Mountain Home, December 2021

M O U N T A I N

HOME Pennsylvania & the New York Finger Lakes

End E R F the wi as

The Return of the Remarkable Roving Ribbon Machine Wellsboro’s Engineering Marvels Lit the World

By Don Knaus

Save the Gate House!

Sister Jenny’s Spiritual Journey Cookie Walking in Hammondsport

DECEMBER 20211

Volume 16 Issue 12

14 Always a Season for

The Return of the Remarkable Roving Ribbon Machine

Giving

By Lilace Mellin Guignard Sister Jenny�s spiritual journey became her life's work.

By Don Knaus

Wellsboro�s engineering marvels lit up the world.

15 How You Can Help

By Lilace Mellin Guignard

22 Save the Gate House

By Steven McCloskey

Historians work to preserve the past to light Mansfield�s future.

6 A Second Century of Dreams

26 Saving Dogs from

By Karey Solomon

Distemper

Wellsboro�s Arcadia Theatre celebrates its first hundred years.

By Ed Bond

Local author uncovers the power of the Newcastle vaccine.

32 Back of the Mountain

By Deb Stafford A dear moment.

16 Cookie Walk

By Karey Solomon

Hammondsport merchants create a sweet start to the season.

Cover by Gwen Button. Cover photo

by Linda Stager. This page (top) CGW Wellsboro employee inspects bulb made on ribbon machine, courtesy Wellsboro Glass Historical Association; (second) by Linda Stager.

28 3

w w w. m o u n ta i n h o m e m ag . co m Editors & Publishers Teresa Banik Capuzzo Michael Capuzzo Associate Publisher George Bochetto, Esq. D i r e c t o r o f O pe r a t i o n s Gwen Button Managing Editor Gayle Morrow Interim Managing Editor Karey Solomon S a l e s R ep r e s e n t a t i v e s Shelly Moore Circulation Director Michael Banik Accounting Amy Packard Cover Design Gwen Button Contributing Writers Maggie Barnes, Ed Bond, Lilace Mellin Guignard, Carrie Hagen, Roger Kingsley, Don Knaus, Steven McCloskey, Dave Milano, Brendan O’Meara, Karey Solomon C o n t r i b u t i n g P h o t o g r ap h e r s Marlo Carl, Bernadette Chiaramonte, Cheryl Clark, Mike Kissinger, Deb Stafford, Linda Stager, Curt Weinhold, Caleb Williams, Ardath Wolcott, Deb Young

D i s t r i b u t i o n T eam Brian Button, Grapevine Distribution, Linda Roller T h e B ea g l e Nano Cosmo (1996-2014) • Yogi (2004-2018) ABOUT US: Mountain Home is the award-winning regional magazine of PA and NY with more than 100,000 readers. The magazine has been published monthly, since 2005, by Beagle Media, LLC, 39 Water Street, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, 16901, and online at www.mountainhomemag.com. Copyright © 2021 Beagle Media, LLC. All rights reserved. E-mail story ideas to editorial@mountainhomemag. com, or call (570) 724-3838.

TO ADVERTISE: E-mail info@mountainhomemag.com, or call us at (570) 724-3838.

AWARDS: Mountain Home has won over 100 international and statewide journalism awards from the International Regional Magazine Association and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association for excellence in writing, photography, and design.

DISTRIBUTION: Mountain Home is available “Free as the Wind” at hundreds of locations in Tioga, Potter, Bradford, Lycoming, Union, and Clinton counties in PA and Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates, Seneca, Tioga, and Ontario counties in NY. SUBSCRIPTIONS: For a one-year subscription (12 issues), send $24.95, payable to Beagle Media LLC, 39 Water Street, Wellsboro, PA 16901 or visit www.mountainhomemag.com.

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Courtesy Wellsboro Glass Historical Association.

Home again: Wellsboro's ribbon machine finally arrives back home after years in Versailles, Kentucky.

6

The Return of the Remarkable Roving Ribbon Machine Wellsboro�s Engineering Marvels Lit Up the World

By Don Knaus

W

ellsboro’s ribbon machines saw more of the world and were touched by more hands than many people experience.

Let’s call the first one Rosie—an old rumor has it that the engineers and mechanics who first worked on her actually named her “Rosie the Ribbon Machine.” Certainly, the mechanics who repaired her and kept her going always referred to her in the feminine.

The creation of Corning Glass Works (CGW), the idea for the machine was conceived in the Corning Glass factory in Wellsboro. She was incubated and born in a secret development laboratory in Corning’s main New York plant. Rosie was loved by the men who worked on her, the mechanics who made her, and the machinists

who could scour a scratch or replace a broken part. She gave rise to a number of offspring, some of whom became world travelers. Last known to be located in Kentucky, Rosie the Ribbon Machine probably died there.

Like many small towns in the early 1900s, Wellsboro had a factory producing plate glass and window glass. After the plant closed and sat idle due to financial troubles, the Wellsboro town fathers hopped on the Wellsboro and Corning Railroad to bring a proposal to the Corning Glass Works. Why let experienced glass workers—and a fully-equipped glass plant—sit idle? They convinced CGW executives to buy the plant in Wellsboro at 1 Jackson Street and to call back the local glass blowers.

See Ribbon on page 8 7

Ribbon continued from page 7

As fate would have it, at that time, Corning Glass was swamped with the demand for glass bulbs for Edison’s electric lights. Each glass bulb was hand blown.

They could barely keep up with demand, which had grown ever since the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago (also known as the 1893 World’s Fair). At that time, there had been great competition for the electric lighting contract, which was won by George Westinghouse, who beat out Thomas Edison. Both inventors contracted with CGW to produce their lightbulbs.

So the Corning Glass Works definitely needed help. They accepted Wellsboro’s offer, making the Wellsboro plant CGW’s original branch operation.

The Corning bigwigs sent nineteenyear-old William “Willy” Woods to manage their new Wellsboro facility. Young though he was, Woods was both brilliant and an expert with glass. From the creation of Edison’s first light bulb, Corning gaffers— the men who grabbed a gob of molten glass to work it—had hand blown each bulb. A very skilled gaffer at top speed could blow

two bulbs a minute.

By the time Willy was sent to manage in Wellsboro, Corning Glass had purchased two Empire and Westlake machines that could be paced to cut gobs of a specific size at a given pace. The Empire, simply called the “E Machine,” increased production.

