The Almanac - April 14, 2024

the almanac

Energized by eclipse

Mt. Lebanon experiences once-in-a-lifetime event

By Eleanor Bailey Almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.net

Connie Mathews remembers viewing her first solar eclipse. She was living in Mexico City and driving to see the Popocatépetl volcano on July 11, 1991, when the moon passed between the earth and the sun, totally obscuring its view.

“I got to see the roosters crowing and animals responding. The people in the country were actually hiding away in their houses because folks were afraid of what was happening. We were in a very remote region,” she noted. “It was an incredible experience.”

Although at 97% totality, the solar eclipse that occurred April 8 impressed Mathews even more. That is because the senior children’s librarian, in conjunction with the Citizen Science Lab, helped host a watch party attended by an estimated 270 guests at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library.

“This was so much fun. The energy was so good, and I was so happy the clouds cooperated. We knew the sun would,” she said.

Around 2 p.m. when the watch party started, the dark clouds occluding the sun began to dissipate to the cheers of the gathering crowd. While waiting for totality to occur at 3:17 p.m., families, children and friends occupied themselves by visiting several stations

set up by the Science Lab to educate and inform. Participants used Oreo cookies to follow the phases of the eclipse. They created pinhole and box projectors to view the event without safety glasses. They constructed

spectroscopes that split the sunlight into a rainbow. They also enjoyed launching dry ice rockets. “The event went great,” said Nicole Saltzman from the Science Lab. “We had a huge turnout. This was more people than I could ever

expect. It was a really cool thing to share with the community and to be able to share our expertise, our glasses and our experiments and activities with the community. “An eclipse is a big, big thing in the science community. Anyone in the whole world can enjoy and take part in the fun science of it and experience it. See it occur and see what it does to everything around us,” she added. Saltzman was over the moon after witnessing the eclipse. When the celestial event occurred in 2017, she was a student at Thomas Jefferson High School. “I never got my hands on a pair of glasses to experience it,” she said regrettably, “but I did get to view it this time. It was awesome.”

Galactic goodies

Bethel Bakery makes cookies in honor of total solar eclipse

By Katherine Mansfield Staff writer mansfield@observer-reporter.com

One doesn’t need special sunglasses to look directly at Bethel Bakery’s latest culinary confection. The bakery, with locations in Bethel Park and along Route 19 in North Strabane, is “totality” leaning into the hype surrounding the April 8 solar eclipse, with limited edition solar eclipse cookies.

“It was kind of last minute,” said Natalie Lacek, marketing coordinator at Bethel Bakery. “We noticed the solar eclipse was getting a lot of traction on news outlets. We started experimenting with some designs a couple weeks ago.”

When held to the sky, the winning cookie design looks uncannily like a real solar eclipse, only it’s soft and sweet and 100% edible. Bethel Bakery decorates its iced shortbread cookies with an edible image, airbrushes the edges black, to resemble outer space, Lacek said, and tops the entire cookie in edible glitter for a far-out look.

The cookies were announced the last weekend of March, and folks were encouraged to preorder the galactic goodie. Since that announcement, the cookies have totally eclipsed the hearts of locals with sweet tooths.

“We wanted just to do something fun for the eclipse. It’s a once-in-alifetime thing,” Lacek said. “Our expectations have been blown away.”

PHOTOS: ELEANOR BAILEY/THE ALMANAC Washington Elementary students glimpse the solar eclipse with speciality glasses during a viewing party held at Mt. Lebanon Public Library.

From left are: (front row) Isla Bannon, Emily Larsen, Mayra Khanna, Micah Ciccarrelli; second row: Sven Kodzic, Zach Bober, Ted Miller, Maya Bandhu, Uros Cvetkovic; third row: Kim Robbins, Bennett Plug, Yasaman Azizi, Niki Simovski, Declan Gettemy, and Kristen Mackey.

Hannah Lasus, 10, tries out the pinhole projector she made to

Eclipse

“It blew my expectations. You know what to expect but just seeing it through your own eyes is very different. Very, very cool experience,” she added.

Jonathan Menzietti agreed. After experimenting with the rockets that he didn’t expect to fly into the air, Menzietti settled into his prime viewing spot, a curb along the sidewalk of the library, and donned his eclipse glasses.

