I moved back to State College in 1983, to manage a group within Information
Technology Services whose goal was to help manage the inclusion of microcomputers
and LANS into Penn State. I also got my Phd. When the College of Information
Sciences and Technology was formed I was its first faculty member, although
fixed-term.
Initially we lived in the town of State College, but one day I got a gift
from my parents and we bought a beautiful 1 acre ranch house at the foothill
of Tussey Mountain about 8 miles from campus.
I loved it! I built Dog-Star Observatory 2, had large organic gardens
and planted a berry orchard and multiple fruit trees. I really hated moving but it was time.
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Bears at my neighbors feeder.
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When I had my accident, a group of bikers came out and
built a front deck and ramp so i could get in and out of the house.
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Whenever possible, I tried to heat the house using the wood
stove in the basement. It was wonderful. Every fall i would go into the
mountains and cut wood to bring home and split. The kids would help stack it and bring it into the cellar.
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I had a hot tub to soothe my aching bones. Especially
great for warming up on cold winter mornings.
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I had 3 big organic gardens.
One year I tried raised-beds. It worked great!
Every year I had veggies to freeze, veggies to give to my friends, and still a lot that I would leave for the critters.
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One year Suzi, Kat and I did a 4-week tour of PA
winerys. We ended up with a lot of wine, much of which we gave away.
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For a number of years I would put up tarps over the back
porch.
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My orchid cactus. (night flower)
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I had cherry, pear and apple trees. I gathered the sour
cherries and froze a bunch. I pretty much left the apples and pears for the deer.
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Chi's old motorcycle.
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My home office was in the dining room.
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Of course I had a LOT of guns.
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Copyright G.M. Santoro, PhD, 2026 |
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