THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES Bie1 Z I I I; E~.U ,,2S, L,)

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES bie1 z I i i; E~.U ,,2S, L,)

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATa UNIVERS"j LIRAQIRF-

The History of State College 1896-1946

VIVIAN DOTY HENCH

Centre Daily Times Publications

1948

1. Copyright, 1948

By The Centre Daily Times

Published at State College, Pa.

AM- EDITORS' NOTE

Two years ago, when State College was cele- brating its 50th anniversary of the incorporation of the Borough, the Centre Daily Times published a daily feature on the history and growth of the community. The story written by Vivian Doty Hench received such outstanding praise that the Times planned to republish it in book form. However, the newsprint shortage which has plagued newspapers and printing establishments ever since the war made it impossible to produce the book during 1946 when the Golden Jubilee celebration was taking place. And so it is with great pleasure that the Centre Daily Times presents this volume. While it may appear to the reader that we are two years late, actually there is some excuse for timeliness. It was just 50 years ago that the Centre Daily Times began newspaper publication in the form of a weekly. Thus is the "History of State College" dgedicated to twin golden anniversaries-the borough and the newspaper. It is the third production of Centre Daily Times Publications, which brought Centre County readers Myrtle Magargel's "History of Rock" in 1940 and "Friends of Halfmoon Valley" in 1941. We suggest that in reading the "History of State College," readers keep in mind that it was written in 1946. It will help them in maintaining a continuity in their study of what we believe to be an authentic human document.

-THE EDITORS Centre Daily Times

FOREWORD

To begin publication of this history of State College without a word of recognition of the many sources from which I have gathered the information, would be only short of plagiarism. A wealth of helpful information was found in the following book sources: "The Pennsylvania State College, 1853-1932, Interpretation and Rec- ord," by Dr. Erwin W. Runkle; "Centre County from Its Earliest Settlemeht to the Year 1915," and "Iron Furnaces of Centre County," both by J. Thomas Mitchell; "Our Town," published by the State College Chamber of Commerce in 1925; "A Brief History of the Pennsylvania State Col- lege," by A. R. Warnock; "Pioneers of Penn State," compiled in 1916 by a committee headed by Dr. G. G. Pond; and Walter Ferree's thesis, "History of State College," written in fulfilment Af his master's degree, in 1932. Most helpful, too, was Mrs. C. 0. Cromer, through whose assistance I was able to gain access to various personal reminiscences, scrapbooks pictures and other material on file in the Penn State Room in the College Library. Other sources have been persoal inter- views. chance conversations, old issues of the Cen- tre Daily Times, and the full cooperation of per- sons in the Borough Office, the school, and other public institutions. This "his-tory" is really "your-story" since it is the residents both past and present whose lives have written it. To borrow a figure of speech used by Ernie Pyle, I have merely acted as the window glass through which the light of past events can shine. If the pane becomes a little cloudy occasionally, let us blame it on Time, that sneak-thief who snatches the clarity of so many ordinary happenings.

-VIVIAN DOTY HENCH i

I The History of State College

Little did Malachi Boyer, calling to his "Nita- nee, Nita-nee," from Penn's Cave, realize that some day the name of this fair Indian maid would haunt the memory of thousands. A footloose trader, he had come to the valley in search of material treasure; instead he found and fell in love with Nita-nee, for which he was imprisoned and forced to die in the cave, by her seven stal- wart brothers. Now, thousands of others have come to the valley, in search of another kind of treasure- knowledge, and also fallen in love with "Nita- nee." To them she is not an Indian maid, but a graceful, stately mountain, standing guard over a peaceful valley sheltering the Pennsylvania State College, the heart and life blood of :the model little town of State College. Reasons for the beginnings of the towns and cities of our nation run the gamut from locations on good water facilities for transportation or power, to the chance clusterings of houses at a crossroads or spring. Few are there, however, whose sole reason for being foundedwas the search of man for higher knowledge, as was the case with State College. The Pennsylvania Agricultural Society, under the influence of their first president, Judge Fred Watts of Carlisle, really broke the ground for the town when they adopted resolutions at the Second Annual Meeting in Harrisburg, January 18, 1853, to the effect that the society "highly approves. .. the recommendation of the Governor (William Bigler) . . . that an institution to impart instruction in the science of Agriculture should be established:' A committee was appointed to report on the expediency of adopting measures for the

1 establishment of a State Agricultural School, to be called, "The Farmers' High School of the State of Pennsylvania." Strong voices in the Society were William G. Waring, who organized one of the pioneer teach- ars' institutes jn Centre County in 1851, and Gen. James Irvin, influential member of Congress, and part-owner of the "Centre Furnace Lands." To- gether with three more far-sighted Centre Coun- tians, Irvin's brother-in-law, Moses Thompson, who also held an interest in the "Centre Furnace Lands"; Hugh McAllister, Bellefonte lawyer and landowner, and Andrew G. Curtin, superintendent of schools under Governor Pollock, they be gan at once a movement for locating the proposes school in Centre County. Though no memorial yet honors their names, it is largely to their tireless struggle that the town Af State College owes its founding. Irvin's gift of 200 acres of land, and the combined efforts of the Dthers who literally stumped the state for a $10,000 purse, most of which was obtained from Centre and Clinton Counties, proved to be the deciding factor in the Agricultural Society's argu- ment for the location of their school. Located "far from the maddening crowd," from water, from transportation. from communication-in fact, almost from civilization, one cannot help but wonder how the site won out over those proposed in many other locations.

THE STORY OF IRVIN'S ACRES What's the story behind those two hundred acres of land given by Gen. Irvin, and now the heart of the College? What's its "pedigree," as well as that of those few square feet of ground which you call home? Tracing the history of the land where our borough has now taken root,

2 hungrily reaching out and gathering more into its limits as time goes on. is not so simple. The earliest known "owners" of the land com- prising our borough were the Muncy Indians, who were superseded by the Shawanese. In 1758, the Penns gained possession of their woods through the grant from the King of England, and in 1759, the valley of "Nita-nee" was "discovered" by Capt. James Potter, considered by many historians to be the first white man to set foot in Centre County. After the survey of the land in 1775, Cor- nelius Connelly held the patent, later selling it to Josiah Matlack. Col. John Patton and Col. Samuel Miles purchased the vast tract in 1790. Theirs was no search for knowledge which brought them to the hardwood forests of Centre County, but a search for iron ore. A rare find indeed-priceless virgin oak timber in combination with iron ore deposits in nearby Scotia mines, surveyed as early as 1784. Soon charcoal burners' huts mushroomed over the mountains beside huge hearths where, after days of slow burning beneath layers of clay, the oak trees became precious charcoal, essential in the firing of the iron furnaces. Today these hearths are charming grassy terraces progressing like giant steps up the moun- tainsides. Mothered by Centre Furnace, which was first "put to blast" by the Miles-Patton interests on May 2, 1792, according to J. Thomas Mitchell's "The Iron Furnaces of Centre County," there grew lip a family of iron furnaces and forges in every surrounding valley. In 1802, Col. Patton was forced to sell but to his partners because of financial difficulties. Col. Miles and his sons, in turn, sold the land to John Irvin in 1832, who, with his son, Gen. James Irvin, who later inherited it, created the "Centre Fur-

3 nace Lands," some 740 acres. Moses Thompson, through his marriage with Mary Irvin, a sister of James, also held an interest in the lands.

