Good morning, guys.
Here in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
We’re gonna go on a road trip
across the center of the state.
This is a region of the country
that is typically driven
past or flown over.
But today it’s our focus.
We’re gonna check out the back roads,
see what it’s like out there.
We should be on the road
for roughly 10 hours,
until it gets dark, to
see what we can discover.
Let’s do this.
(gentle guitar music)
(gentle guitar music continues)
Alright guys, we are out there now,
smack in the middle of the state,
in the southern part.
That quick snippet of a drive you just saw
took around an hour and
a half from Johnstown.
Look at this place.
How cool is that?
Part wood, part stone.
And I think we’re in Mennonite country.
See the woman with the head covering.
(door squeaking)
Things going on in the community.
Mullet for everyone.
Deli menu.
Get a full hoagie for $7.50.
Breakfast sandwich, $2.75.
Thank you all, very friendly.
Okay, so people at the register
just gave me good advice
of where to go next.
– Yeah, you have a good trip.
– Yeah, thank you sir.
Oh, there was such a good shot in there.
Unfortunately, this Amish lady
didn’t want to be on camera,
so I had to turn it off.
And parts of the country like this,
the, I’d say lesser known
parts, I never think of.
How you doing, sir?
– Pretty good.
– Talk to me.
– Peek-a-boo!
About what?
– [Peter] What’s it like out here?
– Jesus is Lord of my life.
– [Peter] Did you just find him
or have you’ve always had him?
– I’ve always had him.
– Okay.
– Yes.
– Are people missing out
if they don’t have him?
– Yes they are.
– Okay.
– He’s the one that made the world
and he’s the one that makes
it rain and doesn’t rain,
and we rejoice in
whatever he brings to us.
– [Peter] Okay, pretty
religious out here, yeah?
– I don’t look at it as religious.
– [Peter] What do you look at it as?
– Relational.
– Relational.
– Relationship with Jesus Christ.
– Okay, do you go to church every Sunday?
– I do.
– Okay.
But can you have the relationship
if you don’t go to church?
– Well, it is possible,
but when you go to church,
it helps your relationship with others.
– Yeah.
– It helps strengthen you
in your Christian role.
– [Peter] Good community out here?
– Actually, I’m not from around here.
– [Peter] Where are you from?
– I’m from Lancaster County.
– All right.
What county is this?
– This is Franklin County.
– Okay.
– Yep.
– Thank you sir.
So yeah, that’s how it is in
parts of the country like this
where I don’t think they get
much tourism, I’m guessing,
but they’re pretty pumped to talk to you
and excited about sharing
their thoughts obviously.
(traffic humming)
(birds chirping)
(wind rustling)
Look at that cute old couple.
I’m starting to feel that from
the times I’ve spent in Ohio
around Amish country, the pace slows down.
Very calming.
(door squeaking)
Baked goods here, we got some bread
and what the Amish
Mennonites do the best, pie.
What a cool place you got.
– Yeah.
– Is it okay if I record it?
– That’s fine, yeah.
– [Peter] Thank you.
Is it Mennonite or Amish?
– It’s run by Amish,
but there’s both types of
workers that work here.
– Okay, what do you suggest?
– My favorite is the oatmeal whoopie pies,
but you could get one of these fried pies.
– [Peter] Oh, I don’t
know if I’ll pass out.
Okay. What about the peanut butter?
That looks good.
– It’s good.
– Okay.
I’ll do one of those.
– Alright.
– [Peter] Are you Amish or Mennonite?
– Mennonite.
– Okay.
Do you love living out here?
– Yeah, I do.
I was actually born in China
and then I was adopted when I was four.
So I came over here when I was four.
– Wow, that’s interesting.
– Yep.
– [Peter] You don’t know
Chinese at all, do you?
– No.
– ‘Cause I know
(Peter speaking Chinese).
– Yeah, I lost it over the years,
but I’m trying to relearn it.
– [Peter] Oh, really?
– I just started recently
trying to relearn a little bit.
– [Peter] Okay, well thank you so much.
– You’re welcome.
– [Peter] Take care.
– You too.
Have a good day.
– You too.
(door squeaking)
(insects chirping)
Everything just slows down.
It’s the type of place you
can drive 20 miles on the road
and there’s nobody behind you
and you can sink your
teeth into this thing.
Peanut butter cookie whoopie pie.
Mm.
If you eat one of these,
that’s like gateway to type two diabetes.
But I’m gonna do half
because that’s pretty good.
Super soft.
It’s just chill.
(gentle guitar music)
(gentle guitar music continues)
Cucumbers, tomatoes.
No Sunday sales.
How you doing?
Where do you guys have the
cucumbers and tomatoes?
(person speaking indistinctly)
– It’s right here.
– Thank you.
Look at this operation. It is massive.
Don’t record you, just the tomatoes.
– No.
– Okay.
I’ll take a few of these.
– [Clerk] You just place
whatever you want right here.
– Right on the scale. Okay.
You speak in Pennsylvania Dutch at home?
– [Clerk] Right, that’s
probably why the children
didn’t understand you.
– [Peter] ‘Cause I was speaking English.
– [Clerk] Right, they learn it
when they go to school.
– [Peter] So they don’t speak English yet?
– No.
– Okay.
– [Clerk] Not this age.
That’s my nephew.
– He’s your nephew.
– I think he’s three.
– [Peter] You have
sheltie puppies for sale?
