Here come more fascinating Lock Haven City notable “People of the Past:”

ANNIE SNYDER

Artist Annie Snyder (1852-1927) was a favorite olden-days character. She grew-up on a Salona farm and exhibited a talent for painting. She first experimented with red barn paint applied to stray boards.

Salona was also the home of Nancy Kulp (Jane Hathaway) a regular character on an old TV show (The Beverly Hillbillies) that ran for nine seasons.

Ms. Snyder’s still-life studies of fruit and flowers and copies and classical masterpiece adaptations can be found throughout the country.

I came upon an 1872 Snyder oil painting (Bourgereau’s Nymphs & Satyr) in the Lock Haven Elks Poker Room that had been severely damaged by the 1972 Agnes flood.

Realtor Machell Alexander-Bressler suggested I purchase the piece. I retained a New York City restoration expert and today it hangs in the Poorman Gallery (Second Lock Haven Church at 352 E. Water St.) next to the Clinton County Historical Society (Heisey House).

Other Snyder paintings can be viewed in the Lock Haven Masonic Home on East Main Street. Her beautiful works sell on-line at prices substantially greater than the original price of 25 cents!

Ms. Snyder’s pictures were popular, especially animals such as horses, cows and sheep that she recalled from childhood. She also painted deer, rabbits and other exotic creatures. Snyder was so successful with her work that the late D. K. Shadle (Shadle’s Department Store) collected her art. Today she is ranked among internationally famous artists.

Snyder’s paintings also grace many church sanctuaries in the area.

HONORABLE JOSEPH A. SIMON

Musically inclined Joseph A. Simon (1881-1943) lived in this city that boasted the Opera House Stage, located on the second floor of the former E. Main Street Opera House (Senior Apartments). The apartments replaced the original Opera House that once housed Davis Restaurant, Chip & Eddies Cafe, Janet’s Restaurant and Lock Haven’s first Chinese Restaurant. A sliver of the original Opera House (George Mason Drug Store, Keystone TAXI and now Governor’s Antiques) still stands on the corner of Grove and East Main Street.

Joseph A. Simon, a leading participant in the musical life of the vicinity, also represented Clinton County in the state legislature.

Simon’s family conducted a wholesale grocery business known as Simon’s Sons that was managed by his mother and brothers, Milton and Paul.

This Simon is not to be confused with German immigrant Amelia Simon, who occupied the existing Penny Lane/Simon Building that I restored on East Main Street next to OIP.

During the heyday of music performances (Kerness or Minstrel shows), Simon directed several orchestras (Germania and Lyrics). Oftentimes with dancers, these orchestras played for many events throughout the community.

The area also boasted many drum and bugle corps (Lancers and Black Knights) and abound with art and music. Today, its summer stock theatre (Millbrook Playhouse) is an esteemed destination for professional actors.

ADAM C. DICKEY

Adam Dickey (1883-1967) began a business career in the City as a drayman. He was a hard worker and leading businessman who operated the Dodge Automobile Agency on Bellefonte Avenue (Dickey Building). This three-story building sat adjacent to Colonel Sanders, between the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and the City’s only flat iron building, at the west end of that block.

I recall Dad going to Dickey’s office, which was a gathering place for the neighborhood where stories, jokes and political views were shared.

Mr. Dickey (Dickey School) was a leader of the Republican Party and a civic-minded citizen involved in organizations throughout the community.

Many folks referred to Dickey as “the real Mayor of Lock Haven” and he worked closely with Wilson Poorman, Secretary of the Motor Club, to uphold his regime.

Dickey ordinarily eliminated his necktie and wore rumpled clothes. He only dressed one day of the year (Republican Lincoln Day Banquet.) Dickey also worked closely with the Governor’s Office in Harrisburg.

When area problems arose, people often contacted Mr. Dickey who would hold a solution. He had a daughter, Eleanor, who operated the Dickey Garage on Vesper Street for many years.

J. FRANK

PUDERBAUGH

J. Frank Puderbaugh (1894) was a teacher, athletic coach, principal and superintendent (better known as J. F. or Pop) who was followed by Mr. Hock and Mr. Hoy. Selecting individuals from ‘Peek at the Past’ was difficult because many old-timers were interesting.

Mr. Puderbaugh accepted an award from the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Association for his state football championship win against Harrisburg. Many students knew him at Lock Haven High School.

