Community

Club notes

Speaker to portray doctor at talk

BELLWOOD – The regular monthly meeting of the Bellwood-Antis Historical Society will be held at 7 p.m. Monday in the meeting room of the Bellwood-Antis Public Library.

The program speaker will be Park Ranger Nathan Koozer, The program is free and open to the public.

Dressed in period costume, Koozer will portray Dr. Victor G. Heiser. He will tell of his miraculous survival story in the 1889 Johnstown Flood at the age of 16; how he was orphaned by the flood; and of his experiences as a public health officer.

Dr. Heiser is credited with saving 2 million lives the world over through his innovative medical practices. As a public health officer, Dr. Heiser criss-crossed the globe, traveling to more than 85 nations.

Dr. Heiser was born in Johnstown in 1873. Throughout his life, he survived the 1889 Johnstown Flood, a mob hit, a shark attack and, due to the nature of his work, subjected himself to some of the worst diseases known to man, such as the plague, smallpox and his most-hated nemesis: leprosy. Despite all this, he lived to be 99 years old, dying in 1972.

Koozer is a park ranger at both the Johnstown Flood National Memorial and the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.

He is a 2006 graduate of Penn State University with a degree in history and a 2013 graduate of the American Public University with a master’s degree in American History.

He resides in Bellwood with his wife, Amanda.

Bridge club announces recent winners

The Altoona Duplicate Bridge Club has announced the winners of its recent games.

April 8 – Roger Howey and Peg Robinson, first; Hope Sheehan and Phyllis Robbins, second; Carl Hurd and Jean Green, third; Dauby Oswalt and Diana Colabrese, fourth; Carol Moyer and Cheryl Wherry, fifth.

April 9 – Oswalt and Louise Magee and Colabrese and JoEllen Gehl, tied for first; Hurd and Robinson, second; Bea Stevens and Mary Moran, third.

April 15 – Green and Hurd, first; Summer Rifkah and Lydia Kachur, second; Dave and Marcia Dravis, third; Othella Anderson and Diana Colabrese, fourth.

April 16 – Green and Jean Keller, first; Barbara Marinak and Helen Gorsuch, second; Moyer and Kevin Davis, third.

Games are open to the public and are held at 6 p.m. Wednesdays and 12:30 p.m. Thursdays at the American Legion Social Hall, Hollidaysburg.

For more information, visit altoonadulicatebridge.com or call Robinson at 942-8396.

Patton Garden Club to meet Monday

PATTON – The Patton Garden Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Patton Library.

The program, which will focus on how landscape and floral design are related, will be presented by Frannie Lansberry.

The club will hold a plant sale on June 6 in conjunction with Patton Borough’s annual yard sale.

Annuals, perennials, houseplants, shrubs, etc., will be available for sale. The sale starts at 8 a.m. and will be held at the Fix It Shop in Patton.

Anyone with an interest in gardening, flowers or horticulture is welcome to attend the meeting or call Jan at 674-3390 for more information about the club.

Groups seek nominees for citizen of year

BEDFORD – The Bedford Rotary and Bedford Elks Clubs are partnering to seek nominations for the 2015 Bedford County Citizen of the Year.

The award recipient will be chosen based on recent contributions to the life and welfare of the county’s residents and whose lives exemplify both the Rotary motto of “Service above Self,” as well as the Elks motto of “Elks Share, Elks Care.”

The nominee must be a resident of Bedford County.

To nominate a person for this award, pick up a nomination form at the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce, the Bedford County District Attorney’s Office or the Bedford Elks Club.

Nominations also can be submitted in a letter. Be sure to include your name and contact information, the nominee’s full name and contact information and a detailed summary of the nominee’s qualifications.

Nomination forms and letters should be submitted no later than May 15 and sent to: Bill Higgins Jr., Rotary/Elks Citizen of the Year Committee, 228 S. Bedford St., Bedford, PA 15522

The Citizen of the Year Banquet will be held in July at the Bedford Elks Lodge. Also at the banquet, there will be recognitions of both the Elk of the Year and Rotarian of the Year.

Community

Club notes

Auxiliary to hold dinner Saturday

The Ladies Auxiliary of The Blair County Game, Fish and Forestry Association will hold a spaghetti dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday in the lodge at 301 Riggles Gap Sportsmen Road, Altoona.

