Happy holidays, dear reader! As I write this, it’s the week before Thanksgiving. I’ve yet to put up my tree or start shopping for my loved ones in earnest. But by the time this magazine comes out, it’ll be early December, and we’ll be in the thick of all the winter festivities. The holiday season can be challenging for many people, myself included, which I’ve previously written about in this editor’s letter. Just know that if you struggle during this time of year, you are not alone. My thoughts are with you and yours as you navigate the complex swirl of emotions.
There’s much to celebrate in this edition, with our cover story at C.R. Nelson. Greene County is home to a new Revolutionary War memorial and a Liberty Tree to commemorate America’s upcoming 250th birthday. Read all about how these two testaments to our freedom came to be. We also have a festive story from our Master Gardeners all about mistletoe, and the Greene County Chamber of Commerce details the exciting events to highlight holiday magic.
No matter what you do this season, I hope you can lean on tradition and make new, incredible memories with the people you hold dear. Spread some holiday cheer wherever you can, whether that be smiling at strangers, donating to your favorite charity or giving to those in need. There are many things we can all do, large and small, to bring joy to one another.
I love hearing from readers, whether it’s a comment, suggestion or idea. Feel free to email me at tthurston@observer-reporter.com or give me a call at 724-222-2200 ext. 2421. Take care, stay safe and see you in the next edition.
Editor
Photo by C.R. Nelson Paul Lacko of the George Washington Chapter of the SAR shoots his musket to celebrate the installation of the American Revolution memorial.
Shop small!Celebrate big in Greene County this season
By Sarah Calvert Greene County Chamber of Commerce executive assistant
Since 2010, American Express has spearheaded the national Small Business Saturday campaign, a day to emphasize the need to celebrate small businesses nationwide. Small Business Saturday was established to encourage shopping locally and shopping small to support our local businesses and all they do for our communities.
The unique quality of every town is the small businesses they have to offer, and each community is different based on the variety and needs of the area. In Greene County, one event will celebrate Small Business Saturday in a big way, with the recently renamed Waynesburg’s Christmas on High Street presented this year by the Waynesburg-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company in conjunction with EQT. This event was created by Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful in 2008 to strengthen the downtown business economy and was initially known as the Holiday Open House. It is a unique experience and is considered the official start to the holiday season locally.
Just a week later, in the heart of downtown, the Greene County Chamber of Commerce presents the 86th annual Downtown Christmas Parade at 2 p.m. High Street is cleared and shut down, and you can hear the sounds of the crowds that line over four blocks on either side. People of all ages watch from the sidewalks as community organizations, businesses, local government, agencies and first responders make their way down past the county courthouse. The parade is a beautiful opportunity to bring the public to our local small businesses with a festive twist. It has been said that the Grinch and Santa Claus have been sighted repeatedly at this event so be sure to mark your calendar to attend the first Saturday in December every year. Holiday events are plentiful in the county and continue to
come into the fold. From festivals to craft shows and everything in between, our community embraces the life of small-town uniqueness. Carmichaels ensures they do that through their “Christmas in Carmichaels” event from noon to 8 p.m. on the first Saturday in December at Market Square. Music, vendors, food trucks, hot chocolate and a baking contest will be held. You can also participate in free reindeer games, meet St. Nicholas and take horse and carriage rides. No matter where you are in Greene County, the festivities never stop!
Also on Dec. 7, EQT and the Waynesburg Lions Club will partner once again to provide one free Christmas Tree to local families. Located in the Show Arena of the Greene County Fairgrounds, 150 trees will be distributed between 9 and 11 a.m. while supplies last.
As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season begins, we kindly remind you to shop and spend your resources locally. There are new stores you may not be aware of, which would be a great opportunity to find that perfect holiday gift. Once a year, events like these allow you to explore. It is important to shop small and shop local to boost the 350 local Greene County businesses helping to support events such as these. The chamber is humbled and honored to have members who share our common vision of trust in the strength and love of our community and members who work tirelessly to ensure everyone feels the spirit of the holiday season. From the Greene County Chamber of Commerce, happy holidays. Shop small, shop local and volunteer big.
