2013-0508 DC

We moved to Outdoor World Gettysburg Farm in Dover, PA on 05/8/2013. We drove to Strasburg, PA to visited and Ride on Strasburg Railroad. Strasburg Railroad is America’s oldest operating railroad with a charter dating back to June 9, 1832. First used for passenger and freight transportation, the short line limped along for more than a century until in 1958, on the verge of abandonment, the railroad was salvaged and given new life as a tourist railroad. When you visit Strasburg Railroad, the first thing you can expect is an authentic experience of a real steam railroad. The locomotives and passenger cars, (known as “rolling stock”) are not replicas, and our staff members are not reenactors. Strasburg Railroad has five working steam locomotives and 20 operating passenger cars, including our President’s Car, First-Class Parlor Car, First Class Lounge, and our Dining Car. All equipment is restored and maintained on-site in our Mechanical Shop. The picture is of Steam Engine 475 4-8-0.

The picture is of Abigail first Steam Train ride.

Then on 05/19/2013 we visited the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. The Mid Atlantic Air Museum was organized to ensure the professional stewardship of a collection that reflects the history of aviation and to enhance the public’s appreciation and understanding of that history. The Museum’s collection emphasizes the Mid-Atlantic region’s unique contribution to flight, but is broad enough to chronicle a general history of aviation, including military aviation. The Museum’s collections are accounted and cared for according to established museum practices. Historically accurate aircraft restoration and limited demonstration flying are special missions undertaken by the Museum. to enhance the public’s appreciation and understanding of that history. The Museum’s collection emphasizes the Mid-Atlantic region’s unique contribution to flight, but is broad enough to chronicle a general history of aviation, including military aviation. The Museum’s collections are accounted and cared for according to established museum practices. Historically accurate aircraft restoration and limited demonstration flying are special missions undertaken by the Museum. Interpretation of the collection is broad, with artifacts being exhibited in a context that reflects not only the history of the object itself, but also the evolution of technology and the cultural environment in which it was used. The picture is of Mid-Atlantic Air Museum Hanger.

We drove back to Reading on 05/26/2013 to visit the Pagoda and William Penn Memorial Fire Watch Tower. Commissioned in 1906 at a cost of $50,000 by William A. Witman, Sr. to cover his stone quarry, the Pagoda was completed in 1908. It was originally intended to be a luxury resort atop Mt. Penn, but due to the bank foreclosure and the denial of a liquor license, Witman never opened the Pagoda. By 1910 the Pagoda and surrounding 10 acres were deeded to local business owner, Jonathon Mould and his wife, Julia (Bell). On April 21, 1911, they “sold” the Pagoda to the City of Reading for the sum of $1. Since then, the Pagoda has been owned, loved and cared for by the citizens and City of Reading. The picture is of the Pagoda.

In 1889, a wooden fire tower was constructed at the same location to keep watch over the city ‘s 5000 plus wooded acres and surrounding farmland. In an ironic twist of fate, this fire tower burnt down in 1923. It would be another fifteen years before Mt. Penn would be outfitted with another tower. In early 1930s Reading, a stagnant economy was in need of aid. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal created the Public Works Administration in the mid 1930s, Reading had found a way to create jobs. On September 15, 1938, the city received $15,091 in Federal grant money for the tower. This amount was combined with the city’s $18,445 and in the wintry months that followed construction began. G.C. Freeman designed the tower, incorporating cosmetic and functional elements from over a half-dozen towers scattered throughout the county as far away as St. Paul, Minnesota. Initial design elements were obvious; the tower would be constructed of entirely fireproof materials. Stone would supply the base for which a brick tower could be built. Scaling the inside is a 120-step steel stairway. At the top lay a glass-walled room containing 16 spotlights to illuminate the land it watched over, surrounded by a steel observation deck. Capping the tower was a large, round copper dome. In August 1939, the 120-foot tower, standing 1,239 feet above sea level was completed. The picture is of the William Penn Memorial Fire Watch Tower.

Safe Travels