Star City Plaques Ribbon Cutting

An exciting event will take place next Saturday, June 26th at 11:00 a.m. at Edith Barill Riverfront Park in Star City, WV (one of our favorite access points to the Mon River!).

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held for ten new Star City History Plaques placed strategically around the park.  Mayor Reid and our project director are two of the speakers.  See attached flier and press release, and feel free to share far and wide!  

The Upper Mon River Association received a WV Humanities Council Grant for the project, with matching funds provided by Morgantown North Rotary, the River Town Program, and the Town of Star City. The research and design team includes: Project Director Nathan Wuertenberg, Plaque Designer Jake Vargas, and team members Frank Jernejcic, Vaike Haas, Dave Smaldone and Mary Wimmer. Plaques were fabricated by Alan Laick at Laick Design, Fairchance, PA. 

The Great Egret in Western PA

You can raise a lot of attention, & controversy, in the birder world ( and in probably any other community ) when you float some thoughts that go against current thinking. Fortunately, in the birder world, that’s not going to generally result in hostile treatment on Facebook or the ‘twitterverse’, etc., because these are mostly very nice people. But on to my report.
Over last couple of years I’ve spotted a solitary, large white bird standing in the shallows of some local, Washington Co, lakes a few times. But I was either driving by in my car, or walking our dog, without my field glasses every time. The consensus of birder/naturalist friends was that it might be a Great Egret. Think Great Blue Heron-like bird except it’s all white. Not easy to miss. Since it would be very unusual to have a purely solitary bird in a species that only nests in colonies, I thought there might be a ‘home base’ nearby. Egrets feed in shallow waters & marshy areas and the closest one would be Canonsburg Lake. In my, long ago, youth it was a great place to fish for Crappies, but 60 years of development in it’s watershed have left much of the lake silted into a shallow water, marshy habitat. A great place for wading birds. Turned out to be a good first guess. I saw several of them there.
Then I wondered, if they’re here much of the summer, could they be nesting here? The PA Game Commission Regional Office promptly replied that most Great Egrets nested in large colonies in the SE USA & after nesting season dispersed outward. And while some nesting colonies have been identified in SE PA, none have been seen in SW PA. But, they advised, get into an e-loop with other birders & exchange info. OK.
A week later I met a photographer/birder that I hadn’t seen in several weeks so we exchanged stories on recent sightings. When Great Egrets came up, he advised what I’d already discovered – that there are more on Canonsburg Lake & he said they’re nesting around here. I told him about  my exchange with the PA Game Commission. He said, yes, but “I saw a plainly juvenile ‘sized’ egret with 2 adult sized birds”. Further, in a large Sycamore off the Heidelberg exit on I79 there was a colony of nesting Great Blue Heron (I’d heard about this nesting colony from other birder/photogs). I’ve seen Great Egret in tree there also, he said. Moreove, he said, around old ‘Morganza’ ( Former ‘reform school’ in my youth. ) in Canonsburg/Southpoint area, there are 5 large Sycamores housing another nesting colony of Great Blue Heron. He implied that there were egret among them also, although less definitively. And, it is true, that Great Egret will nest with other colony nesters like the Great Blue Heron.
It was when I shared this with some birder/naturalist friends that the controversy broke out. e.g. ‘Seeing some birds is a long way from proving they’re nesting’. ‘Might be a white morph of a Heron’. ‘If some birds are not successful in their 1st nesting attempt they will leave the nesting ground & disperse early’. My replies, in turn, were : I know. The orange yellow bill & black legs is pretty definitive. Unless Canonsburg Lake is some kind of a half-way house for failed nesters that can’t be the answer.
I got the feeling that for some folks a time/date/GPS stamped photo of the bird holding up an egg (so I could confirm the black legs & the egg) might satisfy them. Well, just means that early next Spring I’m going to be scouting out these nesting Great Blue Heron colonies toting my binocs & telephoto lensed camera. See if I can, at least, satisfy my own curiosity about these birds.
Have fun out there.