We look forward to seeing what the seasons of next year bring to Greene County.
COUNTY MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 6, 2024 | 5
Santa greets parade-goers at the annual Christmas parade in Waynesburg.
mistletoe
By Lisa Lewis
Penn State Extension Greene County Master Gardener
Just where did we get the idea to hang a sprig of mistletoe in a doorway at Christmas time with the idea of kissing whoever stands beneath it? The tradition began in England, where it was believed that kissing under mistletoe would heighten the odds of marriage in the coming year. The author Washington Irving wrote in the 1800s, “Young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under (mistletoe), plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked, the privilege ceases.”
Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpem) grows throughout the southern United States and as far north as the Philadelphia/New Jersey area and as far west as east Texas. Its leaves are small and oval-shaped with smooth edges and remain green throughout the winter months. This is probably why the ancient Druids associated mistletoe with fertility and why the ancient Romans hung it on walls and doorways during wedding ceremonies. The mistletoe plant produces clusters of white berries, each having a single seed.
Mistletoe is an interesting plant. It is partially parasitic. It sends its roots, called haustoria, into the trunk or limb of the host plant, a deciduous tree. These roots imbed themselves into the parts of the host tree that carry water and nutrients, the xylem and phloem, just under the bark, allowing the mistletoe to thrive. If the host tree is healthy, the mistletoe does not cause harm. When the host tree drops its leaves in late fall, the balls of mistletoe growing up in the limbs can be easily seen. Indeed, in colonial days, it was customary to shoot the balls of mistletoe out of the tree with a gun to harvest them for Christmas decoration.
However, mistletoe can also make its own food through photosynthesis, the way the host plant does. Photosynthesis requires sunlight. And as anyone who has grown plants knows, plants will compete for sunlight. Towards this end, the mistletoe seed that sprouts and embeds its roots high up in the tree’s canopy will have an easier time surviving than the mistletoe seed that falls on the tree’s roots at ground level. But how to accomplish the feat of being “planted” high in the tree’s arbor when the seeds are heavy and likely to fall to the ground?
Mistletoe seeds are primarily dispersed by birds that eat the berries. By mistletoe evolving to have very sticky seeds, birds have resorted to scraping against a limb after defecating to rid themselves of the seed. This increases the odds of the seeds sticking to the limbs higher up where the sunlight shines through. The name mistletoe reflects this fact, derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for dung (mistil) and the word for twig (tan).
From bird dung to Christmas kisses! How endlessly fascinating is the world around us. Wishing you a very merry holiday season.
Spotted lanternflies increasingly spotted in Greene County
By Lisa Lewis
Penn State Extension Greene County Master Gardener
The spotted lantern fly is an invasive plant hopper. Its first detection in North America was in Berks County in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2014. It has since spread to most counties in Pennsylvania, which are now under quarantine. Greene County joined the quarantine list earlier this year. Residents and businesses in quarantined counties must inspect vehicles and their contents for spotted lanternflies and destroy any insects or egg mass found. These insects are effective hitchhikers. These precautions help prevent or at least slow the spread of this invasive species which has already been found in 17 states, mainly on the east coast but as far west as Iowa.
You may have already seen spotted lanternflies in person, especially if you traveled to Washington or Allegheny counties this past summer, where the infestation is more established than here in Greene County. Pennsylvania has one generation of spotted lanternflies a year, with eggs laid in fall, hatching in spring and adults killed by the freeze in late fall. The adults are about an inch long and half-inch wide with black abdomens ringed in yellow. Their forewings are gray with black dots and black edges while their hind wings are red, black and white. Nymphs and adults are quick jumpers but clumsy in flight. Egg masses can be killed by being scraped into a container of rubbing alcohol or being smashed. Adults and nymphs can be smashed as well. Many insecticides will kill spotted lanternflies, especially when they are in the nymph stages. However, for the sake of the environment, look for the least toxic options, such as insecticidal soap (not household dish soap), neem oil or horticultural oil.
