Mountain Home, July 2025 by Mountain Home

On the Waterfront

Melissa Farenish

Kelly Stemcosky

Teresa Banik Capuzzo

Cover photo: Seafood linguini and Knapp rosé at Cayuga Shoreline by Lilace

Mellin Guignard. This page (top) Cayuga Shoreline's stuffed French toast

Lilace Mellin Guignard; (middle) Indian Headdress quilt by Michael Capuzzo; (bottom) Tony Yeager by Michael Capuzzo.

mountainhomemag.com

E ditors & P ublish E rs

Teresa Banik Capuzzo

Michael Capuzzo

A ssoci A t E E ditor & P ublish E r

Lilace Mellin Guignard

A ssoci A t E P ublish E r

George Bochetto, Esq.

A rt d ir E ctor

Wade Spencer

M A n A ging E ditor

Gayle Morrow

s A l E s r EP r E s E nt A tiv E

Shelly Moore

c ircul A tion d ir E ctor

Michael Banik

A ccounting

A personal touch with a very long reach. For 160+ years, C&N has offered world-class products and expertise, all with personalized, local service bigger banks just can’t match. And thanks to online, mobile and 24/7 banking, today that service goes further than ever.

Amy Packard

c ov E r d E sign

Wade Spencer

c ontributing W rit E rs

Maggie Barnes, Melissa Farenish, Phil Hesser, Terence Lane, Kelly Stemcosky

c ontributing P hotogr AP h E rs

Terence Lane, Taylor Pfleegor, Michele Stas, Lonnie Wilcox, Deb Young

d istribution t EAM

Dawn Litzelman, Grapevine Distribution, Linda Roller

t h E b EA gl 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, online at mountainhomemag.com or at issuu.com/mountainhome. Copyright © 2025 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 mountainhomemag.com..

Hospice providers, nurses and social workers work together to improve the quality of life for you and your loved ones while providing exceptional care. We help you make the most of your time by creating a plan to help you gain quality time spent at home, surrounded by family.

Guthrie Hospice provides care during the final stage of life, including:

• Pain relief and symptom management

• Spiritual support and counseling

• Physical, occupational and speech therapies

• Bereavement and grief services

Courtesy Lilace Melliln Guignard

A Date with the Lake Writers Jimmy and Lilace Guignard enjoy the view and food at Sapalta on Seneca.

On the Waterfront

Our Writer Finds Summer Restaurants on the Water

Lilace Mellin Guignard

It’s the time of year—finally—when the window opens on dining outdoors. Why not take that up a notch and pick a restaurant located on one of the scenic waterways that make our mountains and valleys sparkle? Something about watching people sail or fly fish while enjoying a meal or drink (or both) makes summer more real. And as fleeting as the season is in these parts, why not take the opportunity to turn leisurely afternoons and evenings into excursions where the road trip is the appetizer? (But order one anyway.)

The places highlighted here all serve food, are on some form of water, have outdoor seating with a view, and are not widely known. Sure, the locals know how great they are, but—either because they are new or off the main drag—they still elicit responses of “How did you find this place? I didn’t know it existed.” Not for long. Bring a fishing rod, kayak, the kids, the dog, and make a day of it. No matter how long you’ve lived here, northcentral Pennsylvania and New York’s Finger Lakes can serve up unexpected delights.

We’ve previously highlighted some great waterfront restaurants in our pages, such as The Flying Taco on the Susquehanna (July 2022), Snug Harbor on Keuka Lake (June 2025), Finger Lakes House on the Chemung River (January 2025), and Pine Creek Inn and Hotel Manor on Pine Creek (April 2022). Find these stories at mountainhomemag.com, but read on for six more that offer up the kind of experiences that make summer memories linger on the tongue.

Manager Katy Walker and Chef Clem Coleman have a good time serving food in the sun at Cayuga Shoreline.

Cayuga Shoreline, Cayuga Lake

7930 Country Road 153, Interlaken, NY (607) 532-9573

cayugashoreline.com

Standing on the deck among circular tables with umbrellas, Joe Sliker explains that he never planned on owning a restaurant

and event venue, especially one he’d been coming to for years, and where he used to bring his kids. But the Busy Bee Market and Café, which before that was Kidders Landing Restaurant, was looking for a new owner right when he was looking for something on the shoreline. “My agent said, ‘Just look at it. It’s not much more and is in a lot better shape’ than what I’d been seeing.” It’s a rare piece of property just below Sheldrake Point with 110 feet of frontage on the west side of Cayuga Lake known for its steep cliffs and hills.

Lilace

Waterfront continued from page 7

He bought it in 2019, and in addition to the main buildings— a dining room/bar separated from the kitchen and an upstairs suite by a courtyard breezeway—the property included a farmhouse and a cluster of cottages that were once military convalescent homes. And across the quiet country road there is lawn space for bands and corn hole and weddings, and beyond that, three docks. “Often our water parking lot is fuller than the one for cars,” says Katy Walker, who is in charge of catering and events.

When Joe was renovating, (“Can you believe the porches were closed up?” he asks) people would come and use the docks and hang out on the grass. He was like, uh, this is my place, but soon he felt it was sweet how attached people were. “People have been coming here forever,” he says. “They had their ‘firsts’ happen here. It’s kind of cute.”

This is the kitchen’s third summer, but they only recently started serving dinner. Clement “Clem” Coleman has been the chef at Cayuga Shoreline for the past two seasons. Previously, he worked at the Inn at Taughannock Falls in Trumansburg and Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles. Prior to that, he was head chef at Otro Cinco in Syracuse for five years. His experience shows in the dinner menu, which includes duck wings with mango chili glaze and blue cheese. Even though it’s not the ocean, it feels right to enjoy seafood while gazing at the open water—the seafood linguini in a garlic white wine broth and the lobster roll hit the spot. Especially when accompanied by a dry rosé from the nearby Knapp Winery.

The porch, both the covered and open sections, is there to be enjoyed with drinks. The full bar inside has big windows and stocks spirits from local Myer Farm Distillers (see the February 2024 cover story). The deck is great for sipping coffee and a leisurely breakfast, starting at 8 a.m. Katy, who was food and beverage manager/chef for the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival since 1991 and catering director at a variety of local spots, says, “It’s easiest to think of the schedule as being layered. Lunch opens at 11 a.m., but the coffee shop stays open ’til noon.” The coffee shop is open seven days a week, and lunch is Monday through Friday, because Saturday and Sunday is all about brunch. Stuffed French toast. The Classic with scrambled eggs, cheddar, and chives, sourdough toast, thick cut bacon, and roasted fingerlings with herbs and shallots. And the best eggs benedict this writer has ever had. Dinner is served 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. “People know about our brunches because they’ve been happening for two years,” Katy says. “They’re starting to discover we serve dinner this season.”

Katy moved to the area as a teen and has stayed, raising her kids here. One of her daughters is friends with Joe, which is how Katy, who loves hospitality work and was looking for the right fit for her “last job,” ended up here. One of the things she likes about this location is the crowd, which includes some serious money (Whoopie Goldberg had a mansion nearby), families with kids, and bikers touring the Finger Lakes.

