Blaine Dart '21 Recruiting Profile

Thank you for reviewing my profile!  My mother owns a gift shop, The Treasure Shop, in our tourist town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and when customers ask me how long I have worked there my answer is "15 years"!  From the time I was about 2 months old until I went to kindergarten, you would find me working daily with my mom.  When I started school, I would be there after school and weekends.  There was no TV or electronics so I kept myself busy talking with customers, dusting, or cleaning windows.  By the age of 10, I was competent enough to work as a cashier with my mother closely watching,  and my mother often asked me to work with her weekends because I was much more reliable and a better employee than most of the other employees who were in high-school.

The importance of helping others is something that I learned working at The Treasure Shop.  We would have different fundraisers to help different charities.  We had a "good condition" used toy drive and gave car-loads of toys to less fortunate families.  We had a collection for Military care-packages, a collection for the homeless, fundraisers for my school, and a collection for the animal shelter.  It is always heartwarming  when our customers donate what they can, and it is amazing how a bunch of small items add up to something huge! One year, I even dressed up as Frosty and enjoyed the smiles that I put on the faces of the children and their parents.

At the age of 13,  I was hired as a tour guide at my grandparents business, "The Old Jail Museum".  Although I still help when needed at the Treasure Shop, I much prefer "the Jail".   As a tour guide, my responsibility is to take a guided group of up to 22 visitors on a 35 minute tour of the jail and speak about it's history and the prisoners that were held here.  The jail was built in 1875 and was the County jail until 1995 when my grandparent's bough it.  Have you ever heard of the "Molly Maguires"?  They were a group of Irish coal miners striving for better working conditions and wages.  Several of these "Molly Maguires" were convicted of murder, and through unfair trials, were convicted.  Seven of the convicted men were hanged inside the jail.  Before one of the men died, he put his hand print on the wall and said it would remain as a sign of his innocence.  The hand print has been dug-out, re-plastered, & repainted, and it keeps coming back!"  We have about 20,000 visitors tour the jail each year, and in the fall we host special  "Ghost Tours" . 

Last year, even though I was only 14, when other guides called off at the last minute, I was the one that got called in.  Even though I loved working, I quickly learned how someone calling off for non-emergency reasons put a strain on the owners and other employees.  My grandparents often commented how I was the most reliable and the most accurate on the register.  From working at the Treasure Shop and Old Jail, I have learned how to maintain composure even with the most challenging of customers. In addition to being a tour guide,  I have also designed the Jail's web site: www.theoldjailmuseum.com.  During the winter, the jail is closed for tours, but on a snow day you will not find me sleeping in because it is also my job to shovel the sidewalks at The Treasure Shop and Old Jail Museum... and the jail has one big sidewalk!  At home, we have elderly neighbors and I always make sure their driveways are shoveled (whether they pay me or not).

What does my working and volunteering history have to do with baseball?  My answer is "everything".  Playing baseball is being part of a team.  No matter what position, I will put in my best effort.  I will do what the coaches ask of me.  I will support my team and fellow players, even when I am the one sitting on the bench.  I will be at practice and games.  Part of winning is having a positive attitude even in times of loosing.   Our family prayer in the morning is "please help me make a difference in the lives of the people that we meet".  You never know when a smile, a small act of kindness, or a word of encouragement will make a big difference in someone's life.  Being supportive and encouraging of my team will make a difference.  A good attitude is contagious.  Everyone has good days and bad days.  I will praising a player on a good day and encourage and support on an off day.   After all, making mistakes and errors is human, but often these are just a learning experience.  A  positive attitude builds better players, and better players make a winning team.  

Thank you for your time,

Blaine Dart