The cost is $6 for adults and $4 for children ages 4 to 11. Children under 4 can eat for free. Takeouts will be available.

For tickets or more information, contact Ashley Merritts at 944-2363.

Photo society plans upcoming meetings

HOLLIDAYSBURG – The Altoona-Blair County Photo Society meets at 7:15 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month at the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library, 1 Furnace Drive.

Anyone with an interest in photography is welcome to attend the meetings and join. The society has members from Blair, Bedford and Cambria counties.

Upcoming topics include:

Monday – “Photographing with Drones” by Jerry Carey, who will share footage he has shot with his personal drone and discuss the equipment he uses.

May 4 – Annual banquet and awards ceremony at Jethro’s Restaurant, Altoona.

May 18 – Table Top Night. Members will have the opportunity to photograph a variety of table top settings

June 1 – Photo Walk at the Aboretum Penn State University Park H.O. Smith Botanical Gardens.

June 15 – Results of print competition.

For more information, contact Brandon Hirt, president, at brandonhirtphoto@hotmail.com. Information also is available at http://abcps.club.

Auxiliary to host cancer benefit dance

The Juniata Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary will hold its annual cancer benefit dance on Saturday at Post 8685 in Juniata.

The doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and the buffet will start at 6 p.m.

Music will be provided by Aaron King, Elvis impersonator, and DJ The Legends.

The event will include food, door prizes and a Chinese auction.

Admission is $8 per person.

To purchase tickets, call 942-1347 or 932-9411.

Community

Club notes

Lions recognize students, farmers

ROARING SPRING -?The Roaring Spring Lions held their annual Farmers/FFA Student Night on March 3, with 27 people in attendance.

Blair County Dairy Princess Jessica Orczeck spoke on the importance of milk and other dairy products in the diet and how they can help control weight.

The Roaring Spring Lions have been hosting the students and farmers for many years and enjoy hearing of the happenings in the Cove farming community.

Past District Governor Larry Edwards of the Lakemont Lions Club inducted two new Lions at the meeting, Travis Wagner and Angel Claycomb.

Car club to hold annual swap meet

The Blair County Antique Auto Club invites residents to clean out their garages for its indoor swap meet, scheduled for April 19 at the Blair County Convention Center, Altoona.

The convention center will be full of parts for sale to fit vintage rides, as well as actual cars for sale inside. Setup will be Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

The doors will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with indoor vendors featuring automobile parts and memorabilia for all makes and models, along with an indoor car corral. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

For more information or table rentals, call Dale Crum at 946-4745 or Ken Wills at 674-8143 or visit bcaac.org.

Genealogy society to host speaker

HOLLIDAYSBURG The Blair County Genealogical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at Roller Hojeth Memorial Library, 431 Scotch Valley Road.

Jim Fitch will present “Canoe Creek State Park: Railroads, Kilns, Mines, and Landowners.”

Fitch, a volunteer for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) at Canoe Creek State Park, works with a team that maintains and improves the trails at the park.

While walking the trails, he became curious about the old structures found along or near most of the major trails. His presentation will give park users and hikers a clearer understanding of the visible historical remnants from the long and varied history of the area before it was dedicated as a state park in 1979.

While living in New York, Fitch became involved with trail maintenance in a county park. The NY-NJ Trail Conference recognized Fitch for five years of dedicated service.

In 2009, Fitch moved to Hollidaysburg having retired from Verizon in late 2003 after 35 years in management.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Club offers floral design workshops

PATTON -?The Patton Garden Club is offering a series of four floral design classes. Attendees will make a basic floral arrangement at each of the four Monday evening sessions.

The information in the lessons will be of interest to novice flower arrangers and to experienced designers.

The classes will be as follows: Session I, May 4 – Vertical Line Design; Session II, May 11 – Horizontal Line Design; Session III, May 18 – Vertical Line Mass Design; and Session IV, June 1 – Mass Design.

Each session will be led by a certified flower show judge from The Garden Club Federation of PA.

Classes will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Patton Public Library community room.

The cost for members is $5 per session or $15 for all for sessions. Nonmembers will pay $10 per session or $35 for all four sessions.

