In a time when membership in community organizations is declining, and groups find it harder to compete for their members' free time and energy, the Irwin Male Chorus keeps going strong.

Coming back from a dramatic drop in number in the late 1990s, the chorus is gaining members every year and continues to perform its extensive repertoire.

For its continued dedication to the community and commitment of time and energy to ensuring the perseverance of a borough tradition, the Irwin Male Chorus has been selected as the 2008 Irwin Citizen of the Year by the Gateway Newspapers editorial board.

The chorus has a long tradition in Irwin and the surrounding communities, stretching back to the beginning of the 20th century. Jim Drylie, the group's record keeper, said it all started in 1913.

"There was a local Sunday school baseball league. They had a banquet in October of 1913. They had entertainment that was provided by various guys that had been in church choirs," Drylie said.

The singing so enthralled the audience, and the men so enjoyed it, that they decided to form a formal group. On Oct. 5, 1913, the Irwin Male Chorus was born.

The group's first endeavor was a series of fall concerts of sacred music in local churches, an offering that flowed naturally from the member's church choir background, said Drylie. That first series of concerts has gone on uninterrupted for the past 95 years.

Starting in late August, the chorus meets to learn and rehearse that year's music. Typically, members perform six or seven concerts at area churches each year, as well as two Christmas concerts, one in Greensburg and one at the United Methodist Church in Irwin.

The concerts have ranged across the region, from the Norwin community to Allegheny County.

"We go to practically any church or area that requests us," said Forrest Moore, the chorus's director.

The chorus also puts on a stage show every spring, featuring comedic banter and performances in addition to the songs. The lighthearted tradition runs back to 1917, and the April events have entertained generations of local residents.

This year's theme is "Summer Vacation."

Putting on the April show takes a lot of work. Marty Gogol, the chorus's president, said weekly rehearsals for the show start in January, and the group now meets twice a week to learn and memorize all the music.

As the show nears, members give up even more of their time to make it happen.

"They have a thing that we lovingly call hell week," said member George Muentzer.

Every day the members meet to rehearse and build the sets and props for the show.

The chorus also puts on a variety of shows throughout the year, including an annual concert at Irwin cemetery on Memorial Day.

"Any kind of patriotic ceremony they usually call on us," said Muentzer.

The time members put into the chorus is a badge of their dedication, but it does make it hard to recruit more people, who often have time conflicts.

"It's very difficult to recruit new members, as any organization finds out these days," Gogol said.

In 1997, as a result of sickness, members moving and time conflicts, the chorus dropped from nearly 70 members to around 30. The group's lack of numbers kept members from putting on the spring show in 1998 and 1999, the first time since 1917 it had not been held.

But the chorus has rebounded, with the dedication of the old members matched by the enthusiasm of the new ones. The past several years have seen more than nine new members join, including some young faces.

"We were very lucky last year, we had three high school boys that came to the chorus," Gogol said.

Although those three had to leave for college, new students have taken their place, and the group includes several men in their early 20s.

For chorus members, the chance to sing and entertain keeps them coming back year after year.

"I wouldn't trade it for the world," Muentzer said.

The sense of being part of a larger tradition also helps motivate them.

"It's been one of my almost lifetime hobbies," said Drylie, who started in 1957. Muentzer said he finds inspiration in continuing a tradition that has spanned two generations.

"That's something to hold on to."

Chorus plans 'Summer Vacation'

The Irwin Male Chorus will perform its annual spring show April 18, 19 and 20 at the Science Hall Theater at Westmoreland County Com-munity College.

This year's theme is "Summer Vacation," said chorus vice president Larry Newlon, who writes the dialogue and between song transitions for the show.

Through singing and acting, the two-act show will tell the story of family that plans a summer vacation, but can't quite decide what that vacation should be.

Newlon said the first act focuses on the family's differing views of the ideal vacation, and the songs performed match those ideas.

The father wants a camping trip in the Rockies, which leads to a medley of John Denver songs. The mother's dream of an island paradise brings up Caribbean themed songs like the Beach Boys' "Kokomo," and the son's love for cars prompts songs such as "Little Deuce Coupe."

As for the daughter of the family?

"Her theme song is the old Connie Francis song 'Where the Boys Are,'" said Newlon.

The second act of the show sees the family, unable to agree on a vacation, decide to take a road trip instead.

Their travels will be illustrated in a series of geographically themed songs, including "On the Road Again," "California Dreamin'" and "The Pennsylvania Polka."