Explore Wellsboro Spring/Summer 2018

Wellsboro

e r o l p x E

TIM MCBRIDE

Official Visitors Guide of Our Town, Home of Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon

Spring/Summer 2018

www.wellsboropa.com 1

r ea Y en d!

Op Roun

Maple Syrup • Cream • Candy Sugar • Maple Coffee • Granola Gift Baskets & More!

1145 Parker Hill Road Sabinsville, PA 16943

814-628-2230

Owned and operated by Brian and Wanda Warwick

2

L isI toFo E

S H O RT

for

F A K EE

MAPL SYRUP

www.stickybucketmaple.com

Open All Four Seasons!

Each of our unique and beautiful lodges offers the privacy and serenity you need for a relaxing stay.

131 MAIN STREET LODGE offers the convenience of Wellsboro’s downtown shops and restaurants as well as the charm that only a circa 1860 home can offer.

BEAR MOUNTAIN LODGE casual elegance and romantic rooms offer the perfect getaway while still being convenient to downtown Wellsboro.

BEAR MEADOWS LODGE provides elegant comfort after a long day of adventure. Guests may hike, raft, bird or cross country ski the forests near Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon.

www.wellsboropa.com 3

Explore

Wellsboro Editors & Publishers Teresa Banik Capuzzo Michael Capuzzo Associate Publisher George Bochetto Operations Director Gwen Plank-Button Managing Editor Gayle Morrow Advertising Director Maia Mahosky Sales Representative Robin Ingerick

Take a Memorable ride on Tony’s Old Fashioned Trolley!

Circulation Manager Michael Banik Contributing Writers Maggie Barnes, Mike Cutillo, Ashley Ensminger, Elaine Farkas, Don Knaus, Rachel Leigh Contributing Photographers Bernadette Chiaramonte, Linda Stager, Sarah Wagaman

Weddings, Parties, Special Events, Sightseeing, and More!

Call for more information or reservations at 570-723-7777 10195 Route 6 • Wellsboro, PA www.tonystiogatrolleytours.com 4

Explore Wellsboro is published by Beagle Media, LLC, 87-1/2 Main St., Wellsboro, PA 16901, in partnership with the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce. Copyright © 2018 Beagle Media, LLC. All rights reserved. E-mail info@mountainhomemag.com, or call (570) 724-3838. Explore Wellsboro is distributed 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. 20,000 copies are delivered to PA On Display to be distributed to welcome centers across the state.

Spring/summer 2018

W

elcome to Wellsboro, the home of Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon. Wellsboro offers year-round activities and entertainment for everyone. A full schedule of activities including art fairs, music festivals, concerts, plays, and sporting events will keep you entertained throughout the seasons.

With the warmth of spring the mountains are blanketed with hues of green and Pine Creek, flowing through Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon, booms to life, offering an abundance of outdoor recreation. No matter your pleasure—rafting, bird watching, fishing, hiking, biking, or relaxing creek-side—you will find it in the Wellsboro area. So shake off winter and let your spring fever take you on an adventure, as you “Explore Wellsboro.”

The summer season in Wellsboro jump-starts with the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR), followed by the PA State Laurel Festival, Endless Mountain Music Festival, and many other festivals, celebrations, and sporting adventures.

Contact us at the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce, and we’ll be happy to help get your stay with us started.

We welcome you to Explore Wellsboro!

Julie VanNess Executive Director Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce (570) 724-1926 info@wellsboropa.com www.wellsboropa.com

www.wellsboropa.com 5

Proudly serving Tioga, Potter, Bradford & Lycoming Counties

HOMES • LAND • CABINS FARMS •COMMERCIAL

570-723-8484

477 Tioga Street • Wellsboro, PA

Convenient Onsite Parking

MVRWELLSBORO.COM www.wellsboropa.com 6

REAL ESTATE CLOSINGS REFINANCE CLOSINGS NO CLOSING FEE QUICK TURNAROUNDS At Six West Settlements, Inc. we are, with excellence and integrity, dedicated to creating exceptional closing experiences for our customers.

477 Tioga Street • Wellsboro, PA

570-948-9166

SIXWESTSETTLEMENTS.COM www.wellsboropa.com 7

Wellsboro, Pennsylvania

8

Hot Picks for Where to Stay and Be Pampered!

Bear Lodges........................................... 3 Canyon Motel...................................... 31 Emerge Healing Arts & Spa.............. 35 Hanna’s Nail Spa................................. 35 Happy Acres Resort............................ 43 Hotel Manor........................................ 33 La Belle Auberge Bed & Breakfast.... 33 Penn Wells Hotel & Lodge................ 31 River of Pines Cottage........................ 33 Sherwood Motel................................. 33 Wellsboro Inn on the Green.............. 33

Hot Picks for Dining Crossroads Tavern.............................. 43 Eddie’s Restaurant............................... 41 Inn at Babb’s Creek............................. 25 Johnny’z Hot Rod Cafe...................... 41 Lambs Creek Food & Spirits............. 45 Pag-Omar Farms Market................... 21 QQ Buffet............................................ 41 The Steak House................................. 41 The Waterville Tavern........................ 43 Wellsboro Diner................................. 45

www.wellsboropa.com 9

Tioga County, Pennsylvania

10

Hot Picks for Shopping

Canyon Country Fabrics................... 39 CS Sports............................................. 25 Dunham’s Department Store............. 39 Drapers Super Bee Apiaries.............. 35 Enchanted Hollow.............................. 37 European Imports.............................. 49 The Farmer’s Daughters..................... 37 Garrisons Men’s & Ladies Shop........ 37 Highland Chocolates.......................... 35 Linda’s Country Treasures................. 39 Locey Creek Alpacas.......................... 49 Mountain Home Art Gallery............ 21 North Woods Gift Shop..................... 39 Peggy’s Candies & Gifts..................... 35 Pop’s Culture Shoppe.......................... 39 Rockwell’s Feed, Farm, & Pet Supply..................................... 25 Senior’s Creations............................... 37 Shady Grove Natural Market............ 37 Simmons-Rockwell............................ 50 State Line Camping............................ 49

Hot Picks for Outdoors

Corey Creek Golf Club...................... 25 State Line Camping............................ 23 Sticky Bucket Maple............................. 2 Tyoga Country Club.......................... 21 Wheeland Lumber Company........... 23 Wild Asaph Outfitters........................ 25

www.wellsboropa.com 11

Pine Creek Rail Trail

12

Hot Picks for Entertainment Arcadia Theater.................................. 17 Deane Center for the Performing Arts............................. 29 Endless Mountain Music Festival..... 17 Hamilton-Gibson Productions......... 29 Pennsylvania Lumber Museum........ 49 Thomas T. Taber Museum................. 49 Tioga County Fair.............................. 17 Tioga Central Railroad...................... 40 Tioga Downs Casino Resort............. 26 Tony’s Tioga Trolley Tours.................. 4

Hot Picks for Becoming a Local All Wheels Driven.............................. 19 Citizens & Northern Bank................ 47 Dominion Energy............................... 21 Mansfield University.......................... 47 Mountain Valley Realty....................... 6 Six West Settlements............................ 7 UPMC Susquehanna.......................... 52

www.wellsboropa.com 13

FESTIVALS & EVENTS Apr. 7 7:30 p.m.

Apr. 11 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Apr. 26 7 p.m.

May 5 7:30 p.m.

May 8 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

May 11 7:30 p.m.

May 18 7 p.m.

May 18-20 All Day

APRIL VERCH BAND CHAMPION FIDLER AND STEP DANCER-Keeping tradition feisty, Wellsboro Community Concert Association Series Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220

May 22 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

SIX SIGMA GREEN BELT TRAINING, Deane Center, Wellsboro, 570-704-0018

May 27 8 a.m. to Noon

HISTORY COMES ALIVE WITH ALBERT EINSTEIN, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220

May 29 10:30 a.m.

