It was about as wonderful a night as could be had.
The John Burgh All Stars played in Justus Park Friday, courtesy of the Oil City Arts Council.
The view from Justus Park was beautiful. Before inflation it would have been a million dollar view. I would say today it has to be a billion dollar view.
Friend Lynn and her nephew were playing in the river in Lynn’s new kayak while enjoying the music in the background.
The John Burgh band was hotter than the early evening, and that’s hot, playing music that spanned generations and styles. Their arrangement of “Walking After Midnight” knocked me out.
As daylight slipped away to the west a cooling breeze wafted up the river. Fireflies put on a show. The band played on. The people responded.
I have to repeat myself: it was about as perfect a night, as wonderful a time as can be had. If anything was missing, it was more people. The crowd was small. It should have been large.
Our friend Carla noted the lack of young parents with children. It is a question worth pondering.
Folks, this community is pretty fantastic. Enjoy it, appreciate it.
About Me
- John Noel Bartlett
- Oil City, Pennsylvania
- A retired journalist now employed by the Foundation for Sustainable Forests and a member of Oil City Council.
Links of Interest
- City of Oil City
- Erie Blogs
- Foundation For Sustainable Forests
- Friends of Allegheny Wilderness
- Oil City Arts by Joann Wheeler
- Oil City Arts Council
- Oil City Southside Association
- Rebuild Oil City -- Scott Smail
- Venangago-go -- Mike Dittman
- Venango Area Chamber of Commerce
- Venangoland -- Peter Greene
4 comments:
Yet another fantastic day.
This morning I was honored to be a judge/flagman for the Venango Fatherhood Initiative Soad Box Derby.
What a blast.
I will admit I was at first hesitant to give up a Saturday morning. But as it turned out, I didn't give up anything. I gained a lot. I'll be back next year.
John, you are correct that O.C. has a lot of "fantastic" attributes, but the darker side seems to be advancing. For example, the Northside Business District took a big step towards beautifying Seneca St. with nice planters. The other night nearly every one was vandalized and other planters were tipped over. This on the MAIN street of town. We must take steps to change this mentality and build pride in our community. We also should be cracking down on such activity with better police coverage of the downtown sections. When was the last time anyone was FINED for littering or vandalism in O.C.? Littering along Seneca St. by and through the parking garage is constant. It's not hard to guess what employees walk by there and throw their fastfood wrappers on their way to "work". Let's get tough on them and the somokers that seem to think cigarette butts are biodegradeable. Our police force and parking meter attendant need to get tougher and enforce the laws we have to curb this activity. Otherwise, volunteers like those on the NSBA will give up and who could blame them?
Anonymous,
You are absolutely right about the need to change the mentality of vandals and build pride in our community.
My guess is building pride will be much easier than to change the mentality of vandals, but I guess you always hope.
I will tell you the police are working very hard on cracking down on and solving the cases of vandalism seen recently. They are working hard on the Seneca Street incident and it is something of a priority. Progress is being made.
The down side is, even when arrests come, that does not undo the damage. And the chances of collecting restitution are slim, no matter what we might hope for.
I will say that I think police coverage of the downtown is pretty good given the size of our force and the demands on it. I do agree wholeheartedly with the comment about littering. I think cracking down on those types of activities will lead to widespread improvements overall.
I'm glad someone else noticed the mean-spirited vadalism of the planters. It is sad that some people lack respect and appreciation. It all starts at home. I don't know how you could change it, but it would be nice to see a uniformed police officer strolling through town at night and chasing off the skateboarders and kids that have no reason to be there, other than to get into trouble.
I have to wonder if part of the problem is just that - kids have little to do in the Summer here. I'm speaking about the ones that lack transportation. What is there for active youth to do in the evening that is in walking distance? A skate park closer to town might not be a bad idea. I know this was considered for the Salvation Army property. Personally, I would enjoy watching them. There appears to be vacant property near the parking lot at the Marina.
Any other ideas?
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