June 2014 t&g

Inside: All-star alums from Centre County’s school districts • Special History section

Town&Gown JUNE 2014

FREE

townandgown.com

Woodward Pushes On As the Ream family, which opened the world-renowned action-sports facility Camp Woodward, fights through their sadness of losing Brandon Ream to cancer, the brand they’ve created continues to thrive and expand

IF IT’S HAPPENING IN HAPPY VALLEY, IT’S IN TOWN&GOWN

CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AT PENN STATE

“Elements of alt-country, folk, Bill Frisell-esque Americana, jazz, traditional music, and more merge together beautifully on this gem of an album. Carter has no shortage of fine records in her discography, but this one tops them all.”

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REGINA CARTER SOUTHERN COMFORT The MacArthur Foundation “genius” and bandmates explore her family’s roots.

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Tickets for the concert and other 2014–2015 presentations are on sale in June. For details, visit cpa.psu.edu or phone 814-863-0255.

College of Arts and Architecture

t fe m ay f p d u 2 n b to Su ch m n u a r 0 b 0:3 1

Congratulations!

To our graduates

at two of We are proud th nored e ho our servers wer shals! ar m t en ud st as

Front: Taryn Traxler, Nikki Bortiatynski, Front: Gabrielle Cocco, Naomi Lazny and Kelsy Kolar Back: Anthony Panichelli, Tom Miceli, Back: Tom Gray, Sarah Brown, Sarah Burke, and Andrew Dreibelbis and Bill Kohl In the library studying when photos were taken, Lucy Song, Ryan Carr, and Dan Filson

READY TO WORK FOR YOU – THE 2014 TAVERN GRADUATES If you have job openings, please call 814-238-6116 to ask for references for any of these self-starting graduating seniors.

We think you just can’t find applicants better equipped to serve you and your customers.

Penn State students traditionally have been waitpersons and cooks at The Tavern during the 66 years the restaurant has been serving the town-and-gown community. These dedicated, hard-working ’14 graduates are looking to become productive citizens in the world community.

All have been full-time students and part-time servers or cooks at The Tavern. Our managers can testify that they have been conscientious during their time here. Many have counted on their Tavern jobs to help them through college.

1 - Town&Gown June 2014

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32 28 / 12 Months of Giving Town&Gown’s yearlong series continues with a look at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre County • by Jenna Spinelle

32 / Woodward Pushes On The action-sports camp prepares for its first summer season without Brandon Ream. The son of Camp Woodward owner Gary Ream was to lead the facility into the future, only to have his life cut short last fall from cancer. Now, as the Woodward brand continues to thrive and expand, the Ream family — and the Woodward family — fight through their sadness in their effort to keep Brandon’s spirit alive • by Matthew Burglund

42 / All-Star Alums As Centre County’s five school districts each prepare to graduate another class, Town&Gown continues its annual tradition of catching up with some special alums from each of the districts. This year’s profiles include graduates who are making impacts in professional sports, entertainment, international relations, and more • by Chelsey Scott

86 / Coming to Grips with a Crisis Heroin use is on the rise in communities across the country, especially among young people. Here in Centre County, which has seen its share of heroinrelated deaths, many are looking for ways to stop the trafficking and how best to help those who are using • by Savita Iyer-Ahrestani

Special Advertising Section 49 / History: Milestones

Town&Gown’s annual History section showcases the beginnings, transitions, and successes of area businesses On the Cover: Photo by Darren Weimert. The Ream family — (from left) Brandon Ream’s brotherin-law Alistair Whitton, nephew Brener Whitton, sister Lindsay Whitton, wife Samantha, sister Kelsey, nephew Carter Whitton, mother Becky, and father Gary — continues to deal with the loss of Brandon Ream to cancer while also growing the Camp Woodward name and brand.

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 2014 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

5 - Town&Gown June 2014

Town&Gown June

106 Departments

A State College & Penn State tradition since 1966.

Publisher Rob Schmidt Founder Mimi Barash Coppersmith Editorial Director David Pencek Creative Director/Photographer John Hovenstine

8 Letter From The Editor 10 Starting Off 20 On Center: Cirque Alfonse relies on an old saw, and other sharp tools, to give circus a new edge 22 About Town: Mr. Charles bids farewell 24 Health & Wellness: Besides being beneficial for your health, strawberries can be used in a variety of manners 92 This Month on WPSU 94 Penn State Diary: Students’ actions of the past didn’t always cause tensions between town and gown 97 What’s Happening: Special Olympics, the Spikes, and Gaelic Storm highlight this month’s events 104 On Tap: Some craft brewers are producing session beers to bring balance to an industry being dominated by high-alcohol brews 106 Taste of the Month/Dining Out: Baby’s Burgers and Shakes remains a popular State College tradition 118 Lunch with Mimi: With St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy graduating its first class, its top student reflects on how the school impacted her 123 State College Photo Club’s Winning Photos 124 Snapshot: New Musical Theatre Festival director helps works and performers take first steps toward possible staged productions

Operations Manager/Assistant Editor Vilma Shu Danz Graphic Designer/Photographer Darren Weimert Graphic Designer Tiara Snare Account Executives Kathy George, Debbie Markel Business Manager Aimee Aiello Administrative Assistant Brittany Svoboda Distribution Handy Delivery, Tom Neff Senior Editorial Consultant Witt Yeagley

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.

townandgown.com

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letter from the editor

A Frightening World for Parents Some alarming issues facing children have moms and dads on alert It’s scary being a parent.

Since I became a two-time father last summer, you’d think I would already have known that. These days, the “scary” my wife and I usually deal with is the “innocent” kind — putting up barricades near our steps so Nathan, our crawling nearly 1-year-old, doesn’t roll down them, or holding my breath a little as 4-year-old Ryan goes fast on his foot-powered scooter.

In the years ahead, however, some of the issues that we’ll be dealing with when it comes to our sons — and the issues many parents are dealing with today — are much, much scarier.

In late May, Mount Nittany Middle School hosted a program by the Straight Talk Task Force titled “Adolescents, Sex, and Porn: Everything You Wish You Didn’t Need to Know!” The last part of the title is pretty accurate — I wish I didn’t need to know about what was going to be discussed at the session, including sexting and “how and why children use sexual and social media online.” But given the times we live in, unfortunately, that’s the type of information parents need to have.

Then, there’s the issue that Town&Gown tackles this month in the story “Coming to Grips with a Crisis.” Writer Savita Iyer-Ahrestani takes a look at the growing use of heroin, especially among young people, in our communities. Centre County has seen an increase in the number of deaths related to heroin use over the past few years, and it seems you can’t go too many days before there’s another story in the news of a drug bust or another death because

of an overdose.

What’s especially scary about these things that my children — your children — will be or are facing is there’s only so much we as parents can do.

Outside of keeping our kids at home all day and night, or being with them wherever they go, they ultimately will be making their own choices — and you simply hope and pray you’ve instilled in them the information they need and values you hold so they have the knowledge and inner strength to make the right decisions.

Still, nothing is guaranteed. In Iyer-Ahrestani’s story, she writes about Elizabeth Smeltzer, who came from a loving and caring family. She was a member of University Baptist & Brethren Church, where her mom is a pastor. She graduated from State High in 2010. According to her obituary, she volunteered her “time and energy to others in need.”

Elizabeth died “unintentionally of a drug overdose” on the morning of January 25. She was just 21. Her death should be an alarm bell to all parents, and inspire us to communicate even more with our children, and look for any signs that they may be struggling with something.

For me, while there certainly are things about the future that are scary, that also reminds me to cherish the present even more with my kids — do whatever I can to show them I love them. And maybe then we can, together, make the future less scary.

David Pencek Editorial Director dpenc@barashmedia.com

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starting off

What’s

New

New board members elected Penn State alumni voted in three new members to the board of trustees. Alice Pope, Albert Lord, and Robert Jubelirer won the three alumni seats that were up this year. Longtime board member Joel Myers, who had served on the board for 33 years and was the only incumbent running, lost in his bid for another three-year term.

In this year’s alumni elections, 29,791 alumni voted. Pope received the most votes with 10,025, Lord finished second with 9,516, and Jubelirer had 8,101 votes.

The agricultural societies elected Betsy Huber and Keith Masser to the board, while Daniel Mead and Walter Rakowich were elected to represent business and industry.

The new trustees begin their terms July 1.

Mount Nittany’s healing garden set to break ground Mount Nittany Health will break ground in early fall for its first healing garden, which will be located adjacent to the Lance and Ellen Shaner Cancer Pavilion.

“The healing garden will provide stress relief for patients, families, physicians, and staff while offering a quiet and beautiful space for the community to enjoy,” Foundation for Mount Nittany Medical Center director Kim Neely said in a press release. “We offer a range of treatment services at the Shaner Cancer Pavilion, such as medical oncology, radiation oncology, and chemotherapy, and our healing garden will add emotional and spiritual therapeutic elements.”

Retired oncologist Richard Dixon, MD,

and wife, Nancy, provided the lead gift for the garden, with other community members and employees following suit.

Local architect Derek Kalp, RLA, is leading the design, with input from Penn State Master Gardeners, horticulturalists, arborists, physicians, and cancer survivors. Designed to be something that can be enjoyed yearround, Kalp and other advisors have studied the sun, shade, and soil of the area to ensure lush blooms and greenery.

The garden will be bordered on two sides by the medical center, with plans to include a plaza, benches and seating areas, a water feature, strolling paths, and evergreen screens to distract from the parking areas.

State High referendum passes By an 11,121 to 3,975 margin, voters in the State College Area School District passed a referendum allowing the district to borrow $85 million to finance construction of a new State High on the current Westerly Parkway site.

The plan will make the south building a multistory school that will have academic classes and a new career and technical center. The north building will continue to have the gymnasium and natatorium, with a new wing built to house the Delta program.

The school board released a statement after the election saying, “The referendum result follows years of planning, hundreds of public and private presentations, thousands of conversations, and months of door knocking. This has been a community effort from the beginning, and we have been impressed with the community’s desire to develop a plan that is forward-looking and fiscally responsible. … Additional work by the design team will begin immediately, with anticipated ground breaking approximately one year from now. By 2018, the Westerly Parkway campus will be transformed.

“By granting permission to proceed with project funding, our community accepted a financial commitment to ‘pay it forward’ for future generations.” T&G

10 - Town&Gown June 2014

People in the

Community Rachel Fawcett Centre County Housing and Land Trust (CCHLT) announced that Rachel Fawcett is its new executive director.

Fawcett, who lives in Centre Hall, earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Penn State. She is active in the community through the Centre County Affordable Housing Coalition, Housing Co[LAB], and State College Alliance Church.

She will be primarily responsible for fundraising, which will be developed through community outreach and marketing for the organization.

The mission of CCHLT is to provide development and oversight of affordable housing for persons in Centre County.

“We believe that a diverse, vibrant community should provide housing opportunities for all its resi-

dents, and the Centre County Housing and Land Trust is moving forward to become an integral part in providing permanently affordable housing in Centre County,” Fawcett said in a press release. “I am thrilled to be a part of this nonprofit and serve our community.”

Robert and Helen Harvey Robert and Helen Harvey are the 2014 recipients of the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State Distinguished Service Award.

The Harveys have been Center for the Performing Arts Leadership Circle members since 2006. They have sponsored several performances and parking, and supported jazz presentations. They also have volunteered at the Center for the Performing Arts — Bob served as a guide for tours of Eisenhower Auditorium and Helen recently completed her second term on the Community Advisory Board.

“The Harveys’ commitment to the Center for the Performing Arts is inspiring to us all,” Center for the Performing Arts director George Trudeau said in a press release.

Louwana Oliva Louwana Oliva will become the new general manager of Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) on July 1, upon the retirement of longtime general manager Hugh Mose.

Oliva has served CATA as its assistant general manager for the past four years, overseeing the day-to-day activities of CATA’s operations and maintenance departments. She’s also been responsible for CATA’s major capital programs, including the $32 million expansion of CATA’s operating facility, which begins this fall.

“I am thrilled to step into a leadership position in an agency that is growing and thriving, and has an engaged board and dedicated staff,” Oliva said in a press release. T&G

12 - Town&Gown June 2014

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Q&A

Q&A with Joe Putnam, play-byplay broadcaster for the State College Spikes

By David Pencek The State College Spikes begin their ninth season in June, and Joe Putnam has been one of the team’s play-by-play broadcasters for all but the first two seasons.

After graduating from Syracuse University, the Bellefonte native started his career working for the Auburn Doubledays. In 2008, Putnam, 28, returned to his hometown area to work for the Spikes.

As he prepares for his seventh season with the Spikes, he talks about his work with the team and the “grind” of a season with a minor-league club.

T&G: What is it like each season to basically have a new group of players each year to talk about?

Putnam: It presents some difficulties. You don’t know who the team is until about a week before the season. At the same time, it’s exciting to meet the new guys. For a lot of them, this is their first stop up the ladder. It’s always nice to catch them at this point — sort of the “before they were stars” feel to it.

T&G: Do you enjoy the traveling that comes with being with a minor-league baseball team?

Putnam: I love it, especially in a league like this.

The New York-Penn League has ballparks that are like [Medlar Field at Lubrano Park] and Aberdeen and Brooklyn and Staten Island. Those are super ballparks. But you also have a chance to step back in time at places like Auburn, Jamestown, and Batavia. They’re certainly not “nice” as parks like this but it used to be that minor-league baseball was

all like that. So, you get a full flavor of minor-league baseball — where it was, what it is now, and what it’s going to become.

T&G: What’s been your favorite moment in the years you’ve been with the Spikes?

Putnam: There have been so many. Last year we had, I believe, six walk-off wins — and they were all in the last month. The first one — I had never been a part of a walk-off grand slam — but I was a part of one when David Washington hit one against the Connecticut Tigers. That was exciting. … Just being part of the crazy promotions. We come to work and still have a tremendous amount of fun.

T&G: Since you were born and raised here, what do you think the Spikes have meant to the community here?

Putnam: There was that initial period of excitement. People are still excited but what it is now is that we’re part of the fabric of the community.

There’s not a whole lot of places in the summer you can go and have this amount of fun with the whole family and not spend a lot of money. We pride ourselves on providing that in the summertime.

We’re part of the fabric for the entertainment portion but also in the sports portion. Penn State doesn’t play in the summertime in any sport — we do. The season flows right into football season.

T&G: Is the season ever a grind for you? It’s a short season but …

Putnam: It’s a short season but it’s a compacted season. For the 2014 schedule, from June 13, when we start on the road at Williamsport, all the way to Labor Day, we have five days off the entire schedule. … It’s not a grind in terms of tedium. It’s a grind in terms of there’s a lot going on day after day after day. There’s a lot going on, but at the same time, we’re having fun. Hopefully we’ll be able to present a great product on the field, but, through our promotions and atmosphere, we’ll hopefully present a great night every night.

T&G: Do you have a dream job in broadcasting?

Putnam: I don’t know if I have a specific dream job. I would like to advance as far as I can in this profession while still having fun. That’s what it’s all about. T&G

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2013 2 014

CVIM MARATHONERS FOR MEDICINE

“Thank you CVIM Staff and Contributors for all your help and support! It has been crucial ra recovI my health and ongoing ery. Your generosity has given me hope. Hope in myself and the world. I am honored and touched to have such care and consideration. I will carry that in my heart forever.”

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Over the past 10 years, Marathoners for Medicine has raised proofover $500,000 for Centre Volunteers in Medicine!! Thank you all for doing your part to help improve the health and lives of our friends and neighbors in Centre County!

2013

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Why Centre Volunteers in Medicine?

“Thank you CVIM Staff and Con-

Why? Because onevolunteers should have and to choose for their or life saving care.It There are more than to support isfor not too THANK YOU -noThe staff between of CVIMfood would liketable to thank tributors all late your help and 11,000 individuals in Centre County without medical insurance and more than 33,000 without dental coverage. support!

It has been CVIM through the 2014crucial Centre Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM) provides free medical and dental care, case management services, and all of our 2014 runners for their participation in Marathoners for prescription assistance to our hard working neighbors without health care coverage.

I my health and for ongoing Marathoners MedicinerecovMedicine. ery. Your generosity has given me

Support the 2013 CVIM hope. Hope in myself and the

Marathoners for Medicine Challenge I wish to donate $_______________

world. I am honored and touched We would like to give a special THANK YOU to our DiamondI wish Level to donate $ Centre Volunteerscare in Medicine support of to intohave andin considerto Centre Volunteers Medicine insuch support of the sponsor for this year’s event - Mount Nittany Health! Many 2012 thanks Marathoners for Medicine the 2014 Marathoners Medicine. ation.

I will carry for that in my heart to ALL of those generous supporters who sponsored our runners or forever.”

Name: proof ra - Bethany S. donated to CVIM for this event!!

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Team Members with Honorary Coaches Front row: Fred Wright, Marty Klanchar, George Lesieutre, Sue Paterno Honorary Women’s Coach, Cheryl White Executive Director CVIM, Tom Cali, Michael Renz, and Tara Murray.

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Diamond Level dental coverage. ❏ $10,000 Two Rivers Marathon: Dean Capone, Centre Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM) provides free medical ❏ and dental case management services, $5,000 - $9,999care, ................Distinguished Level you CVIM Staffofand and ConI wish“Thank to donate in honor Mike Renz prescription assistance to our hard working neighbors without❏health care........................Platinum coverage. tributors for all your $2,500 - $4,999 Level the 2014 Marathoners Teamhelp and

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has been crucial I my health and ongoing recovme the world. I am honored and touched Please mail this form & check (to CVIM) to: to have such care and considerI wish to donate ation. I will carry that in my heart Centre Volunteers In$Medicine to Centre Volunteers in Medicine in support of the forever.”

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5th: Kate Thompson Mount Nittany Medical Center Centre VolunteersSullivan, in MedicineJen (CVIM) provides free medical and dental care, case management services, and ray, Liz Novack, Charlie Page, Thomas Stitt, Michael Webber, Centre Volunteers prescription assistance to our hard working neighbors without health care coverage. In Medicine Sponsored Team Member: Ad providedWright by : Platinum Sponsor Jaimie 1375 Martin St. State College, PA 16803 2520 Green Tech Drive, Suite D Photo by Chuck Fong, Studio 2 Photography

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Team Members with Honorary Coaches Front row: Fred Wright, Marty Klanchar, George Lesieutre, Sue Paterno Honorary Women’s TomCVIM, Cali,Tom ABR, CRS, Assoc. Broker Coach, Cheryl White Executive Director Cali, Michael Renz, and Tara Murray.

Cell: (814) 574-4345 Standing: Dean Capone, Jeff Smucker, John Domico, Greg Fredericks Honorary Men’s Coach, Russ Rose Honorary Head Coach, John Wilcock, Mark Ellen Kline, ABR,Lee CRS,and GRI Andy Maguire.

Clearfield Half Marathon: Mike Casper

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2012 Marathoners for Medicine ❏ $5,000 - $9,999 ................Distinguished Level Bob Langton, Associate to Tom Cali & Ellen Kline (814) 574-0293 Pittsburgh Marathon: Dean Cell: Capone, Mike Martin, Mike Renz ❏ $2,500 - $4,999 ........................Platinum Level www.StateCollegeLiving.com ❏ $1,000 - $2,499 .............................. Gold Level • Philadelphia ODDyssey Half Marathon • Boston Marathon April 15th: Tom Cali, Roy Pittsburgh Half-Marathon: Taylor Conrad, Zach Dawson, Derek Hoover, Silver Level ❏ $500 - $999 ...................................

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Name:

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Photo by Chuck Fong, Studio 2 Photography

Team Members with Honorary Coaches Front row: Fred Wright, Marty Klanchar, George Lesieutre, Sue Paterno Honorary Women’s Coach, Cheryl White Executive Director CVIM, Tom Cali, Michael Renz, and Tara Murray.

Standing: Dean Capone, Jeff Smucker, John Domico, Greg Fredericks Honorary Men’s Coach, Russ Rose Honorary Head Coach, John Wilcock, Mark Lee and Andy Maguire.

Senior, Jeff Smucker, Michael Sullivan, Steve Williams, Yu Zhang, and Lauren Philbrook

• Cook’s Forest Half Marathon - March 30th: Fred Wright 1:44:18

Ad provided by: Platinum Sponsor

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Farrant, Aroline Hanson, Jerry Harrington, to $499 .................................. Bronze Level ❏ $1Tech • Pittsburgh HalfGeorge Marathon May 5th:• Pittsburgh Marathon - May 5th: 2520 Green Drive, Suite D Marty Klanchar, Lesieutre,-Allison Will Appman, Grant Bower, Dean Capone, Machnicki, Andrew Maguire, Costas Maranas, Kary Blaschak, Jennifer Hamvas, RyanMark Lee, David Moyer, Tara Murray, Liz State College, PA 16803 Please mail this form & check (to CVIM) to: Jim Moore, Michael Renz, Nina Safran, Seth Novack, Rich Olsen, Thomas Stitt, and John Hogan, Derek Hoover, Mimi Kirk, Stacey Senior, Jeff Smucker, Michael Sullivan, Steve Wilcock Centre Volunteers In Medicine Williams, Yu Zhang, and Lauren Philbrook Krupski, , Katie Schmiech, Kaitlyn Spangler online go to cvim.net.

