I moved to PA from CO 15 years ago. People say: oh but CO is so beautiful!! I say: yes, yes it is but in a rugged, masculine way. PA with the winding, curvy roads magical forests, and homey small towns feels very soft, comfy and feminine to me. I love it here!!!
Yeah there's a lot of history in Pennsylvania the Colorado is it beautiful state I live there a couple of times it's pretty badass, if you like to freeze, apparently the same with Pennsylvania gets pretty cold, I'll stay in the desert thank you. Arizona rocks.
I teach English as a second language in Argentina. Every February, I give my students a class on Groundhog's Day and Punxsutawney Phil. They almost always think I'm pulling their legs.... until I show them a video. It's a riot. So now there are dozens and dozens of Argentinians who have learned about Phil.
I lived outside of Dubois as a child during the 70s. I had a friend who lived in Punxatawney. I remember they had several acres of land, and had a spring on their property. We would splash around in it - it was very cold. Unfortunately, I never did attend the yearly Feb 2 festivities.
Small town and rural Pennsylvania is very underrated. I lived near Dubois, as a child, from 1976 through 1979. The terrain, and wildlife, outside of the town, is spectacular. At that time, people would sit on their front porches after dinner. In the US, that used to be a rural thing to do - suburban folks sat in their backyards. These days, I live more to the south central part of the state. Beautiful old houses and public buildings. Reasonably priced rural property and plenty of land. I love the front porches on the older homes, with a swing bench, more often than not. Where I live, no one cares if you have 5 dogs or 15 cats, or how many junk cars you have on your property.
May 31 2023. Nicole joe...pa video is nice. Peaceful. Be careful here in phila. Many holdups, criminals, shootings, etc. Carjackings. Sad. Thanks for taking us along òn your trips. You 2 are a nice couple. Nic is a sweet pretty pleasant young woman. Classy. And rare these days. Thanks guys John N.
I have a neighbor who had 5 junk cars on his 0.20 acres, and junk and garbage EVERYWHERE on their little piece of property. It is not pretty in a small town. I had to look at it every day gazing out my kitchen window, There are still 2 junk cars. One of them hasn't been moved in YEARS! . And they cleaned up 14 or 15 tires, an aluminum pole "shed" with shredded canvas blowing in the wind and garbage galore....fiinally!!! It looked like a landfill. Not to mention it attracted RODENTS. The town finally got after them. Like I said IT AIN'T PRETTY. There's no need for junk cars on ones property.
I think the reason no one seems to care about junk on people's property where I now live is - most houses are tucked away in the woods, plus it's hilly here. You really can't see much of people's houses and property from the street. I agree, having to look at old scrap like that is unpleasant.
It is quite beautiful, as Joe drives in the towns. The. Architecture is well maintained as the home owner.. Especially, the Ionic and Corinthian Columns that showcase the lovely homes 🙂🇺🇸⚘🌲🌳🌇⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I grew up in a rural western Pennsylvania town with hills and brick roads. I have spent 3/4 of my life in Pennsylvania. I live 10 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. No i dont have to replace my brakes often. Every 2 years or so. You learn how to drive on these hills so you learn to ride brakes a little softer and differently. Tires though is another thing. We have axle buster potholes everywhere and you cant avoid them all sadly. But being from here and watching this video makes me understand i take for granted all the beautiful towns and villages in my home state. Its nice to hear others from other states finding my home so beautiful. Thank you
I live outside of Philly now but have lived pretty much all over the US. About 8 years ago i rode Amtrak from Philly up to NY and sat next to a tourist and his family visiting the US from Beijing. He went by Joe and as we left the PA border to cross into NJ on that clear crispy January morning he remarked on how blue the sky was in the US and on how many churches with crosses atop there were. God Bless the USA.
