{"id":6072,"date":"2008-10-13T10:34:30","date_gmt":"2008-10-13T14:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/v3\/?p=6072"},"modified":"2008-10-14T10:36:43","modified_gmt":"2008-10-14T14:36:43","slug":"gr-excavating-raises-551-for-tyrone-salvation-army-service-center-off-of-lincoln-school-bricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/?p=6072","title":{"rendered":"G&R Excavating raises $551 for Tyrone Salvation Army Service Center off of Lincoln School bricks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\nHelping a good cause
\nG&R Excavating and Demolition owner Glenn Ray donated $551 to the Tyrone Salvation Army Service Center recently after his company was a part of dismantling the old Lincoln School building on Lincoln Avenue. Ray sold the structure\u2019s historic bricks for $1 each to reach the final sum. Shown with Ray is Salvation Army Senior Field Representative, Linda Dowd, along with Ray\u2019s dog, Buster. (The Daily Herald\/Kris Yaniello)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Glenn Ray, owner of G&R Excavating and Demolition in Tyrone, wanted to do something for the community as his company embarked on dismantling the old Lincoln School building owned by S&A Homes.
\nHe had interested people who wanted to attain some of the historic bricks that were no longer going to hold up what was once a school building for many Tyrone residents, both young and old.
\nThe first thing Ray thought of was his good friend, Bob Maser, who was battling a terminal illness while struggling to keep the Tyrone Salvation Army Service Center on its feet as its volunteer chairperson.
\nRay decided to sell the bricks for $1 each, and give that money to the Tyrone center that operates out of one of Ray\u2019s storefronts at 906 Pennsylvania Avenue.
\n\u201cWe wanted to help the Salvation Army with the winter coming and the heating problems with the price of fuel,\u201d said Ray.
\nHe also purchased around $150 of prints, at $1 a piece, of hand-drawn pictures of Lincoln School created by Tyrone\u2019s own, Joe Ieraci. Everyone who bought a brick, also received a picture of the school for keepsake.
\nBut, before the brick sale took place, Mr. Maser unfortunately passed away. That didn\u2019t stop Ray from wanting to do some good, not just for the Salvation Army, but for his friend.
\n\u201cBob Maser had a big effect on my whole life, as far as what I could do for people,\u201d explained Ray. \u201cHe was a great man and a great Christian man.\u201d
\nAfter the brick sale was over and Lincoln School no longer existed, G&R raised $551 for the Tyrone Salvation Army Service Center. Ray said that the sale was \u201cvery strong\u201d and that many alumnus of the school building purchased the memorable bricks.
\n\u201cI had some people who just donated money and didn\u2019t even take a brick,\u201d noted Ray. \u201cI think it was really positive for the people here, and it shows that people are really behind the Salvation Army in Tyrone.\u201d
\nLinda Dowd, who is a senior field representative for the Salvation Army, has been overseeing operations at Tyrone\u2019s center. She was truly excited about the $551 the center received from G&R\u2019s efforts.
\n\u201cIt was a wonderful thing,\u201d said Dowd. \u201cWhen we get a donation like the $551 from Glenn, 100 percent of that money will be used in this community to help the needy.\u201d
\nShe continued by saying that everything that is in the Tyrone center is \u201ctotally free\u201d to people in need, with a limit of 15 items per week.
\n\u201cWe need all the help and support we can get, because we are reorganizing the store and looking for people to volunteer, so we can keep the doors open,\u201d added Dowd.
\nDowd mentioned the wonderful job Mr. Maser did at Tyrone\u2019s service center, which is another reason why she appreciates donations like Ray\u2019s, because it helps keep the center going strong.
\nRay\u2019s donating efforts towards youth and community organizations have been above and beyond in recent years. The success of his excavating and demolition business has been a positive impact on the Tyrone community.
\nHis late mother and father had significant impacts on his life, as well as the mark Mr. Maser left on him. He used to attend some of Maser\u2019s prayer meetings on Wednesday, and now G&R holds their own prayer meetings on Friday nights for his staff.
\n\u201cMy mother was a Sunday School teacher for 38 years and my dad was a very strong Christian also,\u201d said Ray. \u201cMy dad helped all the organizations he could, so donating is something I like to do myself too.\u201d
\nRay\u2019s relationship with Maser and the Tyrone Salvation Army Service Center began when the center lost its building on Tenth Street and needed a place to go. At that time, Ray\u2019s G&R location on Pennsylvania Avenue wasn\u2019t ready to have a business or charity run out of any of the storefronts.
\n\u201cI went out of my way to open up that last little storefront for Bob to give out winter coats, gloves, hats, turkeys, and hams,\u201d said Ray. \u201cI let him use it for free and it grew from there.\u201d
\nRay admitted that cleaning up the storefront was inconvenient at the time, but he said that \u201cBob wouldn\u2019t take \u2018no\u2019 for an answer. He had no where to go and said \u2018we can depend on you.\u2019
\n\u201cIt worked out, so I told Bob he should stay here,\u201d said Ray.
\nEventually, the service center moved a few storefronts down to accommodate the need for more space, and from those humble beginnings, Ray\u2019s heart grew bigger and bigger.
\n\u201cI feel that Bob Maser has a finger on us and is watching what we do up there,\u201d said Ray.
\nRay hopes that his contributions will have the same impact on others as those who have impacted his life. With his recycling mind, which is a large part of G&R\u2019s business, he feels the Salvation Army shares a similar ideal of his – giving back to people.
\n\u201cIf something comes into the Salvation Army and they give it away to a needy person, then it\u2019s not being thrown away and put into the environment to contaminate it,\u201d said Ray. \u201cSomeone\u2019s going to get good use out of it that needs it, and wears it out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Helping a good cause G&R Excavating and Demolition owner Glenn Ray donated $551 to the Tyrone Salvation Army Service Center recently after his company was a part of dismantling the old Lincoln School building on Lincoln Avenue. Ray sold the structure\u2019s historic bricks for $1 each to reach the final sum. Shown with Ray is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area","category-excerpts-from-the-tyrone-daily-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}