Post-Gazette on the Tour of PA

For the cycling freaks among us, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has a piece today on the new Tour of Pennsylvania stage race for under-25 riders.

Here’s the link.

-Jen

centralia, GSE

My friends Meaghan and Chris Zeiner, residents of Capron, IL, checked out Centralia and environs last weekend. Here’s what Meaghan had to say:

I’ll admit that my early experiences with Pennsylvania were not pleasant. When you are a 4-year old child trapped in the backseat of a ‘78 Chevy Monza driving from Iowa to visit your grandmother in New York, Pennsylvania is simply that really big state you have to drive through. And as a youngster prone to car sickness, it’s hard to appreciate Pennsylvania’s rolling, twisty roads. For me, one of the few redeeming qualities of Pennsylvania appeared when my father decided to detour through Hershey, but when he decided not to actually stop and buy me chocolate I once again hated The Keystone State.

As a young adult, however, things have a way of changing. While studying geology in college, I gained an appreciation for the vibrant colors on the geologic map of Pennsylvania. I even managed to make a few friends there and have visited a few times.

On my most recent trip, one of my destinations was Centralia, in east-central Pennsylvania. Centralia, like many small towns in Pennsylvania, was once a prosperous coal-mining village. Today, it is a much more somber place. In 1962, prior to the town’s Memorial Day celebration the town council decided to burn the trash in the local dump that was located in an abandoned strip mine pit. I imagine as this was going on, somewhere some curmudgeonly old dudes were sitting in a coffee shop, mumbling to each other about what a bad idea this was. As it turns out, it was a very bad idea.

This trash fire accidentally ignited the old coal mine. Efforts to extinguish the fire failed, and the coal seam beneath Centralia still burns to this very day. As the fire burned through the coal seam, smoke and poisonous gases began to escape into the town. Sinkholes opened as the substrate was consumed. It wasn’t long before this peaceful little town was quite a dangerous place to live. In the early ’90s a portion of State Route 61 had to be permanently rerouted due to severe subsidence – to the point that a large crack opened up in the middle of the road. The government eventually allocated money to purchase the properties in town and relocate the people. Today, only a few homes remain.

When we arrived in Centralia, fog and a steady drizzle set the mood for our tour of this sad place. When you arrive in Centralia, it can be a little disorienting – there is little to show you that you’ve actually arrived in town. Only a gridwork of abandoned streets and the local cemeteries remain to greet you. With a little effort, you can almost picture children playing in backyards, a family walking home from Sunday service at the church, or an older couple sitting on a park bench to enjoy a sunset. But backyards are empty, the church has been demolished, and though a park bench still sits in an open space, there is no one there to enjoy it. Instead, smoke rises from the scarred land, and posted signs warn visitors of the danger that lurks everywhere.

Graffiti on the blacktop of the abandoned portion of Route 61 proves that life does go on in this place, but it is no longer a prosperous place for families to make memories. Now, it is simply a Friday night hangout for kids from nearby Ashland, or perhaps just a curiosity for a couple of out-of-staters. Standing there next to the smoking cracks of Route 61, you can hear the rumble and hum of trucks and machines working in other coal mines down the road, and you remember that the coal is not only the reason for the birth of this town, but also its death.

–Jen

shake your moneymaker, Allegheny County!

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that Allegheny County has ranked #1 in the state for tourist spending, with Philadelphia following just behind at #2.

You can check out the article here.

a PA spelling bee

This is my latest brilliant idea for Pennsylvania Day celebration activities. There are so many terrific place names in our state that they seem to demand a spelling bee as a part of the festivities. I realize that this counts as planning well in advance, but since it just popped into my head I’m writing it down.

This is the start of my list with which I’ll challenge my hapless party guests on PA Day ‘09.

• Youghiogheny

I want to first brag that I wrote that river name without help, and also to note with amusement that spell check wants me to change it to “toughening.” Get with it, spell check!