The US is really blessed in many ways. Americans sometimes complain even when they have so many good things to thank for. US is a great country. I am Brazilian and in my youth I wanted to legally emmigrate to the US. ❤️
PA. Is a beautiful state. I was born in Johnstown in the fifties but most of my family is gone from there now, either moved or passed away. The people as a whole are very nice. This was a very nice episode, thanks Joe, it really took me back. 👍
Have family from western Pa. n visit time to time them from the Jersey Shore nice old buildings n seems like time has stopped.... Some of the lil cities n towns around Pittsburgh are not doing so well they wished it would get better with new stores, hospitals, Dr.'s, thing to do, malls, ect... They love their trucks, hunting, fishing, camo, dogs n beer :) be well....
I use to visit Gallitzin, Cresson, Loretto and Altoona, back in the 50's and early 60's, I loved that area. There was a beautiful estate with fountains by one of the rick industrialist from 100 plus years ago. I forgot his name. My father was a steam locomotive engineer in the mid 20's until 1949. He loved that area and would talk about those places, and how he would wave at the conductor in the caboose as they rode the horseshoe curve.
@@MegaBait1616 I can remember 40 years ago when steel mills were beginning to close in Pittsburgh. The TV news reported how they were trying to revitalize economically by putting a flower shop in a former mill. I don't mean any disrespect toward florists, but that's just ridiculous. Steel is a basic commodity that makes an economy's engine go. Flowers are a luxury. You can't have luxuries if you don't have the basics. Our leadership doesn't understand basic economics. No wonder we're in trouble.
@@bigscarysteve , Agreed it's as if our sooo called leaders are leading the US off a cliff.... Pa. is a beautiful state however the current government doesn't want to try to help families... Voting for Fetterman kinda shows the direction of the state sadly.. I'm retired from the Jersey Shore spent much time in the state however I've bought a house in NC few yrs. ago and cause of work been to most US states .. Gas and basic needs are expensive in Pa. the hi-ways need work Philly, Harrisburg n around Pitts really need to be better run.. It starts with local elections Not just Federal ones.. It's sad to see what's going on in this state now..
I used to go up to eastern PA as a kid and I always liked the historic nature of most of the state. I've been to Gettysburg a few times as well as Philadelphia.
What in the world? I was born in the Brookville hospital and my family is all from punxsutawney and that's where my mom was born and raised. It's insane to see a RU-vid video now about these places in the middle of nowhere, but they definitely have some pretty cool history like links to the underground railroad, nuclear fallout shelters, and all kinds of older colonial times history. Edit: I currently live on the Big Island of Hawaii now, but I miss and love my home a lot and I'm thinking about moving back next summer after being away for 6 years. Thank you for recording this video and showing me my home which I miss and haven't seen for so long.
If you’re still in PA, stop at Stewartstown. It was built in 1770. It has a historic mill. The fairgrounds used to be a German POW camp in WW2. The prisoners worked in the nearby orchard outside of town.
Italian POWs were kept near where I live. The Italian immigrants used to take the POWs food and stuff. Then they wondered why their loyalty as Americans was questioned.
Interesting area. You can see Civil War graves, mansions, and burned out bridges where they tried to keep the Confederates out. The church in butler has old graves to the 1700s and a stone step where ladies could get up on horses. Then there’s Gunpowder Falls where they made gunpowder. We did a lot of Sunday driving. Interesting sights. And don’t forget Maryland Line (hamlet). Right on the Mason Dixon line between PA and MD.
I live in Pittsburgh, but have been damn near everywhere in Pennsylvania. People often forget about all of the beautiful sights / cool towns sandwiched between Pittsburgh and Philly.
You should come visit Connellsville, PA. We went from like 100,000 in the coal days to like 5,000 now. They actually make a "mountain brake" option to get a set of brakes to use going and coming down off the mountain.
This past winter in California, we had more rain and snow than I can ever recall. We had 248% of normal snowfall at one point and more rain than I can remember for my nearly 70 years of life. So much for that groundhog. If that's not bad enough, we've had a lot of flooding from overflowing rivers, and Lake Tulare made it's appearance once more and has flooded several farms. I don't think I'll never forget this winter.
I was born and raised here in Pennsylvania. I live in a small town in south western Pa but I was born in the city. This state is so beautiful and I love delving into the history of small towns before my time.
