Does your high school homecoming parade have these?

A dairy princess

and a Future Farmers of America float

But at least the high school has a GSA

Not exactly unique to State College, but. . . . .snow in mid-October?

Today's Centre Daily Times website:

It's official: Record set for earliest snowfall; PV cancels parade, Paternoville closes

It’s official. According to the National Weather Service in State College, the earliest local snowfall in recorded history has a new mark -- Oct. 15, 2009.

“We talked to the official weather station on the Penn State campus ... and they reported three-tenths of an inch already,” said Aaron Tyburski, a meteorologist with the weather service. “To get this kind of snow, during daytime hours, this early in the year is historic -- I don’t know any other word for it.”

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/1569125.html

It's not quite Cooperstown. . . .

From the Centre Daily Times, 10/14/09:

Farmer inducted into hall of fame

Ed Mahon

- emahon@centredaily.com

Jesse M. Darlington grew up on a Delaware County dairy farm that was land granted to his family in 1683 by William Penn. “My parents were in the farming business, as were their parents. It just carried on,” said Darlington, a 1955 Penn State graduate. A former general manager of Dunlap Motors Ford dealership, Darlington now lives on 215 acres of farmland and woodland south of Centre Hall with his wife of 46 years, Bonnie Dunlap Darlington.

Earlier this month, Darlington was named the 41st Pennsylvania Livestock
Association Hall of Fame inductee. He received the honor during the opening ceremony of the Keystone International Livestock Exposition, held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg.

Complete story

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Does your state have a Livestock Association Hall of Fame?

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A classic from the archives

Every now and then I'll bring back some of my favorite "Only in State College" entries from the archive.  Here's one:

From the Centre Daily Times, 03/02/09:
"STATE PATTY'S DAY: Celebration stirs up mischief"
"STATE COLLEGE — State Patty’s Day, an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration started by Penn State students, took place on Saturday. Police said they began to see an uptick in reports, most of them alcohol related, on Friday evening.
[list of the incidences from the police blotter]
. . . .
Police say a man was urinating on the door of Tony’s Big Easy, 129 1/2 S. Pugh St., at 6:50 p.m. Saturday. He was pushed by another man, and injured his nose."

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He should consider himself extremely fortunate it was only his nose that was injured.

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Watch out for crashing silos

From the Centre Daily Times, 10/8/09:

Silo collapses into barn

Sara Ganim

HARRIS TOWNSHIP — Eight hundred tons of silage collapsed on a centuries-old barn Wednesday morning, killing about 15 animals and devastating the Wasson family, whose members have worked in that barn for five generations.

Complete story

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How many of you city folk get to see collapsed silos like this?

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Welcome to. . . . . . .Only in State College

Welcome to my new blog, which chronicles some of the weird, bizarre, or just plain humorous occurrences in our area.  If you're not familiar with State College, it's a relatively small, geographically isolated university town (Penn State University) located smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania.  The news tends to be dominated by the university (mostly sports), agriculture, rural life, and weather.

I had been chronicling these news items on my website at work - you can access the earlier postings here.  All new items will be posted here.

Enjoy!