RAMPING UP Once a ski area only, Tussey Mountain has evolved into a year-round attraction
SUMMER Inside: All-Star alums from county schools • Special ‘Milestones’ history section
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2017 June T&G - 1
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features
30 / A Mountain of Fun Once a ski area only, Tussey Mountain has evolved into a year-round center of family activities • by Samantha Chavanic
37 / All-Star Alums
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Town&Gown’s annual look at distinguished alumni from Centre County’s five public school districts features an impressive lineup ranging from a CEO to a “genius” grant recipient • by Jenna Spinelle
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92 / Hardships and Joys These dads children are forging special bonds in the face of extraordinary challenges • by Jennifer Miller
Special Advertising Section
44 / Milestones Town&Gown’s annual section showcasing the beginnings, transitions, and successes of area businesses and organizations. On the cover: A skateboarder shows his skills at Tussey Mountain’s skate park. Photo by Darren Andrew Weimert.
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Town&Gown is published monthly by Barash Publications, 403 South Allen Street, State College, PA 16801. Advertising is subject to approval of the publisher. COPYRIGHT 2017 by Barash Media. All rights reserved. Send address changes to Town&Gown, 403 S. Allen St., State College, PA 16801. No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any process except with written authorization from Town&Gown or its publisher. Phone: 800-326-9584, 814-238-5051. FAX: 814-238-3415. Printed by Gazette Printers, Indiana, PA. 20,000 copies published this month, available FREE in retail stores, restaurants, hotels and motels & travel depots. SUBSCRIPTIONS and SINGLE COPIES: $45/1yr; current issue by 1st‑class mail, $10; back copy, $15 mailed, $12 picked up at the T&G office. townandgown.com
2017 June T&G - 5
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departments
10 Letter from The Editor 12 Starting Off: The List, People in the Community, Q&A 15 This Month on WPSU 20 Living Well: The power of a father’s words of encouragement • by Meghan Fritz 22 Health: In the world of medicine, what exactly is a DO? • by Philip Miller
28 Penn State Diary: Public perception and the complex reality of the Greek system• by Lee Stout
24 About Town: With a soft-spoken style, Christopher Kent is making his voice heard through his music • by Nadine Kofman
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26 On Center: Jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant will open the 2017-18 season of the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State • by John Mark Rafacz
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What’s Happening: Pennsylvania Special Olympics Summer Games, Happy Valley Culinary Week, Bellefonte Cruise & Sock Hop, and the State College Spikes’ opener are among the highlights of a busy June calendar
104 Taste of the Month/Dining Out: Bagel Crust offers a taste of New York with more than 20 baked-fresh varieties • by Vilma Shu Danz 116 Lunch with Mimi: State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham reflects on the borough’s growth as she prepares to retire 122 Artist of the Month: Despite the popularity of cover bands, guitarist Jason Tutwiler says there will always be room for original music locally • by Rebecca Poling 124
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Snapshot: The Penn’s Woods Music Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary of offering classical, orchestral and chamber music • by Rebecca Poling
Town&Gown June
A State College & Penn State tradition since 1966.
Publisher Rob Schmidt Founder Mimi Barash Coppersmith Editorial Director Mark Brackenbury Creative Director Tiara Snare Operations Manager/Assistant Editor Vilma Shu Danz Art Director/Photographer Darren Weimert Graphic Designer Cody Peachey Ad Coordinator Lana Bernhard Account Executive Nicohl Geszvain, Debbie Markel Business Manager Aimee Aiello Contributing Editor David Pencek Intern Rebecca Poling (editorial) Distribution Handy Delivery
She’s all foore your golf game now
To contact us: Mail: 403 S. Allen St., State College, PA 16801 Phone: (814) 238-5051, (800) 326-9584 Fax: (814) 238-3415 dpenc@barashmedia.com (Editorial) rschmidt@barashmedia.com (Advertising) We welcome letters to the editor that include a phone number for verification. Back issues of Town&Gown are available on microfilm at Penn State’s Pattee Library.
Facebook.com/townandgownsc @TownGownSC townandgown.com 8 - T&G June 2017
Inspired Care, Generation to Generation Penn State Medical Group at Park Avenue is welcoming new patients. We look forward to meeting you and your family. Call 814-235-2480 to make an appointment.
T& G
letter from the editor
Coming Full Circle After I launched a job search last year upon deciding to relocate from Connecticut to Happy Valley, David Pencek was the first person I met with. More accurately, David was the first person who made time to meet with me. We discussed freelance opportunities, because there were no positions open at Town&Gown when we met in late April 2016. A bit more than a year later, things have changed for both of us — a lot. David, as he wrote last month, is opening an important new chapter in his life as he prepares to head to seminary school. With his departure as editorial director of Town&Gown, I have the honor of moving in to the editor’s role. I have big shoes to fill. Town&Gown has always been synonymous with Happy Valley to me, capturing the heartbeat of Penn State and the communities that surround it. I came to love this area after arriving at PSU from Rhode Island as a grad student in the early 1980s. As a frequent visitor since then, the magazine was a must read; it was one of the first things my wife and I picked up when we hit town for a weekend, whether it was to visit our oldest daughter when she was at Penn State, for a football game (we’re die-hard tailgaters) or just for an escape. As editorial director since 2005, David played a leading role in making Town&Gown a compelling read, telling the stories of the people, businesses, organizations, and institutions that help define our community. That leadership included a constructive approach to addressing the challenges faced by both town and gown. It’s a role the magazine has played in the community for more than 51 years now. I’ll do my best to help uphold that legacy and, with remarkably talented colleagues, keep moving it forward. I’ve been around the Barash Media offices on South Allen Street for eight months
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now as editor of Town&Gown’s sister publication, The Centre County Gazette. That’s given me the chance to get to know the dedicated people responsible for both publications, and to write about some of the many people who make this community special. I’m lucky that as I get started in this new role, David (who stayed on part-time) and other colleagues have been extremely patient and helpful as I’ve peppered them with questions about the ins and outs of things like Blinkplans (it’s an online tool to create a magazine layout). I’m relatively new to the media scene here, but I’ve been around the business a while. I spent 30 years at the New Haven Register in Connecticut. My time there included 18 years as managing editor and the last two as executive editor of Digital First Media/ Connecticut, which included the Register, two other daily papers, eight weeklies and Connecticut Magazine. While Connecticut holds special memories for us, my wife and I decided Happy Valley was the place we wanted to be, so we bought a home in Bellefonte in November 2015 and moved here last summer. That’s my story. But we’re about your stories. Drop me a note at the address below, or give me a call at (814) 238-5051, and let’s talk!
Mark Brackenbury Editorial Director mbrackenbury@barashmedia.com
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starting off
The List What to know about June Summer officially comes in June, which means plenty of activities and special days.
It’s the 73rd anniversary of the day that changed World War II. D-Day, June 6. It was on this day in 1944 that the Allied invasion of Normandy took place. Maybe he plays second fiddle to Mickey Mouse — but not on this day! June 9 is Donald Duck Day. The character made his cartoon debut on June 9, 1934, in The Wise Hen.
Time to enjoy one of the most popular beverages in summer — iced tea. National Iced Tea Day is June 10, so pour yourself a glass of regular, peach, raspberry … Long Island! Eat healthier! June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, and right in the middle of the month is Fresh Veggies Day (June 16) and Eat Your Vegetables Day (June 17). 12 - T&G June 2017
It’s the day for dads. Father’s Day comes June 18. Dads do get the short end of things when it comes to gifts. According to the National Retail Federation, US consumers will spend $9.3 billion less on Father’s Day than they spent on Mother’s Day — which comes to $60.47 less per dad! The timehonored tradition of taking a photo of yourself has its day. National Selfie Day is June 21. Make sure to use #nationalselfieday when you post your photo in honor of the day!
Take Your Dog to Work Day is June 23. Sorry, no cats or other pets are apparently allowed to participate!
Kick off the first official weekend of summer by hitting the pool and taking part in Swim a Lap Day on June 24. T&G
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starting off
The List What to know about June Summer officially comes in June, which means plenty of activities and special days.
It’s the 73rd anniversary of the day that changed World War II. D-Day, June 6. It was on this day in 1944 that the Allied invasion of Normandy took place. Maybe he plays second fiddle to Mickey Mouse — but not on this day! June 9 is Donald Duck Day. The character made his cartoon debut on June 9, 1934, in The Wise Hen.
Time to enjoy one of the most popular beverages in summer — iced tea. National Iced Tea Day is June 10, so pour yourself a glass of regular, peach, raspberry … Long Island! Eat healthier! June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, and right in the middle of the month is Fresh Veggies Day (June 16) and Eat Your Vegetables Day (June 17). 12 - T&G June 2017
It’s the day for dads. Father’s Day comes June 18. Dads do get the short end of things when it comes to gifts. According to the National Retail Federation, U.S. consumers will spend $9.3 billion less on Father’s Day than they spent on Mother’s Day — which comes to $60.47 less per dad! The timehonored tradition of taking a photo of yourself has its day. National Selfie Day is June 21. Make sure to use #nationalselfieday when you post your photo in honor of the day!
Take Your Dog to Work Day is June 23. Sorry, no cats or other pets are apparently allowed to participate!
Kick off the first official weekend of summer by hitting the pool and taking part in Swim a Lap Day on June 24. T&G
2017 June T&G - 13
People in the Community Patricia Best and Thomas Ray
Sarah Brown
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State named Patricia Best and Thomas Ray as its 2017 Distinguished Service Award winners. Best and Ray have sponsored jazz performances at the Center for the Performing Arts, including Maria Schneider Orchestra and Bria Skonberg Quintet. They also are supporters of the Green Drake Gallery & Arts Center in Millheim. “Patricia and Tom are exemplary patrons, donors, and advocates for the performing arts,” Center for the Performing Arts director George Trudeau said in a press release. The Distinguished Service Award has been given annually since 1996.
Joel Confer BMW 120 E. Clinton Ave. State College, PA 16803
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Patty Satalia
The Ultimate Driving Machine
We have completely renovated our BMW Dealership to a modern luxury feel to accommodate our loyal and future customers by providing them with a premium and unique BMW experience. Come in today for a pre Grand Opening visit of State College’s newest and most modern automotive display hall. Leading Premium Luxury Vehicle sales for the 4th straight year, BMW is The Ultimate Driving Machine.
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Special lease and finance offers will be available by Joel Confer BMW through BMW Financial Services.
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In May, Penn State hired Sarah Brown as its next women’s gymnastics head coach. Brown takes over the Nittany Lions’ program after one season as head coach at Eastern Michigan, where she led the Eagles to the MAC championship and an appearance at the NCAA Regionals. In 2015-16, she served as a volunteer assistant coach at Michigan. Brown was a four-time All-American gymnast at the University of Missouri, and she was the Tigers’ Female Athlete of the Year in 2009 and 2010. She also was the Big 12 Gymnast of the Year in 2009 and 2010. Before her collegiate career, she was a four-time member of the USA National Team. “I’m honored and thrilled to be a part of Penn State athletics!” Brown said in a press release. “The university has so much passion and pride, and I’m looking forward to guiding the gymnastics team to the top of the Big Ten Conference and onto the national stage.”
®
WPSU-TV and FM senior producer/host Patty Satalia will retire from WPSU at the end of June. She has been part of Penn State Public Broadcasting since 1987. In her more than 30 years at WPSU, Satalia has conducted more than 5,600 interviews and has hosted a variety of programs, including Take Note, which aired on TV for more than 35 years and on radio for more than 14 years. For eight seasons, she produced the Emmy Award-winning game show, The Pennsylvania Game, as well as a number of award-winning documentaries, including Children and Autism: Time is Brain; Creating Health: Childhood Obesity; and Farming from the Heart, to name a few. Recently, she has been co-producer/host of the half-hour public affairs program, Conversations from Penn State, and a reporter for WPSU-FM. T&G
This Month
on
Sgt. Pepper’s Musical Revolution Monday, June 5, at 8 p.m. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the groundbreaking album that ranks #1 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Features material never before accessible outside of Abbey Road Studios. Re-airs Saturday, June 10, at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 11, at 8 p.m.
This summer PBS is introducing these limited series that take viewers to some of the world’s most amazing places and cultures.
Ready Jet Go...
The Story of China Premieres Tuesday, June 20, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 17, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Great Yellowstone Thaw Premieres Wednesday, June 21, at 8 p.m.
DelGrosso’s Park has partnered with WPSUTV and PBS to provide a fun-filled day of space adventures with Jet Propulsion from PBS KIDS’ READY JET GO!
Big Pacific Premieres Wednesday, June 21, at 9 p.m. Nature’s Great Race Premieres Wednesday, July 12, at 9 p.m. Weekend in Havana Premieres Tuesday, July 18, at 8 p.m. Rare - Creatures of the Photo Ark Premieres Tuesday, July 18, at 9 p.m. Ireland’s Wild Coast Premieres Tuesday, August 2, at 8 p.m.
wpsu.org
to DelGrosso’s Park!
With tons of activities and a meet and greet from Jet Propulsion, having fun will be a blast at the Park. Each participant gets to take home a jar of Jet’s Out-of-this-World Flying Saucer Pizza Sauce, make an alien headband and other surprises. wpsu.org/delgrossoskidsday
JUNE For additional program information visit wpsu.org.
Q&A with Georgia Abbey, executive director of Leadership Centre County By Rebecca Poling Each year since 1992 a new group of Centre County residents has gone through the Leadership Centre County program, which helps them learn more about the community, inspiring them to give back. LCC graduates its 25th class on June 7. Georgia Abbey has been executive director of LCC since 1999. Since the 2017 class began its LCC journey last fall, the organization has celebrated this 25th year, including a luncheon at which founder Ron Haring spoke. Abbey took time to talk about the impact LCC has had and continues to have. T&G: How has LCC changed over the years? Abbey: The scope of the impact based on the number of people coming through the program. We started in 1992 with the very first class that had around 30 people in it. When I came on board there were around 122 alumni. We now have over 800. Those 820 people have then come into contact with other people in the community, so that impact has grown exponentially. T&G: What kind of people go through LCC each year? Abbey: Everybody. This community is full of people that want to give back, that want to make this community great. They range in age from 26 to 70. They come from 329 different employers across the county. T&G: Have you seen a positive impact on the community because of LCC? How do you measure that? Abbey: We started tracking information from alumni about 10 years ago. We ask them to report to us how many hours per month they volunteer and the names of the organizations they volunteer at. One way to track our impact is with that data. Our alumni have volunteered at 662 organizations in the area. You wouldn’t even think there are 662 smaller nonprofits in our community, but there are! So we can see in the data that the people who go through Leadership Centre County volunteer their time, which is valuable 16 - T&G June 2017
Georgia Abbey
in this community. The way that I’ve seen it personally is how we populate boards. You can look at the United Way board, the YMCA board, the State College Area Food Bank board — and LCC grads are populating those boards. They’re making that kind of commitment to be leaders in the community. T&G: What is your favorite part about being executive director of LCC? Abbey: I am a learner by nature. I am inquisitive and curious, and so this job enables me to do that every day. I learn something new, I get to ask great questions, I get to meet unbelievable people who are passionate about their community and giving back. I never stop learning, and I never stop loving. I meet so many new people every year that I just think, wow, this community is full of such amazing and wonderful people! So I’m pretty lucky. T&G For more information about Leadership Centre County, visit leadershipcentrecounty.org.
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This Monthtownandgown.com On
• In 5 Questions, actor Steven Snyder talks about portraying King Arthur in Fuse Productions’ Camelot, which runs June 22-25 at Schwab Auditorium. • A special offer from Bagel Crust for 16 uncut bagels for the price of a dozen. • Starting in July, order your copy of Town&Gown’s 2017 Penn State Football Annual. Steven Snyder
And more!
Visit our Facebook site for the latest happenings and opportunities to win free tickets to concerts and events! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @TownGownSC.
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living well
The Power of a Father’s Blessing Let your children hear affirming words and encouragement daily By Meghan Fritz The words we speak over ourselves, our children, our health, finances, and careers have the power to create blessings and health in every area of our lives. Our words have the power to bring us healing, peace, encouragement, and energy or dis-ease, anxiety, dread, and exhaustion. As we celebrate Father’s Day this month, take the time to think about what kind of words were spoken over you, specifically by your father or strong male role model in your life. Spiritually, the role of a father is to shape his child’s self-esteem and identity in the world. Fathers tell us who we are and what we are capable of. They let us know whether they believe in our ability to accomplish the impossible. They arm us with courage to go out into the world and leave footprints with our unique gifts and talents. A father’s blessing has the power to launch us into success and give us the courage to take risks and try new things. Every child has the deeply rooted desire to hear that their father is proud of them. If you struggle with chronically low self-esteem and self-loathing thoughts and behavior, take a minute to think about the words spoken to you as a child, teen and young adult. Perhaps you had a father that always made you feel like you weren’t quite good enough, 20 - T&G June 2017
or equally damaging a father that was extremely passive and not involved in your day to day life. The words spoken over us from birth have a tremendous impact on how we interact with others and how we feel about ourselves. If you have/had a father who did not speak blessings into your life, recognize that another person can’t give you what they don’t have for themselves. If your father was not raised in love, compassion, acceptance, and confidence he may not have the tools necessary to break the curse and pass on health and wellness to the next generation. We can only break the dysfunctional generational patterns and curses when we are conscious and aware enough that we have the power to change how we raise our own children. If your father could not do that for you he was not aware enough of how to break the patterns of generations past. Become more aware of the words you speak over yourself and others. Bless your children with affirming words and encouragement daily. Do
not leave them without giving them a positive blessing to start their day. Likewise, tuck them in at night and bless their health and sleep. This pattern has the power to build their confidence and trust in the fact that you believe in them and that you accept them with all their imperfections. Your entire household will feel more peaceful and loving and the negative charge of pressure and stress will start to dissolve with the power of love and peace. Celebrate this Father’s Day knowing that your love, attention, care, and blessing can impact a child’s life in amazing ways. May we all know that we are worthy, valuable, loved, accepted, and cherished not because of what we do but because we are here, perfectly imperfect. You are worth it! T&G Meghan Fritz is a psychotherapist practicing in State College.
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health
Body, Mind, and Spirit In the world of medicine, what exactly is a DO? By Philip Miller “What is a DO?” Although this is a question I get asked frequently, I am always happy to explain. Everybody at some point in their lives pays a visit to their doctor, and whether it’s an appointment to see a heart doctor about blood pressure, having a knee looked at by an orthopedist, or time to see the family physician for a yearly checkup, patients usually know the reason for that visit. What many people may not notice, however, are the initials behind their healthcare provider’s name. A DO, or doctor of osteopathy, is a physician who is fully licensed to practice medicine the same way a medical doctor (MD) does. So, what exactly is the difference? Osteopathic physicians practice a philosophy based on the relationship between the body’s structure and its function with an appreciation of the body’s own capability to heal itself. For example, when your doctor prescribes an antibiotic for bronchitis, the effect wasn’t simply to interfere with the disease process but rather allow your body’s immune system to fight off the infection more effectively. In addition to this approach, one of the most recognizable characteristics of DO’s is the use of osteopathic manipulation, which is the therapeutic application of manually guided forces upon the patient with the goal to improve joint motion and muscle structure. Such techniques are not just limited to alleviating sore backs and neck pain, but are utilized in conjunction with what most people would consider conventional medicine. Osteopathic manipulation is very similar to what a chiropractor or a massage therapist might do. It is effective in treating musculoskeletal pain by relaxing tight muscle, mobilizing stiff joints, reducing swelling, improving circulation and bringing the body back into a balanced alignment. Following the notion that structure is related to function, treating issues related to the musculoskeletal system aids in the healing process by normalizing the body’s involuntary functions such 22 - T&G June 2017
PhilipMiller, DO
as heart rate, respiration and digestion. The restoration of normal physiologic function through osteopathic manipulation has been successfully applied in practically all fields of medicine. For instance, people suffering from breathing disorders often have many tensions and restrictions in their ribcage. Whether they suffer from asthma, chronic bronchitis, reduced breathing from old rib fractures, emphysema or some other chronic respiratory problem, osteopathy can improve the elasticity of the ribcage, easing muscle tension to reduce respiratory fatigue, helping the person cope with their condition more readily. The goal of all health care providers, regardless of the acronym behind their names, is to assist the patient in finding that balance between body, mind and spirit in order to restore and maintain health. The osteopathic philosophy views the body as a unit. A human being is a dynamic unit of body, mind, and spirit. This trifecta must be working together in unison if one is to be in good health. So, what is a DO? Like any healthcare provider, regardless of whatever title they may have, a DO seeks to maintain and restore health to the best of their ability with the help of the most important person in health care — the patient. T&G Philip Miller, DO, practices family medicine and osteopathic manipulation at Mount Nittany Health–Philipsburg. He is board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians. For more information on Mount Nittany Physician Group Family and Internal Medicine, visit mountnittany.org/primarycare.
