When the Ashland boys return "home" this weekend, they will find a permanent fixture dedicated in honor of the association made for them.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and the Ashland Mummers Club will unveil a state plaque recognizing the Ashland Boys' Association, the homecoming organization that formed to welcome home coal miners to the borough more than a century ago. The celebration parade is slated for noon Saturday, followed by the dedication ceremony at 3 p.m. in front of the Mothers Memorial, North Hoffman Boulevard.
"The originators of this unique Ashland Boys' Association homecoming never knew in their time how advanced they were by the founding rules of this homecoming tradition. Sentiment was the main key to their success that bonded thousands into Ashland on ABA weekend, and now honored as a Pennsylvania state historical marker," said Adam J. Bernodin III, chairman of the ABA historical marker committee.
William V. Lewis Jr., state Historical and Museum Commission commissioner, and Carson Long, 2013 Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame inductee, will serve as grand marshals for this year's parade. The annual march will begin at Fifth and Walnut streets, travel west to 21st Street, then cross over to Centre Street, ending at the Mothers Memorial. The roads will be closed at 11 a.m., with fire police rerouting traffic around the borough.
The parade will feature many participants, dignitaries and floats from the Ashland Elks Miners, Oakland Miners and the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, among others. The parade will honor every decade when the miners came home in chronological order. For example, there will also be a float featuring high school wrestlers.
Joe Cesari, longtime wrestling coach at North Schuylkill High School, said the float will feature wrestlers and coaches from the program's inception in the 1960s to today. The float will be decorated with banners listing the individual state champions and team championships the program has won over the years, as well as the program reaching the 600-win milestone. Cesari said he also invited cheerleaders from North Schuylkill to add some color to the parade.
The Schuylkill Historical Fire Society will set up two firetruck ladder arches on Centre Street at Seventh and 13th streets, in tribute to arches used in early ABA years.
The event will culminate with the dedication of the state historical marker. The ABA began holding the homecoming celebration at the turn of the 20th century as coal miners yearning for home returned to the borough. The annual gathering became a Labor Day weekend celebration that brought thousands of people into Ashland.
"I wish I could go back in time when that special train came into town. The sentimental impact of welcoming home former Ashland residents became a true dynasty. This Pennsylvania state historical marker is well deserved. I hope Ashland has a good turnout for this memorable day in Pennsylvania history," Bernodin said.
The dedication ceremony Saturday will feature remarks from borough officials, such as Mayor Dennis Kane and fire Chief Phillip Groody. Mike Stevens from WNEP's "On the Pennsylvania Road" will present the dedication address.
Other special guests include 2013 Miss Pennsylvania Annie Rosellini; Jay W. Smith, right worshipful grand master of the Masons of Pennsylvania; and Reading Fightin' Phils mascot Screwball. The two oldest Ashland "boys," Leonard Staudenmeier, 97, and Daniel Fedeko, 93, will also be honored. The men were selected by Ashland Masonic Lodge 294.
Bryel Frasch, a student at North Schuylkill High School, will sing the national anthem, while the Rev. Robert Finlan from St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church will provide the invocation.
The selection of the Mothers Memorial as the site of the dedication ceremony also holds historical significance. The memorial, depicting James McNeill Whistler's painting "An Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1," or more commonly known as "Whistler's Mother," was erected in 1938 as a symbol of a mother's love. The ABA raised thousands of dollars during America's most financially distraught period for the project.
"The ABA raised $6,000 in the heart of the Great Depression for the WPA (Work Projects Administration)-built Mothers Memorial, which is the only bronze reproduction in the world of the American icon painting. The statue is the symbol of their legacy," Bernodin said.
The state historical marker was approved in September and will be placed at the base of the memorial.
Although the ABA disbanded in 1976, the parades continued until 2008. The tradition got new life when the parade returned to Ashland in 2011. It was also held in 2012 and now, the story of the Ashland boys will be told every day in the borough.
"The Ashland Boys' Association is one of the most inspirational stories of the 20th century. No matter what national crisis occurred. It never stopped former Ashland residents to heed the magic call to 'Come on Home' for the love of their family, friends and proud hometown," Bernodin said.