Picnic ...

“Life needs a few more polka dots and picnics.”

             ~ author unknown

I just loved the nostalgic and warm feeling of an image of the Henry family picnic ware – circa the late 1800s and early 1900s – from the Jacobsburg Historical Society collections that was displayed in Henry’s Woods at Jacobsburg State Park, which spans between Wind Gap and Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

So I snapped a photo of the picture I saw on an  October day and processed it with a nostalgic feel … because life does indeed need a few more polka dots and picnics!

Once the site where the famous Henry Rifle was made, the Jacobsburg National Historic District lies almost entirely within the park. Henry’s Woods offers very scenic hikes and the rest of the center grounds have multi-use trails.

Henry family picnics were elaborate affairs compared to today. Picnicking utensils included white enamelware and plates, cutlery and Victorian folding chairs with carpeted seats.

The Henry family loved to picnic in a secluded forest of old growth hemlocks about one-half-mile above a dam in what is now the park. In the spring of the year, a boat was launched onto Henry’s Dam and a wooden table and benches were rowed up to the picnic place. Some family members used a rather narrow, treacherous path through the woods along the Bushkill Creek to reach the picnic, while most got to the picnic by boat or canoe.

Jacobsburg offers environmental education programs from the preschool environmental awareness programs to high school level environmental problem solving programs, historical programs, teacher workshops and public interpretive programs.

The park surrounds the Bushkill Creek.

The original land for the center was purchased by the Department of Forests and Waters from the City of Easton in 1959. In 1969, additional land was purchased using funds from Project 70. This brought the total land area of the center to its present size of 1,168 acres.

For more information on the Henry family visit the Jacobsburg Historical Society’s website at http://www.jacobsburghistory.com/.

Snow Covered ...

“What, I sometimes wonder, would it be like if I lived in a country where winter is a matter of a few chilly days and a few weeks’ rain; where the sun is never far away, and the flowers bloom all year long?”

    ~ Anna Neagle

       ~ 1904-1986

Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox, DBE (Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) known professionally as Anna Neagle, was a popular English stage and film actress, singer and dancer.

The snow covered Geiger’s Covered Bridge paints a peaceful late winter scene on an early March day.

Geiger’s Covered Bridge is an historic wooden covered bridge in North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. It is a 112-foot-long Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1860. It has vertical plank siding and an entry portal of stepped square planks. It crosses the Jordan Creek and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It can be accessed from The Covered Bridge Trail of the Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

Morning At The Mill ...

“Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me.”

                 ~ Henry David Thoreau

                          ~ 1817-1862

The historic Haines Mill is the hub of a picturesque scene on a late October morning in the Borough of Cetronia, Allentown, Pennsylvania as it reflects the beauty of bygone days.

Also known as Haines Mill Museum, it is an historic grist mill built circa 1850. It produced flour processed by an old-fashioned water-powered mill located just off the banks of the Cedar Creek. It remained in full operation until 1957.

A mill has stood here on the banks of the Cedar Creek since colonial times. The current circa 1850 Haines Mill offers a trip into the world of the early technology that supported farm life.

The sign on the front of the building says: “Haines Bros. Flour Mill, The Home of Gilt Edge Flour,” with a sack of flour etched with the words, “Cetronia Flour Mills, Gilt Edge Flour, 50 lbs. net, Allentown.”

It is a four-story, stone building with a slate covered gambrel roof. It is three bay by three bay, 42 feet by 46 feet, 9 inches. The interior was rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1908. A three-story brick addition was built in 1930, with a lean-to roof. Atop the main roof is a cupola.

Today, Haines Mill is operated as a partnership between the County of Lehigh, which owns and maintains the site, and the Lehigh County Historical Society, which provides public tours. It is located in a serene 37.5 acre park.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.