June 2011 by Mountain Home

Tony R’s Big Stakes

E E R F he wind

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At his Corning steak house, Tony Ruggiero’s bold American dream is both rare and well done By Alison Fromme

Wellsboro ER Goes Prime Time Something’s Brewing in Mansfield How Hollywoodin Created our Laurel Queen

N O I T C SE T E N D I A R NS U I A E T T S TA RE S E W L E A N E JUNE 2011 R

Volume 6 Issue 4

High Stake Steaks

The Last Great Place

By Alison Fromme An immigrant to America, Tony Ruggerio, aka Tony R., lives the dream in Corning.

By Michael Capuzzo Murder Room protagonist Richard Walter returns to the Glen, star of our publisher’s just-released paperback.

By Joyce M. Tice Mansfield, Pennsylvania, stars on the silver screen in a PBS film airing in June.

Sarah Wagaman

Looking Back

42nd Parallel

By Matt Connor The Thunderbird has flown in our folklore for centuries, but is it real?

By Michael Capuzzo Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hospital builds a shining new future in emergency care.

The Better World

Michael Capuzzo

The Lunker

By Fred Metarko Lunker’s on the lake with the grandkids on a nice summer day, and there’s no trouble in sight…

By John & Lynn Diamond-Nigh In the sun-dappled idleness of a summer picnic are reminiscences of Eden—if we could but slow down and remember.

This Brew’s for You By Kevin Cummings Suds doesn’t get any more local than the barrels at Mansfield’s Yorkholo.

The History of Queens

Top: Tony R’s impressive wine inventory. Center: Consturction underway at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hospital. Bottom: On tap at Yorkholo Brewing Company. Cover art by Tucker Worthington

Sarah Wagaman

By Michael Capuzzo & Bill Kovalchak We reprise an old favorite: Larry Woodin and the birth of the Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival.

36 Finger Lakes Wine Review

By Holly Howell Holly intoduces a Rat into her Finger Lakes wine family.

40 Recipe for Happiness

By Cornelius O’Donnell Neal’s sweet summer dreams: classic strawberries and cream and a lemon pudding cake to make you smile.

44 Wellsboro Makeover

By Sarah Bull Kennedy Home Center plans to make a local homeowner’s dream come true.

54 Shop Around the Corner

By Dawn Bilder Her Heart’s Desire is his, too, so John & Theresa Tubbs expanded their Galeton “one-of-a-find” store to Wellsboro.

58 Back of the Mountain

Ken Myer looks into a distant mirror.

Publisher Michael Capuzzo Editor-in-Chief Teresa Banik Capuzzo Associate Publisher George Bochetto, Esq. Dawn Bilder Copy Editor Pete Boal Cover Artist Tucker Worthington P r o d u c t i o n M a n a g e r / G r ap h i c D e s i g n e r Amanda Doan Butler Contributing Writers Sarah Bull, Angela Cannon-Crothers, Jennifer Cline, Matt Connor, Barbara Coyle, Kevin Cummings, Georgiana DeCarlo, John & Lynne Diamond-Nigh, Patricia Brown Davis, Lori Duffy Foster, Donald Gilliland, Steve Hainsworth, Martha Horton, Holly Howell, David Ira Kagan, Adam Mahonske, Roberta McCulloch-Dews, Cindy Davis Meixel, Suzanne Meredith, Fred Metarko, Karen Meyers, Dave Milano, Tom Murphy, Mary Myers, Jim Obleski, Cornelius O’Donnell, Audrey Patterson, Gary Ranck, Kathleen Thompson, Joyce M. Tice, Linda Williams, Carol Youngs C o n t r i b u t i n g P h o t o g r ap h e r s Mia Lisa Anderson, Bill Crowell, Anne Davenport-Leete, Ann Kamzelski, Ken Meyer, Sarah Wagaman Advertising Director Todd Hill Sales Representatives Christopher Banik, Michele Duffy, Richard Widmeier Subscriptions Claire Lafferty Beagle Cosmo

Mountain Home is published monthly by Beagle Media LLC, 39 Water St., Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, 16901. Copyright 2010 Beagle Media LLC. All rights reserved. To advertise or subscribe e-mail info@mountainhomemag.com. To provide story ideas email editor@mountainhomemag.com. Reach us by phone at 570-724-3838. Each month copies of Mountain Home are available for free at hundreds of locations in Tioga, Potter, Bradford, Lycoming, Union, and Clinton counties in Pennsylvania; Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates, Seneca, Tioga, and Ontario counties in New York. Visit us at www.mountainhomemag.com. Get Mountain Home at home. For a one-year subscription to Mountain Home (12 issues), send $24.95, payable to Beagle Media LLC, to 39 Water St., Wellsboro, PA 16901. Look for Home & Real Estate magazine wherever Mountain Home magazine is found.

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The Last Great Place

The Return of Sherlock Holmes Michael Capuzzo

t was a sunny morning in Wellsboro when I picked up the phone to hear Richard Walter chortling over a quadruple murder case as only he can. The famous Montrose, Pennsylvania forensic psychologist, known to Scotland Yard as the “living Sherlock Holmes,” had scored another triumph over darkness. Michael Curry had murdered his pregnant wife, Ann Curry, 24, his daughter Erika, 4, and son Ryan, 20 months, with a bush-axe in Columbus, Georgia on August 29, 1985. Mr. Curry got away with it for a quarter century until Mr. Walter, donating his time, showed police the hidden patterns. In April, Mr. Curry was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to life in prison. Richard is the star of my New York Times-bestselling book The Murder Room, which comes out in paperback this month from Gotham Books on June 7, available at local bookstores and Amazon. com. Richard and I will be giving a talk and book signing at the Seneca Lake General Store in Watkins Glen (which will have books for sale) on June 25, from 2-4 p.m. The book has been optioned by CBS to be developed as a TV series by the creator of CSI. It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and is

now a finalist for England’s Gold Dagger Award for best true-crime book. It’s the August 2010 true story of Richard and his two friends, famous FREE FBI agent William as the wind Fleisher and forensic artist Frank Bender, The who founded a private club of detectives who meet monthly in Philadelphia to solve Richard cold murders over a Pa. is theWalter of Montro on the woworld’s best detecse, and stars rld’s worst murde tive hot gourmet lunch. based on in an ABC Spec rs, ial new bookThe Murder Room Sav ing by our pu , Friendly Water In 2008, detectives blisher. a s in New York A Close Shav e from Georgia, Karaoke Fev er desperate for help, presented the Curry case over lunch, and Richard went to work.The rest, as they say, is history.

Living Sherlock Holmes

Great Restaurant Hunter Three years later, Tony R. is happy with his trophy steak house

Story by Alison Fromme

Photography by Sarah Wagaman

aturday night in Corning, New York, the historic Gaffer District. Revelers stroll along an allee of trees twinkling with white lights; live music floats about the old cock tower in Centerway Square. Across Market Street, gold lettering gleams above the door of an understated gray bank building with black awnings: STEAKS Tony R’s SEAFOOD. Understatement at Tony Rs ends on the sidewalk. Behind the ornate wood and wrought-ironworked double doors is a glittering, big American city-style steak house fit for New York or Chicago. Two stories of black leather and white tablecloths, formally attentive waiters, martinis-on-the-rocks, and piano music gently tinkling. There’s even a Hemingway room with immense African trophy animals, bagged by Tony R. himself, mounted on a great stone fireplace. All the usual trappings— and then some—but especially unusual for a rural city of 10,000 people.

If the moon is right at Tony R’s, guests pop a $300 bottle of champagne, a fine way to wash down a 40 or 50-ounce steak. “Why don’t small towns usually have restaurants like this?” Tony R—Tony Ruggiero to anyone hereabouts who eats out much—asks provocatively. As he does most every Saturday night, Tony is sitting in his steak house-palace with his wife, Maurina, a meal and a glass of white wine, and his effervescent enjoyment of life. Often Tony and Maurina dine with friends Saturday nights, proudly watching their daughter, Erica, work the floor as general manager. On this night, the burly, white-haired impresario of the popular Tanino’s Ristorante Italiano in Horseheads and his flagship Corning steak house is smiling his trademark gleaming grin between sips of the grape. What’s not to smile about? Now, all around him, wine glasses clink and steak knives clatter. The restaurant attracts a steady business crowd on weeknights and tourists on weekends. Even celebrities, like NASCAR stars Danica Patrick and Kyle Petty, occasionally stop by for a meal. Three years after he and Maurina opened Tony R’s Steak and Seafood in a splash of publicity with undercurrents of controversy and resentment, their big-bet steak house is paying off big time. With his usual gusto, Tony thee years ago predicted that it would become the best steak house in the region. It was the kind of boast that encourages some to watch closely, anticipating matching failure. But Tony’s boast was supported by some serious backing from Corning, Inc. and the Gaffer District, which had market studies indicating tourists and locals craved a bigcity steak house experience, as well as he and his wife’s irrepressible spirit. If anyone was waiting for Tony R. and Maurina to fail, they must be sorely disappointed. Now Tony R. is counting the reasons why Tony R’s is unique in Corning. Forty-dollar steaks are no big deal in big cities like Boston or New York, but they are here, he explains. Also, the everyday challenges of running this kind of restaurant are many. Food prices fluctuate frequently, Tony says, like Alaskan King crab legs that are $12 a pound one week and $19 a pound the next. Locals aren’t used to making reservations, which makes planning for

the right number of servers on any given night difficult. Finding qualified employees is another challenge, although he’s quick to praise his dependable help. When searching for staff, many people he interviewed had worked at a dozen or so different restaurants. He was seeking more stability, in addition to talent, so he chose people who had logged more time at fewer restaurants Just a few years ago, Tony and Maurina were enjoying the success of their Horseheads restaurant, Tanino’s, when they got the call that changed everything. Dawn Burlew, the manager of business development for the Gaffer District and Corning, Inc., the friendly corporate giant across the street, had a prominent Gaffer District vacant space that Corning, Inc. owned—three adjacent properties at 2-6 East Market Street, including the former M&T and Elmira Savings Bank building. Burlew badly wanted to fill the gap with something impressive, something grand, a jewel missing from the Gaffer District’s crown. In a town of just 10,000 people, Burlew helped lead Corning, Inc.’s ambitious efforts to create an atmosphere in town that will attract and retain quality employees from around the world. The corporation is a major force, but hardly the only one, in the Gaffer District, a group of public and private interests that promotes Corning’s downtown business development, and had invested more than $25 million in the neighborhood within five years of its founding. Now Burlew said that a new marketing study of the needs and wants of locals and tourists indicated that they craved steak and a high-end dining experience. They wanted big steaks. They wanted pizazz. They wanted Tony R. When Burlew proposed the steak house concept with supporting marketing data, the Ruggiero’s seized the opportunity and leased the property from Corning Property Management, a subsidiary of Corning, Inc. It didn’t take Tony long to realize he had been handed a remarkable opportunity, a lucky break. But as an immigrant to the United States, he’d worked especially hard to make that luck.

Facing page: Upstairs at Tony R’s. Left, top to bottom: Tony, Maurina, and Erica Ruggerio.

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Above: The red carpet at Tony R’s. Below: a signature steak.

