Scottdale celebrates its 150th anniversary with plenty of style — make that styles

For years, Jayne Canose walked in parades around the Scottdale area outfitted in handmade regalia of a different time.

On Saturday, she rode, waving a gloved hand at those who lined the streets to watch the parade.

Canose was at one time the leader of the Scottdale American Women, also known as the “Victorian ladies,” a group of about 20 women who donned Victorian or suffragette-era attire and walked in parades. She made many of the dresses that the members wore.

The group traveled to Harrisburg in 2006 to represent the area during the centennial celebration of the dedication of the state Capitol. Any funds the group received went to help community charitable causes, Canose said.

“Jayne is an icon in this community because of the Victorian ladies and her participation and volunteerism,” said Rhonda Hamrock, a member of the Scottdale 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee.

Canose, 91, returned to the streets of Scottdale on Saturday to participate in the parade during the community’s fall festival. She and 15 others wore sashes and period-specific outfits as part of the committee’s float to represent different decades of the town’s evolution over the last 150 years.

Canose portrayed the 1890s in an exquisite pink gown she made with lace detailing and a pink sash, topped with a flower-adorned hat. She described herself as a fourth-generation seamstress.

Her outfit was quite a culture shock from Hamrock’s, who represented the 1990s grunge era with a nose ring, pink wig, studded choker, T-shirt and denim shorts topped with temporary tattoos on her arms.

Canose rode in a replica of the town’s gazebo while the decade representatives hit the parade route on foot during summer’s final day. The autumnal equinox is at 8:44 a.m. Sunday.

With summer warmth still holding on, the parade wound through Scottdale with farm tractors, youth organizations, fire trucks and members of Southmoreland High School’s homecoming court, sports teams and marching band. Candy littered the street as politicians waved.

Some watched from their front porch, many of which were decorated with pumpkins, chrysanthemums and Halloween items.

The Scottdale 150th Anniversary Committee has been focused all year on drumming up community involvement, said member Lindy House. Many of those who represented decades were part of the committee and the historical society, but others volunteered.

House portrayed the 2000s in a baby blue velour tracksuit and sunglasses.

“They decided what decade they wanted to represent and let their hearts lead them,” she said.

Susan J. Ansell’s heart has always been with sewing. A retired Southmoreland home economics and family and consumer sciences teacher, Ansell said she created the dress she wore in the parade to illustrate the 1870s — 1874, specifically — in about a week and a half.

“The real problem was I didn’t have a pattern,” she said.

Through her research, Ansell said she learned that skirts got straighter and flatter in the front in the 1870s, but all that volume went to the bustle. She made sure to get that part right.

“I hadn’t made a dress for me in decades,” she said.

The demure 1800s dresses clashed with the bright colors and wild patterns of the outfits selected by those representing the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Ellen Millslagle Daugherty got a little help to characterize the 1890s — her daughter shared a red long-sleeved dress and blue apron she made.

A Scottdale native, Daugherty left the area for about 50 years but has gotten involved in the community since returning.

“I’ve wanted to do this since I came back to Scottdale,” she said as the parade stepped off.