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<p>BERWICK &#8212; &#8220;Stuie&#8221; came home in March, but it wasn&#8217;t until Saturday that the real welcome back party started.</p><p>The Stuart Tank Memorial Association&#8217;s inaugural &#8220;Weekend At Stuie&#8217;s&#8221; kicked off on Saturday. The two-day event &#8212; which includes a World War II camp re-enactment, vendors and live entertainment &#8212; continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Test Track Park.</p><p>The main attraction at the event is a &#8220;Stuie&#8221; or Stuart tank. More than 15,000 of tanks were produced at the American Car and Foundry in the borough during World War II. The Stuart tank was the main light tank used by the U.S. and many of its allies during the war.</p><p>Stuart Tank Committee President Dave Kovach said he&#8217;s glad to see the event take flight.</p><p>&#8220;This whole project started about 12 years ago,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Roughly 250 Stuart tanks remain today. Many of those are part of museum exhibits or in private collections, according to Kovach.</p><p>He said the idea for Berwick to obtain one really hit home after one of the tanks was temporarily brought in for the Columbia County Bicentennial in 2013. Once news got around of the committee&#8217;s creation and Kovach&#8217;s attempts to bring a tank home, community members rallied together for the cause.</p><p>&#8220;The community&#8217;s really come together. Everybody knows somebody that&#8217;s worked there (at the plant), or fought with the tanks,&#8221; he said.</p><p>After years of searching and ultimately turning down multiple tanks for financial reasons, Kovach said he met Mike Stallwood of Kent, England, who happened to purchase a lot of 18 Berwick-made tanks from the Brazilian government.</p><p>Stallwood agreed to sell his last Stuart tank to the association for $120,000, and a piece of Berwick history made its way across the ocean home.</p><p>The 1942-manufactured tank arrived this past March, and will spend the remainder of the summer traveling to various local events, such as the Bloomsburg Fair and the Danville Heritage Parade. Later this year, the tank will be restored.</p><p>Though it&#8217;s fully operational, the tank has a way to go before it&#8217;s brought back to its 1940s appearance.</p><p>Much of the Army green paint has worn off, replaced by copper-colored rust. Numerous plugs and wires will be replaced, a fresh coat of paint will be applied and the tank will receive a tune-up and other repairs.</p><p>&#8220;Our goal is we want to have it parade-ready,&#8221; Kovach said.</p><p>Event coordinator Kristen Bogash said local military groups and organizations had no problem getting on board for the event.</p><p>&#8220;It was easy to get people here. They loved the idea of the tank at the track,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been astounded with the help of the Berwick community.&#8221;</p><p>Patrons that attended the event were pleased to see &#8220;Stuie&#8221; as well.</p><p>Ron and Grace Flick came from Bloomsburg to revisit history.</p><p>A military veteran, Ron wanted to come out to see the tank, while Grace enjoyed visiting with vendors.</p><p>&#8220;I wanted to see Mr. Kovach and congratulate him for finally getting (a tank) here,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;So far it&#8217;s been awesome to see all of the antiques of yesteryears,&#8221; Grace added.</p><p>Proceeds from the event will go toward restoration efforts for the tank.</p><p>A non-denominational church service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Sunday, and the Blue Notes Band will provide 1940s-era music from 1 to 3 p.m.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A Stuart tank was the centerpiece of Saturday&#8217;s celebration. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie1.jpg</photo0><caption0>A Stuart tank was the centerpiece of Saturday&#8217;s celebration. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dave Ferdock, of Mifflinville, sets out items used by the 28th Infantry Division, Chaplain Company. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Dave Ferdock, of Mifflinville, sets out items used by the 28th Infantry Division, Chaplain Company. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bob Sandmeyer, of York, sits in a 1943 Jeep in Berwick. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Bob Sandmeyer, of York, sits in a 1943 Jeep in Berwick. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ben Scott, Scott Lightsey and Trevor Herman enjoy a walk and a snack at the &#8216;Weekend at Stuie&#8217;s&#8217; event. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Ben Scott, Scott Lightsey and Trevor Herman enjoy a walk and a snack at the &#8216;Weekend at Stuie&#8217;s&#8217; event. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jared Buker, of Maryland, and Lynne Petersen, of Reading, chat while waiting for the band to start playing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Jared Buker, of Maryland, and Lynne Petersen, of Reading, chat while waiting for the band to start playing. </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">World War II re-enactors look over a Stuart tank during the &#8216;Weekend at Stuie&#8217;s&#8217; event at Test Track Park in Berwick on Saturday. More than 15,000 of the tanks were produced in the borough during World War II. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL071016Stuie6.jpg</photo5><caption5>World War II re-enactors look over a Stuart tank during the &#8216;Weekend at Stuie&#8217;s&#8217; event at Test Track Park in Berwick on Saturday. More than 15,000 of the tanks were produced in the borough during World War II. </caption5><photoCredit5></photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Berwick celebrates the return of ‘Stuie’