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ZitoSalena

@ZitoSalena • 63,541 subscribers

Author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Butler; DC Examiner reporter & WaPo columnist reporting from the “Middle of Somewhere” https://t.co/WUIco9Oewm

Shorts

DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — The mid-morning sun danced cleanly off the calm waters of Keystone Lake, casting a bright sheen over a scene that feels entirely unstuck from time. Along the shoreline, kayakers glide across the glass-like water. Fishermen sit quietly by the causeway, casting lines in hope of a bite. Under the shade of the locust, maple, tulip, and oak trees, families crowd around picnic tables, sharing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from home as they shake off the heavy heat of a Pennsylvania summer. It is a serene, almost languid tableau. It is also a testament to American resilience and our ability to reinvent ourselves, as the lake and rolling state park were built directly atop the industry that once defined Western Pennsylvania: coal. Long before it was a haven for swimming, fishing, kayaking, camping, and sunbathing, this very dirt belonged to the Keystone Coal and Coke Company. In 1909, the company dammed the convergence of McCune and Davis runs, creating this 78-acre lake for a purely industrial purpose: supplying the massive amounts of water needed to wash bituminous coal and quench the fiery coke ovens at the nearby Salem No. 1 Mine. The water the children splash in today once flowed gravity-fed through 2 miles of wooden pipes to fuel the region’s roaring steel industry. Just a short walk from the sandy beach, beneath the park’s cabin area and the Hillside Campground, lies a labyrinth of abandoned, sealed-off mine tunnels. In those dark spaces, particularly the Salem No. 2 drift mine, which opened in 1938, local miners labored on their hands and knees inside coal seams just 2 to 4 feet high. When the industrial demand cooled, Pennsylvania acquired the land and the company’s stone executive retreat in 1945, turning a private corporate playground into Keystone State Park. Today, that historic stone lodge serves as the James A. Kell Visitor Center, housing artifacts from the very miners who laid the foundation for the community. Located in Westmoreland County, Keystone State Park is one of 124 state parks spread across Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. For generations of Pennsylvanians, these public lands have provided the setting for some of our most enduring traditions. Today, as families look for affordable ways to vacation and rediscover what is often right in their own backyards, these parks are playing an even more vital role. They are saving the family vacation. I watched children ranging from toddlers to teenagers chase minnows, scoop up handfuls of sand, and sift through it for quartz, granite, rounded pebbles, and fragments of sandstone, shale, limestone, and bituminous coal. They picked out their favorites and carried them home in sand pails. Dozens of families rested on blankets spread across the dune grass between the sandy beach and the lawn, taking a break from the sun as their children emptied out the treasures they had collected from the lakebed. Conspicuously absent were the devices that so often occupy both children and parents. That absence may be common in the heart of the country, but it can seem almost inconceivable in a culture where social media increasingly shapes how everyday life is experienced and presented. There were no influencers posing on boogie boards. The children riding them were too busy mastering the balance needed to stay upright on the water. The same was true of those paddling canoes and kayaks. In an era dominated by algorithms, notifications, and glowing screens, Pennsylvania’s state parks offer a radical alternative: a place to disconnect. Here, children aren’t hunched over tablets or lost in video games. They are outside, experiencing the physical world with their bare hands.

DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — The mid-morning sun danced cleanly off the calm waters of Keystone Lake, casting a bright sheen over a scene that feels entirely unstuck from time. Along the shoreline, kayakers glide across the glass-like water. Fishermen sit quietly by the causeway, casting lines in hope of a bite. Under the shade of the locust, maple, tulip, and oak trees, families crowd around picnic tables, sharing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from home as they shake off the heavy heat of a Pennsylvania summer. It is a serene, almost languid tableau. It is also a testament to American resilience and our ability to reinvent ourselves, as the lake and rolling state park were built directly atop the industry that once defined Western Pennsylvania: coal. Long before it was a haven for swimming, fishing, kayaking, camping, and sunbathing, this very dirt belonged to the Keystone Coal and Coke Company. In 1909, the company dammed the convergence of McCune and Davis runs, creating this 78-acre lake for a purely industrial purpose: supplying the massive amounts of water needed to wash bituminous coal and quench the fiery coke ovens at the nearby Salem No. 1 Mine. The water the children splash in today once flowed gravity-fed through 2 miles of wooden pipes to fuel the region’s roaring steel industry. Just a short walk from the sandy beach, beneath the park’s cabin area and the Hillside Campground, lies a labyrinth of abandoned, sealed-off mine tunnels. In those dark spaces, particularly the Salem No. 2 drift mine, which opened in 1938, local miners labored on their hands and knees inside coal seams just 2 to 4 feet high. When the industrial demand cooled, Pennsylvania acquired the land and the company’s stone executive retreat in 1945, turning a private corporate playground into Keystone State Park. Today, that historic stone lodge serves as the James A. Kell Visitor Center, housing artifacts from the very miners who laid the foundation for the community. Located in Westmoreland County, Keystone State Park is one of 124 state parks spread across Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. For generations of Pennsylvanians, these public lands have provided the setting for some of our most enduring traditions. Today, as families look for affordable ways to vacation and rediscover what is often right in their own backyards, these parks are playing an even more vital role. They are saving the family vacation. I watched children ranging from toddlers to teenagers chase minnows, scoop up handfuls of sand, and sift through it for quartz, granite, rounded pebbles, and fragments of sandstone, shale, limestone, and bituminous coal. They picked out their favorites and carried them home in sand pails. Dozens of families rested on blankets spread across the dune grass between the sandy beach and the lawn, taking a break from the sun as their children emptied out the treasures they had collected from the lakebed. Conspicuously absent were the devices that so often occupy both children and parents. That absence may be common in the heart of the country, but it can seem almost inconceivable in a culture where social media increasingly shapes how everyday life is experienced and presented. There were no influencers posing on boogie boards. The children riding them were too busy mastering the balance needed to stay upright on the water. The same was true of those paddling canoes and kayaks. In an era dominated by algorithms, notifications, and glowing screens, Pennsylvania’s state parks offer a radical alternative: a place to disconnect. Here, children aren’t hunched over tablets or lost in video games. They are outside, experiencing the physical world with their bare hands.

41,744 次观看

.Freddy🇩🇪 forgot to mention Flight 93 NMEM in Shanksville between Ligonier & Bedford along US 30. The flight that went down in a reclaimed coal field on 9/11. The park rangers there are incredible--the exhibit is incredibly moving & you can feel the heart of our country.

.Freddy🇩🇪 forgot to mention Flight 93 NMEM in Shanksville between Ligonier & Bedford along US 30. The flight that went down in a reclaimed coal field on 9/11. The park rangers there are incredible--the exhibit is incredibly moving & you can feel the heart of our country.

68,741 次观看

.The Real Mike Rowe visiting with local union leaders, workers and the trades unions with Senator Dave McCormick discussing the skills gap needed to be filled for the boom in jobs in manufacturing, energy, and robotics in Pittsburgh.

.The Real Mike Rowe visiting with local union leaders, workers and the trades unions with Senator Dave McCormick discussing the skills gap needed to be filled for the boom in jobs in manufacturing, energy, and robotics in Pittsburgh.

86,453 次观看

Love how he mouths "thank you"

Love how he mouths "thank you"

130,411 次观看

Guy Benson Somerset county Pennsylvania did not forget Todd Beamer... This is Patriots Park and it is across the road from Flight 93 NMEM

Guy Benson Somerset county Pennsylvania did not forget Todd Beamer... This is Patriots Park and it is across the road from Flight 93 NMEM

27,032 次观看

There are some traits your grandchildren inherit from their parents. There are some traits your grandchildren inherit from you. This is one of those moments where they inherited the same traits from both generations. My best advice to all three generations? Never lose the joy of playing.

There are some traits your grandchildren inherit from their parents. There are some traits your grandchildren inherit from you. This is one of those moments where they inherited the same traits from both generations. My best advice to all three generations? Never lose the joy of playing.

61,902 次观看

Young people are moving towards faith in a way people don't either see or understand but it's happening--Pittsburgh is no exception--right here in the middle of the city in the middle of the university a revival & Faith is getting bigger, not smaller (my story later today)

Young people are moving towards faith in a way people don't either see or understand but it's happening--Pittsburgh is no exception--right here in the middle of the city in the middle of the university a revival & Faith is getting bigger, not smaller (my story later today)

30,146 次观看

Went and paid my respects at the tiny unincorporated little village in Westmoreland County Pennsylvania of "Forbes Road" where men have fought to protect our liberty and treasure, even before our country was formed. The military road was built by General Sir John Forbes and cut by a young George Washington of the Colonial British Army during the French and Indian War to attack the French garrison at Fort Duquesne in what is now Pittsburgh and passes through this village. 100 feet away lies a Memorial for all who have served our country since World War I through the wars in Afghanistan in Iraq. An extraordinary amount of men are on this honor roll who stepped up when duty called for a village so tiny.#MemorialDay.

