Born in a house in Lower Polecat hollow, Marsh Creek in Liberty Township Centre County see pic. a neighbor lady midwife brought him into this world. The doctor Kurtz came out about 3 days later to circumcise & fill out birth certificate. He remembers his parents sold milk to the neighbors and could still recall the wagon route in when we drove it together in 2000. This later became the first milk route. He remembers when they started putting it in bottles to deliver. His father took down an old barn and they moved it up into the woods where they used to graze the bulls. This became the infamous hunting cabin fondly called "The Bull Pen".
Uncle Frank was a AAA baseball player, an avid hunter and fisherman. Everytime he would see a deer his face would light up with wonder and amazement as if each was the first he ever saw. I learned that his mother had had a pet deer when she was young and she had loads of stories about her and "Buck". He loved to play pool and did almost every day. He had many, many friends, young and old. Frank enjoyed driving himself up till the last few weeks of his wonderful life. He watched the beavers work on their damn almost daily. He was better known by his nickname "Blackie". He always missed his older brother Joseph who was a hero to Frank. He could tell you about the time Joe took him to Kuhn's pool hall? in the back of the Barber shop near Eagleville for his first beer. He was truly as inspiration of a way to live a good life. He is missed by many...
His obituary from the LOCK HAVEN EXPRESS of 7 Oct 2002 reads: "J. Frank 'Blackie' Bechdel, 95, of Beech Creek, died Saturday, Oct. 5, 2002, in Beech Creek. Born Aug. 5, 1907 in Marsh Creek, he was a son of the late Jacob C. and Lydia DeHaas Bechdel. He and his wife, the former Frances Reese, were married for 54 years until her death in September 1983. He was employed with BRP Coal Co., Clearfield, for 12 years. He retired as a foreman for Hammermill Paper in 1972 after 33 years. He was a member of the Blanchard Church of Christ, the Beech Creek American Legion, and the Howard Area Lions Club. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and playing billiards. Surviving are a daughter, Nadine Berkebile of North Ft. Myers, Fla.; three grandchildren, Lori Haines of Lock Haven, Allen Stukel of Fairfax, Va., and Teresa Johnson of Ashburn, Va.; and four great-grandchildren, Paul Welch, Joseph Costulas, Jessica and Daniel Johnson. Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the W. Robert Neff Funeral Home, 837 Main St., Howard, with the Rev. Russel J. Moldovan officiating. Interment will be in Baptist Cemetery, Blanchard. Visitation will be 7 to 9 p.m. Monday in the funeral home, with a Lions Club memorial service at 9 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the Church of Christ, Blanchard, Pa. 16826.