Reviving Small, Appalachian Towns with Local Assets

Walking down the streets of Greensboro, Pennsylvania, it feels a bit like a ghost town. There are houses, business signs, a post office, but only two cars drive by in 10 minutes and no one is walking the streets.

The small town in southern Pennsylvania is just across the West Virginia border. It sits on the banks of the Monongahela River, surrounded by small hills and patches of trees. In years past, the town has weathered the boom and bust of a pottery industry, river trade and coal. Lately, it has been more bust than boom.

But now, some artists are trying to stimulate the local economy using what they know best: creativity. They are all part of the Greensboro Art Cooperative – a non-profit art collective.

The Co-Op

Shane McManus, a West Virginia native, is the founder of the co-op. He’s spent his life immersed in music and arts. Now at 31 years old, McManus is trying to use his love of the arts to revive the town.

“Our goal is to preserve the past, but promote the future. Through using what the past has given us, we can create really beautiful art in our small Appalachian towns, which in my opinion is diminishing,” he says.

One of the buildings of the Greensboro Art Cooperative. This building features finished pottery, as well as a pottery room, bike room and wood-working room.
CREDIT CAITLIN TAN

Three buildings on the main street of Greensboro make up the art co-op. The quiet atmosphere of the town abruptly changes when one walks into the former ice cream parlor turned ‘Music Shop,’ where McManus and his friends play music.

The entire room is filled with artwork and antiques. There’s a stone chair shaped like a hand, porcelain dolls lining the bookcases and a boar’s head hanging near the ceiling.

Live old-time Appalachian music fills the room. McManus and his friends Niko Kreider and Evan Collins are playing the tune called “Water Bound.”

McManus playing guitar in an impromptu jam. He is well-known in the region as a musician.
CREDIT CAITLIN TAN

The co-op not only provides a space for artists to sell their work, but it’s also a space for artists to create. There is a woodshop, a bike shop, pottery room, music room, painting area – anything an artist wants to do there is likely a tool for it.

Members pay a $200 lifetime membership or the equivalent in labor, and profits from wares made at the co-op are split 50/50 with the artist.

McManus says the goal is for the co-op to be a centerpiece for Greensboro, where the population is down to 249 people. He wants the co-op to be a reason for people to come visit, and a reason for people to stay.

“Getting them to see hope, where there was none. That’s why people leave, to find greener pastures,” McManus says.

History of Greensboro

Greensboro was once a thriving town with a rich artisan history. It was originally settled by German glass blowers in the 1700s.

Evan Collins (left) playing music with Niko Kreider (right.) The ‘Music Shop’ was formerly an ice cream parlor.
CREDIT CAITLIN TAN

It is also right on the Monongahela River, so it was part of a major river trading route.

Greensboro’s mayor Katie Sill says she’s heard stories of the early days when a hotel stood right by the river.

“At one point a circus came down the river and they had an elephant in the lobby. It was a booming and bustling town,” Sill says.

In the 1800s, the first large-scale pottery operation opened in Greensboro. The wet, muddy soil near the river creates rich clay — perfect for pottery.

“A lot of these New Geneva or Greensboro pots you see on Antiques Roadshow that go for $30,000 to $40,000 were made right here,” McManus says.

In fact, it is not rare to find 200-year-old pottery today. The co-op has preserved an original kiln used by settlers.

Finished pottery from members of the co-op. Profits from wares are split 50/50 with the artist and the co-op.
CREDIT CAITLIN TAN

But, as artisans moved away and trade moved away from rivers, Greensboro became less relevant. It made a slight comeback in the coal industry in the mid-1900s, but Sill says that too has disappeared.

“Some buildings have fallen into disrepair or [have] been torn down,” Sill says. “There are not really many businesses left in the town.”

The Economics

In some ways, Greensboro is not that different than many small Appalachian towns, where the coal industry, which was once a driving economic force, is now declining.

This leaves many towns without a sustainable economy, much like Greensboro.

