Homeward Rebound
As State College land owners seek more profitable land development, mobile home owners like Terry McGrail find themselves forced from one lot to another, often into increasingly peripheral locations. Moving mobile homes is costly both financially and emotionally, and job opportunities can be hard to find near the more remote lots, particularly for those who don't own cars. For McGrail, however, an initially traumatic experience has become an opportunity for personal growth and community activism.
DOCUMENTARY
Terry McGrail, a resident of Woodsdale Mobile Home Park, walks back to her home in State College, Pa. McGrail used to live in Hilltop Mobile Home Park in State College but was evicted when the owners decided they wanted to rezone the land for more profitable development.
McGrail reads a letter from her landlord from her time at Hilltop. After a certain point, she admits, she simply stopped opening them.
Unlike most of the 83 families evicted from Hilltop, McGrail was fortunate enough to be able to stay in State College. She fought hard to be granted a spot in Woodsdale because she wanted to stay close to her support system: her family and friends.
McGrail chats with her father while stopping in to pick up Thanksgiving leftovers. Her parents' health was another factor driving her fight to remain in State College.
In her new community, McGrail is working closely with other residents like Cindy Claire to start a residents' association that will work toward buying the land from the current owners. This would eliminate the worry that the residents could be evicted at any time.
McGrail herself has been evicted due to mobile home park closings twice already. While the stress of these events has taken its toll, she now takes inspiration from them to advocate for mobile home communities.
McGrail and Claire, who are neighbors at Woodsdale, recently extended their partnership beyond the residents' association. McGrail will soon be working as a personal assistant for Claire, a professor for Drexel University.
Among the many new projects McGrail has taken up since being forced out of Hilltop is the cleaning out and reorganization of her home. "I'd love to just have a burning party," she says, going through letters from her previous landlord.
Among the papers McGrail has kept from the incident are news articles about the fight to save Hilltop from being rezoned. McGrail gained some publicity for her contributions to the struggle.
McGrail smiles as she goes through her things. She plans on turning this spare room into an art studio, office space and guest room when she is finished. And to inspire creativity, she wants to paint the walls with an ocean-themed mural.
McGrail sits out by the stream in her new backyard, one of her favorite parts of her new home. "It never fails to be soothing," she says.
Though the events at Hilltop have passed, McGrail feels as though her journey is just beginning. "It's very liberating.. I get to think, 'Ok, I made it through that, I can do just about anything I want,'" she says.