Out & About: Awards dinner attendees test their trivia knowledge

Attendees at the 20th Annual Arthur St. Clair Historic Preservation Awards Dinner tested their local historical knowledge in hopes of winning dinner for eight in the tavern at Historic Hanna’s Town.

The event program included a 10-question quiz with no-brainers like, “What PA town dominates the morning news every Feb. 2?” and posers like “Name one of three colonies that laid claim to parts of present-day PA.”

Hosted by the Westmoreland Historical Society, the dinner took place Oct. 23 at Rizzo’s banquet facility in Crabtree.

But trivia was just a diversion. The main event was recognition of the two award-winners, both wordsmiths who practice their crafts in very different ways.

Following the welcome and flag salute led by P. Louis DeRose, WHS board Chairman Michael Cary and Executive Director Lisa Craig Hays introduced the honorees:

• Charles A. Hall of Murrysville, a University of Pittsburgh mathematics professor emeritus, and author of seven books and 23 newspaper articles on Murrysville history. Hall is a lifetime member of the Murrysville Historical Preservation Society.

• Rennick Steele of Allegheny Township, playwright and founder of the Freeport Theatre Festival. A retired teacher, Steele is the author of 14 historical dramas, mostly set in Western Pennsylvania.

The awards, named after a founding father of Westmoreland County, go to those who make significant contributions to local historic preservation projects or activities that are sustainable and available to the public.

Dinner committee members included Chairwoman Mary Ellen Miller, Linda Assard, Helen Auman, Jim Clayton, Ed and Carol Gross, Bruce Shirey and Claudia Wolfe.

Among sponsors were Assard, Miller and her husband Duane Miller, Thomas and Donnis Headley, Dr. George and Linda Austin, Phyllis Bertock and Richard Lopretto, Dr. Wylie and Marilyn Overly and Monsignor William Rathgeb.