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Friends of Oil Creek State Park~

Summer 2020

With all the turmoil and uncertainty in the

world, I thought I’d try to bring you all a positive

piece of news. Since the start of this pandemic, peo-

ple were encouraged to utilized public parks to es-

cape and stay active. And boy did they ever! Our

attendance was up 212% in April, 113% in May and

68% in June. We are seeing record attendance

across the State. Reservations in PA State Parks for

the July 4th holiday were 99.7% full. We are break-

ing all kinds of records and will continue to do so

through the remainder of the summer. It’s been nice

to see so many people and so many new faces in the

park this year. While it’s unfortunate that it took a

pandemic to get more people out in our parks, I am

sure glad that we have public lands for them to come

to. Public lands are important and have proven so

over the past few months. Hopefully the leaders of

this country recognized this and continue to support

the preservation of such lands.

As far as Oil Creek goes, we’ve been doing

well. Although we are still short staffed and some

things have been put on hold, we are doing well. We

hope to add a few new staff members in the coming

weeks and finish the summer on a high note. All

events have been canceled this year but, we are op-

timistic for their return in 2021. Our shelters are

open as well as picnic pavilions, park office and

playgrounds. We have even begun to resume some

educational programming with restrictions, of

course. The only things that remains closed are the

train station visitors’ center and our water fountains.

So, come pay us a visit and take a break from all the

craziness.

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Dot Monahan is a photographer who

finds her inspiration at Oil Creek State Park.

Dot took a photography course, and in her

early photography years mainly took pictures

of her children and family. One fortuitous

day in 2010, she was driving through the

Park, and she saw an eagle. She was hooked!

From that point on, Dot would cruise the ar-

ea finding excellent spots to sit and wait pa-

tiently for wildlife. Since the years 2013 to

now, her wildlife good fortune has increased, and

she has seen and photographed bears, eagles, deer

and other Oil Creek critters.

About five years ago, Dot was introduced to

“birding” by a friend. Since that time, birding has

really intrigued her. She especially enjoys seeing

warblers during their spring and fall migration.

She finds more warblers during the spring migra-

tion. Dot has identified and taken pictures of 32

different types of warblers. In addition to visual

recognition, Dot is becoming familiar with their

songs. She loves driving through the Park and lis-

tening to their beautiful songs!

Dot knows the key to great wildlife

pictures is patience. When she took the

photo of the bear cubs, she had just seen

the mother bear in a familiar area. Dot had

a suspicion there would be cubs appearing.

She was right! … The deer picture was tak-

en in a part of Oil Creek where there is no

hunting. Dot noted that the deer knew what

it was doing. … She is particularly pleased

with the Tennessee warbler which is pic-

tured. This picture was taken during the

warbler’s spring migration; this species

does not stay through the summer

Her pictures are beautiful and we thank her for sharing.

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“No, not today. Maybe another day!” said my five-year-old granddaughter sweetly to a little boy who asked if he could play with her and the toys she was enjoy-ing in the water. The boy politely moved on, but the sadness of social distancing lin-gered. Oh well, let’s look at the fun things we get to do safely in the great outdoors.

The experts say COVID -19 tends to spread less outdoors than indoors, so that puts us a step ahead right there. Plus it’s pretty easy to maintain six feet of distance between yourself and others doing most of the activities we enjoy – hiking, kayaking/canoeing, biking, fishing, hunting, skiing (if it’s still an issue this winter, which is looking increasingly likely). After all, part of the reason we enjoy these things is get-ting away from people! Obviously, social distancing is not required among house-mates, and it’s not hard to do our activities in small groups while maintaining distance from non-housemates (speak a little louder to converse, and, maybe, speak a little less!). Brief encounters of a few seconds while passing people are not considered high risk, and, of course, if there are longer encounters at closer distances, a mask should definitely be worn. Kayakers and canoers may have to cut back on the time-honored tradition of holding on to each other’s boats for some close camaraderie and very little exercise while drifting aimlessly downstream – more solo aimless drifting, I suppose. Trout fishing is best away from others anyway, and a fish worth showing to others should easily be visible from more than six feet. Same with a deer, although helping someone drag one might mean one-at-time or using a mask. Extra vehicles may be re-quired to get to trailheads, put-ins, and the like, with less sharing of food, drink, and equipment. But none of these things are all that difficult, so we can continue to enjoy our outdoor fun while doing our bit to help “flatten the curve.”

