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Old Home Week committee ready for 36th Triennial celebration
The week chalk full of picnics, pomp and a parde, to name just a few of the full slate of activities, is sure to please many in its 37th Triennial version. It's also been a lot of work to bring together. Association ready Although there will almost certainly be a few minor snafus in Old Home Week 2007, the miracle of the triennial event is not that it is still running after 105 years, but that it always runs so smoothly. Dozens of minds, hands and hearts go into making that happen. And they belong to the Greencastle- Antrim Old Home Week Association. The association meets at Besore Library every fourth Monday starting in the September before the next OHW, which is the first full week in August. The Old Home Week Board of Directors chose Jeff Shank to serve as the group's leader for this year's celebration. "Traditionally," Shank explained, "the person serves as secretary during the Old Home Week before they assume the president's role. It's good training!" As president, Shank is following a family tradition - his father, C. B. "Lee" Shank, served as president for the 27th Old Home Week in 1980. As president and spokesman for the group, Shank coordinat- ed the communication and activity of more than 40 committees who plan events that run from early morning to late at night for eight days at a variety of borough and township locations. Bringing it together Besides running the committee meetings, the 51-yearold bank officer's presidential duties have included screening requests for new events for future OHW celebrations, serving as liaison between the OHW board and committees, and making ceremonial appearances. He noted that such appearances ranged from making speeches to throwing out the first pitch at the "Old Timers" baseball game. And there were mundane duties too. "Probably my most important duty," he admitted, "was arranging for the Porta Potties near the square!" Shank said getting everyone to work together was no problem. "It's almost scary how well the committees just handle their duties," he said. "My predecessors were wise in getting new people involved with each committee, so there is continuity." Missing cogs Actually, he said, the hardest part about planning for this OHW was the absence of some familiar faces among the OHW association. "The most difficult thing was losing Red Pensinger and not having Mr. B's presence to enjoy the planning," he said. Pensinger, whom Shank described as a great Greencastle promoter, friend and OHW enthusiast, died of cancer earlier this year. Pensinger served as 2001 OHW president, and he and his wife Nancy sponsored the murals on the underpass on West Baltimore Street. "Mr. B," former G-AHS music teacher Dick Biesecker, longtime director of the OHW cantata, is recovering from injuries he received in a fall. Let the event begin Mostly though, planning the event has been a lot of good fun, Shank said, adding that all the planning, meetings, and work were really enjoyable because everyone involved had something to look forward to and be proud of. "Just the fun, electricity and smiles on people's faces, and the 'after meeting' meetings that are just as productive," he added. "The noise level in the room just explodes after we adjourn." After all the work and preparation, Shank says he and the association members are looking forward to enjoying Old Home Week themselves, attending events and seeing old friends. And then there's what just might be Shank's personal favorite part of OHW - the blueberry and cherry slushies handed to him through his bank office window by the Boy Scouts selling concessions on the square. |
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