Another is the history. The Busy Bee Ferry shuttled people to the east side of the lake from 1884 to 1911. The sixty-six-foot boat was a side-wheel ferry using both sails and paddle wheels. The paddle wheels were first powered by a horse on a treadmill on board the boat, then with a steam engine. When automobiles made the ferry unnecessary, the Busy Bee was sunk just off the shoreline of Kidders Landing. Diners can still see a pole that marks the spot. Something to ponder while sipping your ginger gin fizz.

Waterfront continued from page 9

Big

Mike’s Steaks & Hoagies, Loyalsock Creek

22 Bridge Street, Forksville, PA (570) 924-4982 forksvillestore.com

It’s hard to believe that some of the best Philly cheesesteaks are in Forksville, almost 200 miles from the big city. That is, until that first bite. Or maybe you start to believe when you walk in what was once the Forksville General Store (built in 1851) and are greeted by Big Mike’s “Yo,” from where he’s perched on a stool by the cash register.

The whole menu is Philadelphia-inspired and includes hoagies (with five vegetarian options). But what most people zero in on are the cheesesteaks. There are five beef and five chicken options, each with half a pound of meat. Michele Stas, one of Mike’s daughters who manages the front of the house and marketing, explains that the Dean Martin, Big Mike’s creation, is the one USA Today judges ate when they voted them third out of ten for best cheesesteak in the state. “By adding our signature garlic butter sauce along with the sharp aged provolone, which gives the sandwich a real kick, it is definitely our most popular cheesesteak on the menu.”

Get Forked

Forks are a good idea when eating a Big Mike's cheesesteak, always served in Philadelphia rolls shipped in a few times each week.

That garlic butter sauce appears again in Garlic Sweets, drizzled over sweet potato fries. Adventurous cheesesteak lovers might be drawn to the Dilly Philly—steak with spicy pepper jack cheese, deep fried pickle chips, and sriracha mayo drizzle. If chicken gets you amped, try the Bambino with sharp provolone cheese topped with sautéed spinach, garlic roasted red peppers, and drizzled with balsamic glaze.

Another popular item is the Puppy Bowl, filled with shaved steak or chicken. Michele says, “I came up with the idea because I travel everywhere with my dog, and it’s always nice to feel like he’s included in the adventure. We encourage people to bring their pups, enjoy our outdoor creekside dining space, and let the dogs play in the water.” There’s a separate grill for the dogs’ food. Many a hungry canine has come here with their owner after hiking or camping at World’s End State Park two miles away.

Open Wednesday through Sunday, hungry customers can order at the counter and head out to the backyard oasis to claim a picnic table and wait for their name to be called (there is an indoor dining room too, just past the old-fashioned candy corner and Rocky poster). Across the creek, the Forksville Methodist Church bell calls out the hour, but time slows down here. Crossing one

Lilace Mellin

Power Mobility - Oxygen

Home Medical Equipment

Custom Braces - Diabetic Shoes

• Hospital Beds

• Oxygen

• CPAP/Bipap Machines and Supplies

• Incontinence Supplies

• Power Mobility

• Compression Hosiery

• Braces - Knee, Ankle, Arm

• Mobility Equipment

• Ostomy Supplies

• Bathroom and Home Safety Equipment

• Wound Care Supplies

Big Mike greets customers the Philly way at the old Forksville General Store on Loyalsock Creek.

of the oldest covered bridges in the state before turning into the parking lot acts as a portal to a simpler, yummier era. The Burr Truss bridge was built in 1850 and, though the Loyalsock Creek has been known to flood, and although its rising waters have taken out entire steel bridges just downstream, this one remains steadfast.

Moving his family from busy South Philly in 1999 was a culture shock for Big Mike’s daughters at first. Michele, who was thirteen at the time, laughs and rolls her eyes, but says once they graduated from high school and went away to college, they all realized this was where they want to be. “While my mother [MaryAnn] started this whole restaurant and still helps out to this day,” she says, “our kitchen is now primarily run by my sisters Nancy and Mare—amazing cooks in their own right—and one other line cook who definitely deserves loads of credit, Stacy Gilbert, who’s been with us for over eight years.” MaryAnn’s culinary background consisted of training under a Sicilian chef for many years and helping run and manage popular establishments in the Philadelphia/ South Jersey area.

“We joke that Dad is the mascot (our very own Philly Phanatic!) who gabs with guests and creates friendships with almost everyone he meets,” Michele says.

MaryAnn and Big Mike have been married for thirty-nine years, and for the last twenty-six they’ve built a name for themselves in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, providing endless tasty meals to jawns (it’s a Philly thing) visiting the Endless Mountains. But they haven’t left all of Philly behind. The menu invites folks to come “get forked up.”

Waterfront continued from page 10

Michele Stas

Antlers on the Water, West Branch of the Susquehanna River

610 Antlers Lane, Williamsport, PA (570) 980-3737

Just downstream of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s boat ramp at Linden lies an oasis for fishermen, boaters, and anyone who enjoys good eats overlooking one of the oldest rivers in the world. Antlers on the Water caters to families—often extended ones, with large tables easily assembled and room to maneuver for wheelchairs and walkers—and lots of folks seem to know each other. The large indoor dining room, with a pool table in the back corner, has glass garage doors that provide views year-round and, when weather allows, fresh breezes.

A two-story deck with tables and umbrellas descends to a sand pit to entertain kids as parents finish their large portions of wings, tacos, pasta, and burgers. Salad lovers should try the Hipster, a large plate heaped with romaine lettuce, carrots, grape tomatoes, pickled onion, beets, avocado, cucumber, and cheese (pro tip: substitute shaved parmesan for the mozzarella). A full menu of signature fries encourages experimentation, from the Liberty fries with nacho cheese, chopped steak, onions, peppers, and a garlic aioli sauce to the Caddy Shack with nacho cheese, brisket, crispy bacon, onion straws, and a bourbon glaze.

Glenn and Nicky Gough, who also own The Trail Inn on Lycoming Creek Road in Cogan Station, opened Antlers on the Water in the winter of 2023. Previously that location had been Haywoods on the Water and Tag’s Vista. They remodeled to capitalize on the amazing river view.

Boaters pull up to the dock, lured by the siren song of the tiki bar. The current is mild enough that paddlers can launch from the dock, paddle upstream until tired, turn around, and finish with dinner and a drink without really leaving the river (or needing a shuttle). They post their hours and events calendar, which includes karaoke, bingo, trivia, and—every Wednesday—live Christian music, on their Facebook page.

See Waterfont on page 36

A Plateful of Summer

Lilace Mellin Guignard

Rue the Rhubarb

By Maggie Barnes

“Was there a recipe?”

“Yes.”

“Did you follow it?”

“Of course. Verbatim.”

Bob braved his way through another forkful of “garlic chicken” and shook his head.

My heart sank. Drat. I had screwed up another meal. But when I replayed the episode in my head, I knew I had stuck to that recipe like a first-time teacher with a lesson plan.

“I taste no garlic,” my husband stated judge-like.

This was irritating. There were five cloves of garlic stuffed in that chicken’s innards—rather, in the space where the innards used to be. I had shoved them in there myself while confirming with the cookbook that it should be that many.

