Most of Denise Ebersole’s days as a kid were spent inside Marty’s Market, her family’s grocery store in Meshoppen. She credits her time there for introducing her to a genuine love of people and stories. She went on to graduate from Tunkhannock High School and Bloomsburg University. And from there, it’d be about 20 years before she came back.

She met a nice boy from Milton at college. They were married shortly after graduation and settled in idyllic Lancaster County. After adding a few more degrees (Master’s and PhD), Denise embarked on a career as a school counselor. Life was good, but soon the opportunity to make it even better reared its beautiful head in the form of an old, neglected mansion on Warren Street in Tunkhannock. Denise saw a story that needed to be preserved and shared. Now, after months of painstaking renovation, they call it The White House on Warren.

And that was just the beginning. They’ve since moved back home to Tunkhannock full time. Denise now holds a professorship at Liberty University and homeschools their two children. Of course, they’re not done saving local history. She and her husband recently purchased The Metcalf Mansion. It’s considerably bigger and certainly in greater need of TLC, but for the Ebersole family, that’s exactly where the stories live.

We met up with Denise at the historic (and very much under renovation) Metcalf Mansion for a quick chat and a curious little look around. And between countless stories, newspaper clippings and old photos, we were able to squeeze in a question or two, including Why NEPA?

How long have you lived in NEPA?

I guess its 25 years altogether. No wait. That’s not right. 23 maybe. Yeah. Sorry. It would be 23 years.

What do you love about your town?

Everything. Just everything. I love the people, the mountains, the river, being around family, the streets. It’s absolutely amazing in Tunkhannock.

What’s your favorite NEPA restaurant?

That was the hardest one. I’m going to go with Casa Bella.

Blogg Pub & Grill
Greenley’s BBQ
Fireplace
Peso’s Pizza
Pompeii’s Pizza
Tioga Bistro
Town & Country Grill
Todd & Rachel’s 
Unwind
Yearbook Diner

What’s your favorite thing to do in NEPA?

To be outside with my family. We could just be walking. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing – just being outside in nature with them is my favorite thing to do. We basically try to keep the kids involved in everything we do. We used to run a lot of 5ks and 10Ks and we’d push them along with us in their strollers. We recently hiked Miller Mountain. It was incredible. We’ll also go to Vosburg Neck State Park or Ricketts Glen. The Iroquois Trail is right here. Or we sometimes just enjoy walking around the streets here in town.

What’s next for you?

We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. My hope it that we can eventually use this home as a place where we can welcome people. I also love my professional career and I want to continue with my work at the University. Basically, we just want to keep doing what we’re doing. We’re happy. We’re healthy. Why change that? We live where we want to live. We’re with who we want to be with. Every day we meet new friends. I really couldn’t ask for anything else.

Where do you see NEPA heading in the future?

I’d have to say that I’d love to see more opportunities for people to connect over shared interests. There’s a love for history here that always seems to bring people together. It’s incredible. I would like to see more preservation. We have so much here, and there’s so much amazing history behind it. I’d love to see us do more to protect what we have here in NEPA. And I want to see NEPA remain a close-knit community of people who genuinely care about each other.

Why NEPA?

There’s no place better. Whenever we’re driving around and we come over that bridge and I look at those mountains and the river, I’m just so thankful that we have all of this – that our kids get to run free and enjoy all of this. It’s a choice we made. We committed as a family to never being bored. And that’s how we’re living here.