I Know Why The Catbird Sings ...

“A forest bird never wants a cage.”

       ~ Henrik Ibsen

             ~ 1828-1906

A gray catbird sings its song on a May afternoon at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Reflections On A Summer Afternoon ...

“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.

The Grist Mill In Summer ...

“Places I love come back to me as music …”

                     ~ Sara Teasdale

    ~ American lyric poet & Pulitzer Prize winner

                        ~ 1884-1933

                  ~ “The Collected Poems”

The historic Helfrich Springs Grist Mill is patriotically festooned with The Cowpen’s flag and American flag bunting on a beautiful summer afternoon in late July.

Peter Grim built this substantial stone structure in 1807. A waterwheel powered by spring water turned massive burrstones used to process grain into flour and feed grown on local farms. Grim resided in the brick home at the northwest corner of Mickley Road. Reuben Helfrich purchased the mill in 1872 since then named Helfrich Springs Grist Mill. Milling ceased about 1930.

The mill is located at Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania along the Jordan Creek. It is a three-story fieldstone mill and measures approximately 30 feet wide and 58 feet deep and has a slate roof. The Township of Whitehall acquired the property by eminent domain in 1963. The building is owned and operated by the Whitehall Historical Preservation Society, who began restoring it in 1984.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. A boundary increase in 1999 added the Peter Grim House.

The Cowpens flag, or 3^rd Maryland flag, is an early version of the United States flag that meets the congressional requirements of the Flag Resolution of 1777. Like the Betsy Ross flag, the white stars are arranged in a circle on the blue field; but the circle consists of just 12 stars, with the 13^th star in the center.