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1. NEW – Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapter, Tioga County PA to Meet Thursday, March 14
2. “Miss Holmes” to Open This Weekend, March 15, 16 & 17
3. Register by This Friday, March 15 for Shaw Festival One Day Trip
4. Last Flies and Lies Social is This Saturday, March 16
5. Irish Food, Green Beer, Music and Dancing to Highlight St. Patrick’s Day Celebration This Saturday, March 16
6. NEW – Wellsboro Chamber Member Mixer is Wednesday, March 20
7. Tiadaghton Audubon Society to Meet Wednesday, March 20
8. Bill Stumpf to Open 2019 History Comes Alive Series on Wednesday, March 20
9. NEW – Tyoga Running Club’s Last Run From Wellsboro is Thursday, March 21; Run Out of Town is Thursday, March 28; and First Run From Asaph is Thursday, April 4
10. NEW – Tioga County Lyme Disease Support Group to Meet Thursday, March 21

Diane Eaton
dianetn@ptd.net
(570) 724-3800

WELL ARMED WOMAN SHOOTING CHAPTER, TIOGA COUNTY, PA TO MEET THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019

The monthly meeting of the Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapter, Tioga County, Pa. will be at 6 p.m. this Thursday, March 14 at the Lambs Creek Sportsman’s Club at 339 Sportsman’s Club Road, Mansfield, Pa. Originally, the meeting was to be held on March 21 but due to a scheduling conflict was changed to March 14.

At Thursday’s meeting, members will decide the date, time and location to learn about and practice with .22 caliber rifles. A training will also be held during which range commands and range and shooting safety rules will be reviewed. Leaders are Marilyn Jones and Pat Butts.

Members are reminded that on Saturday, April 13, the training “Personal Protection in the Home” will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Towanda Rod and Gun Club at 1157 Bridge Street Hill Road in Towanda. William Muth will teach students the basic knowledge, skills and attitude essential to the safe and efficient use of a handgun for protection in the home. For more information about this training, contact Muth at (607) 426-6121 or NRA.Educator@gmail.com. The fee is $75. Register online at the NRA training website.

The regular April meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 at the Mill Cove Shooting Range in the Mill Cove Environmental Area at 3036 Mill Creek Road, Mansfield, Pa. Jones will then lead the training “Review Six Basics for a Good Shot” with shooting drills and scenarios.

“Any woman who is 18 or older from any county or state is welcome to join our chapter,” said Jones. “Membership is not limited to women who live in Tioga County, Pa. Those who join can be a beginner or novice with absolutely no experience in handling a gun to those who are skilled and experienced shooters.” The fee is $50 per year.

Women who don’t own a firearm and want more information before making a purchase or to learn more about joining the chapter are welcome to contact Jones at (570) 549-2794 or jones_mk@yahoo.com.

“MISS HOLMES” TO OPEN THIS WEEKEND, MARCH 15, 16 & 17

Hamilton-Gibson’s production of “Miss Holmes” opens this weekend in the Deane Center’s Coolidge Theatre at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro.

“Playwright Christopher M. Walsh unearths new resonance in familiar aspects of the world of Holmes, all while remaining loyal to what is compelling about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories…’Miss Holmes’ is fun, thoughtful, compelling, empowering and unexpected,” wrote Allison Shoemaker in “Time Out Chicago” after the show premiered in Chicago in 2016.

Sherlock Holmes (Nikki York) and Dr. Dorothy Watson (Sarah Duterte), the female protagonists in Walsh’s murder mystery, take nothing for granted. As women, they are, as Holmes puts it, “underestimated.” Rather than whine or lay claim to victimhood, these women rely on each other to help circumvent the men in power. They prefer to live life on their own terms.

In this well-written play, the plot twists are surprising yet plausible. “Miss Holmes” is described as “clever and intriguing, with quick-witted dialogue.”

“‘Miss Holmes’ is certainly family safe in that it has no cursing, sexual situations or violence on stage,” said Director Gabe Hakvaag. “But, it is a murder mystery and there is a lot of talking. I don’t think young children would enjoy it but middle and high school students probably would. I’d rate it as PG,” Hakvaag added.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16 and at 2:30 p.m. this Sunday, March 17. The last two shows will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23.

