Love Eat Travel with Michelle Valentine

[Michelle] On this episode of Love Eat Travel, we're visiting an area rich in American and local history, neighboring an endless landscape of farmland that helps facilitate the Farm to Table movement, a mutual benefit between local farmers and restaurants.

The natural beauty makes you want to experience and explore everything it has to offer, and it all seems to bring people and families together.

This is Happy Valley, Pennsylvania.

Hi, I'm Michelle Valentine and for over 20 years I've been traveling the world admiring and exploring unique destinations that are off the beaten path.

I love people and their stories, and traveling allows me to share these experiences with you.

This is Love, Eat, Travel.

Happy Valley, Pennsylvania is located smack dab in the center of the state and consists of State College and several other local townships.

It is probably best known for being home to Penn State University.

However, our journey begins in beautiful Amish country along the seamless farmlands and against the backdrops of the Allegheny and Appalachian Mountains.

Happy Valley, Pennsylvania is an area rich in agriculture.

Everywhere you go, you see cornfields, sunflower fields and yes, cow farms.

We were given the opportunity and the pleasure of coming here to an Amish dairy farm, where we're going to learn about the process of making cheese.

So, we're surrounded by 36 dairy cows?

[Randall] Yes.

So, a dairy cow, just how much milk does a dairy cow create?

So, this particular herd gives about nine gallons per cow.

Wow.

That's a lot.

Per day.

-That's a lot.

-That's a lot of milk.

[Michelle] So, I assume that they have a special diet.

[Randall] Yes.

So, this is what's called a totally mixed ration.

It's a mixture of corn, hay and grain.

These cows actually have their own nutritionist that comes in and tests the feed.

It smells...

It really smells divine.

It's it smells like something you could eat.

You know, something you'd get at a shop and they grind it up and you drink it as a green smoothie in the morning.

It does smell.

Michelle, would you like to milk a cow?

I would love to.

Okay, so how do you milk a cow?

So, the first thing you do, you want to reassure her?

That's important.

So, the cow will sense your energy.

So, if you're real confident with her, then she'll be comfortable.

She'll feel like you kind of know what you're doing.

And then then you just want to take the teat.

You pinch the top.

Okay, the top.

And then squeeze the bottom of it and it'll shoot out just like that.

And this is a relief for her.

It is.

She wants this to happen.

So, I'm trying to help you.

I'm trying.

So, now it takes it takes about five minutes to-- About five minutes, right.

-Okay.

-It might take a while.

It'll take a while.

[Michelle] The milk is then collected and put into large stainless steel kettles where they heat and stir the curds, after which it is put into moulds and finally sent to the caves.

I definitely want to see this.

We are in a cheese cave in an Amish farm cheese cave.

It's amazing.

Right behind me, this is Gouda cheese and the different stages of the aging process all the way to the bottom.

And what length of time are we talking about?

So, the cheeses at the top have been here since last week.

Okay.

And then all the way down here, these cheeses have been in here for about a year.

It's a beautiful color.

The coloring, really beautiful.

Just amazing.

And the humidity is 88 degrees humidity in here.

My nose is absolutely frozen.

I'm just freezing here.

That's part of the reason we keep them in the cave is so that we can control the temperature and the humidity levels so that the cheese ages the way it's supposed to.

Delicious.

So, I'm ready to taste some of this cheese.

Yeah.

Is that what we're going to do?

That's where we're headed.

We have Brie and then this is some sort of little-- What is this?

It's a preserve.

So that has strawberry.

That's a strawberry cranberry preserve.

Amazing flavor profile.

So good.

It's really neat that they pair preserves with the cheese because typically, you think of wine.

You can just see big chunks of strawberries.

And the next one.

So that's a raspberry beet preserve.

Raspberry red beet.

Amazing.

The colors is an amber color.

Let's try some raspberry.

Mmm.

That is so delicious.

You get the sweet with the smooth.

What a great idea.