Spotted lanternflies do not sting or bite. Instead, they feed
plant sap through a tiny straw-like mouth part. And they are voracious feeders. They feast on many economically important crops including grapevines, ornamental nursery/landscape plants and many deciduous trees, including those that provide fruit, nuts and timber. From our perspective, one positive is that spotted lanternflies feed heavily on tree-of-life (Ailanthus altissima), which is also an invasive species here, both native to parts of Asia. Spotted lanternflies have contributed to the death of grapevines and small tree saplings. While not known to directly kill other plants they have caused crop loss and long-term weakening of established plants and trees.
Because spotted lanternflies are non-native insects, they did not arrive here with natural predators to keep them in check, unlike in their native environment of Asia where it has several natural enemies. However, researchers at Penn State have solicited photos from shutterbugs who have captured images of snakes, birds, insects, mammals and even fish ingesting spotted lanternflies. According to a 2021 Penn State study, chickens and mantises will likely emerge as the most effective native predators, with cardinals, blue jays and other bird species close behind. Other researchers in USDA facilities are exploring whether any of the spotted lanternflies natural predators in Asia might be introduced here without causing unintended harm.
Readers interested in further science-based information about spotted lanternflies, including specific pesticide recommendations, or wanting to subscribe to a monthly spotted lanternflies newsletter should visit extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly.
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This Winter, Find More Snuggle Time.
Be prepared for the cold with the help of First Federal of Greene County . With a home improvement or home equity loan, you can finally upgrade that old furnace, take care of that leaking roof or replace those outdated floors. Keep the cold out and keep the warm and cozy in your home this winter. Visit a Loan Officer, or apply anytime online!
Liberty Tree grows in Greene County
Greene County Tourism Director JoAnne Marshall and District Deputy Grand Master of Masonic District 31 Blair McGill appreciate the Liberty Tree on Oct. 8 at the tree’s dedication
Photos and story by C.R. Nelson
The newly planted Liberty Tree – make that sturdy sapling — that now stands guard over Greene County Veterans Memorial Park on Rolling Meadows Road has quite a story to tell. It is a certified descendent of the last Liberty Tree of the American Revolution, a massive tulip poplar that stood on the campus of St. Johns University in Annapolis, Md., until toppled by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. A scion was saved, and from that, the seeds of the Liberty Tree Project were planted.
Not to worry — tulip poplars are fast growers. And so are the plans Greene County has made to honor its own deep family roots to those Revolutionary days.
The original Liberty Tree was an elm that stood in the Boston Common. When crowds gathered there on August 14, 1765, to protest the British Stamp Act tax, rebellion was sparked. By the time it was cut down and used for firewood by Loyalists in August 1775, the fires of revolution were burning. Liberty trees had sprung up throughout the Colonies, hearts and minds were united, and the war for Independence was on.
Planting the Liberty Tree on Sept. 27 and its dedication Oct. 8 were the opening salvos of America 250 PA for Greene County — a Revolutionary project supported by Pennsylvania Freemasons whose mission is to plant Liberty Trees in all 67 counties by the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026. Coordinating these birthday events throughout the county is tourism director JoAnn Marshall. She has served as the
county’s advisory person for America 250 PA since Pennsylvania won bragging rights as the first state in the Nation to sign on with America 250 in 2021.
Identifying and properly honoring the frontier veterans who fought for freedom before Greene County existed would be an important next step.
Marshall pointed from the podium to a spot behind her on Oct. 8. “Soon, we’ll be having another addition to the park, thanks to the Fort Jackson chapter of Sons of the American Revolution. They are installing a memorial in grateful gratitude of the Greene County veterans of the American Revolution between 1775 and 1783.”
