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Community Links:
Oil Region history timeline
Oil City Library
Franklin Library
Venango Co. Birds
Oil Region Astronomy
Oil Creek State Park
Oil Region history timeline
Oil City Library
Franklin Library
Venango Co. Birds
Oil Region Astronomy
Oil Creek State Park
The Oil Heritage Festival in
Oil City featured fireworks,
parades and other events.
The celebration was bigger
than usual since it was tied
in with the OIL 150
celebrations of 2009.
Click photo for story and
images.
Oil City featured fireworks,
parades and other events.
The celebration was bigger
than usual since it was tied
in with the OIL 150
celebrations of 2009.
Click photo for story and
images.
Past Features:
Applefest in Franklin
Youth Field Day - Izaak Walton
Rock In River Fest
Veterans Day Parade in Oil City
Oil Heritage Festival in Oil City
Applefest in Franklin
Youth Field Day - Izaak Walton
Rock In River Fest
Veterans Day Parade in Oil City
Oil Heritage Festival in Oil City
First Night Oil City
featured a parade through
town (left, and below),
musicians at several
locations, tile-making
(above), fireworks at 7pm
and midnight, and much
more. Photos by Jim
Kronmiller.
featured a parade through
town (left, and below),
musicians at several
locations, tile-making
(above), fireworks at 7pm
and midnight, and much
more. Photos by Jim
Kronmiller.
| Click for the website of Two Mile Run County Park! |
The Vision Quest Buffalo
Soldiers performed
synchronized marching
drills during the Fanfare
People's Procession, a
parade along Seneca St.
that ended at Justus
Park's fireworks display.
Soldiers performed
synchronized marching
drills during the Fanfare
People's Procession, a
parade along Seneca St.
that ended at Justus
Park's fireworks display.
God bless PA State Trooper Paul Richey and Nancy Frey-Smith, their families and friends.
It seems like the world has stopped, as the community comes to terms with the shock and grief of last week's tragedy. Three bullets, three lives lost for nothing. Out of an
ongoing domestic abuse situation, so much suddenly gone.
Franklin High School graduate Paul Richey was in the prime of his life at 40, active in the lives of his wife and two children, his church and the Pennsylvania State Police.
His value to Franklin and beyond was immeasurable, and his absence leaves a terrible void where once a great man stood.
Nancy Frey was also important to Venango County. She participated in the management of Two Mile Run County Park, following in the footsteps of her father, Gerald
Frey, the long-time director of the park.
Trooper Richey and Nancy Frey were both active in the same church, Christ United Methodist Church in Franklin, and both of their funerals were presided over by Rev.
David Janz, the church's pastor. The crimes of the gunman was premeditated and calculated. Smith executed his wife, then trooper Richey as he exited his car, then
himself.
Mike Smith had been abusive to his wife many times throughout their marriage, including a time in 1997 when he showed up with a loaded rifle at her workplace (A. Crivelli
Auto in Sugarcreek). The responding officers managed to convince him to put the gun down, and he somehow plea bargained the charge to a misdemeanor.
In 2000, the court allowed Smith to get his weapon(s) back, after he had completed his probation. Since that time, friends would ask Nancy about odd bruises and she
would say she had injured herself. She always felt she could manage her husband's mental problems, telling friends she knew how to deal with him when he was in "one of
his moods." His mental disorders became especially serious when he disabled his back after falling off a ladder during a roofing job. Now on medical disability, depressed
and isolated, he spiraled downward. Trooper Paul Richey had responded to previous domestic disturbances at the Smith home, and he volunteered to accompany a fellow
trooper when the call came in.
There's a special place in heaven for the two shooting victims, and another for the gunman who viciously removed these two bright lights from our lives.
It seems like the world has stopped, as the community comes to terms with the shock and grief of last week's tragedy. Three bullets, three lives lost for nothing. Out of an
ongoing domestic abuse situation, so much suddenly gone.
Franklin High School graduate Paul Richey was in the prime of his life at 40, active in the lives of his wife and two children, his church and the Pennsylvania State Police.
His value to Franklin and beyond was immeasurable, and his absence leaves a terrible void where once a great man stood.
Nancy Frey was also important to Venango County. She participated in the management of Two Mile Run County Park, following in the footsteps of her father, Gerald
Frey, the long-time director of the park.
Trooper Richey and Nancy Frey were both active in the same church, Christ United Methodist Church in Franklin, and both of their funerals were presided over by Rev.
David Janz, the church's pastor. The crimes of the gunman was premeditated and calculated. Smith executed his wife, then trooper Richey as he exited his car, then
himself.
Mike Smith had been abusive to his wife many times throughout their marriage, including a time in 1997 when he showed up with a loaded rifle at her workplace (A. Crivelli
Auto in Sugarcreek). The responding officers managed to convince him to put the gun down, and he somehow plea bargained the charge to a misdemeanor.
In 2000, the court allowed Smith to get his weapon(s) back, after he had completed his probation. Since that time, friends would ask Nancy about odd bruises and she
would say she had injured herself. She always felt she could manage her husband's mental problems, telling friends she knew how to deal with him when he was in "one of
his moods." His mental disorders became especially serious when he disabled his back after falling off a ladder during a roofing job. Now on medical disability, depressed
and isolated, he spiraled downward. Trooper Paul Richey had responded to previous domestic disturbances at the Smith home, and he volunteered to accompany a fellow
trooper when the call came in.
There's a special place in heaven for the two shooting victims, and another for the gunman who viciously removed these two bright lights from our lives.