Home & Family

The New Year is a time to feel hopeful about the upcoming 12 months. It’s a time to think about changes you might want to make or things you want to do. A New Year’s Resolution is an optimistic goal that helps you set the stage for the next year. Whatever you’re trying to accomplish in 2025, let the entrepreneurs in the PA Wilds help you accomplish those goals!

Abbi was born and raised in New Jersey, where most of her family still resides. Holiday traditions have been established in NJ, which puts Abbi on the road two days before Christmas Eve and has her returning back to the PA Wilds on Christmas Day in time for dinner. As much as she loves spending time with family and friends, it can be a little hectic to celebrate the peak of the season while on the road, so it helps to plan ahead and plan for surprises.

Lucia, part of the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship staff, offers some tasty tips for Thanksgiving and how some of the products at ShopThePAWilds.com can help you have the perfect holiday dinner.

Soon the house will be full of the smells of pies, stuffing, turkey and ham. Extra chairs will be brought out from storage. Parents will dust the places in the house that typically get overlooked, and kids will anxiously await the arrival of their favorite aunts, uncles and cousins. The holiday travel season is here! Whether you have family visiting the PA Wilds for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year’s, there’s nothing like welcoming your extended family members and making them feel at home.

Freshly baked pie, handmade ornaments, twinkling lights, decorating the tree, wrapping the perfect gift for a loved one, and family- that’s what the holiday season means to me. The holiday season invokes many feelings: excitement for time spent with loved ones, and sadness for those who are no longer with me. As I navigate the season, I try not to sweat the small stuff and truly enjoy special holiday meals, mugs of hot chocolate, and snuggling up under my cozy handmade blanket (an amazing gift from a friend last year).

In the heart of Nisbet, Pennsylvania, Laura Carson had a dream – a dream fueled by her love for dogs and a passion for baking. Drawing inspiration from her own furry companions and the bustling dog-loving community around her, Laura embarked on a journey to create something truly special. With determination and a sprinkle of creativity, she founded Biscuit Authority, a small local dog biscuit company that would soon capture the hearts (and taste buds) of pups far and wide.

The mornings are foggy and the air is crisp. Leaves are changing color and covering the ground. The holiday season is upon us. Soon you’ll hear clattering and jingling along with the sound of hooves… Santa?! No silly, it’s not Christmas time yet. It’s the Headless Horseman, it’s Halloween Season!

I cannot tell you the amount of life lessons and memories that all 3 of my kids have made since we started adding animals to our homestead which is nestled in Elk County right next to the Allegheny National Forest. Responsibility, hard work, problem solving, where food comes from, where babies come from,wWhere milk comes from...so so many lessons. 

Rachel Courtney is the owner of Sugar Mama’s Appalachian Maple. Her interest in maple production was piqued at a young age after having a positive and delectable experience hanging out with a local maple producer.

How has Stephanie Distler's studio space changed over the years? She takes us on a visual tour of her studio in Johnsonburg in the PA Wilds, starting in 2016 until nowadays. It certainly looks a lot different now!