GLENDORN: “Bradford’s Best-Kept Secret” has gotten ink lately in
two places, a Pittsburgh newspaper and Pennsylvania magazine.

The subject, of course, is Glendorn, the luxury resort on the
outskirts of Bradford which has gotten rave reviews from quite a
few places in the past few years.

Today, we highlight some of the material from the Aug. 21
edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. We hope to get to the
Pennsylvania magazine next week.

Here’s a portion of the Tribune-Review report, written by Ann
Haigh:

“Diamonds have four grading Cs: color, clarity, cut and
carat.

“Members of Relais & Chateaux, an elite association of
properties worldwide, must qualify on five ‘C’ counts: courtesy,
charm, character, calm and cuisine.

“Glendorn – a gem and Pennsylvania’s only Relais & Chateaux
property – executes all these high notes with lyricism and
grace.”

The article continues, “Can an inspired location cement family
ties, unite generations, facilitate communication, attune urbanites
to nature, motivate, rebuild spirits and fan those flames of
love?’

“Clayton Glenville Dorn, of Forest Oil Corp. wealth, thought so.
And over the years his descendants proved him to be right.

“In the 1920s, C.D., known affectionately as ‘Bondieu,’
initiated Glendorn, a secluded family compound near Bradford in
McKean County. The family camp/country retreat expanded and
developed as the family grew and prospered. Now, sprawled across
1,280 densely wooded acres, bordered by the Allegheny National
Forest and adorned with small lakes and pristine streams, the
property is serene and magical in spirit.

“If you prefer Bs to Cs, try bounteously beautiful and
bucolic.

“‘There is a magical quality to the place,’ says Holbrook
Lawson, a fifth-generation Dorn who serves as general partner for
the family. ‘When you come through those gates, you leave all the
stresses behind, pause in time and rejuvenate in the process.’

“The Dorns – now marking a sixth generation and numbering more
than 100 descendants – still own, manage and use Glendorn. But the
family is so scattered that, in order to preserve the large estate
and support its maintenance, they opened it to the paying public in
1995.

“Since then, glowing testimonials fill a guestbook.

“In October, Worth Magazine ranked it among the Top 10 Family
and Corporate Retreats in the world, noting ‘the 50 or so guests
who can fill the manor house and 12 comfortable cottages are made
to feel like friends of a gregarious squire.'”