* * * Although Col. Miles, then mayor of Philadel- phia, never lived in the county, his partner, Col. Patton, built one of its first mansion houses, at the Centre Furnace, between the years 1790 and 1795. Here he is said to have entertained the Prince Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, during his politi- cal exile in the United States in 1794-95. This brick home, now painted white, still stands in its original state-except for the laterladdition of an "ell,"-in a grove of trees at what is now called "The Evergreens." Originally, there was'a gate- house at the entrance to the grounds. Later,- this little house was used as a private school for Moses Thompson's children. The mansion remained in the Thompson family for many years, and was the scene of many a meeting of the earlier Boards of Trustees, and visiting state committees. It was finally sold to its present owners, the Garvers. In the late 1840's and 50's, the hardwood forests having largely disappeared, Gen. Irvin sold off much of the land for farming purposes. Purchas- ers of these farms, according to Walter Ferree's thesis, included William Foster (also spelled "Forster"), Robert M. Foster Sr., the Krumrine brothers, Fred and John C., and their brother-in- law, John Neidigh. These farmers, together with James Jack of Philadelphia, who opened the first bhotel, known as "Jack's Road House" on the site of the present State College Hotel, in 1855, and David Ozman, the first local smithy, with his stand where the University Club now is, comprised the village, or "town." The faculty, or "gown," was composed of William G. Waring, the first farm superintendent,

4 S. Baird, R. C. Allison, J. S. Whitman, and Dr. Evan Pugh, the first president. Both Jack and Ozman (or Osman) came to the little hamlet under the influence of Robert M. Foster Sr., who backed them in their businesses. It was Robert Foster, too, who is credited with beginning the town's first industry, a lime kiln, which was located on his farm. Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees of the new school was wasting no time. Plans for buildings were submitted at their fifth meeting, January 4, 1856. A plan for the College Building (Old Main), designed by H. N. McAllister, and one for a barn, by Frederick Watts, were approved. Rough indeed were the days ahead for these pioneers of both town and school. But no rougher than the very land upon which they had been founded. The first catalogue, 1859, reports: "The farm being in a very unimproved condition, has since been thoroughly grubbed and plowed, and in the intervals of the ordinary farm duties jver three thousand two-horse wagon loads of stone have been removed from it, and put in proper places for making turnpikes, and stone fences, and leveling up irregularities-in the sur- face." Nearly all of this labor was done by the students themselves. But the ground had been broken for homes in a town, and for buildings for the heart of a college campus. FIRST HOMES WERE FARMHOUSES Vestiges of the original village are still visible. Dr. Erwin Runkle, in his history of the college, notes that at the lime of the breaking of ground for Old Main, there were but three houses here. Of these, it is known that one still stands, for remnants of the already mentioned "Jack's Road House" have been incorporated in the State Col-

* lege HoteL in the section topped by the gabled roof which can be seen from Allen streeI. The other two are a matter for debate. Louis E. Reber. who entered the college as a freshman in 1876, at the age of 16, believes that they are the two old houses still standing on the hill then termed Sauerstown. about where Sauers street enters College avenue. The farm home of William Foster, who came to the community in 1845, was originally built on the land now occupied by the present S. W. Fletcher home, on Fairmount avenue. Now an apartment house, it was moved dowvn over the hill, and faces Prospect avenue. The William Foster farm covered that section of town now bounded on the west by Atherton street, the north by College avenue, the east by Pugh street, and the south by Hamilton avenue. The farm of his half-brother, Robert M. Foster Sr., who came here in 1854, can best be defined today by Atherton street to the east, Patterson street on the west, the Bellefonte Central on the north, and Hamilton avenue on the south. A Civil War captain of Co. C, 148th Pennsylvania Infantry, he was killed at Gettysburg. His home, long since torn down, stood on West College avenue, beyond Atherton street. Mrs. Foster, in the late 60's, moved to a yellow house on the site of the present postoffice. This house, more famil- iarly known as the Miss Price house, is still in use at Shingletown, where it was moved when the location was purchased for the postoffice. Inci- dentally, Robert Foster Sr. served as the Farm School's second postmaster from February 23, 1859 to July 29, 1861. The John C. Krumrine farmhouse, built in 1853, is still standing on its original site, with most of its interior preserved as it was when built. It is

6 now the home of the Samuel Crabtree family, 635 N. Burrowes street. This farm was west of Allen street, as was that of his brother Fred, whose house can still be seen on what is now the McCor- mick farm. Both the Krumrines and their brother- in-law, John Neidigh, purchased their land in 1856. John Neidigh first built a log house, following it with a "plank house" which was in time sup- planted by the present white frame home in the early '70's. Until the recent expansion of the bor- Dugh, this farm home wag considered "way out of town," but now it faces the corner formed by Adams avenue and Jackson street. Neidigh's farm, which included "everything east of Allen and north of the College," is better known as the Farm of his son-in-law, Henry Hartswick. A house built immediately after or just prior to the beginning of Old Main was that of Bernard McClain. It stood about where the Athletic Store and Schlow's now are, on a plot of ground com- prising the heart of our business district, which he had purchased from William Foster. The few people living in State College today who remember Mr. McClain. and his house, agree that it was in this house that Mifflin Snyder lived and kept store at a later date. It burned when a large fire devastated that corner in 1924. Originally from Bellefonte, Barney McClain claims the honor of being our village's first store- keeper and postmaster, receiving his appointment on August 28,1858, when the town was still known as "The Farmer's High School." The first "office" was in Old Main-an Old Main whose structure was a very shadow of its present dimensions; whose only light was from lard oil lamps: whose drafty corridors ended in boarded-up dead-ends at the western extremity, where the new wing

7 was being added; and whose walls were of native limestone, as a gaping hole to the north. directly behind the building where it was quarried, gave evidence. Barney, who came to State College to help with the erection of the first college barn on the site of the present Carnegie Hall, returned to Bellefonte after its completion. Frank McClain, a brother, remained, and served as the fourth postmaster. His term was only six months in the forepart of 1866, and followed the two terms of George B. Weaver, who had been appointed to succeed Robert Fos- ter Sr. Another house that lays claim to being one of the earliest in our village is identified by M. S. McDowell as the "Love house" and by others as the Squire Johnsonbaugh house. Its original location was just east of what is now Gentzel's store, on College avenue. When Robert Foster Jr. built the home which stands there now, for his mother, he moved this little house around the corner to Pugh street, where it has since had its face lifted to house the Doughnut Shop. This, then, was the State College of the 1850's- three or four "town" houses, and four or five scattered farms. Students and faculty occupied Old Main. and, except for the college farmer's house and barns, the rest was field and forest, broken only by the Centre Furnace toll road.

THE 1860'S-MORE CONTROVERSY] THAN CULTURE The sixties brought a change of name for both school and town. In 1862-July 14-the postoffice was changed from "Farmers' High School" to "Agricultural College." to coincide with the new name of the College, decreed May 1. Two weeks before that date, Lincoln had signed the Morrill

8 Act, authorizing the establishment of "land grant colleges." On April 1, 1863, the Pennsylvania legislature accepted the terms of the act and, through the influence and hard work of dynamic and capa- ble men like President Pugh, designated this college as the recipient of its benefits. This marked the beginning of a bitter struggle to keep the little agricultural college "near Boals- burg" the Morrill Act beneficiary. It was a battle against diversion to some other more firmly established but liberal arts institution; or against divi- sion of the funds among several schools, for politi- cal reasons. Almost every college in Pennsylvania put in a claim for the funds provided for in the act, which were accrued from the sale of public lands. One of the strongest voices was that of the Polytechnique College of Philadelphia. Acts and amendments were constantly being introduced into or suggested to the state legislature, embody- ing every conceivable idea and scheme for divert- ing whole or parts of the funds from this college. These suggestions even included giving the proceeds to the public schools, or donating them to orphans of soldiers and sailors. In this fight, Dr. Pugh gave his life, a run-down condition making him an easy victim to pneu- monia. His death in 1864, at the age of 36, oc- curred just two months after his marriage to Miss Rebecca Valentine of Bellefonte. Some gave unselfishly of their time, others gave money. and many, like Dr. Pugh, gave of their health and strength before an act of February 19, 1867, made the Agricultural College of Pennsyl- vania the sole beneficiary of proceeds from the sale of public lands. Full cooperation, supervision and support was finally guaranteed in the gover- nor's message of January 7, 1868. Echoes of this bitter struggle, however, reverberated down

9 through twenty years with a final outburst in the early eighties. Eighteen sixty-one saw the college's first graduating class, eleven in number. In fact, it was the first class in the United States to graduate from an agricultural college. By 1865. the three hours farm labor which had been a required part of the curriculum had been abolished. The sixties also brought more people into the settlement. 'Miss Sophia Hunter, with her mother and sister, came here from White Hall in 1860. They built a home on West College avenue, about where the First National Bank building is now, in 1862. They were in charge of the dining room in Old Main-the dining room where C. Alfred Smith '66, says the professors offered grace with their eyes open, lest their bowed heads prove targets for whizzing pats of butter. It was from a meal in this dining room, too, that students who missed or were late to classes were barred. Miss Hunter also served as postmistress, following Frank Mc- Clain on April 12, 1866, and continuing until Feb- ruary 24, 1881. John Sowers, (later spelled "Sauers") was another immigrant of the 1866's. He opened a cob- bler shop here in 1861, while his wife did all the laundering at the school. The family home in Sauerstown, one of those referred to by Louis E. Reber, still stands on the corner of Sauers street and East College avenue, and is now owned by Stanley Harwon. Two more families added to the population of the town in this period were those of William Erb and Billy Hoover. Mr. Hoover was the first tailor in the village. A native of Shingletown, he first plied his needle in a room in Old Main, but later moved to a room in Miss Hunter's house. Much of the material for these suits came from the woolen

10 mill at Oak Hall Station, a settlement then much larger than the college community. Although they really were not residents of the village proper, Samuel and Daniel Garner's purchase of a farm from David Hume in 1868 makes them and their families among the community's earlier settlers. Daniel died a short time after, and Samuel bought out his share. It was many years before his fields and meadows became the lots and gardens now found approximately within the bounds of Garner street to the west; Beaver to Pine, and then College along Route 45, to the north; a line about where the sewage disposal plant now is, on the east, and Hamilton avenue on the south. The original Garner homestead stood on what is now South Garner street, near the corner of Fos- ter avenue. The place is marked by a large ever- green tree, and is now the site of the E. J. Ander- son home. Later, the family built a house at the corner of Beaver and Garner, which is now the residence of Mrs. 0. F. Boucke. John Hamilton's name first appears in connec- tion with the town and College on February 28, 1865, when he enrolled as a student. The following year Dr. Allen, then president, asked him to take charge of the College farms, a position he held for three years. Prior to entering school, he had served in the Civil War as a member of Co. A, Pennsylvania Cavalry Reserves, Army of the Po- tomac, who claim by a document signed April 15, 1861, to be the first company whose services were accepted in the Civil War. Hamilton married a daughter of Moses Thompson, whom he followed as treasurer of the College in 1875. During this time, he lived in an apartment in the western end of Old Main.

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Z O M.. 0" Truly, State College was now no longer a crossroads, but an honest-to-goodness grown-up hamlet! END OF A 'MAN'S WORLD' Although still little more than a hamlet, "our town," in 1870, was past the "breaking ground" stage, and well on the way to taking root. True, in 1868, there were only 45 students at the Agri- cultural College, and only one in the graduating class. The following year there were no graduates, but in 1870 an alumni association was opti- mistically formed. In 1871, the rough and tumble future farmers, miners and engineers protested that their college was fast becoming a "ladies' finishing school" for the first woman student was admitted. She was a Miss Cross, later Mrs, Ellen A. Copp, who had been invited to the college by the new president, Dr. James Calder, from Hillsdale where he had taught prior to coming here. According to a letter written later by Mrs. Copp, she liked the school very much ". . . there were only two or three buildings, and the president's house (begun in 1863 by a $1000 donation from Dr. Pugh) seemed well back from the road, in a meadow. . ." Mrs. Copp was not the first woman graduate, however, for Miss Rebecca H. Ewing claimed that honor, in 1873. Yes, we were taking root, for by decree of the Centre County Court, the College and town were again re-named. On January 26, 1874, the Agri- cultural College of Pennsylvania became The Pennsylvania State College. Under the direction of William C. Patterson, who came to work at the College January 1, 1872, when "it was a rock pile and a potato patch," the campus was laid out much as it is today. By 1880, there were 152 students in the College,

