 5K, T-shirts, cash awards to winners over 21 years of age, and a scrumptious brunch catered by the casino and featuring all the breakfast goodies we love the most after our exhausting run: eggs, bacon, sausage, pulled pork and coffee — lots of coffee. Erie Runners Club president Dave Comi loves being a part of this nonprofit event. “We’ve pulled together as a club with our dedicated volunteers for years now to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Erie. It’s special to me because the money stays in our area to help young people here at home.” More than 118 participants headed to the starting gate on a cloudy, chilly Erie morning to line up, ready to surge out and around the track in pursuit of this year’s cash prizes of $6,000: $150 to the male and female overall winners and to age group winners, $100 for first place, $75 for second place, and $50 for third place. Congratulations go out to first-place female open winner Christie Tevis, 30, of Erie, who finished in 24:23, and first-place male open winner Connor MacKelvey, 23, of Fairview, who came in at 19:04. The $30 entry fee covers a T-shirt, race and brunch buffet. To pre-register online for next year’s Kiss-A-Pig, go to https://runsignup. com. or visit erierunners.club/event/kiss-apig5K. LEL AUGUST 2019

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fundraising

Fire equipment decorates the interior of Engine House 39 in Washington Township, operated by the Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department. [FILE PHOTO JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Engine House 39 goes social to raise funds Story by Steve Orbanek

ocial clubs have long been a staple of the region. They’re prevalent all across the county, and many have enjoyed considerable success. However, social clubs that benefit volunteer fire departments are not as common. Several Crawford County fire departments are connected to a social club, and last year a new one got off the ground. Engine House 39 opened at 1000 Washington Drive in Washington Township, directly across the street from the General McLane School District. The club has become a popular destination for folks from both the McKean and Edinboro communities, and its membership has eclipsed 5,000 in just over a year. It’s not uncommon for social clubs to succeed, but Engine House 39 got the ball rolling quickly. “Way back in my early days, we had discussed building a social club as one of the things we looked at as a funding string. At that point in time, things were going very well, so we looked at it, and it got put on the back Patrons eat dinner at Engine House 39 in Washington Township. [FILE PHOTO JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE burner,” said Daryl Parker, president of the TIMES-NEWS]

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fundraising Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department. “The real moneymaker for a volunteer fire department has always been ambulance billing and transportation of people to the hospital. But for about the last 15 years, with changes in insurance regulations and reimbursement rates, something that used to make a volunteer department as much as $350,000 a year is now under $100,000 a year. Fast forward to 2014, from a financial standpoint, we had to find out what’s that other thing that we’re going to do that is going to keep the volunteer fire department sustainable? On a day-to-day basis, we were fine, but it was those capital expenses that were becoming very concerning.” Over the next few months, the department spent time researching social clubs and also touring current clubs of volunteer fire departments. They made note of things that worked and didn’t work. In planning their own club, they also made sure to recognize their own weaknesses. “I think one of the best things that we did very early on is that we decided that this had the potential to be a very profitable venture for us,” Parker said, “ but we also were smart enough to realize that our job is putting out fires. None of us were restaurant managers.” They wanted their social club to be unique, pairing the atmospheres seen both in social clubs and restaurants. That led them to Lance A ﬁre hydrant replica holds the taps inside the social club called Engine House 39 in Washington Township. Lehr, a consultant who had managed several [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

A firehouse theme includes firefighter gear inside the social club called Engine House 39 in Washington Township. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

