Erie people always do it up big during Thanksgiving week

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed dates for an Otters game and also for an Otters special event.

Thanksgiving week in Erie is always one of the best times of the year. Students return home from college and many people who moved away come back to celebrate with family. There’s great eating and plenty of football games to play or watch.

Dig in:Erie regional restaurants, charities offer free Thanksgiving meals

For years, Erie was party central on the night before Thanksgiving. I don’t know if it still is since the pandemic, but the bars used to be jammed. Occasionally the celebrations were so intense that some people actually slept through Thanksgiving Day.

At least that’s what I’ve heard. I never had an actual experience like that. Nope. Never happened to me.

Going out Wednesday night?:Is Erie's late-night culture dying of COVID? Owners, clientele all have theories

● Best wishes to Almi Clerkin who recently tendered her resignation at Gannon University, where she served as director of stewardship, to become executive director of the Sisters of St. Joseph Foundation.

Almi’s husband, the Rev. Shawn Clerkin, retired from Gannon a year ago to become a full-time vicar of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Franklin. The Clerkins contributed so much to local theater through the years, and Almi had a great run as director of the Erie Playhouse.

● A big crowd was expected at Saturday’s Erie Otters hockey game to see a tribute to TV’s “The Office.” Kate Flannery, who played Meredith Palmer on the show, was to make an appearance. Due to inclement weather, the game was postponed to Monday. Flannery's appearance has been rescheduled for March 11.

● As Jennie Geisler noted in a recent story about new restaurants opening in the area, work on the Boardroom is proceeding rapidly. It will be located at the former site of Twins Restaurant at 4353 West Ridge Road.

In the News:3 new restaurants opening in Erie area: one in Corry, 2 in Millcreek. Icing on the Lake to close

● Gallagher, the watermelon-smashing comedian who once thrilled a large crowd at Gannon’s Hammermill Center in the early 1980s, died Nov. 11 at 76. Gallagher, whose full name was Leo Anthony Gallagher Jr., liked to call himself the “Wizard of Odd.” He was a difficult person to interview by phone, but was quite funny in person.

When his big sledgehammer smashed into the watermelons at Gannon, practically everyone in the first three rows were covered in melon. I'll never forget the late Dick Fox, then men’s basketball coach at Gannon, complaining his players were slipping on smashed fruit at practice the next day.

● Veteran TV journalist Judy Woodruff, who plans to retire soon as host of PBS’ nightly newscast, will appear with Al Hunt in Erie on Dec. 12. It’s part of the Jefferson Educational Society’s Global Summit.

The CBS Sunday Morning Show had a flattering profile of Woodruff, and the New York Times ran a lengthy feature on her successful career. Woodruff, always a pro, is apparently greatly admired by her colleagues.

● If you can’t make it to Rome, try driving to Pittsburgh to see a new exhibition of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

Staged at the Ross Park Mall in a second-floor space formerly occupied by J.C. Penney, the exhibition has been receiving rave reviews. It will continue through Jan. 20, 2023.

I guess seeing Michelangelo’s brilliant paintings at a suburban American mall is not quite the same as experiencing it in Rome, but it sounds pretty impressive. Call 805-765-0549 for more information.

● Erie native Leonard H. Calabrese, D.O., has written a terrific article in Healio Rheumatology about his battle against long COVID. Calabrese, longtime chairman of RJ Fasenmyer Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic, writes about the “brain fog” which hung like a cloud for months, impairing his capacity to multitask.

Calabrese said he feels both privileged and humbled to share his personal journey in the hopes that it will in some small way help advance understanding into this frustrating and complicated condition.

Calabrese, a Cathedral Prep graduate, is chief medical editor of Healio Rheumatology, professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve.

● The family and many friends of Patty Kosko Longmore are mourning her recent death. Patty, a classically trained violinist, was the longtime fiddler for the popular band Brokenstraw. For many years, she also performed in concert with her sister, Kathy Kosko, also an excellent musician.

Obituary:Patricia A. Longmore, 66

● Erie Police Lieutenant Tom Lenox continues to make a big impact on the lives of hundreds of local children through the Erie Police Athletic League, an organization he revived in 2016. Starting with just a handful of kids, the program now serves more than 800 children.

With the help of the Boys & Girls Club of Erie, the program thrived — even during the darkest days of the pandemic. Tom delivered an inspiring speech last week when he accepted the club’s prestigious Denzel Washington Award.

The club also honored Russ Stachewicz, co-owner of Erie’s U Pick Six restaurants. Russ told a moving story about all the days he spent at the old club at Seventh and French Streets. He said a Boys & Girls Club staffer would routinely walk him home at night through a rough part of town.

At the meeting, Jeff Szumigale was elected president, succeeding Owen McCormick, who did a great job working with Boys & Girls Club executive director Al Messina and staff.

Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kevin Cuneo: Thanksgiving in Erie is special, Russ Stachewicz honored