By Serge Bielanko
Now that the weather is warming up, a walk outside in the fresh air sounds about right. And you’re in luck, too, especially if you’d like to hit the sidewalks of Bellefonte. You see, the historical tablet project which I wrote about for Bellefonte.com over a year ago, and which has been many years in the making, is continuing to thrive and grow. And, if you ask me, that’s something that makes walking around way more interesting than plain old exercise.
By now, you’ve hopefully already noticed some of these tablets that have been popping up since late 2017. A few feet in dimension and featuring original sketch renderings by local artists, the tablets stand alone, sometimes by old buildings like The Gamble Mill, and sometimes in places where the buildings are long gone, like the site of the former Bellefonte Academy.
These days there are more tablets noting even more of Bellefonte’s history on the way. With them, too, comes a variety of other history-related projects and visions that should help elevate our local understanding of one another through a communal celebration of our very shared past. As of right now, new street tablets are either freshly placed or are envisioned for such local landmarks as the Bellefonte Station, the Bush House, the Brockerhoff House, the old Bellefonte Jail, the Quaker Cemetery; the Girl Scout Little House; and the Knights of Columbus. Of course by the time you get to the end of this sentence, it’s easy to add other places and events to the list of possibilities.
What about this place? What about that one?
Well, it’s a good problem to have, I suppose, and for people interested in the history of their everyday surroundings, Centre County residents know no shortage of such spots. In due time, these tablets could multiply exponentially, helping each of us become more familiar with our home. And then hopefully: more invested in her future.
There’s a lot more, too. Besides the tablet project, I mean.
“Wea ve had 8 bronze-like Build Date plaques ordered with all building owners on the Historic Walking Tour being canvassed to document their buildinga s history,” explains local historical expert Susan Hoover, who along with her equally esteemed friend, JoAnn Knupp, is one of the architects of the tablets plan and beyond.
“Our project has even been asked for specific street addresses so they can be used as Geocache sites,” Hoover explains.
Geocache?!!?
Wait!
What!?!?
Excuse me for just one second to say, as an amateur Geocache aficionado married to an absolute Geocaching fanatic, this is super exciting news. Geocaching, if you’re not familiar with it, is a worldwide phenomenon that involves using GPS tracking coordinates to locate small caches hidden in interesting or unique places. Historical sites are popular cache locations. Last year during the pandemic’s early stages, when all we could do was go outside and stand far from others, my wife and I followed a geocache trail through old Centre County cemeteries It was one of the most interesting and immersive local history experiences I’ve ever had. There’s also a wonderful a Visit Centre Countya GeoTour you should check out when you can. Geocaching is also incredibly fun for kids too, so I think including geocaching in the evolution of Bellefonte’s history culture is pretty brilliant.
Okay, I digress.
Back to the Build Date plaques. “Wea re providing the Build Dates to Matt Maris for his Local Historia Walking Tours,” says Hoover. “Interest has certainly increased of late and we span building all the way from 1774 to 1930.”
Including Maris and his wildly successful Local Historia Walking Tours in this equation further proves the true greatness unfolding here.
First off, Mrs. Hoover and Mrs. Knupp, are both well-respected fixtures on the Bellefonte history scene, so they both know exactly what they’re doing. By locking proverbial arms with some of the best and brightest folks on the increasingly popular Central Pennsylvania history map, people like Maris and his Local Historia partner, Dustin Elder, the veteran historians are essentially ensuring that the new historical guard are both involved and invested in keeping the past alive. At the same time the younger set are shown well-deserved respect by the same folks who have been setting the stage for local historical interpretation for a long time now.
Of course, I’m not saying they are working together hand-in-hand on this particular project; they’re not. But the past and the future are in fact conversing here and guess what? That’s EXACTLY what happens when the best kind of historical teaching occurs.
For his part, Matt Maris is both grateful and excited for the prospects of the street tablet project continuing to come to fruition.
“The tablets and plaques are a wonderful and practical way to keep Bellefontea s history alive,” he reflects. “Out-of-sight out-of-mind can be especially true for historical sites.
They not only enable people to enjoy and learn local history at their own pace via self-guided tours but they are also excellent conversation starters for guided tours with Local Historia. They also give me anchors to include in my tour designs.”
And what about all the behind the scenes blood, sweat, and fundraising that goes into a labor of historical love like this? Surely he must know a little something about that himself.
“I think the efforts of those behind these markers to preserve local history are tremendous and very much appreciated by the community,” Maris says. “Even simply identifying a historic site, that a this was herea with dates is super important and gives people a starting point to learn more.”
In a lot of ways these tablets are seen on the surface as a solid tangible symbol of Bellefonte’s lasting contribution to Pennsylvania history, a contribution which often led this town to make waves on the national stage, and even the world stage. But beyond all of that, I’d say these signs are something even more. They are, I submit to you, tiny monuments to small-town community spirit surviving in a chaotic world, a world where such things are becoming scarce. Not in some nostalgic way either, mind you; nostalgia and history are two very very different things and we ought not ever confuse the two.
Yet, this tablet project is all a labor of love for those involved in making it come to like. No one makes money off the tablets as they are all free to enjoy, a gift to the people of Centre County from deep within the ranks of the local historical community. So we are lucky to have them (with more coming!) and owe quite a bit of thanks to all the local folks who made it happen and continue to make it happen through their tireless efforts and devotion to all things Bellefonte history.
I’m talking about JoAnn Knupp and Susan Hoover, the two area ladies who dreamed up this idea a few years ago.
I’m talking about local artists, Tara Mazurski and Scott Gardner, who each help create the original art featured on the tablets.
I’m talking about Susan’s husband, Gary Hoover, who is Executive Director of the Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce, but who also goes out of his way to make sure that a little known local writer (ahem) has all the information he asks for when it comes to writing an article about a project near and dear to his wife’s heart.
I’m talking about all the local business and property owners who are responding with enthusiasm to this project’s questions and proposals.
I’m talking about all the folks trying to help move some of this local history stuff into the public schools. There’s a move to do it afloat, and with the right people involved, it could help ensure that the next generation continues to explore, uncover, and redefine Bellefonte’s history in an ever-changing world.
I’m surely missing people and to you: I apologize but I thank you kindly still.
And I’m talking about each of you who stop to take in one of these tablets. Perhaps it happens on a comprehensive in-depth Local Historia walking tour of the town. Or maybe it happens out of nowhere, in the middle of some hot summer day, when the kids’ cones are dripping ice cream down their wrists and the air is so thick and still that all the ducks in Talleyrand seem like plastic decoys in the shade. Suddenly when you stop to read about what happened right where you are standing once upon a time, and in that precise moment: believe it or not: you are very likely making the world a slightly better place.
How?
By understanding. Or by at least TRYING to understand. By tossing ideas around in your head. By discussing the past with your husband or your Mom or your own children. And then by looking at the future through a slightly more informed set of historical lenses.
So support this tablet project whenever you get the chance. Hunt them down, read them, talk about them and help spread the word.
And remember this swift but powerful notion from the legendary American novelist, William Faulkner.
“The past is never dead,” he once wrote. “It’s not even past.”