COUNTRY JAMBOREE - Great Country Music, Coolidge Theater, $15, 570724-6220

Jun. 1 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

RISK MANAGEMENT SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY, Mansfield Borough Building, 570-704-0018

Jun. 2 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

ACOUSTIC MARTIN, Warehouse Theatre, 570-7246220

Jun. 2 9 a.m.

HISTORY COMES ALIVE with Thomas Edison, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220 MARY WELLS DAYS (Sidewalk Sales), Wellsboro, 570-724-1926

May 18 & 19 ALUMNI WEEKEND, Varies Wellsboro,

www.wellsboroalumni.org

14

May 19 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Jun. 5 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Jun. 9 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

SPRINGFEST, Hills Creek State Park, 570-724-4246 TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP-SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY, Mansfield Borough Building, 570-704-0018 FLY IN BREAKFAST, Wellsboro Johnston Airport, 570-724-3746 MEMORIAL DAY PARADE, Starts on the Green, Wellsboro Social Club

42ND ANNUAL STPR RALLY - EXPOSE, The Green, Wellsboro, 570-7241926 42ND ANNUAL STPR RALLY - EXPOSE, The Green, Wellsboro, 570-7241926 ROTARY CHICKEN BBQ, Central Avenue SIX SIGMA YELLOW BELT TRAINING, Mansfield Borough Building, 570-704-0018 FAMILY DAY & CHILDREN’S HEALTH FAIR, The Green, Wellsboro, 570724-1926

FESTIVALS & EVENTS Jun. 10 12:30 p.m. LAUREL FESTIVAL PET PARADE, Wellsboro, 570-7241926 Jun. 15 SCARBOROUGH FAIR 7:30 p.m.

A Tribute to Simon and Garfunkel, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220 Jun. 15 & 16 F: 10am-8pm S: 9am-7pm LAUREL FESTIVAL JURIED ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW, The Green, Wellsboro, 570724-1926 Jun. 16 LAUREL FESTIVAL 10K AND 9 a.m.

FUN RUN, Packer Park, 570724-1926 Jun. 16 2:00 p.m. 77TH ANNUAL LAUREL FESTIVAL PARADE, Wellsboro, 570-724-1926 Jun. 23 7:30 p.m. SILVER WINGS-MERLE HAGGARD TRIBUTE, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220 Jun. 30 7:00 p.m. HISTORY COMES ALIVE Appalachia Storyteller, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220 Jul. 20 through Aug. 4 ENDLESS MOUNTAIN Varies MUSIC FESTIVAL, Various Locations, 570-787-7800 Jul. 28 12-3 p.m. CLASSIC CAR CRUISE-IN, Crafton Street, Wellsboro, 570724-1926 Aug. 10 7:30 p.m. OLD BLIND DOGS - Veteran Musicians direct from Scotland, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220

Aug. 17 7:00 p.m. HISTORY COMES ALIVE with Maura’s Eyes, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570724-6220 Aug. 25 12-3 p.m. CLASSIC CAR CRUISE-IN, Crafton Street, Wellsboro, 570724-1926 Aug. 31 7:00 p.m. HISTORY COMES ALIVE with Franklin Roosevelt, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570-724-6220 Sept. 2 8 a.m. to Noon Sept. 8 8:30 a.m.

FLY IN BREAKFAST, Wellsboro Johnston Airport, 570-724-3746 LAUREL CLASSIC MOUNTAIN BIKE CHALLENGE, U.S. Geological Survey in Asaph, PA, 570-7241926

Sept. 29 7:30 p.m. THE ELVIS/ORBISON SHOW - Tribute to Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570724-6220 Oct. 19 7:30 p.m. MOONDANCE - Van Morrison Tribute, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570724-6220 Nov. 12 7:00 p.m. HISTORY COMES ALIVE with Robert E. Lee, Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, 570724-6220 Dec. 1 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

35TH ANNUAL DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS, Downtown Wellsboro, 570-724-1926

www.wellsboropa.com 15

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Wellsboro Rotary Dinner Benefits Laurel Festival An event the scale of the Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival needs a lot of hands to make it happen each year. Set for its seventy-seventh incarnation in 2018, June 9 through June 17, the weeklong event includes a juried art and craft show, the Laurel Queen pageant, a footrace, a variety of concerts, and the famed, two-hour long Laurel Festival Parade, featuring bands renowned for their showmanship and musical talent.

One of the groups that has been a steadfast supporter of the festival is the Wellsboro Rotary Club. The club’s annual Laurel Festival booster dinner has helped finance the parade since 1990. “The parade is one of the truly special parts of the festival,” says Jim Paxson, Rotarian and coordinator of the dinner. “Having those bands come from near and far makes it unique.” The dinner event includes wonderful door prizes that reflect the charm and talent of the region. Gift certificates for a variety of restaurants, artwork, and electronics have been handed out at past dinners. And, as Jim says, “there is some silly stuff too.”

But the highlight of the evening is the awarding of two Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow designations. Mr. Harris was the founder of Rotary, an organization that grew from a small civic group in Chicago into a global force for good that is credited with the near-eradication of polio and progressive anti-poverty projects. Rotary Clubs bestow “Paul Harris Fellow” awards on members and non-members who have made a substantial contribution to the well-being of their community and its citizens. It is a high honor recognized the world over. “These are people who exemplify the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self,’” Jim says. The recipients are kept secret, adding to the evening’s excitement.

Perhaps even more significant is the overall flavor of the event. “It is a celebration of community,” Jim says. “It highlights the civic pride we all feel about the Wellsboro area.

Helping to put on the Laurel parade is an important thing for this town. More than 160 people come to the dinner to show that pride.”

That pride becomes another form of currency for the Laurel Festival. Since its inception, the Rotary dinner has supported the Laurel Festival parade with more than $100,000.

It’s good to have friends.

The Wellsboro Rotary booster dinner is set for Wednesday, April 25, at the Penn Wells Hotel, 62 Main Street. Cocktails are at 6 p.m., dinner follows at 7 p.m. Tickets are available from any Rotarian or at the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce, 114 Main Street, (570) 724-1926.

16

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

www.wellsboropa.com 17

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

STPR Many of the country’s most famous rally racecar drivers, including Travis Pastrana, will descend on Wellsboro June 1-2 for the 41st Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally. It’s one of the world’s roughest tracks, with race cars roaring on 119.4 miles of twisting old dirt Tioga County logging roads, through forest and field and streams at more than 100 miles an hour.

But local racer Derek James (far left), twenty-one, of nearby Westfield, has an unusual edge. He built his first rally car in college. Recently graduated from the Alfred State College program in Motor Sports Technology, becoming the program’s first rally driver was “the whole reason I went to Alfred,” he says. James, who works as an oil field security guard in Potter County, got hooked on STPR, Pennsylvania’s oldest motorsports event, as a boy. “It was me and my dad’s tradition,” he says. “My brother always went Black Friday Shopping with Mom, and I got to the go the rally with Dad. It was our big thing.” (His brother, Matt, of Bloomsburg, is now competing against him in the STPR, having declined Derek’s pleas to be his co-driver).

For his senior project at Cowanesque Valley Junior Senior High School, Derek volunteered as an intern-gopher for STPR. Then, while attending Alfred State, he fell in love with his first “big project car,” an old Ford Focus that already had a rally car’s heavy duty suspension and steel roll cage, as well as serious engine issues. “Dad, this is the car,” he said. He bought it and rushed the repairs in two weeks for his first rally, the Empire State Performance Rally in Narrowsburg, New York.

He didn’t have a co-driver, or navigator, and put out a request on Facebook; a twenty-fouryear-old engineer from Baltimore said, “I’ll be your co-driver.” He was a fan, with no experience. James met him at the race. “I wasn’t even sure it was him.” Fans at the race from a technical college served as his pit crew. The fuel pump died. The engine kept stalling out.

The pit crew used a tree branch to straighten out the suspension and put it back in the car.

But he finished fourth. A freshman in college, he was really hooked now. “That’s the thing about rallies. You press on regardless. No matter what happens, you press on.”

