A Little Backstory

In Easton, Pennsylvania, there is a theatre that has been around for over a hundred years. The theatre has been many things in its long history, from a bank to a speakeasy, to a hub for the budding vaudeville scene, and has held some of the biggest names in showbiz that you may think of. In the 1980’s, there was a gentleman by the name of Freddy who was the custodian of the building. He was there for many years, and when he passed, there was a deep sense of loss as well as emptiness for the staff that remained; until there wasn’t. What I mean by that is one day, as a coat check girl by the name of Lois was working, a bright shiny penny appeared in the middle of the room. She knew it was out of the ordinary, as she had just cleaned. Over the coming months, pennies kept appearing in random spots of the theatre and were always in the middle of the room. Always bright and shiny. New.

I say all of this to give backstory, as this was told to me as a little girl at a summer camp. I went to summer camp at the State Theatre for almost a decade as a little girl, and every year Ms. Lois, who was in her eighties at the time, told the story of Freddy and her pennies. I always took this story to heart, as I thought it was a wonderful way for her to stay connected to her friend for many years. She expressed that she never felt alone. She knew he was always there.

I lost my dad to a very aggressive form of leukemia in 2013. He was a massive supporter of my passion for the arts and knew ALL about Ms. Lois’ pennies. He went to every concert, every recital, every play – even the terrible ones. When he passed on, there was a massive hole left in my life. I was nineteen, still in college with no real sense of direction, and I felt incredibly lost.

Then the pennies started.

The Pennies

At first, I didn’t think too much of them; after all, they were in relatively logical places – the middle of the laundromat, the grocery aisle. However, eventually it became obvious that the pennies were not just left behind by a hole in someone’s pocket. The locations became more intentional. They started showing up in places where a bright new penny had no business being. They showed up in walk-in coolers, on top of vehicles used for unloading freight, parking lots directly on my walking path.

The pennies had in common that they were always shiny, but then I noticed something that gave specialness to each one – their dates. Every penny I discovered had a date that was significant to my life – my children’s birthdays, the year I lost my dad, my wedding anniversary and other dates in-between. The pennies have never stopped, just as his love and support never has.

There have been times, even recently, where I’ve felt alone, lost. So, I’ve asked, and sometimes I get a response and sometimes I don’t. But often in times of big change in my life a penny shows up. I can’t look for them. They have to just catch my eye.

The Penny I Just Discovered

Toward the end of April, I was invited on a tour of our new Well Outreach building next door to our Spring Hill pantry. I knew the building had been swept; it was empty of all contents and had been vacuumed. However, as Shelly was casting her vision in the space, I happened to look down. There, at my feet was a bright, shiny penny.