Member Highlights
March 2023
Tucked away on a quiet, country road and surrounded by towering oak trees sits Foggy Mountain Lodge and Pub. Foggy Mountain is quickly becoming the Laurel Highlands one-stop destination for dining, lodging, and hosting the kind of events that people will talk about for decades to come. Owners, Jim and Karen Dunn have poured themselves into the business since they purchased it in 2004. Their commitment shows in the loyalty they receive from customers and staff alike.
You will find Karen running the show in Walnut Hall, our 200 person capacity banquet facility. Over the years, Foggy Mountain has become one of the best places to hold your wedding, reunion, or special event in the Laurel Highlands. The property has multiple options for ceremony locations such as the gazebo in front of our sprawling pond, or if you’re looking for a more intimate location, in our beautifully rustic log chapel. Weather conditions don’t limit you from an outside ceremony either with full access to our outdoor pavilion with wood burning fireplace. For weddings in colder months, your ceremony can be held inside our banquet hall in front of the gas fireplace. Not looking for a big wedding? We now offer elopement packages as well! Not only does getting married at Foggy Mountain guarantee you a gorgeous backdrop for your wedding photos, but it also provides a weekend full of treasured memories with your friends and family when you stay on property and celebrate.
Foggy Mountain has several options for lodging, whether you are staying during a wedding weekend, or just looking for a mid-week getaway. We have three buildings, our Cedar Lodge, Pine Lodge, and Chestnut Lodge Suites. The Cedar Lodge, our most popular option, is constructed of 100% cedar both inside and out. In this building are six recently updated guest rooms, four king-bed rooms and two queen-bed rooms, all with beautiful vaulted wood ceilings. All the Cedar Lodge rooms have interior entrance doors, with four of the rooms having an additional exterior entrance that opens to a porch area. The Pine Lodge has doors that open directly to the fresh Foggy Mountain air and all include a queen-size bed. The Chestnut Lodge is the perfect place for families to stay together as it features multi-bedroom suites and the four bedroom suite features it s own outside patio with fireplace and complimentary firewood. No matter which building you choose to make your home while you stay with us you have full access to the common areas in the Cedar Lodge which include our seating area complete with fireplace, complimentary grab and go breakfast area, microwave, refrigerator, and coffee pot. On the lower level of the building you can enjoy our pool table, card table, community television and warm up near the pellet stove in the chilly weather. Whether you are coming from out of state, or getting away for a quick staycation, Foggy Mountain is the perfect place to give you, not just a place to stay in the Laurel Highlands, but a place to experience the Laurel Highlands.
The Foggy Mountain Pub, open year round, features a cathedral ceiling for an open, comfortable dining experience, as you enjoy your meal in our main dining room. During warmer months dinner can be enjoyed outside on the open air covered deck. Maybe the best area, however, is our newly renovated bar! Boasting a large live-edge bar and high-top tables all around, it is the premiere place to spend a Saturday night in the Laurel Highlands drinking and eating with both locals and travelers. With an extensive menu that includes sandwiches, steaks, pizza, pasta, and more, as well as weekly specials, everyone will certainly find a new favorite every time they dine with us. Just don’t forget to save room for one of our homemade desserts!
Whether you call the Laurel Highlands home or are just passing through, Foggy Mountain has a little something to offer everyone.
February 2023
December 2022
If you try to do a quick check on when people began decorating for Christmas, you will probably get a headache. To prevent brain pain let’s go with the following history of Christmas Lights in The U.S.A. Thomas Edison wanted to advertise his invention, the incandescent light bulb, so he put a display of lights outside his laboratory during the Christmas Season of 1880. (As I said there is a lot more information about Christmas Decorations if you care to do the research).
Grover Cleveland adorned the White House Christmas Tree in 1895 with lights. This helped promote the use of electric lights for decorations, but for many reasons the general population didn’t get into the swing of decorating until after World War 2.
Next, in 2019, right here in Springfield Township, PA, the owners of See-Mor’s Restaurant and The Firestone Insurance Agency of Normalville decided to sponsor a Township Light Up Contest. We purchased gift certificates from local merchants to present to the respective winners of the contest. In addition, we placed collection “bottles” at local merchants to gather a collection for our local fire companies. All donations were divided equally between the Mill Run and Normalville Volunteer Companies.
This year, we can offer an incentive for residents to “jingle” those bottles a lot louder. This year with the support from one of Firestone’s Insurance Carriers we can match, dollar for dollar, all donations received up to $5,000!
We invite you to drive around Springfield Township during this 4th Christmas Light Up Contest Season to enjoy the lights and please offer your financial support to help our firemen! Merry Christmas from See-Mor’s and Firestone’s.
The judging for the 2022 Light Up will be held on Friday, December 16. Get ready!
November 2022
Living Treasures Wild Animal Park Opened in April of 1998. Log Cabin Lodge and Suites, Originally Log Cabin Motel, shortly followed in 1999. These two businesses are the passion of Thomas Guiher. The original Living Treasures was founded in 1992 in New Castle, PA. Over the years, on his frequent ski trips, Tom fell in love with the area and decided to bring his business acumen to Donegal Township. Over the years, many improvements and changes have been made at Living Treasures and Log Cabin Lodge. The lodge now has 24 rooms and 10 suites. The lodge features the rustic type atmosphere of our area and provides tourists and locals an authentic taste of the region. The animal park exhibits over 70 species representing six continents. Living Treasures now has an elaborate education program that brings school groups from the local area and even across state lines. Living Treasures even just opened it’s new Rainforest Room.
