One Tank Getaway:
Sneak Away to Annville, PA

by Mitchell L. Hillman, Jr.

DIRECTIONS:

Take 81 North to Exit 29A. Follow Route 934 South for ½ mile to Jonestown Road. Turn right onto Jonestown Road, Harper’s Tavern is on the right hand corner and the Swatara Creek Inn is the 3rd building on the left. For the Allen theater, continue following 934 South until you get to the junction of 422 at the first red light. Turn left and the Allen theater is on your right. Or if you are only going to the Allen Theater you can take 322 East to 422 East through Hershey, Palmyra and into Annville, the theater will be on your right after the red light by Turkey Hill and an Exxon station.

SPECIFICS:

Swatara Creek Inn— R.D. 2, Box 692 (Jonestown Road), Annville, PA 17003, (717) 865-3259; Dick & Jeanette Hess, proprietors. ROOM RATES: (each with private bath) $55-$80 per night/per couple. Additional guests sharing room $15.00 each. $50 deposit required on each room. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Card and Diners Club accepted. 48 hours’ notice on cancellations. Check in time: 3:00-7:00 p.m. Check out 11:00 a.m. No smoking in house. No pets allowed. For reservations call 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Harper’s Tavern— Rt. 934 & Old Jonestown Road, Annville, PA 17003, (717) 865-2584; Elaine Brensinger, proprietor. Open for Dinner: Tuesday through Saturday at 5:00 p.m. & Sunday 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Open for Lunch: Tuesday through Friday 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Please call for reservations.

Allen Theatre— 36 East Main Street, Annville, PA 17003, (717) 867-4766; Skip Hicks, proprietor. Call for currently playing films and show times.

MJ’s Coffeehouse at the Allen Theatre— Open Sunday to Thursday 3:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m., Open Friday & Saturday 3:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

OTHER THINGS TO DO DURING YOUR STAY:

Annville is conveniently located with many nearby sites for fun, including: Memorial Lake State Park, the Appalachian Trail, Hershey attractions (only 15 minutes away), Lancaster, Mt. Hope, Mt. Gretna, Reading, & Lebanon.

If you are looking for a weekend that will take you away from it all, you need drive no farther than the nearby community of Annville. It is less than an hour away from the greater Harrisburg area and it gives you a real taste of Pennsylvania Dutch hospitality. In fact, if you are looking for the perfect romantic getaway, then look no further than this article to provide your guide.

My companion and I recently got to experience first hand just what the rolling hillocks and peaceful farm communities of the Lebanon Valley had to offer. If you want a stress relieving weekend with plenty of highlights, we can’t recommend this pleasurable itinerary enough. This mini-vacation will cost anywhere between one-hundred and two-hundred dollars, depending on your desires and taste. We suggest a comfortable night’s stay at the Swatara Creek Inn, dinner at Harper’s Tavern and a movie at the Allen Theatre for the perfect weekend in Annville. Trust us, you’ll have no regrets.

Staying at a bed & breakfast is a quick antidote to the stress of the work week. They give you all the comforts of home combined with the enjoyment of being away from home, without the sterile sameness of a hotel or motel. The Swatara Creek Inn is a beautiful three story Victorian mansion, converted to a bed & breakfast by Dick and Jeanette Hess, that rests majestically on top of a hill amidst century old trees, just off Route 934.

Upon checking into the Swatara Creek Inn, you immediately feel at home. The decor is somewhere between Victorian elegance and cozy country comfort. Their brochure says it all: "You will find the ten guest rooms in this stately home, with it’s formal entry foyer, three floor open stairway and cozy sitting room, offer a blend of the serenity, peace and quiet of by-gone days and today’s modern comforts." Each spacious room comes with its own private bath and a queen size canopy bed.

In the morning you have your choice of what time you would like to eat breakfast. Jeanette cooks a hot breakfast with fresh baked pastries each morning for her guests, who dine together at a 22 foot dining room table, made by Dick Hess from a spruce tree that was struck by lightning in their front yard. If you happen to be up and about before breakfast is served, you can pour yourself a cup of coffee, which sits on the counter of their authentic country craft shop. We were treated to apple pancakes, fruit cocktail, strips of lean bacon and freshly made sugar cookies with maple icing. In conversation with the other guests staying at the inn, we discovered two of the couples had been there before. "We get a lot of return visitors," Jeanette said. "Some are just like family now."