– We do.
– $400.
– How many do you think?
– We have three.
We haven’t sold any of them yet.
– This is the sheltie?
– Right.
– [Peter] And you got
a chihuahua back there?
– That’s my sister’s.
– This little guy.
Oh, he’s tiny.
Oh, I woke them up. So cute.
– That’s the mother.
– Okay.
– [Peter] So how many
did you have in total?
– [Clerk] She had three.
That’s her first batch.
– She had three in total?
– [Clerk] Mm-hmm.
– [Peter] How are things
out here these days?
Peaceful? Nice?
– Mm-hmm.
– Alright, you take care.
– Yeah. You too.
– Thank you.
What an interesting scene at that house.
I couldn’t record it,
but ton of cute kids and a massive house.
They’re pretty much removed
from so much of the modern world
and the United States to some degree.
From the time I’ve had with Amish,
the most conservative, the Swartzentruber,
maybe they were
Swartzentruber, I don’t know,
But they didn’t even know
who the president was.
This was in Holmes County,
Ohio a couple years ago.
And they just stick in the religion.
They stick in their family and to the land
and really live in a different universe
and what’s funny about that
is before the pandemic,
quite often when people
would talk about Amish,
they’d say, “Oh, they’re
crazy, they’re so weird.”
And then during and after the pandemic
of the videos I’ve posted,
in the comments, so many people are like,
“Oh wow, they got it figured out.
“They got community.
“They’re removed from so much of the noise
“and the social media
and just stick close to their families.”
Sort of funny how that changed.
Now with that said, the Amish
are humans, like any group
and there’s all sorts of
dark things that go on,
just like whatever group
you want to identify me with
and so it’s easy to label
and say all Amish are this
or all Hasidic Jews are that.
I don’t hear an all wasp claim so much,
but every group has darkness and lightness
and I’ve seen both sides
in the Amish world.
I’ve seen beauty and really
well-functioning families
and I’ve also seen some
pretty heavy stuff.
So it depends who
and the one thing I’ve
learned in this journey
of video making is
don’t be quick to judge.
You never know what’s really going on.
(birds chirping)
(gravel crunching)
Here, we have an old church here.
Fairview Church.
“The town’s population was much larger
in the 19th century than it is today.
Many of the 2,000 residents
engaged in farming, tanning, milling,
timbering and other industries.
The church was used from 1857
until just after World War II,
when the dwindling population
forced the congregation
to move its services to other locations.”
I think that’s the story for
a lot of these towns out here.
Once bustling with timber.
I don’t think coal was here,
but we do have those hillsides,
so I’m sure it was.
And then those industries dried up,
went away to some degree,
and so do little towns like this.
Sarah J, wife of M.H. Sheerer,
died January 16th, 1901.
So some of the people
still living out here.
perhaps in that house,
I’m sure these are some
of their relatives.
What do we got here?
This little one. Yeah.
That’s just worn away.
What’s up you guys?
Are you from Blaine?
– I live in Mechanicsburg.
– [Peter] It’s a cool part of PA. Yeah?
– Some interesting little towns out here.
– What should I hit?
What’s an interesting town?
– Oh man.
– West Chester.
– [Peter] West Chester?
– Yeah, West Chester.
Duncannon?
– Yes!
– Yeah, so we were
actually just in Duncannon.
– How was that?
– A couple weeks ago, man.
We kinda go around and hit
some of the more remote areas.
– What are you guys doing?
– Essentially we go
door to door for Renewal by Andersen.
We set people up for a
free window inspection
and a free quote for replacement.
– Lotta rejection?
– Handful.
– [Peter] It builds a
good skill. A good muscle.
– Absolutely.
– You don’t take no personally
in life after doing this sorta stuff.
– Not at all. (laughs)
– [Peter] It’s like being
a Mormon a little bit like.
– Yeah.
Sometimes in some more country areas
you’ll run into some more abrasive people,
but sometimes they’re the friend-
– Any shotguns?
– Oh yeah, yeah.
Getting escorted down a driveway
by people with shotguns
or you know, “You’re lucky
I’m home and not strapped.”
You know, so it’s-
– [Peter] You got any pro tips, guys?
When you’re looking
down the barrel of a gun
what do you say?
– Smile at ’em. Kill ’em with kindness.
– Deescalate.
– Yeah, exactly.
– [Peter] You have a future customer here
coming on behind me.
– Yeah.
Mennonites and Amish are hard sets.
I’ve set a few of ’em.
– You have?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Okay. I thought
that would be an iron wall.
– No, there’s ways around.
You gotta get creative.
Tell you in the winter,
my, my patented wood stove
rebuttal was absolutely fire.
(both laugh)
That is funny.
– [Peter] You just talk wood stoves.
– You know, they’d tell me
that they use a wood stove
so they’re not too worried
about thermal efficiency in the winter.
And I’m like, hey, you know,
absolutely a cost-effective way
of heating your home, issue
is that convective current,
all the heat leaving your chimney,
it’s coming from somewhere, right?
So it’s being filtered in
from around your window,
through your doors.
– [Peter] You dropped convective current?
– Hell yeah.
– Wow.
– I had to explain it to
a few people, but yeah.
And then so while that central
area is nice and toasty,
you’ll notice the peripheral
rooms, rooms farther away,
typically bedrooms and
bathrooms a lot colder
and more drafty than they should be.