13 and many of the houses now occupied by campus sororities had been built as private residences for a fast growing faculty. One of the first of these was originally occupied by a Professor Reeves, and stood about where the new education building is. Later it became the home of Mrs. Atherton, and in 1916 it was moved to Hartswick avenue, encased in brick, and is now the home of Mrs. A. W. Johnston. The lovely stone house on east campus was erected through the efforts of Professor C. Alfred Smith in 1880. and for many years was known as "the vice-president's house." It is now the residence of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. CHIPS FROM THE VILLAGE CORNERSTONE The town has ever been a mirror to reflect changes in the College. James Jack retired from the roadhouse business, selling his interests in 1880 to John W. Stuart and moving to Reedsville. It became known as the College Hotel (or Inn), and a few years later was resold to S. S. Grieb. Competition arose in the form of the Union Hotel, built about 1884 by Johnny-Corrigan, the college gatekeeper and general employee, "because, he thought it a shame to charge a dollar a day for meals and lodgings, so he built this small hotel where the Photo Shop now stands and charged fifty cents a day." Later, WA1894. at a cost of $26,000, the college built the University Inn, near the present Uni- versity Club, principally as accommodations for their younger unmarried faculty. A short time later, it was sold to Philip Foster. It is described by A. Howry Espenshade in his reminiscences, written especially for the College, as a "shingle palace-the third floor of which was like a mona- stery, consisting of a large living room, with indi-

14 THE UNIVERSITY INN built by the College 1894 at a cost of in $26.000 was sold a short time later to Philip Foster. vidual cells opening on the adjacent corridor. The food was not half bad-at least not more than half bad!" On May 2.1903, the inn burned to the ground, but the 19 students, eight professors and their families, and the 25 workmen employed in the building of Schwab auditorium escaped-if only with the shirts on their backs. FADING FOOTPRINTS Until the late eighties, small fry of our little village received a "formal" education for about six months of the year only, in a very decentral- ized school system. Those living north of the Col- lege attended what was known as the "Krumrine School," because the land for the building was donated by John C. Krumrine, father of John N. Krumrine. Most of the children residing south of the College were schooled in the little schoolhouse at Centre Furnace, which has been moved and remodeled into the private residence called "Twin Oaks," just beyond McClellan's garage. A few learned their ABC's in private schools such as that conducted by Miss Anna Cooper in a house near the present Presbyterian Church from 1888 to 1896. Another private school was that of Miss Carrie Hunter, which met in the second floor of the new store building, built in the late eighties by Robert Foster Jr. and his cousin, Charles Fos- ter, on the corner of Pugh street and College avenue (the present Gentzel building). Miss Mar- garet MacDonald also conducted a private school in the already mentioned house on the site of the postoffice. Mrs. C. E. Govier, daughter of President George Atherton, who began his term at the College in 1882, recalls that many of the faculty children of those days went to school in Old Main, under the guidance of a Miss Perry. School was held around a long table in the library.

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[4 IA In 1889, having outgrown the one-room school at Centre Furnace, school was housed temporarily in the old band hall on Beaver avenue, just back of the present Methodist parsonage, while College Township erected a new two-room building. Here Laird Holmes, the first school teacher in the community. "ruled with an iron hand." He says the 50 to 60 children came from all sections of College Township, and for six months of teaching he received $28 a month. The rule was the rule of the rod, which occasionally had been cleverly split by a knowing pupil so that it would break when used. The little agricultural college had been literally "planted" in the center of the state, and was, as Dr. Edwin Erle Sparks, then head of the preparatory department, put it-"equally inaccessible from all points." Dr. Erwin Runkle, in his history of the College, quotes an editorial from the Public Ledger, dated March 26th, 1859, "to call it near Boalsburg is not very clear, until one knows where Boalsburg is . . . but the school is not so near Boalsburg but that it was necessary to establish a (separate) postoffice . . ." The first attempt to answer the -ransportation problem was the establishment, according to an item in the Centre Press of Bellefonte, dated Sep- tember 10, 1858, of a thrice weekly stage via the Farmers' High School, from Bellefonte to Pine Grove Mills. The operator of this stage, according to Walter Ferree's history, was Benjamin Beaver. On July 1, 1859, there began a daily stage between Spruce Creek and the school. The daily stage, however, between the county seat and State College was discontinued in 1882. Instead, one came by train to Lemont or Struble's Station, and from there by private or public con- veyance. The college maintained a horse-drawn

18 bus for transporting students and visiting or resident dignitaries between the school and the rail terminuses. The Buffalo Run, Bellefonte and Bald Eagle Line, built in 1886 to carry out iron ore became the present Bellefonte Central. In 1892 a spur was built for passenger service into the college town. When the village finally did manage to get on the "main line" of the Bellefonte Central, it really was "on." An early University Inn ad in the Times states, "All trains stop on flag at the Inn," which was in addition to the regular stop at the station, about where the engineering units now are. The first local trucking service was conducted by Patrick Campbell, who hauled coal by mule team for the College from its very beginning. What an event it must have been when the won- ders of the outside world began arriving in the nineties, via the "modern" transportation provided by the Bellefonte Central freight service! ! Just as the horse and buggy continued to be the chief means of transportation to and from the un- named village, until well into the nineties, so did letters serve as the chief means of communication with outside points. Miss Sophia Hunter, as pre- viously mentioned, served as postmistress during the seventies, with one room of her home doing duty as the "office." On January 19, 1881, John W. Stuart was appointed postmaster, and the office was moved to his home and store which stood about where Beher's Hardware is today on East College avenue. He was succeeded in January, 1885, by Eliza Mitchell, and the office was again moved, this time to its own little building, a tiny cubicle built between what was then the Mitchell home and a store building, on present Co-Op Corner.

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BUILT ABOUT 1887. the Phi Gamma Delta house occupied the Southwest corner of Beaver avenue and Allen street where the Masonic building now stands. It later was moved around the corner to Highland Alley. In 1885 the "singing wires" made their appear- ance in the town, for in that year the Bell Tele- phone placed a toll booth in the College Hotel, simultaneously bringing both the telephone and telegraph here. The toll was 25 cents a call. through the exchange in Bellefonte. NEW HOMES AND HITCHING POSTS Although time and space do not permit men- tioning all the new homes built in the seventies and eighties, a few are noted here, to give the reader the outlines of the village at that time. Pugh street, designed by the first settlers to be the center of the town, became the center for private homes rather than for business. In 1877, Pro- fessor W. A. Buckhout built the first wing of his later spacious mansion on the southwest corner of Pugh and Beaver. Used in the 1920's as a fra- ternity house, and more recently as a rooming house, it was demolished in 1945 to make room for the Irven Mohnkern building. But in its day, it was the mecca for both town and gown affairs, and the center for social activities among the young people. Just south of the Buckhout house, on Pugh, was the Shivery place, which gained fame a little later as "The Fort," because a freshman barricaded himself within it and refused to come out for hazing. A barrage of vegetables shot from a campus cannon broke all the windows. The only house beyond it at that time was the Charles Foster home. On the present site of the SAE house, the former I. T. Osmond home was built about 1880. This house, in an excellent state of preservation, is now located on Highland avenue, between the John Henry Frizzell home and the Mrs. Mary Fos- ter home. Her husband, Robert Foster, had it moved there in 1915.