Contributed photo
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about town
Hitting High Notes Christopher Kent is quietly making an impact through his music, writing By Nadine Kofman Christopher Kent — a Patton Township resident who is six feet, five inches tall — is sort of invisible. He is a lifelong musical performer who has made few public appearances since moving here — becoming mainly a “digital performer.” His original songs — many of which are currently on three albums plus singles — can be heard anytime on his website. But the soft-spoken, mild-mannered Kent has now reached two public high notes in his life: he’s composed his 150th song, and two that he recorded here have been picked as international-competition finalists, placing him among more than 100 finalists out of an entrant field of 250,000. In the Best Holiday Recording category (one of 70 categories) are his “Songs of the Season” (with State College Choral Society members singing backup) and “’Twas the day of Thanksgiving.” JPF (Just Plain Folks) is the sponsor. The grassroots organization of some 50,000 members is in 160 countries; its competition has been held every five of its approximately 20 years. Anyone attending last year’s Memorial Day concert at the Boal Mansion in Boalsburg and/or the autumn crawly entomological Great Insect Fair on the Penn State campus heard Kent’s high baritone voice and his guitar strumming. If not, there’s always www.christopherkent.com. Downloading occurs “all over the world — Australia, Russia, England, China,” Kent says. His stuff tends to be conversational, thought-provoking, funny, all of the above. Fifteen years ago, the writer/editor and composer/musician (two-sided, like an old vinyl record) moved with his wife, Lynn Yost, from an apartment in Manhattan (via a stint in Bucks County) to a small house in Patton Township near Haugh’s Woods. A cousin in Pennsylvania Furnace was the magnet. The couple is thrilled to be close to nature, as proved by his “Backyard Bird TV.” A poem fragment reads: “A wise man once said, the best entertainment comes for free/ And so it does; we love to watch our Backyard Bird TV.” Being “pretty much equi-distant between New York, Philadelphia and Washington” allows visits to friends there. “Because of Penn State, I actually know more international people here than in New York,” Kent says. Easily accessible 24 - T&G June 2017
Christopher Kent reached a milestone by composing his 150th song, and two he recorded are international-competition finalists.
are the many friends around here and, down the road, he can get a song he doesn’t produce himself done in Stomstown at Bill Filer’s Audible Images studio. Local instrumentalists have been recording regulars: J.T Thompson, piano; Jack Wilkinson and Kevin Lowe, drums; Andrew Jackson, percussion; Steve Bowman, sax; Pete Jogo, bass. Kent, a Pennsylvania native from Morrisville, had lived in New York for 20 years. His most recent employment is by trade magazines based in New York City and Philadelphia. While permitting him to relocate here, his boss kept him on as senior editor of a professional ophthamology magazine; Kent specializes in glaucoma articles. (Working in her own office area, his wife is a sometime long-distance editor and creative director — and her husband’s photographer.) Along the way, musically (prior to State College gigs at the Arts Festival and Webster’s) he serenaded in grungy bars, won the major music publishers’ 1976 New York Songwriters
Competition, opened a concert for Janice Ian and other artists, was a musical representative for the New York City Parks Department, gave a series of songwriting lectures at a downtown Philadelphia Barnes & Noble superstore, and taught 300 students over five years in an NYC “University Without Walls” songwriting course. “If you want to get a subject, teach it,” Kent says. “I’m a better songwriter because of teaching other people.” His book Songwriting Demystifyed, based on his course then, is being worked on now. Kent got a solid introduction to music between the ages of 10 and 14 with the Princeton, New Jersey-based American Boychoir. Touring in North America, Europe and Japan gave him a taste of stage performance, of audience aproval. Kent taught himself to play the guitar at George School, a Quaker high school near Morrisville, and as an undergraduate at Haverford College outside Philadelphia. A psychology major, he’s had a lifelong interest in human behavior, which comes across in many essays, poems, and songs. “I’ve wanted to help the world since I was a kid,” he says.
“Piece of the Puzzle,” possibly his most popular song, is prefaced by: “Sometimes life is like a puzzle, where the pieces don’t fit And you need a little help to make sense of it Then someone says something that cuts right through the mess In 25 words or less . . . .” The chorus is: “Everybody’s got a piece of the puzzle Everybody’s learned a thing or two Good times, hard times, you never know when you’ll find Another piece of the puzzle waiting for you” Kent wrote a related book, Staying Off the Wheel of Misfortune, and is finishing a sequel. One time of year flows into another. He’s working on bringing out an original collection of Christmas songs, including “Songs of the Season,” and is looking toward August, which will bring competition results and — if he wins — a memorable birthday. T&G Nadine Kofman is a native Centre Countian and historian.
Join us at the North Atherton Farmer’s Market
Visit Our Bellefonte Location! Tasting Room Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 11am-6pm | Friday 11-9pm | Saturday 11- 9pm | Sunday 1-6pm
576 S. Foxpointe Dr., State College, PA
814.308.8756 w w w.thehappyvalley winery.com 2017 June T&G - 25
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on center
Vocal Virtuosa
Jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant to make her Penn State debut in September
Mark Fitton
By John Mark Rafacz Wynton Marsalis knows musical talent when he hears it. After considering the attributes of jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant, the trumpeter is convinced of her greatness. “She has poise, elegance, soul, humor, sensuality, power, virtuosity, Jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant range, insight, “radiates authority and delivers a intelligence, depth, set with almost a dramatic arc,” and grace,” Marsalis according to The New York Times. says of the 27-yearold McLorin Salvant, who has been thrilling listeners at concert halls and festivals across America and Europe since she won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition in 2010. McLorin Salvant, who “radiates authority and delivers a set with almost a dramatic arc” (The New York Times), opens the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State 2017-18 season in a September 14 concert with her band (piano, bass, and drums) at Schwab Auditorium. Raised in a bilingual Miami home, the daughter of a French mother and a Haitian father, McLorin Salvant started singing at age 8 with the Miami Choral Society. After graduating from a Miami magnet high school, she ventured to Aix-en-Provence to study French law plus classical and Baroque singing. There, in the south of France, she also began to sing jazz. “I’ve never heard a singer of her generation who has such a command of styles ranging from Bessie Smith to Betty Carter,” says jazz pianist and composer Aaron Diehl. “To have an artist with such a handle on jazz vocabulary while being extremely expressive and soulful, that’s very rare.” McLorin Salvant’s most recent release, For One to Love, won the 2016 Grammy Award for best jazz vocal album. 26 - T&G June 2017
The singer — who is fascinated by the history of American music and the connections among jazz, vaudeville, blues, and folk — meticulously selects her repertoire. She’s known for unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten gems that tell powerful stories. The DownBeat International Critics Poll selected the vocalist’s debut recording, WomanChild (2013), as jazz album of the year. WomanChild lovingly acknowledges the iconic women of jazz. “If anyone can extend the lineage of the Big Three — Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald — it is this … virtuoso,” writes a critic for The New York Times. “There is a sexy swagger in her voice as she finesses these old chestnuts, breathing life into songs that were composed and sung long before she was born,” observes a reviewer for San Diego County News. “Cécile McLorin Salvant creates illusions in her singing by getting inside her song the way an actress gets inside a role.” Her second album, For One to Love (2015), not only channels her personality into the music of her predecessors, it also makes a powerful statement on romance through her own compositions. Five of the album’s tracks feature songs written by the singer. T&G Patricia Best and Thomas Ray sponsor the performance. For information about the Center for the Performing Arts 2017-18 season, go to cpa.psu.edu beginning June 12. Tickets for the McLorin Salvant concert and other presentations go on sale June 26. John Mark Rafacz is the editorial manager of the Center for the Performing Arts.
T& G
penn state diary
Facing a Challenging Future Public perception and the complex reality of the Greek system Penn State University Archives
By Lee Stout
A banquet celebrated the initiation of Penn State’s Sigma Nu chapter in 1909.
Fraternities have been a contentious topic on campus this year. But the death of Beta Theta Pi pledge Timothy Piazza and the indictment of 18 Beta members on charges related to that tragic incident brought the academic year to a shattering end. As a result, there seems to be an official posture that suggests Greek organizations are more trouble than they’re worth. I’ll confess up front that I find that troubling. As an undergraduate in the 1960s, I was a house president and thus a member of IFC, the Interfraternity Council. I was also a member of something called the IFC Board of Control, a judicial group that checked up on fraternity behavior and meted out punishment for violations of established rules. In addition, I served as an alumni chapter officer for several years. Much of the daily life of members today seems the same as I remember it, but we did not have the extensive time demands of philanthropy, nor did we have the wide-open parties that seem to generate so many problems today. The first American social fraternities began in the 1820s and ’30s, when they began to displace the campus literary or debating societies. They quickly spread from the Northeast, on both rural and urban campuses. With a tinge of secret society exclusiveness, like Masonic lodges, fraternities in the 19th century provided a more liberal social environment for students 28 - T&G June 2017
and were emblematic of a growing interest in the “extra-curriculum,” student life outside the classroom, and aspirations to become “successful men of the world.” Presidents and faculty in many schools resisted these organizations, believing the clubs distracted students from their studies and encouraged social life without proper decorum and restraint. Some colleges, including Penn State, did not permit them. However, students persisted in campaigning for change. Finally, growing enrollments could not be accommodated since Old Main, the only men’s dormitory space, was full and the village lacked enough rooming houses. Without alternatives, the faculty surrendered and lifted the ban in 1887. Chapters immediately began to proliferate and built their own houses in town. By 1920 fraternities had grown to 20 national chapters with 10 local fraternities. President Sparks, who served from 1908 to 1920, had been a fraternity man himself as an undergraduate. He and Dean of Men Arthur Warnock promoted fraternities and fostered the creation of the IFC to govern the system. And there were problems — social behavior (with prohibition arriving in 1920), house management and finances, and indifference to academics were issues to be addressed. In the 1930s, nearly half the male student body were members of 47 national and local chapters. This was the era of large new houses being built in the new Highlands fraternity district. It was also the era of formal dances at special times like Homecoming and House Party weekend and, beginning in the ’20s, more liberal attitudes toward drinking and sex. By the early ’60s, Penn State’s
fraternity system had grown to almost 60 chapters, the second largest system in the country. However, with the social revolutions of the late ’60s and ’70s, fraternities declined in popularity, only to recover in the ’80s and reach stability by the 21st century. The public perception of fraternities and their members has fluctuated as well, from being the home of campus leaders and athletes, to being the stereotypical slobs and proto-yuppies portrayed in Animal House. THON, more formally the IFC-Panhellenic Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, represents one side of fraternity life. Unfortunately, bad choices and outrageous behaviors in some houses revolving around hazing, alcohol abuse, and sexual misconduct have lately tipped the scale against the Greek community. Today, some question whether there is a future for the fraternity system. The university, still sensitive from the public relations and litigation disasters of the Sandusky scandal, has lost patience with groups that can’t control themselves. The public sees unruly parties, trash left on neighbors’ lawns, and students who risk their health and safety by abusing alcohol or drugs. The reality is more complex. Fraternity members attempt to live together, govern themselves as organizations, recruit committed members, and maintain a house, while achieving good grades and preparing for future careers through learning leadership skills. Greeks are a minority of the student body and, on any given night, parties in apartments and rental housing push the same boundaries, but without the responsibilities that fraternity members accept by being a part of groups that live and work together. While the Greek community is often blamed for enabling socially-problematic behavior among students, its members are only the most visible mirrors of their times. In the long run, they provide a sense of belonging in a massive institution and lifelong friendships for their members, as well as loyalty to the university community at large for the rest of their lives. It takes hard work to make a fraternity succeed in the best of times. In the current climate, securing the commitment of undergraduates, alumni, national chapters, and the university to the future of the system is even more challenging. T&G Lee Stout is librarian emeritus, special collections for Penn State.
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Tom Flynn: Cecily Zhu: Cecily Zhu: Special Olympics Greener Transportation Greener Transportation
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CecilyZhu Zhuhas hasnever neverowned ownedaacar. car.Most Mostof ofthe the Cecily athletes descend on the University Park campus year,she shebikes bikesto towork workon oncampus; campus;in inwinter, winter,she she year, for the Pennsylvania Special Olympics Summer takesthe thebus busor orcarpools. carpools.“When “WhenIIwas waslooking looking takes Games. For the past decade, Tom Flynn has for a place to live, I looked into my transportation for a place to live, I looked into my transportation made sure theshetennis competition goes smoothly optionsfirst, first,””she says.“It “Ithad hadto tobe bebikeable. bikeable.”” options says. for every athlete, from arrival to awards. “Once it Clearly,Zhu Zhupractices practiceswhat whatshe shepreaches. preaches.As AsPenn Penn Clearly, starts, there’ s no stopping it. It’ s just a whirlwind. ” State’ssfirst firstalternative alternativetransportation transportationprogram program State’ Tennis has been Flynn’ s game since childhood coordinator,since sincefall fall2015 2015she shehas hasmanaged managed coordinator, thanks to his father, aprograms college tennis coach. Flynn, everythingfrom frombike bikeprograms tocar carshare. share.She She everything to now senior landscape architect in the Division alsoworks workswith withState StateCollege Collegeand andCentre CentreRegion Region also of Campus Planningcohesive & Design, plays“This a couple plannersto toensure ensureaacohesive system.“This area planners system. area times a week at the Penn State Tennis Center, hassuch suchinteresting interestingbike bikeroutes routesand andconnectivity, connectivity,”” has which made him a natural choice when Special shesays. says. she Olympics needed a newYork tennis coordinator. Like Zhugrew grewup upin inNew NewYork City,where wherepublic public Zhu City, many Office of Physical Plant employees, he transitand andwalking walkingare are away wayof oflife. life.After Afterearning earning a transit had volunteered at thea Summer GamesPlanning, over thea degreein inEnvironmental EnvironmentalStudies–Policy, Studies–Policy,Planning, degree years, butfrom thisSUNY was hisCollege first major role. andLaw Lawfrom ofEnvironmental Environmental and SUNY College of Planning for the June event begins in and Scienceand andForestry, Forestry,she sheworked workedin inSyracuse Syracuseand Science November, and Flynn takesPark vacation time to be thenGrand GrandTetons TetonsNational NationalPark beforeheading heading then before on site throughout the games. He works with toPittsburgh, Pittsburgh,where whereshe shemost mostrecently recentlywas wasaa to 50-plus tennis volunteers and additional general transportationpolicy policyand andplanning planningfellow fellowfor forthe the transportation volunteers beginning with athlete arrival on PittsburghCommunity CommunityReinvestment ReinvestmentGroup. Group. Pittsburgh Thursday toState oversee everything from rating ThePenn PennState jobwas wasattractive attractiveto toZhu Zhu The job athletes to scheduling competitions to making becauseof ofthe theregion’ region’ssinterest interestin inalternative alternative because sure the correct number of lunches are delivered. transportation(CATA’ (CATA’ssclean-running clean-runningcompressed compressed transportation Every year, Flynn says, there’ s a stressful moment naturalgas gasfleet, fleet,for forexample) example)and andthe theopportunity opportunity natural where he swears this willon becampus. his last time as the to develop new programs Among to develop new programs on campus. Among the coordinator. “But all it takes is the awards projectsin inthe theworks worksare are a bikesharing sharingprogram program projects ceremony, and the looksa bike onBicycle the faces of the and andBEEP, BEEP,aasafety-oriented safety-orientedBicycle Educationand and Education athletes, and Program. I’m ready to do it again next year.” Enforcement Enforcement Program. The Penn Penn State StateBookstore Bookstorethanks thanksCecily Tom The The Penn State Bookstore thanks Cecily Flynn and all faculty, staff, and students Zhu and and all all faculty, faculty, staff, staff, and and students students who whowho Zhu carryout outthe theuniversity’s university’smission missionevery everyday. day. carry carry out the university’s mission every day.
www.psu.bncollege.com www.psu.bncollege.com 814-863-0205 814-863-0205 2017 June T&G - 29
A
MOUNTAIN OF FUN
Danny Barnes (left) and Elias Faulds on the ramps of the skate park at Tussey Mountain.
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Darren Andrew Weimert (3)
Once a ski area only, Tussey Mountain has evolved into a yearround center of family activities By Samantha Chavanic
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“ It’s an inexpensive and low-key way to have fun as a family.” — Holly Swanson Contributed photo
riginally opened in the 1960s as Skimont, Tussey Mountain in Boalsburg has grown from a small skiing mountain into a year-round outdoor family attraction. From the traditional skiing and snow tubing to summer activities and festivals to party and event rentals, Tussey Mountain has evolved into a one-stop-shop for fun in the sun — or snow. After humble beginnings as a public skiing area, Skimont closed, causing the mountain to sit unclaimed until the mid1970s when it re-opened as the private Bald Knob Ski Club. In the early 1980s, the skiing mountain was transformed into the public Tussey Mountain Ski Area that local winter sports enthusiasts know and love today. But it was soon discovered that the skiing season couldn’t keep the small resort alive. A few financially taxing winters in the early 1990s caused Tussey owners and employees to look toward sunnier times — literally. Sue Matalavage, general manager of Tussey Mountain, says expanding Tussey’s options to include year-round activities was something that just made sense. The first warm weather activity to grace the mountain was a nine-hole, par-three golf course. A driving range and go-kart track soon followed. “We did some research and those were things State College and the surrounding
area really didn’t have at that point,” Matalavage says. “You have to do something different.” Matalavage says finding the niche of par-three golfers was Tussey’s first sweet spot outside of powder. “It doesn’t take you all day to play golf here,” she says. “You have so many other full golf courses in State College and this is something different. The driving range went hand-in-hand with the par three. You need to offer more than one item or you are back in the same square.” A skate park was also added in the early 1990s, thanks in part to monetary donations from local townships and community members’ time and effort. Tussey Mountain donated the property for the park and became the owners once the original 10-year lease expired. Matalavage says Tussey now oversees all the maintenance of the park, insures it, and adds new features when able. Batting cages and a mini-golf course were added to round out Tussey’s Fun Centre, the mountain’s summertime family attraction. Located just below the Fun Centre is Tussey’s Pavilion by the Pond, which offers picnicking, catch-and-release fishing, and paddle boating. Holly Swanson, of State College, says her family visits the Pavilion by the Pond often, for picnics and catchand-release fishing. But, her 5-year-old daughter Megan’s favorite summertime Tussey activity is the outdoor Movies on the Mountain.
Swanson says after hearing about the event two years ago, she now watches Tussey’s website (tusseymountain.com) for the schedule. As soon as the movie list is released, she blocks out the time on her family’s schedule and plans weekends around it. “It’s an inexpensive and low-key way to have fun as a family. We go to the movies a lot, but at Tussey, there’s no pressure to keep kids quiet or in their seats. Megan has as much fun running around in the grass with the other kids as she does watching the movie,” she says. “It’s so much fun to spread out a blanket in the evening, get comfy with snacks and lay under the stars and moonlight. It’s a beautiful setting to watch the sunset over State College while we’re waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie to start.” Swanson’s reasons for loving Movies on the Mountain are
exactly why Matalavage says Tussey began the tradition. “The local drive-in was always a fun thing. When that closed, we thought people were going to miss out on that fun. We had a stage, so it was just a matter of finding a screen to hang off the stage,” she says. Swanson agrees, saying that she encourages friends to go because of the fun and familyfriendly atmosphere. She says there’s a real enjoyment for her kids to be up past their bedtime, even though it’s still for a familyoriented event.
“It reminds me of going to drive-in movies when I was a kid. It’s a much more familybased atmosphere than going to the regular movie theater. There’s just something so exciting about being out under the stars that makes it a better event than just going to the movies,” she says. “I love packing a blanket, glow sticks and extra sweatshirts for the cooler air that hits after the sun goes down. It shows a different side of State College that many people don’t see, unless you’re watching a
“ We don’t turn away any kind of party. If The Lodge fits into the scheme of what you want to do, we are happy to host it for you.” — Sue Matalavage, Tussey GM
Amanda Perez takes a breather at the skate park.
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Drivers take a spin around the go-kart track.
“It’s a nice environment for family and friends,” she says. “It builds stronger families and neighbors by allowing a fun evening together.” Tussey holds other outdoor events through October, including What the Deck, CelticFest, OktoberFest and the famed WingFest. Matalavage says the popular “best chicken wing” contest began just like many things at Tussey — from simple beginnings on the back patio with high school bands and 50 people in attendance. A partnership with QWiK Rock to draw people to the ski mountain during the summer has turned into one of the most attended events hosted by Tussey. “It just evolved and took off — and now we are in our eighteenth year,” Matalavage says. Each year, about 30 local restaurants compete to be dubbed “Tussey Mountain Wing King,” a people’s choice award. Each night of the fest, attendees are given one ticket to vote their favorite on to the finals. A winner is chosen from each week — with the six winning restaurants competing in the championship round. In addition to being known for its savory wings, WingFest has also been recognized as one of the best places to see live music during the summer. Local bands and tribute acts provide entertainment to wing eaters every week.
Contributed photo
movie at 10 p.m. on the side of a mountain.” For five years, Tussey offered Movies on the Mountain for a small admission cost, but thanks to a sponsorship in 2016 from Penn State Health, the mountain was able to offer free admission. A renewal of this sponsorship will continue free admission for the 2017 season. Concessions with food, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages are available during movies and often center around the theme of the movie. To attract movie-goers young and young-at-heart, Tussey offers both new releases and beloved classics during weekends from June through September. This year’s schedule includes Moana; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Mary Poppins, and Beauty and the Beast. Past classics have included Wizard of Oz and Casablanca. By combining movies with the outdoors, Tussey is able to attract families like that of Jody Kluskiewicz, who loves Movies on the Mountain because Tussey is close to home and because of the convenience and availability of the snack bar and restrooms.
