Porkus Maximus has a new fan.

A picture of the infamous pot bellied pig – who won the right to stay in Whitehall at a zoning hearing in September 2011 – hangs on the bulletin board of Patty Vahey, the new director of the Whitehall Township Public Library.

"He lives right around the corner," said Vahey, who moved from Bloomington Ind., to the Fox Meadow apartments in Whitehall April 29.

She began her duties May 1, taking over for former Director Nancy Adams, who retired.

In an interview last week, Vahey told The Press she was driving around in an attempt to get familiar with the area when she saw a pig out in a yard.

She drove around a second time so she could take a photo, she said.

"That just won my heart over," said Vahey, who lived on a pig farm in the Altoona area as a youth.

Her family had a pet pig, Arnold, who had been a runt. He slept with the family dog, she said.

The local celebrity pig is not the only thing to make Whitehall seem welcoming.

Vahey said she was pleasantly surprised when a stranger let her use his shopper's club card to get better prices.

"People who I don't even know are willing to stop and talk," said Vahey.

Members of the library board have been showing her around the area.

"The board members have been awesome," she said. "It seems like they're approachable. Some boards I've worked with, you only see them during the board meetings."

Vahey actually had three job offers in March when she accepted the position in Whitehall. However, she didn't get the same kind of "good feeling" from the others – one of which was in Indiana and one of which was in West Virginia – that she got from Whitehall.

Vahey had been director of Mitchell Public Library in Mitchell, Ind. She had accepted a new job in nearby Evansville but found herself the victim of budget cuts.

"Within a few months, I was out the door," she said.

Finding herself unemployed, she began her job search, checking several sites regularly.

The ad for the Whitehall director's position was listed on an Indiana library jobs website, said Vahey, who still has family in Pennsylvania. "When I saw this, I thought, 'oh, my god.'"

She applied in November or December but did not hear anything until she returned from an interview in Kentucky to find a message from Whitehall.

After a phone interview and a Skype interview, Vahey was asked to visit Whitehall for an in-person interview St. Patrick's Day weekend.

"I said as long as it's not snowing, I'll be there," she said.

After driving 14 hours to reach the township, it started to snow. Vahey said she was shaking when she called the Whitehall library to say she was on her way.

A staff member greeted her with a cup of coffee, making her feel right at home.

The interview lasted from 1:45 to 8 p.m., she said.

"It was really an excellent interview," she said. "We just talked. They asked questions. I asked questions."

At the end of the interview, Vahey was asked if she wanted the position.

Despite having two other job offers, Vahey accepted.

"This felt like coming home," she said.

Next it was time to move.

"I left everything in Indiana except my clothes, my boxes and my cat," said Vahey, whose cat, Pudgy, is actually a very small white shorthair.

Vahey hopes to buy a house in the next year.

"I wanted to move and get started," she said. "I'm glad I brought [Pudgy] with me because that's helped me."

Vahey said the Whitehall library is "very busy" but functions well because of a competent staff.

"I don't have to babysit them. And they're each taking time to show me what they do," she said.

While shopping at a Whitehall Historical Preservation Society flea market recently, Vahey mentioned she was the new library director. She was pleased to hear from several people that the library has a friendly staff.

When asked about her goals, Vahey joked the item on the top of her list is to "get through the week."

On a more serious note, she would like to get rid of outdated materials in the local history section and create a Pennsylvania history and genealogy area.

"That's probably going to be the easist thing for us to attack," she said. "I'm hitting simple first."

She is also busy looking at budgets and policies in an effort to become more familiar with the Whitehall operation.

When she's not working, you're likely to find her on eBay, where she's a power seller.

She began selling on eBay a few years ago, after her father died. She has been selling his railroad memorabilia and an array of pig-themed items.

"People buy the darndest things," she said.

Even pigs.

Porkus would be proud.

Open house

The public is invited to meet the new director of the Whitehall Township Public Library at an open house 2-4 p.m. Saturday, June 8.

The event will also honor retired Director Nancy Adams.

The library is located at 3700 Mechanicsville Road.