Port Allegany

After a hectic couple of days we say goodbye to our hosts in Kane and journey to Port Allegany in time to give our presentation to the lunchtime meeting of the local Rotary club. Our presentation, which started at around 15 minutes is now taking almost twice as long now that we know which jokes and stories go down well in PA.

Dressed in our kilts we spend the afternoon visiting RecycAll Inc, a glass recycling plant, and the Pittsburgh Corning Company, which manufactures glass blocks. Although still a major employer in the area the company is not operating at full capacity with a significant downturn in orders as a result of the recession. Unfortunately the company would not allow us to take photographs inside the factory, so all we got was a picture of a glass block!!

In the evening our hosts took us over the state line into New York State and we ate at Spragues Maple Farms. This large family restaurant also has a trail demonstrating the production of Maple Syrup, and Eric couldn't resist the temptation of getting on the back of a wooden horse.

Saturday was a day of relaxation....kyaking for the team and a bit of sightseeing for the team leader. In the evening a social meeting with the Port Allegany and Smethport clubs at a local restaurant.

Sunday morning gave some of us time to relax and repack while others went out shooting and by the afternoon we were on the road again....this time to the big city of Erie.

Kane

Wednesday 6 May and we are on the move again. Our longest transfer to date sees us journey from Oil City to Kane. We arrive in time for lunch with our hosts and other members of the Kane club at a local restaurant. We all sample to hot dogs (with fries), which are as good as their reputation. In the afternoon Chris and Eric play the local golf course while Callum and Roger go cycling. The team leader gets some downtime and some blogging done.

In the evening we all meet up at the Country Club for a steak dinner. The steaks are each half the size of Pennsylvania and you have to cook them yourself on the outside grill. Callum has to help out the team leader with his, and we all enjoy a great social evening with our new hosts. The party moves from the Country Club to the house of the Kane president, Ron McDonald and we enjoy a sing song led by Chris and a glass or two of Glenlivet.

Despite a late night we all make it to the tour of Kane Hardwood Sawmill where we learn about the Collins Company, the second largest landowner in PA and the logging and reforestation policies of the company.

Lunch follows at a local bar, which used to be owned by local Rotarian, and Chris' host, Jim Eck. We get to sample chicken wings and a beer or two. In the afternoon we visit an eco-friendly heating plant at the local High School and then we are taken round the renovation and extension works at the local Elementary and Middle School.

After a hard day of walking we attend the club meeting which is moved to the local Shooting and Fishing Club. We try (unsuccessfully) to master the game of Horseshoes and are then given the chance to try shooting some clays. Finally we have to sing for our supper by giving our presentation and leading the club in Auld Lang Syne.

An active and enjoyable couple of days ends the following morning when we have to leave for Port Allegany.

Franklin

Tuesday lunchtime we are picked up in Oil City and taken the short distance to Franklin for the Rotary Club meeting and our next presentation. We arrive to find that they have not been asked to provide a projector, but one of their members kindly foregoes his lunch to go back to his office to collect one.

The presentation goes down well, with lots of questions afterwards.....mostly about tartan and kilts.... we finish off with a rouding rendition of Flower of Scotland, led by Chris on guitar.

In the afternoon we have a walking tour of Franklin, taking in DeBence Antique Music World. This collection of of over 100 rare mechanical musical instruements was started by a local farmer. We were given a guided tour and heard examples of music boxes, wurlitzers, nickelodians and other instruments.

We also made a short call to the Barrow-Civic Theater, but unfortunately there was no show on or in rehearsal. The walk round the town finished at a local bar, where we enjoyed a game of pool and a beer or two.

We were picked up at the bar by our hosts and we each spent the evening with them.

For me it was a cycle ride along the banks of the river with my hosts Nick and Heather Skokowski and their daughter Nicole, followed by pizza, fries and ice cream for tea.

Oil City - Part 2

On Tuesday morning the team met up for a tour of the town library, which was set up with money donated by Andrew Carnegie. As well as the main library we visited the local history room, which is run by volunteers. A number of people in the library introduced themselves and shook our hands.....we're not quite sure how they knew we were from out of town......maybe the kilts were a clue??