Went and paid my respects at the tiny unincorporated little village in Westmoreland County Pennsylvania of "Forbes Road" where men have fought to protect our liberty and treasure, even before our country was formed. The military road was built by General Sir John Forbes and cut by a young George Washington of the Colonial British Army during the French and Indian War to attack the French garrison at Fort Duquesne in what is now Pittsburgh and passes through this village. 100 feet away lies a Memorial for all who have served our country since World War I through the wars in Afghanistan in Iraq. An extraordinary amount of men are on this honor roll who stepped up when duty called for a village so tiny.#MemorialDay.

15,567 次观看

What an incredible day at U. S. Steel today "President Trump we will never forget what you did for us"

What an incredible day at U. S. Steel today "President Trump we will never forget what you did for us"

12,744 次观看

Granddaughters first time ice skating 😲

Granddaughters first time ice skating 😲

12,364 次观看

.Trevor Donovan HQ newest Christmas movie for 2025 on Great American Family tonight and I'm all in while I make Italian Neapolitan cookies for tomorrow's big visit from Santa in our neighborhood where he picks up the bags of toys from my house and arrives via the local volunteer fire company to the delight of all the kids!

.Trevor Donovan HQ newest Christmas movie for 2025 on Great American Family tonight and I'm all in while I make Italian Neapolitan cookies for tomorrow's big visit from Santa in our neighborhood where he picks up the bags of toys from my house and arrives via the local volunteer fire company to the delight of all the kids!

12,311 次观看

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Two years ago today. 6:02 PM. I’m in the buffer four feet from President Trump. Everything would change in less than 5 minutes. It feels like yesterday.

Two years ago today. 6:02 PM. I’m in the buffer four feet from President Trump. Everything would change in less than 5 minutes. It feels like yesterday.

55,000 次观看 • 13 天前

Yinz guys I feel like there is a solution to this problem; there are hundreds, likely thousands of fearless musicians & rappers out there in the country, hungry to be able to have an opportunity to showcase their music and celebrate the country--the kind of musicians that frequently play county fairs looking for their big break or just doing what they love! Honestly there is nothing more #America250 than giving them this opportunity!

Yinz guys I feel like there is a solution to this problem; there are hundreds, likely thousands of fearless musicians & rappers out there in the country, hungry to be able to have an opportunity to showcase their music and celebrate the country--the kind of musicians that frequently play county fairs looking for their big break or just doing what they love! Honestly there is nothing more #America250 than giving them this opportunity!

126,382 次观看 • 1 个月前

Can someone please make sure Father Maximilian Maxwell (Father Max) at Saint Vincent Archabbey tickets to next weeks Pittsburgh Steelers game? I know as Prior administrating more than 150 monks he's kind of busy but the faithful need him. #Believe #HereWeGo

Can someone please make sure Father Maximilian Maxwell (Father Max) at Saint Vincent Archabbey tickets to next weeks Pittsburgh Steelers game? I know as Prior administrating more than 150 monks he's kind of busy but the faithful need him. #Believe #HereWeGo

236,781 次观看 • 6 个月前

More #BigBoy there are thousands of people here in Altoona, Pennsylvania!#America250

More #BigBoy there are thousands of people here in Altoona, Pennsylvania!#America250

22,625 次观看 • 17 天前

Kelli is one of the most amazing women I’ve ever met. Please prayers up for her and her husband ⁦🇺🇸 David J. Urban 🇺🇸⁩ Yinz guys ❤️

Kelli is one of the most amazing women I’ve ever met. Please prayers up for her and her husband ⁦🇺🇸 David J. Urban 🇺🇸⁩ Yinz guys ❤️

334,936 次观看 • 1 年前

"This is all about our country right now. I love the USA! I love my teammates! The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong... I am so proud of the Americans today." Jack Hughes #USA #Olympics #USAMensHockey #Gold

"This is all about our country right now. I love the USA! I love my teammates! The USA hockey brotherhood is so strong... I am so proud of the Americans today." Jack Hughes #USA #Olympics #USAMensHockey #Gold