The new machine sped output by hundreds of bulbs per shift, but the process was still labor intensive, requiring the gaffers to grab the gob and hand blow each bulb. Those early processes made light bulbs expensive.

Electric lighting was a luxury for the rich and well-to-do.

Willy was a master glass blower who worked alongside his men. To start each day, molten glass would be allowed to run onto the floor until the machine was properly calibrated. Men would shovel the glass out of their way. One day when Willy wielded a shovel with a hole in it, he saw the molten glass seep through the hole. It gave him a brilliant idea.

He took it to Corning and CGW began working in a secret development laboratory on what would become the first ribbon machine. Simply put, the machine would draw a ribbon of melted glass across

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Featuring the favorite gift of a number of Community Members given to them on a special occasion or as a surprise gift right out of the blue. Even we did not know what we would be displaying!

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858 West Fourth Street | Williamsport, PA 17701-5824 Phone: 570.326.3326 | Fax: 570.326.3689 | www.tabermuseum.org 8

a many-holed channel in the machine and, as the hot glass dripped through each hole into a spinning mold, a puff of air formed the bulb.

Finally perfected in 1926, the original machine was sent to Wellsboro. It increased production by thousands of bulbs each shift. Orders came in for more ribbon machines, and a second shift of workers was soon added. Each descendant of the original ribbon machine incorporated improvements and got a little faster. The last machines constructed grew to twentytwo tons and could produce up to 2,200 bulbs a minute. All bulb production was moved to Wellsboro so CGW could concentrate on its Pyrex line of cookware.

As a side note, an ad in a 1944 Wellsboro Agitator lists large Pyrex baking dishes for forty-five cents. In 2021, used Pyrex dishes have been sold for more than ten times their original cost at yard sales.

In 1983, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) listed the CGW Ribbon Machine as one of the top ten engineering wonders of the twentieth century. It stood right alongside Henry Ford’s Model T production and Thomas

(3) Courtesy Wellsboro Glass Historical Association

Edison’s inventions. The ribbon machine was registered as “a landmark that changed the face of world history.” ASME still counts the ribbon machine among modern wonders and one of the ribbon machines is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Another ribbon machine, built and operated in Wellsboro, sits in the Corning Museum of Glass.

What do you do when something you built works? You build another, and another. Rosie had many descendants. Wellsboro CGW held sway in the bulb industry, sending glass envelopes for radio and vacuum television tubes to RCA, Westinghouse, General Electric, Motorola, Emerson, and others. Bulbs for automotive use were shipped to Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Light bulb envelopes were shipped to Sylvania, GE, Westinghouse, and Phillips.

CGW sent ribbon machines all over the world. They established a Corning plant in Danville, Kentucky, where the Wellsboro experts built ribbon machines and trained technicians to run them. Some of these traveled to England, Russia, China, Iraq, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, among other places.

World War II

Even before World War II came to our shores in 1941 with Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the war in Europe was already affecting Americans.

The vast majority of Christmas ornaments produced worldwide were made in Germany. No longer able to get traditional glass ornaments from Germany due to an embargo preventing their export, local folks decided they could produce and then decorate different sizes of their glass bulbs with small modifications to the ribbon machines. The Christmas ornament operation required expansion of several departments, new machinery, and many more workers. For the war years and beyond, Wellsboro became the new capital of glass Christmas ornaments.

The Christmas ornament production line required expansion of departments, new machinery, and many more workers. And adding to the manpower needs, Personal processes: (from some 324 employees of the Corning Glass plant in top) Rodney Joe Cisco Wellsboro served in the military during the conflict. operating the ribbon That number was noted in a speech given machine; Wilford "Dreamer"

by D.J. Carr and reported in the December 19, Losinger inspects bulbs 1945 Wellsboro Agitator. By then, he noted, 103 of at the machine; the glass those who entered the service were already back at bulbs, called blanks, were work. Among the employees who served in WWII, manufactured at CGW’s Wellsboro Plant. In eighteen were killed in action.

When the war arrived, virtually every industry many cases the silvering, in the United States quickly turned to war lacquering, and decorating processes were also production. The Corning Glass Works plant in completed at the plant.

Wellsboro was no exception. The military needed blue envelopes for lighting in submarines to filter out the red band of light from the incandescent bulbs. Lead glass radio tubes were required to repel radiation and were used in soldiers’ field radios. Millions of incandescent lightbulbs were needed for hastily constructed training bases.

Thus the war brought unexpected needs that would become a valuable source of income for Wellsboro CGW. And then there were those Shiny Brites. By 1944, Wellsboro’s glass artisans were shipping Christmas ornaments to Shiny Brite, Rauch, Krebs Bros., See Ribbon on page 10

9

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Courtesy Ryan Root

— FRIDAY —

Ribbon continued from page 9

and others.

The need for workers was critical.

The plant incorporated bus runs to transport workers from neighboring towns, a practice that continued until about 1955. Plant managers had to replace employees who were in the service and add those required for the new decorating department. Nearly all these replacements were women. The bus actually ran to Morris Run, then to Arnot, Blossburg, Covington, Canoe Camp, and Mansfield. A bus in Morris stopped in Antrim and Charleston. Another bus started in Westfield, ran through Elkland and Nelson, hit Lawrenceville, then to Tioga, Holiday, Middlebury, Stokesdale, and Wellsboro. Girls, many of whom had seldom, if ever, visited the “big city” of Wellsboro, were swept into wartime romances and marriages when the beau was home on leave. The “just-married gals” continued to labor at the glass factory. Other workers found romance in the buses or on the factory floor—two dozen couples who met and married, including my parents, because they both worked in the Wellsboro glass plant.

When the plant ran on “War Time,” the federal regulation that women could not legally work after 10 p.m. was rescinded “for the duration.” This meant many ladies worked through the night.

During the conflict, the Wellsboro plant earned eleven Army-Navy Production “E” awards. The War Production Board declared that more lime glass was

Final stretch: the last run of Wellsboro's ribbon machine in Versailles, Kentucky.

produced in the plant since December 7, 1941 than in any other plant in the world!

From 1940 to 1979, ninety percent of the Christmas ornaments manufactured worldwide were made in Wellsboro.

The Wellsboro Christmas ornament business was the envy of the world. As ornament customers visited Wellsboro, men like Max Eckert of Shiny Brite were paraded through the plant like royalty.