“It’s a crescent sun,” he squealed in delight. “It looks good.”

Washington Elementary School students were equally excited. When the sun streamed through the windows of Kim Robbins’ fourthgrade classroom, she donned her eclipse glasses and the students erupted in cheers. “They became very excited,” she said.

Until the classes walked over to the library and gathered for the viewing party, they tracked the progression of the eclipse by watching the NASA live stream that Robbins had downloaded to her cellphone. “When it hit Mexico at 2:07, the kids were saying, ‘it will be here by 3:17,’ but we think how quickly that is but it’s a very far way to travel.”

As an educator, Robbins welcomed the opportunity that the students had to learn firsthand about the phenomena that will only be visible again in Montana and the Dakotas on Aug. 22, 2044.

“Depending on where they live in life, this may be the only total eclipse of the sun they experience. So I think it’s important when we have this opportunity, they get to experience this and share it. Hopefully they will remember this forever.” Kristen Mackey, who is a fourth-grade reading specialist at Washington Elementa-

Goodies

ry, prepared her students for the eclipse by showing them pictures and videos of the event. The class also read articles about eclipse. “When the moon goes in front of the sun at just the right position to cover the sun, it’s a unique occurrence. A very exciting opportunity to experience,” she said. “We certainly were in a good spot to witness 97% coverage.”

As totality neared, the library parking lot darkened as if dusk and temperatures dipped noticeably, to the delight of Ellie Ohsie. The 8-year-old Markham Elementary School student attended the solar eclipse watch party with her mother, Erin. “I was really looking forward to it getting really dark and really cold because I am really hot,” Ellie said.

“I was excited to experience this with her,” said Erin. “I feel like it’s such a fun age

for us to bond and experience such an historic event together. For whatever reason, I was more excited about this be-

cause I had read more about it and it

The bakery offered a limited number of special solar eclipse cakes in stores on April 8.

“Everything is first come, first serve. We didn’t expect to have such a high influx of people. Our team is just trying to keep up. They’re just flying off the shelves,” Lacek said.

The community’s response to Bethel Bakery’s cookies eclipsed all expectations, and the bakery has enjoyed interacting with customers ahead of today’s solar eclipse. Bethel Bakery encouraged followers on social media to shoot for the moon by tagging the bakery in their solar eclipse cookie photos, for a chance to be featured. “The response has been amazing. With this being a total solar eclipse, we thought it would be exciting to do something for this occasion,” Lacek said. “It’s been really fun.”

Along with its outtathis-world cookies, Bethel Bakery offered solar eclipse cakes in stores last Monday.

COURTESY OF NATALIE LACEK

PHOTOS: ELEANOR BAILEY/THE ALMANAC

ABOVE: Tenley Nevala and Julietta Camillo gaze at the solar eclipse with specialty glasses during a watch party at Mt. Lebanon Public Library. AT RIGHT: Noah Reed demonstrates to his friends the ice rocket experiment that he learned from the Citizen Science Lab, which was on hand to explain the solar eclipse to those attending the Mt. Lebanon Public Library’s watch party.

ABOVE: Clara and Grace Sywyj construct spectroscopes during activities at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library’s solar eclipse viewing party. BELOW: Mayra Khanna (front) stares at the solar eclipse with her Mt. Lebanon classmates Micah Ciccarrelli (right) and Uros Cvetkovic (back).

Joseph Trovato explains the phases of the eclipse through the use of Oreo cookies. Trovato was one of the volunteers from Citizens bank assisting during the Mt. Lebanon Library’s solar eclipse party.

Ellie and Erin Ohsie examine a box used to create a projector in order to watch the solar eclipse safely without the use of protective eyewear.

BP teacher named adviser of the year

Brad Kszastowski, a teacher at Bethel Park High School, has been selected Pennsylvania Student Council (SAC) Regional Adviser of the Year.

He oversees a student council of nine executive board members,16 senators and 92 homeroom and representatives at-large.

One of the Student Government Association (SGA) activities for which Kszastowski was recognized is “Wish Week,” an annual event in which SGA members and some school staff members fulfill some of their classmates’ wishes.