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Cell: (814) 574-0293

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Mount Nittany Medical Center SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR DIAMOND SPONSOR:

• Washington DC’s Rock n’ Roll Marathon March 16th: Mike Martin 3:38:21

Ad provided by : Platinum Sponsor

Tom Cali, ABR, CRS, Assoc. Broker

2520 Green Tech Drive, Suite D State College, PA 16803

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1975 In “Charles Schlow … Gentle Man of the Old School,” Schlow reflected on his life as he was about to turn 89. He recalled how eighth-grade students did a book drive for the new State College Community Library, which moved into a house Schlow owned and donated for the library.

About the book drive, he said, “We thought they might get a few hundred. But those youngsters got their parents to drive them around town one evening and collected 11,500 books!”

1995 “The South Hills Business School Family: Twenty-Five Years of Excellence” looked back on the history of South Hills. The first classes were held in January 1971 for 11 students in one room of a building on South Allen Street. Maralyn Mazza, who became director in 1980 and is now president of the school, said, “There’s a spirit here that is absolutely incredible, and it’s really come of age this year. Every decision made at the school is based on what is best for the students.”

2009 “Will That Be One Dip or Two?” profiled some of the top places in the county to go for ice cream. Meyer Dairy owner Joe Meyer said the dairy, at the time, made 35 flavors of ice cream. He said working at the dairy was all he had ever known and he didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. “If I didn’t do it, I’d miss the people,” he said. “We have a lot of nice, dedicated customers. We owe the community something, too.” T&G

16 - Town&Gown June 2014

Experience.

Integrity.

Results.

This Monthtownandgown.com On • In 5 Questions, Town&Gown contributor Sarah Harteis, in • In 5 Questions, State College Spikes manager Oliver Marmol honor of Father’s Day this month, talks with her dad about talks about the upcoming season and what it’s like managing what it was like raising her and her siblings. players at the Class A level.

• Nittany Valley Society looks at the role mythology has played • A special for theofGreek Restaurant’s in tellingrecipe the history the local region. roasted leg of lamb.

• A special coupon offer from Baby’s Burgers and Shakes for • Blogs on sports, entertainment, and more. buy one hot dog, get one for 50-percent off.

• Order copies of Town&Gown’s Pennand State sports annuals.

• Blogs on sports, entertainment, more.

Oliver Marmol The story of Princess Nita-nee is one of Anthony Clarvoe the well-known legends of the region.

And visit our Facebook site for the latest happenings and opportunities to win free tickets to concerts and events!

And follow us on Twitter @TownGownSC.

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Northern Axposure Cirque Alfonse relies on an old saw, and other sharp tools, to give circus a new edge

By John Mark Rafacz

Do contemporary circus feats thrill you? Does the scent of fresh-cut pine fill you with nostalgia? Do sweaty, bearded, plaid-clad lumberjacks make your heart skip a beat? Well, then, the show coming to Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium on Wednesday, October 8, might just have you yelling “Timber!”

A hyperfestive creation of Canada’s Cirque Alfonse, Timber! features acrobats and folk musicians who perform a crazy, crowd-pleasing mixture of agility and strength, traditional music from rural Quebec, and the folklore of lumberjacks and other folks who get their hands dirty for a living.

“Despite the title, there’s nothing wooden about Cirque Alfonse’s joyous, homespun circus show,” writes a critic for London’s The Guardian.

“Originally created in a Quebec barn, it features three generations of the Carabinier family …, a local band, and some friends who just happen to have worked with some major-league circus outfits. And, of course, it features plenty of logs, transformed into balancing apparatus or used as a substitute for a Russian bar.”

Based in the village of Saint-AlphonseRodriquez, the company’s founding members are immersed in Quebec’s new-circus tradition. The troupe includes graduates of Montreal’s National Circus School, a professional dancer, a former skiing champion, and a trio of rollicking musicians.

“To the sound of violins and tapping feet, axes swing through the air and logs become props for numerous hand-to-hand and balancing acts, logthrowing contests, and log driver games,” writes a reviewer for Montreal’s Le Devoir. “This, in addition to daring axe juggling acts and acrobatic feats above the open blade of a huge two-man saw. Simply jaw-dropping.”

Cirque Alfonse’s Antoine Carabinier Lépine and Jonathan Casaubon have performed acrobatics with Cirque du Soleil. Guillaume Saladin and Lépine are veterans of Montreal’s Cirque Éloize. Julie Carabinier Lépine is the dancer and singer, while percussionist Josianne Laporte, fid-

Cirque Alfonse performs its Timber! production October 8 at Eisenhower Auditorium.

dler David Boulanger, and banjoist André Gagné provide the music.

“It’s dirty, sweaty, raw, and real,” says Center for the Performing Arts audience and programdevelopment director Amy Dupain Vashaw.

“More importantly, it’s a family circus. Family bonds play an important role in this performance.”

Vashaw, who’s seen several performances of Timber!, appreciates how the production opens a window to the culture of the Quebec countryside. “From live music, to clogging, to Frenchlanguage folk songs,” she says, “Timber! shows us a glimpse into a place most of us haven’t experienced.”

The company’s first production, La Brunante, debuted in 2006 to positive responses. That served as the catalyst to develop Timber!, which has toured to venues across North America and Europe.

“There’s a zaniness here that outstrips even that Monty Python skit about lumberjacks,” notes a critic for The Telegraph of London, “and a joie de vivre that’s absolutely infectious.” T&G Tickets for Timber! and other 2014-15 presentations are on sale to Center for the Performing Arts members June 9, Choice series buyers June 16, and the public June 23. Visit cpa.psu.edu or phone (814) 863-0255 for information.

John Mark Rafacz is the editorial manager of the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State.

20 - Town&Gown June 2014

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21 - Town&Gown & &Gown June 2014

about town

Mr. Charles Bids Farewell Family business closes after decades of showcasing fine clothes for women

By Nadine Kofman John Hovenstine

Mr. Charles, in its various forms and locations, had been part of downtown State College since the late 1940s. The store closed in May.

High school alums whose families have stayed put for years are tied historically to their hometowns. Ours was State College; the year, it could be said, was topsy-turvy. When flipping our class ring, “1961” could be read as such, any way it landed.

Last month, with both nostalgia for the past and anticipation for the future, classmate Charlene Petnick Rosen closed a nearly 75-year-old downtown State College family business known for sophisticated, even artsy, styles for women, clean lines for the college crowd.

(Among my Mr. Charles artifacts is a Chicago-designed bright-yellow hooded rain cape, ready to accept — may I say — either a flamboyant scarf or a school-crossing-guard insignia.)

Owner and buyer Rosen traveled monthly for several years between Manhattan, her home since 1984, and her hometown. She took over Mr. Charles Inc. in 1993 from her late brother, Nick, who ran the business for nearly 20 years; he took it over from their Altoona-reared founding parents, Charles and Mary Louise Petnick.

“Closing the store is a bittersweet experi-

ence,” says Rosen before packing up for the retail future. “Everything I look at in the store reminds me of my family, my youth, and my joy in retailing (which didn’t stop May 31).

“So many people have stopped by to say Goodbye, and tell us an experience they had relating to Mr. Charles. Some women talk about their first prom dresses, and others about their going-away outfits. Perhaps the funniest was the gentleman who came in to say he bought a pair of nylons from my dad on Allen Street.” That resulted in a rewarding clinch for the gifter from his New York girlfriend. With men away at the war, Mr. Charles abandoned its men’s wear to concentrate on women’s wear in the 1940s.

For decades, Mr. Charles shops then came and went, culminating in the combined final store at 228 East College Avenue. It had opened in 1970. At one time, there were three: The previously junior shop at 228 East College Avenue, the mid-1960s sales store at 366 East College Avenue, and the picturesque 124 South Allen Street misses’ location, an institution from the late 1940s to the 1970s.

22 - Town&Gown June 2014

Within the latter’s stately storefront, I shopped initially with my mother. Besides the excitement inside, it was known for excitement outside. Each July, the Alpha Fire Company’s now-bygone Fourth of July parade marched by out front, followed by an annual carnival on South Allen Street.

Merchandise in these Mr. Charles shops “catered to the daughter, mother, and grandmother,” Rosen says. “That was kind of the mission, and it brought memories.”

Paramount and singular among them was a 1999 stop by superstar Cher. Hearing about the visit, “People would come in asking to buy the same sweaters Cher bought,” Rosen recalls warmly.

The rest of us were in a different league. On one of my visits, popular saleswoman Emma Brown talked me into buying a lamb’s-tail jacket with wide fake chest-pocket flaps.

“Fold them over at the corners and sew them down. Who will know?” she offered. Now it looks odd only when walking away. Motherly Emma was there for 30 years, as was last manager

Veronica Burke, a spirited woman who created memorable windows.

“It’s a very tender time, yet I feel very comfortable in the decision,” continues Rosen while shutting down.

Now, she has taken State College on the road.

“I am actually excited to expand my trunk business, which I’ve been developing for the last 10 years,” she says. Burke will lend a hand.

The trunk shows began “in my NYC apartment when a girlfriend said her friends loved my clothes. The word spread, and now I have five shows a year at my NYC apartment, plus going to Pittsburgh; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Shaker Heights, Ohio,” Rosen says. “This will be just enough work and fun. I love to buy, sell, and interact with people.”

In her goodbye, Charlene Petnick Rosen says, “Thank you, State College, for enabling Mr. Charles to be part of the community for all these years!” T&G Nadine Kofman is a native Centre Countian and historian.

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health & wellness

Strawberry Sweetness Besides being beneficial for your health, the red fruit can be used in a variety of manners

By Cassandra Wiggins

Caption

From crowd-favorite recipes such as strawberry shortcake to possibly helping to prevent cancer, strawberries are one of the most popular fruits among the American population.

According to the California Strawberry Commission Web site, strawberries have many health benefits ranging from disease prevention for things such as cancer and heart disease to increased brain function and general good health.

The CSC states that strawberries contain essential vitamins, fiber, potassium, and phytochemicals that can help control blood pressure, fight strokes, and reduce cholesterol levels. Its Web site also reads that strawberries are excellent sources of vitamin C — in fact, one serving of eight strawberries has more vitamin C than an orange.

And that’s not all. According to a study in the July 2012 issue of Annals of Neurology, eating the fruit more than twice a week was related to delayed

cognitive aging up to two and a half years.

Richard Marini, Penn State professor of horticulture in the plant-science department who has studied strawberries on and off for 40 years, agrees that strawberries are good for your health, but he also thinks they’re popular for their taste and diversity in recipes.

“You can do a lot of things with them like make jam, freeze them, make strawberry shortcake or pie, put them on cereal,” he says. “They’re also really good in flavoring things like ice cream and fruit juices.”

Marini, who, along with his wife, grows his own strawberries in his backyard, says one of the best ways to enjoy strawberries is in their original form.

“While picking them, I like to just eat them in the garden,” he says with a chuckle. “My wife is worse than me since every two or three that she picks, she’ll eat one. We end up not bringing that much back into the house.”

Since supermarkets now carry the fruit year-

24 - Town&Gown June 2014

round, Marini says that the consumption of strawberries has tripled and possibly quadrupled in the past 30 years. However, since supermarket prices of strawberries aren’t always the cheapest and the product isn’t the freshest, he suggests looking elsewhere when you can.

He says the least expensive strawberries are going to be those you pick yourself at a farm. Roadside markets also may be slightly cheaper than the supermarket, but not by much, he says, but usually the quality is better.

“Usually the ones bought locally taste better since they’re fresher and don’t need to be shipped,” he says.

He adds that there are two types of strawberries — June-bearers, which produce in June once a year, and ever-bearers, which produce several crops per year, usually in June, in late July to early August, and then in September to October before the fall frost. However, he says he thinks strawberries in the middle of the summer aren’t as good as the spring and fall crops due to the summer heat.

Strawberry varieties can differ in size and quality, but so can each crop from the same plant.

“The best crops usually result from sunny, cool temperatures like 70s to low 80s, and, if it rains a lot, the taste is diluted by water,” he says. “They might

taste good picked on Monday, and by Friday they may not taste so good because the weather varies during the week.”

Some crops and varieties are bigger than others, some can be different shapes and colors, and some can have more sugar and acid making them taste better, Marini states.

He says that the modern strawberry we know and love actually is a hybrid of two older species of strawberry.

“The initial European varieties weren’t very good, but when settlers came to the New World, they found larger berries in South America and even in North America,” he explains. “So the early explorers in the 1500s were collecting plants and sending back to Europe. Some were sent back from Virginia and some others from Chile, and they were put in the same garden, and the resulting hybrid was the modern-day strawberry.”

For those who just cannot get enough of the red juicy fruit, the 33rd annual Strawberry Festival in Lemont, held June 14 on the Village Green, is sure to please, says Ron Smith, chairman for the Granary Project of the Lemont Village Association. Faith United Church of Christ also has its Strawberry Festival June 18.

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Many line up to try the fresh strawberries available at the Strawberry Festival in Lemont. This year’s festival is June 14 on the Village Green.

Lemont’s festival, which benefits the Granary Project of the Lemont Village Association, features fresh strawberries from David and Barbara Hostetler’s Amish farm, homemade cakes by 39 Lemont residents, ice cream from Meyer Dairy, and lemonade.

Strawberry smoothies made by a bicycle-powered blender run by the Centre Region Bicycle Coalition, also will be featured at the festival, and are often a crowd favorite, Smith says.

He says the stars of the event are the just-picked fresh strawberries that are “just delicious.”

“I hardly know anyone who doesn’t enjoy a good strawberry,” he says with a laugh. “And these are some the best you’ll ever have.”

According to Smith, about 150 quarts of strawberries are picked the night before the festival and brought over, so “they’re about as fresh as you can get.

“I personally love to put some strawberries on top of my granola or ice cream. But I’m sure some people do some wacky things like put them on mashed potatoes. Wouldn’t that be a sight!” T&G For more infomation on the Strawberry in Lemont, visit lemontvillage.org.

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Contributed photos (4)

12 Months of Giving

Extended Family

Big Brother Matt Raup (right) says his Little Brother, Dakota, is like "a little mimi-me." The two play soccer, go on hikes, and swim at Whipple Dam.

Big Brothers Big Sisters helps bring positive role models to local youth

By Jenna Spinelle

(Editor’s note: This is the sixth of Town&Gown’s yearlong series profiling organizations, groups, and individuals who do noteworthy work to help others — and who also could use your help in aiding those in need. Each month, you’ll have an opportunity to read about these people and organizations in our communities, and maybe be able and even be inspired to provide some help to them. If you have a suggestion for our “12 Months of Giving” series, e-mail dpenc@barashmedia.com.)

One hour a week — sometimes that’s all it takes to make a huge impact. Some Centre County residents spend an hour of their weeks making such an impact on the lives of children through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre County serves more than 300 children across the Centre Region. The program matches a child age 5 to 17 with a mentor, and the pair meets for at least one hour each week.

The program is one of the Centre County Youth Service Bureau’s and has about 150 active volunteers, says program coordinator Jodi Morelli. Even with those numbers, there

are still dozens of children waiting to be matched up with older mentors.

“Every week we get a couple new referrals of kids to be enrolled,” Morelli says. “Kids being referred from families, teachers, or other programs when adults realize they could benefit from having an additional positive person in their lives.”

Julie Bond found herself in that exact situation with her son, Dakota. Bond was a single mother who wanted her son to have a male figure in his life.

Dakota Bond currently is matched with Matt Raup, a 31-year-old IT manager and PhD student at Penn State. The two have been together for about a year.

“Having that male figure has been really helpful, whether it’s needing help with schoolwork or having someone else he could go to ask for help,” Julie Bond says. “I know that he can talk to Matt about anything.”

Though he’s busy with a full-time job and graduate school, Raup says he was inspired to join the program after he realized much of his day was spent focused on his own goals and interests.

“I wanted to do something that would allow me to give back to the community and get involved with something that was beyond myself,” he says. “This program seemed like a good fit to accomplish both of those things.”

Each new mentor is required to go through a training process and make a yearlong initial commitment.

They are required to attend orientation and training sessions and be interviewed with program staff before

28 - Town&Gown June 2014

they are matched with a child.

A case manager facilitates the match and initial meeting between a big and a little to ensure that things go smoothly from the start. The program also holds activities that are open to all bigs and littles to relieve some of the burden of coming up with new things to do each week.

“We want to make sure all of those pieces fit so the match will really last,” Morelli says. “We often receive ticket donations to sporting events and concerts, and it gives them opportunities to do other things that the littles often wouldn’t have the chance to do otherwise.”

Andrea Boyles, executive director of Centre County Youth Service Bureau, says the case managers try to identify the child that will best fit with a mentor’s goals.

A Big Brother and a Little Brother take part in an event hosted by a group of Penn State football players last summer.

“Some volunteers want to be matched up with people who are similar to them while some want to learn new things from the child … it can go all ways,” she says. “I’m impressed by the energy and time that goes into making a match before the two even meet.”

Raup opted to have a little brother whose interests matched his own, and could not believe how well the program did at finding someone for him.

“Dakota is like a little mini-me,” he says. “He loves playing sports, likes the same type of music I do, and is very into the military.”

On any given week, you can find Raup and Dakota playing soccer, working out at the gym, going on hikes, or swimming at Whipple Dam. Raup recently returned from US Army basic training; the two kept in touch through letters while he was there.

Though most of their meetings revolve around some sort of physical activity, Dakota says the skills he’s learned from Raup are much different.

“I’ve learned patience and teamwork,” he says. “He’s also pushed me to be better about mental strength, when we went to the gym, and

telling me not to quit.”

While Dakota and Raup are an example of a successful male match, Morelli says the program is always looking for more adult male volunteers.

A common misconception is that the Jerry Sandusky scandal turned men away from working with younger boys, but Morelli says the lack of males in the program existed well before that.

Raup had another idea about why male interest in the program may be lacking.

“Commitment is intimidating, and guys are notorious for not wanting to have commitment in their lives,” he says. “They want the initial match to at least be a year, so if you’re someone who is not already sold on it, I could see that you might not be interested.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters held the “50 Bigs in 50 Days” recruitment campaign in the spring and gained ground in finding mentors for the children waiting to be matched.

Morelli says volunteers range in age from high school students to retirees. Many are Penn State students who are looking to continue mentoring relationships they had in high school or earn volunteer hours for their major or an extracurricular organization.

Jennifer Harrison, a rising junior at Penn State, is one of those volunteers. She is an elementaryeducation major and sees her Big Brothers Big Sisters experience tying in to what she’ll do after graduation.

“It’s a great way to get away from the typical scene here at school where all you see is other college students all day long,” she says. “Getting to learn about a particular individual and what they’re about is what I’ll have to do in the classroom.”

Big Sister Joane Stoneberg (right) enjoys some time with her Little Sister, Sara.

29 - Town&Gown June 2014

She is paired with 12-year-old Angelina Danuski and says their differences helped them form a strong bond as they got to know each other.

Big Sister Tiffany Earnest (right) and Little Sister Gina spend time ice skating.

“She loves rock and goes to rock concerts and has met a ton of bands that I never even heard of, but it’s really cool,” Harrison says. “She really likes superheroes and is really adamant on making me learn them.”

Danuski says she enjoys volunteering at Centre County PAWS with Harrison, going to Dairy Queen, and teaching her about comic books. Her father, Drew, says that he’s seen a positive change in his daughter since Harrison has been in her life.

“Jen is great, just very energetic and outgoing and up for anything,” he says. “They have a lot of fun together.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters holds monthly information sessions for prospective volunteers that serve as a way to ask questions about the program and level of involvement before agreeing to move forward with the application process. Sessions typically are held in the State College Municipal Building, but Morelli says they are open to doing them remotely or coming to speak with larger groups at other locations.

“We encourage people who have questions to come to an orientation session and talk it through, knowing they don’t have to commit to anything,” Morelli says. “We don’t see enough people who do that, and we want people to know it’s okay if you say ‘No’ after you attend.” T&G For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre County, visit ccysb.com or call (814) 237-5731.

Jenna Spinelle is a freelance writer in State College. She works in Penn State’s Undergraduate Admissions Office and is an adjunct lecturer in the College of Communications.

Did you know YSB provides mobile outreach in seven neighborhoods across Centre County every week?

814-237-5731 www.ccysb.com Like us on Facebook/ccysb Follow @ysbinfo

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Woodward Pushes On

The Ream family includes (from left) Brandon Ream’s father Gary, mother Becky, wife Samantha, sister Lindsay Whitton, nephews Carter and Brener Whitton, brother-in-law Alistair Whitton, and sister Kelsey.

32 - Town&Gown June 2014

The action-sports camp prepares for its first summer season without Brandon Ream. The son of Camp Woodward owner Gary Ream was to lead the facility into the future, only to have his life cut short last fall from cancer. Now, as the Woodward brand continues to thrive and expand, the Ream family — and the Woodward family — fight through their sadness in their effort to keep Brandon’s spirit alive

By Matthew Burglund

Darren Weimert

33 - Town&Gown June 2014

Contributed photos (5)

Brandon Ream enjoys the X Games in Los Angeles.

It’s a breezy afternoon in mid-April, the sun is out, and the staff is hustling to finish one task before leaping into another. Summer’s coming fast, and so are the kids.

The workers at Camp Woodward are getting the roughly 400-acre facility ready for its 44th summer of operation, and there’s plenty of reason to believe this season, which begins June 1, will be the best one yet.

There’s a lot of work to do — and little time to do it.

