Worthington High School

Worthington-West Franklin
High School

Worthington, PA

1933 - 1984

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An Afternoon in Worthington

It all began with an email from my friend, Paul Poloskey/class of 63, who was letting me know that he would be visiting the Pittsburgh area to visit his son and would have some free time for us to get together.  This is a visit that we have been discussing  for a number of years in which we would go to Worthington and retrace one of our many walks to either Craigsville or Buffalo Valley when we were both much younger.

It turned out that Saturday, because of the weather and a visit from Susan’s brother that was occurring during the same week, would be the best time for this long planned visit to Worthington to take place. Saturday finally was here and Paul arrived in the early   afternoon and after a short conversation we were off to Worthington. The conversation was continual during our ride to Worthington with names of former classmates coming to our remembrance and each of us relating various memories we had about each one.

After the twenty-mile drive we came to the Route 422 Slate Lick Road intersection and turned left coming up to Main Street.  This immediately caused us to remember Don Long/class of 63, since the convenience store he established in the old drug store building was right in front of us.  Don’s name brought many fond memories and I was happy to report that Don’s generosity was another example of a Worthington student who had given much back to his community.  There are a great number of stories that could be told about the corner of Main and Bear Streets, since it was a favorite “hang out” spot for many of us growing up in Worthington. 

Since we were headed north it seemed natural to begin our journey down memory lane to head to Laird’s Crossing.  We passed the Roofner Farm on the left and the many houses that Carl Roofner had built on the right.  As children we had spent a lot of time in the cow pasture that belong to Frank Roofner playing baseball and harassing the cattle that grazed there.  We passed the location of  one of two clay product manufacturing sites, where I had worked for a few years, but you would not now know it even existed, because all of the old kilns and building had been removed and now the area looked like a deserted grave yard.  For me personally, this place is where I had interaction with many people who I will always remember.

As the trip progressed we traveled by the first bridge on Patterson Run and headed toward the second bridge or the old pump house as we referred to it in our early days. Tammy Graham Fleeger/class of 77 now lives near it.  I decided to cross the bridge and take a road that I thought would take us to Craigsville.  Craigsville as you know is situated along Buffalo creek.  Paul and I would often get up early before school and walk to Craigsville to fish at the dam and walk back home in time to eat our breakfast and head off to school.  We would walk the railroad track from Worthington to Craigsville because it was a shorter route than walking the road and sometime there would be box cars parked on the tracks and we would climb to the top of the first one and run and jump from one car to the next one making the trip go faster.  It was hard for both of us to believe we actually did this, but as you know what one does in their youth is hard to explain.  Actually before we passed through Craigsville, I decided to turn up the road to the McGrady farm.  Ed Swigart/classs of 59 lives on the left as you make the left turn.  I had intended to just pass by and continue on the road back to the first bridge on Patterson Run, but I looked over at the farm and saw Ronnie/class of 62 and decided to stop and visit with him.  Ronnie and I had spent a lot of time together during high school.  This proved to be a most enjoyable visit.  We probably spent near a half hour talking to him and again remembering people we had gone to school with.  As we were about to back out the driveway a car pulled in and it was Jim McGrady/class of 65.  Well that started the conversation going again and we spent about another 15 minutes or more chatting.

Passing through Craigsville, we observed where the other clay product manufacturing site had been located and now like the one in Laird’s Crossing is now a deserted area. We both made some comments about the trestle on the tracks that head toward Laird’s Crossing.  Traveling down the twisty road from Craigsville, which has been straightened since our early days of traveling it, we arrive at the under pass and turn right heading toward Buffalo Valley.  We again begin the remember process of recalling the many spots where we would go fishing along this stretch of Buffalo Creek.  We both remembered John Steffy, one of the town’s barbers, and the fishing trips he would take us on in this area. The tour through Buffalo Valley was a stark reminder of how things can change without proper upkeep.  The homes are now in very poor condition, but it did not prevent us from remembering Patty Morgan/class of 61 and her unfortunate passing. I silently remembered the Bono’s and Bofingers. From Buffalo Valley we headed out to find Gormely’s pond where we would occasionally go on our bikes to swim.  Our next destination was to go past the Shank Farm and head to Beattys Mills.  Paul remembered swimming there with Tom Flick/class of 63.

Once back in Worthington, we drove up to Paul’s home when he lived in Worthington.  I commented on the times we slept out on his front porch with only blankets and Paul got out to look at an oak tree he remembered.  From there we headed “down the hill” to check out the Race Street area.  I pointed out a small building, often referred to as “the shack” where I and a few others(Arnold Shay/64, Owen Fox/63, Barye Anthony/63, Bill Hodak/65 set up an area to train with weights.  Back up the hill we checked out the back of the feed store to see if a basketball rim was still there where he used to shoot baskets. We then drove up around the school where we stopped to talk to Jim Long/class of 55 who was out for a walk.  Paul did not remember him, but did remember his mother who worked in the cafeteria.

Out next destination was to drive into Kittanning via old route 422.  We both remembered the spot where Ed Lewis/class of 57 had his car accident and his two passengers/Jim Kerr and Bob Guminey/both class of 60 were killed.  Once in Kittanning we wanted to see if Bill’s Lunch was still there.  We both remembered the 15-cent hot dogs we both enjoyed. That was the chief interest in our visit to Kittanning, so we headed back to Worthington.

Once back in Worthington, we decided to go to the Worthington Presbyterian Church and see what their Apple Festival had to offer.  As we got out of the car we met and talked briefly to Bob Bowser/class of 56 and headed for the church where we found Wes Minteer/class of 63.  Paul and he chatted for a time.   Once inside we saw Linda Reed/class of 64 and made some purchases of various deserts.  On our way to the car we saw Craig Pavlik/class of 77 and Gerald Smith/class of 53.  As we about to pull out of the parking lot, Fred Smith/class of 60 got out of his car and I called him over. We talked briefly; both Paul and I remembered him for his graceful jump shot on the basketball court.

We decided that we had spent enough time in Worthington for this day, but we both knew we would be back again for another day because we simply had such an enjoyable time.  Before going back to my home we ate out at a small restaurant west of Butler where we enjoyed some good food and more conversation.  We arrived back at our starting point, my home, and promised one another that this day would be repeated again and closed with our good-byes

Bob Adams, Paul Poloskey Fall 2009

 

 


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