More than 250 attend 2^nd annual Balderdash at Dill's Tavern

The second annual Balderdash festival brought more than 250 people to the 18^th Century Dill's Tavern, Baltimore Street, held September 18.

Sponsored by the Northern York County Historical and Preservation Society, NYCHPS, the event featured various historical crafting demonstrations. A home-brew beer festival, it also featured a beer-making demonstration and offered guests a chance to sample 30 different home-brewed beers made by local residents, said Sam McKinney, restoration director for Dill's Tavern.

“One particular beer-making method, out of ways to make beer from scratch, was demonstrated by a local man,” McKinney said. “We also had a husband and wife, who were born and raised in Cuba, make hand-rolled cigars. They made 100 cigars, which sold for $10 a piece. We sold them all.”

Cigars are composed of three parts, the wrapper, a binder and the filler. The wrappers, which are made from whole dried tobacco leaves, were grown on the 1.5-acre property of the tavern, McKinney said. The tobacco for the binder and filler was grown by Herbert Bomberger, a local farmer.

Normally, tobacco must be dried and cured for about two years, but in this case, the wrappers had dried for only one year, McKinney said. The cigar makers said that the leaves were sufficiently dried to make the wrappers. Some of the tobacco was dried at Bomberger's farm.

Binders hold together chopped bunches of tobacco leaves, acting like an interior wrapper. The wrapper is responsible for the majority of the taste of the cigar.

“We dried some of the plants for the wrappers in a firewood storage building,” McKinney said. “When we get the barn completed, we plan to hang and dry the tobacco on lathes, across the fore bay.”

Other demonstrations in 19^th Century crafts were a blacksmith, two craftsman who worked on barrels that are used as part of longrifles; and a furniture maker.

Money raised from the sale of cigars and other activities will benefit the tavern, he said.

For more information on Dill's Tavern visit www.dillstavern.org.

Second in Series: They served their country

World War II and Korean War combat fighter pilot recalls career

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Dale R. Deniston, 86, Woodland Drive, Dillsburg, said he would not trade his years as a combat fighter pilot during World War II, Korea and as a member of NATO forces during the Cold War, for any other experience.
Born in Akron, OH, Deniston’s love affair with the wild blue yonder had its beginnings during his childhood and was reinforced by his mother’s job working in a plant that turned out Corsair fighters for the U.S. Navy. After graduating high school, Deniston enrolled at Kent State University, in 1939. In August of 1941, he entered the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program and received his commission in March of 1942.
Deniston was transferred to the Primary Flight Training Base at Oxnard, CA. He received advanced flight training in the North American AT-6 at Luke Field, Phoenix, AZ, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in 1942 and was ordered to active duty. After a brief stint with in Philadelphia with the 1st Air Force, he received his orders and was on his way back to the west coast, where he was assigned to the 57th Fighter Group at Mitchell AFB, where he was given a brand new P40 aircraft, fresh off the assembly line, he said.
“On July 1, 1942, we got all of our aircraft on board of the aircraft carrier, the Ranger, bound for Egypt, Africa,” Deniston said. “We launched off the coast of Africa and hippity-hopped to little pea patch landing strips where some body had planted grass and placed gas drums. We had to pump the gas into the wings, which gave us about a 300 mile range to our next stop, where did the same. We finally landed in Cairo.”
From Cairo, his squadron flew to Palestine, to an RAF, (Royal Air Force) at Haifa. They were paired with seasoned fighter pilots to get a taste of actual combat.
“I remember being told: ‘Beware of the Hun and the sun.’ The German Messerschmitt pilots would come down out of the sunk like a rocket. They were very fast.”
A “sprog,” the term for pilots new to combat, Deniston said the idea was to fly a few test missions. A belly gasoline tank was attached to his fighter to extend its flying range and his six “guns were fully loaded.”
“The South African commander, a major, said, ‘you get on my wing and stick like glue,’” Deniston said. “Soon after take-off, we went right down to the deck to avoid the German radar. We came up on an airfield, filled with German bombers and fighters on the line, fuel trucks and personnel. We came in and they didn’t know what to do. We shot up everything, did a 180-dgree turn and flew back to the 2nd South African Squadron.”
The attack had devastated a key fighter base that was part of German Field Marshall Rommel’s air support and supply group. During his time in Africa, he flew 100 combat missions, in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Malta and, later, from Sicily, into Italy.
“I was shot down on March 26, 1943, in the desert,” Deniston said. “The top RAF commander said that it was a tough, tough situation they were about fly. He said we might even have 50-percent casualties. We went in and shot all of their guns we could see on the ground and someone on the ground could see me and was shooting. I had 30-some bullet holes in the plane and I went down.”
Deniston said he was not sure at first, if he had crashed in enemy or allied territory After a bit of wandering, he saw a vehicle. Fortunately, he said, it was operated by a war correspondent. He was given a ride and safely made it back to base.
“When we got back to our air base, the Priest had said a mass for me and another pilot, T.T. Williams, who had been shot down,” Deniston said.
Deniston’s home, which he shares with his wife, Patricia, who holds a PhD, and is a retired college librarian, is filled with medals and awards, he received during his service to his country. In 1995, with the help of his daughter, Deniston completed a memoir: Memories Of a Combat Fighter Pilot: World War II and Korea. When he took the book with him to a reunion of his squadron, the majority of the copies he had made were quickly taken by fellow pilots.
Deniston also served in Europe, with NATO, and later in Guatemala. He retired from the Air Force in 1984.

