Things were quiet in 2002 when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported:
Gallitzin ... has been a trifle rattled in the six weeks since a smallish coalition of atheists decided to plant their regional headquarters in a high visibility spot here. “It doesn’t seem to be the image Gallitzin wants to project,” said Irene Szynal, borough secretary.
What, that atheists exist and sometimes want to get together?
The episode has been jangling to at least some of unsuspecting Gallitzin. “I’ve gotten phone calls from people. ‘What are you going to do about this?’ Well, what can you do?” said Buck, the council president. “They have a right to believe in or not believe in whatever they want. We’re lucky in this country that we have that choice.”
It’s interesting that people in Gallitzin thought that the presence of atheists was something that the local government should do something about.
“How could you pick Gallitzin? This is a Catholic town. ... There aren’t enough people to sustain these atheists here,” Przybocki said. “They’ll have to get them from somewhere else.” ... For starters, critics say, the Atheist Station is an affront to this town named for Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, the Russian prince-turned-priest, the first person to receive all the orders of priesthood in the newborn United States, the missionary who cemented Catholicism in this stretch of the Alleghenies two centuries ago.
So, because the town is named after a priest, this means that atheists should have to meet elsewhere?
“It’s brazen,” [Rail aficionado Phillip Faudi] said as he stood on the platform of a PRR caboose parked in the rail park. “There’s been a change in society, and that’s most unfortunate, the brazenness.”
Oh, yes, it’s so unfortunate that atheists don’t hide in the closet. Pity the poor Christians like Phillip Faudi who have to deal with actually seeing the “brazen” presence of atheists in their midst. How do they ever manage to survive the horror?
Eventually, as the Tribune-Democrat reported in 2003, dislike of the atheists escalated into vandalism:
“We’ve had ongoing vandalism, and the borough has not been interested in putting a stop to it, or catching those responsible,” she said. “We’ve had several hundreds of dollars worth of damage. Someone shot out the windows and the door, and they’ve thrown feces and other rotten materials on the building, and they’ve jammed stuff in the lock,” she said.” Gallitzin police Chief Jerry Hagen did not return several telephone messages seeking comment.
It’s very possible that the local officials were right and that the fence is illegal. However, it is highly suspicious that the same officials took little interest in matters when an atheist’s property was being damaged or destroyed and only got involved when the same atheist took what most people would consider minimal and reasonable measures to protect that property. Did these local officials base their decisions on bigotry?
I don’t know how things have gone since 2003, or even if the fence was ever permitted, but I haven’t found more news stories online so perhaps they worked things out.
Understanding Atheism & Atheists:
- Atheism 101
- What is Atheism?
- Defining Atheism
- Is Atheism a Religion?
- Who Are Atheists?
- Why Don't Atheists Believe in God?
- Questions About Atheism
- Atheism Myths
- Polls on Atheism
Resources for Athiests: