Bradford County PA Chemung County NY Tioga County PA Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by Joyce M. Tice Historic Buildings in Our Area Stevensville, Pennsylvania

Photo: Stevensville Community Center Township: Stevens Township , Bradford County PA Year - 2005 Photo - Wyalusing Rocket 2005  Tri-County Genealogy & History Sites Home Page How to Use This Site Warning & Disclaimer Stevens Township Page More Historic Buildings in Our Area No Unauthorized Commercial Use Say Hello to  Joyce

Shown on the steps of the Stevensville Community Hall with the $10,000 check delivered by Rep. Tina Pickett from Harrisburg are: front (from left)—Joe Jones, Rep. Pickett, Sandra Hudak and Jean Vande Mark; rear: Luke Vande Mark, Dick Harris, Mary Jones and Betty Harris. They are members of the Community Hall Association and Hudak is its treasurer.

The Stevensville Community Hall is more than just a building where people can gather. It is a part of history, dating back to its construction in 1862 as a two-room schoolhouse.
It serves as the hub of municipal government, utilized by the township supervisors there for their monthly meetings and as the polling place for Stevens Township residents on election days. It is even the designated Emergency Management Center.
However, in a number of ways, the building is still stuck in the past, thanks to an outdated heating system and drafty windows and doors that often make it uncomfortable for those who use it in the winter months. It needs some serious winterization and a face-lift, and earlier this month, Rep. Tina Pickett brought something that will help make that a reality—a check for $10,000 awarded by the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
“This hall is truly the heart of the community,” Pickett stated in presenting the oversized check. “This grant is an important investment in the community.”
After a group photo on the front steps with representatives of the Community Hall Association, Pickett and her aide, Jason Krise, received an informal tour of the building. One of those in attendance, Mary Jones, remembered attending school there as a child when she was Mary Yanavitch. She pointed out where the pot-bellied stove used to be and where the teacher sat. One of the teachers, she recalled, was Wyalusing’s Julia Friery. She even shared what it was like to be a Catholic in a protestant community and some of the ribbing she took as a student there until she took matters into her own hands by beating up and embarrassing one of the boys who taunted her.
For the most part, however, her memories of school days were golden, and the building to her is a sacred part of her past. Younger members of the community feel the same way, even if they didn’t go to school there. It has been a part of all of their lives.
The $10,000 will go into replacing the furnace and windows, insulating the building and installing three new doors. Dick Harris says they are looking at more grant money down the road, and the Stevensville Community Hall should have many more years ahead as a governmental and civic hub.
The community activities it hosts range from rummage sales and dinners to church events associated with the nearby Stevensville Presbyterian Church, as well as private get-togethers in the building and the adjoining pavilion. There have been classes and informational sessions hosted there, and the state police have even used it as a command post.
“It is important to preserve the historic integrity of the building as it has and will be part of Stevensville for many more years to come,” said Pickett, who grew up just a few miles away in Silvara. Contributed by Carol HOOSE Brotzman

Bradford County PA Chemung County NY Tioga County PA

Published On Tri-Counties Site On 11 MAY 2005 By Joyce M. Tice Email: Joyce M. Tice You are the visitor since the counter was installed on 11 MAY 2005