21 Dr. W. S. Glenn Sr. built his home on Pugh street, where his widow still resides, in the early eighties. He also built the home for his parents, which was torn down when the Glennland was begun. Between these two houses was the Billy Neidigh house, which is still standing. Today, across the street from these homes, is a large brick apartment house, which was also built in this period by a Mrs. Ruble and her son, Charles, as a private residence. It was later occupied by the Hiram Thompson family. From the eastern extremity of the village, (Mc- Allister street) going west on College toward Pugh street, were these homes: the Dr. T S. Christ house on the corner, the two Corrigan houses and the house built by Robert Foster Jr., next to the store he owned with Charles Foster. All of these buildings, except the Johnny Corrigan house on the site of the Photo Shop, are still standing. Although W. L. Foster (no relation to William Foster) did not build the town's first apartmeni house, on the southwest corner of Pugh and Col- lege, until 1894, his home, next to it, was built much earlier. Continuing west on College avenue, there was the John Stuart store,-he John Stuart house, the John Neidigh house, the Mifflin Snyder store and the Joseph Mitchell house. The Foster apartment building, and house, and the Stuart store are still there, in part, although their fronts and interiors have been greatly changed to pro- vide for modern store space. The old hotel stood on its present corner, with a couple of smaller buildings between it and the Sophia Hunter house. Except for a scattering of houses beyond, on Beaver avenue and on Allen street, that summarizes the residences of the town as of 1890.

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EI . 0..-' XW The shopper of the seventies and eighties could make the rounds in less than half an hour. There were but two stores, operated by John Stuart and Mif Snyder, a tailoring business conducted by C.B. Schaeffer and son, and a small bakery. The first meat market was on the campus, near the pig pen of the college barn-convenient enough for the first butcher, A. F. Markle. In 1887 it was moved to Pine and College, and in the nineties to the Charley and Bob Foster building. Miss Chrissie Krumrine kept milady's head on a level with the latest fashions, having opened a millinery shop over the Snyder store. It was not until the opening of the L. D. Fye store in 1906 that a "real" ladies' department store was housed locally. The Snyder store was headquarters. too, for what might be called the first drugstore, for here Dr. W. S. Glenn, Sr., the village's first resident physician, maintained a little office for signing prescriptions. Although Dr. Christ was the first physician to practice in town, he lived at what was known as "Puddintown." near present day Millbrook, not moving into the village until his later years. Late in the eighties, a brick yard flourished on the land where Winderest, the trailer camp, now houses families of ex-G.I's. It was here that bricks were made for use in the first brick buildings on campus-the armory, the old chemistry and physics building, and the mechanical arts building. For many years after it ceased operation, a large hole remained as evidence. Another brick yard, called the State College Brick Company, was opened July 29, 1904, by the Krumrines, and was located to the west of town, at Pine Hall.

ECHOES FROM EARLY CHURCH BELLS Religion, always a prominent factor in the village's history, was not housed locally until 1887

24 when the Methodists, because of congregational difficulties at Centre Furnace where they had been attending, erected a frame structure on the site of the present edifice. With a charter membership of 75, it was dedicated in February, 1889. but until the appointment of Rev. T. M. Riley as resident pastor in 1909, it remained on the Pine Grove Mills circuit. Its horizontally striped steeple is remembered by many as a landmark visible for miles. Also recalled-and with it the fear and trepidation - is its precarious lighting systemn consisting of kerosene lamp chandeliers pulled up and down by chains. A broken chain on several occasions almost succeeded in making it literally a "heated" sermon. With the dedication of its red brick and frame building in March, 1888, on the site of the present Reformed church, the Presbyterian congregation became the second to build locally. Their 58 charter members had been attending the church in Lemont. Of historical interest here is the fact that one of the earliest churches in this vicinity was the Pres- byterian church which stood on the site of the Branch cemetery, near Centre Hills. kt was of slabs, the benches rough-hewn of split logs, boast- ing no backs. Preachings frequently lasted two hours, parishioners attending in the winter months with their coats buttoned to their noses to keep from freezing. The Branch Cemetery, by the way, is the rest- ing place for many of the first residents and earlier faculty of this community. Here, too, is the grave of one of the first students to attend the College. A native of Louisiana, he died in the winter of 1861, and his tombstone bears the in- scription, ". . . died while attending the Farmers' High School of the Centre County in Pennsyl- vania . . ."

25 The first resident minister of the little village was the Rev. James Heaney of the Presbyterian church, who served from 1892 to 1895. The organization of the local church had been accomplished by the Eev. Robert Hamill. Many of the faculty and their families continued to attend the College chapel services on Sun- day. Chapel was held daily for the students, until 1924, and was compulsory until 1930. Other churches were organized a little later in the history of the town, and will be discussed under another period.

OF BOARDS AND BOROUGHS The next period of the history of the town was definitely one of organization. Between 1890 and 1915, the ground-work for most of the government, organizations, schools, churches and businesses as we know them today was laid. Impor- tant events followed one another in a breathless succession of "firsts." In forty years, always keeping pace with the College which gave it birth, the once-upon-a-time village corner had grown to quite a sizeable community. In fact, it was now sizeable enough to feel that it had a right to its own government, and the benefits of its own taxes which heretofore had been going into the township treasury, with little in return. Presided over by Laird Holmes, later the first tax collector and notary public, and burgess during the first World War, a public meeting "to which everybody turned out" was held to discuss the taking out of a charter. Many and stormy were the sessions before the proposition to incor- porate, or application for incorporation, was carried. The petition, signed by 75 property holders, 60 of whom were residents, was presented to the

