The laurelight JTH Festival Gallery
Jackson Township Home
Jackson Township Heritage Festival Home

One of the best things about living in the Johnstown area is, on any given weekend between May and October, there’s always some kind of festival, or jubilee, or carnival going on. Jackson Township is no exception. I’m especially fond of the Jackson Township Heritage Festival because the picturesque Veterans Park is a setting right out of Meet Me In St. Louis or Life With Father. I always feel like I’ve been tossed back a hundred years when I wander through the festival: friendly, enthusiastic vendors and patrons, good music, and, of course, great food. The JTHF is on my short ‘A’ list of “There’s Too Much to do Around Here.”

I’ve also got a soft spot in my heart for Jackson Township itself. Back in the Stone Age, JT was the first, and may still be the only, municipality to link to laurelight on its website. Thanks, guys. Anything I can ever do for you… And the rest of you, try to catch up, would you?

And, so, the photos. I like to plan my visit when TREE is playing. If you’re not an aficionado, check them out here, and you will be. So, we’ve got photos of the band, some fine folks, a little Sal’s pizza, some Pie Shoppe baked goods and a few other odds and ends. Check out the 2012 Festival link above and make your plans. Enjoy.

The Johnstown Concert Ballet Gallery
The Johnstown Concert Ballet
Artworks Johnstown
The Cambria City Ethnic Festival

Put on you dancin’ shoes and unpack your tu-tus. It was pure pleasure, and a nice change of pace, to watch the Johnstown Concert Ballet perform at Johnstown Artworks during a weekend of otherwise rocking out at the 2011 Cambria City Ethnic Festival. Grace and elegance marked the performance of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade, choreographed by Ballet Artistic Director Carla Prucnal. It’s been a long time sicne I was priveleged to photograph a dance company, and I can only hope the photos do justice to this classic performance.

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The Bandshell Bark Gallery
The Roxbury Bandshell
On a beautiful September morning a few weeks back, I packed up the gear as cool canines and their well-behaved pets from around the area descended on Johnstown’s Roxbury Park for the 6th annual Bandshell Bark in support of the Roxbury Bandshell Preservation Alliance. Organizer Eileen Graham knows how to throw a party. Wonderful people and four-legged handlers converged for a day of howls and barks and all-around fun. Many thanks to Eileen and Alliance president Mary Borkow for inviting me to particpate in the good time.

The Oakhurst 2008 Gallery

Got a note from Michael K. recently asking about photos of Oakhurst I had previously posted. There were problems a while back with a gallery plugin resulting in the loss of a number of galleries. I haven’t been able to rebuild them yet, but since Michael took the initiative to ask, here are the Oakhurst photos.

I’m not sure what possessed me at the time (I think I was looking for a route down to the Mainline tracks to get some Amtrak shots), but I ended up wandering Johnstown’s Oakhurst neighborhood on a snowy February day in 2008. Some of the results are here. Love the Johnstown winters.

The Beaverfest Gallery
Summerhill Twp. VFC Home Page

Nice thing about living in Johnstown is I can be just about anywhere I want to go in 30 minutes or less. Left my home in Moxham Saturday before the 4th of July, and pulled into Beaverdale exactly 20 minutes later, for the annual Beaverfest celebration and, yes, it was. I’m a little confused over the sponsorship, but I think the fest is presented by the Somerhill Twp. VFC located in Beaverdale, and I think if you want to call it the Beaverdale VFC, it’s okay by them, but I’m not sure.

Anyway, got to catch a bit of the Beaverdale fun and a bit of Ribbon Grass music before I had to head back to town to shoot the Galleria fireworks. I think you can tell by the photos that most everyone had themselves a real good time. I know I did. Can’t wait till next year.

TITV Peoples Gallery
The Official Thunder in the Valley Web Page

A final wrap-up from Johnstown’s Thunder in the Valley 2011. A few people pics to close things out till next year. There are still a half-dozen band galleries to post on the laurelight.com Facebook page, but they’ll show up as time permits. Meanwhile, this is a wrap, so on to the rest of Summer. There’s a lot of catching up to do.

or: Why it Took Thirteen Hours Over Three Weeks to Hike the First Seven Miles of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail

Trail Gallery
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail Official Page

Okay, a couple of fine points first:

• I’m not a backpacker. I bought a truck so I’d have room to carry all my stuff on a 3 day/2 night camping trip. I’m not about to carry my life on my back for weeks at a time. In the words of Brett Weston: “If it’s more than 20 yards from the car, it’s not a photograph.” So, when I plan to hike a long trail, it’s got to have accessable trailheads not too many miles apart. Whatever distance I hike in, I’ll have to hike out. The 70 mile Laurel Highlands Trail will eventually take me 140 miles to finish.
• The kids stopped hiking with me years ago, as I cannot resist the urge, at any given moment, to strike out directly across country. “What’s this? Looks like a shortcut…” Turn left at the rock that looks like a bear. Turn right at the bear that looks like a rock, and, three weeks later…
• I’m an old, fat, lazy smoker, and it takes me a long time to get up one of these hills.

