BELLEFONTE — On Oct. 23, 1949, the small town of Aaronsburg made national headlines when more than 30,000 people came together for one of the country’s earliest civil rights gatherings.

75 years later, “The Aaronsburg Story” and its day-long celebration of racial and religious tolerance remains as powerful and relevant as ever.

In 1786, Aaron Levy, a Jewish immigrant from the Netherlands, and one of the largest landowners in the state due to a post-Revolutionary War land boom, founded the village, naming it after himself.

Levy hoped to make the 334-acre tract of land in Penns Valley, known as Whitethorn Grove, the future county seat.

A member of the Jewish faith, Levy donated land in the community to the local, immigrant German Protestant congregation to establish a church. In addition to the land that Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church is built on, he also donated a pewter communion set to their small church, crafted by William Will, Philadelphia’s premier pewter smith.

While it was common at the time for real estate developers to allocate land for religious institutions and schools, the donation was seen as an act of goodwill, as it was made despite their differing religious beliefs.

On Oct. 23, 1949, in the aftermath of World War II as the world struggled to come to terms with the conflict’s horrors and find its path forward, the residents of Aaronsburg organized the Aaronsburg Story. They were assisted by Arthur H. Lewis, a former journalist and publicity aide to then-Governor James H. Duff, who believed that the story would resonate in the post-war world.

The pageant, entitled “The Issue of an Ideal,” reenacted the story of Levy’s generosity.

The pageant and panel carried a powerful message: that people of all backgrounds should embrace acceptance and cooperation, regardless of their differences.

The goal was to show, through the legacy of Levy’s generosity, that many rural Americans were tolerant and open minded.

“It involved everybody in Centre County: all the fraternities, organizations, churches. Penn State did all the props for the pageant. The governor was involved, and they brought speakers from all over – including the UN,” said local historian and author Evonne ‘Vonnie’ Henninger, who discussed the significance of the anniversary at this week’s Centre County Commissioners meeting.

According to the Centre County Historical Society, the pageant included speeches from Governor Duff, United Nations Mediator Ralph J. Bunche, Major-General William J. Donovan, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and NAACP activist Channing H. Tobias.

The event, one of the largest civil rights gatherings before the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, garnered attention from both the New York Times and Time Magazine, with the Times dubbing Aaronsburg “Tolerance Town.”

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the pageant, Salem Lutheran Church in Aaronsburg will hold a special service on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m.

In other business, commissioners:

— Proclaimed Oct. 21, 2024 as James Addams Beaver’s 187th birthday in Centre County.

— Approved additional services with MG Architects, Ltd. for design of East side parking expansion at the Human Services Facility, totaling $29,500.

— Approved a revised proposal with MG Architects, Ltd. for additional design services for lease space 3 at the Human Services Facility, funded by a Pennsylvania State Grant, totaling $14,250.

— Approved a contract with TMG Builders, Inc. for security upgrades at the Courthouse front entrance, totaling $9,800, to be added to next week’s Consent Agenda.

— Renewed a lease contract with State College Borough for MDJ 49-1-01 office for $4,805 per month from Nov. 1, 2024, to Oct. 31, 2027, with options for renewal, to be added to next week’s Consent Agenda.

— Various contracts renewed for mental health and drug/alcohol services, including:

Crossroads Counseling, Inc., $31,000 for mental health services at the Centre County Correctional Facility; Focus Behavioral Health, $20,000 for community support and transportation services; Terrapin House, $12,100 for housing transition services; Values Into Action, $12,100 for housing services; Skills, Inc., $214,606 for mental health and intellectual disability services; Centre County Youth Service Bureau, $142,733 for mental health services; Peerstar, LLC, $68,000 for peer support services; Community Services Group, $41,000 for mental health outpatient services; Crossroads Counseling, Inc., $145,000 for drug and alcohol services; Centre County Youth Service Bureau, $612,666 for drug and alcohol prevention services.

— Approved this week’s consent agenda.

— Approved a letter of support for SEDA-COG’s Build to Scale Grant application for Project SUCCEED (Sensors, Ultrasound and Chromatography for Collaborative Economic Expansion and Development).

— The Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, has been canceled due to the General Election.