Westmoreland Notables: Stained-glass artist hopes likeness of Forbes will educate Fort Ligonier visitors

Mandy Sirofchuck keeps a lot of fires burning.

Two years ago, her husband, Paul, expanded the Main Exhibit Gallery the couple opened in Ligonier Borough 22 years ago, adding an art center.

“We needed more room,” she said.

She continues to curate and purchase the fine art and crafts sold in the gallery and now has space to teach various classes, including pottery and stained glass.

“I'm trying to provide an art center experience for our local people here,” said Sirofchuck, a Cook Township resident.

Holder of a degree in journalism and communications from Temple University, she previously worked as a copywriter, graphic designer, freelance writer and stained-glass artist.

She is home-schooling the couple's daughter, Clair, 17.

“I'm in the teaching mode,” said Sirofchuck, 56.

Much of her spare time is being absorbed by her work on a stained-glass window for nearby Fort Ligonier's new Center for History Education, now under construction.

In a studio separate from her classroom, Sirofchuck is piecing together a colorful portrait of Gen. John Forbes, a commander in the French and Indian War.

“I originally thought of George Washington. I think Erica (Nuckles, Fort Ligonier's history and collections director) proposed Forbes. It made sense when I started looking into it. ... He was very important,” she said.

“I gave them a proposal and they accepted it,” Sirofchuck said.

Fort Ligonier received a $2,500 grant from Lil Joe's Society of Support, which raises funds for regional charities through its annual Derby Day for Charity. Jo Rossi is event chairwoman.

“We raised $50,000 last year and were able to give to 14 different organizations,” she said.

Not yet a 501(c)(3) organization, Lil Joe's funding efforts are overseen through nonprofit Old Joe Club Charities Inc., a Westmoreland County nonprofit.

Fort Ligonier's ongoing expansion and renovation capital campaign left no extra money for the window project, Rossi said.

“Our organization does support historical and educational efforts. ... It's a small amount of money for a big impact,” she said.

From Pittsburgh's Forbes Field to Forbes State Forest, numerous sites have been named in honor of the Scotsman who in 1758 ordered construction of a road from Bedford to Fort Pitt for the British army's attack on Fort Duquesne.

“I thought it would be cool if he were looking out the window of the Fort,” Sirofchuck said.

Her husband posed for the sketch of the 45-by-29-inch window, which she calls “The Spirit of the Fort.”

It includes a British flag and an Asclepius staff, a serpent-entwined rod symbolizing a medical doctor. Forbes was a physician, Sirofchuck said.

She completed several paper patterns, and construction of the window includes cathedral and opalescent glass, both of which will let in light and glow.

She will solder the individual pieces' touch points and brush putty beneath each piece of lead.

“That makes it air- and watertight. It's architecturally sound for an exterior window,” Sirofchuck said.

Along with appearing to serve eerie sentry, the depiction of Forbes also will serve as an educational tool, she said.

Sirofchuck hopes visitors will wonder about that man in the window.

“I want kids to get excited and ask questions,” she said.

Mary Pickels is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-836-5401 or mpickels@tribweb.com.