Month: January 2019

I’ll Bet You Thought I Was Done

Admit it, you thought I was done. I kind of did, too. But the thing is, I am not done traveling. I have a few tricks up my sleeve yet.

Anyway, I passed through something interesting on my way back to Kalamazoo. I had to make the trip in two days – or, rather, I chose to make the trip the trip in two days. I wasn’t going to close on the house immediately upon arrival, so I was going to be in a hotel for a few days.

Cora handled the Red Roof Inn in Hermitage, Pennsylvania like a champ! I didn’t have to move any furniture or chase her to get her back in her carrier when it was time to leave in the morning.

I was only about 30 miles away from Niles, Ohio. I had to get gas, so I figured I might as well stop there. Why?

Well, Niles is the birthplace of President William McKinley. Those of you who have been regular readers of my blog might remember that McKinley holds a special place in my heart for two reasons:

I spent most of my formative years living on a street named McKinley Avenue and
McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, my hometown.

(Also, my brother, Craig’s, wedding reception was held in the mansion where Teddy Roosevelt was inaugurated after McKinley succumbed to his wounds on September 14, 1901, eight days after being shot by Leon Czolgosz at the Pan American Exposition.

Incidentally, did anyone ever tell you not to brag about your accomplishments? McKinley began his second term by celebrating the United States’ victory in the Spanish-American War. According to Ohio History Central, economic prosperity seemed to have returned after the Panic of 1893. To celebrate these accomplishments, McKinley embarked on a cross-country tour during the summer of 1901. Before returning to Washington, DC. he decided to stop off in Buffalo to give a speech at the Exposition.

It didn’t go as he had planned.

After his death, there were competing plans to honor his memory. Since he had spent most of his life in Canton, Ohio, it probably made sense that his Presidential Library, Museum and gravesite are located there.

However, Niles, his birthplace, would not be denied their opportunity to honor their native son. I followed my HISTORY Here! directions and pulled up in front of the William McKinley National Memorial Free to the People.

This would have to be a quick visit, as Cora had to wait in the truck. I parked in the shade and cracked open a window.

This is quite the shrine.

There was a contest to select the design, which would be built on a five acre tract that the city of Niles had already set aside. The request for proposals went out in 1914. In 1915, the winner was declared. The firm of McKim, Mead, and White won the $1000 prize for their Beaux Arts pastiche of Greek and Roman themes. I hope they received further reimbursement for their work. $1000 seems kind of low.

McKinley’s statue, by J. Massey Rhind , originally conceived as a bronze monument, was carved from a single thirty-five ton piece of marble. His sister, Helen McKinley, unveiled the statue at the dedication in 1917. Former President Howard Taft also spoke at the dedication. He urged involvement in World War I as well as praising McKinley.

A horseshoe-shaped arcade surrounds the courtyard where McKinley’s statue stands.

The arcade is line with busts of prominent men, many of whom were from Ohio.

President Warren G, Harding is here, although he wasn’t elected until 1930.

David Tod, Governor of Ohio during the Civil War, minister to Brazil, as well as a pioneer in coal, iron and transportation and beloved citizen is represented.

John Hay was McKinley’s Secretary of State as will as Lincoln’s private secretary. He was involved in many ventures, including the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which cleared the way for the construction of the Panama Canal.

There were many other busts, but I didn’t want to leave Cora in the truck by herself too long. According to my Preferred Source, the Association that sponsored the Memorial specified that there should be bronze busts of men like Theodore Roosevelt, Marcus Hanna, Joseph Butler, Jr,  Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick. Incidentally, Carnegie and Frick were large contributors to the Memorial’s fund. Perhaps these men were on the other side of the arcade.

One side of the building was a museum and the other side was a library. I stepped into the library to see what I could see.

Lo and behold! There was the bust of Joseph G. Butler, Jr. He is identified as the organizer and founder of this memorial, as well as a pioneer iron manufacturer, philanthropist, author, active leader in civic movements and a liberal patron of American art. I checked on him to see if he might be “padding his resume” but it sounds like he might have actually done all that.

One more bust I saw in the library was that of John R. Thomas, who was prominently identified with manufacturing interests in Niles. According to the pedestal, his life was an example of industry and integrity.

Time was ticking and I wanted to make sure my sweet Cora didn’t overheat.

These mosaics caught my eyes.

One last look up as I headed back to the truck.

Really, aren’t those details amazing?

Then it was time to roll.

Ah! I’m back to I-94! I’ll take the ramp toward Chicago and then I’ll be back in town. A few more nights in a Red Roof Inn and then it’ll be time to move in to my own house.

 

So Long, Flo! It’s Been Good to Know You…

There was a lot involved in getting ready to hand off Flo to Joyce. I believe I already mentioned getting everything packed up and into my truck.

