Former U.S. Rep. Bud Shuster was a boon for economic development and tourism, not only for Altoona and Blair County, but also for Bedford County, where the Bud Shuster By Way skirts around his hometown of Everett.

Shuster, 91, died Wednesday at his farm in Everett, surrounded by his family, two weeks after fracturing his hip, which led to complications, said Rebekah Sungala, a close family friend.

Shuster’s death brings an end to an era remembered for earmark spending and transportation projects across the nation, including I-99.

“He was quite the force in central Pennsylvania and national politics,” A.C. Stickel said. “The things that we have because of I-99. … it’s amazing the things he brought to the community,” the Blair County controller said.

Shuster spent nearly three decades in Congress, surprising his colleagues by resigning in January 2001, a day after being sworn in for his 15th term.

His tenure was a “very different time” compared to today’s political scene, Stickel said. “Earmarks … we can argue whether they’re good or bad. Even if you hate them, our region got the benefit of probably more money than we sent to Washington,” Stickel said.

Shuster cared about the area.

That transportation infrastructure helped Sheetz grow, Stickel said, noting that as Sheetz grew, more money came into Blair County, too.

“That’s just one company,” he said by way of an example of the impact I-99 has had on the area.

Highway legacy

Shuster’s legacy is the highway system we have today, not only in Blair County but nationwide, according to former Blair County Commissioner Colson E. Jones, who worked closely with the congressman and former state Senate President Pro Tem Bob Jubelirer in the efforts to build I-99 through Bedford, Blair and Centre counties.

Multiple people pushing

Jones, when serving as commissioner, was also a member of the Pennsylvania Transportation Commission, giving this area a one-two-three punch — with Jones and Jubelirer at the state level and Shuster in Washington.

“I liked the man. He did a great job. He never got credit for all the things he did for this community,” Jones said, as he remembered the angst and the effort that was needed to convince state and federal authorities to build I-99.

Jones pointed out that at one point state officials decided they were not going to construct the new highway past Altoona.

Shuster, who was the chairman of the powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, assumed the leadership role.

He made a deal for Pennsylvania to complete the final leg of I-99 between Altoona and I-80.

It was Shuster’s “dream to have that connection from the turnpike to I-80,” Blair County Commissioner Bruce Erb said.

Erb said Shuster’s influence was incredible.

“He really ushered in a transformative era in Blair County and his district,” Erb said. “You can’t really go far before you see tangible evidence of his influence.”

The building of I-99 spurred economic development and “improved our quality of life,” he said.

Shuster had a vision and he was a negotiator to get what he wanted, Erb said.

“In his day, he was able to deal across the aisle … and come away with something that was acceptable to everybody.”

Known as “Mr. Transportation,” Shuster was “either the hammer or the velvet cloth,” he said.

‘Giant in this district’

“He (Shuster) was without a doubt a giant in this district. He did more to help the area than anyone can imagine,” Jubelirer said.

When Shuster was first elected, Jubelirer was not a supporter, but over the years, they became good friends and worked

together to better this area of Pennsylvania.

Peoples Natural Gas Field, where the Altoona Curve play baseball, was an example of a project he and Shuster worked on.

Jubelirer noted Shuster was instrumental in the revitalization of the Bedford Springs Hotel, and they collaborated to find the funding for I-99.

“To get the highway finished, he got the money to do that. I got the money from the state once he got the money,” Jubelirer explained.

“Bud Shuster’s passing is a tremendous loss. We were fortunate to have Bud Shuster,” he said.

It was fun working with him, Jubelirer said.

Shuster’s birthday was in January, and Jubelirer said every year he would use the occasion to call Bud and wish him a happy birthday and the two of them would talk things over.

The bottom line in discussing projects was, “Did we get it done?”

“We got things done. (Because of Shuster) the area has benefited tremendously,” he said. “He will be missed by many people. I am one of them.”

Shuster was a “powerhouse I don’t think we’ll see again,” said his good friend D. Brooks Smith of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Bud Shuster was a dynamo,” he said. “When I was a very young guy working as a newsman for WRTA Radio, I watched Bud arrive on the political scene. He brought not only youthful energy but business experience and a strong desire to advance our area’s economic interests.

And advance them he did. The modern highways of our area had been denied for so many years and were made possible because of Bud’s leadership and his influence with his congressional colleagues.”

‘Never give up’

John McClintock remembers serving as Shuster’s press secretary in the 1980s, where he not only handled the press side of his office, but spent two weeks at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas.