Purchase tickets online at the HG website at hamiltongibson.org, via links to TicketLeap on HG’s Facebook page or at the door. For more information, call (570) 724-2079 or email hamgib@gmail.com.

Photo by Ryan Dalton
In the opening scene of “Miss Holmes,” Mycroft Holmes (Titus Himmelberger) retrieves his sister, Sherlock (Nikki York) from the notorious Bethlem Royal Hospital for the mentally ill. Pictured are: (from left) Orderly #2 (Herb Johnson), Sherlock, Mycroft, Superintendent Ellis (Tom Walrath) and Orderly #1 (Tom Reindl).

REGISTER BY THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 15 FOR SHAW FESTIVAL ONE DAY TRIP

This Friday, March 15 is the deadline to register for Hamilton-Gibson’s 15th annual Shaw Festival Day Trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, May 11. Thirty-eight people are going on the trip; only four seats remain. Those who go will see the Lerner and Loewe song and dance musical “Brigadoon” about an enchanted village that appears out of the Scottish mist for one day every 100 years.

The show is for adults and children accompanied by adults all with valid passports. Included in the $130 price is round trip bus fare and a reserved seat in the 856-seat Festival Theatre. “What excites April and I about seeing ‘Brigadoon’ is the romance of the show, the music, and the quality of time together,” said Craig Devenport. He and his wife (pictured) are the trip coordinators. For information, contact Craig at (570) 971-2455 or crd2864@ptd.net.

Photo provided

LAST FLIES AND LIES IS THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 16

This Saturday, March 16 from 9 a.m. to noon, Trout Unlimited Tiadaghton Chapter #688 members are offering free demonstrations and fly tying lessons to men, women and children who have never tied a fly or are experienced during the Flies and Lies Social at the Wellsboro Community Center, 3 Queen Street in Wellsboro. Equipment and materials and coffee and donuts will be provided free.

Pictured is Art Antal of Wellsboro tying a dry fly during a 2018 social. For more information, call Bill Paulmier at (814) 367-2636.

Photo by John Eaton

IRISH FOOD, GREEN BEER, MUSIC AND DANCING TO HIGHLIGHT ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION

This Saturday, March 16 at 7:15 p.m., the doors will open in the Penn Wells Hotel dining room for a special St. Patrick’s Day show presented by the band 3D. In the band are Wellsboro area musicians David Milano on guitar, Daria Lin-Guelig on hammered dulcimer and concertina, and David Driskell on clarinet, flute and whistle. Joining them for the evening will be guest vocalist Veronica Philip.

For their performance, 3D will do plenty of traditional Irish whistle and concertina tunes. Also look for rollicking jigs and reels, plus several of 3D’s signature varietal mixes including rags, blues, and even a waltz or two for couples who want to slow dance.

Philip will lend heart and soul to vintage favorites like “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Sunny Side Of The Street,” as well as to melodies such as “I Will” and “Scarborough Fair.”

An alto with a big vocal range, Philip sings a variety of musical styles. For the past two years, she has been a member of The Mansfieldians, a highly select ensemble specializing in vocal jazz directed by Dr. Sheryl Monkelien and of the Concert Choir directed by Dr. Peggy Dettwiler. This year, she is also a member of the Chamber Choir directed by Dr. Dettwiler. A junior at Mansfield University, Philip is majoring in Elementary and Special Education and will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in the spring of 2020.

“We are typically an instrumental group but felt the need to have a vocalist for Saturday’s performance,” said Milano. “Dr. Monkelien recommended that we talk to Veronica. When we performed together, we clicked. She is an amazing and expressive singer.”

This Saturday from 5 to 7:15 p.m., the Penn Wells is offering dinner and drinks at menu prices. On the menu are Irish dishes and desserts plus green beer. There will also be a limited number of regular selections on the menu. Dinner reservations are required. For reservations, call 570-724-2111.

Tickets for the show are $20 per person. Proceeds will benefit the Endless Mountain Music Festival, a not-for-profit 501c3 registered in Pennsylvania and New York. For tickets, call (570) 787-7800.

Photo provided
Veronica Philip

WELLSBORO CHAMBER MIXER IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20

The 12th Annual Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce Member Mixer is next Wednesday, March 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Gallery at the Warehouse Theater at 3 Central Avenue in Wellsboro. The event is free and open to the public.