Some of the biggest changes Living Treasures has made is their seasonal events. In August we had our first Annual Beastly Beard Competition featuring Brett Keisel and Joe Starkey. It benefited UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Just this past month of October, Living Treasures had it’s Night at the Zoo. Night at the Zoo is a chance for visitors to walk around and view the animals at night. It has also grown into a full-on Halloween light display.
The most exciting new event is our Holiday Light Extravaganza. This event starts November 18th, 2022 and runs through January 9th, 2023. The schedule is available on our website or Facebook. Our Holiday Light Extravaganza features over 1 million bulbs of entertainment. There are many featured areas for family pictures as well as multiple light and sound shows that will certainly lift your holiday spirit. Also, during this event will be our season pass special and a chance to get some unique and nice gifts and ornaments in our giftshop.
We are proud to be members of our community and the Mountain Laurel Chamber of Commerce. We look forward every year seeing the faces of local patrons. So, if you’re looking for something to do this holiday season; bring your family to meet ours.
Matthew Dumbauld, Living Treasures Wild Animal Park
October 2022
Q: What are aggregates, and where do they come from?
A: Aggregates come from rock formations that were deposited millions of years ago. They are mined by surface and/or underground methods, crushed, and screened to size for different uses, such as concrete and asphalt. In cases of surface mining, the operation is restored, upgraded, and returned to farm and forestland, often within a year after mining. Sometimes, farming occurs simultaneously. This minimizes the amount of land affected at any given time. Specifically, a smaller footprint means less labor, equipment, and fuel use. In Western Pennsylvania, roughly two formations have characteristics that meet state certification requirements. Amerikohl has quarries in each. Broadly speaking, every state and roughly 75% of the nation’s counties have aggregate quarries, annually producing nearly 2.4 billion tons of aggregates valued at over $25 billion.
Q: What are aggregates used for?
A: Aggregates are the literal foundations of our society. They are the most fundamental materials used in construction and make up the foundations of roads, bridges, buildings, and homes. Aggregates comprise over 90% of asphalt pavement and up to 80% of concrete. According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, over 38,000 tons of aggregate are necessary to construct a mile of just one lane of interstate highway. Construction of the average home requires 400 tons of aggregate, while the average school or hospital requires 15,000 tons. Aggregates also yield other minerals. We would not have glass or plastic without sand, nor would we have pennies without zinc. Quartz provides silica for computer parts, and limestone provides calcium carbonate for antacids. Aggregates are also used in the water filtration and purification process, as well as for air filtration and purification.
Q: What is the economic impact in terms of jobs in Pennsylvania?
A: According to the Keystone Research Center/Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, major projects (including roads and bridges) account for over 7,600 jobs in the state due to the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Q: What challenges does the aggregates industry face, and how is Amerikohl preparing to meet them?
A: Moving forward, we must continuously remain aware of and prepare for environmental policies affecting us. As some areas become more difficult to mine due to stricter policies, we must stay ahead of the game. We must be prepared to deal with potential carbon taxes, stricter water and discharge requirements, and restrictions on air emissions from plants and equipment. We must also continue to cooperate and create synergies with government agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency. These agencies review and approve our permit applications. We must engage and teach the community, public officials, and these agencies that aggregates are necessary for our economy and way of life. At Amerikohl, our reputation speaks for itself. In fact, our McMillin Quarry was awarded a National Association of State Mine Reclamationists award, presented by the DEP. This will continue to help Amerikohl prosper and compete in an ever-changing regulatory environment.
August 2022
LCT Energy, LP was established in 2009 and is headquartered in Johnstown, PA. Our employees produce some of the highest quality metallurgical coal in the industry. Our coal is valued by both domestic and international customers as a key component in the production of steel. Safety and compliance are core to all our operations. Our priority is providing a safe work environment for our 170 employees; going above and beyond to achieve our goal of exceeding expectations to comply with all laws and regulations.
LCT began operations at the Rustic Ridge Mine in Donegal in 2019. The current issued permit is 2158 acres. LCT has recently applied for an additional 1453 acres, which would extend the life of the mine, at current production levels, through the year 2030.
LCT enjoys being part of the Donegal community, sponsoring little league teams, fishing derbies, and other local activities and efforts. We are also privileged to be an active member of the Mountain Laurel Chamber of Commerce and we appreciate all that they do for the community and look forward to many more years together.
Mark Tercek, PE, President, LCT Energy, LP
July 2022
One of the oldest campgrounds in the country is celebrating its 100th anniversary!
Mountain Pines Campground was born as the Newill’s Grove Picnic Area in 1922. It was built by Dr. Domer S. Newill to give back to his community of Champion, Pennsylvania, a small town in the Laurel Highlands region of southwestern Pennsylvania. In those days, much like today, the Laurel Highlands was an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Wealthy Pittsburgh residents made summer homes in the Laurel Highlands before the turn of the century. Travelers followed the National Road to the mountains and traded hot summer days for mountain breezes in the days before electricity. The campground changed owners and names over the century, starting as Newell’s Grove, to Maple Grove, to the then popular Cutty’s and finally, today it’s known as Mountain Pines Campground to thousands of campers.
Although the campground has changed- mainly it’s expanded from 100 sites to nearly 1,000- the reasons people choose to camp here has stayed the same. For some it’s to immerse themselves in nature escaping the hustle for some quiet time, and for others it’s to spend time with great company and lots of fun things to do. One thing that remains true for every camper is that they flock to Mountain Pines Campground for many of the same reasons that they did in 1922 – to enjoy the great outdoors while making memories with their families.
Valerie Medina Stahl, Assistant Park Manager
