Sep 1, 2013 2 min read

Suzanne Patsch was just a little surprised when she picked up her copy of last Monday’s Observer-Reporter and recognized her own picture – from more than 40 years ago.

“What a relief,” the Strabane resident said later. “Usually, you don’t make the front page of the paper for something good.”

The picture was, of course, this week’s Mystery Photo. Suzanne Winseck, as she was known then, is shown holding a Junior Achievement charter with August Mamrack, a design engineer for McGraw Edison Power Systems in Canonsburg.

According to Paul Katrencik, who worked at the plant until it closed in 1994, Mamrack was the adviser for Canon-McMillan’s JA chapter, which held its meetings in the cafeteria building off Adams Avenue in Canonsburg. The brick building with its high ceilings was torn down years ago.

Bill and Gloria Dvorak of Canonsburg also identified Mamrack and learned for us that he died Dec. 26, 1984.

Junior Achievement is a nonprofit organization that recruits volunteers from the business community to help students understand how businesses operate.

Patsch was able to identify two of the other young people in the photo, which she thinks was taken in 1970 or 1971. The girl sitting just to her left is Kathy Dombrowski Pyle, who lives in West Virginia now and is a hospice nurse.

“The girl with the long blond hair next to her is Joyce Strnisa Kortepeter,” Patsch said. She still resides in Canonsburg.

All three graduated from Canon-McMillan High School in 1971.

We guessed the person wearing the cap is a boy, but several of our readers dispute that, claiming they remember the girl with strawberry-blond hair but can’t remember her name. Kent Buckels of Canonsburg said the beanie she is wearing was popular among students at the time. Buckels also identified the boy on the far right as Charles McGrosky, but we were not able to confirm that with anyone else.

Berbara Verholtz Smith guessed that the name of the cap wearer is Randy Norvell and the person partially visible behind her is Craig Heckathorne, but neither is confirmed and the fellow with the cigarette behind his ear unknown.

Look for another Mystery Photo in next Monday’s Observer-Reporter.