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Cresson’s Todd Garzarelli worked hard to reach his dream job as A.D. at IUP -- then Covid hit
Todd with wife, Leah, son Gabe, and daughter Goia, at Wisconsin-Whitewater … the Penn Cambria grad is happy to finally be back home When...
hughconrad52
Feb 18, 20226 min read


“Maus”: Why I started reading a “banned” book, a “graphic” story — of the Holocaust
“Story of the Spiegelman family in Poland from 1935 to 1944” … Author: banning was “Orwellian” The move to ban books from libraries...
hughconrad52
Feb 17, 20225 min read


hughconrad52
Feb 13, 20220 min read


Dr. Alexander Kalenak: My chance meeting with a world-class knee surgeon from Nanty Glo, Pa.
… who remembered my father from 35 years earlier This trip to the Hershey Medical Center was one that I will never forget, for a number...
hughconrad52
Feb 12, 20224 min read


John Kudel: From Dutchtown in suburban Lilly, Pa. to president of the Maryland State Bar Association
… overcame tremendous obstacles to earn respect Some parts of John Kudel’s success story make Horatio Alger look like a common man....
hughconrad52
Feb 11, 20227 min read


I listened to medical scientists ten years ago; consequently, I am cancer-free
… went to good doctors, followed their advice Ten years ago, I was told after having a PSA [Prostate-Specific Antigen] that it was very...
hughconrad52
Feb 9, 20224 min read


Dave Stossel: A “Heart of Gold,” one of the truly “Good People” in life
Davey Stossel, RIP July 22, 1056 to February 2, 2022 … a class act whom we will always miss All of us have hearts, but few of us have a...
hughconrad52
Feb 7, 20226 min read


Dr. Melissa A. Wertz: From youth softball coach and mentor in Lilly, Pa. to college dean
Dr. Melissa A. Wertz, Pittsburgh Technical College … her focus on technology was a great career stimulus Many people venture off in...
hughconrad52
Feb 6, 20227 min read


Liberals have been guilty of banning books, too, like Huck Finn and “To Kill A Mockingbird”
Repost from Blogspot … sort of like the Catholic Church outlawing “The DaVinci Code” Outlawing or censoring classical literature is...
hughconrad52
Feb 5, 20226 min read


Why I never became a racist despite growing up in all-white town
Reprint from June 02, 2020 Kershaw Shannon, my first black friend Johnstown High School Yearbook, 1963 I am immensely grateful that I...
hughconrad52
Feb 5, 20229 min read


Dr. Kathy Phillips: From fighting for girls sports at BC to a distinguished 40-year academic career
… battled boys on fields at St. Brigid’s and then became part of first hoops team at B.C. Often, careers take unique turns, and that...
hughconrad52
Jan 29, 20226 min read


Gallup: Supreme Court approval lowest in history — 40 percent — and could get worse in 2022
... has dropped 22 points since Bush v. Gore The approval of the U.S. Supreme Court has been trending downward since its infamous Bush v....
hughconrad52
Jan 25, 20223 min read


Is report on “Havana Syndrome” another CIA coverup of Russia/Cuban terrorism?
The "Havana Syndrome" started here in the U.S. Embassy … goes back to JFK assassination allegations Many credible people have believed...
hughconrad52
Jan 20, 20223 min read


Texas Rabbi and other hostages escaped on their own, not because of the FBI or law enforcement
Texas Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and hostages were the heroes After a disturbed gunman took hostages in a Jewish synagogue in suburban...
hughconrad52
Jan 17, 20223 min read


The winter of 2010: Placing 2022 snow in context -- Johnstown had 125.5 inches of snow by February
Tribune-Democrat: “We aren’t going to see green grass until July” Most of Cambria County is digging out from about a foot of snow today,...
hughconrad52
Jan 17, 20222 min read


Sirhan again denied parole, but Bobby Kennedy's children are more bitterly divided than ever
Ethel and Bobby Kennedy in happy times … Time to let go? Sometimes, bitterness is difficult to bury. The pain over the death of former...
hughconrad52
Jan 14, 20222 min read


Remember the joy of those majestic snows in Western Pa. in the ‘50s and ‘60s?
… "So, when kids today look outside and then run to their video games..." As adults, those of us in west-central Pennsylvania despised...
hughconrad52
Jan 13, 20222 min read


Why I should move to Ireland for the rest of my life
… and acquire dual citizenship Truth be told: I would love to leave America and live somewhere else. It is no longer the country in which...
hughconrad52
Jan 12, 20223 min read


Italian-American bias was evident in Lilly, Pa. in the 1920s during the Klan imbroglio
Most notorious case of bias, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti University of Pennsylvania photo ... repost of the Tranquillo-Naples...
hughconrad52
Jan 12, 20227 min read


The three Brisini’s who became doctors were all unique personalities, often upbeat and congenial
The three boys playing baseball in their younger years The Brisini family that grew up on Scanlan Hill outside Lilly had three children...
hughconrad52
Jan 12, 20223 min read
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