William World News William F. Yurasko's blog v.14 – Nats, Penn State, Redskins, greater DC , travel, more

Back in December, I shared Joe Posnanski’s piece on Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon’s efforts to make Hazleton, Pa. a better place. Now, ESPN’s Outside the Lines has a story on it too:

I haven’t been back there since the end of my sophomore year in at the Old School.

CLAYSBURG, Pa. — Blue Knob ski area is nestled in a state park of the same name. The Summit Lodge, is not particularly noteworthy in appearance, other than being at the top instead of the bottom of the slopes, but that’s part of the charm. The interior is actually a little refreshing in the sense [...]

CLAYSBURG, Pa. — On my favorite slope at Blue Knob, Jack Rabbit, there is a primitive cabin on the left side.

I got off my skis and took a look, half expecting to see the Necronomicon. It wasn’t there, but I wouldn’t have been surprised.

CLAYSBURG, Pa. — This winter of discontent in the mid-Atlantic made finding the time and and place to ski or snowboard a tough one. My friend Ryan and I determined that Saturday, February 4 would fit our schedules the best and I spent too much time and energy worrying about the forecast for that day. [...]

Every year, I go places and list them. The primary criteria are 1.) Having a sit-down meal 2.) spending the night in that location.
Alexandria, Va.
Arlington, Va.
Burke, Va.
Fairfax, Va.
Falls Church, Va.
Franconia, Va.
McLean, Va.
Reston, Va.
Vienna, Va.
Annapolis, Md.
Baltimore, Md.
Columbia, Md.
Crownsville, Md.
Ellicot City, Md.
Poolesville, Md.
Avalon, N.J.
Ocean City, N.J.
Stone Harbor, N.J.
Wildwood Crest, N.J.
Woodstown, N.J.
Belleville, Pa.
Burnham, Pa.
Harrisburg, Pa.
Hershey, Pa.
Hummelstown, Pa.
Lewistown, Pa.
Mercersburg, [...]

Hazleton – Curiously Long Posts, Sports Illustrated
After spending all fall in State College working on a book at Joe Paterno and what he meant to the Penn State community at large (impeccable timing!) Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski traveled east along Interstate 80 for a little while to see Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon’s [...]

I think residents of the borough of State College may be rethinking their shortsighted decision to not enact a bear tax. No tax = no bear patrol.
State College police follow black bear out of downtown without incident – CDT
There he goes again, seeking out food or perhaps employment. It was barely 4 years ago that [...]

Pennsylvania’s dialects are as varied as its downtowns — and dahntahns – Patriot-News
The bottom line is few kitchen tables can be as linguistically cluttered as a Pennsylvania table when the family comes to town.
Based solely upon pronunciation and grammar, researchers generally split the United States into a number of linguistic regions. Those regions come together [...]

BELLEVILLE, Pa. — In Mifflin County and several neighboring central Pennsylvania counties, every September 29 is Goose Day. In 2005, my wife explained it this way:
If you eat goose on Michaelmas Day, you will never want money all the year round.”
One reason for this belief is that Michaelmas (Archangel Michael’s feast day) was traditionally [...]

REEDSVILLE, Pa. — A little local restaurant on old US 322 in my wife’s hometown has the absolute best french toast I have ever had. After having the Honey Creek Inn french toast last week for the first time in several years, I doubt I’ll feel like having french toast anywhere else, including my own [...]