Bill Swaney, Martian of the Year

ADAMS TWP — There was a surprise announcement at the start of the Mars New Year Blast Off Dinner on Thursday night at Treesdale County Club.

The organizing committee has started a new award: Martian of the Year.

The first ever Martian of the Year is Bill Swaney, a founding member of the Mars History and Landmark Society, former business owner, former borough council member and longtime resident.

Mayor Gregg Hartung said Swaney’s name quickly came up when he introduced the idea of Martian of the Year to the New Year celebration committee.

“He’s the genius behind the spaceship. It’s now the symbol of our town,” Hartung said.

Swaney, originally from Pittsburgh, moved to Mars in 1955 and owned a transmission repair shop for more than 40 years. In 1980, he was one of the founders of the history society.

He said he commissioned metal worker Shorty Davison to make the flying saucer sculpture in 1988. It is made from a recycled fuel tank and weighs about 2,800 pounds.

Though it has now been located at the corner of Pittsburgh Street and Grand Avenue for several years, Swaney said it used to mysteriously move around the borough.

“Every couple of years it would move around, people would get it on their front yard for birthdays. One time the police couldn’t find it,” he said.

John Watson, president of the history society, also credited Swaney with being instrumental in saving the historic Mars train station.

“He’s definitely Mr. Mars,” Watson said.

In 2000, the history society moved the train station from Marshall Way to its current location on Brickyard Road, saving it from demolition.

The station was then restored and now serves as a museum, open on Fridays.

Swaney said he is proud of the work the history group has done over the years to make Mars a better place.

“We have some really good workers down here; my job is to keep them busy,” he said.

Hartung said another Martian of the Year award likely will be given out for the next celebration of New Year on the planet Mars, which will be in May 2017.

The New Year festivities continues today and Saturday with musical entertainment interspersed with space exhibits and speeches by an astronomer-professor and planetary expert from NASA.

There will be a costume contest and parade at 7 p.m. today.

The festivities run from 4 to 11 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

New Year’s fireworks will be set off at about 10 p.m. tonight.