“The Mixer gives local businesspeople and the public an opportunity to participate in the live and silent auctions, enjoy refreshments, pick up brochures and learn more about what’s coming up in Wellsboro and surrounding areas,” said Charlie Messina, Chamber Tourism Committee chairman.

Ben Stone will give a brief update on area park projects in Potter and Tioga counties. In April 2017, Stone was named park operations manager at the Hills Creek State Park Complex, which includes eight state parks in Potter and Tioga counties. He succeeded Harry “Chip” Harrison, who retired.

Stone has worked for 13 years with the Bureau of State Parks. A graduate of Lock Haven University with a bachelor’s degree in recreation management, Stone began his career in 2006 as a park manager, working at Sizerville State Park in Cameron and Potter counties. In 2007 he was transferred to the assistant manager position at the Hills Creek State Park Complex. In 2012, he was appointed manager at the Caledonia State Park Complex in Adams and Franklin counties and in 2013 as manager at Ricketts Glen State Park in Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia counties.

“A lot of exciting development is on the horizon,” Stone said. “DCNR has begun three significant projects.” At the mixer, he will talk about plans for Leonard Harrison State Park in Tioga County, and Denton Hill and Cherry Springs state parks in Potter County.

“At Cherry Springs, we are working on a plan to reorganize visitor flow and to enhance each visitor’s experience when viewing the night skies,” Stone said. “With the completion of the Denton Hill master planning process, we are working on securing a successful concessionaire to oversee a four-season operation, including downhill skiing.”

The planning process for Leonard Harrison State Park has just been completed. “We are currently working on a new design to showcase this park, which attracts thousands of visitors each year to see the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon,” said Stone. “Our primary project goals are to elevate each visitor’s experience upon arrival, revamp vehicular circulation, expand parking capacity and improve pedestrian safety. In addition, we will be updating the interior and exterior exhibits at the overlook and visitor center.”

Among the silent auction items and those being auctioned off “live” at various times during the event are: a framed photograph taken by Bruce Dart; a 2019 White House Christmas ornament; a hand-painted Christmas ornament; a basket filled with local items; an “Open” for business flag imprinted with a gaslight and the word “Wellsboro”; and a throw-size, brightly colored, Disappearing Nine-Patch, all-cotton batik quilt made by members of the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild. Proceeds from the auctions will benefit the chamber-sponsored Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival Family Day and Children’s Health Fair. The Saturday, June 8 event is free and will provide healthy activities and information for children and their parents.

Mountain Life Cycling will have handouts, free intro to spin coupons and a drawing for free classes along with a spinning bike that people can look at and try out. DCNR’s Hills Creek State Park Complex will have a display, brochures, maps and information about spring and summer events at area state parks. Staff will be on hand to answer questions.

For information about the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce or the Chamber Mixer, call (570) 724-1926 or visit www.wellsboropa.com.

Photo provided
Ben Stone, Hills Creek State Park Complex park operations manager, will talk about changes at Leonard Harrison, Cherry Springs and Denton Hill state parks.

TIADAGHTON AUDUBON SOCIETY MEETING IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20

Find out why learning about efforts to save the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow from extinction in the Florida Everglades is important to Pennsylvanians and New Yorkers. Attend the Tiadaghton Audubon Society meeting on Wednesday, March 20 in the old music room at the Wellsboro High School administration building at 227 Nichols Street in Wellsboro.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and at 7 p.m. the presentation by Dr. Sean Murphy about the efforts to improve conditions for the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow to contribute to its survival and recovery. Both the meeting and presentation are free and open to the public.

“During my talk, I will cover many facets of the 30-year, long-term project to save this songbird,” said Dr. Murphy. Currently, conservation efforts include annual range-wide population surveys by ground and helicopter, vegetation and hydrologic monitoring, use of prescribed fire to control woody vegetation, controlling wildfires to protect sparrow habitats and banding birds so they can be identified in the future.

In March 2016, Dr. Murphy moved to Williamsport, Pa. and began working for Conservation InSight, a nonprofit scientific research organization focused on providing sound solutions to avian conservation issues. He helped develop a spatially-explicit population estimator for the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow and implemented new survey protocols to improve current data collection methods. “I am still helping InSight finish up some of the work I was doing. This nonprofit organization plans to continue that research in the future,” he said.