So, you know, aside from-
– And then you engage the wife
at that point in time in the conversation.
– Yeah, pretty much.
And also, you know, fewer
trips out to the wood pile.
Keep your bedrooms toastier
with a more thermally efficient product.
– Oh man.
– But yeah man.
– I want to buy windows from ya.
– Pretty slick. Yeah.
Well hey, see if there’s
a Renewal by Andersen
in your area, man.
Like I said, free inspection, free quote.
– As in Andersen Windows?
– Yep. Renewal by Andersen.
We’re an offshoot.
Alright man.
– Take care.
These guys are great.
(happy music)
(happy music continues)
That’s a cool building.
Let’s check that out.
Duncannon, little riverside town here
with some history for sure.
With a bank like that.
And we got a brewery now.
Oh, that’s cool.
– Guess what?
– Guess what?
We do, and then celebrate,
you’re celebrating tonight.
You can put it right here.
There we go.
Won’t even be in the shot.
Okay. Straw ready?
– Got my straw ready.
– Okay.
– Ready?
– Ready and…
– Guess what?
Did you know today was
national hotdog day?
We do.
We’re celebrating tonight
here at the brewery.
Stop in for jumbo hotdog
and brats on potato rolls.
They’re delicious.
We won’t even judge you
if you use one as a straw.
Come on in.
(man grunts)
(woman laughs)
– Oh my God.
He started spilling,
and I started losing it.
I told you to drink some out of it.
Oh my God.
– [Peter] So this is what
happens in Duncannon?
– Yeah.
– Absolutely.
– Okay. New brewery?
– Yes.
– New brewery.
– How old?
– Well-
– Two months.
Well-
– We’ve been brewing
since 2018,
but we’ve been distribution only
up until May 10th we
opened our tasting room.
– [Peter] How’d you score this building?
– Very, very lucky.
The whole bank was built around the vault.
– Can we go in here?
– Yeah, absolutely.
– Alright.
– Go on in.
– [Peter] Oh, this is so cool.
All the old safety deposit boxes.
– And what we do is, our mug
club is called Keyholders
and every key holder gets a lockbox
and a part of their
membership is a monthly beer.
And we do their monthly
drafts as draft debit cards.
– Oh, that’s cool.
– So they can get their
monthly beers.
– So what was it before?
It was a shipping town. I
mean what was the industry?
– So back in the day,
many, many moons ago,
it was the world’s
largest nail manufacturer.
At least the largest one in the US.
– [Peter] Okay.
– Over where McGuire’s Ford was.
– Okay.
– There was a movie theater,
there was a flour mill,
they had the sled works building,
which was the lightning gliders.
So they built sleds.
There was a dress factory, the flour mill,
the mill was so big that
they couldn’t move it.
They built the highway
right over top of it
and that’s where the highway is.
Another fun fact is the mill
was continuously made out of wood
and it burnt down at least twice.
And they kept rebuilding it on wood.
‘Cause they were surrounded
by woods and nails.
So they just kept rebuilding
it out of lumber and nails.
– Oh that’s cool.
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Okay, so the
town had its downfall
and now you’re saying it’s
coming back a little bit?
– Yes. Yep.
That empty lot over there
was my mother-in-law’s house.
Her dad was a clock
maker, clock repairs man.
– [Peter] Okay.
– And that building
actually had a clock shop
and she grew up there
and they would walk down
and she said there was so much
going on here in Duncannon.
So that couldn’t have been too long ago.
– [Peter] So similar rust
belt story type of town?
– Yeah.
– The industry was thriving,
it went away.
– Yep. Yep.
So a lotta small shops.
And now we really don’t
have any small shops.
And you’re starting to
see little things pop up.
You have Goodies.
I think they just celebrated
a pretty big anniversary.
– [Peter] And then you have this hotel.
That’s a beauty.
– The Doyle Hotel.
And that’s an icon on
the Appalachian Trail.
‘Cause Duncannon is one of two trail towns
that the Appalachian Trail
goes directly through.
– [Peter] Oh, I didn’t know that.
– Yep.
– [Peter] We’re on the Appalachian Trail.
– We are.
It actually turns left
there on Cumberland.
This road is the trail.
And then it goes out of town
and will hook up onto that mountain.
There’s an overlook called Hawk
Rock and that is southward.
So right now we’re seeing a lotta hikers
going northbound.
And they are gonna cross the river
and go continue up to Maine.
– [Peter] Here it is,
the Appalachian Trail,
Maine to Georgia.
Don’t know how long it is.
2000, 3000 miles, something like that.
But this is one of the stops.
North Carolina, Virginia.
Okay. All the way up.
And Pennsylvania.
– The hotel we’re in
now is on the foundation
of this site here.
– [Peter] Yeah.
– This structure burned down in 1903.
Charles Dickens stayed there.
Union veterans quartered there.
After that was destroyed by fire.
Anheuser-Busch, the Budweiser people,
constructed this place in 1905.
– Oh really?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Oh, that’s cool.
– They had a chain of 38
hotels, I believe, nationwide.
This is one of only two
that still operates.
You are welcome to….
– [Peter] This is cool.
Beautiful architecture there.
– [Guide] Walk up to the second floor.
– [Peter] Second floor?
Okay.
(door squeaks)
Let’s check out the upstairs.
This state is a treasure trove of history.
And this is just one part.
So much variation.
So we have a former ballroom.
Maybe these tables come
down for a big dance.
