Smalltown, Pennsylvania

I've almost always lived in cities.  The only exception is when I went to college at Briercrest in Canada (lovely town!).

Now for the month of August, I have been getting to know this small town in Northern Pennsylvania.  It is very cute and classic, almost like a setting for a movie.  The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon is nearby, so the tourists keep the town up-to-speed (with things like wireless internet and MacDonald's).

TO READ MORE, INCLUDING A LIST OF SMALL TOWN EXPERIENCES CLICK:

Small town things that are unique to my American city experience:

• The public library is housed in a mansion, as is the courthouse
• There is Farmer's market every Thursday--local artists, produce, baking
• Amish families wearing traditional clothing to sell bread (no pictures please, she told me)
• The department store has a cafe in the front window, selling Hallmark cards and Starbucks coffee.
• There are no SuperTargets or Walmarts, so you actually have to go to a small grocery store (there are at least 2 in the town).
• Churches are very small and traditional--stained glass, organs, wooden benches for pews
• 
• (As I blog, church bells started ringing!)
• The cemetery has generations of families buried there (including Nate's relatives--who have lived in this town since the early 1900s!)
• Deer come by the house at night (as do bears, I'm told!).  In fact 4 deer came into the yard yesterday while we were playing in the sand box.
• We have to burn our trash (funny, in Davao that seemed like a Filipino thing, but here I am in America burning trash again!)
• Old-fashioned public phone booths are still found on the corners
• 
• Water in the house comes from a well (we live just outside the town--rural)
• There is no bathroom upstairs--only one in the house that we share
• Random people greet me and tell me about events happening in the town



Here is the market day.  Notice the table of delicious baked goods, and the amish woman bending down to get something.  I have to grab a photo from behind the tree so as not to offend.  Such great bakers!

• There is a county fair with farm animals and ferris wheel
• There are no chain stores or restaurants on the main part of main street--just unique local stores with an old-fashioned town feel
• When I get a flat tire I pull in and find them working on a tractor

I'm sure there are more things to discover, but this is on my mind today.  What inspired my blog post was buying home-made bread from the Amish woman.  It's fun to actually experience that in real life.