Amber Hubert says her family has been going to WingFest for three years and loves the opportunity to experience local music and food. “The food is good and the music is great,” she says. “As a mom, I don’t get to see a lot of my favorite local bands because they play at night, so getting a chance to watch them with my kids is great.” Kluskiewicz has also attended WingFest for several years and enjoys the atmosphere. She feels the uniqueness of the local, live music and ski lift rides provide attendees with an experience other festivals aren’t able to offer. “I enjoy the live bands, community aspect and riding the ski lift for sightseeing,” she says. CelticFest centers around Celtic culture and includes timehonored activities such as a stone throw, caber toss and tug-ofwar. Vendors offer foods including shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, grilled corned beef and fontina sandwich, and Scottish and Irish beers. OktoberFest brings the best of the German tradition to Happy Valley and includes imported beers such as Hacker-Pschorr, Warsteiner, and König Ludwig Weissbier and local brews from Otto’s Pub & Brewery. What the Deck continues the fun of WingFest into fall. Each night is themed — and pairs local music with food and drink. Tussey Mountain also includes The Lodge, an indoor rental space for weddings, birthdays, and other special events. The Lodge offers a full-time food service staff and full bar service. “We don’t turn away any kind of party,” Matalavage says. “If The Lodge fits into the scheme of what you want to do, we are happy to host it for you.” Special events are also planned throughout the year and vary seasonto-season and year-to-year. Upcoming summer and fall special events include Rock for a Cure, Rothrock Trail Challenge, State College Brew Expo, Hardcore Mudd Run and Tussey Mountainback. For those looking to simply relax and get back to nature, Tussey is steps away from Rothrock State Forest. Visitors can prep for a day of hiking or biking with a quick round of mini-golf or get their blood pumping with a few laps around the go-kart track. “It is really relaxing here,” Matalavage says. “It’s pretty; it’s close to home.” Though no current plans exist for physical additions at Tussey Mountain,
Matalavage says plans for a summertime bluegrass festival are in the works. No matter what Tussey offers throughout the year, Swanson knows there will always be something for her 5-year-old and 13-year-old children. “We go snow tubing at Tussey during the winter, but it’s great that they offer summer events,” Swanson says. “Megan loves pointing out the mountain when we drive by or see it from a distance in town, and it’s a great way to reference family outings that will remain in our memory for years.” T&G Samantha Chavanic is a freelance writer living in Bellefonte.
Jaz and Miles Alford of State College test their mini-golf skills at Tussey Mountain.
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2017
All-Star Alums Town&Gown’s annual look at distinguished alumni from Centre County’s five public school districts features an impressive lineup ranging from a CEO to a “genius” grant recipient
by Jenna Spinelle
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From traveling the world to making a difference close to home, alumni of Centre County’s high schools are using the foundation built in school to carve out successful paths for themselves and help others along the way.
This year’s group of All-Star Alumni includes two Penn State grads who built successful companies, a world-traveling teacher, a scientist at the cutting edge of immunology research, and a winner of the prestigious MacArthur “genius” grant. Their careers rarely ended up how they thought they might in high school, but they all took paths to success.
Tom Bathgate Bellefonte Area High School, Class of 1965 Occupation: CEO, PWI Engineering Tom Bathgate built his company in the Philadelphia area, but will always call Centre County home. Over the course of his 40-year career, he’s led a successful engineering firm, traveled the world completing sustainable building projects, and given his time and money to support Penn State. Bathgate was born in Lock Haven but moved to a farm outside Howard when he was 8 years old. He was class president, captain of the Bellefonte High School football, wrestling and basketball teams, and a trumpet player in the school band. He fell in love with a cheerleader named 38 - T&G June 2017
Tom Bathgate was class president and a star athlete at Bellefonte High. He’s now CEO of PWI Engineering.
Natalie Smith and they have been married for 50 years.The family’s roots go back to Lemont, where the family settled in the 1840s. Bathgate recalls spending time on his grandmother’s farm and developing an interest in agriculture in the process. Despite that inkling, he did not have a choice when it came to his major at Penn State. “My dad was a tool and dye welder and all of his bosses were engineers so that was the path set out for my brother and I,” Bathgate says. “We were driven to work hard and get our studies done.” Bathgate stayed involved with Penn State long after he graduated. He was the president of the Engineering Alumni Society and helped raise money for several development campaigns. His latest project is a scholarship that veterans can use to supplement college expenses not covered by the GI Bill. Bathgate himself is a veteran; he was drafted to Vietnam after he graduated from Penn State in 1969. Bathgate says his drive to serve comes out of a genuine desire to help others, not out of a desire to receive recognition himself. “Penn State has thrown all kind of awards at me and said I’ve accomplished a lot,” Bathgate says. “That’s nice but it seems to me that trying to help others is just what you’re supposed to do.” Bathgate has accomplished a lot in his professional career. He’s overseen thousands of architectural engineering projects around the world, traveling to 29 countries in the process. His firm, PWI Engineering, specializes in sustainable building practices. While sustainability might be trendy now, Bathgate has been doing it since the 1970s, when he entered the job market
the farm and says he’s amazed by how much success his class has had over the years. “It’s been really phenomenal the number of national level successes we’ve had from one class at Bellefonte,” Bathgate says.
Lyndsey Biddle Penns Valley High School, Class of 2002 Occupation: English language tutor, Pearson Education, China Lyndsey Biddle took her first trip abroad in high school and immediately fell in love with the idea of immersing herself in other cultures. She’s still nurturing that dream in Beijing, China. Biddle was born and raised in Spring Mills and traveled to Spain with Tom Brubaker’s Spanish class during her sophomore year. “From that trip to Spain, I knew I wanted to travel abroad,” Biddle says. “I became really interested in language and just thought it was fascinating being around so many different cultures.” Biddle attended Juniata College and graduated with a degree in French. She studied abroad in France her junior year. However, she did not initially pursue her love of language and culture at Juniata. In fact, she did just the opposite as a biochemistry major — a decision she would quickly come to regret, but one that led to the opportunity of a lifetime. “After the first semester, I knew I didn’t want to work another day in a lab for the rest of my life,” Biddle says. “I started to panic and by chance got an email from one of the departments at the university that was looking for teachers to go abroad for China. I didn’t know anything about China or teaching but was confused and didn’t know what to do.” Biddle took a semester off to spend six months teaching English in China and found her calling. In her current position at Pearson Education, she’s responsible for preparing adults for English language tests. Students watch Pearson’s videos and complete online lessons, and then meet with her for an in-person evaluation. While the classes are taught entirely in English, Biddle says she speaks mostly Chinese outside of work. She took Chinese classes, but says she’s picked up just as much of the language from everyday life. “You pick it up quickly, especially in the situations you run into a lot,” Biddle says. “For example, I work in a luxury shopping mall
Lyndsey Biddle knew she wanted to travel abroad after a trip to Spain and Morocco in high school; she now teaches English in China.
in the midst of the 1973 oil embargo. PWI has helped entities from Exxon to Johns Hopkins University construct green buildings and renovate existing ones to make them more energy efficient. “I fell into it and came out smelling like a rose,” Bathgate says. “One of our specialties is sustainable design and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to countries all over the world helping businesses implement things like solar and wind energy systems.” Closer to home, PWI was the lead on the Beaver Stadium expansion project in 2001. Bathgate bought a farm outside of Howard in the 1980s and raised his children, Meredith and Brad, there. He hosted the Bellefonte Class of 1965’s 50th reunion at
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and the only affordable place to eat is Subway. If you go to that place every day, you quickly learn to order exactly what you want.” Biddle’s family still lives in Penns Valley and, while she misses them, she says there’s not much that bothers her about living so far away from home. She was married in Thailand earlier this year and says she plans to stay in Beijing for the foreseeable future. “China has a lot of opportunities,” she says. “If you want to start something or have your own business or have your own project, this is the place to do it.” BEA graduate Corey Dillon has made a difference close to home.
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Corey Dillon Bald Eagle Area High School, Class of 1992 Occupation: Founder, Interseeder Inc.; research farm manager, Penn State Corey Dillon is proof that one does not need to move far away or have a big-shot title in order to make a difference. Dillon’s work, done right here in the Centre Region, is poised to change the farming industry around the world. Dillon is part of a team that invented the Interseeder, a piece of equipment that allows farmers to plant cover crops during the growing season. By the time the harvest is over, the cover crops are well grown and can provide better protection during the winter months. “A cover crop allows the soil to be covered and protected from wind, cold weather, and those types of things,” Dillon says. “It really pulls up all the nutrients left behind and holds them all in so that when you plant the next year, those nutrients are available to the new crop.” The equipment is sold through a company called Interseeder Technologies, where Dillon does everything from sales to logistics. Interseeders have been sent all over the U.S. from the company’s Woodward headquarters, and Dillon has talked with potential buyers in England and South Africa. “As far as the business goes, it’s amazing how you can manage things with technology,” Dillon says. “We can communicate with customers and solve problems without needing a brick and mortar storefront.” Dillon grew up in Julian and became interested in farming when he started working for a potato farmer in middle school. He received a bachelor’s degree from Penn State and worked as an equipment fabricator for a few years before returning to pursue a master’s degree in agronomy, which is where the idea for the Interseeder was born. He’s still connected to Penn State as a research farm manager in the Department of Plant Sciences. Part of that work involves introducing children to agriculture, something he’s passionate about doing. At the end of April, he and his team hosted a two-day farming expo for high school students at the Ag Progress Days research facility that included a keynote address by U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson. “The goal is for students to learn about how much technology
there is in farming today,” Dillon says. “They don’t realize how sophisticated and advanced agriculture is today and all the career opportunities that are available that don’t involve working on a farm all day.”
Bill Thies State College Area High School, Class of 1997 Occupation: Senior researcher, Microsoft Research India Bill Thies is passionate about how technology can help improve the lives of those who might not have regular access to it. That passion was rewarded last year with a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a “genius grant.” Thies is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research India. Rather than working on the next great Microsoft innovation, his research focuses on how technology can change humanity for the better. “Microsoft is fully committed to pure, fundamental research that aims to contribute to society,” Thies says. He is one of the founders of the 99Dots project. Billed as “Healthcare for the 99%,” it provides low-cost medication to tuberculosis patients and monitoring services for healthcare professionals to ensure that all doses are taken. Patients call a number after completing each dose; the call is logged and tracked and real-time data is available to medical providers. Calls are free to make and both patients and supervisors receive reminders about missed doses. Thies moved to India in 2008. Unlike Biddle, he did not have ambitions to live abroad but says, he has come to appreciate the opportunity it presents. He is able to test and deploy his ideas much more quickly than he would be able to in the U.S., and it’s easier for his work to have a global impact. “Among my friends at the time I was probably least interested in traveling. I spent all four summers of undergrad living in my college dorm (at MIT) … I didn’t go anywhere,” Thies says. “India is an amazing place to work because you have companies like Microsoft that has resources of a world class research lab and on your doorstep you have people who are earning a dollar a day who are representative of a different population.” Thies was part of the 2016 class of MacArthur Fellows, a program sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation. He was one of 25 individuals
State High grad Bill Thies earned a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grant last year.
around the world selected as a recipient last year and will receive $625,000 over the course of five years to use however he sees fit. He says he hasn’t yet decided how he will use the funds. He was selected for the MacArthur Grant for the work on 99Dots, which has served more than 20,000 patients thus far and is poised to expand around the world. Thies says that rapid growth is due in part to the freedom he has with Microsoft and in India. One example of that had to do with how phone calls are made and received in India. In order to place a call, a person must have credits available on their phone. Once 99Dots was deployed into the field, Thies and the team quickly realized that a different approach would be needed in order to keep the calls free. “In retrospect it’s obvious to call a number you have to have a balance on your phone,” Thies says. “It’s a technical 2017 June T&G - 41
a citizen journalism project that allows people in remote areas to call a hosted Joshua Yoder in high school and with phone number his family: wife Jennifer and children and record Abraham, Elena, and Eloise. stories to be example, but those are the shared with the world. These types of changes we had to populations typically do not make during those early pilots.” have access to social media Thies also works on the and might not otherwise have CGNet Swara project, their voices heard, Thies says.
Celebrating Our 90 th Year
PLUMBING • HEATING • AIR CONDITIONING HEAT PUMPS • SPRINKLER SYSTEMS • MEDICAL GAS
Serving the Centre Region since 1927 814.355.4841 www.josephhazelinc.com HIC# PA 012698
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“Medical problems, disease outbreaks, infrastructure issues … once those things are posted they get a lot of attention and sometimes the problems are solved,” Thies says. “These are big community problems that are being solved as a result of having an outlet where people can voice issues that matter to them.”
Joshua Yoder Philipsburg-Osceola High School, Class of 1997 Occupation: Medical science liaison, Sanofi Pasteur
While Thies is improving access to healthcare abroad, PhilipsburgOsceola alumnus Joshua Yoder is
working on medical innovation closer to home.Yoder’s focus is on immunology and infectious disease. As a medical science liaison for Sanofi Pasteur, he meets with doctors throughout Ohio, Michigan, and western Pennsylvania to let them know about the company’s latest innovations. Sounds a little like a pharmaceutical sales rep, right? Yoder says that is a common misconception about his work. With a PhD from Harvard, his focus is strictly science, not sales. “I’m literally a liaison between the company and the doctor,” Yoder says. “I am informing them about what new products are in the field and bringing their thoughts and opinions back to the company.”
Yoder grew up on a farm in Philipsburg and attended the Governor’s School for Agriculture Science when he was in high school. He initially thought his career might go in that direction, but he ended up working in a medical lab during his time at Penn State and became interested in immunology research. After graduating from Penn State, he searched for the best virology programs in the country and ended up at Harvard for his doctorate. He was initially apprehensive about moving to Boston from central Pennsylvania, but in retrospect is glad he had the opportunity to do so. “Seeing how people think in different areas and different cultures … even if you only go away for a few years and come
back, it’s invaluable to have broad perspective.” Yoder was valedictorian of his class and also served as class president. He received PhilipsburgOsceola’s 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award and had the opportunity to speak to the school’s students. He told them about how his perception of success has changed since he was in school. “When I was in high school, I thought success would bring you happiness and so I thought I wanted to be as successful as possible,” Yoder says. “I now know it’s the opposite and happiness leads to your success.” T&G Jenna Spinelle is a freelance writer and journalism instructor in State College.
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Town&Gown’s special “History” section showcases the beginnings, transitions, and successes of area businesses and organizations
Special Advertising Section
Balfurd Dry Cleaner For 90 years, Balfurd has been delivering customer-oriented service and quality textile care to the Centre Region. Now in our fourth generation of family ownership, we’re proud of our long-term commitment to the State College community, our customers, and especially our employees. We’re known for our big orange trucks, the silly signs on our marquee…and for meeting the evolving needs of our clients and the State College region. For today’s customers, our services include providing an environmentally responsible alternative to traditional dry cleaning and offering FREE pick-up and delivery service. We take tremendous pride in knowing we help the people of Centre County look and feel their best, every day. Thank you to all of our clients for helping us stick around President Bob Fogelsanger and for 90 years. We’re proud to call this community home, Monika Manter, Vice President of Retail Operations and we hope to be taking care of current and future customers for many years to come.
Balfurd’s previous Beaver Avenue location
www.balfurd.com 1223 N. Atherton St. & 215 S. Atherton St. 814.237.7661 Special Advertising Section - 45
A heartfelt thank you to our artists, donors, members, and visitors — you make our milestones happen! Here’s a brief summary of the museum milestones and events to date. We are now making plans for 2018, our tenth anniversary, which will be an “Imagination Celebration”! •512 members, 86 volunteers, and 162 artists on the juried Artist Registry •First publication, Landscapes of Central Pennsylvania, published in 2016 •Monthly 1st Sunday exhibit openings with receptions and family art activities •Seven galleries with different art shows each month, some with exhibitions of work by artists from the museum’s Artist Registry, including separate galleries for jewelry and photography •Library of over 200 art books, many which may be borrowed •Annual Regional High School Art Show for graduating seniors •“Windows of the World” gallery shows art from various regions and cultures, featuring in 2017: “Art to Honor and Remember,” an international collection of medallic art works; “Saddle Up: Western Art and Artifacts”; “Abstract Art: how we feel”; and the “Art of Billy Mills.” Over the past few years, art in the gallery has included an international show of fiber art; exhibitions of art works from the Middle East, Africa, Mexico, Cuba, and Japan; a show of personal adornment and wearable art from over 30 countries; a survey of pottery arts; paintings done by Native American artists; and a display of NASA space photography. •Two lovely memorial gardens, one with a new fountain and the other with sculpture by Jeanne Stevens- Sollman. •Art of Words programs about poetry and writing: “Out Loud,” “What’s in a Word,” and an art exhibition matching poetry and paintings •Exhibition commemorating the role of the Linn House and Bellefonte in the Underground Railroad before the Civil War in the “Secret Room,” located on the attic floor of the museum and used by enslaved Americans on the road to freedom •Summer camps taught by local art teachers, recognized on the White House - IMLS blog, “Let’s Move!” •Annual “summer project” art show and special events partnering with families, businesses, and farms. In 2017 we are featuring “Good Libations”: the art of creating wines, distilled drinks, and ciders, by producers in our region. •Annual fundraiser event, “Monet’s Picnic,” with French dining, impressionist art, artists creating en plein air, and music on a summer evening
Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County www.bellefontemuseum.org 133 N. Allegheny St., Bellefonte 814.355.4280
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Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund The Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund provides financial support to local cancer patients so they worry less about unpaid bills and focus their energy on treatment and recovery. Every dollar is donated by individuals, community businesses and groups, and local foundations and through fundraising events held by the Bob Perks Fund or by others to support the Fund. By the close of 2016, the Bob Perks Fund enjoyed JR Mangan Band at Rock the ‘80s the celebration of several milestones: •The 10-year anniversary of being established by Doreen Perks and Bob’s family, friends, and colleagues to honor Bob’s commitment to helping cancer patients long before his life was taken by melanoma at age 42 •Having raised and distributed nearly $1.5 million to help local cancer patients pay for rent, utilities, groceries, gas, and more as they battle cancer •Jumping from a 2006 allocation of $16,000, which funded 30 cancer patient applications, to a 2016 allocation of $194,000, which funded 350 cancer patient applications •Hosting the annual Bob Perks Fund “Tailgate Party” for 10 years •Hosting the annual “Rock the ’80s” Concert for 5 years at the State Theatre, made possible with the donated talent and spirit of 12 local bands •Expanding our strategic partnership to include Penn State Coaches vs Cancer, American Cancer Society, Mount Nittany Health, Sheetz Inc., and UPMC Altoona •Growing our major foundation support to include Centre Gives through Centre Foundation, Clearfield County Charitable Foundation, Ferguson Foundation, Geisinger Health, Mount Nittany Health, and UPMC Altoona Foundation •Being accepted as a partner agency in Huntingdon County United Way As we move through 2017, we enthusiastically look forward to our second annual “Summer Slam” 3v3 Basketball Tournament at the State College YMCA on June 16 and 17 and working together with Marlene Sample and State College Magazine, as the 2017 recipient of the extremely successful “Chefs On Stage” dinner gala, being held October (Left to right) Ryan Perks, Kevin 9 at Toftrees Resort. McKenna, Jack Morris, and Jahmir Urie at the 2016 Summer Slam Cancer touches everyone’s life in some way, and every donation — big and small — helps a neighbor facing the double burden of cancer and unpaid bills. Learn more about the work of the Bob Perks Fund at our website, bobperksfund.org, and join our Facebook page to learn about our current activities and to share your fundraising ideas. You can donate to the Bob Perks Fund through Paypal or by sending a check to Bob Perks Fund, P.O. Box 313, State College, PA 16804.
P.O. Box 313, State College, PA 16804 Special Advertising Section - 49
Bobby Rahal Honda of State College Last month, Bobby Rahal Honda of State College proudly celebrated its first anniversary as part of the Bobby Rahal Automotive Group. The group was founded in 1989, three years after famed driver Rahal won the Indianapolis 500. Its first Honda dealership in Mechanicsburg was followed by nine additional dealerships, selling Acura, Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Sales and Office Teams Range Rover, and, of course, Honda in central and western Pennsylvania. On May 3, 2016, Bobby Rahal Automotive Group purchased Dix Honda from the Dix family, which had been selling cars in State College since 1955, and Hondas since 1975. The Rahal group immediately hired every Dix Honda employee as part of its commitment to furthering the Dix family’s longstanding tradition of customer service and community involvement. Many of those employees are pictured here. Service and Parts Teams
Looking ahead, Bobby Rahal Honda of State College is focused on growing new-vehicle sales and Honda brand loyalty in the area. Meanwhile, Bobby Rahal Automotive Group itself continues to grow, with a new Lexus dealership in Lancaster in the works as the group’s 11th dealership. At every dealership, Bobby Rahal Automotive Group team members are dedicated to upholding the high standards set by International Motor Sports Hall of Fame member Bobby Rahal.
Management Team
BobbyRahalHondaofStateCollege.com 2796 W. College Ave., State College 814.238.6711
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BrightStar Care of Happy Valley
Just one year after it began providing home health and personal care services, BrightStar Care of Happy Valley already has achieved accreditation by The Joint Commission standards organization. This high level of accreditation involved an intensive on-site inspection by an independent team of all BrightStar Care processes, from recordkeeping to quality of care. BrightStar Care places a high priority on the quality of services provided and to ensure that quality is carried through, BrightStar Care achieved The Joint Commission seal of approval in April of this year. BrightStar Care of Happy Valley has quickly become a trusted provider of home health care in Blair, Centre, Huntingdon, and Mifflin counties and recently began serving clients in Clinton and Juniata counties. Services include: •Available 24/7 •Meal Preparation •Transportation •Light Housekeeping •Guaranteed Compatibility® •RN Oversight
•Bathing and Dressing •Medication Reminders and Administration •Companionship •Dementia Care •Skilled Nursing Service •IV Infusion Care
All care is supervised by the director of nursing, and an emphasis is placed on communication among the client, providers, and family members. BrightStar Care is committed to providing care to all individuals in central Pennsylvania; we accept VA benefits, Medicaid waiver, long term care insurance, and private pay.
www.brightstarcare.com 1402 S. Atherton St., Suite 201 814.826.3200 Special Advertising Section - 51
State College Borough: Always Changing The sky-high construction cranes that have dotted downtown State College the past few years are constant reminders of the changes taking place as State College Borough evolves to meet the current and future needs of both the town and gown communities. Already open is Fraser Centre, with a Hyatt Place hotel and national retailers Target and H&M bringing additional variety to downtown shopping. On the west end of town, the Metropolitan is signing up tenants for high-end apartments scheduled to open this fall. At the East College Avenue entrance to downtown, construction is underway on RISE at State College, a 12-story building that will be occupied by a streetlevel grocery store and apartments for graduate and undergraduate students as well as professionals. The latest construction start is in the 200 block of East Beaver Avenue. The existing building has been demolished, and plans are being considered for a seven-story, mixed use building. The Borough’s retail and commercial areas continue to thrive thanks to ongoing adaptation to new technologies, new businesses, and changing customer preferences. Among traditional retailers, Harper’s is moving several blocks to a multi-level space next door to the Tavern. Adapting to changing times is part of the reason Harper’s has been in business for 90 years. CVS plans to expand its existing store into the former Harper’s space to create a larger downtown presence. In the former Abercrombie space on South Allen Street, Internet retailing giant Amazon plans to open a pickup point, where people living in apartments and residence halls can easily and securely pick up and return packages. In the municipal building, New Leaf Initiative is a co-working environment for connecting people and ideas. More recently, Happy Valley LaunchBox opened in 2016 as a hub for local entrepreneurs. As part of the Invent Penn State economic development partnership with CBICC and the Centre County Economic Development Partnership, the LaunchBox is not limited to just Penn State faculty, staff and students, but is open to all members of the community. Start-ups are graduating from the LaunchBox accelerator, ready to become an ongoing part of the Borough economy. Downtown State College is also the home to a vibrant cultural arts district featuring venues such as the State Theatre, The Penn State Downtown Theatre, the Centre County Art Alliance, the Woskob Gallery, and Schlow Centre Region Library. In the coming years, the State College Town Centre, a public private partnership project at the former Verizon Building on South Allen Street, is also expected to add another exciting space that will add more vibrancy to the downtown.
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Just past downtown, University Park Plaza Corporation recently expanded its Hamilton Square Shopping Center. The 15,000-square-foot expansion already includes four tenants, chosen to complement the services provided in the original building. Also outside the central business district, the new State College Area High School is heading toward the final phase of construction. For the past 120 years, the Borough has served the needs of the entire community in the best interests of all, even as the area has evolved from a village to a small town to a small city. Elected officials, staff members, and volunteers all work together to make State College a great community to live, work, shop, and play.
www.statecollegepa.us
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Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County As an organization that serves all of Centre County, the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County has long been at the forefront of efforts to position the area for investment and new business opportunities. Successful companies have launched from CBICC The CBICC and officials from the Governor’s Action incubators. Growing businesses are benefitting Team visit with API Technologies to learn more about the local company’s operations and current needs. from support and assistance provided by the Chamber’s Business and Industry Partnership. Thanks to a Memorandum of Agreement signed with Penn State University in May 2015, one collaborative economic development project has already been announced — the location of a Morgan Advanced Materials Carbon Science Center of Excellence at Innovation Park. Groundbreaking for the facility is slated for June 9. Additional companies are being recruited to join Morgan Advanced Materials in Centre County. The potential of the town-and-gown relationship Joined by two small businesses — Actuated Medical and envisioned in the MOA is also capturing the Dominight — that have been assisted by the CBICC, the Chamber and Centre County Commissioners formally interest of other university communities. recognize Small Business Week in Centre County. The CBICC’s mission continues today through the Centre County Economic Development Partnership — a countywide team of business, county and local government, community, and academic leaders who are committed to collaboration, and who recognize the benefits to the county as a whole from new and/or strengthened economic opportunities occurring anywhere inside our borders. With its CCEDP partners, the CBICC is undertaking an emboldened, collaborative mission to advance entrepreneurship; foster local business retention/ expansion, and secure appropriate business recruitment and wealth investment as a way The CBICC introduces Governor’s Action Team to achieve this goal of a healthy, balanced, officials to a rapidly growing Centre County company — KCF Technologies, Inc. countywide private sector.
cbicc.org 131 S. Fraser St., State College 814.234 .1829
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It’s Almost Time for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts! We’re counting down the days until this year’s Arts Festival, when we can visit sidewalk sale artist booths, check out performers from blues to bluegrass, watch the construction of a giant sand sculpture, and so much more. This year, be sure to put Ben Model and the silent film hit Safety Last! on your list of Festival must-do’s. Harold Lloyd’s 1923 hit silent-film comedy will play on the big screen at Schwab Auditorium while Ben Model performs accompanying music on the virtual theatre organ he developed. The instrument uses an assemblage of keyboards and digital technologies to bring the movie palace sound of the Mighty Wurlitzer to 21st-century theatres. Ben is one of the nation’s leading silent-film accompanists and has performed around the nation and internationally. Having created and performed live scores for several hundred silent films, he is a resident film accompanist at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and at the Library of Congress’ Packard Campus Theatre. He is producer and co-founder of The Silent Clowns Film Series, now in its 19th season in New York City.
Ben Model and Safety Last! 8 p.m., Thursday, July 13, at Schwab Auditorium Festival button required for admission
2017 Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts Children & Youth Day, July 12 Sidewalk Sale & Exhibition, July 13-16 Downtown State College & Penn State Campus arts-festival.com 403 S. Allen St., Suite 205A, State College 814.237.3682
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35 Years of Healing A haven, a healing space and a community of empowerment: The Silva Stein shelter has been these things to survivors of domestic violence who need and deserve a safe, non-judgmental space to recover from trauma and plan future goals. Established in 1982 and expanded in 2001, our domestic violence shelter is one of the many services of the Centre County Women’s Resource Center and provides confidential, professional counseling and advocacy services 24 hours a day. Last year we provided emergency housing to 82 women and 54 children for a total of 4,383 days. Our main goal is to assist individuals and families fleeing domestic violence in being safer. We also strive to create a caring community. We know that domestic violence and homelessness are interrelated and that 63 percent of women who are homeless nationwide have experienced sexual and/or domestic violence. We also know that leaving the relationship is the most dangerous time. So we respect that not everyone experiencing domestic violence will be able to access shelter services. We could not do this with your support. Thanks to our volunteers, partner agencies, and overnight/weekend staff (who allow us to be open 24/7), we are able to work with residents on basic needs (food, medicine) and long-term goals (safety planning, counseling, employment). •In just one day in 2015, over 31,500 U.S. adults and children fleeing domestic violence found refuge in a domestic violence emergency shelter or transitional housing program. •That same day, domestic violence programs were unable to meet over 12,197 requests for services because of a lack of funding, staffing, or other resources. •Sixty-three percent (7,728) of unmet requests were for housing. Source: National Network to End Domestic Violence (2016). Domestic Violence Counts 2015-A 24-hour census of domestic violence shelters and services. Washington, DC.
For more information about our services visit www.ccwrc.org
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Centre Helps Since 1972, Centre Helps has continually aided Centre County residents in crisis. As we celebrate our 45th anniversary this year, we have simplified our name from “Community Help Centre” to “Centre Helps,” because that’s exactly who we are: We are Centre County volunteers, helping our neighbors in Centre County. We provide direct help, and we act as a navigator, connecting people in need with the services that will assist them in reaching personal and financial stability. We help people just like you to solve their problems. Centre Helps has four key program areas: •24-hour Hotline, staffed 24/7/365 by skilled, compassionate volunteers. In 2016, we answered more than 10,000 calls. •Basic Needs Case Management, providing counseling, emotional support, advocacy, education, financial packaging, budget counseling, and resource identification. In 2016, we provided case management to 387 people, and referred 805 to the State College Food Bank. •Educational programming Youthful Offenders Program in partnership with the State College Police Department, offers an alternative educational adjudication program for youth cited for violating alcohol laws. In 2016, 454 students completed the YOP. Parents of Addicted Children Coming Together (PACCT), an educational support group for parents of children struggling with addiction. •Volunteer training for Penn State students and other volunteers who each fulfill a 340- hour commitment to staffing the agency; many volunteers go on to pursue careers in law enforcement, social work, and education. In 2016, volunteer service opportunities were provided to 80 people. Centre Helps is able to provide these essential services thanks to the generous support of our key partners: Centre County United Way, Centre County Government, and Centre Foundation. This support has allowed us to utilize new technology to assist our clients. Last summer, we offered our first completely online Youthful Offenders Program course. Soon, clients will be able to communicate with Centre Helps staff through text messaging and chat/instant messaging. It’s all part of our ongoing mission: Empowering Lives on the Line in Centre County.
1972: 1995: 1998: 2001: 2017:
On Drugs Inc. begins offering alcohol and drug intervention, information, and education. On Drugs Inc. becomes Well Spring. Well Spring assumes contract for Volunteer Center of Centre County and begins providing additional services. Well Spring officially merges with Volunteer Center of Centre County to become Community Help Centre. Community Help Centre becomes Centre Helps to better communicate our mission and mark our 45th year of serving Centre County residents.
www.centrehelps.org 410 S. Fraser St., State College 814.237.5855 or 800.494.2500
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Christine’s Hallmark Shop
In 1997, Altoona native Christine Willnecker was studying horticulture at Penn State when she took a part-time job as a cashier at the brand-new Barbara’s Hallmark Shop at North Atherton Place. Owner Barbara Grappone took Christine under her wing and taught her every aspect of the retail business. Christine soon realized that retail was her passion and she had found her lifetime career. When Barb retired last year, she chose Christine to take over the store. Christine brought on Vera Bradley and Lizzy James lines, and is carrying out minor remodeling to freshen up the store’s physical space. Otherwise, Christine’s Hallmark Shop still strives to be the same happy, one-stop shop it was 20 years ago, where shoppers can find the perfect gift…and maybe a little something for themselves. With a broad selection of year-round and seasonal gifts and greeting cards, Christine’s Hallmark Shop always has something new on the shelves, in addition to traditional favorites. Staff are always ready to offer personalized service to both longtime clients and new shoppers. The goal is to provide the best customer service, with a family feel, to every guest who walks through the door.
North Atherton Place 1637 N. Atherton St. 814.867.0744
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@centredoutdoors
Join us for a Summer of Fun! Centred Outdoors is an open invitation for people of all ages and fitness levels to explore nine outdoor destinations all around Centre County, all summer long. Together, we’ll stress less and discover more about the great outdoors! To participate (all events are free, and open to the public): • Register at centredoutdoors.org • You’re invited to the kick-off event at Tussey Mountain on June 11 during the Family Fishing Picnic • Attend up to 18 guided adventures at featured sites every Sunday and Wednesday between June 18 and August 16, or explore sites on your own. • Earn ‘e-trophies’ online. Prizes will be awarded at the Wrap-Up Celebration on August 20! • Questions? email: info@centredoutdoors.org call: 814-237-0400
This program made possible by a grant awarded to ClearWater Conservancy by Centre Foundation.
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Black Moshannon State Park
The Barrens to Bald Eagle Wildlife Corridor
Bald Eagle State Park
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Talleyrand Park
Spring Creek Canyon
Poe Paddy Tunnel
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Millbrook Marsh Nature Center
The Arboretum at Penn State
Mount Nittany
Designer’s Studio Designer’s Studio was founded in a small room on Beaver Avenue in State College by Helen Woskob, a local businesswoman who had immigrated to America from Ukraine. She wanted to keep alive locally the tradition of beautiful, hand-selected furniture for fabulous homes. Although Helen intended to maintain a small boutique showcasing exclusive pieces, it soon became clear that the demand for her unique furniture and accessories was far greater than could be supported in a one-room shop. Designer’s Studio moved to a new 15,000-square-foot showroom and design center eight miles east of State College on Route 322. Despite the larger scale, Designer’s Studio still runs on the same principles as when it was founded nearly twenty years ago. Our showroom features quality items handpicked for their uniqueness and functionality, ranging from accessories and furniture from around the world to items made locally in Pennsylvania from American hardwood. With styles ranging from old world to contemporary, our vast collection is sure to hold the perfect piece to make any home stand apart. In addition to the ample inventory in the showroom, customers have access to an in-house design center, where they can work with our designers to fully customize certain pieces of furniture. Now operated by Helen’s daughter-in-law, Nina Woskob, Designer’s Studio continues to build on two decades of Woskob family style and service.
designerstudio.com 107 Designers Drive Centre Hall, PA 16828 814.364.9220 Special Advertising Section - 61
Discovery Space In July 2011, Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania opened in downtown State College for Children’s Day of the Central PA Festival of the Arts. The result of a true community effort, we were the only hands-on science museum in the area and one of only a few local organizations that provide science enrichment outside of the school day, covering topics from astronomy and the physical sciences to geology and topography. We started with three part-time employees, two dozen exhibits, and a budget of less than $250,000. During our first year, we learned that many adult visitors had never been to a children’s museum, so they were unsure about how to use the space. Children never questioned it, though. They knew to try out each colorful exhibit, turning a crank, pulling a rope, or presenting in front of a green screen. Over the years, we have been fortunate to develop many mutually beneficial partnerships with other organizations like Schlow Library, AAUW-State College, and many colleges at PSU. We have grown our programs from one early-childhood program per week to three, and from two summer camps to 14. We now have three full-time staff plus part-time employees, and our budget has reached the half-million-dollar mark. Our mission and how we meet it Right before we opened, at a retreat for board members and stakeholders, we crafted a mission statement that still drives us today: to create engaging science experiences which spark creativity, curiosity, and imagination. The experiences that we create occur in programming at the museum for children as young as 6 months old and as old as 15 years; afterschool programming in four school districts; summer camps for preschool through middle schoolers; field trip programs; birthday parties; and special events on and offsite. We have over 16,000 visits last year, many of those by our over 800 member families. We reach another 5,000 children through educational STEM programming. Helping us in these efforts are dozens of volunteers from PSU and the local community and generous support from individuals, businesses, and service groups. We hit a milestone! In 2015, we crunched four years of data and recognized that the physical size of our space was crippling our educational efforts. We were receiving requests from schools for field trips with more children than could fit in the exhibit gallery. Parents requested birthday parties that would overflow our classroom. Our summer camps were filling up faster than ever, causing long wait lists that could never be fulfilled. For a year and a half, we searched for a larger property in downtown State College.
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The State College Borough and all who live in it have been so kind to us over the years, and we loved getting to know the families who are able to walk to the museum from home or while running errands. Once we exhausted our options downtown, we expanded the search. Late last winter, we settled on the 1224 N. Atherton St. location as the best option for staying close to downtown but providing the parking that so many visitors request. We will spend one last summer in downtown State College, closing our doors at the end of the day on Friday, Aug. 25. We will re-open in the new location in September with triple the space for exhibits, programs, field trips, and events. Keep up with our progress and find ways to get involved by checking out our website and Facebook page!
Discovery Space moves to 1224 N. Atherton St. in September. Preparing the downtown museum for the July 2011 opening
MyDiscoverySpace.org 112 W. Foster Ave., State College 814.234.0200 Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania
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Celebrating
30
Years of Serving Our Community Diversified Asset Planners
Open house at
Stop by to see all Reps and celebrate this milestone with us.
June 14th 11am – 4pm
Lunch and snacks will be provided Estate Planning • Financial Planning •Retirement Planning •Insurance & Annuities •Tax Consulting •Life Insurance
Financial wellness takes careful planning 814.234.2500 We offer experienced retirement planning through processes that have been tested by time in any market. We work toward providing our clients with financial security in uncertain times by guiding you through financial management. www.diversifiedassetplanners.com 1524 W. College Ave. State College, PA 16804
Christopher Leitzell
Donald Leitzell, CFP
Securities offered through J.W. Cole Financial – Member FINRA/SIPC. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification AND in the U.S. Diversified Asset Planners and J.W. Cole Financial are independent firms. marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ Securities offered through J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. (JWC). Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc. (JWCA). Diversified Asset Planners, Inc., and JWC/JWCA are unaffiliated entities.
Clean Sweep Professional Cleaning Services Inc. For Doug Moerschbacher, owner of Clean Sweep Professional Cleaning Service, it’s all about taking the time to do the job right. He is a Master Textile Cleaner, certified by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification as well as several other textile-based organizations. For the past 23 years, he has been applying his expertise to deliver the highest quality carpet, upholstery, and window cleaning services. Clean Sweep offers quality, detail-oriented services including: •Upholstery, window, and floor cleaning. Expert upholstery cleaning prevents the color bleeding, browning, or shrinkage that can occur with less-knowledgeable technicians. Window cleaners attend to details such as preventing drips on floors, and Clean Sweep’s floor cleaning service can handle all types of modern and traditional flooring using odorless products. •Carpet cleaning. Options include regular and restorative cleaning, green cleaning for customers who have allergies, pile lifting to remove deep-down dirt, and Solar Seal to prevent color fading and stains. The host dry extraction technique dries carpet almost immediately after cleaning. Moerschbacher is directly involved in the carpet, upholstery, and rug cleaning, as well as regularly scheduled and one-time commercial and residential cleaning. He is well known among clients for his attention to even the smallest detail, resulting in cleaning that is always done right. After founded his cleaning service in 1994, Moerschbacher pursued extensive education and certification. He was the first Master Textile Cleaner in the region and is passionate about updating his education regularly so that he is knowledgeable about the latest methods, cleaning products, and technology. As a result, he delivers superior quality and personalized service to all of his clients. Clean Sweep’s sister company, Doug’s Rug Care, is the most qualified and technologically advanced rug care facility in Central Pennsylvania, caring for even the largest and most valuable pieces. Doug’s Rug Care is the only Central PA service that guarantees pet-odor removal in rugs. As the owner and operator of Clean Sweep and Doug’s Rug Care and a member of the local community, Moerschbacher truly cares about the quality of his work and the reputation of his business. “I spend the time to do the work properly, without needing to rush to the next appointment,” he says. “I personally stand behind all of my work.”
www.cleansweepp.net 121 West Street, Pleasant Gap 814.359.4414
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Penn State Wrestling
In March, Penn State won its second consecutive national title and sixth over the last seven seasons.
By winning six national championships in the last seven seasons, including the last two titles, Penn State wrestling has not only become the best program in college wrestling but also has become, perhaps, the top program in all of college athletics. Head coach Cael Sanderson has led the Nittany Lions to unprecedented success. But Nittany Lion wrestling has a long and storied history that includes 206 All-Americans and 37 individual national champions. Some of the greatest names in collegiate wrestling have either wrestled or coached for Penn State, including Charlie Speidel, Bill Koll, Andy Matter, Jeff Prescott, Kerry McCoy, Ed Ruth, David Taylor, and Zain Retherford, who won a second consecutive national title at the 2017 NCAA Championships in March as well as the Hodge Award, equal to Charlie Speidel the Heisman of wrestling. Wrestling became a varsity sport at Penn State in 1909. Nine years later, the program joined the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. The Lions would become the most dominant program in the EIWA, winning 16 league titles before they left the association in 1974. In 1926, Penn State hired Charlie Speidel as its head coach. He guided the Lions for 34 seasons, from 1927 to 1964 (he served in the military in World War II, from 1942 to 1945), and his 191 wins are the most in program history. In 1935, Howard Johnston became the first Lion to win an individual national championship. From 1950 to 1954, Speidel led the Lions to 34 consecutive dual meet victories. And in 1953, he took the Lions to the top as they won their first team national championship. With the 1953 championships at Rec Hall, the Lions had five All-Americans, including 191-pound national champion Hud Samson. After Speidel retired in 1964, Penn State hired legendary wrestler Bill Koll to replace him. The Lions won more than 85 percent of their matches during Koll’s 14 seasons, and he coached three individual national champions, including Andy Matter, who, in 1972, became the first Penn State wrestler to win two national titles. Koll also oversaw Penn State’s entrance into the Eastern Wrestling League in 1976. The Lions would dominate the EWL until they joined the Big Ten in 1993. 66 - Special Advertising Section
Rich Lorenzo, an All-American wrestler for the Lions in the late 1960s, became Penn State’s head coach following Koll’s retirement in 1978. From 1982 to 1992, Lorenzo led the Lions to 11 consecutive EWL titles. He also coached five individual national champions, and Penn State finished in the top three four times at the NCAA Championships. One of the individual champions Lorenzo coached was Jim Martin, who was a four-time All-American from 1986 to 1989 and holds the team record for wins with 155. Another champion was Jeff Prescott, who, in Lorenzo’s final season as head coach in 1992, won a second consecutive national title at 118 pounds. The Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993, and they were led by new head coach John Fritz, a former three-time All-American and NCAA champion. In Fritz’s first season, Penn State went undefeated, won the national dual team title, and finished second at the NCAA Championships. That season also saw the debut of a freshman heavyweight named Kerry McCoy, who went 19-17. The next year, McCoy had one of the greatest seasons in Penn State history. McCoy went 47-0 and won the Big Before he became a head coach, Ten and national titles. In 1997, McCoy Rich Lorenzo (right) was an All-American wrestler at Penn State. capped his Penn State career by going 41-0 and winning his second national title. In 1999, former Penn State wrestler Troy Sunderland became the 11th head coach in program history. He coached three individual champions — Glenn Pritzlaff, Jeremy Hunter, and Phil Davis. In 2009, Penn State hired Cael Sanderson as its head coach, and the program has risen to the best in the nation. Under Sanderson, the Lions have won six national titles. The program also has seen 16 individual titles over the past seven seasons, including a three-time champion in Ed Ruth and two-time champions in Quentin Wright, David Taylor, and Zain Retherford. At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Retherford was one of five Penn Staters to win individual national titles, joining Mark Hall, Vincenzo Joseph, Bo Nickal, and Jason Nolf. All five will be back for the Lions for the 2017-18 season. The history of Penn State wrestling is one of the most storied in college history. The future of Penn State wrestling, led by Sanderson, appears to be one that could rewrite the history books.
Sponsored by Galen Dreibelbis Zain Retherford is the latest great Penn State wrestler as he has won two consecutive individual national titles.
