Old City Hall Dedicated
The Bradford Era: February 21, 2007
Submitted by: Molly Lindahl, Bradford Landmark
Society Volunteer
"In the beginning, I didn't think it was
doable," said U.S. Rep, John Peterson, R-Pa., Tuesday at the dedication
ceremony of Bradford's newly opened Old City Hall. "You proved me
wrong." Peterson, along with state Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway,
and state Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, all addressed the tremendous
dedication the Bradford community put into the renovation effort to save
the city's "gem." "It's all about our history," Causer
said. "You can't help but stand here and think about how many people
have com through those doors," he said, gesturing towards the main
entrance facing Kenney Street, "and how many will come through those
doors." "Bradford really is an example to the rest of the Commonwealth.
It whows what you can do when you work together." Scarnati added,
"It takes people to just be a little creative once in a while."
He said he knows fom his experience serving on borogh council in Brockway
that al the money that went into renovating Old City Hall has caused local
controversy, but said the finished project shows the money was worth it.
Gesturing towards a time capsule being placed in teh building by students
from teh Floyd C. Fretz Middle School, Scarnati said "When that box
is opened, the people then will say the people in this room made the right
choices." Pterson complimented the community's efforts, saying this
project is the grandest one he's seen come to realization. "I serve
a lot of communities," Peterson said. Reffering to the amount of
time and effort put into the project by the city's Office of Economic
and Community Development, Peterson said, "I don't know that there's
another community that could pull this off." The OECD worked with
area partners in a project called Impact Bradford to attract funding to
the area, explained Sara Andrews, OECD executive director. Those partners
- Zippo Manufacturing Co., Bradford Regional Medical Center, University
of Pittsburgh and Bradford Area School District - have been one driving
force, which has successfully leveraged funding from Gov. Ed Rendell's
Community Action Team and other state and federal sources. "...it's
a dedication to the citizens of the Bradford community," she said.
"Its's part of our history. If we don't allow ourselves to remember
where we came from, we'll never know where we're going." "I
think Bradford has a lot to be proud of in this community," she said.
"I think we need to dedicate this community to ourselves because
there's not one arem or leg of this community that doesn't work with each
other." Chris Mong, director of teh Northwest Regional Office of
the Department of Community and Economic Deveopment, spoke on behalf of
Rendells Action Team. He said that Bradford was one of the first projects
the Action Team was involved in, and it was because the community pulled
together as a whole. "Two years and 49 projects later, Bradford remains
one of the landmark projects we mention when telling people how communitites
should come together," Mong said. Rev. Robert Brest, pastor of the
First Free Methodist Church, gave the opening prayer and blessing of the
building - and amde a little joke about it as well. "There's one
thing I don't like about it," he joked. "I can't preach past
noon. The bell (in the clock tower) rings - ding, dong - it's noon. Everyone
looks at their watch, pulls out their keys and it's time to go."
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