I don’t know if that’s
happening these days.
– This was actually a pretty good town.
They had a lot of businesses, a lot of,
at least a half a dozen mom
and pop, grocery stores.
Western Auto, Five and
Dime, the whole nine yards.
It was a thriving little town,
but it kinda… over the years turns.
– [Peter] Is it coming back a little bit?
– Ah, limping.
– Limping?
– A little, limping back maybe. Yeah.
I honestly think there are people trying,
trying to get it going.
we need to make a little more business.
– [Worker] How long have
you been doing this, boss?
– [Peter] A little more what?
– Business friendly.
– Okay. Okay.
– [Worker] Hey boss, how long
have you been doing this?
– They’re trying, they’re
trying to revitalize the town.
And I think they’re
doing the best they can.
– [Peter] Okay.
What was this river known for back in the,
was it a huge-
– Susquehanna?
– [Peter] Yeah, Susquehanna.
– They used to run barges
down there, lumber and coal.
– Okay.
– And all that.
But it’s shallow.
This is the largest
navigable river in the world.
– Really?
– I don’t know
how the old explorers did it.
They must have people
dragging those things.
But it empties into Chesapeake Bay.
(traffic humming)
– Look at how cool the train
engines were back in the day.
And then I’m sure the train
station here was bustling.
And the Susquehanna River,
I believe that’s how you pronounce it,
carried the commerce
along with the train here.
Everyone worked in town, lived in town,
spent their money in town.
And now a lotta those jobs
have gone away, obviously.
And I’m sure some are still here,
but what I learned over near
Pittsburgh in the Mon Valley
is the towns near the
river where the mills are,
the people that work
there don’t live there.
They live out in the countryside
or a bit away where it’s nicer these days.
And so they’re not staying there
and spending their money there.
(traffic humming)
(traffic continues humming)
Hello sir.
– We do barbecue chicken.
– Oh you do barbecue chicken.
– Yeah.
– Oh that’s awesome.
– [Clerk] We have wings, we
have halves, we have quarters.
– [Peter] I’ll do a quarter.
How much sir?
– That’s $4.
– Four bucks. Okay.
Good deal.
I’m doing a video of the whole area.
– Okay.
– And I’m trying
to show off the food of the region.
– I see.
– Is that all right?
– I guess. (laughs)
– Okay.
– Yeah.
– Thank you sir.
– [Clerk] Take care.
– Alright.
Oh yeah, look at that.
It’s got a lot of marinade on it,
Mm, mm.
Right off the bone there.
Super tender.
$4 for all of this. So it’s unbelievable.
Mm.
Yeah, over the years the
vast majority of the Amish
and the Mennonites I’ve
met, just great people.
A lot of pride, a lot
of craft in what they do
when it comes to furniture
or pies or whatever it is.
It seems like they’re always
bringing their A game.
(traffic humming)
– A lotta my Amish buddies
are firefighters and all that, like Gratz.
Makes everything a lot easier,
like carrying up hoses.
‘Cause you know, working
on a farm every day
they get a lotta that muscle
and everything they need, so.
– So you have Amish friends?
– Yeah, yeah. I got a ton.
– [Peter] You are gonna be a
firefighter or you are already?
– I am currently a firefighter.
– Oh, right on man.
– Yeah.
Our classroom was filled with Amish guys.
– [Peter] So a lot of Amish
are getting into firefighting?
– Yeah. Yeah.
– I had no idea.
– Yeah, up towards places
out in the country areas
like Gratz, for example.
– Okay.
– You’ll find
a lot of Amish people are firefighters.
– [Peter] Are they getting off the farm
or what are they doing?
– Basically they’re just doing it
until they get married and all that.
And they have to transform into, you know,
an actual Amish person.
‘Cause before they get married
they’re able to do whatever they want.
A lot of them go vape and all that stuff.
But once they get married
or get to a certain age,
they have to choose between
the white people’s life or the Amish life.
– [Peter] Okay, when they
choose the Amish life,
are you no longer friends
or you guys hang out together still?
– Oh, we’ll still hang
out, that’s for sure.
I’ll be probably with
them for a little while.
It seems like a lot of ’em are going
for like English way, my way, you know?
– You think so?
– Yeah.
– Around this area.
– Yeah.
‘Cause I was surprised the other day
when I seen a couple of ’em driving too.
I asked ’em about that and they’re like,
“Yeah, I don’t think the Amish
life is for me and all that.”
– You like living here?
– Oh, I love living here.
– Why?
– It’s a quiet town,
but you see it all still.
You got new people that come
through and all that and-
– Nice.
– Keeps things
pretty interesting.
– [Peter] You see a lot of
different type of people.
How do you think
society’s doing right now?
What’s your take?
– Right now?
Well, I personally think
that they’re struggling a little bit.
I’ve been 3/4 of the way around the world
– In the military?
– Military.
I don’t think the economy
is up like it used to be.
I think people are struggling more now.
I see more homeless people.
I see people that are struggling
just to make ends meet each day.
Just coming in here and
getting the typical things
that they need to get by for the day.
They’re hurting for money.
And I can tell by the way that
they’re bringing in change
and stuff like that
where you normally don’t.
$6.48.
– [Peter] Right. You can see it firsthand.
‘Cause you’re with the cash register.
– Oh yeah. I see it every day.
– Okay. So when did that start changing?
