Harold Adams

Maureen Albright

Peggy Barner

Nancy Benner

Sharon Best

Lucy K. Black

Diane Breon Miller

Robert & Mary Brungard

John & Verna Carey

Larry Cole

Nevin & Charmaine Conoway

Janet K. Courter

Laura M. Eck

Dorla Dean Etzweiler

Frances S. Fox

Michael Geyer

Dana Heggenstaller & Linda Miller

Donnell & Dawn Jeffries

Eunice Jeffries

Dr.Lester & Betty Kleckner

Wayne Koch

Grady & Jane Leiter

Debra Mark

Bill & Deb Mauck

Eugene & Deb Nicholas

Ed Pickett, Sr.

Catherine Reuther

Peggy Roberts

Tim Rodabaugh

Raymond & Janet Schreckengast

Bruce Sheats

Nancy Shutt

Charles D. Sweeny

Lorraine Tressler

Christa Trude

Glenn  Vernon & Claudia Albertin

Betty I. Wagner

Nathan Walizer

Mary Washburn

Carol Washburn

Shirley I. Weaver

Steve & Yvonne Weaver

Blanche Weaver-Wilson

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Memberships :

Individual    -  $10.00

Family -          $ 20.00

Lifetime individual -   $125.00

Lifetime Couple -       $ 175.00

Make check payable to SV Historical Society and send % Yvonne Weaver  PO Box 62 Loganton, PA  17747

Membership renew each April

or contact Yvonne at yweaver@tds.net

BUILDING FUND DONATIONS ~

There are several ways you can help with the new building project. With a monetary donation your name/ names  will be engraved on a plaque as follows:

$100.00         - Bronze

$250.00         -Silver

$500.00         - Gold

$1000.00 +    -Platinum

You can donate in memory or in honor of a loved one -or as just a friend of the SVHS -or as a business.

For more information contact Yvonne at yweaver@tds.net or 570-725-3438.

Most importantly you can help with some "hands on" . We will be serving food to our volunteers when the construction starts and can use help there, there will be odd jobs on the site we can use help with, some painting, clean up,  etc. So let us know if you can help - we certainly appreciate all of the volunteers.

Footer being dug ~

John, Jerry and Bob  in early July ~ sub flooring next  then the building goes up on JULY 30 .

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Starting at 7 AM ~  July 30, 2011

second wall up !

3 walls up !

We still have to put the metal roof on .

Aug 3, 2011

Aug 5, 2011

Our office space inside   Aug 8, 2011

Windows, siding,porch  and door  completed !

October 2011 .....Ramp almost finished, lawn seeded, electric started ...

Insulation going in thanks to John and Jerry. Also Bobby Lamey came and helped with the electrical wiring, Verna kept up with the cleaning and yard care and Yvonne has been staining and varnishing !

Donnell Jeffries, Eddie Strouse and Jeff Rishell volunteered for the day ad did all our plastering !

Thanks guys!!          -          1-2012

Here Jerry installs the trac lighting with assistance from John. Jan 2012

Our/ your  dream is coming true !

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Some bits of history -

Loganton is a survivor

August 23, 2009 - By DAVID KAGAN

LOGANTON - At the dawn of the 20th century, the borough was well established as the commercial center of Sugar Valley. Farmers, lumbermen and small business owners catered to the needs and desires of a valley population of 2,571 (432 of them in Loganton), according to the census of 1900.

To support the thriving community and greater valley populace, a number of local businessmen organized the Loganton National Bank, which opened on March 1, 1909. Thomas Harter served as the first president. He had to have been pleased with the bank's first day of business as 44 patrons depositing $13,455.05.

Harold M. Brungard, who started as the bank's cashier in 1947, wrote of the bank's beginning, "These amounts were considered very exceptional in view of the transportation facilities then existing. The mode of travel was horse and buggy over unpaved and muddy roads."

Another important development in the first decade of the 1900s was the coming of the railroad to Loganton. John Duncan's White Deer and Loganton Railway (about 24 miles long from the village of White Deer in Union County west through Sugar Valley to Loganton) began passenger service with a first arrival in Loganton on May 10, 1907.