First in Series: They served their country

W.W. II veteran Wilbur Baker served with MacArthur in Philippines

Wilbur Baker, 81, remembers the exact date he was drafted by the Army for service during World War II – Feb. 12, 1943.

Baker and his wife, Margaret, 78, celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary in January. In their living room, in their Mechanicsburg home, surrounded by memorabilia from his service to his country, Baker talked about his experience during the war.

He had turned 18, and was in the 11^th grade at John Harris High School. He was assigned to the US Army, 2^nd Division, at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, for basic training. From there, he attended the machinist tech school at Fort Meade, Md., for 16 weeks.

“I came home on leave and later they shipped me to Fort Lewis Washington,” he said. “I was shipped overseas, with 7^th Infantry Division, 8^th Army.”

By convoy, he was shipped to Manila, in the Philippines, and landed along with General Douglas MacArthur who had vowed: “I shall return,” when forced to flee to Corregidor from the immanent Japanese occupation of the island nation.

“The 4^th Marine Division went in with us,” Baker said, adding jokingly: “Half the time we didn’t know where we were … they didn’t tell us much.”

Armed with an M1 rifle, Baker was assigned to headquarters, where, “if they didn’t have communications, I’d have to go to the front.

“From the Philippines, we were sent to Okinawa,” Baker said. “I remember the date was April 1^st, (1945), Easter Sunday. The Japanese troops moved into caves. We had to use flamethrowers to get them out.”

Baker said that military officers said the fight for Okinawa would only take two weeks. “It took two and half months,” he said.

After atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945. Baker was transferred to Seoul, Korea, assigned to an MP division of the 7^th Infantry.

Baker said his division was responsible for handling prisoners of war and to keep civilians off the roads “so the troops could get through.” Soon after, Baker’s world changed at one moment.

“We were on patrol, in a Jeep, when we hit a land mine,” Baker said. “I spent eight or nine months in military hospitals.”

The explosion had fractured his skill and shrapnel had hit his leg. His buddy was not so lucky, he said.

“The fractured skull caused seizures,” he said. “I was given a medical discharge and have been going to the VA, (Veteran’s Administration) hospital, ever since.”

In addition to the fractured skull, Baker also suffered frost bite to both of his feet. His injuries kept him from working jobs he had wanted.

“I still have a lump on my head,” Baker said. “I wanted to be a shop teacher. I was hired for a job with JD Ferry Company, which was Cameron Street, Harrisburg.”

The company wanted him to report to work on Monday and bring his tools along. Problem was, Baker explained, he could not afford to buy the tools the job required. Veteran benefits did not cover the expense.

On January 9, 1949, he was hired by LB Smith, Lemoyne, to work as a mechanic in the auto body division. He also had met and married his sweetheart. She said she was working as a waitress at the time.

The couple moved to Florida for a better job, Baker said. They returned to Pennsylvania and Baker went to work with LB Smith, where he retired in 1979.

They are the parents of two boys and two girls, grandparents of 10, and have two great-granddaughters and one great-grandson.

While his injuries continued to cause him to have seizures, Baker and his wife said they have had a good life. For a hobby, Baker is a woodworker and has made cedar chests for all his granddaughters and gun cabinets for all the boys.

