Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 A replica Liberty Bell, a Knoebels amusement park bench, hundreds of bags of potato chips, and dozens of sweating tourists packed into Pennsylvania\u2019s location at President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s Great American State Fair on Tuesday \u2014 a stark turnaround from when the signature 250th anniversary event opened in Washington last week without a Keystone State presence<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania was one of the few Democratic-led states that \u2014 describing the two-week fair as too partisan \u2014 had either decided not to participate or failed to find another host to showcase local history and memorabilia.<\/p>\n The interest, Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> said at the time, was just not there.<\/p>\n But after a weekend-long sprint initiated<\/a> by U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick<\/a> (R., Pa.) and John Fetterman<\/a> (D., Pa.) to dredge up that interest, Pennsylvania\u2019s pavilion opened Tuesday with nearly every inch of the space filled.<\/p>\n The walls were covered by antique flags and signs loaned by York County\u2019s Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques. Children stood in line for a U.S. Steel penny-press machine, grabbed bags of Middleswarth chips made in Snyder County and Crayola crayons from Easton. (Additional chip donations from Utz and Martin\u2019s will be arriving soon.)<\/p>\n Tourists collected pamphlets about Gettysburg and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. They took pictures of anthracite coal and a drill bit used for fracking, both of which were on loan from U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Luzerne).<\/p>\n \u201cI always look for an opportunity to highlight our industry,\u201d Beth Ann Bossio, a Christmas tree farmer from Fayette County, said after driving three and a half hours to drop off a tree to display in the center of the space.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania is one of the largest producers of Christmas trees, and Bossio said it was important to her that both the state and its farmers were represented at the fair. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was my vision to come here, to make sure that Pa. is being reflected of what we are, and what we represent,\u201d she said before tying an American flag-themed bow on the tree. \u201cFarmers are very proud of that. We\u2019re patriotic. We take pride in our land and how we steward it.\u201d<\/p>\n The packed room on the National Mall came together in a rush in recent days, after Shapiro joined Democratic governors from other states in declining to use state resources to create and staff a pavilion, which his office said would have run a tab of \u201chundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.\u201d <\/p>\n He also said his administration\u2019s search for another Pennsylvania host came up short. No companies or other kinds of groups were interested, he said, even as businesses and local governments stepped up to fill the spaces in other states.<\/p>\n While Shapiro last week blamed the lack of interest on the president\u2019s polarizing impact on the 250th celebrations, he said in an interview Tuesday with The Inquirer that it \u201cwas never a political exercise. This was an exercise in practicality.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro said Pennsylvania\u2019s pavilion would have cost the state $700,000, all of which was money he saw better spent on the major events happening in Pennsylvania this year, including the NFL Draft<\/a>, PGA Championship, MLB All-Star Game, the ongoing World Cup<\/a> games, and a number of events across the state for the nation\u2019s 250th birthday.<\/p>\n \u201cMy focus is on spending the taxpayer dollars here,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n His administration spent two or three weeks reaching out to businesses and to the Pennsylvania Chamber asking them if they wanted to participate. None of them did. <\/p>\n \u201cThey obviously had a change of heart at the last minute. That\u2019s fine,\u201d Shapiro said about the revived Pennsylvania pavilion.<\/p>\n Organizing the booth in Shapiro\u2019s place were the state\u2019s two senators, a bipartisan duo who have often worked together. <\/p>\n McCormick and Fetterman withheld any direct criticisms of Shapiro while talking about their effort, though Fetterman has clashed with the governor in the past <\/a>and has also repeatedly broken Democratic ranks to support Republican-led efforts.<\/a><\/p>\n McCormick said he understood Shapiro\u2019s desire not to spend taxpayer money, but when he found out there would be nothing to represent the state that is \u201cthe center of America\u2019s history,\u201d he sprang into action. <\/p>\n The freshman Republican said he and Fetterman spoke Saturday morning and quickly made calls to the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and individual businesses to donate time and resources.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just inconceivable that we wouldn\u2019t have a booth that would represent all that Pennsylvania had to offer,\u201d said McCormick, whose staff greeted guests at the pavilion all day Tuesday.