A showcase of McClure's Hometown Hero Banners. MCCLURE HOMETOWN HERO BANNER GALLERY Our town is very proud of our Hometown Heroes and would like to show them all year long on this page for all to see. Presentation ceremony of THE first eight banners Each Submission is given the opportunity to write a short biography about themselves or their service member. Links below have those short bios. Banner Class of 2019 Banner Class of 2020 Banner Class of 2 021 Banner Class of 2022 2019 Banners 1/1 2020 Banners 1/1 2021 Banners 1/1 2022 Banners 1/1 2024 Banners 1/1 2024 Banners

HOW TO FIND US! From Harrisburg 1. Merge onto US-22 W 2. Take the PA-333 exit towards Thompsontown/E. Salem 3. Turn right onto PA-333 E 4. Continue onto PA-235 N 5. Turn left to stay on PA-235 N 6. Turn right at light onto PA-235 N/PA-35 N 7. Take the first left onto PA-235 N 8. Turn left onto US-522 S/Beaver Ave. - Continue to follow US-522 S to McClure From State College 1. Take US-322 E 2. Continue onto US-22 E/US-522 N 3. Take the exit toward US-522 N/Walnut St. 4. Merge onto US-522 N/Logan St. 5. Turn left onto US-522 N/S. Walnut St. - Continue to follow US-522 N to McClure From Willamsport 1 . Take US-15 S/Montgomery Pike -Continue on US-15 S 2. Turn right onto PA-45 W/Market St. - Continue to follow PA-45 W 3. Turn left onto PA-104 S/S 10th St. - Continue to follow PA-104 S 4. Turn right onto US-522 S/W Market St. - Continue to follow US-522 S to McClure Google Maps Google Maps - Click on the link above and it will take you to Google Maps. It shows a lot of activities and locations of things in McClure and West Beaver Township. Enjoy!

Town Information such as Census, Emergency Services, Alerts, SWIFT 911, Business Directory, Climate, F.A.Q., Historical Society, Voting and Useful Links. TOWN ORIENTATION Census Click the link for information on the United States Census for McClure Borough. Climate Click here for information about the weather and other related items dealing just with the Borough of McClure. Church Directory Click here for all the churches that are located in the McClure Borough and the West Beaver Township area. F.A.Q Click here for the Frequently asked questions and answers. Business Directory Click here for all the businesses that are located in the McClure Borough and the West Beaver Township area. Historical Society Click here for information about the McClure Historical Society and anything about the History of McClure . Organizations & Useful Links Links for organizations in McClure and other events and activities. VOTING Click here on the link to get information pertaining to voting in the Borough of McClure. BOROUGH INFORMATION BOROUGH OFFICIALS Listing of the Borough Council Members, Mayor and Borough Authority Members, as well as meeting dates. DOCUMENT PORTAL McClure Borough Council Meeting agenda, minutes; McClure Municipal Authority Meeting Minutes and other documents for each entity. Forms, permits, maps, ordinances and resolutions are in the portal. S.T.A.R. Award This Award is given by the McClure Borough Council for Special Thanks And Recognition (S.T.A.R.) for some one in McClure that has made a difference in our community. Emergency Services & Management Click here for the Emergency Services information for McClure and Snyder County. Police & Community Watch Click here for information about the police and community watch, contact information. Elected Officials Click here on the link to get information pertaining to elected officials serving the Borough of McClure, Snyder County, Penna. CODE OF ORDINANCES Click here for a link to the borough Code of Ordinances. PERMITS Click here for a link to the Rental Property forms and information with Rental Properties. Also for the Rental Ordinance and forms. Visit the CK-COG website for more information about Building Permits Hometown Hero Banner Program Click here for a link to the McClure Hometown Hero Banner Program information and application.