Many boxes and bags were employed. I also disposed of many items that had somehow escaped my detection earlier.

Business cards always come in such large lots! I think I disposed of a whole box as well as the pile on the left. I kept the small stack on the right as mementos of my travels.

Joyce was a lovely hostess and she made me feel right at home.

I was included in her family gatherings.

Even Cora was made to feel at home.

But eventually, there was no avoiding it. The deed had to be done. Pennsylvania had their own ways doing things, which I don’t even begin to understand.

Flo, the Progressive Insurance Lady looked on and gave her blessing to the whole procedure. Joyce signed, I signed.

Eventually the paperwork was complete and Joyce had Flo’s new license plate.

We went right back to the house. She took off the Texas plate and put on the new one.

The next day, I posed for one last photo with Flo. I was proud of having filled in the lower 48 on my map. Flo was really a Classic!

And with that, I got into Bart (the Big Ass Red Truck) with Cora in the carrier next to me and headed to my new home. Before you ask, yes, I had tears in my eyes as I pulled away.

This time, there was no Flo in the rearview mirror.

 

Washington Crossed the Delaware (And So Did I)

I had lots to do to get ready to hand over Flo to Joyce, but I still had things to see. I mean, I had to get everything out of Flo and packed up and stuffed into Bart. It was a lot of work!

But, Joyce’s house wasn’t too far from Washington Crossing Historic Park. One day, I decided to take a break from the work and play tourist.

Interestingly enough, the park is located in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.

By Emanuel Leutze – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9520770

Of course, everyone is familiar with this painting, completed by Emanuel Leutze in 1851.

Of course, we’re also all familiar with the parodies.

I have admit that I am more familiar with some of them than others.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware?file=Crossdelaware.jpg

I got to the park, but missed the parking lot, so I kept going across the Delaware.

What a beautiful day! Wow! Look at all those signs! I wonder what they say?

I took this picture after got back from the other side. In fact, the bridge was so narrow that I folded the driver’s side view mirror in to reduce the possibility of hitting someone.

Once I was on the other side, I figured that I might as well check out the New Jersey Washington Crossing State Park. There was a small museum that I went through. I have no photos, so you’ll have to take my word that I did it. While I was there, I met some people. They were rangers at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. One of them is still a Facebook friend. I have met so many people in my travels and I cherish all of them.

I headed back across the bridge with my mirror folded in. This time I managed to find the parking area.

One my way in to the visitor center, I passed this monument to Washington.

There was a bronze plaque based on the famous painting.

On the other side was a plaque with information about when it was erected, 142 years after the event. That seems kind of an odd number of years. I wonder if they got it done and just couldn’t wait for the 150th anniversary? Or was it to gin up patriotism during World War I?

I was kind of tired, but I toured the museum and snapped a few photos.

They had a cannon that was made in France for Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1745. They stamped US during the revolution to mark the gun as American property. Frederick had quite the fancy crest on his cannon.

There was also this cannon, which was a gift from Lafayette to the Continental Army. It was used during the battle of Yorktown in 1781. After the was, it was fired again to salute him when he visited Harrisburg in 1824. If you would like to revisit my post about my time in Yorktown, click here. Yorktown was a big deal.

There were some displays, but I wasn’t in the mood to read the information about them. I’m not sure exactly why these chairs were here. They don’t seem related to the revolutionary war, unless Washington sat in them.

This seems more appropriate. I am sure many soldiers needed medical care. 

Of course, whenever I see a reference to leeches, I think of Humphrey Bogart towing that boat through the swamp in The African Queen.

“Leeches! I hate leeches!”

I also snapped a photo of this stone, which I assume was not an actual tombstone. The inscription reads:

To the memory of Captain James Moore of the New York artillery
Son of Benjamin and Cornelia Moore of New York.
He died December 25th 1776 AD
Aged 24 years and eight months

Of course, this is translated from the “Ye Olde” English that was in use at the time.

I decided to stroll about a bit and see what I could see. The McConkey Ferry Inn sat close to the road. I know that’s what it is because I took a photo of the sign.

I walked around it.

There’s the oven and the ice house. I know that because I have seen many of them on my travels.

I rather liked this small door into the ice house.

Across the road there was a house set back from the road at a discrete distance. I liked the bench that they had installed in front of it.

I think this is a nice memorial. So practical!

There was also the Taylorville store. Had I been up on my game, I would have tried to find out if this place had been originally called Taylorville. Admittedly, I was running out of touristic energy. After all, I had dedicated myself to being a tourist for more than three years by this point.

I should have started a file of all the lost things I’d seen in my travels. I hope the person who left these bright green sunglasses behind came back and found them.

