INPERSON
A Piece of
Hometown Heritage
Polly Shaw
Polly Shaw authors book detailing the history
and importance of Moraine State Park.
BY NICOLE TAFE
P
olly Shaw is no stranger to Butler County and Cranberry
Township. First a teacher and now an author, Shaw is
celebrating the release of her book, “Moraine State Park,”
detailing some important history about the park and a
northwestern area of Butler County that will be treasured by
residents and enthusiasts for years to come.
Shaw, 66, has been married to Bill Shaw for 44 years. Together
they have three children and five grandchildren. They have lived in
Portersville since 1977, and Shaw has lived in Butler County all her
life. A 1969 graduate of Butler High School, she earned her Bachelor of
Science from Clarion University in Elementary Education in 1973 and a
Master of Education from Slippery Rock University in 1977.
Shaw worked in Cranberry Township as a primary teacher at Haine
Elementary School—the majority teaching first grade. During her
career, she was a grade level chair for eight years, led a number of teacher
in-house trainings and was president of the Seneca Valley Teacher
Association for four years.
“When I started at Haine in the fall of 1973, there was one stoplight
in the township at Crider’s Corners,” Shaw recalls. “The old one-lane
bridge was still in use on Freedom Road. The Municipal Building was
on Rochester Road, with the library in the basement. It was so close that
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we took our kindergarteners on walking field trips to the police station
and library. Haine Elementary housed kindergarten through fourth grade,
with about 350 students. Our mailing address was Mars. It has been a
tremendous privilege to witness, firsthand, Cranberry’s phenomenal
growth!”
In the summer of 2015, Dustin Drew, Park Manager for Moraine State
Park and McConnells Mill State Park, was contacted by an acquisitions
editor to see if he would be able to find someone willing to take on the
writing of a book about Moraine State Park. A volunteer at McConnells
Mill State Park, Shaw heard about the project and was immediately drawn
to the idea.
“I made an appointment to talk with Dustin,” she says. “He shared what
he had from Arcadia Publishing, a company that specializes in local and
regional titles. We shook hands and I followed through by contacting the
acquisitions editor. She guided me through the extensive book proposal
application process.”
The editor’s panel formally approved the project in December 2015.
Part of the proposal required an outline of the proposed book and about
15 sample pictures with captions. With this start, the real research and
outreach work began in January 2016.