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As a boy, Tony grew up in Tripoli, Libya, as part of a large Italian family. When he was a teenager in the 1960s, his father brought the family over to America for a better life, passing his strong work ethic onto his children. When Tony arrived in the United States, he didn’t speak a word of English, which led to some confusion over his name: Gaetano, shortened to “Tano,” became Tony. He eventually landed his first job making pizza at a restaurant on North Main Street in Elmira. There, he saw firsthand how a neighborhood restaurant operated, and he fell in love with the camaraderie that went along with it. But it would be years before he returned to the restaurant business. In the 1970s, Tony opened the Do-It Center, a Do-It Best home improvement store and lumberyard, in Horseheads, New York. Later, he met his wife Maurina when he sold his house to her. His friends joke that only he could sell his house, marry the woman who bought it, and get the house back. Whether or not the house sale and marriage prove Tony’s savvy business skills, his success with the Do-It Center and transition into the restaurant business certainly do. In 1994, Tony and Maurina ignored the advice of their friends and family and opened their first restaurant, Tanino’s Ristorante Italiano. Tony says running a restaurant is nothing like running the Do-It Center, where customers are primarily shopping by price for products found at other similar stores. At an independent restaurant, the product—the food—is unique. In the homey atmosphere of Tanino’s, Tony served true Italian fare, the kind his

mother served on Sundays to the extended family in the United States. (In fact, “Tanino,” which means “little Tano,” is the nickname Tony’s mother gave him). “Tanino’s was an overnight success,” Tony says. He says he knew people wanted great food, and he believed he could provide that in a restaurant. Maurina says they knew their friends and family would support them, and soon their reputation grew. The restaurant was so successful that it wasn’t long before the Ruggiero’s opened a sister business, Café Tanino and Italian Pastry Shop, which features coffee, sweet treats, and specialty items like wedding cakes. But after fourteen years of building the Tanino’s empire, Tony was convinced that Dawn Burlew and the Gaffer District marketing study were right—Horseheads, Elmira, and Corning lacked an upscale restaurant suitable for special occasions, like first communion parties, weddings, and high-powered business meetings. He leaped at the chance to create a sumptuous See Tony R’s on page 12

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Tony R’s continued from page 10

steak house in the vacant space on Market Street. Maurina was excited by the challenge of designing a restaurant from scratch. Converting a former bank building into a high-end restaurant was a formidable task. The bank building, originally constructed in the mid-1800s and rebuilt after a fire in 1901, was a virtual fortress. The reinforced walls and thick concrete might have prevented robberies, but the structure could not withstand the Ruggiero’s vision. They demolished and re-created the interior in just nine months. The transformation was big and bold. Today, upon entering through rich wood and glass doors, guests step onto an original marble floor before encountering a stylish bar on the left and a majestic two-tiered dining room on the right. On Friday and Saturday nights a pianist plays from a balcony above the entrance, sending music throughout the whole restaurant. One stunning remnant from the past is the bank vault. Where cash and jewels were once safely secured, guests can now enjoy a special private meal. The switch from bank vault to dining room, however, was not straightforward. Maurina and Tony measured and re-measured the space, which was full of copper and stainless steel safety deposit boxes. Removing the heavy boxes proved so challenging that they offered the boxes to anyone who could extract them. A group of enterprising young men did so using farm equipment normally intended to lift cattle, in order to sell the boxes for scrap metal. But rumor has it that their truck’s axle broke down on the road, crushing under the weight of the safety deposit boxes. Once the boxes were removed, the next challenge was to bring lighting, music, and air-conditioning into the vault. No one could drill through the thick concrete walls, but a small shaft in the wall allowed access. The original purpose for the shaft? A breathing hole, just in case burglars locked employees inside the vault during a robbery. Today, the vault seats six (nonclaustrophobic) diners. Wine bottles are displayed behind an original gate. The vault door, measuring about eighteen inches thick, gleams silver and reveals the intricate locking mechanism, manufactured by the York Safe and Lock Company. For the comfort of See Tony R’s on page 14

Tony R’s continued from page 12

guests, the door no longer shuts. Most of the restaurant’s interior is new, of course. Mennonite craftsmen carved the wooden bar. A new expansive staircase to the second level now opens up to a spacious set of rooms that accommodate large parties and banquets. On the first floor, a custom-built fireplace is a focal point, along with big game trophy heads on the walls. A Cape buffalo, wildebeest, and an elan display their massive bulk. Tony himself hunted the specimens while on safari in Zimbabwe, and the 2,000pound Cape buffalo fed an entire village for a week. Maurina jokes that the trophies hang in the restaurant because they won’t fit in their home’s living room. Patrons of Tony R’s won’t find Cape buffalo on the menu, but they will find steaks, seafood, and pasta. It’s traditional steak house fare: grain-fed steer, graded USDA Prime and Choice Reserve. The meat is aged four to five weeks, then carved into cuts of varying sizes ranging from 8 ounces to forty ounces (an entrée for two). The seafood is flown in daily from Hawaii. The menu also highlights the Ruggiero’s personal flair. Maurina’s Mussels are tossed with tomatoes, red peppers, hot peppers, and artichokes. Harimi is a traditional North African dish of fish stewed in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. Tony explains that, like osso bucco, it was once a poor man’s meal that is now considered a delicacy. The couple envisioned a big city steak house in upstate New York. They built two kitchens to accommodate multiple simultaneous events. They divided the space to satisfy the need for smaller private intimate gatherings, as well as large banquets. In the basement, where a second vault is housed, more than 2,000 bottles of wine are kept on hand to satisfy every taste and budget. As for the food, chefs carefully sear steaks to lock in natural moisture, tenderness, and flavor. It’s a technique that guests won’t find at chain restaurants or fast food joints. Side dishes, like family sized portions of scalloped potatoes and asparagus, are extra. Several desserts on the menu are flashy in the truest sense, flambéed table-side. Prices range from $9 appetizers to the $300 bottle of champagne. Tony’s Italian favorites, imported from Tanino’s Horseheads recipes, add a homey touch. See Tony R’s on page 16

Looking Back

Lights! Camera! Action! Joyce M. Tice

ansfield is making a movie. This is fourth in a documentary series called Our Town produced by WVIA, a PBS affiliate, in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Earlier episodes of this series covered Danville, Tunkhannock, and Berwick. The purpose of the film is to present an hour-long condensation of Mansfield’s past and present. Earlier episodes of this series show a masterful weaving of the many interlocking elements of the communities represented. They demonstrate the best of what the communities have to offer, their points of pride, and the attributes that make them unique. Mansfield Chamber of Commerce is the sponsoring organization for this project. The Mansfield episode will include interviews with local historians Chester P. Bailey, Steve Orner, and me, Joyce M. Tice. These segments will review Mansfield’s origins and the founding of the Classical Seminary by the citizens of Mansfield in 1857, the same year Mansfield incorporated its former village as a borough. The seminary evolved into the Mansfield State Normal School, Mansfield State College, and is now Mansfield University. It is one of Tioga County’s largest employers. Other elements of Mansfield to be covered in the film will be the infrastructure, including the road development, the dams, and the water resources. Recreational elements will include the bike trail and Mill Cove. We will have a look at our several new restaurants and businesses. We’ll review our educational institutions,

sports and musical organizations, including the celebrated Mansfield University Marching Band. We’ll see the eagles at Ives Run and hear about the Pennsylvania Wilds. Our Fabulous 1890s Weekend and museum will be well represented with many photos. We’ll hear about the first night football game that is the foundation of the 1890s celebration now preparing for its twentieth year. We’ll hear about student life at Mansfield University. We’ll see the new YMCA that is in the old armory building. People of the community do the filming and submit the photos and interviews. WVIA’s role is to solicit the advertising funding and put the film together. The hardest part will be to reduce the hours of good film and good stories to a one-hour presentation. The film will premier on June 28 as part of WVIA’s fundraiser. Members of the community and videographers will staff the phones for that evening. The Wellsboro Men’s Chorus will perform a song about Mansfield composed by their leader, Rebecca Cook. Be sure to tune in to watch the first showing of what promises to be a film to make Mansfield proud. The show will later be posted on WVIA’s website and DVDs of the show can be used for tourism and economic development activities. Joyce M. Tice is the creator of the Tri-Counties Genealogy and History Web site (www.joycetice. com/jmtindex.htm). She can be reached at lookingback@mountainhomemag.com. 15

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Above: The piano balcony at Tony Rs. Below: a peek inside the vault, now a private dining room.

Tony’s continued from page 14

The Ruggiero’s are convinced that Tony R’s draws more people to Market Street and opens their eyes to all that the Gaffer District has to offer, including boutiques, art galleries, and other restaurants. At the restaurant’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2008, the mayor agreed, saying that Tony R’s makes Market Street a stronger destination for residents and visitors. Coleen Fabrizi, executive director of the Gaffer District, praised Tony R’s as one of a number of excellent restaurants that make Market Street a destination for food lovers. “At first there was a bit of concern and push back from other restaurants, but what’s resulted is a challenge taken on by a lot of people to make this a destination known for its dining,” she said. As part of the Gaffer District’s ambitious efforts in recent years, a subsidiary of Corning, Inc. helped secure funding to lower retail vacancy from 28% in 2004 to about 7% today. Tony R’s, along with other restaurants like Thali of India and The Cellar Wine & Tapas Bar, represent the fruits of those efforts. “Tony R’s is not the only very busy restaurant,” says Fabrizi. “It’s one of many very busy restaurants in this town, such as Three Birds, the Gaffer Grill, The Brewery, DeClementis, ’54, Sorges, Grill 1-2-5 at the Radisson, where the food is spectacular.” The “big city feel” is foreign to some guests, who don’t like the seared flavor, extra charge for side dishes, leisurely pace, or high

price tag. And, some locals were concerned about the impact a big new restaurant would have on existing restaurants. Maurina says Tony takes customers’ comments and criticism to heart. Tony himself jokes that he likes eating in the privacy of the vault. That way he can’t stress about every customer having a perfect evening. Despite the challenges, people are hungry, business is good, and Tony and Maurina are enjoying their grand restaurant adventure. “This is my passion and my hobby,” Tony says, flashing a big smile.

Alison Fromme is a freelance writer who blogs about food at ithacasfoodweb.com. She is a first-time contributor to Mountain Home magazine.

42nd Parallel

Winged Wonder and are a few survivors of a remarkable bird that the Indians and white men called Thunderbirds. They inhabit high mountain ranges and are seldom seen.” “Song, Saga and Susperstition of the West Branch Valley,” a 1965 Now and Then article by Robert H. Boyington, says the Thunderbird has a wingspread of thirty-five to forty feet, a flight speed of twenty miles per hour, and stealthily snatches victims, even a man, from behind, the prey unaware it is being stalked. The bird “carries the unfortunate victim to its nest, high in the mountains,” he wrote. “There the victim is eaten…The Thunderbird nests on mountain tops and finds the relatively flattened tops of Pennsylvania’s mountains ideally suited to its needs.” In the early 1990s, Pennsylvania State Police Officer John Skerchock and local businessman Lane Carpenter added the most intriquing modern evidence to the lore. The friends were enjoying an afternoon canoe trip between Eagleville East and the boat landing in Mill Hall, Clinton County, when an enormous shadow overhead blocked out the sun. “My first thought was that it was a glider, since the Julian glider port is a few miles in the other direction, but when I looked up my jaw dropped open,” wrote Skerchock via email. “I saw a very large bird gliding over the stream. It was at treetop level and its wings stretched the full width of the stream almost from tree to tree. The bird seemed to glide in slow motion as it turned its head ever so slowly. I didn’t see any feathers on it, which kind of bothered me at the time. It was gray in color with a long black beak. “When I talked to Lane, I said, ‘I don’t see

any feathers on it.’ And he said, ‘It’s a bird. It’s gotta have feathers on it,’” Skerchock said during a telephone interview. The enormous avian disappeared behind a bend in the creek, and, said Skerchock, “We paddled like crazy to get around the bend hoping it had landed, and we’d get to have another look at it. However, by the time we made the turn, the creature was gone. “We never saw it again. We went canoeing one more time before Lane came down with cancer, and we always talked about it. Lane thought it was some type of rare heron, but I thought it looked prehistoric, like a pterodactyl. It had a long, sharp beak and the back of its head looked almost pointed. Lane said, ‘It’s probably just an egret.’ And I said, ‘I’ve seen those things in zoos. I don’t think they get that big.’” Carpenter later succumbed to his illness. The friends never saw the bird again. But Skerchock, now retired from the state police barracks at Rockview, Centre County, hasn’t given up hope. “When I travel down that way I always keep my eye out, especially down toward the water, just in case I can see the bird again.” This column explores the strange mysteries and folklore of Pennsylvania and New York, a region linked by the 42nd Parallel. Forty-two degrees north of the equator, it crosses through our states’ boundary line on its way to other colorful points on the compass, including Erie, Pennsylvania; Chicago; the Gold Rush town of Yreka, California; Mother Teresa’s birthplace in Macedonia; and Genghis Kahn’s empty tomb in Inner Mongolia, not to mention the cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea, where it is said the Greek lord Aeolus kept the four winds.