Tim Ezzell is a research scientist at the University of Kentucky, and he focuses on asset-based development, which, as he explains it, means “using the assets you have at hand or at your disposal, basically what your community already has in place. Your local talents, resources, skills, art, heritage and using those to create economic opportunities for people in your community.”

Ezzell says concepts like the co-op can grow a town, but it has to be done realistically. As in, it is not cheap, it can take many years, it needs momentum and, most importantly, the local community must be accepting of change.

“Change is hard and you have to be willing to accept change in order to move forward,” he says.

And Greensboro Mayor Katie Sill says the town is ready for that change.

“We’re all really hopeful that we’ll get that next wave of whatever that wave will be,” she says. “Something new to bring a little bit of bustle into the town. I don’t know if it’s ever going to be quite the same, but every phase is different.

Co-op merchandise for sale. On cold days McManus uses a space heater to keep rooms warm.
CREDIT CAITLIN TAN

And the co-op is relying on local assets to try to bring about that next wave. Members are fixing up old store fronts to use as studios. They’re also using local clay to create art.

“Everything is donation, all of our resources have been found, donated, upcycled and recycled,” McManus says. “It’s really amazing what you can put together just with what you find around.”

As for operational costs, McManus says he’s been quite fortunate. His father, Keith McManus, has funded most of the co-op. A former mayor of the town, Keith is something of a musical legend in the region because of his involvement in the old-time music community over the years.

Looking Forward

People can be assets too, and in many ways Keith himself is one of the town’s greatest resources.

Because of the financial cushion, and Keith’s arts and music connections, McManus says there is not a push for co-op artists to mass produce and or even sell their work. Rather, they can focus on creating art.

A bust of Keith McManus in the former ice cream parlor. Keith has helped fund much of the co-op.
CREDIT CAITLIN TAN

“Our goal is to stay within a tri-county, if not a tri-state area. We don’t want to branch out as far as what we sell on the internet. We’ve purposely held out to keep our wares locally,” McManus says.

During the past eight years the co-op has renovated Greensboro’s old, abandoned theatre into a studio space. And it has 65 members — some from the Appalachian region, and others from across the world. Many are people McManus has met through work in the music and arts industry.

McManus says the co-op has given some of these artists a reason to either stay, or come back to create in Appalachia.

“So many of my peers and friends have had to go and move out of the state, out of Appalachia where they are from just to find a studio,” he says.

So artists come and go throughout the year — whether it is for an impromptu jam, to fix their bicycle or to make their next piece of pottery. Sill says this is important for the town.

“They breathe that extra bit of life when they are there,” she says.

The next goal for the co-op is for artists to work and live in Greensboro, but right now it is not fully developed.

The studio spaces are a little rough around the edges, and the storefront is still more of a working space. McManus hopes to renovate two buildings into a coffee shop and restaurant, but he says it takes time.

It takes time to create change, to bring Greensboro’s artisan history forward into the modern day. And it also takes a vision, like the ability to find strengths and assets in unlikely places.

IWL Fishing Derby

On Friday, May 3, the Harry Enstrom Chapter of the Isaac Walton League of Greene County did their second stocking of the South Branch, Ten Mile Creek. They placed an additional 100 Rainbow & Golden Trout, 15″-18″, into the creek, at the Old Chartiers Mine in Clarksville, in preparation for their Kid’s Day of Fishing the following Saturday. 

Frodo, our Standard Poodle, & I arrived there about 10:30 AM Saturday. It was cloudy, low 60’s, kind of day. The kind we seem to get a lot of lately. But, at least, the rain held off. By that time there were several family type groups already on the banks up down the creek.

The fishing bite was slow at first but a few nice trout were taken.

Since 10 Mile Creek is a good warm water fishery in it’s own right, a number of other species were caught. The biggest were a 19′ Drum and the 17″ Walleye

At 12 Noon the fishing was called for lunch. Everyone was offered the free lunch choices of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cookies, & soft drinks.