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fundraising restaurants for Scott Enterprises. “I knew almost nothing about social clubs, and I actually think that’s what made it so great,” Lehr said. “I just had to open my mind as to how a restaurant would work differently as opposed to just a social club. What I just brought to the table was this idea of, ‘OK, if this was a chain restaurant, what would I do?’ We approached it almost as if we were opening an Applebee’s. They tried to be really forward-thinking in their approach, and said ‘If we’re going to be self-sustaining, we have to do this.’” From there, the fire department’s board and Lehr visited nearly every chain restaurant and social club they could think of, focusing on elements they would like to incorporate into their own club. “When you’re building an independent restaurant, especially a social club, it’s done by folks who have never been in the restaurant business, who aren’t typically great with things like lighting or decor,” Lehr said. “Early on, one thing they wanted was pool tables, but I asked, ‘How many chain restaurants do you see with pool tables?’, and they realized the answer was none. So I got to keep them on task and true to the original concept. It was very focused on what’s the budget and what’s the result we are trying to deliver? I also brought the experience that every ingredient you bring into the kitchen, you want to use it in as many places as possible, so we were able to be both creative and disciplined in how we made the menu look and feel.” When designing the club, the fire department also made sure that the aesthetics closely mirrored those of a restaurant. The building is equipped with large windows, not typically seen at a social club, which can sometimes feel dark and enclosed. The building’s overall design, which is adorned with fire department memorabilia, has a modern feel, and the project actually came in much cheaper than what the department expected. “One of the scariest things about this whole venture is just the amount of money you spend when you start to do this, but the one thing that helped as a volunteer fire department was the volunteer labor we received,” Parker said. “A lot came from within. A lot came from calling in favors from local builders and excavators. We were able to take what we know would have been a $2.5 million (project) and complete it for just over $1.3 million, and that’s absolutely because of the community support.”

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The Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department opened a social club called Engine House 39 in Edinboro, and it has become a popular destination for folks from both the McKean and Edinboro communities. Its membership has eclipsed 5,000 since it opened in 2018. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

fundraising

The department focused a lot of energy on building the Engine House 39 brand. The name comes from the notion that the Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department is Station No. 38, so the club serves as “station 39.” An easily-identifiable logo was created, and the club has a very active and professional social media presence. They even worked with Erie Brewing Co. to create a house beer, appropriately named Engine House 39, which is always available on tap. When it came to hiring, they brought in experienced restaurant workers. Debbie Fuller, who had previously managed several restaurants, has worked as the club’s general manager since opening. “We didn’t go out and hire a club manager because we knew we could teach that, but what we couldn’t teach was a good restaurant manager, so we went after someone with that experience,” Parker said. Fuller’s experience has played a key role in the club’s success. “Because of the restaurant background that many of us bring to this, we have a lot of structure in terms of how we present the food,” Fuller said. “It also just feels like a restaurant. The view is gorgeous, and it’s set off back toward the fields.” The club’s success has also helped the fire department in terms of awareness. Parker said patrons are happy to eat a meal or enjoy a small game of chance, knowing that it directly

benefits the local fire department. With more than 5,000 members, the club’s growth has exceeded the expectations of both Parker and the entire department. “By all accounts, it’s been way more successful than we ever thought it would be. We’re making money, and we’re being smart at the same time in how we do things,” Parker said. “What we’re currently doing is going to keep us viable into the future. It’s been absolutely great, it’s absolutely successful, and we’ve even been able to pay down on the mortgage quicker than we ever thought.” LEL

IF YOU GO • Engine House 39 • 1000 Washington Drive, Edinboro • 814-250-2639 • www.edinboroﬁre.org • facebook.com/EngineHouse39/ Hours: Sunday through Thursday: 11 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Annual dues for Engine House 39 are $25 per person, and an application to join can be downloaded at the Edinboro Fire Department’s website. The club is family-friendly, and sandwiches and entrees range from $7.50 to $13.

Engine House 39 has become a popular destination in Washington Township. With 5,000 members, it helps raise funds for the Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]

The Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department runs Engine House 39, a social club, in Washington Township. [FILE PHOTO JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

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giving

Luther Manus, left, and wife Connie Manus, right, join Mike Batchelor, Erie Community Foundation President, in Erie on June 28. The Manuses make donations to multiple nonproﬁts each year on Erie Gives Day. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

‘Everyone can be a philanthropist’ At a glance:

Story by Pam Parker

he Erie Community Foundation’s Erie Gives campaign gives everyone a chance to help Erie improve through a lot of little successes that add up to big successes. Anyone can help with a $25 donation, and the Foundation provides a prorated match — increasing every gift. “Erie Gives is an opportunity for everyone to be a philanthropist with as little as $25,” said Mike Batchelor, president of the Erie Community Foundation. Erie’s Luther and Connie Manus make an impact on quite 48 | L A K E E R I E L I F E S T Y L E

a few nonprofits on Erie Gives Day. “I think we gave to 13 nonprofits on Erie Gives Day last year,” Luther Manus said. The Manuses, both retired City of Erie educators, have been frequent contributors to Erie nonprofits that often deal with education, and Connie Manus said every nonprofit deserves attention. “Every organization is important. Luther likes to be consistent every year, and we have a list of places we give. It’s a good way to give back and we do it every year — since the beginning. It’s amazing what we can do. Look

what happened when people gave $10 per person to elect President Obama,” she said. Youth leadership organizations and education are most important to the Manuses, who continue to volunteer their time in addition to monetary donations. When Luther Manus learns that someone he meets has a teenager looking at local colleges, he offers his advice and brochures to help. “He knows the scholarships — there are so many out there,” his wife said. “We are educators for life and forever.”

Erie Gives started in 2011 to celebrate the Erie Community Foundation’s 75th anniversary. Since that time, the number of donors has more than doubled and the amount of gifts has more than quintupled. The top recipient in 2018 were the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education/Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week. 2018: $4.47 million 7,945 donors 2017: $4.42 million, 7,685 donors 2016: $3.45 million, 7,395 donors 2015: $2.84 million, 6,466 donors 2014: $2.27 million, 5,465 donors 2013: $1.74 million, 4,613 donors 2012: $1.23 million, 3,843 donors 2011: $774,444, 2,770 donors

giving

The Oasis Project Farmer’s Market, 914 State St. in downtown Erie, is just one of the the many nonproﬁts that the Erie Community Foundation helped to open with a grant. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Challenges get attention On Erie Gives Day, Batchelor and Erin Fessler, vice president of marketing and community/government relations for the Erie Community Foundation, noted that nonprofits are creative in trying to call attention to themselves and stand out from the rest. Many often throw out challenges and rewards for meeting fundraising goals. In 2018, Abby Zupan, of Erie, dressed as a dinosaur when the nonprofit Emma’s Footprints reached $5,000 as part of a challenge. Dreams do come true In the foundation’s 2018 annual report, stories of how people in Erie benefit were inspiring. Batchelor and Fessler called attention to the Oasis Project Farmer’s Market, 914 State St. in downtown Erie, which has filled the need for a food oasis in the community and has been open for six months. The yearround market was one of many recipients of foundation grants.

How does Erie Gives work? On Aug. 13 from 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., you can make a donation to any of the more than 300 participating nonprofits by logging onto www.eriegives.org where you will find a list of participating nonprofits. You’ll need to have your own email address to participate. If you don’t have an email, call the Foundation at 814-454-0843. How much can I give? The minimum gift is $25, but there are no limits on the amount you choose to give or the number of organizations you can choose in a transaction. How to use credit cards: Visa, MasterCard and Discover will be accepted. What if I want to write a check: This year, for the first time, donors can write a check to the Erie Community Foundation and must include a check donation form available from the Foundation. The check must be delivered to the Erie Community Foundation, 459 W. Sixth Street by Monday, Aug. 12. Prorated match: The Erie Community Foundation provides a prorated match for each gift. If you need a receipt: You will receive an email receipt. Do you need a reminder about Erie Gives Day? Text “REMIND” to 814-580-5846 for

reminders before the big day. Erie Gives Check Distribution Day: The nonprofits will receive all donations plus the Erie Community Foundation’s prorated matches on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at the Erie Zoo. LEL

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More than Erie Gives Local donors are obviously interested in giving back to their community, but Erie natives who left for careers far from Erie have been quick to give back to their own hometown long after they were successful in other regions. In 2018, gifts to the Erie Community Foundation came from 41 states and 10 countries. Batchelor noted that everyone loves to give to their hometown because “you only have one hometown.”