They watched the decorating operations for hours on end, talking with technicians and operators. Then, bit by bit and piece by piece, some customers began to do their own decorating. In the end, the ornament companies only bought the clear glass bulbs from Wellsboro and, over the years, the decorating department laid off some 400 employees.

GE Files Suit When life returned to some semblance of normalcy after the war, the Wellsboro glass factory kept humming along until, in 1948, General Electric filed a Sherman Anti-Trust violation against CGW with the Federal Trade Commission. They claimed that Corning was holding a monopoly on a valuable resource— the ribbon machine. The FTC agreed and required Corning to share their knowledge.

CGW complied. When the FTC ordered Corning Glass to share with an American company, a little corporate intrigue led to miffed Corning executives reaching out to GE’s major competitor. They built a ribbon machine for General Telephone and Electric (GTE).

The Rambling Ribbon Machine The first descendant of the original machine to travel abroad was simply called S-1, though she got that name later, and went by different monikers according to where she landed. Built in Wellsboro, this granddaughter of Rosie was originally known simply as #10. As a part of the Marshall Plan to reinvigorate the European economy following World War II, she was sold to Glass Bulbs Ltd., an English company, in 1948. The S-1 ribbon machine labored faithfully in Harworth, England until 1978 See Ribbon on page 12 11

Don Knaus

Ribbon continued from page 11

(2) Ryan Root

when she was taken out of service and replaced by two newer machines sold by General Electric. This was, of course, a direct result of the earlier lawsuit—when the FTC decided in favor of GE, the resulting knowledge-share enabled GE to produce their own ribbon machines. Offered a faster, more modern ribbon machine by GE, Glass Bulbs, Ltd., removed S-1 from service and she sat unused, abandoned for a year.

At that point, she was sold to General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) Sylvania Corporation—GTE by then had merged with Sylvania.

Meanwhile, Corning executives had seen a dramatic drop in their glass bulb sales as a result of General Electric’s suit. Still nursing their wounds, they were heard to grumble, “Too many companies are making glass bulbs.” They soon sold the Wellsboro Corning Glass plant to GTE-Sylvania, a rival of GE. At that point, S-1 was dismantled and prepared for transit yet again. Once more, S-1 sailed across the sea as she was moved to the GTE-Sylvania corporate headquarters in Danvers, Massachusetts. Once there, GTE-Sylvania employees never touched her. She sat idle and dejected. Her working days looked to be done.

Sylvania’s merger with GTE opened an opportunity for the Sylvania branch of the corporation. Sylvania was a major manufacturer of light bulbs and wanted to be able to say that all components of their light bulbs were made in America. So, in 1981, GTE-Sylvania decided to move S-1 back to their Wellsboro facility. She was going home! After she returned to Wellsboro, the ribbon machine mechanics had a lot of work to get her back into condition. Still encased in Cosmoline, a petroleum-based wax, as well as layers of dirt, the Wellsboro machine crew headed by Bill Kilmer cleaned her in the yard before she could be taken into the plant. Then, piece by piece, mechanics Molding memories: including Charlie Starkweather, John (from top) a simple Cooney, Ells Rose, Bob Stevenson, John bulb mold with finished Stevenson, Jack Cooney, Carl Buss, Harland bulb; the classic Santa Hilborn, and Jim Melko slowly rebuilt and ornament mold with upgraded S-1. Some ball bearings built to original ornament British metric sizes had to be replaced with inside; former machine the American standard measurements. She operator Elvin Boyden's was refurbished and “tuned up” to run faster ornament that than she had in England from 1948 speed celebrates the ribbon to 1982 speed. S-1 returned to service in machines, now owned by his grandson (and Wellsboro in 1982 and spit out glass bulbs fellow machine operator) until the plant closed in 2019.

Ryan Root.

She would have yet another new owner when GTE sold the plant to Osram-Sylvania with the Sylvania branch maintaining the glass bulb element of the operation. That company had built a plant in Versailles, Kentucky, and in 2019, S-1, #9, and #12 were shipped for use in Versailles.

When the Versailles plant closed a few months later in September 2019, Osram gutted both the Wellsboro and Versailles plants.

S-1 and her sister #9 were scheduled for the scrap heap.

The Wellsboro Glass Historical Association learned of the plight of the ribbon machines in Kentucky. Determined to save the last ribbon machines, with help from Growth Resources of Wellsboro (GROW) and Corning, Inc., the parent company, the Association was able to purchase S-1 and machine #9 and arrange

12

See Ribbon on page 33

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Alyssa Hars

Giving gal: Virginia "Sister Jenny" Bolen sits with husband Ed Clemens in front of the Middlebury Center Outreach Center.

Always a Season for Giving

Sister Jenny�s Spiritual Journey Became Her Life�s Work

By Lilace Mellin Guignard

W

hen you enter Sister Jenny’s Outreach Center in Middlebury Center, Pennsylvania, you’ll find yourself in a cozy room with a big desk, comfy chairs, and large oval table.

The homey living room/dining room feel contrasts with the outside—a simple gray warehouse structure, softened by welcoming white Adirondack chairs. You’ll soon learn that everyone is welcome at the table. And it’s even bigger than it appears.

A small woman with short blonde hair, and warm smile will tell you to make yourself comfortable and ask what you need. A cup of coffee? A box of food? A winter coat? An apartment for you and your kids?

Sister Jenny is ninety and has been helping folks in Tioga County for forty years. United Christian Ministries, which 14

incorporated thirty-five years ago, has grown into three shelters, an outreach center providing food, toys, clothing, and household items, and a mission and program center that offers space to other organizations and events. All free of charge.

Past county commissioners told her she’s the best-kept secret in Tioga County.

Not because she’s trying to be, but social media and websites require new skills and more time than this busy woman can find.

Still, police, parole officers, and case workers all know who to call when help is needed.

United Christian Ministries is a social ministry not affiliated with any particular church. “There is no proselytizing and no requirements,” she says. Every single person regardless of beliefs, ethnicity, gender identity or orientation is loved and cared

for. She smiles. “At first some churches were concerned I’d lure their parishioners away”—a process called “stealing sheep.”

“I told them, I don’t want your sheep.

Send me your goats!” Her voice is soft, but her wit is sharp. She explains she is not and never has been a nun but was given her moniker by folks in the Cowanesque Valley.

“It’s a spiritual name. I guess it could’ve been worse, they could’ve called me Mother Boley.”

