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4:49 min October 02, 2022

Route 6 Award Winners in the Pocono Mountains

Pocono Television Network host Jim Hamill takes a look at projects in the Poconos that have been earning recognition through the PA Route 6 awards. Congratulations to Lisa Glover of Honesdale and the Lackawaxen River Trails.

For years, an old railroad trestle in Honesdale was the target of graffiti artists until a group of artists enlisted students to create a mural. Within months the finished product spans the length of the trestle and tunnel transforming the space into a work of art.

Lisa Glover was putting a protective coating over the mural, safeguarding the hard work that went into making the mural.

“It was amazing for the community just to be able to come together and make this happen and to see that this kind of place making initiative that involves everybody is something that people are excited about,” said Glover. “It's just the cherry on top.”

Glover and several other volunteers spent time with the students designing the mural and, eventually, painting it.

“So for the culture of this space to have changed so dramatically while keeping the same people here tells you the power of bringing a whole community in to make a difference in a space, suddenly everyone sees a piece of themselves here, whether they help paint it directly or whether their friends did, or whether they just know that people came together to make it beautiful,” she added.

The finished product was unveiled back in June and in September, Glover was awarded the Heritage Leadership Award at the PA Route 6 Alliance Annual Meeting.

“And it's incredible to see how everyone's different ideas work together, and seeing that something like that, instead of something temporary, can have a long term home like this beautiful mural, so that way people can continue to appreciate it long after a festival weekend really gives the community something to smile about and be proud of over many years,” she said.

Another Route 6 award was bestowed on the Lackawaxen River Trails group this year for Heritage Tourism.

“It will bring people to Honesdale, to Hawley, to our parks, to our restaurants, to our stores on our Main streets,” said Molly Rodgers.

Rodgers is one of those spearheading the effort to develop water and land trails along the Lackawaxen between Honesdale, White Mills, Hawley and beyond.

Hawley’s boat launch is complete. Next, hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants from the state will help build river accesses in Honesdale, White Mills and Indian Orchard.

“Recognition by the Route 6 Alliance and the recognition that we will also receive from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council are just so meaningful to us, especially because we're just getting started,” said Rodgers.

Feasibility studies have been done, the engineering work is nearly done and construction will begin soon on those accesses which will do more than just improve the properties along the river.

“There hasn't been a public access in Wayne or Pike County to the Lackawaxen River.  And now with a system of public access points where you can park your car, you can put in your kayak, you can get out your fishing rod, you don't have to trespass on someone's land in order to get to the river,” she added.

Congratulations to all winners of the PA Route 6 awards including those who make us Pocono Proud!