TV appearance to promote Christmas lights fundraiser

The face of Susan Staron Sanders, Class of 1971, an administrative assistant at Personnel, lights up when she talks about Monongah’s Christmas lights project, which will light up the town for the holiday.

Susan Staron Sanders

Susan is spearheading a fundraiser for the lights, which were donated by White Hall but require $1,000 for installation.

Writes Susan:

“My girls and I will be doing a fundraiser on December 12th at the Town Hall. We are having a bake, craft show and hotdog sale to raise money and add more lights to the town next year. Anyone interested please let me know.”

“My girls” includes Valerie Vandetta Aldridge, Class of 1973; Teena Field Ailstock, 1984 North Marion grad; and Mareca Savonarola.

To promote the fundraiser, Susan will do a live interview on Clarksburg WBOY-TV Channel 12 news at noon Saturday, December 7, which is 4½ hours before the WVU season football finale kicks off  in Manhattan, Kansas against Kansas State.

So Thomas Street will be the home of a TV star who is helping light up Monongah for Christmas. She’s the town’s anti-Grinch.

Susan and husband Ron Sanders live next door to Mayor Greg Vandetta and his wife, Janice Manzo Vandetta. Thomas Street is famous (in my mind) for being the childhood home of John Olesky, Class of 1950, once he left the Walnut Street home of his grandparents, where he was born. I got to freeze my butt off every Winter when I visited the two-holer outhouse at the end of our Thomas Street rental, where the alley and the garages were located.

Susan and Ron’s son, Tommy Sanders, is a WVU senior majoring in computer engineering.

Ron is a Vietnam veteran. Susan’s brother Bob Staron, Class of 1967 (deceased), fought in Vietnam.

 

Susan grew up with Becky Urish Anderson, who today lives in Clarksburg, and went to Monongah High with Becky. They are both Class of 1971.

The town of Whitehall donated seven lights it had to the town of Monongah when Whitehall got new Christmas street lights. The cost of brackets to put the lights up in Monongah will be about $1,000, Monongah mayor Greg Vandetta said. The decorations will be put up in time for Christmas.

Other Starons at Monongah High and near Monongah include Diane Minardi Staron, Class of 1967; Dorothy Staron Saunders, Class of 1971; Thomas Staron, Class of 1965; Zana Kay Sanders Nesselrotte, widow of Roger Lee “Butch” Nesselrotte, who lives on Swisher Hill; Timothy “Tim” Sanders and wife Janet, who live on Plum Run; Shirley Sanders, who lives in Number Nine; and the late Harold Eugene “Gene” Sanders, Sr., Ann Christie “Chris” Harley Sanders, Elva Ann Sanders Cox, Richard L. Cox, and Harold Eugene “Skip” Sanders, Jr.