At that time Virginia E. Boley (her real name) was only fifty and had recently relocated to Osceola. She’d grown up in West Virginia—you can still hear the South in her speech—got her PhD in clinical psychology (counseling), and for years operated a successful restaurant in Chester County. She had a keen business sense, both for numbers

and for people. But she had no calling. Back then, she says, “I knew about Jesus, but I didn’t know Him personally.” She knows many will roll their eyes at the story of her spiritual journey. Nonetheless, she’ll share it with anyone who’ll listen.

It started with a fox hunting accident when a horse kick smashed her leg. A long steel rod was put in, intended to be there forever. She experienced great pain and limited mobility. Then at a healing service—knowing nothing about the Holy Spirit—Sister Jenny was changed. “I went home and ran up and down the stairs.

Soon I felt a new pain in my knee. The doctors said it was the rod trying to come out. They removed it soon afterwards.”

Today, at ninety, she moves easily throughout the warehouse, showing a visitor where boxes of food are packed and handed out.

This supplemental food pantry also responds to emergency needs.

Other food pantries might only serve their zip codes and receive donations from the community. This one receives food from the Central PA Food Bank, serves all of Tioga County, and can be visited in addition to other pantries. They’ve recently received permission to serve Potter County, too. On the second Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., cars holding up to two families drive through the warehouse to receive pre-packed boxes.

The other side of the warehouse, open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., holds clothing and household goods.

This area is also the location of their Toys for Tots delivery. She’s not sure what it will look like this year, but pre-pandemic, free soup and hot dogs were distributed while families picked up the toys they’d pre-registered for in November as a bluegrass band played.

Over one thousand families register each year.

Recognizing that feeding and clothing people isn’t enough for people lacking a warm place to sleep, Sister Jenny sold her home and restaurant downstate and opened Garnet House in 1987. This women’s shelter, in the former CMA Church and parsonage in Osceola, was purchased by Sister Jenny and named for her sister.

Garnet House offers rooms to eight women. They’ve held GED classes, community programs, even weddings and funerals. In the early years, food pantry items were brought in to teach cooking skills and feed occupants.

In 1997, a men’s shelter followed. Kenner Court in Tioga houses thirteen men while giving them access to job training and other programs to help get them back on their feet. David’s by the Lake in Lawrenceville has three family apartments on 2.5 acres with outside play areas for kids. Every shelter has rules and chores. All together the ministry has forty-two beds.

There are six paid full-time staff members and lots of volunteers, including twenty who help each distribution day.

But the busiest volunteer is Sister Jenny, who takes no salary. As executive director, she works alongside her husband Ed Clemens, director of operations. Now her son Dave has joined them as he prepares to take over the ministry. “My mother told me ‘I’m either going to leave it to you or the county,’” he says. “This is her legacy.

I’m here to continue that.”

Lilace Mellin Guignard raises her kids in Wellsboro where she plays outdoors, gets wild with community theater, and shakes things up at Sunday school. She’s the author of When Everything Beyond the Walls Is Wild: Being a Woman Outdoors in America.

How You Can Help Volunteers are needed to help with their social media and website; and to provide life skills and literacy trainings. They offer space to organizations providing these.

Item donations: Clean clothing and household items can be brought to 14 Plaza Lane in Middlebury Center on Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Please bring them inside!

Financial contributions: Sister Jenny’s Outreach Center needs a walk-in freezer and the renovations that would require.

Money also goes toward diesel fuel for the refrigeration truck, emergency counseling services for clients, and facility overhead—especially electricity.

For more information call (570) 944-0106 or mail checks made out to United Christian Ministries, Inc., to P.O. Box 25, Elkland, PA 16920.

More ways to help those helping others: Volunteers That Care is a non-profit organization providing gas cards to cancer patients who live in or are receiving cancer treatments in Potter County. Started in 2012 by eight women, many of whom are cancer survivors, VTC helps relieve the financial burdens of 100 cancer patients annually. They do not ask for financials, just your name, address, phone number, and treatment center.

To volunteer or request help: email volunteersthatcare@ gmail.com or leave a message at (814) 203-8628.

Mail checks made out to Volunteers that Care to P.O. Box 750, Coudersport, PA 16915.

Rewritten of Tioga County assists the healing journey of those affected by human trafficking. Rewritten works to make people more aware of the issue of human trafficking, and its prevention and to aid survivors. Money is needed to offer trainings and create a daytime drop-in center where survivors will have access to counseling, survivor-specific resources, art and music therapy, healthy food, clothing, referrals, and more.

The office is at 16 Pearl Street, Suite 4, Wellsboro, and staffed on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fridays from10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and by appointment. Drop in or contact them at rewrittenusa@gmail.com. Online resources and links are listed at linktr.ee/rewrittenusa.

To donate by mail, make sure checks are made out to the Tioga County Partnership for Community Health (TCPCH) with Rewritten in the memo line. Send to P.O. Box 1045, Wellsboro, PA 16901. Online donations may be made through PayPal. Donations to these organizations are tax deductible and receipts are available upon request.

15

By Heather Mee, courtesy Arcadia Theatre,

A Second Century of Dreams

Wellsboro�s Arcadia Theatre Celebrates Its First Hundred Years

By Karey Solomon

T

he marquee on the outside hints at only part of the magic. It lures customers inside, promising enchantment—then delivers even more.

When Wellsboro’s Arcadia opened in 1921, moving pictures were a novelty.

Owners Irvin Focht and Leon Klock took a risk building a 900-seat auditorium, hoping the seats they sold for fifteen and twenty-five cents would repay their investment.

Fortunately, the audiences they hoped for arrived.

Back then, operating a movie theater meant more than creating a welcoming space with plush seats and a working projector.

Movies were silent, dramatized with the accompaniment of an organ, a piano, sometimes even a small orchestra. Musical accompaniment, carefully coordinated with the onscreen action, supplied some of the drama dialog later provided. The theater’s name, Arcadia, suggested a place of innocent, rustic pleasures, possibly to reassure early patrons, riveted to the shenanigans unfolding

16

in front of their eyes, that attending a movie could only be good, clean fun.

The opening movie, The Old Nest, was an eight-reel movie, meaning it was about eighty-eight minutes long, requiring the projectionist to nimbly switch between two projectors, to keep the action going, rethreading one while the other ran and seamlessly accomplishing the changeover every ten or eleven minutes.

