Hits and Misses
It’s hard to believe, but 50 years ago some Washington County residents thought Led Zeppelin would be coming to West Finley Township. As a story in the Monday edition detailed, the county was abuzz in August 1970 with the prospect that something akin to Woodstock would be coming to what is now the Four Seasons Resort in West Finley. Along with Led Zeppelin, other big names were mentioned – Grand Funk Railroad, the Grateful Dead, even The Who. But the reality is the promoters were more adept at hype than logistics, and officials across the county vehemently opposed it. And while they may look a little bit like fuddy-duddies now, they made a good call. The township almost certainly did not have the infrastructure to handle an influx of thousands of rock fans, and air ambulances like Life Flight were still years in the future. It’s better to have legends about what could have been than a legendary fiasco.
Washington County lost one of its best and most generous citizens last Saturday when Richard Cameron died at age 93. Cameron was part of a family that ran a Washington bottling business for more than a century, and used some of the money generated by that business to help make the area a better place to live. Washington & Jefferson College’s athletic stadium on Park Avenue bears the family name, and, as we reported Monday, Cameron and his wife, Edwina, helped the LeMoyne Community Center when it was facing dire straits 12 years ago. Joyce Ellis, the community center’s executive director, remembered, “They were the first people who believed in my mission. Without them, the LeMoyne Center wouldn’t have survived in 2008.”
There were some warm days this week, and you might want to appreciate them while you can. The 2021 edition of the Farmer’s Almanac was recently released, and it forecast that the winter ahead will be “seasonably cold, wet and white,” with a blizzard due to march up the East Coast in February. If you remember, last winter was exceptionally dry and mild, leading Sandi Duncan, the almanac’s managing editor, to point out, “If you didn’t like last winter’s somewhat boring weather in the Northeast, you may be happy to hear what we’re predicting in 2021.” We’re not. Of course, weather forecasting this far away should be taken with a grain of salt, but it might not hurt to start stocking up on some.
The amount of litter that is strewn along Pennsylvania’s roads and highways makes the commonwealth look like it’s inhabited by uncouth slobs, and the problem has been exacerbated by COVID-19, with otherwise routine clean-up activities having been delayed or canceled. The state could look a little more presentable by the time we get to Thanksgiving, though, thanks to the “Pick Up Pennsylvania” campaign that starts Tuesday and continues through Nov. 30. Both the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection are looking for small groups or individuals to help clean up litter. Volunteers must wear masks, practice social distancing and limit groups to 250 people or fewer to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Of course, what would be even better is people not littering in the first place.