In January of this year, Dr. Murphy was named the state ornithologist to head the Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Diversity Division’s Endangered and Nongame Birds Section. He and his family continue to live in Williamsport.

Drive past the main entrance to the administration building at 227 Nichols Street, turn left and follow the building all the way around to the back. Park near the handicapped entrance and follow the signs to the old music room where the meeting and presentation will be.

For more information, contact the Tiadaghton Audubon Society by visiting http://tiadaghtonaudubon.blogspot.com or calling Sean or Robin Minnick at (570) 948-9052.

BILL STUMPF TO OPEN 2019 HISTORY COMES ALIVE SERIES ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 IN WELLSBORO

On Wednesday, March 20 at 7 p.m., the 2019 History Comes Alive series will open with Bill Stumpf of Titusville, Pa. taking the stage as Gilbert “Gib” Morgan in the Coolidge Theatre at the Deane Center for the Performing Arts at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro.

Stumpf will speak in the first person as Gib Morgan, an oil well driller, roustabout, tool dresser and pipe-line laborer who attained mythical status in American folklore. Morgan was not rich, did not own an oil company and would not be considered important at all, except for one thing. He was a brilliant storyteller. His stories are known today under his own name and as a portion of the Paul Bunyan tales.

As Morgan, Stumpf will introduce himself to the audience, talk about where he grew up, how he got into the oil industry and the type of work he did. He will then tell some of Morgan’s notorious tales. “Some of Gib’s stories are more droll than others,” Stumpf said. “He had a dry wit and you aren’t quite sure if he is pulling your leg until the end of the story. I equate Morgan to a cross between Daniel Boone and Mark Twain.”

Morgan lived from 1842 to 1909. He was born in Callensburg in Clarion County, grew up in Emlenton in Venango County, fought in the Union Army and returned home from the Civil War to an oil boom in Pennsylvania. After the death of his wife and the adoption of his three young children, Morgan became a roving driller, wandering from oil field to oil field spreading tall tales about himself and the industry across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia. His decades of tale-telling earned him the nickname “Minstrel of the Oil Fields.”

“I’ve been telling stories myself since 1976,” said Stumpf. “I was working on my master’s degree that year when I took an elective course on storytelling. We did research and each week had to tell two different myths, tall tales, legends or fairy tales. After that course, another teacher and I developed a storytelling workshop for teachers and I began using storytelling in my classroom as a teaching tool as well as presenting tales for the public – from ghost stories to George Washington.”

In 1986, Stumpf was asked to come and tell stories about the oil industry for school tours at the Drake Well Museum in Titusville. “That’s when I discovered Morgan and his stories and just fell in love with the guy,” he said. Stumpf has been portraying Morgan ever since.

Stumpf retired from the Titusville Area School District in 2006 after 35 years of teaching reading and writing to sixth and seventh graders. Since then, he has not only been the featured storyteller at the Drake Well Museum and Park but also a tour guide, an archivist and operator of the Drake Well’s replica steam engine.

At the conclusion of this fun and informative show, audience members are welcome to ask questions, meet Stumpf in person and take photos of him or with him.

Tickets are $15 and free for children 12 and under when accompanied by a paying adult. Being offered is a discounted package price of $75 for all six shows in the 2019 History Comes Alive series, a $15 savings.

For information or to purchase a ticket package or tickets for individual shows, call (570) 724-6220 or visit www.deanecenter.com.

TYOGA RUNNING CLUB’S LAST RUN FROM WELLSBORO IS THURSDAY, MARCH 21; RUN OUT OF TOWN IS THURSDAY, MARCH 28; FIRST THURSDAY NIGHT RUN FROM ASAPH IS THURSDAY, APRIL 4

Next week on March 21, those participating in the Tyoga Running Club’s Thursday Night Runs will leave promptly at 6 p.m. from the parking lot at the Wellsboro Community Center at 3 Queen Street in Wellsboro on a free, one-hour run.

The following Thursday, March 28, the public is invited to participate with running club members in “Run Out Of Town.” Those going on this run will meet at 6 p.m. at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Tioga State Forest, Tioga District 16 Office at 132 Nessmuk Lane, near Nessmuk Lake. The forestry office is about one mile south of Wellsboro just off Route 287.