We ate in silence after that point. As we were cleaning up in the kitchen, Bob asked me to show him how I prepped the garlic. Prepped? I told him I took them out of the fridge and crammed them in the bird. To emphasize the point, I tossed a couple of the cloves on the counter, then threw my hands in the air in resignation. It’s not on me that the chicken didn’t understand the assignment and didn’t do whatever it is chickens are supposed to do with garlic in their nether regions.

“You put them in like this?” Bob held up a clove, looking like a flower petal with its paper covering.

I confirmed yes. The smile that came over his face was equal parts understanding and surprise.

“Babe, these are still sealed. You won’t get flavor from them until you peel them

and then probably smash them open.”

Ohhhhh…

He kissed me and tried to convince me that the meal was still good, but I was aggravated and stewed on my failure long after lights out. That’s when I hatched the plan. My husband suffers from a deplorable lack of a sweet tooth. He will have a thin slice of cake at a birthday party or suffer through one of my complicated desserts on Christmas Eve, but his idea of the way to end a meal is a blast of savory. Like peanuts. Or chicken wings. It really is un-American, and I should report him to somebody, but such is the way he is built.

The exception to this dessert aversion is strawberry rhubarb pie.

His grandmother and mother were excellent cooks, very in tune with the natural world, and could put on a spread with

Wade Spencer

whatever produce was in its season. His grandma, especially, could whip up a dinner out of “anything that walked across the yard,” as he once told me. Summer was the time for strawberries and rhubarb from the garden. That had to be easier than garlic, right? The next Saturday, I made my way to the farmer’s market and proudly announced my intention to the owner. She waved a casual hand at a pile of the ingredients and told me to have at it.

I know strawberries. I understand how to process them into a recipe. A strawberry makes sense to me. When I got to the bin of rhubarb, my confidence evaporated. Big stalks awash with the vintage preppie color combo of green and pink. Big leaves. I have no idea what to look for to ensure I am getting fresh rhubarb. Trying to appear less ignorant, I squeezed the stalk and smelled the leaves and used my contemplative expression to convey my bogus expertise.

Got the stuff home and stared at it for a while. I knew I was supposed to chop it somehow, but vertically or horizontally? Little pieces or hefty chunks? And the leaves… do I dice those and throw them in the pie shell? After straining my brain, I resorted to

my two favorite kitchen tools—my laptop and a glass of wine.

“Rhubarb leaves are poisonous to both humans and animals. They contain high levels of oxalic acid, which can cause various health problems. The stalks, however, are safe to eat.”

Sweet Molly in the Manger! I was going to sprinkle those toxic petals into the pie! Thanks, Google, for stopping me from killing my husband, which, I believe, would have really dampened his appreciation of the pie. As is, I was wondering if sniffing the leaves had damaged my brain, which would be the best explanation ever for some of my behavior.

I went back for a second deployment of the glass of wine application. Then I grabbed a knife and began whacking at the rhubarb with a confidence I didn’t really feel. When I stopped, the pie shell was heaped to the brim with the red nuggets. I tossed a few strawberries in and slapped the top crust over the mounded hill. I had to stretch it to enclose the mass.

After dinner that night, I lugged the pie to the table. It weighed as much as a small toddler, and the contents were leaking out any path to freedom they could

find. I didn’t so much set it before Bob as I plopped it down like a sack of wet laundry. He was trying to look encouraging, but the skepticism was visible.

As I had no desire to try it myself, I will never truly know what it tasted like. My husband swore it was totally delish and ate two pieces to bolster my flagging ego.

God love that man.

I returned to the kitchen where it was apparent that I had used most of the pots and pans we owned. The crimson stain of rhubarb was everywhere, and it looked like I had resorted to the knife to dispatch my husband when the poison leaves missed their mark.

It was my one and only attempt at his favorite dessert. Rhubarb never darkened our door again. Bob didn’t seem disappointed.

Maggie Barnes has won several IRMA and Keystone Press awards. She lives in Waverly, New York.

Good Grace-ious!

Maame Badu (center) chats with Jordan and Oscar (who is also from Ghana) as they enjoy a meal including fufu, peanut butter soup with goat meat, eguisi sauce and lamb, and plantain fritters.

Out of Africa

Maame Badu Brings the Flavors of Home to Williamsport

By Melissa Farenish

It wasn’t part of Maame Badu’s plan to open a food business, but life has a funny way of turning around. “By God’s grace, it happened,” Maame says, reflecting on how her business—Good Grace African Market at 909 Arch Street in the Newberry section of Williamsport—has grown in the past four years.

Maame originally came to Williamsport to visit a friend in 2020. “And then covid happened,” she says. “Then I got stuck.”

Maame, who is originally from Ghana, was not able to return to her home. All borders were closed early on in the pandemic, and she had to give up running her boutique and meal service businesses in Ghana.

“When I came here, the food—I wasn’t used to. I didn’t like the bread, bread, and meat,” Maame says. “I was missing the

home-cooked meals back home.” She started making friends here, and quickly realized there were others in the area who were missing the cuisine of their homelands. She had learned to cook from her grandmother, and began making home-cooked African meals for friends. African professionals, many of them who work for the health systems, became interested in her fledgling food business. She started a Facebook page to market her meal choices, and the business grew within the next few years. She began cooking in a commercial kitchen and doing some catering.

In 2024, Maame took some of her Ghana-inspired meals to local events, including Williamsport’s Juneteenth celebration. There, she met Derek Slaughter, Williamsport’s mayor, who encouraged her to

expand her business. She began looking for a brick-and-mortar place where she could serve her meals and sell African products. By early September, she had moved into her current space on Arch Street, at the former Newberry News Diner. The space includes a kitchen, so she can cook meals for takeout while also selling African products like breads, dry rubs, black soap, and a raw spicy peanut snack called kulikuli from the market section. She buys the products from wholesalers in the US and overseas.

Though Maame may be far from home, reminders of home are never far from her. The inside of the shop is decorated with a border of maps of each of the fifty-four African countries and a large African map. The memories of home remain with her. She recalls how she reluctantly

Wade Spencer

learned to cook as a child. “Growing up with my grandmother, I thought it was a chore,” she says. “I was the oldest granddaughter. I was called to help in the kitchen. And I hated it. Later on, I grew a passion for it.”

As an adult, Maame got a job at a bank. She started cooking meals for her coworkers and bringing them to work. To her surprise, they loved it. “And they would tell me to go open a restaurant. I thought they were crazy,” she says. She was laid off from the bank job when the economy turned, and decided to try her hand at entrepreneurship by opening a boutique. She soon added cooking to her business when she started making meals and delivering them over lunch.

Things have come full circle now, with Maame’s current business venture being mainly food-based. Many who come into the shop are trying African food for the first time.

She explains that the staples of African cuisine incorporate foods such as fish, oxtail, rice, and plantains. Some of the essentials on her menu include jollof rice, a savory and slightly spicy dish with long-grain rice and spices. She also serves whole fish. “We fry the whole fish right in front of you,” says Maame. Other proteins include goat meat and fried chicken. Veggies such as sautéed cabbage are offered as sides.

The African cuisine also employs the use of flavorful sauces. Soups on the menu include peanut butter soup and palm butter soup. Fufu is another popular dish that consists of starches that have been boiled, pounded, and rounded into balls. Desserts on the rotational menu include vitumbuwa, which is a fried pastry with mango cream topping. Beverages include a hibiscus drink.

