So… how does everyone feel about living in a battleground state? According to most news media, there are seven “swing” states that will decide the presidential election in less than three months:: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin and, you guessed it, good ole Pennsylvania.
A Wall Street Journal article published last Thursday reported, “Presidential campaigns are pouring millions of dollars into battleground-state advertising, but no corner of America has seen more money in the past three weeks—or received more ads—than Pennsylvania.”
Data from AdImpact projects that political ad spending in Pennsylvania from March 6, 2024, to Nov. 5, 2024, will total almost $211 million. That’s more than double the next state, Michigan, which is projected to receive $99 million in ads.
Which clears up the confusion I was having, because every form of communication I use – phone, text, email, television, radio and mail — has lately been inundated with ads and solicitations and pleadings. While the Olympics were on, I thought NBC was just showing a few sports between a never-ending barrage of political ads.
My phone gets a double whammy because I not only get political calls and voicemails, but also a whole lot of text messages. Then my email is so overloaded that I started a separate folder just for political emails – for future reference, of course. And my mailbox contains special letters — just for me! — from the candidates.
Couple all that noise with the realization that the students were coming back this week, and around our house this past weekend we felt the stress and energy levels increasing and were in search of something calm and cozy and reassuring.
Ah… the Hublersburg Inn.
A short 22 miles from our house in Ferguson Township – a nice 30-minute drive out on PA Route 64 – the Hublersburg Inn is the epitome of calm, cozy and reassuring. And they serve some pretty good food too!
For those of us who drove to State College from the east back in the old days before I-99 was completed, getting off I-80 at Lamar and driving Route 64 was the way to get to Happy Valley. Through Lamar, Nittany and Hublersburg, past Mingoville and Zion, then by the huge Pleasant Gap lime plant, on past Rockview and the mall, and in to State College.
Once I-99 was completed, most everyone coming from the east now takes I-80 to the Bellefonte exit and totally bypasses all the small hamlets along this two-lane road. Meaning, unless you were looking to get out to the calm, cozy and reassuring farmland in the eastern Nittany Valley, you might not know Hublersburg was there.
Not to mention, as an unincorporated part of Walker Township with a population of only 121 people in the last census, you might go right past it and never know it, even if you did drive on Route 64.
Rest assured, though, Hublersburg is out there, just a few miles from the Clinton County line, and the Hublersburg Inn is a darn good reason to make the trip. So, in search of calm, cozy and reassuring, we took that drive to the Hublersburg Inn this past Saturday.
A quick aside for a bit of trivia to enhance the knowledge of the local cognoscenti: Jen Shuey, the outstanding director of development for the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, and a wonderful painter in her own right, grew up in Hublersburg. Now there’s a claim to fame!
Back to the Inn… Since 2007, the Hublersburg Inn has been owned by Andi Heidt, who previously was the manager of the Gamble Mill in Bellefonte. The menu has a variety of dishes, all reasonably priced, and the bar is also well-stocked. The décor is “fashionable farm house,” and there is plenty of outdoor seating as well.
Now, the two things that make the Hublersburg Inn a hit for my wife are the Brussel sprouts appetizer and the liver and onions entrée.
The Brussel sprouts are fried in butter with lemon and parsley. There are very few places around that offer fried Brussel sprouts, so when we find one, it becomes a matter of when we go back, not if. And, even better, the Inn’s Brussel sprouts are, according to my wife, fantastic.
Then there’s the liver and onions. Another you-don’t see-this-everyday dish, it is cooked with caramelized onions and seasonal veggies, and you can add bacon. I know liver and onions can be an acquired taste for some people, but you can’t beat the iron value. And again, my wife said it was great.
Our son ordered the wings as an appetizer because, being a graduate of the University of Buffalo, he’s eaten a few over the years and likes to compare. In case you’re interested, in his opinion the best wings in Buffalo are at Bar-Bill. And in his expert opinion, The Hublersburg Inn wings are darn good.
As for me, I’m happy whenever I walk into a restaurant and see Guinness on tap, so this trip started nicely. As far as the food went, I was feeling in a Premier League mood and ordered the fish and chips, which came with the biggest piece of haddock I ever recall getting. An unpretentious, tasty and very filling meal.
One note about the Inn though, if you have a need to use the restroom while you are there, the sink is outside the bathrooms!
So, if you find yourself sometime over the next few months feeling a bit frazzled with all the media noise and 45,000 or so young adults making town their home, maybe consider a nice drive on two-lane Route 64 east, and go visit the calm, cozy and reassuring confines of the Hublersburg Inn.
