Thursday is "Shoofly Pie Day"
HARRISBURG – Governor Edward G. Rendell has proclaimed May 14 as “Shoofly Pie Day” in recognition of Pennsylvania’s tasty treat, and to help launch the state’s new spring and summer tourism promotion: the Peter Arthur Stories.
“No dessert is as uniquely ‘Pennsylvanian’ as a piece of shoofly pie,” Governor Rendell said. “We wanted to celebrate this pie, which was made famous by the Pennsylvania Dutch, and give it a cameo role in our new tourism campaign starring a guy with just the right initials, Peter Arthur.”
The Peter Arthur Stories follow the character’s quirky odyssey to recapture a lost slice of his youth.
“At age 12, Peter became captivated with shoofly pie and Meg, the waitress who served it,” Department of Community and Economic Development Deputy Secretary for Tourism Mickey Rowley said. “Now a young man, Peter is traveling across the state on a voyage fueled by dreams of his first love and held together by molasses.”
The Peter Arthur Stories include four Web-based short films, which can be found at www.pastories.com. The films offer a generous helping of Keystone State scenery, roadside attractions, quaint communities and larger-than-life characters. Visitors to the site can learn more about Peter’s road trip, as well as discover the favorite spots of his co-stars, explore attractions across the state to plan their own Peter-inspired roadtrip, and enter a sweepstakes.
The story behind shoofly pie, which is made of a crumb crust, brown sugar, and molasses, begins with the Amish and Mennonite bakers who cooled their molasses pies in windowsills. Since flies were attracted by the sugary aroma, the bakers had to constantly “shoo” the flies away.
Although Peter does love shoofly pie he would never be able sample a slice from every eatery; one of the most famous being the Bird-in-Hand Bakery in Lancaster County (www.bird-in-hand.com). The fourth generation of the Smucker family still makes a wide variety of Pennsylvania Dutch favorites from scratch – from its famous wet-bottom shoofly pie and oversized apple dumplings to whoopie pies and fresh pumpkin pie made from homegrown pumpkins.
Travelers can experience the shoofly pie tradition at any of these stops across the state:
• Albion Diner, Albion, Erie County, www.albiondiner.com, 814-756-4913
• Wellsboro Diner, Wellsboro, Tioga County, 570-724-3992
• Brody’s Diner, Centre Hall, Centre County, 814-364-5099
• Dana’s Family Restaurant, Palmyra, Lebanon County, 717-838-6822
• Saville’s Diner, Boyertown, Berks County, 610-369-1433
• Miss Oxford Diner, Oxford, Chester County, www.oxforddiner.com, 610-932-2653
• Wolfe’s Diner, Dillsburg, York County, 717-432-2101
• Good n’ Plenty Restaurant, Smoketown, Lancaster County, www.goodnplenty.com, 717-394-7111
“No dessert is as uniquely ‘Pennsylvanian’ as a piece of shoofly pie,” Governor Rendell said. “We wanted to celebrate this pie, which was made famous by the Pennsylvania Dutch, and give it a cameo role in our new tourism campaign starring a guy with just the right initials, Peter Arthur.”
The Peter Arthur Stories follow the character’s quirky odyssey to recapture a lost slice of his youth.
“At age 12, Peter became captivated with shoofly pie and Meg, the waitress who served it,” Department of Community and Economic Development Deputy Secretary for Tourism Mickey Rowley said. “Now a young man, Peter is traveling across the state on a voyage fueled by dreams of his first love and held together by molasses.”
The Peter Arthur Stories include four Web-based short films, which can be found at www.pastories.com. The films offer a generous helping of Keystone State scenery, roadside attractions, quaint communities and larger-than-life characters. Visitors to the site can learn more about Peter’s road trip, as well as discover the favorite spots of his co-stars, explore attractions across the state to plan their own Peter-inspired roadtrip, and enter a sweepstakes.
The story behind shoofly pie, which is made of a crumb crust, brown sugar, and molasses, begins with the Amish and Mennonite bakers who cooled their molasses pies in windowsills. Since flies were attracted by the sugary aroma, the bakers had to constantly “shoo” the flies away.
Although Peter does love shoofly pie he would never be able sample a slice from every eatery; one of the most famous being the Bird-in-Hand Bakery in Lancaster County (www.bird-in-hand.com). The fourth generation of the Smucker family still makes a wide variety of Pennsylvania Dutch favorites from scratch – from its famous wet-bottom shoofly pie and oversized apple dumplings to whoopie pies and fresh pumpkin pie made from homegrown pumpkins.
Travelers can experience the shoofly pie tradition at any of these stops across the state:
• Albion Diner, Albion, Erie County, www.albiondiner.com, 814-756-4913
• Wellsboro Diner, Wellsboro, Tioga County, 570-724-3992
• Brody’s Diner, Centre Hall, Centre County, 814-364-5099
• Dana’s Family Restaurant, Palmyra, Lebanon County, 717-838-6822
• Saville’s Diner, Boyertown, Berks County, 610-369-1433
• Miss Oxford Diner, Oxford, Chester County, www.oxforddiner.com, 610-932-2653
• Wolfe’s Diner, Dillsburg, York County, 717-432-2101
• Good n’ Plenty Restaurant, Smoketown, Lancaster County, www.goodnplenty.com, 717-394-7111
.jpg)
Comments