Maame notes the Williamsport cuisine scene is growing and evolving. “It brings diversity here to the food industry in Williamsport,” she says of her shop. “Some people come in here and don’t know what to get, so we guide them.”

Since opening last fall, Maame’s business ventures have been expanding. She plans to eventually offer in-house dining once she hires more help, and will soon open the Good Grace Lifestyle market, adjacent to the restaurant. The shop will feature clothing, accessories, jewelry, artwork, and handbags from Africa. Maame hand-selected pieces when she took a trip back home to Africa in December and began surveying potential products at local markets. She met the artisans and put in orders for production of pieces that are unique and colorful. Selections will range from earrings made of nutshells to a handbag made from a coconut shell.

“I wanted to make it a one-stop shop,” says Maame. “The things that people see on the Internet and on TV—I wanted to bring that here for them to experience. It’s been so far, so good by God’s grace.”

Good Grace is open from noon to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For menu and additional information, follow Good Grace African Market Williamsport on Facebook, call (570) 447-8022, or email goodgraceafricanmarket@yahoo.com.

Melissa Farenish lives in Montoursville with her husband, Sean, daughter, Nadia, and two cats. She’s been writing for publications since her college days at Penn State University, and has written for community newspapers in Williamsport and Sunbury. She enjoys music, traveling, and the outdoors.

June 4–July 25, 2025 EXPLORA TIONS & CONVERS A TIONS

Meredith Eachus Armstrong

Elizabeth Z. Bennett

Jean E. Downing

Peggy Blei Hracho

Cecilia J. Rusnak

TUES–THUR 10 a.m.–5 p.m. SUN 1–4 p.m.

July 3–7

Cats in the Cradle

Sitting beside his mom’s portrait, Adam Mahonske points to his Baltimore home on Row Houses, the quilt she hand stitched for him. It will be on display at the Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center in Wellsboro.

Elizabeth A Quilted Remembrance

By Teresa Banik Capuzzo

The first time I remember talking to Elizabeth Mahonske we were gazing at her kitchen floor in Blossburg. I was mesmerized.

I was sixteen years old (her son Adam was a buddy of my first official boyfriend), and Elizabeth was showing me the wooden tile floor she had just installed. Not had someone else install, but installed with her own hands, of inch-thick end-cut blocks—there must have been a thousand at our feet—made for her by Tycov Bolter in Covington (then known for the ash bolts they cut for baseball bats, now the home of Ron Baltzley Hardwoods).

I was also moved by her fortitude and her spirit. She was fifty-nine years old, and still melancholy about the untimely loss of her husband a few years earlier. Born in 1914, Elizabeth had dreamed of studying architecture with Frank Lloyd Wright, an insupportable aspiration to her father, given the era. After years of designing and sewing clothing to buttress the family finances, her husband’s illness had forced her into the role of breadwinner, and she would work for thirteen years as a cataloger at Mansfield University.

But Elizabeth’s creativity was uncontainable, and, at seventy-five, she was inspired by a book she read on quilting. The beautiful product of that fascination will be on display at the Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center on Main Street in Wellsboro, opening with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on July 12 and running through August 3. In the fifteen years Elizabeth had before her eyesight failed too drastically for close work at age ninety, she hand stitched on two small quilting hoops— ten stitches to the inch—seven quilts, each one taking about nine months. They will all hang at the Gmeiner with her smaller quilted pieces.

Row Houses was quilted for the stairway of Adam’s home in Baltimore, and gallery patrons can distinguish Adam’s pale pink house with the red door by the little cats (they had eight at the time!) stitched into the windows. Indian Headdress is the largest and most dramatic of the seven and held a special place in her heart. Elizabeth’s Canadian mother was thought to have some Native American heritage, and the quilt is an homage to that Cherokee bloodline. School House is another display quilt, but the balance of the work,

geometric or paisley-bordered, and painstakingly hand sewn, were meant to be used.

My relationship with Elizabeth didn’t really start until I came back home decades later. How inspiring it was to know a woman in her nineties keen on holding elegant dinner parties (often punctuated by her sublime chocolate ganache-draped hazelnut cake). When she was 100 years old and discharged from the hospital from some nagging centenarian health issues, she designed a more modest hospital gown—something that wasn’t always falling off shoulders and exposing derrieres. Her prototype didn’t get very far, for cost reasons, but the gown she stitched up looked as comfortable as it was fashionable and discreet.

Elizabeth was as gritty as she was elegant, as feisty as she was serene. She thought Ralph Nader had the best ideas for the country, and when she met him at an event where he autographed Unsafe at Any Speed for her, Adam reports that they talked like old friends for half an hour. She died at 101, full until the end of an artistic lifeforce, and it is no end of delightful that gallery-goers will get a glimpse of that.

Michael Capuzzo

by Thomas Meehan

Summer Muse-ings

EMMF fans will enjoy a new piano concerto composed by Melissa Manchester (top), performed by Jeffrey Biegel (bottom), and conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser.

Composing a Music Festival

An Endless Mountain of Talent in the Twin Tiers

By Kelly Stemcosky

World premieres. Grammy-winning artists. American-born classical composers. Once-in-a-lifetime performances.

They’re not concepts often synonymous with the Twin Tiers, but the Endless Mountain Music Festival has been changing that.

“It’s live music that you’re not necessarily going to hear in the major cities, which are condemned to do all of the standard repertoire that everybody knows,” says Stephen Gunzenhauser, EMMF’s music director and conductor. “So, coming to Wellsboro, Mansfield, Corning is a unique experience for many people.”

Such exclusive performances during EMMF’s upcoming twentieth season include the state premiere of Nocturne, a classical nocturne for orchestra and piano composed by Grammy-winning songwriter Jimmy Webb, set for Friday, July 18, at Steadman Theatre on the campus of Commonwealth University at Mansfield in Mansfield. The next evening features the world premiere of AWAKE!, a fivemovement concerto for orchestra and piano

composed by Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Melissa Manchester on Saturday, July 19, at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning. Also slated for that night is hit singersongwriter Neil Sedaka’s Manhattan Intermezzo. All three are being performed by world-class pianist Jeffrey Biegel, who helped bring two of the pieces to fruition.

“You just get struck by the muse,” says Jeffrey of commissioning such projects as AWAKE! and Nocturne. “Ideas kind of come to you. It’s always about the composer and what they may have that’s unique to bring to the world of piano and orchestra.”

Unique could describe involving Melissa, a hit pop singer and songwriter whose name recognition traces back to the 1970s. The two started communicating online during the covid pandemic, when Jeffrey would perform piano concerts live on YouTube from his living room. After a moving rendition of one of Beethoven’s sonatas, he learned of Melissa’s deep appreciation for classical music.

“I think that triggered something within

me,” he says. “Because many times singersongwriters have classical backgrounds, and then they just take the yellow brick road down a different route.”

AWAKE! is inspired by just that—a journey with an unknown outcome and the emotions evoked throughout it. Melissa says, “I wrote it according to several poems that I had treasured since I was a teenager, by the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. They would literally sing to me. And so, when I was composing this, I would turn to these poems, and I would start to hear the music.”

The concerto’s world premiere will be another adventure, but this time, Melissa will skip the stage for a seat in the audience. There’s a chance she may surprise the attendees with one of her well-known hits, but this isn’t one of her normal pop concerts. Even so, her essence will be felt in each note.