Kszastowski, a 2005 Bethel Park graduate, not only serves as the school’s student government advisor, but is also a class sponsor. In that role, he helped attract Robert Morris University as a College in High School partner for his computer-integrated manufacturing class.

He has forged several community partnerships through his media production classes and helps facilitate BP Connect, a leadership program that pairs students from the

high school with counterparts at Independence Middle School.

Kszastowski now advances to the Pennsylvania State Adviser of the Year competition.

By Katherine Mansfield Staff writer mansfield@observer-reporter.com

Several local school districts recently hit a high note when they were honored with the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation’s 2024 Best Communities for Music Education awards. Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, South Fayette and Upper St. Clair school districts are among the 975 school districts throughout the United States recognized by the NAMM Foundation for outstanding music education programs. The awards celebrate administrators, teachers, parents, students and community leaders committed to making music education accessible and fostering musical learning within their schools.

To qualify for the BCME awards, now in their 25th year, districts submit information regarding their music program, including support for the program, facilities, music class participation and graduation requirements,

Six Bethel Park High School music students earned seats to participate in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s (PMEA) 2024 All-State Festival and Annual In-Service Conference. The event is scheduled for April 19-20 at the Warner Theatre in Erie. The students are, from left, Ethan Alberter, Felix Kammerer; Sam Pellis, Maria Catana, Katie Peterson and Justin Muench. Bethel Park’s orchestra also was chosen to perform at the conference.

works in the marketing department of an ad agency.

“You can have really good food. You can see great entertainment and also visit some unique vendors that you won’t normally get to see at the shopping malls. You get to ingrain yourself in Scottish heritage. It’s such a special day, and everyone should experience it at least once.”

For years, Maniet, who grew up in Mt. Lebanon and now lives in Bridgeville, performed Scottish dances during Tartan Day festivities. A Point Park graduate, Maniet majored in journalism but

“I enjoyed performing because it showcased my heritage and I was able to carry on the legacy of my grandfather because he was Scottish,” she said. “While I don’t dance anymore, I now help my mom in whatever ways she needs. Lately I’ve been helping with the marketing materials. Billboards, radio spots, social media,” she added. “I get to see more of the behind-thescenes activities and I get to see all that is involved in putting this together and how great an event it is.” Not only does Tartan Day preserve Scottish heritage, it

helps fund St. Andrew Society award scholarships to those learning the Scottish arts. Maniet has received several of these stipends, which have gone to recipients who have become fiddling champions as well as international piping champions and Highland dancing trophy winners.

“The society helped me so much when I was growing up. So now it’s a nice way for me to give back for what I received,” Maniet said.

Pam Maniet pointed out that last year, 17 students received scholarships from the proceeds of the Scottish food sales, raffles and donation jars. “I’m over the moon and proud that we are able to pass on the traditions as well as promote and preserve Scottish heritage in this way,” she said. “It’s important to keep all the traditions alive and not let them go to the wayside.”

Manet’s Scottish roots run deep. Her relatives hailed from the Dunfermline, which is the hometown of Andrew Carnegie.

“My grandmother always told us that he lived just down the street,” Maniet said. “It’s a cute story.”

It’s true, however, that Angus MacDonald schooled his daughter in all the Scottish traditions long before his passing on Dec. 27, 2023. He taught Maniet about the traditional foods, including the meat and shepherd’s pies. She learned how to bake and her savory cranberry-orange and cheddar-dill scones as

Tartan

Ellie Turner prepares to dig into her Scottish biscuit during the Tartan Day celebration held April 6 at the Bethel Presbyterian Church.

ELEANOR BAILEY/ THE ALMANAC

well as empire biscuits, shortbread-type sandwiched desserts topped with icing and a candied cherry, highlighted the menu items sold on Tartan Day. “I’m proud of my heritage because I’m a Scot from my dad. A true lassie,” she said. “I miss him dearly, but he is here,” she said, patting her heart. “He’s looking over us from above.”

A vice president of St. Andrew’s Society of Pittsburgh, Maniet again served as chairperson for Tartan Day, which is celebrated nationally and recognizes Scotland’s declaration of independence.

Since 1998 when the U.S. Senate passed a resolution, April 6 has been recognized as National Tartan Day. On that date in 1320, eight earls and 45 barons put their seals on the Declaration of Arbroath, which asserted Scotland’s sovereignty over its land.

