Hardman Petrikin Harris (1864-1950)

Portrait from the Biographical Survey, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

   Another oddly named Pennsylvanian who made an impact through public service was Hardman Petrikin Harris, a lifelong resident of Centre County. A prominent figure in the business and political life of Bellefonte, Harris served as Burgess (mayor) of that town for two decades, retiring from that post in the year of his death. A lifelong Bellefonte resident, Hardman Petrikin Harris was born on March 22, 1864, the son of local undertaker Henry Petrikin Harris and the former Mary Tonner. 

  Young Hardman would be a student in the Mary Petrikin School in Bellefonte and during his youth began to learn the undertaking trade under his father. The two would operate that business as a partnership until Henry Harris' retirement in 1900, whereafter Hardman and his mother took over operations. He would continue in that business for a number of years and in addition to operating and owning the town's oldest funeral parlor is also accorded the curious distinction of "being the undertaker to bury three Pennsylvania governors", those men being Andrew Gregg Curtin, James A. Beaver, and Daniel H. Hastings.

   Throughout his life, Harris experienced further distinction in several additional business endeavors, including being a director of the White Rock Quarries of Pleasant Gap, director of the Sutton Engineering Co., and the owner of the Curtin Sand Co. of Curtin, Pennsylvania. Active in the civic life of Bellefonte, Harris was a longstanding member of the local Elks Lodge, chairman of the Bellefonte Red Cross Society, and a member of the Bellefonte Fire Co.  

  In addition to his business dealings, Harris held several local political offices in Bellefonte, including an eight-year stint on the borough council and nine years as a member of the town school board. In 1926 he began a twenty-four-year tenure as Burgess of Bellefonte, a tenure that saw him as a "very liberal mind in matters concerning the best interests of his city and community." Harris's final term as Burgess concluded in January 1950 and was succeeded by Hugh M. Quigley. A lifelong bachelor, Hardman Petrikin Harris died several months after leaving office on November 4, 1950, aged 86. He was later interred at the Union Cemetery in Bellefonte.

From the Altoona Mirror, November 6, 1950.