“Each movement represents what one goes through in approaching an adventure,” she says of AWAKE!. “You start off in stillness,

See Festival on page 22

GAFFER DISTRICT

FAIRS & FESTIVALS

then trepidation, and you pray for strength. Then, you get the strength, and even though you’re feeling fear, you carry on. Even when you have your courage, it doesn’t mean that the universe doesn’t provide you with obstacles along the way to see how grounded you are.”

Finally, just as Melissa felt at the conclusion of her inaugural concerto-composing venture, “You come out of your journey and your trials and tribulations with new knowledge, with new lessons learned. It’s all hard-won gains.”

With a successful career spanning five decades, Melissa is no stranger to trials and tribulations, but most of all, triumph. She’s had chart-topping solo hits like the Grammy-nominated “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” “Midnight Blue” that peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1975, and “You Should Hear How She Talks About You,” which earned her the 1983 Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance, beating out the likes of Linda Ronstadt and Olivia NewtonJohn.

On her twenty-fifth studio album, 2024’s Re:View, Melissa re-recorded “Midnight Blue” with Dolly Parton, and “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’” with Kenny Loggins. The two originally co-wrote the LogginsStevie Nicks duet in 1979. Melissa has also scored music for Disney, appeared on acclaimed shows like General Hospital and The Muppet Show, and performed in the 2007 Chicago production of HATS! The Musical and the 2023 national tour of the Broadway musical Funny Girl

“To be in this moment, at this advanced stage of a career and still having wonderful adventures is really something. The fact that it [my career] has endured for more than fifty years is really special to me,” she says, adding, “The thing about being an artist is you make a living by living your life, and that is rare. In this moment that we are in, art is more important than ever to help people, by bringing comfort to them, illuminating something, elevating something, educating something.”

That encapsulates the spirit of the Endless Mountain Music Festival.

“The goal is to make it [the music] accessible to all, and especially to Tioga County and our surrounding areas that are underserved artistically,” says Cindy Long, EMMF’s executive director since the festival’s inception twenty years ago. Accessibility is the key word, as EMMF hosts its concerts in a variety of venues—from traditional concert halls, museums, libraries, YMCAs, and even state parks—in Pennsylvania’s rural Tioga and Potter counties and in the Corning area. In addition, ticket prices haven’t changed since the festival’s beginnings, with some performances offered free of charge each season.

Jeffrey, who’s very much engrained in EMMF’s past, present, and future, is helping to harness that mold-breaking spirit this season. “I’ve known Stephen [Gunzenhauser] since the 1990s. We performed together when he was music director of the Lancaster Symphony, and we stayed in touch over the years,” says Jeffrey, who lent his talent on piano to the Pennsylvania premiere of Peter Boyer’s Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue during EMMF’s 2024 season. “After that, Stephen and I discussed doing some other unique programming.”

In addition to Melissa’s AWAKE!, Jeffrey also commissioned Jimmy Webb’s Nocturne, an orchestra and piano nocturne that’s only been performed live twice before.

Jeffrey explains that Nocturne means night piece, and that in it, “he [Jimmy] reflects sounds of the night from the moon, to dancing in the breeze, to animal life. So, it’s kind of a piece that evokes or ignites

2025 Endless Mountain Music Festival

Friday, July 18

Opening Night – “The Wheel Spins, a PA Premiere” In memory of Keith Cooper

7:00 p.m. – Steadman Theatre, Commonwealth University at Mansfield, Mansfield, PA

FAIRS & FESTIVALS

Potter County Fair

July 27 to August 2

sounds of the night. He really embraces his classical roots and the classical soul.” Jeffrey will perform the nocturne’s Pennsylvania premiere on piano during the opening night of EMMF’s season.

Animal

Agri-Puppet Shows • Live Music Every Day!

AUGUST 4-9, 2025

Jimmy, the only artist ever to receive Grammy awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration, has penned platinum hits such as Glen Campbell’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Wichita Lineman,” “All I Know” from Art Garfunkel’s debut solo album, and most famously, “MacArthur Park,” first recorded by Richard Harris in 1967, when it reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. For that single, Jimmy earned two Grammys—in 1969 for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for Harris’s version and in 1970 for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group for Waylon Jennings’s version. The song peaked again in 1978 with Donna Summers’s disco version, which topped the Billboard charts at number one. Under his belt, Jimmy has a multitude of other awards and collaborations with Michael Feinstein, Linda Ronstadt, the 5th Dimension, the Supremes, and Carly Simon.

The music of Neil Sedaka, another name with recognizable hits from the 1960s and ’70s, also joins the EMMF repertoire this year with his nineteen-minute piano/orchestra concerto, Manhattan Intermezzo, with Jeffrey on piano. The piece debuted on Neil’s solo album, 2012’s The Real Neil, recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Over his legendary career, Neil has written or co-written more than 500 songs, such as “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” with his popularity solidified in the mid-1970s with Billboard Hot 100 number one hits “Laughter in the Rain” and “Bad Blood.”

Jeffrey, who will perform the piece, did not commission Neil’s intermezzo, but did bring him into the EMMF family. The two had the same piano teacher at the Juilliard School in New York City, though twenty years apart. EMMF’s promise to bring such unexpected performances to the area is what keeps not only audiences coming back, but artists as well. Stephen says that’s why he focuses on creating thrilling and unusual programming that draws top talent.

“If we were any other festival, we would be paying a great deal of money for our soloists and for the orchestra, but we are not. As a result, we have to rely upon something else, which is providing a really thrilling or wonderful experience for the musicians to come to enjoy the area. They’re in a situation which is not stressful, like in the major cities,” he says.

“The problem for me in the United States is that we always look to Germany or Russia for famous composers, and we keep doing them over and over again. But, we really do have a lot to offer, in this case, with Melissa Manchester, Jimmy Webb, and Neil Sedaka. These are wonderfully gifted, talented musicians that should be heard.”

For more information on the Endless Mountain Music Festival, its 2025 season program, or to purchase tickets, visit endlessmountain.net. Ticket prices vary for each show, with several being free of charge this season. The July 18 and 19 shows are $39 per ticket, flex passes for any six shows are $150, or season passes for all seventeen shows are $250.

Kelly Stemcosky is an award-winning writer who works as a newspaper page editor/designer. A Tioga County native, she spends most of her free time volunteering for animal-related causes and hanging out with her family and cats.

The Crew Awaits You

Clang, Clang, Clang!

Tony’s Trolley Returns to Wellsboro

By Phil Hesser

There are lots of ways to get a taste of Wellsboro and its environs, but one of the most unique is by trolley—Tony’s Trolley, that is. Riders climb on board at the trolley-specific spot in front of the Arcadia Theatre on Main Street (book ahead at tonystrolleytours.com, tonystrolleytours@yahoo.com, (570) 723-7777, or take a chance that there will be an empty seat), miniature greyhounds Lulu and Dixie welcome them, conductor/driver/owner Tony Yeager breaks the ice as only Tony can, and the tour, which typically lasts one-and-a-half hours, begins.