• Schuylkill
• Coraopolis (that used to be my post office back in the day so I can spell that one, too)
• Duquesne
• Pymatuning (yeah, carp!)
• Wissahickon
• Punxsutawney
• Ontelaunee (that’s a creek; sorry Pittsburghers it’s not spelled “crick”)
• Tuckhannock
• Bala Cynwyd
• Wapwallopen (counting on that one being intensely confusing to drunk people)
• North Versailles (the correct PA pronounciation of “ver-SALES” should get the non natives)
• SNPJ (seriously, somebody will mess that up)
• Lackawaxen
• Hazleton (counting on the “Hazelton” mistake)

Please feel free to add your suggestions.

–Jen

a short moment of self absorption

Checking out the search engine terms that lead people through the tubes to our PA blog has been making me laugh. This is a list provided by WordPress of the search terms that have been used twice or more to find us. The striking things here include the fact that the love of jacuzzis shaped like martini glasses is alive and well, and that somebody managed to spell “Smithsonian” wrong three times.

martini jacuzzi	7
rick gabe	7
get ready for pennsylvania day	7
pennsylvania hills	5
martini shaped hot tub	5
martini glass jacuzzis in pa	4
three rivers cookbook	4
jacquin liquors	3
poconos martini glass tub	3
martini glass hot tub pa	3
pennsylvania places to live	3
hotels with martini glass jacuzzis	3
pennsylvania greatest state ever	3
what makes pennsylvania great?	3
+pennsylvania +”greatest state”	3
poconos hotel martini tub	3
smithonian life list	3
new hope pa ghosts logan inn	3
pa wilderness	3
vin marshall	2
racing	2
poconos martini jacuzzi	2
pennsylvania fishing in march	2
haunted mt pocono	2
martini hot tub in pocono pa	2
splash country indoors	2
splash lagoon poconos	2
animals losing homes	2
“jeff cronin”	2
hotels with martini shaped jacuzzis	2
leigh river pa	2
indoor water park east coast	2
animals who live in a river	2
pymatuning carp	2
philadelphia pierogies	2
paisthegse.wordpress.com/	2
undisturbed wilderness	2
pa day greatest state ever	2
pennsylvania bicycle racing	2
pennsylvania animals	2
north hill senior high school	2
heart shaped jacuzzis	2
pictures of the worlds smallest indoor w	2
pa resorts	2
biggest whitetails records	2
celebrate pennsylvania day	2
hershey pennsylvania indoor water park	2
pennsylvania 3 rivers	2
something unique about pennsylvania	2
pennsylvania hotel with martini jacuzzi	2

–Jen

you’ve got a friend in this cookie tin

My friend Dierdre just dropped off this fantastic cookie tin which commemorates the GSE. Thanks, Dierdre! The lid has a helpful map of the state showing the locations of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Lancaster, Reading, Harrisburg, Scranton, and the Allegheny National Forest. Along the sides there are representations of our state animal (the white tailed deer), the state fish (brook trout), the state bird (ruffed grouse), and the state flower (mountain laurel).

Now to put something in it! I referred to the Three Rivers Cookbook for some cookie inspiration, and came across this recipe for Mrs. Helen Trumbetas’s Balkan Delights, subtitled “A marvelous cookie worthy of a special occasion.” Who doesn’t think of the word “delight” when somebody mentions the Balkans, really? The ingredients list begins with a cup of butter, so these have got to be good.

Balkan Delights

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 cups flour
• 2 heaping tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 pint sweet cream (only use as much as needed)
• 1 jar of jelly
• 1 beaten egg
• ground nuts and sugar (optional)

Cream butter and margarine until creamy. Add sugar gradually, then egg yolks and vanilla and continue until blended. Sift flour with baking powder. Add alternately with cream. Use as much cream as is necessary for soft dough.

Place ball of dough on floured board and roll until desired thinness. Cut out with doughnut cutter (other cookie cutters may be used). One half of dough to have hole in center and other half without. Continue rolling until all dough is used. Place on greased cookie sheet. The top cookie (the one with hole) may be brushed with beaten egg and spread with ground nuts and sugar mixture before baking, if desired.

Bake in 350 degree oven until desired brownness. Cool and place 2 cookies together with your favorite jelly.