The 7.5-mile “Run Out of Town” is one way. Runners will leave from the Tioga District 16 Office parking lot, turn right onto Route 287 and then take a left onto a dirt road called Shumway Hill Road. At the top of the hill, the runners will take a right onto paved Shumway Hill Road and continue on country roads to Duncan Tavern in Antrim where they will stay and eat dinner. The run is free. Participants pay for their own dinners. Arrangements are being made to provide rides back to the Tioga District 16 Office so runners can pick up their vehicles.

Starting at 6 p.m. every Thursday, beginning April 4 and continuing into October, the club’s free, traditional, one-hour runs for members and the public will be held in a new location. Runners will leave from the parking lot at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Appalachian Research Laboratory at 176 Straight Run Road in Asaph. It is about eight miles west of Wellsboro via Route 6. The runs are free and open to everyone, children and adults with pace groups for runners of all ages and ability levels.

For more information about the Tyoga Running Club, the free Thursday Night Runs and “Run Out of Town,” visit www.facebook.com/tyogarunningclub or email run4trc@gmail.com.

TIOGA COUNTY LYME DISEASE SUPPORT GROUP MEETING IS THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2019

At the Tioga County Lyme Disease Support Group meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, guest speaker Cody Ann Cook, 47, of Endicott, N.Y. will talk about her journey with Lyme disease and how it has affected her life. The meeting will be in the Native Bagel at 1 Central Avenue in Wellsboro. It is free and open to the public.

“I was a teenager living in Trumansburg, N.Y. in the 1980s when I first experienced Lyme disease symptoms,” Cook said. “I had no idea what was going on and wasn’t tested for it.”

In 2006, when she was 35, Cook was working as a police officer in Painted Post, N.Y. when she found a tick attached to her leg, near her ankle. Over the next six years, Cook was tested for Lyme four times. The ELISA test was used. “My test results were all negative.” said Cook.

“Despite my many physical and neurological issues and their increasing intensity, I had no diagnosis. My Lyme disease symptoms were among the reasons I resigned from my job as a police officer in 2008,” she said.

By 2012, Cook was having breathing difficulties, called “oxygen starvation,” common in people with advanced Lyme disease, along with unusual heart palpitations, which she described as “having a butterfly in my chest.” Her primary physician referred her to a cardiologist. “That’s when I found out I had a VSD – a hole in my heart caused by a bacterial infection.”

Within months of this discovery and a slew of other symptoms, she found a Lyme literate physician and scheduled an appointment. Her symptoms included exhaustion, balance and intestinal issues, trembling, shaking, spasms and twitches, chills and sweats, chronic headaches, joint pain and swelling, weight gain, tumors on her thyroid requiring partial removal, sensitivity to odors and lights, and not being able to sleep at night.

“I was tested for Lyme through IGENIX, the premiere Lyme testing facility in the United States,” said Cook. “My results were positive. In November 2012, I began treatment that included the antibiotics Doxycycline, Mepron and Plaquenil as well as supplements, tinctures, and food restrictions. My treatment lasted for three years, through November 2015. I was living in Ithaca, New York then.”

When she first found out she had Lyme, Cook asked her cardiologist if the disease could have caused the hole in her heart and was told “Absolutely.”

“In June 2014, I went out to my mailbox and back into my house, found a tick attached to my inner leg and removed it. Even though I was still in treatment from my initial diagnosis, I had a severe spike in symptoms,” Cook said.

“I was able to return to police work in August 2014 due to the improvements I was making during treatment,” said Cook.

In August of 2018, she found a tick embedded in her neck. “My primary physician recommended that I take Doxycycline for 28 days. Not long after my treatment ended, I had an onset of Lyme symptoms. They included extreme exhaustion, migraines, joint swelling, neurological issues, memory problems, pain in my abdomen, ribs, back, neck and hip sockets, and insomnia.”

Cook took the first appointment she could to see her Lyme literate physician. In January, she was diagnosed with recurring, chronic Lyme disease and co-infections that required a heavy use of antibiotics. She has been in treatment for the past six weeks.

Luke Dunham and Thomas Putnam, both from the Wellsboro area, are regional co-leaders with the PA Lyme Resource Network and co-leaders of the support group. Both are being treated for Lyme disease and co-infections.

For information, contact Dunham and Putnam by email at tiogacountylyme@palyme.org or by calling Putnam at (570) 439-2000.

Photo provided
Cody Ann Cook