SHARON, PA. Buhl Club plans events to celebrate 100th anniversary

An art show and sale and live performances will highlight the event.
SHARON, Pa. -- The F.H. Buhl Club is marking its 100th anniversary this year with an evening of arts and entertainment July 19 at Sharon High School.
The event begins with an art show and sale at 6 p.m. followed by several performances beginning at 7 p.m.
Performers from Ballet Western Reserve and the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University will participate, as well as actors from Penn State University and the community. The New Jerusalem Fellowship Choir of Warren, Ohio, and the Miracle Valley Church Choir from Hermitage also will sing.
The program will be directed by Stephanie Thiel.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for senior citizens and children 12 years old or younger. All proceeds will benefit the F.H. Buhl Club.
Looking back
It was Sept. 19, 1903, that Frank Buhl, an industrialist and philanthropist, and his wife, Julia, gave the F.H. Buhl Club to the community, a gift then valued at more than $250,000.
Reports at the time said that more than 15,000 area residents attended the open house at the club that day as Buhl recalled that there had been no place for a young man to go spend an evening when he had first come to Sharon 34 years earlier.
His plan was to create a place where people could go and enjoy a quality recreational facility. The club has been a centerpiece of recreation in the Shenango Valley ever since and has provided social, wellness and educational programs for people of all ages.
Today, the club has nearly 4,000 members and offers more than 60 organized classes and activities ranging from aerobics to reading instruction every week.
The club also will have its 100th anniversary banquet Aug. 30 at The Corinthian, a banquet center on Vine Avenue.
Jeff Valentino, club executive director, said the anniversary is also being used as a fund-raising year to get money for building improvements.
There is a list of more than $700,000 in improvements needed, ranging from $200,000 for a three-stop elevator that will meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements to $2,200 to repair and update a children's game room.