From the library we went on a short walking tour of the town, calling in at the local Chamber of Commerce office, and finishing at the National Transit Company. This fine building is being restored and turned into an Arts Centre. After admiring the fine murals on the walls of the entrance lobby, we were given a tour of the building by the centre manager, which included the rooms and studios already in use and the ones that are under development. The vast majority of this work is done by volunteers.

From the Arts Centre it was a short walk to the Venango Museum. Venango is the county which includes Oil City. Given the history of the area it is no surprise that the museum concentrates on oil. But it also has other exhibits, including a Wurlitzer. Not the last one we would see that day. We did get to hear it though. An impressive sound.

After our tour of the museum we were picked up outside and taken to Franklin, a town around 7 miles away for our next Rotary lunch and presentation.

Oil City

On Sunday we were transferred from Slippery Rock to Oil City....we lunched on the way at Burger King....hey, you've got to sample the local culture.....actually the restaurant we were to meet up at was full so we went next door.


We spent Sunday evening with our hosts, so the others will have to tell you what they got up to. Me? I went to the local speedway track with my host Ken. It wasn't speedway as we know it......it was car racing......noisy, smelly, dusty, but great fun.....pity I didn't bring my car with me....there was a prize for the dirtiest car in the parking lot!!



Monday was a vocational day, so again the guys will have to tell you themselves what they got up to. I do know that Roger got himself on the front of the local newspaper with a photo of him in the local jail.....I am assured that this was all part of his vocational experience.....either that or he's been let out on bail....


I spent the morning with a local CPA discussing the differences between the US and UK tax regimes, and in the afternoon Bob Cross took me to his bank where I saw how they do things here, including the drive through.....everything here is geared (sic) to the motor car.....people are amazed when you tell them that the thing you can do in a drive through in Scotland is buy a McDonalds.


The normal Rotary meeting in Oil City was cancelled, and instead a picnic was held at the home of Bob Cross, the local Rotarian who had put together the programme for us....we were asked to do our presentation....no Powerpoint, so we had to improvise....for some reason the original 18 minutes has stretched to almost 25. The photo shows some of the team warming up for the presentation and our rousing rendition of Flower of Scotland.

On Tuesday the Rotarians of Oil City and Franklin did their best to walk the legs off us.....they almost succeeded..

To be continued.....

Slippery Rock

We arrived in Slippery Rock on Friday after a two night stay in Grove City. After a meal with our hosts we attended a concert by the Bach Society choir of Slippery Rock. Carolyn Rizza, one of my hosts, sings in the choir. The lads all scrubbed up well and looked very presentable in their suits and team ties.

On Saturday morning we visited a local aviation museum. The collection of airplanes and other military memorabelia is owned by Walt Powell, a Slippery Rock Rotarian and a host to one of the team.

Walt Powell and one of his airplanes.


After the museum the team was taken to their most eagerly awaited visit of the trip so far.....the local micro brewery. There we were treated to lunch.....burgers and fries are becoming very popular.....and then were shown round the brewing facility.....how they can brew such good beer in such a small place amazes me.

In the afternoon Chris, Eric and I were taken for a drive round the golf course.....they don't let you walk here.....Chris almost managed to upend one of the carts, and he did get himself a new nickname...Bob the Builder....but you will have to email me to find out why...

Roger and Callum went for a cycle trip and then we all met up for a social at Paul Rizza's house

Chris lines up his approach to the 18th green.

The team with some of the hosts and Rotarians from Slippery Rock.

On Sunday morning there was a light breakfast in the Rizza household (bacon, strawberries and 6 waffles with Maple Syrup for me!!!) before we met up at Eric's host to update the blog.

Only two days in Slippery Rock, but we were kept busy and the hospitality and friendliness of our hosts, and everyone we met was fantastic. But that has been the case eveywhere we have been.

Wednesday 6 May

We have arrived in Kane, after three days in Oil City and Franklin........Chris and Eric are off playing golf and Callum and Roger are cycling......me, I'm acting as team leader.....chilling out and using my nap time to update the blog....I will post a few updates about what we have been doing since Grove City....I may nod off a few times, so bear with me.....

Team with some our hosts at the Bach Society concert in Slippery Rock on Friday evening