Bill Crowell

ike eerie phantoms that can only be seen out of the corner of your eye before they vanish into the night, strange elusive creatures seem to lurk only in the world’s loneliest places: the Himalayas, Scotland’s Loch Ness, the thickly forested regions of the Pacific Northwest. The Abominable Snowman, the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch. Are they real—as many credible eyewitnesses claim—or simply tricks of the light, figments of the imagination? Today these creatures linger in the world of cryptozoology, the study of hidden animals, until such time as they can be scientifically proven to exist. Another such creature is a huge predatory bird large enough to pick up a small deer—or even a large man—and carry it away to its mountain lair to hungrily consume. The Thunderbird has been a part of the mythology and folklore of our isolated region for centuries. The creature has been seen by dozens of otherwise sober-minded individuals who swear the winged animal is as real as you and I. The late historian and folklorist Robert R. Lyman Sr., a Coudersport resident, was among the first to document Pennsylvania Thunderbird stories dating back to the early 1800s in Potter and Tioga counties. His 1973 book, Amazing Indeed, has become something of a classic in cryptozoological circles. The Thunderbird gets its name from the Indian legend of a flying monster so massive that its flapping wings produced thunder. But Lyman, for one, believed the animals were made of flesh and blood rather than myth. “Put aside the tall tales,” Lyman urged. “Disregard the denial of orthodox science. Be assured that there were

Matt Connor

Courtesy Brad Wilson (3)

O U t d o O rs

Art on a Hook

A Fisherman Is Caught by Fly Tying Fever By Brad Wilson

here is evidence of the existence of fly fishing dating to 1400 B.C. and possibly before that. The proof comes from a wall painting found in an Egyptian tomb that clearly shows a seated angler with a rod in hand to which are attached several strands of some type of line. At the end of the line, there is an unmistakable stonefly, which is a common insect that trout feed on. More investigating turns up some of the first trout-fishing flies to be nothing more than a simple hook with red wool wound around the hook, to which two 18

feathers from a rooster’s neck—which appear to be wax—are attached. Simple yet effective. Since then, fly tying has become a serious art form in which some flies are never intended to ever see water or, God forbid, a fish’s mouth. The art is in the beauty, not the bite, for art flies can take several hours to tie and can incorporate up to forty different materials. My own fly tying career first started twenty years ago when my wife bought a fly tying kit for me at Christmas. I can remember sitting there at a table looking

at all the material, tools, and hooks, and thinking to myself, “Well, I cannot see this gift being used much.” I could not have been more wrong! After seeking the advice from well-known Penn State fly fishing course professor George Harvey, and several vital tying lessons, I became obsessed with fly tying and its rich history. I started tying fishing flies intended to be fished and sometimes caught in the stream-side vegetation. The challenge was satisfying at first, but I needed to expand my artistic talents to a higher degree of tying. After some searching, I discovered

realistic fly tying. In this evolution of the art, flies are tied in such a way and with material that will give the fly the look of a “real” insect, right down to eyes and fangs if called for. This became my passion. After seeking out assistance from the pioneers in realistic tying, Poul Jorgenson and Bob Mead, I developed my own style of constructing these little works of art. Years later and after several opportunities to attend some of fly tying’s biggest symposiums, I have honed my art to where I have recently had some of my art flies used as props on the popular USA Network television show, Royal Pains. It was a real thrill for me to help turn what was once just a way to make flies to catch fish into a way to make fly tying art that others can appreciate and display. The list of flies and insects that I tie include wasps, spiders, beetles, dragonflies, and praying mantis to name a few. All of these flies are tied, not glued like models. The tying times can range from forty-five minutes to the five or six hours required to tie my eel-skinned crayfish. Most come

displayed under a glass dome diorama, with river rock, sand, and moss included. One of my favorite compliments happened at the International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset, New Jersey, years ago. At my table, which was one of sixty featuring some of the world’s best fly tyers, I had several finished domes and a few loose realistic flies displayed. One of the flies happened to be my very convincing hairy brown spider. I noticed a lady was making her way toward my table. I think she was expecting possibly nothing more than a nicely tied fancy fly. To her shock, there right next to her hand was—you guessed it—old hairy spider. Like many women of my acquaintance, she was not too fond of spiders. She let out a yell and she was gone! I tried to explain, “Ma’am, it is not real,” but she could not hear me over her screaming. I know to some it sounds a little mean, but I took this as a compliment. What more could I ask for? My flies were very convincing not only to me, but to the screaming lady running away. Success!

Brad Wilson is a self-described trout bum and fly tying artist who lives in Millerton, Pennsylvania. He is turning his attention to his writing and continues to chase his passion of fishing the fly in the mountains. He has two sons and has been married for twenty-one years and considers his wife his best catch.

Outdoors

The Lunker

Plying the Waters

Fred Metarko

t was a nice summer day to be on Hammond Lake doing a little fishing. This day I was the guide for daughter Lisa and grandsons Andy and Alex. When they visit it always means time on the boat. We stopped at some of my favorite spots, had some bites, and caught a few bass. Continuing on down the lake we were now fishing along Route 287 near the dam when the action picked up. Alex and Andy were working as a team. When one brought in a fish, the other one would lay his rod down and net his brother’s catch, then give him a high five. Lisa and I were kept busy helping them unhook and release their catch and supplying new baits. While Andy and Alex were totally into the action, Lisa and I enjoyed watching them as they had control of the moment. She was taking pictures, and I continued to dislodge hooks. Some hook removals required using pliers, which I would then toss to the seat, a place handy for the next use. When you take young anglers out for a day they usually do the unexpected. We lose equipment overboard, half of a rod ends up in the lake on a cast, or a new lure goes sailing across the lake and sinks out of sight. This was not the case today. Trying to remove a stubborn hook from a fish, I said, “Alex, hand me the needle nose pliers.” He handed me the pliers and went back to fishing. After removing the hook, I tossed the pliers to the passenger’s seat. They hit the edge of the seat, bounced off, landed on the boat rail, and disappeared into the water. Andy watched as they sank out of sight. Surprised, he said, “Grandpa, why did you throw your pliers in the lake?” The li’l Lunkers, Andy and Alex.

Kiddingly I answered, “They were old, rusty, and hard to use. Now I can buy a new pair. But don’t tell Grandma about this.” They both looked at me and, without a word, made another cast. After landing a few more bass we took a ride around the lake. Everyone was happy with the day. We were hungry and tired, so we headed home, hoping Grandma had made something good for supper. I don’t think the vehicle had completely stopped when Alex and Andy rushed into the house and in unison said, “Grandma, Grandpa threw his pliers in the lake.” “He did WHAT?” she replied with raised eyebrows. “He threw the pliers in the lake and said now he could buy some new ones,” they answered together, with big smiles on their faces. Grandma said, “Oh, Grandpa.” I was in hot lake water. I knew I had some explaining to do before I would be sitting down for that supper. Event: Kid’s Fishing Derby Date: Sunday, June 5, 2011 Time: 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Location: Lawrence Recreation Area, Cowanesque Lakes Information: (570) 827-2950

The Lunker is a member of the Tioga County Bass Anglers (www.tiogacountybassanglers.com). Contact him at lunker@mountainhomemag.com.

Outdoors

B o d y

S oul

Prime-Time ER Comes to Wellsboro Hospital’s New Building is Huge Advance

Story and Photography by Michael Capuzzo

ER,

not the long-running television show but the new, $12.7 million Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hospital emergency room, will debut this fall. As the big building at Grant and Central reshapes the Wellsboro skyline, Mountain Home got a sneak preview of what’s to come when the emergency expansion opens its doors sometime after Labor Day, when construction is due to be complete. What’s to come is a remarkable expansion of the hospital’s small, overcrowded, sub-standard emergency room into a state-of-the-art facility more than five times larger. The new ER will allow the hospital to serve more patients more efficiently with a higher level of care, according to doctors, nurses, and administrators. And, of course, unlike the NBC show, it’s not entertainment; there’s no more vital structure in Tioga County. “We’re the safety net for the community,” said Jan Fisher, the hospital’s president and CEO. “The emergency room is the last resort for the tired and sick and hungry. We’re open 365 days, 24 hours a day. We’re there for the really down-and-out, for people who have lost their jobs. We don’t turn anyone away. We provide care regardless of your ability to pay.” Fisher said the new Emergency Department, which will open sometime in the fall after the staff trains and gets accustomed to the new space in September, can’t come soon enough. Ninety percent of the hospital’s patients come from Tioga County, and with the county’s population growth, the gas industry influx, economic and health insurance uncertainties,

emergency room visits have surged. “We’re glad we started this a couple years ago,’ Fisher said. “We’re so busy— each month the emergency room volume is increasing.” The new emergency room was designed to serve expected growth from some 14,000 annual patient visits to more than 16,000, “and we’re almost there,” she said. “People who don’t have a primary physician come to the emergency room,” said nursing director Janie Hilfiger. “We get colds and flu, heart attack, trauma, everything.” And that’s not counting the 10,000 new residents the hospital expects to move into Tioga County in the next five years. A tour of the new ER, which occupies the entire first floor of the corner building, revealed the size of the space alone to be breathtaking. The new nurse’s station appears nearly as large as the old emergency room. The emergency room’s seven physicians and

Top: The new wing rises. Above: project manager Steve Kramer stands where the ER expansion joins the main building.

BOdY & SOUL

twenty-five nurses will be moving out of the narrow, 3,000-square-foot ER into the shining new 16,000-square-foot space. It’s the space equivalent of moving from an ordinary house to a couple of mansions. Improvements include sixteen private rooms (versus nine beds divided by curtains), new staff to decrease wait time and new technology including equipment to move obese patients in and out of bed, improved ability to maintain and control the flow of fresh air, and the ability to quarantine and better treat infectious patients or patients exposed to dangerous chemicals. There will be an adequate break room (as opposed to one tiny one) for the physicians and twentyfive nurses. Currently, the ER staff gets “no downtime at all” from their high-pressure work, Fisher said. There are two large new waiting areas for patients, replacing “six to eight chairs overflowing into the hall,” said Dr. Donald Shaw, medical director for emergency services. The current emergency room is as wide as a couple of bowling lanes. The new ER will feature a large nurse’s control station or “mission control” desk at the center of the

huge space, facing out on all four sides upon sixteen private rooms. In the old ER, some of the beds are six steps from the nurse’s station, where doctors and staff hush their voices, fearful of privacy concerns. The new ER’s rooms are private—as in rooms with walls and doors with windows. The $5.3 million second floor of the expansion is devoted to same-day surgery recovery and discharge. The hospital spent a year of planning trying to find a location to build other than the graceful, beloved Central Avenue front lawn with its towering trees. But when architect Robert Lack concluded that other sites would double the cost, and inspections revealed many of the old trees were dying, the difficult decision became inevitable, Fisher said. “It was incredibly important for our relationship with the community to make sure the expansion was not only medically state-of-the-art, but fit in beautifully, with attention to trees, landscaping, even the brick is matching. I think the community will be really, really happy with it—and even happier if they unfortunately have to use it.”

