From Ellwood City to the World and Back, Vaughn Hudspath Shares Why Small Towns Matter

ELLWOOD CITY — Vaughn Hudspath’s work in clean-water education has taken him around the world. Speaking to a packed audience at the Ellwood City Area Historical Society on Monday, Nov. 9, he told the story of why he keeps coming home.

“I have to thank two of my ancestors who came to Ellwood City and they were not born here — but by golly, they made sure that I was,” Hudspath told the audience in the Robert and Janice Barensfeld Meeting Room. “And that’s a real blessing to be able to say that.”

After graduating from Lincoln High School in 1980, Hudspath moved to Daytona Beach. Two years later, he called his father to say he was ready to come home and go to college. After earning his teaching degree, he spent a year in Virginia, where he found a teaching job when openings were scarce close to home.

Back in Pennsylvania, Hudspath worked as a probation officer and state juvenile counselor for more than five years before joining the faculty at Riverside, where he taught until retirement.

At Riverside, Hudspath and fellow teacher Alicia Dwyer worked with students to test water from Connoquenessing Creek. The students found high levels of nitrates, a discovery Hudspath said drew attention from National Geographic and NPR. He went on to volunteer for National Geographic in Pennsylvania, and his work with the organization expanded nationally and, after his retirement, internationally. His upcoming clean-water education trips include visits to Iceland and South America.

Retirement also gave Hudspath time to pursue theater. A former president and current board member of the New Castle Playhouse, he has performed there and developed several youth programs. His new show, BANG BANG, is scheduled to premiere Dec. 31 at the Greer Cabaret Theater in Pittsburgh as part of the First Night New Year’s Eve celebration.

Hudspath closed with a word for anyone who worries that young people leave small towns for good.

“Trust me, we’re coming back,” he said. “We really are, and that’s wonderful for these beautiful small towns.”

PICTURED BELOW: Hudspath addresses the ECAHS members during his speech on November 9th