In addition, mail was transported on the train, with conductor John Bubb ("remembered for his snowy white goatee") serving also as the mail carrier. He used a wheelbarrow to cart mail sacks back and forth between the Loganton train station and the post office, 1/2-mile apart.

Incoming freight included coal, fertilizer and various types of merchandise. Outgoing freight mainly was finished lumber from a small sawmill in town.

Unfortunately, the railroad never was extended west beyond the borough, and, with the depletion of timber resources, the railway couldn't operate profitably on the remaining passenger, freight and mail service. It shut down in 1916, with the rails promptly removed. The most noted of its four Climax locomotives, named "The Pot" because of its strange upright boiler and operated by engineer Floyd Meixsel, was sold to a brick plant in Watsontown.

For the benefit of the children in Loganton and the surrounding Greene and Logan townships, school directors decided in 1908 to establish a two-year high school in the borough. A two-story, brick building was subsequently erected in 1910, with R. R. Williams the principal that year. Then in 1916, a three-year course was started under Principal John Reish.

The U.S. Post Office in Loganton also was experiencing growth. In 1906, under Postmaster Albert D. Karstetter, rural free delivery to the people in the east end of the valley and the first parcel post service were established. Samuel Frankenberger, a Civil War veteran, was appointed as the rural carrier. He was succeeded in 1910 by James C. Frank.

A second rural free route was established in 1915 to serve the people of Rosecrans, Mt. Pleasant and other points north and northeast of Loganton. Luther E. Best was appointed carrier for this route.

In addition, Chauncey F. Royer was hired and used his own 1916 Model T Ford to carry mail between Mill Hall and Loganton. He was called a "star route contractor."

Telephone service existed in the Loganton area prior to 1906. It was provided by the Central Commercial Telephone Co. In the 1910s, a single operation switchboard was located on the second floor of the Loganton National Bank building.

Other notable businesses in the borough included John Brown's general store (begun in either 1888 or 1889), the Sugar Valley Mutual Fire Insurance Co., the Morris Funeral Home (started in 1880 by Daniel Morris, followed by his sons W. A. and Elmer, and then Elmer's son Lee D.) and the Logan House. The latter was operated by Harry Cole and then H. G. Milnor. It was a well-known resort hotel, with visitors coming to enjoy the nearby Sulphur Spring, famous for its supposed healing qualities.

At the height of its prosperous era, disaster struck. On Wednesday, June 19, 1918, according to the Clinton Republican newspaper, "Loganton was almost entirely destroyed by the fire demon.

"Excepting the National Bank, every business house, with two churches (St. Paul's Lutheran and the United Evangelical), and more than a score of the finest homes in the town were laid waste and a scene of sad desolation now prevails in the old village, where the people were happy and contented.

"By actual count, 41 homes and business buildings, 32 stables and barns and all the beautiful shade trees on the main street were consumed by the conflagration which raged with the utmost fury for 2 1/2 hours before being checked," at the east end of the borough at the home of A. D. Karstetter by 14 men from Jersey Shore with their "new American La France pumper." They had traveled the 14 miles over the rough mountain road through the Rauchtown gap in just 55 minutes.

Lock Haven area firemen from the Hope Hose and the Good Will Hose companies also helped fight the fire. And many of the residents of Loganton assisted as they could, forming "bucket brigades" and trying to save furniture and personal items by removing them from the houses.

Reportedly, the inferno had started in the Delong building's bakery, just east across the road from the Logan House (where St. Paul's Lutheran Church stands today). Flames first were noticed on the bakery's roof, suggesting that "a defective flue or a spark from a chimney started the fire."

Fortunately, no lives or stock in the stables were lost, but the destruction of roughly three-fourths of the borough, with an estimated loss of between $275,000 and $300,000, left the community severely crippled.

"Some of the more optimistic citizens," however, declared that "the old town will recover from the disaster and will rise from its ashes." And the majority who lost property had carried insurance covering up to 50 percent of their losses.

Eyewitness Elizabeth C. Moyer recalled, "generous supplies of food and other needed articles from citizens of other communities in this section tided the stricken families over the first few days." And, although some people moved from Loganton after the fire, "many rebuilt."

