On the Road: Love and loyalty in Altoona

For the first 17 seasons of the Altoona Curve's existence, there was one thing the team could always count on: Susan Mielnik would be at the ballpark, rooting on the Curve from section 311, row 1, seat 2.

Mielnik, a retired elementary school librarian who lived with her husband, Ken, in nearby Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, attended the Curve's inaugural game in 1999. This was the first of 1,223 consecutive Curve games she would attend at Blair County Ballpark, now named Peoples Natural Gas Field -- a remarkable feat of dedication and perseverance that lasted through the Double-A Pittsburgh affiliate's 2015 campaign.
Mielnik passed away in January 2016 at the age of 73, due to complications from surgery. Her section 311, row 1 seat has since been retired by the team.

"1,223 games," reads the message on her seat, above a photo tableau featuring an image of smiling, white-haired Susie in the middle. "In Loving Memory of Susie Mielnik."
Ken Mielnik, Susie's husband of 41 years, was with her at the ballpark for the vast majority of these 1,223 Eastern League tilts (which included two Pirates-Curve exhibition games, two All-Star Games and 16 playoff games). He said that, impressive as Susie's consecutive games streak may have been, "she wanted 2,000." Therefore, Ken continues to attend Curve games with the hope of reaching this goal on Susie's behalf.
"I've gone to the games since she passed, and I can still get to 2,000," said Ken, speaking during a Curve game earlier this month. "Susie was very well known here and people really got to know us. The Curve booster club, after she passed, was like an extended family. They sent cards, they visited her in the hospital. They were very good to us."

Ken Mielnik attends Curve games in honor of his late wife, Susie, whose seat was retired by the team. 
Ken said Susie's enthusiasm for the Curve was indicative of her overall personality. The Pittsburgh-area native was passionate about all of her interests and went through life with a curious, open-minded spirit.
"We both taught. ... She was an elementary school teacher and then for 34 years was an elementary school librarian," said Ken. "I taught special education in the high school and through friends we got together. ... We dated a long time -- a lot of movies, a lot of dinners, a lot of dancing and things like that. A lot of good memories."
2017 Road Trip
On this evening at the ballpark, Ken was carrying with him a hard-shelled briefcase filled with laminated articles and notes related to Susie and her impactful life. Among these was a heartfelt appreciation of Susie's work as a librarian, presented to her by Hollidaysburg Area School District co-workers upon her retirement.
"Susie would rent a Clifford [the Big Red Dog] outfit and wear it when she taught about Clifford," said Ken. "And a tremendous thing she did, she would invite authors to come [to the school] and have them draw an illustration or something. She had all these famous children's authors drawing something original, framed and signed. It's really outstanding."
Susie and Ken had always been fans of the Pirates. But the arrival of the Curve, coinciding as it did with Susie's retirement, elevated her fandom to a new level.   
"She was loyal. She was dedicated. There's no question about it," said Ken. "The Curve, there was intimacy there. She could meet the players. She could talk to them. She could easily get autographs. We have [signed] balls and bats of so many [Pittsburgh] players who went through here. And the many pictures she had made, and the posters she had signed, it's just unbelievable. What a collection. I don't have space for it, really."
As for the streak itself, Ken said there was "no mention" of it until Susie had reached the 1,000-game mark. On that occasion, then-Curve general manager Rob Egan awarded her a plaque in honor of her above-and-beyond dedication to the team.   
"During the season she didn't want to miss a game, but there was no record in mind. But that [1,000 game] night, then it kicked in that she wasn't ever going to a miss a game," said Ken. "It got to the point where I would drive her in, making sure she was here by 6 or 6:15 so she could get autographs. But what am I going to do sitting around? So I'd go home and then come back around the second or third inning.
"One year, I was in the hospital. I had a valve repaired," he continued. "I was there for six or seven days and, fortunately, [the Curve] were away. But the day I got out, there was a game. We made it home. I went to bed and she went to the game."
And that was just one of 1,223 games that Susie went to -- the first 1,223 home games in the history of the Altoona Curve.
"She had so many interests, but I have to say that this was her top one in retirement," said Ken. "She had a touch of class. She was in a league all her own."