Memorial bench for beloved 'Snakeguy' installed at James Sharp Landing in Sharpsburg

There was a gentle early afternoon breeze Sept. 28 in Sharpsburg. Lisa Strauss swore she felt the touch of her late brother as she and other friends gathered at James Sharp Landing.

The occasion was to dedicate a memorial bench in memory of Robert “Snakeguy” Habegger.

“It’s an emotional day,” said Strauss, a North Huntingdon resident. “When the mayor was talking, it got a little breezy here.

“That was him loving it. He was blowing the wind, and he’s smiling down.”

Habegger was instrumental in many James Sharp Landing projects. He organized multiple Allegheny River cleanup efforts and recycled fishing lines and hooks.

Mayor Kayla Portis recognized the family and talked about Habegger’s many contributions to the borough as part of the dedication ceremony.

“Habegger was a compassionate community advocate who loved the outdoors,” she said. “He organized many impactful community/riverfront cleanup events. James Sharp Landing was the location of many events that Robert organized.

“The memorial bench is well deserved, and the location is very fitting. It will be a great place to feel connected to Robert. He is really missed.”

Habegger, a Shaler resident who grew up in Sharpsburg, graduated from Fox Chapel Area High School in 1977.

He volunteered time to Venture Outdoors, Walk Bike Shaler, Friends of North Park and Bike Pittsburgh.

“He was a kayaker for years and an outdoor adventurist,” Strauss said. “He just grew attached to 13th Street and wanted it to become a kayak launching (site). And he succeeded.”

He turned a hobby into a business and launched Just Right Spice, which provided a variety of seasonings with different kinds of peppers. He often was seen with his trained, 5-foot leucistic rat snake named Popeye.

Habegger died Nov. 23, 2020, of suspected covid. He was 60.

“He would be really humbled by all this,” said family friend Jeff Medina of Sharpsburg.

Medina was a few years younger than Habegger. He went to school with Strauss and knew the family for decades.

“He always was wiser,” Medina said. “We’re the wild and crazy class of 1980.”

Medina, founder of Medina Cantina Salsa, recalled working on a collaboration with Just Right Spice and admired Habegger’s work ethic.

“I’d help him at shows,” Medina said. “He was one of those under-the-radar vendors. He knew the churches and supported music. At the Dancing Gnome, when there was a line for beer, he was clever enough to set up a table. When there was other events, he volunteered to clean up and set up and they would give him a booth. He was a big blues festival advocate.”

The black metallic bench is about 6 feet wide with a plaque in the middle. Strauss and her good friend, Diane Scott of Freeport, were among the first to sit on it.

“We went to grade school, high school, graduated together,” Scott said. “I thought it was heartwarming. It made Lisa very proud, and it was nice that everyone showed up. Her brother (would have loved the bench), absolutely. A lot of his friends came out to show appreciation.

“He was kind. He was funny. He looked after you, and he always had a kind word to say. He was never mean at all.”

Scott said her fondest memory of Habegger was during the holidays making pizzelles at his home.

“We always licked the batter and always got yelled at by his mom,” she said.

The bench was donated to the family by Venture Outdoors a couple years ago.

The family then connected with the borough’s parks and recreation commission at this year’s chili cook-off and began mapping out the perfect spot for the bench’s location.

The cooking contest took place at the borough building Feb. 23 and served as a fundraiser for the Sharpsburg Community Library. It also was renamed in Habegger’s memory.

Winner of the 2019 chili contest, Habegger was a founding member of the Sharpsburg Environmental Advisory Council. He coordinated with PennDOT to acquire gloves, vests and bags for volunteers of communitywide trash cleanups.

“This is something that has to be done,” said Donna Bishop, parks and recreation commission president. “I didn’t personally know the Snakeguy because he was younger than me. I knew the older brothers, but I remember seeing him in town. He worked on various projects here.

“He had a great reputation here in town, especially for this riverfront. We’re trying to make this a place where everybody wants to come. There’s just so many memories tied to this riverfront for Sharpsburg people. This is important. You pay honor to those that went before us. We wanted that bench in here.”

The bench sits next to a steel sculpture that also was revealed Sept. 28.

It was crafted by Found and Forged owner Jimmy Olson of Etna and installed as part of a grant-funded community art project by local nonprofit Artspiration.