Click on the image to see a MUCH LARGER view.
The Pictures of Pat that were here a little while ago have been moved to the Pat Pictures page. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
This benefit is over now and was a big success!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Eulogy
for Pat Tierney |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hibbing Daily
Tribune 01/05/04
Patrick A. Tierney , 52, Patrick A. Tierney AFTON, Minn. — Funeral services for Patrick A. Tierney, “The Volkswagen Man,” 52, of Afton, will be held 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, 2004 at St. Croix Valley Methodist Church located at 16600 7th St. South in Lakeland, Minn. Visitation will be Sunday, Jan. 4, 2004 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the church and continue for one hour prior to the service Monday. Private internment at Mount Hope Cemetery in Afton. He passed away peacefully after a courageous battle with cancer. He was a six year member of the Afton City Council, active member of the Afton Historical Society and a city council liaison to the Afton Design Review/Historic Preservation Commission. He is survived by his beloved daughter, Marcia; and her mother, Julie; siblings: Kathleen Virginia (Robert) Steenson, Kathleen Ann (Ron) Gunderson, Barry (Anita) Tierney, Colleen (Jim) Doherty, Eileen (Mike) Tierney Kelly, Tim (Nanette) Tierney, Tom (Maria) Tierney, Susie (Jeff) Radde, Margaret (Brian) Goodnough and Mary (John Prosser) Tierney; stepdaughter, Heather Miller; stepson, Jay Miller; and grandchildren: Jeremy, Mason, Rhiannon, Eli, Addison and Grace; many nieces, nephews and his St. Croix Valley family of friends, the Volkswagen Men; and special friend, Popeye. He was preceded in death by his mother, Marcia (Laessig) Tierney; and parents, Edward and Ardell Tierney. Funeral arrangements are with the Simonet Funeral Home. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pioneer Press Archived Article
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YE OLDE LAMPLIGHTER//THE GAS STREETLIGHTS IN AFTON'S OLD VILLAGE AREA HAVE BEEN TURNED OFF FOR SIX MONTHS FOR REPAIRS TO GAS LINES. THANKS TO A GRANT FROM MINNEGASCO AND TO THE DEDICATION OF THE GAS LAMPS CARETAKER, COUNCIL MEMBER PAT TIERNEY, THE LIGHTS WILL BE TURNED ON AGAIN NEXT MONTH. THE LAMPS ARE NOT ONLY CHARMING AND ROMANTIC, BUT RECEIVED AN EXEMPTION FROM THE LEGISLATURE IN THE 70S BECAUSE THEY ARE USEFUL. Published on 11/29/1998 Tag: Byline: Mary Divine, Staff Writer Laine McGee, the owner of Selma's Ice Cream Parlor in Afton's Old Village area, began noticing the smell of gas outside her shop last spring. The gas lines leading to the street lamps outside her business were leaking. After finding pockets of gas under Selma's and other businesses along St. Croix Trail, city and Minnegasco officials moved to have all of the city's gas lamps, installed in the 1960s, turned off in April. After a six-month hiatus, the lights are due to be turned on again next month thanks to a gift from Minnegasco and the tenacity of City Council Member Pat Tierney. Once the lights are in working order again, Afton could be the one of the only cities in the state using gas lamps as streetlights. ``We're the only community that currently has gas lamps, as far as I'm aware of,'' said Tierney, who has taken care of the lamps for the past three years. Back when the lights were up and running, Tierney and his black dog, Salem, would walk the downtown streets at night to check which of the 44 lamps in the Old Village area needed a new mantle or a pane of glass. The next day, on his way home from his Volkswagen repair shop in Northeast Minneapolis, Tierney would stop and make the repairs. He keeps extra mantles - the small devices in the lamps that give off illumination when heated - and panes of glass in the trunk of his Mercedes sedan. ``It's pretty easy maintenance,'' says Tierney. ``I can just reach up (to the 8-foot-tall lamps) and change them.'' Tierney, who represents the area, said constituents were worried when they found out about the ``large pockets'' of gas under the boulevard. ``We called in Minnegasco and they probed the boulevard (for gas leaks),'' Tierney said. ``Everywhere they probed, they found leaks.'' Each lamp had a gas line running to it from a different house or business, he said. At one point, there were more than 70 gas lamps in Afton. But as some of those lamps were either stolen or removed, usually due to car accidents, the copper tubing leading to those particular lamps would be crimped and become corroded. Gas would leak through the crimped section, especially during changes in temperature, he said. Tierney pushed for Minnegasco to help with the costs of the repairs, and the gas company came through this fall with a $13,000 grant, he says. Workers began burying plastic pipe under each side of St. Croix Trail this week, said Arne Hendrickson, program manager of local government relations for Minnegasco. The pipes leading to each lamp will also be plastic - a much safer material than the copper tubing that had been in place, he said. Such a large grant isn't par for the course for Minnegasco's small city grant program, but ``this is such a unique project, we needed to figure out a way to help it,'' he said. ``This is the only community on our system lit by gas lamps,'' Hendrickson said. ``It kind of brings you back to the days of yore.'' The lamps are not only charming and romantic, they are also utilitarian, said Nick Mucciacciaro, an Old Village resident who used to represent the area on the City Council. In fact, Afton received an exemption from the Minnesota Legislature in the 1970s because of their usefulness, he said. The Legislature ruled that all gas lamps in the state had to be turned off because of the energy crisis, but Afton and Mantorville were spared, said Mucciacciaro. ``I think a lot of people like them because they give Afton a little bit of that quaint feel,'' he said. ``I remember when the only lights were gas lamps - you didn't have a lot of light, but then people didn't walk the streets too much.'' Tierney, however, can't wait to start walking the Old Village streets again to check for burned-out lamps and broken panes. ``It's a nice light,'' he said. ``It's not too bright, but at least you can see where you're going.'' At A Glance *Summary: The Gas Streetlights In The Old Village Area Of Afton Will Be Turned On Again Soon After A Six-month Hiatus, Thanks To A Gift From Minnegasco And The Tenacity Of Council Member Pat Tierney. Once The Lights Are Working Again, Afton Could Be One Of The - If Not The Only - City In The State Using Gas Lamps As Streetlights. The Lamps Are A Remnant Of The Old Village Area's Long History. New Englanders Settled The Area In The 1840s And 1850s, And Their Influence Remains Strongly Evident In This 10- By Six-block Area Characterized By Small, Clapboard-sided Homes, Picket Fences And Narrow Streets. Historic Commercial Buildings Along The Main Street Also Reflect The 19th Century Heritage. *Size: About 200 People Live In The Old Village Area. *Pluses: River Ambience And Amenities, Well-preserved Rural Setting Reminiscent Of New England Origins Of Early Residents, Historic Main Street With Distinctive Shops, Ample Nearby Recreation. *Minuses: Minimal Commercial/industrial Base And Shopping, No Schools In The City, Lack Of Municipal Services. *Locations/directions: Take Interstate 94 East To Minnesota 95 South. The Old Village Area Is In Downtown Afton. *Schools: Stillwater Area School District 834
If You Go Do you have an idea for a neighborhood story? Mary Divine, who covers Washington County, can be reached at mdivine@pioneerpress.com or (651)228-5443. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Illustration: Photo: Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press Map: Pioneer Press All content ©ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS and may not be republished
without permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All archives are stored on a SAVE (tm) newspaper library system from MediaStream Inc., a >KnightRidder> Inc. company.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