Tony was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. His father was the area’s first Volvo dealer back in the ’60s, so Tony’s love for the auto industry came right from childhood. He lived in Lancaster County for many years, then, after a divorce, he was ready for something different. That turned out to be a move north, this after talking with Bruce Cole, an engineer from the Coudersport area who

offered to sell him a cabin and some land. Tony recalls that it would “change my life completely if I moved north.” It was 2000. He lived in the Ulysses area of Potter County initially, and, on the first night he spent in his new home, he heard the peepers, saw the dark starlit skies, and “experienced a peace beyond compare.” He subsequently moved to Tioga County, opened Dynomite Mechanics on Route 6, just west of Wellsboro, became an authorized Speed Queen dealer, and restored old cars. One day his brotherin-law, Steve, mentioned that he’d seen a trolley for sale. Tony passed. He was too busy, and the trolley needed too much work.

But the thought of a trolley somehow took root. A trolley tour would be an asset to the community, he thought. He could share what he loved about this area. As he searched online for cars to restore, he started looking for trolleys, too. And finally, there it was! A big, red trolley, built in 1995, used as a shuttle to Chicago’s airports. It was in just okay

condition, but still ran and had low mileage. It got only ten to twelve miles per gallon, but the owners would deliver.

It was set to arrive one afternoon at 1 p.m., but it was 3 the following morning before it showed up, in tow because the transmission had blown up over the Allegheny summit on I-80. Not a problem for Tony. It took him six months to bring the trolley back to life, including refinishing the wood seating. After obtaining all the permits and insurance, he was road-ready.

Tony first thought he would run only on holidays. But Tony’s Trolley was catching on with visitors and locals alike. He decided to offer scheduled tours on weekends, specials during the Laurel Festival and Dickens of a Christmas, and charters for birthdays, weddings, and other special events.

After several years, Tony became so busy with his other businesses that, in 2018, he sold the trolley. He watched it go idle during

Riders on Tony's Trolley receive a warm welcome from Tony and his two assistants, Lulu and Dixie.

Liberty book Shop

the covid pandemic. Fast-forward to 2024. Tony repurchased the trolley and ran it “just for fun” in Wellsboro for the Laurel Festival, where attendees “went nuts,” he recalls. “Everybody wanted me to do it again.” He resisted recreating “a blast from the past,” but started giving it some thought.

The matter was settled as he was asked repeatedly to participate in Christmas on Main Street, including a stop at the nearby Highland Chocolate factory. He agreed. Marsha Chesko, a member of the Christmas on Main Street committee and a former business owner in the borough, rode the trolley that day, and says it was “a big hit.”

“It gives visitors and locals another thing to do in town,” she says. “It helps all the businesses by keeping people in town a bit longer to hop a trolley.”

It was, Tony recalls, “the best time ever.”

So, let the fun begin again. Tours get underway (check the website for times and days) as Tony, who is unapologetic regarding his affection for Wellsboro, apologizes for “the only history I’ll read.” That’s as he relates the story of the Penn Wells Hotel, including the story of a contractor working in the hotel telling him about the razor blades found in the walls during a renovation—they came from the slit in the medicine cabinet for used blades in the rooms’ bathrooms. He takes a turn around the Green noting the events that take place there, the music to be enjoyed during the summer on a Wednesday evening when the Town Band strikes up, and points out the iconic Wynken, Blynken, and Nod statue and its history.

He circles the downtown, sharing history on Dunham’s Department Store and the Wellsboro Diner, and pointing out various eateries, the school, the well-kept homes, the Green Free Library, the Gmeiner Art and Cultural Center, the Deane Center for the Performing Arts, and the variety of locally owned businesses.

The trolley then makes its way over the mountains that separate Wellsboro from Leonard Harrison State Park and Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon as Tony points out the farms, the historic Middle Ridge Church, and other interesting sites. Stopping at the park for a brief peek down the canyon, the trolley then heads back toward town. Riders watch a movie about the canyon’s history, and then Tony plays Judy Garland’s “The Trolley Song,” from Meet Me in St. Louis. He “clang-clang-clangs” the bell right along with Judy, and “tips his hat,” a gift created for him by Wellsboro’s own Christine Moore, also known as milliner to the Triple Crown. He finishes the tour passing by the “House of Love,” on West Avenue, now La Belle Auberge B&B and Emerge Spa, originally a surprise gift from a husband to his wife, who had begged for a place closer to the borough than their rural home.

At the end of the line, Lulu and Dixie preside over the bear basket (it’s $25 cash for the tour on the honor system) as Tony exits the trolley to help passengers pose for pictures and discuss how to book the trolley for private events.

Then he’ll tip his hat, ring his bell, and greet the next group.

When he isn’t writing about the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Phil Hesser runs and rambles around the Delmarva Peninsula and north central Pennsylvania. He is the author of What a River Says: Exploring the Blackwater River and Refuge and co-author of A Guide to Harriet Tubman’s Eastern Shore: The Old Home Is Not There

Mother Earth

Do you like this place or would you rather have one on Pine Creek?

Well, there’s not a lot of storage space here…

Snakes in the Grass

By Gayle Morrow

So here I am on a summer day in my backyard, walking my horse past a pile of stones where there’s a big gap in an old rock wall (and where, by the way, I pass numerous times a day, as do my chickens, and my cats, and sometimes the dog…). La-dee-dah—we’re going out to eat grass for a bit, just like always, routine, nothing to see here. And then I hear it—a distinctive “whrrrrr” that means just one thing— rattlesnake. And then I see it, the tail-end, rattle and all, slithering over a rock and on into a snug, snake-sized cubby in the pile of stones.

Uh-oh.

Actually, more like oh, crap.

Well, nothing to worry about, I think, channeling all the good info I’d just read in a Mountain Home story about rattlesnakes and a guy who likes them (June 2024). He/ she is probably just passing through. Maybe eating a chipmunk or two (there are lots this year) and taking a break to digest. OK. I’ll just be very, very mindful when I’m walking by here, announce my presence somehow

(Saying “hello” in a chipper voice does a fat lot of good, however, as rattlesnakes don’t have ears.); try to keep the animals away from that spot (although how I’m going to do that with the chickens and the cats I don’t know); oh, and warn my son, who’s visiting, to be on the alert when he walks by.

It wasn’t long before he did—just curious, he says, as he’d never seen a rattlesnake out and about before—and then he calls out to me.

“Mom, you’ve got to see this.”

“What?” I say.

“There are two of them.”

“What do you mean, two of them?”

“Look.”

And, yes, there were two. Two quite black and big-around rattlesnakes curled up together, just like kittens. Scaly kittens with flickering, forked tongues and eyes that blink slowly and deliberately.

Great.

I call the snake guy, Steve Henneman, for some advice. He says what he’d said in the article—that they were probably on

their way somewhere.

And where might that be? Five feet or five miles away? Shopping? Vacation? House hunting? If they are a couple, the last thing I want is for them to decide to have their children here.

Anyhow, Steve agrees to come on a moral support/reconnaissance mission, but, of course, the afternoon he’s here the snakes are not. He couldn’t come back the next day, but they did. Steve and I play phone and email tag for the next couple of weeks, and the snakes have fun at my expense. I see them periodically, usually curled up together, but once all stretched out—just showing off, I guess. I’ve seen three others on the road since I first saw these two, and, yes, I stopped the car and waited until they slithered off onto the shoulder so some idiot wouldn’t feel obliged to run over them.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, to live in such close proximity to something that can kill you. Maybe the snakes say that to each other, too, about us.

