Smethport Web — by Nathan Muller
Holding the five-day Wooly Willy Wonderdaze event requires the involvement of many people and organizations working behind the scenes, giving generously of their time and energy to help make our community a very special place.
We are indebted to the Borough’s utility crew who installed new poles to display the Wooly Willy Wonderdaze banner across Main Street after it had blown down twice at its original location.
On short notice, Borough electrician Charlie Jones built new utility boxes to handle the increased load at various locations in Hamlin Lake Park.
Kudos go to the Smethport Fire Department and Smethport Fire Police for their support, as well as to Mayor Ross Porter, Police Chief Ryan Yingling, and Smethport schools music director Matt Bailey and the marching band.
Diana Covert of Lightwaves Laser Engraving, Scott Christie and his staff at the Lakeview Senior Care and Living Center, Rose Bishop of Colonial Radio Group, Jackie Taylor of The Country Porch, Costa’s Ace Hardware, Costa’s Supermarket, and Northwest Savings Bank also went the extra distance to ensure the show’s success, as did Christy and Jeff Andrulonis of Colonial Radio Group, Terry Brennan and Tom Larson at Sena Kean Manor, and Melanie Clabaugh who handled press relations and button sales.
The “patience” award goes to Greg Rounsville, manager of the toy factory in Smethport. On the first day, over 75 guests showed up within a 2-hour period for a tour of the plant on Magnetic Avenue. On the second day 120 guests took the tour over a span of 2 hours. This number of guests was completely unexpected, but Greg managed to handle it all in his typically calm, friendly manner.
The spectacular fireworks on Hamlin Lake would not have been possible without the generous support of Patch Products, Bradford Regional Medical Center, Hamlin Bank & Trust, Costa’s Supermarket, Costa’s Ace Hardware, Northwest Savings Bank, and Smethport Gulf & Tire.
The tent and dance floor used for a variety of musical performances throughout the Wonderdaze festival was made possible by Anne Potter.
Finally, thanks to Jim Herzog for his creative ideas and enthusiastic participation in helping to make Wooly Willy Wonderdaze 2010 another memorable experience for Smethport!