Isolation brought on by the pandemic can have an adverse im-pact on mental health, and exercise, especially outdoors, is a proven stress reliever and sanity-restorer. We are privileged to live an area with lots of woods and water and few people. Think of family and friends living in apartments in big cities who cannot go much of any-where without risking exposure. Our rural/small town lifestyle has made social distancing a little less difficult, but no less necessary. So get outside, get some exercise, and stay away from people!

-FOCSP

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BIATHLON POSTPONED UNTIL 2021

In early May, officers and race directors of the PA Biathlon Club had a zoom conference to discuss what to do with the Biathlon race sched-ule for the summer and fall with all the concerns over the Covid virus and restrictions. The biathlon presents several unique challenges. One is that many competitors share rifles and are lying down on shared mats to shoot. The group felt it would be almost impossible to sanitize between uses.

We rely very heavily on our numerous volunteers to put on a Biath-lon. Volunteers would have to wear masks and it would be difficult to main-tain social distance from each other or competitors. We felt this would be a lot to ask of a volunteer and many would not want to take the risk.

We also thought that competitors would not wish to run or shoot wearing masks. Some would be concerned about travel or folks coming from other areas and that our numbers of entries would be low. With all the effort put into organizing and set up we decided it would not be worthwhile for low numbers.

At the time of our zoom conference, State Parks were limiting groups to 25 people or less. This totally ruled out the Oil Creek Biathlon as we have high numbers of competitors, spectators, and volunteers making it impossible to hold.

After much discussion, it was unanimously but regrettably agreed upon that all PA Biathlon Club events be postponed for 2020 and we hope to resume our race schedule in 2021 which will be the Club’s 25th year and Oil Creek’s 15th. In the meantime, we urge everyone to be safe and stay healthy. Keep running and shooting straight.

After thinking of and dis-cussing multiple scenarios , the

decision to cancel OC100 for 2020 has been made. Countless ideas were considered such as

foregoing the prerace dinner, limiting the race to the 50K only, and reducing the amount of vol-

unteers. In addition, the status of the covid virus in the fall was also impossible to predict. It was

decided the needed changes would be too overwhelming. Hopefully OC100 will return in

the fall of 2021.

February 2020 started out as every year had for the past six, as the Chicks

in the Sticks Committee began meetings and planning for the annual event. New

and repeat classes alike were forming. We were discussing new exciting ideas to

share with you. Thoughts for novel classes included, fire making, natural art de-

sign, and other crafts.

I think COVID-19 was in the back of all our minds then, but at the time, didn't give much thought to it. Early March came and we were still planning. We started to worry as positive cases were nearing

us. We didn't have much information then. We thought things would be fine by June. Unfortunately, by the beginning of April, we had begun to really see the detrimental effects of the virus- health and finan-cial. Just about every aspect of our daily lives had changed at that point. We knew we couldn't safely

hold the event this year. The welfare of our participants, park staff , and volunteers were on the forefront of our minds. We had to table the event for this year, like so many other events across the state, country, and world; events that everyone looks forward to. We hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy,

and we will plan on creating a fun event with new workshops for Chicks in the Sticks in June 202

Rebecca Beach-FOCSP

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Hearty Adventurers…load up your kayaks, dig out your GPS units, and pull on your hiking boots for these spooky stories!

History and lost locations lend well to stories of spooky spaces and lost treasures. While no one encountered anything too spooky in recent years, and we will save the lost treasure stories for another time, the wild history of Oil Creek State Park through which hikers and trail runners can certainly get imaginations going - especially during the middle of the night!

While day-hikers and backpackers seldom venture too far along the trails after dark, the trail run-ners who run the 100K or the 100-mile events have the opportunity to pass right through two spooky graveyards one or more times in the darkest hours of the night. Maybe it is a good thing to just look straight down at the well-worn path, one foot in front of the other…maybe those howls and hoots in the night can be ignored…maybe it is a good thing to have a friend alongside to keep your mind from hallu-cinating as you pass through in the darkness!

