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Cornfest, Calendars and Postcards, Oh My!

Whew! The historic and annual Cornfest is over and the hard work of the Cornfest Committee paid off. Historically the Cornfests, began in the early 80s, were held in August on Thursdays from 4 pm to 8 pm in Phillips Park. They were moved to Saturdays from noon to 8 pm and to the football field in the early 90s to take advantage of the lighting. The last Cornfest on the field was held in 2008 and was cancelled in 2009. The 2010 Community Cornfest was returned to our Phillips Park setting among the shady trees and expanded to include our neighbors Overbrook and Bon Air or "COB." Although the weather was in the 90s, our trees provided shade and breezes and most vendors liked being outdoors for the whole day. The food, the participants and the entertainment was great. From surveys of the participants they can't wait until next year. Thank you to all our participants and attendees who made the whole day a wonderful outdoor festival which will be repeated in the years to come.

As part of the advertising for the Cornfest you may have seen and taken home the historical postcards inviting you to our event. They apparently did their job as intended since people remembered the invitations and attendance was fantastic. While distributing the historical themed cards many people wanted to purchase them and were surprised to learn they were free invitations. Because of that demand The Carrick Overbrook Historical Society has produced 17 different historic and collectible postcards for sale at 50 cents each. In addition we have also a collectible 2011 Carrick Overbrook Calendar depicting 13 historic scenes from both our neighborhoods at a low price of $7.50. Both the postcards and calendars can be purchased at the Carrick Carnegie Library. Proceeds fund our production of framed photos that you can see at the library, website fees, community historical events, and future historical markers and cards of both neighborhoods. Attached is the front cover of our calendar and we are sure you will enjoy our monthly historic photos and send our postcards and calendars to your friends around the nation.The calendars make great gifts by the way!

In the future we hope to have more family historical events like our successful Observatory Tour held in honor of our beloved Harriet Duff Phillips and Dr. John Brashear that was attended and enjoyed by over 35 residents, the maximum allowed on the tour.

2010 Community Cornfest

The Cornfest is an annual event in Carrick.

Click "here" following to access the article that appeared in The South Pittsburgh Reporter:

Cornfest returned to Carrick in August 2010

The Community Cornfest was a huge success in Carrick’s Phillips Park on Saturday, Aug. 21 from noon to 8 p.m.

The name "Community Cornfest" was chosen this year because the neighborhoods of Carrick, Overbrook and Bon Air, "COB," have joined to make this one of the best late summer festivals in the southern neighborhoods. Started in the late 1970s, the Cornfest has been a late summer tradition celebrating local communities, schools and institutions.

The Community Cornfest was held mostly within the park’s facilities and in the great park under the trees and over 50 groups and organizations attended including the Carrick Library, faith based institutions, school organizations, senior citizen groups, city organizations and many more. Topping the list of attractions is the Carrick Library Appraisal Fair which appraised family jewels and keepsakes. Proceeds will benefit the Carrick Library.

The Cornfest committee accepted any and all nonprofit groups and individuals to this event.

Eight full hours of entertainment gave all participants something different for each hour beginning with the traditional opening ceremonies by the award winning Pittsburgh Carrick High School Band at noon. The Cornfest Committee said, "You’ll want to come for the great food and interesting crafts, but you’ll want to stay all day just for the entertainment" and they weren't wrong.

The PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION together with the Carrick-Overbrook Historical Society would like to thank all who participated, donated time and money, and attended our dedication.

We cordially invite you to review the ceremony for the John M. Phillips Marker Dedication of the Pennsylvania State Historical Marker for Former Carrick Resident John M. Phillips that was held on October 31st, 2009 at 1 pm. ==

John M. Phillips lived in Carrick all his life. He was a conservationist, industrialist and engineer and he was among the first to introduce Boy Scouting in Pennsylvania. His home, located at this site, was a distribution point for thousands of tree seedlings and bird houses to the children in our neighborhood. He also was the creator of the State Game Lands which was a model for the nation. He was instrumental in the preservation of Phillips Park, named after him, and in the formation of Carrick as a Borough. Phillips Elementary School, on the South Side, is named after him and his wife Harriet Duff Phillips.

NOTICE

The Carrick Overbrook Historical Society is meeting occasionally for a few hours every Saturday at the Carrick Carnegie Library around 11 AM. The library is located in the 1800 block of Brownsville Road, Carrick, PA 15210. Summer vacations are over so call or write us for personal sessions.

I will show anyone who wants to learn how to scan, size, and input material into the wiki. Although I don't know everything, I can show you what I know. Kevin Barsotti has shown me how to download the sizer for making scanned photos correct sizes. We are using Irfanview Software which is free to download at click here for link to download. The more people we have inputing the better the site becomes.

NOTICE

The Carrick Neighborhood Block Party has been postponed. Check the details at the Block Party page here.

NOTICE

The first Thursday of each month at 7 pm is the meeting of the South Pittsburgh History Group. We meet at the Overbrook Community Center at Route 51 and Maytide Street, parking in rear of location. For more information contact Carol Anthony at occbee@aol.com.

NOTICE

The Three Rivers Postcard Club meets on the third Thursday (except holidays) of each month at 7:00 PM at the Fairhaven Methodist Church at 2415 Saw Mill Run Boulevard (Route 51) Pittsburgh, PA 15234. Everyone is welcome. For more information contact Richard (Dick) Gaetano at ragaetano@webtv.net. Questions or inquiries can be directed to carrickhistory@gmail.com.

NOTICE

If you are new to the Carrick Overbrook History web site and wish to be a contributor, as a courtesy please contact carrickhistory@gmail.com. We would like to meet with you to discuss our web site and instruct you on how to contribute photos, files or information.

Thank you for your interest and contributions to our website and Carrick Overbrook history.