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Indiana County’s
very own Norman keep sits on twelve acres in Strongstown. Just shy
of three years old, Dane Castle, made of split-faced concrete block,
is surrounded by forest, fields, and Amish neighbors.
Its owners,
Mike Mahalko M’80 (Food and Nutrition) and Cathy Homer, began
planning the structure over twenty years ago as a place to reflect
their love of history and show off their large collection of ancient
and replica arms and armor.
The hundreds of
weapons and pieces of armor they collected over the years proved too
much for their previous home to store. “Our collection had grown too
big,” said Mahalko. “There were axes and armor and everything else
just crammed into our house, and even filling half of my dad’s
house. But nobody could see any of it.”
Wanting to show
off the collection rather than pack it away, the couple took action
on creating their dream home and drafted their own castle plans.
After six home builders refused to take on the project, they were
finally approached by a local contractor who agreed to build it and
stay within their budget of $200,000.
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Cathy Homer and
Mike Mahalko M'80 |
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Construction
began with a priest blessing the site using medieval prayers.
Eighteen months later, the castle was completed, sitting in an open
field in front of four acres of woods. The site will see continuous
improvement over the next few years—a jousting field will be built
in front of the castle; an archery range will be added to the side;
a forge will be constructed; and a barn will be raised to house
Scottish highland cattle.
 The swords,
shields, polearms, tapestries, and furniture now displayed in the
Great Hall reflect their shared passion, as do the Thailand fighting
swords Mahalko and Homer gave each other as wedding gifts. They
don’t polish the weapons, preferring the “gnarly,” naturally-aged
look.
Tours are led by
the couple, wearing full period clothing. Guests are led on a
timeline from Greco/Roman weapons and armor through Celtic, Viking,
Medieval, Scottish, Renaissance, and the near and far East. Pirate
and fantasy pieces also appear, along with other miscellaneous
artifacts.
They especially
love giving living history school group tours. This usually involves
twenty to thirty children and adults, although they found their
limit when about 150 showed up for one tour. Touching the lives of
children is important, especially if they are underprivileged,
abused, or disadvantaged. All children in a tour can look forward to
receiving a craft gift and a snack.
 Mahalko’s reign
at Dane Castle is the latest in a diverse array of jobs. After
family matters forced him to leave school in the early ’70s, he
worked as a police officer for the town of Nanty Glo and spent
several years in the fire and safety department of Bethlehem Steel.
During this time, he met and married Cathy. Both were working in the
martial arts—she taught self-defense for women and children and
Mahalko was teaching the classical arts, including tae kwon do. He
soon took up a decade-long career as a professional wrestler.
“I wrestled with
the old WWF, usually as the bad guy,” he said. Known as Iron Mike
Mahalko, the Executioner, and, as part of a tag team, the Great
Danes, the matches were scheduled anywhere from a few times a week
to several a day. Undefeated for several years, Mahalko’s vacations
and weekends were usually spent traveling to wrestling matches.
 He returned to
IUP and, in 1980, received a master’s degree in food and nutrition.
His wrestling career continued through school and into his next job
as a clinical dietician for Pennsylvania. But the constant travel
was grueling—eventually he recognized the signs of burnout and left
the wrestling business, continuing to work for the state from 1982
to 1995 until his disability retirement.
Mahalko and Homer
turned their hobbies into a business called Joust Horsing, and began
traveling with their horses. However, they wanted a place where
people would come to them instead, and so their own jousting field
is on the planning book.
 In the meantime,
they offer therapeutic horse riding and find time to rescue and
adopt dogs, horses, ponies, and birds. They especially love Great
Danes (which happens to be the Pennsylvania state dog), and their
ranch-style home in the castle basement is guarded by their
seven-year-old Great
Dane, Quattro.
Castle events
have included weddings, reunions, and feasts at the forty-seat table
in the Great Hall. They also teach the use of weapons—their
“knights” are volunteers and professionals who teach swordcraft,
shield-making, and knife throwing, to name a few.
About a dozen
core people are associated with the castle’s warrior arts program.
In addition to martial arts training and sword fight demonstrations,
artists, craftspeople, musicians, and other related trades are
featured in a sharing of knowledge.
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Items on
display include a
miniature,
fully-functional trebuchet (front right) |
“We’re always
looking for people who want to become involved,” said Mahalko. “This
is a life’s dream for us.”
Mahalko doesn’t
push the wrestling part of his life with the children who visit,
unless it’s needed to send a message.
“I learned that
no matter what happens, keep going,” said Mahalko. “If we can help
some people along the way, share something with them that brightens
their lives, then we’ve done our job.”
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