July 31st, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 8:35 am in Landmarks | No Comments
If you read that question out of context, it sounds dumb. Yet, I’m sure that same question is asked every single day by someone living here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We have the perfect climate … for change, that is. Our seasons are well-defined. Each has its own distinctive impact on the air and land.
Every weather event imaginable can happen in our spring: snow, rain, sleet, hail, wind, heat and freezing. The average high/low for the spring is 69/28. But from its beginning on March 21 to its end on June 21, you can experience it all! You’ll scrape the frost from your windshield on the way to work and put the air conditioning on for the ride home. (I leave more coats behind places in the spring than any other season.) Our plants mark the time with great consistency. Those crocuses will pop up right at the end of February. In mid-April, the leaves come out on the trees. On Memorial Day, I know my peonies will bloom.
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July 20th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 11:16 am in Landmarks | No Comments
Looks like Northeastern Pennsylvania is going to be getting a new reputation! From what I read, it’s not a matter of “if”, but simply a matter of “when”.
Given the occasional uncertain circumstances in New York City (9/11, power failures, broken steam pipes, etc.), the financial companies began to develop some contingency plans. Off-site back up media storage would be a mere band-aid in a catastrophe. Should there be a devastating event, these worldwide conglomerates would need some major surgery. So they look to their sister state in the west; Pennsylvania’s little coal towns are all grown up!
Our region is just perfect for such a Plan B. We have the available land, labor and we are on a separate electrical grid. The nine counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania have 27 colleges, plenty of major corporations and 1.7 million people. We’re not part of the New York area watershed, either. All of the sudden, the chit-chat about the rail service from Scranton to Hoboken just got more significant.
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July 12th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 12:31 pm in Landmarks | No Comments
Like a special birthday gift, wrapped in the gentle mountains of Elysburg is the nicest surprise. Knoebels Amusement Park is a delightful resort frequently visited by many of us living here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s America’s oldest free admission park. Many of the monster amusement parks today charge entrance fee as high as $40. Too high a price to pay for anyone not interested in rides.
“When I was a girl” (in the days of black-and-white television and stone tablets), all the amusement parks were “free admission”. Our parents took us nearby — and I mean really nearby — to San Souci in Hanover, Hanson’s at Harvey’s Lake and Angela Park near Hazleton. Sadly, none of these parks exist today. I can recall the wonder of “The Caterpillar” at San Souci Park and the thrilling way the canvas closed to “cocoon” its passengers. My memories of being there are magnificent. Of course, it was a simpler time.
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July 5th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 7:55 am in Historical Sites | No Comments
Faith has a solid foundation in our area. A listing taken from the Luzerne County’s Municipal Cooperation Community Toolkit 2005 (www.luzernecounty.org) lists nearly 500 different places to worship! I think that’s rather impressive.
Even before the Civil War, the Wyoming Valley started to receive immigrants. One of the first groups to arrive was the Irish, Scottish and Welsh who created their communities around their churches. From 1870 to 1915, nearly another 100,000 immigrants from all over Europe came here. Laborers were needed to build the canals and the rails that would eventually establish our infamous coal mines. Skilled miners were needed to work the mines and they came in abundance. The Polish, Italian, Slovak, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian found a new life here. These groups, too, settled their neighborhoods around their religion. A simple primary reason was so they could attend a service presided over by someone who spoke their language. Faith was an important part of their lives. Thus, the rich and diverse religions of our area were born.
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June 28th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 3:19 am in Landmarks | No Comments
I’m writing about a big weekly summer event. Clue Number One: It happens every Thursday (nearly half who read this and live here have already guessed with that clue alone). Clue Number Two: it happens on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. Everyone else just guessed. It’s the Farmer’s Market! Opening day is usually during the first week of the summer and closing is sometime after the fall harvest. There is no grocery store offering the fare that you will find from our local farmers.
This year’s Farmers’ Market will feature goods from the following farmers: Harold Golomb, Brace’s Orchard, Albert Broyan, Robert Ciravolo, Norman Darling and Sons, Dymond’s Farm and Farm Markets; Dunn’s Fruit Farm, Lori Yost Cotrone, Kessler’s, Larry O’Malia, Martin J. O’Malia, Art Ryman, Wendy Seymour, Tom Strzelecki and Covered Wagon, Zimmerman Farms and Lent’s Organics. This isn’t industrial agriculture, either. Practically every farm in Luzerne County is owned by a family or an individual (91%).
