John O鈥橦ara made Rain Day famous world wide
WAYNESBURG-One cannot, or should not, speak of Rain Day without using the name John O’Hara in the same sentence. Without his influence and hard work, the community’s unusual celebration would never have occurred.
The late Mr. O’Hara was a freelance newspaperman who brought Greene County to the attention of the world in seven decades. Before “public relations” was ever thought of, O’Hara served in such a capacity for the local college, the hospital, country club and many other organizations.
His only compensation was getting a paragraph or two, or on some occasions a feature-length story, in one of the major newspapers in the area.
He was constantly sending news of the county to the Pittsburgh newspapers, the Brownsville Telegraph, the Washington Observer-Reporter, the Uniontown 缅北禁地, the nationally-distributed weekly “The Grit” or many other publications.
It was on a slow news day back in the late 1930s when O’Hara overheard a comment about a local druggist betting a hat with a salesman that it would rain on July 29. He managed to get a two-paragraph story in a Pittsburgh paper and the tradition was born.
For several years following, the traditional bet was usually made with Pittsburgh sports writers such as Al Abrams and Chester Smith.
O’Hara had made friends with them over the years as the result of calling in sports scores.
It wasn’t until 1946 that a nationally known celebrity was talked into making a bet when former heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey lost his hat.
Many other sports figures were to follow over the years, including Muhammad Ali, Arnie Palmer, Del Miller, Lou Brock and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
When television became popular, bets were made with many notables on Pittsburgh stations such as Carl Ide, Eleanor Shano, Paul Long, Paul Shannon, Bob Kudzma, Bill and Patty Burns, Myron Cope and Joe DeNardo.
Major network stars came later, including Willard Scott, Johnny Carson, Harry Anderson, John Charles Daly and the Beach Boys.
Film stars Bing Crosby and Bob Hope were the “Rain Day suckers” in 1947 and 1948, respectively.
Probably the favorite media star involved was television commentator Charles Kuralt, host of the popular “On The Road” series who came to town to interview O’Hara and spend the day with the local folk.
O’Hara’s stories on Rain Day usually made all editions of the “Stars and Stripes” and local servicemen eagerly looked for news of their hometown’s unique celebration.
Each year radio and television stations and newspapers from around the world flood the borough offices, the local radio station and local newspapers to obtain news about Rain Day, a long way from that two-paragraph notice in a Pittsburgh newspaper.