Gayle Morrow

Grapes

The Power of Pairings

By Terence Lane

Agreat wine and food pairing can create a memory. The mysterious alchemy not only makes for a happy palate, but also connects you to a place and time. I’ll never forget the solomillo con foie I had with many glasses of cold cava in Barcelona. When I think about that meal, I can remember every detail about the bustling tapas bar, right down to the way my server styled his beard. Great pairings are able to bring the present into razor-sharp relief. They need not be fussy or complicated. The best pairing I’ve ever had? That’s easy: Whipped chicken liver mousse with red Burgundy.

This took place at a wine bar seated alongside fellow sommelier and friend, Dave. We’d just gotten off of work after an intense night’s service. It was eleven o’clock in the evening and we were in need of a re-

storative libation. I should note that Dave was a much better sommelier than I. He had textbooks about vineyard soil and was particularly obsessed with the Kimmeridgian chalk of Chablis, composed of so many fossilized fish bones and oyster shells. One day he came into work with fish bones and oyster shells tattooed on his forearm. He did the entire service with his arm wrapped in cling wrap. Dave’s allegiance to wine (and soil) was intimidating, but I’ve always been drawn to people with unbalanced passions. Working the floor alongside him made me a better sommelier by osmosis. And the fact that we’d gotten over hating each other’s guts to become best friends was a big plus, too. When I first started at the job, Dave had already been there a few months and wanted to let me know it. We’d do cellar work in complete silence. Eat family meals

in silence, glued to our phones. He broke one day when a Smiths song came on and Morrissey crooned: “I was looking for a job and then I found a job, and heaven knows I’m miserable now.” We’d been silently checking all the open wines for the day, and I muttered, “This is the song that plays in my head when I see Playbills all over a table.” I’d never heard Dave laugh until then. And it was a ripper.

After twenty minutes squabbling over the wine list, we decided on a bottle of Premier Cru Pommard with six years of age and ordered the chicken liver mousse with toast points. The combination of the minerally mousse and old-world pinot noir went straight to the source of everything that was ailing us. It was more than just a good pairing. The earthy flavors and searing acidity

seemed to pay homage to the unspoken heroism felt by those who toil and lay their demons to rest. We talked about that Pommard for the rest of the year. It still comes up in conversation to this day.

Here in the Finger Lakes, opportunities abound for wine and food pairings where great memories are sure to be made. Enjoying the regional bounty of locally-made snacks with your wine just goes with the territory, so if you’re visiting the area, be sure to sight in some wineries that specifically offer food and wine options, as

Ryan William Vineyard in Burdett is a food destination in and of itself, but thoughtfully lists wine pairings to match their meals as well. They emphasize a dry wine portfolio and boast outstanding views of Seneca Lake from their patio dining area. Their famous brunch, featuring homemade brioche French toast with seasonal fruit compote, smash burgers, and kimchi fries is known across the land and serves as a great launching point for a day of winery hopping along the lake’s eastern rim. The house-smoked shrimp cocktail matched with chardonnay would be a delectable starter.

On the west side, a wildly popular pickle pairing is making waves at Toast Winery in Rock Stream. I have to admit that when I first got wind of the pickle pairing, it sounded like blasphemy, the kind of thing that would have sent Dave spiraling on a threeday rant. Pickles are weird, wet, and green, and wine is, to quote Galileo, “sunlight held together by water.” As much as I advocate for simple pairings, they still have to work, and I couldn’t see how this was going to work at all. Until I tried it. The line-up was as follows: Moonshine pickles and grüner veltliner, taco pickles and pinot noir, garlic-dill pickles with Luminescence white port, pineapple pickles and sweet Bubbly Pink Brindar, and honey-chiptole pickles with riesling.

The attack of flavors was like a carnival ride across the tongue. The tasting room was filling up and plate after plate of pickles were circulating around the bar. The mood was buoyant and people were highly engaged in their picklerific little bubbles. Some of the pairings worked better than others. And one in particular stayed with me long after I’d left. Leave it to taco pickles and pinot noir to create a memory. Inherent smoky notes in both succeeded in bridging the great pickle/wine divide. The taco seasoning was subdued just enough in the brine to establish harmony with the spicy and smoked notes of the wine. Was I surprised? Oh, yeah.

Be advised that the pickle pairing doesn’t come back until the first week of August. That’s plenty of time for this writer to spread the gospel of wine and brine, and to plot my return. Because I’ll be back. And maybe next time I’ll bring Dave along for the ride.

Terence Lane is a Certified Sommelier. His short fiction and wine writing has appeared in a number of magazines including Wine Enthusiast. A native of Cooperstown, New York, he now lives in the Finger Lakes and is the beverage manager at J.R. Dill Wine Bar in Watkins Glen.

Photo: Joe Carroll

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

The Memorial Day menu at Sapalta included lemon-harissa half chicken served with hummus and fresh watermelon salad, recommended with a glass of sauvignon blanc all the while overlooking Seneca Lake.

Sapalta, Seneca Lake

3482 Plum Point Road S., Himrod, NY (607) 243-7535

sapalta.com

Halfway up the western side of Seneca Lake, a purple paradise fronted by a Ushaped dock beckons folks from land and water to take a break. Sapalta, the on-site restaurant at Plum Point Lodge, has new management, but the patio, majestic lawn with Eastern cottonwoods, dock, and communal fire pit remain the same. Husband-and-wife team Mike Janusz, general manager, and Christina Civitello, restaurant operations and events coordinator, had collaborated professionally for years, primarily in New England’s hospitality scene, before moving here. They opened for the 2025 season on April 25, serving dinner Thursday through Monday evenings from 4 to 9 p.m. Brunch is on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lodgers and locals alike.

“Sapalta is different because it’s a homecoming for me, and a new adventure for us both in the Finger Lakes,” Christina, a Yates

County native, explains. When her father fell ill, they moved from Connecticut and bought a childhood home of hers, where they cared for him until he passed peacefully, surrounded by family, last November. “It’s a chapter that feels both full-circle and forward-looking, and we’re grateful to be here, serving locals and visitors alike.”

They appreciate that the scale is slower and more intimate, allowing them to connect deeply with guests and the community. “Unlike our previous roles in larger markets, here we’re weaving personal ties into our work,” she says, “celebrating Yates County’s heritage and building a ‘farmhouse country inn’ experience. The seasonal rhythm of the Finger Lakes also brings a unique pace, with bursts of energy in spring and summer, and a quieter off-season for planning. It’s a chance to slow down, innovate, and create something truly special together.”

Mike brought with him Chef Dennis Young—they’d worked together in Connecticut. Chef Dennis is an Army veteran who’s spent time in other cultures, especially Germany. Christina says that shows up in his awareness of what foods will pair well with the famous Finger Lakes white wine varietals.

He also incorporates coastal-inspired techniques from his New England background.

“We’ve introduced new dishes and seasonal specials that reflect the freshest local produce, with a focus on accessibility through adjusted price points to make Sapalta welcoming to a broader audience,” she says. “A unique addition is Blue Mammoth vegan donuts, created by our sous chef Joel Kircher, which are featured on the menu and have already gained a following from local markets.”