A North Strabane resident, Maniet grew up in Bethel Park and attended services at Bethel Presbyterian Church. She and her husband, Matt, raised a son, Ben, in addition to Britany.

Maniet noted that while Tartan Day has been held in Pittsburgh for 26 years, it has been held in the Bethel Park church since 2015. Bethel Presbyterian Church is a “Scottish” church founded in 1776 by John McMillan.

“It’s as old as the country. You can see the original stone. It’s kind of neat that it’s here and we hold this event here,” she said.

“It’s an exciting day filled with traditions, but the people make it fun. I look forward to seeing everybody because sometimes our lives can get so crazy busy and you don’t get to see people as often as you would like. This is a great way to connect, catch up and find out what is going on in people’s lives. “It’s also the best way to keep traditions alive and learn about the culture and the people. I would

say that the one characteristic about the Scots is that you can count us. No matter what, we will be there for you.”

Most everybody with a hint of Scot in them participated in the event. Dale McLeod served as emcee and John Hoffman was introduced as the new president of the St. Andrew’s Society. The day’s events included performances from several pipe and drum bands, including the Balmoral Pipes and Drums and the MacDonald Pipe Band, as well as the Ringgold Harp and String Ensemble. The Pittsburgh Scottish Country Dancers, Celtic Spirit Highland Dancers and the West Virginia Highland Dancers were featured acts.

In addition to the Great Kilt Demonstration, Sean Patrick Regan and Ian McLeod instructed beginners to

ing for a cape to wear on a return visit to Scotland. “It’s nice to have people that have the same interest in things Scottish. A lot of people would not be too excited about this, but I am.”

“I am very proud of the independence that (the Scottish) have shown and how they have such a feeling of egalitarianism. Everybody is very democratic. Everybody has a say. It’s a very proud and independent people that were very instrumental in the founding of this country.”

the bagpipes. Barra the Bard spun folk tales. Jack Webber gave workshops on Celtic Symbol Drawings as well as the origins and meanings of Scottish Names. Mary Beth Miller fiddled while George White, the Road to the Isles and Pint and a Half provided Scottish and Celtic songs. “It’s a great event,” said Wendy Stier, who was look-

Ralph Scott agreed. The Bethel Park resident operates St. Kilda, a traditional Highland wear company located in Carnegie.

“This is a chance to promote and celebrate Scottish heritage,” he said. “I do think there is Scottish pride basically. I love America. I’ve been living here for a long time, but you never forget your roots wherever you may be.”

PHOTOS: ELEANOR BAILEY/THE ALMANAC

Members of the Ringgold Harp and Strong Ensemble participated in the Tartan Day celebration held April 6 in Bethel Park. The group was among several musical acts to perform at the event.

Kathy Wells answers questions about weaving fabric to make tartans to a woman attending the Tartan Day celebration.

Best of the best

Robbins named Almanac MVP for boys’ basketball

By Eleanor Bailey Almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.net

Upper St. Clair has huge plans and dreams for the 2025 basketball season and Tyler Robbins is the big reason why. With the 6-foot-9 center, the Panthers are certain to contend for another WPIAL title and perhaps a PIAA championship.

With Robbins as a junior this winter, USC compiled a 22-6 record that featured a Class 6A crown and an appearance in the state quarterfinal contest. The Panthers beat Central Dauphin and State College before falling to eventual state champion, Central York, to end their season.

“Tyler is an unbelievable player,” said USC floor boss Dan Holzer. “He’s still getting better. He still looks like a young kid. I don’t think he’s done growing. I think he’s going to get bigger and stronger. I can’t imagine what he’s going to look like next year at this time.”

This winter, Robbins was dominant on both ends of the court. He averaged 13.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.5 blocks a game. He was accurate on 61.5 percent of his field goal attempts.

“Tyler impacted the

both

the floor,” Holzer said. “He’s very skilled and getting better. He’s a hard worker and he loves the game.” Robbins inherited his passion for the game.

1,806 career points.