26 Centre County Court during its spring session of 1896. The subsequent events of the incorporation are ably summed up by Waiter Ferree in his thesis. "The Court filed the application with the clerk and decreed that a notice of the intended incorporation of State College should be published in one newspaper in the County for a period of not less than thirty days before the fourth Monday of August, 1896. In the meantime, if the Court received no objection to the proposed incorporation by August 29, 1896, it would investigate the con- ditions and if the requirements of the law had been met, a charter of incorporation would be granted. "When the Court convened on August 29, 1896, since no objection to the proposed incorporation had been received, a charter of incorporation was granted, and the Borough of State College was formed." The first election of borough officers was held one month later, in the old band hall, with these results: Professor George C. Butz, president, W. A. Buckhout, J. H. Holmes Sr., A. A. Miller, H. A. Sauers, and F. B. Weaver. John W. Stuart served as judge of elections, and Dr. T. S. Christ became the first burgess. Many problems, which called for long sittings, confronted the "borough dads," as they are famil- iarly referred to in clippings from the Times of that day. The first ordinance, passed October 15 of the year of incorporation, was "to authorize the Central Pennsylvania Telephone and Supply Company to erect and maintain poles for telephone lines in the Borough of State College." The second ordinance, having to do with the regulat- ing of the sale of goods and wares, was shelved, and not passed until after many years of discus- sion pro and con.

27 Possibly one of the most amusing ordinances to us today is number nine, requiring residents keep- iag livestock to build fences. It was passed after the citizens had "expressed their wish that cows should not run at large, by a vote 109 against, 35 for." The earliest problems were street paving, sewage disposal, sidewalks, and financial and managerial organization. Times really haven't changed so much! Elected at the same time as the first Council, the first School Board was composed of A. F. Markle, J. P. Jackson, Joseph Hoy Sr., William Homan, with T. F. Kennedy, as president. With an enrollment of 120 pupils, the school had already outgrown the little two-room school building just off Heister street, on Calder alley. So, in October, 1897, the first four-room unit of the present primary building on Frazier street was completed, with funds procured through a bond issue for $8,000. The old school building was converted into a double dwelling by John Hamilton and is still in use. In less than ten years, an addition had to be made to the new building, so that in 1905 it was enlarged to its present size. The Times notes the date of July 19, 1901, as the beginning of the high school. It states, "The election of five instead of four teachers (by the Board, on that date) marks a step in advance-the establishment of a real high school, the graduates of which will be prepared to enter the freshman or sub-freshman class of the College ... A real want is met and the action will rno doubt have the approval of all ... " E. G. Booz was the fifth teacher referred to, whose new job of "principal and teacher of the high school" paid him fifty dol- lars a month. The other four were J. L. Holmes, grammar grade: Miss Ada Hayman, junior grade: Miss Ella Livingston. secondary: and Miss Carry Hoy, primary.

28 The first high school commencement was held in May. 1904. but it was not until after 1908. when the College discontinued its preparatory course which many of the secondary school age youth of the community attended, that the high school began to gain recognition and strength. Until 1907, there was but one teacher in the high school. One of the first acts of the newly elected Coun- cil was the appointment of a Board of Health, on October 8, 1896. The first Board, composed of Dr. W. S. Glenn Sr., L. E. Reber, Phil D. Foster, J. W. Stuart, and Joseph Markle, served well and faith- fully, as have the boards appointed since that time. From ridding the town of the "pigsty nuis- ance, whose nauseating odors disturb church wor- shipers," to planning a municipal garbage collec- tion, its problems have been myriad. For forty years, the little settlement around the state agricultural school. had been the "town without a name," so deciding upon a name became the chief subject for debate in the corner store and at miladies' teas. W. C. "Cal" Kline. who was born in a house at the rear of what is now the J. W. Henszey house on E. Hamilton avenue in 1861. recalls that some of the arguments got "pretty hot." Names high in the poll were "McAllister," "Nittany," and "Irvin," but the ma- jority chose to continue the custom-of calling-he town afterhe±ecolege, as had been done in the past. o, State _Colege it was, and is. "God in his bounteousness gave to this community scenery and an atmosphere that is pure and invigorating," wrote a reporter for the Times in 1900. "Pure atmosphere" was no problem, but a plentiful supply of "pure water" was. The village fathers had learned early that one cannot drink atmosphere. The College had temporarily solved its problem with the drilling of a deep well and

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C the installation of a pumping engine, as many who've seen the pictures of the old pump house which stood about where the engineering building is today will remember. Town residents depended largely upon their own wells and cisterns, but some "oldsters" will recall being sent with buckets to the old watering trough for water. This trough, which held the overflow from the pump house, was situated at the entrance to the campus, on Allen and College. Later, the Woman's Club erected a second watering trough, topped with a fountain, at the Mc- Allister street entrance. Mrs. C. E. Govier rescued the "fountain" when it was discarded, and has placed it in her yard. Finally. in 1893, the State College Water Com- pany, led by W. C. Patterson, John W. Stuart, Wil. liam and Thom Foster, J. C. Shugart, and William Frear. was formed. A line was laid to Shingle- town where a reservoir supplied the much needed "pure water." Soon pipe lines were laid on Col- lege avenue and other streets, and State College began to "modernize" with the conveniences. They made a fifteen-year agreementwwilh the borough to supply the water to the towrnat certain rates, in exchange for rights and rights-of-way. At the end of this time, the agreement was not renewed, but the company continued to supply the water satisfactorily for many years. IT WAS A WOMAN'S WORLD TOO Newcomers to the town marvel at the number of its organizations for its size. It is estimated that today there are more than fifty clubs, both civic and social, many of which were organized early in the borough's history. It is no wonder, then, that the little village of the nineties reflect- ed the atmosphere of the period-"gay." Leading the men's groups in point of time is the

31 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, founded in 1892. Following in 1899 was the Modem Woodmen of America, and in 1910 their auxiliary, the Royal Neighbors. The Masonic Order was established in 1920. One of the very important influences, civically and socially, on the infant borough, was the Wom- en's Literary Club, organized March 8, 1894, in the living room of Mrs. G. W. Atherton, the college president's wife. Although Mrs. Atherton served as its president from its founding until 1908, when she was made honorary president until her death in 1913, much of the organizing credit is due Mrs. Edwin Erle Sparks. Starting with 32 charter members, the club was admitted to the General Federation of Women's Clubs June 2, 1895, and to the State Federation on October 20, 1896. Dues were one dollar. The writ- ing and giving of program papers was considered part of the dues, so a few preferred to pay the five dollar fee for associate membership, which exempted them from this chore. Five cents was charged for tardiness to meetings. The first year, they confined their studies to American history "because one of the husbands was-specializing in it, and it was easier to get up the programs." While the ladies met with Mrs. Atherton, their husbands gathered at the same hour in the engineering building for their meeting of the "Scien- tific Society." Usually the husbands were finished with their business first, so that they waited for the ladies on the Athertons' porch. Frequently Mrs. Atherton served coffee and cakes to all. This was the porch which Mrs. Atherton had arranged to have built around a large tree by the corner of the house, because she couldn't bear to give up the beauty and shade of that tree! Although their projects for the good of the town