Camp Woodward is a place where kids from across the globe come to explore their talents on skateboards or BMX bikes, in the gymnastics room, or on the cheerleading floor, in the music studio, photo department, or any number of areas. It’s a place where some of the best action athletes in the world come each summer hoping to make themselves just a little bit better. Most importantly, it’s a place where the family concept is fostered daily, if not hourly.

But at a time when the camp is continuing to grow and its reputation is at an all-time high, the family at Camp Woodward is still dealing with a numbing loss.

The death in November of Brandon Ream, only son of longtime camp owner Gary Ream, has left a gaping hole in the collective heart of everyone at the camp.

And it’s a wound that only time can heal.

“Not one day have I believed that he’s gone,” Gary Ream says after a deep sigh. “I wake up every day and I have to remind myself that he’s gone. I still can’t believe it.”

There have been plenty of tears already, and there will be a lot more to come. At 29, Brandon Ream was the future of the camp. He was supposed to someday take the reins from his father and keep the camp flourishing.

Instead, there’s only an absence that’s hard to get around.

“Brandon had so much talent,” says Steve Hass, the camp’s operations director. “So much talent. He was such a good person. But I know that if I talk too much about him, I’m gonna cry.”

HHH “What if we viewed our hardships and challenges as opportunities to be the men or women God has created us to be?”

— Brandon Ream, via Twitter, February 26, 2013

34 - Town&Gown June 2014

Matt Bennett is one of the professional skateboarders who trains at Camp Woodward.

If there ever was a place God intended for the world’s top action-sports camp to be, it’s probably not where you’d find Camp Woodward. Maybe you’d think it would be on the shores of California or in the mountains of Colorado. But it’s not. Instead, it’s along Route 45, about 25 miles northeast of State College, a little bit outside the tiny hamlet of Woodward, population 110.

Carved into a bowl in the rolling fields below the Allegheny Mountains, the plot of land that once had been a dairy farm was transformed in the early 1970s into a gymnastics camp.

Through the 1980s, the camp added more sports to the mix, and by the time the “extreme sports” boom came in the 1990s, Camp Woodward was already ahead of the wave, with summers filled with skateboarding and BMX racing and the attitude that anything — and everything — was possible.

“We went from extreme to mainstream in a matter of 20 years,” says Hass.

This summer, the camp will offer weekly

programs in skateboarding, freestyle BMX, inline skating, snowboarding, scooters, digital media, cheerleading, and, of course, gymnastics.

As many as 850 campers are expected each week during the 12-week season.

“There’s always activity going on here,” Hass says.

“There’s always energy. It’s controlled chaos. I compare it to a swarm of bees. The kids are everywhere and they’re working hard. This is their Mecca.”

It wasn’t an easy growth, that’s for sure. Action sports — which now seem commonplace because of ESPN and YouTube — weren’t always such a popular thing. For many years, skateboarders and BMX riders competed on the fringe of the sports world, seen as something hoodlums did.

But Gary Ream didn’t follow that line of thinking. While towns across the country were banning skateboarders, Ream and his camp were promoting them. While BMX riders were seen as daydreamers, Ream sought to bring reality to them. And gymnasts, who struggled to find a place to hone their skills, were given a summer home.

35 - Town&Gown June 2014

Brandon and Samantha Ream were married in October 2010 in Chicago.

And now, more than 40 years after the land that once was a farm began turning out a different sort of crop, Camp Woodward has produced scores of stars.

“Anybody you’ve seen on TV has come to Woodward,” Hass beams.

“We discovered these kids when everyone else was ignoring them,” Gary Ream says. “Most school principals didn’t like what we were doing, but we did it anyway because we knew these kids were important. They needed a place to go, and we became it. Just think of it as me as a dad who really cared for my kids. But I had hundreds, if not thousands of kids. And a whole bunch of them turned out to be rock stars.”

Of all the rock stars the camp turned out, one of the brightest was Brandon Ream.

Although he wasn’t an action-sports star (instead, he was a walk-on punter to the Penn State football team in college), he was the one who would someday take over the family business, and he was eager to do it.

In fact, after his final football game at Penn State, the 2007 Outback Bowl, Brandon walked off the field with his arm on his father’s shoulder, “Tasteful Touches for Every Room”

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and he expressed enthusiasm about beginning his career at Camp Woodward.

“When we walked out of the Outback Bowl,” Gary says, “he put his arm around me and said, ‘Hey Dad, I’m all yours.’

“Well … now what?”

HHH “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.”

— Brandon Ream, via Twitter, January 24, 2013 What was initially thought of as a flag-football injury late in 2011 turned out to be so much more for the Ream family. It turned out to be the moment when the future didn’t seem to matter so much, when today became the priority.

Brandon Ream came home one evening and told his wife, Samantha, that he thought he had pulled a leg muscle during a game. Over the next few weeks, the injury worsened, so he finally sought treatment. He got the shock of a lifetime when he was referred to an oncologist, who diagnosed him on December 6, 2011, with

Professional skateboarder Garrett Hill at Camp Woodward.

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chondroblastic osteosarcoma, characterized by a malignant tumor in his bone marrow.

Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation were prescribed. The Ream family — as well as the Camp Woodward family — rallied around him.

“We wanted to be there for them,” says Hass.

“We wanted the family to lean on us. To let us take the pain. That’s what families do. We are a family here. We are the Woodward family.”

Brandon visited several doctors across the country, seeking a variety of treatments. But they took a toll, and he began to weaken.

Good news became sparse. For his immediate family — most of whom are understandably hesitant to discuss Brandon’s passing — watching their son, brother, and husband fight for his life was too much at times to bear.

But the support was always there. Not long after her husband was diagnosed with cancer, Samantha Ream began chronicling Brandon’s battle online with a blog called “Team Ream.”

Friends and family members from around the world began offering their support, and the Camp Woodward family joined in any way it could.

Despite the global groundswell of hope,

Brandon Ream’s fight of a lifetime ended with his final breath November 25, 2013. His war on cancer was over after 721 grueling days.

Naturally, it left the family patriarch seeking answers.

“I had no reason to ever be mad at God until this,” Gary Ream says, holding back the crush of sorrow that comes when he talks about the passing of his only son. “I just don’t understand it.

I don’t know how someone with this much talent is taken away. I get it, that that there is a reason. I just hope someday I can hear that reason.”

HHH “You can do anything you want in life, even the things that seem impossible. Keep your faith and you will find a way.”

— Brandon Ream, via Twitter, January 19, 2013 Life has gone on at Camp Woodward. That’s not to say Brandon Ream’s passing has been forgotten. It’s just that the lesson in all this is that life must go on.

In fact, Brandon made sure of it. Shortly before he passed away, he gave his father a

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list with three things he wants Gary to do: Lead the camp as it continues to grow locally, nationally, and globally; force change in the Olympic structure to include action sports; and to help other families torn apart by cancer.

It’s a list Gary has taken to heart. He spends most of his time traveling the globe as Camp Woodward establishes more sites — there are already other locations in Tehachapi, California; Copper Mountain, Colorado; Lake Tahoe, California; and across the world in Beijing. He’s there, sleeves rolled up, as the Camp Woodward brand continues to be at the forefront of action sports.

And he never forgets Brandon’s charge about taking on the traditionally minded International Olympic Committee. In 2003, the International Olympic committee reached out to Gary about making skateboarding a sport in the Summer Olympic Games. Gary has continued to meet with Olympic officials, but before giving his approval of skateboarding in the Olympics, he wants to make sure it’s done the right way and will be relevant to skateboarders.

Most importantly, though, Gary and the rest of the Ream family are carrying on Brandon’s legacy g Comin 2 r 014 Summe Way, wknest 100 Ha nte Bellefo

through Team Ream, a foundation that has been established to help families in the area that — like theirs — have been affected by cancer.

It’s all been a bit much for Gary to handle.

Having a lot of work ahead has given the 59-yearold a welcome distraction, but the loss he and his family have been saddled with is overwhelming.

Yet he has dived right back into the job he loves, hoping the Camp Woodward community can continue to support him as he drives on.

“I’ve lost 35 pounds,” he says as the tears well up. “I work out; I run barefoot in the sand. I have to push my body because if I accomplish everything I am supposed to, it will take every ounce of energy in my body for the next 20 years.”

HHH “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. #beatcancer #hope” — Brandon Ream, via Twitter, April 16, 2013 Summer is coming fast and work needs to be done at Camp Woodward. But nobody is complaining. That just wouldn’t be right. That’s a lesson Brandon Ream

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taught everyone he met as he battled for his life.

“He never complained,” says Hass, who, six months later won’t allow himself to erase Brandon’s name from the contact list on his iPhone. “But you know — if someone had a right to, it was him. But he just wouldn’t do it. He’d always walk in here and say, ‘How are you doing?’ He didn’t have to do that.

But he cared about everyone and he really wanted to know how you were doing. He didn’t want a pity party for himself.”

And so life has gone on at Camp Woodward.

Brandon’s passing was a mighty blow that took a lot out of everyone. But the sun has come back out again, and it will continue to shine on the place that so many people have considered home over the years.

But nobody, absolutely nobody, will forget the brief, but important, life of Brandon Ream.

“It hurt then,” Hass says with a sigh and a long pause. “And it still hurts.” T&G

Professional BMX rider Ronnie Napolitan rides at Woodward.

Matthew Burglund is assistant sports editor of the Indiana Gazette.

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All-Star Alums As Centre County’s five school districts each prepare to graduate another class, Town&Gown continues its annual tradition of catching up with some special alums from each of the districts. This year’s profiles include graduates who are making impacts in professional sports, entertainment, international relations, and more

By Chelsey Scott

43 - Town&Gown Town& Town &Gown & Gown June 2014

Contributed photos (7)

Tony Gonzalez

to the University of Maryland, but there the road to his dream met two delays-of-game: a redshirt his first year, then an unexpected move from linebacker to long snapper.

He saw his dream vanishing, but with his father’s encouragement, he remained steadfast.

After his senior year, the NFL came calling, and in 2005 he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. Like his college career, however, Condo’s professional journey would not be without fumbles. The Cowboys released him after three games, and after a brief off-season Left, Condo was a stint with the New England star football player Patriots, he was unemployed for Philipsburgand back in Philipsburg.

Osceola. Now, he’s “I was at home in the fall of a Pro Bowl player ’06, painting the house with for the Oakland my dad. My agent called me Raiders. and asked if I could be on a plane in three hours. I made it to Pittsburgh, got on the plane, had a workout with Oakland, and I’ve been out here since,” he says.

Last year, Condo, who has been to two Pro Bowls, signed a three-year extension with the Raiders in 2013.

He says what kept him optimistic despite the struggles was the unrelenting work ethic instilled in him by his dad, brothers, and former coaches.

“I’m a firm believer in if you work hard, good things will come. You might work your butt off, and you might lose or strike out, but if you keep grinding, good things will happen on and off the field,” Condo says. “I’m very proud to be from a small town and making it big.”

Jon Condo Philipsburg-Osceola High School, Class of 2000 Occupation: Professional football player Jon Condo always knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. As a child, the Philipsburg native could be seen swinging for the fences in a neighborhood baseball game, playing tag with his friends, or admiring the high school football players on a Friday night. These memories and role models ignited a dream in him that would, in turn, spark a successful career.

“It was my dream to be a professional athlete.

Whether it was football, baseball, or Olympic wrestling, that’s what I wanted to be,” he says.

And that’s what he is right now. Currently the long snapper for the Oakland Raiders, Condo has played in the NFL since 2005.

And it all started with the childhood dream he took to Philipsburg-Osceola High School, where his name still graces the record books.

“He set the standard that I measure all my best players against, even to this day,” says Chris Davidson, his former high school football coach.

“I don’t issue number 44 [Condo’s number in high school] unless I am sure the kid can hold up the standard Jon has set.”

This standard of excellence propelled Condo

Melanie Collins

State College Area High School, Class of 2004 Occupation: Host/anchor/reporter for Yahoo! Sports and Golf Channel Unlike Condo, whose fame was found on the field, Melanie Collins is making a name for herself on the sidelines. The 2004 graduate of State College

44 - Town&Gown June 2014

doubt from her peers. She says this only helped her develop the thick skin necessary in her industry.

“The fact that there were people who thought I wouldn’t do anything, that was such a driver because I always wanted to prove those people wrong. I still carry that drive today,” she says.

She has since interviewed some of the most talented athletes and celebrities while working for Yahoo! Sports, The Golf Channel, E! News, and NBA-TV, to name a few.

“Honestly, it’s the coolest thing in the world, and I’m so lucky, coming in to work every day and loving what I do,” she says about her career. “I’ve already checked off a lot on my career bucket list.”

What’s next on her list? Snagging interviews with Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, David Beckham, Michael Jordan — the men she considers to be the best athletes of all time.

And continuing to be a trailblazer for women in her field with a show of her own.

Collins has interviewed many entertainment and sports celebrities, including Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant.

Area High School is one of the youngest sports and entertainment reporters in the game today.

She recalls always having a passion for performing, whether it was in modeling school, on the basketball court at State High, or singing the national anthem at sporting events.

“Once I finally hit college, I started to see more women on the sidelines in sports and on ESPN. I remember thinking ‘Wow, what a great way to combine my love for performing with my love for sports,’ ” says Collins, who lives in San Jose.

During her time at Penn State, she racked up on-camera experiences with AccuWeather, WPSU-TV, and the Big Ten Network. She was eager for any experience that would help build her resumé tape, even if that meant keeping stats for Penn State athletics or pulling cables for sideline reporters. This experience paid off — she landed a job with the Big Ten Network as the Penn State football reporter right after graduation.

“I got very lucky. I got to stay in my hometown with the team I knew like the back of my hand,” she says.

Despite her early success, she faced

Hagg (above right) received the Bronze Star in 2004 for his service as chief of operations for the Multinational Force Headquarters in Iraq. Left, Hagg as a senior at Bald Eagle Area.

Colonel David Hagg

Bald Eagle Area High School, Class of 1977 Occupation: Stability operations training and education coordinator for Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute When David Hagg was a freshman at Bald Eagle Area High School, he got caught running down the hall by teacher and future superintendent Dan Fisher. Hagg was brought into Fisher’s classroom to face a unique punishment: singing for 45 - Town&Gown June 2014

the class of seniors in front of him.

He did not know it at the time, but this goodhumored teacher would set Hagg on the path that would shape the rest of his career.

Hagg, a retired Army Colonel, now serves as stability operations training and education coordinator for Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute in Carlisle. It was his relationship with Fisher that got him there. A year after that interesting — and musical — interaction between the two, Fisher suggested Hagg attend a service academy.

By the time of Hagg’s graduation in 1977, the high school athlete was recruited to wrestle at West Point. Four years later, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

“I planned to stay in the Army for five years, the minimum commitment for a West Point grad. But five years turned into 29. I served from 1981 until 2010,” he says.

During that time, he completed two tours of combat, received five promotions to the rank of colonel, worked for a military space program, ran the Army ROTC program at

John Carroll University, returned to West Point as an instructor, and served as chief of operations for the Multinational Force Headquarters in Iraq. For the latter, he received the Bronze Star.

“All the things I learned from coaches and mentors at Bald Eagle really helped me in the Army. My football and wrestling coaches taught me the mental and physical toughness I needed to be successful,” recalls Hagg.

“When you’re going through high school, you’re getting mentored, but you don’t know then what’s going to stick. You’ll forget the particulars of what you learned in chemistry class, but you’ll remember that a teacher or coach held you to high standards. That’s what you’ll remember.”

Bill Kerlin

Penns Valley High School, Class of 1969 Occupation: CEO and chairman of Graham Capital Company In the 1969 Penns Valley High School yearbook, next to Bill Kerlin’s picture are the bolded words “Our leader.” He graduated as

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valedictorian, class president, student council president, intramural wrestling champion, and, his favorite, two-time pie eating champion at the Grange Fair. His yearbook superlative was well deserved.

From Penns Valley, Kerlin went to Penn State where he majored in accounting. After surviving college during the tumultuous early 1970s — a time tainted by the tragic shootings at Kent State and numerous political protests — he began his career as an auditor but quickly grew eager for a change.

“I wanted to get my hands on something where I could have some influence and really do something. I probably got that from my high school experience,” he says.

Today Kerlin is CEO and chairman of Graham Capital Company, a branch of the Graham Group, which is a multibillion-dollar global manufacturing company in York. He has been with the Graham Group for 36 years while climbing his way up the ranks.

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Kerlin has served as the company’s overall CFO, executive vice president, and CEO of various other departments. He says his ability to be mobile within the company, along with the mentorship he’s received from its owner, has kept him there for so long. Perhaps his largest contribution to the company has been increasing its philanthropic and community engagement.

“There was lots of demand for our company to be involved in the community, so I took the lead,” he says.

Kerlin has represented Graham Group by having chaired or served on the boards of WellSpan Health, York County Community Foundation, Penn State York Advisory Board, and York County Chamber of Commerce, among others.

His high school superlative has remained true.

Kerlin has found success and longevity by being a leader since his days at Penns Valley.

Jan Auman

Bellefonte High School, Class of 1973 Occupation: President of Tetra Tech International Development Services Division

Auman (left) meets with a rural dairy farmer in Columbia, South America. The farmer benefits from a rural milk-collection facility that was built with funding from the United States Agency for International Development.

Jan Auman can trace the whole of his career back to one moment in the halls of Bellefonte High School. An announcement was made over the loudspeaker calling for applicants for a studyabroad scholarship from the Bellefonte Rotary Club. He applied and was selected, beginning a journey to Brazil that would whet his taste for international flavor.

“I lived with a Brazilian family and immersed myself in the culture. On my second day in Brazil, I enrolled in classes that were taught completely in Portuguese without speaking a word of it myself,” he says with a laugh. “It changed my life.”

From his year in Brazil, he went to Penn State, earning his degree in political science, after which he joined the Peace Corps, beginning his lifelong career in international affairs.

Auman is president of Tetra Tech International Development Services, which supports the United States’ foreign policy through promoting international security, diplomacy, and development. This division of Tetra Tech operates in more than 60 countries, offering assistance for issues such as water, agriculture, architecture, and property rights.

That one experience of studying in Brazil opened the world to Auman. He has traveled to Afghanistan, Jamaica, Palestine, Zimbabwe, and dozens of other locations in between. He says the most momentous experience of his life was witnessing the first free democratic election of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

“Being able to see the birth of the Rainbow Nation was truly a special, transformational time.

Not only for South Africa, but for me as well,” says Auman, who lives in Burlington, Vermont, but works mostly out of his office in Washington, DC. For his international and humanitarian successes, he was inducted into the Bellefonte Hall of Fame this year.

“Coming from a small rural area, I was quite insular as to what was out there,” he says. “But think bold, as bold as you can! Don’t ever hinder yourself.” T&G Chelsey Scott is a freelance writer for Town&Gown who is originally from Ohio. She is happy to now be living in the Happy Valley and currently resides in Bellefonte

48 - Town&Gown June 2014

History: Milestones Town&Gown’s special History section showcases the beginnings, transitions, and successes of area businesses and organizations

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• Broken water or sewer line? No problem.

• Topsoil, mulch, or stone delivery? We have you covered.

• The list goes on. We’re well known for building segmental block retaining walls, the first choice of property owners throughout the region. We’re also open to the public for vehicle and equipment repairs. Ameron is a licensed and insured Pennsylvania inspection station for vehicle inspections and emission testing. Mechanics are on duty at 6:30 a.m. for your pre-workday inspections.

We are certainly proud of our work at the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Beaver Stadium, dozens of residential neighborhoods and many other commercial projects, but we also love doing jobs of any size for local residents. Our 50 employee-owners apply the same dedication and top-notch service to every job, both large and small…we do it all!

2501 N. Atherton St., State College (814) 237-1586 www.ameronconstruction.com

History: Milestones Diversified Asset Planners

From Left: Christopher D. Leitzell, Donald E. Leitzell

Being in the right place at the right time is just not a saying to the Leitzell family. In 1984, after working for Penn State for 11 years and armed with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics, Don Leitzell started to work in financial planning. Don was well-known in local athletics through coaching baseball and wrestling, which helped his style of relationship planning. Baby boomers were planning for their imminent retirement and needed a financial planner they could trust.

In 1987, Don partnered with Nick Accordino to open Diversified Asset Planners, which has grown to have two offices in State College and Lock Haven with 13 planners and 6 staff members, managing approximately $500 million in investments.

In 1994, Don’s son Chris Leitzell joined his father to learn what the world of financial planning was like. In 2010, Chris became an equal partner in the company, specializing in retirement planning and life insurance.

The Leitzells are active in many local charities and non-profit organizations. Coaches vs. Cancer is their prime charity because of family struggles against the disease.

The strong relationships in the Leitzell family have carried over to the Diversified Asset Planners family of clients and staff. That’s a big reason why clients are so satisfied with the level of service they receive from everyone at DAP.

Diversified Asset Planners

Diversified Asset Planners 1524 W. College Ave. State College (814) 234-2500

History: Milestones The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County…Moving the economy forward The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County is the champion of economic development and business growth in Centre County and, with close to 1,000 members, the largest organization representing businesses throughout central Pennsylvania. As a leading advocate for the county’s business community, the CBICC works collaboratively with local, county, and state partners to bolster private industry.

Since its founding, the CBICC has offered a broad array of valuable networking events, business educational opportunities, and money-saving programs to a diverse cross section of Centre County’s business community that comprises its membership.

