Mt. Pleasant man gives life's savings to library
If home is where the heart is, then the late Donald Bittner's belongs to Mt. Pleasant Free Public Library.
It was his life and the people who worked there were his closest friends, according to those who knew him.
So before he passed away, he saw to it that they were taken care of. Bittner, a lifelong Mt. Pleasant resident who died last June, left the library a big portion of his life savings — some $395,848 –- and a drawer full of memories.
The bequest was a windfall, said board president Jim Cook, and it's one of the largest gifts ever given to the library.
"It makes us more secure," said Jill Cook, the library board's treasurer. "It means our library will be able to survive."
The money was put directly into a trust fund with First Commonwealth Trust Co., she said. The interest it generates can be used to help defray the library's day-to-day operations as well as to buy more books, hire more librarians and expands programs.
Bittner was an only child who never married and had no family. But he had plenty of friends.
"I don't think there was anyone who ever met him who didn't become his friend," said Carole Klocek, a librarian who worked with him for about 20 years.
He spent 39 years as a clerical worker at Walworth Valve Co., a South Greensburg plant that has since gone out of business.
He was active in the community, playing the clarinet for the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department Band. He also served on the Frick Hospital board and was the borough auditor for about 30 years. In addition, he spent 50 years on the Jacob Justice Free Medical Dispensary board.
But his first love was the library and the books inside it.
"After he retired, he'd stop in every day to see what's new, look over books and say, 'Hi,'" said Klocek. "He had a natural curiosity for everything. When he had a question or needed an answer, that's where he came."
Bittner had been a board member since 1960 and had served most of that time as the secretary. He stayed with it until 1998, when Parkinson's disease forced him to move into a nursing home.
But even then, said Jim Cook, board president, he would hitch a ride with other board members and go to the meetings.
Bittner also was on the library's acquisition committee, which was in charge of recommending books to buy.
"He read every book, fiction and nonfiction," said Cook.
Reading was one of his passions. Travel was his other.
Every August, he and friends Sam Freed and George Frethy –- both deceased — ventured off to some faraway location.
“You name a country, he was there,” said Larry R. Galley, a friend and executor of his estate.
The August trips were so regular, as was his attendance at the board meetings, the rest of board canceled that month because they knew he wouldn't be there.
All in all, Galley said, the trio visited about 58 countries between the end of World War II and the early 1980s. He stopped going places because he had a heart attack and never felt comfortable leaving home afterward, Galley said.
“He felt kind of down about it, but he said he had seen enough of the world.”
At each destination, Bittner took plenty of photographs and kept journals.
Galley has all that material — enough to fill a large dresser drawer — at his home. It's all going to the library, too.
Cook said he hasn't seen the collection yet and he's not sure what they'll do with it. But he said he was honored that Bittner left it to the library.
“We're looking forward to seeing the stuff and reliving those memories,” he said.
Cook said he and the rest of the board were surprised to learn of his gift because Bittner had not told them he was planning to do so.
Galley said it would only make sense because books and traveling were the two greatest joys in his life.
That's why when Galley had Bittner's tombstone made, he had it inscribed with the following: Donald E. Bittner, Avid Reader and World Traveler.
