October 6, 1999 - LIONS EYE - Page Sa. What’s Your Favorite Place To Hang Out On Campus? Son Dinh (junior, IS T): “The library because it’s a great place to do homework.” Mesgana Tekleglargis (senior, Business Administration): “The student lounge in the classroom building. The windows give a nice view of the outdoors.” By Mari DiMeglio Jeff Giampaolo (junior, BSB): “The cafeteria is a great place to eat and hang out with friends.” Jeffrey Hurst (freshman, undecided): “The student lounge in main is a comfortable place to sleep.” Dr. Cole Unveils 5000 Years of PSU Delco History By Ed Blackburn Lion's Eye Staff Writer Since last year, American Studies Professor Phyllis Cole has been giving “History of the Campus” tours to her classes and to faculty, sparking a sudden interest in the neighborhood’s past. “We tend to think of Delco as the commuter campus down the road from Granite Run Mall,” says Dr. Cole. “In fact it sits on a rich, historical area which makes it much more interesting.” The Delaware County campus itself used to be a farm owned by the Pratt family. Appearing in the nineteenth century, the farm produced butter. Interestingly enough, the United States President at the time ordered his butter from a nearby farm in the Pennsylvania “Butter Bett.” Later on, as ice cream rose in popularity, the Pratts also produced ice cream, and sent it to Philadelphia, via Chester; of course, it half-melted on this journey, but no one seemed to mind at the time. Even before Europeans like the Pratts began appearing in the Delaware Valley, Native Americans had already used the soil for three thousand years. The tribe known to have inhabited this particular land is called the “Lenni Lenape,” or “Original People.” They spread from Chester and Philadelphia all the way east to the Jersey Shore. The Lenape had a rival tribe in what is now Harrisburg, the Susquehannock, who used to travel to the Delaware Valley on a trail named the Minquas. The two fought as the Lenape attempted to defend their control of the local land, but the Lenape were unable to stem the tide. The trail ran near the back boundary of our Penn State property of today. When asked if she could believe that Native Americans used this very land for so long, Leslie Potter, a Penn State grad who grew up in these parts and was used as a guest speaker by Dr. Cole, replied, “Yes, while I was a child and played in these woods [surrounding Delco], I used to find their arrowheads all the time.” During the time of the Underground Railroad, it is rumored that Harrie Tubman herself made stops to Honeycomb U.A.M.E. Church, an African American church founded in 1850, which lies across the road from present-day PennCrest High School. It became a center for fugitive slaves, and hundreds took refuge here while making PSU Microsoft Agreement (Continued from page 1) cost, since all software will be covered by the university wide contract. “One benefit of this contract is com- patibility,” says James Thomes, Dean of the school of Information of Sciences and Technology. As a result, students ~ will enjoy the same technology and software as their professors. Security measures will be taken. Gordon Crompton, Coordinator of Student Computer Labs said, “A current PSU id and or drivers license will be needed. Students who are carrying around those outdated ids with their social security will not pass the test The software given out will be screened and records will be kept on those who pick up their packages. When asked whether the Microsoft contract would decrease use of Mac computers, Donnell ‘Tillery II, Network Support Specialist, said “There should be no real change in the campus choice because of the new deal. However, students and faculty should greatly benefit from this. It may help students and faculty do research, home/office work, and learn more effectively.” In all, it is critically important for faculty, staff and students to learn to use this rapidly evolving technology to be effective in the 21st century. Director of Computing and Telecommunications, Jim Morgan, said, “To ensure com- patibility, students will need a Pentium II or III processor to do the best job.” For further information, students can contact Christy Rambeau, Manger of News Boro Relations, University Park, PA at (814) 865-7517 or cmr7@psu.edu. Further information may be obtained at the University Park’s website http:// www.psu.edu under “computing.” their way north — especially from the border states like Maryland and Virginia. The Quakers at the time, most of whom were anti-slavery, had their meeting house and cemetery across from the present-day campus — and still use them today. They worked with the free blacks who lived in Middletown Township, to assist fugitive slaves. In the 1960s, records show that “our” farm was taken by eminent domain by the country because the current owners could not pay their real estate taxes. The land on which Old Forge School now sits was part of the land taken. The local fire department began using the abandoned farmhouse (which sat in the grassy field between the present Classroom and Vairo buildings) for practice. In the middle of the decade it burnt completely down. All that remained was the farm’s springhouse (used to keep food cool before refrigerators), which still sits vacant in the woods beyond the main building. The state considered building Delaware County Community College on the empty land, but this was halted when Pennsylvania State University obtained the rights to build here. The campus that you now see before you was the second site of Penn State Delco, which was originally located in Chester. The first building (Main) at the current site opened in 1970. COLLEGE MEETINGS October 20 Locations TBA Info on Courses and Requirements for Spring Semester 1 through 4 credits 5S through 8 credits 9 or more credits STUDENT Activity FEE UPDATE 19998-2000 Activity Fee Funding Anticipated $99,745 (includes S6000 for Summer '99) Activity Fee per Student per Semester Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee Meetings Fall 1999 (Room 106 Classroom Building) Detoher 19 November 2 November 16 Requests for funding should be submitted to Doreen Hettich (Room 210 Commons) no later than 5 p.m. the Monday preceding the meeting. $11.00 $23.00 $32.00
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers