FORKSVILLE, Pa. — Football fans know Harold "Red" Grange as the "Galloping Ghost," but to Rosemary Maria, he's just Grandpa. Grange was born in Forksville, Sullivan County, and lived there until he was 5 years old.
"The two things that he remembered about Forksville, Sullivan County are the county fairs and the logs where his father worked. He was quite proud of being born here," Rosemary Maria said.
And people here are proud of Red Grange. This weekend the former NFL star is being inducted into the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame. Maria is here to see that.
"I'm just excited to be here and be where he grew up, where my great-grandfather was born and where he was born. I'm just thrilled," Maria said.
This was the first time Maria was in Forksville, and residents rolled out the red carpet for her. Mayor Steve Brown gave her a key to the borough and declared this Sunday Red Grange Day.
"It highlights his life, where he's from. What he did for his entire life just boils down to where he came from and how he was raised," Mayor Steven Brown said.
Maria, who is from Illinois, took pictures in front of her grandfather's old house and toured the Sullivan County Historical Society Museum.
"Oh, I think he would have loved it. I think he would have toured me everywhere and pulled me everywhere and showed me, 'Oh, I did this, and I did this,'" Maria said.
"What it represents to this community and what it represents to her family is a rebirth, kind of they are realigning. She is getting to see where her grandfather was born," Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame Chapter President Jim Martin said.
The ceremony for Red Grange and the 11 other inductees will be this Sunday in Wilkes-Barre.