Ligonier pharmacist Jacob Grimm, while digging in his backyard, uncovered the foundation and flagstones from the John Bridges Tavern, a colonial stopover for settlers making their way west through Westmoreland County.
Jacob 'Jake' Lloyd Grimm, a resident of Ligonier and formerly of Herminie, died from complications of a bacterial infection on Monday, June 25, 2001, in Latrobe Area Hospital. He was 77.
'According to a plaque that Jake uncovered,' said his wife, Beverly, 'the tavern was constructed between 1770 and 1790. Jake was so conscientious and knowledgeable about uncovering historic digs that our neighbors would allow him to dig in their backyards.
'After work and on weekends, Jake could be found digging in our back yard,' she said.
Digging through historic ruins was typical of Mr. Grimm, who as a boy would wander through the wooded areas around his home in Herminie looking for Indian arrowheads.
In later years, Mr. Grimm, as director of archaeology and the Fort Ligonier Museum's first curator, was involved in the restoration of Fort Ligonier. His manuscript, 'Archaeological Investigation of Fort Ligonier, 1960-1965' was published by the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.
Mr. Grimm was also the first director of archaeology at Historic Hannastown, which in 1773 was the county seat for Westmoreland County. Raiding Indians, allies of the British, attacked and burned Hannastown on July 13, 1782.
Ann Warren, archaeological supervisor at the Hannastown site, recalled how Mr. Grimm, when the site was first opened in 1969, laid out the plans for the Hannastown digs and accumulated and identified the artifacts that were being uncovered.
'Jake taught us all,' Warren said. 'He used the same expertise as he did with the Fort Ligonier site.'
Born in Manor and raised in Herminie, Mr. Grimm was one of three children in the family of Elmer H. Grimm Sr. and Valletta Balsley Grimm. His father, also a pharmacist, operated pharmacies in Herminie, West Newtown and Ligonier.
In 1941, following graduation from Sewickley Township High School, Mr. Grimm enlisted in the Army Air Force and served as a co-pilot on a B-17 flying fortress with the 15th Air Force.
Beverly Grimm equated her husband's love of archaeology to his patriotism. 'Jake served his country with honor. He felt that uncovering the history of a country gave people a better understanding of what a great country America was, and the sacrifice and struggle of those who established to make it so.'
Twenty-three days after a bombing raid on Vienna in which his plane crash-landed in Hungary, Mr. Grimm returned to active duty.
The members of the 483rd Bombardment Group Association were the first American veterans of World War II to have a reunion in Hungary. Their second reunion included a reception hosted by the president of Hungary.
Mr. Grimm's publication, 'Heroes of the 483rd,' is a history of all the combat crews in his World War II bomber group.
After World War II, Mr. Grimm entered the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, graduating in 1950. He owned stores in Ligonier from 1954 to 1986, then was employed by Ligonier Pharmacy until his retirement in 1996.
In 1962, he married Beverly Felgar. She operated a card and gift shop several doors from the Ligonier Pharmacy.
Mr. Grimm and his wife received the Eagle Award from Aviation Cadet Class 44-E. A plaque recognizing his contributions to Air Force history is displayed at the Museum of Aviation, Warner Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
Mr. Grimm was a member of St. James Lutheran Church, Ligonier, a charter member of the Herminie Veterans of Foreign Wars, a founding member of the Society for Historical Archaeology and a member of the Westmoreland County Historical Society.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Beverly Felgar Grimm; two sons, Jacob L. Grimm of Tampa, Fla., and Barry J. Grimm of Ligonier; and a brother, Robert L. Grimm of Gulph Mills, Montgomery County. He was preceded in death by a brother, Elmer H. Grimm Jr.
Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. today and from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the J. Paul McCracken Funeral Chapel Inc., 144 E. Main St., Ligonier.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in the St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, with the pastor, the Rev. Paul D. Poerschke, officiating. Interment will be in the Ligonier Valley Cemetery. Full military honors will be presented at the grave by the Ligonier Valley Veterans Honor Guard.
