February 03

Opening words from the president...

This letter is to provide all members of the LWHS with a status report on the Society.

Our energies, for the last four months, have been mainly directed toward four projects:
implementing Phase III & Phase IV of our membership drive, distributing the 2003 LWHS Calendar, establishing and upgrading of our website ( l-whs.com ), and establishing an office/ museum display area on the second floor of the Lilly Borough Building.

NOTE: THIS IS THE LAST NEWSLETTER OF THIS LENGTH THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE (We will have a new format for the May Issue)We ask each LWHS Member to take the time to read through the whole Newsletter, complete and return the Questionnaire, and send out the Application Form to a friend who is not a member. We plan to begin the use of a more standard format for The LWHS NEWSLETTER beginning with the May Edition. Mr. Hugh Conrad will edit the Newsletter and welcomes your comments, questions and suggestions at Hughconrad52@aol.com We plan to post all the Newsletters on our web-site and would appreciate notification by all those members who can read the newsletter on line or print it off our web-site and not require that we mail them a hard copy.

David Beck, our Web-Master, has submitted the following report: "The website for the Society can be found at http://www.l-whs.com ( l-whs.com seems to work ) and is still a work in progress. The look for the homepage and some of its content have been set, and a new menu is in the works and should be available soon (perhaps by the time you read this newsletter). We are very pleased with how the work is progressing, and invite you to check it out for yourself. Also, the Society's email address is up and running, at lilly@l-whs.com, so feel free to send any questions or comments for our consideration. Special thanks are in order for the help of Adam Delozier, a local high school student who has made great contributions to the development of this site."

WE WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TIME, TALENT & DEDICATION THAT BOB MONAHAN - who completed his term as Director of the LWHS -BROUGHT TO OUR SOCIETY. From the most mundane task of collating the -8- Newsletter; to shepherding the Calendar to its successful production, Bob was always there ,giving his all. Thank you Bob - for all your help - and, for being a role model.

PLEASE, TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW THE UPDATED MEMBERSHIP LIST AND FORWARD THE ENCLOSED APPLICATION FORM TO AN UNLISTED FAMILY MEMBER, FRIEND, CLASSMATE, OR PERSON YOU THINK WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BEING INVOLVED IN THE PROJECTS OF THE LWHS. Form also available at l-whs.com.

Peace,
Jim Salony
President LWHS

Questions? Please contact:
814-886-7282

salonyt@yahoo.com

Since the middle of January, 2003, prisoners from the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution in Cresson, under Operation Outreach (Directed Prisoner Labor - the organization that remolded the first floor of the Borough Building), have been modifying (they supply the labor - we provide the materials) the second floor to provide the LWHS with office space for our yet-to-be acquired computer system, storage space for historical artifacts we acquire for the Museum, and a large open area we can use for displays. They are scheduled to finish early in March, 2003.

We have hooked up a large radiator in the office and purchased and installed a hot water forced air heater for the display area. Lou Davies has been working untold hours since November in the cold, cramped attic to completely rewire the entire second floor. After completing 90% of the job, Lou developed severe shoulder problems and his doctor required him to stop all work and begin therapy. We owe Lou the most profound vote of thanks for all his labor, which was 100% volunteered - i.e.- he didn't charge us a dime !! Jim Smith has stepped in to finish the electrical work.

The cost of building supplies; electrical wiring and fixtures; and the forced air heater plus installation and hook-up charges should approach $3,000. Any designated donation of $250 or more to the Refurbishing Project Fund will be acknowledged on a Major Contributor Bronze Plaque. (Memorial Sponsors are welcomed)

We will have to acquire desks, tables, chairs, and most importantly Show Cases. We are establishing a Furniture Project Fund of $2000. We are looking for one sponsor for the entire Project - or - for a combination of two, three, or four sponsors. Each designated donation of $250 or more (payable over four years) will be acknowledged on a Major Contributor Bronze Plaque. (Memorial Sponsors are welcomed)

We would like to acquire carpet for the office and the display area, and rubber treads for the stairs. We are looking for a sponsor/sponsors for the Floor Covering Project Fund of $750. (Same acknowledgements as above)

Our Major and Most Pressing Need is for a Computer System - Monitor - Printer - Scanner - Soft Ware Programs - & Digital Camera. A Computer System Project Fund has been established .in the amount $2,500. We are looking for one sponsor - or a combination of two to ten sponsors. Each designated donation of $250. or more (payable over four years) will be acknowledged on a Major Contributors Bronze Plaque. (Memorial Sponsors are welcomed)

Through the efforts of Dick Sweeney, we were able to rescue more than a dozen Lilly High School Athletic Trophies from the attic of the Penn Cambria School. Since this is the first "collection" of any community artifacts we have, we want to refurbish the trophies and construct an appropriate showcase for them so that we can display them properly as the first exhibit in our Museum. We are establishing a Athletic Trophy Project Fund of $750. We are looking for one sponsor for the entire Project - or - for a combination of two or three sponsors. Each designated donation of $250 or more (payable over four years) will be acknowledged on a Major Contributor Bronze Plaque. (Memorial Sponsors are welcomed)

Therefore, we are asking Each LWHS MEMBER to review the updated Membership List presented in this Newsletter and, after checking that all memberships are correctly recorded, to forward the enclosed Membership Application Form to a (non-listed) family member, friend, classmate or other person you think would be interested in being involved in the projects of the LWHS. (Form also available at l-whs.com) We have tried mass mailings of Membership Application Forms to former residents and received returns of about 12%. However, when these same former residents were contacted individually by family members or friends, the number of those solicited who joined the LWHS approached 75%.