All right, now we have white cheddar.

Right.

And this is a horseradish mustard.

Mustard on top of cheddar cheese.

-Right.

-Wow.

I love it.

Well, that's it.

So that's our little cheese tasting.

And I'm getting it all over the place.

But it's so good.

Thank you so much.

-Absolutely.

-I had a great time.

What a fantastic experience I had on this Amish farm.

I learned all about the process of making cheese, and possibly made a new friend too along the way.

I really wanted to learn more about the Farm to Table movement and how this farm, as well as many others, contribute and help local restaurants.

So, I headed to a nearby historic family-owned restaurant to speak to the owner and find out more about what makes this movement so special.

So, your family has been here, right here, for 200 years.

Yes.

We are actually Swiss Mennonite, believe it or not.

Wow.

And they moved to the Happy Valley area?

Well, they moved from Switzerland to Philadelphia and then to Lancaster and then into Centre County, Happy Valley.

But that was in 1798, a long time ago.

And they were farmers?

They were farmers, yes.

And now you're kind of a farmer.

Kind of.

Very funny that I am.

Yes.

It's all locally sourced and we have maybe 30 farmers that we work with locally to bring in all the ingredients.

They literally come in our back porch.

Well, I saw them this morning when we came here to film.

I saw them come in through the back.

And the farmer came with the cases and the bushels of all the vegetables and the fruits.

It's hard to believe all of this is from within 20 or 30 miles.

Ninety percent is locally sourced actually.

As well as this pork chop is locally sourced.

He said it was 11 miles away.

Something also is, you know, the Farm to Table movement is really grown in the last, maybe the last decade, and the community really supports it.

So, why do you think it's grown?

Why has the Farm to Table grown so much?

You know, nutrition.

Community, actually.

And supporting, kind of going back to our roots, going back to the way it used to be.

So, I think a little bit of all of that.

And we live in one of the most beautiful and fertile areas of the East Coast, actually.

When my family came 12, 13 generations, they were farmers and they actually came to Pennsylvania because the land was very similar to Germany and Switzerland.

So, you can grow amazing things.

Why get something on a truck when you can get it literally down the street?

Well, you can't get any better than this.

So, thank you so much.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

[Michelle] Now that I have a full tummy, I was ready to experience some of the outdoors and natural wonders that Happy Valley has to offer.

What better place to start than Penn's Cave and Wildlife Park?

There is so much to do and see here, but I first wanted to visit the natural caves that this location is so well known for.

Down below is Penn's Cave.

My name is Marty Brumbaugh and I'm a cave manager here at Penn's Cave, and I'm also a guide.

[Michelle] We're going on a boat ride through a limestone cave, the only cave in the state of Pennsylvania that takes you by boat.

Centuries ago, the Native Americans discovered this cave.

And then in 1885, this was turned into a show cave.

Yes.

The the first tours began with row boats, candles and lanterns.

And we've improved on that a little bit since then, so we can see more of the cave.

[Michelle] This cave is simply enormous and magnificent.

[Marty] And this is a room where the Native Americans came in and used the cave.

On this side, the heart of the cave.

Oh.

Stalactites are seen everywhere and form from mineral precipitation.

They can take tens of thousands of years to form and even longer.

It's so tempting that you want to touch the walls.

But of course, if every tourist came here and touched the walls, it would damage it.

It would.

The oil from our skin remains on the rock and it stops the rock crystals from growing.

Stops them from bonding.

Don't be alarmed or afraid when it bumps.

[gasp] We hit the side of the boat.

And then we come across something quite magical and breathtaking at the same time.

An area that looked untouched.

Almost like we went back in time to some prehistoric period.

Of course, minus the dinosaurs.

The scenery is stunning.

It's amazing that the water that starts here in Penns Creek will eventually make it all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean.

As we head back through the cave, yes, through that tiny little crevice, I'm again taken in by the majesty and brilliance that nature has to offer.

