2026 June: Road Trip to Wellsboro PA

 14 June 2026 - Road trip to Wellsboro, PA

A couple of my (Evelyn's) cousins planned to fly in from Texas to upstate New York for a mini family reunion. Given that the reunion would be held near my home town of Wellsboro, PA, we decided to head there first. Our best guess puts our last visit at about 25 years ago, so it was about time to see how things had changed. 

At the beginning of the month we attended Ev's Lycoming College reunion being 50 years since graduation. On the way home from that event we passed by the Williamsport scenic overlook as it was on the wrong side of the highway along Route 15 south. Clark remembered that I had wanted to stop and look around and pulled off the highway at the lookout point for a look see and to stretch our legs a bit.

When I attended Lycoming College, someone put out a song on a 45 called "Looking down from the Mountain on Williamsport P A". I have that 45 somewhere. Goofy song!

Clark observed an airport below us.

Continuing onwards, we once again passed by the Little League Museum. Last time I could not focus my camera fast enough for pictures as we whizzed by in the car. I was prepared and did a little better this time. 

Williamsport is the home of Little League and holds international competition there annually. I do not remember a museum being located here when I attended school or anytime I passed through here prior to my most recent visit to attend my reunion. 

Little League Museum

After skirting the edges of Williamsport, we traveled the ups and downs of the highways through the mountains leading to my hometown of Wellsboro. Clark and I noted changes in the highways since our last time traveling these roads. The number of lanes has increased and the speed limit has shot up to 70 in some places. Signs indicate that the route we followed will, in the future, be part of Interstate 99. 

Having been away for so many years, I was interested to see what remained the same and what had changed. We arrived early afternoon in town, and with our hotel check-in time set for 3:00, we had time to explore.

A main attraction for Wellsboro has always been the gas lights, installed in 1856, that line Main Street.

When most towns converted to electric street lights, Wellsboro decided to retain gas lights and thus the Victorian look. In recent years, the town has capitalized on this attraction by establishing a Christmas tradition called "Dicken's of a Christmas". This is a big draw for the town. The atmosphere is enhanced as vendors dress in period costume and snow glistens off the gas lights. I have never attended but have seen many pictures capturing the beauty of the scene. 

Another iconic feature of the town is the somewhat famous "Wellsboro Diner" that has been here since 1938. It is the only surviving diner of its sort -- a "Sterling Diner" featuring a barrel-style roof and a pale-green porcelain enamel exterior.

Wellsboro also has a town square called "The Green" where a statue / fountain of Wynken, Blyken, and Nod was erected in 1938. 

The words of the poem inspiring this amazing work of art are displayed by the side of the fountain.

We had a threat of light rain as we toured the park, thus the raincoat!

Since I last visited Wellsboro, more statues have appeared on the Green. Wellsboro honors our soldiers and sailors.

Honoring Soldiers

Honoring Sailors

Across the street from "The Green" we  saw the old county courthouse.

Original Tioga County Courthouse

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that the old town movie theater, Arcadia, that opened in 1921 still exists, and even more unbelievable ... it's still showing current movies! It 1929, it became one of the first theaters in the northern US showing "talkies"!

Arcadia --  "Tioga County's Finest Theatre" 

Clark and I were married in Wellsboro. Two weeks before this trip we celebrated being married for 46 years, so of course we had to go visit the church where we "tied the knot".

United Methodist Church
built 1869

United Methodist Church
built 1869

In 1980, we came through the doors of this church wearing our wedding apparel.

Clark and Ev
where we said our vows

We strolled up and down Main Street so that I could take a walk down memory lane. I wanted to see where my dad's office was located when we lived here. Alas, that space has since been converted into a furniture store. However, we made a great find totally by accident as we wandered around -- we stumbled across the "Wellsboro Glass Historical Association" museum located on Crafton Street.

The Wellsboro branch of the Corning Glass factory operated from 1916 until 2016 when it permanently closed. Wellsboro is known as "The Town that Saved Christmas" (link to video gives the history) as Christmas ornaments that would normally be purchased from Germany were transitioned to be made in the Wellsboro factory due to World War II taking place. 

My mother immigrated to the United States in 1947 after WW II. Shortly after her arrival in Wellsboro, she took a position working on a belt in the factory boxing Christmas ornaments. My mother told me stories of her time working there, so stumbling over the museum held special meaning for me.