MCCLURE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Col. Alexander Kelly McClure Vocations: Journalist, Author, Publisher, Historian, Writer, and Politician THE EARLY DAYS OF ALEXANDER KELLY MCCLURE Alexander Kelly McClure was born in Sherman’s Valley, Pennsylvania to the farming family of Alexander and Isabella Anderson McClure on January 9, 1828. He received little formal schooling and was apprenticed to a tanner in 1843. He also assisted as a printer at the local Perry County Freeman, and so began a long and distinguished career as a newspaperman. Within a few years he was editor and publisher of the Juniata Sentinel in Mifflintown, and before long the strident Whig views he had developed earlier at the Freeman came to the notice of Pennsylvania political leaders. The youthful McClure was appointed to the staff of William F. Johnson, the first Whig governor of the Commonwealth, with the honorary rank of colonel. In 1850 he served as the deputy United States marshal for Juniata County thanks to Whig president Millard Fillmore. Two years later McClure relocated to Franklin County, took over the Franklin Repository, and then turned it into one of the most influential newspapers in the state. LAW & POLITICS A prominent citizen of Chambersburg for two decades, McClure studied law and was called to the Franklin Bar in 1856. Politics and the press, however, remained his major interests. In 1853 he had been selected as the Whig candidate for auditor-general, the youngest man up to that time in Pennsylvania nominated for a state office. He lost that race, and his Whig passion began turning toward the newly emerging Republican Party. McClure carried on a spirited conflict with the local Democratic Valley Spirit through his own press in Chambersburg, the powerfully Republican Repository. He attended the Commonwealth’s Republican organizing convention in Pittsburgh in 1855, was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1858, and the following year became a member of the state Senate. He played an even more prominent role in Republican politics in 1860 when, still only thirty-two years of age, he and Andrew Curtin succeeded in bringing over the Pennsylvania delegation at the national convention from Simon Cameron to Abraham Lincoln. McClure immediately launched himself in the state and national elections as chairman of the Republican State Committee, constructing an efficient and widely organized campaign that swept his friend Curtin to the governorship and Lincoln to a sweeping Pennsylvania victory. CIVIL WAR On the outbreak of war (Civil War), Senator McClure became the chair of the state's Senate Committee on Military Affairs. He acted as spokesman for Curtin and offered the governor strong support within the legislature. He assisted Curtin in the calling of the influential meeting of “Loyal War Governors of the North,” held in Altoona on September 24 and 25, 1862. He was also commissioned as an assistant adjutant general under President Lincoln and helped provide seventeen Pennsylvania regiments to the Union armies. His own personal brush with war came with the Confederate occupations of Chambersburg, the second of which, in 1863, saw him meet with General Lee personally. In 1864 a third Confederate foray into Pennsylvania saw the town burned to the ground with McClure’s “Norland” estate on the northern outskirts deliberately targeted for destruction. He never rebuilt his estate in Chambersburg (Norland was later to become much of the campus of Wilson College), and instead moved to Philadelphia, opening a law office in that city. Around this same time, he also invested in western mining. As a representative of the Philadelphia-based Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company, he traveled and worked, in 1867 and 1868, as superintendent of the mill that was built with company funds on the Oro Cache vein in the Montana Territory. REMAINDER OF DAYS The remainder of his political career saw McClure take on an increasingly independent bent. He supported Ulysses S. Grant at the 1868 Republican National Convention, but by the time of the General’s reelection bid, McClure had become disillusioned with the party; he then led the Pennsylvania delegation to the Liberal Republican National Convention that nominated Horace Greeley. Back home in Philadelphia, he had similarly broken party ranks, winning a hard fought election to the state Senate on the Citizen’s ticket, with Democratic endorsement. In 1874 McClure ran for mayor, with similar backing, on the popular platform of anti-corruption, losing by only a few hundred votes. Not giving up, the following year he and Frank McLaughlin founded the Times as an independent, anti-corruption voice for Philadelphia. McClure remained its editor until 1901 when he sold the newspaper to Adolph Ochs. McClure had earlier, in 1869, published letters of his travels in Montana, but from 1892 onwards he began to write on his reminiscences of a long political career. He published works on Andrew Curtin, Abraham Lincoln, and Pennsylvania politics as he had seen them, and he also wrote a more contemporary biography of William McKinley. Alexander Kelly McClure died in Philadelphia on June 6, 1909.

SOCIAL MCCLURE McClure Borough & Municipal Authority McClure Community Library McClure Station Park Cold Springs Grove McClure Sons of American Legion McClure Historical Society McClure Hometown Hero Banner Program McClure Volunteer Fire Company McClure Bean Soup Festival & Fair McClure Revitalization Commitee

The McClure Cave is about one-half mile long and has three different “rooms,” with the largest being 300 feet long and 15 feet high. There are stalagmites and different formations throughout and a small pool of water that glistens with calcite rafts, or crystals. McClure Cave Pennsylvania's 31st Longest Cave The McClure Cave is about one-half mile long and has three different “rooms,” with the largest being 300 feet long and 15 feet high. There are stalagmites and different formations throughout and a small pool of water that glistens with calcite rafts, or crystals. Interested in a tour? The McClure Cave is now gated and any interested visitors are invited to contact the conservancy at McClureCave@karst.org Mid-Atlantic Karst Conservancy - McClure Cave Rules ... There are rules to follow. To keep yourself clean and preserve the interior of the cave, explorers are encouraged to wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, sturdy shoes and gloves. The gloves are necessary to protect the formations inside the cave, which can be ruined by skin oils if touched

