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EDITOR’S DESK
Coming Home Again
They say you can’t go home again. I understand the sentiment, but I’ve spent much of my life trying to prove “them” wrong. After leaving the Army — and being away for 20 years — I found my way back to my hometown, thanks to the opportunity to work for Penn Lines. And while my parents and family had long moved away, I still searched the area for remnants of “home.”
I grew up in the village of Bowmansdale in rural Cumberland County. It was a quiet community with everything close at hand, or a bike ride away. I bought my first baseball cards at the local butcher shop and general store. We got our milk at the dairy in glass gallon jugs, which proved disastrous after a sharp turn shattered two gallons in the back seat of our car. I can still smell that sour milk — a scent that lingered for the rest of that car’s mercifully short life. OK, maybe some memories of home aren’t the sweetest.
Nostalgia has a way of idealizing our past if we let it. But after 20 years away, I knew things would not be the same — and many things had changed. Communities, like people, can’t live in the past. They must move forward. The butcher shop was long gone, the dairy was now a bed & breakfast, and my middle school was converted into apartments. But there were some nice surprises — our favorite pizza joint was still around, along with the local ice cream shop.
I was grateful for these small reminders of home, but I was more grateful to see a community that had grown with its changes. It gave me hope our young family would enjoy growing up here as I had.
That’s not been the case for some communities in Pennsylvania, particularly in rural areas where population decline is a significant worry. Pennsylvania’s electric cooperatives support a state effort to address this issue through the launch of the Pennsylvania Rural Population Revitalization Commission. Through its work, the commission hopes to promote growth and help attract families to rural communities — communities people want to come home to. Ideas and input can be sent to: commission@rural.pa.gov.
Now that I’ve settled back in my hometown, some more changes are on the horizon. Our daughter leaves for college next month. They say you can’t come home again, and I sure hope they’re wrong about that.
PETER A. FITZGERALD
EDITOR
MONUMENTAL!
Tioga County man reached Gettysburg goal
Mansfield resident Gary Jakubick recently completed his goal of photographing every monument on the 6,000-acre Gettysburg Battlefield, where more than 50,000 casualties were recorded in 1863.
Jakubick reached his goal in April after finding and photographing a small monument placed in honor of Capt. Thomas F. Brown’s Battery B of the 1st Rhode Island Artillery.
The three-day battle, which marks its 162nd anniversary this month, was not planned by either the Union or Confederate armies. Instead, it ignited when a skirmish between scouting parties spun out of control.
A salesman, Jakubick estimated he has visited Gettysburg about 50 times over the years, including on the way home from his honeymoon, to photograph the battlefield’s 466 monuments and 367 plaques.
His connection to the area is so strong, he said, that some of his ashes will eventually be scattered at the battlefield after he dies.
AN EYE FOR HISTORY: In April, Gary Jakubick of Mansfield completed his goal of photographing every monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield when he took a photo of a memorial in honor of Capt. Thomas F. Brown’s Battery B. (Photo by Carl Hunnell)
FROM TWO TO ONE
Candidates vie to represent city that doesn't exist — yet
When residents of Clearfield County went to the polls May 20, they selected a group of candidates to represent a city that doesn’t exist — yet.
The City of DuBois and surrounding Sandy Township in Clearfield County will consolidate in January and become a new city, still called DuBois. The pairing is only the third to occur in Pennsylvania since a 1994 state law established the procedure for municipal mergers and consolidations.
In preparation for the change, approximately 12,000 voters were eligible to elect seven city council members and a treasurer. In May, they nominated candidates from each party to advance to the November general election, after which the newly elected officials will be tasked with unifying the two municipalities. That will include reorganizing staff, negotiating union agreements, managing the budget and accounts, and passing a new set of ordinances.
INSECT ISSUES
Lanternfly quaruntine expands to protect grape, wine industry
Pennsylvania continues to expand its spotted lanternfly quarantine with the goal of protecting the state’s $1.8 billion wine and grape industry.
Many of those producers are in Erie County, one of the last places in the state to remain untouched by the invasive insect. Meanwhile, as Pennsylvania expands its quarantine zone, Virginia has dropped its controls after deeming they were no longer effective.
With the spring addition of Bradford, Sullivan, Venango and Wyoming counties, the quarantine covers all but 11 Pennsylvania counties. The unaffected counties are all in the northern part of the state and have few major highways, which helps limit the most prevalent way the insects are spread: by vehicle.
Quarantines also are in place for all of New Jersey and Delaware, most of Maryland, and a handful of counties in Ohio and Connecticut. The insects have also been found in states without quarantines, including New York, Massachusetts and Indiana.
Although state quarantines have not eradicated the lanternfly, entomologists believe local predators have likely been lending a hand to control the pest’s population.
In North America, the spotted lanternfly was first found in Berks County in 2014.
OVERDOSES DOWN
Report: Rural areas' drug-related deaths decreased in 2024
Rural Pennsylvania saw a decrease in drug overdoses and related deaths in 2024, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania (Center) reports.
According to 2023 and 2024 data from the Pennsylvania State Police Overdose Information Network, rural overdoses decreased by 40% and drug-related deaths decreased by 52%. Urban areas had similar decreases.
During the same period, 59% of reported rural overdose victims received naloxone, which rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. Researchers say the typical overdose victim is a white male between the ages of 30 and 49.
The Center’s report noted data is insufficient to determine why overdoses and deaths declined. Similarly, it’s too early to determine whether the decreases are temporary or the start of a new trend.
CONTEST TIME!
Help us celebrate Penn Lines’ 60th anniversary
Penn Lines has a big birthday coming up, and we want you to be a part of our 60th anniversary celebration. Before the confetti flies in 2026, though, we’re kicking off a handful of photo contests this year; enter one — or all three.
CONTEST NO. 1 – LONGEST-LIVED PENN LINES! If you have an oldie but a goodie around the house, take a photo of it with you. Please make sure the publication date is visible.
CONTEST NO. 2 – MOST WELL-TRAVELED PENN LINES! We'll be honest: We like it when we get to go to some place nice. Take your favorite issue of Penn Lines to some place special in your community and take a photo of yourself with it.
CONTEST NO. 3 – A DATE WITH PENN LINES! We’ll be honest: We like it when we get to go to some place nice. Take your favorite issue of Penn Lines to some place special in your community and take a photo of yourself with the magazine.
FOR ALL CONTESTS, WE WILL NEED: your name, address, daytime telephone number, the month and year of the magazine, and the name of the cooperative that serves your home, business, or seasonal residence.
PRIZES: $50 gift card; the photo will also be featured in Penn Lines in 2026
DEADLINE: Friday, Oct. 31
SEND ENTRIES TO: PennLines@prea.com (put “60 Years of Penn Lines” in the subject line) or Penn Lines Editor/60 YEARS OF PENN LINES, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266.
TIMELINES
A decade ago, Penn Lines reported on the popularity of bass fishing in Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth offers more than 85,000 miles of rivers and streams, and more than 4,000 lakes and ponds, including access to Lake Erie. This makes it attractive to clubs like the Tioga County Bass Anglers Association — featured in our story 10 years ago. The group keeps interest in fishing alive by organizing events like the Kids Fishing Derby, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in June at Cowanesque Lake.
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