Nov 18, 2005 By Ron Nehls For The 4 min read

It’s hard to go anywhere in Fayette County without hearing some comment about what’s happening in Downtown Uniontown. And truly, it is a pleasant experience to walk Main Street and see the new storefronts and the magnificent development and new stores in Storey Square. But there’s more to the story.

It is an accepted fact – where there is leadership, there also is achievement. That seems to be the case with Downtown Uniontown.

This summer produced a measure of events that brought extensive visitors to the revitalized business area of Uniontown. These events have bolstered the energy of leaders from many agencies that are associated with the downtown, and their efforts have shaped additional events that will attract more people to this area of the city. But there’s more to the story.

On Friday night, the Downtown Business District Authority, the Fayette Chamber of Commerce and the Commercial Center Associates will join efforts to offer yet another outstanding event to kick off the Christmas shopping season in Downtown Uniontown.

Visitors will be treated to many attractions through Dec. 15 when the State Theatre Center for the Arts will show the beloved Christmas Season movie, “A Christmas Carol.” Following the movie, a Zambelli fireworks display will take place at Bailey Park. But there’s more to the story.

A group of 30-something business owners, who have recently opened three new businesses in the downtown area, will join efforts to bring an extraordinary display of classic motorcycles to Uniontown.

The event will take place this Friday and Saturday to coincide with the Light Up Night. These well-maintained motorcycles will come from several parts of the country, and they date back as far as 1915.

There will be approximate 25 bikes on display at Grindle Station, the old train station on Pittsburgh Street, and each bike will have a display card with the history of the bike as well as people there to answer questions.

Of particular interest are three bikes of circa 1915 to 1925 that are Harley Davidson motorcycles that were used to race on wooden tracks of that time.

These bikes might have been in Uniontown before as competitors in races on the board track that was located in Hopwood in the early 1900s.

A second bike that will be on display is the actual bike used by Evel Knievel in 1975 when he suffered a broken pelvis in an attempted jump at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

“I’m happy to provide the space for these young business owners,” said Tim Grindle, owner of Grindle Station. “This isn’t Main Street but it is Downtown Uniontown, and we all want to be a part of this great town and it’s new development.”

One of the 30-something business owners includes Gregg Dahl, owner of Gregg’s Machine Service. He and young business owner Greg Baugh, owner of Neodine Systems, Inc., developers of corporate level software, share a building located at 54 N. Arch Street, former location of the Art Snyder Company. They are also partners in a third business called Arch Manufacturing where they manufacture industrial parts.

“In addition to my business, I do some bike racing,” Dahl said. “I couldn’t unload my bike myself, so I asked Greg Baugh to help. We became friends and brought our businesses to the downtown area to share the old Snyder building.”

These two men contacted Ernie Cerini, owner of National Road Harley Davidson on Romeo Lane in Uniontown, to help them bring this display of motorcycles to Uniontown.

Through Cerini’s efforts, this display is being made possible at no cost. As a result, patrons will have the opportunity to contribute to the Alexandra Schaney Cancer Treatment Fund. Alexandra is a 5-year-old cancer victim.

Brian Ludy is a member of the Downtown Business District Authority’s board of directors and associated with The W.H. Farwell Company, another Downtown Uniontown business.

“I’m not a bike enthusiast, but this display of motorcycles is fantastic,” Ludy said. “This is another attraction for people to see during the Light Up Night, and it ties in very well because of the cycles that may have raced on the board track in Hopwood.

“There are three agencies combining their efforts to put this event together,” he continued.

“What people will see in the new downtown is brilliant new stores, a new face for the Christmas season and a selection of very good restaurants that rival most towns our size,” he added.

All in all, it appears that Downtown Uniontown will be the place to be on Light Up Night.