Pennsylvania
Reenactors, historians celebrate Pennsylvania’s birthday at Bushy Run museum
Educators, craftspeople, reenactors, volunteers and visitors hoping to learn more about local history crowded the halls of the Bushy Run Battlefield Museum on Sunday.
The occasion? The state of Pennsylvania’s 343rd birthday, or “Charter Day” — the day in 1681 that Pennsylvania was named, when England’s King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn.
The celebration is marked at many Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission sites like Bushy Run Battlefield with an open house day. Admission was free Sunday for the museum at Bushy Run, and though bad weather kept activities indoors, the historical party brought the past to life for attendees who explored exhibits at the visitor center.
Though Bushy Run Battlefield is better known for its battle history, which dates to more than 80 years after the founding, in August 1763, educators found ways to incorporate multiple eras of local history, said museum manager Matt Adams.
“There’s enough in this museum that talks about more broadly, the ideas of colonial expansion and settlement, and the role of the British military in the colony here, that we’re able to connect the stuff we do here with the founding in 1681,” Adams said.
Educators and reenactors showed off their period clothing and handmade items and talked about their areas of expertise.
Leon Sam Briggs, a Tonawanda Seneca artist, explained to visitors how different beadwork items, weapons, pipes, and bags were made, and talked about Native American life in the region.
“Everything I do is out of original—I do it the old-style way,” he said.
Some of his work has been featured in documentaries, he added.
Dan Balzarini, a reenactor with Proctor’s Militia in Hannastown, said he teaches about multiple different eras of history.
The clothing he wears and items he carries differ by time period, he explained—his waistcoat would be a different length if he was portraying a Revolutionary War soldier as opposed to a French and Indian War soldier.
“A lot of this you have to make yourself,” he said. “You just can’t go to JCPenney and buy gaiters or britches.”
Connecting to history
Henry Bowden, a reenactor who was portraying William Penn, signed copies of the Pennsylvania charter for visitors.
Bowden said many visitors are not as aware of pre-Revolutionary War history.
“That’s where I get the opportunity to introduce myself to them and give them a little background on the history of Pennsylvania,” he said.
Nina Carey and daughters Mia and Taylor Sarpolis of Jeannette were a few of those visitors who came to Charter Day explore local history. Carey said she and her family hike at the battlefield often, but they haven’t made their way to the visitor center before.
“You grow up here, and I always tell them, there’s so much history,” she said. “This is kind of like our backyard.”
Meadow Golick, 9, came with her mom, Amanda Golick, from Irwin. The two sat down at a table with volunteers to play colonial-era children’s games.
“We’ve just come to learn about history,” Amanda said.
Meadow said her favorite activity was getting to write with a feather pen.
Events like this give people multiple ways to connect to history, Adams said.
“It’s really just about trying to reach as many different people as we can, in as many different ways as we can,” he said. “Some people respond really well to going through a quiet museum, kind of reading the displays and seeing the artifacts, and some people respond really well to seeing the reenactors, and having them kind of lifelike in front of them.”
Many volunteers at the museum first got hooked on history as kids when they explored a museum themselves, he added.
“We figure, if we do something like this and we even get one or two people to get interested in history, then that pays of generations from now,” Adams said.
Julia Maruca is a TribLive reporter covering health and the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She joined the Trib in 2022 after working at the Butler Eagle covering southwestern Butler County. She can be reached at jmaruca@triblive.com.
The U.S. has a new top amusement park – and it’s not Disney themed.
Little-known Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, took home the top prize for top amusement park in the recently released TripAdvisor “Best of the Best” list.
“Family-owned and operated since 1926, Knoebels Amusement Resort—located in Elysburg, Pennsylvania—is America’s largest free-admission amusement park. It’s got it all: roller coasters, kid-friendly rides (bumper cars, a haunted mansion), swimming, camping, a mining museum, and even a championship 18-hole golf course. The accommodating staff, clean facilities, and fun attractions make for a memorable family-friendly visit,” TripAdvisor noted.
The park, which is located in the middle of the state, received a 4.7 rating from nearly 3,000 reviewers on the website.
Dollywood, Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Universal Island rounded out the top five on TripAdvisor’s list.
