STATE COLLEGE — A special celebration of 98 years was held in honor of a man instrumental in bringing the “Centennial Pigs” sculpture to downtown State College.
Ed Mattil was surrounded by family and friends when he blew out candles on his birthday cake at the Tavern Restaurant on the afternoon of Nov. 25.
‘I’m very fortunate to have lived the life I have lived,’ Mattil told the Centre County Gazette. ‘I have great friends and had some great times here in State College. I love this place.’
Mattil was a key member of the State College Centennial Committee and was instrumental in discovering the theme for the 100-year anniversary event, which was celebrated in 1996. He was also the driving force in immortalizing the event with a statue featuring the swines.
‘To be honest, not a lot of people wanted a pig for the statue,’ said Mattil. ‘But, State College has such an agricultural history that it was fitting. In fact, cattle, mules, horses, sheep, goats and hogs roamed State College freely until the borough passed an ordinance against it in 1897. That’s one of the main reasons we went with a pig theme. I think it turned out pretty well.’
According to Mattil, the committee’s inspiration for the centennial theme came from a photo now in the University Archives, Special Collections Library at Penn State University. The photo shows a pig searching for food on East College Avenue, near where it intersects with Allen Street.
The project was funded almost entirely through private donations and got its biggest boost through a commemorative brick naming fundraising campaign. McCallister Alley, the location, is lined with nearly 3,000 of these named bricks, and more being added every so often.
The sculpture was created by Eric Berg and depicts a sow, ‘Centennial,’ and two piglets, ‘Hope’ and ‘Ed.’ Their names were chosen through a public naming competition.
The ‘Pig Centennial’ has gained momentum as being a source of luck in the community. Many Penn State Nittany Lions’ fans have uttered the phrase, ‘Kiss the pig for me,’ while others walk by seeking historic luck by rubbing its snout.
Mattil’s family moved to State College from South Williamsport in 1931. As a boy, Mattil delivered milk house-to-house in the mornings, worked in a men’s clothing store after school and delivered the evening edition of Philadelphia Inquirer.
He obtained a bachelor of science degree in art education from Penn State in 1940 and followed his education by teaching art courses and serving as a swimming coach in Cumberland, Md., public schools. Later, he taught art courses and served as a basketball coach in Nether Providence High School in Wallingford before enrolling in the U.S. Army, where he was discharged as a staff sergeant in 1945.
Mattil retured to Penn State and earned a master of arts degree in 1946 before taking a position as art teacher and as head of the art department at Penn State. He obtained his doctor of education degree from Penn State in 1953 and his subsequent academic positions included graduate assistant, professor and associate professor. He was the head of the Department of Art Education from 1960 to 1970, Dean of the College of Fine Arts at St. Cloud State University from 1970 to 1971, and was the director of the Center for Marketing and Design at North Texas State University from 1971 to 1984.
Mattil retired as professor emeritus from North Texas State in 1986 and returned to live in State College in 1989. He has served two terms on the State College Borough Planning Commission, served on the State College Borough Centennial Celebration Commission from 1992-1996, and received State College Borough’s Legacy Award for significant contributions to the community, specifically for his leadership on two centennial projects — the Centennial Pig sculpture and the College Avenue and Centennial Walkway inscribed brick pavers.
Numerous works of his art collection have been donated to Penn State’s Palmer Museum, along with several sculptures to Schlow Centre Region Library. His donation of funds provided the elevator in Schlow Centre Region Library and a patient-care room at Mount Nittany Medical Center. He was a major benefactor for the purchase of a building for the local branch of American Cancer Society and he has received the highest honor from Pennsylvania Division of American Cancer Society. He has endowed six academic scholarships at Penn State, North Texas State, the University of North Texas and Clarion University.
He resides in Foxdale Village in State College.
