news release - The Penn State University Press

NEWS RELEASE
Contact:
Susan Shoup
814/865-1327
srs200@psu.edu
Editors:
Call for more information and/or a media
copy of the book.
Everything’s “Better” in the Poconos
TOP TEN LIST OF SUPERIOR ATTRACTIONS IN THE “LAND OF LOVE”
University Park, PA—Infamous for catering to honeymooners by advertising heart-shaped
bathtubs and whirlpool spas in the form of champagne glasses, the Poconos resort community is one of the largest and most diverse tourist areas on the East Coast. Pennsylvania’s
premier vacationland has attracted visitors since the first hotel opened in 1829 by continually promoting the region’s superiority.
According to Lawrence Squeri, author of Better in the Poconos: The Story of
Pennsylvania’s Vacationland (2002, Penn State Press), many things have been deemed
“better” in the Poconos throughout the years.
ROMANCE —Visitors to Caesars Cove Haven resort can't miss the Pocono message: an
enormous heart-shaped sign welcomes them to “the Land of Love.” More than 100,000
couples seek out a romantic experience in the Poconos every year.
FISHING — Advertisements in railroad directories from the 1890s promised “wily bass”
and lurking pickerel, implying that Pocono fish were smarter and more of a challenge.
GARLIC — “America’s Smelliest Band” performs at the annual Garlic Festival, which
honors local garlic growers each September.
HOT AIR — For balloonists, "shooting the Gap"—seeing how close they can come to
the Delaware River between Mount Minsi and Mount Tammany—provides first-rate
adventure during the Shawnee Hot Air Balloon Festival each October.
- more -
NEWS RELEASE
MOSQUITOES — Attempting to lure visitors away from the Catskills
and New Jersey shore in the late 1890s, advertisements for the Poconos
played upon fears of malaria and asserted that the Pocono Mountains
were mosquito-free.
WINTER SPORTS — Artifical snow has made skiing, tubing, and
snowboarding popular winter activities in the Poconos. In fact, the
snow at Jack Frost Mountain Resort has been called one of the best
man-made surfaces in the nation.
WEIGHT-LOSS — The health-conscious Deerfield Spa in Marshalls
Creek advocates a very personal approach to losing pounds. Patrons
follow supervised diets, attend lectures, and engage in dancing, aquatics, hiking, and martial arts.
SNAKES — In the nineteenth century, Pocono residents told fantastic
tall tales about snakes. One backwoods snake handler, Lige Pelton,
allegedly went off to fight in the Civil War with a box of snakes among
his personal effects—perhaps his way of avoiding homesickness.
NASCAR — Sellout crowds flock to the Pocono Raceway to witness
not one but two NASCAR races each season.
SUN BATHING Au Naturel — Signs at Sunny Rest Lodge warn that at
the swimming pool, swimsuits are not an option — they are forbidden
at the nudist colony.
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Editors: The news release text and high resolution photos are available
for download at http://www.psupress.org/news/better.html.
Better in the Poconos:
The Story of Pennsylvania’s Vacationland
Author: Lawrence Squeri
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Pub. Date: April 30, 2002
276 pages 90 illustrations 1 map
ISBN 0-271-02157-8 $34.95 cloth
A Keystone Book