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Why the controversy over the Alzheimer’s drug?
… cost and danger are issues When a drug has the potential to help people with a devastating disease, it should have widespread approval....
hughconrad52
Jan 12, 20223 min read


Lois (Whitsel) Smith loved track & field, and the Mt Top Track & Field Club resulted from that joy
Lois (Whitsel) Smith Lois (Whitsel) Smith fell in love with track and field as a young athlete at Penn Cambria High School in the 1970s....
hughconrad52
Jan 10, 20224 min read


“On the Link Between Great Thinking and Obsessive Walking”: From Thoreau
Darwin's walking path Moreover, you must walk like a camel, which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking. –Henry David...
hughconrad52
Jan 7, 20224 min read


Marty Martynuska, a dedicated educator for 30+ years, is alive today because of some special people
Marty Martynuska … a truly inspirational story Part 1 Many of the loves that we cherish as adults originated in our childhoods. That is...
hughconrad52
Jan 5, 20226 min read


Lilly High School basketball experienced great success in the 1920s
Coach Walter Hite, Francis (Pep) Salony, Ellis (Tussie) Meehan, Doń Eckenrode, Bennie Donlinger, George (Buck) Inman, (Dr.) Jim Leap,...
hughconrad52
Jan 1, 20224 min read


A great success story: Pat Farabaugh loved books as a child, and now his photo is on the cover
Pat signing books at the Johnstown Library … Coming from a small town or small school is never a hindrance Part 1 Today, Pat Farabaugh...
hughconrad52
Jan 1, 20226 min read


Betty White as “The Happy Homemaker” taught me to separate the person from her roles
As Sue Ann Nivens in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" … could not figure why I disliked her What I did in the early years was unfortunate. At...
hughconrad52
Jan 1, 20222 min read


Jesus’ New Year’s Resolution: Love thy neighbor as thyself comes with proviso
... We must first love ourselves When Jesus Christ was born, he was hearkened as the Prince of Peace, the one who would bring peace to...
hughconrad52
Dec 31, 20213 min read


Some Lilly High School sports photos from the 1920s to the 1940s
Stories to come. Thanks to Mary (Brisini) Damin for these photos. 1928 Lilly High School Football Team -- practicing behind the high...
hughconrad52
Dec 28, 20211 min read


The family of Camillo and Maria (Defante) Brisini of Scanlan Hill, near Lilly. Pa.
Camillo and Maria (Defante) Brisini were immigrants who were born in Italy, and like so many who yearned to travel from Europe to...
hughconrad52
Dec 28, 20211 min read


Tribute to Dr. John C. Brisini by his daughter, Mary (Brisini) Damin
Dr. John Brisini on the day he was honored at Case Western Reserve as the oldest living player I never knew anyone quite like my Dad. He...
hughconrad52
Dec 28, 20219 min read


Kathy Voytko, Johnstown native, Bishop McCort grad, saves “Music Man” on Broadway
… has distinguished acting career, started at OMOS Kathy Voytko was not even alive when Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man” debuted on...
hughconrad52
Dec 28, 20214 min read


Jerry Page dispelled the myth that “nice guys finish last”
Jerry Page in his Laurel Valley coaching regalia: Photo Tribune-Review .… more than a coach, he taught the lessons of life Leo Durocher...
hughconrad52
Dec 26, 20214 min read


We should continue listening to Christmas Carols into the New Year — and keep the tree up for weeks
During peak crazy times, carols can be like the unseen cave we escape into as the monsters race by. They offer a moment’s respite in...
hughconrad52
Dec 25, 20213 min read


Gratitude: On Christmas Day, yearning to remember my grandparents — three of them Irish immigrants
Pat and Mary (Norris) Finley -- undated photo Katie (Brady) Conrad in Lilly, Pa. in the 1930s … having a relationship with grandparents...
hughconrad52
Dec 24, 20213 min read


A book under the tree?: Few young people receive books as Christmas gifts
“Why Johnny can’t read”: Parents do not buy them books or secure library cards … 67 percent of U.S. students graduate from high school...
hughconrad52
Dec 23, 20212 min read


A beautiful Christmas gift: $180,000 in cash for some college students
… CCNY students in physics receive unusual package The package was unusual, to say the least — and it was certainly not one from Santa...
hughconrad52
Dec 22, 20213 min read


Dec. 2021: Time for gratitude narratives, including stories about families, successful individuals
The Brisini Family, circa 1925 -- names and story will be included on Christmas Day … return to some journalism During the past year, I...
hughconrad52
Dec 22, 20211 min read


Baby Boomers, not Millennials, are responsible for the labor shortage
The pandemic spurred many Boomers to retire — some early … data dispels the “lazy Millennials” meme The myth seems so simple for those...
hughconrad52
Dec 20, 20213 min read


“The Book Thief”: Guess who else banned books and burned them? Hitler and the Nazis — Part 1
… those “Americans” removing books are simply like Nazis This is a book that I heard of but had never read, but when one of my students...
hughconrad52
Dec 19, 20214 min read
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