Steals & Deals at Area Ski Resorts

By Kim Weaver

Photo submitted by Liberty Mountain Resort & Conference Center

Liberty Mountain Resort & Conference Center, Roundtop Mountain Resort, and Whitetail Resort are owned and managed by Snow Time, Inc., and open December to mid-March (both dates depend on weather). Season passes and skier discount cards are transferable among the three resorts.

Specials at all three resorts:

Learn To Ski/Snowboard Program, $49
Good opening day-December 31, 2014
Includes lift ticket, lesson & equipment rental
First time skiers and snowboarders ages 8 & older

Mountain Passport Card, $49
Exclusive beginner's card loaded with discounts. Can be purchased only after completing Learn-To program

One-hour class lessons, $10
Good opening day-December 23, 2014
Ages 8 and up, all ability levels

Black History Tours

New Gettysburg Black History Museum to Offer Tours in 2015

By Cheryl Sobun

The Gettysburg Black History Museum, Inc., located at 777 Baltimore St., is a very new venture in town—so new, in fact, that while it has a location, it is not yet filled. It is presently open for group heritage tours, and the museum itself is set to open for business in 2015, according to museum president Ron Bailey.

The museum’s mission, Bailey says, is to preserve, educate, and inspire. “We have all this [black history] here, and it’s not exposed. Why?” he asks. Bailey says that the museum will encourage people to discover what the past means to them today—it will be a vehicle linking the past, present, and future.

Call 800-447-8788 or 717-334-6020 to arrange a tour, or visit www.gettysburgblackhistory.org or www.facebook.com/gettysburgblackhistory.

Winter Fun for Everyone

By Kim Weaver

Photo submitted by Liberty Mountain Resort & Conference Center

Roundtop Mountain Resort
Ski Area: 10 lifts, 16 trails, plus 2 terrain parks. Elevation is 1,355 ft. with a vertical drop of 600 ft. and 104 skiable acres. All trails lit for night skiing.  

Cost: Lift tickets: $57 midweek, $66 on weekends. First-time skiers and snowboarders can get a lift ticket, lesson, and equipment rental for $82 midweek, $93 weekends. Season pass is $559. Snow tubing rates $21-$31.

Amenities: Child tubing area, childcare center, sports shop, Fireside Pub and Grill. Lodging partners linked to resort.

Nearby Attractions: Hershey Park and the Hotel Hershey and Spa

Don't Miss... Every March, Roundtop attracts a crowd to its annual Pond Skimming Contest, where skiers decked out in bikinis and other costumes try to slide the entire way across the surface of a pond on skis.


Whitetail Resort
Ski Area: 23 trails and 2 terrain parks. Elevation is 1,800 feet with a vertical drop of 935 feet. All but one trail lit for night skiing.

Cost: Lift tickets are $60 midweek, $71 weekends and holidays. Season pass is $559. Tubing rates $20-$29.

Amenities: Childcare center, sports shop, food court, slope-side Windows Restaurant, and adaptive snow-sports program for children and adults with special needs. Exclusive area lodging partners linked to resort.

Nearby Attractions: Mercersburg Historic District, Antietam Battlefield, antique markets galore.

Don't Miss... New selection of rental skis and snowboards, and expanded kids ski-and-board learning centers.


Liberty Mountain Resort & Conference Center
Ski Area: 16 trails, 3 terrain parks and 9 lifts. Elevation is 1,190 feet high with a vertical drop of 620 feet and 100 acres of skiable terrain. All trails lit for night skiing.

Cost: Lift tickets are $57 midweek, $69 weekends. First-time skiers and snowboarders can get a lift ticket, lesson, and equipment rental for $83 midweek, $97 weekends. Season pass is $559. Snowtubing is $19-$31.

Amenities: Childcare center, sports shop, multiple bars and restaurants. An exercise room, wireless Internet, and a hot breakfast buffet are included with hotel rates. Ski-and-stay packages available.

Nearby Attractions: Appalachian Trail, Catoctin Mountain State Park, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg Outlet Center.

Don't Miss... All new snow groomer, beginner area, skier drop-off area and rental skis from Elan and Rossignol.

Roots of the Christmas Tree Tradition

By Karen Hendricks

Photo by Karen Hendricks

Evergreens were used to decorate homes in the dead of winter, dating back to biblical times. By the 7th century, the pagan custom became an accepted part of religious Christmas festivities. The tradition of Christmas trees dates back to the 16th century in Strasbourg, Germany, where fir trees were cut from German forests. The first Christmas tree market in America is believed to be Washington Market, New York City, where fir and spruce trees harvested from the Catskill Mountains were sold in 1851. 

Today, the Christmas tree market is booming throughout Pennsylvania and Adams County. According to the 2012 U.S. Census of Agriculture and the Department of Plant Science at Penn State University:

• 33-36 million: Christmas trees produced in North America annually
• 15,500: Christmas tree growers in the U.S.
• 2,000: Number of Christmas tree farms in Pennsylvania (second in the nation behind Oregon)
• 27: Christmas tree farms in Adams County (15th in the state)
• 45,000: Acres of Christmas tree farms in Pennsylvania
• 253: Adams County acres devoted to Christmas tree farms, ranking tenth in the state
• $1.5 billion: Amount spent annually by American consumers on Christmas trees 
• $55 million: Christmas tree revenues annually in Pennsylvania; third in the nation behind Oregon and North Carolina
• $843,000: Revenue generated annually by Christmas tree sales in Adams County; within Pennsylvania’s top 10 counties in terms of revenue

According to 2014 estimates by the Department of Plant Science, Penn State University, the following Christmas tree varieties are grown throughout Pennsylvania:

• Douglas fir  40%
• Fraser fir 35
• Colorado (blue) spruce  8
• Scotch pine  8
• Balsam (Canaan) fir  3
• Eastern white pine  3
• Others  3