Around Town – Page 3 – Mary's Musings

Memorial Day 2022 is Happening!

After two years of having to cancel our Memorial Day activities here in Boalsburg, we are pleased to be able to say…it will be happening in 2022! Boalsburg is one of just a few towns to proudly claim to be the originator of “Memorial Day” activities. If you’d like to learn more about the history of Boalsburg, see www.historicboalsburg.com.

In 2020, all summer events around here were cancelled around here…from Memorial Day through the 4th of July to the various Arts Festivals throughout the summer. In 2021, we were able to have the brief service at the cemetery to honor military veterans and loved ones, but the community-wide events were cancelled again. I’m sure they were cancelled near you too. This year, we are ready to resume the 5-day event, culminating on Monday, May 30, 2022, with our Day in Towne activities.

We are pleased that almost 100 vendors have committed to joining us for the day-long celebration. Leading up to Memorial Day, we have the Boalsburg Fire Company-sponsored carnival beginning on Thursday, May 26 through Monday, May 30.

Saturday will be the parade and Sunday will be the more serious Walk to the Cemetery, re-enacting the very first time three local women honored their loved ones who had died by decorating their graves.

The outdoor service on Sunday, May 29, will be held near the Zion Lutheran Church.

Activities on Monday, May 30 will be offered from one end of town to the other. The Boalsburg Heritage Museum on one end of Main Street will offer tours of the Museum and grounds, soup and pie for sale and musical entertainment for visitors. You can see their website at www.boalsburgheritagemuseum.org. If you’d like to see pictures from my tour of the Museum, see my story at https://marykisner.com/exploring-the-boalsburg-heritage-museum/.

Our vendors will have unique items for sale along Main Street and Church Street, with musical entertainment on the Diamond in the middle of town. At the other end of town, the Boal Mansion and Christopher Columbus Chapel will also offer tours, food and musical entertainment on their grounds. If you’d like to check out more about the Boal Mansion, see www.boalmansion.com/.

Memorial Day in Boalsburg is truly a community-wide event. We’d be pleased to have you join us for the festivities!

Please leave comments or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Exploring the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store

Are you thinking about spring cleaning, or at least cleaning out your closet and dresser drawers? Do you wish you could just box up tired decorating items and pass them off to someone without having to set up a garage sale? It’s unacceptable for me to just toss things in the trash to be buried in a landfill. It would be nice if someone could benefit from my cast offs. I started exploring places in my area where I could donate these items. Of course, Goodwill stores seem to be in every community, but I had also heard about the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift store in State College. I decided to check it out yesterday.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international organization of lay Catholics, called to serve the poor in local communities. The most important activity they do is to work with folks in need by providing material assistance such as rent, utilities, food or clothing, job training and emotional support. In south central Pennsylvania (Centre, Blair and Cambria counties) there are eight thrift stores, five food pantries, two food distribution warehouses, a youth ministry program, and two Family Kitchens! Their major fundraising activity is their network of Thrift Stores around the world. Donations of money, clothing and small household items are accepted and sold to support their work. The money stays in the local community.

The local Thrift Store has 140 volunteers who collect, sort, price and sell tons of donated items. Even the managers are unpaid volunteers! You can read more about the beginnings of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at https://ssvpusa.org/ and about the State College store at https://stvincentstatecollege.org/.

The St. Vincent de Paul State College Thrift Store recently (2019) moved to a large building on the Benner Pike. It shares the building with Dick’s Homecare and is near the new Centre Crest facility. My specific goal was to see what they had so I had a better idea of what kinds of things I should donate.

A small display in the entrance area with more information about St. Vincent de Paul and local support.

Entering the store feels like entering a quality Boutique! It does not feel like a Thrift store or a flea market. Very nice!

I was able to talk with the manager on duty who was very clear what kinds of things they accepted…clothing and accessories and small household items. Larger appliances and furniture would be passed on to Centre Peace…another charitable organization nearby. I think I’ll check them out soon. Prices were very reasonable…I was able to get a silk scarf for $1.00.

Framed photos and prints all around the room.

Can you believe wedding dresses! I should have come here two weeks ago! Many dresses were priced at $50.

Donations of vintage items are displayed together.

Volunteers in the back room sorting away!

What wonderful service in this community! Selling items like these keeps them out of landfills, offers bargains to one and all, and the profits benefit the local community! A win all around!

