‘A good neighbor’: Renovo community shows support for Kishbaugh family at annual festival
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS Heritage Park members flank Vinnie Kishbaugh, center, and his wife Kate while she holds their granddaughter, Lennox, and their daughter, pictured next to Vinnie.
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS Quinton Kalafut helps to carry a basket headed to the basket raffle, a tremendous success on Saturday afternoon.
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS David Hanobic and Mary George Rhone didn’t have many breaks Saturday afternoon as the food was being served as quickly as they could make it, with supporters of the Kishbaugh family from all over the county stopping in.
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS Two local kids get an up-close look at the Heritage Park model train set during Heritage Days.
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS Heritage Park members flank Vinnie Kishbaugh, center, and his wife Kate while she holds their granddaughter, Lennox, and their daughter, pictured next to Vinnie.
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS Quinton Kalafut helps to carry a basket headed to the basket raffle, a tremendous success on Saturday afternoon.
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS David Hanobic and Mary George Rhone didn’t have many breaks Saturday afternoon as the food was being served as quickly as they could make it, with supporters of the Kishbaugh family from all over the county stopping in.
KEVIN RAUCH/FOR THE EXPRESS Two local kids get an up-close look at the Heritage Park model train set during Heritage Days.
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RENOVO -- It was a morning of education and an afternoon of music and friendship as The Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park combined their annual Heritage Days with a Good Neighbor Festival in hopes of raising money and lifting the spirits of a great friend to Heritage Park.
The highlight of the day proved to be following Heritage Days as the group then shifted their attention to their Good Neighbor Festival with a purpose to help their friend, Vinnie Kishbaugh, and his wife, Kate, as Vinnie is dealing with health issues.
The volunteers wore shirts declaring "Team Vinnie" on the front and a caricature of him on the back. The admiration for the Kishbaugh family was evident throughout the day with the non-stop efforts of the Heritage Park members.
The Kishbaughs became instant and endearing friends to the Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park and its members not long after opening their doors to the Good Neighbor Craft House that was in business in Hyner before relocating.
After years of support towards Heritage Park, this Saturday was an opportunity to return the favor and friendship.
"Vinnie wasn't in business very long and reached out to me as president of Heritage Park," Mary George Rhone recalled of meeting Vinnie and Kate. "He told me that he wanted to collaborate with us."
"His first festival he made sure that our organization received a sizable donation and all we did was park cars," Rhone explained. "Heritage Park wasn't used to anyone supporting us that way, he was showing us what good neighbors do, and all we did today was reciprocated."
"Vinnie is a good man and better neighbor, we love him and stand beside him as we pray for a good outcome," she summed up.
Along with food, vendors and a basket raffle, several live music acts performed for nearly six hours on Saturday afternoon, all in hopes of giving their friend a lift of support to get him through some difficult days.
The afternoon proved to be a true testament of what the Kishbaughs mean to western Clinton County and the friendships that they made in their short time in the area when the Good Neighbor Craft House was open in Hyner.
This year Heritage Days in Renovo featured a two-hour history of western Clinton County's Swedish heritage, which boomed for about 40 years starting in the 1880s.
April Kelley again had a short video presentation that explained when and offered statistics of how immigrants from Sweden helped to shape the area into what it remains today.
Whether coming for work in coal mines, forestry or railroad shops, Swedes flocked to the area as they replied to newspaper advertisements in their own country as the Renovo area was looking to hire during the bustling days of all three industries.
The film, which will be posted to YouTube, spoke of the two Swedish churches that remain on 8th Street today, offering that both were opened in 1895.
In 1910 alone, 500 immigrants from Sweden specifically wrote down Renovo as their place of Emigration.
Previous Heritage Days included German and Irish ancestry and their links to shaping the history and present day western Clinton County.