I'm Your Neighbor

Meet Harriett Gaston. This Altoona neighbor collects Black history in Blair County, including the story of an Underground Railroad conductor who was the county's first civil rights leader.

Lynn Anne Verbeck, a ceramic artist based in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, opens up about her passion for teaching art and her belief that we are all creative beings. After studying film at Penn State, Verbeck turned to sculpture as a way to express her feelings and make art for people to use. She is one of the founders of ARTery, an upcoming community art makerspace in Philipsburg.

Claire Lorts decided to leave her job managing a plant biology lab at Penn State — a job she loved — to pursue her other passion: art. Now she creates and sells artisan jewelry. In this episode of I'm Your Neighbor, Claire shares the story of how she made this transition and opens up about the challenges and rewards of being a full-time artist.

Jim Bowers loves rocks. He loves climbing up them, he loves traversing them, he even loves making them. Jim’s become something of a local legend when it comes to climbing, having established hundreds of bouldering and sport routes throughout Pennsylvania.

Fire trucks were an unforgettable part of Rick James’ childhood. His earliest memories are of the Alpha Fire Company’s original station in State College, where he went with his father. James is now the historian of the fire company and now has a collection of about 35 fire trucks dating back to 1923.

Terry Watson is the founder of Strategies for Justice, a platform for people of color in law enforcement to engage their communities and build trust through their narratives. In this episode of I’m Your Neighbor, Terry shares how his family history inspired him to address injustice in his own community.

Aquila Kikora Franklin grew up dancing at her mother’s studio in Atlanta. Her love of creative movement has taken her around the world as a performer and choreographer and ultimately led to her becoming a professor of theater/dance at the Penn State School of Theatre. It also inspired her to co-found and direct Roots of Life Performing Arts Ensemble.

Leslie Laing is driven by finding solutions. In this episode of I’m Your Neighbor, Leslie describes some of the many, many ways she serves the State College community and shares her belief that we all have the ability to influence the circumstances around us.

Brian and Lauren Spicher share their tiny house dream. After running a roofing business in Lancaster, Brian and his family decided to step back and make their home in a cabin in the woods in Huntingdon County. They fell in love with the tiny house movement, and from there, Brian bought a saw mill and started building tiny houses, with several more planned and dreams of building a community.

Shaun Knight and Christa Stofferahn tell the story behind Maine Bay & Berry in State College.