Just to think it took millions of years for all of this to form.

Thank you for being brave in the cave.

I was brave in the cave.

Brave in the cave.

That was quite an amazing experience.

But this location is not just about caves.

It also has an extensive wildlife conservation park, and we're about to take a wild safari ride to find out more.

So here we have some of our American buffalo, which are also, of course, the bison.

My name is Olivia Wright and I'm part of our animal care team here at Penn's Cave.

I'm also a wildlife tour guide.

So bison and buffalo are really two different animals.

People think they're the same animal, but they're not.

So what's the differences?

The easiest way to tell the difference if you're kind of from a distance is probably by their horn.

So they actually have horns that come out of the sides of their heads and they're going to curve straight upwards.

While buffalo horns come out of the tops of their heads and they curve downwards.

So that's the easiest way to tell the difference.

So right now, I would be a...?

Right now, you'd be a bison.

Yes.

And then I would be a...?

Buffalo if they were coming down.

So, bison, buffalo.

Bison, buffalo.

Look at that.

Right behind us, they are playing in the dirt.

They're actually kind of cute, really.

They're cute animals.

They were actually on the endangered species list for a little while.

So, we went from about 50 to 60 million all the way down to about 1,000 roaming free.

But we're right up to right around 500,000 now, which is definitely really, really exciting.

So, it's a great success story for conservation.

[Michelle] There are many other animals that are cared for at this wildlife park, and as I was introduced to them, I saw the love and passion that this staff had with these animals.

Hi pretty girl Zara.

[Michelle] This was a feel-good story all the way.

And speaking of feeling good, on a beautiful day like today, I'm off to do something I've always wanted to do, fly fishing.

And to learn more about the types of fish that inhabit these rivers and streams.

Alright, I have never gone fly fishing in my whole life, but I am a fisherwoman.

So, I'm born and raised in Michigan.

I'm used to fishing in the lakes.

I now live in Florida, so I'm fishing in the ocean.

But fly fishing is totally new to me and I'm really excited to learn how to do this.

My name is Matt Kowalchuk.

I'm the head guide and guide coordinator at the Feathered Hook in Coeburn, PA, and I am excited to take Michelle fishing today.

And you're going to teach me the difference between these lures and what we're going to use.

And these are little flies, and so this is all new to me.

So, I'm so excited because we're going to go fishing after we learn how to do this.

[Matt] Let's jump right in with the flies.

Okay, so we've got a few different types of flies here.

Our primary bugs that we're fishing are mayflies.

The one you picked up is the green drake.

All we're really trying to do is emulate nature.

And most of the trout's diet is composed of eating subsurface aquatic insects like the one you're holding here.

[Michelle] So which one are we going to use to catch a fish today?

[Matt] Probably one of these little bead head nymphs.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

[Michelle] I have never fished with such a tiny little thing.

Yeah, when we get there-- We're really going to catch a fish with this tiny-- Tiny, tiny little fish.

I just lost him in here.

He's so little.

So, when we get down there, we'll flip some rocks and we'll go with whatever the predominant size and color of bug is.

So, in fly fishing, when you see people going back and forth and back and forth, you're projecting the weight of this line out which gets your fly out there.

I'm excited.

Are you excited to go catch some fish?

I'm excited to go catch some fish.

Let's get our waders on and go fishing.

Oh, I'm putting on waders?

-Yeah.

-Oh, okay.

So, we're going in the water.

Yeah, let's do it.

Okay, so to go fly fishing you have to wear a pair of waders.

And normally you fly fish in about maybe two feet of water.

So, to put on waders, these fashionable little things, you need to wear socks.

So, make sure you're wearing socks when you put them on.

They do have attached boots.

Make sure you wear some tight pants.

Wear some tight pants so it makes it easier to slip these on.

And you're going to kind of pull it up from here.

And then you're just going to shimmy on up and you're going to crisscross and we're going to clip it on over here.

This is almost a little workout just putting these waders on.

