Can the Keystone Kid unite Pennsylvanians and ignite PA pride?

A few years ago, authorities emailed a photo of a wanted Philly bank robber wearing a ballcap that said “PENNSYLVANIA” on the front in huge orange letters.

I’ll never forget thinking that it was the most suspicious hat I’d ever seen.

First of all, most residents don’t even say Pennsylvania. It’s PA.

Second, I’ve seen Pennsylvanians rep just about every corner of this state on their clothes, but few publicly boast pride for the entire commonwealth with their threads (government-issued fleeces for state workers don’t count).

It’s not that Pennsylvanians aren’t proud, but in my experience living in three different parts of the state, they’re far more likely to relate to their immediate community than to the commonwealth as a whole.

So when I heard there was a new mascot, the Keystone Kid, who hopes to inspire state pride in the fiercely regional hearts of Pennsylvanians, my first thought was, “This little dude has a harder job ahead of itself than the Barbera Bear.”

The Keystone Kid — a walking wedge-shaped stone in pants and a bow tie — caught flak when it made its Philly debut at the Wawa Welcome America news conference at City Hall. Some likened it to a Chinese food take-out container, others said it looked high (it neither holds food nor does drugs).

The mascot belongs to America250PA (a.k.a. the Pennsylvania Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial), which was established to bolster commonwealth pride and commemorate PA’s role in the founding of the United States as the nation’s 250th anniversary approaches in 2026, according to executive director Cassandra Coleman.

Nearly every state has such an organization that’s affiliated with the national group, America250, but so far, Pennsylvania is the only one with a fully fledged mascot. Michigan has an illustrated mascot, which is an outline of Michigan with appendages, mittens, and a face, but it doesn’t have a name or three dimensions yet. The national group doesn’t have a mascot, nor does Philadelphia250, the nonprofit planning the city’s 2026 events.

The Keystone Kid was designed by Paige Alana Bowermaster, a college student from Lancaster, and first appeared in a Pennsylvania-themed coloring book that America250PA gave to elementary school students. Since children typically aren’t familiar with keystones, the character was created to prompt questions about what a keystone is (the wedge-shaped stone in the center of an arch that holds the others in place) and why PA’s nickname is the Keystone State (because it was in the middle of the original 13 colonies and held key economic and political positions).

The character was such a hit that America250PA made it their mascot and held a naming contest, which second grader Finley Dunn of Montgomery County won with a name that evokes both modern rappers and Old West gunslingers.

The Keystone Kid’s preferred pronouns are they/their and they’ve already fielded quite a few requests for appearances since their official debut in March, Coleman said.

But can the Keystone Kid and America250PA unite Pennsylvanians and ignite a fiery pride for the entire state in our bellies?

“I think regional pride, without question, trumps the state pride but I think this is also an opportunity for us to look back at all the contributions Pennsylvania has made over the last 250 years, whether it’s from Pittsburgh or Sayre or Allentown or Philadelphia,” Coleman said. “We’re Pennsylvanians and we should all take pride in anything this commonwealth can accomplish.”

So what stokes our regional pride? And what can we all take pride in as Pennsylvanians?

I put the following question out on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: “Do you know anyone who’s really proud to be a Pennsylvanian? Like, as proud as Philly people are to be Philadelphians?”

I was surprised by the flurry of more than 300 responses, which ranged from “I’m from Pittsburgh. I’ve never even thought about being a Pennsylvanian!” to “I’m 100% Pennsylvanian” and “We only identify as pa for an avengers level threat.”

Several people noted that the sheer size of our state and the number of municipalities in it — 2,560 — makes it hard for people to relate to the entire commonwealth and difficult to form a cohesive statewide identity. Others theorized that our lack of pride might be traced back to the state’s modest Quaker roots.

Of course, there was mention of the two major cities on either side of the state, which historically vote Democratic, and the red T-zone in between that typically votes Republican (I know you’re waiting for me to say the word that rhymes with stencilplucky but I’m not going there).

Recent Harvard Law grad Tom Koenig, a native of Oreland, said there’s political science research to back up my observation that Pennsylvanians tend to relate more to their region than their state. In his paper for the Rutgers University Law Review, “Make Politics Local Again: The Case for Pro-Localization State Constitutional Reform,” Koenig writes that “State boundaries no longer graph onto Americans’ subnational feelings of political attachment and community. Localities do.”

Some people who told me they’re proud Pennsylvanians said being politically and culturally relevant is one of the things they love about this state, along with its history, cities, towns, rural areas, natural beauty, and scrapple.

Others said they love having all four seasons (with a particularly spectacular fall) and that there’s “minimal concern of a natural disaster” here. All very good points, indeed.

Proud Pennsylvanian Sean Dolan, 43, lives in Chester County and works as a county tax/property assessor in Montgomery County. Dolan and three of his friends all have a keystone tattooed on them “as an homage to not only the state but that sentiment of love and pride in PA and its people.”

Along with the changing of the seasons, Dolan appreciates the history in Pennsylvania, from Philly to Gettysburg and from Valley Forge to Jim Thorpe. He loves the Little League World Series in Williamsport, the waterfalls at Ricketts Glen State Park, driving to the Poconos for a weekend, and the flea markets and Amish food in Lancaster.

“I love taking back roads over covered bridges spread out over the various creeks that run through the counties,” Dolan said. “I love taking those roads on the way to a two-hour trip to the mountains, or maybe a two-hour trip to the beach.”

Jalon Alexander, 31, a Philly native and cybersecurity attorney from Strawberry Mansion, went to undergrad at Penn State Mont Alto and State College before attending law school at the University of Pittsburgh. He said he’s been to all 67 PA counties and loves the state’s culture.

“Pennsylvanians share the same common values — they just express them differently,” Alexander said. “Love of neighbors, family, and religion — some Pennsylvanians go to church on Sundays and others watch the Eagles or Steelers — some do both!”

If he’d never left Philly, Alexander told me he wouldn’t care about the rest of the state at all. Leaving home not only opened his eyes to all Pennsylvania has to offer, but also made him realize “how much the rest of the state dislikes the city,” which only deepened his Philly pride.

“There’s an unnecessary divide in this state, but the reality is we have more in common than many people realize,” he said.

Alexander makes a good point — it’s easy to dislike or fear what you don’t know. That goes both ways for PA residents, whether you live in Tunkhannock and have never been to Pittsburgh or if you live in Philly and have never been to Wellsboro..

The only way to truly appreciate something is to experience it, and that includes Pennsylvania.

If the Keystone Kid and America250PA want to inspire state pride, they should expand their Destination250PA platform — which promotes visitation of historical sites, landmarks, and state parks — to all of PA and encourage Pennsylvanians to travel somewhere in the commonwealth they’ve never been before.

So, what’s good in Erie?