Today’s CBICC is powered by a dynamic organizational mission and structure focused on fostering entrepreneurship, ensuring the growth and success of existing businesses, and recruiting new economic opportunities to the area.

The CBICC and its diverse membership are well positioned to make Centre County a great place to live, work, and conduct business. Join us.

Make the connection.

For information on becoming a member of the CBICC, call (814) 234-1829.

www.cbicc.org 200 Innovation Blvd., Suite 150, State College (814) 234-1829

Milestones in CBICC history 1920 – State College Chamber of Commerce chartered 1956 – Centre County Industrial Development Corporation (CCIDC) formed 1970s – CCIDC became a stand-alone organization 1983 – CCIDC joined forces with College Township Industrial Authority to establish the county’s first business incubator, located in a former elementary school building in Matternville, near Port Matilda. Early success stories from the grade-school classrooms of the original incubator include Restek Corporation and Sound Technology – now staples of the local economy.

1992 – State College Area Chamber of Commerce and Centre County Industrial Development Corporation combined to form into a single entity – CBICC. 1993 – CCIDC and Penn State University partner to construct a 55,000-square-foot Technology Center, including a business incubator, in what was the first phase of development at Penn State’s Innovation Park.

1998- Penn State and the CBICC once again partnered to offer a unique facility in the community – incubation space at the Zetachron Center for Business Development near Science Park Road.

Matternville School

Zetachron Facility

2003 – CBICC broke ground for the long-awaited expansion of the Technology Center. The 22,000-square-foot, $3 million addition effectively doubled the amount of incubation space in the Centre Region.

Technology Center at Innovation Park

2005- I-99 Corridor KIZ started in conjunction with Bedford and Blair counties 2005-14 – Acquired, developed, and sold Benner Commerce Park.

2009- CCIDC expanded into new office space at Innovation Park.

2011 – Vern Squier hired as new President/CEO 2013 – CBICC refocused its economic development mission, unveiling 3B33 (its economic vision for the future) and a new organizational structure that taps the energy/expertise of CBICC membership.

2014 – CBICC and its 3B33 support partners make a commitment to strengthen Centre County’s private sector and restore a healthier balance to the local economy.

Moving forward – CBICC is committed to the enrichment of its members and to working with strategic partners to advance Centre County’s economy and quality of life.

History: Milestones Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts™ The haunted faces of rural Americans as they struggled to survive the Dust Bowl. Indelible portraits of Native Americans. The events that shaped a nation — the Civil War, the Great Depression, and slavery and emancipation. Great photographers captured it all, preserving the gritty determination of extraordinary people in a magnificent land.

During this year’s Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, historic images from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection combine with the music of Ensemble Galilei in First Person: Seeing America. Ensemble Galilei’s live performance offers transcendent, soulful music from Bach to new compositions featuring fiddles, harp, viola de gamba, percussion, whistles, and oboe. As the musicians play, high-resolution images are projected on a large screen in the center of the stage, captured by renowned photographers such as Walker Evans, Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, and Paul Strand. Narration by actors Kimiko Gelman and Adrian LaTourelle helps bring to life people, events, and places through the words of internationally known authors including John Muir, Langston Hughes, and Damon Runyan.

First Person: Seeing America is part of the Seeing America cluster at the 2014 Arts Festival, July 10-14 in downtown State College and on the Penn State campus. The cluster also features photographic exhibitions at The Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania and the Palmer Museum of Art. At The Art Alliance, Seeing America: Centre County in Photographs is a juried exhibition of photos of Centre County taken on or after Jan. 1, 2013. Photos represent a variety of categories, including people, places, things, created images, and panoramas. Juror for the show is Barbara Houghton, professor of art at Northern Kentucky University.

At Penn State’s Palmer Museum, Seeing America: Photographs From the Permanent Collection examines the rich fabric of people and places

that constitute America as captured by notable photographers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Photographers featured in the exhibition include Margaret Bourke-White, William Henry Jackson, and Marion Post Wolcott. The exhibition was organized and curated by Dr. Joyce Robinson.

From First Person to the Art Alliance and Palmer Museum Seeing America exhibitions, it’s all sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

Don’t miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in images from America’s past and Centre County’s present during Seeing America, this July at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

Seeing America

First Person: Seeing America, featuring Ensemble Galilei, Saturday, July 12, 2:30 and 8 p.m., The State Theatre, State College.

Seeing America: Centre County in Photographs , June 30 to July 13, The Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania, Lemont.

Seeing America: Photographs From the Permanent Collection, through August 20, Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State.

Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts P.O. Box 1023 State College, PA 16801 arts-festival.com (814) 237-3682

Ensemble Galilei

African-American Family at Gee's Bend, Alabama Arthur Rothstein (American, 1915–1985) Date: 1937 Medium: Gelatin silver print Dimensions: 18.1 x 24.1 cm (7 1/8 x 9 1/2 in. ) Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2001 Accession Number: 2001.298 Rights and Reproduction: © Arthur Rothstein

Elliott Erwitt, Corning Salvation Army Couple, 1976, printed 1980, gelatin silver print. Palmer Museum of Art, gift of Vernon Jacob, 81.98.13.

Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975), Alabama Tenant Farmer, 1936, gelatin silver print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, purchase, Jennifer and Joseph Duke Gift, 2000 (2000.329) © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ensemble Galilei

African-American Family at Gee's Bend, Alabama Arthur Rothstein (American, 1915–1985) Date: 1937 Medium: Gelatin silver print Dimensions: 18.1 x 24.1 cm (7 1/8 x 9 1/2 in. ) Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2001 Accession Number: 2001.298 Rights and Reproduction: © Arthur Rothstein

Elliott Erwitt, Corning Salvation Army Couple, 1976, printed 1980, gelatin silver print. Palmer Museum of Art, gift of Vernon Jacob, 81.98.13.

Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975), Alabama Tenant Farmer, 1936, gelatin silver print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, purchase, Jennifer and Joseph Duke Gift, 2000 (2000.329) © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

History: Milestones Penn State Center for Spiritual & Ethical Development

In 1956, Penn State’s Eisenhower Chapel opened with the goal of providing light and enlightenment for all. At that time, five foundation ministries — United Campus, Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian and Hillel (Jewish) — served campus and community populations.

Almost 60 years later, not only has the facility expanded tremendously, but so have the ministries.

More than 60 religious and spiritual groups are now recognized on campus, and many hold programs at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, the largest multi-faith center of its kind in the country. Still, the mission of the Spiritual Center, which encompasses the Chapel and the Center for Spiritual & Ethical Development (CSED), remains the same — enriching heart and mind

while celebrating differences and similarities in a safe and supportive environment that is welcoming to all.

CSED, a unit of Student Affairs, is charged with providing programs and a venue for the ethical, religious, spiritual, and character development of the university community. All facilities were built with private contributions.

Religious and spiritual student organizations — Thanks to Penn State’s large, diverse population, campus has a wide variety of religious, spiritual, and ethical student organizations, from the original five ministries to groups representing everyone from Muslims to Presbyterians to atheists.

Educational and cultural programs — CSED and affiliated groups present programs including films, speakers, conferences, musical programs, and much more, all oriented to developing the character and conscience of the Penn State community. Children from the Child Care Center at Hort Woods attend summer camp programs at CSED. Worship and fellowship — Every day, multiple worship and fellowship experiences occur at the Center, including individual prayer and meditation available in the Meditation room. Most spaces within both the Eisenhower Chapel and the Spiritual Center are designed so that groups of any faith or spirituality will feel comfortable bringing in their own symbols.

Even the chapel’s steeple is topped by a sunburst, rather than the typical cross, to welcome all religious and spiritual traditions.

This summer, the patio of the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center will have a new look, with outdoor seating and beautiful landscaping outside the Garden Room.

Eagerly anticipated this fall is

a new tapestry that will hang behind the altar in Eisenhower Chapel. The original tapestry, whose design emphasized the theme of light for all, had deteriorated over the years.

The new piece, designed by Laurie dill-Kocher, will celebrate the same human journey through struggles to enlightenment.

As worldwide events point out conflicts among peoples and nations of different faiths, CSED strives to provide ongoing dialogue to promote interfaith understanding and cooperation to help individuals understand and accept each other, and a place where everyone is treated equally, regardless of their beliefs.

Center For Spiritual & Ethical Development

studentaffairs.psu.edu/spiritual (814) 865-6548

History: Milestones

Thank You Centre County!

Your generosity raised $658,203 during this year’s Centre Gives event, May 6-7, 2014! These donations from the community will be combined with the grant and prize money from Centre Foundation – for a grand total of $798,503 – for the benefit of the 96 participating Centre County charitable organizations.

is a granting program presented

by Centre Foundation through a 36-hour online giving event.

Centre Foundation provided $115,000 in pro-rated matching dollars and $25,000 in prizes.

Over the three-year lifetime of the Centre Gives program, Centre Foundation and the community have directed a combined total of $2 million dollars back to our local nonprofit organizations.

$658k raised

4,900 donations

$550k raised

96 organizations supported

4,100 donations

82 organizations supported

2,800 donations

74 organizations supported

$415k raised

2012 2013 2014

2012 2013 2014

2012 2013 2014

Centre Foundation's Campbell Society Luncheon on May 6, 2014.

We believe everyone can be a philanthropist.

(814) 237-6229 Centre-Foundation.Org 1377 Ridge Master Drive State College, PA 16803

Please stop by our new office, generously donated

by Donald Strickler, and see how we can help fulfill your philanthropic goals. Founded in 1981, visionary donors have entrusted nearly $30 million in Foundation assets, allowing us to invest almost $12 million in our community.

History: Milestones Penn State Wrestling: 105 Years on the Mat Penn State’s wrestling program was born in 1909, just four years after the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association held its first tournament. The Nittany Lions’ first season consisted of just one dual meet…which they lost, to Cornell University.

Although Penn State was declared the national dual team champion in 1921, it wasn’t until Charlie “Doc” Speidel became head coach in 1927 that the team really began to make a name for itself.

In 1935, Howard Johnston became the Lions’ first NCAA champ, winning the 165-pound title. At the 1942 NCAAs, Penn State placed third.

After a three-year hiatus during World War II, college wrestling became a fan favorite across the country in general, and at Penn State in particular.

Rec Hall often filled to capacity for meets, and from 1950 to 1953, Penn State won every dual meet plus the EIWA championship.

In 1953, Happy Valley hosted the NCAA national wrestling championships at Rec Hall.

After ending the 1953 dual-meet season with 29 wins and four times as many points as all their competitors combined, the Nittany Lions won their first NCAA national title as the home favorites.

Speidel continued as head coach until 1964, laying the groundwork for today’s Nittany Lion tradition of wrestling excellence.

Over the years, several Penn State wrestlers went on to success beyond their college achievements, including Olympic competitors Katsutoshi Naito (1924, bronze medal), Ken Chertow (1988), Sanshiro Abe (1996), and Kerry McCoy (2000 and 2004).

In 2010, wrestling legend Cael Sanderson came to Penn State as head coach from his alma mater, Iowa State University, where he had coached since 2004 (head coach since 2007) . Undefeated during four years of college wrestling, he had won four consecutive NCAA titles and then took home the gold in the 84 kg weight class at the 2004 Olympics.

In just four years, Sanderson has led the Nittany Lions to four straight national championships — the third team ever to do so. This past season, the team was powered by the senior National Champion duo of Ed Ruth and David Taylor. In April, Taylor won his second Dan Hodge Trophy, college wrestling’s top award.

At the same time, four All-American team members also earned first-team All-Academic honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. This is the second straight year that Penn State placed among the top 10 in cumulative GPA, demonstrating the team’s strong tradition both on the mat and in the classroom.

Sponsored by Galen Dreibelbis

[1953 NCAA Champs] The 1953 national title team following their NCAA finals win at Rec Hall

[Howard Johnston] Howard Johnston, Penn State wrestling’s first All-American, who won the NCAA title at 165 pounds in 1935

The 2014 national title team

[Sanderson-Pearsall] Coach Cael Sanderson and Bryan Pearsall during the team’s 2012-13 title run

History: Milestones Girl Scouts in the Heart of PA Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania recently opened its convenient new West Regional Office in the Hamilton Square Shopping Center, 216 W. Hamilton Ave. in State College. The office is centrally located in the West Region, which serves girls in Centre, Clinton, Huntingdon, Juniata, and Mifflin counties.

Also new this year, the entire community is invited to participate in the Thin Mint Sprint 5K events on October 5 at the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg. The 5K race is for runners and walkers of all ages. The Do-Si-Do Dash is a 20-yard dash for ages 5 and under, and the Tagalong Trot is a half-mile fun run for ages 6 and up. The day promises to be an exciting opportunity to enjoy a healthy-living activity, have fun with friends and family, and help make it possible for more girls to participate in camping, educational programs, and other activities offered throughout the Girl Scout council. Early-bird race registration opens June 1. For more information or to register, visit www.gshpa.org, call (800) 692-7816, or email development@gshpa.org.

GSHPA strives to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

The council stretches across 30 counties, serving more than 24,000 girl members and 11,000 adult members.

The tenants and management of Hamilton Square Shopping Center welcome Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania to the Hamilton Square family and look forward to providing a long-term home for their valuable services to our community.

History: Milestones HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital Providing Patients with a Higher Level of Care HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital has again earned The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification for four of its rehabilitation programs: stroke rehabilitation, Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, and brain injury rehabilitation.

The physical rehabilitation hospital also earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for accreditation and certification by demonstrating compliance with national standards for advanced rehabilitation services, health care quality, and patient safety.

HealthSouth was evaluated on site for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients and families, including infection prevention and control, leadership, and medication management.

“With Joint Commission certification, we are making a significant investment in the quality of care we provide on a day-to-day basis. Joint Commission accreditation helps create a culture of excellence,” says HealthSouth Nittany Valley Chief Executive Officer Susan Hartman. “Achieving re-certification from The Joint Commission is a major step toward maintaining excellence and continually improving the care we provide.”

The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, launched in 2002, is designed to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. Certification requirements address three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards; effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care; and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.

HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital is a 73-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital that offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services. Serving patients throughout the Centre County region and five surrounding counties, the hospital is located at 550 W. College Ave. in Pleasant Gap, and on the Web at www.nittanyvalleyrehab.com. Outpatient clinics are located in Pleasant Gap, Mifflintown, and Lewistown.

www.nittanyvalleyrehab.com 550 W. College Ave., Pleasant Gap (814) 359-3421

History: Milestones

Hoag’s Catering

The original Celebration Hall when it opened in 1994

Hoag’s Catering had a humble beginning as a small delicatessen on High Street in Bellefonte. Mrs. Frank Hoag owned the deli, and William Moerschbacher Sr. was her partner in catering banquets.

In 1947, when William returned from the Army, he bought the business and grew it into a complete catering service.

In the early days, Hoag’s was the area’s only catering company, with Penn State University as a major customer. In 1979, the second generation of Moerschbachers — Skip and William Jr. — took over the family business, and in 1986 Skip became the sole proprietor.

Twenty years ago, Skip moved Hoag’s Catering to its current location on Commercial Boulevard, near the Nittany Mall, and opened Celebration Hall. Perched on a hillside with views of Mount Nittany, the attractive banquet facility features six private rooms that combine to form two large rooms seating up to 250 guests each.

Today, Hoag’s is proud to be the area’s only independently owned and operated catering and banquet facility, operated by the Moerschbacher family for more than 65 years. The company relies on excellent customer service and locally sourced ingredients to cater both on- and off-site events, from backyard celebrations to elegant weddings to tailgate parties. Hoag’s Catering continues the traditions that launched the business back in the 1940s, including its legendary barbecue chicken, deep-fried peanuts, homemade baked goods, and a family-style business relationship with customers.

2280 Commercial Blvd., State College (814) 238-0824 www.hoagscatering.com

History: Milestones Lions Gate Apartments Back in the 1970s, the neglected Whitehall Plaza apartment complex on Waupelani Drive was in dire need of repairs. Stephen Barkin recognized the potential in the large apartments and spacious grounds, so he bought the complex, launched into a complete remodeling, and renamed the property Lions Gate Apartments to reflect its connection to Penn State University students.

Today, Lions Gate is a home away from home for a new generation of students — some of whose parents lived at Lions Gate when they were students. Barkin’s own granddaughter, Rachel, recently graduated and her grandfather has become a strong supporter of the university.

The longstanding Lions Gate management team members are like family to each other and to the students who live there. Manager Helen Bannon is the “den mother” for resident students, bringing into play her own experience raising three children who have graduated from Penn State. Maintenance Manager Earl Webster has been keeping the 13-acre grounds beautifully landscaped and 244 apartments in good condition for 22 years. Assistant Manager Ruth Gundlach helps students make sure their rent is paid on time each month.

For 40 years, Stephen Barkin and Lions Gate Apartments have built an excellent reputation as a friendly, comfortable place to live. The Lions Gate family looks forward to serving Penn State students and other tenants for many years to come.

Lions Gate Apartments (814) 238-2600 424 Waupelani Drive www.lionsgateapts.com

Keith and Pam / State College residents and patients of Mount Nittany Health

A

healthier

relationship

Understanding what matters to our community means offering the highest quality of care and wellness to you – at more than 15 locations. It means having more than 100 providers and 20 specialties at Mount Nittany Š2014 Mount Nittany Health

Physician Group and state-of-the-art technologies at Mount Nittany Medical Center. Most importantly, it means having a team that cares as much about their patients as they do for them.

Your life. Our team.

mountnittany.org

History: Milestones

Moyer Jewelers

For three generations, the Moyer family name has been synonymous with celebrating life’s moments and preserving family heirlooms in downtown State College. The store’s location has changed over the years, but the family’s commitment to personalized service and quality merchandise remains unchanged. Many of today’s customers can trace family memories through gifts and conversations with B.P and Jane, Gary and Judy, and Lori and Chris.

B.P Moyer was a watchmaker for Hamilton Watch Company in Lancaster before he and Jane opened a store in 1949 on the second floor of a building at the corner of Beaver Avenue and South Allen Street in State College. The need for more space and then a fire forced two additional moves: one to South Pugh Street until 1951, and to a College Avenue storefront in The Tavern Restaurant building.

In 1965, B.P died unexpectedly, and son Gary agreed to help his mother manage the store. Gary had learned about the business and the art of engraving from his father during his high school and college years working in the store. As a recent Penn State graduate, he quickly became the leader of the family business, with the help of his wife, Judy, also a Penn State graduate. In 1975, Gary and Judy moved Moyer Jewelers to its current location at the corner of Allen Street and College Avenue.

Gary and Judy retired from the business in 2012, leaving their daughter Lori, a graduate of Penn State and a Graduate Gemologist of the Gemological Institute of America, and her husband, Chris McKee, also a Penn State graduate, to manage the store. With the third generation in charge, Moyer Jewelers has transitioned into a modern age of jewelry design and manufacturing. Now repairs are made using a laser welder, and jewelry is designed using computer-aided design processes.

Moyer Jewelers will continue to inspire our loyal patrons with beautiful jewelry from notable designers, including two of our very own goldsmiths, and exemplary service learned from 65 years of experience and dedication from father to son to daughter.

Moyer Jewelers has been serving State College for 65 years.

B.P. Moyer (left) founded Moyer Jewelers in 1949.

100 E. College Ave., State College, PA 16801 814-237-7942 · 800-648-8494 www.moyerjewelers.com

History: Milestones Penn State College of Communications Dean Doug Anderson: A Transformational Tenure Over the past 15 years, Dean Doug Anderson has built the College of Communications into one of the country’s most highly regarded and successful units of its kind. When he retires on June 30, he leaves behind the largest nationally accredited mass communications program, poised for continued long-term success.

Since Anderson became dean on July 1, 1999, the College of Communications has achieved significant growth in: •Undergraduate enrollment, from 2,825 to 3,300 students •Annual for-credit internships, from 275 to 650 •Annual degrees conferred, from 600 to 945 •Annual scholarship dollars awarded, from $192,000 to $710,000 •Permanent endowment value, from $8.9 million to $34 million In addition, the college created the departments of Advertising/Public Relations, Film-Video and Media Studies, Journalism, and Telecommunications, as well as the Office of Internships and Career Placement.

State-of-the-art broadcast studios and newsrooms opened at Innovation Park, and hands-on learning opportunities for students expanded. Also launched were the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, the Jim Jimirro Center for the Study of Media Influence, the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, and the Don Davis Program for Ethical Leadership.

This year, the college became the first to win three consecutive national championships in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program, often referred to as the “Pulitzers of college journalism.” In 2012 and 2013, the weekly “Centre County Report” was named the best student newscast in America by the Broadcast Education Association.

Throughout his tenure, Anderson has maintained an emphasis on undergraduate education, taking pride in the college’s 80 percent four-year graduation rate, the highest in the university. While leading the college,he continued to team teach a depth reporting class each fall.

Dean Anderson’s collaborative approach, leadership, and vision leave the College of Communications ready to build on strong programs to benefit Penn State students for many years to come.

Dean Doug Anderson with some of the Hearst Award medallions students have earned during his tenure as Penn State captured three consecutive national championships.