That movie, once immortalized on celluloid, a notoriously flammable early plastic which also easily degrades, might now be permanently lost. No matter—its place in the hearts of its audiences was quickly replaced by other Hollywood productions.

In cinema’s golden age, before the advent of television, moviegoers faithfully returned, sometimes weekly, to take in the newest dramatic release—and these came thick and fast. Audiences giggled, gasped, and sighed as they followed the vicissitudes of the characters, got enjoyably scared at horror movies, fell in love with actors they followed

on the screen and in movie magazines. They came to forget their troubles and be taken out of lives that included the stresses of the Depression, war, and personal and global threats.

They still do.

“People want to come together in a theater or concert and have that moment of community over a shared event,” says Peter Davis, general manager of the Arcadia. “Meet up with friends, go on a date, get out of the house, laugh together, and cry together.

There’s something about that, especially to come together and forget about all the craziness.”

T h e e x p e r i e n c e b e c a m e m o re compelling—and the era of the in-house orchestra ended—when films including sound, known as talkies, arrived in 1929. The Arcadia was one of the first theaters north of the Mason-Dixon line to begin showing this new sort of movie.

In the 1930s, when owner/manager See Arcadia on page 18

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(2) Courtesy Arcadia Theatre

Arcadia continued from page 16

Larry Wooden began screening films on Sundays, some town residents were concerned. Then a fire damaged part of the theater, a common hazard when the heat of an incandescent projection bulb made contact with celluloid film, causing the Sunday nay-sayers to deem this accident a heavenly response to Sunday showings, summarily discontinued for several years thereafter. Later, when the rise of television, and later the availability of movies on video, challenged the viability of movie theaters across the country, audiences declined and many worried an era had concluded.

But the Arcadia kept going.

In 1987, the theater was purchased by the Wellsboro Hotel Company, owner of the historic Penn Wells Hotel and Lodge. In 1996 and 1997, it was completely renovated to celebrate its seventyfifth year, reopening in March 1997 as a state-of-the-art four-screen movie house. The original stage was extended over the former orchestra pit to make that part of the theatre more versatile for live theatrical performances. The building was extended over an adjacent property, then divided into four performance spaces. Complying with modern code and ADA requirements, adding soundproofing, and installing more spacious seats—people got larger over the past century—meant losing more than 200 seats, but the Utopian scenes: (from new ones are comfortable and upholstered. Once a dark top) construction of the celestial blue with silver accents, ornate plaster work and Arcadia Theatre in July other accoutrements of luxury, later a generic beige as 1921; an advertisement for the first movie shown the result of a previous renovation, the interior walls in the theatre that same of today’s Arcadia are painted “Arcadia Green” with year. burgundy accents. Many of the original Art Deco details were repaired and restored.

The theater began offering private screenings as well as the occasional stage performance and special “dinner-and-a-movie” nights.

“As a single screen theater, it was feeling a little old,” says movie buff Clare Ritter, a frequent patron. “Now it feels nostalgic as well as modern. It’s more intimate than many modern movie theaters and it has such amazing history.”

Although the Arcadia, like most theaters, had to close its doors for some time during the pandemic, “The main thing is how vital a movie theater is to a downtown in a small town,” Peter says. “Movies are still one of the only things happening at night. We’re there every night.”

And when movie patrons go out to eat or to a bar in conjunction with a visit to the Arcadia, there’s a synergistic benefit felt by many area establishments.

The immersive experience of the big screen with surround sound, and an absence of other distractions remains unlike any other. Of course, so is movie popcorn. “It’s not like your couch,” Peter says.

“Sitting at home is just not the same.”

As the pandemic recedes, he’s hoping people will again have the fun of going out to the movies they once took for granted. Tickets and gift cards can be purchased online at arcadiawellsboro.com or call (570) 724-4947 or in person. Peter says patrons can still see firstrun movies, “Pretty much the first weekend they come out.” With admission at $8.50 for adults and $6.50 for kids, “We’re trying to keep it affordable. We’re hoping people are rediscovering going out to the movies.”

Karey Solomon is a freelance writer and needlework designer who teaches internationally.

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Wellsboro’s

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All Day Department 56 Dickens Village Display Deane Center Window

10:00 am- 2:00 pm Alternative Christmas Fair, Refreshments, Music First Presbyterian Church

9:00 am – 4:00 pm Indoor Craft Show United Methodist Church

Open House w/Refreshments Tussey-Mosher Funeral Home

10:00 am – 4:00 pm Indoor Book Sale Green Free Library

9:00 am – 11:30am Best Dressed Contest Registration Deane Center Lobby

3:00 pm – 8:00 pm Indoor Craft Show United Methodist Church

9:00 am – 3:00 pm Open House Tioga County Historical Society

7:15 pm “The Man Who Invented Christmas” Movie Arcadia Theatre

9:00 am – 4:00 pm Model Train Show, Cookie Sale, Children’s Activities St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

7:30 pm Dickens of a Concert St. Peter’s Catholic Church $

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th Dickens

Craft Show Firemen’s Annex 9:30 am Wellsboro High School Dickens Choir Arcadia Theatre 10:00 am Victorian Stroll Meet at Deane Center Outdoor Stage

10:30 am HG Productions, “A Christmas Carol” Deane Center $, reservations recommended 10:30 am, 12:30 & 2:30 pm “The Man Who Invented Christmas” Movie Arcadia Theatre $ 11:00 am HG Productions, “A Christmas Carol” Warehouse Theatre $, reservations recommended

Gale Largey’s “Nessmuk” Movie Arcadia Theatre $ 11:00am – 2:00pm Indoor Book Sale, Basket Raffle, Friends of Library Reception Green Free Library 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Impressions of Egypt Art Exhibit Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center

12:30 pm “The Man Who Invented Christmas” Movie Arcadia Theatre 1:00 pm HG Productions, “A Christmas Carol” Warehouse Theatre $, reservations recommended

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Friends of Library Basket Raffle Drawing Green Free Library 2:30 pm “The Man Who Invented Christmas” Movie Arcadia Theatre

3:00 pm Wellsboro Men’s Chorus Arcadia Theatre 3:20 pm Wellsboro Women’s Chorus Arcadia Theater 3:30 pm HG Productions, “A Christmas Carol” Coolidge Theatre, $, reservations recommended, Deane Center 3:40 pm Combined Chorus Sing-a-long Arcadia Theater 4:00 pm HG Productions, “A Christmas Carol” Warehouse Theatre $, reservations recommended

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21

Courtesy Steven McCloskey

Guarding the gate: some members of the committee stand at the Gate House site during the foundation repair process (left to right) Irene Morgan, Brenda Barden, Brian Barden, Nan Wilcox, Gordon Wilcox, Deb Bastian, and Scott Bastian.