• Preparation: 2 hours, can do ahead
• Baking: 12 - 15 minutes
• Yield: 3 - 4 dozen, can freeze

–Jen

speaking of cycling in the GSE

As Christian mentioned back in January, PA is an ideal place to be if you’re a cyclist. And this year, it’s getting a little more interesting with the new under-25 category Tour of Pennsylvania pro race. This is going to be a six-day stage race from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, offering $150,000 in prize money. It’s the first espoir race of its kind in the US. The race is being timed to celebrate 250th birthdays for Pittsburgh, Beford, and Ligonier.

Looks like after the prologue in Philadelphia, the race will roll over some very lovely southern PA farm countryside before it hits the Allegheny mountains and finishes in Pittsburgh.

The dates are June 24 - 29, so make plans to stop and gawk at the riders when they go through your town, and to check out the family-friendly events at the start and finish lines.

–Jen

GSE now bracing for endless political analysis

With the democratic presidential nomination process taking a bit longer than everyone expected, Pennsylvania is set to have a bigger influence compared to states with earlier primaries than it normally does. Between now and next month we can expect reporters running around willy nilly trying to psychoanalyze us and predict how we’ll vote.

Slate magazine has a piece today in which the writer gives the rundown on PA. Notice that he tactfully avoids use of the term “Pennsyltucky” when describing the middle of our state.

–Jen

It’s Pennsylvania Day!

Have some scrapple, grab a bag of Herr’s, and drink a toast to William Penn. The Greatest State Ever is 327 years old!

P is for Pennsylvania and potato chips

With the big PA Day party approaching, I’ve begun gathering up some homegrown snack foods. The problem is going to be knowing when to stop! Pennsylvania turns out to be a veritable cornucopia of sweet and salty treats.

As a big potato producer, it’s a given that we’ve got some makers of delicious potato chips in the greatest state ever. There’s Herr’s in Nottingham, who produce 23 different varieties of potato chips as well as pretzels, cheese curls, popcorn, tortilla chips, and pork rinds.

Utz in Hanover has a similarly broad range of products, including many flavors of potato chips, pretzels, corn chips, cheese puffs, popcorn, party mixes, pork rinds (does the GSE have a special love of the pork rinds, or do we ship those out, I wonder?) and their new line of multigrain chips.

Snyder of Berlin has been around for an impressive 200 years, and the factory is still located next to the Croner family farm, where much of the potato growing magic happens. Not only do these folks supply us with the potato chips and pretzels, they also make dips for a complete snacking experience.

Snyders of Hanover brings us a bounty of pretzels and chips. And like most of the PA salty-snack producers they are branching out into organic products. To those of us concerned about getting our salty fats in as eco-friendly a way possible, PA manufacturers are the way to go!

Now, I don’t know about you guys, but after I scarf down a bag of chips I feel a little over-salted and need to counteract that with something very high in sugar. Luckily for me, the great state of Pennsylvania gives me countless options for restoring my salty-sweet balance.

As the Easter holiday draws near, who hasn’t given in to those neon colored marshmallow chicks that dominate the seasonal candy section of the supermarket? I feel like you can’t go wrong with sugar coated sugar. Marshmallow Peeps are made at Just Born in Bethlehem. Of course, as Just Born reminds us, there are now Peeps for all seasons. You can even join the Peeps Fan Club, which I know because I became a member several years ago, and have the ID card and Peeps baseball cap to prove it. We can also thank Just Born for sticky movie theater floors: they also make Mike and Ike and Hot Tamale candies.

And who hasn’t heard of Hershey chocolates? Hershey products include not only Kisses, but also Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers, KitKats, Almond Joy, Milk Duds, and more. Pennsylvania is also home to many smaller family-owned candy businesses like Gardners in Tyrone and Wilbur Chocolate in Lititz. Wilbur is the place to go if you want that decadent chocolate fountain at your wedding reception. My mom still gets me chocolate bunnies from Andy’s Candies who are located in Bulger, in western PA. They are so small they don’t have a website, but their chocolate is delicious.

Of course there are many more PA snack products than I can possibly list here; suffice to say that we are definitely lucky to be throwing PA holiday parties in a state that is brimming over with so many tasty things.