How to Make Maple Syrup – Allegheny County

February 9, 2011 By sayhay Leave a Comment

How to Make Maple Syrup – Allegheny County

Allegheny County residents enjoy the atmosphere of their community. They have all the amenities of the ‘big city’ without the hustle and bustle or the problems. Today, the warmth and ambiance of small town living is one of the qualities sought by many as people look for safer, more affordable places to live. Allegheny County is one of the areas that is considered to be desirable for a variety of reasons.

One of the things that gives Allegheny County the charm that is desired by many is the North Park Latodami Nature Center. The establishment of North Park in 1927 provided a number of benefits from work during the Great Depression to a game reserve for buffalo. Today, there are many programs available to acquaint those who live in Allegheny County with the natural environment and the preservation of the history of the area.

Learning to make maple syrup is one of the programs provided at the North Park Latodami Nature Center. The next program will be held between February 1, 2011 and March 11, 2011 and pre-registration is required. The available hours are morning, afternoon and after school. This maple syrup making demonstration is also eligible for fulfilling the Love Maple Syrup Try-it for Brownies and the Forestry Badge for Webelos.

The demonstration is open to Allegheny County schools, private groups and scout groups. The “home style” methods will be demonstrated for the purpose of learning how to tap trees as well as the collection methods. In addition, boiling down the sap to make it ready for consumption will be demonstrated. Everything you need to know about how to make maple syrup for your own use at home will be covered.

On March 5, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from noon to 1 p.m., a maple syrup demonstration will be held at the North Park Latodami Nature Center. On March 12, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a maple syrup making demonstration will be held at the Marshall Township’s Ellis Frye Barn. This program is open to the public and groups. The program should be pre-registered for and this can be done by calling 724-935-3090. For more information on the programs and registering for the “How to Make Maple Syrup” workshops, you can call 724-935-2170.

If you would like more information about Allegheny County homes, please feel free to contact us at (724) 933-8505 or visit our Contact Us page where you can send us a message. We’ll get back to you right away!

Filed Under: Allegheny County Tagged With: Allegheny County, Allegheny County homes, Allegheny County homes for sale

The History of McCandless

October 29, 2010 By sayhay Leave a Comment

The History of McCandless

Gibsonia Pennsylvania is located in Allegheny County and near the township of McCandless. When McCandless was settled by James Duff in 1796, he purchased 400 acres. This was a beginning for farming in this area. Gibsonia Pennsylvania as well as McCandless are located in the southwestern part of the state. Allegheny county is in the center of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

The first formation of a government was discussed in 1849. The meetings were led by Daniel Vogel and in 1851 a township was officially founded. The original name of this township was Taylor. The incorporation came in 1857 and this was when the township was renamed. District Judge Wilson McCandless was the namesake and at that time the population was 1,482.

Gibsonia Pennsylvania is actually in two counties, Allegheny and Butler. Counties and as other areas of the state, such as McCandless were served by a railroad line that led in and out of Pittsburgh. However, the line closed in 1931 and this mode of transportation was replaced by buses.

In addition, the area is known for North Park, which was founded in 1927. This is 1600 acres of park that is located within the township of McCandless but enjoyed by residents of Gibsonia Pennsylvania as well. With the expansion of the population, the varied development within this area has grown immensely. McKnight Road, built in the 1950s, became the primary link to the northern suburban areas of the state.

Within the McCandless section of this road is where there are some retail and offices, but the undeveloped property has great potential for a “signature” Town center. The area is being considered for housing, retail, entertainment and office space and would be a boon to the Gibsonia Pennsylvania and McCandless townships.

If you would like more information about Gibsonia Pennsylvania, please feel free to contact us at (724) 933-8505 or visit our Contact Us page where you can send us a message. We’ll get back to you right away!

Filed Under: McCandless Township Tagged With: Allegheny County, Gibsonia Pennsylvania, McCandless homes for sale, McCandless PA, McCandless real estate

Allegheny County News – Healthy Downtown Business Program Begins

September 9, 2010 By sayhay Leave a Comment

Allegheny County News – Healthy Downtown Business Program Begins

Eight communities in Allegheny County are teaming up for a program called the Healthy Downtown Business Program. The communities of Bridgeville, Bellevue, Elizabeth, Coraopolis, Swissvale, Stowe Twp., Tarentum and Verona are participating in the first phase which is Allegheny Together. Their goal is to encourage residents to come back to the downtown areas to shop. They are backed by Allegheny County executive, Dan Onorato, who was the one to launch this first phase.

Investments are being made in the downtown areas of these eight communities and include street scapring, improving the facades, fixing lighting and even urban gardening. The focus on getting people to shop in the downtown areas again is hoping to make a huge impact on the communities.

