Sewickley Herald

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The Sewicklev •
Herald
17 Gateway Publications
SUBURBAN PITTSBURGH'S LARGEST CIRCULATION
Vol. 81 No. 50
Wednesday, December 12, 1984 In Two Sections
30 Cents
Inside
3A	School hoard releases delinquent "honor roll"
5A	B. G. Shields reflects on life in Ei Salvador
6A	Gary Grimes, Boswell for regionalists
IB	Coach Woznicki foresees clouds over basketball season
6B	Firemen save Fair Oaks woman from burning house
8B	Thp Herald Shopper
	finds Village treasures ]
Plus	
	Last minute jgift ideas • - 		-		 ■		 ■ 1 1 1
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS. The heavy, carved oak door of The Snowshoe, 428 Walnut St., has become a celebrity of sorts through the efforts of these two women, sisters Amanda McFarland Wachtler (left) and Gay McFarland Fite. This door, along with four others in the Sewickley area, is featured on the new poster they created called The Doors of Pittsburgh.	(Photo by Eric Hamlin)
Tis the entrepreneurial season
By Mike May
Two major creative efforts done by local people will get their first showings in Sewickley before being unveiled in larger markets.
On Saturday, Dec. 15, children’s-book author Diane Van Allen, a Backbone Road resident, will be autographing her book Always Alvin at the Penguin Book Shop, 420 Beaver St., from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
On Friday, Dec. 28, The Doors of Pittsburgh, a. poster put together by sisters Amanda Wachtler and Gay Fite will be put on advance sale at the Sewickley Frame Shop, 507 Beaver St.
Diane Van Allen is not just happy about getting a book published. She’s especially thrilled because getting the book published will help the unemployed in the area.
Mrs. Van Allen designed a large blossom for Xavier Roberts, creator of Cabbage Patch dolls. The blossom provided a-place for these adopted kids to sleep, and a friend suggested she write a story to go along with the idea.
But when she went to sleep that night, she dreamed a story about a furry, frolicking sheepdog, who bore an uncan-
ny resemblance to the family canine, Mork.
Since the story she thought up was quite different from the Cabbage Patch characters, she decided to create her own corporation to produce her
INSPIRATION for the book Always Alvin were Diane Van Allen’s daughters Lynley (left) and Laurel, and sheepdog Mork, characters and flower beds by hiring local talent.
“It’s time we put some people in our own area to work instead Of importing it,’’ she stressed. “Let’s make it in America.
The artist for the book, Veronica Reilly, is from the North Hills. The doll was designed by Linda Harvison of Gibsonia.
The sheepdog and the sheepdog rug were fashioned by Cyndi Knapp of McMurray. The book was published by J. Pohl Associates of Coraopolis.
Already, in just four-day’s time, 25 people have called her about working in her “factory.” She’ll need everything from salesmen to seamstresses.
The. two sisters who created The Doors of Pittsburgh are a couple of transplanted belles from Nashville, who still retain a melodious drawl. (They’ll be the subject of a feature in a subsequent edition of the Herald.)
Amanda “Mandy” Wachtler and her husband now live in Leet Township; Gay Fite and her husband reside in Wexford.
They had seen the poster done for such cities as Boston, New York, Charleston, S.C., even Reading, Pa. They felt Pittsburgh’s architectural treasures in doorways were just as photogenic.
They looked at hundreds of doors in the four months they worked on the project; had photos taken of 60 doors, then narrowed that group down to 30, of which several are from the Sewickley area.
Quips Mandy, “There were lots of nice people behind the doors, especially in Sewickley.”
SNEAK PREVIEW. Author Diane Van Allen tried out her new book Always Alvin on Jennifer Sarver beside the Penguin Book Shop’s Christmas tree. Jennifer is the daughter of Diane Sarver of Osborne.
(Photo by Eric Hamlin)
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