A great video, as always. All lovely towns, with so many beautiful old buildings. Some of the towns have very interesting names, too !! Thank you both so much.😊💕
Born in north east Pa. About 25 miles above Allentown. Some tough times when the heavy industry left. However, one thing still remains. When you walk downtown and pass a complete stranger you say “Hello” . My wife still marvels at that.
While you’re in PA, Johnstown is a town to explore! Lots of history there - devastating floods, steel mills, much to see. Thank you for exploring the US, I love unwinding while watching. Great camera work too.
My great-grandmother owned a butcher shop in Johnstown during the great depression. Ahh, the stories my mother told about that place could fill a book.
I was wondering why Johnstown wasn't included in this video, especially since I just recently vacationed there for an entire week and did some sight-seeing while there
@@dougcoates4283 in which section of Johnstown was crime ridden? I only ask this question, is because I mostly stayed within the downtown area and it was rather quiet (didn't hear any gunshots whatsoever)
My grandpa's house was washed away in the flood in Bolivar. I wonder if there's a way to find out about the school house he went to 8th grade. He would bring a bucket of coal for the teacher in the winter to heat the classroom.
So cool to see the surrounding towns around Pittsburgh. I used to work in Pittsburgh, there are a ton of really beautiful buildings downtown and a star fort.
Brookville is over 80 miles from Pittsburgh, DuBois over 100, so these are not really surrounding towns, and the culture up there is totally different.
Lived in Dubois ("Dew-Boys") for 12 years and went to school at Clarion. I saw you drove by Polumbo's Meat Market. The owner's son was in my high school class, and they still operate that place as a family to this day! That supermarket in Rynoldsville is not "bee-low" it is "buy-low". Punxsutawney ("Punxsy" as we locals often call it) was the Dubois primary rival in high-school ("Go Beavers!"). Yes, Punxsy's HS team are "The Phils" after that groundhog. Funny thing of all that time I've lived there, I never went into Punxsy on GH day. As for crime, most likely because Dubois is the largest town in that immediate area as well as being right off the interstate, and that is were most everybody goes in that area to do their shopping, go to work, go to school. In fact the high school is the Dubois Area High School, which means people from other nearby towns such as Reynoldsville and Falls Creek all go there. Even with the crime, most incidents are usually petty things like shoplifting or the like. Violent crime is practically non-existent in that area. During the winter, driving around there, with all those hills, was a "interesting" to say the least. We did get snow there during the winter as those lake effect snows can and do reach that far south at times. I no longer live there. It was a good 30 years since I moved out, but I do still go up there occasionally to visit and see some of my old friends that still live in the area. Also to add. About the brakes in vehicles. I don't know now as I don't live there anymore, but when I did, I had a vehicle with a manual transmission. Yeah, that was fun learning to drive in that area with a manual with all the hills. I remember my older brother kept stalling the car out on that hill by the library there in downtown Dubois. However, I soon got good enough that I could often just downshift into a lower gear to help slow the vehicle down. This was especially valuable during the winter when you tried to use as little braking as possible to avoid skidding out, especially on those hills.
😄 DuBois - class of '80 Punxsy Chucks, as in supermarket meat department orange stickers that say... "Ground Chuck" . Even if you didn't care much about football, if you were a student at DHS, you'd find one on your locker door around Veteran's Day...
I'm a Native Pennsylvanian but from down near the Philly area I love the Video and I'm watching this from where I live overseas. I love this channel and for the coverage it provides. PA is a big state so if you're driving through it you'll run into a lot of small towns.
I moved from PA in 1969. Visited Wilkes Barre area frequently for many years to see family. I still love A rizona so much. Thanks for the great video and narration.
