Historical Society Recognizes Excellence In Local Education

When the Ellwood City Area Historical Society Board adopted the topic for this year’s Robert and Janice Barensfeld Scholarship Essay, “Write About a Prominent Person in Ellwood City,” they expected to get papers on familiar names like Hartman, Steifel, or Schill. However, when Everett Bleakney’s Scholarship Committee received the entries, the members were surprised and elated to get five essays on living people and two on recently deceased residents rather than the older historical figures.

What was even more surprising was that the best of those essays were about local teachers who had a significant impact on the young writers’ lives.

The Annual Scholarship meeting held at the History Center on Monday to recognize those essayists, 2 who were awarded the Robert and Janice Barensfeld Scholarship, and 2 who received the Marlene Painter Scholarships by writing on “Why They Wanted to Become a Teacher,” became a celebration of the superb education offered by the two local school districts, Ellwood City and Riverside.

All 4 scholarship recipients are top-notch students who will graduate from Riverside High School this June. They were recognized at the Society’s monthly meeting with an award of $1,500.00 each for their academic excellence, displayed through their superior compositions that they read to the gathered audience. The scholarships are generously provided by the Barensfeld family in honor of long-time community leaders Robert and Janice Barensfeld, and Richard Painter, in honor of his wife Marlene, who was a local educator.

Lexi Fluharty, daughter of Erika and Jason Fluharty, was awarded a Barensfeld Scholarship presented by Mr. David Barensfeld, for her essay recognizing the influence on her life of former teacher and coach Joseph Fisher. Mr. Fisher, who was present in the audience, was visibly moved by Lexi’s tribute.

Johnathan Nelson, son of Elizabeth and Raymond Nelson, received a Barensfeld Scholarship for his penning on the influence of his teacher, Ms. Debbie Cochenour, who was also recognized in the audience.

Riverside Senior Jacob Storey-Smith, son of Brittany and Steve Asciolla, wrote on his desire to be a teacher in his Painter Scholarship essay. He outlined the influence two of his former teachers had on his decision by their unique classroom style and passion for education.

The final Painter Scholarship Essay presentation was by Emma Thellman, daughter of April and Ron Thellman. Emma highlighted the influence and example her parents, both of whom are teachers, had on her desire to follow in their footsteps, She also noted that her aspiration to become an elementary and special education teacher is strongly reinforced by her experience interacting with the children at her church.

After the formal scholarship presentations, members and guests enjoyed cake and coffee provided by the Society and served by Lois and Ken Liebendorfer and Rosemary Morgan. The informal discussions that followed highlighted the dedication and quality instruction, evident in Ellwood Schools, that influence excellence such as that displayed by these 4 outstanding teenagers.

At the close of the meeting, it was noted that the next Historical Society session, open to the public, will be a dinner highlighting the many facets of racing in the Ellwood Area, to be held at the Connoquenessing Country Club on September 9, 2024. Specific details for this dinner will be announced in the Society newsletter and press releases during the summer.

The Ellwood City Area Historical Society would like to thank the David Barensfeld Family and Richard Painter for making these scholarship presentations possible.