Hitman email scams

Death threat email scams are on increase

Every day brings new and often more vicious Internet scams and hoaxes.
Fake check scams, fake business offers, fake lottery awards and other email scams are common tactics used by thieves attempting to separate the public from its money.
A new tactic being perpetrated against the public has a much more sinister tone. It is a scam/hoax that may originate from former Soviet Block countries in Eastern Europe. An unknown number of these emails were sent, apparently to random recipients, during the first week of July. I received this on July 9, 2008:

"ATTENTION: ATTENTION: ATTENTION:

I felt very sorry and bad for you, that your life is going to end like this if you don't comply, I was paid to eliminate you and I have to do it within 10 days.
Someone you call your friend wants you dead by all means, and the person have spent a lot of money on this, the person came to us and told us that he wants you dead and he provided us your names, photograph and other necessary information we needed about you. If you are in doubt with this I will send you your name and where you are residing in my next mail.
Meanwhile, I have sent my boys to track you down and they have carried out the necessary investigation needed for the operation, but I ordered them to stop for a while and not to strike immediately because I just felt something good and sympathetic about you. I decided to contact you first and know why somebody will want you dead by all means. Right now my men are monitoring you, their eyes are on you, and even the place you think is safer for you to hide might not be.
Now do you want to LIVE OR DIE? It is up to you. Get back to me now if you are ready to enter deal with me, I mean life trade, who knows, and I might just spear, (spare), your life, $8,000 is all you need to spend. You will first of all pay $3,000 then I will send the tape of the person that want you dead to you and when the tape gets to you, you will pay the remaining $5,000. If you are not ready for my help, then I will have no choice but to carry on the assignment after all I have already being paid before now.
Warning: do not think of contacting the police or even tell anyone because I will extend it to any member of your family since you are aware that somebody want you dead, and the person knows some members of your family as well.
For your own good I will advise you not to go out once is 7pm until I make out time to see you and give you the tape of my discussion with the person who want you dead then you can use it to take any legal action. Good luck as I await your reply to this E-mail contact.
Bye."
It was signed "may your soul rest in peace" and had a return email address at gala.net. The gala.net website is based in the Ukrainian area of Eastern Europe.
Law enforcement officials urge the public not to respond to this or similar emails. The incident should be reported to Internet service and email providers, as well as to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center division at www.ic3.gov and to local and state law enforcement officials.
FBI spokesman, Paul Bresson of the Washington, DC headquarters, said complaints about the scam began in December 2006. The emails were traced to Russia.
Within weeks the FBI issued a scam alert. Since then, the emails have gone through various evolutions and changes in wording and style. The emails threaten to assassinate the recipient unless the assassin is paid sums ranging from $150,000 to $3,000 and less.
The emails claim that the victims are being followed by hitmen who were hired by co-workers, friends and others. It warns the recipient not to go to police or family members would be killed.
In June of this year, the hitman scam emails were being sent as text messages to cell phone recipients, Bresson said. The scam appears then vanishes and is reincarnated with a slightly different twist, he said.
"Many of the emails are poorly written, contain bad grammar and broken English," Bresson said. "The more personal and specific the information ... such as home address, wife and daughter's names and other details, the greater the concern that the threats could be real."
In cases where the victim is addressed by name, lists family details, work details and other specific information, police should be notified immediately, Bresson said. In most cases, recipients of the email are in no real danger.
"Better safe than sorry," Bresson said. "We first take the information and analyze it based on sender location, contents of message, location of recipient and other factors. That information is then transferred to the appropriate local, state federal or international law enforcement agency."
Bresson said the Internet Crime Complaint Center complaint process detailed step-by-step. The standardization of the way the information is taken allows for investigators to provide leads to the criminals. It also contains a "FAQ," frequently asked questions section, contact information and links to other sites that list the latest Internet scams.
"It's important to educate the public about this scam," Bresson said. "It can be a frightening message to receive for many people."
For more information on this and other scams, visit www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/hitman.asp. The website has a compilation of information on hoaxes, scams, urban legends and misinformation.

