Taste Of An American Summer ...

“Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I’m not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be.”

 ~ John Wayne

 ~ 1907-1979

 

I created “Taste Of An American Summer” by blending two of my images in an Americana tribute to our great nation & summer, my most favorite of seasons.

 

I captured Old Glory billowing in the breeze on a beautiful mid-July afternoon in 2019 along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) that hugs the Kittatinny Ridge at Lehigh Gap, Slatington, Pennsylvania. Many flags such as this patriotically dot the trail, but this is the only time I’ve seen a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can there ~ drinking along the trail is not encouraged, but I thought it made a cool photo. Pabst Blue Ribbon was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1844 & selected as America’s Best in 1893. And the can’s red, white & blue theme meshes perfectly with the American Flag.

I spotted this cool Buick Skylark, which sported an Antiques Car license plate, on an early June evening in 2022 at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Buick Skylark is a passenger car formerly produced by Buick. The model was made in six production runs, during 46 years, over which the car’s design varied dramatically due to changing technology, tastes, and new standards implemented over the years. It was named for the species of bird called skylark. Model years were 1953-1954, 1961-1972 and 1975-1998.

Together, these images paint an image of an American summer.

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.

I just love this quote from John Wayne ~ the great, iconic American actor known as “The Duke” ~ and thought it matched perfectly with the image, especially in these times.

God Bless America!

 

History Hops ...

“I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.”

            ~ Walt Disney

             ~1901-1966

The historic Neuweiler Brewery is soaked in spring sunshine on an April afternoon in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

 

I presented the image in sepia to enhance the nostalgic mood.

 

Also known as Germania Brewery, Neuweiler’s is an historic brewery complex built between 1911 & 1913, and consists of the office building, brew house, stock house, pump house, wash house, chemistry lab building, boiler room, bottling house, garage, fermenting cellar and smokestack with the name “Neuweiler” on it. The office building is a two-story, brick and granite building. The remaining buildings in the complex are built of brick. The brew house stands six-stories, and has a copper hipped roof with cupola. The stock house is a long, narrow four-story building. The brewery closed in 1968.

 

Today, although the buildings have been vacant and/or underutilized since the brewery’s closing, the towering structure and copper cupola atop the brew house has been an iconic part of the city’s skyline for nearly 100 years, symbolizing Allentown’s rich industrial history.

Neuweiler’s was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The site is currently listed on Preservation Pennsylvania’s “Pennsylvania at Risk” list.

 

Unfortunately, the structure has fallen into disrepair and has been vandalized with graffiti. Hopefully, it will be redeveloped and returned to its former glory.

 

Thanks to Neuweiler’s, history really “hops” in Allentown!

 

The Blue Moon Hops ...

“Blue moon, blue moon, blue moon

Keep shining bright,

Blue moon, keep on shining bright

You’re gonna bring me back my baby tonight,

Blue moon, keep shining bright.

  

I said Blue Moon of Kentucky

keep on shining …”

                                ~ “Blue Moon of Kentucky”

                 ~ recorded by the great Elvis Presley

                                             ~ 1954

The Blue Moon Brewing Company helps keep spirits shining bright at the 10^th annual Blues, Brews & Barbecue in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania June 10, 2017 … a tad before summer but a great way to kick off the season with the sounds of the blues & the taste of brews and barbecue!

I blended a street scene photo I shot at the festival of a Blue Moon beer truck with a Blue Moon I captured shining over Cedar Creek Parkway, Allentown on July 31, 2015.

A Blue Moon is defined as any time there is a second full moon in a calendar month, according to NASA. The next will occur January 2, 2018.

“Blue Moon of Kentucky” is the official Bluegrass song of Kentucky, written by Bill Monroe, “The Father of Bluegrass,” in 1946.

The great Elvis Presley – an artist who occurs “once in a blue moon,” – recorded his fantastic rockabilly version in 1954.

Texture by Jai Johnson added for artistic effect.