(Photo by John Beale)

John Curley presents Anderson with a football jersey to mark his 15 years of service, and for his founding efforts with the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

(Photo by John Beale)

comm.psu.edu 201 Carnegie Building (814) 863-1484

History: Milestones Penn State Hershey: University Park Regional Campus Continues to Grow First full class of 24 students to arrive this summer Residency accredited to start in 2015 The first cohort of students at the University Park Regional Campus, considered the “pioneers” of a new era for Penn State College of Medicine, have now graduated from medical school. These 13 students completed all of their training and successfully “matched” to residencies across the United States (see inset).

“This first class has been an exceptional group, and they have provided helpful feedback to make the experience for future students even better than their own,” said E. Eugene Marsh, M.D., associate dean for academic affairs, University Park Regional Campus. “Their hard work and the collaborative efforts of the medical community here in State College have resulted in a graduating class that is clearly ready for the next step of their training. Their ability to ‘match’ to competitive residencies reflects well on the students as well as those in this community who have been involved in their education over the last two years. Several graduates have already expressed an interest in returning to the State College area to practice after completion of their residency training.”

The process continues this summer as our current class of third-year medical students moves into their last year, and a new cohort of 24 students arrive to begin their third year of medical training. This will be our largest class and represents the maximum number that we can train in this region.

The University Park Regional Campus and Mount Nittany Health have also partnered to develop a residency program in Family and Community Medicine. This program has been accredited and will begin accepting medical school graduates in July 2015. This will be a three-year program with six residents per year, their training will occur locally in the Centre County region. The residency program will help fulfill the regional campus mission of ensuring an adequate primary care workforce in Central Pennsylvania for years to come.

For more information about the University Park Regional Campus, visit med.psu.edu/regionalcampus.

Class of 2014 • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Alan Bordon – Family Medicine, Scott Air Force Base Jason Gillon – Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Hospital Natalia Gonzalez – Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Brittney Hacken – Orthopaedic Surgery, Penn State Hershey Medical Center Jessica Hartley – Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Kyle Lewis – Emergency Medicine, University of Texas Medical School Tory Miksiewicz – Family Medicine, Altoona Family Physicians Amanda Moyer – Pathology, Methodist Hospital (Texas) Michael Perone – Radiology, Virginia Commonwealth University Sarah Shea – Obstetrics & Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina Sarah Smith – General Surgery, Bassett Medical Center (New York) Elyse Smolcic – Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Tiffany Zehner – Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Alan Bordon

Jason Gillon

Natalia Gonzalez

Brittney Hacken

Jessica Hartley

Kyle Lewis

Tory Miksiewicz

Amanda Moyer

Michael Perone

Sarah Shea

Sarah Smith

Elyse Smolcic

Tiffany Zehner

The first 13 students at the Penn State College of Medicine’s University Park Regional Campus have graduated from medical school and matched to residencies.

History: Milestones Saleme Insurance Services Inc. Celebrating 60 years of Serving You!

James F. Saleme’s first business in Altoona, PA, was operating a funeral home. Because of the formidable competition, it wasn’t easy for him to make ends meet for his family. Being an industrious man, when no funeral was taking place, James would open up a card table and offer his patrons insurance advice. Before long, the insurance business became so busy that he sold the funeral home and concentrated on growing his fledgling insurance agency. Little did he know that he was building a family tradition that would last generations, by providing his neighbors the best insurance coverage at the lowest possible rates!

As Saleme Insurance grew, so did the family!

Jim’s son-in-law, Jerry Hymes, joined the family business and eventually purchased it in 1982. In 2004, Jerry sold the agency to the third generation of the Saleme family, James’ granddaughter and her husband, Jennifer and Barry D’Andrea. James’s other granddaughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, Dan Albert, proudly operate the State College office and carry on the high standards set by the agency founder in 1954.

Liz and Dan Albert make family, friends and faith a priority. They love the outdoors and enjoy hiking, fly-fishing, and gardening. They also love their 3 Golden Retrievers, and have been involved with Golden Retriever rescue since 2001, fostering over 30 Goldens. Dan, a PSU graduate, coaches youth

2125 E. College Ave., Suite 201, State College (814) 238-8895 www.SalemeInsurance.com

James Saleme Founder Elizabeth & Dan Albert soccer and Liz loves to work on the preservation of their circa 1925 home.

This year, as Saleme Insurance Services celebrates its 60th anniversary, the Alberts strive every day to help folks understand the “foreign language” of insurance so they can select the coverage that is best for the customer’s personal needs. 24 hours claims service and a live person answering the Saleme business phone is just part of the impeccable service that was rewarded last year. In 2013, Saleme Insurance Services received the Quality Agent Award by Erie Insurance. This award is given to those agencies who have a long-standing quality book of business, growth, leadership, and claims service. Last year, out of 2500+ agents, there were only 11 recipients.

Saleme was chosen from the Harrisburg branch, which is consistently at the top of all branches within the Erie system. “To be the best in such a prestigious branch is truly humbling for me and the very hard working people that work for us”, states Barry D’Andrea, President of Saleme Insurance.

Saleme Insurance Services, 60 years and counting, is proud to carry on Jim Saleme’s tradition, by giving their customers… their neighbors… peace of mind, by insuring what matters most to them!

History: Milestones Shute & Coombs Financial Advisors More than 35 years ago, Karen Shute was part of a new generation of knowledgeable women moving into the male-dominated field of financial services. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Penn State, she set out to provide quality information, services, and products to help her clients pursue their financial goals.

Today, Shute & Coombs Financial Advisors remains committed to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in wealth management and financial planning. They have built their firm by creating strong lifetime relationships in an atmosphere where their clients feel comfortable asking questions and discussing their goals. With a team approach, the firm coaches clients so they can enhance their lives through thoughtful planning.

Shute & Coombs is a full-service firm, offering a wide range of financial products and services to individuals and business owners, from investment management to estate planning and insurance.

Just as Shute & Coombs staff members are dedicated to their clients, they are committed to the community in which they all live and work. Karen Shute has served on the boards of the Mount Nittany Medical Center, Centre Foundation, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, and Palmer Museum of Art. The staff at Shute & Coombs enjoys helping their fellow community members understand more about the financial resources available to them so they can enjoy peace of mind.

(Seated) Karen Shute, (clockwise) Stephanie Bell, Kristen Coombs, Alison Martin

Karen Shute, CLU, ChFC, CFP庐

270 Walker Drive, Suite 201A, State College (814) 235-2703 路 (800) 445-3808 www.shute-coombs.com Karen P. Shute and Kristen E. Coombs are registered representatives and investment advisors of H. Beck, Inc. Member FINRA, SIPC and a Registered Investment Advisor.

Karen and Kristen offer securities and investment advisory services through H. Beck, Inc. Shute & Coombs Financial Advisors is not affiliated with H. Beck, Inc.

History: Milestones State of the Art, Inc. Don Hamer founded State of the Art in 1969 with a simple goal of offering educational seminars and consulting on thick-film technology, a technique used in manufacturing resistors and capacitors. It wasn’t long, though, before a French company contacted him, wanting to buy chip resistors. SOTA had a small lab on South Allen Street that made resistors to use in the seminars, and Hamer agreed to fill the French buyer’s order as an extra source of income for his fledgling company.

The manufacturing side of the business quickly took off. The company moved to bigger space on Railroad Avenue, and then to its current 41,500-square-foot facility on Fox Hill Road, across from University Park Airport.

This year, as State of the Art celebrates its 45th anniversary, the company has grown into the leading supplier of thick- and thin-film resistive components to the biomedical, communications, aerospace, and defense industries. The privately held company has more than 100 dedicated employees and automated production lines that can manufacture up to 250,000 chip resistors in a single batch. An extensive inventory of more than 30 million chip resistors allows SOTA to provide quick delivery on small orders.

State of the Art founder Don Hamer State of the Art has earned a solid reputation for the lowest resistor failure rate in the world…and beyond. SOTA resistors are part of NASA’s Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977 and now traveling beyond our solar system. Truly, State of the Art knows no boundaries.

SOTA’s Fox Hill Road headquarters, with Rob Fisher’s sculpture “Standing Columns, Scattered Moon”

State of the Art, Inc.

2470 Fox Hill Road, State College, PA 16803-1797 www.resistor.com tel: (814)355-8004 fax: (814)355-2714

Gene Stocker Jr. (left) and his son, Cory

Proudly serving

Centre County since 1961

Stop by and let the Stocker family dealership help you find your next new or used vehicle!

Stocker Chevrolet-Subaru 701 Benner Pike 800-473-1498 • 814-238-4905 stockerchevrolet.com

Milestones Tire Town

For 50 years, t h e Vr a t a r i c h family has been selling tires and servicing cars on North Atherton Street. In 1964 John Vratarich, and his wife Joan relocated their family to State College and started the areas first Independent Tire Store. Originally called J&J Tire Service, the business ran out of a single bay building recapping and selling tires. The business was renamed Tire Town in 1972 and around that time they took on a limited amount of auto repairs.

In 1980, Tire Town was outgrowing its original building. Unwilling to relocate and unable to afford a shut down for reconstruction, they had their new eight bay outlet constructed around and over top of the original one bay store. After the new building was under roof, the former prefab metal structure was dismantled, sold and rebuilt in Julian. With its new building Tire Town expanded their range of services to include State Inspections, and a full lineup of Auto Repair.

During the 80’s and 90’s the business continued to grow as two of John and Joan’s five children, John Robert (J.R.) and Gary took over the day to day operations of the business. In 2001, they were once again faced with the need to expand and the facility was enlarged to its current 12 service bays. Through all the years and all the growth they have maintained their personal commitment that has always defined the company. They have continued to reinvest in not only in the most up to date equipment

and technology, but also back into our community.

The Vratarich family and Tire Town believe that businesses need to give back to their local community and they have a long standing tradition of supporting the athletic, civic, political and social needs of Centre County. As an example, today customers who years ago played on teams sponsored by Tire Town now take their own children and even grandchildren to practices for Tire Town sponsored teams.

For 50 years, community support, quality workmanship, and outstanding customer service have been a tradition at Tire Town. As in the past and in the future, they are committed to being here whenever you need them.

Tire Town 2045 N. Atherton St. (814) 238-2190 www.tiretown.net

ONE STOP SHOPPING for all your Water & Coffee needs.

Full line of water including: • Premium Spring • Purified • Distilled.

Full Coffee Service with rent free* equipment.

1.877.914.Water (9283) * Certain restrictions apply.

Centre County’s Full-serviCe Weekly neWspaper Pickup the Centre County Gazette for all your Bellefonte Cruise coverage in the June 12 issue In July, look for the People’s Choice Festival Guide and Happy Valley Culinary Week Guide

We cover what’s important to YOU! 403 S. Allen St., StAte COlleGe, PA 16801 • (814) 238-5051 • FAX (814) 238-3415 WWW.CentreCountygazette.Com

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Friday July 4, 2014

FIRECRACKER 4K•PARADE FAIR FOOD • GIANT FLAG CAKE/HOTDOGS

ENTERTAINMENT•L U M B E R J A C K S

B M X S T UN T S H O W • F I R E W O R K S This year’s celebration will make some noise!

Join our 4k race. Enjoy the Heroes Parade downtown with large helium balloons. Fun lumberjacks/BMX shows, delicious food and a lot of activities for the whole family. It all leads up to a choreographed pyrotechnics show that is ranked as one of USA’s best!

www.4thFest.org

Kick Off a New Era with the Same Great Tradition!

As James Franklin prepares for his first year as the Nittany Lions’ head coach, Town&Gown’s 2014 Penn State Football Annual will get you ready for the upcoming season! The Football Annual will once again have in-depth features and analysis from award-winning writers who cover the Nittany Lions.

Due to hit newsstands in mid-July.

Starting July 1, visit townandgown.com to order your copy online.

NEED SOMETHING DELIVERED? BIG OR SMALL, YOU SHOULD CALL

814-355-5555

We provide dependable courier service throughout Central PA!

w w w. h a n d y d e l i v e r y. c o m 85 - Town&Gown June 2014

PUCA 107326

Darren Weimert (3)

Members of the Order of Elizabeth, a community group that started to help friends of Elizabeth Smeltzer cope with her death from heroin use, are helping to take a stand against drug use in their hometowns. Members include (from left) Halie Kupinski, Rachel Williamson, Alaina Henry (kneeling), Beverly Hartman, and Darby Punt.

Coming to Grips with a Crisis Heroin use is on the rise in communities across the country, especially among young people. Here in Centre County, which has seen its share of heroin-related deaths, many are looking for ways to stop the trafficking and how best to help those who are using

By Savita Iyer-Ahrestani 86 - Town&Gown June 2014

In late May, WPSU hosted a forum titled “Heroin: A Commonwealth Crisis" that looked at the drug problem affecting communities.

Every Sunday evening, a group of young women get together in the Boalsburg home of psychologist Dr. Jennifer Harp. They’re there for the weekly meeting of the Order of Elizabeth, a community group that Harp and Jill Loomis, a social worker in State College, started shortly after the tragic and untimely passing of 21-year-old Elizabeth (Lizzie) Smeltzer from a heroin overdose on January 25. The group was organized in order to help Smeltzer’s friends (Harp and Loomis included) cope with the pain and confusion surrounding her death.

The group is named in honor and in memory of Lizzie.

“When Lizzie died, my heart was hurting and I needed help understanding what had happened,” Harp says. “I had a sense that Lizzie’s friends were courageous and loyal, but that they, too, were shell-shocked by the loss.

We all needed to figure out how this might have happened. We all needed to heal.”

More than anything else, though, Harp and Loomis felt a strong need to take a stand in the community and counter the “dark forces” surrounding Smeltzer’s death with “something more positive.”

What exactly that “something” is, Harp can’t quite say, but, every week since its inception, more and more young women — some of whom never even knew Lizzie Smeltzer — are coming to Order of Elizabeth meetings, hoping to find there the support, empathy, and direction they need to contend with the dark forces that may be complicating their young lives within the context of the State College community drug scene.

“Lizzie’s death has highlighted the fact that heroin addiction can affect just about anyone, no matter their age, family background, or socio-economic status, and regardless of what

sort of community they may live in,” Harp says.

Today, heroin addiction and its often unfortunate consequences are affecting communities across the United States. Centre County — State College and other towns — is no exception. In 2013, the Centre County Coroner’s office reported 10 heroin-related deaths, compared with three in 2012. The numbers are clocking in this year, too, as stories of drug busts continue to feature in the headlines in tandem with what’s become a national concern.

Heroin: Old drug, new avatar

There’s nothing new about heroin, of course.

It’s been around for as long as most of us can remember, and through the decades the supply/demand dynamics of heroin have ebbed and flowed.

But what’s both different and particularly alarming today is that heroin is not only readily available, it’s also extremely cheap, selling on the street for around $25 a bag, according to Terry Stec, school-resource officer for State College Area High School.

Considering that a typical addict uses around three to four bags of heroin a day, that price tag is pretty attractive, Stec says, particularly when compared to prescription drugs, which also are widely abused but are priced on the black market at around $90 for a single, 80-milligram pill.

Because it’s so cheap and, apparently, so easy to access, heroin has become the drug of choice for many young people in the community (although Stec clearly states that he has not seen any confirmed cases of heroin use by high school students, and if there’s any drug used by them, it’s marijuana).

Heroin, in Stec’s view, is more likely to be used by those who can’t get the high they seek from marijuana or other, softer drugs, than by first-time, experimenting users.

However, many youngsters also are chasing after prescription painkillers such as Oxycodone and Vicodin, and will do what they can to get them, including shopping around for doctors from whom they hope to get prescriptions.

This makes things very difficult for medical practionners such as Amit Mehta, MD/MRCGP at Geisinger in Williamsport, who says the hardest question doctors face on a daily basis is whether a patient is genuinely in need of painkillers or just

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The Order of Elizabeth — (from left) Harp, Hartman, Williamson, Debbie Ritter, Loomis, Punt, Henry, and Kupinski (not pictured is Chelsy Hudson) — meets every week and is “a community providing refuge, alternatives, and training to those seeking to counter an emerging drug culture in State College."

Elizabeth Smeltzer was described as someone who was kind and compassionate, and who was always willing to reach out and help the underdog.

trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

“The foremost issue in my mind each time a patient comes in saying they’re in pain and they want medication is the fear of abuse,” Mehta says, “As primary-care doctors, we’re the first port of call, and the greatest dilemma we face is being able to distinguish between true pain and false pain, between pain that requires prescription painkillers and pain that doesn’t even exist.”

Even after running a battery of tests on a particular patient, the decision on whether to prescribe pain medication is ultimately based on pure “clinical judgment,” Mehta says. Every physician’s intent is to “do no harm and help each patient in the most ethical and empathetic way possible,” but sometimes a doctor can get it wrong.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t patients out there, both young and old, who genuinely need strong pain medication.

Even as it’s getting more common for people to try and wrangle prescriptions for strong painkillers from primary-care physicians (either for their own use or to sell on the black market), “there are a lot of patients with true clinical pain who need narcotic prescriptions for better pain control,” Mehta says.

Failure to get the pills they need can then lead to a desperate quest for a substitute. In many cases

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today, that’s heroin, because it’s so cheap and readily available, and like prescription painkillers, it’s an opiate. But those who come to heroin addiction in this way are in as much danger as any other heroin user because the composition of heroin has changed dramatically in recent times.

There is no good heroin, of course, says Cathy Arbogast, program manager at Centre County’s Drug and Alcohol Office, but, today, the heroin that’s flooding small communities across the US and is being sold on the streets of Centre County’s towns is doctored with all kinds of substances — corn flour, baking soda, and baby powder, not to mention dangerous and highly toxic chemicals — “so you just don’t know what you’re getting,” she says.

Heroin dealers in Centre County also have stopped labeling their bags, Stec adds, which makes things even more dangerous, since “you don’t know who’s selling the stuff and what they’re cutting it with.”

Heroin has always been one of the most dangerous drugs out there. Today, it’s become even more dangerous, Arbogast says, and because users do not know what’s in it and are unaware of its potency, incidences of accidental overdose, such as the one that claimed Lizzie Smeltzer, have significantly increased.

Look for the Signs

Signs of possible drug use in youngsters, according to State College police officer Terry Stec:

• Hanging out with a new group of friends.

• Change in sleep habits (staying up late, sleeping in late, or missing school).

• No longer participating in sports or other extracurricular activities.

• Missing electronic items such as itouch, Xbox, games (possibly selling them for drug money).

• New electronic items that were not purchased by parents and the child would not be able to afford (an indicator that they may be stealing items to resell).

• Moodiness.

• Refusal to speak with family members.

• Sneaking out of the house at night.

Stronger than any other force

The night she died, Lizzie Smeltzer had prepared dinner for her family — a new dish, her mother, Bonnie Kline Smeltzer, pastor at University Baptist & Brethren Church in downtown State College, says, since Lizzie loved to cook and was constantly experimenting with recipes — and they’d all shared a great meal. There was no way the Smeltzers could have known that when Lizzie left the house later that night (she told her parents she was going to a party with a friend), they would never see her alive again.

The Smeltzers describe their daughter as a kind and compassionate young woman, a popular girl with lots of friends and eclectic interests, who was always willing to reach out and help the underdog.

She faced many of the “typical young-adult issues” that so many her age face, Bonnie Smeltzer says, and studies were not her forte. But “we were always supportive of Lizzie and encouraged her to pursue her interests and consider other types of careers,” Bonnie says.

Her parents knew that Lizzie, like others her age, had dabbled in pot in high school. However, they only

• Making secretive phone calls.

• Money and items missing from the house.

found out about her heroin usage (she got into heroin only after graduating from State High) when they received a phone call from the police in May 2011 informing them that their daughter had overdosed.

Naturally, they were stunned.

Lizzie, too, was undoubtedly rattled by the trauma of that experience, her father, Ken, says. Although she never wanted to discuss her heroin use with her family, Lizzie did go through a classic drug detox and rehabilitation program, and attended post-rehab therapy. She was on Suboxone (a prescription drug used to treat opiate addictions) for almost two years, but weaned herself off it because she didn’t like how it made her feel and didn’t like being addicted to it (the long-term use of opiate replacements such as Suboxone and Methadone

89 - Town&Gown June 2014

Members of the Order of Elizabeth wear bracelets with an elephant charm that signifies “strength, dignity, protection, and ancient wisdom."

is a highly controversial issue). It also cost $70 per week for the doctor and more for the drug.

The Smeltzers aren’t sure when or why Lizzie again got into heroin. Looking back, they don’t recall any red flags and they can’t think of any significant changes in her behavior.

What they are convinced of is that that she definitely didn’t set out to die on the night of her overdose. Like so many others, the potency of the drug got the better of Lizzie, underscoring the fact that from heroin there is very little escape, if any at all.

“Through my years of addiction, I’ve had several friends either pass away due to accidental overdose, intentional overdose, or drug-related accidents,” says 22-year-old Jane (her name has been changed for the purposes of this article), who battled a heroin addiction for several years. “I’ve also seen people go to prison and get very long sentences because of their history of drugs. Either way, I’ve seen it take a lot of peoples’ lives away from them.”

Now, as they look back and try to find the answers to the terrible tragedy that’s occurred in their family, the Smeltzers believe they were ignorant of the dangers of heroin, and only now are they truly aware of the extent to which their daughter, like so many others her age, sought the thrill of a high — heroin being the ultimate high.

“Lizzie liked to walk on the wild and tough side,” Ken Smeltzer says, “and she also thought she was invincible, that nothing would ever happen to her.”

That’s exactly how many young people feel, says 22-year-old Audrey (her name has been changed for this article), who spent four years addicted to heroin.