Iraqi family finds new home

After two years, an Iraqi family who had to flee their home because of death threats, will soon be reunited in San Diego, CA.
Their saga began near the city of Al Musel, the ancestral home for John, his wife, Nasra, and their Roman Catholic family (I am not using their last names because they fear retaliation against family and friends still in Iraq). Prior to and following the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, John was a water tank truck driver for a small company that supplied water to customers around the city, he explained with the help of an interpreter supplied y the International Friendship House, West Market Street, York, that has been hosting the family since Tuesday.
After the invasion, in July 2004, John’s employer had subcontracted with the U.S. military to deliver water to an “American military post,” John said. “I not only provided support with water transportation, I also did some translation – I studied English for nine years. I wanted to help them.”
It did not take long for “Islamic extremists who had supported Saddam, to say they were going to kill me and my family,” he said. “The terrorists arrested my oldest son, Lever, and broke his elbow. They warned him that our family had only one month to move or we would be killed.”
Knowing that it was not an idle threat, John and his family that consists of another son, Nasser, now 18, Lever’s wife, Milad, 16, and daughters Lara, 15, Liza, 11 and Lidia, 10, quickly sold their home and most of their possessions at extremely low prices in order to make the money they needed to arrange fake passports and transportation out of Iraq. In September 2004, they flew to Istanbul, Turkey.
In Turkey, they were taken to the border and each given inflated vehicle inner-tubes to use to cross to small rivers into Greece. Once in Greece, they made their way to Athens, where they contacted an organization that was founded to help Iraqi refugees.
Without valid passports or other documents, the family could not seek legal employment, John explained. At a bus station, the girls sold boxes facial tissues and the boys washed vehicle windshields hoping to make some money, but Greek police would chase them away. Finally, John and Nasra contacted their brothers in Sydney, Australia, asking for and receiving money to leave Greece.
In September 2005, the family had purchased airline tickets to the U.S. Lever and his wife had gone through customs without a hitch, but Athens airport security, stopped the rest of the family, and detained them because they said their passports were not valid. Lever and Milad boarded the plane, leaving the rest of the family behind, John said.
It took about one more year, before John and his family, received legitimate Greek passports that would allow them to leave the country. Unfortunately, the passports would only allow them to fly to Tijuana, Mexico.
“We took a taxi to the border crossing,” John said. “Then we turned ourselves into the border patrol seeking political asylum.”
LeAnn Strine, secretary of the Golden Vision Foundation, which operates the International Friendship House, said the family was taken then put into the Immigration and Naturalization Service system that brought them to a facility in Berks County, near Philadelphia. Despite the fact that it was nearly a foregone conclusion that John’s family met all the criteria necessary for political asylum, regulations required a three-step hearing process – notice to appear, a hearing to present the facts and a disposition hearing where the request is granted or denied.
John and his family, for five months, were separated -- men in one facility, women in another, and children from five to 17 in another facility, she said. Once the asylum was granted, Villanova School of Law student volunteers working with refugees contacted Golden Vision to alert them of John and his family, who are expecting to leave Pennsylvania sometime early this week.
Shawn Burke, an attorney who works with Villanova and the refugee effort, said there are a few identification document issues that remain to be settled. He expects that as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, the family will be on a plane to San Diego, CA.
“We are in America and we are feeling safe and peaceful here,” John said. “In America there are human values and democracy. We are not worried about or future. We are happy and secure.”
The family is going to share one house in San Deigo, until John can find work. The children, including Nasser, who has yet to formally complete high school, have some formal education to catch up on, Strine said. All of the children speak English fairly well, so they should not have great difficulty in adapting.
John said that his son, Lever, works in a grocery store owned by an uncle. John said he is willing to work anywhere, but hopes to take to the road in a “big truck” again.

Wish it were this cold now on Bear Mountain

My home in cooler times.
It is now lushly green.
But exceedingly hot.
Rather snow than not.

Bike Week

First -- mea culpa -- I have been on hiatus due to uncontrollable factors, but I intend to come back with a vengeance -- and with pics.
Thanks
Jeffrey B. Roth

