Loss after loss has Snow Shoe wondering: ‘Do we have a chance or don’t we have a chance?’
Hall’s Market was more than a place to buy groceries. As the only store with fresh produce or meat for miles, it became a sort of community hub for those who call the Snow Shoe area home.
You could chat with neighbors and get caught up on people’s lives, all while picking up the things you came for and some you didn’t. It was small-town living in rural Centre County.
Needed some hardware to finish up a plumbing project? True Value was right there in an adjoining building. What about a bite to eat or making a deposit at the bank? Subway and Jersey Shore State Bank were a stone’s throw away.
Until they weren’t.
A February 2020 electrical fire at the 107-year-old, family-owned business didn’t just spell the end of the store. It was the first domino to fall in a series that tore at the fabric of the tiny community.
New business is set to come to the former Hall’s — a Dollar Tree and Family Dollar applied for sign permits — more than three years later, but that’s not expected to fill the void.
Adjusting to losses
The area’s only pharmacy closed four months after the fire at Hall’s and its only medical clinic followed suit 14 months later. Rees’ Exit 22 Restaurant closed in January.
A Dollar General has helped keep the area afloat, providing an outlet for select groceries. The business has been a “lifesaver,” Snow Shoe Township board of supervisors Chairman Rodney Preslovich said.
Dollar Tree and Family Dollar (both are owned by Dollar Tree Inc. and it’s unclear which, if not both, is in the works) would give Snow Shoe’s about 2,200 residents another — albeit similar — option. No timeline has been established for the business to open, Preslovich said.
“The Dollar General just isn’t the same as Hall’s was with the hardware and the service desk where people could pay the electric bill and those kinds of things. People got to see each other at least a few times a week. They would talk and exchange stories. All that’s gone now,” lifelong Snow Shoe Township resident Don Morgan said. “You don’t have the social connection that we used to have up here.”
Residents have to travel to other communities to buy nutritious food, or settle for higher-priced staples like milk and eggs from gas stations or the variety store. The next-closest major grocery is about 17 miles away.
Even though Snow Shoe and the Bellefonte-area Weis are connected by two interstates, it still takes about 40 minutes round trip — and that’s before factoring in time to shop. Older adults and those with limited mobility are at an even greater disadvantage.
“If you need something, you better plan ahead,” Snow Shoe Borough Council President Bruce Houck said.
Added Morgan, a 74-year-old Navy veteran: “It’s fine for people that still work in the Bellefonte or State College area. They can stop on their way to or from work. It’s created a problem for the senior citizens. ... It’s changed a lot of people’s lives.”
The nearest doctor’s office is more than 10 miles away. The closest the area has come to replacing the loss of its health care establishments is a mobile medical unit that visits once or twice a month.
Only a handful of businesses sit in the aging borough. Among them are two liquor stores, a pizza shop, a laundromat and an outdoor and sporting goods company.
“It’s been a hardship on people, but I think basically we’ve adjusted,” Houck said. “Not that we like it.”
The challenge of attracting, retaining business
Snow Shoe Township supervisor Ron Bucha wondered aloud about the best way to attract investment in the area. Board Vice President John Yecina Jr. frankly said businesses won’t make a fortune in Snow Shoe.
What’s more likely to succeed, he said, is a mom and pop store that makes enough money for its owner to make a living.
“It’s a hell of an investment for a young couple or anybody to go ahead and buy a piece of property, put a building in, then get established as a business,” Yecina said. “You’re talking quite a sum of money, so that’s where the help is needed to get them all of that.”
Among those trying to make life better in the Mountaintop Region is Ojay Guenot, who in October 2020 opened Nala May Farm & Greenhouse. It’s a farmers market of sorts, one that draws customers everywhere from Punxsutawney to Snow Shoe.
It’s not uncommon to see displays filled with canned goods, from honey to pickles to salsas and sauces and everything in-between. Fresh, in-season produce — tomatoes, corn, mushrooms, asparagus, sweet potatoes, and more — is another staple.
“People need something up this way,” Guenot said. “They do appreciate the businesses that are here. I feel most people support it.”
Nala May, 183 Walker Place Lane in Burnside Township, is scheduled to open for the season May 3. It’s set to remain open through the end of October.
Guenot said he is looking to expand, but has found it difficult because distributors aren’t often willing to make deliveries to the Snow Shoe area. He described it as a “go get it yourself type of deal.”
“I’ve talked to several distributors and they just don’t come out this way. They don’t come to Snow Shoe. There’s nothing out here. There’s nothing else for them to do,” Guenot said. “They could deliver to me and they got to run 45-50 minutes out of their way and nobody is willing to do that anymore.”
Where can help come from?
Any help from Pennsylvania politicians would need to come from a pair of fresh faces to the area.
Former state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman retired and state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz no longer represents the area after a once-a-decade redistricting. Both are Republicans.
Enter state Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson County, and freshman state Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, in their place.
Takac convinced enough voters during the 2022 election to win the district, but he’s in a position where he’ll have to win over voters from Snow Shoe.
He won only about 30% of the 1,068 votes cast at the three precincts that cover the borough and the township. His Republican challenger won about 70% of the votes. Still, Takac pledged his full support for Snow Shoe.
“We cannot lose focus on the people and communities like Snow Shoe. They deserve our focus and our attention just as much as any other demographic,” Takac said. “... I would never ask anybody whether they supported me or not; I’m going to help everyone. I hope that over time I’m able to demonstrate that this isn’t just an election year focus. This is something that I’m really wanting to build over time.”
Weekly office hours are among the ways Takac has attempted to connect with residents. Either he or a member of his staff are penciled in to answer questions from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Snow Shoe Township Building, 268 Oldside Road.
Dush represents the largest state legislative district east of the Mississippi River. It’s made up of at least part of seven rural counties that — when combined — are larger than Connecticut. There are likely more trees and deer than there are people.
Though they’re on opposite ends of the political spectrum, both Takac and Dush tabbed upgrading Snow Shoe’s infrastructure as a top priority.
Whether it’s the water or sewer systems, electric or broadband, each needs to reach a level where businesses don’t see those systems as prohibitive.
“I see opportunity,” Dush said. “The people up there are good people. They’ve got a strong work ethic. They’d like to see some things that’ll help them with the infrastructure needs so that they can get business back up there again.”
Snow Shoe’s future won’t just fall on the shoulder of its representatives. One of the area’s biggest challenges, Preslovich said, is convincing people there is ample opportunity.
The Mountaintop Region isn’t the only one in Pennsylvania fighting those battles. Rural communities throughout the state are facing many of the same hardships. Solutions have been difficult to find.
Much of what is left in the wake of a shuttered market, hardware store, pharmacy, medical clinic and two restaurants are unanswered questions. If that were an industry, business would be booming in Snow Shoe.
“We don’t have the answers and we’re looking for solutions, but solutions cost money,” Bucha said. “... For small communities like ours in Centre County — and all of us basically — do we have a chance or don’t we have a chance?”
This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 6:00 AM.