GUERRINI VENDING MACHINES

from Juniata Valley Magazine 2022

LEONARD INSURANCE

6—Lewistown, PA

The Sentinel JUNIATA VALLEY MAGAZINE

Fishbein

Continued from Page 2 one was back then — but we were friends with and neighbors of the Paternos, and she raised a bevy of Nittany Lion backers. One year, her Christmas present to all the male cousins was to buy a season pass to the football games, taking each of us to one.

It was through her job that the best Gramelissa story came to be. It was not long after the family moved to State College; most of her kids were still in high school or lower. Penn State had a notable defense even back then, under Paterno’s predecessor, Rip Engle.

Among the players was a young Rosey Grier.

Rosey, grandma used to tell us, would come in the week after a win — which, even then, was most of the time — pick her up and carry her around the office. We never knew if it was true or not, but it made for a great story.

Flash forward three dozen years or so, and Grier is now an ordained minister and inspirational speaker.

He was making a visit to the Susquehanna Valley; I was on night shift doing sports for The Daily Item. Rosey was to give an interview to one of our reporters the night before he spoke.

When he called the office, the reporter was finishing an obituary, and I was lucky enough to take the call. Rather than putting Rosey on hold, I asked him: Is my grandma’s story true?

“I’m sure it is,” he admitted. “I did some crazy things back then.”

And so, one of my lasting memories of my grandmother is one that I never saw — never could have seen. The Gentle Giant, once a member of the NFL’s Fearsome Foursome, carrying her around Rec Hall.

A few more of us with Gramelissa, seated, but still a small number — I recall her favorite chair in her apartment in State College. By now her brood included girls (the first three were boys); I’m on the right.