The

Sircar outlasted Hassan’s teammate, Adam Memije, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the championship match played April 10 at the Glen Creek Tennis Center in South Park. Plutko lost to Memije, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals played April 9 at Bethel Park High School. He reached the final four by winning pro set matches against NA’s Evan Kaufman, 10-7, and Shady Side Academy’s Chase Hartman, 10-2, in the opening rounds of the tournament.

Plutko entered the WPIAL tournament as the Section 4 champion by virtue of his victory, 6-1, 6-1, over Devin Collier from Bethel Park. Collier, who was the WPIAL runner-up last year, lost to Hassan, 10-2, in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL tournament. The junior had beaten Michael deVyver from Seneca Valley, 10-1, in the opening round of action while Hassan blanked Peters Township’s Avi Sharma, 100.

was the thirdplace finisher in Section 4, outlasting Sharma, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in the consolation match. The top two finishers in Class AAA advanced to the PIAA tournament to be held May 26-27 at the Hershey Racket Club. Section doubles play commences

His sister, Kate, was a 1,000-point scorer at USC and a two-time WPIAL finalist. She just completed her freshman season at Marist. His younger brother, Ryan, was a 6-6 freshman on USC’s varsity this winter. Robbins, along with his brother, however, are the only WPIAL champions among the clan.

ends with placement matches on the final day against teams from Pool B — China, Paraguay, Uganda and Wales.

This is the second trip overseas for Dupre representing the United States in competition. Last year, she traveled with the U.S. Under-15 team for friendly matches in Germany and The Netherlands, and she scored in the win against the Dutch team. She was called into camp as an Under-16 player for the first time in February, when she took part in the team’s training camp in Chula Vista, Calif. Her performance there helped secure her spot on the 20-player roster for the Friendship Tournament, selected by U.S. coach Patchy Toledo.

A sophomore at Upper St. Clair High School, Dupre plays varsity soccer for the Panthers as well as within the Riverhounds Academy. Playing a year up, she competes on the Hounds’ 2007 Elite Clubs National League Girls team, which is coached by Scott Gibson.

A decade ago, she began training with the Riverhounds in the club’s Futures Program. She has played for the Hounds throughout her youth career.

With her call-up, Dupre is the second RDA-trained player to represent

“That’s pretty cool,” Robbins said. “It feels great. Awesome,” he added. Winning titles, he noted, “is what you play and live for.” Robbins submitted one of his finest performances in the WPIAL title game played

March 2 at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus, where his father, Tim, excelled in football before becoming a physical education teacher and assistant coach at USC.

During a 64-41 win against Baldwin in the Class 6A final, Robbins fired in 22 points, hauled in 12 rebounds and

game on

ends of

His mother, Kim Seaver, was a standout performer at Mt. Lebanon and Virginia Tech. She remains the alltime scoring leader in Lebo women’s basketball history with

Ari Plutko of Upper St. Clair finished fourth in the WPIAL Class AAA boys’ singles tennis tournament.

junior dropped his consolation match to Zidaan Hassan from Gateway, 6-2, 6-2, while North Allegheny’s Advaita

Tyler Robins

Brody Barber

DEVOTED FANS

It’s hard to remember now just how revolutionary VCRs and videocassettes were when they became widely available in the mid-1980s. Before then, if you wanted to see an older movie, you would mostly have to patiently wait until a local television station programmed it for an afternoon slot or late at night. Then, you’d have to watch it with plenty of commercial interruptions.

And if there was a television series you liked, well, you had to sit down in front of the set when it was on and watch it right then and there. When it was over, it was over. There was no watching it again until it was repeated and no rewinding to catch something you might have missed. What came over the broadcast airwaves was painfully evanescent.

But when those videocassette recorders landed in homes, you could record the programs you wanted to watch even if they clashed with other obligations or even other programs – just pop a blank videocassette into the recorder, and you were set. VHS tapes could hold as much as eight hours of material. You could build your own library of your favorite series, talk shows or cooking programs right in your own abode. VCRs and videocassettes also allowed cinema history to be thrown open like Aladdin’s Cave. Not only could you now watch movies minus the ads, but you could also get a membership at one of the Blockbuster stores that cropped up across the landscape and see contemporary movies just a few months after they were in theaters, old Hollywood favorites, or even sample revered foreign directors like Federico Fellini or Akira Kurosawa. Video stores that were more specialized, usually in cities or college towns, offered even deeper dives into foreign, classic and independent offerings.

