Looking Forward To A Brand New Year Full of Opportunity

Happy New Year! As we enter a brand new year, full of opportunities and growth, we would like to share the DSI mission that was established in 2003.

The DSI mission is: to stimulate economic development by encouraging cooperation and building leadership in the business community; to develop a marketing strategy that will provide an improved retail mix, strengthen the tax base; increase investor confidence; to build a viable tourism effort; to promote a unified, quality image of Downtown Shenandoah as a center of goods and services; and to create an attractive, coordinated visual impression of Shenandoah through facade improvements streetscape and historic preservation of our existing buildings.

We will continue to work hard to strengthen our community and look forward to great things happening in 2025, especially the opening of The Center For Education, Business & Arts. We are always looking for volunteers for a variety of activities and events. Please contact the DSI Office at 570-462-2060 and get involved today. Thank you.

Save The 2025 Dates

Good things are coming in 2025. Mark Your Calendars & Save The Dates

Picture Perfect Lottery Frame: Going on now.

Spring Fling Gift Card Calendar: Selling March through May. Announcing winners in June

Kielbasi Festival & Heritage Day: Saturday, May 17

Annual Golf Outing: Friday, June 21

Fall-tastic Gift Card Calendar: Selling in August and September. Announcing winners in Oct.

CEBA Ribbon Cutting: October TBD

Coal Cracker Christmas: Friday, November 29

More to come...stay tuned!

Author, Andrea Pytak Holds Book Signing at Shenandoah Library

Pictured left above Andrea Pytak, author of "Hard Coal and Onion Domes" signs a book for Anne Andruscavage. At right, long-time friend and colleague, Mary Luscavage congratulates Andrea during the book signing event.

Thank you Stephen Pytak for sharing this story about your mother with us. Congratulations, Andrea!

A member of the Downtown Shenandoah Inc. family wrote a book about her history. It’s Andrea Marie (Mallick) Pytak, 77, of Lost Creek, West Mahanoy Township. And on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, she talked about her work at a special event held at the Shenandoah Area Free Public Library, before a crowd of more than 20.

"I was born and raised in this area. I'm very interested in history, and when my aunts and uncles were alive I never thought about it. So when I started writing this book, I had to do things from memory,” she told the crowd.

Five years ago, she and her son, Stephen, an independent novelist and publisher, embarked on a project to chronicle the lives of the first three generations of her family in America. The book is called "Hard Coal and Onion Domes." 

"After I retired I was taking notes on my family, and when I was sick in the hospital, in rehab, I put a lot of thoughts down. And Stephen would come in and I would read them to him. And he'd type them. This is all about my family, and me growing up in Lost Creek. I still live in the same home I was born and raised in," Andrea said at the event.

She is one of the descendants of Theodore "Frank" and Mary (Comishock) Mallick, who have their roots in Reped, a village in Poland. That's the Russian spelling. In Polish, it's Rzepedź. 

The book includes stories about how some of her relatives worked in local anthracite mines. It also includes a history of the first Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church in America, St. Michael's. The cover features a painting of how that parish's first church building looked when it was built. The painting is by Celeste Johnson of Ringtown, Pennsylvania. 

Andrea was president of the Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Shenandoah Area Free Public Library. And, she was the secretary for Downtown Shenandoah Inc.

Mary Luscavage attended the event and shared that Andrea has always had a thirst for her ancestors. "Her book is a tribute to her family and all the miners in Shenandoah," she shared. It tells about traditions, strife, family, and faith in such a way it could be anyone's story from the region. Thank you Andrea for not forgetting our roots, she added.

The book is available from Stephen's website, www.mazzpress.com

CEBA Construction Progress "Proceeding Smoothly"

Estimated Opening Is October, 2025

Pictured above are CEBA construction progress photographs taken on December 31, 2024.

Thank you to reporter Hynn Soo Lee for visiting DSI in December to see The Center For Education, Business & Arts progress. This is an article that appeared in the December 13, 2024 issue of The Republican Herald.

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Shenandoah: Construction of the long-awaited Center for Education, Business and Arts is proceeding smoothly, and officials expect the building to open in October 2025. Since May, crews from York-based Wagman Construction Inc. have worked on-site nearly every day on the 100 block of North Main Street, building what is now a two-story steel structure with a partial roof.

Downtown Shenandoah Inc.’s $7.8 million project — which is being supported by local fundraising efforts, as well as state and federal government — is a future business incubator and innovation hub designed to spur economic growth across Schuylkill County.

With the completion of the project’s first phase in October, the building will house a commercial kitchen, a Penn State classroom, the new DSI office, and a facility for the Employment Advancement and Retention Network (EARN) workforce development program, according to DSI Executive Director Susan Williams.

“This is certainly a symbol of how communities come together to make something great happen for the future,” Williams said.

Williams said that Wagman and its subcontractors are “wonderful to work with” and have constructed the site safely and efficiently. In the past few weeks, Williams said, crews have begun to put up brick walls around the steel framework and are now constructing the roof. The building is currently fenced off from the public, with metal scaffolding covering a large part of the facade.

Joe Matthews, project superintendent, said he is pleased with the community’s support.

“It’s very pleasing how we work directly with the community, with the local vendors, as well as with the borough manager (Tony Sajone) and DSI,” Matthews said. “It’s been a really pleasant experience.”

Williams said the DSI board of directors has been actively collaborating with Matthews and ensuring the project goes smoothly.

CEBA is directly across the street from the DSI office, which gives Williams and the board a prime view of the ongoing construction every day. Williams said DSI is working with PPL Electric and Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. to get utilities in place. After several years of planning and fundraising, officials finally broke ground on the CEBA in April. On the fence in front of the building, a sign has been put up crediting the project’s financial partners. These include a state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program Grant; Keystone Communities grants; a Local Share Account grant; a USDA Rural Business Development Grant; the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Small Business Administration.

The first phase of the project has been fully funded, at $7.8 million, with about $3.3 million of that amount — or 40% — coming through donations from local trusts, businesses and community members, according to DSI. DSI is still pursuing funding opportunities for the second phase, which would be about $3 million.

The organization will continue accepting monetary donations for the CEBA. Donations can be made directly to the DSI office at 116 N. Main St. or by visiting downtownshenandoah.com or discoverceba.com.