Body & soul

The Better World

Paradise Found John & Lynne Diamond-Nigh

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The Murder room The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael capuzzo

icnic, anyone? We’ll bring potato salad, fried chicken, Aunt Irma’s Almost Poisonous Green Jell-O Mash, and peach pie. Bring whatever you wish. In French—déjeuner sur l’herbe, lunch on the grass. A notorious painting of that name by Edouard Manet depicts several well-dressed city gents at ease in a woods with an overflowing picnic basket, and sitting in their midst, a naked woman. Stark naked. When the painting first appeared at an exhibition in Paris, it set off a righteous mêlée. A touch of genteel pornography is nothing new in art. But there’s also a perfumed whiff of Eve in Eden. If we see pornography, perhaps that’s our own prurient fault; what we should see is biblical innocence. Paradise: unwalled, face-rinsing, sun-lit air, wild flowers, abounding food, birds purring to Uncle Bob’s mandolin. Human innocence is that old. Eden itself. Hand in hand with this pastoral tradition goes a presumption of idleness that might seem at odds with the work ethic, the perpetual ball-bearing industriousness, that has shaped America. But this is not a layabout idleness. Thoreau, you may recall from your high school syllabus, went to live by himself in the woods so he could live life more slowly, more fully than he could in the village of Concord. In Elmira we invent our own Walden Ponds. We compose a draught

of this column then shelve it for a week in a cool, undisturbed cave of our brains to ferment. In short, languor is like the improving stillness of wine; it is a link between us and our creator, who wishes to lead us “beside still waters.” In creating our national or civic parks, we ordain the ruminative, sun-dappled, wide-roaming idleness that in turn allows us to breathe the essential oxygen of innocence and enchantment. But we’re in danger of losing this fertile idleness and with it, the long, antique loveliness of the pastorale itself. Could any of us even endure two hours of a picnic without webbing outward in a hundred digital filaments of flight? Day by day we grow more flighty, more fussing. A friend defines civility as hospitality of the soul. But first you must know what a soul is. And to know what a soul is, we need to feel the slow-ticking, introspective tranquility of a summer afternoon. Please pass the chicken. And heavens, grandma, put your clothes back on. John writes about art and design. Lynne’s website, aciviltongue.com, is dedicated to civility studies.

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A rts & L e i sure Larry Woodin at the wheel promoting his creation, the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

Welcome To Holly-Woodin

Showman Larry Woodin Brought Queens and Magic to Wellsboro By William A. Kovalcik Jr. & Michael Capuzzo

s night fell on June 6, 1938, America lingered in the shadow of the Great Depression. Hitler had conquered Austria, and was pushing the world to the brink of war. In a time in need of myths and heroes, Superman, who’d grown up with Ma and Pa Kent on a farm, flew into the comic books that year. On Broadway that evening, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town had debuted, telling the tragicomic story of mankind through a mythical Appalachian town of 3,000 in New Hampshire. But at that hour even the stages of the Great White Way were dark. In a real small town of 3,000, in the Appalachian chain of Pennsylvania, ringed by the vastest and darkest remaining forest in the East, the few blocks of Main Street were ablaze in lights. The windows of the 26

four-story Penn Wells Hotel gleamed with light and the silhouetted figures of a grand party. The marquee of the Arcadia Theater was emblazoned in bright white with The Adventures of Robin Hood, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, and Vivacious Lady, starting Jimmy Stewart as a small-town professor who brings wild city dancer Ginger Rogers home to meet dad. In the flickering glow of the gaslights was reflected the softer white radiance of thousands of mountain laurels. The state flower adorned each shopkeeper’s window, along with photographs of beauty queens—all thirty-eight of them. In the shadowy reflections of the windows elephants marched down Main, swaying with circus magicians on their backs like Rajas. The movie house was thronged far into the night, but not for a film. This fantasy was real.

At the stroke of midnight on the stage of the Arcadia, Phyllis Viola of McKees Rocks, a statuesque brunette wearing a long white gown and clutching a silver chalice, her hair falling in ringed locks like a mythological figure, was crowned Pennsylvania’s first Queen of the Laurel. Her mother and her high school sweetheart, her chaperones, let out a cheer echoed by thousands. The band struck up a tune composed specially for that evening, “Meet Me in Pennsy:” Meet me in Pennsy, when the laurel is in bloom, And a silhouette of love on the moon will be up in the sky; Meet me in Pennsy, where it’s paradise in June, And the silhouette of love on the moon will be just you and I. See Woodin on page 28

arts & leisure

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arts & leisure

Larry Woodin with Roy Rogers.

Woodin continued from page 26

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In the crowds that evening stood the lanky, splendidly garbed figure of the impresario of the parade, the circus, the “Queens of the Laurel,” the creator (after the Ice Age) of the “Pennsylvania Grand Canyon,” the master smalltown showman Larry Woodin, the man who went to Hollywood chasing a fleeting dream and came home again to make history, to invent Wellsboro. Born in 1904 in Schuylkill County, to William and Elizabeth Woodin, Larry Woodin was born into a showman’s family. Graduated from Towanda High School in Bradford County in 1922, he was valedictorian of his graduating class at Mansfield Normal School in 1925, and became manger of Wellsboro’s Arcadia theater, owned by his father, in 1926. With Larry Woodin at the helm, in 1929, the Arcadia became one of the first theatres north of the Mason-Dixon Line to start showing “talkies.” In 1934, Woodin started showing films on Sundays, which met with concern from some of the town residents. In 1949 the theatre held its first premiere—Top o’ the Morning, starring Bing Crosby. Larry Woodin also built the Y Drive-In in 1951 (which closed in 1986). A free Christmas morning matinee for the kids, including a free box of candy, was a Woodin tradition started in 1926. In 1956, he said 45,000 kids had watched fifty miles of film and eaten fifteen tons of candy. In 1936, Larry Woodin was spinning Hollywood dreams at the Arcadia— from After the Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy to Gene Autry in Red River Valley—when he had the idea to promote the Pine Greek Gorge outside of town as “The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.” Skeptics hooted, but with support from the chamber of commerce and mayor, Larry insisted it sounded more grandiose, and would attract more visitors and— ultimately—commerce to his adopted hometown. Larry found a handsome kid with a nice black car. Larry and the mayor of the borough painted the black car red, and emblazoned it with the legend: Come See the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. 1000 ft. deep. 50 miles wide. Two

arts & leisure

handpicked young men lit out from Wellsboro, wearing red hats and capes as they drove to Erie, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Scranton, and Philadelphia promoting the canyon’s natural wonders. The publicity campaign included sending two young girls on a bus, traveling 4,500 miles around the country, to cities like Chicago and New York, and 13,000 people visited the canyon on the fourth of July that year. The following year more visitors came to the canyon than visited Yellowstone National Park. By the summer of 1941, the Canyon’s popularity had soared, and a piece of American culture formed. The tourism bureau received a reported 18,000 requests for pamphlets about the Canyon in a ten-day period. Everyone from The Esso Road News to the New York Daily News was touting touring in Pennsylvania Canyon Country. Two years later, in 1938, Woodin crowned his canyon idea with the first Laurel Festival, the event he created and named after the Pennsylvania state flower, the mountain laurel. He continued to function as Master of Ceremonies until 1948. His stated purpose in organizing the Laurel Festival, which was originally primarily a beauty contest, was to send home a multitude of visitors to urge their friends to come to Wellsboro and the Canyon to see the laurel in the month of June, when it blooms. He brought a parade, a circus, the laurel boughs, the wholesome pretty girls, and dignitaries to town to crown the queen, and scores of visitors followed. What began as a weekend event centered on a beauty pageant has turned into a weeklong celebration, recognized officially in 1999 by the Governor and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as The Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival. In April 1944, Woodin had secured a job with Republic Pictures, in Hollywood, as head of studio publicity. Shortly after the Woodins left Wellsboro, Larry started writing a weekly column for The Wellsboro Gazette, “Holly-Woodin by Larry.” “Have two pictures in production now, Flame of the Barbary Coast with John Wayne . . . and Brazil with Tito Guizar,” he wrote. “I can recommend both of these before they are finished for they sure look like hits.” In 1947, the movie Unconquered, starring Gary Cooper, filmed some shots out at the Canyon, allegedly due to Larry’s influence. The film was by Cecil B. DeMille, and was about Fort Pitt. Background shots for the title sequence were shot in the Canyon in June of 1946. The Woodins were only in California for about a year when William Woodin, Larry’s father, needed Larry to run the Arcadia, the family business in Wellsboro. Larry came home and ran the Arcadia and also went back to school and became a legendary teacher of American history at Wellsboro High School from 1956 until 1972. In 1968, Wooden retired from the theater business, selling the Y Drive-In to Frank Dunham. He had already sold the Arcadia to Dunham in 1958. Larry died on June 26, 1982, at the age of 78, and was remembered as the man who put Wellsboro on the map. The next year, the 1983 Laurel Festival was held in his honor. In his “Holly-Woodin” columns, he wrote, “Things I miss…Free movies (they’re 85 cents out here) . . . a coke with the boys about 10 every morning . . . mowing my big lawn . . . knowing everybody you meet on the street . . . trout fishing . . . kiddies all calling me Larry . . . choir practice . . . and all of you… “…hope you don’t forget me.” Don’t worry, Larry. We won’t.

This story is condensed from Mountain Home’s first year, the June 2006 cover story.

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F oo d

Dr i n k

Brewhaha in Mansfield Yorkholo Brew Pub Thrives with Local Flavor By Kevin Cummings

Photography by Sarah Wagaman

n a brick-walled Mansfield, Pennsylvania, brew pub named for a local dairy farm, locals drain glasses of Dead River American Amber Ale brewed by a local man with local cascade hops in the three shining steel tanks right by the door. Music from a local blue-grass band floats out over the long, local-built wooden bar behind the plate glass window stamped with the mug of local farmer Ralph York. Each glass of the hoppy fresh Dead River brew honors the recovering Tioga River, once polluted but now flowing wide right out back. For folks whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve long dreamed of a local brew-pub, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get much more local than the three-barrel Yorkholo Brewing Company at 14 N. Main Street in Mansfield. 33

Food & Drink

“We’re all about local,” said Jarrod York, 27, who with fellow local, his girlfriend, Ashley Rogers, 23, opened the restaurantpub in February. The startup brew pub is thriving, they said. Yorkholo joins a restaurant renaissance in Mansfield, the crossroads town of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, and a dining-out boom in the county driven by population growth. The growth is the advancing army of wellpaid, well-fed gas-industry roughnecks and executives working a long way from home and eating out most nights. “We were worried about opening during the winter months, but it wasn’t a problem,” said Ashley, who has three years studying business at Mansfield University under her belt. “The influx of gas workers has helped, and we get a lot of Mansfield University staff and professors as well.” Jarrod named the place after Yorkholo Dairy, the farm started by his family in 1861 in the nearby dot-on-the-map of Bungy. The pub’s logo is the long, bespectacled, honest face of Jarrod’s farmer-grandfather

Ralph York, who worked Yorkholo Dairy. That’s prounounced “York Hollow Dairy,” by the way, and “York Hollow Brewing Company,” Jarrod says. Way back in the original York Hollow the government man said a farm wasn’t allowed to have such a long name, thus “Yorkholo.” The idea for a brew-pub originated with Jarrod’s mother Bonnie, who once operated a hair salon in the building. Jarrod left the National Guard in 2007 and, well, hopped right to it. He attended brewing school in Vermont for five months of hands-on training and online schooling. He worked at the Ithaca Brewing Company for a year and a half, building his brewmaster credentials. The gleaming pub is the result of a lot of hard work, family work. Jarrod and Ashley chipped away plaster to expose brick walls and a massive brick arch. Then they uncovered and restored the hardwood floors as well as tables and chairs and a thirty-twofoot bar. Jarrod’s brothers, Thad and Heath, See Brew on page 38 Top: Jarrod York. Bottom: Ashley Rogers.

Food & Drink

Restaurants Enjoy the region’s comprehensive restaurant listings. From our Finger Lakes wineries to Williamsport’s good eats to the fertile Pennsylvania heartland in between, we’re famous for our regional specialties and love to eat. For listing information please email Dawn Bilder at dawnb@ mountainhomemag.com or call (570) 7243838. Also look for restaurant listings at www. mountainhomemag.com. Bon appetit!

Pennsylvania Bradford County Canton KELLEY’S CREEK SIDE RESTAURANT Kelley’s offers $4 breakfast and $6 lunch specials every day, and they are open for dinner Wed-Sun. They specialize in home-style cooking like their prime rib and serve homemade desserts like chocolate peanut butter pie and muffins. (570) 673-4545, 1026 Springbrook Dr, www.urbanspoon.com

Lycoming County Williamsport WEGMAN’S Wegman’s Market Café features freshly-made foods ranging from quick grabs like pizza, subs, and Asian classics to comfort-food favorites, salads, and sandwiches. Come try our family-friendly foods at budget-friendly prices. 201 William St, (570) 320-8778, wegmans.com.

