Posts tagged ‘Ben Franklin’

Edgewater: a quintessential American town.

My Dad grew up in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, a small mining town along the banks of the Susquehanna River. Even as a child, I thought of it as “the land that time forgot.” My sister and I spent many hours buying candy at Ben Franklin’s, the local five and dime. My brother and I made ourselves dizzy staring at the river rushing under the Casey Avenue Bridge, and my Dad took me for ice cream cones at Golden Quality. Yes, it’s safe to say I have a soft, nostalgic spot in my heart for Pennsylvania.

When Blue Ion asked me to join in on the Edgewater website, all of my Pa memories came flooding back. Edgewater is a new and beautiful extension of one of America’s best loved small towns, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a lovely, idyllic suburb of the Steel City. The land that once literally stood in the shadow of an old steel mill is now being mindfully developed into a thriving community, a direct honor to what is wonderful and well-executed in Oakmont, and, perhaps even more exciting, finally returns the river to the folks who love it best. Thanks to Blue Ion and the lovely and talented Deirdre Zahl for this one.

Here’s a bit of the copy I wrote:

“The streets are familiar and perfect for walking; the homes are the best of what you remember. And still, wholly new. The river has returned.”