The incorporation of exercise into this undertaking is another aspect. If exercise is incorporated into the routine by walking in the downtown districts, people will feel better, they will be more aware of the local businesses that are around and the more people on the streets, the safer shoppers are. This is being recommended for the business owners in Allegheny County as well.

All Allegheny Together business owners and employees can participate in this program. It is a joint effort of the Town Center Associates, the Allegheny County Health Department and the Allegheny County Economic Development. The staff from Town Center Associates went from business to business in August to let them know about the program and gave them some resources to help them understand what the program was created to do.

Free pedometers, maps with walking routes marked and downtown business directories. In order to get the information out to the largest number of people, there are also walking maps, a downtown directory and other resources for this Allegheny County program online. During September the participants will be logging the steps they walk and the TCA will choose some to receive prizes. This will keep interest in the program and encourage more people to take part.

There will also be awards given to the “Healthiest Downtown Business” and the “Healthiest Downtown Business Employee” participating in the Allegheny Together program in each community. If funding is available the next phase of this Allegheny County program will include free pedometers and logs to keep track of walking for customers given out by the businesses.

If you would like more information about Allegheny County , please feel free to contact us at (410)808-7200 or visit our Contact Us page where you can send us a message. We’ll get back to you right away!

Filed Under: Allegheny County Tagged With: Allegheny County, Allegheny homes for sale, Allegheny real estate, Allegheny Together

Allegheny County – A Fun History of Firsts!

September 7, 2010 By sayhay Leave a Comment

Allegheny County – A Fun History of Firsts!

Pennsylvania is home to approximately 1.2 million people. This strategically located area is a one day drive or a short flight from the hub of commercial centers known as the world’s busiest in the business industry. Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York and Toronto, Canada are just a few of the centers. Allegheny County has a history of being first in many things. Here are just some of the innovative events that Allegheny County can add to their comprehensive list.

In 1840 America’s first Business College was opened here.

Fort Pitt was first to build ironclad war ships during the Civil War.

The first library was built in Braddock by Andrew Carnegie.

A native of Pittsburgh was the first to distill and refine petroleum, thus beginning the oil industry.

Pittsburgh was the place where labor unions began in 1881.

The area is credited with being the place where John Arbuckel first packaged ground coffee.

The first place to feature professional football with the first paid player was on the North side of Pittsburgh in 1892.

The first to win 4 Super Bowls was NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The first to win 6 Super Bowls was NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Home of the first Ferris wheel which was constructed here in 1893.

Pittsburgh natives were inventors of the banana split, the first gas station and the first movie theater.

This location is known as the place for the first Bingo game, the first road map for drivers and the first Fraternal Order of Police Lodge.

Nellie Bly, from Pittsburgh was the first female war correspondent.

The first steel and concrete stadium in the U.S. was Forbes Field, built in 1909.

The first ever broadcast of a phonograph record was heard by Pittsburghers and the first commercial radio station, KDKA located here broadcast the first church service, first baseball game and first presidential election.

The first Kondike bar was debuted in Allegheny County in 1929 by Isaly’s.

The polio vaccine was invented by Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh.

The first educational TV station, WQED was started here in 1954. It was the home station of Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

It is not hard to see why Allegheny County is known for being first in many ways. There are many more firsts for this county, but this list will give you an idea of some of the history of this area has made in the state.

If you would like more information about Allegheny County, please feel free to contact us at (410)808-7200 or visit our Contact Us page where you can send us a message. We’ll get back to you right away!

Filed Under: Allegheny County Tagged With: Allegheny County, Allegheny County homes for sale, Allegheny real estate, Pennsylvania

National Public Lands in Allegheny – Sept. 25, 2010

August 27, 2010 By sayhay Leave a Comment

National Public Lands in Allegheny – Sept. 25, 2010

National Public Lands Day in Allegheny County is going to be an all-out effort on the part of volunteers to help maintain their public roads. Over 170,000 people are expected to participate in Allegheny County on September 25, 2010 when this plan that was proposed by the National Environmental Education Foundation is put into action.

Over a dozen sites in the Western Pennsylvania will be participating in the National Public Lands Day in Allegheny County. The environmental education foundation has designated 2010 as a time for special focus on volunteers and how they can help maintain the public areas they use for sports, recreation and enjoying the habitat.

Allegheny County has seen an increase in the number of No Trespassing signs that are being put up on private property throughout the county as well as the rest of the state. Therefore, the ability to use public lands is growing ever more valuable. Keeping public areas clean and improving the quality for the use of all residents is paramount.