Knoebels celebrated taking the top spot with a social media post. Its fans were not surprised with the high ranking.
“We knew it all along,” the American Coaster Enthusiasts for Eastern Pennsylvania wrote in response.
“Been going since 1996,” one user wrote.
Knoebels opened in 1926 and is America’s largest free-admission park. Tickets for individual rides cost visitors a fee,, but entry remains free.
The resort offers more than 100 rides ranging from family to thrill coasters. The Impulse roller coaster is one of the park’s most popular and features upside-down twists and a 90-degree free fall. The Phoenix roller coaster is a classic wooden model that first opened in 1947 in Texas. In 1985 it was reborn at Knoebels.
If thrill seeking isn’t on your bucket list, the park offers plenty of gentler rides. The antique cars attractions let people drive a Model-T replica through the woods and under the Phoenix roller coaster. The park’s Grand Carousel also offers a throwback ride to users and a game on each ride where the winner gets a free turn.
Dolly Parton’s Dollywood in Tennessee took the second spot on the list.
“Dollywood is the brainchild of singer Dolly Parton, who grew up in the surrounding Smoky Mountains of Tennessee,” TripAdvisor noted. “The park has a downhome feel with singalongs and a museum dedicated to Parton’s life, plus high-velocity roller coasters and thrill rides. Watch artisans showcase glass blowing and pottery skills. Stay at the park’s two resorts for loads of perks.”
While a pair of Disney parks in Florida took the next two spots on the list.
“Known as The Most Magical Place On Earth, the Magic Kingdom Park needs no introduction. This theme park is located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and features some of Disney’s best-known attractions (Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Cinderella Castle). There’s also a nightly fireworks show, musical parades, and meet and greets with your favorite Disney Characters,” TripAdvisor said of Magic Kingdom.
Here is the full top 10 list:
- Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, Pennsylvania)
- Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
- Magic Kingdom Park (Bay Lake, Florida)
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Bay Lake, Florida)
- Universal Islands of Adventure (Orlando, Florida)
- Epcot (Bay Lake, Florida)
- Legoland California (Carlsbad, California)
- Universal Studios Florida (Orlando, Florida)
- Disneyland Park (Anaheim, California)
- Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri)
Pennsylvania
Update: Freeze warning for part of Pennsylvania until Sunday morning – temperatures to drop to 28
Pennsylvania
Could a gas tax holiday be imposed in Pennsylvania as prices at the pump continue to rise?
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Discussion continues about potentially suspending the Pennsylvania gas tax, one of the highest state gas taxes in the country, as prices at the pump continue to jump.
Lawmakers in both chambers are considering a gas tax holiday that would remove Pennsylvania’s gas tax for a limited period. The Senate proposal would last 60 days, while the House version would run for six months. Supporters say the move would provide needed help for people across the state, while opponents argue it is not sustainable.
The proposals would save drivers about 57 cents per gallon on gasoline and about 75 cents per gallon on diesel from the state gas tax.
Representatives of the Democratic senator Lisa Boscola, who proposed the Senate bill and is from the Lehigh area, said they will continue pushing the measure they believe is needed by families around the state and are optimistic it will pass.
In the House, the effort is mostly being pushed by Republicans, though local Republican Rep. Jim Rigby said he does not support it because it is “not a real solution.”
Democratic Rep. Paul Takac agrees, saying state police and PennDOT road work are funded through the gas tax, and that suspending it would essentially defund both, and they would have to find money to fill those voids. Takac added that he has not heard any serious intention to move the bill forward.
Democratic Rep. Frank Burns said he believes that if the proposal came to a vote, a gas tax holiday would pass with bipartisan support and would provide at least a small break to struggling families.
The debate continues as gas prices continue rising, with another jump in the last week.
Chief economist Gbenga Ajilore of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says prices are unlikely to fall soon.
“It seems like gas prices are going to go up, and even if there’s some sort of resolution in say the next couple weeks, it’s going to be difficult to see prices go down anytime soon,” Ajilore said.
The Senate is back in session on Monday and for the next few days after that, but not again until June. If the gas tax holiday is going to move forward anytime soon, that is when it would likely happen.
In the House, the proposal would need to clear the Democratic-led Transportation Committee before it could go to a vote.
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