124,008 次观看 • 5 个月前

This is the city of Pittsburgh. Lead by a Pitt football player... I don't think there are many in my profession who understand what is going on in this country with our young people. #REVIVAL story Monday

This is the city of Pittsburgh. Lead by a Pitt football player... I don't think there are many in my profession who understand what is going on in this country with our young people. #REVIVAL story Monday

209,596 次观看 • 10 个月前

It’s a darn shame everyone didn’t watch this. It was nothing but a pure celebration of the US Army and oh what a great celebration it was of the men and women who put it all on the line for all of us—What an incredible way to kick off the 250 #Army250 #USA250

It’s a darn shame everyone didn’t watch this. It was nothing but a pure celebration of the US Army and oh what a great celebration it was of the men and women who put it all on the line for all of us—What an incredible way to kick off the 250 #Army250 #USA250

189,626 次观看 • 1 年前

Less than a month ago I was at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Innovation Center in Hazelwood, where they they showed me the work they are doing with the Department of War 🇺🇸 on live drone military field rescues. I had a little idea a month later it would happen in real time

Less than a month ago I was at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Innovation Center in Hazelwood, where they they showed me the work they are doing with the Department of War 🇺🇸 on live drone military field rescues. I had a little idea a month later it would happen in real time

24,253 次观看 • 1 个月前

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio- In an effort to teach my Harvard University students a different way to look at the world—that everything does not fit the stereotype it is portrayed as by my profession — I took them to The Butler Institute of American Art; their reaction to this seemingly simple abstract portrait is worth the 20 seconds (and more importantly should teach all of us a valuable lesson.)

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio- In an effort to teach my Harvard University students a different way to look at the world—that everything does not fit the stereotype it is portrayed as by my profession — I took them to The Butler Institute of American Art; their reaction to this seemingly simple abstract portrait is worth the 20 seconds (and more importantly should teach all of us a valuable lesson.)

52,270 次观看 • 4 个月前

“You shouldn’t worry about criticism from someone that you would never ask advice from.”

“You shouldn’t worry about criticism from someone that you would never ask advice from.”

62,677 次观看 • 6 个月前

Nearly fifty years ago, the city of Clairton was the backdrop for the movie Deer Hunter, which depicted the impact of the Vietnam War on a group of lifelong friends in a working-class steel town. What endures from that movie is the connective tissue that the men and women have with each other, much of it centered on their livelihoods at the mill. The story of Clairton: ballad of an American city

Nearly fifty years ago, the city of Clairton was the backdrop for the movie Deer Hunter, which depicted the impact of the Vietnam War on a group of lifelong friends in a working-class steel town. What endures from that movie is the connective tissue that the men and women have with each other, much of it centered on their livelihoods at the mill. The story of Clairton: ballad of an American city

83,340 次观看 • 11 个月前

"America I’m So Glad You Were Born hits it out of the park for young people" My granddaughter Eleanora wrote her first book review on Ainsley Earhardt newest book "America I'm so glad you were born!"

"America I’m So Glad You Were Born hits it out of the park for young people" My granddaughter Eleanora wrote her first book review on Ainsley Earhardt newest book "America I'm so glad you were born!"

13,040 次观看 • 1 个月前

.Omni Hotels & Resorts has their 1776 spirit going #America250

.Omni Hotels & Resorts has their 1776 spirit going #America250

21,086 次观看 • 2 个月前

Pennsylvania, especially York County is known as the "Snack Food Capital of the World" due to its rich history and concentration of major snack manufacturers like Utz, Snyder's of Hanover, and Martin's Potato Chips, it's the one state where Biden should've never used the term. #Snackflation #PAFarmShow.

Pennsylvania, especially York County is known as the "Snack Food Capital of the World" due to its rich history and concentration of major snack manufacturers like Utz, Snyder's of Hanover, and Martin's Potato Chips, it's the one state where Biden should've never used the term. #Snackflation #PAFarmShow.

42,750 次观看 • 6 个月前

The room was not lost.

The room was not lost.

14,253 次观看 • 5 个月前

I’m not sure what I respect more out of my two year-old grandson, his determination to do this entire self fueled ride or his epic mullet— I love the ticket, taker at the amusement park yelling “keep going believe in you“

I’m not sure what I respect more out of my two year-old grandson, his determination to do this entire self fueled ride or his epic mullet— I love the ticket, taker at the amusement park yelling “keep going believe in you“

24,760 次观看 • 11 个月前