One of Bill Welch's prize possessions is a postcard mailed aboard a ship off of the tip of the Arabian Peninsula just before World War I.

His eyes light up as he describes the voyage of the ship called the Africa through the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and down the coast of Africa.

Welch would like to build a ship of his own someday. But this ship would be small enough to keep on his shelf. Although Welch enjoys researching and collecting correspondence from distant lands, State College's newly inaugurated mayor is strongly rooted in the borough.

Welch said he recently reflected on a long career in State College while he was sitting at his new desk in the mayor's office.

"As I looked across the street to the old Centre Daily Times office (where he worked in the 1960s), I said, 'Well, in the course of almost 30 years, I've moved across the street and up one story,"' he said.

But Welch said he doesn't mind. Although he enjoys traveling from time to time, especially to England, State College will always be his home.

"I have no interest whatsoever in leaving State College," Welch said. "I've been here 50 years and I hope to be here 50 more."

He said he likes to think he was conceived in State College, even though he was born in Philadelphia. He moved to State College at the age of 2, graduated from State College High School in 1959, Penn State in 1964 and never left.

"He's just always been here," said Welch's longtime friend Donna Queeney, University director of research and external relations for continuing education. "I think he was almost predestined to be mayor of State College."

Welch has collected half a century's worth of memories in State College. One of his favorites is hanging out as a child at Hoy Brother's General Merchandise, which used to stand on College Avenue.

"There was a group of us who were 'Hoy rats,' as we put it, and spent every possible minute we could in there playing pinball and drinking Pepsi Cola," Welch said.

But last April Welch gained a less fortunate tie to State College when he suffered kidney failure. Welch said he has qualified for a transplant, which he hopes to receive soon, but until then must report to Centre Community Hospital three times a week for dialysis.

"The process takes exactly four hours on the machine and then there's several minutes of set-up time and anywhere from 10 minutes to a half an hour to get the bleeding stopped," Welch said.

But aside from the inconvenience and initial pain from the needle pricks, the process is relatively painless, he said.

"I think most people think I'm out here suffering, but in fact I'm reading a book every day or two," Welch said. "It is also an opportunity to keep up with my writing and sort of get away from it all."

And Welch has a lot to keep up with.

In addition to his new position as mayor, which involves spending Thursday afternoons in the office, presiding over formal meetings of the State College Borough Council and making continual personal appearances, he holds another job at the American Philatelic Society as the editor of its monthly magazine.

Welch's youngest daughter Justine, 14, said that aside from their likeness in appearances, the strongest similarity she shares with her father is a busy schedule.

"We're both always out doing things and we can both get really committed and into them," she said.

A weekly commitment Welch has kept for several years is Saturday breakfast at Duffy's Boalsburg Tavern, 113 E. Main St., Boalsburg. He can also be found eating lunch at the Allen Street Grill, 100 W. College Ave., every Thursday with the Young Writers of America.

"We call it that, but it's all very tongue in cheek -- I'm one of the youngest members, if you can imagine," Welch said, adding that they meet to discuss writing, editing and public affairs.

Welch denies recent accusations that the group is a secret male organization.

"Anyone who has had the misfortune to be seated near us knows it ain't very secret -- it's loud and raucous," Welch said, adding that 40 percent of the members are women.

"About half of us are journalism has-beens of one form or another. The rest are just miscellaneous folks who all like one another and enjoy the conversation," Welch said.

Welch's ties to the world of journalism stem from a career of 21 years with the Centre Daily Times as a reporter, news editor, managing editor, executive editor and general manager.

It was there that Welch met his second wife, Nadine Kofman.

"He was sort of this somber news editor who always had his nose to the typeset machine," Kofman said, but added that he was well loved by people in the newsroom.

Today he is loved by family, which Welch said is very important to him. In addition to Justine, he has two daughters from his first marriage -- Jennifer, 26, a senior at Prescott University in Arizona, and Jessica, 24, a senior at Penn State.

"We have one of those unusually happy families," Kofman said. "We truly like each other."

Justine said although she is proud of her father's achievements, it is the simple things he does with her -- like watching The Blues Brothers and "Beavis and Butt-Head" -- that she enjoys most.