Flagship Niagara League seeks donations to aid in ship repair

Editor's Note: The piece has been updated to reflect that the Lettie G. Howard will be sailing in 2023.

One of the most gratifying sights of summer in Erie is catching a glimpse of the Flagship Niagara under full sail in Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie. This community takes great pride in the Niagara, which makes it somewhat alarming when the Flagship Niagara League sends out a letter detailing serious financial shortages.

Written under the signature of executive director and fleet captain Billy Sabatini, the recent letter explains how two COVID outbreaks depleted the Flagship Niagara League’s ability to maintain a full staff and cover maintenance costs that exceeded what the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission provides.

While the Flagship Niagara League seeks donations to cover necessary repairs, I am somewhat dismayed by the move to potentially bring the decommissioned USS Halyburton to Presque Isle Bay as a floating museum.

The Lettie G. Howard, the handsome fishing schooner that has provided so many enjoyable day cruises, was out for repairs for three weeks in August 2022, and returned to sail through October. A sailing schedule for the 2023 season is available online.

It makes me wonder if enough financial support can be raised for the Niagara and the Halyburton. Obviously, the groups backing the ships must work together, and Erie needs to address some serious issues. It’s important because the ships add so much to Erie’s rich maritime history.

• The days leading up to July 4 have always been special in Erie. With parades, fireworks shows, concerts and other celebrations, the big day on Tuesday should be a great time for families to honor America.

The Erie SeaWolves, winners of their division in the first half of the season, close out their current homestand against Akron on Monday at UPMC Park. A big fireworks display immediately follows the game, scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m.

• So many family reunions take place this week, but a special one for the Allamon clan — its 75th reunion — will be hosted by Jack and Shelley Allamon in Harborcreek. The Allamons haven’t missed a single year since the first reunion.

• Speaking of reunions, Tom Hubert is hard at worth with his committee as Cathedral Prep’s Class of 1973 prepares to celebrate the group’s 50th reunion with various activities on July 21-23. For more information about the reunion, call Tom at 814-450-0558 or send him an email at t55hubert55@gmail.com.

While it’s hard to believe half a century has passed since our graduation from Prep, it was just as startling to see a sign on the exterior of Wegmans store on Upper Peach Street announcing that the store opened 30 years ago.

• The beautiful cactus rose garden at Ernie and Pat Brown’s Millcreek home is in full-bloom — just in time for Pat’s recent birthday. Cactus roses, so rare in this part of the country, always remind me of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” one of my favorite movies.

• Former Erie Otters star Connor McDavid, who won his third Hart Trophy as the National Hockey League’s most valuable player, just became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Lauren Kyle. “June 22 was the best day of my life,” McDavid wrote on Instagram.

• A farewell Mass for Monsignor Edward Lohse, recently appointed Catholic bishop of the diocese of Kalamazoo, Mich., will be celebrated July 12 at 3 p.m. at St. Peter Cathedral. The Erie native has been one of Bishop Lawrence Persico’s top lieutenants.

• Paintings by longtime Erie architect Herm Weber drew a large appreciative crowd during a recent Gallery Night to D’Hopkins Denniston Gallery at 5 W. 10th St. Weber’s works of art, many of which on display had a nautical theme, are outstanding. He’s clearly a supremely talented artist.

As we chatted about the days when Weber helped design Jerry Uht Park (today known as UPMC Park), Herm recalled the daily calls he took from Jim Walczak, who was such a passionate backer of Erie’s baseball stadium. When millions more were pumped into the park in recent years, Walczak again was there, tending to every last detail.

• Frank Garland, the longtime distinguished journalism professor at Gannon University before he retired in 2022, has contributed four chapters to a new book titled "Pittsburgh Sports in the 1970s: Tragedies, Triumphs and Championships" that examines some of the highs and lows of Pittsburgh’s sports scene during the 1970s.

Garland, who was born and grew up in Pittsburgh, said that in those years, between the Steelers and Pirates, somebody was always winning a title. The book, published by the History Press, is due out in September.

Frank said he’s also working part time at Point Park University’s Center for Media Innovation.

• Gov’t Mule will perform at the Warner Theatre on Sept. 28. It’s good to see a big rock concert scheduled here, and maybe more will follow.

• Finally, congratulations to Mary Rotunda Cuneo on her retirement from the Barber National Institute after 34 years. She had served as director of communications. Before that, and the birth of our three sons, she served in a similar capacity at Hamot Medical Center.

I figure she’ll spend about two weeks at home with her husband before she goes screaming back to work.

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

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Flagship Niagara League seeks donations for ship repair