Aug 7, 2008 By Rebekah Sungala 2 min read

PERRY TWP. – Whitsett residents will celebrate the community’s 163rd anniversary during an all-day celebration Saturday at Weiss Memorial Park. The 13th annual Community Day will begin at noon and last into the evening. Residents and former residents are invited, as are all their family members and friends, event organizers said, noting that all Perry Township residents also are invited.

Resident Clarence Johnson, who, along with his brother Dewayne Johnson, has helped organize the event every year, said there is always plenty of food and fun. “We always have a great time,” Clarence Johnson said, noting that the event generally attracts between 500 and 600 people, despite the fact that only about 60 families live in Whitsett.

“A lot of people who were born and raised in Whitsett have moved to nearby communities, but they all come back. We used to call it a homecoming before we decided it would become our annual Community Day,” he said. “People come and sit, talk and eat. The kids play. It’s a good time.”

Clarence Johnson said Whitsett is a close-knit community where people look out for each other and have pride in their homes and neighborhood.

Both Johnson brothers said they feel it is their responsibility to look out for their community and do what they can.

“If you don’t look out for your own community, who will?” Dewayne Johnson asked.

Perry Township Supervisor A.J. Boni said Whitsett is the only community in the township to hold such an event, noting that interest seems to grow stronger every year.

“People really look forward to it,” Boni said. “It wouldn’t happen if not for the Johnsons and other community members who make sure that it does.”

Dewayne Johnson credited Boni and Supervisor Janet Galla for encouraging residents to take charge of their own communities.

“Change has really happened because of A.J. and Janet, not just in Whitsett, but throughout the township,” he said.

Clarence Johnson said residents have pulled together and that the township is better off because of it.

Organizers said people who attend Whitsett’s Community Day on Saturday are encouraged to bring their bikes and canoes, noting that the Allegheny Passage, formerly known as the Yough River Trail, runs along the park.

Food also will be sold, organizers said, noting that all proceeds will benefit other community events and projects.