Every first day I spend at a chautauqua, it becomes my new favorite. This one really surprised me. Mt. Gretna is a secluded town in the middle of the woods with so much going on. Half of the town is a camp meeting (started as a United Brethren meeting, now United Methodist) and the other half of the town is the Pennsylvania Chautauqua.
This chautauqua seems to me to be truer to the roots of chautauqua than any other. The chautauqua group plans all kinds of educational and recreational programming. They do some kinds of religious services in addition. They own and operate a Hall of Philosophy (below). Separate groups run a great (semi-) outdoor theatre and an arts show.
Cottages on the chautauqua side are larger; some have been more recently built; many are year-round homes. Cottages on the camp meeting side sit on tiny lots and almost touch each other.
Also in town are three other neighborhoods, all developed after WWII. All told, in Mt. Gretna, there are four municipalities and three different school districts. The chautauqua side is also the borough of Mt. Gretna, but the camp meeting and the other neighborhoods are other municipalities. It's messy, but it seems to work. More regarding the history of this fascinating place soon.
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