So, if you are wondering where to donate your gently used clothing and household items, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store will gladly help you out. If you’re looking for bargains to redecorate or add to your wardrobe, the Thrift Store may have just what you’re looking for! If you need assistance with anything, give them a call. If they can’t help you, they are well connected in the community to help you find what you need! Here is their contact information:

So, let’s get started on cleaning out all our “stuff” now that we know a place to pass them on! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Exploring the Boalsburg Heritage Museum

Yesterday I attended an Open House at the Boalsburg Heritage Museum. This is truly a hidden treasure in our small community. I’ve known about it for years but had not managed to make the time to explore the building and grounds.

At least 40 years ago, when I was teaching elementary school in Boalsburg, one of my colleagues was actively involved in helping her young classes learn about the history of the local area. These youngest students would learn to read using stories about the “olden days” in Boalsburg. She was instrumental in developing curriculum materials and organizing field trips to see the artifacts to learn how folks lived in the Boalsburg area back in the late 1800’s. Ruth Corter’s advocacy stimulated community interest in collecting and preserving tools, household items and stories in a museum that could be enjoyed by all residents of the area. Her work inspired us all!

In 1983, the Sarah Sweet house was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Aikens who presented the property to the newly formed Museum Association as a gift. The property of the Sarah Sweet House, currently the site of the Boalsburg Heritage Museum includes the house itself along with the Light House, the 2008 rebuild of the Bank Barn, and the Summer Kitchen. You can read more details about how the house and property became the Boalsburg Heritage Museum as their website, https://boalsburgheritagemuseum.org.

I’d like to share a few special displays that I found in my exploration of the museum.

How wonderful to see this tribute to Ruth Corter (1907-1997) presented in 1996:

If you’d like to know more about Ruth, you can see her obituary at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86721164/ruth-h-corter. She was a most inspiring educator!

The first room in the Museum had information about how ice was collected and stored before electric refrigerators were common. The displays about the process and the giant tools used to cut and collect the ice were very interesting.

I love the display of the ice box with instructions to the housewife:

Many musical instruments were showcased, from brass instruments from the Boalsburg Brass Band (around 1861-1865) to the Parlor organ:

Who knew Dr. Richard Ishler (our family doctor) and his wife donated this Parlor organ!

One of the upstairs bedrooms was set up as a one-room school. I found this interesting, since both of my parents and my grandfather taught in one-room schools. Mother shared many stories about being a “city-girl” trying to adapt to a “rural school” setting, with keeping the stove fire going and handling all the grades in one room. Some of her students were bigger than she was!

And of course, what child in 1900 wouldn’t want to play with this doll house!

I took the time to see the “Summer Kitchen” in a separate outbuilding near the back of the house. I could imagine all the bread and stews that were cooked in that kitchen!

On a nice day this summer, I’ll explore more of the outbuildings. For this tour, the drizzling cold rain limited my tromping around.

Please check the Museum’s website for more information. They are an integral part of our yearly Memorial Day activities and offer a wonderful look into our past.

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Exploring an Indoor Yard Sale or Flea Market

Yesterday I spent the day helping with the indoor yard sale sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary to the Boalsburg Fire Company. The fire hall was filled with tables that were rented out to individuals in the community to display their own items for sale. This was closer to the Flea Market model. I helped with the table displaying items from the members of the Ladies Auxiliary.

Sales formats of markets could be classified by size…like yard sales (with one seller), flea markets (with many individual sellers), or estate sales (providing the goods from one family estate); or by the kind of goods, like hand crafted items, glassware or tools.

It is easy for me to get overwhelmed when I first go to a sale. So many neat things available, so many choices! I am easily distracted by things that folks have offered for sale. Of course, I really don’t NEED any more stuff, but as a crafter and seamstress, I’m especially attracted to beautiful things other creative people have made.

Often, I’ll find evidence of the kinds of things folks collect, from glassware or jewelry to puzzles and collector dolls.

Red ruby glassware reminded me of my mother’s collection. Luckily, I have enough so I wasn’t tempted to add to my collection!

I especially enjoy talking with the sellers. It’s fun to find out where they find their items, what motivated them to collect certain items or how they made the items for sale.

I managed to control myself and found only a few things that just had to come home with me.

Of course, a handmade tote bag was first on my list. A wonderful visit with the seller made it even more enticing. I truly can appreciate the work that went into this bag. Thanks Susan!

Then I found three books hidden under a pile of paperbacks. Not bad for 50 cents each!

The grandkids might find this book interesting. I know I will!