The first burial on record was that of Bertha Mary Klinger, January 22, 1906. However, Sallie Urtie Rebecca Renninger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Renninger, born Aug. 16, 1887 and died at 5 months of age, was buried there. MCCLURE UNION CEMETERY ASSOCIATION BOARD McClure owes much to the vision of the men who spent much time and energy to add a beautiful cemetery to this community. At first quite small, it now has six sections. Plans are in the making to add yet another two and a hall acre to the East side. The first burial on record was that of Bertha Mary Klinger, January 22, 1906. However, Sallie Urtie Rebecca Renninger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Renninger, born Aug. 16, 1887 and died at 5 months of age, was buried there. On February 28, 1888 the members of the four different congregations of McClure met in the G.A.R. Hall. Henry Kahley was chosen president; Roswell Rothrock, secretary, and Isaac Dreese, treasurer. Chairperson Nancy Duff Grounds Keeper Dave Weader Secretary - Treasurer Karen Seagall CURRENT TRUSTEES Corey Hoffman Kip Erb Sharon Wright Edwin Weader Andrew Benner Dan Sellers Veterans Cemetary Listing

MCCLURE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Local Schools in McClure Borough | West Beaver Township McClure High School Public schools followed the Free-school law of 1834. Prior to those schools were privately supported by parents of the children attending them. In 1901, a new school house was built on the site of the two story structure for it. Through there were four large rooms, three of which were used for the grades and one for the high school, which opened in 1908. In the early 1920’s, the rural school consolidation movement began in the County, before construction of the old West Beaver High School building in 1928, students attended school in the building that was known as the McClure Fire Hall. The West Beaver Township High School was organized in 1908 with a two year curriculum. In 1914, the curriculum was lengthened to three years, in 1921, it was reduced back to two years and in 1928, it was made a four-year curriculum. The West Beaver Schools reached their peak in growth and stature during the two decades in which W. Michael Weader served as principal. By 1934, West Beaver Township had completely consolidated its schools. All students, grades 1st through 12th were housed in the West Beaver building at McClure. The school was frequently labeled McClure High School. For twenty-eight years, this school became the hub of the community interest and activity. The elementary school regularly excelled in scholarship, as was indicated by outstanding performance in the County Scholastic Contests. Entrance into high school was determined by a testing program administered by or through the County Superintendent of Schools. McClure High School Alma Mater Rah! Rah! Rah! McClure High School To you we raise this tune; Praises we give you now for The Orange and Maroon. We are all for you And for your team so true We’ll fight, fight, fight for victory and right, And we’ll show what McClure High can do. Rah! Rah! Rah! For the gang, boys The gang so proud and true; Loyal we’ll play the game For M.H.S. and you. Our banners grandly shall wave where e’re we roam We’ll fight, fight, fight for victory and right And we’ll all come marching home. West Beaver Elementary 1980 - 2012 In 2004, consolidation rapped at the Midd-West School District in Snyder County as it was voted on joining Middleburg High School and West Snyder High School, two schools there were considered “huge” inner school district rivals. Then in 2005, the work started with the new high school Midd-West High (old Middleburg High School). West Snyder High School was turned into a Middle School, the grades were 5th through 8th grade, and West Beaver Elementary School was turned into a K-4 grade school. Another part of the consolidation was that the Beaver Vocational High School (Beaver Adams Elementary School) in Beaver Springs was closed down and sold. The class of 2005 went from Middleburg having 103 students in their graduating class and West Snyder having 63 students in their class to a new total for Midd-West High School of 166 students. The new mascot was voted on by the students, the choices were: Marauders, Mustangs and Pirates. The mustang was the winner of the contest. In 2010, the then “new” Midd-West High School underwent a complete overhaul of the old Middleburg High School. The entire building was taken down and a newer and “greener” building was built in its place. On May 14th, 2012, the Midd-West School Board voted (5 Yes to 4 No) to close West Beaver Elementary School and Perry-West-Perry Elementary school (Mt. Pleasant Mills). West Beaver Elementary School officially closed on July 1st, 2012. West Snyder was turned into a K-5 elementary school and everyone else went to the schools in Middleburg (H.S., M.S., or the elementary school). The closure of the school ended a long history of schools in West Beaver Township, from the one room school houses in the late 1880's to 2012. McClure can be proud of the great educational institutes that were in it's confines for the nearly 130 years that they were there; they will be missed and remembered by the ones that roamed those hallways. Something to note for future generations West Beaver Elementary did not go down with out a final fight. Nearly 500 signatures on petitions, McClure Borough Council President (Mr. A. S. Benner speaking at the school board meetings) and many concern parents / citizen of McClure and Western Snyder County, went to the meetings to fight for the last pubic school in McClure.

