Big News
HARMONY — It is not every day that borough residents get mentioned on the front page of the country's largest newspaper, but that's what happened Tuesday to several members of the well-known Resurrection Band, and specifically to Betty Lambert.
The Wall Street Journal reaches more than 2.1 million readers a day, and those readers on Tuesday were treated to a profile on Lambert, the 79-year-old energetic leader of the band.
She was featured because she continues to march, twirl a baton, and do splits in community parades.
Although Lambert couldn't be reached for comment, two others in the article gushed about their 15 minutes of fame in that newspaper.
Marlene Domhoff, a 74-year-old flutist in the band who lives in Evans City, said she wasn't even aware she was in the article. She only found out when a friend called and asked for her autograph on the newspaper.
“It was amazing because a friend of mine called and said her son was on a business trip in North Carolina,” Domhoff said. “Apparently he was in an airport and saw the story, and saw my name on the front of the Wall Street Journal. He couldn't believe it.”
Domhoff joked that she wondered if she could start charging people for her autograph.
She admitted that not many people in her area read the Wall Street Journal, and that she had to get the paper in Cranberry Township after failing to find one in Zelienople.
“I don't have a lot of friends who read the Wall Street Journal,” she said. “The Butler Eagle, yes. The Wall Street Journal, no.”
Tim Sapienza, a community leader in Harmony and a former chief of the borough's volunteer fire company for 32 years, said he too had to travel to Cranberry to get a copy of the article.But unlike Domhoff, he wasn't completely thrilled with it.The end of the article had quotes from Sapienza and includes a paragraph that said he remembers watching Lambert twirl her baton in 1949.“They put in there that I remember seeing her in 1949,” he said. “Problem is, I wasn't born until 1954.”Regardless, Sapienza said he's glad that a “good community person” like Lambert got recognition for her interesting story.He said the Wall Street Journal reporter left out a lot of Sapienza's praise for Lambert, who served as an EMT in the fire company's ambulance service for many years.And even though the article contained several incorrect facts regarding his statements, Sapienza said he's thrilled that Lambert will have the article to share with her family and friends for years to come.“To have someone local be on the front page of a paper that puts out millions of copies, that's special,” he said. “And it's especially special for Betty because she's a great community servant and deserves it.”