PA is beautiful from west to east. I was born in Tyrone, beautiful town in a valley w/ a lot of great fishing and hunting. Driving north up the mountains there were troughs along the road w/ pipes coming out of the rocks where we could stop and get a drink of very cold water. The mountain creeks were so clear, just dip a tin cup to quench your thirst while fishing. It did have a stinky paper mill and low chance for a job. That was mid 60's to late 70's and I was born in 63. After 3 moves my family ended up in Haycock Township just outside of Quakertown. We had 2 acres on a dead-end driveway on the Tohickon creek. At the end of the driveway was Sheards Mill covered bridge. Great hunting and trapping but we didn't eat the fish we caught. And as a boy scout, canoeing 140 miles down the Delaware river in 2 days w/ 0-5 rapids and camping on an island after 70 miles was a memory for ever. All states have beautiful areas, northern NY, NC, SC, VA and even FL where I live now. Just enjoy what you have.
I'm from the Cleveland, Ohio area. Going East on I-80 I have stopped in Brookville several times, it's a very nice town to visit. On one trip I stopped there and went into a music shop and found out the owner came from our area here in Ohio and that his sister-in-law worked at another music shop only about 10 miles from our house! An old ballplayer, Bob Shawkey, a pitcher that won 195 major leagues games is from Brookville. The old timer across the street from us was born in Punxsutawney in 1929. Been there too, it's not far down the road from Brookville, and Punxsutawney is also a very nice town to visit. We visited Phil at his library home and took a short ride to Gobbler's Knob(It's not in town as it was depicted in the movie) We thought the movie should been made here, but the movie folks thought the setting wasn't right and made the movie in Woodstock, Illinois because the movie people thought that was better; Hollywood is often not on keen on authenticity. Once spent a night in Dubois, but no interest in visiting that place again.
As a former Pennsylvanian the brick roads are very treacherous in the winter you memorize and avoid them if possible. Must be the county seat for the parking.
For about ten years I roamed the hilly country roads of Pennsylvania on a motorcycle. Beautiful state on the bike . I stopped in the small towns and walked around checking out the history. A small diner here and there was always quaint
That grocery store in Brookville was pronounced Bi Low. I didnt even realize that was still a store anymore! It was owned by a local regional chain who had a bunch of grocery stores in the region but closed down after their main owners passed. The rest of the family drove it into the ground and most of them closed. I had no idea one of them still existed. Thats very exciting! I grew up about an hour west of Brookville in Butler County. One thing my out of state friends always complained about was how many hills were around so it's funny to hear you comment on that. Really enjoyed this video exploring towns from my childhood!
Brookville is gorgeous ! The Jeff Co Courthouse is really stunning. I love the buildings and the different styles. Loved the Texaco sign. I enjoyed learning about my favorite groundhog! I’m glad he’s pampered. Thank you for taking us behind the scenes! It was wonderful to learn about Phil. I’m with Nicole. No cauliflower or carrots 🤣. Looking forward to your next video.
I live in NEPA, Milford, cute sane town. Moved up here 5 years ago to retire from NYC. Best decision I ever made. We have been coming up for over 30 years as weekenders. Even Port Jervis which is in NYS has gotten much better, used to be run down but not any more, love this area. These areas have so much history.
Joe, I am from this area, about an hour South. Brookville and neighboring towns were at the center of the industrial age. Forestry, mining of coal and clay, gas and oil production, were very lucrative industries; thus the large and stately houses. Those large houses would be the owners and bosses of those industries. But there were many good jobs in those industries. you can say, Areas like this built America. This area had the raw materials, to make America strong. Sadly our current politicians have stopped all mining , gas and oil production, and the smoke from the brickyards, will never be seen again. Forestry was a great industry; in a time when most everything was made from wood. Oh the hills, we don't notice them that much; who would want to live in a flat, boring environment?
Thanks for the great PA video and narration of the small towns. I was born in Erie in the 1940s but haven't been back since a visit in the late1950s. Fun to see the small towns. Have fun on your travels!
I live in a small small town called Fredonia Pa. It’s sad how everything is dwindling down and economy has been slow, stores are shut down, feed mills are done, jewelry stores are gone, All we have is a Bank, post office, fire department and a little dinner that may fit 20 people. Sad how Father Time has changed for me in 55 years. Love your videos.!
