Pete Holloway
Walker Peterson (Pete) Holloway, Jr., 74, remembers attending Oglebay Institute’s summer camps in the mid 1950s and early 1960s, where he benefited from amazing camp counselors, including Joan Schenerlein, Phil Maxwell and Ruth Scherich.
This rich camp experience took full advantage of the outdoor setting offered by Oglebay, and it was the first time he bumped into a relatively young guy in park management named Randy Worls.
Like many people growing up in the area, Pete’s first job was at Oglebay. He worked at Par 3 picking up trash and mopping floors under the watchful eye of Mickey Donahue.
Lifetime sports eventually became a focal point for Pete, and he has fond memories of great community tennis players such as Jack Wright, Bob Ewing, John Phillips, Jean Loustau, Ogden Nutting, Dot Boll, Anita Whitaker and Julianna Peterson. Pete also remembers the rope tow run by a tractor behind Crispin where he watched Ewing, Nutting, Whitaker, Stuart Bloch and Bill Jones enjoy skiing. “As a kid, it was amazing to see these community leaders actively enjoying sports; it was something I could look up to and emulate,” Pete said.
Pete is astounded that the park gave him access to tennis pros like Whitney Powers, Bob Bennett and Fritz Schunck.
“The longevity of our parks is remarkable. So many of us have this ingrained assumption of Oglebay’s immortality. The Park Commissioners have kept the park system afloat through major crises such as the Great Depression, the stock market crashes of 1929 and 1987, World War II and COVID-19. Yet, I was struck by the fragility of the parks in 2022 after the horrible ice storm in March followed by the double derechos in June of that year caused so much damage. So many trees that grew old with me were suddenly gone.
“What makes the difference? When large numbers of people make small gifts. Granting agencies, government support, donors generally make funding decisions based on the level of community support. That’s why I give. Oglebay is my touchstone,” Pete explained.
Pete’s sons, Walker and Murphy, grew up in Oglebay. Pete’s expectation is that their children and grandchildren will do the same. To make that happen, Pete has named the Oglebay Foundation as a beneficiary of his estate.
That’s making a difference in the parks.