Once a week, my lunch hour (and my grocery budget) is spent “on the square”. Nothing beats the taste of these fruits and vegetables. If you don’t believe me, try this test: Buy a tomato, any tomato, at Wal-Mart. Slice it and eat it on white bread with mayonnaise. Then, buy a tomato at the Farmer’s Market. Make yourself the same tomato sandwich (or “sam-ich” if you’re from Nanticoke). No comparison. Night and day. I could eat three fresh tomato sandwiches-with cheese- at a single sitting. Our tomatoes should be about ready for picking sometime in July.
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June 15th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 8:26 am in Landmarks | No Comments
It’s that time of year when everyone wants to be outside. The valley cities are noticeably warmer than the mountains here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Sometimes, we all want a place to go to be outside and enjoy nature. The perfect suggestion is neither far nor expensive. The ideal spot is nestled on the Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia county line: Ricketts Glen State Park. There is something for every lover of nature: boating, fishing, hiking the beautiful waterfalls, camping and swimming.
The park gets its name from Colonel Robert Bruce Ricketts who served the U. S. Army during the Battle of Gettysburg. At one time, he owned over 80,000 acres of land in this area. Walking the waterfalls, you have to imagine what he must have thought when he first realized the beauty this land beheld. He clearly realized the treasure and conveyed his thoughts to his family. The Colonel’s heirs protected these 60,000 acres for both the Ricketts Glen Park and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. This area has been left so beautiful and largely unspoiled. As of this writing, there is no cell phone reception at Lake Jean!
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June 11th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 10:21 am in Landmarks | Comment (1)
“Rudy-leven”. Speak it quickly. It’s “NEPA speak” for the US Route 11, the north-south US Highway that runs from Canada to Louisiana. Although it is 1,645 miles long, it follows the Susquehanna River through a good portion of our valley from Scranton to below Bloomsburg.
This road is full of beautiful scenery, homes, farms and mom-and-pop businesses linked by automobile travel. It’s not immortalized in literature, pop culture or television as is the east-west Route 66, but it is full of chunks of Americana.
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June 5th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 2:16 pm in Landmarks | No Comments
I just came back from a trip to Mexico. My trip started here at our Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. It was my very first visit to the Joseph M. McDade terminal that opened just about a year ago (among other things, Joseph M. McDade represented Pennsylvania in Congress from 1962-1988).
The terminal is very impressive. The ticket counters are wide open with plenty of room for passenger check in. A new restaurant, appropriately named “Wings”, keeps the same staff from the restaurant in the old terminal! Northeast PA News & Gifts is worth a visit even if you don’t want a newspaper. It’s a great spot that brags about our area. I even noticed a rather respectable arcade! Pocono Club and Business Center is available for those who aren’t traveling for fun. After the going through security to the jet boarding area, I counted five jet ways.
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May 27th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 5:15 pm in Historical Sites | No Comments
Scranton has really got it going on! Little by little, this city has crept back into full swing without losing any of its past glamour. This is no understatement, either. A casual observer visiting the town can’t help but notice the new mixed right in with the old while respecting each. The architecture is beautiful, interesting and in many places, unusual. The renovations have been made with the original design in tact.
The company I work for has offices in Kingston, Hazleton and Scranton so we recently purchased a membership in The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce www.scrantonchamber.com . They mailed a wonderful welcome package that included a 2007 Business & Buyers Guide, titled “Rediscover Scranton… we’re electric!”. Now, sometimes “buyers guide” just translates into “a book of ads”. But this book seemed to shine right inside the envelope it came in. I’m not sure how many people read a “Business & Buyers’ Guide”, but I did. The darn thing actually made me want to rediscover Scranton, so I did just that.
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May 24th, 2007
Posted by Ellen Lyn at 7:52 am in Landmarks | No Comments
Our climate in Northeastern Pennsylvania is perfect for gardening. Crocuses and daffodils pop up in March; tulips in April and by mid-May, perennials can be out of the ground with lily-of-the-valley showing off alongside the violets and pansies. All through the summer and well into the fall, or at least until the first frost, chrysanthemums and black-eyed Susans bring beauty to the front yards of our neighborhoods. Take some time to notice the beauty of the homes in our area. Nearly every house has a plant or shrub of some type in their front yard.
Gardening is both a curse and a blessing. I come from a long line of gardeners. My great grandmother had a beautiful English garden. My father and my grandfather could write books on the subject. So could with my mother and my grandmother. They infected my aunt and me. My brother is good at it, too. With four children, though, he’s keeping his talents in storage, I think.
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