GAZETTE THE CENTRE COUNTY
www.CentreCountyGazette.com
Blacked out
The Penn State football team suffered its second defeat of the season, falling to No. 1 Ohio State, 38-10, on Oct. 17. The Nittany Lions set their sights on Maryland in a key Big 10 matchup. Check out a preview of the game in Gazette Gameday./Pages 19-22
October 22-28, 2015
Volume 7, Issue 42
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CENTRE COUNTY SPOTLIGHT
Boalsburg resident a foremost expert on life of Babe Ruth By HARRY ZIMBLER
correspondent@centrecountygazette.com
BOALSBURG — It’s almost time for the Fall Classic, as Major League Baseball’s playoffs continue apace. No single character represents the myths and iconography of baseball than George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr., also known as “The Sultan of Swat” and “The Bambino.” One of the nation’s premier experts on the life and times of Babe Ruth is Patrick Trimble, of Boalsburg. How does a kid from Erie grow up to be an expert on the life and times of Babe Ruth? “For as long as I remember, I have been a Yankee fan,” said Trimble. “I am fascinated with the history of the game.” And no figure has had more influence on that history than Ruth. Trimble spent a career teaching theater, film, literature and popular arts. “I am interested in the expansion of story,” he said. “All the details of the crazy things that happen in the baseball story. I once interviewed the great (Philadelphia) pitcher Robin Roberts who told me that if HARRY ZIMBLER/For the Gazette you get enough baseball people together, they start lying. THE BABE: This movie poster hangs in the home of Patrick Trimble, of Boalsburg. Like fishermen.” Trimble decided to conduct serious scholarship on baseball. He was inspired to do so by friend Roberta Pearson. “She was a Mets fan and convinced me to focus on Ruth.” Following years of research, the writing of many articles and books on the icon and myth that was Ruth, Trimble found himself invited to many symposiums and conventions to serve as an expert on Ruth’s life and career. Trimble, Page 5
Submitted photo
MEET AND GREET: Sara Weir met with Jeremy Walters, middle, and his son Josiah Walters, left, as well as other adults over 21 with Down syndrome and their parents on Oct. 19. The meet and greet was focused on discussing the opportunities available to individuals with Down syndrome after they finish school.
National Down Syndrome Society president visits county By ALEXA LEWIS news@centrecountygazette.com
STATE COLLEGE — Sara Weir, the president of the National Down Syndrome Society, had an interactive and hands-on visit Oct. 19 and 20 in Centre County, where she brought the recent monumental progress in legislation for the disabled into perspective. In an interview in a State College restaurant Oct. 20, right before her flight back to Washington, D.C., Weir talked about the Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving
a Better Life Experience Act — an idea born from a kitchen-table conversation among five parents that would become the first major legislation for the disabled since the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. “This has taken a village to pass, but it’s been amazing and it’s a game changer for our families,” said Weir, who was appointed as the national organization’s president in December 2014. Known more commonly as the ABLE Act, the Weir, Page 8
Medium channels success on TV By VILMA SHU DANZ Special to the Gazette
Photo courtesy ABC Family
REALITY STAR: Penn State student Monica Ten-Kate is the star of “Monica the Medium,” a reality show about communicating with those who have crossed over. The show airs through Tuesday, Oct. 27, on ABC Family. Opinion ............................ 9 Health & Wellness ..... 10, 11
Education ....................... 12 Community ............... 13-18
UNIVERSITY PARK — Twentyone-year-old Monica Ten-Kate may seem like your typical college student, but she is a spirit medium with the ability to communicate with those who have crossed over. Her incredible ability is chronicled in the reality TV Show, “Monica the Medium,” which premiered Aug. 25 on ABC Family. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in a Catholic family, Monica never imagined that one day she would speak to the dead. “I had been intuitive and empathic when I was younger, but it
Gazette Gameday ...... 19-22 Sports ......................... 23-29
wasn’t until high school that I really started to notice and sense things around me,” said Monica. “My friends would be telling a story about a deceased loved one and I would hear or see the ending in my head before they were finished telling it.” For fear of looking crazy and in an attempt to fit in, she hid her ability until she came to college. As a communications major at Penn State, Monica started doing readings for complete strangers in the HUB Robeson Center. Word of
Women’s Corner ....... 30, 31 Around & In Town .... 32-34
her ability started to spread through social media and by word of mouth. It wasn’t long before several television networks decided to contact her to do a TV series. When asked about how a spirit communicates through her, Monica explained that it’s hard to describe the feeling she gets, but she can distinguish that thoughts in her head are not her own and she can sense other emotions that are Medium, Page 7
What’s Happening ......... 35 Puzzles ............................ 36
Business .......................... 38 Classified ........................ 39