Historical Assoc. Museum

Display case of ornaments

I still have some of my mother's ornaments in our basement. I recognized the boxes and bulbs. The museum docent gave us a lovely tour and said that the boxes are collector items. Sadly, mine show many years of wear and tear!

The picture below depicts the work my mother would have done. The ornaments were picked up by girls on the belt capturing four in each hand between their fingers. They would then turn to drop them into a box and turn back to scoop up more. My mother said she was not very adept at collecting enough to make her quota for the day. Girls (women in their 30's) on either side of her would drop some in her box on occasion to help her out. 

 Besides ornaments, the factory produced light bulbs. In fact it was because the factory produced lightbulbs that they were approached to see if they could create ornaments as well. Where I was focused on my mom's history, Clark of course found the tools of the glass trade to be of interest.

Display case of glass bulbs

Tool for making cut glass

The museum docent, Kiley, told us we could see the Corning Glass factory building if we drove down Jackson Street, so we went on a road trip to see it. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised by the looks of the property. It has been closed as the glass factory for 10 years, but I could see that the property is in use for some other (unknown) purpose.

For all the years I lived here and the number of visits I have made to town, I have never set foot in the Wellsboro Cemetery where my grandparents and other family members are buried. I decided that this trip I would venture into the cemetery and attempt to find their final resting places. My brother-in-law was a great help and texted me directions on how to find their headstones. 

Entrance to Wellsboro Cemetery

One of the things I wanted to do while in town was drive by the schools I attended while living here. Each of the three has changed significantly.  The first one we saw was referred to as the "Junior High" when I attended and held grades 7 to 9. It is now referred to as the "Rock L. Butler Middle School" and houses grades 5 through 8. It is huge compared to when I was a student there.

Google photo: Rock L. Butler Middle School

Original Junior High School building

Huge extension to create Middle School

Next, we visited the Senior High which has also grown significantly in size. This school has expanded to the point that I did not recognize the buildings located there. I took a guess that the current "Administration Building" was the high school when I attended. The neighboring, modern-looking, building was one I did not recognize and contains the classrooms.

The football field, however, did bring back some memories.

Wellsboro Hornets

Commemorative Bell
erected in recent years

The third of my schools, my elementary school grades 1 to 6, was located outside of Wellsboro in a place called Stony Fork. Clark drove us out into the "boonies" to look for it. We found it as I recalled that, sometime in the not-so-distant past, the school was bought by the Mennonites and converted into their church.

Stony Fork Elementary
(now a Mennonite Church)

As part of our journey to find Stony Fork, we traveled along the road that went past my family home about 3 miles outside of town. 

Along the way, we passed by the Tyoga Golf Course.

This place holds significance to Clark and myself as this is the facility where we held our wedding reception. We peaked in the window of the building, and, for the most part, it looked the same as when we danced there in 1980.

Wellsboro / Tyoga Country Club

I took golf lessons here as a teenager.

We drove past my family home that looks very little like the house I grew up in. The outside frame is the same. The windows have changed, the landscaping is different, and rumor has it the inside design is nothing like what it looked like when I lived here.

As we drove by the house next door to my family home, I saw an elderly lady working in her garden. Could this possibly be the person who was my neighbor growing up??? Clark stopped the car, and I asked, and low and behold, it was her - now just over 90 years old and still working her garden. I was shocked. We had a lovely talk as she filled me in on her family. I played with her children when I was around 12 years old or so.

My Neighbor growing up

As Clark drove us out to see the elementary school, I pointed out places like where my childhood friends lived or where I stood in front of a barn waiting for the school bus. Each place brought back memories of things I did as a child, and I filled Clark's head with story after story as we drove the country roads. 

Eventually, we made our way back into town to check into the Sherwood Motel.

Clark and I stayed here following our wedding ceremony for a single night before we left town for our honeymoon in Virginia. Clark insists that the pool was in a different place in 1980. I'll take his word for it.

We had a number of choices for dinner and decided to try a restaurant on a side street in town. 

Harland's Family Style Restaurant

We traveled to Wellsboro, not for walk down memory lane but, to ride our bikes on the Rail Trail through the Grand Canyon located here. My next post on the blog will cover our 20-mile bike ride through the canyon. Stay tuned!!!