Ann Silverthorn

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a growth on one of our Cairn Terrier rescues’ right paw. It was dark in color and about the size of a small marble. I had never noticed this bump on Nora before.  When I tried to examine the growth, Nora would retreat, so I knew it was…

When I used to walk Happy and Scout, our 100-pound-plus Labrador retrievers, I was often annoyed by the little-dog walkers we’d encounter, who acted as if mine would engulf theirs like Jaws off the beach at Amity Island. Now that Happy and Scout are somewhere over the rainbow bridge, and I walk our Cairn Terrier…

Well, it’s official. Tonight, I made an important announcement to my Penn State colleagues, students, and alumni with a mixture of sadness and excitement. If I could live two lives simultaneously, that would be perfect, but none of us gets that luxury. I have made a choice. Here’s what the announcement said: I have enjoyed…

Last weekend, Husband Jim and I made the six-hour trip to Afton, NY, the home of William E. Dimorier (1871-1951), the poet and educator I have been researching for nearly a decade. Now that the project is ready to wrap up, I didn’t think I could call it complete without physically visiting his birthplace. After spending…

Approximately 30% of my laundry gets hung on clotheslines for various reasons. I want my socks and underwears to last longer, and I have a lot of clothes that I don’t want to shrink, because I am, as I like to tell my kids, “the tallest woman in the world.” Now that we are in…

Since 2004, I have been researching the life and times of poet and educator, William E. Dimorier (1871-1951). I purchased his handwritten daybook of poetry at a printing house auction in 2004. Dimorier was born and died in Afton, NY, and he spent more than 30 years as an educator in the Erie, PA, school district,…

This morning, as usual, I rolled out of bed and stumbled down the dark hallway with our cairn terrier rescues’ toenails tapping on the hardwood behind me. Like every morning, we passed through the garage into the sunroom on the way to Nutmeg and Nora’s fenced area. Snapping on the outdoor light, I proceeded to…

Like many Les Miz fans, I eagerly awaited the film version of Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables. Having read the book many years ago and attended the musical several times both on Broadway and in local theatre, I hoped the film version could bring the story alive in ways that the stage version could not.…

I hope I didn’t scare you. For all we’ve gone through with these cairn terrier rescues, the thought of giving up Nutmeg and Nora has rarely crossed our minds, especially because I’m not sure how well anyone else would handle them, and therefore, I would worry about their future welfare. So, when we finally found…

Sometimes it just takes a friend’s example to nudge one into action. I’ve wanted to join the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership’s Ambassador program for some time, but I had always put it off. When a friend of mine enrolled in the spring Erie Ambassador course last year, I thought, “What am I waiting…