CENTRE HALL — On Sunday at Grange Fair, the pace of life slows a little, and many family gatherings are held in the tenting area.
Fred and Pauline Zerby have tented at Grange Fair for many years, and they know pretty much what to expect to happen there. But this year, Pauline Zerby got an unexpected surprise at the family tent when Evonne “Vonnie” Henninger, a Penns Valley historian and author, showed up at their tent and handed Pauline a stack of love letters written by her mother, Regie Miller Thompson to her father, Paul Thompson, about 85 years ago.
Henninger said the letters were found in a duplex house at 105-107 Penn Street in Millheim, where a teenage Paul Thompson lived with his parents. The home’s present owners were remodeling the house and found the letters stashed in a wall of the structure. They gave the letters to Henninger, who passed them to Pauline Zerby.
Zerby said her grandfather moved from Milroy to Millheim to manage operations at the Millheim Hosiery Mill, which was a major industry in the town at the time. His son, Paul, attended the East Penns Valley High School (now the Millheim Borough Building), where he met Regie, and the two became high school sweethearts. Zerby said her father was a star athlete on several sports teams and was president of his class, which graduated in 1934. Paul spent a summer working in Lewistown, and he and Regie exchanged letters about twice a week.
Zerby said the letters weren’t always filled with lovey-dovey talk.
“There were times when Mother would get a little angry when she felt some other girl was trying to wiggle into the picture,” said Zerby. “She mentioned one girl and said, ‘I don’t want you talking to her.’”
Soon after the letters were written, Paul and Regie eloped to Maryland. Paul Thompson later served as a Centre County commissioner and Regie served as a commissioner for a time after Paul’s death in 1973. Regie Thompson passed away in 1978. They were both known and admired by many in the county.
Across the street from the Zerby tent, a 90th birthday celebration was being held for Joyce Wolfe, of Centre Hall, who turns 90 on Friday, Aug. 31. Wolfe and her late husband, Eugene, operated a farm along Route 192 near Centre Hall for many decades.
Their daughter is Grange Fair general manager Darlene Confer. Confer said there were between 60 and 70 people dropping by to wish Wolfe a happy birthday. “We’ve got people from Kittanning, Connecticut, Clarion, Altoona, Pittsburgh and Virginia here,” she said.
A few blocks away, the Smith family, of Bellefonte, composed of the six children of the late Betty and Earl Smith along with many other descendants, held a family reunion at their two adjoining tents. Family member Debbie Burger said there were 42 people attending this annual event. Tables and chairs were lined up along the tents, making it resemble a sidewalk café, as three generations of family members enjoyed a meal of fried chicken and other dishes. The reunion is a longstanding tradition for the family.