Attendance at Gettysburg Bike Week three times more than last year*
*
Despite more than 50 acres of land available to them at the Allstars Sports Complex, south of Gettysburg, organizers of the 5th Annual Gettysburg Bike Week still had to cancel its Bike Games competition, Saturday afternoon so that the field could be used to park motorcycles – and more riders were arriving by the minute.*
Hordes of bikers streamed by in waves, combing every square yard of the complex of avenues, thoroughfares and designated parking lots, hoping to find an abandoned niche large enough for ride. By 2 p.m., helicopter rides were curtailed because the relatively small landing site had to be sacrificed for parking. Just entering or leaving by the main entrance to the complex required a minimum five-minute wait time.*
John H. Summers Jr., president and chief operations officer for Bike Week, initially estimated that the event would draw around 15,000 riders, but speculated on Saturday that the actual number might climb into the 40,000-region. That number did not include all the bikers who came to the area but did not participate in events at the sports complex, he said.*
“This is the biggest and best crowd we have ever had this early into the event,” Summers said. “They started showing up at 8 a.m., even though we did not officially open until 10 a.m.”*
Volunteers, Steve and Annette Shipley, both of Taneytown, MD, said they are members of the Battlefield Harley-Davidson Hog Chapter, and have attended the event in the past. This was the first time they volunteered to help.*
“The people are really friendly here,” Annette said. “They are just wonderful to work with.*
The Shipleys said there were more people than they would have predicted. Despite the large influx of people, the event was still family-oriented, she said.*
Summers said there were more vendors and activities available than last year. The addition of a headline musical group, as well-known as Mustang Sally, was a major drawing card.*
“We also have more activities geared towards younger people,” Summers said as pointed to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle built with balloons. “There are a lot of families here with a lot of kids.”*
The Indian Larry Legacy exhibit was a focal point for many motorcycle buffs. They asked friends and even strangers to take photographs of them standing next to one of the unique motorcycle creations.*
While Indian Larry Desmedt, whose name engenders visions of one-of-a-kind, priceless chopped motorcycles, died in a motorcycle accident in 2004, his legacy lives on. Considered by many as an artist in the field, his business partner, Paul Cox, and one of the current owners of the Brooklyn, NY business said the exhibit features one the earliest choppers built by his friend.*
“We do shows every weekend,” Cox said. “This is our first time here, but it’s a real good venue and has a great atmosphere.”*
East Coast Kitty of Ridgefield, New Jersey, owned by Karen Badre and Anthony Campione, said they were thrilled with the turnout on Saturday. Specializing in custom T-shirts and other specialty items, said it was their first time at the event.*
“We had learned of the event through word-of-mouth, Badre said.*
Campione said they have been in business for about three years and travel to shows on both the east and west coasts.*
If Saturday’s attendance was any indication of the event’s potential for growth, it may not be more than a few more years before it becomes a week-long event, he said.*
For more information visit http://www.gettysburgbikeweek.com.*/

Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven was inspiration for balloon twister