Tioga County Blossburg MOMMA’S Momma’s offers a full menu and specializes in homestyle cooking. They have daily specials and the area’s best baby back ribs on Saturdays. Steak Night is on Thursdays. They also cater to rigs. (570) 638-0270, 102 Granger St.

Liberty BLOCKHOUSE CAFÉ Blockhouse Café is open for breakfast and lunch and on Friday nights, serving homemade and home-style meals, including desserts. It’s a unique café with good food, great company, and a place where you always get your money’s worth. (570) 324-2041, 31 Willow St.

Mansfield EDDIE’S RESTAURANT Eddie’s offers homestyle cooking with homemade daily specials. Their specialties include hot roast beef sandwiches and chicken & biscuits, both served with real mashed potatoes. They have homemade pies and serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (570) 662-2972, 2103 S. Main St. PAPA V’S PIZZERIA & RESTAURANT Papa V’s offers a wide variety of hand tossed New York Style thin-crust pizza, a multitude of hot and cold sandwiches, fresh ½ pound Angus burgers, and delicious homemade Italian dishes for lunch and dinner. 12 N. Main St, (570) 662-2651, www. papavpizzeria.com. 35

Food & Drink

Finger Lakes Wine Review

Rat Meets Red Holly Howell

Unforgettable wines in an unforgettable setting Taste truly memorable wines in our welcoming tasting room overlooking spectacular Seneca Lake. Visit our website and facebook page for details on our exciting summer events and new releases!!

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he Finger Lakes is home to some of the greatest cheeses and wines in the country (spoken like a true New York State resident). However, I must mention a beloved cheese that is made just outside of the Finger Lakes, yet well within reach for sharp cheddar addicts. It is one of the state’s most sought-after and worshipped artisinal products. It is called River Rat. Now don’t let the name give you the wrong first impression. It is not made by Rats. But it is made down by the river—specifically from the lush milk of cows that graze in the beautiful St. Lawrence River Valley that runs through Jefferson County in the Thousand Islands. Gold Cup Farms is the creator of this famous cheese, and it has certainly made a name for itself since the dairy was founded more than a century ago. River Rat is available is styles from mild to medium to sharp. But the ultimate winner for me is the XXX Sharp “3 Year Old” Rat. It rocks my world. Cheddar lovers will agree that a great cheddar is full of intensity and depth of flavor, with a finish that lasts in your mouth for many memorable moments after the last bite. To achieve this, it takes a few years of aging, during which the moisture in the cheese evaporates, concentrating the inherent taste of the cheese and making it more complex. This type of aging can create an accompanying texture that is crumbly and grainy. However, River Rat is unique in that it retains its creamy texture while delivering the taste of an incredibly mature cheese. To pair with this oh-so-savory Rat, you’ll

need a wine that packs a punch—one that is able to stand up to that wallop of cheddar sharpness. Just the thing comes in a package called “Meritage,” a term that describes an American wine made from a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot (with malbec and petite verdot often thrown into the mix). These are the classic grapes of Bordeaux, France, which are now growing happily right here in the US of A. One of my favorite wines comes from Ravines Wine Cellars, a winery which lies on the glacier-carved eastern coast of Keuka Lake. For anyone who still doubts the ability of cooler climates to produce competitive reds, Ravines Meritage ($25) is sure to convert you. This wine is full of intensity and depth of flavor, with a finish that lasts in your mouth for many memorable moments after the last sip. Sound familiar? Yes, sharp cheddars and dry reds wines can be described in very similar ways. When they are enjoyed together, they can balance each other in the most wonderful way. The sharpness of the cheddar is tamed by the fruit of the wine, while the dryness of the wine is tamed by the rich protein of the cheese. It is a magical chemical reaction on the palate, which I like to describe by the formal term: totally yummy. Holly earned her CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine) from the Society of Wine Educators, and her CS (Certified Sommelier) from the Master Court of Sommeliers in England; contact her at wineanddine@mountainhomemag.com.

Food & Drink

Brew continued from page 34

chipped in, along with his mother and his father, a contractor, to turn the long space into a brew house with equipment to make both light lagers and heavier ales. “The biggest challenge has been in the kitchen,” Ashley said. “Neither of us had any restaurant experience. Two weeks before we opened we lost our head chef and had to hire a new one.” The Yorkholo Brewing Company has a full lunch and dinner menu including appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and a selection of entrees. A recent Monday night dinner special was prime rib with choice of potato and peas and a side salad for $19.95; a Monday lunch special was a ham and cheese sandwich with housemade tomato soup for $5.50—both advertised on the brew pub’s Facebook page and Web site. Local starts at the tap. One of the most popular brews is Heifer Hefewiezen, a name that describes a traditional German style wheat beer as well as making a playful tribute to dairy cattle. The Bungy Blonde Ale is named for the hamlet in the east part of the county where the Yorkholo family farm is located. In addition to the Dead River ale, there’s Coal Miner Black I.P.A., a nod to the men who built much of the county, and Pine Creek Raspberry Wheat, a fruity, unfiltered wheat beer. The dark, rich Night & Day Coffee Porter is named for the popular Mansfield Night & Day coffee shop just across the street on the corner. Indeed, twenty pounds of Night & Day coffee beans are steeped and added during secondary fermentation. Local means green. “We’re planning on installing a rain collection unit for toilet flushing,” Jarrod said, who has a degree in

environmental biology. “We try to go green when it’s feasible. Our carryout containers and straws are 100 percent biodegradable.” Local tastes better, too. The fresh malt and barley come from New York state and go into five fermentation vessels. It’s a small operation but pure; York won’t use the rice and corn fillers of the giant beer makers. There’s a baker on staff to make all the bread. Jarrod and Ashley carry Pennsylvania wines and even make their own orange cream soda and root beer. Supporting local farmers is important to them, so they use as many local ingredients as possible, including burgers and steaks from Hillstone Farms in Wellsboro. And they listen to their customers, who demanded that Dead River ale, briefly removed from the menu, make a comeback along the wide river it honors. Kevin Cummings is a professional musician and a stay-at-home dad.

Food & Drink

Restaurants , cont. WRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEST Wrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nest has live music every Wed. night from 6-9. Specialties include crab cakes, steaks, and pastas. They make homemade desserts including lemon meringue ice cream pie and crĂ¨me brule (sampler). (570) 662-1093, 102 West Wellsboro St, www. wrensnestpa.com.

Mansfield Fast Food MCDONALDS (570) 662-7077, 120 N Main St. WENDYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S (570) 662-7511, 1580 S Main St. KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN (570) 662-2558, 1320 S Main St. TACO BELL (570) 662-2558, 1320 S Main St. ARBYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S (570) 662-7626, 1672 S Main St.

Morris BABBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CREEK INN & PUB Babbâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Creek Inn & Pub specializes in Seafood and Prime Rib, which is available every night, except Tuesdays when the restaurant is closed. Reservations are appreciated for parties of 8 or more. Located at the intersection of Rtes. 287 & 414, (570) 3536881, www.babbscreekinnandpub.com.

Trout Run BITTNERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GENERAL STORE Hot and cold 18â&#x20AC;? subs, specialties are Italian and cheese steak. Pizzas, homemade salads, pastas, and hot foods. Fresh meats, cold cuts, and our own lean ground hamburger. Camping supplies and propane. (570) 998-8500, located at the junction of Rt. 14 and Rt. 15 in Trout Run, PA, bittnersinc@aol.com. FRY BROS. TURKEY RANCH Original turkey dinners & complete menu. Established business since 1886. Restaurant and convenience store. At the top of Steam Valley Mountain, elevation 1,704 ft. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, & dinner. Gifts and souvenirs. 27 Rt. 184 Hwy, (570) 998-9400.

Wellsboro CAFĂ&#x2030; 1905 Classic coffee house located in Dunhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department Store. Proudly serving StarbucksÂŽ coffee, espresso, FrappuccinoÂŽ, TazoÂŽ tea plus delicious freshly baked pastries, homemade soups, artisan sandwiches and ice cream. Free wi-fi. (570) 724-1905, Inside Dunhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department Store, 45 Main St. DUMPLING HOUSE CHINESE RESTAURANT Dumpling House specializes in Hunan, Cantonese, and Szechuan Cuisine. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family owned and operated and located on beautiful Main Street in Wellsboro. You may dine in or carry out. (570) 724-4220, 31 Main St.

To advertise in the food section call

570-724-38385

THE FROG HUT The Frog Hut serves favorites like Texas hots, fried chicken, and Philly cheese steaks. They offer homemade soups and salads, and for dessert, try their soft serve ice cream, Italian ice, sundaes, and other ice cream treats. (570) 724-4450, 132 Tioga St. MARY WELLS ROOM AND PENN WELLS

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Food & Drink

Recipe for Happiness

Baking Classics

Cornelius O’Donnell

’m only an ocassional baker, but I can recommend two classic dessert books with great confidence: Maida Heatter’s first cookbook, the Book of Great Desserts, and Richard Sax’s Classic Home Desserts. A Heatter classic for strawberry season is Fresh Strawberries with Sour Cream. Recipe serves 4. 2 pint boxes (2 pounds) fresh strawberries 2 cups thick sour cream 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed Wash the berries, remove the stems and hulls, drain and dry, then place in a wide, shallow serving bowl. Cover with the cream and smooth the top. Sprinkle the sugar over the cream. Refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours. The secret of this dessert is to handle the cream as little as possible so it remains thick. Makes 4 to 6 portions. A favorite recipe of mine from Richard Sax is Lemon Pudding Cake. This is, as the author points out, “almost soufflélike.” Recipe serves 4. 3/4 cup sugar ¼ cup all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt 3 large eggs, separated 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (use a Microplane if possible) ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (zest first then cut the lemon and juice) 1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Butter a 1to 1-1/2-quart shallow baking dish, such

as a 9-inch oval gratin dish or an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside. 2. In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice; pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until blended. 3. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until they form soft peaks. Fold a little of the egg whites into the lemon mixture; gently fold in the remainder. 4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Place the baking dish in a slightly larger roasting pan; set on the center rack of the oven. Pour in enough hot tap water to reach about halfway up the sides of the baking dish. 5. Bake until the surface of the pudding is lightly golden, about 35 minutes. (The bottom layer will still be quite liquid.) Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. 6. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature, spooning up some of the top and the “sauce” from the bottom for each portion. Chef, teacher, and author Cornelius O’Donnell lives in Corning, New York.

Food & Drink

Restaurants , cont. LOUNGE Located in historic Penn Wells Hotel, full service restaurant and lounge feature an extensive menu of fine steaks, seafood, pasta, gourmet sandwiches, fresh burgers, desserts. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. (570) 724-2111, 62 Main St, www.pennwells.com. THE NATIVE BAGEL The Native Bagel offers bagels made fresh daily, gourmet coffee, deli sandwiches, soups and salads, and homemade desserts. Bagels are mixed, kneaded, rolled, boiled, and baked onsite. All soups, breads, and baked items are “made from scratch.” 1 Central Ave, (570) 724-0900, www.nativebagel.com. PAG-O-MAR Pag-O-Mar offers subs, salads, and deli sandwiches at the head of the Wellsboro Junction Rail Trail, across from the Tioga Central tour train station. They also offer soft custard and Hershey’s hard ice cream. And there’s a farmer’s market in season. (570) 724-3333, 222 Butler Rd. (just past junction of Rts. 6 & 287). SUBWAY “Eat Fresh.” (570) 724-1424, 63 Main St, www.acornmarkets.com. THE STEAK HOUSE The Steak House has been serving the finest steaks and seafood since 1957. Whether you want a black angus hamburger or a cold water lobster tail, there’s something for the whole family in a true Wellsboro atmosphere. 29 Main St, (570) 724-9092, www.thesteakhouse.com. TERRY’S HOAGIES Terry’s Hoagies makes the best hoagies in town. They specialize in both hot and cold hoagies, and bake their bread and potato, macaroni, and pasta salads fresh daily. Hoagie trays and meat & cheese platters available. (570) 724-7532, 7 Charleston St, www.terryshoagies.com. TIOGA CENTRAL RAILROAD All aboard Tioga Central Railroad! Take a scenic ride while enjoying dinner on Saturday night or Sunday brunch. Wine and beer available. See website for menu selection. (570) 724-0990, 11 Muck Rd, www. tiogacentral.com. TONY’S ITALIAN CUISINE Come to Tony’s for homemade cooking and family recipes, fresh dough and homemade bread made daily, pasta dishes, and special pizzas like steak pizza, Sicilian pizza, and their 3-cheese pizza. It’s family-owned and run, and they offer lunch and dinner specials. (570) 7242090, 3 Main St. WEST END MARKET CAFÉ “Globally inspired, locally sourced.” A place of nourishment and respite, celebrating local food & creativity. We feature fresh, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible & Fair Trade coffee products. (570) 605-0123, 152 Main St, www. westendmarketcafe.wordpress.com.

