Altoona native John Pielmeier is best known as the playwright/author who brought to the stage and big screen Agnes of God.  I had the chance to catch up with him at a book signing at the Altoona Barnes and Noble back in the fall of 2017.

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He said that when he was growing up in Altoonna, he always felt supported by his family and friends.  He remembered that when he was younger, he was afraid of telling his parents that he wanted to be an actor.  When he finally got up the nerve to tell them, they were like "Okay".  Not everybody was fortunate enough to have parernts that were so accepting.

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He went on to say that growing up in Altoona was very much like growing up on an island.  "I was very happy here, but at the same time, it was a very isolating experience." He followed that by saying, that it was hard to get here and hard to go some place..."that was my impression, growing up".  He said that when he left Altoona, he was very naive and very scared...but looking back on it, he says that was okay.

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To read the complete interview, check out the upcoming book release They Came From Blair County due out by the end of 2020

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**Information for this article was obtained through an in person interview with John Pielmeier.

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**Photo Credits**

1. Jordan Matter

2. Eric Shields

3. Tom DiMauro

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