Indeed, the community survived that tragic day. Spiritual regeneration came with the rebuilding of a new Albright United Evangelical Church and parsonage in 1919, and with the erection of a new St. Paul's Lutheran Church, with its cornerstone laying in 1919 and its dedication service in 1921.

To help fill the void created by the destruction of the Logan House, Mrs. Herb's Boarding House opened for business in 1919. It was "known for its fine meals and friendly proprietress, who loved to see people eat." The Herbs slaughtered their own meat (chickens, pigs and cows), served "up to 100 guests for a Sunday's lunch." They kept meal prices at 50 cents from 1919 until 1953, "when Mrs. Herb retired."

To replace the loss of John Brown's general store, W. H. Greninger built a new business on the same lot (at 21 E. Main St.) in 1919. He and his son, Ray, operated this general merchandise store through the 1920s and 1930s.

Progress in the 1920s included the formation of the Loganton Community Club in August 1925, through the leadership of Mrs. Lily Atkins and Mrs. W. A. Morris. Starting with 28 members, the organization grew to include the whole valley.

Raising money by sponsoring various social events, the club greatly helped develop Loganton through the years by contributing to the school, to health-related and community welfare drives, and to bringing electricity from S. D. Ilgen's generating plant in Booneville to the borough in 1926. The club also sponsored a valley Boy Scouts troop, a branch of the Campfire Girls and diphtheria inoculations.

Advancements to the schooling of children in Loganton included the establishment of a four-year high school in 1926 and the formation of the Sugar Valley Joint High School in 1928. The school included vocational departments in agriculture and home economics. Dr. M. D. Campbell was given much credit for his efforts toward the realization of this project.

In the late 1930, a new postal service and two new, much appreciated, community organizations came into existence. On May 19, 1938, under Postmaster Charles H. Held, the first delivery of airmail from Loganton occurred. "Scorchy" Monroe was the pilot of the Piper plane.

On Oct. 10, 1938, area sportsmen organized the Southern Clinton County Forest, Fish and Game Association, electing C. F. Royer as the first president. One of their first projects was to erect pheasant pens on a vacant lot in Loganton, where they were reared until 1942. The project was discontinued then because it had been realized that the liberated pheasants "tended to migrate to areas east and south" of Sugar Valley.

Through the years, the association worked on a number of other projects, including establishing a turkey propagation area (1940), purchasing and stocking rabbits in the area (1941-48), distributing salt for deer throughout the area (beginning in 1952) and launching a wildlife corn-feeding program (1961). In 1964, when the association was incorporated, its name was changed to the Southern Clinton County Sportsmen's Association, which it remains today.

To support the high school band (which had come into existence in 1937), the Sugar Valley Vocational High School Mothers' Association was organized on Oct. 24, 1939, with Mrs. Harry Miller elected president. In the ensuing years, the association raised money for music, instruments and uniforms, and contributed to community charities.

Without doubt, Loganton's major organization originating in the 1940s was the Sugar Valley Community Volunteer Fire Co. Begun on Oct. 1, 1946, with Thomas Smith elected president, the company purchased its first pumper (500-gallons) on Jan. 31, 1947, with a 400-gallon booster tank added in April that same year, and a water-transport truck with a 1,000-gallon tank purchased on Nov. 30, 1949. The first firehouse was erected in October 1949 on land bought from Charles Lamey for $200.

A major new business - Harry Kauffman's Pequea Fishing Tackle Works - began operations on Jan. 7, 1946, in the remodeled Odd Fellows Hall. By the end of the year, more than 40 women were employed, manufacturing more than 129,000 snelled hooks a week. By 1948, with the addition of a lure-manufacturing department, the number of women employees rose to 72, with the company producing at that time "85 percent of the snelled fish hooks in the United States."

At the start of the 1950s, wives of Loganton's firemen organized the Ladies Auxiliary of the Sugar Valley Volunteer Fire Co. on March 3, 1950. Under Ruth Lehman as its first president, the Ladies Auxiliary raised funds through "dinners, dances, card parties, bingo games, festivals, food sales and rummage sales" to help build a fire company kitchen and dining room facility in 1954.

An interesting, although rather short-lived business, was started by Walter Artuhewich in November 1953. His Artus Manufacturing Co. "imported Australian rabbit fur, which he processed and prepared into linings and then shipped out to various glove manufacturers." Making up to 75 dozen linings a week - with his very modest work force consisting of himself, his wife, a daughter and two part-time local boys - Artuhewich discontinued his business in Loganton in 1957.

