Debra Ollinger Miller, a Blair County native and Bishop Guilfoyle grad, poses in one of the rooms in The Kane Manor Inn, the bed-and-breakfast she co-owns that has been ranked No. 4 in a listing of the nation’s top historic bed-and-breakfast inns. Courtesy photo

Blair County native Debra Ollinger Miller, a retired dark chocolate researcher, is co-owner of an award-winning historic bed-and-breakfast in McKean County and serves as the board president of the PA Association of Bed & Breakfast Inns, also known as PABBI.

Miller and her husband, Ben, own The Kane Manor Inn, which has been ranked No. 4 nationally in the Newsweek Reader’s Choice Award for Top Ten Best Historic Bed & Breakfast Inns in the United States. The recent award comes after a monthlong public voting program for an initial 15 historic inns nominated by various acclaimed travel writers. Freelance travel writer Robin Smith nominated Kane Manor.

A foreshadowing of becoming an innkeeper occurred during Debra’s career with The Hershey Co., where Debra studied the health benefits of dark chocolate in Research and Development. When 21-year-old summer intern Allison Brown arrived without a place to stay, Debra took her into her home temporarily and has been her mentor ever since.

“This was my first entry into the industry as I was a Food Science undergraduate from the University of Illinois,” Brown said. “I learned about being professional and still engaging with others. She’s a very friendly and cordial person. She has a bubbly personality — is very happy, engaging and outgoing.”

Brown said Miller is good at juggling a lot of different things, adding, “she has a welcoming approach to life.”

Brown has stayed at Kane Manor and said the inn reflects Debra’s personality.

“She’s created a positive, relaxed, warm and inviting environment,” Brown said.

Situated on 10 acres at the edge of Kane Borough and adjacent to the Allegheny National Forest, the Georgian Revival-style mansion draws an outdoorsy, nature-loving clientele, as well as international travelers venturing to see Niagara Falls. Canadians also often stop by while traveling farther south.

The couple purchased the 10-bedroom Mansion House, a separate five-bed guest house (located across the street) and assorted out buildings as a 10-acre package before the pandemic started in 2020. After relocating to Kane from Hershey, the couple began renovations while Debra continued working in Washington, D.C., as senior vice president of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the National Confectioners Association for two years.

“I re-evaluated what was important and I really didn’t want to go back to traveling 85 percent of my time,” she explained. “We really like being here.”

In the first four years, they’ve had 4,000 unique visitors and many more repeat guests. For perspective, Kane has a resident population of about 3,500 people, according to the latest census. Debra is involved in the local Chamber of Commerce and is a member of borough council.

“It’s a really nice place and many people want to experience small town life for a couple of days. We don’t have any fast food chain restaurants except a Subway … There’s no Walmart. It’s a throwback,” she said.

Even with a staff of seven, the couple are very hands-on in the 18,000-square-foot historical home built by Thomas Kane, a brigadier general in the Union Army who raised a large regiment known for its shooting skills.

The couple, who have been married for 31 years, are joined in the operations by their son, Riley, who manages the guest house.

Each morning’s breakfast prep starts at 7 a.m. Debra and Ben take turns: Debra makes omelets and frittatas before calling in Ben, the “pancake and waffle wizard.” Staff arrives to serve guests breakfast and then transitions into room cleaning.

“When you own your own business, you do a little bit of everything. We even clean the toilets,” she said.

By noon, the inn is cleaned and rooms prepared for incoming guests, who begin arriving about 2 p.m.

“We try and meet every single visitor and give them a little tour,” Debra said. “I talk to them at breakfast, when they’re wandering about the house and when they’re leaving. You have to like to talk to people to do this job.”

Camp Hill resident Rose Mape is the former director of PABBI and called Debra “a people person” who has “lots of creative ideas.” She selected Debra to join the PABBI board and Debra now serves as president of the association, which has 175 members. Pennsylvania has the second highest number of bed and breakfasts behind California.

The couple’s purchase of the properties was “unique” because the inn came with a liquor license, Mape said. “They really hit the ground running and renovated the former speakeasy in the basement and brought it back to how it looked in its heyday. They have quite the operation and have put a ton of work and money into it to restore it. It’s just beautiful.”

Mirror Staff Writer Patt Keith is at 814-949-7030.

The Miller file

Name: Debra Ollinger Miller

Age: 58

Residence: Kane, McKean County

Family: Husband, Ben Miller; daughter, Ellyn; and son, Riley; mother, Joy Ollinger of Altoona

Education: Bishop Guilfoyle High School, 1984; Juniata College, Bachelor of Arts in English & Biology, 1988; Penn State University, Ph.D., in Nutrition & Biobehavioral Health, 1996

Employment: Owner of Kane Manor Inn since 2020; Senior VP of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for the National Confectioners Association, 2019-22; Director of Nutrition at The Hershey Co., 2004-18; as well as Dupont, Johns Hopkins University, and others

Community service: Kane Borough Council member, Kane Chamber of Commerce, president; PA Bed & Breakfast Inns, president since 2022; board chair, American Red Cross, Harrisburg Chapter, 2017-20

Awards/honors: Service to Industry Recognition, International Life Science Institute, 2016; Industry Advisor Award, Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, 2014; Young Investigator Award, International Life Science Institute, 1994