“Summer
afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most
beautiful words in the English language.”
~ Henry James
~
1843-1916
The
poetic beauty of an afternoon in summer, my most favorite of seasons, reflects
on an August day at Leaser Lake, in the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain
Ridge, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.
Leaser Lake’s namesake is Frederick
Leaser, an American patriot who in September 1777 with his farm team hauled The
Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown where it was concealed in Zion
Reformed Church for protection during the Revolutionary War. His homestead is
located one mile north of the lake.
Leaser
Lake was built by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for water-oriented
recreation and opened for public use in 1971. Lehigh County leases this area
from the state and operates and maintains the park. The land north of the lake
was purchased by the county in the early 1970s. It is entirely wooded and is
used for nature study and as an addition to the State Game Lands No. 217.