It would be so easy to fall in love with many items offered for sale, like old toys that I remember from long ago or a beautiful glass vase that would just go with my decor. However, at this stage in my life I must remember I still have a lot of stuff in my cupboards that should probably grace a yard sale table at some point!

I also enjoy exploring yard sales and flea markets for items I can repurpose, like the vintage hankies I picked up at the Apple Hill Antique Store (see https://marykisner.com/finding-vintage-fabric-at-apple-hill-antiques/).

Yesterday, I resisted picking up things I would never use and went with the lovely tote bag I will use and some books the grandkids might enjoy reading.

Explore a yard sale or flea market near you! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Wonderful Lunch with High School Friends!

It’s been 57 years since I graduated from high school (hard to imagine, I know!). My small circle of close friends from those days are now scattered around the world and of course, many have passed on. However, a core group of folks who stayed or returned to the area, like Bert and I did, have managed to maintain or reestablish friendships over the years. Some of our parents stayed in the area and provided that link for many of us to connect again.

I’m not sure how long this group of women has been getting together once a month, but I discovered the group after our 50th high school reunion. What fun this has been for me!

Each month we meet at a local restaurant and enjoy an hour or two of great conversation. This month we met at Way Fruit Farm just outside of State College.

I took a lot of pictures and then discovered their website had similar pictures with detailed descriptions of how they started and the many activities they offer for the public. I had no idea they had been in business since 1826! Six generations have been on the property for almost 200 years and each generation has expanded or updated their products and the way they sell or distribute them.

If you are interested in learning more about them, check their website for their history and current offerings at www.wayfruitfarm.com. They are on Rt. 550 just north of State College.

While I waited for the girls to arrive for lunch, I took a few pictures around their store. They have certainly expanded since I was here last.

Seasonal items, from pumpkins to apple butter.

Great diagram of what produce is available and when.

Huge cabbages for sale…looked like bowling balls!

Pancake mixes, local maple syrup and honey.

Bulk baking items, like flour and sugar, so you can bake with all that yummy produce!

Local artists have a place to share their photos.

Even old fashioned “penny candy” for sale.

Old fashioned soda…just like we remember from years ago.

The lunch counter offers soups, sandwiches and baked goods to order.

With our group of 13 coming, we needed to move some tables together!

Very informal picture of some of us…I’ll keep it small!

This was a great way to rekindle old friendships and enjoy a good lunch! Thanks to all my old and new friends from high school for great conversation!

Check out local farm markets near you…you may find hidden treasures of food and fun! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Stopping by 224 Ridge Ave., State College

For several years I’ve been wanting to stop by the home I grew up in (224 Ridge Avenue) to take some pictures. My family moved to State College in 1947. My sister, Jean, was ten years old and my brother, Mark, was seven. I was born in November of 1946, so I was just six months old when we moved from New Jersey.

When my mother passed away in 1988, Dad moved to Foxdale Village in State College. The home has had several owners in the last 30 years and it has been remodeled and updated over those years. While Dad had some contact with the folks that first bought the house from him, after a year or two he felt he didn’t need to stay in touch with subsequent owners.

The house was a Sears, Roebuck & Co. craftsman home built in 1926. Here are some pictures I have of the house around the 1950’s.

The back porch with Paul, Jean, Ruth and me! Mark must have taken the picture.

The side yard. The house next door had not been built yet.

The front yard looking toward Atherton Street. Check out the car on the street!

In the 1960’s Dad had the house remodeled inside and out. The front porch was enclosed with huge windows and a fireplace. The back porch was turned into a landing that led to an enclosed room with lots of windows that became Dad’s office. I don’t know exactly how long the construction lasted, I just remember having to step over construction materials as I went through the back door in my senior prom dress!

The front door was relocated to the left side of the house.

I’ve been able to check the property out on Google over the years and lately I noticed the most recent renovation drastically changed the roof line of the house. Obviously, an addition to the back of the house increased the living space of the structure. I think a second story was added to the room my Dad used as an office. Here are two screen shots from Google maps:

Side view. You can see the windows of the dining room, but I don’t think the footprint of the house has been changed.

I stopped by the house this week to take some pictures. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. So much for thinking I could see the inside of the house!

First, I checked out the front steps…I know when the concrete was poured on the steps in the 1960’s, I signed my initials and placed a 1964 penny there. I guess it’s been covered up. These steps look much better!

I saw this plaque by the front door:

From the porch, looking down the driveway to the garage, the view is certainly filled with green plants.

