This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
BOALSBURG — In a small town where history runs as deep as the roots along Spring Creek, one family is working to make sure a life of service is not forgotten.
Along West Main Street in Boalsburg, there’s a small bridge, easy to pass without a second thought.
For Linda Gramley, it’s the perfect place to remember her father.
“I just wanted something done for my dad,” she said.
For more than two years, Gramley has been working to have that small stretch of Boalsburg dedicated to Robert Chalmer Moore — a veteran, engineer, scoutmaster and craftsman whose life was deeply rooted in Centre County.
Moore, who died in 2015 at age 86, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a tail gunner and radar operator, earning two Purple Hearts during combat in Okinawa. But for those who knew him best, his legacy wasn’t defined by medals alone.
“He was very giving. Very giving,” Gramley said.
That generosity, his children say, showed up in everyday moments.
In the early 1980s, while working at the family’s Native American Crafts shop in Boalsburg, Gramley remembers a young boy who came in with five dollars hoping to buy his mother a birthday gift.
“There was nothing in there really for five dollars,” Gramley said. “Dad said, ‘If you come spend an hour with me a day, we’ll make your mother something.’”
It’s a small story, but one that captures the kind of man Moore was. He was someone who gave his time as freely as anything else.
That same spirit carried into his role as the first Scoutmaster of Troop 380 in Boalsburg where he helped shape generations of young men.
“When I was growing up, our life was all about Boy Scouts,” said his son, Robin Moore. “And it really prepared me for a life in the military and then later on in civilian life.”
For the Moore family, service wasn’t just something Robert did, it was something passed down.
“Our family’s been in Centre County since 1798,” Robin said. “There was this idea that you needed to serve your country in some way.”
After returning from military service and earning a degree from Penn State, Moore worked in research and development at HRB Systems, contributing to technology used by U.S. military forces. Later, he and his wife became fixtures in Boalsburg through their Native American Crafts shop and their involvement in the community.
“I think that idea of small community meant something to a lot of people,” Robin said.
The couple built their home in 1953 when West Main Street looked much different than it does today.
“There were only two other houses up there,” Gramley said. “Now that place is jam packed.”
Still, the connection to that place has never faded.
For Robin, that connection deepened later in life when he began researching the family’s history and discovered just how far back their roots in Centre County extended, including land along Spring Creek once owned by their ancestors.
For Linda, it’s more about making sure that connection doesn’t disappear as Boalsburg continues to grow.
“I wanted it in Boalsburg because that’s where my parents lived,” she said.
The idea to dedicate the bridge began as a simple thought. The thought of something permanent, something local. With help from others in the community, Gramley began working through the process, though she said it has taken time.
A meeting with township officials is expected in the coming weeks as the effort continues.
For the Moore family, the proposed dedication isn’t about recognition as much as it is remembrance.
“It would just be nice if they see a sign… it’s like, ‘Oh, I’d like to know who this person was,’” Gramley said.
And if they stop long enough to ask that question, they’ll find a story that stretches from the skies over Okinawa to the woods of Centre County. They’re learn about a life built on service, community and quiet acts of kindness.
In Boalsburg, that kind of legacy doesn’t need a large monument.
Sometimes, a small bridge is enough.