The National Public Lands Day in Allegheny County (NPLD) is being sponsored by Toyota and will include about 2300 sites for clean up this year. The organizers of the event are asking hunters and anglers to help with the effort as they are among the first to see what the effects of the abuse of public land does to the wildlife and the sporting areas they enjoy using.

The Western Pennsylvania sites that will be focused on for the NPLD in Allegheny County will be:

Various locations along the Allegheny River

Conemaugh River Lake Trail

Jennings Environmental Education Center Trail

Laurel Hill State Park

Loyalhanna Lak Trail

North Irwin Park

Pleasant Valley Park

Youghiogheny River Lake shoreline

The focus of many of the efforts in these areas will include planting trees, trail improvement, maintenance, habitat improvements, painting benches and removing debris. In addition, hiking and biking trail maintenance, construction of boxes, water diversion devices and improving and extending the park trail system are planned.

The PLD is the largest interactive volunteer effort in the nation. Their goal is to improve public land and enhance the areas for the enjoyment of the American people. Volunteers numbering more than 150,000 in 2009, removed trash, planted trees, built bridges and trails and restored water resources in addition to removing plants that were threatening to take over all the other plants in an area.

These volunteers did a magnificent job and this is what they accomplished in Allegheny Country in 2009.

They removed over 900,000 lbs of trash

Built and maintained more than 1,320 miles of trails

Collected approximately 20,000 lbs of aggressive plants

Planted about 100,000 trees and other plants native to the area

In addition, the volunteers have contributed approximately $14 million to improve these public lands. This concentrated effort in Allegheny County is just a part of the effort across the state of Pennsylvania.

If you would like more information about National Public Lands Day in Allegheny County, please feel free to contact us at (410)808-7200 or visit our Contact Us page where you can send us a message. We’ll get back to you right away!

Filed Under: Upcoming Pittsburgh Events Tagged With: Allegheny County, Allegheny County homes for sale, National Public Lands in Allegheny

Allison Park, Gibsonia and Wexford Homes – McCandless Township

August 27, 2010 By sayhay Leave a Comment

Allison Park, Gibsonia and Wexford Homes – McCandless Township

McCandless Township is in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and Allison Park, Gibsonia and Wexford homes are all located within this township with a population of 29,022. The incorporation of the area as a township was changed in 1975 when McCandless adopted a new charter making it the Town of McCandless; however the state government still recognizes it as a township rather than a town.

Native American history plays a large part in the history of the residents of Gibsonia as well as Wexford and Allison Park homes. There are many artifacts that have been found in areas of McCandless, including these residential areas that are mainly from the Iroquois Nation. The early history of this part of the country includes George Washington’s visit here in 1753.

James Duff is considered to be the first settler in McCandless in 1796. He purchased 400 acres and farming became the area’s main industry at that time. Much of the area is now the location of Gibsonia homes, Allison Park homes and Wexford homes.

Daniel Vogel presided over meetings to form a local government for the town in 1849. The Township was originally formed in 1851 and at that time it was called Taylor. In 1857 the Township was incorporated as a Second Class Township. At this time it was renamed McCandless for a District Judge, Wilson McCandless. The population was 1,482.

McCandless was mainly a farming community in the 1800s. The area was also an important route for supplies that were being transported from Pittsburgh to Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Lake Erie was where Admiral Perry’s forces were based.

The interurban commuter railroad, the Harmony Line, was established about 1908, allowing residents the convenience of commuting to Pittsburgh. At about the same time, the oil boom resulted in the city’s rapid development and the railroads were in the middle of the development.

If residents of Wexford homes, Gibsonia homes and Allison Park homes had been around at this period in the history of their town, they would have seen the Harmony Line being replaced by the automobile. This occurred around 1931.

The Allegheny County Commissioner started the formation of Allegheny County’s North Park. The commissioner, E.V. Babcock bought the land and let the county purchase it from him at cost. The park was established in 1927 by the county and encompassed about 15.2% of the town of McCandless.

Between 1930 and 1950, the population of McCandless rose from 2,653 to 6,488 and by 1960 it was 14,582. The 2000 Census recorded 11,159 households in the town of McCandless. The expansion of the population brought even more varied development into this area.

Residents of these three areas are bordered by Pine Township on the north side and Hampton Township on the east. Franklin Park borough borders McCandless t o the west and Ross Township to the sout h.

If you would like more information about Wexford homes, Gibsonia homes and Allison Park homes, please feel free to contact us at (410)808-7200 or visit our Contact Us page where you can send us a message. We’ll get back to you right away!

Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: Allegheny County, Allison Park homes, Gibsonia homes, McCandless Township, McCandless Township homes for sale, Wexford homes