Southern Hospitality, Pennsylvania Style

I am truly a southern boy, but I love to go to north east Pennsylvania every summer to enjoy an awesome weekend of good food and fun. Kathleen’s Mom grew up in Forest City, Pa. It is a small spot on the map, north of Scranton, way up in the mountains of Pa almost at the New York state line. It is a quaint little town in the country with shops and restaurants lining the small downtown area. And once a year they throw out the welcome mat and invite all their old friends back home.

Old Home Week (OHW) is a great celebration of family, friends and fun. This 30 year old tradition is a great way to celebrate Forest City’s past and reconnect once a year. Every summer the town comes together to throw one heck of a bash. Of course, my favorite part is the food. I had never had pierogies, potato pancakes, chicken speedies, whimpies, pretzel sandwiches or fried dough until my wife took me to OHW. This southern boy is definitely a fan of these northern specialties. The weekend is full of entertaining events. Everything from a pizza eating contests, a pierogi eating contest, artist’s exhibits, a pet contest, and a hat decorating contest. They have a light parade on Thursday night and a 2nd parade on Saturday. Each year they give the Distinguished Citizens award to 2 of Forest City's finest. But the event I love the most, the fireworks. These are not little bottle rockets and Roman candles. No, these are professional, HUGE, fireworks exploding directly above your head. One notch below what they do at Disney World. And after you have enjoyed each day's festivities, you can grab a beer and relax as bands take the stage and play everything from Dixie to Rock and Roll.

Another great bonus of going to OHW is that we go and visit some of Kathleen's Dad's family in nearby Dalton Pa. Visiting Aunt Nancy and the gang is really a lot of fun.

It is so worth the trip to Forest City each year to experience all that goes on with OHW. It is great to visit all of Kathleen's family and Aunt Carole and Uncle John are the best hosts. They sure know how to make this southerner feel like I have come back home. They just say it with a funny accent.