<\/p>\n Fetterman, who has said Pennsylvania\u2019s role as a purple state means he should consistently work across the aisle, said he was proud to work with McCormick on the effort.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica\u2019s turning 250 years old,\u201d Fetterman said alongside McCormick during an appearance in Philadelphia on Monday. \u201cCan\u2019t we all just celebrate that and not just find new ways to fight about the politics and the dynamic right now?\u201d<\/p>\n McCormick\u2019s office listed 23 companies or groups that signed up to help, though only a few corporate sponsors were front and center in the space.<\/p>\n Two large signs showcase the Marcellus Shale<\/a> Coalition, a natural gas advocacy group that has a significant lobbying presence in Harrisburg. And U.S. Steel, the Pittsburgh-based company that benefited from a Trump-approved takeover by a Japanese-owned company last year<\/a>, offered the penny-press and colorful wristbands reading, \u201cforging the future.\u201d Hats and signage commemorating Yuengling and Mack Trucks were loaned from the Pennsylvania Manufacturers\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n Some organizations have acknowledged earlier conversations with Shapiro\u2019s office to participate that didn\u2019t go anywhere.<\/p>\n A report from The New Republic that Pennsylvania would not be participating in the affair \u201ccaught us off guard because that was not our experience at all, nor was it what we had communicated to the [the governor\u2019s] office,\u201d said Jon Anzur, the senior vice president of public affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that it occurred that way.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the governor\u2019s office approached the chamber less than two weeks out from the start of the fair to help get companies involved.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just seems odd that we were approached at the eleventh hour and now it sounds like the governor\u2019s office is trying to point fingers when there was ample times to get ducks in a row,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Hershey Company is among the Pennsylvania-based companies that declined to participate.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were asked by Governor Shapiro\u2019s office in mid June and then again over the weekend by Senator McCormick\u2019s office,\u201d said Todd Scott, a spokesperson for the chocolate business.<\/p>\n Both were told that the size of the ask and the limited amount of time to make it happen was not possible.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were asked so late in the game that logistically we couldn\u2019t make that happen. We just cannot provide on a moment\u2019s notice that amount of product that they would have been asking for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But the summer weather was also a factor.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no refrigeration on the mall, and with extreme heat, chocolate doesn\u2019t do well in 100-degree temperatures,\u201d he said. \u201cWe always want to make sure that people have the best experience with our products that they can.\u201d<\/p>\n But another candy company, Asher\u2019s Chocolate Co. in Souderton, decided to join.<\/p>\n \u201cAsher\u2019s was asked to participate by the Chamber of Commerce [Monday] and agreed to donate prepackaged bite size pieces of fudge, which were on-hand,\u201d said David Neff, who represents Asher\u2019s. \u201cAsher\u2019s is deeply committed to America and celebrating America\u2019s 250.\u201d<\/p>\n Bob Asher, a longtime influential GOP leader in Southeastern Pennsylvania<\/a> from Montgomery County<\/a>, is the company\u2019s co-chair. He donated thousands of dollars<\/a> to Treasurer Stacy Garrity<\/a>, Shapiro\u2019s Republican opponent for governor, and serves as her campaign finance chair. <\/p>\n Other Philadelphia-area companies are also financially supporting Trump\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n SAP, the German business-software giant whose U.S. headquarters and 2,000 staff are in Newtown Square<\/a>, Delaware County<\/a>, donated $5.6 million to Trump\u2019s Freedom 250 initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSAP is committed to the communities where our customers, employees, and partners live and work. SAP\u2019s support of America\u2019s 250th anniversary celebrations reflects our long\u2011standing commitment to supporting innovation, economic strength, and workforce development,\u201c SAP spokesperson Bridget Carroll said in a statement.<\/p>\n SAP software is used by the U.S. military<\/a> and its NATO allies to track troop deployments, military supply chains, and equipment maintenance.<\/p>\n The military aircraft producer Lockheed Martin, which has engineering centers in King of Prussia<\/a> and in Moorestown<\/a>, N.J., is the top donor to Trump\u2019s initiative, giving nearly $20 million.<\/p>\n Staff writer Joseph N. DiStefano contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min WASHINGTON \u2014 A replica Liberty Bell, a Knoebels amusement park bench, hundreds of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[100514,28,30,29],"class_list":["post-232472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-great-american-state-fair-pennsylvania-opens","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}