Friday, March 12, 2021. Two weeks since my second shot. I finish a midday Zoom and stick my head out the back door. One hubcap-sized slab of ice remains on the patio. It’ll be gone by sundown.
Thus encouraged, I perform a strange series of actions: I slip my laptop into its sleeve, slip my office keys into my pocket and slip out the front door, bound for downtown State College. My big plan is to get a coffee and sit outside and drink it.
En route, I stop by the Carnegie Building to get my mail: two magazines that I probably won’t read. I add them to the pile of unread magazines on my office desk.
SAMPLER: Marlborough librarian passes away
Mary Wenzel
For years, I have been wishing Mena Hedin a happy birthday on Feb. 19, but this year my heart offers sympathy to her family and friends as Mena passed away on Jan. 14, 2021, at the age of 83.
Mena was a familiar face at the Marlborough Public Library from 1953 to 2012 when she retired after 59 years.
Mena worked in both the Adult Room and Children’s Room, telling tales at the Children’s Story Hour to many generations of families.
“She was always smiling,” reminisced Cathy Miola of Marlborough. “I can’t remember how many Story Hours with Mena that I listened to with my three children.”
We
dove into the archives in September and discovered the origins of some of the most well-known buildings on campus.
Sadly, though, every building on campus can’t be covered in one post. So, we are back with another Penn State history lesson to learn about the stories behind more building names across campus.
Pattee Library
The Pattee Library is named for Fred Lewis Pattee, author of the Penn State Alma Mater and professor of American literature at Penn State. Pattee wrote the Alma Mater in 1901 and worked as a professor at the university until 1928.
The library used to be located in what is now the Carnegie Building until construction was completed in 1940. The original library had a capacity of 50,000 books, but it took almost 34 years for the building to be overflowed. Thus, the library you know and love today was built.