Sep 14, 2018 3 min read

MONONGAHELA – A local teenager’s find at a local thrift store and an Instagram post led to the formation of a group of young people who are working to keep Monongahela’s Main Street vibrant.

Sixteen-year-old Ethan Gamble has a passion for photography and likes to browse thrift stores for old photography equipment. He posted about a recent find on Instagram and was contacted by Daniel Tregembo, president of the Monongahela Main Street Program. Tregembo asked him if he would be interested in helping with a photography and video presentation for the Main Street Program.While helping with the presentation, Gamble and Terry Necciai, the program’s executive director, decided to give young people their own voice in their town and the M.y. Main Street group was born.

Necciai said it is exciting to see young people get involved in the community. “If you don’t give young people a voice in their town, they scatter,” he said. “I envision a vibrant downtown and with young people it can happen.”

Gamble said that Monongahela has a thriving Main Street with the local coffee shop, Little City Coffee, thrift stores and boutiques moving in, though many teens his age don’t patronize the shops downtown.

“We want to bring in young people to Main Street,” he explained. “Changing the signage on some shops may attract young people. We have many antique shops, which say antique.” Instead, he suggested using different words in the signage. “The words hip and vintage appeal to a younger crowd,” he said. Little things, such as adding signage, will attract people to the stores, he believes.

Makensie Holets, 25, lives on Main Street and said the area is doing well, with boutiques opening, and she wants to keep it thriving. “I think as young people we have a responsibility to give back to our community,” she said.

Gianni Mangino, 25, has a vested interest in keeping Main Street vibrant, as his mom Debra owns a business there. “I am doing this for my mom. I think it is important to keep the focus on Main Street,” he said. “Many of other local towns have seen businesses close up and move away. Some of these towns have nothing, I don’t want to see that happen to our town. We are fortunate to have a thriving Main Street. Young people need to be involved in the community.”

Holets said at the first meeting of the group many ideas were discussed to bring young people to town and to the businesses. They included a street carnival, a trick or treat along Main Street, where businesses will hand out candy, and a photography project. The group is seeking funding for their projects from various businesses, organizations and government agencies.

Gamble said that the Aquatorium is a great venue for music and hopes to bring in music that is geared toward a younger crowd. He added that another idea is to bring a pop-up coffee shop to Ringgold High School with Little City Coffee. “Many young people I have talked to at school don’t even know that the coffee shop exists on Main Street. Bringing a mobile coffee shop into the high school would bring exposure,” he said.

The next M.y. Main Street meeting will be at the Monongahela Chamber Commerce building, 211 W. Main St., at 6 p.m. Friday. Residents ages 13 to 30 are invited to attend. For more information on the group, check out the Monongahela Main Street Program Facebook Page, updates and upcoming events and meeting times will be listed.