PWWTU has lost a dear friend. Word was received that Dan Wagner died on January 16 following surgery to correct cranial bleeding. He was 73.

Dan was the president of the Allison Park Sportsmen’s Club for the past 11 years. Tom Walsh, PWWTU’s Pine Creek Restoration Committee chairman said, “Dan’s commitment to introducing kids to fishing and his tireless dedication along with PWWTU to help restore Pine Creek in Pittsburgh’s North Hills to its earlier reputation as an outstanding trout fishery contributed to his legacy as an environmentalist and as a mentor for getting children engaged in outdoor activities.”

About 10 years ago, the Allison Park Sportsmen’s Club initiated a kids fishing derby at North Park Lake and Tom said it was hard to figure out who had the most fun – the kids or Dan but everyone knew it was Dan. In his honor, the derby was renamed the Dan Wagner Memorial Kids Fishing Derby. For the past several years, PWWTU was one of the derby’s sponsors.

“He was a great guy to work with,” said Walsh. “He always knew who to call when something was needed – a dump truck to haul debris from the creek, helping hands to assist in trout stocking, volunteers to take water samples and for numerous other projects. Nobody knew Pine Creek better than Dan. His life touched a lot of people and he will be missed in a lot of ways.” Lee Scott Stauffer of Shaler, secretary of the Allison Park Sportsmen’s Club, said “He made things happen.”

Pine Creek, PWWTU and young kids just learning the fun of fishing have lost both an enthusiastic teacher and an inspirational leader.