Check out the GPS coordinates on Google Earth or with your GPS to locate these Spooky Spaces for yourself! Please respect the integrity, history, and beauty of these locations and…Leave No Trace of your own encounter.

1 – Petroleum Centre Cemetery The first spooky space in the Park to explore is the Petroleum Centre Cemetery. (Oil Creek State

Park, Venango County) The Park Headquarters are located at Petroleum Centre (41° 30’ 56.48” N, 79° 40’ 51.62” W), as

well as a weekend museum right at the Train Station (41° 31’ 05.73” N, 79° 40’ 59.91” W), and the Cem-etery (41° 31’69” N, 79° 40’ 46.23” W, Elevation 1115 feet) itself is located right on the edge of this abandoned ghost town. By 1866, six years after the first well was drilled here by the McClintock family, wild and lawless Petroleum Centre became a rapidly-expanding hub of the oil industry with its quick and not-so-easy access to the steep and muddy hills of that “Valley that Changed the World.” As quickly as the town grew up, by 1873, the town was essentially abandoned and quickly achieved ghost town status just like so many other oil boom towns of the era even though the movers and shakers of the industrial world, such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, built their fortunes on the backs of these small towns.

There are many raw and edgy stories from the oil boom days, but one story attached to the Petro-leum Centre Cemetery is that when the nights are just right a woman in a white dress can be seen on the road leading into the cemetery. According to local legend, it is understood that she hung herself from one of the few remaining trees that hadn’t been cut down and used for lumber. The Cemetery itself is a fasci-nating and quick day trip, and the Gerard Hiking Trail that goes through the edge of the Cemetery actual-ly skirts a private stone-walled plot for the McClintock Fami-ly; the oldest inhabitants were buried there in the mid-1800’s. The Cemetery has a number of intact gravestones and remnants of wrought-iron fencing that have been en-gulfed and devoured by the bordering tree line in a mes-merizing natural reclamation. 2 – Miller Farm Cemetery `The next spooky space on our list is also located within Oil Creek State Park. ...continued on next page

Mike Henderson

Photographer

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….Miller Farm Cemetery continued The parking lot is located at 41° 33’ 54.12” N, 79° 39’ 23.36” W, Elevation 1132, but there is a quick steep climb up the hill to the Cemetery itself. One of the Miller family descendants recently passed away in her 90’s. Her family farm bordered the edge of this Cemetery while she lived there as a young girl. The area was infested with rattlesnakes when she was lit-tle, and at one time she was bitten by one of the snakes. Her father rushed to the railroad relay just down the road and signaled for the train to stop and rushed her into nearby Titusville where she was successfully treated at the hospital. This Cemetery is even older than Petroleum Centre Cemetery, and the local stories talk about it being haunted by a different Lady in White. Those who dare to travel the dark and forlorn road near the Cemetery also have stories of glowing reddish lights and orbs, along with a tombstone that sometimes gives off a green-ish glow. One crazy story floating around is that small dirty handprints are sometimes left on cars that park near the trail entrance to the Cemetery. 3 – The Story of Doc Haggerty This story also takes place within the boundaries of Oil Creek State Park, most probably somewhere along Russell Corners Road as it veers upward out of the Valley. At the point where the Gerard Hiking Trail crosses this road, there are a number of old well sites and relics on both sides of the road on the trail and prob-ably old Doc Haggerty met his explosive end right in that area. The story of “DOC” HAGGERTY (Pleasantville, Venango County): During the heyday of the oil boom, there was a stretch of road called the Oil Creek Highway. It ran from Oil City up along Oil Creek through Pe-troleum Centre and then either on toward Titusville or Pleasantville. At the time it was described as being, “Wholly unclassable, almost impassable, and scarcely jackassable.” “The road was frequented by the nitro-glycerin shooters. These were men who drove around from magazine to well in buckboard wagons carrying square 3 to 5 gallons cans of nitro in felt-lined boxes. In the back of the wagon, they carried several torpedoes which when filled with nitro would be lowered down an oil well and then set off in order to increase production. On December of 1888, one “Doc” Haggerty was making the run to the Pleasantville magazine with a wagon filled with fourteen-hundred pounds of nitro. The last person to ever see any part of him spotted him twenty minutes before a furious explosion was heard to echo up and down the valley. Bits of horse and wagon were found, but not one atom of Haggerty was ever seen on this Earth again. He disappeared so completely that the insurance company which held a five-thousand dollar policy in his name wouldn’t pay up on the grounds that since no remains of the alleged dead man could be produced, he might well be alive. Finally, experts were found to confirm the belief that the explosion was sufficient to cremate the body in-stantaneously, bones, clothes, boots and all. It’s said that on certain December days, when everything is just right, you can still hear that explosion echoing through the valley, and every now and again someone will come forward to claim that they saw a horse drawn wagon going slowly down the old road with a full load in the back and a man wearing the clothes of an older time. Doc Haggerty is de-termined to deliver that load.” (from: https://sites.google.com/site/hauntsandhistory/pennslvaniahaunts%26histroy) Tambra Sabatini

