BELLEFONTE — On Oct. 6, rural Bellefonte resident and World War II veteran Kenneth Spicer will reach 100 years of age. He was born in 1919 in rural Bellefonte.
Spicer has lived his entire life at the family dairy farm at Buffalo Run. His grandfather operated the farm, then his father, as well, before Spicer himself took over.
Spicer has always worked more than the farm, however. He is a former partner of the Mill Hall livestock auction and he hauled cattle for more than 40 years to livestock sales and into the research center at the New Bolton Center. New Bolton is the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s 700-acre campus in Kennett Square.
Spicer served as the secretary of the Meyers Cemetery in Bellefonte for 40 years, during which time he sold lots and developed the cemetery’s boundaries. Spicer drove until he was 90. At age 90 also, he underwent a total knee replacement. He also clerked for auctions for more than 40 years.
Spicer has four children — Emily Spicer, Ronald Spicer, David Spicer and the late Sharon, who passed away in October 2015. He has seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Spicer’s children said he was “pretty mild” as a father and their mother ruled the roost as they were growing up.
“She was the boss,” Spicer said with a smile. His wife, Mary Carolyn Scitti, who he married in 1941, died in 1976.
Spicer told stories of a simpler life and time on the farm.
“Every Sunday I went to the creek with my brothers-in-law Ocean and Pacific Scitti,” he said. “That was our fun.”
Family members reported that Spicer had said on more than one occasion that whatever the farm didn’t teach him, the U.S. Army did. He and his brother slept on burlap mattresses filled with straw as children and since there was no electricity, when it got dark, everyone went to bed. He said they had picnics at Hecla Park in Mingoville and noted there was a skating rink there and a merry-go-round.
Spicer graduated from Bellefonte High School in 1940. He entered the U.S. Army on Sept. 18, 1941 and was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 8th Division, 121st Infantry, Company D, 1st Battalion. He did his basic training in Missouri, Arizona and later in Ireland. He requested and received permission to be married on Christmas Day, 1941 to Mary Carolyn Scitti at the Army Chapel at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
“We had our wedding supper in the mess hall,” he said.
The young couple lived in Arizona for a time where Spicer was assigned to desert training. He was later sent to Ireland to continue his basic training.
Spicer said he and the 8th Infantry Division landed as an amphibious force on Utah Beach, Normandy on July 4, 1944. This was less than one month after the initial D-Day invasion of Normandy Beach where U.S. forces suffered the loss of 1,465 troops. The 8th Infantry Division entered live combat on July 7, 1944, against German forces.
The 8th continued its campaign in France, capturing the cities of Rennes and Brest, where it accepted a German surrender. The 8th then pushed to the German border, clearing the Crozon Peninsula, went on to Luxembourg and then into heavy fighting in the Hurtgen Forest in November 1944. The division secured the Hurtgen Forest and moved on to Brandenberg Germany, into Duren and the Erft Canal. It reached the Rhine in March 1944 and advanced into The Rhineland.
By April, the 8th Infantry took control of the Ruhr Pocket and then with the British Second Army, drove across to Elbe and on to take Schwerin when the war in Europe ended. The 8th encountered and liberated the Neuengamme and Wobbelin concentration camps that held more than 5,000 starving prisoners.
The 8th Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the U.S. Army’s Center of Military History and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988.
Staff Sergeant Spicer’s 8th Infantry campaigns included:
n Normandy France — July 4 to July 24, 1944;
n Northern France — July 25 to Sept. 14, 1944;
n Rhineland Germany — Sept. 15 to March 21, 1945; and
n Central Europe – March 22 – May 11, 1945
Sergeant Spicer was recognized numerous times for his dedicated service. His decorations include the Purple Heart medal, the Good Conduct medal, the American Defense Service medal and the European Service medal with four bronze stars, which signifies his participation in the above listed campaigns.
Spicer said one of his fondest memories from his time serving his country was of a Jeep rolling up beside his vehicle in Germany. He said General George Patton and his driver were lost. Spicer said as he and his driver sent them on their way, Patton shouted, “You boys get back to fighting.”
He was injured during his time in the service when a shell exploded between him and the driver. He suffered shrapnel wounds and spent some time in a hospital in France.
Spicer was discharged from the Army on Sept. 17, 1945 and returned to civilian life.
His son Ronald now runs the farm with his cousin Everett. The farm was declared a 100-year-old farm in 2005. There are 75 cattle there, including young ones. Spicer is able to watch the activity from a window in his home. In 1952, he built the house he lives in.
“I used an old farm tractor and a manure loader to get some of the wood hauled,” he said, noting his wife pounded nails right along with him.
Ronald, and his sister Emily, said their father never smoked, drank or swore.
Asked about his likes and dislikes, Spicer replied firmly, “I don’t like tomatoes.”
When asked what he’d like for his birthday he replied, “I want everyone to be happy.”
The family would like to have friends send cards to Spicer at 1504 Buffalo Run Road, Bellefonte, PA 16823 to make his birthday special.
