Morningside VFW honors veterans with fishing day at O'Hara park

Wrapped in a blue plastic poncho, Pat Stumpf sat alongside the pond at Squaw Valley Park in O'Hara and cast her line, waiting for a bite.

The 86-year-old caught two bass and a trout but said she was reeling in more memories than fish.

“My husband and I used to go fishing in Canada,” said Stumpf, a resident of Lighthouse Point at Chapel Harbor in O'Hara. “I've been fishing since I was about 9.”

Stumpf was a guest at the third annual Hospitalized Veteran's Fishing Rodeo, hosted by the Morningside VFW Post 3945 where her late husband was a charter member.

She joined more than 75 veterans, shuttled to the park from Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System locations in both O'Hara and Oakland, for a day of fishing, music, barbecue and socializing.

“We honor our dead by taking care of the living,” said Post Commander John Santoriello, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. “We just want to give them a day that's better than the one they had before.”

Santoriello and a crew of volunteers work hard to see the anglers receive top-notch service at the outing. Each veteran receives a medal of appreciation, a bag full of socks and T-shirts and a lunch fresh off the grill. For every fish caught, they get a book of hospital-issued coupons to pay for haircuts, vending or other amenities.

“It's not too many times you get out for the day,” said Dan Williamson, an Air Force veteran who caught two bass but said the highlight of his day was laughing and talking with everyone.

Vietnam veteran and VFW member Tom Junker said the event has grown each year. He spent the day running hot coffee to those fishing and handing out prizes.

“It's a big deal for them to get out,” he said. “We even had to add an extra bus to bring them down this year.”

Neither the rain nor the chilly temperature dampened the spirit for Marine Corps veteran Thomas Council, 67, who cast his line over and over into the stocked pond. An hour into the event he had already caught 10 bass and had no plans of slowing down.

“I haven't been fishing in 40 years,” he said.

Council recalled the 16 months he was stationed in Kodiak, Alaska, saying he loved the area — despite getting frostbite in both feet.

At one point during the fishing event, Council pulled an empty line from the water, noting the worm was eaten.

“This fish was slick!” he said. “But that's OK. This is all right.”

Volunteer Cathy Waltz of Leechburg brought Council a hot dog and coffee and helped him load another lure onto the rod.

“I'm having a great time today,” she said. “The veterans are the reason we're here.”

Tawnya Panizzi is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-782-2121, ext. 2, or at tpanizzi@tribweb.com.