Old Gregg School Provides Many Different Opportunities

By Mike Frazier
correspondent@centrecountygazette.com

SPRING MILLS — At the joining of Penns Creek and Sinking Creek in the small town of Spring Mills sits what has become the hub of the Gregg Township community. Once it was a school — in fact, the one my mother graduated from in 1941. I attended it as a fifth grader. Later, as a high school student, I had wrestling practice there.

During the early 2000s, the Penns Valley Area School District needed to close one of its elementary schools. While always a controversial move by a district, it was decided to close the Gregg Township Elementary School in Spring Mills. The building was eventually turned over to the Gregg Township supervisors for the sum of $1.

The supervisors, with input by many others, decided to turn the building into a resource to be utilized by the community. The supervisors named it the Old Gregg School Community and Recreation Center.

Since 2007, the building has been offering opportunities to many different groups. Many of the people who now use the facility pay a reasonable fee. There are others who pay very little or nothing at all.

Today, there are 13 different individuals and groups using the building. Some of the individuals are taking advantage of the OGS as an unofficial business incubator. The OGS has become place where people can start a business utilizing the low rent and the infrastructure to help them start that business.

The township has its offices in the building, and the Penns Valley Community Church holds services there. A nonprofit offshoot of the church, the Penns Valley Youth Center, has two after-school programs, as well as a dinner on Wednesday nights for families. It supports a youth group for the children of the families that come for the dinner on Wednesday.

The youth center has 250 students on its roster and 22 staff and volunteers taking part in the program.

Sweet Temptations by Terri Spahr is another entrepreneur using the space to prepare her tasty baked goods, which she sells at farmer’s markets, at the OGS cafe and for private individuals who have contracted with her. The cafe has become a place to get a lunch or a treat and a place to hang out for groups of local community members.

On the second floor is Nick Freed of “Inside Out Cooking.” He teaches baking and has always wanted a business. His goal is to open a store in State College, but he is working out of the OGS while he establishes his brand.

The old, unwanted school building that was sold for $1 is now the heart of the Gregg Township community. People come for books in the library, machines to work out on, food from the food pantry, to pay their township fees or to participate in one of the many programs offered to the public.

However, many still do not know about this treasure in their midst. It seems to be a secret that many residents of Gregg Township don’t know about. However, as people learn about it, more and more of them will be pleased that the supervisors saw fit to establish this resource. The website for the OGS is oldgreggschool.org.

This story appears in the Oct. 6-12 edition of The Centre County Gazette. Send story ideas to editor@centrecountygazette.com.