It's been quiet in the Gosselins' former Mount Joy Township neighborhood for months now.
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Finally.
The TV crews vanished. Silence replaced the sounds of eight playful children, comprised of a set of twins and sextuplets.
"Not having the filming crews around anymore is nice," said Samantha Faulstick, who lives around the corner on Shefford Drive.
Jon and Kate Gosselin, who were launched to reality TV show fame on TLC with "Jon & Kate Plus 8," left the Westbrooke development in Mount Joy Township late last year to move into a $1.35 million estate they bought in Wernersville, Berks County.
Now, there is a red-and-white for-sale sign on the front lawn.
After spending more than four months on the market — asking price, $325,000 — the five-bedroom, 2½-bathroom home at 2190 Andrew Ave. hasn't fetched a buyer. The Gosselins originally bought the house in 2006 for $280,000.
Neighbors aren't complaining about the vacancy.
"It's almost as if their house wasn't a part of the neighborhood," Faulstick said.
There was initiallya good rapport, but the Gosselins' relationship with the neighborhood deteriorated as time went on, she said. "They were very nice when they first moved in."
Jon and the eight children were always nice, others said.
"Jon seemed like a regular guy," said Ruth Johnson, who frequently visits her brother, a resident of the development. "[Jon] was very friendly and the kids were wonderful."
And Kate?
Eh, not so much.
"I never really talked to Kate; I just heard her yell," said Courtney Bentz, who lives across the street from the former Gosselin home.
Gossip columnists and tabloids believe that Kate Gosselin is a "difficult woman," writes Catherine Connors, who runs the mommy blog, Their Bad Mother. Kate's brother and sister-in-law accused her of exploiting the children on CBS's "The Early Show" last week.
"I feel bad for the kids," Bentz said.
"John & Kate Plus 8" began as a one-hour special about the family's experience raising sextuplets which aired on the Discovery Health Channel in 2006. It moved to TLC and became a weekly reality show in 2007.
Family trips to destinations in and around Lancaster County, such as the Dutch Wonderland amusement park, were often the focus of episodes. Other trips featured on the show included ones to Hershey Park and the Strasburg Rail Road.
The show's popularity skyrocketed this year as accusations of marital infidelity have flown in gossip tabloids. It may spell disaster for the family, but it's been ratings gold for TLC.
Misery sells.
The Gosselins make $50,000 to $75,000 per episode, CNN reported.
The hour-long fifth season premiere of "Jon & Kate Plus 8," which aired on Memorial Day, drew a record 9.8 million viewers — more than double that of the fourth season finale.
Not so niceKate's allegedly unpleasant demeanor didn't compare to the TV and sound crews that arrived in the otherwise quiet Westbrooke development.
Bentz, who said she watches the reality show only occasionally, always saw the Gosselin children followed around by cameras in the front yard.
"We could never get close because someone would always block us," she said.
Sometimes sound crews would approach neighbors and tell them to stop mowing grass because it interfered with their recording, Faulstick said.
"We have lives, too," she said.
TV vans would take up parking on the development's streets. They'd often set up in front of Faulstick's home because it had a clear vantage shot of the Gosselins' backyard, where the kids were filmed playing.
The Gosselins' relationship with the neighborhood started to turn sour last summer when two signs were placed on the front lawn, warning passers-by not to approach the home, the family or to take pictures.
Eventually, Mount Joy Township officials forced the family to take down the signs, Faulstick said.
Calls to Mount Joy Township's zoning officer inquiring about the incident weren't returned by press time.
Only a warm spring breeze and a few chirping birds passed through the Westbrooke development Thursday afternoon. One wouldn't realize the 2190 Andrew Ave. home was the site of a popular reality TV show.
"We're a friendly neighborhood," Faulstick said. "We all get along. But [The Gosselins] wanted nothing to do with it."
Twins in local schoolThe Gosselin family still has roots in Lancaster County. The oldest children, Cara and Mady, who are 8-year-old fraternal twins, attend a nonpublic school in the county.
The Gosselins, who married in 1999, wanted to start a family, but had trouble conceiving because of infertility, according to the online blog ParentDish. Kate started taking fertility drugs and, in 2000, Cara and Mady were born. Kate Gosselin delivered the sextuplets in 2004, one of 138 confirmed sets born worldwide, the Associated Press reported.
National press inquiries to families whose children attend school with Mady and Cara prompted the school administration to send an e-mail to parents.
"Neither the school — nor the Gosselins — seek sensational media attention for their children," the e-mail stated. "Should a media representative contact you about the Gosselins, we ask that you provide no comment."
A school representative said last week, "There were enough [press] inquiries that we felt that we had to advise folks not to make statements. [The school] is not seeking to add to any sensationalism."
Despite moving to Berks County, the twins are still enrolled for the next school year, the representative said.
Tough sell?Other than on TV, no one living in the Westbrooke development has seen the Gosselins since they moved to Berks County.
Ruth Johnson said she saw what appeared to be a Realtor showing the home to a "younger" couple Wednesday.
"We'll see the lights on occasionally," Courtney Bentz said.
Crystal Overly, the listed Realtor for the brick Cape Cod home, declined to comment for this article, citing a confidentiality agreement signed with the family's lawyer.
Overly, a Realtor for Brownstone Real Estate Co. in Hershey, said the agreement was typical for sales involving celebrities.
According to information obtained from a Lancaster County Realtor database, the house has been on the market 133 days.
A $4,000 commission bonus to the selling agent was also offered, according to the database.
The time the house has spent unsold on the market is only slightly above average for similarly priced county homes, which take about 116 days to sell.
Only 45 homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000 have sold in the first three months of 2009. The figure is down 15 from the same period in 2008, when 60 homes priced in that range were sold in the county.
Paul Franz is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at pfranz@lnpnews.com or at 295-5063.
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