– Well, I haven’t really
been working here long
but other places that
I’ve worked, thank you.
– Thank you.
– Yeah.
Other places that I’ve worked,
I saw the money was different
than, say seven years ago.
Now it’s not as good.
People are hurting in a way
that they don’t want to express it.
But you can see by the way that
they handle themselves and their money.
It’s not there anymore.
I mean, they’ll buy only what
they actually need to get by
and that’s it.
Before they come in
and they’d buy a $50 worth of stuff.
You know?
– [Peter] You’ve lived in how many states?
– Approximately eight.
– Okay.
So what’s your take on PA?
– I liked it so much I came back.
I left for years and then I came back.
I think the people, to be
honest with you are very nice.
– Yeah, I agree.
– Except this guy.
– Yeah, exactly.
– I do run into-
– I was gonna say something,
but I was like nah, I’m not gonna do that.
– $52.89
– I’m just joking.
– Well you got Mennonites
and Amish around.
They’re pretty easy to get along with.
– Right.
I mean we just had a whole bunch of them
just come in a little while ago.
– [Peter] Just got some
chicken over there.
That chicken is bomb.
– It is.
– You live in town?
– I do now. Yeah.
– You like it?
– Yeah. So I like it out here.
It’s peaceful.
– Where’d you come from?
– I was out in New Cumberland
for a while.
– Okay.
– And things happened
and I moved out here.
You got these, right?
– Oh no, I didn’t get those.
– Son of a…
– [Peter] It’s free today.
– I forgot you even put ’em up there.
– [Peter] I distracted him.
– People kinda grow roots here.
If they’re born-
– Bye boss.
– Alright, see ya.
– Take care, man.
– If they’re born in this area,
90% of the time they’ll stay here.
– Oh, okay.
– So, and that’s a good thing
because then each generation
it becomes nicer and nicer if you ask me.
I mean right now I have
six great grandchildren.
– Wow.
– All my kids live in this general area
so I have not a real big family
compared to some people, but-
– [Peter] Well you’re
competing with the Amish,
they got massive families.
– Oh yeah, they do. They do.
– Well thank you.
– Yeah, no problem.
– [Peter] You take care.
See you man.
– See you.
– [Peter] The town of Millersburg.
Loyal Order of Moose.
How you doing sir?
– Not too bad.
And you?
– Doing well?
What is the Loyal Order of Moose?
– We are a private club.
We’ve got an orphanage and we’ve
also got a retirement club.
We concentrate on children and-
– [[Peter] That’s great.
Can I take a look?
Looks like a cool-
– You may.
I will sign you in.
– [Peter] Alright, thank you sir.
What’s your name?
– My name is Jim.
– Jim.
Product of the ’70s, Jim, huh?
– Yes I am.
– How was Millersburg
back in the ’70s?
– It was kind of a lot
different than it is now.
On the weekends it was
always a happening place.
Uptown used to be really
packed every night
on a weekend from Friday through Sunday.
People would go from store to store
and we don’t have that
anymore unfortunately.
– [Peter] What was the
industry back in the day?
– Tool and die.
They made caps and dies and drills
and so forth for the aerospace.
– [Peter] Okay. When did
that industry leave town?
– Two of them are still in operation.
– [Peter] Oh, that’s good.
Such a cool sign.
– [Jim] Oh well then Art will
love you if you say that.
– [Peter] Art will?
– He’s in here right now.
He lit that sign.
It used to be neon lights
and he turned it into the LED lights.
– [Peter] Yeah, Art knows what’s up.
– So I will sign you in.
– Okay.
– And you may record.
– [Peter] Thank you. Appreciate it, Jim.
– I’m a big fan of Millersburg
and I’m not a, I’m a transplant.
– Where are you from?
– I’m from, Nyack, New York.
– [Peter] Ah. What do you
think of PA versus New York?
– PA is much better
(laughs) in my opinion.
– So you-
– I’m gonna show you
what it really looks like.
– You renovated that sign?
– Yes I did.
– Okay. It is beautiful.
– Lodge has been here for, in two years.
we’ll be here 100 years.
– [Peter] 100 years!
– We won the town in two fire trucks.
– [Peter] Oh, that’s great.
– I need your name right there.
– [Peter] Okay, thanks Jim.
– [Jim] Yep.
– So Jim, what do you
do to help kids here?
Raise money or-
– [Jim] Donate any of
our gambling and so forth
goes directly to
Mooseheart and Moosehaven.
– Okay.
– Water, soda, cold beer.
– [Peter] Once you put the name down,
everything’s on the house.
Is that what you said, Jim?
– No, you are a guest.
You are my guest.
– [Peter] Thank you Jim.
– You can buy a drink.
– You cannot spend
money in here right now.
– That’s your rules?
– That’s the rule.
– [Peter] You’re gonna be a life member.
– Oh yeah.
– Okay.
– In three years I’ll be a life member.
But one of the reasons I got involved
is because, say for an
example, me and my wife,
if we were driving somewhere
and we were in catastrophe
accident or whatever,
and we die, my two boys that we had,
they would be taken care of by Mooseheart.
– [Lodger] Gonna be on YouTube
down there?
– And they would
take my two boys and raise them,
school them, send them to college
if they wanted to go on to do that,
they would take care of them
and send ’em to college.
– Oh, that’s great.
– So at no cost.
– Okay.
– Only because of me
being a member.
– And we’re old men.