Wellsboro Fast Food MCDONALDS (570) 724-2151, 9 Charleston St.

Food & Drink

Mother Earth

Webster Defines Natural Gayle Morrow

ike many Tioga County residents before him, Todd Webster grew up, went to school, and left the area. Then, after a few years and a few thousand miles, he, like many Tioga County residents before him, came back home. And with all that threatens farms and farmers these days, he came back home to make a living from the land, from Hillstone Farms. If you’ve had a burger from the Frog Hut or Wellsboro’s West End Market Café, Ansonia’s Burnin’ Barrel, or Mansfield’s new brew pub, Yorkholo Brewing Company, then you’ve had Hillstone Farms beef. Good, wasn’t it? “We didn’t just get up one day and decide to sell meat,” Todd said. “Dad had been doing it for years, so this was just an extension of that.” His great-grandpa was a doctor who, on occasion, accepted land as payment for services. Todd is the fourth generation of Websters to work these sometimes steep, sometimes rolling, and, right now, so, so verdant, acres in Delmar Township. Todd, 32, graduated from Penn State in 2001 with a bachelors degree in animal science, worked on a cattle ranch in New Mexico as an intern, inspected meat in Vermont. About six years ago his wanderings brought him home to be “kind of in charge” of the farm’s existing market for halves and quarters of beef. That evolved into a presence at the local farmers’ markets and the realization that while a lot of people want to buy locally raised meat, most aren’t interested in purchasing three hundred pounds. So Todd works with Bryan’s Meat Cutting in East Smithfield to provide Hillstone Farms packaged beef, pork, and chicken to market. Todd’s partner, Jessica Darrow, handles the fowl end of the business, even the butchering. They met when Jess, 27, was

working at The Burnin’ Barrel. She taught at Liberty High School until spring when she went on maternity leave to give birth to their baby, Taitt, two months old. The chickens live in chicken tractors, moveable enclosures that give the birds daily access to fresh grass and bugs and ground to scratch. The pigs, like the cattle and the chickens, live outside in a pasture rotation program. With plenty to drink and eat, no overcrowding or stress, and lots of fresh air, the animals on Hillstone Farms’ fields are healthy and drug-free, which means the meat you eat also is healthier and drugfree. That’s important to Todd’s restaurant customers. If it’s important to you, you can find Hillstone Farms meat at the Mansfield Growers Market, the new Wellsboro Farmers Market Thursday afternoons 3 to 6 p.m. at the First Presybterian Church, and at Pag-OMar Farm Market north of Wellsboro. The work doesn’t leave much time for leisure, Todd admits. But that doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining. “They’re eating roots, brush, everything,” he smiles, as he watches the pigs. “They’ve got a little plow right on the end of their nose.” Laughing, he adds, “Who needs cable TV when you¹ve got a bunch of pigs?” Gayle Morrow, former reporter and editor at the Wellsboro Gazette, supplies the eggs from a farm to the West End Market Café in Wellsboro where she works as “Jenny’s Helper.”

Food & Drink

Restaurants , cont. Westfield ACORN #10 FEATURING SUBWAY “Eat Fresh.” (814) 367-2610, 465 E Main St, www. acornmarkets.com.

Potter County Coudersport FEZZ’S DINER Fezz’s offers daily specials. They serve breakfast all day, every day. Senior discounts are on Thursday nights. They offer fresh homemade pies and cakes along with other desserts. And every day they have homemade soups. (814) 274-3399, 13 Ice Mine Rd.

Galeton ACORN #25 FEATURING SUBWAY “Eat Fresh.” (814) 435-6626, 3 West St, www.acornmarkets.com.

New York Steuben County Addison ACORN #10 FEATURING SUBWAY “Eat Fresh.” (607) 359-2603, 121 Front St, www. acornmarkets.com.

Corning RADISSON HOTEL CORNING Grill 1-2-5 serves creative regional specialties: small plates, grilled sandwiches, and tender filet mignon. The Steuben Bar offers appetizers, light meals, your favorite beverages, and is known for the best martini in the city! 125 Denison Parkway East, (607) 9625000, www.radisson.com/corningny.

Wayland ACORN #16 FEATURING SUBWAY “Eat Fresh.” (585) 728-3840, 2341 Rt. 63, www. acornmarkets.com.

Finger Lakes Hammondsport MALONEY’S PUB Maloney’s Pub offers live music year round. Come show your talent or view other local talent at their open mics on Thursdays, or lounge around and play pool at their pool table. They also have pub merchandise available. (607) 569-2264, 57 Pulteney St, www. maloneyspub.com.

Watkins Glen CAPTAIN BILL’S Discover the beauty of Seneca Lake. Dine afloat aboard the Seneca Legacy or on the waterfront at Seneca Harbor Station. Saturday night dinner cruises sail from 6-9 p.m. Open 7 days. (607) 535-4541, 1 N Franklin St, www.senecaharborstation.com.

Home & real estate

Store will renovate a Wellsboro house, free of charge By Sarah Bull

Photography by Sarah Wagaman

all it Extreme Makeover: Wellsboro Edition. On the hit ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, carpenter-turned-TV host Ty Pennington and his crew completely renovate the homes of families in need, at no cost to the family. Now Darren and Shannon Kennedy, owners of the Kennedy Home Center in Wellsboro, are planning to provide one deserving homeowner in the borough of Wellsboro with a complete external makeover of their house free of charge. Kennedy Home Center will provide all of the materials for the project and arrange for local contractors to complete44 the renovations. “We were trying to find a way to give back,” Darren says. “This is our gift to the community for their support of our store.” After the Kennedy’s bought Patterson’s Home Center in August 2009, they were determined to continue to provide their community with the service-oriented home improvement store that the previous owner, Dave Patterson, had created. Patterson had set the example of community service even down to the sale of the business. As mandated in Patterson’s will, all proceeds from the sale of Patterson’s Home Center were donated to a special charity established with those funds. The Kennedy Home Makeover is scheduled to be a two-day project completed by the end of June. Darren and Shannon have already selected the recipient of this year’s home makeover, though they have not yet made the announcement. They were putting together the final details of the makeover in late May as they also worked overtime to send a stream of building supplies to the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital’s emergency-room expansion project, just a few blocks away in Wellsboro. “All of the applicants were really deserving, but there was one in particular that really touched us,” See Kennedy on page 53

Real estate

COUNTRY LIVING AT ITS BEST! This home features new windows, new siding and a newer roof situated on a 1 acre lot. The interior has a nice, larger kitchen, an updated bathroom and 100-year old hardwood floors throughout. The home is close to town and to Hills Creek State Park...perfect and ready for you. Call today to schedule a tour. REF#10279 $110,000

Three Bedroom Camp on 2 Acres - Well maintained 3 bedroom camp on 2+ acres in the woods. Property has a privy. No indoor plumbing but there is a claw foot bathtub, sink and composting toilet in bath room. REF#10291 $69,900

Two homes for a great opportunity - Great opportunity to own a charming log home and a mobile home on 2 different deeds, but can be bought together. The log home has a great room, fireplace, newer windows and kitchen and is ready to move into. The mobile home needs some work but has potential. Check MLS#â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 120776 & 120757 for details. REF#10295 $135,000

Former Campground - This former campground has 2 pavilions with fireplaces, 2 tennis courts, basketball court, barns, old Sugar house, bathhouse, playground equipment, fishing stream and much more. This could be a family recreational center. 16.31 acres of pure outstanding investment potential! REF#10297 . . .$110,000

Your very own Country Store! Thinking of retiring to the country? Here is a small country store with gas pump and small restaurant! Located in the mountains of PA., near Kettle Creek, a fishermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise! The upstairs has a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, roomy apartment with a deck to sit and relax on!

Perfect Starter Home - Well maintained 2 bedroom, 1 bath home with a 1 car, detached garage, an above ground pool and a basement with extra living space! REF#10306 . . .$59,000

Acreage Acreage Acreage! Loads of potential in this 292 acres that is close to the college town of Mansfield, Pa. Ideal for building your perfect home or developing. Zoned Residential/agricultural, with mostly wooded acres. The wooded acres contain marketable timber. REF#10303 . . .$999,900

Check out the progress of this in town home currently undergoing a complete update and renovation at baileyhollowlandco.com. In-town home in Wellsboro with an out in the country feel. Perfectly located, wonderful yard and a stream running in the back. 3 BR, 3 BA , completely updated bathrooms with tile floors, new carpet throughout.. Kitchen will have new custom cabinets, new laminate floor and all new appliances. REF#10290 $235,000

List with me today!

Real estate

Chris Gilbert - Realtor 570-404-1268 or chris.gilbert@yahoo.com

HUNTING OR RECREATIONAL - 33+/ACRES – DEERFIELD TWP Enjoy great views from this country lot! This would be great for your new home or camp. Mixture of woods and open, great for hunting. JUST $99,900 120887-M

OWN YOUR OWN MOUNTAIN TOP!!! 143 ACRES – JACKSON TWP. A great investment with 5 perc approved lots. Build your home or homes here. Enjoy the views, the pond, and quiet country living. GREAT INVESTMENT! ONLY $439,900 120879-M

100% of OGMS TRANSFER - OGMS CONVEY!!! Enjoy the outdoors on this 10 acre parcel which includes a 1296 sq ft mobile home. Great place for your camp or your new home, property has been approved for on-lot septic system. ONLY $99,900 120872-M

LOOKING FOR A PROJECT? 118 acres located in Charleston Township. Two story home is a fixer upper, 3 Bedrooms, 1 bath, with 1 car garage. Farm land has been cut for hay in previous years. ONLY $489,000 120867-M

START A FARMETTE - WESTFIELD TWP – 25+/- ACRES on RTE 49. Build your home or camp here. Room for livestock, mix of open and woods. COME TAKE A LOOK! ONLY $59,900 120862-M

RETAIL SPACE AVAILABLE - GREAT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY & LOCATION!! Located in the business district of Coudersport building has 4982 sq ft of retail space and 4 apartments on the second floor. Separate entrance for apartments. Building is formally a JC Penny store. JUST $250,000 120894-M

ACCESS! CONVENIENCE! LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! Great commercial property along RTE 6 and Whitneyville Road. Offering shop/offices, showroom, and 4 bedrooms. Property has 5.23 acres. Home could be lived in or rented out for income. ONLY $1,190,000 120850-M

RANCH HOME - BEAUTIFUL RANCH HOME – WELLSBORO 5.49+/- Acres only minutes from town. Oak trim and hardwood floors accent this home. Large finished family room in the basement, 2-car attached garage, 40x96’ steel building on lot. Come check out this view!! ONLY $359,900 120651-M

RANCH HOME - RANCH HOME This ranch home features 3BR, 1bath, stone exterior, oversized 2-car garage with large workshop on 28+/- acres. A mix of woods and field for the farmer and/or hunter. ONLY $184,900 120425-M

GORGOUS HOME A MUST SEE!! GORGEOUS PARK LIKE SETTING!!RICHMOND TWP Majestic home offers master suite, unbelievable decking, huge open kitchen, attached over sized 2 car garage, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, & fireplace. Just minutes from town yet private. Just $449,000 120392-M