Winning STPR is his biggest dream. He ran it twice before. The first year, early in the race, “I lost brakes and hit a tree, which was just a very bad situation.” The second year, he made it near the end of the race, and “the fuel pump goes. I did nothing wrong. Stuff breaks.” At the Waste Management Winter Rally in Wellsboro, “we were doing very well.

I was right there. I was very close to winning it,” until right near the end he “pushed it a little too hard and hit a tree.”

But he’s in the circuit now, living his dream. For this STPR he’s racing a black 2011 Ford Fiesta. “I found it wrecked and completely built it as a rally car from the ground up.” At the STPR Web site, www.stpr.org, you can find him under Meet the Competitors: “Derek’s main goal for this season is to get at least one podium and to finish every rally.”

18

SALES SERVICE FINANCING Since 2007

Servicing All Cars and Light Trucks.

Also Offering RV Sales & Repair!

12461 Route 6 Wellsboro, PA 16901

(570) 724-2661 www.allwheelsdrivenpa.com

www.wellsboropa.com 19

great outdoors

Tyoga Running Club

Run, run as fast as you can! Or at least as often as you can. If that’s your motto, then the Tyoga Running Club might be what you’re looking for. The Tyoga Running Club is a local nonprofit organization that promotes lifetime fitness by encouraging folks to participate in outdoor activities. You do not have to commit to membership (although it’s a bargain at only fifteen dollars for life)—anyone can come to meetings and join the weekly runs at no cost. Membership does, however, include notification of all organized running events, area trail maps, and discounted registration for TRC races. The club hosts multiple events each year, including The Pine Creek Challenge, the Canyon Man 100, the Green Monster Trail Challenge, and the Mt. Tom Challenge.

The Pine Creek Challenge is both a 100-mile and a 100-kilometer run that takes place every September along the Pine Creek Rail Trail. The race will start and finish at the U.S.G.S. Research Laboratory on Straight Run Road in Asaph. The 2018 event is September 8 and 9 with a 6:00 a.m. start time for the 100-mile runners and a 7:00 a.m. start time for the 100 kilometer runners.

The annual Canyon Man 100, which starts in Ansonia, is on May 6 and 7 this year. The race (which is open to men and women), limited to fifteen competitors, calls for a nineteen-mile paddle down Pine Creek to Rattlesnake Rock, followed by a thirty-one-mile run on the West Rim Trail back to Ansonia. Participants then bicycle the fifty-mile round trip from Ansonia to Rattlesnake Rock and back. This race is unmarked and has a twenty-fourhour cutoff. Competitors who finish get a free beer and burger at the Burnin’ Barrel in Ansonia.

The Green Monster Trail Challenge, which includes fifteen kilometer, twenty-five kilometer, and fifty kilometer divisions, showcases sections of the Tioga State Forest. This year’s Green Monster is on October 7 and also begins at the U.S.G.S. Research Laboratory. The event includes a post-race lunch, music, and race day T-shirts.

The Mt. Tom Challenge is also a popular event. This free, mid-winter adventure includes an 1,100-foot vertical climb from Ansonia to the Mt. Tom summit, a short run along the ridge, then a descent down a sometimes snowy forest road. The goal is to accomplish as many laps as possible in a two-hour span.

Weekly club meetings are on Thursdays at 6 p.m. behind the Senior Center on Queen Street in Wellsboro. Contact the club president, Steve Hanes, at stevehanes@gmail.com, for more information or stop in at Wild Asaph Outfitters on Main Street for event brochures.

20

The Great Outdoors

4-Star Golf Digest Rating

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC GREENS FEES OR STAY & PLAY PACKAGES AVAILABLE!

The

LUNCH • DINNER FULLY STOCKED BAR

759 ROUTE 660 WEST WELLSBORO, PA 16901 570-724-1653 • CALL FOR TEE TIMES

www.tyogacc.com

www.hickorygroveevents.com

ART GALLERY Telling Stories Through Art 87-1/2 Main Street Wellsboro, PA 16901 (570) 724-3838 info@mountainhomemag.com

Beagle Media, llc

www.wellsboropa.com 21

The Great Outdoors

Pine Creek Outfitters Looking for outdoor adventure?

Pine Creek Outfitters has it. From raging rapids so scary you hold your breath until you scream to relaxing floats in slow moving current, their guides can show you how it’s done.

This business started with whitewater rafting decades ago and, for a number of years, relied on a narrow window of time formed by high waters created with the snow melt and spring runoff. Chuck Dillon and family did most of the guiding.

Chuck founded Pine Creek Outfitters but today his son John runs a much-expanded operation. Now, the business runs from March 1 to October 31, employs a number of specially trained guides, and offers adventures beyond whitewater rafting. Biking, hiking, packing, rock climbing, and more are available to folks at all levels of expertise—including complete novices.

Is a bike trek down the Pine Creek Rail Trail just what you’ve been wanting to do? They have bicycles for rent. The rail trail has been listed a number of times—for good reason— in a number of publications as “One of the Top Ten Places to Bike.” Are you worried about your return trip once you’ve biked to Blackwell or Cedar Run? Don’t. They offer a shuttle service.

You want to backpack the West Rim Trail using Chuck Dillon’s guidebook? You will enjoy a wonderful two-day sojourn along Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon. You’ll be awed by the ever-present jaw-dropping views from secluded vistas. But then, you’ve reached the trail’s southern terminus and need a ride from Rattlesnake Rock. They’ll pick you up and deliver your weary bones to your starting point.

Want to take a try at rock climbing? They have licensed guides (one of whom is an EMT) to show you where and how. After a short hike through beautiful forest surroundings, the guides will patiently instruct novices in that adventure.

And if you want to do it on your own but need equipment, well, they’ve got it. Pine Creek Outfitters can rent just about anything you might need. They have rafts, canoes, kayaks, and bikes, as well as the gear needed for floating such as paddles, wetsuits, and life vests.

Wherever you start, they’ll deliver your rental gear. Wherever you stop, they’ll meet you at an appointed time and shuttle you back. What are you waiting for?

Pine Creek Outfitters, 5142 U.S. Route 6, Wellsboro; (570) 724-3003; info@pinecrk.com; www.pinecrk.com. Request their comprehensive twenty-page description of all they have to offer the outdoors and adventure-minded enthusiast.

22

The Great Outdoors We have a full line of parts and accessories to upgrade or repair your camper from quality manufacturers.

LES RV SAERVICE AND S

• TRAILER SALES & SERVICE • HITCHES & TOWING ACCESSORIES • TRUCK CAPS,TONNEAU COVER & BEDLINERS

SALES • PARTS • SERVICE

9179 MAYNARD ROAD • LINDLEY, NY • Exit 6 off Rt. 15 • 607-523-7396 Hours: Mon-Wed.,Fri. 8-5; Thurs. 8-7; Sat 8-Noon; Closed Sunday

w w w . s tat e l i n e ca m p i n g c e n t e r . c o m

Wheeland Lumber Company, Inc. The First Name In Forest Management.

At Wheeland Lumber we offer competitive forestry partnerships for you and the valuable land you own. Together we can institute responsible timber harvesting and growth in profit and potential. All our logging crews are certified and insured.

3558 Williamson Trail • Liberty, PA 16930 Phone: (570) 324-6042 • www.wheelandlumber.com 2018 Impact Advertising • 18WLC-PHC-MHM-SpringSummer-ForestManagement

www.wellsboropa.com 23

The Great Outdoors

What’s Your Ride?

Remember those summer days when you’d yell “Bye, Mom!”, jump on your bike, and pedal as fast as you could down the road to your best friend’s house or to the neighborhood swimming hole? A few things have changed since then, for sure, but the good news is that you can recapture that time—at least the bike part—right here. The Wellsboro area is known for its array of outdoor recreation opportunities in general, and is earning a name for itself as a biking destination in particular. Cycling enthusiasts of all skill levels and persuasions can find their ride here, whether the preference is for road riding, pedaling on established trails, or mountain biking off the beaten path.

