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Alumni from Bradford Area and St. Bernard high schools join forces to provide city with historic street signs
By MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER
Era Reporter
marcie@bradfordera.com
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Era photo by Francie Long
From left, Bradford City Mayor Tom Riel, Rosie Conaway, Dan O’Brien and Sam Sylvester admire the new sign at the corner of Main and Congress streets on Wednesday. The Class of 1954 of Bradford and St. Bernard high schools raised the money to pay for the signs. Not pictured are class members Joan Raabe, Gordon Ernest and Carol Pecora. |
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Bradford’s downtown Historic District is looking a little more historic thanks to some alumni from Bradford Area and St. Bernard high schools.
The Class of 1954 from both schools was planning their joint class reunion. With their 55th reunion approaching, class members decided they wanted to try to do something special for the benefit of Bradford, explained Mayor Tom Riel.
“Last year, Sam Sylvester contacted me and said his graduating class would have its 55th anniversary and they wanted to do something to help the city,” Riel explained. “He asked what they could do.”
Riel said he had been thinking it over, and when he was in Galeton, he noticed their street signs. “They look really nice,” Riel said.
He contacted Sylvester and the two decided street signs with an historic appearance would be a welcome addition to the downtown.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to have the signs back to where they were when we were growing up,” Sylvester said, gesturing towards his fellow alumni. He added that the older-style signs can still be seen in East Bradford on Oxford Street and Jerome Avenue.
The committee planning the reunion had asked their classmates to contribute towards the betterment of Bradford.
“We wrote a note and sent it out with invitations to our class reunion,” said Rosie Conaway.
Gordon Ernest said, “We exceeded our financial goal. We were looking for $1,900 and we raised $4,000.”
“The response has been great,” Conaway added.
Riel explained the sign at the corner of Congress and Main streets was the first to be installed. The next ones will be placed all down Main Street, and then at South Avenue, East and West Corydon streets, and at the Davis Street intersections with Elm and Forman streets.
Additional signs will be placed on Boylston and East Washington streets using Community Development Block Grant funds.
“We’re hoping that other groups and organizations will come forward and help us out with the purchase of more signs,” Riel said. “The whole community should be proud and thankful to the Class of 1954.”
Riel said the street signs that have been in use for many years didn’t really fit with the historic character of the downtown.
“The old signs we’ve been using for years — with the green background and reflective lettering — are a step above cardboard and a magic marker,” Riel said.
The donation for the street signs is a continuation of the financial support the Class of 1954 has been giving to the community for many years. Sylvester said that in the past, the classmates have presented donations to the Bradford Area Public Library, Futures Rehabilitation Center and the Bromeley Family Theater at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
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