So, when you clip it on and then, ta da, you have this fashionable, lovely set of waders with attached shoes.

So, let's go fly fishing.

[Matt] Look where you want it.

And then you lift the rod, and it's like walking a well-trained dog.

You want to keep that line off the water just by lifting your rod tip.

There you go.

That's better.

Hold on tight.

Oops, may have caught a cameraman.

They eat what they want when they want.

So, you know... Set!

Set!

It seemed like it was coming up.

Almost caught one that big?

Did you hear the story about the one-armed fisherman?

How big his catch was?

-No.

-It was this big.

Right about here?

Yeah, a little bit further out.

Yep.

Set!

There you go.

I got one.

I got one.

Easy, easy easy, easy.

Good.

Use the reel.

Use the reel.

Oh, that'll work.

-Yeah.

-Whoo.

Yay!

All right.

Look at that.

This is a little wild brown trout here.

Watch him swim away.

That's the best part.

Bye, bye.

High five.

Nice job.

Matt, thank you so much.

You're a wonderful guide.

And I'm so happy that I caught a wild trout right here in Spring Creek.

Great.

You did a really good job.

Thank you.

[Michelle] As we leave these beautiful rivers and scenery behind, we drive through several delightful little towns, and you can see the American nostalgia everywhere.

In fact, you can easily say that Happy Valley is a slice of Americana.

You don't have to look any further than the traditions, patriotism and history that make this region so charming.

Just southeast of State College is Boalsburg, home to the Pennsylvania military Museum and the birthplace of Memorial Day.

It was founded by the Boals family, and we are about to find out why they were so important to this area.

Columbus Chapel and Boal Mansion Museum has been in the Boal family for eight generations.

I'm here with Anna and she's going to tell us how fantastic this mansion is of relics and paintings and everything that tells the story of America through the eyes of a family through eight generations.

So, the Columbus Chapel in Boal Mansion Museum, as you say, Michelle, has been in the Boal family for eight generations.

They are the founding family of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, which is a treasure within central Pennsylvania, Happy Valley most specifically.

And so, this family that has been here for eight generations, they have given us so many gifts here in 2023.

In the modern day, they were hoarders.

They never threw anything away.

They kept everything.

Which is a good thing.

Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely.

And they were wealthy hoarders, which makes it even better.

So, each generation married wealthier and wealthier family, connecting the family to a very impressive genealogy such as Christopher Columbus, Napoleon, and folks that rubbed elbows with aristocracy and political titans such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter.

So, presidents, kings, queens, you name it, the Boal family was extremely well connected, and we have evidence of that all here.

Here we are in the Boal Mansion Museum ballroom.

This ballroom has a fantastic story that goes with it, a love story.

-A love story?

-A love story.

Yes.

So, Colonel Theodore Davis Boal meets Mathilde De la Gardie in France through his travels.

He whisks her away here to Boalsburg.

What do you think of that?

How incredible.

Not so much the same as where she grew up in France.

So, this construction of the ballroom was really a sign of love.

And she was still able to continue with her designs of her ball gowns?

Absolutely.

She was able to entertain and host debutante balls and don incredible custom-made fashions made in France and delivered right here to central Pennsylvania.

Beautiful.

And also, something to do with the Louis Vuitton.

Yes, Louis Vuitton trunks, six of them, were hidden away in the attic of the museum until a couple of years ago.

These dresses were tucked away for over 80 years and just rediscovered and put out for the public to marvel at only recently.

So, the Boal family was gifted items that range from the medieval times all the way to World War I.

They received really priceless gifts.

They received things from presidents, presidential administrations, the Roosevelts, the Carters.

They also received gifts from Native American groups.

Colonel Theodore Ball, who I mentioned earlier, through his travels through his war service, he was able to collect a number of different swords and firearms, helmets, uniforms.

So, it's really incredible the networks they were able to make because of their love of history and love of America.