Frodo & I shared a couple of plain hot dogs. He doesn’t normally get ‘people food’ but it seemed too much to expect him to stand around watching everyone else eat & get nothing. Some thoughtful folks even stopped by to offer him some more water. I guess hot dogs are thirsty food. 

After everyone had lunch the line-up for prizes was called. Three kids went home with very nice spinning rod & reel sets. After that a whole range of prizes were called & awarded until every kid there had at least 2 prizes. None went home empty handed. More importantly, a bunch of children had a fun outdoor experience. It’s so important to prepare the next generation to understand & appreciate the natural world around them.  Maybe then, they’ll take better care of it.

A ‘Very Nicely Done, Thank You’ to the folks at the Isaac Walton League who planned & organized the event and a thank you to the community members & merchants who provided the support necessary.

See you next time.

Ken Yonek

Osprey Very Active on Peters Lake

Over the last 2-3 weeks I’ve seen more Osprey presence & fishing activity than any year since they first showed up 4 years ago. And not only has a pair been seen more often in early April, but a photographer/birder reported seeing three on the lake at the same time. From what I’ve read, Osprey will certainly defend their nest & immediate nest area, but are not so territorial that they won’t share the water. The Bald Eagles at Canonsburg Lake, on the other hand, have been observed, this spring, driving an Eaglet as well as Osprey off the lake. 

And over the last weeks I’ve observed 5 osprey “dives”, attempting to catch fish. Two were successful, although I’ve read that Osprey are generally successful on about 70% of their fish hunts. 

Many of us have probably seen the near iconic photos/videos of a Bald Eagle, like this one, snatching a fish at or near the surface, barely getting it’s claws wet.

That’s not the way Osprey do it. In every “dive” I’ve seen, the Osprey ends up at least partially submerged. And the one we saw 3 weeks back was a show stopper. The bird was sitting on a tree limb overlooking the water, when it suddenly leaned forward & took off. At first we thought it was heading down lake, but then it circled around & back 2-3 times. Finally it turned itself into the very stiff wind & just hung there in the air for several seconds, not much more than 50′ away & 50′ up. Then it just folded it’s wings & dropped, claws first, into the water & disappeared completely below the surface. There was kind of a collective, ‘wow, stuck that landing buddy’. And then it reappeared, in reverse, head first, hauling itself out of the water holding onto a 10-12″ fish. 

 When I relayed this to a ‘conservationist’ friend he remarked that he wouldn’t know how to recognize an Osprey vs other local raptors. After a moments thought I replied that there were at least two distinctive features that would identify an Osprey. Thought I’d share that.

 First, an Osprey shows an almost snow white breast plumage :

Compared to the more mottled or cream colored Red Tailed Hawk :

Overall, they are whiter below than most raptors.

 Second, an Osprey, with a 5′-6′ wingspan, is larger than the common Red Tailed Hawk ( wingspan 4’+/- a  few inches ) but smaller than a Bald Eagle with a wingspan close to 7′. But, honestly, without a reference object, and at an undetermined distance away, I couldn’t tell the difference by wingspan alone. But the overall  shape & color is very distinctive.

 Besides showing a great deal of white below, the Osprey’s wings, in flight, are held with a very distinctive leading wedge shape. And they’ll often show a more pronounced taper to the edges :

It’s been described as “M” shaped when seen from below although I’d call it a more flattened “M”.

 Whereas, the Red Tailed Hawk shows a straight leading edge in flight :

And the Bald Eagle’s wings (never mind the dark colors) , in flight, look like a couple of broad, flat boards (2 by 12’s) with the corners rounded off :

So that the overall effect is that of a much larger bird than the Osprey.

 And often, the wing silhouette will be the most definitive especially when you see the birds at distance or unfavorable light or sun angle conditions.

 Hope this helps you to recognize  the beauty that’s out there, in nature, if we just look for it.

It’s Fishing Time!!