SPACIOUS WELL BUILT HOME! Kitchen has recent updates and a skylight, dining room has large bay window with a view of the back yard. Great floor plan with 4 BR, 2 & ½ baths and plenty of storage. Fruit trees, blueberry bushes and a fenced vegetable garden. Sun room with hot tub and a 2 car attached garage with extra storage. OGMS convey!! JUST $299,900 120410-M

ONE OF A KIND!! OGMS INCLUDED!! 3 BR, 2 bath farm house and operating dairy farm. Barns & outbuildings all impeccably maintained, great rolling cropland. Road frontage on two roads, possible access to public sewer. ONLY $995,000 120362-M

ENJOY THE VIEWS & SUNSET - Great mountain home in Jackson Twp. Awesome Views! Finished walk out basement, wraparound deck, pool, and horse barn on nearly 5 acres. Great open floor plan, finished basement, master suite/loft. Just $349,900 119028-M

PRIVATE OASIS ON 2.66 ACRES JACKSON TWP - 3 bedroom split level with 1.5 baths and unmatched private country setting offers over sized 2-car garage with heated/insulated shop! OGMS transfer! No lease! Convenient to Elmira/Troy/Mansfield. Just $191,900 118889-M

160 ACRE POTTER COUNTY FARM!! 160+/ACRES FARM IN POTTER COUNTY. Great Views!! 117 Stalls, pipeline, milking system and spacious farmhouse with attached 2-car garage. Several outbuildings. Own a piece of “God’s Country” whether you want to farm, hunt, or just get our in the country. This is a great investment. $425,000 120810-M

CHARMING 60’S RANCH HOME WELLSBORO quiet neighborhood, large lot at the edge of town. Home features a blue stone fireplace in a spacious living room, gorgeous maple wood floors throughout the home and wood cabinets line the kitchen walls. Home includes 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, full basement, and 2-car attached garage. WONDERFUL HOME! ONLY $275,000 120703-M

The Real Estaters of Mansfield 1671 South Main St, Mansfield, PA 16933 Office 570-662-2138 Chris: 570-404-1268

Call the office at 570-723-8484 114 Tioga Street (Rt. 6 across from Pizza Hut) Wellsboro, Pa. 16901

www.mountainvalleyrealtyllc.com Come hunt, fish, play, live ...

100% OMGs- YOUR PRIVATE CASTLE ON 65 AC - Indescribable detail in this custom home w/unique post & beam design,open floorplan, cathedral ceilings,lg windows & double glass doors throughout.Access the lg deck from 4 rooms. Custom amenities including lavish master bathroom.65+/- acs offer future timber potential & 100% OGM rights. $785,000.

GREAT EXPOSURE, CONVENIENTLY LOCATED! Two-story corner property with building offers two lots and ample parking. Convenient and only one block from Main Street or Route 6, Wellsboro, Pa. In the heart of the Marcellus Shale Gas Exploration Maintenancefree exterior & great exposure! For offices or retail. Has 2nd flr apt.$290,000 #119976

Ranch home on Pine Creek! Over 400 ft. of Pine Creek frontage & an outstanding maintenance free home on 4.83 ac.Beautiful Rustic ranch home, must see interior, cathedral ceilings, open flr plan, very long deck,oversized attached 2 car garage, full dry basement and newer barn. Private setting, Seeking offer $259,000. #120995

NEWLY RENOVATED IN BLOSSBURG! Efficient and comfortable 3 bedroom, Renovation just completed. Like buying a new home! Offers new roof, windows, siding, kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, etc. EZ short drive to Rt.15/I-99, Mansfield, Williamsport, Wellsboro, or NY State. $144,000. #120966

CAMP NEAR BEECHWOOD LAKE - Sitting on 3.64+/- acres near Beechwood Lake! The perfect secluded spot for the kids to play in the woods or the hunters find that big one! Walk to Beechwood Lake for great fishing. Private setting with long mountain views. Clymer Twp.,Pa. Only $59,900. #120943

Home and Commerical Business Opportunity! Beautifully restored farmhouse, refinished hardwood flooring thoughout, substantial closet space, on 3.42 ac corner level lot. Offers a well established easy to manage, low stress storage business on property with open level land for expansion or other commercial endeavors. $449,000. #120758

POTTER COUNTY HOME-7.59 acres - Custom built Cedar sided home with great views located on 7.5 acres. The home has 5 bedrooms, 2 3/4 baths, beautiful stone fireplace in the great room, full finished basement. Two story barn has a shop area, wood stove, and 2 garage doors $346,500. #120732

Ranch home on 1.04 acre in Mansfield Beautiful ranch in the highly desirable Smoke Rise development just minutes from Mansfield. Bright spacious rooms and neutral interior makes this property move-in ready. Kitchens has floor to ceiling windows. Finished walkout basement. Mature landscaping surrounds home. $269,900. #120737

4-5 BDRM HOME-15 AC-100% OGMS convey - Charming and attractive older remodeled farm house offers spacious country kitchen, lg laundry/utility room w/pantry,formal din rm, liv rm, office, and 4 plus bdrms ideal for growing family. All this on 15 ac conveying 100% OGM’s with lease in place. An easy drive to Wellsboro, Pa. #120930 $249,000.

House on 13.66 in Wellsboro - Historic 7 bedroom Wellsboro home on 14 +/- acres OGMs are negotiable! This home sits on edge of town and room for your family or foresight! Many upgrades have been completed and property also features a pond, nice views and large barn. $205,000. #120491

CAMP/HOME ON PINE CREEK! This camp was totally remodeled 2004, including new forced hot air furnace, central air, new metal roof, electrical system. Large windows in living room to sit and view the beautiful Pine Creek, water fowl,and wildlife.$228,500 #120823

Level Countryside Bldg.Lot - Beautiful building lot with utilities nearby. Only doublewides, modulars & stick built homes are permitted. Seller has a permit to install approved in-ground septic system. For an add’l $7,000 the seller will install septic per approved plan. Located between Mansfield and Troy. $29,500 #120916

Camp on 32 acres close to State Land! Great camp close to state game lands and Hills Creek Lake. Wooded with lots of hunting opportunity in the area. There is a small apple orchard at the top of the hill as well as some existing four wheeler trails. $169,000. #120906

INCOMPARABLE VIEWS BEYOND THE NEW BARN...from this comfortable country home. Ideal equestrian use farm or barn would make outstanding hunting lodge or large home. This property is an extremely large opportunity for large acreage and gas rights! 100% of seller’s owned OGM’s will convey to buyers. Property has prime hunting and substantial wooded acreage along with pastures for your food plots! Make your appointment today! $875,000 #112003

ATTRACTIVE RUSTIC INTERIOR-4-5 BDRMS! Home features Tongue-N-Groove walls/ceilings, open floor plan with vaulted ceilings and new carpet. 2.96 acres! with awesome views. Priced to sell. Make your appointment right away!! OGM’s transfer with property.$139,000. #120361

Ranch home on 10 wooded acres! 3 bedroom Ranch home on 10 acres with 100% OGM’s conveying in Delmar Twp! Property sits in a very private wooded setting with a 3bd, 2ba cozy home along with a 3 car garage (being completed), and is in a gas unit. Make offer! $244,500. #120905

New Construction-2.11 acres - Custom home just about completed. Complete to suit your taste and decor. Home features 3 bedrooms, 2.75 baths, large deck with views of the countryside, 2 car attached garage and many other features. Short drive to Rt. 15/I-99, Mansfield, Williamsport, or Wellsboro. $159,900. #120865

Ranch home, 4.4 ac, beautiful views, and pond! Ranch home with cherry stained maple cabinets, granite counter tops, ceramic tiled floor and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, 13’ cathedral ceiling in great room, central air and much more. Seller is a licensed real estate agent. $369,500 #120843

Wellsboro Property with many possibilities! Are you looking for an office building or home with office space offering 4 or more bedrooms? Located on Rt. 287 just south of Wellsboro this property offers spacious quarters, attached 2 car garage and room for business! Formerly owner occupied sub shop and gas station! $155,000. #120698

22.54 ac-BREATHTAKING MOUNTAIN VIEWS... over the meadows & beyond! Meticulously maintained Lindel cedar log multi-level home. Raised basement for add’l living space. Elegant & rustic w/open flr plan. A/C, Harmon coal stove, lg.new garage, new well & spring, 22.54 ac open & wooded land. Corner property with long frontage. $399,000 #119956

EFFICIENT HOME-10.9+/- ACRES - Great setting for this 3 bdrm efficient cottage. Adorable refinished interior. New appliances. Sunroom offers long valley views. EZ drive to NY, Rt. 15/I99, Mansfield or Wellsboro. Land across road has been perced and offers public water hookup. OGMs and price negotiable. $159,000. #120773

In town home with many updates! Affordable 2 story home in Blossburg! Home has many great features including: new kitchen, new carpet in several rooms, nice layout, corner lot and many new renovations. Hurry up and make an appt! $89,000. #120759

Beautiful home in Wellsboro borough! In-town home close to all amenities. Many updates make this home move-in ready! Hardwood floors thoughout the home, bright bedrooms, 5 walk-in closets provide plenty of storage. Fenced back yard perfect for children and pets. $165,000. #120735

HIGHLY ESTABLISHED BED AND BREAKFAST! This established Wellsboro Bed & Breakfast can now be yours! This elegant 5 bedroom B&B also features Innkeeper’s living quarters on premises, 2.5 acres, 2 car garage, parking availability, established clientele lists, lovely furnishings and a lot of history! $425,000. #120493

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES FOR THIS 2 UNIT! Endless possibilities for this property-currently set up as a 2 unit with 2 kitchens, 2 baths, 2 hot water heaters and gas meters. Original single family home had 4 bedrooms and a newer roof and windows, 200 amp electrical service. Backs up to Pine Creek. $72,000. #120542

CAMP OR FULL TIME RESIDENCE...in good condition on almost 7+/- acres that are partially wooded. New metal roof on camp. This property would be great for a camp or full-time residence. Great views for miles! Eulalia Township, Potter County. $75,000 #119026

WATROUS VILLAGE NEAR PINE CREEK 4 bdrm, 1.75 bath 2 story home offers 2 lots Previously used as camp and includes all furnishings if you desire them. Offers 14’x 22’ refurbished garage with upper level. Walk to Pine Creek. Close to State woods and snowmobiling! $79,000. #120205

AFFORDABLE 3 BEDROOM HOME. Make this affordable 3 bedroom ranch home yours! This home was built in 1997 and has 3 bdrms, 2 baths, and is just east of downtown Wellsboro on an owned lot. Conveniently located to Rt. 6 and easy drive to Mansfield.#120381 Make your appt today! $79,000.