Bikes come in many sizes and styles these days but are categorized roughly into road bikes, mountain bikes, and combination types. Road bikes are the lightest of the lot, with narrow tires designed for spinning quickly on paved or relatively smooth surfaces. Mountain bikes appeal to the off-road enthusiast (sometimes way off the road!). They have sturdier frames, bigger, knobbier tires, and usually some type of suspension system, although there are riders who prefer, for various reasons, to go with a front-only suspension (hard tail) or a rigid frame. Hybrids are a combination of road and mountain bike—great for both kinds of recreational riding. They are heavier than road bikes but not as sturdy as their mud and rock-loving cousins. Cruiser bikes are popular for, well, cruising. With an upright riding position and, typically, a single speed, they’re favorites for a casual ride around town or other flat terrain. In between are a variety of ways to spin, from recumbent to tandem, slow ride to race pace.

Deciding where to ride is a pleasant dilemma. The Pine Creek Rail Trail is the crown jewel in the Wellsboro area’s collection of outdoor adventure options. Depending on your bike, your skill, and your fitness level, it’s a great trail for a serious workout, an all-day excursion, or just a jaunt. Your ride could even be combined with a little fishing, picnicking, or bird watching.

Then there are the miles and miles of paved and dirt roads to explore—flat if you just want to cruise and lots of hills if you want to get your heart rate up. For the off-roaders, there are dozens of well-marked trails in the state forest land throughout the county. Visit the folks at the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce, CS Sports, or Wild Asaph Outfitters, all on Main Street, for maps, suggestions about where to ride, and information about organized rides and local races.

Get pedaling!

24

The Great Outdoors at

The Inn Babb’s Creek

Open again after 4 years!

Serving our famous Prime Rib every day.

(570) 353-4006 3677 Rt 414 Morris, Pennsylvania

www.theinnatbabbscreek.com

18-hole design to please any skill level!

—FULL SERVICE COURSE— —FULL RESTAURANT & LOUNGE— —PRO SHOP—

with Certified PGA Professional Shawn Mitcheltree on hand to help you

MANY EVENTS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DAILY GOLF SPECIALS—Tee times required.

—OUTSTANDING SERVICE— —DAILY LUNCH & GOLF SPECIALS—

(570) 662-3520

18795 US Route 6 Mansfield, PA 16933

www.coreycreekgolf.com

KWELL’S ROCFeed, Farm & Pet Supply

570-724-0967 • 877-797-4575 Your Neighborhood Pet Supply Store

Full Service Bicycle and Snowsports Shop promoting Outdoor Fun All Year Round

We have everything for your pets & farm animals!

Visit and LIKE our Facebook page: C S Sports Inc 81 Main St • Wellsboro PA 16901 570-724-3858

Open: M,Tu, Th, F: 9:30—6:00; W & Sa: 9:30–5:00 Open: Sundays June, July & August

1943 SHUMWAY HILL RD., WELLSBORO, PA HOURS: 7:30-5:00 M-F • 8:00-1:00 SAT.

www.wellsboropa.com 25

26

WE DO

ALL-NEW Experience our complete resort destination with a relaxing hotel, many delicious restaurants including Virgil’s Real BBQ & P.J. Clarke’s, Vegas-Style gaming, golf, live horse racing, a blissful spa and so much more.

ALL-NEW IS WHAT WE DO

tiogadowns.com GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL (877-8-HOPENY) OR TEXT HOPENY (467369)

www.wellsboropa.com 27

ARTS & MUSIC

Endless Mountain Music Festival

Wellsboro is a hotbed for the arts. The town boasts one of the best community theater troupes in the state, and, every summer, appearing like a miracle from Brigadoon, a remarkable concert series, now in its thirteenth season, known as the Endless Mountain Music Festival.

EMMF is sixteen days of non-stop music orchestrated by Grammy-nominated Lancaster Symphony Orchestra maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser, a summer Wellsboro resident who confirms his reputation as a master programmer by importing world-renowned musicians to the Twin Tiers for a taste of mountain music like nowhere else.

Picture Wagner and Mozart performed by world-class talent at big-city orchestra levels, a famed Kansas City jazz pianist, the scores of Gone with the Wind and Dr. Zhivago filling the hall, a big brass sound outdoors under the brilliant constellations of the darkest skies in the East, string trios, star Dobro and slide guitarist Abbie Gardner (above), local actors playing Peter and Wolf with a chamber orchestra, internationally celebrated conductor Peggy Dettwiler and her chorus, a pre-concert wine tasting, and Celtic music from a Pennsylvania band that will feature a champion Irish stepper who will ask you to step up to stepping lessons before the concert. Go for it!

Picture strolling Wellsboro’s gaslit Main Street after dining in one of the town’s fine restaurants, walking past the town green to the First Presbyterian Church on the corner (you’ll be going to church on Sunday, July 22, at 7:30 p.m.). In that cozy nineteenth century sanctuary you’ll hear brilliant Russian pianist Asiya Korepanova perform in a quintet with two celebrated Russian-born violinists—one a renowned college professor of music in Texas—as well as with Ignacio Cuello, from the West Virginia University string quartet, and Gita Ladd, principal cellist of the Baltimore Opera Company, who performs around the world and has toured with Tony Bennett and Henry Mancini.

Other highlights include the first collaboration of EMMF with Wellsboro’s premier performing arts group, Hamilton-Gibson Productions. H-G actors will perform Peter and the Wolf with the chamber orchestra on Thursday, August 2, at Williamson High School in Tioga, Pennsylvania.

The festival is sponsored each year by generous donations from a variety of regional corporations and individuals.

The concert series runs from Friday, July 20, through Saturday, August 4, at venues including the Tioga County Courthouse in Wellsboro, Mansfield University, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Clemens Center in Elmira, and Cherry Springs State Park, under the famously dark skies.

Endless Mountain Music Festival; (570) 787-7800; www.endlessmountain.net.

28

ARTS & MUSIC Hamilton-Gibson Prod uct ions Community Performing Arts

BLITHE SPIRIT

SPRING CONCERT.

CALENDAR GIRLS

Vintage comedy by witty Noel Coward. Warehouse Theatre. sponsors: Wellsboro Electric Co and C&N Bank, Wellsboro

All four HG Children and Youth Choirs at Steadman Theatre, Mansfield University. sponsor: Ward Manufacturing

Based on the popular film, British matrons create a... unique calendar for charity.

Warehouse Theatre. sponsors: Drs. Tina Tolins & Grady Gafford and Dr. Richard & Kate Black

 HamiltonGibson.org 29 Water St, Wellsboro 570-724-2079

HG RADIO – July. Four weekends of different themed radio shows.

Warehouse Theatre.

April 13, 14, 15, 20, 21

May 13

May 18-20, 25, 26

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH – July 27-29, Aug 3-4. Roald Dahl’s story set to music for the whole family. , Coolidge Theatre, Main Street, Deane Center.

DUELING PIANOS – August 12, 2:30. Coolidge Theatre, Deane Center, Main Street, Wellsboro.

Tioga County’s Venue for Live Music and Entertainment

When you are done enjoying the beauty of the Endless Mountains join us at the Deane Center in historic downtown Wellsboro for live entertainment throughout the year! We also have rooms available for parties and meetings, 104 Main St., Wellsboro.

For tickets or information call 570-724-6220 or visit www.deanecenter.com Sat., Apr. 7 @7:30pm Sat., Apr. 21 @ 7:30pm Sat., May 5 @ 7:30pm Fri., May 11 @ 7:30pm Fri., May 18 @ 7:00pm Thurs., May 31 @7:30pm Fri., Jun. 15 @ 7:30pm Sat., Jun. 23 @ 7:30pm Sat., Jun. 30 @7:00pm Fri., Aug. 10 @ 7:30pm Fri., Aug. 17 @ 7:00pm Fri., Aug. 31 @ 7:00pm Sat., Sept. 29 @ 7:30pm Follow us on Facebook Fri., Oct. 19 @ 7:30pm

April Verch Band Nick Kody & Creek Road Band w/guest Jaimie Lee The Country Jamboree (Your favorites from the Oprey) Acoustic Martin (Celtic/Bluegrass and more) History Comes Alive with Thomas Edison Ted Vigil as John Denver Scarborough Fair (Simon & Garfunkle Tribute) Silver Wings (Merle Haggard Tribute) Ted Lepp (Award-winnning Storyteller/Comedian) Old Blind Dogs (Veteran Musicians Straight From Scotland) History Comes Alive with Mauras Eyes History Comes Alive with Franklin Roosevelt Elvis/Orbison (Tribute to Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison) Moondance (Ultimate Van Morrison Tribute)

www.wellsboropa.com 29

ARTS & MUSIC

The Pianos on Main

just bang away with a silly grin.

You’ll be walking down Main Street in Wellsboro one day this summer with the sun overhead and music in the air. Suddenly a young woman will sit at a piano on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant and start playing Stardust. Or across the street a child will sit at an upright in front of a hotel and play Do-Re-Mi, or

Thomas Putnam, Hamilton-Gibson Productions founder and artistic director, brought the delightful trend of open-air play-as-you-will pianos to Wellsboro’s principal boulevard.

“We would do it differently if we had to do it again,” he says, chuckling. “We put an ad in the paper—foolishly—saying that if you had an old piano you weren’t using and wanted to donate, we would be glad to haul it away.” More than a dozen folks happily dumped a ton of old living-room killers on the unsuspecting Hamilton-Gibson volunteers; a good third of them went on the scrap heap. But there were hidden jewels.

Local artists—Mary Wise, Kristin Stam, and Anna Wales among them—transformed the old instruments into whimsical canvases. Local piano technician and clarinet player extraordinaire David Driskell brought the pianos back into tune. “All of these pianos come from the era when people had nothing in their houses for entertainment,” he says. “The player piano was the first home entertainment system you could buy—it was like buying a stereo. You would sit down, pump the thing, and the rolls would play and the words would roll by and you could sing along.” Those rolls may be long gone, as “that mechanism would go first, but the rest of the piano is sound—sometimes they are actually better pianos,” adds David.

Local businesses donate money to support the pianos’ upkeep in the off-season (they spend the winter back at the Warehouse Theater) and tarp them on rainy summer days.

David has documented the history of every one. The Estey in front of the Penn Wells Hotel, which sports a panorama of Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon painted across its case, is David’s favorite. “It plays easily and tunes up nicely,” he notes. In front of Indigo Wireless is an old player piano, a Gulbransen built in 1925 in Chicago, one of the few manufacturers represented on the street that’s still in business, “a kind of clunky 100-year-old that holds its tune pretty well.”

Its painted front sports the line, “Play me, I’m yours.” In August, that means you.

30

A Good night’s Rest

www.wellsboropa.com 31

A PIECE OF OUR HISTORY

The Gaslights Travelers from around the world will tell that a trip to Wellsboro is a trip back in time. But locals will let you in on one of the secrets that transports visitors: the town’s Victorian-style gaslights casting their gauzy glow over the shops and homes of a bygone age. The most jaded travelers are charmed by the 230 gaslights illuminating the town of 3,275 people—far more per capita than London, which has but 1,500 gaslights left in a city of 8.8 million. “Main Street has held tight to its charm,” wrote the New York Times, with “a long row of tall, black gaslights, standing as ramrod straight as soldiers on a parade ground.” And the Associated Press gushed: “If Norman Rockwell were alive today…he’d paint Wellsboro,” with “the gaslights that waltz down the middle of boulevard-like Main Street and past the town green, complete with a fountain that splashes over the figures of Wynken, Blynken and Nod in their wooden shoe.”

“It adds a very unique character to the town and its history,” says Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julie VanNess. “People visiting the area are amazed that we have them.” And they really are gaslights, though some visitors can’t believe their eyes. “They say the gaslights can’t be real,” Julie says. They watch a lamplighter climb a ladder at dawn or dusk to relight one of the lamps that blew out, and they imagine they’re in the London of Dickens or Sherlock Holmes.

But it’s simply Wellsboro’s history, all true. Settled in the early 1800s, named the Tioga County seat in 1806, and incorporated in 1830, the borough didn’t get its first street lights until the late 1920s, when Victorian-style electric lights illuminated the grass boulevard that graces Main Street, says Scott Gitchell of the Tioga County Historical Society.

But the town went back to the future in 1967-68 when the boulevard was made four feet narrower to accommodate traffic, parallel parking replaced angled parking, and the town replaced the electric lights with gaslights. Fifty-eight of them march down Main Street from the Wellsboro Diner to the West End Market Café building. They’re maintained

by Wellsboro farmer, gas company worker, and volunteer fire department assistant chief Mike Pierce, whose late father maintained them before him. Since then gaslights have sprouted on the Central Avenue boulevard, on East Avenue, at the hospital and the courthouse, and at businesses, like Rite Aid, that have installed and maintain their own.

“It’s a big attraction,” says borough secretary-treasurer Sue Keck. “You never get jaded seeing the gaslights. It’s something that never grows old or thin.”

32

A Good night’s Rest www.sherwoodmotel.org • Refrigerator • Hair Dryer • FREE Local Calls • All rooms Non-Smoking • Outdoor Heated Pool • Whirlpool Rooms Available • FREE Wireless Internet Access Minutes from the • Microwave PA Grand Canyon!

• Iron TV w/HBO 1-800-626-5802 •• Cable 42 Deluxe Rooms 2 Main Street • Wellsboro, PA 16901 570-724-3424

Your Host: tHe Kauffman familY Enjoy the views from our deck overlooking Pine Creek and relax with a drink in our bar.

392 Slate Run Road Slate Run, PA 17769 570-753-8414 www.hotel-manor.com

www.wellsboropa.com 33

Simple indulgences

Hanna’s Nail Spa Gary Chiu was looking for the perfect place to open a business when he came across Wellsboro in a Google search. He believes it was fate. He and his wife, Hebe, visited the borough and decided that it was the perfect town in which to raise their one-year-old daughter, Hanna. “I did some research around Horseheads, and stumbled across Wellsboro and fell in love with it,” says Gary.

“I wasn’t planning on coming to Wellsboro, but when I did, all I could think of was ‘Wow, it’s so nice here.’”

Gary, who hails from New York City and has spent a lot of time in cities across the United States, says Hanna was his primary reasoning for moving to a small town. “It’s not about making money for me. What is important is the learning environment and where my daughter grows up.”

Hanna’s Nail Spa opened in October, 2017. The salon offers a variety of nail service options, including acrylics, gel, and basic painting. The stylists there also repair damaged nails and remove previously pressed nails. Gary says the shop has been quite busy since moving in, and admits to being “very surprised that I didn’t find an actual nail salon in Wellsboro.”

Gary says the shop wouldn’t be running without the help of family members, including a cousin who was expecting a child and who also believed that a smaller town would better fit their family as well. “My cousin is really good at what he does. He’s been in this business for more than ten years now,” says Gary. “My wife was doing it for two years before we had my daughter, but now still fills in at the shop from time to time. It’s great working with family.”

What Gary says he loves about Hanna’s Nail Spa is that he has a staff that is knowledgeable about the basics of the trade, but also experienced enough to have their own way of doing nails, thereby bringing uniqueness to the shop.

Aside from doing nail treatments, Hanna’s Nails offers spa pedicures, waxing, foot care, and chair massage. The shop is family-friendly and has already hosted a young girl’s birthday party. “I was expecting stereotypes, being from a city myself,” says Gary, “But here, there is none of that. The people here are just genuinely nice.”

Hanna’s Nail Spa, 73 Main Street, Wellsboro; (570) 948-9299; hanna@hannanailspa. com; or Facebook.

34

Boutiques & Specialty shops HIGHLAND CHOCOLATES

Extraordinary Chocolates made by Extraordinary People!

Free Chocolate Factory Tours!

Monday-Friday 9:30am—2:15pm

Highland Chocolates is a non-profit chocolate factory and retail store that provides employment and job-training skills to individuals with disabilities.

