“Winter Wonderland”

Few people may be aware that one of the most memorable and popular holiday songs of all time, “Winter Wonderland,” was written in a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. For the folks of Honesdale, Wayne County, holiday festivities would be incomplete without celebrating the song and its writer, Richard “Dick” Smith, with the annual Winter Wonderland festival and parade. Born in Honesdale in...
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Western Pennsylvania’s Earliest Chinese Communities

Most Pennsylvanians recognize Philadelphia’s popular Chinatown, yet far fewer know of the significant presence of Chinese immigrants in western Pennsylvania. On April 16, 2022, the Pittsburgh branch of the Organization of Chinese Americans dedicated a Pennsylvania Historical Marker for Pittsburgh Chinatown in front of the Chinatown Inn at 520 Third Avenue in the city. Six months prior, a marker...
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Sylvania Electric Products

Nestled in the valley of the Driftwood Branch of the Sinnemahoning Creek sits Emporium, the seat of Cameron County. Emporium was known for industries that were prominent in other central Pennsylvania towns: lumber, coal, dynamite, iron smelting and tanning. By the early 20th century, however, the borough made a name for itself as the home of Sylvania Electric Products, which produced...
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