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giving

Organizations participating in Erie Gives

Erie Gives is an annual one-day fundraiser for nonproﬁts organized by the Erie Community Foundation in Erie. This year’s event will be held Aug. 13. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

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4 N.I.N.E. Place AAUW - Erie Branch, Inc. www.aauwerie.org AHN Saint Vincent Hospital www.ahn.org/erie/saint-vincent-hospital ANNA Shelter www.theannashelter.com Abiding Hope Lutheran Church www.abidinghopeerie.org Absolute Love Adoptions, Inc. www.absoluteloveadoptions.com Academy Neighborhood Association www.academyneighbors.org Achievement Center www.achievementctr.org Albion Area Fair, Inc. www.albionfair.com Albion Area Public Library www.albionarealibrary.org All God's Children Ministries allgodschildrenministries.org American Cancer Society www.cancer.org American Heart Association www.heart.org American Red Cross Redcross.org/greaterpa

• Americans for the Competitive Enterprise System, Inc. (ACES) www.aceserie.org • Arts Council of Erie d/b/a Erie Arts & Culture www.erieartsandculture.org • Asbury Woods www.asburywoods.org • Attorneys & Kids Together (AKT) www.eriebar.com/foundation/akt-program • Autism Society Northwestern Pennsylvania www.autismnwpa.org • Barber National Institute www.barberinstitute.org • Bayfront East Side Taskforce www.besterie.org • Bayfront Maritime Center www.bayfrontcenter.org • Because You Care, Inc. www.becauseyoucare.org • Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Inc. www.eriebenedictines.org • Bethany Outreach Center www.bethanyoutreachcenter.org • Bethesda Lutheran Services www.bethesda1919.org • Bike Erie www.bikeerie.org

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giving

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Blended Spirits Ranch www.blendedspiritsranch.org/ Blessed Sacrament School www.eriecatholic.org/bss Booker T. Washington Center www.btwcenter.org Boy Scouts of America, French Creek Council frenchcreek-bsa.org Brevillier Village www.brevillier.org Brookside Fire Company www.brooksideﬁredepartment.com Camp Judson www.campjudson.com Camp Notre Dame, Inc. www.campnotredame.com Cathedral Preparatory School www.prep-villa.com Catholic Charities Counseling & Adoption Services (CCCAS) www.cccas.org Children's Advocacy Center of Erie County, Inc. www.cacerie.org Children's Miracle Network saint-vincent.childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals. org/ Children's Museum www.eriechildrensmuseum.org Chosen, Inc. www.chosenima.org Christian Institute of Human Relations www.cihr.us Climate Changers, Inc. www.totalchangeprogram.com Community Access Media (CAM) www.camerie.org Community Blood Bank of NWPA & WNY fourhearts.org Community Connections at Findley Lake www.connectionsatﬁndleylake.org Community Country Day School www.ccdserie.com Community Health Net www.community-healthnet.com Community Nursing Services of North East www.northeastnurses.com Community Resources for Independence www.crinet.org Community Shelter Services www.facebook.com/ CommunityShelterServices/ Corry Area Arts Council, Inc. corryareaartscouncil.com Corry Area Historical Society, Inc. admin@corryareahistoricalsociety.org Corry Area School District Foundation www.corrysd.net Corry Community Development Corp. d/b/a Impact Corry impactcorry.com Corry Community Foundation www.corrycommunityfoundation.org Corry Higher Education Council www.corryhied.org Corry PTO www.facebook.com/corrypto Corry Public Library corrylibrary.org Crime Victim Center of Erie County www.cvcerie.org Dafmark Dance Theater www.dafmarkdance.org Diocese of Erie Cursillo Movement eriecursillo.org Downtown Edinboro Art and Music Festival www.edinboroartandmusic.com Downtown North East, Inc. Dr. George D'Angelo Strings Scholarship Fund, ECF EHCA Foundation (of Erie Homes for Children and Adults) ehca.org EUMA (Erie United Methodist Alliance) www.euma-erie.org Eagles Nest Leadership Corporation www.eaglesnestleadership.org Early Connections, Inc. www.earlyconnectionserie.org Edinboro Area Historical Society Edinboro Legion Pool, Inc. www.edinborolegionpool.org Edinboro University Foundation www.edinborofoundation.org EmergyCare www.emergycare.org Emma's Footprints www.emmasfootprints.com Emmaus Ministries www.emmauserie.org Environment Erie wwww.environmenterie.org Erie Animal Network www.erieanimalnetwork.com Erie Area Rabbit Society & Rescue www.eriearearabbitsociety.org Erie Art Museum www.erieartmuseum.org Erie Bird Observatory www.eriebirdobservatory.org Erie Catholic School System www.eriecatholic.org Erie Cemetery Association www.eriecemeteryassoc.com Erie Center for Arts & Technology www.eriecat.org Erie City Mission www.eriecitymission.org Erie Community Foundation www.eriecommunityfoundation.org Erie Contemporary Ballet Theatre www.eriecbt.org Erie County Historical Society www.eriehistory.org Erie DAWN www.eriedawn.org Erie Day School www.eriedayschool.com Erie Drum Corps Association www.eriethunderbirds.org

