Dec 18, 2021 4 min read

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Every Christmas season in Greene County, there are a few things that can be counted on: Cold weather, a visit from Santa and Colleen Nelson and Wendy Saul’s unique annual calendar for the upcoming year being available for purchase.

For the 43rd consecutive year, Nelson, of Holbrook, and Saul, of New Freeport, are bringing residents in the county, across the nation and even around the world their calendar featuring local landmarks, scenes and people.

The 2022 edition of the Greene Country Calendar features 13 black and white hand-drawn images. Once again, the two women traveled around the county throughout the past year and shot photographs they might consider to be acceptable for the calendar.

After they narrowed down their final 13 choices, the duo then created pen and ink drawings of the photos that became the images for the 12 months of the year as well as a cover page.

Nelson and Saul said they have sold many copies of the 2022 calendar, and still have some available. The calendars are now available for purchase at Waynesburg establishments Specialty Herbal Products, located at 153 E. High St., and at Waynesburg Milling Company, located at 387 S. Washington St. They can also be ordered directly from Nelson by calling 724-833-2622 or by emailing crnelson@windstream.net.

This year’s calendar is even more special to Nelson and Saul because they are dedicating it to the memory of Judith Myers Fitch, who passed away last year. In 1978, it was Fitch who suggested the duo create a calendar showing Greene County scenes to sell in a store she was opening in Rogersville.

“Judith told us she wanted to sell something locally made and she contacted us, and that’s when the calendar was born,” Nelson said. “She assisted with the screening of the first calendar. We started making it around Thanksgiving that year and had it ready before Christmas. We bought the paper and produced 150 copies of our very first 13-page calendar that were sold at her shop, and the ones that didn’t sell we gave away as presents to friends and family.”

For decades, once the calendars were completed they were sent to Rhodes and Hammers Printing of Waynesburg, who would then publish 500 of their copies. This year, the copies were published by Morgantown Printing and Binding.

Nelson said Rhodes and Hammer Printing was instrumental in the calendar’s success.

“We would hand-screen each individual page and the produce copies by hand, and it took us weeks to complete them,” she said. “Then one day Rhodes and Hammer said they could help us make more copies in a lot less time. It worked out wonderfully, and we are very grateful for their assistance.”

The 2022 calendar also includes a narrative description that provides information and insightful tidbits that help explain each picture. For example, Nelson and Saul write that September’s image is a scene at the Save-A-Horse Stable in Rogersville, where 50-plus rescued horses are spending the rest of their lives. The November image offers a glimpse of the now-closed Goodwin’s General Store, which was a popular business for years on Crabapple Road in Richhill Township.

This year’s cover depicts Jacob Fordyce, who grew up being mentored by his pilot grandfather and later by retired pilot Chris Polhemus. Fordyce piloted a solo flight on his 16th birthday in 2021.

In describing the cover, Nelson and Saul wrote that “the sky’s the limit for kids, thanks to the county airport and the lively troupe of active and retired pilots who encourage youngsters to take their first flight for free during Greene County Airport Days in August.”

Since its humble beginnings, the Greene County Calendar has become something of a popular holiday tradition here and abroad, with copies being sent to residents in areas such as the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Austria and New Zealand.

As for Nelson, she said the annual calendar has become an important – and very cherished – part of her life.

“The calendar is the measure of my year,” she said. “But it’s more than that. It’s a reflection of my love for Greene County, its history and people. And it’s a reflection of my special lifelong friendship with Wendy, who is just as passionate and dedicated about the annual calendar as I am. It means the world to us. It has tied us together, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Saul said the calendars are not just pictures of scenery, they document local history. And, she said the duo intend to continue making the calendars for years to come.

“Our lives grew every year through these calendars,” Saul said. “They are very important to us. We always agreed that we will continue to make these every year, until we don’t.”