SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Although the weather was dreary Monday night, Penn State pride shone brightly as about 50 members of the local and Penn State Schuylkill communities gathered to remember a college football legend.
With the death of 85-year-old former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno on Sunday morning, David Chavira, a senior at Penn State Schuylkill and president of the Student Government Association, said the campus community knew it had to do something to honor him and decided on Monday's candlelight vigil.
"The campus community really came together last minute trying to get everything organized," Chavira said. "You could see all the support and love for JoePa that came out of it."
About 5 p.m., people started gathering at the Lion Shrine on the Penn State Schuylkill campus, setting up candles around the lion statue and along the walkway leading up to it.
The sense of community and mourning showed as candles were handed out to everyone and they shared the flame, candle to candle.
Chavira opened the vigil, telling everyone that the service was for them to remember a great man and what he did for the university, and Chavira invited those in attendance to share any special thoughts they had about JoePa.
"The best thing I remember was my very first game at Beaver Stadium that just happened to be his 400th win," Chavira said. "It was the speech afterwards that I remember the most, when he said they asked me why I keep doing this and I said take a look around, and then 100,000 people started to cheer. That's when I really started to feel the Penn State spirit."
Fighting back the tears, Marlene Cook, Port Carbon, told about how she was a 2000 graduate of Penn State and had been a Penn State fan all her life.
Cook said that not only did she attend the university, but her father, brother and sisters, all attended as well. She said that her father, who died 12 years ago, is in heaven and finally met his idol, Paterno, who was also an inspiration to her entire family and everyone at the vigil.
"Thank you for having us because I would have loved to have been at the main campus, but this is just great," Cook said. "All I can say is we all stand around and wait for Joe Paterno outside his doorstep and outside the stadium, but think of all the people waiting at the gates for JoePa."
Vincent Carraro, Pottsville, a freshman at Penn State Schuylkill, said Paterno had impacted families like his in which someone in the family has been diagnosed with cancer.
Carraro said his sister was diagnosed in 1995.
That year, his family was first introduced to the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital and the Penn State dance marathon, THON. That was also the first time Carraro met Paterno.
THON is a yearlong effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. Since 1977, it has raised more than $78 million for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, and about 100 new families receive support each year.
"When he came out on stage, I never heard a place get so loud and so excited to see one single man," Carraro said.
Carraro said that when he was young and didn't know who Paterno was, his mother told him Paterno was the head coach of the football team.
"From that day, I said, 'I want to be like him. I want to go to that school. I want to come to Penn State so I can be a part of this amazing experience where one man has changed the lives of so many people,' " Carraro said. He said that Paterno not only dedicated his life to Penn State football, but also donated vast amounts of money to THON to help families like his own and families all throughout the Four Diamonds Fund.
"For that, that man is my idol and I will never forget him," Carraro said. "I will appreciate everything that man has done for my family and families like mine."
At the end of the 30-minute vigil, everyone joined in singing the Penn State Alma Mater before blowing out their candles and departing.