Blawnox Sportsmen Club Approaches 90 Years of Fellowship and Local Giving

On Freeport Road in Blawnox, an afternoon at the Blawnox Sportsmen Club can feel like visiting a friend's living room. A fire burns in the fireplace, a game plays on the big-screen television, a slow cooker of meatballs simmers near the bar, and a card game occasionally turns competitive.

The membership-only club, founded in 1936, reaches its 90th anniversary on March 27. It has become a fixture in the borough, drawing a crowd seven days a week and earning a reputation for charitable work that extends beyond Blawnox.

"We like to get together and have a couple of beers," said club President Ed Crates, of O'Hara. "It's a close-knit group. If you ring the buzzer and we don't know you, we promptly turn you around and send you on the way. Everyone here knows everyone else."

The club has more than 600 members. Dues are $20 a year, or $10 to renew, and the proceeds go to local agencies, including EMS and fire departments, and to other efforts that help people in the Lower Valley. Crates said the club tries to make a contribution once a month, whether to ALS or in partnership with the Pittsburgh North Optimist Club. Little leagues in Aspinwall and Blawnox receive particular attention, he said, and members who run into hardship can expect help as well.

The nonprofit was incorporated early on as a hunting and fishing club. Its original 13 members bought a camp in Tionesta, in Forest County, about two hours north along the Allegheny River. Vice President Jim Verderber, 80, said members still head there from time to time. "It's unbelievable to me that our club is still going strong after 90 years," he said.

Verderber, a Marine veteran from O'Hara, is among the longest-serving members. His father belonged, and the club waives dues for members on active duty. He turned 21 in 1966 while serving in Vietnam, and his father signed him up. His brother, Jack, is the club's longest-tenured member, having joined in 1959.

Verderber remains active in fundraisers such as the chili cook-off and the venison dinner, as well as holiday parties and Steelers gatherings. Those events recently allowed the club to donate to the American Legion in Sharpsburg. Supporting such groups matters to the veterans among the membership, he said, because it translates into help for veterans at the VA Heinz campus.

The club originally operated down the block, in the building that now houses the Fox Chapel Ski and Board shop. It bought its current location in 1942. The charter still reflects its early years: only men may serve on the board, though women are welcome as social members.

Family ties run deep. Crates comes from a long line of members, including his father, who worked at the mill behind the club, and an uncle who sat on the board. He joined in the early 2000s, and his children are now members. Secretary Justin Jump, an O'Hara resident, has belonged for 33 years and said his whole family has been part of the club throughout his life. "It's not like your typical bar," he said. "It's family-oriented, and you make lifelong friends here."