Society to honor dedicated volunteer

NEW CASTLE, PA.

Lawrence County Historical Society will honor volunteer Elizabeth “Betty” Hoover DiRisio at its 10th annual membership and friends dinner set for 6 p.m. Sept. 15 at Cascade Park Pavilion, 1928 E. Washington St.

Tickets are $25 and must be purchased by Thursday at the society office, 408 N. Jefferson St., or by calling 724-658-4022, or online at www.lawrencechs.com. The event is open to the public.

DiRisio and her husband, Marc, recently moved to Virginia to be close to their family. While a volunteer, DiRisio took more than 50,000 images with her camera to make the society’s collection accessible on its computers. She took images of the entire Hitch Photo Collection and scanned 2,000 slides and established a virtual museum by subject matter. DiRisio also helped organize the third floor of the museum.

She jointly researched the Underground Railroad in Lawrence County with the society’s administrator, Sue Linville, and co-authored “In Hot Pursuit – The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania” with Linville. Proceeds benefit the society.