Then, almost as quickly as it began, VHS was knocked from its perch by DVDs, and then not long after, video stores perished like pterodactyls after a meteor strike thanks to Netflix, which brought a virtually infinite library of movies to our mailboxes. More recently, DVD sales have been dropping at a rate of about 30% a year because of streaming, which makes the library of tapes or DVDs that once would have occupied a wall full of shelves available by pushing a few buttons on a remote.

Unlike vinyl records, which have staged a comeback in recent years, VHS tapes and the VCRs that once played them have not retained a lot of sentimental value for most people. No one has ever tried to make a case that videotapes offer better picture or audio quality than DVDs or streaming. There are still a lot of VCRs out there, but most are gath-

what’s happening

ering dust in basements, garages and storage units. The same goes for VHS tapes. The millions of VHS copies of “Titanic,” “Jerry Maguire,” “The Godfather” or “Gone With the Wind” that were sold now sit mostly unwatched. You can go online and buy a grab-bag of 50 VHS tapes for as little as $25.

However, videotapes and VCRs have not entirely lost their allure for a dedicated subset of collectors and consumers. There are some fans who keep their VCRs humming after all these years and remain devoted to the videocassette.

One of them is Charleroi resident Cathy Heinlein. She has older, picture tube television sets that play those tapes just fine, so has seen no reason to part with her VHS copies of movies like “The Truman Show,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “On Golden Pond” and many more.

Community Center, 2575 Brownsville Road. Hours are 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, which is “$5 a bag day to fill with anything found at

“They all still play fairly well,” she explained. Due to financial concerns, Heinlein added, signing up for a batch of streaming services is “just not a possibility for me.”

Even though movies have not been released on VHS in the United States for almost 20 years, people like Heinlein can still purchase tapes in abundance at area thrift stores. On a recent visit to the Washington Goodwill outlet, a customer could purchase VHS copies of “Forrest Gump” and “Free Willy,” both of which were released in the heyday of the format, as well as a Three Stooges movie, a classic like “His Girl Friday,” the comedy “Love in the Afternoon” and many more.

If Heinlein remains devoted to VHS out of practicality, the format also has fans who were children when it was at its zenith. Josh Schafer, who is based in Raleigh, N.C., runs the site Lunch Meat, which is dedicated to all things related to “VHS culture.” It sells magazines, stickers, clothing – including sweatpants with a VHS logo – and, of course, VHS tapes. Much of the VHS culture Schafer and other collectors celebrate are the straight-to-video horror movies that populated the back shelves of so many video stores three or four decades ago and have never made the transition to DVD or streaming.

Schafer was born in 1985, and cherishes his memories of childhood stops at the video store.

“I never really let go of VHS,” he explained. “I always thought it was a very cheap, efficient way of building a film library. I never left it. I like the feel of them, I like the look of them.”

Schafer said it’s “hard to gauge” how many VHS devotees are still out there, but he noted that he has 34,000 followers on Instagram. Some of it is fueled by nostalgia, he admits, and he also believes that video stores were “really special places that people took for granted.” He pointed out that when people

followed by a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Dinner is at 6 p.m.

CHABAD EVENTS

Chabad of the South Hills will offer the following events:

■ A pop-up Jewish New York Deli will be held April 14. Pickup orders will be available from 3 to 6 p.m. at the 1701 McFarland Road location. Pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, potato Knishes, matzo ball soup and Dr. Brown soda will be available. Pre-order is required by April 11 at www.chabadsh.com/deli/.

■ Family Matzah bake at 7:30 p.m. April 14. Fee is $10 per child, but JDC families are admitted for free. There will be a Matzah fondue bar and a giant Passover I-SPY. Email www.

would shell out $3 to rent a movie for a couple of nights in, say, 1988, they were making a more conscious and thoughtful choice than just rummaging through a list of movies on a streaming site.

“There’s absolutely something deliberate about it,” he said.

Matt Steck agrees. The McKees Rocks resident takes collecting videotapes a step further than many of his compatriots by amassing a library of tapes in the Betamax format, which lost out to VHS in the format wars. Steck estimates he has about 250 Beta tapes and 40 Beta VCRs on which to play them. He also has one VHS VCR.

