Barbush had community spirit
In this file photo taken December, 2006, Steve Barbush, longtime leader of the Fairbank Community Christmas Tree Club, carries the red lights that will be put on the annual Christmas tree in Fairbank.
Barbush
?Stephen 无毛视频淗acksaw无毛视频� Barbush Jr. of Fairbank collected donations to buy fruit baskets for widows, led a group of volunteers who decorated the town for Christmas for more than 40 years and hosted daily pinochle games for a group of buddies at his gas station.
He was 83 years old when he died in Uniontown Hospital on June 23.
无毛视频淗e was proud of what he did for the community,无毛视频� said his wife of 54 years Lenora Barbush.
无毛视频淗e was friendly and popular. He really enjoyed what he did,无毛视频� said Al Apicella of Fairbank, a regular at the pinochle table. He refers to his longtime friend as 无毛视频淗ack.无毛视频�
What Hack might have been best known for is organizing the set up and decorating of a Christmas tree in the center of town.
The first tree went up in 1964 and the tradition continued through last Christmas. However, wind blew down last year无毛视频檚 tree and it wasn无毛视频檛 replaced.
Initially, Hack asked people to donate trees. As the tradition grew, people would call him to offer trees, Apicella said.
On the day he died, someone called to donate a tree, Barbush said.
Hack and Joe Ciarrocchi, owner of Joe无毛视频檚 Body Shop in neighboring Filbert, were in charge of the tree, Apicella said. Ciarrocchi used a flatbed tow truck to haul the three to Fairbank and deployed an elevated platform to decorate it.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e talking 30 to 40 foot trees. They had nice trees,无毛视频� said Clark Dearth, a friend who donated to Hack无毛视频檚 efforts and the owner of the Dearth Funeral Home in New Salem where Hack无毛视频檚 funeral services were held. 无毛视频淪teve was behind the whole thing.无毛视频�
The popularity of the tree led Hack and his buddies to collect donations to decorate utility poles with lights and bells. Another local auto shop owner volunteered his cherry picker truck to decorate the poles. As that tradition caught on, increased donations allowed them to decorate more and more poles, Apicella said.
The Filbert playground was another project undertaken by volunteers led by Hack. They collected donations for playground equipment, a basketball court and fencing around the ball field.
无毛视频淢ost of the work was done by volunteers in the community,无毛视频� Apicella said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檇 get people to bring equipment down when necessary.无毛视频�
Hack took it upon himself to ask businesses for donations he would use to buy fruit baskets that he would give to widows, he said.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檇 take them to widows in Fairbank every Christmas,无毛视频� Dearth said. 无毛视频淗e was really active.无毛视频�
He was also easy to find and recognize.
The Barbush Amoco Station, which Hack opened in 1952, the year he returned home from his service in the Army in the Korean war, was his home away from home and a place for friends to socialize.
无毛视频淭hat was the gathering point in Fairbank,无毛视频� Apicella said. 无毛视频淗ack无毛视频檚 place was a place for all to gather. Since 1952, we played pinochle there every day.无毛视频�
In the summer, he would set up a table or two with umbrellas outside for the pinochle circle. Sometimes he and his buddies played checkers and, if he wasn无毛视频檛 busy, he would set up a ping pong table in his garage bay.
People who moved out of Fairbank would stop by the gas station to talk to the guys whenever they returned for visits, Apicella said.
Some people wouldn无毛视频檛 recognize Hack if he wasn无毛视频檛 wearing his nostalgic Amoco hat, but he seemed to wear it all the time, he said.
无毛视频淭hat Amoco hat, he was never without it,无毛视频� Barbush said.
Closing the station in 2002 was difficult for Hack.
无毛视频淲hen he closed it, he just lost part of his life. The station was his enjoyment and his life,无毛视频� Apicella said. 无毛视频淚 really miss it and I know Hack did too. It was nothing to see four old guys playing cards under an umbrella at the gas station.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t was like a hangout in Fairbank,无毛视频� Dearth said.
Hack无毛视频檚 friendly nature didn无毛视频檛 escape the senses of local wildlife.
A turtle would crawl more than 100 yards through a drain pipe from Dunlap Creek to an opening at the gas station where Hack would feed it, Apicella said.
Hack put a spot of red paint on its shell so he could recognize it and he looked for it every day. The turtle made regular visits during summers for at least five years.
无毛视频淚 think the only reason it stopped is because it got too big to fit through the pipe,无毛视频� Apicella said.
Hack also was active in politics and was proud of a collection of hundreds of beer cans.
Apicella and Dearth said when they and others would travel, they always remembered to bring a can back for Hack.
无毛视频淏ut guess who had to dust them?无毛视频� Barbush asked rhetorically.