11724 Route 6, Wellsboro, PA 16901

800-371-1082 or 570-724-9334 www.highlandchocolates.org

73 Main Street • Wellsboro, PA 16901

570-948-9299

Hours: Mon-Sat. 9:30am-7:30pm; Sun. 10am-6pm

Peggy’s Candies & Bake Shoppe Fine Chocolates Gourmet Fudge Hershey Ice Cream Pour-Over Coffee

Full Service Bakery

Custom Pastries Made to Order Private Parties Available in the Mary Wells Tea Room!

570-724-3317 82 Main Street Wellsboro, PA 16901

peggyscandies.com

Draper’s Super Bee Apiaries, Inc.

Honey...How sweet it is!

We produce and sell high quality, natural honey products and much more.

Come take a tour of our facility!

Reservations are recommended for large groups.

Call for details.

Monday-Friday 32 Avonlea Lane 8am-5pm Millerton, PA 16936 Saturday 800-233-4273 8am-1pm or 570-537-2381 www.draperbee.com

www.wellsboropa.com 35

Boutiques & Specialty shops

Martin’s Landscape Service and Garden Center Have you ever taken a summer stroll down Main Street and found yourself admiring the overflowing-with-color window boxes at Northwest Bank or The Penn Wells Hotel? You might wonder how you could finagle a few just like them for your windows at home. Easy.

Just talk to the folks at Martin’s Landscape Service and Garden Center. They not only do annual plantings for area businesses, but with a crew of half a dozen landscapers, two acres of inventory, and over 1,000 pieces of plant material to choose from, it’s a safe bet the professionals at Martin’s can help you beautify your home’s outdoor living space.

Reflecting on over thirty years in the landscaping/garden business, owner Dale Martin recalls that he worked in the early 1980s as a groundskeeper at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital. A few years later he began selling mulch and offering landscaping services. By 1996 he had purchased the Middlebury Center property, put up a greenhouse, and developed the garden center. These days the business offers a selection of fruit trees, berry plants and bushes, grape vines, shade and ornamental trees, nut trees, and flowering annuals. They’ve branched out in other directions, too. Seriously. With their Bower and Branch affiliation, you can order trees online, have them delivered to Martin’s, and arrange with Martin’s to do the planting and maintenance.

“We provide shrub and tree maintenance and flower bed maintenance,” says Dale. “We do a lot of larger tree plantings, and we grow some evergreens of our own. Last year we dug 130 of our own trees and planted them.”

Finding the best place on your property for those new tree or shrub plantings might be a project you don’t want to take on. If that’s the case, the folks at Martin’s are again there to help with what is known as soft landscape design and installation—that is, encouraging, with some professional guidance, the natural beauty of your property to blossom. And if you’re interested in expanding your outdoor living space, let Martin’s do the hardscape design. Dale and his staff can design and build patios, outdoor kitchens, retaining walls, pergolas, fire pits, and free-standing fireplaces. They are a dealer for Unilock pavers, and also use natural stone to create the hardscape that works best for you and your entertainment needs. Check out their selection of Holland grills, too.

With its seasonal profusion of flowers, shrubs, and trees spilling out from the greenhouse, the storefront, and the planting areas, they have just what your outdoor living space needs.

Martin’s Landscape Service and Garden Center, Route 287, Middlebury Center; (570) 376-2745, (570) 376-4411; www.martinsgardencenter.com.

36

Boutiques & Specialty shops Beneath The Veil, The Realm of Faery Awaits

Primitive, Country & Farmhouse Decor

11719 Rt. 6 • Wellsboro, PA 570-724-1966 • Mon-Sat 10-5

Our Mission:

Candles, Curtains, Flags, Florals, Antique & Repurposed Furniture, Willow Tree Angels® & Much More!

• Love • Light • Healing

Mind… Body… Spirit An Enchanting Gift Shoppe Est. 2000

Like us on Facebook 6 East Avenue Wellsboro, PA (570) 724-1155 www.enchanted-hollow.com

Senior’S CreationS

LASER ENGRAVING & GIFTS

Great Selection of

WELLSBORO PA GRAND CANYON T-SHIRTS

the Main Street olive oil Co. Over 75 flavors of Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars ASSORTMENT OF SEASONINGS, RUBS, SPICES, SALTS, PASTAS, AND MORE

75 Main Street Wellsboro, PA 16901 Seniorscreations@gmail.com

570-439-1991 www.seniorscreations.com Ask us about our “Just a Taste” dinner events.

Men’s and Ladies’ Clothing, and Accessories

89-91Main Street, Wellsboro, PA 16901 www.garrisonsmensshop.com 570-724-3497

www.wellsboropa.com 37

Boutiques & Specialty shops

Rockwells Feed, Farm, and Pet Supply Over in Canton, way back in the early 1850s, Homer Rockwell built a feedmill. He used water as a power source to mill the flour for local residents and the livestock feed for their animals. Now, in 2018, it’s H. Rockwell and Son and Homer’s great-grandsons, brothers Phil and Dave, are owners and managers. The business includes a facility in Canton, where livestock feed is still manufactured, and one in Wellsboro, where Kelly Trescott (above, center), the general manager, has, for nearly twenty years, helped make Rockwell’s Feed, Farm, and Pet Supply a go-to spot for everything from livestock feed to small animal supplies.

“We need another kitty aisle,” she laughs, indicating the array of cat toys. “We’re working on that.” There are a ton of feline fun products to be had. Ditto that for canine companions, as the shelves hold multiple lines of dog food, treats, and toys. There are also supplies for hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, home aquariums, and feathered friends. The horses, cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep all have needs, too, and Rockwell’s can meet them. “A lot of the feed is made in Canton,” Kelly says, stressing the importance of keeping that feed fresh and rotated. Blue Seal feed is also available, as is organic chicken feed. “Our poultry business has really grown,” she notes. That resurgence in the popularity of backyard chicken flocks makes Rockwell’s a happening place in the spring when the peeps come in. Whether you’re new to the joys of chickens or need supplies for the flock you have, Rockwell’s has what it takes to keep your birds healthy. Kelly says the store occasionally hosts seminars “to help our customers with different education needs,” and a poultry seminar held in conjunction with Owlett’s Farm Market (in Middlebury Center) was a success. “It was a neat experience to be able to work together for the community,” she says.

Taking a stroll through Rockwell’s is also a very neat experience. On the horse side are halters, bridles, saddles, girths, pads—English and Western—and basic horse health products. “We need a little bit of bling,” says Kelly, passing by the selection of jewelry, hats, belts, and purses. For other livestock Rockwell’s offers de-wormers and grooming and fencing supplies. Those who enjoy feeding the resident wildlife can find salt and mineral blocks, shell and cracked corn, and Rockwell’s own brand of milled feed called Buck and Doe (bears and turkeys like it, too).

Rockwell’s Feed, Farm, and Pet Supply, 1943 Shumway Hill Road, Wellsboro; (570) 7240967; www.rockwellfeed.com.

38

Boutiques & Specialty shops

Canyon Country Fabrics 664 Kelsey Street • Wellsboro, PA 16901

(570) 724-4163

108” Wide Backing • Batting • Fleece • Flannel Crafts • Gifts

Large Selection of Cotton • All Your Quilting Needs

Linda’s Country Treasures Doll Store & Christian Book Store

Celebrating 113 Years The Place to Shop for the Whole Family

18” & 15” clothes to fit American Girl dolls

2,000+ DOLL SHOES 2,000+ DOLL CLOTHES 2,000+ DOLL ACCESSORIES 75+ PCS. OF DOLL FURNITURE

One of the LARGEST Doll Stores in Central PA! 1133 Dotterers Road, Mill Hall

570-726-4012

Hours: Mon., Tues. Wed. & Sat. 9-5; Thurs. & Fri. 9-7; Sun. Closed

M ini -G olf • G eM M ininG large gift shop

• rocks • knives

• t-shirts • jewelry

• Minerals • toys

Open 10-5:30 • 7 Days A Week MEMORIAL DAY TO LABOR DAY On Route 6 • Gaines, PA

814-435-8280

www.northwoodsgiftshop.com www.wellsboropa.com 39

40

GREAT EATS Open daily 6am-9pm Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner

570-662-2972 2103 S. Main Street Mansfield, PA

Homemade specials daily!

