BUTLER TWP — At 91, sometimes the memory seems to be the first thing to go, but for Frank Sinkevich of the Highfield area, his memory is still going strong. As a client with the VNA of Western Pa. Hospice and Palliative Care, Sinkevich's stories began to draw attention.

Frank was born in 1920 in the Highfield area which is just off Whitestown Road in Butler Township.

“Highfield was a planned community to be reasonable self-sufficient,” said Sinkevich who still lives in the home he and his siblings built for his mother more than 50 years ago.

Sinkevich is the fourth of five children and remembers coming of age during the Great Depression.

“My first job was a paper carrier for the Butler Eagle in the 1930s. Back then the Eagle wasn't delivered in this area. I bought five papers and sold four,” he reminisced.

Sinkevich remembers the going rate back then as 3 cents per paper. “That first day I made a nickel. It was big money then,” he added. Sinkevich said all the money he made went toward food because it was a tough economy and there was little to go around.

“I'd buy slices of Jumbo because that's what I liked and what I could afford,” he said. He said that every day after his first profit he increased his amount of papers and sales and credits himself with opening up the Highfield territory for the Butler Eagle.

One of the stories that caught the interest of the hospice caregivers was the tale of how Sinkevich's parents met.

“His dad came here from Russia to work at Pullman. He was staying at a boarding house and saw a picture of the owner's sister. He told the owner he would pay to have her come from Russia to Lyndora if she agreed to be his wife. She came, they were married about a week later and had five children,” said Janette Hensler, volunteer coordinator at VNA.

“It was after he shared that story we decided to pair him up with a Legacy of Life volunteer,” she added.

The purpose of the Legacy of Life project is to make it convenient for patients to record the stories and memories of their lives.

The Legacy of Life started at the VNA Hospice about five years ago.

“Claire Schmeiler, one of our volunteers, headed up the program. She wanted our patients to be able to leave a legacy for their loved ones in the way that they wanted it to be told,” explained Hensler.

The Hospice Foundation of America provides a book that has questions which guide the recalling of memories.

“We can either write the story, record it on audio, DVD or videotape. We can also put together a scrapbook to help tie their memories with the story,” Hensler said.

Sinkevich is working with one of the hospice volunteers, Joanne Glascow, to record his memories.

Glascow of Butler Township has been volunteering since her husband passed away.

“I think you lose your purpose after caring for someone so long, that you need to continue to help and care for others,” she said about why she volunteers. This is her first Legacy of Life project.

The pair spend time at Sinkevich's home, talking and writing down the stories. “I want people to know all that my parents had to overcome as immigrants when they came to this country. Life wasn't easy and they endured some hardships,” he explained.

“Frank is a talker, and it is remarkable how much he remembers,” said Glascow who uses a tape player so she doesn't miss anything. “I go over once a week for about two hours or so. My hope to compile the information into a loose-leaf notebook so pages can continue to be added as the stories keep on coming,” she said.

Glascow learned that after high school Frank opened up a neighborhood market selling groceries and meat on Shady Avenue.

“He said people would call and say they needed something, and he would run it over to them. When people couldn't pay, he would extend credit until they could,” said Glascow.

“I've learned a lot about the area, the people and how things have changed during his lifetime. It is really fascinating, and I hope others will enjoy discovering Frank's history,” she said.

His nephew. Dennis Smolen, 66, of Butler Township, is supportive of the project.

“He's been a great uncle who was always there to listen and to lend a helping hand when needed,” said Smolen who lives a few doors down from the family home.

“My favorite stories are the tales of his service as a Merchant Marine during the second world war on a oil tanker,” he added.

After serving during World War II in the Merchant Marines, Sinkevich returned home and tried his hand at farming in Fennelton and working as a metal fabricator, but his heart was always in Highfield.

Smolen said he believes the project creates an important record so Sinkevich's life story will be known to future generations.

“It is a project that is a valuable gift for the giver and receiver. Looking back and sharing memories can be both rewarding and entertaining. They create something tangible and uniquely theirs. It is their story of their life and how they want it told,” said Hensler.