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HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital Rehabilitation Plays a Critical Role in Stroke Recover y When State College resident Mike Tingue, 60, suffered a stroke at home, his life was impacted in many ways. Mike was not able to walk on his own, and he lost some function of his right leg, arm, and hand. He also had difficulty with his speech and vision in his right eye. Mike spent four weeks at HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, getting inpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Mike’s focus on his recovery, and the intensity of therapy — three hours a day, five days a week — enabled him to return to his home when he was discharged from HealthSouth. Once Mike Tingue returned home, he continued his rehabilitation at HealthSouth on an outpatient basis. Therapists incorporate the latest technology with proven therapy techniques, enabling Mike to continue making functional gains. HealthSouth Nittany Valley holds a Disease-Specific Care Certification by the Joint Commission for the stroke rehabilitation program. Patients learn how to control symptoms and reduce the risk of future stroke and medical problems. The goal is to get patients back to home and the community, safer and stronger.
Mike Tingue’s stroke rehabilitation includes occupational therapy with Christy Vuchenich, MOT, OTR/L, who uses the Bioness NESS H200® technology. This technology electrically stimulates thumb and finger movements to improve hand function and provide neuromuscular re-education. Mike is working on increasing his grasp and improving the function of his fingers, hand, and arm.
“Stroke rehabilitation can be a lifetime relationship. We see individuals come back to HealthSouth multiple times after their initial rehabilitation. Patients make strides in therapy, and then after they are home for a while, they come back to make more gains and improvements. It’s important for people to know that there is hope for improvement any time after a stroke.” –Christy Vuchenich, occupational therapist
www.nittanyvalleyrehab.com 550 W. College Ave., Pleasant Gap 814.359.3421 Special Advertising Section - 69
Robin Hood Brewing Co. From first tap to award-winning brews in less than three years: Robin Hood Brewing Co. is quickly making its mark in the Pennsylvania craft beer industry, and beyond. Head Brewer Chris Schell began his brewing career in Ostego County, N.Y., which used to be the country’s largest hops growing region and is currently home to some of the most influential craft breweries in the Northeast. Looking for more of a leadership position to advance his own recipes, Chris visited Centre County to learn about the planned Robin Hood Brewing Co. He fell in love with both the area and the company and took the job. In November 2013, Robin Hood’s first beers hit the taps at both the Bellefonte brewery and at Robin Hood/Home D on South Atherton Street in State College. Just three years later, the craft brews were taking home their first awards: •Frost Autumn IPA, Bronze Medal, 2016 Raise a Glass International Beer Competition, Rochester, N.Y. •Pomegranate Wheat Ale, People’s Choice Award, 2017 Brew Madness Taste Off, Hershey •Mocha Snow, People’s Choice Runner-up, 2017 Brew Madness Taste Off, Hershey •Blooming Spring Double IPA, Silver Medal, Denver International Beer Competition, Broomfield, Colo. •Pomegranate Wheat Ale, Bronze Medal, Denver International Beer Competition, Broomfield, Colo. Robin Hood draft beers are distributed across most of Pennsylvania, and Chris anticipates increasing the sales territory in future years. Stop by either location to taste the new summer seasonals — Peachey Wheat and Jul IPA — or craft standards including L.J. Lager, Bulls IPA, King Richard Red Ale, and more.
robinhoodbrewingco.com 1796 Zion Road, Bellefonte 814.357.8399 1820 S. Atherton St., State College 814.237.7777 70 - Special Advertising Section
Hoy Transfer, Inc. Hoy Transfer is the oldest continuously operating business in State College, having been founded in 1888, eight years before the Borough of State College was incorporated. Its founder, William Alfred Billy Hoy, started out by delivering chicken coops and furniture. His horse-drawn wagons carried materials for many Penn State building projects and delivered thousands of student steamer trunks to and from the Lemont train station. In 1896, Billy’s father, Joseph, signed the borough’s articles of incorporation, and in 1903 Billy became burgess of State College. Around 1910, the livery went mechanical with the addition of a Kissel truck, although Billy preferred horses and was known to yell whoa to the truck he was driving. His vehicles continued to serve as everything from the local hearse to the mover of fraternity furniture to Rec Hall for dances. After Billy’s death in 1937, his daughter Mary Kathryn and then her son Dick kept local operations moving. Later they went cross-country through an agreement with Clipper Van Lines. In 1995, longtime employee Kevin Briscoe bought the company, which became an agent for Atlas Van Lines in 2008. He along with his four sons, Pat, Mike, Dan, and Andrew continue to carry on the Hoy family tradition, including transporting equipment for Penn State football — a role that Hoy Transfer has played since 1912, now with newly upgraded trucks. Hoy Transfer is proud to remain committed to the principles of integrity that have kept the company successful for 129 years.
Kissel Truck, 1910
hoytransfer.com 2580 Clyde Ave., State College 814.237.4975 PA PUC A-85095 USDOT 125550 Atlas Van Lines, Inc. Special Advertising Section - 71
Lion’s Gate Apartments In the 1970s, Stephen Barkin recognized the potential in the neglected Whitehall Plaza apartments. He bought the complex, launched into a complete remodeling, and renamed the property Lion’s Gate. Today, Lion’s Gate is a home away from home for a new generation of Penn State Students. The longstanding Lion’s Gate management team members are like family to each other and to the residents. Manager Ruth Gundlach keeps all of the gears turning in the office and around the property, constantly looking for ways to improve Lion’s Gate. Maintenance Manager Earl Webster keeps the 13acre grounds beautifully landscaped and the 244 large apartments in good condition. Assistant Manager Kylie Topeka helps students take care of all of their leasing needs. For four decades, Stephen Barkin and Lion’s Gate Apartments have built an excellent reputation. The friendly Lion’s Gate family looks forward to serving Penn State students and other tenants for many years to come.
www.lionsgateapts.com 424 Waupelani Drive 814.238.2600
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The Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra (Formerly the Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra) The PCO 2017-18 season will kick off this fall with exciting changes for the orchestra—a new name, a new home, and a new focus! Known as The Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra for the past 26 years, we have changed our name to The Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra to better focus on our distinctive as a chamber orchestra, comprised of approximately 32 talented musicians. At the same time, we are making the State Theatre our new performance home, in the heart of downtown State College. The Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra is Central Pennsylvania’s professional chamber orchestra, founded in 1991 by conductor Douglas Meyer and a group of local musicians. Our mission is to provide the Central Pennsylvania region with artistically superb chamber orchestra concerts, while developing an environment where the awareness and appreciation for orchestral music will flourish. For the past 26 years, the PCO has performed both rare and well-known music by the greatest composers from the Baroque period to the present day. Our performers include members of Penn State’s School of Music faculty, along with area professionals and pre-professional students from the university. Concerts feature internationally-known and local soloists of the highest caliber. The upcoming season marks the third year with our music director, Yaniv Attar. Our orchestra season concerts are primarily held in State College, with some outreach performances in areas such as Lock Haven, Lewistown, Clearfield, and Hollidaysburg. The community looks forward to our annual performances of Handel’s Messiah as well as smaller chamber music events at various local venues such as the Tavern Restaurant and Seven Mountains Wine Cellars. Watch for the announcement of The Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra’s 2017-18 concert season at the State Theatre! (Ticket sales for our season begin in June at the State Theatre box office.) Also, we invite you to attend our: Seven Mountains Summer Music Fest Sunday, July 30, 2 p.m. At Seven Mountains Wine Cellars Featuring “Revamped” PCO violinists Mark Minnich and Sally Williams Minnich will perform a mixture of light classical and pop music. Tickets include one pour of wine, hors d’oeuvres, and the concert. Purchase tickets for this event at centreorchestra.org by July 28 or call 814.234.8313 $35 per person Paid for by Karen Blair Brand, President of the PCO Board of Directors
centreorchestra.org 119 S. Fraser St., Suite D 814.234.8313 Special Advertising Section - 73
Pennsylvania Military Museum The Pennsylvania Military Museum is excited to be celebrating multiple anniversaries in 2017-2018! Much of the nation is currently commemorating the Centennial of World War I. This is of special significance in the Keystone State since, by the end of that war, Pennsylvanians made up approximately 8 percent of U.S. military forces. The Museum has marked the Centennial by hosting several large commemorative events, ongoing tours, multiple speaker series, and a special exhibit. Concurrent to the WWI Centennial is the 75th Anniversary of WWII, which will continue to be marked by special presentations, films, and a weekend-long event titled “World War II Revisited.” Outside of the Museum, visitors can interact with artifacts of World War II history including the deck guns from the USS Pennsylvania which saw damage during the attack on Pearl Harbor; a Sherman Tank; and a WWII Shrine. This summer we will honor the men and women who bravely fought in the Vietnam War, as the region commemorates the 50th anniversary of America’s entry into that war. We look forward to hosting speakers on a wide range of topics. Outside, visitors can enjoy a weekend-long encampment of reenactors and veterans during “Vietnam Revisited.” This event allows veterans, their families, and the public to exchange stories, learn about the period and its technology, and witness the in-country lifestyle of our service men and women. As an institution, we are excited to be approaching the 50th anniversary of the Museum’s 1969 opening! Planning is underway for a special celebration that would bring together former staff and team members, contractors, and the public to mark this special occasion. It’s all part of our mission to protect and preserve for future generations the legacy of Pennsylvanians who served in the military of the United States.
Sponsored by Nittany Settlement Company pamilmuseum.org 51 Boal Ave., Boalsburg 814.466.6263 74 - Special Advertising Section
HUB-Robeson Center The University Park campus has several green roofs that demonstrate Penn State’s commitment to sustainability. However, plant-covered roofs at the Millennium Science Complex, Lewis Katz Building, Forest Resources Building, and Student Health Center remain mostly invisible to students, faculty, and staff. The new green roof terrace at the HUB-Robeson Center offers a dedicated space to relax and enjoy rooftop nature, and sustainability in action. Dedicated in April, the HUB Green Roof Terrrace was a gift of the Class of 2014 and part of the HUB addition and renovation project. The seating area is open from dawn to dusk each day, weather permitting. Visible nearby is the weather station — self-powered through a solar panel —that gathers data to quantify the roof’s performance and promote discoveries through education and outreach. Eventually, anyone interested in that data will be able to visit a website and view weather information in real time. The data will also provide staff with information helpful for ongoing maintenance of the greenroof plants, which include stonecrop, nodding onion, purple lovegrass, and other species. Rooftop plants must be low-maintenance and able to withstand shallow soil depth and harsh environmental conditions from year to year. A green roof provides several key environmental benefits: •Enhances biodiversity through habitat and forage opportunities •Retains up to 90% of total rainfall •Reduces water runoff through plant evapotranspiration (uptake and evaporation of water) •Insulates the building against temperature fluctuation, resulting in lower energy consumption to heat and cool the interior •Improves air quality by filtering pollutants and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere •Reduces noise inside the building Stop by the HUB-Robeson Center Green Roof Terrace to view the sustainability project in action, and to enjoy a bit of nature in the heart of a major campus building.
studentaffairs.psu.edu/HUB /UnionAndStudentActivities @PSU_USA
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The international food charity competition Canstruction® came to State College in late April courtesy of Hoffman Leakey Architects, Nittany Mall, and Wegmans to benefit the State College Food Bank. In this charity event, six teams each designed and built a visually exciting, freestanding structure comprised entirely of full cans of food. Most importantly, all of the “building materials” were donated to the State College Food Bank for distribution to families in need, helping in our local fight against hunger. Teams built their designs in one day at the mall. Then the structures were on display for 10 days as judging and people’s choice voting took place. The entire event was run by volunteers under the leadership of Lisa Hayes and her Canstruction® Committee. This first annual Canstruction® State College resulted in the Food Bank receiving: •14,979 pounds of canned food items •Or the equivalent of 12,482 meals for our neighbors •Additional financial support The State College Food Bank has provided services to clients since October 1982. Nearly 15 percent of Centre County residents are facing food insecurity, which means they lack consistent access to adequate and nutritious food. The percentage climbs for children under the age of 18. Simply put, these individuals, kids, and families do not know where their next meal will come from. To complicate matters, many foodinsecure children live in households that are not eligible for federal nutrition assistance, so they turn to the State College Food Bank to help with the most basic of all human needs — food. The Food Bank distributed 384,484 pounds of food in 2016, the equivalent of 320,403 meals! The Canstruction Committee thanks all the dedicated and generous teams, sponsors, volunteers, donors, and voters who helped make this first annual event a huge success. Building on this foundation, plans are already under way for next year’s Canstruction, to be presented on April 5, 2018, by Hoffman Leakey Architects, Nittany Mall, and Wegmans. Save the date! Awards – Judged Categories: Structural Ingenuity The CANgineers – Reese, Mortenson, & PSU SSAE – NeopoliCAN Best Original Design The CANibals – Poole Anderson & Hoffman Leakey Arch – “grilled stickies” structure
Best Use of Labels Team (@!*(*) from Barton Associates – CAN-Bert Best Meal Team (@!*(*) from Barton Associates – CAN-Bert Most Cans: Hope Furrer & Clavco – “let’s build something” People’s Choice: CAN-Bert Committee’s Choice: Penn State Glbal Briqades Last Can Standing: CANibals scfoodbank.org 1321 S. Atherton St., State College 814.234.2310 Special Advertising Section - 85
The State College Community Land Trust Turning houses into homes for over 20 years! It’s simple: The SCCLT enables first-time home buyers to own newly renovated, affordable houses in the Borough of State College. The SCCLT benefits not only the home buyers, but the community as a whole, sustaining vibrant and diverse neighborhoods with owner-occupied housing. SCCLT milestones •Nearly 40 properties purchased over the past 20 years. •60th SCCLT home buyer coming (very) soon! •Breaking ground this summer on GreenBuild, our first new construction project, expanding the range of incomes we serve. •GreenBuild will be a milestone for high- performance building and design for the SCCLT and the Centre Region. GreenBuild is designed to provide affordable housing over the short and long terms by utilizing advanced and cost-effective green technologies. Donors make a difference •The SCCLT relies on donor support to stretch an ever- shrinking pool of federal funding from Housing and Urban Development (HUD). •Each year, hundreds of donors help ensure that the SCCLT continues its mission of providing affordable, owner-occupied housing that fosters a more vibrant and diverse Borough. •In 2016-2017, more than 50 donors—including community organizations, private companies, and individuals—contributed over $390,000 to help bring GreenBuild to life in SCCLT’s first-ever capital campaign. •The SCCLT thanks our GreenBuild partners: The Borough of State College and West Penn Power Sustainability Energy Fund; organizational supporters: Centre County Commissioners and S&T Bank; and, design/ build contributors: Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture, Hamer Center for Community Design/ Energy Efficient Housing and Research Group, Envinity, Inc., and Henry Architecture and Design. On behalf of SCCLT homeowners, thank you for your support! Would you like to become the next SCCLT homeowner? Contact Executive Director Colleen Ritter at director@scclandtrust.
scclandtrust.org 1315 S. Allen St., Suite 306 State College, PA 16801 86 - Special Advertising Section
Strawberry Fields Inc. Strawberry Fields had a modest start as a day program on a farm in Yarnell in the early 1970s.The founding families had a dream and a vision of the time when people with disabilities would be accepted and recognized for their unique contributions. The farm was sold in the late 1970s, and the program moved to State College and opened its first residential program. Now, as Strawberry Fields celebrates its 45th anniversary, the nonprofit organization provides service to 750 plus individual’s and families. These services are provided by over 175 full and part-time talented and dedicated staff. Programs include: •14 residential homes in the State College area — three serve adults with mental illness and 11 serve adults with intellectual disabilities •Early intervention services for children in Centre, Huntingdon, Mifflin, and Juniata counties •Case management and Peer Support for those receiving mental-health services •Scraps & Skeins, a new fabric and yarn store staffed by Strawberry Fields consumers and volunteers. While much of the organization’s funding comes from the state and county for the services it provides, Strawberry Fields is a United Way partner agency and relies on charitable donations from the community. Since the 1970s, its location has changed and the services and mission have broadened, but the belief in those being served has remained steadfast. The goal of Strawberry Fields always has been to empower people of all ages who have intellectual disabilities and mental illness so that they can live in, enjoy, and contribute to their community.
sfionline.org 3054 Enterprise Drive, State College 814.234.6023 Special Advertising Section - 87
Hamilton Square: One of State College’s First Shopping Centers In the mid-1950s, State College’s Hamilton Avenue was still a dirt road, but William W. Litke saw development potential in his former quarry land along South Atherton Street. An educator, distinguished lawyer, respected judge, and active member of the community, he realized State College Borough’s growth was headed in that direction. Judge Litke founded University Park Plaza Corporation (UPPC) with the goal of turning the old quarry into one of the region’s first shopping centers – an unheard of venture at the time. Built in 1959 as University Park Plaza, the 60,000-square-foot complex quickly became popular among both Penn State students and townspeople as residential development spread to Hamilton Avenue and beyond. In the 1980s, the shopping center was renamed Hamilton Square Shopping Center to focus more on its convenient location and that the Corporation had grown to be more than just the one shopping center. Today, long-term tenants serving the area include The UPS Store, East Coast Health & Fitness, the Wine & Spirits Shop, and Beer Belly’s Beverage. UPPC’s own offices still call Hamilton Square home. Expanding for New Generations Meanwhile, some of the former quarry land remained undeveloped. In the mid-1980s, two Penn State students rented space there for a miniature golf course, and the land later was used as a towed-vehicle impound lot. About 10 years ago, UPPC began planning for an expansion of Hamilton Square onto the remaining quarry grounds. Early in 2015, fire destroyed the neighboring service station as well as UPPC’s buildings that were home to Pennsylvania Department of Health and formerly the State College Food Bank. Rather than mourn the loss, UPPC used it as the trigger for its expansion plans, which now would include additional parking — and greater convenience — for tenants and their customers where the previous buildings stood.
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Connecting to the existing Bastian Tire Sales shop, the 15,000-square-foot expansion already includes four tenants, chosen to complement the services provided in the original building: •University of Pittsburgh-Commonwealth System of Higher Education Training Center •Salon Beautiful •IQ Escape •VK Wealth Advisors An additional 1,873 square feet of space is available for a future tenant – coffee shops to receive preferential treatment! As with any property, the work is never done and Hamilton Square is currently undergoing an exterior update to carry the look of the expansion to the original shopping center building as well as a new roof. As University Park Plaza Corporation celebrates its 60th year in business, Hamilton Square Shopping Center now offers 75,000 square feet of retail shops and services to benefit the local community.
www.uppc.biz 224 W. Hamilton Ave., State College 814.237-4266
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Videon Central: Celebrating 20 Years of Personal Commitment and Industry Vision Videon Central is proud to commemorate our 20th year as a leading developer of digital media technology for the consumer electronics market. At Videon, we solve audio video technology challenges. Our products help customers move media from any source to any screen, and our services help manufacturers bring their own products to market. In Videon’s early years, we became experts in optical disc technology, developing DVD and Bluray Disc navigators, boxes and in-flight entertainment applications. As the media market evolved to incorporate streaming media and more sophisticated video encoding processes, Videon evolved too. Now we play in the broadcast, streaming, and transportation industries, and our capabilities far outstrip the original optical disc focus. Our current focus on live streaming is more than a trend: it’s becoming an expectation for most events. Schools, houses of worship, sports teams and broadcasters are all looking for live streaming solutions to bring their content to viewers at home. Complementing the technical nature of Videon’s business is an employee focused environment featuring a vibrant atmosphere and a “bring your dog to work” philosophy. Our employees believe strongly in giving back to the Centre Region. In our company garden, we grow and harvest produce to donate to the food bank. We host American Red Cross blood drives and offer our building as a voting poll location. Videon’s CEO, Todd Erdley, initiated the Centre Region Entrepreneur Network (CREN) in 2009 to bring together local entrepreneurs to support one another, recognizing the value of a strong business community to individual endeavors. Videon credits its success to a twenty year old vision for personal commitment, the desire to be an industry leader, and our exceptional employees who are passionate about keeping that vision alive. The founders continue to work together to guide this company to an even brighter future, striving to remain at the forefront of technological advances and to maintain a strong commitment to Videon’s customers, employees and the community.
www.videon-central.com 2171 Sandy Drive 814.235.1111 90 - Special Advertising Section
Celebrate the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts!
Festive Spirits Party Friday, July 14 5pm-7pm The Towers, 403 South Allen Street Sponsored by Big Spring Spirits $75 per person donation Tickets (814) 237-3682 • arts-festival.com Proceeds benefit: the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts
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teve Shedlock takes his role as a softball coach for the State College Area School District seriously, but he takes his role as a father even more seriously. That’s because he feels an added responsibility to teach his teenage daughters — 16-year-old Ainsley and
Shedlock will not be alone in this reality on Father’s Day, which is June 18. Of the 1.9 million single fathers in the U.S. in 2015, 6 percent were widowed, according the U.S. Census Bureau. “He’s the only one we have right now, so he’s preparing us to survive in this world without him one day,” says Alissa, who graduated from State College
connection with their father that continues today. Before Alissa graduated, Shedlock coached both girls at State High. A sophomore, Ainsley is still a member of the team. “I like that he coaches my team, even if it’s stressful at times, because it makes me better,” Ainsley says. Shedlock admits that coaching
& Joys
HARDSHIPS 19-year-old Alissa — to be confident and independent. “It comes down to wanting them to be happy — be happy with who they are and have a full life with what they want to achieve while knowing they are loved and supported,” Shedlock says. As a coach of teenage girls, including his daughters, he tries to instill a feeling of empowerment in his players. “It’s important to shape young girls’ minds on how to pick yourself up and push yourself forward,” Shedlock says. “The joy I receive is having the girls knowing I believe in them, but in the end knowing they believe in themselves.” Shedlock feels an added responsibility to teach his daughters such lessons because he is preparing them for a day when he will not be around. A reality he must consider after losing his wife, Stephanie, six years ago. 92 - T&G June 2017
BY JENNIFER MILLER
Dads forge special bonds with their children in the face of extraordinary challenges Area High School and plays softball for Juanita College. “As a father he’s always been kind of hard on us, but he’s raised us to be independent and he helps us achieve our goals.” Bonding through softball When Ainsley and Alissa were in elementary school, they began playing softball, which launched a special
his daughters has its challenges. “It’s one of the most difficult things,” he says. “I try not to treat anyone differently, but in some ways I’m harder on my own kids. I try to take my kids out and put other kids in (the game). I always try to be fair. At the same time, the pressure is enormous for me to see my kids succeed.”
