JUST PA: There’s a Facebook page called “Just Pennsylvania,” complete with shoofly pie, Punxsutawney Phil, firehall weddings, pierogies and potholes!

We thought we’d share a post: “In Pennsylvania, potato pancakes aren’t a trend — they’re a tradition. They show up at church basements, fire halls, festivals, family kitchens, and roadside stands like they’ve always belonged there, because they have. Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, fried in oil that’s seen a thousand batches before this one, they’re part food and part memory. You smell them before you see them. You hear the sizzle from across the lot. You know you’re in the right place.

“They came here with the people who built this state, Pennsylvania Dutch, Eastern European families, coal region cooks, farm families who knew how to turn simple ingredients into something filling and worth gathering around. Grated potatoes, onion, salt, heat. Nothing fancy. Everything perfect. Served with applesauce, sour cream, or just straight off the griddle on a paper plate if you’re doing it right.

“Potato pancakes are Pennsylvania food because they match Pennsylvania people. Practical. Unpretentious. Built to last. They don’t need a rebrand, a remix, or a backstory. The backstory is already in every town that shuts down a street for a festival and fires up the fryers. If you grew up here, you’ve eaten them standing up, burned your fingers at least once, and argued about whose are best. And if you didn’t, you haven’t fully met Pennsylvania yet.”

Right now, though, the page is lamenting the unflinching grasp of winter, which they noted has gone past the label of winter and right into a hostage situation!