Loved your video. My husband and I were born and raised in the Wilkes Barre and Pittston areas but never visited these towns. Now I live in Tucson, AZ. Since we moved here in 1997. As nice as PA is, we would never move back.
I have a few relatives in Brookville,my great grandparents were from up that way so from the time I was little we drove all over that whole area visiting family, friend's, camping,, haven't been there in about 5 years now,but love it there,,Thank You !!
Greetings from Indiana, PA (Home of Jimmy Stewart) - which isn't far from Punxy. It was great to see this - great job. It's told that they keep more that one groundhog at the library for backup when they do the ceremony. There's an urban legend that says one morning on the day of the ceremony, they reached in to grab him and hold him up, but he had died. Take it for what it's worth LOL.
Luv this Pennsylvania lil'town tour. Beautiful. Brookville courthouse amazing. Bonus was the bell ringing. That meal you had was awesome looking! why did I think you'd be having re-fried beans something something..lol. The towns all so clean and tidy looking. MOST impressive! Be proud resident ppl of those towns. Thx Joe & Nic!
If you're ever in Southwestern PA, visit Mount Pleasant and Scottdale in Westmoreland County. Beautiful, thriving, old towns. Historic architecture, beautiful old homes, quaint storefronts. Good people and beautiful scenery, too.
As someone who has driven up and down many steep grades it is usually best to proceed from a complete stop at the top of a steep hill in manually selected low gear and tap the brakes ss needed to maintain speed. Engine compression is your friend. Never put the transmission into low gear while moving downgrade as both engine and transmission damage can happen. If you have a manual trans it's a different matter. Groundhog day was filmed in Woodstock Ill. and the railroad scenes were done at the Illinois Railway Museum. For whatever reason Punxutawney strenuously objected to the movie after looking over the plot. Excellent video, enjoyed it much!
Thanks for taping these little towns! My Dad was born in DuBois, Simpson and Stahlmans. We vacationed as a kids in Punxsutawney in the 50’s and 60’s. Hasn’t changed much.
This is a very nice area of PA. I had the opportunity to visit last year around early October and as a New Englander I will say the fall foliage rivaled anything we have in VT and NH
My mother in-law was born and raised in Brookville,pa. My husband raised in Brockway, pa. Another small town about 30 minutes from Brookville. My husband and I moved lancaster, pa. And are planning to move back after retirement in 2 years to live on the family farm in Sigel, pa . Nice drive from Brookville. Don't forget to check out Cooks Forest and Clarion river !😊
My wifes from an area not to far from where youre at. Love taking trips to visit family in PA. They have a beautiful farm with an incredible view that goes for miles. Great place to relax for sure.
I’m from a little town north of Dayton Ohio. For the last 18 years I’ve lived near Cranberry Township PA. I love it here! Beautiful scenery, nice people and a lot to do.
when I first moved to Honesdale, PA in the 1970s some real nice folks took me out to eat and show me around. As we left their home I noticed my host hadn't locked the door and I mentioned it, trying to be helpful. He said "What if someone comes over? They would have to sit outside until we got home." Wow. Unfortunately I stayed only a few years but loved living there. Fun fact: when I would mention the local open door policy older folks would tell me to make sure I locked up my place when "the Carnies were in town for the county fair." I did a half assed record search and found nothing regarding Traveler crime. A local myth evidently, and I used to have fun with it
Brookville is only an hour from where I and my family live. There are some very little towns around if you blink you'll miss the towns. There are also some fantastic diners around also. Enjoy my home state.
Another area of PA to consider is in the Southwestern Coal country of Fayette and Westmoreland County. My family is from the Perryopolis area which has ties back to George Washington. The town is laid out similar to the way Washington DC was originally created and there is a Grist Mill (recreated on the old foundation) that was owned by George himself. In nearby Layton (my mother's home), scenes from The Silence of the Lambs were filmed. In nearby Uniontown, there is great old homes and buildings that reflect the wealth of being in the center of bituminous coal production. It might be an interesting visit for you and it is certainly off the beaten path.