An unimaginable loss Hanging in the Shedlock home are two professional photos of Stephanie, one with each of her babies soon after their births. The images show the love she had for her daughters. As they grew, the special bond Stephanie shared with Ainsley and Alissa was cheerleading, which included taking them to
cheer competitions. Then illness started to take over. According to the National Institutes of Health, lupus can cause your immune system to attack healthy cells in the body, including joints, skin and organs. For Stephanie, lupus attacked her brain, which eventually caused her other organs to shut down. For two years, Shedlock cared for his ailing wife while raising their daughters. It was that experience that not only changed Shedlock as a husband, but also a father. “As a man, I didn’t understand the unique bond a mother has Darren Andrew Weimert (2)
As Shedlock shared this passion with his daughters, he watched Alissa earn an opportunity to play softball at the collegiate level while studying biochemistry and pursuing a career as an optometrist. “She’s doing really quite remarkably. She’s put a lot of work into it,” Shedlock says. “Her achievement is a collective achievement for all of the coaching she’s had and her success is a tribute to all players, umpires, and coaches in the area.” On Father’s Day, Shedlock typically finds himself at the field with his daughters, whether it’s for a tournament or other event. “It’s the softball bond that brings us together and playing it on Father’s Day makes it a little more special,” Ainsley says. Congress passed a joint resolution in 1972 declaring the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day in the United States. The resolution calls on the president to issue an annual proclamation that in part urges “the people of the United States to offer public and private expressions of Father’s Day to the abiding love and gratitude they have for their fathers.”
Steve Shedlock has shared his passion for softball with his daughters, Alissa and Ainsley.
with her child. Males do not give birth so we don’t necessarily understand that,” Shedlock says. “But when you take care of someone and you get very little back, if nothing but grunts and stares, and you wonder if there’s anything in there because they have dementia and your routine revolves around them 24 hours a day — that’s when you understand what unconditional love is. This is how you should love your partner or child on a regular basis.” Stephanie died on July 31, 2011. She was 40. Afterward, the Shedlocks sought support from Tides, a support program for grieving children, teens and their families. The organization helped the Shedlocks honor Stephanie through various programs and events. “A death is a loss regardless and Tides is there in many different ways, especially for the children, to help you feel as though you’re not alone,” Shedlock says. “There are a lot of people who 2017 June T&G - 93
Thomas “TJ” Politiza says being there to experience life’s milestones with son Max “is the best part of being a father.”
one misses it,” Shedlock says. Like after any loss, there are good days and bad days for Shedlock. “It’s like a shadow. Sometimes the shadow is really long and other days you don’t see your shadow,” he says.
give to Tides and it truly is a wonderful organization.” A different parent Losing his wife has changed how Shedlock parents. He says he’s softer in many ways, he tries to listen more, and he tries to be more affectionate. “It’s easy to be selfish when you’re in my shoes, or going through a divorce, but I always try to be aware that there’s someone who’s always worse off and my situation isn’t as bad,” Shedlock says. Still, it’s difficult for Shedlock to describe the best parts of parenting. “The big joy is that you’re the one here and you get that, but it’s equally painful in some ways, too, because the other 94 - T&G June 2017
Positivity in the face of hardship For Thomas “TJ” Politza, a Blair County resident who is director of operations for a State College company, there is something powerful about seeing his son Max, 13, experience life. “Watching my son grow up and experience the same milestones, hardships and joys I did growing up and being there to experience it with him is the best part about being a father,” Politza says. A joy like learning to ride a bike and ATV, or a hardship like experiencing the loss of a family member. Along the way, Politza tries to instill in his son a set of core values, including honesty, compassion, respect, empathy, tolerance, and emotional stability. “One of the most challenging parts of fatherhood is teaching him to uphold the same core values I have, which were passed down to me from my father, while realizing he is his own person, and accepting his own unique development,” Politza says. Then, there are the things you cannot prepare for. The things no parent ever wants to hear. In 2016, Max went to the doctor after complaining of pain in his arm. Following some tests, the physicians diagnosed him with synovial sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer. That started a period of regular doctor visits hours away from home and a procedure to remove a tumor in his arm.
As an offer of comfort during the scary parts, Politza stays near. “There were times he was nervous about the CT or MRI scans or when he had to get an IV, and I always make sure I’m there with him, even during the scans, so he knows he’s not alone,” Politza says. In between appointments, the pair discovered a way to have special time while at the hospital. “One thing we do consistently is spend some time at an outside patio-garden area at the children’s hospital between his scans and doctor appointment,” Politza says. “This area is several stories off the ground and he really enjoys the view.” Through it all, Politza tries to remain the same dad.
“It did not change my relationship with him,” Politza says. “I don’t want to allow his diagnosis to change how he develops as a person, I want him to be happy with who he is and not feel abnormal.” Before the diagnosis, Politza and his son always tried to do fun things on the weekends, guy stuff. And they still do. For Father’s Day, they typically celebrate at a water park or amusement park. “On our weekends together, it is all about us and what we want to do,” says Politza, who is divorced and shares custody of Max. Now, to offset the bad with the good, Politza sometimes makes larger trips out of the doctor visits.
“Sometimes we do something fun like go to Dave and Buster’s or plan a weekend around it and go to Kennywood for a day,” Politza says. Max still undergoes regular CT scans to check for any growth in nodules doctors located in his lungs, which are too risky to biopsy. Fortunately, those nodules have not increased in size. “Max really didn’t, and still doesn’t, show much concern for his diagnosis. I appreciate that it’s not a big deal to him. It shows me he just accepts it for what it is and it is not his defining quality,” Politza says. T&G Jennifer Miller has worked in journalism since 2001. She currently works as a writer and adjunct professor at Penn State.
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Bryce Jordan Center / Medlar Field at Lubrano Park
June 12-15 State FFA Convention Bryce Jordan Center TBA 19 Spikes vs. Williamsport Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 7:05 p.m. 21-23 Spikes vs. Batavia Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 7:05 p.m. 28-30 Spikes vs. Auburn Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 7:05 p.m.
Coming in July 1-3 Spikes vs. Batavia Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 7:05 p.m. Sat. & Mon., 6:05 p.m. Sun. 4 Central PA 4thFest TBA 5 Spikes vs. Williamsport Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 7:05 p.m. 7-9 Spikes vs. Auburn Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 7:05 p.m. Fri., noon Sat., 6:05 p.m. Sun. 19 Spikes vs. Williamsport Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 7:05 p.m. 23-25 Spikes vs. Mahoning Valley Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 6:05 p.m. Sun., 7:05 p.m. Mon. & Tues.
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30-August 1 Spikes vs. Auburn Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 6:05 p.m. Sun., 7:05 p.m. Mon., noon Tues.
T& G
June
what's happening
1- 3
7
More than 2,000 Special Olympics athletes from across Pennsylvania visit the Penn State campus for the annual PA Special Olympics Summer Games.
Penn’s Woods Music Festival begins its 10th anniversary season with Music in the Gardens: Healing the Soul at the Penn State Arboretum.
12-18
Happy Valley Culinary Week brings out the “foodie” in everyone.
16-18
The annual Bellefonte Cruise & Sock Hop takes over downtown Bellefonte.
The defending New York-Penn League champion State College Spikes open their 2017 season hosting Williamsport at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
22-25 Fuse Productions presents the musical Camelot at Schwab Auditorium.
To have an event listed in “What’s Happening,” e-mail mbrackenbury@barashmedia.com
2017 June T&G - 97
Children & Families 3 – Summer Reading Program Kickoff, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 11 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 7-10, 14-17, 21-24, 28-30 – Music Together Free Trial Class for Children 0-5, Oakwood Presbyterian Church, SC, 9:30 a.m. Wed. & Fri., 10:30 a.m. Thurs. & Sat., 360-9913. 10, 17, 24 – Saturday Stories Alive, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 11 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 12, 19 – Baby/Toddler Playtime, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 9:30 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 13, 20, 27 – Discovery Day, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 11 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 14 – Read It, Watch It!: Moana, State Theatre, SC, noon, schlowlibrary.org. 14 – M&M Magic, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 15 –Allegria Ensemble, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 17 – Water Quality in My Community, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 21 – Weaving Wisdom: Ghana, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 10:30 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 21 – Read It, Watch It!: Wreck-It Ralph, State Theatre, SC, noon, schlowlibrary.org. 21 – Author Visit: Sandy Asher, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 21 – Weaving Wisdom for Kids, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 24 – Weather: Where Am I? Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.
26 – Dot & Dash Robotics, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 27 – Weaving Wisdom Across Generations, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 10:30 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 28 – Everybody Storytime, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 10:30 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 28 – Read It, Watch It!: Brave, State Theatre, SC, noon, schlowlibrary.org. 28 – Alex and the Kaleidoscope, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 29 – Twirling Workshop, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.
Classes & Lectures 3 – Gallery Talk: Johanna Hall, Penn State All-Sports Museum, PSU, noon, gopsusports. com/museum. 7 – Richard Koontz: Memorial Lecture Series: “Vietnam on My Shoulder: The War that Never Leaves” by Jay Snyder, PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 7 p.m., pamilmuseum.org. 10 – “The Bear that Inspired Winnie the Pooh," PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 1:30 p.m., pamilmuseum.org. 22 – Jana Marie Foundation presents Mokita Dialogues: “Homelessness,” New Leaf Initiative, SC, noon, janamariefoundation.org. 25 – “Pennsylvania in Public Memory: Reclaiming the Industrial Past” by Dr. Carolyn Kitch, Centre Furnace Mansion, SC, 2 p.m., centrehistory.org.
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www.midstateawning.com 98 - T&G June 2017
PA#687
Club Events 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 – Comics Club, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 3:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 3, 10, 17, 24 – Chess Club, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 7, 21 – Outreach Toastmasters, The 329 Building, Room 413, PSU, noon, kbs131@psu.edu. 6, 13, 20, 27 – State College Downtown Rotary, Ramada Inn & Conference Center, SC, noon, centrecounty.org/rotary/club. 13 – Women’s Club Mid-Day Connection, Mountain View Country Club, Boalsburg, 11:45 a.m., 404-3704. 14 – 148th PA Volunteer Infantry Civil War Reenactment Group, Hoss’s Steak and Sea House, SC, 7 p.m., 861-0770. 19 – Parrot’s Owner’s Group, Perkins, SC, 7 p.m., 237-2722. 21 – CR Active Adult Book Club, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 12:15 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 28 – Adult Afternoon Book Club, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 2 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.
Community Associations & Development 6 – CBICC presents “The First Step of Starting a Business," 119 Technology Center, PSU, 9 a.m., cbicc.org. 8 – CBICC Business After Hours: Hearthside Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, 5:30 p.m., cbicc.org. 17 – CBICC presents Wildlife for Everyone Foundation’s Great Outdoor Picnic, Penn’s Cave & Wildlife Park, Centre Hall, 11 a.m., cbicc.org.
20 – Spring Creek Watershed Association, Patton Township Municipal Building, SC, 7:30 a.m., springcreekwatershed.org. 28 – Patton Township Business Association, Patton Township Municipal Building, SC, noon, 237-2822.
Exhibits Ongoing-August 9 – Plastics: Knowledge and Information Taking Shape, Pattee Library Central Entrance, PSU. Ongoing-September 7 – Getting My Way and Whining About It, HUB-Robeson Center, PSU, studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/ artgalleries. Ongoing-September 24 – Unraveling the Threads of History: Needlework Samplers from the 19th Century, Centre Furnace Mansion, SC, 1-4 p.m. Sun., Wed., Fri., centrehistory.org. 1-30 – Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel Guided Tours, Boal Mansion, Boalsburg, 1:30-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun., boalmuseum.com. 2-30 – Kaitlyn Gephart, Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, Bellefonte, noon-4:30 p.m. Fri.-Sun., bellefontemuseum.org. 2-30 – Lori Fisher, Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, Bellefonte, noon-4:30 p.m. Fri.Sun., bellefontemuseum.org. 2-30 – Ruth Kazez, Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, Bellefonte, noon-4:30 p.m. Fri.Sun., bellefontemuseum.org. 2-30 – Stratified, Art Alliance Gallery Downtown, SC, noon-6 p.m. Wed. & Sat., noon-8 p.m. Thurs. & Fri., noon-4 p.m. Sun., artalliancegallerydowntown.org.
2017
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2-July 30 – Good Libations, Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, Bellefonte, noon4:30 p.m. Fri.-Sun., bellefontemuseum.org. 2-August 27 – Janice Heverly/Seth Young, Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, Bellefonte, noon-4:30 p.m. Fri.-Sun., bellefontemuseum.org.
Health Care For schedule of blood drives visit redcross.org or givelife.org. 6, 20 – Learn about Hip or Knee Replacement – “A Joint Venture,” Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 11 a.m., vcoakley@ mountnittany.org. 7 – Breast Cancer Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 5:30 p.m., 231-6870. 7 – Amputee Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 5 p.m., 359-5630. 8 – Diabetes Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 6 p.m., 231-7095. 8 – Free parents-to-be class, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 7 p.m., 231-7921. 13 – Alzheimer’s/Dementia Support Groups, Mount Nittany Dining Room at The Inn, SC, 1 & 6:30 p.m., 231-3141. 13 – Brain Injury Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 7 p.m., 359-3421. 14 – Basic Life Support (BLS) - Provider, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 7:30 a.m., 231-7174. 14 – Fertility Issues and Loss Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 6 p.m., info@heartofcpa.org.
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15 – Better Breathers Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 5 p.m., 359-3421. 15 – Parents-to-Be: HEIR & Parents Hospital Tour for Expectant Parents, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 6:30 p.m., 231-3132. 21 – Community Parkinson’s Disease Support Group, Foxdale Village, SC, 4 p.m., 359-3421. 25 – Neuropathy Support Group of Central PA, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 2 p.m., 531-1024 26 – Heart Healthy Support Group for Heart Failure, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 4 p.m., 359-3421 27 – Stroke Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 4 p.m., 359-3421. 27 – Multiple Sclerosis Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 6 p.m., 359-3421. 29 – Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) - Provider, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 7:30 a.m., 231-7174. 29 – Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) - Renewal, Mount Nittany Medical Center, SC, 7:30 a.m., 231-7174.
Music 2 – Concerts on the Village Green: Tussey Mountain Moonshiners, Lemont Village Green, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org. 4 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Sweet Adelines, South Hills School of Business & Technology, SC, 6 p.m., southhills.edu. 7 – Penn’s Woods Music Festival: Music in the Gardens: Healing the Soul, Penn State Arboretum, PSU, 6:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu.
9 – Concerts on the Village Green: Blind Horse Wagon, Lemont Village Green, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org. 11 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Keystone Society of Swing, South Hills School of Business & Technology, SC, 6 p.m., southhills.edu. 11 – Summer Sounds from the Gazebo: Bellefonte Community Band, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 7 p.m., bellefontearts.org. 14 – Los Lobos, State Theatre, SC, 7:30 p.m., thestatetheatre.org. 14 – Penn’s Woods Music Festival: Festival Musicians, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu. 16 – Concerts on the Village Green: Michelle Katz, Lemont Village Green, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org. 16 – Rick Hirsch’s Big Ol’ Band, State Theatre, SC, 7:30 p.m. 17 – Penn’s Woods Music Festival: Festival Orchestra, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu. 18 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Jay Vonada Quartet, South Hills School of Business & Technology, SC, 6 p.m., southhills.edu. 18 – Summer Sounds from the Gazebo: Anything Goes, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 7 p.m., bellefontearts.org. 21 – Penn’s Woods Music Festival: Festival Musicians, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw. psu.edu. 23 – Concerts on the Village Green: Steve Van Hook, Lemont Village Green, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org. 23 – George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, State Theatre, SC, 8 p.m., thestatetheatre.org. 24 – Penn’s Woods Music Festival: Festival Orchestra, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu. 25 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Rick Hirsch 4, South Hills School of Business & Technology, SC, 6 p.m., southhills.edu. 25 – Summer Sounds from the Gazebo: Deacons of Dixieland, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 7 p.m., bellefontearts.org. 30 – Concerts on the Village Green: Acoustic Artifacts, Lemont Village Green, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org.
Special Events 1-3 – PA Special Olympics Summer Games, Penn State, specialolympicspa.org. 2 – First Friday, Downtown State College, 5 p.m., firstfridaystatecollege.com 2 – “Mid-Century Memories,” Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 7 p.m., schlowlibrary.org. 2-3 – Happy Valley Music Fest, Downtown State College, happyvalleymusicfest.com. 2-4 – Nittany Antique Machinery Show, Penn’s Cave & Wildlife Park, Centre Hall, nittanyantique.org. 3 – Rothrock Trail Challenge, Tussey Mountain, Boalsburg, 8 a.m., rothrockchallenge.com. 3 – Bellefonte Children’s Fair, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 10 a.m., visitbellefonte.com. 3 – Community Open House, Schlow Centre Region Library, SC, 10 a.m., schlowlibrary.org. 3 – James A. Beaver Banquet, Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, PSU, 6:30 p.m., pamilmuseum.org. 3, 10, 17, 24 – Philipsburg Farmers’ Market, Moshannon Building parking lot, Philipsburg, 9 a.m., visitpennstate.org 3, 10, 17, 24 – Bellefonte Farmers’ Market, Gamble Mill parking, Bellefonte, 8 a.m., visitpennstate.org. 3, 10, 17, 24 – Millheim Farmers’ Market, American Legion, Millheim, 10 a.m., visitpennstate.org. 3, 10, 17, 24 – North Atherton Farmers’ Market, Home Depot parking lot, SC, 10 a.m., visitpennstate.org. 4 – Jana Marie Foundation’s Hike and Outdoor Program, Whipple Dam State Park, Petersburg, 1 p.m., janamariefoundation.org 6, 13, 20, 27 – Tuesday State College Farmers’ Market, Locust Lane, SC, 11:30 a.m., visitpennstate.org. 6, 13, 20, 27 – Boalsburg Farmers’ Market, PA Military Museum parking lot, Boalsburg, 2 p.m., visitpennstate.org. 7, 14, 21, 28 – Lemont Farmers’ Market, Coal Sheds (133 Mount Nittany Road), Lemont, 2 p.m., lemontvillage.org. 9, 16, 23, 30 – Downtown State College Farmers’ Market, Locust Lane, SC, 11:30 a.m., visitpennstate.org. 10 – Strawberry Festival, Village Green, Lemont, 3 p.m., lemontvillage.org. 10 – Rock for a Cure, Tussey Mountain, Boalsburg, 5 p.m., tusseymountain.com. 2017 June T&G - 101
12-18 – Happy Valley Culinary Week, various locations, visitpennstate.org. 14 – Strawberry Festival, Faith United Church of Christ, SC, 5:30 p.m., faithucc.org. 14 – Flag Day Celebration, PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 6 p.m., pamilmuseum.org. 16-18 – Bellefonte Cruise & Sock Hop, Downtown Bellefonte, bellefontecruise.org. 17 – CelticFest, Tussey Mountain, Boalsburg, tusseymountain.com.
Sports 15-16 – PIAA Baseball Championships, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, TBA. 15-16 – PIAA Softball Championships, Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park, TBA.
Theater Ongoing-June 10 – Nittany Theatre at the Barn presents Greater Tuna, Boal Barn Playhouse, Boalsburg, 7:30 p.m., nittanytheatre.org.
8-10 – Centre Dance presents Spring Recital, State Theatre, SC, 6 p.m., thestatetheatre.org. 9-18 – Life Could Be A Dream, Millbrook Playhouse, Mill Hall, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. matinees June 14 & 18), millbrookplayhouse.org. 16-25 – Barefoot in the Park, Millbrook Playhouse, Mill Hall, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. matinee June 21), millbrookplayhouse.org. 17 – Culinary Week presents Burnt, State Theatre, SC, 4 & 7:30 p.m., thestatetheatre.org. 20-July 8 – Nittany Theatre at the Barn presents Treasure Island, Boal Barn Playhouse, Boalsburg, 7:30 p.m., nittanytheatre.org. 22-25 – Fuse Productions presents Camelot, Schwab Auditorium, PSU, 7:30 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., fuseproductions.org. 23-July 1 – Seussical the Musical, Millbrook Playhouse, Mill Hall, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. matinees June 28 & July 1), millbrookplayhouse.org. 25 – The Capitol Steps, State Theatre, SC, 7 p.m., thestatetheatre.org. 30-July 9 – Wait Until Dark, Millbrook Playhouse, Mill Hall, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. matinees July 5 & 9), millbrookplayhouse.org. T&G
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102 - T&G June 2017
T& G
Taste of the Month
A Taste of New York
Bagel Crust offers more than 20 varieties, from rainbow to asiago-everything
By Vilma Shu Danz Photos by Darren Andrew Weimert 104 - T&G June 2017
Top, Bagel Crust owner Al Rusinque and younger son Kevin; below, the Skinny Lady bagel sandwich.