Here’s another house with its own oven. They must have been a prosperous community.

They might have not had their own ice house, but they did have a cellar.

I wandered over to the river to take in the scenery. It’s a pretty little river, but it sure played a big roll in our nation’s history.

They had a model of the kind of boat that Washington used to cross that river.

There were several more inside the boathouse.

You could even climb up and look inside to see how much space there was in it.

Before I left, I had one more thing to take a look at.

There was a marker that read:

“Are this spot Washington crossed the Delaware one Christmas night 1776
The eve of the Battle of Trenton
Erected 1895 Bucks County Historical Society”

And with that, I headed back to Joyce’s house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Last Night in the Airstream

With all the maintenance items completed at the Mothership in Jackson Center, Ohio, it was time to head toward Pennsylvania.

I got hitched up and ready to roll. According to the overly optimistic directions in Google Maps, the trip from there to Joyce’s house in Pennsylvania should have taken a little more than nine hours. I knew it was going to take longer than that, so I made arrangements to spend the night at an RV park in Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania.

I rolled along, with Flo right in my rearview mirror. It took all day, but I eventually got to the campground – Ye Olde Mill Campground .

I am sure you are curious about the name of the community. “Burnt Cabins” is not exactly a name you would pick to attract people to settle down. According to my preferred source, the land was owned by Native American tribes until 1758. By 1750, a small village known as Sidneyville had grown to 11 squatters’ cabins. These cabins were burned by order of the provincial government to maintain peace and to demonstrate to Native Americans that their ownership would be respected.

We all know how that turned out.

That large white building is Ye Olde Mill. A tour of it was included in my campground fee, but I decided that I’d seen enough mills in my travels. I settled in for the night and spent my last night in a rather unglamorous spot – but it had water and electricity and I don’t think I could have driven any further.

I timed things out great, in terms of food.

I used my last two slices of bread and scraped the peanut butter and jelly jars to make a sandwich for lunch along the way. The crumbs in the bottom of the potato chip bag were the perfect accompaniment.

The last four of the Dad’s Oatmeal Cookies I bought in Calgary made a great lunch dessert.

I got hitched up and ready to roll.

It seems like they kept moving the exit, but eventually I got off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. (Budget advice: Don’t take the Pennsylvania Turnpike with a trailer, if you can at all avoid it.) Joyce was so excited for my arrival that she met me at the exit – I think. She called me as I was trying to follow the voice in my phone to her house and told me that she was right in front of me. I was sorry that I didn’t recognize her, but after all the backends of cars I’d seen in my travels, it would have to be something pretty eye-catching for me to notice. Besides, I was focusing on the turn-by-turn navigation.

I followed her home and we got Flo in the driveway.

And by “we,” I mean the “Royal We.” I was pretty wiped after the drive, so Jeff offered to back Flo up the driveway.

There was a lot of interest from the neighbors.

And, as I always say, any house looks better with an Airstream in the driveway.

 

Fixing Flo

They have quite an efficient operation at the service department at Airstream. You check in with them, and then they come with a tractor and move your Airstream into the shop. If your work takes more than one day, they bring your Airstream out for the night for you to sleep in it and take it back to the shop in the morning.

Flo is in the background, just in case you were wondering where the big red numbers are.

Then you are free to take advantage of their hospitality in the lounge.

People bring in their traveling companions. They plug in their computers and use the free wifi.

They even have snacks for us. There is one of those coffee machines where you pick what you want. The cup drops and then various liquids pour in.

While I was there, they opened up the machine to do some maintenance.

I was amazed that there were real beans inside!

You can stroll about the town.

Naturally, the museum wasn’t open – and I didn’t think to call ahead to make an appointment.

You can go grab a bite to eat at the local restaurants.

You can sneak a look at your baby while it’s being worked on.

The best thing to do while you are waiting, though, is to take a factory tour. I have been on my fair share of factory tours, and this one is definitely topnotch.

We met up with our tour guide, who had been with the factory here in Jackson Center practically from the start.

We meet up in the lounge and walk back to the factory past some owner’s rigs that are in the shop. This one is an Argosy. I thought their shells were 100% fiberglass, but I was wrong. I wouldn’t mind if that one would follow me home!

There are all sorts of Airstreams waiting for their turn in the shop.

You’ll also see Wally and Stella Byam’s gold Airstream that he used when leading caravans.

It was easy to pick them out in a sea of silver.

They also had a Bowlus on the lot. This was a unique design where the door was on the end and you stepped up on the tongue to enter.

It really is a time capsule.

Still, when you consider that this trailer was made in the mid-’30s, I think it was quite advanced.