“I was curious about heroin. I wanted to try it and I didn’t think anything really dangerous could happen to me,” she says. “But I think there’s a tipping point from where it very quickly goes from experimentation to becoming a full-blown addiction, and I don’t know a person who’s done heroin and not become addicted. Once someone starts doing heroin, they probably don’t stop doing it.”

Toward a more understanding society

Lizzie is gone, and for her parents and for many other parents across America who have lost their loved ones to heroin, life will never be the same again.

But as the grim realities of heroin addiction become more widespread, society cannot afford to give up.

On the contrary, says Arbogast, there’s an even greater duty today in working to figure out ways to both understand and treat addictions. The supply of heroin is a given, but our community, like any other, needs to foster a more tolerant and accepting culture that, in a first instance,

90 - Town&Gown June 2014

tries to figure out the underlying reasons people might turn to a substance such as heroin, and then supports addicts and recovering addicts in a holistic and nonjudgmental manner.

“Addiction is a chronic disease that, like any other, knows no racial or socio-economic boundaries, and yet we don’t stigmatize chronic diseases the way we stigmatize addiction,” Arbogast says.

As part of its effort, the Drug and Alcohol Office has formulated outreach programs to make youngsters feel both confident and positive about themselves, Arbogast says, and it also has programs that take into account the penchant for thrills and experimentation that’s common in so many youngsters who turn to substances, “so that they can get that high without drugs or alcohol.”

At State High, principal Scott Deshong places a great deal of importance on education and prevention. He believes in reaching out to those students who may be dabbling in drugs, and connecting with their families, informing them of what may be going on in their children’s lives and offering up support. Rather than policing, he believes in empathy and understanding for youngsters who may be falling through the cracks, because “although we

may not be seeing heroin addiction here, we would rather provide the necessary support to kids that may be facing problems to avoid a worse situation two or three years down the road,” he says.

But perhaps the most important ingredient in fostering a more understanding society is instilling a sense of self-worth, through compassion and kindness, in both addicts and recovering addicts. That’s what was missing for Jane and what she has finally found with joining the work of the Order of Elizabeth.

“Here, I’m not labeled as an addict, which I hate — I’m not judged,” she says. “I had been to so many Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, but when I came across this organization on Facebook, I immediately felt a connection, because we’re approaching [the issue of addiction] through the heart.” T&G Savita Iyer-Ahrestani is a freelance journalist who moved with her family to State College in August. She has worked as a full-time business journalist in New York, and, as a freelancer, has reported from both Europe and Asia. Her features on a variety of topics have appeared in many publications including Business Week, Vogue (Mumbai, India edition), and on CNN.com.

BuyHereLiveHere.com 91 - Town&Gown June 2014

ThisMonth on

P E N N S TAT E P U B L I C M E D I A

For additional program information visit wpsu.org V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! Tune in June 2-6 from 7 to 9 a.m.

Summertime is family fun time! As our thanks to you for your contribution in support of children’s programming you can receive family fun packs to regional amusement parks and attractions – all in a WPSU Kids backpack with books and activities ready for the road. Participating parks include: DelGrosso’s Amusement Park, Hershey Park, Kennywood, Idlewild & Soak Zone, Waldameer, State College Spikes, Altoona Curve, and Tussey Mountain Family Fun Center.

Martha Speaketh Weeketh June 16-20 at 8 a.m.

Masterpiece Mystery!

Sundays beginning June 15 at 9 p.m.

Photos courtesy of Endor Productions Ltd MMXIII and ITV

David Tennant stars as The Escape Artist — a brilliant defense lawyer with the cunning ability to spring the obviously guilty — until he gets a trial that changes his life forever.

Watch the two-part series June 15 and 22.

Shaun Evans returns for Endeavour, season 2 as DC Endeavour Morse, before he acquired his signature red Jaguar but with his deductive powers already running in high gear. Don’t miss episode 1 on June 29.

Last Tango in Halifax, Season 2 Sunday, June 29 at 8 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Martha Speaks: ©2014 WGBH Educational Foundation

This special Martha Speaks themed week features three new back-to-back and two repeat episodes, in which Martha “speakeths” in all sorts of interesting ways — like a pirate, in Shakespearean English, in Polish, in questions, and in song!

Conversations from Penn State: The Future of the Rainbow Nation Thursday, June 19 at 8 p.m.

Jonathan Jansen, vice chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State in South Africa, discusses his approach to leadership, education, and reconciliation.

wpsu.org

Photo courtesy of Ben Blackall/© Anthony and Cleopatra Series Ltd

Season two, episode one returns with the reunited childhood sweethearts Celia (Anne Reid) and Alan (Derek Jacobi). As secrets from the past begin tumbling out and family members adjust to changing relationships, can Alan and Celia find the long-awaited happiness they deserve?

JUNE

More than ! d e s i a r n o i l l i M $2 ual

ournament T lf The 18th Ann o G r e c n a C . ches Vs Penn State Coa

Thank You To Our Sponsors Making a Difference In Our Community

Tournament Sponsor

All-American Sponsors G.M. McCrossin, Inc Mount Nittany Health

All-Big Ten Sponsor Centre Concrete Company

All-Big Ten In-Kind Sponsors Bryce Jordan Center CoolPixx Media Productions Forever Broadcasting State College Spikes Town&Gown Magazine

Proceeds benefits Coaches vs. Cancer Penn State.

Penn State University Archives (2)

penn state diary

Benign Bad Behavior

Students’ actions of the past didn’t always cause tensions between town and gown

By Lee Stout

Students behaving badly — it sounds like the title of a tabloid news exposé. And today’s news sometimes seems to be full of the problems of binge drinking; vandalism, theft, and other property crimes; sexual harassment, abuse, and assault; and indecent or inappropriate behavior. Combine that with arguments over political correctness and free speech, and the campus community can appear to be a swirling mass of legal, ethical, and moral conflicts.

Increasingly these tensions test the relationships between town and gown. Penn State and State College’s connections are unusually close and, in today’s media environment, that can seem to magnify the problems. It wasn’t always so.

When the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania was planted here, there were only an inn and a few houses at the corner of what is now College Avenue and Allen Street. The board of trustees purposely chose this isolated location to shield their young charges from the evils of urban life.

The village grew up with the college and shared names and post offices even after the town was incorporated as a borough in 1896. The town’s population closely matched the college’s enrollment. With fewer than 3,000 students on campus until almost 1920, the town of State College also was small and compact, adjoining the campus on both the north and south.

Early college pranks and exuberant celebrations sometimes caused problems. Football victory bonfires, for example, were fed by pilfered “spare” wood from town picket fences, boardwalks, and even outhouses. Another spontaneous bonfire celebration ruined the brick pavement on College Avenue. In these cases, the college administration apologized, damages were paid from the student “activity” fund, and peace was maintained with

Top, by the time the Cider Scrap of 1914 happened, scraps were on their way out because of the physical danger for the numbers of students involved. Above, one of the goals of student demonstrations, such as the Old Main occupation in 1969, was to persuade the “establishment” to elminate in loco parentis rules.

the community.

In the 1920s and ’30s, most of the town’s residents were either faculty or staff or worked in businesses that served student needs. Perhaps more importantly, the adults of both campus and community generally accepted the full meaning of in loco parentis. Students were here to not only earn their degrees, but to also learn to become responsible adults. A student who was “incorrigibly unruly,” as earlier faculty put it, would be dismissed and sent home, but lesser offenses were adjudicated by student-government tribunals under the guidance of deans of men and women.

In a sense, the adults of both town and gown took “parenting” seriously — there was confidence that, properly taught, these young people would grow into solid citizens.

However, some aspects of past student behavior do leave us wondering. This was brought home to me recently when the Penn Stater published an article that displayed a selection of “freshmen proclamations” — posters created by sophomores in the early 1900s that graphically and poetically

94 - Town&Gown June 2014

explained the customs freshmen were supposed to abide by and some of the punishments they might incur if they didn’t. The author of the article asked me to provide commentary — to take the posters beyond humorous nostalgia and explain the historical context of these artifacts.

These posters have been regularly displayed and reproduced over the years in a host of venues to the amusement of students and alumni alike. Yet that did not prevent one reader from writing the editor to condemn the article and commentary as glorifying harassment and abuse of students — something that should not be part of how we communicate our “story,” especially in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

My reaction was that history cannot and should not be erased. These posters represent the activities and sensibilities of a different era. Today, we view hazing as completely inappropriate and, if taken too far, illegal. But that doesn’t change the fact that 100 years ago it was the norm in collegiate culture, a centuries-old tradition that was part of the initiation of new students into college life.

It’s well known that in loco parentis ended with the baby-boom generation. Besides a general disrespect for the authority of elders, students of the 1960s and ’70s could see that concepts like this had not prevented racial and gender discrimination. Perhaps an unanticipated consequence of ending in loco parentis and being treated as adults meant more police involvement with some conduct that before would have been handled by the university alone.

This sense of the university stepping back also has been seen in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal. Recreational facilities on campus are now closed to those in the community without a PSU ID card. Of course, most events still welcome the public, and the campus’s libraries, for example, remain open to all. But every diminution of accessibility reinforces the feelings of separation.

Unfortunately, these are magnified when students behave badly and suffer the necessary consequences in court. Let us hope we never hear the words, “This would be a nice place to live if it weren’t for the students.”

If you know the history, you know this wouldn’t be a place to live if it weren’t for the students. T&G

Get to know...

Joe Hughes: Par for the Course Joe Hughes was 12 when he first hit drivingrange balls with his father. By high school, he played in Dad’s 9-hole work league. Meanwhile, his aunt married a PGA club pro, and Hughes had a career role model: “I saw what he did for a living and I thought, boy, that would be fun!”

In 1999 Hughes graduated from Penn State’s Professional Golf Management Program, which guides students toward PGA certification as they earn a bachelor’s degree. In 2001, he became a Class A PGA member while working at Pittsburgh’s Shannopin Country Club, and in 2002 began working for Penn State. Now he’s the PGA general manager and head golf professional at the university’s Blue & White Golf Courses, working with a team of more than 60 dedicated employees on everything from course maintenance to food and beverage.

Golf is a year-round operation; “It just depends on how the weather is turning out.” That leaves little time for Hughes’ own game; a 6 handicap, he tries to practice at least twice a week and play a few times a month. Off the course, it’s “daddy time” with 4-year-old Claire and 1-year-old Kate.

His wife, Dayna, golfs a couple times a year, and Claire likes golf cart rides.

This summer, Penn State golf is emphasizing family, with free activities like mini golf and Golfzilla from 1 to 4 on Sundays, June 15-Aug. 17. “Golf provides a nice family atmosphere,” says Hughes, who still plays with his dad whenever the opportunity arises.

The Penn State Bookstore thanks Joe Hughes and all faculty and staff who carry out the university’s mission every day.

Lee Stout is librarian emeritus, Special Collections for Penn State.

95 - Town&Gown June 2014

www.psu.bncollege.com 814-863-0205

Coming to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park

June

Window on the West:

Views from the American Frontier The Phelan Collection

June 10–August 31, 2014

14, 16 Spikes vs.

Williamsport 7:05 p.m.

FREE ADMISSION Museum Hours Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m.

Closed Mondays and some holidays For more information, please call 814-865-7672.

Window on the West: Views from the American Frontier, The Phelan Collection, was organized by Exhibits Development Group, USA. Above: Richard Lorenz, Following a Trail, c. 1900, oil on canvas. Collection of Arthur J. Phelan.

The Palmer Museum of Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

17-19 Spikes vs. Batavia 7:05 p.m.

24-25 Spikes vs. Jamestown 7:05 p.m.

27, 29 Spikes vs.

Williamsport 7:05 p.m. Fri., 6:05 p.m. Sun.

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to minorities, women, veterans, disabled individuals, and other protected groups.

96 - Town&Gown June 2014

June

what’s happening

4

5

7 Tussey Mountain hosts its first Celtic Fest, featuring the Bastard Bearded Irishmen.

The 2014 Special Olympics Summer Games open at Penn State and run through June 7.

8

9

10

11

14

Music at Penn’s Woods Summer Festival begins with Music in the Gardens at the Penn State Arboretum.

15

16

17

Father’s Day.

22

23

24

The State College Spikes play their home opener against rival Williamsport at 7:05 p.m.

18

21

Schlow Centre Region Library and State Theatre’s Read It, Watch It series begins with The Iron Giant.

First day of summer.

25

26

27

28 Gaelic Storm visits the State Theatre for an 8 p.m. concert.

29

30 Deadline for submitting events for the August issue is June 27.

Announcements of general interest to residents of the State College area may be mailed to Town&Gown, 403 S. Allen St., State College, PA 16801; faxed to (814) 238-3415; or e-mailed to dpenc@barashmedia.com. Photos are welcome.

97 - Town&Gown June 2014

Academics 7 – State College Area School District, Graduation Ceremony, Pegula Ice Arena, PSU, 11:30 a.m.

11 – Penn State, Maymester Final Exams.

11 – State College Area School District, last day of school.

19 – Penn State, First Summer Semester Classes Begin.

30 – Penn State, First Summer Semester Final Exams.

Children & Families 1, 18, 15, 22, 29 – Science Adventures, Discovery Space Children’s Science Museum, S.C., 10:30 a.m., mydiscoveryspace.org.

1, 18, 15, 22, 29 – Story Time, Discovery Space Children’s Science Museum, S.C., 11 a.m., mydiscoveryspace.org.

4, 11, 18, 25 – Baby Explorers, Discovery Space Children’s Science Museum, S.C., 10:30 a.m., mydiscoveryspace.org.

10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28 – Music Together Free Trial Class for Children 0-5 and a Parent, Oakwood Presbyterian Church, S.C., 9:30 a.m., 466-3414.

12 – Sing, Bang, Boom!, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 2:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.

14, 21, 28 – Saturday Stories Alive, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 11 a.m., schlowlibrary.org.

17 – Everybody Storytime, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 10:30 a.m., schlowlibrary.org.

17, 24 – Discovery Days, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 11 a.m., schlowlibrary.org.

18 – Science Magic, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 2:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.

19 – Balloon Magic & Mystery, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 2:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.

21 – “Exploring the Optical,” Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 10:15 a.m. palmermuseum.psu.edu.

Classes & Lectures 6 – “Seeing America: Photographs from the Permanent Collection” by Joyce Robinson, Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 12:10 p.m., palmermuseum.psu.edu.

13 – “Mining the Store: American Prints from the Permanent Collection” by Patrick McGrady, Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 12:10 p.m., palmermuseum.psu.edu.

14 – Central PA Civil War Round Table: “The Final Invasion of the North,” by Brett Spaulding, PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 7 p.m., 861-0770.

20 – “Window on the West: Views from the American Frontier” by Joyce Robinson, Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 12:10 p.m., palmermuseum.psu.edu.

25 – Friends’ Richard Koontz Memorial Lecture: “The Battle of Little Big Horn,”

by John Connelly, PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 7:30 p.m., pamilmuseum.org.

Club Events 2, 16 – Knitting Club, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 6:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.

3, 10, 17, 24 – State College Rotary Club, Nittany Lion Inn, S.C., 5:30 p.m., statecollegerotary.org.

4, 11, 18, 25 – State College Sunrise Rotary Club mtg., Hotel State College, S.C., 7:15 a.m., kfragola@psualum.com.

4, 18 – Outreach Toastmasters Meeting, The 329 Bldg. Room 413, PSU, noon, kbs131@psu.edu.

5 – State College Toastmaster’s Club, South Hills School of Business & Technology, S.C., 6 p.m., statecollegetoastmasters.toast mastersclubs.org.

5, 12, 19, 26 – State College Downtown Rotary mtg., Damon’s Grill & Sports Bar, S.C., noon, http://centrecounty.org/rotary/club/.

11 – Women’s Welcome Club of State College, Oakwood Presbyterian Church, S.C., 7 p.m., womenswelcomeclub.org.

11 – 148th PA Volunteer Infantry Civil War Reenactment Group mtg., Hoss’s Steak and Sea House, S.C., 7:30 p.m., 861-0770.

12, 26 – Embroidery Club, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 6:30 p.m., schlowlibrary.org.

17 – Coffee/Tea with Women’s Welcome Club of State College, Oakwood Presbyterian Church, S.C., 8:30 a.m., womenswelcomeclub.org.

18 – Nittany Mineralogical Society, 116 Earth & Engineering Sciences Bldg., PSU, 7:30 p.m., www.nittanymineral.org.

25 – Applique Club, Schlow Centre Region Library, S.C., 7 p.m., 237-0167.

Community Associations & Development 12 – Centre County TRIAD: Saving Electricity in the Home, Centre LifeLink, S.C., 10 a.m., 237-8932 or 237-3130.

98 - Town&Gown June 2014

17 – Spring Creek Watershed Association mtg., Patton Township Municipal Building, 7:30 a.m., springcreekwatershed.org.

25 – Patton Township Business Association, Patton Township Municipal Building, noon, 237-2822.

Exhibits Ongoing-July 31 – Passages: Recent Paintings by Alice Kelsey, HUB-Robeson Gallery, PSU, studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/ artgalleries.

Ongoing-August 10 – Seeing America: Photographs from the Permanent Collection, Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun., palmermuseum.psu.edu.

Ongoing-August 24 – Mining the Store: American Prints from the Permanent Collection, Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun., palmermuseum.psu.edu.

Ongoing-August 31 – The Veiled Arts of Victorian Women, Centre Furnace Mansion, S.C., 1-4 p.m. Sun., Wed., & Fri., centrehistory.org.

Ongoing-November 14 – Rural Landscapes: Exploring Rural Heritage Through the Art of the Farmland Preservation Artists of Central PA, Centre Furnace Mansion, S.C., 1-4 p.m. Sun., Wed., & Fri., centrehistory.org.

1-August 31 – Food Glorious Food, Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, Bellefonte, 1-4:30 p.m. Fri.-Sun., bellefontemuseum.org.

10-August 31 – Window on the West: Views from the American Frontier from the Phelan Collection, Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon4 p.m. Sun., palmermuseum.psu.edu.

Health Care For schedule of blood drives visit redcross.org or givelife.org.

2 – Cancer Caregiver Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, S.C., 10:30 a.m., cancersurvive.org.

2 – Breast Cancer Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, S.C., 5:30 p.m., 231-7005.

5 – Children and Families with Type 1 Diabetes Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, S.C., 6:30 p.m., mountnittany.org.

Esber Recital Hall

mpw.psu.edu Tuesday, June 10, 7:00 p.m. to dusk (rain date 6/13) Music in the Gardens Festival musicians perform in the beautiful The Arboretum at Penn State (free admission)

Wednesday, June 18, 7:30 p.m.

HANDEL | ARENSKY | MOZART Saturday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.

MÁRQUEZ | NERUDA | DVORAK

In this contemporary musical, a suburban household copes with crisis and the unpredictability of a mother’s worsening bipolar disorder.

June 4–14

Saturday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.

PIAZOLLA | BEETHOVEN| SIBELIUS

Tickets: 814-863-0255 1-800-ARTS-TIX

Pavilion Theatre

P E N N S T A T E

Wednesday, June 25, 7:30 p.m.

MOZART | SCHUBERT | PROKOFIEV | RUBSTOV

Festival Package

College of Arts and Architecture CentreStage 814-863-0255 • www.theatre.psu.edu

$75/38 (adult/student)

Single Tickets

$28/15 (Saturday) $18/8 (Wednesday)

99 - Town&Gown June 2014

College of Arts and Architecture

6 – Alzheimer’s/Dementia Support Group, Schlow Centre Region Library S.C., 1 p.m., 234-3141.

8 – Ostomy Support Group of the Central Counties, Mount Nittany Medical Center, S.C., 2 p.m., mountnittany.org.

10 – Alzheimer’s/Dementia Support Group, Mount Nittany Dining Room at the Inn at Brookline, S.C., 6:30 p.m., 234-3141.

10 – Brain Injury Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehab Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 7 p.m., 359-3421.

11 – The Fertility Issues and Loss Support Group, Choices (2214 N. Atherton St.), S.C., 6:30 p.m., heartofcpa.org.

12 – Diabetes Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, S.C., 6 p.m., 231-7095.

16 – Cancer Caregiver Support Group, Mount Nittany Medical Center, S.C., 11:30 a.m., cancersurvive.org.

17 – Multiple Sclerosis Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehab Hospital, Outpatient Entrance, Pleasant Gap, 6 p.m., 359-3421.

19 – Better Breathers Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehab Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 2 p.m., 359-3421.

19 – Parents-to-Be: The HEIR & Parents Hospital Tour for Expectant Parents, Mount Nittany Medical Center, S.C., 6:30 p.m., mountnittany.org.

23 – Heart Failure Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehab Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 4 p.m., 359-3421.

24 – Stroke Support Group, HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehab Hospital, Pleasant Gap, 4 p.m., 359-3421.

Music 1 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Sweet Adelines, South Hills School of Business & Technology, S.C., 6 p.m., southhills.edu.

1 – Centre Sings, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, S.C., 7 p.m., ihs-centrecounty.org.

6 – Friday Concerts on the Village Green: The Strayers, Lemont Village Granary, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org.

8 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Air Force Heritage Brass, South Hills School of Business & Technology, S.C., 6 p.m., southhills.edu.

10 – Music at Penn’s Woods: Music in the Gardens, Penn State Arboretum, PSU, 7 p.m., mpw.psu.edu.

