Monongah’s 2017 angels who light up the town for Christmas put a light in the eyes of Amelia Shenasky Zentz and a color-changing candle light in her hands when they paid a visit to the legend in her Shenasky Lane home in Monongah.

The Angel of Thomas Street, Susan Staron Sanders, the top wrangler responsible for the 21 Christmas street lights in Monongah this Christmastime, explains:

“Some of the Christmas Light Committee decided to visit Amelia because she was curious to know everyone.

“There was Linda McCullough, Kitty Morrison and myself. Not able to attend was Shelly Yankee, Josh Scritchfield, Bill McCullough and Breanna Stewart.

“We took her a candle that she loved that changes colors.

“We laughed and talked as she always has the best stories and a memory out of this world.

“Here is a photo to show you how happy she was. She said next visit she wants us all there.

“Amazing woman.”

When Amelia tells you to show up, it’s a command performance.

This is the once-blonde daughter of Pete and Nell Shenasky who helped her parents operate the P.P. Shenasky Grocery adjacent to Thomas School and across the street from Monzo Grocery.

Later, Amelia and her late husband, Bruce Zentz, built the Dairy Kone in 1968.

As for her memory, she’s 97 and, when I phoned her and said I was “John Junior Olesky,” she said, “Oh, Johnny and Lena Olesky were your parents and Jackie Olesky was your sister.”

It was more than a half-century since Amelia saw my parents or me across the counter at the Shenasky store. Steel-trap mind comes to mind.

And could she dance!

So well that she was invited to New York City to dance in the fabled Cotton Club at the age of 19. She pranced where Due Ellington, Cab Calloway, Ethel Waters and Lena Horne once performed.

Someone needs to take a tape recorder and let Amelia talk the night away. It would be a memorable history of Monongah and its inhabitants in the past 97 years. Just like Amelia.she was.
She said next visit she wants us all there. Amazing women.