You can see the ideas of this Bowlus Road Chief being carried out in the “newly imagined” Bowlus Road Chief.

www.bowlusroadchief.com

If you have some extra cash sitting around, you might want to consider one. Just be sure you are sitting down when you click on the link above.

With that, it was on to the factory tour. And this is as far as they let us take photos. If you want to see the factory, you will have to take the tour yourself.

On the tour, I buddied up with my friend, Tommy, who was having the high school reunion at his Airstream. At the end of the tour, we stopped in to see how the work on his trailer was coming along.

He showed off the new table top he had installed.

After that, we took a lap through the store.

What would a factory tour be without a gift shop?

At the end of the day, the had finished working on Flo and it would be time to go.

 

The Mothership

Ah, the Mothership!

The factory where the Airstreams are born and one of the best places to go for service and repairs. (And I should know, because I think I have found many of the less-than-best places for service and repairs.)

I had made a reservation several months back to have a bump repaired and to have a pressure test done to try one last time to detect where the leak was and get it fixed. Since insurance was paying for the bump and I had already made an appointment, I figured I might as well get it taken care of before I handed Flo over to Joyce.

They have a great little campground on the property. They invite anyone to stay there, although it is “free” if you are having work done. I arrived on the weekend, so I had a day to fill before my appointment.

I took off for Bellefontaine, a nearby town, which was touted as have two things of interest to me:

An award-winning pizza restaurant
The nation’s oldest concrete street

The restaurant is Six Hundred Downtown. According to their website, they are “a completely independent restaurant, locally owned and operated by 5 time World Pizza Champion Brittany Saxton. In addition to being a World Pizza Champion, Brittany has competed on the Food Network show Guys Grocery Games.”

I parked and walked over to the restaurant.

I passed this sign in the window next door. I am in favor of using the wind to generate electricity, but I do realize that people can have differing opinions. I had to laugh at the name of their organization. FightTheWind.com. Really?

I entered the restaurant and got settled.

I decided to have the Detroit Style. I don’t know if the description of the pizza was  what sold me or the limited availability. It was a little more than I usually spend on a pizza, but I figured that I could eat it for several days.

I found the digitally displayed drink menus to be interesting. Just in case you missed it, this is what it says at the bottom of the menu:

Why not? Everyone is staring at their phones anyway. Might as well take advantage of it.

After the wait time – which they warned me about – the Detroit style pizza arrived.

The sad thing was that I didn’t like it. How surprising and disappointing. I did manage to eat a couple slices. After all, this was my food and it was as it was described. I just didn’t care for it. I wasn’t about to leave it there, so I had it boxed up and I took it with me.

Well, that took care of my number one objective, now it was time to check out the concrete street.

And there is is!

George Bartholomew developed his formula for a durable paving concrete in Bellefontaine. According to a plaque near the stature, he used a “small laboratory in the rear of his childhood friend George Kalteyer’s drug store, across from Court Avenue.”

This statue of him was presented to the citizens of Logan country by the Concrete Industries of Ohio and the United States in 1991, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first concrete street in America.

There was a lovely courthouse in Bellefontaine that appeared to be undergoing some major renovations.

I imagine that it will be quite lovely when it is complete.

Still, the fountain continues to splash merrily. I wonder if that is the “belle” fountain?

There was a marker dedicated to Blue Jacket. I wonder how accurate the silhouettes are at the top? I don’t recall knowing that the Natives of this area lived in teepees. Still, it is something that they recognized history that wasn’t that of the settlers. If you want to find out more about Blue Jacket, click here.

I made my way back to where I had parked Bart. I thought this was an interesting composition.

I can’t imagine wanting to park where there is potential for grease over-spray.

And what is the purpose of “Unseen Elegance”?

Ah, I guess I ask too many questions.

Once back in the car, I consulted my favorite app for locating the offbeat places, History HERE! and I found that there was another marker for Blue Jacket.

The plaque reads, “This marks the site of the home of Blue Jacket, celebrated Chief of the Shawonoe Indians. Erected by Bellefontaine Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution 1928.”

The folks sitting on the porch where the monument was didn’t mind me taking their photo.

At this point, I figured that I had just about exhausted the charms of Bellefontaine. I got into Bart and headed back to the campground at the Mothership, which is referred to as “The Terrport.” There were a few folks hanging out, and I figured that I’d see if they wanted the pizza. At this point, I decided that I didn’t need to eat it just because I paid for it.

It turns out that they were having a high school reunion because Tommy was back in town getting some work done on this Airstream. I had fun with them, trying to fool the people who came up as we sat there. They’d tell me the people’s names and I greet them warmly and act like we were old friends. I managed to fool a few of them for a minute or two until my improv skills let me down.

I had a good evening with my new friends. In the morning it would be time to take care of Flo.