I Hear The Cottonwoods ...

“I hear the cottonwoods whisperin’ above

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love

The old hootie owl hootie-hoo’s to the dove

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love

Does my lover feel what I feel

When he comes near?

My heart beats so joyfully

You’d think he could hear

Wish I knew if he knew what I’m dreaming of

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love.

Whippoorwill, whippoorwill, you and I know

Tammy, Tammy, can’t let him go

The breeze from the bayou keeps murmuring low

Tammy, Tammy, you love him so

When the night is warm, soft and warm

I long for his charms

I’d sing like a violin

If I were in his arms

Wish I knew if he knew what I’m dreaming of

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy’s in love."

            ~    “Tammy”

    ~ recorded by Debbie Reynolds
 for the 1957 film “Tammy and the Bachelor”

   ~ music by Jay Livingston, lyrics by Ray Evans

I heard the cottonwoods whisperin’ above as a soft late October breeze and golden hour sunlight whisper through the balls of cotton-like fluff and seeds of an Eastern Cottonwood Tree as sunset approaches along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) at Lehigh Gap.

And, of course, it reminded me of the “Tammy” song!

The Eastern Cottonwood, also called a necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America.

In the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge, also called Blue Mountain, the Lehigh Gap in Slatington, Pennsylvania, is a crossroads where the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s trails connect two historic trails – the Appalachian Trail and the D&L Trail. 

The Appalachian Trail, a foot path, follows the ridge on both sides of the Lehigh Gap, running 1,245 miles south to Georgia and 930 miles north to Maine. Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

Firemen's Drinking Fountain ...

“When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD your God.”

        ~ Isaiah 43: 2-3

The Firemen’s Drinking Fountain stands prominently at “Firemen’s Curve” in the heart of downtown Slatington, Pennsylvania on a September afternoon, just has it has for more than a century.

Members of Slatington’s Hose Company #1 dedicated this 12 foot firemen’s monument in 1910. Manufactured by the J.W. Fiske Iron Works New York, N.Y., the fireman holding a child was chosen as a symbol of service, vigilance and humanity. E.T. Barnum Co., Detroit, Michigan, manufactured the fountain to provide water for man and beast. Standing as a living memorial to all volunteer firemen, the statue is a tribute to the heroes who stand ready to serve, at any hour, in any type of weather, and without pay.

When the statue was badly damaged by a car in 1979, the community rallied to raise money for its restoration; it was rededicated in 1980.

The statue was recently refurbished, including electricity connected to the lantern, water hooked up to the fountain, and a black sponge-painted effect put on the base. It was rededicated during a September 11, 2017 ceremony.

Slatington, established in 1864, is the Blackboard Capital of America.

Fire Prevention Week is observed October 8-14, 2017.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has been the official sponsor of the Fire Prevention Week since 1922, when the commemoration began.

President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week on October 4-10, 1925, beginning a tradition of the President of the United States signing a proclamation recognizing the occasion. It is observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls, in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began October 8, 1871, and did most of its damage October 9.