Gary Porter
Bethel Springs, PA
Describe your image here
Describe your image here
Describe your image here
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Bethel Springs is a fictional town in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania where many of my characters and stories spring to life. It's a very poor, rural, farming community in the Shadow Valley. The Valley is breathtaking but heartless -- like that hot girl in high school who didn't even know you existed. Above all, the town gives me the opportunity to discover how the people who live there find hope...in a world that pretends not to hear when you ask her out.
Check out the beauty of the Shadow Valley!
Shadow Valley
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Bethel Springs Resort sits alone atop The Cliffs overlooking Shadow Lake. For over a century, it has been a getaway destination for those of immense wealth. The notoreity of the Resort, which began in the 1880's, was largely built on the supposed healing power of the "Miraculous mineral water flowing from Bethel's six, local springs." Thomas Edison, Teddy Roosevelt, and Prince William are all former guests. For residents of Bethel, it is without question their greatest source of employment.
Bethel Springs Resort
For 40 years, Ebeneezer Bridge, a long, one-lane arch bridge, marked the entrance to the town of Bethel. An engineering mistake when it was first build, it stood for 40 years before finally being decommissioned and destroyed.
Bethel Run is a strand of rickety bungalows that winds along the Crooked Branch River. It is the poorest community in Bethel, but the residents have chosen an off-the-grid lifestyle, and they are content in their poverty. It's normal for them to sit on the dock in a folding chair, watching the sunset, and sipping ice tea. So who needs television?
The Old Ripley House has been abandoned for years, and the local teenagers constructed a legit, dirt race track in the woods behind the house, making the property the most popular hangout spot for miles. There is a walk-in closet in the Master Bedroom, the kids call The Cave, where they go to hook-up and carve their initials or write their names on the wall.
Bethel Heights is a wretchedly poor neighborhood that infests the face of Fireside Mountain like a disease. It began as a community of mill workers, but the mill shut down decades ago. Poverty, welfare-fraud, drug abuse, and crime are rampant in this neck of the woods. Beaten down by life, residents of the Heights have developed a collective sense of victimhood.
Bethel Crossing is a small community of about 6 families who live on a swath of land stretching between Fireside and Starcross Mountains. Residents of the Crossing are smart, independent, hard-working, and fun-loving. They are self-made business owners who throw backyard barbeques and live for family.
Sundrasik's Woods is owned by old man Sundrasik, a local farmer. His son and Grandson have taken over the maintenance of the farm. The woods is said to be haunted after a series of occult rituals and teenage suicides on the property. The Sundrasik family makes extra cash every fall, giving elaborate Haunted Hayrides for the locals.
Scare Pond Lane is a creepy, unmaintained, dirt road set deep in the woods and lined with hunting cabins. Nobody really lives there permanently. It is nearly impassable in January and February.
Bethel Hollow, a narrow, rolling valley between The Cliffs and the Mountains, is comprised mainly of farmland.
Breakneck Point, a popular spot for adventurous locals and a rite of passage for many young men and women, is little more than a grove on the edge of The Cliffs, but it's a nice spot for a three-and-a-half-story plunge into Shadow Lake.
River Bend Park is a beautiful county park that isn't exactly at the bend in the Crooked Branch River, but it's apparently close enough. Pixie Falls, near the confluence of Crooked Branch and Foxx Creek, is the main attraction.
Price's Mansion stood alone, carved among the pines up on Fireside Mountain, for generations. Owned by the last, living heir of the Bethel Springs Resort fortune, David Price, it is a testament to the wealth that looms over the impoverished town of Bethel. When Price dies, the property is purchased by the Teagarden family -- who build a helipad on the roof and commute to work every morning in Pittsburgh.
Bethel Springs School District. The Spartans. The campus is tiny -- just 2 small buildings for the whole district -- and very poor, but they consistently perform well in academics and athletics. They have a very dedicated teaching staff, and there always seems to be a small group of smart, talented, driven students in every class. On average, they graduate between 50-55 students per year.
Charisma Chapel is an independent Pentecostal church and the fastest-growing church in the county. Pastor John Poe has been the minister for over two decades.
