Do you see that little map? It's Hooverville. Or it was – in 1896. Hooverville is the name I use to refer to the Pennsylvania town which has hosted the Post Office for the last dozen or so years. I don't want it to get too famous.

If you'll notice, on the north. . . er, northeast side of the Courthouse (I have a terrible sense of direction but, er, yes, that's the side the sun comes up on, and the river's behind us there, so. . . okay, so on the northeast side you'll see a lovely big square building that was built long before that clever map was made, probably in the middle of the 19th Century.

Sadly (as Bluebottle would say) it burned down a few years ago. They haven't put anything up in its place yet. One of the reasons I am sad about it is that this beautiful mural used to hang on its outside wall. The mural was put up by art students.

I miss the mural and the building. Another cause for sadness is that Tavaron set the Waffelhaus there in our epic group-written novel 30 Hours in Hooverville. It has about eight authors, that book, and it's a rare and wonderful read and well-worth the price if you're in the market for some fun and classy reading.

Alas, poor Waffelhaus, we barely knew you. The real building housed a pizzeria, which was what caused it to go up in flames one night. The Courthouse, however, is perfectly safe, in spite of the fact that Caiman Raptor Elk managed to set fire to it in the novel. In fact, we expect the Courthouse to be as good as new – better, even – following the current renovations.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

24.03.25 Front Page

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