Don't know if you are going this time, but if you ever get a chance, you must see State College, PA. Beautiful. I'm from Philadelphia, but my uncle, who worked for Dept of Agriculture, he and my aunt lived there from 1989 to 2004 when he retired. We loved going up there to visit. They lived right under Nittany Mountain.
I have so been loving your videos since I found them - thank you for the amount of research and effort you put into them! I find them incredibly relaxoing and interesting. Grateful for this content!
I used to listen to radio when i was little ,(70 years ago) a song used to come on the line i remember is" There's A Pawnshop on the Corner in Pittsburgh Pennsylvannia" i had an image of that pawn shop when i was 6 and it is still with me today, i really wanted to visit the shop, Brookville looks a lovely place, Thank You for showing this to me, from England😘
Glad that I happened along to your video by chance! I was born and raised in DuBois (pronounced DuBoyce), moved 4 miles away to Falls Creek at 17, 50 years ago. Rural Pennsylvania is a great place to live and we have all 4 seasons. Speaking of which, Punxy Phil forecasts if we are going to have 6 more weeks of Winter every year on February 2nd, which is the calendar first day of Spring.😉 You missed some major points of interest in DuBois worth mentioning, like a lot of towns in Pennsylvania, all the fire departments are volunteer and DuBois is proud to being one of only two volunteer fire departments in the United States that is ISO 1 certified. DuBois also has a beautiful City Park on the Boulevard as you were coming into town on Rt. 219 South and the major Penn Highlands Hospital Campus on Main Street, the major employer in town. Anyways thanks for the awesome video of my area of west central PA!
It is interesting in its pronunciation, as you say DuBoyce, because being a French word(s), in French it would be pronounced DooBra, Meaning "from or of the Woods". I guess all the Frenchmen left, and the pronunciation became Anglicized. ha-ha
@@seascape35 The DuBois family were Huguenots whose intense hatred for the ruling elite of France was expressed when they pronounced their surname in the most "un-French" manner possible: DOO boyce. They settled in Williamsport and prospered in the lumber business. Their scion, John E. Du Bois built a lumber mill in what was then swampland east of the settlement of Rumbarger, and it thrived due to the ease of transportation of the logs downstream to Pittsburgh (and later by rail, which led to coal mining, and massive influx of Irish, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants but that's a WHOLE 'nother story!)
Great video!! Brookville was a gem (courthouse). Read they get over 40 inches of snowfall per year, so those hills would be interesting come Winter. Cheers!!
As someone who has lived here in PA my whole life I will say yes you do need to change your break pads more often here. Between all of the stop and go combined with the hills your break pads def get worn down faster. You should check out Altoona sometime!
Great travelogue. BTW, BiLo is pronounced "Buy Low" and Dubois is pronounced Due Boys with the locals emphasizing Due. I'm looking forward to seeing Harrisburg through your lens.
I'm from Mars, PA , and was going to comment on pronunciations but you beat me to it. I still have a Bi lo near me. Been through these towns briefly, need to spend some time there exploring.
Hi Jo & Nic I’m fairly new to the channel. I’m in the UK 🇬🇧. Love the videos and find them very informative. I would loved to do Route 66 and rural towns in a an 80’s wagon with the “wood” cladding. Your content allowed me to sit back and imagine I’m going on these trips with you! Thank you
Brookville is beautifull. I ho thru there to get to camp at clarion. It really is a step back in time. In westmoreland county and nothing is flat in this side of state.
My mom was in the Brookville hospital back in the 60's. She told us that she heard the bell at the courthouse ring all through the night! I haven't been there since I was a kid. Thanks for the tour!!!
Take a trip through Elk County, PA sometime....through Hallton, Ridgway, St. Mary's, Johnsonburg....and along Spring Creek and the Clarion River.... A trip you'll not soon forget. Some beautiful country ...!!
I was born and raised in Warren Pa and had to replace break pads evert 30/40k miles . Moved to the plains of Alabama 15 years ago and only once replaced breaks after owning the car from new at 118k miles