Steck first became interested in Beta tapes around 2002, when he was a freshman in high school and would go with his uncle to flea markets. He is so fascinated by Beta that he recorded his wedding to his wife, Nicole Chynoweth-Steck, on a Beta tape.

“It was always known as the better-looking format,” Steck said. “It was one of those underdog things. It was always fun going to stores to find it.”

Nicole Chynoweth-Steck echoes Schafer’s sentiments that settling in with movies pulled from their Beta collection allows them to think more about what they watch.

“You kind of have decision paralysis with all these choices anymore,” she said. “It’s exhausting having all the choices we’re given.”

Their collection, she added, offers “the feeling of being at a Blockbuster.”

People who are still keeping their VHS tapes are also performing an important job for history, Steck believes. Because things get lost, erased or otherwise vanish, some television programs and commercials from 30 or 40 years ago are now only available because they happened to be recorded on somebody’s VCR.

“It’s all on people’s home-recorded tape,” he said. “It’s the only archive we have.”

chabadsh.com/matzahbak for reservations.

■ Passover Seder at 7:30 p.m. April 22 at 1701 McFarland Road. There will be gourmet Passover cuisine, handmade Shmurah Matzah and a meaningful and interactive Seder. Fees are $65 for adults and $25 for children, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Signup deadline is April 15. Visit Chabadsh. com/Seder to register.

ROAD TRIP

The Baldwin Community United Methodist Church is offering a trip to the Smoky Mountains from Aug. 5 to 8. Cost per person ranges from $1,133 for single to $859 for

COURTESY OF NICOLE CHYNOWETH-STECK

Matt Steck, a McKees Rocks resident, stands next to his vintage Betamax VCR. Steck is an enthusiast for Beta, the videocassette format that lost out to VHS in the 1980s.

PunchBowlSet,RoastingPan,Mixer,CookieTins,Cookie Presses,PotterySoupTureenandMugs,CatCollection, WhiteShelving,BentwoodChair,Books,Bookshelves,Area Rugs,KingBedding,QueenBedding,Dresser,LotsofMen’s andWomen’sClothing,Shoes,Boots,Scarves,Hats,Ties, Totes,Jackets,Coats,Jewelry,Linens,FoldingTable& Chairs,LotsofFabric,SewingNotionsandCrafts,Lighthouse Collection,StampingCollection,ScrapbookingSupplies,ReligiousItems,TrainWall&TableDécor&Pictures,Model Planes,Games,QueenBed,NightStand,Secretary,Lingerie Chest,Vanity&Mirror,OrnatePorcelainLamp,CornerUnit, TerryLeeDoll,Transformers,Lego,DesksandChairs,Desk Lamps,HP7520Printer,OfficeSupplies,Shelving,FileCabinets,LateralFileCabinetonWheels,VintageComputer, Keyboard,Monitors,Speakers,Turntable,StereoCabinet, HarmanKardonAmplifier,LafayetteTuner,RealisticEqualizer,RadioShackAM/FMRadio,Ampex1100ReeltoReel, ReeltoReelTapes,EmersonAM/FMDigitalTuner,PolkAudioSpeakers,SamsungDVD&VHSPlayer,HundredsofAlbums,45’s,78’s,CDs,DVDs,Cassettes,LeatherSofaand Chair,DisplayCaseCoffeeTable,IndianBrassTable, DuraflameHeater,Stepper,G.E.Apt.Refrigerator,Microwaves,Chifforobe,Child’sTable&Chairs,WindowSeats, ProjectionScreen,8mmMovieProjector,DraftingBoard, HugeSupplyofBeerMakingEquipment,GermanGlasses, BeerMugs,ShotGlasses,PaintBallEquipment,Teaching Materials,Children’sBooks,Spring&FallDécor,Christmas Trees,Wreaths,LightedGarland,LightedAngels,Craftsman RadialArmSaw,1949TableCircularSaw,Lathe,JigSaw, RyobiDrill,ToolChest,HandTools,AntiqueTools,Work Light,BeltSander,DrillPress,ShopVac,17GallonHusky Compressor,Dehumidifier,GrillTools,Shelving,StepLadder,