Ron Snee
Growing Up with Duane Winnett As Remembered by Ron SneeThe Winnett and Snee families were neighbors living a short distance south of Amity, Pa., a small town located approximately 40 miles directly south of Pittsburgh, PA. The Winnett and Snee homes were approximately one mile from each other along US Route 19 and Ten Mile Creek. This remembrance focuses on Duane and I growing up together during the years 1947-1963. It provides some information on Duane’s early life which compliments the lovely obituary prepared by his daughters.I first met Duane when we started first grade at the Amity elementary school. The school was a two room school with Grades 1-4 downstairs and Grades 5-8 upstairs. Since here was little interaction between the first and second floor we thought of ourselves as going to a one room school. Mrs. Freda B. Elliott was our teacher (Grades 1-4) and Miss Rita L. Carroll taught Grades 5-8. There were roughly 12 children in each class resulting in approximately 50 students downstairs and 50 students upstairs. We rode a school bus to both elementary and high school. Raymond (Peck) Gaus was the school bus driver for the eight years we spent in elementary school. Duane and I went onto Trinity High School in Washington, PA approximately10 miles away. Duane and I again rode the same school bus together, this time driven by Bill Bash. Sometimes Bill’s wife Mary would drive the bus. So Duane and I went to school together for 12 years, riding the bus together. Across the street from Amity School (Route 19 which ran through the center of Amity) was the Amity Methodist Church of which the Winnetts and Snees were members. Church activities included Sunday School, Youth Fellowship, church plays and the annual Strawberry Festival. Duane and I were involved in all of the activities.After doing chores on the farm there was time for play. There was a foursome involved: Duane Winnett, me and my two younger brothers, Tommy and Duane Snee. We were close in age with four years between us; Duane Winnett was the oldest, Duane Snee was the youngest. Ten Mile Creek was the center of a lot of the activity, in both summer and winter. In the summer the foursome would play a lot together. Duane would come over to the Snee place by walking, riding a bike or riding a pony. The pony was just another toy the Winnett family had. They always had lots of toys, big and small with which to play.Swimming was a great way to cool off after working in the hot sun. We swam at the Gypsy Camp on Ten Mile Creek which was a swimming hole on the southern edge of the Snee property. The problem we encountered every year was the lack of a diving board. We had one every summer but during the winter it would disappear due to someone taking it or the spring flood washing it away. Left to Right: Duane’s Pony, Duane Winnett, Ronnie Snee, Louise Williams (My Mothers Sister), Tommy Snee, Duane Snee and Helene Snee (My Mother)The diving board replacement process went something like this. Duane, always an inventive character would procure a board from the Winnett sawmill (typically a 15 foot-long 2x16 plank) and somehow get it to the Gypsy Camp which was approximately ¾ mile away. We would dig a hole in the side of the creek bank and slide the board into the hole. A large stone was placed on the end of the board in the hole. Another large stone was placed under the board at the edge of the creek bank. The board was then covered with dirt filling the hole. This arrangement of the board and stones created a fulcrum that gave spring to the board. We had a diving board. Duane Winnett really liked diving from the board which was about six feet above the water.In the summer we also played baseball at the Winnett ballfield which was a hayfield Wally Winnett generously let the community use as a baseball field. Baseballs were expensive. Here is how we got some of our baseballs. Duane was at the center of it all.The outfield of the ballfield backed up to Ten Mile Creek. Amity had a sandlot team that played many teams in the area. These players were stro