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• Erie Family Center Eriefamilycenter.org • Erie Free Store www.facebook.com/eriefreestore • Erie Humane Society (Humane Society of NWPA) www.eriehumanesociety. org • Erie Innovation District www.erieinnovationdistrict.com • Erie Junior Philharmonic eriephil.org/jr-phil • Erie Philharmonic www.eriephil.org • Erie Philharmonic Chorus www.eriephil.org/chorus • Erie Playhouse www.erieplayhouse.org • Erie Regional Library Foundation www.erlfoundation.org/ • Erie Trap and Release www.erietrapandrelease.com • Erie Women's Fund www.ErieWomensFund.org • Erie Yacht Club Foundation www.erieycfoundation.org • Erie Youth Soccer Association www.erieyouthsoccer.org • Erie Zoological Society www.eriezoo.org • Fairview Area Historical Society www.fairviewhistory.org • Fairview School Foundation www.fairviewschoolfoundation.org • Family Services of NW PA www.FSNWPA.org • Findley Lake Community Foundation • First Baptist Church thefbcne.com • First Presbyterian Church of Girard www.girardpc.org • First Presbyterian Church of North East www.fpcne.org • First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant www.firstcovenanterie.org • Flagship Niagara League www.flagshipniagara.org • Forgiven Ministries, Inc. forgiven-ministries.org • Fort LeBoeuf Foundation www.flbfoundation.com • Foundation for Free Enterprise Education/Pennsylvania Free Enterprise

giving Mike Batchelor, president of the Erie Community Foundation, updates the results of the 2018 Erie Gives campaign. [MATTHEW RINK/ ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

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Week www.pfew.org Foundation for Sustainable Forests foundationforsustainableforests.org French Creek Valley Conservancy www.frenchcreekconservancy.org Friends of the Erie County Public Library www.erielibrary.org Gannon University Gaudenzia Erie, Inc. www.gaudenziaerie.org Gem City Bands www.gemcitybands.org General McLane Foundation www.generalmclane.net/gm-foundation/ Goodell Gardens & Homestead www.goodellgardens.org Greater Erie Alliance for Equality www.greatereriealliance.com Greater Erie Area Habitat for Humanity WWW.HABITATERIE.ORG Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC) www.gecac.org Greater Erie Youth for Christ www.nwpayfc.org Grey-Save of Northwestern PA, Inc www.greysavenwpa.org HVA Senior Living Alliance www.askhva.org Hamot Health Foundation www.hamothealthfoundation.org Harbor Creek School District Foundation www.hcsd.iu5.org Harborcreek Historical Society www.harborcreekhistory.org Harborcreek Youth Services www.hys-erie.org Headwaters NRC Trust www.erieconservation.com Hermitage House Youth Services www.hermitagehouse.org Holy Rosary Church www.holyrosaryerie.org Hooked on Books for Kids www.hookedonbooksforkidserie.org Hope for Erie Animal Wellness hopeforeaw.com Hope on Horseback www.hopehorseback.org Hospice of Metropolitan Erie, Inc. Hospiceerie.org