The former television journalist said Shuster was being challenged by Democrat Nancy Kulp, who played Jane Hathaway on the “Beverly Hillbillies.” That meant a lot of celebrities ended up calling Shuster, including Kulp’s co-star, Buddy Ebsen, who made a radio ad stating Kulp was too liberal.

McClintock said he was “very disappointed” to hear about Shuster’s death and recalled how his job with the congressman was fun and rewarding, too.

“Working with Bud was learning to never give up,” he said. Shuster’s philosophy was “If this doesn’t work, let’s try this,” he said. “You were expected to find solutions to a problem … whether going to a debate or constituent matters.”

As chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Shuster “had a million things on his mind,” McClintock said, but he was still concerned about his constituents.

In one instance, in his “scratched writing,” Shuster left a note that a constituent was unhappy. “Win him back,” the note read.

“I got to witness that and see how he worked with people,” McClintock said. “It was a real education.”

Through the years, Shuster became really good at maneuvering.

“He managed to get whatever he wanted out of Congress because of the transportation committee,” he said.

Shuster had a favorite quote, McClintock said, reading a clipping he saved from an old Mirror article. “Never write it when you can say it, never say it when you can nod, never nod when you can wink and never wink when you can stare.”

“And that’s how he often negotiated,” he said.

With the construction of I-99, “We were the envy of the nation,” he said.

More than politics

What many people might not know about a man many considered daunting, is that Shuster took time out of his schedule to do small things for his staff and friends, McClintock said.

“If you were getting married, or had a funeral of a close relative, he would turn up at the church,” he said. “When he knew you were loyal to him, he was really loyal to you. … In my experience, for people who disliked him for whatever reason, they never got to know him, I was blessed with that.”

McClintock perhaps had an inside track to Shuster’s vision, as he was one of the few people who lived near him in his district.

“More often than not I would pick him up at his home and take him to D.C. At the end of the week, we would drive back to Everett together,” he said.

Unless Shuster wanted to read the newspaper, “we would have all kinds of conversations,” McClintock said, noting the two shared “a sense of mutual trust and affection.”

The “Shuster mafia,” what those on the congressman’s staff called themselves, considered themselves in it together. “One for all and all for one,” he said. Group members still meet occasionally, McClintock said, and with Shuster’s death, “I have a feeling we will be gathering to meet” at least one last time.

“(Shuster) was quite the musician, an accomplished pianist and an all around good guy, not just a congressman,” Stickel said.

Shuster’s death is “the end of an era,” he said, noting the congressman was “willing to work with people on both sides to get things done. He was able to build those relationships.”

“He certainly made his mark,” he said.

Like Stickel, Erb said there was more to Shuster than just politics.

“He took good care of himself. He was always fit, worked at his farm,” he said, noting that physical labor contributed to Shuster’s longevity.

On a personal note, Erb said when he ran for Blair County commissioner in 2015, Shuster was supportive and offered him encouragement. “It was very humbling,” he said.

McClintock kept in touch with Shuster over the years.

After he resigned, Shuster got on with the second half of his life, McClintock said. The former congressman spent 11 years as a visiting professor at St. Francis University, served on a variety of boards and was a trustee of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“He was a health food nut,” McClintock said, and exercised daily.

Perhaps one of the “stupidest things I’ve done,” McClintock recalled, was try to keep pace with Shuster. While in Dallas at the RNC, he saw Shuster walking back and forth at the pool. He was measuring how many laps he would need to make to complete his workout, McClintock said.

“I thought I’d grab my swim shorts and join him,” he said.

After a few laps,

McClintock ended up doing the dead man’s float for a while before getting out and “crawling back to my room” while Shuster was finishing his “daily constitution.”

“He is one of my favorite people in the world,” McClintock said.

“I mourn the loss of my friend Bud,” Smith said. “We will not see his like again.”

In recalling Shuster’s influence on the area, Erb said “we certainly owe him a debt of thanks.”

“Bud Shuster was a tireless champion for central Pennsylvania,” said U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-13th District, in a statement. “Chairman Shuster’s vision and leadership built the roads, bridges, and waterways that allowed our communities, and nation, to thrive.”

“His commitment to Pennsylvania and infrastructure projects across the nation is something I think about every time I drive on the expanded Interstate 99, which is known as the Bud Shuster Highway in Blair County,” state Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Hollidaysburg, said in a statement. “He gained legendary status as one of the most powerful leaders in Congress, and I know the communities in my district are better for it.”