RAY SWANSON | Keystoner 15 schools now have Perpetual Plaques

The Mercer County Hall of Fame's Perpetual Plaque Project was several years in the making.
Today, however, the endeavor has been completed and 15 schools in the county are now the owners of the prized possessions.
A brainchild of director Jack Findley, along with his partner, Joe Sass, the wooden plaques are inscribed with the names of past inductees into the Mercer County Hall of Fame. Each individual inductee has his own brass plate, and the names of future inductees will be added to the plaque. The schools all have placed the plaques in prominent places where students and fans alike can enjoy them for many years to come.
The finished wooden plaques were made and donated to the Hall of Fame by Vern Swartz of Greenville Wood Products. The lay-out, header plates, individual brass plates and the engravings were supplied and engraved by Wilkson Awards.
Sharon has most names
In a breakdown of the former inductees, Sharon has the distinction of having the most names on any one plaque with 160. Farrell follows with 120, Sharpsville has 60, Greenville and Grove City, 48 each; West Middlesex 36, Hickory, Mercer and Lakeview with 24 each; Reynolds, Commodore Perry, and Kennedy Catholic with 12 each; and Jamestown, Fredonia and Greenville St. Michaels with 12 each.
Mercer County Hall of Fame president Don Bennett was pleased with the final product and with the efforts of Findley and Sass, who were instrumental in the founding and structure of the project.
Hickory superintendent Karen Ionta echoed the sentiments of other school administrators when she said, "These plaques are just beautiful. Don't worry, I'll make sure they are placed in a prominent place where everyone can see them."
The rains came, but play had been completed. If memory serves me right, it was the same scenario last year for the Mercer County Hall of Fame Golf Tournament.
The tourney, staged at Tam O'Shanter on June 5 opened with a shotgun start and 20 five-man teams competed for honors. A steak dinner followed and awards were presented. The Mercer County Hall of Fame Board of Directors' Golf Outing will be staged later this year at a date and site yet to be named.
Erie strikes out
The Continental Alliance Cup Soccer tournament, which held its event for the past five years in Erie, is pulling up stakes and moving to a new location.
It was Erie's biggest tourist event of the year, with the event having drawn over 13,000. Organizers say that anywhere from 220 to 280 soccer clubs compete in the tourney each year. It was a big attraction and brought thousands of dollars into the economy each year.
There are some who say that Erie has the finest soccer facilities to be found anywhere. So why the move?
Organizers believe there were several reasons. Coaches and parents say the hotel rooms were too expensive, and there were not enough community activities for the players. There had to be more than just soccer evidently.
With Erie now out of the picture, the 2003 Alliance Cup will in all probability be moved to either Indianapolis or Columbus.
Players pick colleges
Two more Mercer County athletes have made their decision as to which college they will attend. Farrell's outstanding basketball player, Myron Lowe, will take his talents to Casper (Wyoming) Community College. He was one of the top scorers in Mercer County and the WPIAL.
Hickory's Ross Trimmer will stay closer to home as he will play football for the Grove City College Wolverines. At Hickory, Trimmer was a quarterback and safety, handled the punting and returned kickoffs.