Clock to be dedicated during Dunbar’s 125th birthday bash
DUNBAR – Visitors who enter the borough will be greeted with a 10-foot black steel clock to be dedicated Saturday during the community’s 125th birthday bash. The four-and-a-half hour event will kick off at 2 p.m. with a program held by the American Legion at the honor roll followed at 3 p.m. by the unveiling of the clock, which is mounted on a platform on a vacant lot next to the Burhans-Crouse Funeral Home on Connellsville Street.
Councilman Bill Watson said he and some friends were eating breakfast one day at a local restaurant when one of them mentioned the clock.
“We were just talking about how Vanderbilt and Dawson have one so we decided to go take a look,” said Watson.
Watson said he then suggested the clock to council and the idea was set into motion.
“It’s going to be a wonderful thing,” said Watson.
According to Robin Beal, borough secretary, council agreed the clock would be a great way to give back to the community and voted to purchase the $1,800 timepiece from Polakovsky’s Lamp Post Plus of Tarrs.
Other festivities for the day include a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local legislators that will take place at 3:30 p.m. to commence the grand opening of the playground on Railroad Street.
The borough was able to secure about $30,000 in state and federal grants for the new equipment with the help of former council members Kathy Dynes and Ben Beals who teamed up with the Family Beginnings program through the Uniontown Hospital.
Dynes said the purchase included a merry-go-round and three piece fit-kid’s gym and two sets of swings, one for toddlers and one for youths, including a handicapped accessible swing.
According to Dynes, the playground also has a fitness area with pieces of equipment designed for those using the bike trail as well as a pavilion, a comfort station and restroom facilities.
Dynes added the equipment is an asset to the borough since it is accessible to people using the Sheepskin Trail, which adjoins the Youghiogheny River Trail as part of a 32-mile stretch that continues on a section of the B&O Railroad continuing through Uniontown and Point Marion and on to the West Virginia Rail Trail system at the state line.
From 4 to 6:30 p.m., the community can take part in a pig roast and enjoy music performed by the Dunbar Boys and Wash House bands.
The cost of the pig roast is $5 for adults, $3 for children under 12 years of age and free for children under age 3. The meal includes the meat, hot dogs, macaroni salad, baked beans, a drink and a piece of birthday cake.
At 6 p.m., the Mount View Church and Cove Run Church will participate in a ball game at the ball field located behind the fire hall.
The Dunbar Historical Society will also have an open house and a historical collectable and souvenir sale from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Central Railroad will offer train rides departing at 12:30 p.m. and returning to Dunbar at 3:30 p.m. at a cost of $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under.
For more information, call the borough office at 724-277-4949 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.