A lot of people are inspired by music, but not in the same way as Dustin Queary.*
While attending the 2004 Millennium Jam in Belgium with his family, he became inspired by a performer like his mother. Today, Queary, 15, a junior at Gettysburg High School is one of the best balloon twisters in the world.*
“I saw a guy from Canada, who made a guitar out of balloons and played (Led Zeppelin’s) Stairway from Heaven on it,” Queary, who now performs with his two sisters and mothers as part of Adventures in Fun. “It sounded like Stairway to Heaven. I got interested then.”*
Others were using balloons to fashion remote control cars that worked, he said. Queary said he also liked the atmosphere of the event. There were also clowns, magicians and other performers showcasing their skills. Queary’s father, Rob, worked for the government, and his family lived in Germany, Austria, France, Spain and Switzerland. He came to Gettysburg about two years ago.*
“My Mom’s been doing it (performing) my whole life,” he said. “I really didn’t want to do it until two years ago.”*
Sisters Alayna, 14 and Alysa, 9 are also part of the act. Alayna is an unicyclist and stilt walker. Alysa is leaning how to be a balloon twister, he said. Rob does magic, stilt walking and twisting. Dustin also does caricatures. His mother, Shonna, said it is a great way to keep the family doing things together. In fact, it is now the family business – which also involves face painting and character mascots for special occasions, both public and private, such as weddings, anniversaries, Bar Mitzvahs, etc..*
Shonna started dressing like a clown and putting on puppet shows as a girl in Amsterdam, NY. She said she had a friend who worked with disabled children and she volunteered to help. Many of the children were autistic and responded well to that type of interaction.* Eventually, she became “Silly Shonna,” her registered clown character. She prefers to use the European-style clown face, instead of the full-face paint of the American variety. She said it is less intimidating to children.*
Both Dustin and his mother have recently completed their first of a two volume set of instructional DVDs that demonstrate the art of balloon twisting – Squeaks Like Teen Spirit that demonstrates his award-winning designs; and Shonna’s instructional demonstration called Batallic Outstanding Specialty Shapes, which depict her unique designs. Shonna said they will be producing the second volume in the near future.*
So far, this year, Dustin has placed first in a new competitor’s division of Diamond Jam at Mesa, AZ; second in the Diamond Master section at Mesa; second in the Large Sculpture Division of Twist and Shout at St. Louis, MO; and second place for Medium Sculptures at BAM (Balloon and Magic Mania) Virginia Beach, VA.*
Dustin’s work is so highly respected that he was offered a full scholarship to Belgium for six weeks to teach twisting. While he could not go this year, it appears the offer will be extended again next year, his mother said.*
Right now, Dustin is brainstorming ideas for an international twisting competition. He said his entry can be no larger than 12 feet tall. He is used to making life-sized creations. During Bike Week in Gettysburg, he created a full-sized Harley Davidson motorcycle. For this competition, he is considering creating a dinosaur of some type.*
“I was thinking of creating some kind of dinosaur,” Dustin said. “Or, I might do something on a jungle safari-type theme.”*
Dustin performs three times during the week at various restaurants. The family also travels to various functions. They have performed at the White House. for a Christmas celebration and at a Hillary Duff concert in Washington, DC, Shonna said.*
“I like seeing other people smile,” Dustin said. “I enjoy it because I make other people happy.”*
While balloon twisting and drawing caricatures take up a lot of his time, he still has to contend with school in the winter and trying to find time for his hobby – snowboarding. For a career, “I’d like to be an architect or professional snowboarder,” he said.*
Shonna said Dustin’s friends and those of his sisters, often ask them why they spend so much time working. She said some of their schoolmates are jealous of their success. For the family, it’s a great way to spend time together and to travel and experience new things.*
*
*
Adventures in Fun*
*
Adventures in Fun, is the family business, created by Shonna Flannigan and her family. They perform on uncicyle, as costume characters, create caractures, present puppet shows, story telling and face-painting. In all they have more than 20 years experience entertaining at schools, corporate gatherings, grand openings, at sales promotions, family nights in restaurants, weddings, and various private and public events.*
Award-winning balloon twister, Dustin Queary and his family, performs from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesdays at Ruby Tuesdays, York Road, Gettysburg; Wednesday 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Damon’s Grill, Eisenhower Drive, Hanover; 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, at Friendly’s Restaurant, Steinweher Avenue, Gettysburg; and Shonna performs, 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesdays at Friendly’s in Carlisle.*
For more information visit http://www.adventuresinfun.com.*/

Boxing for unity

Boxing for peace and unity
bbb

A fighter and a dreamer

Virgil Love dreams of a world filled with happiness, peace and love.

A professional boxer and world-class boxing coach, Love decided to use the sport as a vehicle to promote self-identity, teamwork and cultural unity.

A 1965 graduate of Delone Catholic High School, New Oxfor, PA, Love, a native of Gettysburg, PA, enrolled in the journalism department of the University of South Carolina. After a few years in journalism, Love became involved in boxing.

(Funny thing, he graduated four years ahead of me -- "Beer, Sex, Sin & Wine -- I'm from the Class of 69." Didn't say I graduated exactly).

“I got hooked up with Mohammed Ali,” Love said. “I met Ali at the University of South Carolina during one of his college tour speaking engagements.”

At the time, Ali was to face heavyweight boxing champion, Joe Fraser in a match in South Carolina. Ali invited Love to sit in the front row, beside Ali’s mother, Dolly, Love said. He also was invited to the first Ali-Fraser fight in Madison Square Gardens in New York City, he said.

Promotes match between Teofilo Stevenson and Mohammed Ali

Love also met and became friends with Cuban boxing legend, Teofilo Stevenson, “the icon fobr machismo in Cuba,” Love said. As a result of his friendship with Stevenson and Ali, Love attempted to promote a boxing match between them.

“It was called the fight that never was,” Love said. “Despite the politics, I got Stevenson out of Cuba without a sports team … he stayed with me for three weeks in Gettysburg.”

The "match that never was"

Touted as the “Match of the Century” between the two heavyweight champions of the world, the fight became a political football, Love said. Ramsey Clark, U.S. Secretary of the State became involved, Love said. Even Bill Bradley of CBS’ 60 Minutes did a segment on the debate. Because of the strained relations between the two countries, the fight never materialized.

Love said Ali and Stevenson were friendly rivals. Ali was even quoted as saying that if the fight had happened, it would have ended in a tie. The match, Love believed, would have been a step in normalizing relations between Cuba and the US.