The gift shop at the Inn attracts many patrons of its own and it is one of the few places in the area that carries all 43 fragrances of Yankee Candles. One thing to look forward to is the annual Christmas Open House which is held the first Sunday in December and offers a tour, free refreshments and a sale on everything in the gift shop. "I love the Christmas season. I begin decorating in October," Jeanette said. "I have a theme every year and it’s done differently each time."

The history of the Swatara Creek Inn is a long and interesting one. It was originally built in 1860 by a wealthy bachelor named Jacob Ulrich, who lived there with his two sisters. From 1882 until 1917 two couples, Frey and Klick, owned the house— it was then purchased by Milton Hershey and eventually handed over to the Milton Trust Company in 1931. During this time it was used as a boy’s orphanage home and as a quarantine house. "People still come back," Jeanette said of that period in the house’s history.

In 1941 it was purchased by the Paynes and renamed Hemlock Hall, which was originally started as a tourist home, but eventually housed G.I. s in World War II. The Inn has changed hands many times since then, at one time it was owned by Syracuse University at another time it was used as a fabric warehouse.

Finally in 1986, Dick & Jeanette Hess purchased the house and the four acres of property it rests upon. "The house was in an awful condition when we bought it," they said, and you can see that for yourself if you pay a visit to the Swatara Creek Inn. In their sitting room they keep a photo album of the restoration process. They began renovations immediately and opened the Inn in 1987, starting with five rooms. Ten years later the Hess’ now operate ten rooms and continually work on restoring the house.

Across the road from the Inn is Harper’s Tavern, a comfortably elegant dining establishment run with love by Elaine Brensinger. The rustic atmosphere, candlelight and fireplaces of Harper’s Tavern only add to the enjoyment of the already great food offered by Elaine and her tremendous staff (if you’re lucky, you can even get the bartender to tell you a few jokes). Harper’s Tavern was built in 1804 by Mr. Harper himself, but its present incarnation as a restaurant started in 1980 and Elaine was one of the original cooks. Two years ago she became the owner. Despite this change of ownership, "The menu hasn’t really changed," Elaine said. "I’ve added a couple items, but that’s it." Although the menu is fairly simple, what it has to offer is wonderful—including their specialties of roast prime rib, wienerschnitzel, fresh seafood and hamburgers made from filet mignon.

"The G.I.s love the wienerschnitzel and the prime rib," Elaine said proudly. "Everything’s home made and freshly done to order. Nothing is made up ahead and all of our seafood is fresh." The reputation of Harper’s Tavern’s fine food is, deservedly, spreading. "It took me two years to get it out and about, because the previous owner wanted to keep things limited," Elaine said. "I don’t want want to limit it any more, the more guests, the better." And the more people hear about the wonderful food, it’s guaranteed that business will continue growing.

Every dinner entree comes with soup, salad, fresh baked bread, and choices of vegetable and potato. The choices of bread are kept in an antique oven above the soup and salad area, which offers two choices of soup and a small salad bar. "I’m not here to fill people up on salad. I like to keep it simple," Elaine said. The soups are out of this world. The other choice changes daily. When we were there it was a hearty beef vegetable. On Fridays the other soup choice is always clam chowder, which according to the guests staying at the Swatara Creek Inn, is the best in the world.

After delighting in the first courses of our meal, my guest and I waited with great expectations of the entrees to come. I had ordered the house special of roast prime rib with fried eggplant and Scotia potatoes, which are unique to Harper’s Tavern. Elaine had been looking for something to do with leftover baked potatoes, so on a hunch, she fried them, poured vinegar on them and sprinkled some parmesan over the dish— they are absolutely delicious. If you are as curious about the name as I was, she just made it up— thought it sounded good. Needless to say, the eggplant was cooked to perfection. The crowning achievement was, without a doubt, the roasted prime rib. I have tried prime rib at hundreds of restaurants and can say with an honest (and satisfied) smile that this was the best I’ve had in ten years or more.

