Perhaps it’s the weather — which thusfar has been an endless roil of grey and rain more reminiscent of November’s annual dirge than the cheery skies typical of May and June — but we are feeling a bit reflective this year for the annual Sentimental Journey Piper Fly-In.

And it seems like we aren’t the only ones. While we didn’t have a print edition yesterday due to the Juneteenth federal holiday, we still prepared some content for our website and to be posted on our social media.

One of those stories — which is also in today’s print edition — was about the “one of a kind” prototype PA-47 PiperJet which is now on display at the Piper Museum.

On our Facebook page, Tom Long commented on the story, saying, “Sadly, this ‘first flight’ would’ve been about 25 years after Piper left Lock Haven behind.”

We felt this was striking and wanted to spend some time sitting with it.

Much has been written — with more, we’re sure, on the horizon — about the decline of rural America. The Rust Belt. The hollowing of Appalachia. The decline of coal and exodus of industry.

America is dotted with towns like ours — the remnant of a remnant, where our collective history casts a long shadow.

But little, comparatively, has been written about the impact this has had on the people who call these regions home.

Abandonment figures prominently in trauma therapy. It’s something many people struggle with, sadly. But what happens when entire communities are abandoned? Who owns that grief, and how does it ever get processed? Or does it just sit there, bubbling and festering into a fetid pool of resentment and anger?

Piper gave us jobs and a future for many years.

But more than that, Piper gave us an identity and — crucially — something to be proud of.

When Piper left, it took more than careers and income. It took our sense of self — leaving an emotional void that our community continues to grapple with to this day, made all the more damaging because, in many ways, it was beyond our control that the company left.

The impact has been the macro-scale version of “dad going out for cigarettes,” as we have been left to metaphorically grow up in Piper’s absence.

And this has happened again, as well — most recently with the diminishment of Lock Haven University, which has been merged into the conglomerate Commonwealth University-Lock Haven. Again, a stable source of jobs and local identity was wrested from our town.

Is it any wonder so many feel lost and angry?

Thankfully, we do have a blooming plethora of local events, like the Fly-In, that both help us reconnect with where we have come from and also envision a better future where our little town in the woods and mountains still does, in fact, have value.

Not every event will be for every person, of course, but that does not change the work, effort and care that goes into each and every event.

There are good people here, who work tirelessly to make a difference. To make us believe that a better future is, actually, possible — and that we can heal.

We are finding our way without Piper, slowly but steadily.

In the meantime, the most important thing is to give our community grace. Support the people who are trying to help pull Lock Haven forward. Show up to local events, and shop at our local businesses — as best as you can afford within your means, of course.

We all have a part to play in Lock Haven’s future — in the growth that is possible, if we work hard, and believe.

And, thanks to the fine folks at the Piper Museum and the Sentimental Journey Fly-In, may we never forget our heritage — and our pride.