I
It’s hard to tell where the first bagel originated. Egyptian hieroglyphic panels displayed in the Louvre in France depicting ancient Egyptians’ daily life show rolls with a hole in them. Similar rolls have existed for centuries in Italy, China, and the Middle East. Some food historians say that the origin of the word “bagel” is derived from the Yiddish word “beigen,” meaning to bend. The bagels we are familiar with today were most likely brought to New York by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Bagel Crust brings a taste of New York-style bagels to State College. Now with two locations, 332 E. Calder Way and 460 Westerly Parkway, Bagel Crust boils its bagels before baking them, making them crispy on the outside, soft and chewy in the middle. “We don’t add any preservatives, butter, oil or eggs to the bagels. The only exception to that is the egg bagel of course,” explains owner Al Rusinque. Rusinque previously owned three other bagel shops in Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. He decided to sell those businesses and open his first 2017 June T&G - 105
Clockwise, a rainbow bagel, Michael J. Fox sandwich, scallion, carrot, and cream cheese.
Bagel Crust location in downtown State College in 2014 when his older son, Brandon, came to Penn State University to study pre-med. Then, in late December 2016, he opened the Westerly Parkway location. More than 20 varieties of bagels are baked fresh throughout the day, from your classic everything bagel to your one-of-a-kind rainbow bagel. The new best seller is the asiagoeverything bagel. On any given weekday, Bagel Crust bakes 100 dozen bagels and close to 300 dozen on Saturdays and Sundays. Seasonal colored bagels are also available for holidays, birthdays, weddings, and other special occasions. “We are always experimenting with new combinations, so we have a green and white bagel for St. Patrick’s Day, a pink, heart-shaped strawberry and chocolate chip flavored bagel for Valentine’s Day, and a blue and white bagel for football season!” says Rusinque. “Every sandwich is made-to-order with premium Boar’s Head meats, homemade chicken, tuna, egg, and white fish salads.” The most popular sandwiches include the Big Al (with grilled chicken, bacon, mozzarella, lettuce, and tomato), Turkey Chipotle, The Neesh (chicken salad), and the Skinny Lady (served on a scooped out everything bagel). The best selling breakfast bagel is The Hangover (two eggs, bacon, sausage, and American cheese).
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There are more than 10 different cream cheese spreads including sundried tomato, cinnamon walnut raisin, veggie, scallion, jalapeno cheddar, garlic and herb, lox, and strawberry. “We cut all the vegetables in-house for our spreads daily,” says Rusinque. Enjoy the new outdoor seating at the Bagel Crust Westerly Parkway with a cup of good, organic coffee or tea or cool down with a healthy organic smoothie to go with your bagel sandwich! Stop in on Mondays and Tuesdays to get 16 uncut bagels for the price of a dozen. For special catering orders including sandwich platters and custom bagels, visit bagelcrust.com or call (814) 308-9756. T&G For a special offer on bagels, visit townandgown.com.
T& G
dining out
All restaurants are in State College or on the Penn State campus, and in the 814 area code unless noted.
Full Course Dining bar bleu, 114 S. Garner St., 237-0374, bar-bleu.com. Socializing and sports viewing awaits at bar bleu. Don’t miss a minute of the action on 22 true 1080i HDMI high-definition flat-screen monitors displaying the night’s college and pro matchups. The bar serves up 16 draft beers in addition to crafted cocktails, including the “Fishbowl,” concocted in its own 43-ounce tank! Pub fare featuring authentic Kansas Citystyle barbecue is smoked daily on-site. AE, D, DC, ID+, MC, V. Full bar. Barrel 21 Distillery & Dining, 2255 N. Atherton St., 308-9522, barrel21distillery .com. Barrel 21 offers a unique gastro-distillery dining experience that features our one of a kind spirits and beer which are made on premise. Our menu of rotating seasonal items blends classic dishes with current trends to deliver new and interesting presentations for our guests to enjoy. Sunday brunch is a favorite with madeto-order omelets, Bloody Mary bar, and full buffet, including Irving’s bagels, house-made pastries, and much more. Happy Hour is from 4 to 6 p.m.Tuesday through Friday, featuring half-price Barrel 21 spirits and Otto’s beer. Our tasting room also is open if you would like to take a bottle home with you, and our private dining room is available for your special event. We look forward to seeing you at Barrel 21! Carnegie Inn & Spa Restaurant, 100 Cricklewood Drive, 234-2424. An exquisite boutique hotel offering fine dining in a relaxed yet gracious atmosphere. Your dining experience begins with a wide array of appetizers and entrees that compare to the best restaurants of the largest cities in the United States. Additionally, the Carnegie Inn & Spa Restaurant wine list is one of the best in the area and features a wide variety of wines from California, France, and other countries. Reservations suggested. AE, MC, D, V. Full bar.
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Cozy Thai Bistro, 232 S. Allen St., 237-0139. A true authentic Thai restaurant offering casual and yet “cozy” family-friendly dining experience. Menu features wide selections of exotic Thai cuisine, both lunch and dinner (take-out available). BYO (wines and beer) is welcome after 5 p.m. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V. The Deli Restaurant, 113 Hiester St., 2375710, The DeliRestaurant.com. Since 1973, The Deli has served up New York-style deli favorites on an American menu offering everything from comfort food to pub favorites, all made from scratch. Soups, breads, sauces, and awardwinning desserts are homemade here early in the morning folks. Look for its rotating menu of food- themed festivals throughout the year. AE, D, DC, LC, MC, V. Full bar. The Dining Room at the Nittany Lion Inn, 200 W. Park Ave., 865-8590. Fine continental cuisine in a relaxed, gracious atmosphere. Casual attire acceptable. Private dining rooms available. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V. Full bar. Duffy’s Boalsburg Tavern, On the Diamond, Boalsburg, 466-6241. The Boalsburg Tavern offers a fine, intimate setting reminiscent of Colonial times. Dining for all occasions with formal and casual menus, daily dinner features, specials, and plenty of free parking. AE, MC, V. Full bar.
Key AE............................................................American Express CB ...................................................................Carte Blanche D ................................................................. Discover/Novus DC.........................................................................Diners Club ID+ ................................................ PSU ID+ card discounts LC............................................................................. LionCash MAC........................................................................debit card MC........................................................................MasterCard V.......................................................................................... Visa ............................................... Handicapped-accessible
To advertise, call Town&Gown account executives Nicohl Gezvain or Debbie Markel at (814) 238-5051.
Faccia Luna Pizzeria, 1229 S. Atherton St., 234-9000, faccialuna.com. A true neighborhood hangout, famous for authentic New York-style wood-fired pizzas and fresh, homemade Italian cuisine. Seafood specialties, sumptuous salads, divine desserts, great service, and full bar. Outside seating available. Sorry, reservations not accepted. Dine-in, Take out. MC/V.
The Greek, 102 E. Clinton Ave., 308-8822, thegreekrestaurant.net. Located behind The Original Waffle Shop on North Atherton Street. Visit our Greek tavern and enjoy authentic Greek cuisine. From fresh and abundant vegetables to the most succulent kebabs, each dish has been perfected to showcase genuine Greek flavors. When we say “authentic,” we mean it. Full service, BYOB. D, MC, V.
Galanga, 454 E. College Ave., 237-1718. Another great addition to Cozy Thai Bistro. Galanga by Cozy Thai offers a unique authentic Thai food featuring Northeastern Thai-style cuisine. Vegetarian menu selection available. BYO (wines and beer) is welcome after 5 p.m. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V.
Herwig’s Austrian Bistro, “Where Bacon Is An Herb,” 132 W. College Ave., 272-0738. Located next to the State Theatre. Serving authentic Austrian home cooking in Central PA. Ranked #1 Ethnic Restaurant in State College for 8 years in a row. Eat-in, Take-Out, Catering. Glutenfree options available. Bacon-based dessert. Homemade breads, BYO beer or wine all day. Sense of humor required. D, MAC, MC, V.
The Gardens Restaurant at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd., Innovation Park, 863-5090. Dining is a treat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in The Gardens Restaurant, where sumptuous buffets and à la carte dining are our special- ties. AE, CB, D, DC, MC, V. Full bar, beer. Gigi’s, W. College Ave, on the corner of Cato Ave., 861-3463, gigisdining.com. Conveniently located 5 minutes from downtown State College, Gigi’s is a farm-to-table dining experience inspired by the hottest southern trends. Outdoor Patio. Lunch & Dinner. Full Bar. AE, D, MAC, MC, V.
Hi-Way Pizza, 1688 N. Atherton St., 237-0375, HiWayPizza.com. The State College tradition for nearly 50 years, nobody does it better than Hi-Way! Offering more than 29 varieties of hand-spun pizzas made from scratch offer an endless combination of toppings. Its vodka “flaky” crust and red stuffed pizzas are simply a must have. Hi-Way’s menu rounds out with pasta dishes, calzones, grinders, salads, and other Italian specialties. Eat-in, take-out, or Hi-Way delivery. AE, D, DC, LC, MC, V. Full bar.
Just 10 Minutes From Town
Free Wine Tastings: Tues-Fri 11-5pm, Sat 10-5pm, Sun 12-5pm Tours & Tastings: Can be scheduled by appointment.
(814) 466-6373 • www.mtnittanywinery.com 300 Houser Rd • Centre Hall, PA 16828 110 - T&G June 2017
Hoss’s Steak & Sea House, 1454 North Atherton Street, State College, 234-4009, www.hosss.com. Since 1983, Hoss’s has been providing considerate service, delicious food, and a pleasant environment that brings family and friends together. We offer a variety of steaks, chicken, seafood, burgers, and sandwiches. Hoss’s showcase is our all-you-can-eat Hosspitality Bars — offering fresh salads, soups, breads, and desserts. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V Inferno Brick Oven & Bar, 340 E. College Ave., 237-5718, InfernoBrickOvenBar.com. With a casual yet sophisticated atmosphere, Inferno is a place to see and be seen. A full-service bar boasts a unique specialty wine, beer, and cocktail menu. Foodies — Inferno offers a contemporary Neapolitan brick-oven experience featuring a focused menu of artisan pizzas and other modern-Italian plates. Lunch and dinner service transi- tions into night as a boutique nightclub with dance- floor lighting, club sound system, and the area’s most talented resident DJs. AE, D, MAC, MC, V. Full bar.
Liberty Craft House, 346 E. College Ave., 9544923, LibertyCraftHouse.com. A worthy destination inspired by their passion for knowledge, skill, and small-batch artisan goods. Liberty is a humble neighborhood joint with design cues from the industrial revolution that provides a comfortable post for a few drinks, food, and good times. A one-of-akind, world-class digital-menu-driven draft system features nitro-coffee, craft sodas, cocktails, wine, ales, lagers, and hand-pumped cask ale. Specializing in American whiskey, Liberty boasts a bottled beer, wine, mead, cider, and spirits list that would make your buddy jealous. Hungry? Liberty’s menu focuses on small-batch, local, organic, and artisan food made 100 percent in-house, fresh from scratch. Charcuerie, fromage, and flat breads are at the heart of the menu that is complemented by many other classic gastropub favorites. Open 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m. every day (kitchen ’til midnight). AE, D, MAC, MC, V.
Legends Pub at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd., Innovation Park, 863-5080. Unwind with beverages and a casual lounge menu. AE, D, MC, V. Full bar. Skinny Lady Sandwich
Thai Papaya Salad
Read about us in this Issue’s Taste of the Month! MONDAYS & TUESDAYS BUY ONE DOZEN, GET 4 FREE BAGELS
WESTERLY 814.308.9321
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CALDER WAY 814.308.9756
HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 7am - 5pm • Sat. - Sun. 7am - 4pm
available at
COZY THAI BISTRO 232 S. Allen Street. State College, PA 16801 Tel: 814.237.0139 E-mail: cozythai@gmail.com 2017 June T&G - 111
Mario’s Italian Restaurant, 272 N. Atherton St., 234-4273, MariosItalianStateCollege.com. Fresh specialty dishes, pasta, sauces, hand-tossed pizzas, and rotisserie wood-grilled chicken all made from scratch are just a few reasons why Mario’s is authentically Italian! At the heart of it all is a specialty wood-fired pizza oven and rotisserie that imparts rustic flavors that can’t be beat! Mario’s loves wine and is honored with six consecutive Wine Spectator awards and a wine list of more than 550 Italian selections. Mario’s even pours 12 rotating specialty bottles on its WineStation® state-of-the-art preservation system. Reservations and walk-ins welcome. AE, D, DC, LC, MC, V. Full bar.
INGREDIENT DRIVEN • SEASONAL • NEW AMERICAN CUISINE EXTENSIVE WINE LIST • BY THE BOTTLE & GLASS
PHOTOS BY ART MARGAUX
814 . 237. 8474saints logo.white2.eps ZOL AKI TCHEN .COM
Otto’s Pub & Brewery, 2235 N. Atherton St., 867-6886, ottospubandbrewery.com. State College’s most awarded craft-beer pub and brewery featuring more than a dozen fresh, house-brewed ales and lagers on tap as well as fine, affordably priced, local American food with vegan and vegetarian offerings, a kids’ menu, weekly features, and seasonal menu. Open for lunch and dinner in a family-friendly, casual atmosphere. Barrel 21 craft distilled spirits available. AE, D, MC, V. Full bar. SAINTS_black.eps
MON. - THUR. 11: 30 -9PM • FRI. - SAT. 11: 30 -10 PM • SUN. 11: 30 - 8PM
Sundaes for Dads & Grads at
Meyer Dairy Milk • Ice Cream • Eggs Cheese • Juices Candy • Pop's Mexi-Hots Baked Goods • Sandwiches Ice Cream Cakes & More! Open Daily 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. only.eps 2390 SAINTS_Green S. Atherton St. - (814) 237-1849
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Award-winning pizza and Italian Cuisine. Homemade… with only the best and freshest ingredients.
1229 S. Atherton St., State College
Now Hiring! SAINTS_2Cshadow.EPS
112 - T&G June 2017
234-9000
SAINTS_K_Green.eps
W W W. F A C C I A L U N A . C O M
Philipsburg Elks Lodge & Country Club, 1 Country Club Lane, Philipsburg, 342-0379, philipsburgelks.com. Restaurant open to the public! Monday-Saturday 11-9, Sunday 9-3. Member-only bar. New golf-member special, visit our Web site for summer golf special. AE MC, V. Full Bar (members only). The Tavern Restaurant, 220 E. College Ave., 238-6116. A unique gallery-in-a-restaurant preserving PA’s and Penn State’s past. Dinner at The Tavern is a Penn State tradition. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Whiskers at the Nittany Lion Inn, 200 W. Park Ave., 865-8580. Casual dining featuring soups, salads, sandwiches and University Creamery ice cream. Major credit cards accepted. Full bar. Zola Kitchen & Wine Bar, 324 W. College Ave., 237-8474. Zola Kitchen & Wine Bar features ingredient-driven, seasonal, new American cuisine paired with an extensive wine list, certified wine professional, and exceptional service. Zola’s also features a new climate-controlled wine room, premium by-the-glass wine pours, fine liquor, and craft beer at its full-service bar. Serving lunch and dinner seven days a week. Reservations recommended. Catering. Free parking after 5:30 p.m. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V. Full bar.
Good Food Fast Baby’s Burgers & Shakes, 131 S. Garner St., 234-4776, babysburgers.com. Love poodle skirts, a jukebox playing the oldies, and delicious food cooked to order? Then Baby’s Burgers & Shakes is your kind of restaurant! Bring the entire family and enjoy a “Whimpy” burger, a Cherry Coke, or delicious chocolate shake, and top it off with a “Teeny Weeny Sundae” in our authentic 1947 Silk City Diner. Check out Baby’s Web site for full menu and daily specials! D, MC, V, MAC, Lion’s Cash.
Serving authentic Colombian coffees
fresh juices, empanadas and more!
Come relax at 324 E. Calder Way, Downtown State College Mon-Sat 7am-8pm, Sunday 9am-8pm
Check out our new pool tables in our game room!
814.237.6300 • lettermans.net • Lettermans 1031 E. College Avenue • State College, PA 2017 June T&G - 113
Bagel Crust, 460 Westerly Parkway, 308-9321, bagelcrust.com. Fresh, daily-baked New York style bagels with no artificial ingredients, no oil, no butter, and no cholesterol! Gourmet breakfast and lunch sandwiches with the best cold cuts from Boar’s Head. Come try our organic coffee blends, organic herbal and black teas, as well as flavored smoothies. Catering is available. AE, MAC, MC, V.
Barranquero Café, 324 E. Calder Way, 954-7548, barranquerocafe.com. A locally owned coffee shop specializing in authentic Colombian coffees and specialty drinks. Works closely with its coffee suppliers in Colombia to ensure that it receives only the highest quality coffee beans the region has to offer. Also serves fresh fruit juices, empanadas, and more! Hopes to bring a little piece of Colombia to Happy Valley! Hours: Mon.-Sat. 7a.m.-8p.m., Sun. 10a.m.-8p.m. Fiddlehead, 134 W. College Ave., 237-0595, fiddleheadstatecollege.com. Fiddlehead is a soupand-salad café offering soups made from scratch daily. Create your own salad from more than 40 fresh ingredients. HUB Dining, HUB-Robeson Center on campus, 865-7623. A Penn State tradition open to all! Enjoy 12 different eateries in the HUB-Robeson Center on campus. Jamba Juice, McAlister’s Deli, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Burger King, Grate Chee, Sbarro, Soup & Garden, Diversions, Blue Burrito, Mixed Greens, Panda Express, and Hibachi-San by Panda.V, MC, LC. Irving’s, 110 E. College Ave., 231-0604, irvingsstatecollege.com. Irving’s is State College’s finest bakery café serving award-winning bagels, espresso, sandwiches, salads, and smoothies. Meyer Dairy, 2390 S. Atherton St., 237-1849. A State College Classic! Meyer Dairy is the perfect choice for a quick, homemade lunch with fresh soups and sandwiches or treat yourself to your favorite flavor of ice cream or sundae at our ice cream parlor. Fresh milk from our own dairy cows (we do not inject our cows with BST), eggs, cheese, ice cream cakes, baked goods, and more! Plus, Meyer Dairy is the best place to pick up your Town&Gown magazine each month!
One Country Club Lane, State College, PA 16803
814.234.8000 • www.toftrees.com
114 - T&G June 2017
Saint’s Café, 123 W. Beaver Ave., 238-5707, statecollegecoffeeshop.com. Established in 1999, we are inspired by travel and a passion for exceptional coffee. Come try our espresso drinks, pour-over coffee, pastries, and free WiFi. Cafe Hours: Monday-Saturday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
2 0 1 7 H I S TO R IC
29th ANNUAL
June 17, 18, 19, 2017
Specialty Foods
Festivities Include: • Open cruise • Sock hop • All-vehicle show • Parade of cars • Motorcycle games and lots more.
Dam Donuts, 216 W. High Street, Bellefonte, 548-7825, damdonuts.com. Locally owned, specialty donut shop. Made-to-order donuts are made daily, right before your eyes! House-blend coffee, cold-brew coffee, and bubble tea also. We offer a variety of frostings and toppings to tickle your taste buds! Also offering call-ahead orders and special occasions orders. Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. & Sun., Closed Mon. AE, D, MC, V. T&G
Sunday Event: • 12:30pm - 5pm Soap Box Derby • Make A Wish Ride sponsored by Eagle Riders, all proceeds benefit The Make A Wish Foundation of Centre County. Ad Sponsored by: www.bellefontechamber.org
Duffy’s Tavern and Love & Light Productions Presents a MURDER MYSTERY DINNER THEATRE
in Historic Boalsburg, PA
3 Doors to Death
Scheduled for the patio. If inclimate weather, will move to the upstairs dining room ($48/person). Join us on Jun. 13th, 15th, 20th, & 22th Reservations at duffystavernpa.com or Loveandlightproductions.org
DuffysTavernPA.com 113 East Main Street, Boalsburg PA 16827
Be Sure to Like Us on Facebook 814.466.6241 2017 June T&G - 115
T& G
lunch with mimi
A Focus on Community State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham discusses high-rises, immigration, and changes ahead Darren Andrew Weimert
Town&Gown founder Mimi Barash Coppersmith (left) with State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham at Faccia Luna.
State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham announced at the Borough Council meeting in February she will not run for re-election at the end of her term this year. Goreham took office as the first-ever elected female mayor of State College in 2010 and was re-elected to begin her second term in 2014. As mayor, she and the community worked together to stop a natural gas pipeline, enacted an environmental bill of rights, and supported marriage equality. Goreham has served as a public official for 20 years and is taking time off to be a private citizen, but plans to remain active in the community. Born in Chicago, she was raised in a rural community on a small farm outside of Chesterton, Indiana. Goreham first attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, for 2 years and studied abroad in Austria and Germany before transferring to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and graduating in 1963 with a degree in political science. She came to State College with her husband, Jack Matson, in 1993. Matson was a professor of environmental engineering at Penn State until he retired in 2010. Town&Gown founder Mimi Barash Coppersmith sat down with Goreham at Faccia Luna to discuss the changes taking place in downtown State College. Mimi: You came here over 20 years ago and you entered politics early. And you followed perhaps, one of the more legendary mayors of this borough. Tell me about how that happened. 116 - T&G June 2017
Elizabeth: Well, I’ve always loved politics, but I’d never run for office before moving to State College in 1993. I entered politics three years later because of my husband, who knew I was a strong environmentalist and wanted me to go public. He suggested I run for Borough Council to raise issues that were important to me: protecting our abundant natural resources. So, I threw my hat in the ring and went door-to-door. To my surprise, I found the people of State College and I were on the same wave length regarding the environment! I quickly felt at home, and won that election in 1996. Twelve years later, I ran for mayor after Bill Welch, the community’s beloved mayor, suddenly passed away shortly before his almost certain re-election to a fifth term. When he passed away, it was a shock. Running for mayor was challenging. But becoming mayor changed my life. Mimi: There are a lot of changes that are taking place in the downtown area. What is your perspective? Elizabeth: I think most of the new buildings we have seen, wanting to attract different populations downtown, are good, especially the Fraser Centre. New construction opens up a broad discussion because we live in an area with a successful, top-ranked university that has great influence and a town with strong neighborhoods as well as a majority of student housing. State College Borough has just begun a total review and rewriting of our zoning laws, reworking them to make them easier to deal with and planning for changes that we need.
