Penn resident enjoys history and repurposing old things

Livvie DeLuca has a love of old things, even chalkboards.

When the old school was being torn down on Fourth Street, I wanted a piece of chalkboard and John Howard was there taking pictures. He asked them for me and instead of a piece, a got a whole chalkboard, DeLuca said.

That chalkboard, she said, is now in the sunroom of the home she shares with her husband, Michael, and her daughter, Rosalia, in Penn Borough.

My husband does woodworking and he framed it. It is a lot of fun. We write to each other on it, said DeLuca. Her family home once belonged to her husband's grandfather.

After meeting Howard, who is one of the founders and longtime members of the Jeannette Historical Society, DeLuca joined the group.

I started going to the historical society meetings when they were at the library, but my daughter was very small and I didn't do much then, said DeLuca.

Now that her daughter is in fifth grade, DeLuca is part of what Howard calls the Thursday Group, a dedicated group of city historians who meet at the historical society office on Clay Avenue every week to catalog, archive and take care of any business that needs to be handled.

I come every Thursday and I work on the old photos. I scan them into the computer and organize them, said DeLuca.

In addition to her chalkboard, DeLuca, who was also a substitute teacher at Jeannette McKee Elementary, salvaged a gate across from the Dollar General when they were building the store.

I use it as an arbor in my garden, said DeLuca.

More here:
Penn resident enjoys history and repurposing old things