When I turned around to go to the front sidewalk, I realized how HUGE the tree in the front yard was! I don’t even remember if there was a tree there at all. There may have been a large pine tree there when I was much younger. This tree has to be almost 30 years old, but it’s beautiful.

The people living here certainly like lots of plants and privacy hedges.

When I stood back closer to the curb to take a side picture, I can barely see the brick chimney on the right with the overhang from the tree in the front yard. Yellow siding and white painted brick certainly changes the whole look of the house. However, it is the best kept house on the block.

The Adams house next door is still there but doesn’t look like it’s been upgraded at all. Next to that is the brick apartment house on the corner of Burrows Street. From the evidence of assorted stuff outside the house, it looks like student housing.

As I drove down Atherton Street toward Boalsburg I was stopped at the light at Atherton and College Avenue. Imagine my surprise to see giant high rise apartment buildings on either side of the intersection! Things have certainly changed! I guess I should drive through town now and then just to keep up!

I guess things stay the same only in our memories! To my family, I hope you enjoyed the updated pictures of 224 Ridge Avenue! To everyone else, treasure the memories you have of the places you’ve lived! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Finding Vintage Fabric at Apple Hill Antiques

I’ve always been interested in vintage fabric. So many things left in attics and estate sales remind us of life in by-gone times. Those days folks did not use disposable paper products the way we do today. Now, I’m hoping to never need to figure out how to do without toilet paper, but I remember the days before paper towels, paper napkins and Kleenex. I still have an assortment of beautiful handkerchiefs, cloth napkins and dishcloths from my mother. The dresser scarves and crocheted doilies seemed to be everywhere in my grandmother’s home. I have found many similar items in antique stores and flea markets. Besides representing how my parents and grandparents functioned in their homes, I find them a great resource of one-of-a-kind beautiful fabric.

I recently visited Apple Hill Antiques in State College. This large warehouse-size building is divided up into individual sections for individual sellers. This building used to be the local roller-skating rink back in the 1970’s and 80’s. I have fond memories of learning to skate with my kids back then.

If you like to wander through small shops with an assortment of items, Apple Hill Antiques is a great place to visit.

Usually, I find it helps to focus on a specific time period or a specific kind of item from toys, glassware, furniture or textiles. Otherwise, I find the mixture of items overwhelming. When I focus on vintage fabric my eyes look for a certain kind of display.

Some items, like quilts, are displayed tucked into trunks.

Things like handkerchiefs and napkins are often piled into baskets.

Larger items like hand towels and tablecloths are often hung on hangers or racks.

I have a project in mind this time–Christmas Ornaments–so when I stopped by, I focused on smaller items. I was looking for edging on handkerchiefs or embroidery on hand towels. A few crocheted doilies looked promising.

Here is an example of what I hope to make…enough to give as gifts at Christmas:

Therefore, I’m looking for unusual edging on handkerchief or interesting doily patterns.

Apple Hill Antiques is a great place to spend time…to relive the past or to search for special items for your own collections. Here’s their flyer with more information:

You could even join their mailing list:

A great way to spend some time! Enjoy!

Please leave a comment or email me directly if you have questions at marykisner@comcast.net.

California Family in Pennsylvania

Ted’s family has been visiting us from southern California for the last two weeks. It’s been two years since we’ve been able to give them all a hug! Luckily, Ted is able to work remotely and Erin is a teacher and can travel in the summer. The girls are 15 and 12. We try to plan a few activities but mostly we let them explore the area as they like.

Here are some photos of their visit. (Thank you, Erin, for having your camera ready…you took some wonderful pictures of your activities!)

Of course, no visit to Boalsburg is complete without a guided tour of the Boal Mansion Museum & the Christopher Columbus Chapel.

Near the Mansion are lots of new trails with blueberries along the way.

It was time to bake a cake to celebrate birthdays!

Happy Birthday Erin, Annika and Aislinn!

The girls were very helpful at bean picking time!

There are always lots of craft projects at Grandma’s house.

We had to try my new soap molds. (Gee, I look like I’m gritting my teeth! I wasn’t, really!)

They couldn’t resist the local swimming pool. Lots of updated stuff since they were here several years ago.

Ted remembers learning to swim at Whipple Dam, so they had to check it out.

…but who can resist a game of horseshoes!

They couldn’t come to see Grandpa without a little shooting!

And of course, a trip to the Penn State Creamery was necessary!

They said the Creamery offered only one size of ice cream cone! Riiight!

Can’t come see Grandma without checking out the greyhound kennel on the edge of town.