So, back in 2008, I figure it’s time to tackle the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. A nice thing about wandering around Johnstown and PA’s Southern Alleghenies is that, no matter how alone you think you are, no matter how far out in the wilds you may be; if you travel in a straight line, you’re never more than a thirty to sixty minute walk from a paved road. The plan is to hike the first 5 miles of trail, straight up the ridge, to the Decker Avenue fire tower. Next leg, I can drive up to the tower and continue south to PA Rt. 271. 10-12 miles today and maybe 16 or so miles next time.

Well, I get half-way up the ridge, huffing and puffing all the way, and I see this guy standing by a pile of boulders. “What’s up?” “Oh, the kids are down checking out the old iron furnace.” “Iron furnace?” I’d had no idea there were ruins on the steep slope. So, I left the trail and headed downhill (not thinking I’d have to go back up again) and checked out the old iron furnace too. By the time I was satisfied, it was close to Steeler game time, so, puffing and huffing, head for home and save the rest of the climb for another day.

Second Attempt- One week later and my kind of weather, seriously: bitter cold, high winds and snow squalls. I finally reach the top of the ridge, overlooking Morrellville and the Conemaugh Valley, biting wind huffing and puffing nearly as hard as I am, exhausted, iced to the bone, numb, like Lawrence’s frozen bird; and never having felt more alive in my life. Life is good. First leg is over and I’m well on my way to Ohiopyle. I’m looking forward to the next trip, which should get me half-way from the tower array to the Ligonier Pike.

Thanksgiving Sunday: snow on the ground, but clear skies and bright sun. I drive to the fire tower, spend a few minutes looking for the trail, and, finding it, head south. I get about three miles in, discovering and exploring the shelter area on the way. The time at the shelters cut into my hiking time and it’s warming up quite a bit. Reaching a power line leading from New Florence generating station, I see, down slope about a hundred yards, a quad track. “Oh. Looks like a shortcut…” Two hours later, before I realize what I’ve done, I’m back down at Big Spring Reservoir, the Peach Orchard, the Northern Terminus, the bottom of the Laurel Ridge, and I have to hike up that stinking mountain ONE MORE TIME to get back to my truck! And, huffing and puffing, I loved every minute of it.

Enjoy the pics while I research my next trip.

Gallery of Thunder Sights
The Official Thunder in the Valley Web Page

My favorite Thunder activity? Simply looking. No matter where you turn, there’s always something else worth seeing; and something new to see every minute of the day; and the sights are always entertaining. Sometimes I just can’t put the camera down, and sometimes I probably should. Not withstanding, here’s a collection of grab shots from Johnstown PA’s Thunder in the Valley 2011 Motorcycle Rally.

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The laurelight TITV Kids’ Corner Gallery
The VOMA Johnstown Facebook Page
The Official Thunder in the Valley Web Page

Emphasizing the family-friendly nature of Johnstown’s Thunder in the Valley motorcycle rally, organizers presented the Kids’ Corner. Hosted by the Venue of Merging Arts (V.O.M.A.), Kids’ Corner offered face painting, airbrushed tattoos, braiding, those cool inflatable jumping thingees, a big ol’ hi-slide, and all other sorts of fun and games for kids and their families. A good time was had by all, children and parents. Of course, the biggest kid there was probably the guy behind the camera. A great job by all involved, staff and volunteers alike, keeping the crowds engaged and entertained. Check out these photos while I get to work on the next post: Thunder Sights – bikes and bikers and all the whatnot.

Laurelight’s TITV People Gallery I
Official Thunder in the Valley Web Page

Initially planned to shoot mostly bands @ this year’s Thunder in the Valley, but then I met a nice lady @ the VOMA Kids’ Corner who asked where she could see my finished products. So, I gave her my card and expanded the scope to include faces, places, bikes (motorcycles) and bikers, and other Thunder sights. Band pics will be coming soon to the laurelight Facebook page, so be sure to click the FB icon on top of the column to your right and ‘like’ us on Facebook.

And now, (almost) live from Downtown Johnstown PA, the first of 4 galleries covering the faces and folk, bikes and likes, and places and spaces of Thunder in the Valley. I love people photography.