• Housing and Neighborhood Development Service (HANDS) www.hands-erie. org • Idea Fund Erie www.ideafunderie.org • Imagination Library www.unitedwayerie.org/imagination • Inner-City Neighborhood Art House www.neighborhoodarthouse.org • Inter-Church Ministries of Erie County www.icmeriecounty.com • International Institute of Erie www.refugees.org • John F. Kennedy Center, Inc. www.thejfkcenter.org • Junior Achievement of Western PA www.jawesternpa.org • Junior League of Erie www.juniorleagueoferie.com • Kaleidascope, Inc. www.kas-erie.org • Kiwanis Club of Erie Foundation www.eriekiwanis.org • L'Arche Erie www.larcheerie.org • LGBT Community Endowment www.eriecommunityfoundation.org/partners/ the-lgbt-community-endowment • LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of Erie www.girlsgolfoferie.com • Lake City United Methodist Church Lakecitymethodist@gmail.com • Lake Effect Leaders AmeriCorps VISTA Project www.lakeeffectleaders.com • Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier (LEAF) www.leaferie.org • Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) www.lecom.edu • Lake Erie Fanfare, Inc. www.leregiment.org • Lake Shore Railway Historical Society lakeshorerailway.com • Lakeshore Community Services, Inc. www.lakeshorecs.org • Lakewood United Methodist Church lakewooderie.org • League of Women Voters of Erie County www.lwverie.org • LifeCare Pregnancy and Family Resource Center www.lifecareofcorry.com • LifeWorks Erie www.lifeworkserie.org • Linked By Pink www.linkedbypink.org • Love INC of Union City, Spartansburg, & Corry facebook.com/loveincuccs • Love, Inc. of West Erie County • Luther Memorial Church & Luther Memorial Academy www.luthermemorialonline.org • MYAA-Millcreek Youth Athletic Association www.myaasports.com • Make-A-Wish Greater PA and WV greaterpawv.wish.org • Maleno Family to Family Fund www.malenohomes.com • March of Dimes www.marchofdimes.org • Maria House Project mariahouseproject.org • McCord Memorial Library www.mccordlibrary.org • McLane Church mclanechurch.org • Mead Park Association www.meadpark.org • Meals On Wheels Erie www.mealsonwheelserie.org • Member to Member, Inc. www.m2mfund.org • Mental Health Association of Northwestern Pennsylvania www.mhanp.org • Mercy Center for Women www.mcwerie.org • Mercy Center of the Arts www.mercycenterofthearts.com • Mercy Hilltop Center www.mercyhilltopcenter.com • Mercyhurst Preparatory School www.mpslakers.com • Mercyhurst University www.mercyhurst.edu • Millcreek Counseling and Mental Health Advocacy Partnership Corp. www. millcreek-partnership.com • Millcreek Education Foundation www.millcreeekeducationfoundation.org • Millcreek Paramedic Service, Inc. www.millcreekparamedics.org • Mission Empower www.missionempower.org • Montessori In The Woods www.montessoriinthewoods.org • Mother Teresa Academy www.mtasaints.com • Multi-Cultural Health Evaluation Delivery System, Inc mheds.org • Multicultural Community Resource Center www.mcrcerie.org • Mystic Mountain Training Center www.mysticmountaintrainingcenter.org • National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Erie county www.NAMIerie.org • Neighborhood Watch #13 Snoops • New Blossoms New Life Foundation www.newblossomsnewlife.org • North East Arts Council www.northeastarts.org • North East Community Food Pantry • North East Community Foundation www.necommunityfoundation.org • North East Education Foundation www.nesd1.org AUGUST 2019

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giving

In 2018, Erie Gives Day raised $4,471,123 for 381 nonproﬁts. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