Save the Gate House!

Historians work to Preserve the Past to Light Mansfield’s Future

By Steven McCloskey

S

ometimes, a simple gesture has a huge impact. It can ignite a community vision and spirit, bringing people together to achieve something greater than anyone ever believed possible.

For the greater Mansfield area, the initially simple desire of some caring citizens to bring a ray of light to a long-neglected landmark spawned a community-wide drive to preserve an irreplaceable piece of history.

The Save the Gate House Project promises to not only save the last remaining structure of the former Great Mansfield Fair, repurposing it as a community meeting resource and tourist attraction. It will also create a lasting monument to the community’s most historic event by commemorating and detailing the history of the world’s first night football game. It occurred just outside the building’s original stained-glass bay windows 129 years ago.

Sitting at the almost geographical center of the borough, the cottage-style gate house

22

has stood guard over the entrance since 1889, welcoming visitors and residents to historic Smythe Park in downtown Mansfield.

During its long history, the Gate House witnessed most of the community’s greatest accomplishments and events, while greeting Mansfield’s most distinguished visitors.

After Smythe Park was sold to the Mansfield School Board in 1957—the school district was expanding its footprint in the area—ending the Great Mansfield Fair, the Gate House still served the community.

In the 1960s, the school district leased the Gate House to the Chamber of Commerce, and the building served as a seasonal tourist information center. Later, during the 1970s, it was home to the Mansfield Art Club and Gallery. Most recently it was the headquarters for Santa’s Gift Bag, a community support organization providing Christmas gifts and health care to those in need.

But for the past decade, the Gate House was mostly empty and dark, fading into the

background.

Its darkness stirred the souls of a couple of neighbors who saw beauty in this simple, but somehow elegant building. They contacted representatives from the school district to ask if they could place some candle lights in the windows to brighten the building. They were sure those lights would bring warmth to the neighborhood.

Permission was granted. For the first time in years, the interior of the Gate House was cleaned, the windows were washed, and an American flag and lantern were placed at the entrance. When the lights were lit, the attractive glow suddenly drew the attention of others who could see the potential for the enhancement of the community in preserving the building.

Soon the Save the Gate House committee was formed. Chairperson Brian Barden is a Mansfield native whose ancestral roots go back to Dr. J.M. Barden, a director of the See Gate House on page 24

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Smythe Park Association when the Gate House was built in 1889.

The first order of business was to discuss the status of the Gate House with the Southern Tioga School District. The timing was fortuitous. The school district had no use for the building and couldn’t justify the expense of providing funding for needed repairs to the roof and foundation. They were considering tearing down the structure, but they were willing to listen to proposals to save the building. But time was short. The increasing deterioration of the foundation and roof was creating a safety issue the district felt obligated to rectify.

“The condition of the building foundation and roof really created a sense of urgency for all concerned,” Brian recalls. “As a group, we had to move very quickly to establish a plan, secure a lease, formulate a budget, and, most importantly, identify and raise money.”

The Save the Gate House committee reacted with urgency, breaking down what seemed like an overwhelming project into pieces that corresponded to members’ areas of expertise.

Over the course of the past eight months, an overall plan was adapted with the help and support of a Mansfield native, construction contractor Matt Neal, who produced a projected budget. The plan now called for not only saving the Gate House, but also replacing the decaying gates of the entrance of Smythe Park and adding a soaring arch spanning the road, identifying historic Smythe Park as the birthplace of night football to residents and visitors.

The school district reached a tentative lease agreement with Mansfield Auxiliary Corporation, which agreed to act as host for the project. The Mansfield Foundation provided guidance for a fundraising strategy and Mansfield area business, Woodhouse —The Timber Frame Company, created and donated project renderings.

The MAC and Mansfield Borough provided initial support, with a Gate House subcommittee implementing a direct-mail postcard campaign and on-site fundraiser. First Citizens Community Bank and Northwest Bank both hosted targeted fundraising presentations. To date, those efforts have successfully raised almost $80,000 of the projected $250,000 project budget.

Early this spring, the roof was replaced. Then the building was lifted off its foundation by Mansfield area contractor Steve Duziba.

A new foundation was installed, raising the building by five feet, placing it at street level for enhanced visibility and convenience.

By the end of October, the building was lowered back into place and the initial landscaping was completed. The process drew a lot of community attention.

“What has really been rewarding to everyone involved is the remarkable support we have received from area citizens and businesses,” says Brian. “We continue to be amazed that almost everyone seems to immediately see the potential of the project and the impact it can have on creating a point of pride in our community.”

You can find more information on the Save the Gate House project, the history of the Gate House, or how to donate to the project at savethegatehouse.org.

Steve McCloskey retired in 2017 as the long-time director of Athletic Operations and Information at Mansfield University. He currently serves as a member of the board of the Mansfield History Center.

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25

(2) Courtesy Ed Bond

Saving serum: Ed Bond (above) shares his pupsaving book promoting the distemper cure of Dr. Alson Sears.

Saving Dogs from Distemper

Local Author Uncovers the Power of the Newcastle Vaccine

By Ed Bond

T

he last thing I wanted was a voicemail from the other side of the world, but Mada Lixandru had tracked me down. I played her message when I arrived at my desk at the Elmira Star-Gazette at 2 p.m. on a sunny Saturday in mid-August, 2008.

Mada lived in Romania. Her dog Rina had canine distemper, and she had been desperately searching for a way to save her pup’s life. She begged me to call her back.

“Nope,” I thought. “Not gonna do it.”

As that day’s wire editor, I had to help fill the newspaper with stories from the Associated Press and other wire services.

I did not want to get entangled in her crisis. Mada found me because of my website—www.edbond.com—and the story I’d posted about the battles with

26

canine distemper my wife, Amy, and I had when we lived in Los Angeles. All our dogs were vaccinated but must have been exposed before they came into our lives.

In 1996, two of our puppies died in the neurologic stage of this disease. The next year, another street dog we rescued, Galen, was diagnosed in the early stages.

Distemper is a virus related to measles.

