A memorial at the intersection of Aspen Lane and Linkead Avenue, built by the Patton Pavers group in 2008, marks the location of the former Patton Clay Manufacturing Co. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

PATTON — Two borough residents are coming together with the goal of laying a foundation for preserving Patton’s history one brick at a time.

Former borough council member Don Kirk and first-year resident Dennis De St Jeor are trying to reform the Patton Pavers group, named after the bricks produced by the Patton Clay Manufacturing Co. — which helped the town gain worldwide recognition.

In August 2008, during a previous iteration of the group, a memorial was erected at the former site of the clayworks factory, which from 1895 to 1968, manufactured all types of brick and terra cotta pipe products with shipments sent to Paris, Rome and the Panama Canal, according to the memorial.

The borough’s population and economy have declined since the company, established by George S. Good, ceased operations in the 1960s. According to Kirk and De St Jeor, the purpose of the group now is to remember what happened in the borough’s history, to be honest about the problems the town currently faces and to work together to create solutions.

The memorial is in need of repairs, Kirk and De St Jeor said. They said their efforts as a group will start with preserving the town’s history.

Kirk has been gathering information about the town through years of research and plans to write a book with his son, Jonathan. De St Jeor, on the other hand, is creating online resources that will allow people to record anything with historical relevance about the town, including film, photographs and family stories.

“I know that it’s really ambitious, but I believe if you aim for Pluto and all you hit is the moon, you’ve done pretty well,” he said.

Last May, De St Jeor and his family moved into the former Wendekier family mansion, located at the dead end of Linwood Avenue. He said he’s hoping to use his 17 acres of property to host community events and attract outsiders to visit the borough and spend money in Patton and the nearby communities in northern Cambria County.

Some of the ideas he has includes turning his driveway into a light-filled tunnel for Christmas every year and hosting silent disco events that would “keep the younger people entertained” and give them a sense of community pride.

One possible solution of reversing the population decline, De St Jeor said, is to attract new residents into the borough.

“People that I’ve talked to here will say, ‘What we need here is another industry. We need another big factory.’ Well, you tore down all of the buildings that these things would be in,” he said.

He said he’s lived in other places over the past 40 years where similar “economic nightmares” have happened because “they’ve got parking lots with no places for the businesses to service.”

When he talks with young people who live in the area, De St Jeor said almost all of them can’t wait to move out.

As part of their research, De St Jeor and Kirk found a photo and an article showing the Patton football field was built in the early 1900s by volunteers who donated their time and equipment to work together for the betterment of the community.

They said the community needs people with a similar passion to help them maintain the borough’s beauty. They recognized other groups that already have similar interests, like the Patton Garden Club and Preserving Patton nonprofit.

De St Jeor said he’s also willing to invest his money into an endowment fund, which he hopes will have a positive impact on future generations. He said he doesn’t begrudge anybody who isn’t able to help.

“If the least I get from you is a positive voice … I’ll take that, too,” he said. “I’ll build that pyramid one stone at a time if I have to. But, man, it sure would be better if everybody helped.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.