Growing Up in Middle of Nowhere Pennsylvania.
Being home for the summer really made me think about where I’m from. Some people call it “Pennsyltucky”, or “where?”; but I call it home. It may not be the busiest town in America, there may not be much to do, but it’s where I am from and it helped make me who I am today.
When I meet someone new, whom isn’t from my area (which happens all the time in college) and I say “I’m from Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania!” with an excited and eager grin on my face, the usual response is a head turned sideways and one eyebrow raised; followed by “I’m sorry, come again?” Yes, my town is named after the greatest athlete of the twentieth century. A professional baseball and football player, along with being an Olympic decathlon athlete, the great Jim Thorpe harkens images of Native American culture mixed with professional level athleticism, but not so much a small coal mining and train town in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Growing up in Jim Thorpe can be summed up in four events: Friday night football, days on the river, eating Rambo’s at Tommy’s, and giving directions to tourists to the Asa Packer mansion. We’re a small community where everyone knows everyone and if your name was in the paper for an athletic achievement, you were practically a celebrity. Our mascot isn’t the “Olympians” for nothing. High school sports are a way of life where I come from.
When you weren’t at practice, you were probably eating a Rambo from Tommy’s. For those of you who aren’t local and unfamiliar, a Rambo is a cheesesteak with popcorn chicken, mozzarella sticks, and French fries all jammed inside. Unless you’re Takeru Kobayashi (Japanese competitive eater) outsiders usually look upon me with a grimace face when explaining the greasy magnificence that is a Rambo. To them it’s a heart attack, to us, it’s the gateway to Heaven.
Even in Pennsylvania, it’s hot in the summertime. What do native Jim Thorpe residents do to beat the heat? That answer is simple; grab a cooler, your best friends, and some old inner tubes, and float down the conveniently placed Lehigh River that flows right through out tiny borough. It’s an amazing time if you have the right people, and it certainly cools you off in the hot and humid summer months!
Much of the income in “JT” is based off of tourism. Packed with adventure and history, Jim Thorpe is a tourism magnet. From the Lehigh Railroad tours to whitewater rafting, there is always so much to do in our little one horse town, residents might tell you otherwise though.
So there you go, a glimpse into my childhood. It may not have been the most exciting childhood, but it defines me, and a bunch of other people who grew up the same way. It may not be the best town, but it’s my town, and being away at college really makes me appreciate how much it means to me.