It typically attacks the respiratory system first. After six days of symptoms like coughing, gunky nose, and fever, the disease usually attacks the nervous system.

At this point most dogs either die naturally or are euthanized to end their suffering.

Before Galen reached that stage, we had him treated by Dr. Alson Sears of Lancaster, California.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Sears developed

a serum for dogs in the early stages of distemper using Newcastle’s Disease Vaccine. After two days in Lancaster, Galen returned to us strong and healthy.

At the time, I was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and tried to write about how Galen was saved. But because Dr. Sears had never published his treatment in a veterinary journal, I couldn’t. Later, I published the website story just to let others in Southern California find Dr. Sears, but I did not want to fight for him.

By 2008, our lives had changed. After our first baby, Amy and I moved back to her hometown, Horseheads. Amy and I had met at the Star-Gazette in 1991, when I was the bureau reporter in Corning.

When we returned from California in 2001, I took a job as copy editor in Elmira.

In 2006, Galen died of liver trouble and, soon after, Dr. Sears retired and moved to Utah. That should have been the end of the distemper story.

But then Mada found me. She had emailed, too. Later, I tersely replied to her email that the protocols for Dr. Sears’ serum were on the website, and her vet could use them if he wanted.

In mid-December, I was at work with Facebook open on my browser. A chat window popped up from Mada. At that moment, she changed my life. “...we did manage to save five or six dogs with that serum...”

Outcomes in science need to be replicated. A veterinarian in Romania had taken Dr. Sears’ protocols off of my website with the same result. Confirmation? Maybe not enough for a university, but enough to override my skepticism. Dogs do not need to die of this disease, and I could not keep letting it happen.

But I am not a scientist. I respect doctors, professors, and the need for treatments to be analyzed through scientific testing and peer reviewed articles. I trust the scientific method and believe in vaccines. Better to prevent than to need to treat a disease.

However, if your patient is terribly ill, wouldn’t you want a treatment? Perhaps Dr. Sears’ discovery just needed better confirmation, I thought. Could I somehow nudge him toward acceptance from the experts?

The day after the chat with Mada, I launched the Save Dogs From Distemper cause with this message: “Here are Dr. Sears’ protocols. Use them. Make the serum. Treat dogs with distemper and then report back to me what outcomes you have.”

This went out on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, WordPress, and eventually on a DVD and in my book. I received thousands of emails and collected hundreds of stories, photos and videos from Asia, Eastern Europe, South America, South Africa, Canada and around the United States.

Working through Kind Hearts In Action, a small nonprofit founded by my two sisters, we received anecdotal accounts of veterinarians treating 305 dogs with Dr. Sears’ serum before the onset of the neurologic stage. Of those, eighty-six percent survived.

According to Cornell University, fifty percent of adult dogs that get distemper die, and 80 percent of puppies die.

But Dr. Sears and I were—and still are—caught in a Catch-22.

The experts wouldn’t take a closer look at this because there were no published studies, and there were no published studies because they wouldn’t look at it. My training is in journalism. I collect stories—anecdotes—and anecdotal information doesn’t prove much in science. Scientific proof takes more money and resources than I have.

The next step should be to properly document cases. But vets who have used the serum are mostly too busy running a practice to document outcomes to veterinary journal standards. This requires someone who could consistently treat a group of dogs, preferably working with a trained science or medical writer. If anyone like that is interested, I would love to hear from them.

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27

(4) Karey Solomon

Choice confections: (left) Lisa Keenan and Tami Reinhart show off their choice cookies while Sarah Shirley (top right) displays items available at her boutique.

Cookie Walk

Hammondsport Merchants Create a Sweet Start to the Season

By Karey Solomon

I

n Hammondsport, Santa doesn’t need to wait until Christmas Eve for his cookies.

On December 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. he’ll be able to stroll the village, cookie tin in hand, collecting a sweet treat at every stop.

Villagers and tourists use the day to visit, shop, explore, and learn about the good things offered by twenty-five participating merchants, innkeepers, restauranteurs, and professionals. Most of these are in walking distance from each other, so the sidewalks, like the stores, are filled with holiday cheer and the anticipation of goodies.

Each host has to produce at least 150 cookies to fill the special commemorative tins the Hammondsport Chamber of Commerce, organizers of the event, have available each year. The cookies must be homemade and individually wrapped— with thought given to pretty presentation as

28

well as the deliciousness inside. A twentyfive dollar registration fee gives you a tin and list of businesses to visit for cookies.

Melissa Tobias of Tobias & Co. Salon, 67 Shelthar Street, is both a recentlyopened new business and a returning one.

Her former location, Mane Street Hair and Nails, was much smaller. Expanded, renamed, and rebranded, she says she’s looking forward to showing cookie walkers her new digs. “The salon we were in before was very small. In our new space, we can definitely offer tours. I know a lot of people are interested.” How will she top last year’s caramel apple cookies? Walkers will discover the answer the day of the event.

At The Cinnamon Stick, a gift shop at 26 Mechanic Street, Terry Pennise is currently considering cookie recipes. Last year she made pumpkin cookies with

chocolate chips. She’s still mulling over this year’s possibilities.

“It’s such a nice family event,” she says. “The stores are decorated, everyone’s in a good mood because they’re getting cookies! Some people just come in to get their cookies, some take advantage of doing some shopping.” The dental office of Terry’s husband, Dr. Sam Pennise, is another cookie stop. Terry says plans there are in the capable hands of his staff.

Because not every business owner is a baker, cookies for at least two establishments are created by Wendy Smith Hill, whose Simply Sweet Home Bakery (find her on Facebook) is a second job. She always makes a spicy gingerbread for the Shaw Insurance Agency at 23 Shethar Street; she’ll also be baking for Sarah Shirley of Mersur, a See Cookie on page 30

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Cookie continued from page 28

boutique at 64 Shethar Street whose name is based on the vacation idea of mermaids and surfers. “All her cookies are pure perfection,” Sarah says enthusiastically. “Baking is her zone of genius.”

Every evening in the days before the cookie walk, sweet smells of butter, spices, and sugar waft from Wendy’s commercial kitchen where every available surface is filled with hundreds of cookies cooling, getting decorated, or being packaged with a pretty ribbon, a process that takes even more time than baking them.

“When you think of Christmas, you think of Christmas cookies. It’s tradition, this time of year, and Hammondsport is an old-fashioned nostalgic town.” Wendy says she loves going on the cookie walk. “You get the sense of Christmas in the air,” she says.