In 1960, the Loganton Television Cable Association was formed, with a receiving station placed on the mountain near the "Big Rock." Montgomery Video Co. installed the cable system in 57 Loganton Borough homes. Subscribers received four channels: WFBG in Altoona, WJAC in Johnstown, WBRE in Wilkes-Barre and WNEP in Scranton.

Loganton in the middle of the 1960s was a community with a good number of businesses. These included the Logan Lunch and Dairy King Soft Ice Cream eateries; Lupold's and Royer's garages; Frances's and Margie's beauty shops; Harry Smith's and Guy Bierly's television, radio and appliances sales and service stores; Charles H. Held's barber shop (he also advertised watch and clock repairs, too); the Penn Central Mutual Insurance Co. (originally the Sugar Valley Mutual Fire Insurance Co.) and Thomas Smith's general insurance; Glenn C. Lupold's feed, coal and John Deere farm machinery store; carpentry, cabinet-making and homebuilding businesses owned by David Stamm, Harry Lamey, Lynn R. Frazier and Roy T. Trostle; plumbing and heating specialists Nevin Lamey and Roy T. Trostle; and Cora I. Schrack's general store (a business she had taken over from W. H. Greninger in 1940).

One business, the Loganton National Bank, was the victim of a memorable crime on Sept. 29, 1972. Just minutes before noon, a gunman held up the bank, making off with $26,791, after pointing a loaded pistol at cashier Harold M. Brungard, and firing a bullet into the wall to get the cashier to agree to open the vault. The gunman also discharged a second bullet (which lodged in the ceiling) after a brief struggle with a customer, Roy H. Batdorf. Batdorf was uninjured, and pursued the bandit in a car chase north on Route 477. At one point, the fleeing criminal "stopped, got out and fired a shotgun blast at Batdorf, who was again unhurt." After that, the gunman escaped and never was apprehended.

Nothing quite that exciting has happened since in this still rather remote Sugar Valley community in southeastern Clinton County. Amish from Lancaster County moved in during the 1970s, merging their quiet and productive lifestyles easily with the longtime valley families. The remaining years of the 20th century rolled by rather peacefully (despite the presence, since 1970, of Interstate 80 cutting through the eastern end of the valley, and with exits both at Carroll and at Route 477 just a mile north of Loganton).

Today, nearing the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Loganton Borough has two active churches (St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran and Albright United Methodist) and two schools (the Sugar Valley Elementary School of the Keystone Central School District and the Sugar Valley Rural Charter School). The latter has a library open to the public from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesdays during the summer.

The Sugar Valley Volunteer Fire Co. and its Ladies Auxiliary are going strong, as are the Loganton Post Office, the First National Bank, the Sugar Valley Lions Club and the Southern Clinton County Sportsmen's Association.

Three unique stores serve modern-day Loganton residents. First, Kauffman's large store, with its many and varied items, advertises "footwear for the family, tools, hardware, paint, propane, saddles, tack, equine and pet supplies." Amish-owned and run, it's located at 22 Meadow Lane, off Route 477 north of Main Street.

Second, Earl Weaver's garage, at 11 E. Main St., has serviced borough residents' vehicles for many years. In addition, it is reputed to be the place to go for some good conversation, coffee and donuts - a place where the problems of the world are worked out (or at least discussed). Lifelong Loganton resident, Miller Stamm, at age 100, still enjoys walking over to visit his friend Earl at the garage.

Finally, there's the Loganton Country Store, owned and operated by Mike and Tina Sheasley. Janet Meyer, a lifelong Loganton area resident, works in the store. The longtime establishment at 21 E. Main St. was Cora Schrack's general store for many years after 1940. It belonged to W.H. Greninger for about 20 years before that and to John Brown for its first 20 years from about 1888-1918.

Almost a century now has passed since the great devastation caused by the "demon" fire of 1918. The prediction then by "the more optimistic citizens" that Loganton would "rise from its ashes," just like the mythological phoenix of Egypt, came true.

By:  David Kagan  ...........Williamsport Sun Gazette

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