We’ve all heard the old saying: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it actually make a sound?

So, if a friendly little magazine circulating around rural Pennsylvania for the past six decades makes its way to Denmark, Russia, West Africa, or perhaps Japan, does anyone really take notice?

You bet! Particularly if that periodical happens to be Penn Lines, and the copies in question are part of a special anniversary contest that asked readers to submit photos of their journeys with the magazine. As Penn Lines turns 60 this year, readers made it infinitely clear that the magazine is a special part of their lives — at home and abroad — as more than 60 made their play for the most well-traveled issue.
 

And the winner is ...

Enter Julia Hoffman — from 6,991 miles away.

Julia is a third-year student at the University of Pittsburgh who, at this moment, has a keepsake copy of Penn Lines tucked away in her room at Konan University in Japan, where she is about to complete a nine-month program of study.

For this Central Cambria High School grad, Japan is her fourth adventure in international studies, which also included a tour of Senegal, West Africa. Julia also happens to be studying abroad thanks in part to a scholarship she earned three years ago from the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association (PREA), the statewide advocate for the 14 rural electric cooperatives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“I just love different cultures and languages,” says Julia, who will turn 21 this month.

She has kept the October 2023 issue of Penn Lines close at hand on her academic travels as part of her curriculum vitae. That particular issue featured an article about her and the other PREA scholarship recipients.

With a youthful chuckle during a recent Zoom connection from the Japanese city of Kebo, Julia promised that the $50 gift card — her prize for taking the magazine the longest distance — will also be going toward her college and travel expenses, not the more indulgent Japanese treats of sushi, sake or sashimi. One of about 40 American students at the university — a half-dozen from Pitt — she takes two-and-a-half hours of Japanese language instruction every day on top of her other college classes and says she doesn’t have much time for extracurriculars.

Julia is double majoring in linguistics and Japanese at Konan. Her dream job would be working for a foreign embassy — abroad or in the states — perhaps as a foreign services officer.

“That would be a long-term goal,” she says, indicating that teaching English to young students in Japan will likely be her first objective after college. Interestingly enough, Julia’s gravitational pull toward Japanese was piqued during middle school with exposure to anime, the hugely popular genre of Japanese animation.

“I told myself back then I was going to learn Japanese someday,” she says, giving herself a solid five out of 10 today when it comes to mastery of the language, but she’s working hard on getting to a seven.

A PRESIDENTIAL VISIT: Readers took copies of Penn Lines all over the world for a chance to win our most well-traveled magazine contest. Here, Aidan Long, forefront, poses with his brother, Kaleb, at the Millard Fillmore house in East Aurora, New York. Aidan chose this issue because it featured Kaleb, a Youth Tour student who represented Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative.
 

‘It was always around’

Back home, Penn Lines and REA Energy Cooperative, which serves her hometown of Mineral Point in Cambria County, have been part of the Hoffman family’s life for a long time.

“My Mom and Dad read the magazine a lot, and they know other people who do, like in our church. It was always around,” Julia says. “It did take me by surprise when I got the email that my photo had won. It was nice.”

Julia’s mother, Beth, says the anniversary contest wasn’t the first or only thing she and her husband, John, have passed along to their kids from the magazine. They also encouraged Julia to apply for the PREA scholarship. 

“Even though we’ve lived out in the country [for nearly 35 years], we’ve always embraced other cultures,” says Beth, a professor of mathematics at Pitt-Johnstown. John is an instructor at Conemaugh Health Systems in Johnstown.

Beth says the family has hosted internationally themed parties at their home to foster broader thinking among their children and family. Their elder son speaks Arabic, and as of this writing, he and his wife were planning to visit Japan this month.

Where else did Penn Lines travel?

The Hoffmans’ interest in foreign cultures and far-away places clearly is not unique among Penn Lines readers. Some other travels and travelers worth noting include:

• T.C. Miller, a Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) member, who packed “The Line Wives” issue of Penn Lines (April 2025) on a recent trip to North Carolina. There, he took the magazine to Blue Ridge Energy in Sparta, one of the rural electric cooperatives that found itself in the vortex of Hurricane Helene. Other North Carolina contest entrants included Barry Bateman of Valley REC, who took his copy to Wilmington, and Tri-County REC’s Jamie Colaneri, who visited Corolla.
• One young reader, Aidan Long, took the September 2025 issue, featuring a photo of his brother, Kaleb, a Tri-County REC Youth Tour student, to East Aurora, New York. There, the family visited the home of Millard Fillmore, the 13th U.S. president. Meanwhile, Edward and Susan Davis of Sullivan County REC brought their copy of Penn Lines to New York’s 1000 Islands along the St. Lawrence Seaway.
• Alaska was widely represented, too. From Seward, Thom and Valerie Lintner of Huntingdon entered the contest by way of Valley REC. From Denali, entries were received from Lisa Wood of Tri-County REC, Katie Miller of Adams Electric, and Dale and Sue Krysinski of United Electric. Laurie McCanna of Warren Electric showcased her favorite Penn Lines issue while visiting Wiseman. From Whittier, Chris Klouser of United Electric had a hat in the ring for the most-traveled Penn Lines, as did Janet Roeber of Claverack REC.
• Other long-distance entrants from the continental U.S. included cooperative members who traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona; San Francisco, San Diego, Palo Alto, and Redwood National Park, California; Capitol Reef National Park in Utah; Rangeley, Maine; Dallas, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Jackson, Wyoming; and Seattle, Washington.
• Off-shore entries arrived from co-op travelers to Maui, Hawaii; Half Moon Cay, Coco Bay, and Nassau in the Bahamas; and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Caribbean island of Bonaire in the Leeward Antilles was also represented; two co-op families took Penn Lines there.
• Contest entrants who traveled to Italy included Kelly Finan, a Claverack REC member who visited Pompei, and Concetta Schirra, another Claverack REC member who spent time in Termini. We also received three entries from readers who visited Rome: Kathleen Pino and William Harker, both of REA Energy, and Debra Ritter of Tri-County REC.
• One-off entries for the most well-traveled Penn Lines also came from readers who visited Poland, France, the Netherlands, Canada, England, Bosnia, Spain, Germany, Antigua, Ireland and the British West Indies.