Jeffrey R Frazier

MEXICO — Growing up in Centre Hall in what he called a “Tom Sawyer” sort of way, Jeffrey R. Frazier spent much of his childhood hiking and exploring the little-traveled byways and remote hilltops of Centre County.

The young Frazier craved learning anything about the mountains of Pennsylvania — folktales, legends and folklore.

From Pennsylvania Indian legends and supernatural tales to human interest episodes and hunting narratives, Frazier shared the old-time tales he collected over the past half century in a five-volume series of books, “Pennsylvania Mountain Landmarks,” and an eight-volume “Pennsylvania Fireside Tales.”

Since these tales often sound far-fetched, Frazier takes on the role of an investigative reporter to explore and explain their origins, writing in a way that average readers can enjoy.

“Some of my fondest memories of that boyhood include explorations of the out of the way spots in the mountains and accounts of the legends that seem to cling to those spots,” Frazier explained of his writing whose roots back to the Civil War and beyond, including episodes from the Civil War and tales about the early hunting days in Pennsylvania.

Frazier headlines the Juniata County Historical Society’s fall dinner meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, at Walker Grange in Mexico.

“I have always been very good at writing, starting in high school then in college,” Frazier said. “However, I did not begin writing in earnest until 1990, after spending 20 years collecting old-time Pennsylvania mountain folktales, legends and folklore.”

Frazier graduated from Penn State in 1967 and moved out of state to start his career. However, it wasn’t long before the absence of the mountains of Pennsylvania started to leave Frazier homesick.

“It was 1970 and I was living in New Jersey, which was all concrete,” Frazier added. “I realized how much I loved the Pennsylvania mountains and their stories. It was the homesickness that inspired me to collect and write those stories.”

His primary passion has been collecting and writing about Pennsylvania history and folklore. Frazier plans to speak about many of the fireside tales that pertain to the Juniata River Valley at the dinner.

Having read all the books he could get his hands on about the legends of Pennsylvania, cross referencing the materials with the stories he had heard as a boy, he started to track down and record the legends of important sites, landmarks and buildings, some of which had ties dating back to the Civil War.

As Frazier collected stories, he categorized each story into one of four types of stories. These categories included stories from early indigenous tribes; hunting histories connected to local wolves and mountain lions; supernatural stories connected to ghosts, witches and other supernatural events; and stories of lost treasures and exaggerated animals or people.

Uncovering the truth of many of these tales involved tracking down community members whose ancestors heard the initial story accounts firsthand, then verifying the stories with recorded histories and data.

In 2024, Frazier became a published author when Sunbury Press in Mechanicsburg came out with his “Pennsylvania Mountain Landmarks,” which includes the infamous Thousand Steps, The Three Sisters and Warriors’ Mark, all from Huntingdon County, are highlighted in Volumes 1-3.

Sunbury Press has also published expanded versions of all eight volumes of the author’s “Pennsylvania Fireside Tales” series, with plans to also publish his “Pennsylvania Fireside Ghost Tales.” Several of his books will also be available for purchase at the dinner. A 50/50 drawing will also be held.

The meal begins at

6:30 p.m., with a short business meeting following the dinner then the speaker. The roast beef dinner includes mashed potatoes and gray, filling, California blend with cheese and cherry or apple crumb dessert with ice cream.

Today is the deadline for tickets, which cost $25 each and can be purchased at the Juniata County Historical Society Archives, 498 Jefferson St., Suite B, Mifflintown. The archives are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.