Shade shelter at Harcrest Park to be named after Penn’s Men charity founder
PENN TWP — A well-known, former township supervisor who recently died will be memorialized in part of the township’s community park.
At their monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 10, the board of supervisors voted to name a yet-to-be-built shade shelter at Harcrest Community Park in honor of Donald Callen, who was also the founder of the Penn’s Men nonprofit.
Callen died on Jan. 30 at the age of 96 as the result of injuries sustained in a car crash.
“Don Callen was very instrumental in our community day and as a former supervisor. He’s done a lot for the township,” said Supervisor Doug Roth.
Once built, the shelter will feature a plaque honoring Callen, which will be provided by the Penn’s Men organization that Callen founded.
“In the shelter, they want to put a pedestal in the corner with a little history of Don on it,” said Penn’s Men member Walt Dawson. “There would be a metal plaque on a pedestal giving the history of Don and what he did for the township.”
Construction has yet to begin on the shade shelter, but according to Roth, the township is in possession of all of the necessary components and they just need to be assembled.
“I’d like for us to get it done by the end of this month if we get good weather,” Roth said. “We dug six holes and they filled with ice and water. We’ve got to wait for them to dry out.”
Penn’s Men, which originally started as a project of the Nixon Methodist Church, lends a helping hand to those in need through various charity projects.
For example, in 2024, the group held a chicken barbecue fundraiser to raise money for the medical needs of the Potts family, whose son suffered serious health complications due to a complicated birth that left him with a brain bleed. That little boy’s first name just happened to be Callen, matching the last name of the man who will soon be memorialized at the park, the Penn’s Men having made a lasting impact on both.
