Future of Mementos at Paterno Statue to Be Determined

The future of personal mementos left by hundreds of mourners at the Joe Paterno statue remains an open question.

Penn State plans to talk with Paterno family members about how they would like the items to be handled, university spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said Monday morning.

She said the university, at this point, has no specific plans for the mementos.

“The family will be making decisions,” Mountz said.

Since the former football coach, 85, died Jan. 22, the grounds surrounding the statue have become an impromptu shrine. People by the dozens continued to stop and take photos there on Monday morning.

A late-Sunday snowfall dropped a soppy coating of white over the mementos, which include enough flowers — cut and potted — to fill a floral-shop case, perhaps multiple times over.

Personal notes of adulation are on posters, in cards, scrawled across footballs and tucked inside envelopes.

Framed images are visible, too — including at least one Philadelphia Daily News front page. One pair of Nikes — maybe more — rests among countless candles, T-shirts, stuffed animals and rosaries. A booze bottle stands nearby.

The expanse of offerings stretches at least 20 feet wide and perhaps 15 feet long at the foot of the bronze statue.

Thousands of people assembled there in the hours immediately following Paterno’s death. A candlelight vigil held the night of Jan. 22 at Old Main ended with a cross-campus hike to the statue, on the east side of Beaver Stadium. Mourners young and old surrounded the landmark; police blocked adjacent vehicular access.

Earlier coverage is available via the page linked below. Photos are available in a gallery above; click on the large image to open the gallery.

Related coverage

• StateCollege.com’s Joe Paterno news page