And in our dotage we
can go down to Florida
and go into our retirement
community down there.
– Yeah.
– Oh yeah?
– [Lodger] They call that,
isn’t that Mooseheart, I think.
– Moosehaven.
– Moosehaven!
– [Peter] So is the Moose
Club all over the country?
– Yes. yeah. Oh yeah.
– Oh, we’re international.
– Yeah.
– We’re in Canada.
– Oh yeah. We are international.
– [Peter] How does
somebody become a member?
– Ask.
– Okay.
– And fill out the application.
– Are you looking for members?
– Yes! And…
– There you go.
– What do you got here?
– Here what it looks like.
Alright?
– Oh yeah!
– Now wait, now let me,
that’s the angle now that-
– [Peter] That’s what it’s like at night?
– Yep.
– Okay.
And that’s all work?
– That’s my work. Yeah.
– The original was done when?
– Back in the ’50s.
– Back, ’50s, yeah.
– ’50s, okay.
– And this is the other
angle of it then too.
So it gives you both options,
you know, from both sides.
– Yep.
– Alright.
– The bar on the corner
that’s been remodeled.
– Yep.
– That wire has been there
for a long time.
But now they just got bought,
new model that’s gonna be the whole thing.
$2.5 million, $2.5 million.
They put in an investment in that place
to make it up and running again.
– [Peter] So the town
is coming back a little?
– A little bit slowly.
– A little bit?
And you said I should
check out the ghost town
called Centralia?
Centralia glows at night a little bit.
– Just in certain spots.
You can still see the orange-
– You’re going up to Ashland.
– [Peter] And that fire’s
been going on for how long?
Decades, right?
– Oh my God. Yeah.
– It’s huge.
– 80 some years.
– Oh at least. Yes.
Around there. Yeah.
– Okay. You guys take care.
– You have good one too.
– Thank you Jim, for bringing me in.
– Anytime.
– All the best.
Alright guys.
Not on camera. Sorry.
– Thank you.
– Over here. Over here.
– I appreciate it.
– No problem.
Thank you.
– You’re welcome.
Enjoy the sunshine.
– It’s, yeah, it’s beautiful.
– Or Centralia.
– Yes.
– Centralia’s where it’s at.
Huh?
– Yeah, it is.
– It’s interesting?
– It’s pretty cool.
– Oh yeah.
– Okay.
So that’s a snapshot of US culture
I know very little about,
but these fraternal or lodges cultures,
I know Masons, Lions Club,
BPOE, Moose, know nothing about.
So we got a little bit of a sampler.
Anyone who’s really up on this stuff,
please leave something in the comments.
So yeah, nice little town.
What’s up you guys?
Can you do a wheelie?
– He can. Kinda.
– Yeah.
I don’t know how to ride a bike.
– I can try.
– [Peter] Let’s see it, buddy.
– [Boy In Yellow] Let me a good start.
– [Peter] You guys from town here?
– Yeah.
– You still keep the BMXing
alive here.
– Oh yeah.
– That’s awesome.
– Ready?
– Yeah, let’s see it, buddy.
(boy mutters)
Pop wheelie.
– It’s not bad.
– [Peter] Wheelies are tough, man.
– I had one once going down a hill
and I tried it too many times and I fell.
– [Peter] So what are
you guys up to today?
– Just riding.
– Cruising?
Summer break. No school.
– Yeah.
– Right?
– [Peter] Do you swim in the river?
– Yeah, we just were.
– We just went swimming.
– Oh, you just went?
– Yeah.
– Nice.
– We almost
made it to the other side.
– [Peter] So you BMX around town,
you swim in the river.
Pretty simple.
– Yeah.
– [Peter] No phones, no devices.
– Oh yeah, we have ’em but not really.
Not that much.
– Yeah.
– Wow.
– We’re mostly
talking to our buddies.
– [Peter] Your buddies?
You got a lot of buddies in town?
– Yeah.
– Nice.
You guys, I’m going down here.
Is it cool down here?
– Yeah.
– Okay. Take care.
– Alright, have a good day.
– Well that was refreshing to see.
Oh this is great down here.
Look at these porches, wind in the leaves.
This is nice.
See the rolling hills,
the countryside over there.
A few big homes I don’t think
the camera’s gonna capture it.
So much history happening here.
Today is a long road trip
and a breeze through.
So hopefully I plant some
seeds on places to go
and check out when you’re in Central PA.
This home has been winterized.
Did our window guy come through this town?
Oh yes, that’s right.
I think he said he did.
It’s so cute here.
You know, everyone knows everyone.
These port zones are like
their own little worlds
and it’s just cool to see that
real simple communal vibe here.
Which there again, I’m sort of digging.
(gentle music)
(gentle music continues)
(gentle music continues)
Here we are guys, Centralia.
The coal mine has been burning since 1962.
2,400 people used to live here.
Now it’s four.
I just saw on a map,
there’s an active burning
vent somewhere around here.
– How’s it going?
– What’s up guys?
– Not much.
– Hey, do you know
where this vent is?
– The what?
– This coal fire.
– It’s right over there.
Go down that road.
– Right over there.
– [Peter] Down the road?
– Yeah.
– It’s like halfway
down the road, yeah, right down there.
– You guys live here?
– No.
We’re from by Philly, but I just-
– We’re like all the way by Philly.
Yeah.
– Yeah.
I used to go here all the time with my,
my dad when I was like four or five.