Many believe they were the best -- Ali was a professional boxer, while Stevenson still maintained an amateur standing. Love said that promoters saw the possiblity of making a great deal of money and attempted to make it a reality.

Cassius Clay

Ali, whose give name was Cassius Clay, won the gold medal in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome Italy. His rise to fame in the professional boxing world came about four years later, when fought Sonny Listen, and claimed the world heavy weight title in a six-round bout. Shortly after his win, Clay converted to Islam and took the name, Mohammed Ali.

Love said Ali was famous for predicting the round when he would knock out his opponent. When Love, met the champ, Ali had already made a name as an advocate for civil rights. While the promoters saw a change to reap a fortune in an Ali-Stevenson fight, Love saw an opportunity to broaden racial and international harmony.

Ali's symbolic act of tossing his gold medal in the Ohio River after he was not allowed to enter a cafeteria, was the precursor to a much more courageous action when he was drafted into the Army in 1967 and he refused to go as a protest to the Vietnam War. He was sentenced to three years in prison and stripped of his title and his boxing permit. He later appealed to the US Supreme Court and recaptured his right to box.

Teofilo Stevenson

Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba also went down in Olympic history with the capture of three Olympic titles. Amidst the terrorist attack in Munich 1972, Stevenson defeated Duane Bobick - known in the US as the “white hope.”

Stevenson went on to capture two other Olympic medals -- Montreal 1976, and Moscow 1980. Because of continuing political tensions between the US and Cuba, Teofilo did not compete in the Olympic games held in Los Angeles.

$4 million offered to fight Ali

Teofilo was offered $4 million to become a professional boxer and fight Ali after the Munich games. He declined the offer, saying he preferred living in Cuba. That did not deter promoters and in 1978, the push was on to promote three, three-round figths in the US. That never happened, Love said.

“Ali told me it didn’t make sense to fight because we were the best in the world. He in professional boxing, and me in amateur,” Stevenson was quoted as saying in an interivew around that time. As Love said, Stevenson and Ali became friends. Stevenson visited Ali in the US in 1995 and Ali went to Cuba as part of a delegation in 1998, which brought more than $1 million in medicine and other health care items.

Glory Gym is dream realized

The Glory Gym is the culmination of a 20-year dream, Love said. A former boxing coach at Gettysburg College, he also taught boxing at Camp Hill Correctional Center and Graterford Prison, near Philadelphia, Love has coached boxing in Pakistan and Turkey.

For three years, the gym was located in a room of the American Legion building on Baltimore Street, Gettysburg. His new gym is located in the former H&H Pontiac Garage at South Washington Street, at the intersection of West Middle Street, and is in the last stages of renovation.

“I do it for the kids,” Love said. “There are so many kids running the streets with no direction or no purpose. We opened up the program to keep the kids off the street.”

Founded in 1993, Love wanted to develop a world-class boxing program. In 2001, Glory Gym became a non-profit organization. Its program is designed to work with at-risk youth. Love uses boxing and other martial arts training as a way to help youth learn about their strengths and weaknesses and to develop positive self-images.

Intergenerational inspiration

Love is currently working with Steven Neibler, director of the Adams County Office on Aging and a member of the Glory Gym board to develop an intergenerational program. Love said many at-risk youth do not have extended families with grandparents.

“The seniors will learn do to floor exercises,” Love said. “They will learn timing and balance and train together with the youth. They will have a chance to bond with them through the sport.”

For more information, contact Love at http://www.glorygym.org or call 717-334-9293.


Glory Gym’s Mission

Glory Gym, founded by Virgil Love, a world-class boxing coach, and a native of Gettysburg, became a non-profit organization in 2002. Its mission is to “produce healthy, well-rounded, drug free athletes” by teaching them respect and self-discipline, Love said.

Programs offered include amateur boxing, junior Olympics, Olympic boxing and Golden Gloves, boxerobics, yoga, Tai Chi, pilates, Hispanic dance and voice and African dance and voice.

“When I was 38-years-old, I decided to get into the ring again,” Love said. “I should have known that I had no business in the ring, but I did it, which was no big deal in itself. Then it became a symbol for me that anything’s possible. That is what I try to teach the kids.”

Love said the emphasis of the programs is to promote health through exercise related activities. It is also designed to stimulate personal growth, teamwork and cross-cultural interaction with other members of the community.

“We want to work with kids who have no one to pay attention to them,” he said.