Mimi: So, does that suggest that there will be more high-rises in downtown State College in your mind? Elizabeth: It does to me. At the same time, we have a committed group of people working with our Historic and Design Committee to establish an architecture review board that would protect the treasures that we do have in our historic districts. Even though it may look like we are going in two directions at once, I have faith in our community coming forward to work with council and successfully balance the needs of our various constituencies. Mimi: Important word, balance. I think serving on State College Borough Council may be one of the toughest political jobs. Elizabeth: I agree. We need leadership and people who are able to articulate and analyze the needs of our community. Mimi: And never forget our closest neighbor is a very important part of that decision. Elizabeth: We work closely with Penn State. For example, university and borough administration members, including council members, meet twice a year, on the primary and general election days.
Mimi: Really? What do they do? Elizabeth: We talk about areas of mutual interest including future plans, opportunities for cooperation, residential housing, and more. Mimi: The university has offices, storage places, and some real estate in downtown State College, which has been willed to them. To what extent will that growth of facilities pour into downtown State College? Elizabeth: Well, it’s not a bad thing. The university has discussed various ideas for downtown and they own significant property along Atherton Street. The university is very deliberate in what they do to ensure their actions fit the needs of both town and gown. Penn State goes through the same process as anyone else, working with our Planning Commission and other commissions to make sure a project meets our requirements. Mimi: We are landlocked unless we tackle once again, the dream of consolidation of the Centre Region. What’s the first step? Elizabeth: I believe a special commission would need to be named by the interested parties, consisting of people willing to investigate consolidation from an impartial perspective.
“Your Hometown Gym”
For over 25 years, our mission has been to provide the facilities and programs to enhance fitness, athletic performance, health and quality of life. Our Programs & Facilities include: • One-on-one training • Private and Semi-private Reformer Sessions • Wide Selection of Cardio, Selectorized Equipment and Free Weights • Nutrition Counseling • Massage Therapy • Child Care • Tanning • Silver Sneakers • Healthways Prime Group Fitness: Yoga, Pilates, HIIT, Spinning, Barre, Zumba and many more.
250 W. Hamilton Ave., State College, PA 16801 Check us out on Facebook • 234-9400 2017 June T&G - 117
Mimi: Who should be the catalyst of it? Elizabeth: I think the community should be the catalyst. State College could be because we have 25,000 students living in our community and we don’t have as much tax base as townships next door. We gave up the business privilege tax. Students come to learn, they don’t come to work. We have a healthy property tax, but earned income tax is also important. University employees do provide earned income tax, but students, even graduate students, don’t earn much. So, the median income downtown is under $26,000. That’s one of the issues that we face. Another issue that would really affect us is the federal Community Development Block Grant. We’re an entitlement community because of the relatively low median income of our student population in State College. If this grant is eliminated, our infrastructure improvements will be impacted. Mimi: Even though we are getting big names downtown such as Target, H&M, and Amazon. You think we can still stay a small town?
118 - T&G June 2017
Elizabeth: No matter how much we grow, State College has a wonderful sense of community and is committed to maintaining the quality of life that we enjoy here including strong sustainability practices. Mimi: In the area of commercial development, one category I think of is retirement. In the course of just a couple decades, the choices for facilities for retirees here are as good as any place on the planet. Elizabeth: And better than most. Our healthcare system and school district are excellent. One of the areas where we are sadly lacking throughout the Centre Region is opportunities for young professionals. Mimi: We need facilities to help make that happen. Elizabeth: Yes, we need incentives that will result in reasonable housing costs for young professionals as well as jobs. Both are essential future elements for our town and region. Mimi: One of the things that is impactful on the community is the immigration issue today. Our council has the courage to be a sanctuary community. Tell me a little bit about that.
Elizabeth: Well, we are fortunate to have a world class university with more than 10 percent of its faculty and student population from other countries. Our international residents and residents of color bring the world to us. It is in our best interest to welcome them because we quickly learn how their cultural differences enrich our lives in ways we cannot imagine. Mimi: I am personally very proud of council having done that. Elizabeth: Me, too. Democracy begins at the first rung of government, in places like State College. If everyone feels safe here, and that’s important, then we’re doing one of our most important jobs. Our police have for many years embraced the policy of not asking the immigration status of internationals. They do so because all residents need to trust the police, who are here to protect them. Mimi: Yet, we also have the protection. I don’t think that many people, foreign or otherwise, have fear of living in State College. Elizabeth: That’s right, even though people from other countries in the world may have different relationships with their police. Some
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people are quite hesitant to come forward if they are victim of a crime or witness to a crime. In State College these folks have no cause to be concerned because we have worked to establish our police force as reliable and trustworthy. Mimi: So, we have these instances that relate to behavior and habits, whether it’s riots after football games or drug and alcohol issues. What’s your read on all that? Elizabeth: Well, we have many fine students. I spoke with some during a year-long honors class which investigated how these “riots” occur. Students go to a football game really revved up and after the game there is an urge to release some of that energy, without a place to go. So a sizeable fraction of them run to “Beaver Canyon” and start going into the neighborhoods causing havoc. Our neighborhoods are the glue that holds our community together. What students do not realize is those spontaneous actions erode the neighborhood’s confidence in its safety. In State College there are many different constituencies living side-by-side. If students and non-students don’t respect each other, their relationship disintegrates. The university and the town need to join forces to expand the education of students to appreciate the benefit of freedom and adulthood. I think a restorative justice program in our community would help. If you had to meet the person whose shrub you pulled up, plant a new shrub, both parties would benefit. Recently, the IFC sponsored a day for their members to go into the neighborhoods and ask residents what help was needed. One weekend fraternity members assissted their non-student neighbors at no cost, to show their goodwill. Mimi: That’s a good beginning. So, can we
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help with the big problem of alcohol and drugs beyond the ordinary? Elizabeth: One thing State College did last year is decriminalize marijuana by lessening the penalty to a non-traffic violation. Our action doesn’t legalize marijuana but it allows people to learn from their mistakes, move on, and not hinder their future job prospects, for example, to teach or to work for the state — which now is the case in places where possession of marijuana is a felony offense. Mimi: Is there evidence that decriminalizing will help the larger problem? Elizabeth: We hope so. The Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale came to State College to collect data on this topic. Our manager and police chief put him in contact with other managers who are working on the same issue. We will know in a couple of years. Eugene DePasquale estimated that, if Pennsylvania were to make marijuana a nontraffic violation statewide and subject to a fine, we could receive well over $100 million a year. Mimi: Wow. How would you like to be remembered for your service to the community?
Elizabeth: During 20 years of elected office, I feel the citizens of State College have become part of my family. More than any particular accomplishments, I would like to be remembered as someone who is approachable, cares deeply about State College and believes in a bright future ahead if we continue on our current path, embracing diversity and encouraging graduates to build their lives here. Personally, I want to become an active volunteer and grow native plants. Mimi: Among the many things that you and I have in common is the fact that we are both survivors of cancer. You are in the throes of that. What has it done to your thought process in terms of how you view today, tomorrow, and the next day? Elizabeth: A diagnosis of cancer is always a shock, but life goes on. Friends like you have surprised me with your kindness and openness about the difficulties we all face and the importance of simply feeling the joy of life every day. Mimi: Nurture yourself and the place that we live. I want to thank you. I wish you continued good health and recovery. Elizabeth: Thank you. T&G
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www.crpr.org • 814-231-3071 120 - T&G June 2017
Mimi: So, does that suggest that there will be more high-rises in downtown State College in your mind? Elizabeth: It does to me. At the same time, we have a committed group of people working with our Historic and Design Committee to establish an architecture review board that would protect the treasures that we do have in our historic districts. Even though it may look like we are going in two directions at once, I have faith in our community coming forward to work with council and successfully balance the needs of our various constituencies. Mimi: Important word, balance. I think serving on State College Borough Council may be one of the toughest political jobs. Elizabeth: I agree. We need leadership and people who are able to articulate and analyze the needs of our community. Mimi: And never forget our closest neighbor is a very important part of that decision. Elizabeth: We work closely with Penn State. For example, university and borough administration members, including council members, meet twice a year, on the primary and general election days.
Mimi: Really? What do they do? Elizabeth: We talk about areas of mutual interest including future plans, opportunities for cooperation, residential housing, and more. Mimi: The university has offices, storage places, and some real estate in downtown State College, which has been willed to them. To what extent will that growth of facilities pour into downtown State College? Elizabeth: Well, it’s not a bad thing. The university has discussed various ideas for downtown and they own significant property along Atherton Street. The university is very deliberate in what they do to ensure their actions fit the needs of both town and gown. Penn State goes through the same process as anyone else, working with our Planning Commission and other commissions to make sure a project meets our requirements. Mimi: We are landlocked unless we tackle once again, the dream of consolidation of the Centre Region. What’s the first step? Elizabeth: I believe a special commission would need to be named by the interested parties, consisting of people willing to investigate consolidation from an impartial perspective.
“Your Hometown Gym”
For over 25 years, our mission has been to provide the facilities and programs to enhance fitness, athletic performance, health and quality of life. Our Programs & Facilities include: • One-on-one training • Private and Semi-private Reformer Sessions • Wide Selection of Cardio, Selectorized Equipment and Free Weights • Nutrition Counseling • Massage Therapy • Child Care • Tanning • Silver Sneakers • Healthways Prime Group Fitness: Yoga, Pilates, HIIT, Spinning, Barre, Zumba and many more.
250 W. Hamilton Ave., State College, PA 16801 Check us out on Facebook • 234-9400 2017 June T&G - 117
Mimi: Who should be the catalyst of it? Elizabeth: I think the community should be the catalyst. State College could be because we have 25,000 students living in our community and we don’t have as much tax base as townships next door. We gave up the business privilege tax. Students come to learn, they don’t come to work. We have a healthy property tax, but earned income tax is also important. University employees do provide earned income tax, but students, even graduate students, don’t earn much. So, the median income downtown is under $26,000. That’s one of the issues that we face. Another issue that would really affect us is the federal Community Development Block Grant. We’re an entitlement community because of the relatively low median income of our student population in State College. If this grant is eliminated, our infrastructure improvements will be impacted. Mimi: Even though we are getting big names downtown such as Target, H&M, and Amazon. You think we can still stay a small town?
118 - T&G June 2017
Elizabeth: No matter how much we grow, State College has a wonderful sense of community and is committed to maintaining the quality of life that we enjoy here including strong sustainability practices. Mimi: In the area of commercial development, one category I think of is retirement. In the course of just a couple decades, the choices for facilities for retirees here are as good as any place on the planet. Elizabeth: And better than most. Our healthcare system and school district are excellent. One of the areas where we are sadly lacking throughout the Centre Region is opportunities for young professionals. Mimi: We need facilities to help make that happen. Elizabeth: Yes, we need incentives that will result in reasonable housing costs for young professionals as well as jobs. Both are essential future elements for our town and region. Mimi: One of the things that is impactful on the community is the immigration issue today. Our council has the courage to be a sanctuary community. Tell me a little bit about that.
Elizabeth: Well, we are fortunate to have a world class university with more than 10 percent of its faculty and student population from other countries. Our international residents and residents of color bring the world to us. It is in our best interest to welcome them because we quickly learn how their cultural differences enrich our lives in ways we cannot imagine. Mimi: I am personally very proud of council having done that. Elizabeth: Me, too. Democracy begins at the first rung of government, in places like State College. If everyone feels safe here, and that’s important, then we’re doing one of our most important jobs. Our police have for many years embraced the policy of not asking the immigration status of internationals. They do so because all residents need to trust the police, who are here to protect them. Mimi: Yet, we also have the protection. I don’t think that many people, foreign or otherwise, have fear of living in State College. Elizabeth: That’s right, even though people from other countries in the world may have different relationships with their police. Some
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people are quite hesitant to come forward if they are victim of a crime or witness to a crime. In State College these folks have no cause to be concerned because we have worked to establish our police force as reliable and trustworthy. Mimi: So, we have these instances that relate to behavior and habits, whether it’s riots after football games or drug and alcohol issues. What’s your read on all that? Elizabeth: Well, we have many fine students. I spoke with some during a year-long honors class which investigated how these “riots” occur. Students go to a football game really revved up and after the game there is an urge to release some of that energy, without a place to go. So a sizeable fraction of them run to “Beaver Canyon” and start going into the neighborhoods causing havoc. Our neighborhoods are the glue that holds our community together. What students do not realize is those spontaneous actions erode the neighborhood’s confidence in its safety. In State College there are many different constituencies living side-by-side. If students and non-students don’t respect each other, their relationship disintegrates. The university and the town need to join forces to expand the education of students to appreciate the benefit of freedom and adulthood. I think a restorative justice program in our community would help. If you had to meet the person whose shrub you pulled up, plant a new shrub, both parties would benefit. Recently, the IFC sponsored a day for their members to go into the neighborhoods and ask residents what help was needed. One weekend fraternity members assissted their non-student neighbors at no cost, to show their goodwill. Mimi: That’s a good beginning. So, can we
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help with the big problem of alcohol and drugs beyond the ordinary? Elizabeth: One thing State College did last year is decriminalize marijuana by lessening the penalty to a non-traffic violation. Our action doesn’t legalize marijuana but it allows people to learn from their mistakes, move on, and not hinder their future job prospects, for example, to teach or to work for the state — which now is the case in places where possession of marijuana is a felony offense. Mimi: Is there evidence that decriminalizing will help the larger problem? Elizabeth: We hope so. The Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale came to State College to collect data on this topic. Our manager and police chief put him in contact with other managers who are working on the same issue. We will know in a couple of years. Eugene DePasquale estimated that, if Pennsylvania were to make marijuana a nontraffic violation statewide and subject to a fine, we could receive well over $100 million a year. Mimi: Wow. How would you like to be remembered for your service to the community?
Elizabeth: During 20 years of elected office, I feel the citizens of State College have become part of my family. More than any particular accomplishments, I would like to be remembered as someone who is approachable, cares deeply about State College and believes in a bright future ahead if we continue on our current path, embracing diversity and encouraging graduates to build their lives here. Personally, I want to become an active volunteer and grow native plants. Mimi: Among the many things that you and I have in common is the fact that we are both survivors of cancer. You are in the throes of that. What has it done to your thought process in terms of how you view today, tomorrow, and the next day? Elizabeth: A diagnosis of cancer is always a shock, but life goes on. Friends like you have surprised me with your kindness and openness about the difficulties we all face and the importance of simply feeling the joy of life every day. Mimi: Nurture yourself and the place that we live. I want to thank you. I wish you continued good health and recovery. Elizabeth: Thank you. T&G
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Artist of the Month
State College Original Jason Tutwiler sees his writing, performing as a way to exhale, ‘over and over again’ By Rebecca Poling
Michael Race
Slide guitarist and State College native Jason Tutwiler does it all. He plays in four bands, gives guitar lessons to interested musicians in the area, and writes and records music. Tutwiler makes it look easy, but he takes his work to heart and has a passion for music and performing. Tutwiler began playing guitar at 16; he grew up being influenced by music, specifically Alley Cat music in State College. His parents always had records playing in their house, from Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones. It was not until Tutwiler saw one of his friends play guitar at a talent show that he realized that is what he wanted to do. “I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be. I picked up the guitar and it felt like the most natural thing,” says Tutwiler. Tutwiler took lessons from ages 16-19 from Jason Zarecky in State College. During high school, he had the opportunity
Raven and the Wren, featuring (from left) Chris Rattie, Bob Hart, Natalie Race, and Jason Tutwiler. 122 - T&G June 2017
to play at a few bars in downtown State College, even though he wasn’t of age yet. “I was about 17 and I started playing in bars. I would sit in with Mark Ross and his band... It was really fun,” says Tutwiler. After high school, Tutwiler attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he stayed only for a short time. As Tutwiler puts it, there was “something about putting music in a school context, it lost its appeal and didn’t really jive. Playing in clubs around the country is where I found myself getting better as a musician. I think that’s the best way to improve as a musician.” After living in Boston, Tutwiler came back to State College to reassess his goals in music. He then met Jason McIntyre and started the Rustlanders. Tutwiler spent five years touring all over the country with the Rustlanders and those years hold some of his fondest memories in his music career. Currently, Tutwiler plays in four bands: Lemont, Pure Cane Sugar, Raven and the Wren, and Chris Rattie and the Brush Valley Rumblers. For the most part, Pure Cane Sugar is the steadiest performing band at the moment, playing every Saturday night in downtown State College. Pure Cane Sugar writes and performs a lot of original music, but still plays cover songs when performing downtown. While Tutwiler agrees that some bands have to continuously play cover songs to survive in State College, he never pictured himself in a cover band. “It’s just not what I want to do. It would be more like a job that I wouldn’t get any satisfaction out of,” says Tutwiler. “The songs that we cover with Pure Cane Sugar, we put our own arrangements and twists on those songs.”
Darren Andrew Weimert
Jason Tutwiler says performing or writing is “almost like a therapy to relieve stress before life comes back at you.”
When asked how the music scene in State College has changed over the years, Tutwiler replies with, “It has changed. Whenever we started out, I feel like there was a push for original music and I feel like whenever I started playing, it was on the cusp. Now it’s more about cover bands and DJs. You can see it; everywhere you go on a Friday night around town, there’s a cover band.” Nevertheless, Tutwiler sees a bright future for the State College music scene. “There will always be those people writing original music; I think there will always be an outlet for people to perform their original music. I personally see the cover bands outweighing the interest in original music, but I feel like original music will always be present around here,” says Tutwiler. Recently, Tutwiler has been trying to focus on writing his own music. He has written music in the past, but never lyrics, so he has been experimenting with that. “All the best stuff I’ve ever done has been whenever I get up in the morning and pick up my guitar. It’s the first thing
I do. You don’t have a bad day yet, you don’t have a good day yet; it’s as authentic as you can get to what’s really coming through. If you write at the end of the day and you have a bad day, you’re going to write something negative, so I always try to do it with a blank canvas.” Tutwiler’s passion for music and playing the guitar doesn’t stop there. He sees the whole process of performing as a therapy that he cannot get enough of. “Just being able to express myself while playing. I look at it as exhaling; performing or writing, it’s just a way to exhale. It’s almost like a therapy to relieve stress before life comes back at you. Then you continue to play and exhale over and over again.” T&G Tutwiler will be playing at Karoondinha Music & Arts Festival at Penn’s Cave and Wildlife Park from July 21-23. You can also find Tutwiler playing in his favorite local venues, Elk Creek Cafe in Milheim and Zeno’s downtown.
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Making Beautiful Music Penn’s Woods Music Festival celebrates classical, orchestral and chamber genres By Rebecca Poling Penn’s Woods Music Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this June. From outdoor concerts to arboretum walk-throughs to special events, the festival is a two-week, high-intensity event centered around classical, orchestral and chamber music genres. Musicians from across the country as well as Penn State School of Music faculty, alumni, students, and volunteers come together to share their passion for what they love, music. The goal of Penn’s Woods Music Festival each year is to offer superior chamber music and orchestral performances by professional musicians. Working with Penn State’s School of Music in the College of Arts and Architecture and the surrounding community, the festival hopes to inspire a strong interest in classical music through concerts, activities and events each summer. Lynn Sidehamer Brown, who serves on the Advisory Council for the festival, is a longtime supporter of symphony and classical music. A Pittsburgh native and past elementary school principal of 34 years in the Norwin School District, Brown decided to move in 1992 to State College, where she was a supervisor of student teaching at Penn State. Brown taught until 2004 and has been involved in supporting the arts in the State College community ever since, which includes the Penn’s Woods Music Festival. “I was not a music major, but I got interested in music from my family,” Brown says. “By third grade I was playing piano and now I do it for my own enjoyment. Living in the Pittsburgh area, I fell in love with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and basically that’s how I got involved in music.” Brown has served on the Penn’s Woods Music Festival Development Committee for five years now and she has loved every second of being involved. “What’s interesting is that professional musicians come from all over the country — some are international — to perform in the summer festival. And that’s what makes it so special is that these are all trained musicians, so the music is gorgeous and beautifully done,” says Brown. Brown reports that Development Committee members are always thinking of how to increase attendance, even though the festival does very well in that realm. “We are always looking for young people, because many of us are in 124 - T&G June 2017
Lynn Sidehamer Brown
advanced age. Part of our purpose is to involve young people so that classical music can be something that everyone can enjoy. We want to make sure that this festival and this music will be here for many generations,” says Brown This year, Brown is heading up the donor reception, which is held June 1, prior to the start of the festival, at the Arboretum at Penn State. The reception will be centered on thanking the people who support the festival. “[The festival] is supported by contributions from the community. A lot of volunteers, a lot of patrons. There will be approximately 100 people there and it will be a beautiful evening,” says Brown. The Penn’s Woods Music Festival kicks off June 7 with a free concert in the arboretum at the pavilion. When asked about what she is looking forward to most about the festival, Brown replies, “I am going to have the pleasure of sitting in the audience and just listening to the beautiful music. Also, getting to mingle with the performers; I am a big admirer of the performance.” T&G Penn’s Woods Music Festival will feature concerts and events on June 7, 14, 17, 21, and 24 at Penn State. Find out more about the festival’s events and how to get involved at mpw.psu.edu.