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NORTH SEWICKLEY TWP. — Nothing stops the Wampum Sports Breakfast group from meeting and sharing the first Thursday of every month.
At a recent meet-up at the Wolverine Restaurant, a light pole a short distance up the road fell on a car and took out all the power. Luckily, waitress Marie Glass had already made the coffee, so the men went on with their meeting, proving that the breakfast meeting is not about the meal, it is about getting together again.
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Glass, the former owner of Jada’s Restaurant in Wampum, which was the host site for the breakfast for a number of years, is now the waitress and cook at the Wolverine, still pouring coffee for the guys.
“My restaurant was my dream come true and I closed in 2016 because there just came a time when I needed to take a break, but I love my work. I learned to waitress when I was 15, and the owner taught me to cook, so I’ve been doing it ever since and enjoying every minute,” she said. “And I love these guys.”
Bob Hackett, a member of the Wampum basketball team that won the 1955 Class B State Championship said, “We were a good team and every year we get better.”
Hackett recalled the first breakfast he came to was organized by Willie King and there was just King, John Novalesi, Hackett and Hackett’s brother, Gary, which was before Ron Galbreath and Don Hennon got it organized. King and Gary Hackett have since died.
“I like to come because some of these guys are fun to be with,” Bob Hackett quipped.
One of the regulars, Jim Santelli, was a member of the 1960 Wampum basketball team that won the Class B State championship.
“Getting together with these old guys and talking about the old days is about camaraderie,” he said.
When Wampum High School closed in 1962, Santelli had to go to Lincoln High School for his senior year.
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Gary Dean, one of four members who come from New Castle, said he was invited some years ago by a friend who graduated from Mohawk.
“I just like basketball and these guys are nice to talk to, no one complains. These guys treat you like a friend as soon as you walk in the door and you don’t find that everywhere,” he said. “It’s a good group. I hope it keeps on going.”
Dean described Hennon as a true sport’s star who is just one of the guys.
Hennon, a surgeon in Pittsburgh who was not at the meeting, is a former basketball player for the Pittsburgh Panthers team, where he was a two-time All-American. Known for his prolific scoring ability, he is a member of the Helms Athletic Foundation Basketball Hall of Fame.
Ralph Flara, who describes himself as the step-child of the group because he’s from Midland, said: “Where can you go to breakfast and sit next to an All-American?”
Not all members played basketball or baseball, they are just men who are interested in sports and enjoy talking about them.
Chuck Dombeck played basketball, but not varsity, however he did play varsity baseball. He said he just enjoys being with the guys and talking sports.
Joe Olayer played Wampum Junior High basketball and later became an official, which is where he met Galbreath, who coached at Westminster and Geneva colleges.
“There was no one better than Ronnie,” Olayer said.
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Don Winegar was not a basketball player, but he was a scorekeeper, and now he keeps track of the guys and reminds them of the meetings.
“We are all sports fans, and we talk about everything from memories to what’s happening now. It’s just for anyone who enjoys sports,” he said.
There are a number of opinions about when the sports breakfast started and the estimates are between 20 and 30 years ago, but they agree that when Galbreath got involved, they got better organized and have remained as a group. Over the years, the breakfast has met at many locations including the Geneva College dining room.
Currently, the sports breakfast meets at 8 a.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Wolverine, and it is open to anyone who enjoys sports.
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