Submitted photo
Mifflin County native Russ Bigelow, now living in Florida, keeps local history alive with his Mifflin County Pennsylvania Memories group on Facebook.

BARTOW, Fla. — Russ Bigelow’s resume has a bunch of different professions on it: construction worker; truck driver; warehouse and factory worker; and even business owner (twice).

Now retired, Bigelow has admittedly become more of a history buff, glancing through historical photos and accounts about Mifflin County’s past.

The 62-year-old Burnham native, who now lives in Florida, came up with the idea of posting them on social media for others to enjoy, so he created the Mifflin County Pennsylvania Memories group on Facebook in 2020.

“There were many different Facebook pages from Mifflin County,” Bigelow says. “Burnham, Yeagertown, Belleville, Lewistown, Granville and Milroy. I thought why not bring it all together and included the towns without a Facebook page.”

He found Facebook to be an easy place to post photos and accounts, and quickly discovered others could enjoy the fruits of his labor and share their own insight by commenting on his posts.

Bigelow added Allensville, Kistler, Reedsville, Newton Hamilton and McVeytown, towns that didn’t have Facebook pages. He never expected such a response from the community for the end product he created.

In 2½ years, nearly 7,200 members have joined his Facebook group.

“Members have to be connected to Mifflin County in some way,” he explains. “(Residents have to) work or live there or did live there or be from a surrounding county.”

While anyone on Facebook can find the group. Only approved members can see who’s in the group and the content they post.

Since the group is private, Bigelow must approve all requests for membership. He spends a few hours a day on the page. While he enjoys posting information, the administrative part of the group has become a bit overwhelming. He sought out help from volunteers and now has a staff of six administrators and moderators, including himself.

The administrators add and approve members, add or delete content and monitor all activities in the page. A page moderator answers and removes comments, sends messages as the page, make advertisements and checks insights.

“It’s fun for me because I learn through my research and from other members,” Bigelow says. “I had no clue the page would grow to what it has become.”

One of his more popular posts is about “Tiny Town,” a miniature town built in the late 1930s and early 1940s by Homer Searer and Andrew Bottomley on the hillside behind their Lewistown homes.

Using accounts from a newspaper article, Bigelow wrote, “The focal point of the town was a small imitation of the Statue of Liberty. Other statues included bridges, stairways, walkways, houses, lighthouses, fences, gates and a gazebo — anything that would fit into the rock formation. Most of the structures were created over the winter months and in the spring, they would be brought outside and put together.”

Within two weeks of the post, nearly 40 viewers had commented, sharing their experiences with the “Tiny Town.”

Other posts focus of downtown Lewistown store fronts of yesteryear, like Montgomery Ward, which was located near Lewistown’s Monument Square, and Danks & Co. department store; American Viscose Co., a textile manufacturer which built homes in Juniata Terrace and the Juniata Terrace School for its workforce and their families; and famous eateries like Tony’s Cottage Inn in the Lewistown Narrows and the former Red Barn restaurant on Electric Avenue.

“When the hungries hit, when the hungries hit, hit the Red Barn,” an individual posted about the Red Barn, which is now home to China Garden Buffet. “Anyone else remember the jingle?”

It’s this type of interaction that makes the project so rewarding for Bigelow.

A 1977 graduate of Chief Logan High School, he was also a former second lieutenant at the Newtown Fire Co. He also served in the Navy as a Boatswain Mate on the U.S.S. Kalamazoo and U.S.S. Hoel.

The Facebook page has become a treasure trove of photos from old and modern times. Reading the comments left by visitors can be just as intriguing as readers often leave memories sparked by viewing the posted photos.

Does Bigelow have a favorite post?

“Any post where I can help the members with info,” he explains. “Also, I like seeing members reconnect with old friends.”

An old photo of the Five Points in downtown Lewistown serves as the eye-catching banner of the page.

“I try to cover all topics — both good and bad,” he says. “Some members don’t like the bad history, but it’s part of the history and needs to be preserved.”

The most rewarding part for his is when members share their photos and stories.

“Many members have thanked me for starting this page and are very supportive,” Bigelow says. “The biggest disappointment that I had was removing and blocking about 20 members for not following the rules — mostly political comments.”

Preserving the history of Mifflin County is Bigelow’s main goal for the page.

“It brings me much joy to read all of the comments to mine and other members’ posts,” he explains. “I hope the Facebook page continues long after I’m gone because history never stops happening.”