WEATHERLY -- It's a somber day in Weatherly. The borough's longtime historian passed away on Monday.
"He's been the patriarch of this community for 70 years," said Alicia Quinn.
To Quinn, 89-year-old John "Jackie" Koehler was her grandfather. To many in the borough, the historian was known as "Mr. Weatherly" because he knew everything about Weatherly.
Some of our Newswatch 16 viewers may remember him for the times he appeared with our Mike Stevens on the Pennsylvania Road.
Just last month, Koehler showed Mike around the Weatherly Area Museum, that he started in 2012.
Mike described the historian as the man who made "yesterday feel like a heart beat away."
"He was born and raised in this community. He collected history from not just the railroad, but from the businesses that once shaped this community and made it a community," said Quinn.
In his last few weeks, some of "Mr. Weatherly's" last concerns were: what happens to the museum and all the history he's collected?Now that concern has passed on to those who knew him well and loved him.
"Support the museum as much as possible. We have an open house on Thursday," said Donald Adams.
Adams was a good friend of the historian and plans to still honor the museum's open house that Koehler scheduled before he passed.
Adams adds the best way for anyone to pay their respects to the borough's beloved historian is to support the museum.
Supporting the museum could be a monetary donation, or just stopping by.
"Come in you will walk away with something you didn't know before, and a little piece of my grandfather," said Koehler's granddaughter.