Pop, from Altoona, graduated from the Carlisle Dickenson College where he met his wife and became a teacher of Biology.

Puderbaugh served as chairman of the Community Celebration of Lock Haven Centennial Anniversary in 1933 and in 1983, he was a participant in the Sesquicentennial Celebration.

ANTHONY RINELLA

Anthony Rinella (1887-1974) and his family were engaged in many local businesses. His granddaughter, Addie, operated successful shops on East Main Street with sons, Tony and Pete.

Anthony was known to sell fresh fruit throughout the community. At one time Rinella’s Market was located on the corner of Vesper and East Main Street (Pinch-N-Poke Tattoo Studio). This corner room housed many successful businesses (John Marshall’s Men’s Store).

Mr. Rinella operated his fruit distribution center in a building (Sweeney Floral Shop and Greenhouse) next to Marconi’s Service Station, across the street from Adam Dickey’s Dodge Automobile Agency.

EDGAR F. HEFFNER, SR.

Edgar Heffner (1874-1953), Lock Haven Mayor and druggist, occupied my office building. This structure, with “Historic Lock Haven” letters, sits on the corner of Grove and East Main Street (Widmann Drug Store, Addie’s Gift Shop and Radio Shack). It became a corporate office for my chain of 17 Big Red Note music stores and ironically, today my private office is located in the very same suite once occupied by a local music instructor, Earle Kenneth Mayes, where I studied for ten years. Hiking up the 22 steps brings back fond memories of being five years old.

Dentist Dr. Brown and KCSD had offices on the second floor. In earlier years, the upper floors of City buildings were utilized. I retained Architect Charles Grieb and Contractor George Hendricks to construct the office and store complex on the first and second floors (Momoyo Otsu Clothing).

The first floor (Hilton and Heffner Drug Store) offered a CO2 soda fountain and their Cherry Cokes and Hot Fudge Sundaes have never been replicated.

Heffner, until the 1930 Great Depression, was a long-time President of the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Society and active in Clinton County civic and business organizations.

Heffner strongly supported a transfer of the Piper Aircraft Plant and Airport from Bradford, Pa., to Lock Haven. He and the Piper family were close allies during the start-up of Piper and it’s said he convinced local banks to fund the operation for $90,000.

Mr. Heffner is interned at Highland Cemetery.

BENJAMIN SNOWISS

Benjamin Snowiss (1890-1966), another fascinating individual, passed away suddenly on the golf course at Clinton Country Club during his second round.

Snowiss lived in the City for many years and participated in most facets of the community. He was born in the Polish corridor, a strip of land battled over by Germany and Russia for decades. In 1905, at age seven, he and his family immigrated to America.

After the war, Mr. Snowiss purchased a raw fur business from the owner of a hide house at the corner of Hanna and East Clinton Streets. His business was buying furs from trappers and hunters. It became one of the first major City-industries and was eventually located on North Fairview Street in a long brick building, the Silk Mill, that was demolished when the local university acquired the same to construct student housing (the Fairview Suites).

Snowiss, who invented a fur strip device that stretched across the width of a silk loom without touching the newly-woven surface of the silk fabric as it went through the weaving process, also operated in a 935 Bellefonte Avenue building (M&R Contracting, Inc.). He had a son, Alvin, who passed away this May. The fur device invention made Benjamin and Alvin Snowiss wealthy men.

Alvin also gave back to the community. Born in 1930, he graduated from Lock Haven High School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He practiced law in Lock Haven for 69 years (Snowiss, Steinberg & Faulkner) in the “White Elephant” on the corner of Vesper and East Water Street.

Alvin served as the Clinton County solicitor and was involved in the Susque-View County Home, Belles Spring Golf Course, Keystone Central School District, local Bar Association and was a leader in many Clinton County community activities. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Lock Haven Hospital, Ross Library, Melon Bank and was President of both the Lock Haven Kiwanis Club and Republican Party.

REBECCA F. GROSS

Rebecca Gross was an Editor of The Lock Haven Express, now in its 143rd year of publication. She joined The Express in 1928 and retired in 1970. Gross, this newspaper, Mrs. Achenbach, Clinton County Historical Society and The Ross Library all contributed to the preservation of the area’s fascinating history and those people who took pride in their community, creating the asset we enjoy today.

No matter your age, if you find these yesteryear tidbits interesting, we invite you to acquire information about the past (Heisey House and Ross Library).

Stephen Poorman is a longtime area resident and business consultant.