13 – Friday Concerts on the Village Green: Carpal Tunnel String Band, Lemont Village Granary, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org.

14 – Art After Hours: Callanish, Palmer Museum of Art, PSU, 7 p.m., palmermuseum.psu.edu.

15 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Tarnished 6, South Hills School of Business & Technology, S.C., 6 p.m., southhills.edu.

15 – Summer Sounds: Bellefonte Community Band, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 7 p.m., bellefontearts.org.

18 – Music at Penn’s Woods: Handel, Arensky, Mozart, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu.

20 – Friday Concerts on the Village Green: Hops and Vines, Lemont Village Granary, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org.

21 – Music at Penn’s Woods: Festival Orchestra – Langston J. Fitzgerald III, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu.

22 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Heritage Brass, South Hills School of Business & Technology, S.C., 6 p.m., southhills.edu.

22 – Summer Sounds: JT Thompson, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 7 p.m., bellefontearts.org.

25 – Music at Penn’s Woods: Mozart, Schubert, Prokofiev, Rubstov, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu.

27 – Friday Concerts on the Village Green: Richard Sleigh, Lemont Village Granary, Lemont, 7:30 p.m., lemontvillage.org.

28 – Music at Penn’s Woods: Beethoven Triple, Esber Recital Hall, PSU, 7:30 p.m., mpw.psu.edu.

28 – Gaelic Storm, State Theatre, S.C., 8 p.m., thestatetheatre.org.

29 – South Hills School Music Picnic Series: Nittany Knights and Two-Jazz, South Hills School of Business & Technology, S.C., 6 p.m., southhills.edu.

29 – Summer Sounds: Sons of Resonance, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 7 p.m., bellefontearts.org.

Special Events 1 – “A Celebration of Service: Honoring Pennsylvania Veterans,” PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 10 a.m., pamilmuseum.org.

1-2 – Nittany Antique Machinery Association Spring Show, Penn’s Cave, Centre Hall, 9 a.m., nittanyantique.org.

3, 10, 17, 24 – Tuesday State College Farmers’ Market, Locust Lane, S.C., 11:30 a.m., statecollegefarmers.com.

100 - Town&Gown June 2014

3, 10, 17, 24 – Boalsburg Farmers’ Market, PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 2 p.m., boalsburgfarmersmarket.com.

4 – Community Diversity Conference, Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, PSU, community diversitygroup.com.

4-7 – Special Olympics Summer Games, Penn State Campus, specialolympicspa.org.

4, 11, 18, 25 – Lemont Farmers’ Market, Lemont Granary, 2 p.m., centralpafarmers.com.

6 – The Covalts Outdoor Gospel Sing, Grange Fairgrounds, Centre Hall, 7 p.m., 441-5059.

6-7 – Education & Civil Rights Conference, Lewis Katz Building, PSU, outreach.psu.edu.

6-7 – Millheim Mayfly Festival, Main Street, Millheim, 5 p.m., 349-4898.

6, 13, 20, 27 – Downtown State College Farmers’ Market, Locust Lane, S.C., 11:30 a.m., statecollegefarmers.com.

7 – Bellefonte Children’s Fair, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 10 a.m., visitbellefonte.com 7 – Celtic Fest, Tussey Mountain Amphitheater, S.C., 4 p.m., tusseymountain.com.

7, 14, 21, 28 – Bellefonte Farmers’ Market, Gamble Mill parking lot, Bellefonte, 8 a.m., centralpafarmers.com.

7, 14, 21, 28 – Millheim Farmers’ Market, Millheim American Legion Pavilion, Millheim, 10 a.m., centralpafarmers.com.

7, 14, 21, 28 – North Atherton Farmers’ Market, Home Depot parking lot, S.C., 10 a.m., centralpafarmers.com.

13-15 – Bellefonte Cruise & Sock Hop, Downtown Bellefonte, bellefontecruise.org.

14 – Exploring the Armor, PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 2 p.m., pamilmuseum.org.

14 – Lemont Strawberry Festival, Village Green, Lemont, 4 p.m., lemontvillage.org.

14 – Flag Day Country Concert, Tussey Mountain Amphitheater, S.C., 5 p.m., tusseymountain.com.

14 – Flag Day Celebration, PA Military Museum, Boalsburg, 6 p.m., pamilmuseum.org.

14 – Romantic Moonlight Walk, Millbrook Marsh Nature Center, S.C., 9 p.m., crpr.org.

15 – Flag Day Ceremony, Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte, 4 p.m., 355-2828.

18 – Strawberry Festival, Faith United Church of Christ, S.C., 5:30 p.m., faithucc.info.

20 – Out Loud at the Bellefonte Art Museum: Penn’s Valley Poets Abby Minor and Margie Gaffron, Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County, Bellefonte, 7:30 p.m., bellefontearts.org.

22 – Victorian Tea, Centre Furnace Mansion, S.C., 2 p.m., centrecountyhistory.org.

101 - Town&Gown June 2014

28 – Cycling for Care Bike Ride, Fairbrook United Methodist Church, Pennsylvania Furnace, 7 a.m., cvim.net.

28 – Summer’s Best Music Fest, Downtown State College, noon, summersbestmusicfest.com.

28 – Touch-A-Truck Expo, State High North Building, S.C., 1 p.m. crpr.org.

Sports For tickets for the State College Spikes, call (814) 272-1711 or visit statecollegespikes.com.

7 – PIAA Boys’ Volleyball Championships, Rec Hall, PSU, 11 a.m.

VILMA/JOHN&CREW: THIS IS COPY FOR 13 – PIAA Baseball Championships, Medlar JUNE ’14 RED CROSS AD – Field at Lubrano Park, PSU, 10:30 a.m.

13 – PIAA Softball PLEASE MAKEChampionships, IT LOOK LIKE THIS, Beard Field atWITH Nittany Liosn Softball PSU, 10 a.m.

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27, 29 – Spikes/Williamsport, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, PSU, 7:05 p.m. Fri., 6:05 p.m. Sun.

Theater 1 – Dance Academy Spring Recital, State Theatre, S.C., 3 p.m., thestatetheatre.org.

4-6 – Penn State Centre Stage presents Broadway on Allen: Nu Sounds, Nu Voices, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, S.C., noon, theatre.psu.edu.

5-7 – Centre Dance Spring Recital, State Theatre, S.C., 6 p.m., thestatetheatre.org.

6-7, 12-14 – State College Community Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors, Mount Nittany Middle School, S.C., 7:30 p.m.

(2 p.m. matinee on June 14), scctonline.org.

6-14 – Penn State Centre Stage presents Next to Normal, Pavilion Theatre, PSU, 7:30 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. matinee June 7, theatre.psu.edu.

11-13 – Penn State Centre Stage presents Broadway on Allen: Getting’ Out of Town, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, S.C., noon, theatre.psu.edu.

13 – Penn State Centre Stage presents Cabaret/Cabernet: A Benefit for PAWS, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, S.C., 7 p.m., theatre.psu.edu.

18 – Read It, Watch It Summer Series: The Iron Giant, State Theatre, S.C., noon, statetheatre.org.

18 – Penn State Centre Stage presents Broadway on Allen: Nu Sounds, Nu Voices, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, S.C., noon, theatre.psu.edu.

18 – Penn State Centre Stage presents New Musical Theatre Festival: The Fall of the House of Usher, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, S.C., 7 p.m., theatre.psu.edu.

18 – Penn State Centre Stage presents New Musical Theatre Festival: The Not So Peaceable Kingdom, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, S.C., 7 p.m., theatre.psu.edu.

19, 21, 26-28 – State College Community Theatre presents Noises Off, Mount Nittany Middle School Auditorium, S.C., 7 p.m., scctonline.org.

20-22, 24, 25 – Menopause: The Musical, State Theatre, S.C., 8 p.m. Fri., Tues., Wed., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., thestatetheatre.org.

25 – Read It, Watch It Summer Series: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball, State Theatre, S.C., noon, statetheatre.org. T&G

2601-A E College Ave 102 - Town&Gown June 2014

Come Home to The State www.thestatetheatre.org • (814) 272-0606 130 W. College Ave. • Downtown State College

Centre Dance Spring Recital

presented by Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop

Thursday, June 5th | 6pm, Friday, June 6th | 6pm & Saturday, June 7th| 6pm

Read-It, Watch-It Series presented by Schlow Library and the State Theatre Wednesdays this Summer @ 12 noon

Menopause: The Musical Friday, June 20th - Wednesday, June 25th

Gaelic Storm Saturday, June 28 | 8pm

The Machine Friday, July 18 | 8pm

on tap

New Trendsetters Some craft brewers are producing session beers to bring balance to an industry being dominated by high-alcohol brews

By Sam Komlenic

Beer writer Lew Bryson has devoted a blog to championing session beers, which he defines, in part, as having 4.5 percent alcohol by volume or less, flavorful enough to be interesting, and balanced enough for multiple pints.

We talk a lot about craft beer in this column, and for good reason. Craft styles have redefined what beer is, not only here in the US but also around the world. We enjoy the creativity that craft brewers bring to our glasses, and we have been rewarded with a broad palette of flavors. But we’re seeing a downside to this trend: a continuous rise in the strength of beers with adjectives in their names such as Double, Tripel, and Imperial.

We’ve seen pale ales take a back seat to stronger India pale ales, then Double IPAs, and now Imperial IPAs. The

same can be said of stouts and other styles. Every succeeding increase in flavor is accompanied by a commensurate increase in alcohol strength, to the point where a single serving of some of these powerful beers can put you close to the legal limit. A one-beer personal limit in a bar or brewpub that might offer scores of different styles to explore?

Where’s the fun in that?

A few years back, some brewers became concerned with this trend and began tipping the scales in the other direction, brewing what are now known as “session beers.” Session beer is a broad term encompassing flavorful beers that you can enjoy more than one of in a given “session” without going over the line.

The best thing about these beers is that they, similar to the stronger beers, can come from just about any style category.

If you want a definition of the term, look no further than a blog by my friend and noted beer writer Lew Bryson, who began championing session beers in 2009 with his Session Beer Project (sessionbeerproject.blogspot.com).

There he defines session beers as being: 4.5 percent alcohol by volume or less, flavorful enough to be interesting, balanced enough for multiple pints, conducive to conversation, and reasonably priced. One thing Bryson will not stand for is any deviation above that 4.5 percent benchmark. He calls it the “bright line” and feels, as do I, that the division must be solidly defined, and once committed to, can’t be raised.

This definition poses some challenges.

The 4.5 percent is easy enough to attain, as most domestic corporate lagers are already there. The problem comes with the second part of Bryson’s defini-

104 - Town&Gown June 2014

tion: flavorful enough to be interesting. Much of the flavor (and all of the alcohol) in beer is generated by the types and amounts of malted barley used. Bigger beers are made with copious quantities and types of malt to attain flavor and body in the final product. If you’re going to limit the alcohol, you have to reduce the amount of malt, and hence the flavor and body. This is where truly talented brewers shine.

One in particular practically defined session beer when he committed to the concept in 2010. Chris Lohring of Notch Brewing in New England started making nothing but session ales and lagers and has brewed well more than a dozen styles to date, one reaching as low as 2.8 percent!

He’s also unusual in that he doesn’t own a brewery, but uses three established New England craft breweries as his operations base.

In a 2012 interview at the Session Beer Project, Lohring states that, “When I got out of brewing for a few years, I found it increasingly difficult to find interesting and fresh low ABV [alcohol by volume] beers, because the focus had moved to the extreme. Even the 5.5 to 6 percent craft-beer standards (Harpoon IPA, for example) are still higher alcohol beers in my mind. Notch Pils is 4 percent, Harpoon IPA is almost 6 percent, and that is 50 percent more alcohol. That adds up quick. As an avid runner, I was also very aware of the calories packed into a 6 percent ABV beer.

“As a former professional brewer, I knew it didn’t need to be this way. We could make wildly flavorful low-alcohol beers, but the craft industry chose not to. Session beer to me was a logical path to expanding craft-beer market share, for new consumers [session beers are great gateway beers] and for what people smarter than me call usage occasions [there are many times session beer is far more appropriate than a fully loaded beer].”

Once back into brewing, Lohring understood his calling and set the standard for the genre.

Now many craft brewers are experimenting with session beers, and even major craft brands are putting session beers into the market, mostly in the most popular craft style, the IPA. Working carefully with various malts to prop up the bucketsful of hops that will follow, these craftsmen are yet again redefining craft beer and are helping us enjoy a few more pints.

Of course, the British have forever hewn to their milds and bitters, which defined the session

concept in the first place, and the Czechs and Germans, with their lower alcohol pilsners and lagers, have been enjoying another round for centuries. Everything old is new again, so go on out to your favorite local establishment tonight, order a session beer, and revel in the pleasure of having more than one!

Local brewing news

• Speaking of session beers, one of the house beers at Robin Hood Brewing at Home D Pizzeria, L.J. Lager, clocks in at 4.5 percent, as does its seasonal Blueboary Wheat, an ale flavored with blueberry puree. Also available are Blunt Sword Breakfast Stout (coffee stout on the nitro tap) and “Gungdo Style” Saison, a Belgian-American hybrid ale.

• The Gamble Mill always has a session beer on tap, too: its HB-48 Session ale. It has a coffee stout on the way (yet to be named) featuring Brazilian beans custom roasted for the Gamble Mill

by DiNallo and James Coffee of State College.

Its annual Monte Weizen hefeweizen should be available now, just in time for summer sunshine.

• Though not technically sessions, the brews on tap at Happy Valley Brewing are between 4.5 and 5 percent, including Stratus loftbier, Tailgater pale ale, and Phyrst Phamily stout. Happy Brewing also is brewing up a coffee stout (do you detect a pattern here?) named Joe that uses locally roasted beans from Café Lemont.

• Elk Creek Café + Ale Works had a very successful first-ever bottling run in April with MyOh-Maibock and will be following that soon with 22-ounce bottles of Hairy John’s IPA. Named for an iconic Penns Valley hermit, it’s anything but session, coming in at a delicious 9.5 percent. A very limited amount will be reserved for the taps at the brewpub. Brewer Tim Yarrington also will have Elk Creek’s Kolsch, a light, crisp Germanstyle ale, available right about now.

• Otto’s Pub and Brewery is working on a session IPA, but in the meantime enjoy its hefeweizen, a true session beer at 4.5 percent. Pallet Jack pale ale, unfiltered, and made with West Coast hops and Belgian yeast, is on tap at the pub and in 12-ounce bottles at retail outlets through the summer months. T&G

Sam Komlenic, whose dad worked for a Pennsylvania brewery for 35 years, grew up immersed in the brewing business. He has toured scores of breweries, large and small, from coast to coast.

105 - Town&Gown June 2014

John Hovenstine

Baby’s Burgers and Shakes waitress Kelsey Quinn (left) serves Megan Campbell, 4, of Bellefonte.

Baby's is popular for its classic foods, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries, and milkshakes.

Tasteof the Month 106 - Town&Gown & &Gown June 2014

Back in Time with Baby's The vintage diner remains a popular State College tradition

Mark Selders (4)

By Vilma Shu Danz

The Craz-E-Burger served on a grilled glazed donut.

Take a trip back to the 1950s at Baby’s Burgers and Shakes, located at 131 South Garner Street in State College, and enjoy a distinctive dining experience. From the waitresses in poodle shirts, and the neon and vintage signs on the walls, to the vinyl seats and the jukebox playing oldies in the background, Baby’s captures the essence of the 1950s era.

Kids and adults alike can enjoy classic favor-

Chicken-tamales plate

ites such as hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes, and root beer floats.

The authentic 1947 Silk City diner, made in Patterson, New Jersey, was originally shipped to State College in the 1960s, and a number of other businesses operated in there before Baby’s opened in 1987. Originally, Baby’s was established by a trio of State College businessmen, including former Penn State running back Matt

107 - Town&Gown June 2014

Chef salad Suhey. In the 1990s, several other partners, including Fred and Denise Wood, joined the original owners to run the restaurant. Over the years, partners, including Suhey, stepped out to pursue other business opportunities, and in 2007, the Woods took over sole ownership of the restaurant.

Baby’s is one of the few places in town where kids 12 and younger eat free from 4 p.m. to closing on Sundays and Tuesdays, with a maximum of two kids per one adult.

“We do everything we can to keep our prices low for families, even when beef prices went up,” says Fred Wood. “On Whimpy Wednesday, you can get our Whimpy Basket with two slider burgers and fries for $3.99!”

The most popular burger is The Corvette, a half-pound burger topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, and BBQ sauce. Fred’s Fries is another favorite served with cheddar cheese, smoke-cured bacon bits, ranch dressing, and scallions.

“Baby’s in the only place in downtown State College that you can get a fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, and coleslaw,” says Tassy Lopez, the general manager.

Assistant manager Kevin Selders says, “Our specialty hot dogs have also grown in popularity,

from our LaBamba with jalapenos, bacon bits, cheese sauce, and spicy BBQ sauce to our Big Tickle, a 12-inch all-beef hot dog!”

Other menu items to try include the Carolina pulled-pork sandwich, a five-alarm chili,

Assistant manager Kevin Selders (left) and general manager Tassy Lopez.

108 - Town&Gown June 2014

ends. If our guests decide to have a family reunion after completing their dinner, and we have a long line outside waiting for a table, I casually have them read my ‘Eat and Get Out’ shirt. Most people get the hint, laugh, and soon disperse.”

For more information about Baby’s Burgers and Shakes, visit babysburgers.com.

For a special coupon offer for buy one hot dog, get one 50-percent off, visit townandgown.com. T&G

Whimpy basket

Baby's offers several flavors of milkshakes. and homemade mac and cheese. Leave some room for dessert! The hot-fudge sundae is a fresh chocolate chip cookie smothered with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream with a cherry on top.

“Everyone loves our milkshakes here, too. We have our specialty shake of the month, and in June it is peach,” says Selders.

The family-friendly atmosphere and reasonable prices have kept Baby’s in business for almost 30 years. It has become a landmark location and a Penn State tradition, with alumni returning and sharing their stories of when they came as students, or when they worked there and had experiences of flipping burgers and waiting tables.

Fred Wood says, “I always have a great time being in charge of the seating on our busy week-

> Featured Selections < Hours of Operations: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Specials: Monday: Half-price milkshakes from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tuesday: Two baby-beef cheesesteaks and fries for $10.99.

Wednesday: Any Whimpy Basket for $3.99.

Thursday: PA Dutch-style chicken and waffle for $6.99.

Kids eat free Tuesdays and Sundays after 4 p.m.

109 - Town&Gown June 2014

Dining Out 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 City-style barbecue is smoked daily on-site.

AE, D, DC, ID+, MC, V. Full bar.

Bella II, 135 S. Allegheny St., Bellefonte, 3534696. Cozy and charming, yet affordable, Bella II’s specialty is good food! Fresh, classic pasta dishes with homemade sauces, large dinner salads, and inhouse, hand-crafted desserts, top the favorites. Plan to try Bella II’s lunch buffet, Tues.-Thurs., featuring pasta, pizza, wraps, and desserts. BYOB welcomed!

Take out available. Hours: Sun. 12-9, Tues.-Thurs.

11-9, Fri.-Sat. 11-10, Closed Mondays. AE, D, MC, V. Bella Sicilia, 2782 Earlystown Road, Centre Hall, 364-2176. An Italian kitchen where food is prepared from scratch and with love! Featuring traditional recipes of pasta dishes, calzones, Stromboli’s, subs, salads, and extraordinary pizza! Try Bella Sicilia’s stuffed, Sicilian, Chicago, or 16 varieties of thin-crust specialty pies, including seafood pizza with shrimp, clams, calamari, mussels, and margherita sauce!

Take-out or enjoy our beautiful dining room, located in the back of our building. Feel free to bring your own beer and wine. Lunch buffet Mon.-Fri. Check us out on Facebook. AE, MC, V, MAC, D. Carnegie House, corner of Cricklewood Dr. and Toftrees Ave., 234-2424. An exquisite boutique hotel offering fine dining in a relaxed yet gracious atmosphere. Serving lunch and dinner. Prix Fixe menu and à la carte menu selections now available.

AAA Four Diamond Award recipient for lodging and fine dining. Reservations suggested. AE, MC, D, V. Full bar.

Clem’s Roadside Bar and Grill, 1405 S. Atherton St., 237-7666, www.clemsbarandgrill.com. Chef/owner Greg Mussi combines forces with infamous griller Clem Pantalone to bring you a mix of classic BBQ and other signature dishes featuring local produce and an extensive wine list. Central’s PA’s unique “whiskey bar” and extensive wine list. Happy hours every day from 5 to 7 p.m. State College’s largest outdoor seating area. Groups welcome.

Catering and private events available. Daily specials listed on Facebook. Live music. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V. Full bar.

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 & beer) is welcome after 5 p.m. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V. Damon’s Grill & Sports Bar, 1031 E. College Ave., 237-6300, damons.com. Just seconds from Beaver Stadium, locally owned and operated, Damon’s is the premiere place to watch sports and enjoy our extensive menu. Ribs, wings, burgers, steaks, apps, salads, and so much more. AE, D, MAC, MC, V, Full bar.

The Deli Restaurant, 113 Hiester St., 2375710, TheDeliRestaurant.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 award-winning 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.

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 Kathy George or Debbie Markel at (814) 238-5051.

