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Monday, March 24, 2008

Pennsylvania county needs women

There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania, and apparently women hardly set foot in some of them.

Forest County, which is located in the northwest corner of the state, is definitely man's country, according to The Pittsburgh-Tribune Review, which ran a terrific story over the weekend about the lack of women in Forest County.

What else does a man need besides a gun and a dog?

Forest County, which has less than 6,500 full-time residents, issued just 281 marriage licenses last year -- and 4,654 dog licenses, according to the newspaper.

Less than 38 percent of Forest County's residents are female, according to a 2006 U.S. Census estimate.

Men are drawn to the rural county by the hunting and fishing opportunities, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says.

The newspaper actually found a few women to interview for the story, including Amy Barron, manager of the Forest Hills Restaurant and Bar near Tionesta.

The largest town in Forest County is Tionesta, the county seat, with a a population of 592. The biggest employer in the county is the State Correctional Facility at Forest, an all-male state prison near Marienville.

I know you're not going to believe this, but Forest County has a Web site. And if you're looking for tourism information, visit this site.

Read "Men 'call the shots' in Forest County" here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well a course Tionesta has a website

Da Dig Dag and theys gotts running water hot and cold
This has got to be the worst descriptions of one of the greatest places to send your summer
We don't do no huntin and fishing or go to the bars
However we do go canoeing but we paddle fast on account of the banjo music and all them single men

SERIOUSLY SOMEONE NEED TO REWRITE THIS STORY
I'm positive that behind every successful businessman in Tionesta has a wife

Anonymous said...

As an adult female who grew up in Forest County, I wish to comment on your article. What was the novel idea behind your writing? You made it sound like Forest County is made up of a bunch of bearded mountain men living in log cabins, wearing flannel shirts, and coon skin hats who haven't seen a dentist in forever! The biggest pain Forest County has is city folk coming to our little-slice-of-where-we-live-because-we-like-it-just-the-way-it-is and telling us how we need to improve upon it. Do the census numbers include the male prisoners at the correctional facility? How many male inmates are there? Those guys did not originate from Forest County. Also, there are successful women who reside in beautiful Forest County and they are not exactly standing BEHIND their husbands! Maybe your article could have been about the beauty in the mountains, no red lights, and a slower and dare I say simply wonderful life -- guys and gals together. No. Maybe it could be about the Forest Co. woman who gets tired of her husband's drinking and fooling around and waits for him on the porch with his own shotgun! Now, thar's a story!

Anonymous said...

There are quite a few women I know in Forest County that not only impress me with their wisdom and work ethics but their determination to help this county be a fun place for men and WOMEN!Smiling and making people feel welcome. Hello? I really don't think you should write about a place you apparently haven't spent much time in. YES, I spend the summer at my property on the river. The canoes or tubes coming down the river have quite a few women. Yep, these men in Forest County do prefer the company of women.
I see them boat, swim, canoe, camp. Manning (oops) The stores. with a friendly smile. (The Little Store)Checking out groceries, (Farm Fresh Grocery in Tionesta)Cooking in the restaurants and bars. (Hickory Nut) Renting out canoes (Eagle Rock) Working in the Hardware store in Tidioute. Working in the Lumber Yard at King's Lumber. As a matter of fact even horse back riding was manned (oops)by a woman. Every business I have visited has had at least one woman working there. Yes, we 4 wheel, hunt and fish. Spend a little more time here and even you will find that out. I love Forest County and I (like many other women I know) love it too. Not only for the wild life, water, beautiful scenery, hiking,and relaxing but for seeing and doing all the things men like to do. It is an equal opportunity County.

TONY PHYRILLAS said...

The comment left by the last person is s bit confusing. I didn't write the article about Forest County lacking women. It was published in a Pittsburgh newspaper. I merely pointed it out to readers. And you'll note, I also provide a link to Forest County's tourism site. I'm sure the area is a breathtaking for people who love the outdoors.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Phyrillas

I do realize that you did not write this article. It's obvious that you have read the article and placed it on your blog, You are not wrong, Mr. Robbins article is wrong very wrong.

I have sent the letter below to Mr. Richard Robbins and have had no reply.



Hello I am Paula Cook. My husband and I have been running the Eagle Rock Motel, Canoe and Kayak Rental in Tionesta. This will be our twentieth year. I'm writing to you concerning your Easter Sunday article in the Tribune Review about Forest County. When I opened my email on Monday I received about 10 or so emails, not to mention more than a dozen phone calls from customers of ours from not only Pittsburgh, but from all over. Good for you. People are reading the Trib.

Thank you for taking the time to write this story, but unfortunately it will in fact, do much more harm than good. The statistic you write as far as men to women may be correct but I don't believe anyone is coming here to look for a date. The truth is when people read a story such as yours about Tionesta you scare and frightened them. Tionesta is far busier on any given weekend in the summer than it is during the 5-7 days that the hunters are actually here (3 days bear season and 1-3 days out the the two weeks of deer season). If this town counted on hunting and fishing, there would in fact be no Tionesta.

One reason Tionesta exists today, in my opinion, is the seasonal residence, primarily from the greater Pittsburgh area, while the others call the Cleveland area home. It may be true that they hunt and fish, but much more than that these days. The second reason is the Upper Allegheny River: It’s rarely muddy or fast and in fact keeps at a steady pace all summer long, thanks to the Kinzua Dam. Especially in the dry summer months when rivers like the Clarion dry up. Tionesta is also a gateway to the Allegheny National Forest which is known as the land of many uses. Tionesta is primarily a family oriented vacation destination. Visitors spend their weekends canoeing (I hope) ,hiking, horseback riding and golfing we have a fantastic 18 hole public golf course (I can't golf) but I do know that has become a big deal up here. Can't forget to mention the Tionesta Dam.



Did someone invite you up....?.... I'm not sure where you got the idea for your article. You seem to be writing about Tionesta as it existed in the 1970's and before. I would love for you to come up sometime this summer and have a look around. We can drive you around to see what Tionesta is in the new millennium.