The fifty-five-seat dining room offers a cozy, welcoming vibe with stunning lakefront views that elevate every meal—whether you’re seated indoors or on the limited outdoor patio. “Guests often describe the setting as magical,” Christina adds. “One couple celebrated their anniversary with us and shared how Sapalta’s lakeside setting and live music made it their best date night ever. The husband raved about the trout, while his wife loved the beef tenderloin, and they both said the view of Seneca Lake at sunset was unforgettable.” Watch their website and Facebook page for more events in their Winemaker’s Dinner Series.

See Waterfont on page 38

Waterfront continued from page 13

Courtesy Sapalta

Pier 87 Bar & Grill, Loyalsock Creek

5647 Route 87, Williamsport, PA (570) 435-0290

thepier87.com

On September 7, 2011, shortly after Brad Russell and Francesco Morrone purchased and renovated Pier 87, a catastrophic flood washed it all away. You’d never know it now, standing on the back patio in front of the covered porch, watching the water flow peacefully past. “We built above the 500year floodplain,” Brad says, “and have not had water near the restaurant.” The flood widened the Loyalsock Creek, he explains, “which in the long run will help. We lost a lot of land but to our future benefit.”

Perhaps most surprising about this gem about six miles north of Montoursville is the vibe. A sandy stretch is incorporated

Piers of the Realm

Guests at Pier 87 on Loyalsock Creek are part of an elite group of fun-lovers.

between the patio and the creekside. Adirondack chairs facing the water are lined up behind the rope barrier, there to mark where the ground becomes uneven. The pier effect is striking. Even though you know you are looking at a creek, your brain tells you you’re in Margaritaville. And the tiki bar is ready to pour your Corona or make your ocean-side cocktail to pose with on the oversized ADK chair sporting the sign Find Your Beach. Though the beach party atmosphere is strong, especially on summer weekends when bands play, Pier 87 is a family destination located in the middle of an outdoor lover’s paradise. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, it’s a great place to refuel after hiking or biking at nearby Rider Park or Loyalsock State Park (bribe kids that last mile with the promise of a root beer float). Or take a kayak trip that ends at the restaurant. Fishing or playing at the water’s edge is encouraged (with appropriate

supervision for the very young). Maybe the nesting pair of bald eagles will swoop over.

The menu is extensive. Brad says, “Our fish tacos have always been a guest favorite along with a few other dishes including the beer battered haddock, broiled seafood platter, BBQ ribs, and lobster/shrimp roll.” Appetizers include the Bacon Wrapped Pier-ogies. Why not enjoy a Fire Pit Salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, lightly grilled mushrooms, green peppers, onions, topped with fries and cheddar jack cheese around the Pier’s fire pit? There’s a 3.5 percent discount off the menu prices for cash payment.

Brad is overflowing with gratitude for how far they’ve come since 2011. “We are very blessed to be so well received throughout central Pennsylvania. We did this with a great staff and community that helped us through difficult times.”

Waterfront continued from page 36

Lonnie Wilcox

Lucky Hare Brewing Bar and Grill, Seneca Lake

2 Seneca Harbor Drive, Watkins Glen, NY (607) 210-6040 luckyharebrewing.com

Lucky Hare Brewing, which has locations in Hector and Owego, opened a new one with full kitchen and bar in the Seneca Harbor Park last August. It has become a local hangout, and Ian Conboy, one of the owners and head brewer, says they were pretty busy over the winter. “We tried to close Tuesday and Wednesday, but people kept showing up, so we opened Wednesday too.” They are open seven days a week in summer. Why are they doing so well when others in this location have struggled? Maybe because they manage their own kitchen, or maybe because they brightened the place up inside. Even on a drizzly day, the cathedral ceiling and big windows looking out to the marina make the space feel open and light. Parents with babies and toddlers enjoy a night out and couples—young and old—do, too. A covered deck and picnic tables on grass extend the seating options and allow for furry friends to join diners.

Of course, they have Lucky Hare beers on draft (our staff rye expert praises their rye pale ale), and PBR and Miller Lite are available along with NA beers. Cocktails and Finger Lakes wines (the Barnstormer rosé goes great with the salmon belly BLT) round out the options. Server Ange Cummings recommends the Key Lime cocktail, and when she brings it to the table it’s clear it’s more than a drink, it’s an occasion. “The bartender had the concept,” she says, “but it was my idea to rim the glass with graham cracker crumbs.” The vanilla vodka cuts the sweetness beautifully.

See Waterfront on page 40

Belly Up to the Bar

Lucky Hare Bar & Grill serves a crispy salmon belly BLT on toasted sourdough that will make you want to swim upstream to get another.

What's Up, Dock?

Lucky Hare beer—or any beverage— tastes even better when sipped as the sun sets over Seneca Lake.

La

On Seneca

Waterfront continued from page 39

Appetizers include Seneca fries with butter, celery salt, pepper, and fresh grated parmesan. Or go for the blackened scallops with coconut cream sauce and red pepper aioli—if they haven’t run out. There’s a kid’s menu, salads, hot and cold wraps, and sandwiches spanning from traditional to a bit more eclectic, like the black bean veggie burger with Gouda, tomato, lettuce, onion, and red pepper aioli on brioche (gluten free sliced bread is available for substitution). The kitchen closes an hour before the bar.

It’s worth it to come simply to eat, but for those wanting to make a day of it, kayaks, paddleboards, and fishing charters can be rented next door. The Lakeside Trolley leaves from the parking lot, and at the pier behind Captain Bill’s (a beloved waterfront dining option on the other end of the parking lot), the True Love Schooner and other boat tours can be booked. It’s also possible to sail, paddle, or motor your own boat up to the transient dock out back.

Feeling even more frisky? Ian leads a run club that meets every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., rain or shine, for a one-to-three-mile run/jog/walk, ending back at the marina. A run club card includes discounts on menu items. Families and four-legged runners are welcome. Ian’s excited about the first ever Hare Prix 10k Run/Walk set for September 27. The route follows the original Grand Prix road race course and finishes at Lucky Hare with a post-race party. Racers can register at runsignup.com.

For brain exercise, come Thursdays at 7 p.m. for Trivia Night, or hang out at the dock bar on the weekends, listening to live music, watching the sun set over the hills.

Taylor Pfleegor

BACK OF THE MOUNTAIN

Crowned with Summer

By Deb Young

One summer night, we were on the way to Mill Cove near Mansfield when my husband, who was driving, spotted this scene. He pulled off to the side of the road, and the deer were not concerned that we had stopped. The doe seemed to be checking out his foliage head dress, which seemed to be his way of saying don’t mind that my one antler didn’t grow. I’m glad I always have my camera when we go out. My husband is a great one to spot wildlife.

When two established local health systems unite as one collaborative network, healthcare becomes so much more. Centralus Health, an affiliation of Arnot Health and Cayuga Health, is focused on our region’s changing needs and your wellbeing. More than a group of experienced caregivers, Centralus Health is a partnership of advocates who strive to eliminate barriers to better health, innovating and evolving services in our communities for enhanced holistic care close to home. Beyond clinical outcomes, it’s strengthening community connections and setting a higher standard for quality that’s exceptionally personal.

Centralus Health is central to wellness — for all of us.