Cold Springs Grove Located at the intersection of Jackson Street and Ohio Street. It is home to the historic McClure Bean Soup Festival and Fair Celebration held annually in September, since 1891. The McClure Bean Soup has been served at the White House and to many people from around the world. In addition to the historic festival it houses class reunions, church events, the annual Strawberry Festival in June and many others. Website for the McClure Bean Soup Festival and Fair. McClure Bean Soup Celebration McClure is proud of its living memorial to all veterans of all wars in the annually held Bean Soup celebrations started by Veterans of the Civil War of McClure and surrounding vicinity. On July 23, 1883, a group of veterans of the Civil War met on the second story of Joseph Peters blacksmith shop in Bannerville for the purpose of organizing a Grand Army of Republic Post. After several preliminary meetings, the first session of the newly formed post was held on October 20, 1883. This is held every September at Cold Springs Grove. This organization held many get-togethers and observed bean soup festivals from time to time, but not until 1891 did the Bean Soup Celebration invite the public to a real Civil War bean soup dinner. Records show Comrade Ner B. Middleswarth was chairman in charge of his celebration and secured from the war department “hard tack” to be served with soup. Comrade Henry Kahley who was a cook in the Civil War was in charge of the soup. Another veteran named in cooking was Comrade Aaron Bickel. From 1891 on, the thinning of the ranks in the early 1900’s caused them to feel that the celebration should be carried on by their sons. Since then, the present Henry K. Ritter Camp Sons of Union War Veterans and citizens of McClure have put forth an united effort to the novel celebration using a ton of beans and a ton of crackers to serve the tens of thousands who attend each year.

Looking for any information pertaining to a church in the Borough of McClure or West Beaver Township. CHURCH DIRECTORY New to the area? Perhaps you're just visiting for a weekend getaway? Whatever the case, we've put together a list of some of the churches around West Beaver Township and McClure Borough. Trinity Lutheran Church P.O. Box 168 6 East Specht Street McClure, PA 17841 Website Bannerville C & MA Church Main Road Bannerville McClure, PA 17841 (570) 658-4651 St. John's Ridge Church Stage Road McClure, PA 17841 Facebook Page Mt. Bethel Church of McClure 16 West Specht Street McClure, PA 17841 (570) 658-3563 Website Facebook Bannerville Church of the Brethren 7502 Stage Road McClure, PA 17841 Baker's Church Ulsh Gap Road McClure, PA 17841 First United Methodist 10 East Specht Street McClure, PA 17841 (570) 658-3918 Samuel's Church 480 Samuel's Church Rd. McClure, PA 17841 Pastor (570) 452-1905 Church (570) 548-5276 Website West End Grace Church 3667 Back Mountain Rd. Beaver Springs, PA 17812 (570) 713-8039 https://westendgrace.com/ Facebook