110 - Town&Gown June 2014

Down Under Steakhouse at Toftrees, One Country Club Lane, 234-8000, www.toftrees.com. A casual restaurant with unique dining featuring hearty appetizers, delicious entrees, fresh sandwiches and salads in a comfortable scenic atmosphere. Outdoor seating available. AE, D, DC, MAC, MC, V. Full bar.

Duffyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

Faccia Luna Pizzeria, 1229 S. Atherton St., 234-9000, www.faccialuna.com. A true neighborhood hangout, famous for authentic New York-style wood-fired pizzas and fresh, homemade It.alian 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. 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.

112 - Town&Gown June 2014

Gamble Mill Restaurant & Microbrewery, 160 Dunlop St., Bellefonte, 355-7764. A true piece of Americana, dine and enjoy our in-house craft beers in a historic mill. Experience bold American flavors by exploring our casual pub menu or fine dining options.

Six to seven beers of our craft beers on tap. Brewers Club, Growlers, outdoor seating, large private functions, catering. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Dinner 5-9/10 p.m. Mon.-Sat. “Chalk Board Sunday’s” 4-8 p.m. All credit cards accepted.

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 specialties. AE, CB, D, DC, MC, V. Full bar, beer.

The Greek, 102 E. Clinton Ave., 308-8822, www.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.

Remember — Dads BBQ!

A true neighborhood hangout highly regarded for its popular and authentic New York-style wood-fired pizza and commitment to quality. Award-winning pizza. and Italian cuisine homemade with only the best and freshest ingredients.

www.faccialuna.com 1229 South Atherton St. • State College • 234-9000

Check out our all new Whiskey Bar! Mon - Thurs till 11pm Fri & Sat till Midnight Sunday till 9pm

Chef/Owner Greg Mussi and the Artisan Griller Clem Pantalone have joined forces to bring you some of the best food this side of the Mason Dixon Line!

1405 South Atherton St. State College, PA 16801 814-238-2333 www.clemsbarandgrill.com

Call about famous BBQ to go!

g rin te e Ca bl te la Si i n- va O A

LIPSBURG EL PHLIodge & Country Club KS

r website for NEW Golf Member Special Visit ou !

Check out our web site for all our daily specials.

Full - service catering facilities for all your summer party needs!

Check out our New 2 for $25 menu..

1 app and 2 entrees all for $25!

Damon’s Delivers Everyday!

Order online at lionmenus.com 1031 East College Ave. 814-237-6300 • damons.com

113 - Town&Gown June 2014

Restaurant is open to the public!

Mon-Sat:11-9 • Sun: 9-9 Country Club Lane, Philipsburg (814) 342-0379 • www.philipsburgelks.com

Harrison’s Wine Grill & Catering, 1221 E. College Ave. (within the Hilton Garden Inn), 237-4422, www.harrisonsmenu.com. Traditional seasonal favorites prepared extraordinarily. Fusion food, sharing plates, and fresh seafood. Extensive wines-by-the-glass, full bar, moderate prices. Lunch/Dinner. Exquisite catering.

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 7 years in a row. Eat-in, Take-Out, Catering. Gluten-free options available. Bacon-based dessert. Homemade breads, BYO beer or wine all day.

Sense of humor required. 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.

India Pavilion, 222 E. Calder Way, 237-3400. Large selection of vegetarian and nonvegetarian dishes from northern India. Lunch buffet offered daily. We offer catering for groups and private parties. AE, D, MC, V. (call ahead.)

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 transitions 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.

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.

Fo od & Beer TO GO! Bringing you craft beer & fresh food using local products in a family friendly, casual atmosphere.

Bottles • Cases • Kegs Growlers • Beer Soap Ca ndy • Mugs

Ou r two patios are now open!

Weather Permitti ng .

2235 N. Atherton St. State College 814.867.6886 www.ottospubandbrewery.com 114 - Town&Gown June 2014

Mario’s Italian Restaurant, 1272 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, 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.

Otto’s Pub & Brewery, 2235 N. Atherton St., 867-6886, www.ottospubandbrewery.com. Our new location provides plenty of parking, great ales and lagers, full service bar, signature dishes made with local products in a family-friendly, casual atmosphere.

AE, D, DC, LC MC, V. Full bar.

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 (member only).

The Tavern Restaurant, 220 E. College Ave., 2386116. 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 New World Bistro, 324 W. College Ave., 237-8474. Zola combines comfortable, modern décor with exceptional service. Innovative, creative cuisine from seasonal menus served for lunch and dinner.

Extensive award-winning wine list. Jazz and oysters in the bar on Fridays. Catering. AE, D, MC, V. Full bar.

Good Food Fast Baby’s Burgers & Shakes, 131 South Garner St., 234-4776, www.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.

Sundaes for Dads & Grads at

Meyer Dairy

Catering Feed your group with our delicious platters!

•bagels & sweets •sandwiches & wraps •appetizers & desserts Free delivery.

Milk • Ice Cream • Eggs Cheese • Juices Candy • Pop's Mexi-Hots Baked Goods • Sandwiches Ice Cream Cakes & More!

For a good time- Call us.

814-231-0604 www.irvingsstatecollege.com

Open Daily 8 a.m. - 11 p.m.

2390 S. Atherton St. - (814) 237-1849

Bella 2 is now OPEN! 135 S. Allegheny St., Bellefonte • 353-4696

Bella Sicilia

2782 Earlytown Road, Centre Hall • 364-2176 Dining Room in rear.

Both locations closed Mondays 115 - Town&Gown June 2014

Fiddlehead, 134 W. College Ave., 8237-0595, www. fiddleheadstatecollege.com. Fiddlehead is a soup-andsalad café offering soups made from scratch daily.

Create your own salad from over 40 fresh ingredients.

HUB Dining, HUB-Robeson Center, on campus, 865-7623. A Penn State tradition open to all! Eleven restaurants stocked with extraordinary variety: Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Higher Grounds, HUB Subs, Mixed Greens, Burger King, Panda Express, Piccalilli’s, Sbarro, Sushi by Panda, Wild Cactus, and more! V, MC, LC. Irving’s, 110 E. College Ave., 231-0604, www.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!

Westside Stadium Bar and Grill, 1301 W. College Ave., 308-8959, www.westsidestadium barandgrill.com. See what all the buzz is about at Westside Stadium. Opened in September 2010, State College’s newest hangout features mouthwatering onsite smoked pork and brisket sandwiches. Watch your favorite sports on 17 HDTVs. Happy Hour 5-7 p.m.

Take-out and bottle shop. Outdoor seating available.

D, V, MC. Full Bar.

Specialty Foods Hoag’s Catering/Celebration Hall, 2280 Commercial Blvd., State College, 238-0824, www.hoagscatering.com. Hoag’s Catering specializes in off-site catering, event rentals, and on-site events at Celebration Hall. We do the work, you use the fork — large and small events. T&G

India Pavilion Exotic Indian Cuisine

Now Open 7 Days a Week Lunch Buffet: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

Carry Out Available to a

whoosh of ino Frappuccrag e. ®

blended beve

222 E. Calder Way 237-3400 www.indiapavilion.net

HUB Robeson Center On Campus © 2014 Starbucks Coffee Company. All rights reserved.

116 - Town&Gown June 2014

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117 - Town&Gown June 2014

lunch with mimi

First of the First Class John Hovenstine

With Saint Joseph’s graduating its inaugural class, its top student reflects on how the school impacted her Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy, at 901 Boalsburg Pike in Boalsburg, offers a college-preparatory curriculum, with college prep, honors, and advancedplacement options available to both Catholic and nonCatholic Mimi Barash Coppersmith Town&Gown founder (left) talks with students. The school chose its student Caroline Wilson at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy in name to honor the patron saint Boalsburg of families and the Universal complete at least 25 hours of community service Church. Opened in the fall of 2011 to ninthper year in order to graduate. and 10th-grade students, St. Joseph’s added 11th In May, the first senior class of 13 students grade in the 2012-13 school year and 12th grade graduated from St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy. for 2013-14.

Caroline Wilson is the top student in the class.

The school seeks to form the next generation of She has ambitions to attend college to major in leaders through excellence in scholarship, personal engineering and then go to medical school. Outdiscipline, accountability, and integrity. While reside of her academic studies, she is a black belt in ligion courses are an essential component of the Tae Kwon Do and enjoys playing volleyball and curriculum, the school believes it must respect dancing. each person’s commitment to his or her own faith.

Town&Gown founder Mimi Barash CopperThe hallmark of St. Joseph’s educational experismith sat down with Wilson at St. Joseph’s to talk ence is the individual attention given to students, about her experience at the school and what she with an approximately 12:1 student/teacher ratio. plans to do after graduation.

In addition to theology, English, social studies, Mimi: Well, this is the first time I’ve ever sciences, mathematics, world language, health/ been in St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy. physical education, art, and music, students must Caroline: How do you like it so far?

Mimi: It’s a big place! They tell me that you’re among the first graduates.

Caroline: It’s very exciting.

Mimi: When did you move here?

Caroline: I moved here about two and a half years ago from Florida. My mother is a Each month Town&Gown psychiatrist at the Altoona VA hospital. My highlights a local place to eat and dad is an accountant who works from home offers a glimpse into the great for the firm he worked at in Miami. dining of our community.

Mimi: Do you have siblings?

If it’s happening in Happy Valley, Caroline: I do. I have a brother who is alit’s in Town&Gown! most 21 and goes to Penn State.

Taste of the

Month

118 - Town&Gown June 2014

Mimi: Does he like it?

Caroline: He loves it here! Absolutely loves it.

Mimi: Do you love where you moved?

Caroline: I do. It’s a lot different from Miami. Obviously, it’s a small-town community, but I have learned to like it here.

Mimi: When you came here, why did you choose St. Joseph’s Academy?

Caroline: One part of it was the faith aspect because I’ve always grown up with religion. That’s the family I was born into — I am a Catholic. Another one was actually the size of the school. The first year, there were only around 40 kids.

Mimi: And you were all in the same grade?

Caroline: No, at that time, it was freshmen and sophomores. And it’s a very small, tightknit community, which I’ve really learned to love. In some of my classes, I remember in 10th grade being the only person in my chemistry class.

Mimi: So you were taught one-on-one.

Caroline: Yes, and it was an amazing experience. I know I wouldn’t have gotten that experience had I gone to any other schools around here.

Mimi: So on balance, you seem pretty happy with the quality of education you’re receiving.

Caroline: Oh yes!

Mimi: What role does faith play? Is it a big role or is it a subordinate role? How would you put that into perspective for our readers?

Caroline: I think the faith part of the school is really what you make of it. Even if you’re atheist, Jewish, or Christian, you can come into the school and hear different debates and conversations about different topics. You can really form your own opinion and your own set of beliefs. You’re not forced to be Catholic or Christian.

Mimi: How do you rise to the top of your class when there are so few?

Caroline: Just work hard.

Mimi: How would you rank this with the faith-based schools you attended when you lived in Florida?

Caroline: I think my school down in Florida was actually more traditional. Everyone there was Catholic and has to go to church.

Here it’s a lot more flexible and conventional.

Mimi: Is there a dress code?

Caroline: Yes, it has changed a lot since the first day, but they have a pretty strict dress code here.

Mimi: Do people resent it?

Caroline: I don’t think so. Maybe for the kids who went to public school before this, it may take a little while to get used to the dress code because they didn’t have one before. Personally, I’ve always had to wear a uniform my entire life so I don’t really resent it. It doesn’t really bother me anymore.

Mimi: Do the guys wear jackets?

Caroline: We actually all wear blazers. But we’re allowed to take them off to relax.

Mimi: Are there any kids who rebel against this?

Caroline: I don’t think so. You have some kids every once in a while who forget their blazers or lost their tie. For the most part everyone just accepts the dress code. They know it’s a part of the school. If you come here, you’re going to have to wear a uniform.

Mimi: Tell me a little about the quality of your education from your perspective.

Caroline: Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever had the support from teachers before that I do here at St. Joseph’s.

Mimi: Smaller classes definitely present an environment to learn better.

Caroline: I think my biggest class is probably around 12 kids.

Mimi: And how many people are in your graduating class?

Caroline: I think it’s 13.

Mimi: Is there better communication with a small class size? What’s the impact on building friendships?

Caroline: I think the fact that you see the same people every day — some people may

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119 - Town&Gown June 2014

PEACE OF MIND Prearrangements take care of all the decisions, so your family won’t have to.

Now isn’t that reassuring?

PFDA

not like that — but at the same time it creates a very relaxed environment, and everyone knows each other’s names here. In classes, it’s really helpful in building friendships because you can engage in different conversations and topics with your teachers and your classmates.

It fosters a community environment.

Mimi: Do you start your day in prayer?

Caroline: Yes, sometimes. Teachers are encouraged to start the class with prayer.

Mimi: I was trying to get a sense of whether starting each day with an act of faith helps people become better people. Do you feel that gives you a leg up over those people who don’t start their day that way, or end their day that way?

Caroline: Yes. I think starting the day with prayer and having faith is encouraged to be a part of our everyday lives here mainly to create a sense of community and unity in us. We have all-school masses, chapels, and assemblies together and it really united us.

Mimi: Now you have people of different faiths here. You have Muslims here and others. How does that all work?

Caroline: The Muslims, for example, have 1937 North Atherton Street State College, PA 16803 P. (814) 865-7728 P. (800) 828-4636 F. (814) 863-6183 www.PennStateFederal.com

to pray certain times of the day. A lot of them come in with their prayer mats. If it comes time to pray they can just ask to leave class and go to a part of the school and pray. I think that’s definitely one of the advantages of the school. We’re very accommodating to all different types of faith. You can engage in different debates with anyone in the school. The school does a great job at accommodating different faiths.

Mimi: Tell me about your extracurricular activities. You’re one of the leading graduates.

Tell me about the other activities here and what they have meant to your education.

Caroline: Personally, I played volleyball.

I had never participated in volleyball before the school. I didn’t know anything about the sport. I didn’t know how to play it. But I joined the team last year, so I played for two years. It was a very small team but there was a lot of camaraderie. If I had gone to another school where the competition was greater, I would have never been able to play.

Mimi: Does faith make your competition less intense?

Caroline: I don’t really think it plays a big

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part in competition, to be completely honest.

Mimi: Do you have any disappointments?

Caroline: I think I have definitely grown a lot in different aspects like academically, religiously, and I don’t think I have any complaints or disappointments with this school.

I’ve made new relationships and have been challenged in my faith, but that has ultimately made it stronger. I don’t think I have any disappointments at all. This school has been very good to me.

Mimi: How do you rise to the top? What motivates you?

Caroline: I’m very driven and passionate about the things that I do. But here in the school, they do a very good job making sure you don’t slip through the cracks — and part of that are the small class sizes. The teachers are always available if you need extra help or tutoring. We have a very good support system, academically, here.

Mimi: So what do you want to be when you grow up?

Caroline: Well, this may change. My plan now, in college, I want to major in engineering and then maybe after I graduate college, go to med school.

Mimi: Is engineering a good start for med school?

Caroline: I think so.

Mimi: You must be thinking about colleges as we speak. Have you made a decision?

Caroline: I have not. I’m still waiting to hear from some schools. So far, I’ve been accepted into Penn State and the University of Florida.

Mimi: Where do you want to go?

Caroline: Penn State is a great option. It’s right here. It’s a great school, so it’s definitely a strong contender. I also like Rice University in Texas. It’s nice and sunny down there. I think those are my top two.

Mimi: What would you define as your finest moment here? You’re one of the leaders in the graduating class. You’re leaving here with a quality education. Is there a single event that impacted you more than anything else?

Caroline: The seniors have to do a senior project and, basically, we have to get up in front of the school and give a speech about how our school has impacted us. I think that’s definitely the most memorable thing I’ve done here because I didn’t like public speaking, so

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getting up in front of the whole school is definitely nerve wracking.

Mimi: You have people from many other countries here also. Tell me about that.

Caroline: It definitely helps with diversity, especially where we live. I don’t think you’d expect to come here and see people from Saudi Arabia, Korea, and China, but it definitely makes for an interesting school seeing those different cultures and being able to talk to them about their cultures.

Mimi: That’s something you’d probably get at any school in the Centre Region because of the influence of the university and the children of people there. Do you take any AP courses, here or at Penn State?

Caroline: Yes, last year I took AP European history with Mrs. Mato, and that was a phenomenal class. This year, I took AP literature and composition, also with Mrs. Mato. And I’m taking college physics with Mr. Klepeiss.

Mimi: And again, those class sizes are fewer than 12 in most cases?

Caroline: Yes. In my college physics class there are three of us.

Mimi: Well, you learn a lot that way. I think a good case could be made for that.

Caroline: Yes, and it’s more hands-on learning.

Mimi: Is engagement in public service a part of the curriculum here?

Caroline: Yes. We are required every year to have a minimum of 25 hours of service. I’ve volunteered at the State College Food Bank, there’s a group of kids who went to the Our Lady of Victory preschool and helped with them. Service is definitely encouraged and required.

Mimi: Greatest lesson learned? What will you take away?

Caroline: I think just to embrace new experiences. Like I said, I’m from Miami and I never thought, being down there, what would come from my time here at St. Joe’s. It’s been a phenomenal experience for me, growing as a person.

I never thought I would come here and be in the first graduating class and help start a school. I definitely think embracing new experiences has been the biggest thing that I’ve learned.

Mimi: I wish you well.

Caroline: Thank you so much. T&G

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State College Photo Club’s Winning Photos The State College Photo Club provides photo enthusiasts with the opportunity to share their passion for photography with others and to provide an environment for learning and developing new skills. The club welcomes individuals from amateurs to professionals. One of the club’s activities is to hold a monthly competition. Town&Gown is pleased to present the winning images from the club’s competition.

Shown this month are the first-place winners from the judged March meeting competition.

March Meeting First Place: Theme “Snowflakes”

>

“Blue Jay, White Flakes”

by Sami Sharkey

“I enjoyed watching and photographing this blue jay [through glass] while it seemed to be enjoying the beautiful falling snow.

Because the theme was snowflakes, I cropped quite a bit to better show the flakes on the bird.”

March Meeting First Place: Open Category “Disconnected”

by Chet Swalina

>

“This old telephone pole stands alone near some railroad tracks in Lock Haven.

Shooting it wide angle from below revealed a compelling composition.”

A copy of either of these photos may be obtained with a $75 contribution to the Salvation Army of Centre County. Contact Captain Charles Niedermeyer at (814) 861-1785 and let him know you would like this image. You can select any size up to 11 inches wide.

The State College Photo Club meets on the third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Foxdale Village Auditorium. Guests and new members are always welcome.

Visit statecollegephotoclub.org for more information about how to join.

123 - Town&Gown June 2014

John Hovenstine

snapshot

Next Stop, Broadway New Musical Theatre Festival director helps works and performers take first steps toward possible staged productions

By Cassandra Wiggins

Raymond Sage is no stranger to musical theater.

He has performed on Broadway and in national tours of Camelot, Beauty and the Beast, and Titanic, and he also has appeared in various other musicals at regional theaters across the country.

As an associate professor of voice for musical theatre at Penn State, he has helped many students achieve their dreams of appearing on stage. Some have been seen in several Broadway productions, including Follies, Titanic, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, and The Scarlet Pimpernel.

And, as artistic director for the Penn State New Musical Theatre Festival, he has played a part in helping “up-and-coming composers, lyricists, and book writers to workshop their original musical theatre pieces at the Penn State University Park Campus.” The summer festival, which begins June 10 and runs through June 19 at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, is in its eighth year. A festival also is held during the fall and spring semesters.

While the festival often refers to “performances,” most of the works are done with actors reading the pieces rather than as complete staged productions.

“Since most of the works are in development, the reading format lets you change things like the script and songs a little quicker than if you were in the memorization or staging realm,” Sage says. “It’s easier to make changes for the artist and the writer.”

He describes the festival as a “low-pressure experience” for the actors and writers since they don’t have to worry about being publicly and negatively reviewed.

“It’s a real steppingstone for these young artists who come here and those who perform,” he says.

The festival, according to Sage, not only helps young actors and actresses make connections and develop their skills as professionals, but also helps discover musicals that maybe would never have gotten off the ground by themselves.

“What I am most proud of is the dedication of these young artists and writers,” he says. “It is such

Raymond Sage Favorite place you have traveled: “I travel to London often. It’s like a second home.”

Oddest job you have done: “I occasionally worked in grad school for Aunt Jane’s Pickles dressed as Captain Pickle!”

Favorite restaurant in State College: “Zola’s New World Bistro.”

a collaborative effort in the progression of a truly American art form, and we’re seeing new things, new kinds of music being written, new kinds of dialogue being written. And Penn State is really lucky that we can be at the forefront supporting not just the musical comedy but also the musicals that are socially progressive.”

He adds that the festival has become popular over the years, and he tries to pick works that will have life outside of the readings — that have humane engagement.

Musical theater wasn’t always something Sage wanted to do. “I was actually planning on being a classical singer and taking that route,” he says. “But I found once I started auditioning, I could actually make money in musical theater, and worked in theater through grad school. I fell in love with it and never looked back.”

And he knows the labor of love writers and artists exercise to bring a piece to life on stage.

Writing a musical is “a really difficult thing to do,” he says. “It has to have a good song that leads into good dialogue that leads into a good song, all the while propelling the story. I think people lose sight of that because of the entertainment value of the musical.” T&G For information on the New Musical Theatre Summer Festival, visit numusicals.psu.edu.

124 - Town&Gown June 2014

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