32 have been varied as well as numerous, one of the very first and most important was the establish- ing of a public library. According to the information received from an article written by Mrs. W. L. Foster, one of the oldest living members and a past president of the Woman's Club, it had its beginnings with a set of encyclopedias purchased by the club in January, 1898, and "chained to a table in the primary room" of the school (Frazier street). The Civic Committee took over the library project, and appointed Mrs. W. A. Buck- hout, Mrs. Denniston, Mrs. W. L. Foster, Miss Mary Foster, Mrs. J. P. Jackson, Mrs. Tudor, and Miss Mariah J. Penny to organize it. For many years Miss Penny acted as librarian, supplying her service gratis, and encouraging and advising the children to better leisure time reading habits. In 1911, the library committee called upon the community to lend a hand in supporting its project. On December 4, a public meeting was held in Old Main chapel, with Laird Holmes presiding, and the State College Public Library Association was formed. Dr. Erwin Runkle of the College faculty was made secretary, and Mrs. W. L. Foster and Miss Anna MacDonald, then of the state library staff in Harrisburg, gave untiringly of their time and advice. The first "paid" librarians were Miss Anna Roop and Miss Alice Maule, who conducted the library on a part time basis in a room in the Frazier street school. When finally turned over to the jurisdiction of the School Board, and moved to its present quar- ters in the high school in 1934, a library of more than 2,000 volumes had been collected. It is still the State College Public Library, but it has grown to 7,705 volumes, and has a circulation of about 1,000, principally among the elementary students. It subscribes to three daily newspapers and 42

33 periodicals. Although not to be compared with the college's library of 300,000 volumes and hun- dreds of periodicals, State College's Public Li- brary, nevertheless, ranks high among public and school libraries of its kind. Another worthy project of this first Civic Com- mittee was its aid in organizing a boys' club in 1910. Under the leadership of Frank Buchman, a Lutheran minister who was then secretary of the college YMCA, and later originator of the Oxford Movement, the boys met first in the old Mif Sny- der store building on College avenue. Here was maintained a reading room. Later they moved to the Holmes building on Allen street. Welfare seemed to be their program, but after a couple of years the club disbanded. The "Wild Flower Club" for the girls of the community was also sponsored by the Woman's Club and started in 1910. Their activities con- sisted largely of instruction in the culinary arts, and learning to "sew a fine seam." Today, the Woman's Club is still a main force in State College community life. With a membership of over 350, it is divided into five depart- ments-American Home, Art, Drama, Garden and Literature. ENTER PUBLIC UTILITIES It has been said of the Civic Committee of the Woman's Club, which was so active in guiding and improving the town, that the only project which they ever failed to accomplish was the establishment of a railroad through the town! Amusing as it may seem, there actually was a movement begun in the fall of 1904, called the Bellefonte Traction Company, which planned to run a trolley from Milesburg to State College, lay- ing tracks right down College avenue. They se- cured a right of way from the borough, but that

34 seemed to be "the end of the line" for the trolley idea, for history records no more of it. Closely allied to this company. and organized the same year. was the Nittany Heat, Light and Power Company, formed for the purpose of supplying the community with gas lights. George Graham says he bought the first street light for the village, and after much difficulty managed to hang it, by four supporting wires, "on the corner." But the students did not appreciate having the center of their activities so easily observed, and within two days had torn it down. That the town was in favor of better lighting is evidenced by a Times article of 1904, urging that more poles be erected along the streets "so that sober citizens, walking along the sidewalks, will not roll in the gutter." The Nittany Light, Heat and Power Company was first composed of Professors Fred E. Foss, Louis E. Reber, John Price Jackson, and James Hamill and the Rev. Charles Aikens, father of Claude Aikens. Power was supplied by "means of a suction anthracite coal gas producer, furnishing gas to a triple cylinder gas engine." The plant built in 1906, was located behind the present Nit- tany Printing plant and First National Bank. The M. S. McDowell home, 112 W. Beaver avenue, was the first private residence to be wired for electricity, and received its light from the College until the local plant was completed. Later, steam was used instead of producer gas and to use up the extra steam created, pipes were laid to furnish heat for several homes in the community. Coincidentally, in the same issue announcing the new electric lighting, the Times carried an item that "William Snyder had been engaged to light the lamps for one dollar for each lamp (gas) per month." To compete with the Bell Telephone Company,

35 the Central Commercial Telephone Company was organized in 1898 by William Thompson Jr. of Centre Furnace, N. E. Robb, Ellis Orvis and Frank Macinney, all of Bellefonte. and Professors Reber and Jackson of the College. Keen rivalry arose between the two companies. as quips such as these taken from the Times prove: "The Com- mercial had better hustle or the Bell will supplant them in no time." Or, "The Jones' have installed a Commercial 'phone. Score one for the Com- mercial!" The Bell, meanwhile, had moved to town, and established headquarters over Dr. Foster's present offices on Allen Street. So much pressure was brought to bear on Presi- dent Atherton by the Bell company, because of the participation of Professors Price and Reber in "private business," that they were forced to re- sign in favor of Rev. Aikens and John T. Mc- Cormick. The Commercial continued its opera- tions until January 1, 1926, when it was taken over by the Bell system. The Western Union company first -opened a local office in 1902, under the management of Clyde Shuey, one door east of Allen street, on College avenue. Thirty or forty messages received and sent in one day was about the average, as compared with today's average of about 350. On April 1, 1926, the offices were moved to the Martin building on East Beaver avenue, and ten years later to the present location in the Leitzell building on Allen street. Teleprinters, superseding the Morse code, have been in use since 1928.