MCCLURE HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Era of Railroading through the Valley Sunbury-Lewistown Railroad Originally known as Middlecreek Valley Railroad According to the Story of Snyder County by George Dunkelberger, the beginning of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated in 1846, actually began with the construction of a railroad as early as 1832 from Philadelphia to Columbia, Pennsylvania, by way of Lancaster. Great expansion of the railroad throughout the nation took place the decade following the close of the Civil War. The appointment of a commission to organize the Middle Creek Valley Railroad Company was through an act of legislature passed on March 23, 1865, this provided for the proposed railroad to be extended “…from a point on the Pennsylvania Railroad, at or near Lewistown, through the heart of Mifflin and Snyder Counties eastward and terminate on the east bank of the Susquehanna River at or between Port Trevorton and Northumberland…” and the construction was to begin within three years and be completed within ten. mcclure Picture1 The Middle Creek Railroad Company was organized October 2, 1866, in order to carry out the provisions of this act. Construction began at Northumberland on August 1, 1867, and connected with the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad, crossed the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, extended south of Selinsgrove and continued west to the Beaver Furnace of the Shade Mountain Iron Company. The railroad played a vital role in the development and expansion of McClure. Work of grading began in the summer of 1867. In 1870, the name was changed to Sunbury and Lewistown Railroad. For two years, 1874-1876 trains ceased to operate. Then in 1876, the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the road through McClure. Finally, it was purchased by the P. R. R. and became an integral part of its system. It was known as the Sunbury-Lewistown branch. In September of 1871 the first train, consisting of a locomotive, a passenger coach and six trucks (open railroad freight cars) passed through McClure and continued on to Beaver Springs. This was a trail run. On November 1, 1871, the first through passenger train, consisting of a locomotive and passenger coach of railroad officials and other notables passed through McClure. After that train, another one with three coaches followed it. The locomotives were beautifully decorated and the coaches were filled with passengers. A large crowd had gathered in McClure to witness the great event. The Rev. L.C. Edmonds, Pastor of the Beaver Springs Charge of the Reformed Church at the time, wrote of the occasion: “On the morning arrival of the first passenger train, people of all grades and shades came flocking to the station all along the line to see. Some of the hill and mountain folk had never seen a train of cars run before that event came to pass, hence there was some fun. One old lady at the McClure station, on seeing railroad wagons moved without horses, she exclaimed, in Snyder County Dutch, ‘Eye wu sin don de gile?’ (Where are the horses?) The answer by “dawdy’ was: “Yaw, mommy, der shmoke moch selli redder rum ga;” (Yes, Mom, the smoke makes the wheels go around.) “Well! Sell beet worhoft ig der alt Bellseboop selver!’” (Well! This beats truthfully the old devil himself.)” A new form of transportation, far superior to the slow horse-drawn wagons was now available. And now, grain, farm produce, livestock, lumber and huckleberries picked on the nearby mountains were funneled into McClure to be shipped to near and distant points, This also worked the other way, for all kinds of items, including automobiles were shipped to McClure by rail, At the peak of operations 24 freight and passenger trains ran daily. Three passenger trains ran daily carrying many passengers, some of which were residents of McClure. The station attendants included a head agent, day and night operator, and clerk and warehouse boy. In 1899, the McClure station was the first one on the S & L line to become an around the clock telegraph office, and Charles Mumma was the first night operator. In 1902, John M. Rauch was transferred from Paintersville to McClure where he was head agent and remained until 1935, when the station was closed and he retired. Keemer Stuck and C. F. Wagner learned telegraphy while Rauch was agent, working the night shift. Mr. Wagner worked in the mountain during the day and in the station at night, sleeping on the benches, so anxious was he to learn the trade, which he followed for 20 years. Other railroad employees were S. H. Kline, A. A. Kline, H. C. Dreese, Earl Snook, Jacob Kinney, Fred Specht, Adam Wagner, Lewis Kahley, John Hughes, Arthur Shirley, John Heeter, Charles Helfrick, Hurley Romig, Jerry Wetzel, Joseph Otto, John Howell, James Goss, Amos Klinger, Aaron Wagner, Wilson Kline and Clair Kline. In 1907, a section shaped somewhat like a Y was put in operation at the west end of town for the purpose of turning engines around so that they could go in the opposite direction. It led off the main railroad bed north to and against the ridge. An engine would back in on one side, a switch was thrown, and then it would pull out the other side, and be on its way. On March 9, 1900, the first successful experiment of transmitting telegraph and telephone messages over the same wire was made on the S & L line. From July 11, 1923 to January 17, 1926, an automatic train control was tested on this road. The system, first tried on any railroad, was used to control train traffic, and was mounted on tower-like structures along the line. Corresponding systems were also in the cab of the engine and in the station. Here at McClure the signal bridge, with its disc on which electric lights were mounted, was located about one-half mile west of the station. The automatic train control, although refined, is now used on all railroads in the country. The heavy passenger traffic continued until shortly after World War I when the wider use of the automobile and better roads planted the "kiss of death on this type of travel. Finally on Saturday, January 16, 1932 the last regularly scheduled passenger train passed through McClure. It was made up of engine No. 5386, a mail and express car and a passenger coach. Charles A. Fisher was the engineer, Charles Laird the fireman, U. Howard Stock the conductor, and Harry Howell the brakeman. None were residents of McClure, Joe Henry Kline, a local model railroad enthusiast, vividly recalls that train as he watched it move through McClure. Photo to the left is of the original water tower that sat on the north side of the tracks in McClure, it is a standard 23,628 gallon tank and sand house; picture taken on July 12, 1917. Pictured below is a map of Snyder County from 1895 dipicting where the Sunbury – Lewistown Railway Co. (S&L Railway Co.) went through the county. The red lines indicate where the tracks were located and the red circles on the tracks indicate that there was a station or an out post at that location.