For the second year in a row the Valley Inn Sportsmen’s Association stocked trout in Pigeon Creek for Opening Day. Starting at 7AM on Opening Day, 500 Rainbow Trout were released into Pigeon Creek between Peno Plaza on Park Ave, Monongahela, to the State Route 43 bridge on Bentleyville Rd. Interestingly, it wasn’t just ‘put & take’ fishing. I saw a number of trout caught & released. And it’s not a wasted effort either. One angler reported two trout caught recently, before the stocking, that had survived from last year’s stocking. A rainy summer certainly helped. The stocking also included 20 tagged fish that were worth prizes ranging from merchant gift cards to $100 cash. Great to see such support from the community.

 Frodo ( the wonder Poodle ) & got there about 11:30AM. Might as well give folks time to catch some fish. And catch them they did. We made our first stop near Peno Plaza. Groups of families  & friends like this dotted the bank at every place accessible from some parking area.

Weather was in the  high 60’s, sunny & mild. Perfect. Over several stops I found a number of anglers who’d caught from 1 to 3 trout. I saw 3-4 caught while we were walking along. One angler I talked with had released a trout & then pulled in this nice looking Monongahela River ” native trout” while we were chatting.

Yes, I know what a Carp is. 

 Another fellow across the way hollered over that he’d caught & released three legal sized Smallmouth Bass. And again, while we were watching he reeled in a fat Sheephead.

They were more than happy to pose for a shot. 

 An angler who had caught three trout had also caught a pan sized Rock Bass. 

 Next to the fact that there were a lot of family groups out there, the second most gratifying thing was that anglers were catching fish out of the spectrum of species found in the river & tributary system. That tells you that there is also a self reproducing sport fishery potential there.

 Many thanks again to the Valley Inn Sportsmen’s Association, merchants & individuals for supporting this event. Thanks to the volunteers who got up at an early hour on their Saturday to haul buckets of fish to the water. And thanks to the members & organizers who simply hop scotched from fishing spot to fishing spot to insure that things were proceeding safely & orderly. Well done.

Birding Excitement in Washington, PA

On Friday, 3/1, Frodo & I were walking around Peters Lake when we saw our first birder/photographer. Many others would follow. When I asked if he’d sen anything interesting, he answered, yes, a Hooded Merganser and an Arctic Long Billed something or other that I’d never heard of.

I’d heard of a merganser but didn’t really know what it looked like. So, when we got home I checked the Cornell U website ‘ All About Birds’. Soon as I pulled up the pictures, I thought, I’ve seen that bird. The bird has a ‘hoodie’ that it can hold raised :

or folded back :

It occurred to me that if i saw it far out on the lake, without field glasses, with the hoodie folded back, I might mistake it for a Wood Duck :

They’re both quite common in the region. And since they’re both tree cavity nesters they would occupy a similar habitat. But if they’re common in the region, what’s so exciting about that ? Nothing, it seems. It was the second bird everyone was flocking to see.

After a few more birders passed, I’d gotten the name right. The ‘Arctic’ Long Tailed Duck is what everyone wanted to see. So I pulled up it’s profile and pictures :

This is one tough little bird. It’s described as a small sea bird. Their summer nesting range is across Canada & Alaska, from the Arctic Circle north to lands end at the Arctic Ocean. And some will winter along the northern coasts, south to Delaware Bay in the east, and to Washington State on the west coast. But some of these eastern birds will simply move to open water off the coasts of Greenland, for example. For the Winter ! Crikeys mate.

And by Saturday the word had really gotten out. A small ‘anti-tank company’ of birders descended on the lake. I called them that because they were all carrying cameras the size of a small bazooka. This bird was likely heading north again from eastern coastal waters, but finding one on a small lake in W PA is so rare that it even brought out Robert Mulvihill, Ornithologist, from the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. We chatted a bit & I asked, jokingly, if there was a ‘birder bat signal’ that brought all these people out. As a matter of fact there is, he said. Turns out, there are a number of ‘list serves’ that will send out an alert, by various means, to subscribers when something noteworthy is sighted. Who knew.

By Sunday it was gone. Journeying on. But the Mute Swan was back again. So, always something interesting to see out there.

Ken Yonek

3/3/19