Those earliest settlers on the land that was still considered Virginia were, in most cases, already battle-hardened rangers who had been skirmishing for years with British, French and Native American fighters over territorial rights. Through the uncertainties of war, they hauled supplies, built forts, staked out land claims and began to farm. When the call went out to join the fight for freedom, they left their families to hold the fort until they returned. Their sure shooting and woodland guerilla tactics helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War.
It would be up to their six-times-great grandsons to make sure their place in history is not forgotten
Retired Judge Terry Grimes — “My six-times-great Grandfather was George Graham. He fought at Valley Forge.” —
From left, county maintenance Leon Price, retired miner Jerry Patton, building and grounds director Jason Bowser and monument designer Todd Moore install the monument on Nov. 6.
remembers that in the beginning, the dream was to find all the graves and honor them individually. But some cemeteries were gone, veterans had been moved, others forgotten. “It was impossible to do, and we didn’t want to miss anyone.”
When incoming president, cousin Rodney Grimes suggested a monument that honored them all at the chapter’s February meeting, the idea hit a chord. The project would soon pull together the talents, resources and official commitments of a true frontier community. Todd Moore’s monument business had the connections for just the right stone. SAR member Glenn Toothman’s Memory Medallions would be a perfect digital fit, with room for new veterans as they were found by families now inspired to dig deeper into their past.
When the granite monument arrived from South Africa amid a longshoremen strike and was out for delivery, the word “tentatively” was removed from the dedication date, and Moore and county maintenance workers and friends got busy. By now, the county and its inmates had done their part in granting permits and helping with labor and equipment to ready the monument site. All that was left now was the installation.
I just happened to be driving by at 10 a.m. on Nov. 6 when I saw the boom truck the county uses to repair bridges towering over that corner of the park. Delighted, I pulled into the grassy parking lot and joined the crew as Moore sealed the base of the monument he had so carefully designed, and I was able to photograph the sometimes forgotten foot soldiers in action behind this historic, homespun campaign.
John Hook, longtime resident of New York City, has direct roots to Capt. James Hook and his Calico Company 13th Virginia who went on to become Greene County’s first sheriff in 1796. Hook admits he spent years researching federal records to compile a genealogical-based inventory of Greene County’s Revolutionary soldiers, where and when they served, who they married and where they died and are buried. Access to this data is available at Cornerstone Genealogical Society, located in the old log courthouse on Greene Street, where Sheriff Hook once did his job.
Of course, or perhaps rightfully so in a county that celebrates Rain Day, umbrellas were out on Sunday, Nov. 10 as a hardy regiment of dignitaries, luminaries, neighbors and friends gathered most thankfully under the park pavilion to celebrate the unveiling just in time for Veterans Day. And the little Liberty sapling that had been so carefully tended through the long fall drought by Freemason Willie Wilson was finally getting the soaking it needed to sleep through the winter.
A Memory Medallion on the monument contains a scannable QR code that can be updated if more Revolutionary War veterans are located through genealogical research.
From left, SAR members John Hook and Glenn Toothman and attorney Tim Logan, who was recruited to sing the National Anthem, gather at the American Revolution memorial dedication on Nov. 10.
Rodney Grimes, left, president of the of Fort Jackson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, is all smiles as he helps set the monument on Nov. 6 with the county’s boom truck in the background.
Freemason Willy Wilson, pictured here at the Liberty Tree dedication on Oct. 8, has been caring for the tree since it was planted during the drought. Wilson is a member of Waynesburg Lodge 153.
Despite the rain, a cheery and eager crowd gathered before Veteran’s Day to commemorate the county’s new Revolutionary War monument.
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TOGETHER STRONGER
As Washington Health System Greene becomes UPMC Greene, we’ll continue our proud history of caring for the community and putting patients first while delivering even greater access to advanced health care for generations to come.