THE PRINTER'S DEVIL Not long after the forming of the borough, it was found that there was more news than could be passed quickly from back fence to back fence and from clothesline to clothesline-there being more back fences and more clotheslines. The

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1^ Or Times was born May 12, 1898. George Washing- ton Burns is hailed as the pioneer newspaperman in State College, but ill health compelled him to leave in 1900. R. C. Burns and F. M. Krug then operated the paper for a year or two. The Times Printing and Publishing Company was formed in 1901, when Professors Foss, Reber, Jackson and Butz purchased the weekly. In 1905 Mr. and Mrs. M. R. Lawrence bought the Times, and remained with it until it again changed hands in 1916, when James Aikens, his nephew Claude G. Aikens, N. E. Hess and Wilson Ord became owners of the publishing company. Later in its history, R. J. Kennard became associated with Claude Aikens in the company, but today Aikens is the publisher and owner. From the brittle yellow pages of its first weekly issues, through its "new dress" as a tabloid sized sheet in 1904-1908; and including its first appear- ance as a daily on April 2, 1934, it has recorded the comings and goings of the people we know as neighbors, and the people we know only as national names. Time has rendered quaint such headings as "Well Known Tinner Becomes Solder- ed for Life," or "Grim Reaper Gathers Many Ripe Sheaves." News items of the earlier issues were more personal, and at times took on a moralizing note. For example, "several 'ladies' of a nearby community drove by horse and carriage to State College, stayed late and misconducted themselves so that if it happens again, their names will be published." Or, from an item noting that John Shope had taken the position of mail and expressman under Frank Crosthwaite (1901) " . . . John has always been a good boy, with hardly any chance to rise, and we predict success for him." John's proDhe- sied success is borne out by his retirement after forty years with the postoffice.

38 WHERE THERE'S SMOKE-THERE'S THE ALPHAS Finding the growing borough an ever-increas- ing fire hazard, since wood was the chief building material. a meeting was called for the organization of a fire company. George T. Graham was elected the first president, and Irvin C. Holmes the first "chief" at this session April 13, 1899, in the band room in the Holmes building on the present Metzger building site. During its first year, the company was known as the "Union Fire Com- pany," but since 1900 it has been the "Alphas." Throughout the years, the organization has been more than a fire company, as its records verify. It has been both a social and civic force in the community, particularly in its earlier years. A baseball team, organized in 1901, was but one of its projects. This was not the first town ball team, however, for the RMF'ers had made local baseball history in 1893. Dr. Fred Robison was secretary of this outfit sponsored by Robert M. Foster Jr. Two more popular projects, also begun by the company in 1901, were plays and minstrel shows. Nineteen hundred and one also saw the first use of fire signals. A company separate from the jurisdiction of the borough, it was chartered as The Alpha Fire Company, Incorporated, March 3, 1904. Earlier this same year, they had negotiated with Gen. James Beaver for the purchase of the land upon which the present Fire Hall is situated. Then began the serious business of raising a sum for the erection of a fire hall to house the accumulating equipment. By the long, hard road of festival and play, carnival and minstrel show, the company was finally able to appoint a building committee in 1908, and a building was erected. One of these plays, produced in the auditorium by the Knick-

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0 o 04 v IV0 erbocker Theatre Company, realized receipts ol $1,273.13, and a special train from Bellefonte was run in for the event. It was not until February of 1923 that motor- ized equipment took Old Dobbin's place racing to the fires. Ten years later, the company borrowed money on its own credit and added to its building. It has long since paid off the debt, through proceeds from the annual carnivals. Except for a club room, shower room, and space for its equipment, the Fire Hall is completely occupied by the Borough Council offices and the jail. Council pays a yearly rent to the fire company for use of this space. Equipment through gifts and purchases now includes three triple combination pumpers, one hook and ladder, and one squad truck. Its total evaluation reaches $24,000. Bruce Homan is the present fire marshall, and the membership is 100, which is the limit set by its charter. Entirely volunteer, the fire company members have never limited their services to fire fighting. They serve in auxiliary policing capacities at games for both the College and the high school; build emergency bleachers and standsjfor community events; render first aid in time of disaster; and teach fire prevention. One of the most recent of their activities has been the organizing and sponsoring of the Alpha Fire Company Community Ambulance Club. One of the best ambulance services in Central Penn- sylvania, it was instituted April 1, 1941, with Hu- bert Koch, president, John Henry Frizzell, vice- president, and Eugene F. Lee, secretary-treasurer. The maintenance of the $2,000 ambulance is accomplished mainly through subscriptions. Today, the club has 1,000 family memberships and 400 single, and operates over a radius of 100 miles. All

41 trips are made on doctors' orders or in emergencies. In the past five years the ambulance has made 592 trips for a total of 24.621 miles. The volunteer drivers have put in a total of 1,184 man- hours. Non-members may use the ambulance, paying according to the distance traveled. A DARING ROBBERY As towns of its size go, State College can boast a fairly crime-free record. Except for the murder of Rachel Taylor, College freshman, in the spring of 1940. crimes necessitating police action have been chiefly confined to petty thievery, forgery. drunkenness, and malicious pranks. Until 1908. it was not even thought necessary to build a jail. Our first officer of the law was George W. Taylor, appointed in 1896 to the duties of high constable. Following his three-year term. Thomas McMahan kept law and order. Many recollect that most of his day was spent sunning himself on a street corner, because there wasn't anything else to do-no parking meters in those days! Yes, those were quiet days, although Laird Holmes tells us that there were two murders in Johnny Corrigan's Union Hotel, but that was 'way back in 1885. And then there was the robbery of the postoffice on October 10, 1902-"one of the most daring robberies ever committed in Centre County," states the Times. This was when the office was housed on the ground floor of the W. L. Foster building (about where the Children's Shop is now), and John Stuart was again postmaster, succeeding Thomas F. Kennedy on September 18, 1897. Quoting further from the Times, ". . . the burg- lars blew open the safe and stole $2,280 worth of stamps and about $40 in money . . . Surrounded as the office is with dwellings-there being several families living upstairs, and the W. L. Foster

42 home not ten feet away," says the item, "none but men with great nerve and fully prepared to meet any emergencies which might occur would attempt to blow open a safe." The explosion was thought to be students firing off a cannon, "which is a common occurrence." A freshman, who had thought the two thugs on guard were sophomores, took a short cut to his room, on the run, and on hearing the explosion, did not venture out, "knowing that it was not safe for a frosh outside, at night!" Subsequent issues of the paper do not divulge who the thugs were, although some of the filched papers were found scattered "along the highway."

ROMANCE OF SOME OLD HEARTHSTONES A housing shortage has never been news in State College. From the very breaking of the ground for Old Main, when workmen employed on the building experienced trouble finding a rooming house, right down through to 1946, when ex-G.I.'s are forced to walk the streets in search of lodgings, adequate housing has been a problem. "For Rent" signs are a curiosity in this town. Many residents verify the fact that in 1903, and even earlier, students slept under trees on the zampus. Several young couples set up housekeep- ing in State College in a tent, as Mrs. W. W. Smith, widow of the first photographer, has re- lated. Even as late as 1912, George Green, newly arrived nature education teacher, and his wife occupied a tent on Hartswick avenue until Christ- mas, when a house was completed for them. In 1891, John Hamilton built his mansion home which he called "The Highlands." Hamilton had purchased a large farm from William Waring, the first agricultural superintendent of the school, in 1875. He had resigned in 1862, and moved to Ty-

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