Our specialties include Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches and Chicken & Biscuits - both served with real mashed potatoes! Homemade pies!

STOP

QQ

in our NEW SHOP!

Chinese, Japanese & American Restaurant

SERVING ANY SIZE PARTY WITH 150-SEAT CAPACITY

Hours: Sun-Thurs 11am-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 11am-10pm

570-513-0888/0889

181 N. Main St., Mansfield, PA 16933 17-1/2 Crafton St. Wellsboro, PA 570.723.1221 • johnnyzhotrodcafe.com

(next to Pizza Hut)

www.qqbuffet.com Serving the finest Steaks and Seafood

OPEN

Monday thru Saturday Evenings 5-9 Your Hosts: Chris & Geoff Coffee

Smoke-free Atmosphere

Burgers & Sandwiches Always Available

29 Main Street, Wellsboro, PA 570-724-9092

WWW.THESTEAKHOUSE.COM www.wellsboropa.com 41

GREAT EATS

The Hotel Manor On the deck at the Hotel Manor in Slate Run, enjoying cocktails while owner and chef Mark Kauffman is preparing your meal, you are just a stone’s throw from Pine Creek and the Pine Creek Rail Trail.

Your view is scenic, obviously, and is likely to include a fly fisherman or two—the Hotel Manor is, after all, known as “The Meeting Place for Fly Fishermen”—along with bikers and hikers on the trail, deer, or, if you’re lucky, a black bear. An eagle or a great blue heron might soar by, as well, showing off just a little for your viewing pleasure.

Since the early part of the last century, the Hotel Manor has been a welcoming stopover for residents and visitors in the Pine Creek Valley. Once known locally as the Manor Hunt, it was a lodging facility for lumbermen and has thrived over the years under several different owners. A fire in 2004 destroyed the original building, just a few years after Mark and his family had purchased the business and renovated the restaurant; the post-fire rebuilding took a little over five months and there has been no looking back since.

Today the Hotel Manor has ten cozy rooms, nine up and one down, all with bathrooms en suite. The downstairs room is handicapped accessible. A continental breakfast is included for lodgers, and a wireless network is available for those who aren’t quite ready to leave their devices behind. The smoke-free dining room has a rustic stone fireplace and a soaring wall of glass facing Pine Creek, for those days when the weather may not be conducive to outdoor seating.

Tonya Kauffman, Mark’s wife, says that her husband does most of the cooking while she tends to the front-of-the-house duties. Diners can “look forward to new menu items” this season, Tonya says, but the Hotel Manor favorites such as roasted duck, jumbo lump crab cakes, freshly prepared chicken dishes, burgers, and Delmonicos that Mark cuts on site, are all Manor-made, as are the breads. There is a full bar and, Tonya continues, an ever-expanding selection of craft beers, including IPAs and porters. Pizza is not on the daily menu, but is sometimes available, she adds.

Room reservations are necessary, but the Hotel Manor does not accept dining reservations.

The “regular” season is from March through the end of November, Tonya says, however, some dining and lodging options are available throughout the winter months.

Hotel Manor, 392 Slate Run Road, Slate Run; (570) 753-8414; www.hotel-manor.com.

42

GREAT EATS

PINE CREEK VALLEY

WATERVILLE, PA

Family Oriented Casual Atmosphere Bordering PA Rails to Trails Outdoor Patio Bar/Grill Outdoor Ice Cream Shack Accessible Overnight Accommodations

Morris, PA

Food • Legal Beverages • Take-Out Beer www.watervilletavern.com

570-753-5970

www.Facebook.com/WatervilleTavernPA

Over 125 Craft Beers Credit Cards Accepted

www.facebook.com/www.crossroadstavern.net

(570) 353-6641

Y ACRES RESORT HAPRP ESTAURANT and LOUNGE • CAMPGROUND • STORE

3332 Little Pine Creek Road, Waterville, PA 17776

A True Mountain Experience RESTAURANT • CAMPGROUND • STORE • LOUNGE

FULL SERVICE

Come RESTAURANT New RenSee Our BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER ovations!

WEEKEND BREAKFAST • 5 SEPARATE DINING AREAS • • WILDLIFE LOUNGE • For reservations call 570-753-8585

60 ACRES OF CABINS & CAMPSITES LOCATED IN THE BEAUTIFUL PINE CREEK VALLEY For lodging reservations call 570-753-8000.

Check Out Our BIG PINE HOTEL in Waterville!

12 rooms, central air, refrigerator, microwave, coffee, Direct TV, right off the Pine Creek rail trail.

• Open Year Round • 9-Hole Mini Frisbee Disc Golf Course • PETS WELCOME • Wireless Internet • DirecTV in All Cabins • Swiming Pool • Playground • Carpet Pool & Basketball • Happy Store Ice Cream Parlor • Shuffleboard

W W W. H A P P Y A C R E S R E S O R T . N E T

www.wellsboropa.com 43

Great eats

Oregon Hill Winery

Look up reviews of Oregon Hill Winery and you’ll see words such as “hidden gem,” “quaint,” and “a delight” used as descriptors.

They’re all true, but there is so much more to this lovely winery, tucked in the rolling hills of north central Pennsylvania, about eighteen miles south of Wellsboro. It’s also about passion, love, and even legacy.

Eric Swendrowski, the son of European parents who ran a German-style restaurant, became the youngest winery owner in America when he got his license to open Oregon Hill Winery in 1983 at the age of eighteen.

Two years later, he sold his first bottle of wine on July Fourth weekend, and two years after that, in 1987, he met Karon Jackson at a concert. Karon was working in the travel industry at the time, but would become his partner at the winery and eventually his wife and the mother of their two daughters. The winery flourished—winning awards and gaining a reputation for producing a wide variety of wines, from traditional reds and whites to other fruit vintages such as peach, blackberry, and raspberry.

Sadly, however, Eric, known for his perpetual smile, died unexpectedly in 2017, and Karon found herself at an unanticipated crossroads. “I had a few choices, and one was to sell everything and leave, but we’re an established business doing this for over thirty years, and we have the brand name and our clientele,” she says. “Another one was to sell someone else’s wine and just be a shop owner, but I decided to take the hardest one—to find a winemaker and continue with Eric’s legacy.”

She actually found that winemaker, Aaron Rush, somewhat serendipitously; Aaron’s wife, Kat, worked closely with Eric at various Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce and business events, and knew Oregon Hill Winery’s varietals very well.

It was also important to Karon that the couple’s daughters, Katarina and Alexandra, would have the option of keeping the winery open. “I want to be able to say to them, ‘Do you want to continue with this or what?’” she says. “They’re fifteen and thirteen now, so there’s a few years before they can do anything, and we want them to go to college and all that.

But I want them to be able to continue with it if they want.”

So, Karon keeps Eric’s dream alive, running Oregon Hill, whose main building is a converted barn originally built in the 1880s. “You walk down a few steps and it’s almost like you’re walking back in time,” Karon says. “It’s sort of as if you’re walking into a wine cellar in Europe. It’s different.” Just one more way to describe Oregon Hill Winery.

Oregon Hill Winery, 840 Oregon Hill Road, Morris; (570) 353-2711; oregonhillwinery.com.

44

• Open 7 days a week •

Delicious comfort fooD • Daily specials cozy fireplaces • Beautiful Decor outDoor Dining • Dog Dining area

Sunday Brunch Buffet 11 am — 2 pm

#1 Restaurant in Mansfield PA —Trip Advisor

Just Off Rt. 6 & 1-99/Rt.15 • Across from the Comfort Inn 200 Gateway Drive, Mansfield, PA • 570-662-3222 • lambscreek.com Since 2008, Nelle and her staff have welcomed guests to Lambs Creek Food & Spirits.

And, as owner of the famous Wellsboro Diner, she has enjoyed serving delicious comfort food for over 20 years!