Go to the graffiti highway,
the vents, all that.
– [Peter] Where’s the graffiti highway?
– It’s right over there.
That’s where we’re
going. If you wanna come.
– I’ll go with you guys.
– Are you filming
a YouTube video?
– Yeah.
– You have a channel?
– Yeah.
– Nice.
High five.
– You guys wanna be in it?
– Sure. Yeah.
– Alright.
– I haven’t been in a few
years, so I’m excited.
The highway’s been covered
up recently by dirt.
They came here with a whole
bunch of trucks full of dirt
and they dumped all the dirt
on the graffiti highway.
So most of the graffiti’s been covered up.
– Alright.
– It’s still probably
pretty cool.
– Yeah.
– And how’s the the coal fire?
– It’s like, look, you wanna go see that?
– I can show you. It’s
literally right there.
– Yeah.
– You wanna put your socks on?
I’ll go tell him.
– Yeah if you wanna.
– Yeah.
You guys love coming out here?
– Yeah. I don’t know.
I like the simpleness,
And like the views,
the mountains and shit.
– Oh yeah.
– I don’t know.
Like around Philly and even
like towns outside of Philly,
like an hour away from Philly,
you still feel like I’m in Philly.
I don’t feel like what PA really is,
which is like this site and stuff.
– Oh yeah. PA is cool.
– Yeah.
– I started in Johnstown today.
Do you know where that is?
– Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I’ve been there.
– I’ve been driving all day.
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Oh, this is it?
– Yeah, this is it.
I know it’s a little unexciting,
– But, it’s really cool though.
– Okay, since 1962?
– Yeah, there you go.
– Yeah.
Stick your hand down there.
It’s like hot.
– [Peter] Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
It doesn’t really smell.
– [Teen] Yeah, that’s what’s frightening.
– It’s just steam, huh?
– [Teen] Yeah, especially like,
especially since today since it’s raining.
All that steam.
– Oh yeah.
It’s warm though.
– Yeah.
– Look at that church!
– Exactly.
– Yeah. Is that the old-
– It’s the Ukrainian church.
Yeah.
– That’s a Ukrainian Orthodox?
– [Teen] Yeah, it’s really cool.
– [Peter] Wow.
– [Teen] Aren’t all those vents as well?
– [Teen] Yeah, all that
steam, those are other vents.
– [Teen] Yeah.
– Really?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] That’s not from the rainstorm?
– [Teen] Yeah, it’s the
vapor from the vents.
– [Teen] It’s like, yeah,
it’s all the steam and stuff.
– [Peter] So this caught fire
and then everyone left town?
Or how did it work?
– Yeah I know the whole story.
I can explain it to you in a second.
One sec. I was just running.
– Shane, what are you like? 6′ 8″?
– 6′ 4″
– 6′ 4″
– [Peter] You guys are
big boys around here?
– Yeah, I’m 16
So I’m still.
– Yeah, I’m 17.
– [Peter] You’re still going up?
– Yeah.
– Yeah.
– Damn, okay, so what’s going on here?
– So Centralia, there was a
coal mine underneath the town
that they used to mine.
There’s a whole bunch of coal
mines all around the area.
But the one specifically
here, they were done using it.
So they decided to turn it
into a landfill underground
to get rid of all their trash.
So what they had,
they would dump all the
trash into the old mine and-
– Oh!
– Basically as a landfill.
Yeah.
– Yeah.
– And eventually someday
either threw a cigarette
or something that flammable,
threw it down into the trash pit.
Caught the trash pit on fire.
Caught the whole mine on fire.
And ever since then,
the fire’s been burning.
– There’s no way to put it out?
– No.
It’s been burning for over 60 years.
– [Peter] Okay, so did people leave town
because the jobs left
or because of this accident?
People left because you
might be able to see
when we go to the highway,
there were collapses.
Big sinkholes would open up
that would collapse into the ground.
– [Peter] Oh.
– I think one of the main reasons
they shut down the whole town
is some kid fell in a sinkhole.
And died in the fire.
– There’s sinkholes all over the place?
– Yeah. So you gotta be careful for them.
– Okay, well we have like
what, 30 minutes left of light?
Yeah, I can go grab my two
super bright flashlights
and then we can go onto the highway.
– What?
– Automotive class.
– Automotive, yeah.
– Oh yeah? How was it?
– It was fun.
– It’s fun. Yeah.
– You guys gonna be
auto mechanics or what?
– I’m gonna be an electrician.
Yeah, he’s gonna be.
– Electrician?
– I’ll probably be an auto mechanic. Yeah.
– Alright. Nice, Milky.
Milky, where’s your accent from?
Is that Philly?
– Nah, I just, I don’t know where like-
– It’s Milky style.
Yeah, Milky style, man.
Some people think it’s British.
I’ve heard Australian before.
Someone’s style was like Norwegian.
– I’m Norwegian.
– I’m still trying to land it.
Okay, so guys, this was
the actual town, right?
– Yes.
– Is this what
we’re looking at?
– [Shane] So the main
neighborhoods in downtown,
they were down there to the left.
– Okay.
– We were just down there.
– [Peter] Okay. And then
the church is up above?
– [Shane] Church is way out there. Yeah.
– [Peter] So Ukrainians
settled here or something?
– [Shane] I’m not really
sure to be honest.
– [Milky] I think it just had
a big Orthodox like church.
– Yeah.
– Okay.
– Population. Yeah.
