Saturday, June 27, 2026

"A Vote of Confidence": Altoona's 1982 Library Telethon

When I was growing up, one of my family's end-of-summer rituals was to watch the MDA telethon, a fundraiser hosted every Labor Day weekend by comedian Jerry Lewis. Because of Lewis's deep and wide connections within the entertainment industry, each MDA telethon featured live performances by several generations of talent. So, over the course of 2 days, my grandparents could toe-tap to Frank Sinatra, my Mom and Dad could boogie to the Bee Gees, and I could enjoy En Vogue. Lewis's hilarious "schticks" and his explosive joy when the tote board revealed how much money he'd raised also made the MDA telethons memorable TV moments.

Jerry Lewis's fundraisers are only the best-known of many charitable telethons that took place across the United States from the 1950s through the 1990s. Recently, I uncovered an award-winning library example when I was researching the history of the Altoona Area Public Library. Designated as a "provisional" District Library Center in the early 1960s, AAPL faced daunting challenges in meeting the state's requirements. In addition to achieving basic standards for state aid to municipal libraries, as a DLC, it received extra funds to provide enhanced services to public libraries and library patrons within Blair, Huntingdon, and Bedford Counties (and it complied with the many strings attached to that money. Largely because of the state's demands, it built and moved into a new building in the late 1960s. AAPL also did the legwork necessary to obtain substantial appropriations from the Altoona Area School District and Blair County Commissioners. The library proved adept at pursuing grants, tapping workforce development programs, and utilizing volunteers. Its Friends of the Library group generated thousands of dollars annually, especially through used book sales. The library also organized or benefitted from a wide variety of one-off fundraisers, including a car wash, a softball tournament, donation cans at IGA and Sheetz, and a cut from every sale of a Big Mac on a designated "Library Day" at McDonalds.

Nevertheless, during the 1970s and 1980s, a perfect storm of declining populations in Altoona and Blair County, added to soaring expenses, produced financial crises. Not only did fewer residents mean less local tax revenue, but state and county funding formulas that were based on population meant less money distributed to AAPL. In particular, rising labor costs and the astronomical expense of emerging technologies outpaced government appropriations. Even after cutting staff and collections budgets to the bone, AAPL typically started its financial years with "deficit" budgets tens of thousands of dollars in the red. In the months that followed, trustees, employees, and advocates hustled to obtain sufficient income for the library  or else it could face layoffs and closures come summertime. 

In April 1982, AAPL was nearing the end of its fiscal year and it was still more than $22,000 the hole. In the past, trustees and staff typically met this type of shortfall through cutting the library's opening hours and through salary savings from vacant positions, but further cuts would mean the it may not meet standards and could lose its state aid. Fortunately, a local DJ named Steve Austin (the on-air name used by Greg Banks) approached the head of AAPL's Media Center, Maxine Rhodes, with the idea of raising funds through a telethon. While such an undertaking couldn't be arranged in time to address the library's year-end difficulties, everyone recognized that it could help them avoid a future one. In late July, AAPL Director Patricia Connell met with Austin and Dolly Ickes, Manager of Warner Cable; efforts proceeded from there. Austin rounded up music entertainers, Garry Delph served as producer, and Dee Riley, who produced the Miss Pennsylvania Show, developed a fast-moving program schedule. Also behind the scenes were Dick Hall of Morgan Signs, who coordinated advance publicity and got every radio and TV station in the area to steer viewers to Channel 13, which would televise the event. Hall also designed and constructed the studio set. Marge Helsel, publisher of the Altoona Mirror, wrote a supportive editorial and the paper's reporters covered fresh developments. Ken Brubaker, who had recently retired from Warner, assisted with technical aspects. Everyone gave freely of their talents and resources -- the only costs were about $100 for a newspaper ad and $6 for a post office box. Although the group set an ambitious goal of $33,000 (about $112,000 in 2026 dollars), no one could predict how successful they would be. The telethon was said to be Altoona's first-ever.

On November 20th, 1982, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., host John "Big John" Riley of WTAJ-TV introduced performers and speakers. The telethon's programming consisted of PSAs about the library, interspersed with interviews with Altoona personalities and various types of entertainment. A second-by-second script, still available in AAPL's administrative office files, shows that 1-minute spots showcased the library's reference services, toddler story hour, periodicals collection, media center, art exhibits, meeting spaces, and "odd services." There were also promos for the Friends' book sale and the library's newspaper recycling drive (another ongoing fundraiser). There were performances by the Altoona High School Band, Keith Junior High School Band, the Altoona Symphony, the Deborah Anthony Dancers, the Keystone Chorale (now Blair Concert Chorale), the Spoon River Band, the Suzuki Violin Group, and the Sweet Adelines (now the Altoona Chorus). Other performers taking the stage included Skip Sigel (a dancer) and Todd Sparks (a vocalist). News reports mention gymnasts, magicians, a puppet show -- even Ronald McDonald showed up! Teams of volunteers from the AMBUCS, Chamber of Commerce, Jaycees, Junior Women's Club, Kiwanis, Lions, Quota Club, Rotary, and other service groups, all coordinated by Rick Beiswenger, staffed the phone lines. Concurrent with the telethon at the Penn Alto Hotel, there was a collection booth at the Logan Valley Mall and community members soliciting donations from door-to-door. 

The set of AAPL's November 20, 1982 telethon.
Photo published in the Altoona Mirror, November 22, 1982. 

By any standard, AAPL's telethon was a great success. More than 900 people made donations ranging from 50 cents to $1,000. In all, their generosity amounted to $28,500, eliminating the library's budget deficit for that year. What's more, Altoona gained state and national recognition. In 1983, the American Library Association and reference book publisher Gale Research teamed up to establish a new Financial Development Award to recognize innovative library fundraising efforts. Winning the award resulted an additional $2,500 for AAPL and kudos in a book that ALA published to spread the word about the successful library fundraisers.

AAPL's 1982 telethon is a wonderful example of a community coming together at a crucial moment of need. As the trustees noted in their December 8, 1982 meeting, it was a "vote of confidence" in director Patricia Connell and the library. 

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