Erie County Community College at St. Benedict

Erie County Community College at SBEC

Erie County Community College of Pennsylvania held its inaugural classes on the third floor of St. Benedict Education Center, 330 East 10th Street, Erie, PA, in the fall of 2021. Photo by Debbi Lyon ©2021. Old Time Erie

Erie Woman is Jeopardy Champ!

Mercyhurst Prep grad wins on Jeopardy!

Jeopardy champ Leslie Minot graduated from Mercyhurst Prep in Erie, PA!

Leslie Minot, a former resident of Erie, PA, was the champion of Jeopardy! America's Favorite Quiz Show on December 2, 2020! 

Imagine my surprise when I saw a familiar face on the screen while watching Jeopardy! Leslie Minot graduated from Mercyhurst Prep in 1986. Although we went to different schools, we each wrote for our high school newspaper (and hoped to work in the publishing field). If I remember correctly, we may have participated in a car wash to raise a few dollars to save the McDowell Hub newspaper in the mid-eighties. 

It is refreshing to see an intelligent and well educated woman on television. In high school, Leslie was a member of the National Honor Society and she participated in Model UN and High-Q. She graduated from Yale, earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in Writing from Goddard College. The clipping above Leslie's picture appeared in the Erie Times-News on June 8, 1986.   

She was one of the last contestants to appear on Jeopardy with host Alex Trebek, as this show was taped before he passed away. 

On a side note, Leslie's father, Dr. Walter S. Minot, taught at Gannon University for 36 years, and was named Professor Emeritus after he retired. 

Enjoy more esoteric facts about Erie, PA history at Old Time Erie!.

Stearns Strikes it Rich in Erie, PA

Stearns Manufacturing Co., ad in Erie Morning Dispatch, January 7, 1880.

Glenn Stearns put Erie on the map with 'Undercover Billionaire' in 2019, a hit Discovery Channel television series based on the premise of building a million-dollar business with just $100 and a pickup truck. But long before Glenn came to town, a different Stearns struck it rich in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Edward H. Stearns moved to Erie after a fire destroyed his planing mill in Massachusetts. E. H. Stearns bought property at East 10th between Holland and German Streets in Erie and built a company that was known throughout the world, thanks in part to his keen eye for industrial necessity. 

E. H. Stearns held over 30 patents, one of which was issued by the United States Patent Office in 1856! His machines made it faster and safer to remove bark from trees and to turn logs in saw mills. This entrepreneurial spirit made life easier at a time when most houses were made of wood, and timber was king. 

"These productions, which are known in every lumber camp and saw mill in the United States, have maintained their excellence of construction during the entire period of their manufacture." -History of Erie County, PA (Warner, Beers 1884).

Enjoy more fun facts about Erie, PA at Old Time Erie!

Big Rubber Duck Rocks Tall Ships Festival in Erie, PA

Mama Duck was the star of the show at the 2019 Tall Ships Erie festival. Billed as the World's Largest Rubber Duck, Mama weighed in at 15 tons, and was tethered to the dock at the foot of Holland Street in Erie, PA from August 22-25, 2019. Her offspring, Baby Quackers, nestled next to Mama for the duration. Children and their parents lined near the ducks to take selfies. 

Mama Duck and Quackers have made appearances on Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and other Great Lakes ports in the United States and Canada.

Tall Ships Erie is a benefit for the Flagship Niagara League, the group that operates the historic reproduction of the U.S. Brig Niagara. Tall Ships Erie was last held in 2016.

Enjoy fun facts about all things Erie at Old Time Erie