So, our finale is the Columbus Chapel.

The Columbus Chapel is a consecrated church.

It is a collection of Columbus family heirlooms taken from a castle in Astoria, Spain, here to Boalsburg in the early 20th century.

You have 17th century paintings.

This is amazing.

You also have two pieces of the cross of Jesus Christ right here.

Absolutely.

We have such an array of incredible, magnificent pieces here, 165,000 pieces of Columbus family papers and yes, two pieces of the True cross.

[Michelle] And this is it.

These two small slivers are from the cross of Jesus Christ.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Michelle.

[Michelle] It was obvious that the Boals family have lived here a very long time.

Well, I'm about to visit a place that embraces all of this family togetherness.

This is the Grange Fair in a 100-year waiting list for a tent spot.

That's right, 100 years.

That means that maybe your great grandchildren will eventually get a spot.

We are here at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair, also known as the Grange Fair, and I am here with LeDon Young, who is also known as the Center Hall Mayor.

Thank you.

But she's also really the historian of the Grange Fair.

So, this is the 149th year.

That's correct.

We are the only fair encampment in the country.

In about 1880, folks started bringing tents to the fair, so they could spend the night.

Horses are wonderful, but they don't have headlights.

So, to get home safely, they would go the next day.

It was such a hit that Leonard Rhone rented from the National Guard tents.

And as you know, the National Guard gets what the Army doesn't want anymore.

So, they were old Civil War tents.

So, if you look at our tents and you imagine John Wayne in a campaign tent, that's exactly what we have.

[Michelle] This fair has the standard entertainment, rides and food vendors, but what I really wanted to find out is more about these tents and the families that have had these spots for generations.

So, Norm, you've been here in this tent at the Grange Fair for 37 years.

That's correct.

You're also the author of the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair 125th Anniversary Book.

That is correct.

My name is Norman Lathbury.

I'm a retired military officer.

I spent 32 years on duty.

And so, what made you want to write a book about the fair?

Well, this is a unique fair because of the tents that are here, the RVs that are here, the families that come here year after year and camp in the same site that they've been camping on for year after year.

This is some wonderful photos.

Beautiful.

The book is just beautiful.

There's only so many tents that are here.

So, the families have these tents that they've had for.... -Generations.

-Generations.

They've been here and in the same spot.

So, you've seen this tree grow?

Yes.

This tree next to us is that high and that's how long you've been here?

Yeah.

Just about.

Did you plant that seed?

I don't think so.

But it was a lot smaller when we came.

You probably know everyone here.

We know most of the people here.

[Michelle] So, Agnes, you have been coming to the Grange Fair for 99 years?

Yes, I have been.

And so, in the same spot here?

We're in the same location.

We had the third tent from the road.

So, you were here.

You and your husband, your parents, your grandparents.

That's a long time at the fair.

What do you love about coming here?

Well, we always-- I could always play with my cousins when I was younger.

They lived in the same area, but we didn't get together very often.

But here at the fair, we were here for a week.

So, we got to play together.

And we have a play area up at the headquarters, and of course, that's where we always went every day to play.

We had swings, sandboxes and seesaws and we thought that was great.

[Michelle] Well, what's a fair without a proper chicken dance?

[music begins] [cheering] [Michelle] I guess I can now see why a spot here at the Grange Fair is so sought after.

So, Happy Valley is not just a college town, it's a region with some of the most beautiful farmland you will ever see.

Natural wonders that you can actually visit and experience, a history and pride that ring American, through and through and a cuisine that is so fresh it literally comes from next door.

You can see why the people who live here love living here, and it's apparent that every resident has found their own unique reason for making Happy Valley a truly happy place of their own.

Remember, for a happy life, love, eat, travel.

You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around That's what it's all about Grange Fair You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out You put your left foot in and you shake it all about You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around That's what it's all about Grange Fair [Michelle] For recipes, travel tips, behind the scenes and more, visit www.loveeattravel.TV.