The Famous

Wellsboro Diner

One of “The 10 Best Classic Diners in America” — Huffington Post

esT. 1939

Stacked Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches Fresh-Baked Mile-High Pies Our Own Cookies & Cakes 570-724-3992 Open 6:00 a.m. Monday-Saturday 7:00 a.m. Sunday

• Open 7 days a week • www.wellsboropa.com 45

BECOMING A LOCAL

Citizens & Northern’s Charity North central Pennsylvania is geographically rugged, with idyllic small towns dotting the countryside.

While it may seem devoid of big city problems, it is not immune to the hardships and challenges people everywhere face. Fortunately, this area is filled with caring neighbors and institutions that come together to serve seen and unseen needs in the community. One such institution is the Wellsboro-based Citizens & Northern Bank. When the employees at C&N see a need, they step up to meet the challenge. A few years back, employees started the tradition of dress-down Fridays, where a donation was encouraged for the privilege of dressing casually. The funds collected were used to help a different local charity or local nonprofit every year. It is a grassroots campaign that continues today.

Employees wanted to do more, however, and this desire was the impetus for the Giving Back, Giving Together community fundraising campaign, spearheaded by Charity Frantz, director of marketing (second from right, above). She explains that it began in 2015 and has since raised $175,000 for local charities and nonprofit organizations. Employees vote annually to select a local charity or nonprofit, and then each branch of C&N forms a team. Team members decide how they will raise money, and then compete with the other teams for the greatest positive community impact. Hunger, for instance, is one of the challenges facing many local families. By working together in 2015, the employees of C&N supported the Feeding the Hungry campaign, raising an astounding $50,000. This amazing effort resulted in donations to twenty food pantries across nine counties in the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. In 2016, the employees supported emergency services and first responders with a campaign resulting in more than $60,000 raised to support local fire and ambulance services.

The 2017 campaign was to help local, disadvantaged children. Employees raised $72,000, including $20,000 from just one event, a corporate golf tournament, to remodel the Children’s House in Bradford County. The Children’s House is a child and family advocacy center that gives the victims of child abuse a safe and comforting place to conduct interviews with law enforcement and child advocacy personnel.

A golf tournament is planned again for 2018, on June 25, for this year’s theme of supporting local libraries. Stop in at a C&N branch and ask about Giving Back, Giving Together, or visit their Facebook page (#givingbackgivingtogether) where every “like” earned results in one dollar toward the campaign.

46

BECOMING A LOCAL 24- hour ATM access & Saturday hours

As Wellsboro’s hometown bank of 152 years, we invite you to stop in and visit with us.

90-92 Main Street | www.cnbankpa.com 1-877-838-2517

www.wellsboropa.com 47

Our neighbors

Dark Skies at Cherry Springs State Park Chip Harrison was standing on a mountaintop about eight miles south of Route 6 in Potter County when something of a miracle came out of the sky. The manager of the eighty-two-acre Cherry Springs State Park, in some of the last wild country in the east, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief: a van was parked in the middle of the usually empty field, and a man appeared to be manipulating a large silver torpedo wrapped in crinkled aluminum.

Chip approached and asked him, “What are you up to?” The man, Gary Honis, from Scranton, lifted the aluminum wrapping, and revealed a tall, gleaming instrument—a telescope. “I’m setting up to look at the night sky. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Chip said. “But why here?”

“Because these are the darkest skies around,” Gary Honis responded. “The best viewing for astronomers.”

Thus began the transformation of the secluded state park into a national mecca for astronomers seeking dark skies. Beginning in the 1960s, light pollution, the result of a republic of farms becoming in a century a nation of cities, began to blot out the stars, making the wonders of the night sky disappear. Once satellite photos of the U.S. began to appear widely online, amateur astronomers scanned them hungrily for “dark spots,” and the darkest area in the Eastern U.S. was northern Pennsylvania, indicating a last undeveloped area between the glowing electric grids of the east coast and the Midwest. In 1998, Cherry Springs State Park was listed on Phil Harrington’s Dark Registry (an astronomy Internet site) as a place that offers the darkest skies in the state, noting the site has a 360-degree view and “No light pollution sky glow…none in all directions.” Astronomers, beginning with Gary Honis, began arriving.

What they found was stargazing Heaven on Earth. A rare combination of attributes makes Cherry Springs ideal for stargazing and astronomy. It’s remote but, as a state park, accessible. The level, open field is at the top of a 2,300-foot-high mountain. The airspace over the park has little commercial traffic, making the park ideal for astrophotography. The location offers a great view of the Milky Way’s nucleus. The park is surrounded by state forest, and nearby communities are in light-shielding valleys. “The dark sky is a resource like the air and water, forests and wildlife,” Chip says. “We’re committed to protecting and managing the dark sky like we manage wildlife.”

Cherry Springs State Park, 4639 Cherry Springs Road, Coudersport; (814) 435-1037; www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/cherrysprings

48

Our neighbors

Alpacas and Alpaca items for sale: Hats, Gloves, Fingerless Gloves, Lined Mittens, Boot Inserts, Blankets, Scarves, Bears, Bird Nesting Balls, Yarn, Roving and Raw Fleece.

Penny and Steve Cruttenden 12 Smith Road Middlebury Center, PA 16935 570-376-2066 Cell: 570-439-2639 www.LoceyCreekAlpacas.com

COUPON

SALES PARTS SERVICE

5% OFF

Any in-stock Parts, Accessories, or Camping Supplies Does not include trailers, campers or special order items

THOMAS T. TABER

Museum

of the Lycoming County Historical Society 858 West Fourth Street | Williamsport, PA 17701-5824 Phone: 570.326.3326 | Fax: 570.326.3689 www.tabermuseum.org

Museum | Archives | Library

9179 MAYNARD ROAD • LINDLEY, NY Exit 6 off Rt. 15 • 607-523-7396 www.statelinecampingcenter.com

SALES AND SERVICE OF FINE EUROPEAN AUTOS

SALES AND SERVICE OF FINE EUROPEAN AUTOS

Douglas and Janette Stewart

Douglas and Janette Stewart

2232 Woodward Avenue, Route 150, between Avis and Woolrich 2232 Woodward Avenue,PARoute between Avis and Woolrich Lock Haven, 1 7745150, • Phone: 570.769.1626 Lockjanette428@hotmail.com Haven, PA 1 7745 • Phone: 570.769.1626 www.euroimports.biz E-mail:

E-mail: janette428@hotmail.com www.euroimports.biz

Join us for our…

• Sunday Afternoon Society Programs

• Local History

Coffee Hours

• Children’s Events • Frequent New Exhibits

www.wellsboropa.com 49

50

BATH

-

BIG FLATS

HORSEHEADS

Visit a ockwell Simmons-R near location you today!

HORNELL

B I G F L AT S

B AT H

HORSEHEADS

-

HORNELL

-

HALLSTEAD

HALLSTEAD

Available

Saturday 7:30am to 4pm

Monday thru Thursday 7:30am to 6:30pm; Friday 7:30am to 6pm

Service Department Hours:

Convenient “Drive-In” Service Entrance

w w w. s i m m o n s - r o c k w e l l . c o m

We can pick you up when your vehicle is ready!

Shopping Centers & Restaurants!

“Courtesy Shuttle” to area

64

64

784 County Route 64, Big Flats, NY • 607-796-5555

www.wellsboropa.com 51

Join Us in Our Pledge:

80%

by 2018 Colorectal cancer screening saves lives.

UPMC Susquehanna has made the pledge to help increase colorectal cancer screening rates by supporting the “80% by 2018� initiative.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., but can be prevented.

We are asking members of all the communities we serve to become one of the 80% who will get a colorectal screening by the end of 2018. Help us meet our goal by getting screened and talking to your friends and family over 50 about getting screened. Know your risk factors and symptoms.

UPMC Susquehanna offers screening colonoscopies throughout northcentral Pennsylvania. For more information visit UPMCSusquehanna.org/Colonoscopy.

52