In the beginning of June, each of the Trail Town counties (Westmoreland, Fayette, and Somerset) met with Erin Hammerstadt of Preservation Pennsylvania for workshops to plan and decide on projects related to preservation in each of the Trail Towns.
June 6 was the first meeting in Connellsville, PA for Fayette County. The final discussion focused on a combination of building community pride and cleaning up a section of the downtown. We are hoping to pair it with an event such as Mum Fest in Connellsville and have the business community involved.
The following day was West Newton in Westmoreland County. Members of DWNI were present as well as the owner of The Trailside, Rod Darby. Here was an interesting discussion that resulted in West Newton needing to educate locals (both residents and public officials) about the assets of both the Trail and the Downtown. The objective is to create a video to be displayed in town during an event.
On June 13, Somerset residents came together and decided on projects such as “clean and green” neighborhoods and a railroad history audio tour.
TTOC will be working in the towns with groups to help continue these projects throughout the year!
-William Prince