GREAT AFFORDABLE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE RIGHT INTO...this 4 bedroom, 2 bath home located halfway between Wellsboro, Mansfield and Blossburg. Home has 200 amp electric, new windows, doors and has been completely remodeled. Would make a great home for firsttime homebuyers! $92,500 #119594

JUST A SWEET FULL-TIME or SEASONAL HOME, 1.75 AC - and detached oversized 2 car garage. Offering new roof and kitchen, this 3 bdrm. home has hardwood floors throughout! Comfortable, cozy, efficient in a beautiful Country setting, an easy drive to Coudersport in Potter County. $129,900 Motivated seller says make offer! #119270

AWESOME VACATION GETAWAY HOME ON 3.79 AC - close to Kettle Creek State Park & Creek. This newly constructed, log-sided two-story cabin is waiting for you! Enjoy the peaceful tranquility from the deck, nestled on a mountainside in the woods. Call today for details. $199,500. MLS#120482

IDEAL COUNTRY SETTING CLOSE TO WELLSBORO - Seeking large family! This spacious home with formal fireplace and open floor plan offers 4-6 bedrooms and 3 baths. Portion of home used as apartment. Substantial outbldgs. for farmette or self employed. OGM’s transfer to buyer. 15.19 +/- acs just 3 miles to Wellsboro, Pa.$355,000. #120342

RUSTIC, UNIQUE, STONE-FACED 3 BEDROOM HOME...on 3.3 ac between Wellsboro & Morris. Very private setting! Make this beautiful home your retreat with roomy floor plan & rustic charm. Features new roof, windows, doors, flooring,2 new QuadraFire stoves, 2 fireplaces, cathedral ceilings,& 36’x41’ pole barn.Unique home! $325,000 #120194

30.25 AC NEWER HOME CLOSE TO WELLSBORO - Lg stocked pond, 2-car garage, 2-story barn & 30.25 beautiful ac. Custom features! Breakfast nook w/built-in seating, bay window in dining room, & fireplace in living room. Backup generator, whole-house fan, & choice of coal or propane heat. $399,000 #119992

SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY... with this 124+ gently rolling acres very close to the Borough of Wellsboro. Property offers 2 homes, a pond, a stream, phenomenal views and sits in a quality country setting. 100% of the Oil, Gas & Mineral Rights convey with the property in the heart of the Marcellus Shale Exploration. $1,500,000

94+/- AC IN BORO OF WELLSBORO - A substantial opportunity for development potential within the Borough of Wellsboro. Further & pertinent info is available. Access to Public sewer and water. $1,500,000 #120040

Real estate

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65 Main Street, Wellsboro, PA 16901 l (570) 724-8000 PA Certified WBE We proudly support and contribute to “Goodies For Our Troops”

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Great 4 BR starter home in Coudersport situated close to school, with a newer roof and seamless gutters, vinyl siding and access from two streets. MTH 120878 $64,500

Like new - 2009 luxury grade double wide on rented lot in Country Living Park, close to the Village of Stony Fork. Lot rent is $250/ month - includes water & sewer; park rules apply. Buyer must be approved by park owner. Seller is including all appliances and most furnishings - move right in and enjoy this beautiful area. MTH 120798 $90,000

3 bedroom home in a convenient location short walk to 24 hour C-store - and Woodland Park. Older home has some hardwood flooring and original oak trim - currently tenant occupied. Compact lot - with off street parking and sidewalk. Starter home - or rental property. MTH 120892 $77,500

Beautiful elevated wooded 6.96 acre lot with 604 ft blacktop road frontage - great for home or camp. Some timber value - good sugar bush; miles of 4-wheeling from property. Property has been perked for sand mound, electric and phone available. OGM’s unknown - will transfer if owned. MTH 120951 $34,900

Nice 3 BR home in Germania on 1.19 acres and close to great snowmobiling, ATV and hunting. Situated close to State land, this would be excellent for a camp, second home in the mountains or a full-time residence. Full walk-out basement to a nice back yard. MTH 117909 $69,900

Extraordinarily fine home with outstanding details and quality craftsmanship throughout. Well planned and designed with room for expansion in the 2800 sqft basement, features include concrete patio, walks and drive, finished walls in the oversized garage, stone wood burning fireplace, granite kitchen counter tops w/cherry cabinets and two 30” double convection wall ovens, Brazilian cherry floor in the LR, Great Room and DR, granite tile in the foyer - this 5 BR home sits on 1.5 acres. MTH 120963 $375,000

Wonderful 2 story home in Wellsboro’s Historical District featuring a large, sunny kitchen leading onto a back deck and sizeable yard, laundry/mud room, 2 fireplaces, workshop with shelving, paved driveway and relaxing front porch; useful 2 car garage and attached carport. MTH 120828 $269,500

Great residential or recreational property close to town, yet secluded. 95 mostly wooded acres with 4-wheel, hiking and bike trails all over this property. Excellent timber value (cruise available) and 1/2 of OGM’s will transfer - not leased. Totally remodeled 3 BR farmhouse has brick fireplace w/new insert, custom oak kitchen, super insulated, all new windows & doors, security system, new 3 bay garage, nice workshop in a great hunting area. MTH 120955 $399,000

Here is a nice, level, open lot, 1.04 acres in Charleston Village just waiting for a home to be built on it. Lot is approximately 195’ frontage, 215’ east, 170’ south and 275’ back to road - convenient to Wellsboro, Mansfield or Tioga. MTH 120801 $31,995

Solitude on a modest budget, this virtually new camp is now available. There is a spring on the property and a wood cook stove serves to heat, along with electric baseboard. New kitchen floor covering - lots of possibilities with this offering - come and check it out. OGM rights do not transfer; property has a privy permit. MTH 120832 $40,000

Attractive & spacious 3-4 BR, 2-1/2 BA home in downtown Coudersport. Open design, classic living room, dining room, 24x16 family room w/oak trim, wood burning fireplace, family size kitchen w/ breakfast nook. Master suite includes whirlpool garden tub, double sinks and showers, walk-in closet; large laundry room with closets, cupboards and shelves; spacious foyer w/oak floors and closet. Attached, heated 2 car garage, paved driveway, public water & sewer - nicely landscaped home is near parks, town pool, hospital, library and schools; extra large unfinished basement. MTH 120818 $249,000 51

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#7 LOOKING FOR A NEW RESIDENCE OR THE FAMILY GETAWAY – this house on 4+ acres features 3 bedrooms and 1 bath. Great room with cathedral ceilings. Relax on the deck. Listed at $139,900.00

#11 COUDERSPORT AREA CAPE COD HOME – situated on 5.93 acres, large lawn and woods, three bedrooms, 1 ½ baths. Good quality construction. NEW PRICE $204,900.00

#25 RANCH STYLE HOUSE – 1,584 sf, 3 bedroom, 1.75 bath, fireplace, large kitchen and appliances are included. Detached garage, heated and insulated, concrete driveway. Enjoy the trees and shrubs from the 12 x 24 deck. Easy living! Listed at $129,000.00

#2 GREAT COUNTRY LOCATION – 35.58 acres with home or lodge, property is on both sides of the road. Home has 5 bedrooms, 2 ¾ baths. Barn on property. Near ski slopes, Pine Creek and you can snowmobile or go four wheeling right from property. Call for more details. $287,500.00

Now offering Rent-to-Own financing on all storage sheds!

Kennedy continued from page 44

Darren says. During the home makeover, the Kennedys plan to have a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the project. A chicken barbeque, giveaways, and radio/television broadcasts are all in their celebration blueprints. “We want as many people as we can get from the community to come to the site to show off the house.” In the future, Kennedy Home Center plans to do one or two Kennedy Home Makeovers each year as their gift to the community. Members of the community can apply to become recipients of a home makeover by filling out the application provided on Kennedy Home Center’s Web site and describing why the recommended homeowner is deserving of this project. Meanwhile, Darren and Shannon are continually looking for ways to improve the store. As soon as they bought the business, they set about opening the physical layout to make the space more welcoming and to improve customer service. They moved the service

counter closer to the entrance and put an emphasis on always having “a representative there at the counter to help the customers, so they know that we’re here to support them,” Shannon said. They removed walls around the office to make it easier for the representatives to see customers in need of assistance. The Kennedys also expanded the services and merchandise for sale to homeowners and contractors. Kennedy Home Center now offers custom countertops through their new company, KHC Countertops. The goal was to make Kennedy Home Center a one-stop shop. “Someone could build a house from start to finish and not have to shop anywhere else except to purchase their appliances,” Shannon said. “Customers come in at the beginning of the building process and we walk them through every step of the way until it’s finished. We do our best to help them find what patterns, designs, and layouts are going to best suit them for what they want in a home.”

Mountain Home contributing writer Sarah Bull is a student at Mansfield University.

For over 30 years, Brookside Homes has been specializing in “On Your Lot” Construction!

CUSTOM BUILT HOMES

Selinsgrove 570-374-7900

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M ar k et P lace

Shop Around the Corner

The New Curiosity Shop

s a little girl, Theresa Tubbs loved to crochet, and she ordered craft kits every month. “I remember getting things in the mail like pipe cleaners,” she laughs, “and I’d make them into animals or flowers.” In her twenties, she was cross-stitching, and thought, “Wouldn’t it be neat to have my own store, so I could sell things I’ve made and also what other people like me have made?” Theresa Tubbs’ once-upon-a-time dream has come true twice. In 1994, she opened Heart’s Desire with her husband, John, on Germania Street in Galeton, Pennsylvania, later moving the successful store to Galeton’s Main Street in 2008. Now they’ve opened a second store in downtown Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, at 17 1/2 Crafton Street, across from the state liquor store. In February, just a couple months after the

By Dawn Bilder

Artisan Shoppe closed its doors at the same location, the Tubbses filled the storefront window with their popular and signature blend of local artwork, antiques, collectibles, Theresa-made candles, a case of lovely estate jewelry, quilts—you name it—from ninety local vendors, “all of it one-of-a-find,” John and Theresa say. Walk-in business has been good even in the cold months, John says. “Wellsboro has given us a very warm welcome,” he added. “We’re delighted to be here.” Like the Galeton original location, the Wellsboro store features the work of local artists across northern Pennsylvania from McKean County east to Bradford County. There are antiques and collectibles that date as far back as the pre-Victorian era; photography of local places; Mountain Mustard, honey, and fresh cookies; water color and oil paintings; antique costume jewelry, handmade jewelry, and fine

jewelry (sizing is free for the fine jewelry); old-time Watkins products; homemade soaps and lotions; spoon art; purses; silk flowers; books, including cookbooks; antler sheds and handmade turkey calls; baskets; and doll house furniture and dolls. A lovely miniature house stands proudly along the left wall of the Wellsboro store—a painstakingly-detailed, lavender, wooden house in the Victorian style. “Don’t call it a doll house,” John warns, smiling. “Don Campbell, the man who makes them, is very serious when he says that they are ‘miniature houses for sixty-year-old women who never had a doll house in their childhood.’ “Of course,” John laughs, “anybody of any age is allowed to buy one.” The charming potpourri of arts and crafts See Shop on page 56

marketplace

Shop continued from page 54

includes solid-wood, rustic furniture made by Simon Harvey, a seventeen-year-old carpenter, and oil paintings by our area’s own Grandma Moses, Mary Jean Braddock, who also refurbishes old frames to go with each of her pieces. And Theresa is able to showcase her talent for making things as well. Along with designing silk flower arrangements, she makes Primitives candles, a brand that she and John own, and they are among the stores’ most popular items. Theresa makes and packages each one in the basement of the Galeton store. John plucks one off the shelf, “This scent—Cinnaberry—is a customer favorite.” He turns the jar with an antiquish-looking label and a decorative tin lid, points to a little tin star that all the lids have, and says with admiration, “Theresa attaches each of these separately for every candle.” The Tubbses believe in selling items in a wide range of prices. “I love antiques,” says John, “and you know what they call people like me who love antiques? Junkers.”

He laughs. “And junkers are traditionally cheap. So, I appreciate that some people who come into a store want to see a fair amount of items in the ‘reasonable’ (as junkers would put it) range.” They also are unusually committed to promoting their local vendors. “Most stores don’t allow their vendors to put their business cards beside their merchandise,” says John, “because they want customers to buy the products through them. But we think that, if you help promote others, they’ll help promote you.” “John and Theresa are very nice and have great personalities,” says Toy Anderson, a longtime vendor who sells antiques and collectibles in both the Galeton and Wellsboro stores. “They demand quality, but they’re very honest.” So, how did they come up with the name Heart’s Desire? “Well,” John says, his goodnatured smile widening, “Theresa suggested it because it was her heart’s desire to open a store. I thought it was a little girly, but my heart’s desire is to make her happy, so there it is.”

Galeton Store: 27 W. Main St, Galeton, PA 16922, (814) 435-2280 Galeton Store Hours: Mon-Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun Noon-5 p.m. Wellsboro Store: 17 1/2 Crafton St, Wellsboro, PA 16901, (570) 724-4449 Wellsboro Store Hours: Tues-Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Closed Sun and Mon Website: www.visitheartsdesire.com

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Marketplace

©Ken Meyer

B ac k of the M ounta i n

Now and Then Retired biologist and amateur photographer Ken Meyer gazed out the window of the barbershop at 80 Main Street in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, upon a scene that rekindled memories of other barbershops from his childhood in Brooklyn, New York. The photo seems a portal to another era, but for the reflected image of the auto that grounds us not in the 1950’s, but in the present. “Anachronism” was originally displayed at the Photo Keller group’s black-and-white exhibit at Wellsboro’s Gmeiner Art and Cultural Center in January.