Plant material will be provided for the first three sessions. However, if you have any plant material that you would like to include in your arrangement, take it with you. Participants must provide their own container.

Information regarding the appropriate type of container for each design will be provided. Participants also should take pruners or scissors for cutting the plant material. For the fourth session, participants will be encouraged to be creative and search their garden, woodlot or the roadside for plant materials to use in their design.

The class size is limited, and reservations are due by April 24 by writing to Janice L. Davis, 1086 Magee Road, Patton, PA 16668, by calling 674-3390 or by emailing

janldavis101@comcast.net.

Bridge club announces recent winners

The Altoona Duplicate Bridge Club has announced the winners of its recent games.

April 1 – Ed McCauley and Peggy Gutshall, first; Bea Stevens and Mary Moran, second; Carol Moyer and Jean Keller, third.

April 2 – Carl Hurd and Peg Robinson, first; Othella Anderson and Helen Gorsuch, second; Keller and Betty Covino, third; McCauley and Irv Seltzer, fourth; Moyer and Martha Plummer, fifth.

Games are open to the public and are held at 6 p.m. Wednesdays and 12:30 p.m. Thursdays at the American Legion Social Hall, Hollidaysburg. For more information, visit altoonaduplicatebridge.com or call 942-8396.

Community

Club notes

Kiwanis Club to hold pancake breakfast

The Kiwanis Club of Altoona will hold its annual pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School on Pleasant Valley Boulevard, Altoona.

Tickets are $5 per person and kids 6 and younger can eat for free. Tickets include all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage and beverages. Takeout is offered, and gluten-free will be available.

There will be a bake sale and raffle prizes.

Tickets can be purchased in advance from any Kiwanis Club of Altoona member or at the door.

Proceeds will benefit the children of our community by helping to fund many of the Kiwanis Club of Altoona’s charitable contributions and local service projects, such as college scholarships, reading programs and Buddy Club.

The Kiwanis Club of Altoona meets at 12:15 p.m. Wednesdays at The Calvin House, Duncansville. New members are welcome.

Hollidaysburg class of 1950 to meet

HOLLIDAYSBURG -?The class members of the Hollidaysburg High School class of 1950 holds its monthly luncheon meetings at 12:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at The Dream Restaurant.

Spouses are also welcome to attend. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday.

For more information, call 695-1573 or 695-0028.

Women’s Club of Altoona to meet

The Women’s Club of Altoona will meet Tuesday at the clubhouse.

Altoona Community Theater will provide the entertainment with selections from the upcoming spring musical, “Singin’ in the Rain.” The preview for the club is an annual event and one of the most anticipated by club members.

The club will sponsor “A Night at the Races” as a fundraiser to support all of its community activities. The fundraiser will be held at 6 p.m. May 1 at the United Veterans Association Club on Union Avenue.

Tickets are $25 for a couple or $15 for an individual and can be obtained from any club member, by calling 942-4283 or at the door.

Tickets include a buffet dinner, a cash bar, a silent auction, games of chance and 10 horse races. Horse chances may be purchased separately, but are not necessary for admission.

This spring, the club continues its ongoing support of activities, such as the Women’s Domestic Abuse Shelter, the trash collection on 17th Street and playing bingo with the residents of Valley View Home.

The annual student art awards also will be presented later this spring.

The club is open to any woman in Blair County who is at least 18 years of age. Prospective members who would like to attend a meeting may contact any member or call the clubhouse at 944-6341 and leave a message for the membership chairman.

Bridge club announces recent winners

The Altoona Duplicate Bridge Club has announced the winners of its recent games.

March 25 – Carl Hurd and Peg Robinson, first; Hope Sheehan and Phyllis Robbins, second; Martha Plummer and Bea Stevens, third; Kevin Davis and Ed McCauley, fourth.

March 26 – North/South: Othella Anderson and Stevens, first; McCauley and Irv Seltzer, second. East/West: Hurd and Robinson, first; Diana Colabrese and JoEllen Gehl, second.

Games are open to the public and are held at 6 p.m. Wednesdays and 12:30 p.m. Thursdays at the American Legion Social Hall, Hollidaysburg.

For more information, visit altoonaduplicatebridge.com or call Robinson at 942-8396.