– Okay.
– So the highway
is right behind this berm up here.
So, this is graffiti highway
that we’re standing on right now.
But like I said, in 2020
they brought dump trucks full of dirt
to pile it on top to stop ATV riders
and just to stop the publicity basically.
– [Peter] Okay, so they
just, they just painted-
– [Shane] Basically coal ore here.
– Oh yeah.
– Coal ore.
It’s all in the rocks everywhere.
– Okay.
– You can’t see it anymore.
There’re used to be massive cracks
and separated the road
and made huge unsafe, basically
caves under the highway.
– [Peter] Okay. Let me see
your Instagram profile again.
That was sick.
You do urban exploring, huh?
– Yeah.
– Philly based, but I
go all around the world.
Invincible.ms
– [Peter] Alright, let
me see your picture.
Where’s that?
– That’s a middle school in Philadelphia.
This is a jet testing
facility in New Jersey.
– [Peter] Oh wow. How’d you get in there?
– [Shane] That’s a power plant on.
– [Peter] Oh, you don’t tell your secrets?
– [Shane] Nah.
– [Peter] What’s that?
– [Shane] This is a hospital in D.C.
This is some of the entrances.
– [Peter] Oh wait, wait. Go back.
– [Shane] This is how me
and, this is how we get in.
– [Peter] Those are your
feet or someone else’s?
– [Shane] That’s my friend’s.
– Okay.
– But I do all these.
– [Peter] So is this a big
thing for the youth these days?
– Yeah. I don’t want it to be.
‘Cause people go and just trash
spots, which I don’t want.
That’s a psychiatric
hospital in Norristown.
– [Peter] Okay. I’ve done
some of this in Ukraine.
I know a guy that goes pretty deep there.
We got into a fallout bunker.
– [Shane] Oh yeah. I’ve
been to so many of those.
– [Peter] There are a lot of those roads?
– [Shane] Oh yeah. I
got a map of everything.
– Yeah.
– Alright guys.
– Been to DC, been all around.
– [Peter] You’re saying
there’s not much to see here?
It’s just a ghost town.
– Yeah, so mostly
everything was demolished
back in the ’80s.
So there’s not many houses.
The only few buildings that are left,
there are a few houses
that people live in,
the Ukrainian church up there,
and the municipal building
down on this road.
Those are some of the only buildings left.
– Should we get up there?
– Up there?
– Let’s go through town
and go up to the church.
– I’m down. I’ll follow you.
– Alright, let’s do this guys.
(vehicle rumbling)
Here it is guys. 2,400
people were living here.
My understanding houses along
the sides of the streets here
and they just rolled these houses
and nature took back over.
So this was it?
This was the main street.
– This is downtown all of it.
So yeah, that’s the main street.
The neighborhood was that way.
This was a cul-de-sac.
These were all houses, all right here.
And that was, I’m pretty sure
that’s the main downtown street.
I’m not sure. Don’t quote me.
– [Peter] Okay.
And there are a few holdouts
still living over there.
– Yeah, there’s a few houses
that people still actually live in.
I’ve talked to a few
of them like years ago.
– What’d they say?
– They’re happy.
They love it here.
They don’t wanna leave.
They’ve been here since the disaster
and they love it here.
It’s their town. They don’t wanna leave.
– [Peter] So when the disaster
happened, the fire started.
It was way worse than now, obviously.
– Yeah, it’s been 60 years.
– [Peter] So it just smoked out the town.
– Yeah.
So I guess the government
just shut everything down
and demolished everything.
‘Cause they don’t want
people like us exploring it
and it’s just sat like this ever since.
– Look at this though.
It’s so interesting.
– Yeah.
(vehicle rumbling)
– Such an eerie feeling out here.
Full infrastructure.
The streets, stop signs,
but everything’s missing.
Homes, the people.
Here’s one of the remaining homes.
Check it out.
Google Maps still has all the
roads up here in their system.
And here you can see, I
think this is a sidewalk.
Perhaps this was the main street
that everyone walked down back in the day.
And we’ll take it right here.
Can we get through?
That’s not gonna work.
Well, maybe it will.
Here we go. (laughs)
Coming up on Center Street.
(vehicle rumbling)
(vehicle continues rumbling)
We got Apple Alley up here.
(vehicle revving)
There’s a building up there.
Oh wow!
So cool!
Well this is definitely unexpected, huh?
– [Shane] Yeah.
– [Peter] It might be Catholic actually
because the rooftops look more like that,
to be honest.
Western Ukraine.
– Mm-hmm.
– [Peter] This is beautiful.
We can’t go in there obviously
’cause the sign, but yeah.
Can you guys put the light on me?
‘Cause there’s this camera’s
not really working anymore
in these dark conditions.
Okay, don’t go under ’cause
I’ll look like a horror monster.
There you go.
Let me see.
Alright. I think that’s, there we go.
There’s my lighting team.
Yes!
– [Shane] Sir.
– Alright guys.
Thanks for coming on that journey today.
Central Pennsylvania, you guys.
– [Milky] Yes!
– You guys knew but I didn’t.
It is really cool.
Lights up. Lights up.
Okay, there we go.
It is awesome.
Really guys, beautiful
part of the country.
Very interesting.
From Amish to urban explorers
and everything in between.
Thanks for coming along on that journey.
Until the next one.
– Peace.
– See ya.
(gentle music)
(gentle music continues)