“Some of the people will have cocoa or hot apple cider, everything is already decorated for Christmas. A lot of times the stores will have specials and the Village Square is decorated. Of course, you always hope for a little snow in the air.” But no matter the weather, there are always cookies. And Wendy has no objection to getting cookies she baked to add to her collection.

“I’m thinking of something that’s kind of tropical,” says Sarah, considering her upcoming consultation with Wendy. “I like when people bite into something, they’re whisked away someplace. That’s my brand. Nostalgic about the holidays and tasting a flavor they’ve never tasted before.” Last year’s cookie walk “was literally one of my favorite days of the year. It was pretty magical, like a party! I bought a cookie tin for my parents and had them go to all the different places. And it’s an easy way for business owners to get exposure, for people to get to know, like, and trust you.”

“It’s absolutely fun,” says Tami Reinhart, proprietor of the Blushing Rose Bed and Breakfast at 11 William Street, just off the village square. “It reminds me of when I was young.” Her pastry-chef grandmother introduced Tami and her sister Lisa Keenan to the joys of baking and cooking, arts she’s put to use for her family and guests. Her B&B has a full complement of guests for the weekend. “I believe they’re all coming for the cookie walk. They’ll shop around, visit some wineries and shops around the lake.”

As Tami made a test-batch of molasses crinkle cookies, the sisters debated the relative merits of pecans versus walnuts in the Italian wedding cake cookies Lisa is crafting for another business.

Lisa decided to go with pecans. They’ll be baking their final recipes by the hundreds instead of the required one-cookie-per-package, because “We’re Italian, so we want to give people more food,” Lisa explains.

Want to find out what Santa Claus thinks about all these cookies? He’ll be in the lobby of the Finger Lakes Boating Museum at 8231 Pleasant Valley Road. “We seem to get a pretty good crowd coming through, even though we’re a little out of town,” says Julie Johnson, the museum’s bookkeeper, who’s often at the front desk.

Museum volunteers will make the cookies; Santa—don’t tell the kids he’s another volunteer—is available to hear your wishes.

Find more information about the Cookie Walk, the following week’s “Christmas in the Park,” and other events at the chamber’s website, hammondsport.org.

Sponsored in part by NYSCA Restart NY and the Hilliard Corporation.

The OSFL programs are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

(607) 936-2873 30

osfl.org

info@osfl.org

Karey Solomon is a freelance writer and needlework designer who teaches internationally.

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Famous Brands began in 1983, offering “famous brand” Famousand Brands in 1983, offering clothing footwear atbegan below retail prices. Since that humble beginning in a tiny storefront, we have grown to “famous brand” clothing and footwear at 30,000 sq. ft. covering 3 floors and half a city block, becoming abelow destination store for millions of Since visitors and localshumble alike. retail prices. that

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31

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229 AVG/NIGHT FAMILY TIES FARMHOUSE—This newly remodeled farmhouse offers 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, sleeps 8 comfortably, and sits on 14 acres with beautiful views of the 3 acre pond. Whether you are looking for skiing, hiking, hunting/fishing, golf, wine tastings, breweries and many local festivals, you will be centrally located for all of these! $195 AVG/NIGHT

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Merry Christmas!

Isaiah 9:6—For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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Mountain Home Ribbon continued from page 12

for their transport back to Wellsboro.

By the time representatives of the Glass Historical Association arrived in Versailles, #12 machine had been dismantled and sold for scrap. Luckily, they were able to save the remaining two ribbon machines.

In June 2020, S-1 and #9 returned to their hometown. S-1 had grown some as Versailles mechanics added to her length, so she could process florescent tubing. Today, she sits just outside the borough in another abandoned factory, looking quite forlorn. She was due a rest after life of travel, and is looking for a new, permanent home in Wellsboro.

Full disclosure: The author’s blood relatives and their spouses were credited with over 975 years of service in the Wellsboro plant. Several times, three generations punched in at the CGW Wellsboro Glass factory. Parent and child were regular hires. The author earned tuition for college working summers at the glass plant following his grandfather and father. He admits to nearly flunking out of college when he opted to work the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift for an entire semester.

Thanks go to the many employees who chatted glass works history with me through the years. Special thanks go to William “Bill” Kilmer, Grant “Skip” Cavanaugh, John “Jack” Cooney, and others for their recovery of records, and their phenomenal memories.

Glass historian Cavanaugh is part of the newly-formed Wellsboro Glass Historical Association. Their mission is to build community pride in Wellsboro’s important role in glass manufacturing through acquisition, preservation and presentation of this important history.

A 501c3 non-profit organization, the association runs a small Pop-Up Museum on Main Street in Wellsboro.

Learn more on their Facebook page, Wellsboro Glass Historical Association.

Lifelong sportsman Don Knaus is an award-winning outdoor writer and author of a collection of short stories on hunting, fishing, and the outdoors.

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Proud publisher of: Mountain Home • #ExploreCorning Explore Wellsboro Experience Bradford County The Unofficial Route 6 Guide 33

B A C K O F T H E M O U N TA I N

A Dear Moment

By Deb Stafford

I

n the late afternoon, after a heavy snowfall, my husband and I decided to drive around back roads to see all the snow. As we drove down Meek Road in Westfield, a deer skipped across the new-fallen snow. It seemed to enjoy the wonder of this "snow day" as much as we did!

34

A “Wonder-ful” Place to Experience!

The Town Located along scenic Route 6, quaint and quiet Wellsboro offers a unique experience to all visitors. The town boasts distinct shops that appeal to all ages and genres, eateries that cater to all tastes, and lodging provided through hotels, motels, beautiful Victorian style bed and breakfasts, and various rentals.

The Canyon Minutes from town, one can enjoy Pine Creek Gorge; a Natural National Landmark. The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania provides 47 miles of scenic beauty within two State Parks (Leonard Harrison and Colton Point), hiking, backpacking, bicycling, rafting, canoeing, kayaking, and birding. There is something for adventurers of all levels and interests.

The Rail-Trail The canyon also hosts the Pine Creek Trail; 62 miles of flatgrade surface, the length of the canyon. USA Today named the trail a Top 10 Bike Ride. The trail offers year-round access through cross-country skiing, horse-drawn wagon rides, and an equestrian trail. The nearby Asaph area offers intermediate and advanced mountain biking.

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