North East Historical Society northeasthistoricalsociety.org North East in Bloom www.facebook.com/NorthEastinBloom/ Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy www.eriesd.org/npca Northwest Pennsylvania K-9 Search and Rescue nwpak9sar.org Northwestern Community Educational Foundation ncef@nwsd.org Northwestern Extended Emergency Dwelling www.northwesternextendedemergencydwelling.com Orchard Beach Assembly www.orchardbeach.church Orphan Angels Cat Sanctuary and Adoption Center www.orphanangels.org Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church olmc-erie.org Our Lady of Peace School eriecatholic.org/olp Our Lady of the Lake Church www.ololake.com Our West Bayfront www.ourwestbayfront.org PA Chapter of Children's Advocacy Centers and Multidisciplinary Teams penncac.org Park Church BSA Troop 57 Park United Methodist Church www.pumcne.org Parkinson Partners of NW PA www.ParkinsonPartners.org Partnership for a Healthy Community People for Life Education Fund www.peopleforlife.org/education/ Performing Arts Collective Alliance (PACA) www.paca1505.com Perry Square Alliance www.perrysquarealliance.com Perseus House www.perseushouse.org Pine Grove Cemetery pinegrovec@gmail.com Pleasant Ridge Manor Friends Forever www.pleasantridgemanor.com Presbyterian Homes of Lake Erie www.srcare.org/ Presque Isle Audubon Society www.presqueisleaudubon.org Presque Isle Lighthouse www.presqueislelighthouse.org Presque Isle Partnership www.discoverpi.com Project Love, Inc. projectloveinc.nepa@gmail.com Regional Science Consortium www.RegSciConsort.com Rotary Club of Erie Scholarship Foundation www.erierotary.org Safe Harbor Behavioral Health of UPMC Hamot www.upmchamot.org/ safeharbor Safe Journey www.mysafejourney.org SafeNet Domestic Violence Safety Network www.safeneterie.org Saint George Church www.stgeorgeerie.org Saint Luke Church www.stlukeerie.org Saint Luke School www.slserie.org Saint Mary's Home of Erie www.stmaryshome.org Saint Peter Cathedral stpetercathedral.com Sarah A. Reed Children's Center www.SarahReed.org Sarah Reed Senior Living www.sarahareed.org Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania www.nwpafoodbank. org ServErie www.serverie.com Sisters of Mercy, House of Mercy www.houseofmercyerie.org Sisters of St. Joseph of NWPA www.ssjerie.org South Harborcreek United Methodist www.southharborcreekumc.org

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St John the Baptist R.C. Church www.sjberie.org St. Andrew Church www.saintandrewerie.com/ St. George Catholic School www.eriecatholic.org/sgs St. James School www.eriecatholic.org/sja St. Jude School (Formally Our Lady Christian School) www.eriecatholic.org/ sju/about-us St. Martin Center, Inc. www.smcerie.org St. Patrick Church saintpatrickparisherie.org St. Patrick's Haven www.stpatrickshaven.org St. Paul's Free Clinic www.stpaulsfreeclinic.org St. Paul's Lutheran Church www.stpaulserie.org St. Stephen's Episcopal Church www.ststephens-fairview.org StringsforaCURE ® Foundation www.StringsforaCURE.org Sunshine Group of Erie sunshinegroupoferie.wordpress.com Tamarack Wildlife Center www.tamarackwildlife.org The Arc of Erie County www.thearcoferie.org The Georgiana Foundation The Iroquois School District Foundation www.iroquoissd.org The Northwestern Pennsylvania Artists Association www.npaaonline.org The Reason For Our Hope Foundation www.thereasonforourhope.org The Sight Center of Northwest Pennsylvania www.sightcenternwpa.org The Tom Ridge Environmental Center Foundation www.trecf.org The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie uuerie.org The Urban Oasis Project www.TheOasisMarket.com The Visiting Nurse Association of Erie County www.erievna.org The Woman's Club of Erie, Inc. eriewomansclub.com Therapy Dogs United www.therapydogsunited.org Union City Community Foundation www.UnionCityCF.org Union City First United Methodist Church ucfirstum.com Union City Historical Society ucpamuseum@gmail.com Union City Public Library www.ucpl.org United Way of Erie County www.unitedwayerie.org Urban Erie Community Development Corporation www.uecdc.org Veterans Miracle Center vmcerie.org Villa Maria Academy www.prep-villa.com Village Friends, Inc. www.villagefriendsinc.org Voices For Independence www.vficil.org WCTL-FM / Inspiration Time, Inc. www.wctl.org WLD Ranch www.wldranch.com WQLN Public Media www.wqln.org Waterford Public Library waterfordborough.org Wayside Presbyterian Church www.wayside-erie.org WellFit Incorporated (Wellsville) www.wellsville.tv West Lake Fire Department www.westlakefiredepartment.com Women's Care Center of Erie County, Inc. www.WccErie.org YMCA of Corry ymcacorry.org YMCA of Greater Erie www.ymcaerie.org Young People's Chorus of Erie www.behrend.psu.edu/ypcerie Youth Leadership Institute of Erie www.ylierie.org