Feb 11, 2007 By Patty Yauger 3 min read

It is said that people come into and out of your life for a reason. Some will stay for a short time, while others will be a part of your life forever. Connellsville historian Bill Balsley came into my life several years ago as I was preparing a story for our then-Neighborhood Edition – the annual publication that featured people, places and things that did not necessarily warrant a news story, but were interesting nonetheless.

I had only heard stories about him. He was an icon of sorts in the community. If you wanted to know something about Connellsville, he was the person to talk to, I was told.

A brief introduction of myself on the telephone and an explanation of my quest got me an interview with him.

The conversation landed me the information I needed and an added benefit, a new friend.

One summer afternoon, Bill agreed to sit down and talk to me about his beloved Connellsville as I prepared a series of stories about its past, present and future.

“Come, we’ll sit outside on the swing,” he said. “It’s nice out there.”

For the next three hours, I walked down memory lane with a great storyteller.

As the sun made its way to the western horizon, Bill recalled growing up in a town that was vibrant with activity – trains that would leave the Connellsville rail yard in the early morning filled with ladies that went to Chicago for the day to shop and movie theaters filled on Saturday afternoons.

He remembered the sadness of the community when the stock market crashed in 1929. While it had been more than six decades, the now much older man recalled with clarity the emotions of a young teenager walking home and seeing the notices posted on the bank doors and hearing the snatches of concerned conversations being had by those he passed on the streets.

On another visit I was granted entrance into the famed office where stacks of books, documents, photographs, maps and other collected memorabilia stood haphazardly along the walls.

“Now, just wait, I have it here somewhere,” he would tell me as he looked for a photograph I needed to accompany a story.

Looking around the room, I didn’t think there was any hope as all I saw was mass confusion.

As the search went on and much to my amusement, I was given another lesson about Connellsville’s railroad history, because the needed picture was beneath the albums that contained train photographs. A picture is truly worth a thousand words.

I learned a lot about Connellsville from “Mr. Connellsville” over the years. He would have made a great teacher, because he had a special way of imparting information to the listener.

Just two weeks before his death, I called him to talk about the history of the Connellsville Airport.

He apologized for not having the ability to recall exact dates, but despite his failing health, he reached back in time, took out the file marked “airport” and gave me a final history lesson.

The time that Bill Balsley spent in my life was much too short.

Patty Yauger is a reporter who covers the Connellsville area for the Herald-Standard. She can be reached at begin pyauger@heraldstandard.com.or by phone at

at 724-626-640.