When former Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond Shafer died Tuesday at age 89, many newspaper readers under the age of 30 asked, "Raymond who?" Shafer, from Meadville, Pa., was the first person from this part of Pennsylvania -- the northwest corner -- to advance to the governor's mansion in Harrisburg. He'd served as lieutenant governor for four years under William Scranton, and then, in the general election in 1966, he defeated Milton J. Shapp, the Democratic candidate for governor.

Shapp, a multi-millionaire, pumped much of his personal fortune into the campaign, and he might have defeated Shafer if he hadn't made such a bitter enemy of the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The prominent newspaper continually questioned Shapp's ability to govern, and it cost Shapp valuble support in Philadelphia, his home base. It's a big reason why Shafer, much stronger in the west, squeaked by on Election Day.

Shafer, always a straight shooter, was not a particularly popular governor, primarily because of his support for a state income tax. But he was respected for his principled positions.

Now, let me tell you why Shafer was vitally important to everyone who lives in northwestern Pennsylvania. Shafer used his influence to help get the approval to extend I-79 from Pittsburgh north to Erie. Prior to that, if you wanted to travel from here to Pittsburgh for - say - a ballgame at Forbes Field, you had to drive down tiny Route 19. It was a narrow, two-lane road, and the trip routinely took four hours.

The memory of driving home to Erie on Route 19, after seeing Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Vernon Law beat the Giants on a hot Sunday afternoon, remains vivid in my mind. As we wound northward back to Erie, you could see long lines on cars on the hills ahead, coming the other way, heading southward toward Pittsburgh. Most of the people in those cars had spent an enjoyable summer afternoon on the beaches at Presque Isle State Park.

It would be a pleasant memory, if the ride hadn't been so long and there weren't seven of us packed into a two-door sedan. No air conditioning, either, and both of my parents smoked like chimneys throughout the drive. And you ask me why I'm in favor of a smoking ban today.

Shafer's highway cut the drive to Pittsbugh in half. I'm convinced it's why Erie, once a city devoted to the Cleveland Browns, now has more Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Oh, I suppose those five Super Bowl trophies have something to do it with, but you get my drift.

Only in newspaper coverage of Shafer's life did I get the full context of his life story -- the panel that approved legalization of small amounts of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and the extension of I-79. Incidentally, the former pretty much ended Shafer's career as a national Republican of note. Richard Nixon, then president, distanced himself so far and so quickly from the "dope report," as the memo from Shafer's panel became known, that the former governor soon returned to Meadville.

Again, it was to the benefit of northwest Pennsylvania. Shafer added class to every event he attended. He served as president of Allegheny College for a year, and the school never quit touting it.

Shafer did many good things during his long career, but, if you ask me, none was more important than his role in the construction of 1-79 -- in spite of all those Steelers fans.

-- Kevin Cuneo