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The Over the Hill Gang's work was curtailed from mid-March to mid-May due to the Coronavirus. Prior to the shutdown, the gang worked on ditching wet areas, placed fenders/bumpers on a long stretch of trail at the Northwest end of the Park, and lengthened and added railings to a bridge. We helped Park staff process fire-wood at both shelter areas.

Since mid-May, we have performed maintenance on the entire trail system (over 40 miles) once, and have covered three quarters of the system a second time. Maintenance has included removing trees that had fallen across trails, running weed trim-mers on several sections, and pruning branches and vegetation in order to keep the trails open. Special projects have included repairing and improving stairs, adding a boardwalk to a perpetu-ally wet area, and significant ditching in that same area. We have developed plans for im-proving boardwalks and bridges.

The OTHG often encounters hikers while we are working on the trails, and they fre-quently comment on how much they appreciate our work. We enjoy our work and our time in the woods, but it is still gratifying to know that many people use and enjoy the trails. Denny Pattison OTHG

Spanning wet area with a new boardwalk

Lengthening a bridge and building railings

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Not only is nature not cancelled, it’s free. Getting outside in the sunshine and fresh air (and away from the news) is a great way to stay healthy and reduce the stress of dealing with issues sur-rounding Covid. Oil Creek State park is the best place to do this.

The issues of social distancing and quarantine can make a person feel isolated and lonely. Finding a nice spot in the park to listen to and observe wild-life is a way to get a fresh and positive perspective on life. Getting out of the house and somewhere where you feel safe really helps.

So your favorite Y or gym is closed or has too many restrictions? Well come hike or bike the trails and when you see another hiker or biker just wave from your 6 foot distance apart, and it will lift your spirits!

Fresh air and sunshine has long been know to be a restorative treatment for many ailments including depression, Tuberculosis, and Pneumonia. Sunshine also kills bacteria and boosts immune systems as well as being a great source of Vitamin D. Therefore I am highly rec-ommending a huge dose of Oil Creek State Park.

Stay well and get outside.

Peg Sims, Chair FOCSP

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The Friends of Oil Creek would like to thank all the members who re-

newed their membership and to thank the many new members.

Your membership helps maintain existing projects in Oil Creek State

Park. Your contributions also help maintain new initiatives in the Park. Your mem-

bership also helps to maintain the Gerard hiking trail, the bike trail, and the ski

trails. In addition, these resources fund the “Over the Hill Gang”.

If you haven’t renewed your membership or would like to become a

member, follow the link to become a friend of Oil Creek State Park:

www.friendsocsp.org. The membership prices: single $10, family $25, and corpo-

rate/business/group $100. You can also become a Friends member or renew your

membership by contacting the FOCSP in one of the ways listed below:

Call or write the Oil Creek office

305 State Park Road

Oil City , PA 16301

Park Office phone 814 676-5915

E-Mail– oilcreekfriends@gmail.com

Website– www.friendsocsp.org

The Friends of Oil Creek

State Park is a Chapter of

the Pennsylvania Parks

and Forest

Foundation

The Friends of Oil Creek State Park support the Park's mission to preserve,

protect, and interpret our natural environment while providing recreational

and educational opportunities for residents and visitors to the region.