My companion ordered crab cakes, stir-fry vegetables and French baked potatoes. The French baked potatoes are another specialty of the house, using bacon, parsley and mashed potatoes. Elaine again proved her prowess with unique side dishes. The stir-fry vegetables were done perfectly: crisp, flavorful and mouth-wateringly good. The crab cake was absolutely delicious, consisting almost entirely of lump crabmeat. "The crab cakes are very popular," Elaine said. "We go through 75 to 100 pounds of fresh lump crab meat a week." Elaine can’t eat seafood herself, but she sure can cook it.

For dessert we had Creme de Menthe Parfaits and Carrot Cake, both of which were spectacular. If you love carrot cake, you should rush to Harper’s Tavern immediately and try a little piece of heaven. It was super moist and the home made sour cream icing was, well, the icing on the cake. It was one of the best meals I’ve had in my life and I will probably remember it for the rest of my days.

Harper’s Tavern also has a special dinner once a month and often works with the Swatara Creek Inn for special events. On June 21 the Inn and Tavern are presenting a Murder Mystery Weekend which includes dinner, a murder and an overnight stay all for one price. Harper’s Tavern can seat up to 120 people at one time between two floors of dining rooms. It also has a private room that holds up to 40 people to accommodate weddings, rehearsals, meetings, and banquets.

One of the biggest attractions to downtown Annville, aside from Lebanon Valley College, is the Allen Theater. The Allen Theatre recalls single screen theatres of the past, with a traditional neon marquee, a small concession area offering soda, popcorn (great popcorn!) and candy, and newsreels or cartoons shown before the film. There are even greeters at the door and a one-person ticket booth. Yet, the Allen Theatre also seems to be the theatre of the future, featuring its own coffeehouse, occasional live musicians playing in the lobby and a wide array of delicious desserts. This theatre truly has it all including an enormous screen and a superb sound system.

"I’m crazy," Skip Hicks, the owner of the Allen Theatre, said with a laugh about how the theatre came about. "Actually, I was impressed with single screen movie presentations when I was a kid. When going to the movies was important and more of an event." The project began in 1990, took three years to plan, and finally opened on September 21, 1995. Although the Allen Theatre is located where the old Hippodrome Theatre once stood, it was a total restoration project. "We brought an architect on the scene," Skip said. "Nothing could be salvaged or saved." The coffeehouse was not originally in the plan for the theatre, either. That came about in 1992 when they decided to have the concession area on the east side because the building was too small.

"When we redesigned, we realized it had to be something special. We had no way of knowing that coffeehouses were going to be as popular as they are now," Skip said. "The coffeehouse has taken on its own identity, become a second business really."

"Before that, people tell me it was a grocery store and a clothing store." Skip remarked. MJ’s Coffeehouse at the Allen Theatre has become very popular and has found quite an audience with the students of Lebanon Valley College. "We’re very, very fortunate to have a college right across the street," Skip said. "The college has been very important to us." Not only do many of his customers go to Lebanon Valley, several of his employees and all of his live entertainment attend the college.

My guest and I went to see the critically acclaimed film "Shine," an inspiring and captivating film about Australian pianist, David Helfgott, starring Geoffrey Rush. The Oscar Nominated film, "The English Patient", was also playing at the Allen that weekend. The Allen Theatre has shown many great films in the small time that it has been open including "Fargo" and "Il Postino (The Postman)."

"I think people are ready for films of a better quality: better stories, better acting. I think the general public is becoming more aware of these films," Skip said. "We show a real mixed bag here, but the more interest that is shown in art films, the more we’ll be able to book them."

The Allen Theatre has many special events, aside from its work with the college. For instance, in March they will be having a classic western film festival, with a different film every Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. Whatever the occasion may be, a visit to the Allen Theatre is certain to be a pleasure.

So if you want to get away, return to yesteryear without giving up any modern conveniences Annville might be the answer for your perfect weekend getaway.