This hound got special attention from Aislinn.

The most exciting event of their visit seemed to be the huge thunderstorms we had this past week! California is dry right now and all that rain invited dashes off the porch to feel the rain.

Three power outages gave us a chance to light all the lamps and remember why most people went to bed at dark way back then. Of course, we all had backlit e-readers and phones, so we were fine!

The rainbows after the storms were impressive!

That concludes some of the adventures with our California kids and grandkids! They will head out tomorrow to get home in time to get ready for a new school year. It was a great visit!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Scaled Down Summer Festivals

This is the second year that our large local summer festivals were cancelled. Even though things are finally opening up, large festival schedules had to be finalized in March. So, all Memorial Day activities, from the Fireman’s carnival and parade to the huge craft fair that usually attracts over 130 vendors, were cancelled. The 4th of July fireworks and day-long celebration had to be reduced to having a smaller fireworks display incorporated into a minor league baseball game.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts (https://arts-festival.com) that is held in downtown State College and The Peoples Choice Festival (https://peopleschoicefestival.com) usually held in Boalsburg in July was cancelled for the second year in a row.

It has been interesting that smaller community festivals are being organized around the county to fill the empty weekends. These smaller venues are easier to plan, attract smaller crowds and give folks a place to celebrate getting back to normal.

This weekend in Boalsburg, on the grounds of the Columbus Chapel & Boal Mansion Museum (https://www.boalmuseum.com) a small festival was set up for a few vendors to share their wares. Ted’s family and I checked it out and got to see the inside of the Boal Barn that is under renovation. We had a few food choices, some interesting items for sale and time to wander the Boal Mansion property. A beautiful day was served up by Mother Nature and we feel like we’ve had a break from isolation. Hopefully, something resembling “normal” will develop over the next year. Here are a few pictures of the Boal Mansion “Antiques, Arts & Crafts” festival:

The Boal Barn is being renovated and will be air-conditioned.

One granddaughter found a lovely ring at this booth.

Had to make sure to show Bert this picture of this PRR Lock with Key. He has several but he’s always interested in what’s out there.

During the weekend, I let my granddaughters loose with my polymer clay. I think someday I might see their art creations at a festival someplace!

Sometimes the BEST festivals are with family! Enjoy your local festivals!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Memorial Day in Boalsburg, May 31, 2021

Memorial Day in Boalsburg, for those of us who live here, usually involves multiple days of the Fire Company’s Carnival; a parade through town; a full day of activities throughout the downtown area, with over 130 venders selling crafts and food; music on the Diamond; and tours of the Heritage Museum, the Boal Mansion Museum and the Pennsylvania Military Museum. Thousands of people descend on the area each Memorial Day holiday. Until last year, when everything was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic ravaging the country.

Last year when events were cancelled, it was decided to still hold the simple program honoring Memorial Day, with a brief service that was conducted by key people in the community. Our lost loved ones were still honored and the graves were decorated, just as they had been since 1864.

A statue of the three women who first decorated the graves of their loved ones in 1864.

This year, the decision to hold or cancel events had to be made in early April and at that time States and communities were in different stages of opening up to travel and group gatherings. Thus, the large group festivities were cancelled again, except for the Memorial Day service. Tonight, there will be a simple service honoring all the loved ones who were lost during war time. The graves are now decorated, just as they have been since 1864. It’s a beautiful sight to see the church yard all decorated with flags and flowers. It really keeps the meaning of the holiday front and center in our minds. If you’d like to know more about Boalsburg, go to http://historicboalsburg.com.

This year, Kathy, her mother-in-law Karen, Ben and Anna spent the day with me in Boalsburg. With only a few extra people in town we were able to enjoy touring the Boalsburg museums and appreciate the whole meaning of the holiday.

We started at the Pennsylvania Military Museum. We first saw a 10-minute video of all the action seen by Pennsylvania service men and women over the years. The kids loved the big tanks and the gift shop (of course!). To learn more about this museum, go to http://pamilmuseum.org.

We had a private tour of the Boal Mansion Museum and the Columbus Chapel. Amazing backdrop to the whole history of the area. Incredible artifacts and documented stories of the Boal family genealogy that would be of interest to historians as well as locals. It’s only been the last five years or so that so much material has been unearthed and documented. An amazing treasure trove! To see information and many more photos about this site, go to http://boalmuseum.com.

We ended our day with dinner at Duffy’s Tavern.

A great visit with my family! Happy Memorial Day to all of you! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.