It’s no secret that Stan “The Man” Musial is the greatest baseball player to ever come out of Donora. And in the near future, the Donora Elementary Center will be able to showcase some of the Hall of Famer’s accomplishments. Thanks to a recent visit to St. Louis from Chuck Smith of the Ringgold Rams’ Club and motivational speaker David Sarkus of Carroll Township, Musial has agreed to fill the lobby case at the school with memorabilia of his playing days with the St. Louis Cardinals. “He came to see us at the Sheraton and we talked for over two and a half hours,” said Smith. “He was very gracious and touched by a picture Earl Gilpin (a Ringgold art teacher) painted which has him imposed in front of the Donora school.” “We had a lot of fun with him and his grandson (Brian Schwarze),” continued Smith. “He said he would sign the picture and that we could sell it to raise money for the Rams’ Club. He thanked us for what we were doing for the Ringgold athletes.” The 86-year-old Musial wasn’t able to attend last year’s Ringgold Sports Hall of Fame Banquet for health reasons when he was inducted in the first class with Joe Montana, Ken Griffey Sr. and Fred Cox. * Two area athletes are on Edinboro University’s all-time teams in conjunction with the college’s 150-year anniversary: Charleroi swimmer Jill Kirby and Ellsworth basketball player Frank Smith. A 1993 graduate, Kirby was an All-American and still has her name in the school’s record book in the 800 freestyle relay team with Mary Martucci, Kara Hopkins and Shannon Schirack. They were clocked at 7:49.94 in 1992. A 1969 graduate, Smith set a school record in 1967 when he averaged 30 points a game including single-game highs of 54 against Fredonia and 52 points against Kenyon. With 1,225 points, Smith is 12th on the school’s all-time scoring list. * Monongahela’s Bart and Maggie Hill, who now reside in Hilton Head, S.C., are proud grandparents. Their granddaughter, Paige Sasko, is one of South Carolina’s premier school-girl softball pitcher. A junior right-hander at Bluffton High near Hilton Head, Sasko had a 16-2 record and 1.00 ERA for the Class AAA Lady Bobcats. She’s had one perfect game and one no-hitter this season. She’s also a two-time all-stater with a career 30-5 record and also hit over .400 at the plate. Sasko — who started out in the Ringgold School District before moving to Peters Township, Roanoke, Va., and eventually Bluffton — also plays for the Somerville. N.J., travel team. * And thanks to Frank Dague, of Monongahela, who says friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer!

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