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Edgar Snyder - Finding Altoona

Edgar Snyder - Finding Altoona
We're going to head into Tom and Joe's  Restaurant. It's been part of my family since 1933,   88 years, and we're going to show you what's inside. Tom and Joe's is so important to Altoona because  this is truly a place where people do meet and   eat. I say that all the time — people meet and eat  here. So many people here have been here so   many years. This is Rob, he's been here... What  Rob? Nine years. I feel like it's been 20. [Laugh] I know this looks crazy but  it's even more chaotic out front. I don't stop moving. I thrive on  this stuff. This is what keeps me going. I'll tell you one thing about Tom and Joe's: If you  come in here and you don't know anybody, wait five   minutes, there'll be somebody come in here that you  know. This is the number one place to go.   Somebody just bought somebody's meal, I just heard it. You  know, people do that all the time in here.   Altoona, to me, means small community. It means a strong  family. It means sticking together as a community. I am Andrew Brumbaugh. I'm the curator  here at the Railroaders Memorial Museum. Most railroad museums focus on the stuff — the  trains, the, you know, the big cool things that   people want to see. But here at the museum, we're  kind of more focused on the people aspect.   The first area that ... visitors walk in is  kind of like a recreation of old time Altoona.   There's a newsstand. They talk about Tom and Joe's.  There's kind of like stuff that you would see if   you just got off the train in Altoona. This whole  kind of wing of the building is kind of set up to   recreate the test department. They tested pretty  much everything — so they would literally   have racks of light bulbs where they would just  test light bulbs for brightness, longevity, just to   figure out what's the most cost-effective option  for running a railroad. People get emotional when   they visit here. Someone might know that their  ancestors worked on the railroad but they never   really met that person so the museum offers a  link to the past in that sense. Being able to walk   through, you know, and see the tools that, you know,  somebody's grandfather used, maybe see an image of   somebody they know working on the  railroad — that's just extra special. Altoona is the Greenbean Coffee House. One thing  with the Greenbean that we're very, very proud of   is everyone is welcome here. This coffee house  was started and created to be 100 percent inclusive. We're firm believers of kindness. If you're going  through something, here's a place that you can   come and be helped or feel welcome. Or, even if  you're not, there's ways that you can help those.   With our suspended coffee program, for example,  it allows you to literally buy a coffee, pay for   it, and we put a token. Someone comes in in need  and they're like, 'Hey, can I get a cup of coffee?'   Absolutely. We take that token, put it aside, and  we give them a coffee. This place really is good   about welcoming everybody and, you know, anytime I'm  in here, you can see all people all walks of life.   As we continue to grow and we're getting more,  we're able to do more for the community, and as   we do more for the community, communities are  doing more for us and, like I said, I keep on   bringing up community but that's really what  it's about, you know. We've helped this   community grow and thrive and, likewise, you  know, they've helped us to grow and thrive. The best part of working at Edgar Snyder and Associates is   being able to get involved in the community  and help people in those communities. We are a local business we are local to all the  communities we represent which includes Altoona.   It's very important to us that local businesses  grow and develop much like we have.
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Edgar Snyder - Finding Altoona
Meet some of the small businesses in Altoona, PA.

Meet some of the small businesses in Altoona, PA.

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