Phase III Membership Drive - since October, 2002, Nadine Rodgers, chair of the Membership Committee, and the following volunteers - (Audrey Craine - DeSales Wertz - Eleanore Kearney - Emily Arnold - Heather Sue Gorba - Barb Bart - and Mary Ann Starchville - have contacted about 100 residents of the community that were not contacted in Phase I of the Membership Drive during the first few months of 2002. As of February 15, 2003, - 35 of the 100 local residents contacted have become members of LWHS. Welcome to the new members and a big thank-you to the volunteers.

WE ASK EACH CURRENT MEMBER OF LWHS TO CONTACT ONE LOCAL FAMILY MEMBER, FRIEND OR NEIGHBOR NOT LISTED AS A MEMBER OF LWHS, AND ENCOURAGE THAT PERSON TO JOIN OUR HISTORICAL SOCIETY. REMEMBER THAT EACH PERSON WHO JOINS THE LWHS IN 2003, IS CONSIDERED A CHARTER MEMBER

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE UPDATE As of 2/28/03 Total Memberships - 522 - (Total Members - 920) Heritage - 76 Student $ 2.00 - 2 Adult $ 5.00 - 91 Adult Sustaining $25.00 - 20 Household $10.00 - 168 (average 3 per = 504) Household Sustaining $30.00 - 31 (average 3 per = 93) Life $50.00 - 98 Life Sponsor $100.00 - 22 Life Patron $150.00 - 5 Life Benefactor $250.00 - 9 MEMORIALS DONATIONS Memorial Sponsor $ 50.00 - 11 General < $ 25.00 - 11 Memorial Patron $100.00 - 2 Designated $l00.00 - 2 Memorial Benefactor $200.00 - 3 Memorial $ 25.00 - 5

*These categories were added for Phase II of the Membership Drive - ANY MEMBER MAY UP-GRADE ANY MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY AT ANY TIME. In due time, bronze plaques will list the Life and Memorial Sponsors, the Life and Memorial Patrons, and the Life and Memorial Benefactors, respectively.

WE ARE ESTABLISHING A SEPARATE FUND ($1000 NEEDED) TO PURCHASE THE MEMORIAL PLAQUES. WE WILL FIRST LOOK FOR A SINGLE SPONSOR, THEN CONSIDER TWO $500. PLEDGES, AND THEN IF NECESSARY FOUR $250 PLEDGES.- (PAYMENTS MAY BE SPREAD OVER FOUR YEARS)- SPONSORS FOR THIS PROJECT AND OTHER DESIGNATED CONTRIBUTIONS OF $250 OR MORE WILL BE RECOGNIZED ON A "MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS" PLAQUE. ( Memorial Sponsors are welcomed. ) If you are interested in sponsoring the Memorial Plaques, please write-in your intent as Item 6. on the Questionnaire included in this Newsletter. Thank you.

Distribution of Calendars - We appreciate that each of the 12 Sponsors of the Community's 2006 Bicentennial posted a Calendar and a notice of how and where Calendars could be obtained - and that St. Luke's Lutheran Church, the Lilly Methodist Church, and Mount Carmel Polish National Chirch announced the sale of the LWHS Calendar. We thank The First National Bank of Lilly, Our Lady of the Alleghenies Catholic Church and the Cresson Shop and Save for allowing us to sell Calendars in their buildings. The following business sold Calendars for the LWHS: The Lilly American Legion, Vals Clothing Store, Florals on the Corner, Leap's Auto, Patty Steberger's Beauty Shop, Lilly-Washington Public Library, and Gall's Insurance - all of Lilly; The Gallitzen Tunnels Museum; The Station Inn, The Cresson Springs Restaurant, and PJ's Bar and Restaurant - all of Cresson; and The Portage Museum, and Stager's Store - all of Portage. We thank them all profusely. We thank the following LWHS members who sold the Calendars in various venues around the area: Barry Walters, Don George, John Gides, Jim Salony, Tim Salony, Emily Arnold, David Beck, Nadine Rodgers, and Regina Siuniak. In particular, we thank Beverly Mandichak and Vickey Durkay of Gall's Insurance for coordinating the distribution of the 2003 LWHS Calendars - without their extraordinary efforts the Calendar Sales would not have been a success.

Pictures in the 2003 Calendar - Without question, the historic pictures were the prime attraction of the Calendar. We would like to acknowledge the contributors of the photos used in the 2003 LWHS Calendar. Cover "Historic Lilly" created by Scott Steberger on a commission from P.J. Sloan; January "Inclined Plane No. 4 - 1833 - Bob Monahan; February - Plane No. 4 Of Old Portage Road - 1911 - Jim Salony; March - Lilly Heat, Light, And Steam Plant - 1906 - Paul Aldrich; April - M.K. Piper Store - 1910 - Gerry Schalles; May - Lilly Coal Company - 1927 - Barry Walters; June - Lilly Community Fire Engine -1950's - Chalmar Claar Family; July - Our Lady Of Mount Carmel - 1909 - John Gides; August - Pedestrian Bridge - 1950's - Art Yingling; September - Saint Luke's - Early 1900's - Jim Salony; October - Girl's Basketball Team - 1929 - Gerry Schalles; November - Honor Roll of World War II Veterans - Bob Monahan; December - Lilly Train Yard - Early 1900's - Bob Monahan. Pictures for the 2004-2005-2006 Calendars and History Book are needed desperately. Please donate or allow us to copy your historic pictures. All will be acknowledged.