In Loving Memory of Tony Vallone

I remember vividly the first time I met Tony Vallone. At the time, The Watershed Journal Literary Group was still in its infancy and I had been setting up meetings and making calls to local businesses in an effort to drum up support for our emerging enterprise. Most people brushed me off politely. A few were vaguely encouraging of the idea of local publishing. But no one had much faith that the effort would last. I came back empty-handed from every meeting, however someone at Sarvey Insurance convinced me that I needed to talk to Tony Vallone at Penn State DuBois. It was the best tip I could have gotten.

by Jessica Cichocki Weible

It is with great appreciation—and more than a touch of bittersweetness—that we announce the departure of Fred Wilbur from his long-held role as Treasurer of the Board of The Watershed Journal Literary Group.

Fred has served this organization with extraordinary care, insight, and generosity for many years. His tenure with us reaches back to the earliest days of Watershed, when we were simply a small circle of dreamers with a vision for a literary journal rooted in the voices, stories, and images of our region. At that time, we had little more than enthusiasm and a shared love of local creativity—but what we lacked in structure, Fred helped us build. His guidance and support shaped our financial foundation, allowing us to grow in a way that felt both ambitious and sustainable.

Click the image to read on.

Review of “Looks a Little Like” by Daniela Buccilli

This poem is a meditation on innocence, family, and the quiet complexities of everyday life, framed through the lens of a child’s drawing. At first glance, the imagery is simple and familiar: a blue sky, a brown mountain, orange flowers, a family standing together, and a nest of baby robins waiting to be fed. The scene is peaceful, even idyllic—until the poem begins to subtly acknowledge what lies beneath this surface of warmth and tradition.