Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vintage. Show all posts

Monday, August 13, 2018

Americana In Pennsylvania German Country ...


~ “Yaeder mon set gae” (Pennsylvania German phrase for “Everyone should come”)
~ “Mer hoffe mer sehn eich datt” (Pennsylvania German phrase for “We hope to see you there”)

“The Peerless,” a traction steam engine made in 1917, can be seen at left bedecked for its 100th birthday at the 2017 Schpotyaahr Fescht (Fall Festival), the 15th annual living history event demonstrating the life of the Pennsylvania Germans in Weisenberg and Lowhill Townships.

The festival was held at the 153-year-old Werley’s Corner Hotel in New Tripoli, Weisenberg Township, Pennsylvania. The two-day annual event in early September is sponsored by the Weisenberg/Lowhill Township Historical Society. Werley’s Corner is an unincorporated community in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Germans, also known as The Pennsylvania Dutch, are a cultural group formed by early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania and their descendants. The work “Dutch” does not refer to Dutch people or language, but to the German settlers known as Deutsch in standard German and Deitsch in the principal dialect they spoke, Palatine German.

Most emigrated to the Americas from Germany or Switzerland in the 17th and 18th centuries. Over time, the various dialects spoken by these immigrants fused into a unique dialect of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania “Dutch.” At one time, more than one third of Pennsylvania’s population spoke this language.

A sign explained the 1917 Peerless Story: “Hello, my name is Peerless. I am a traction steam engine. I was manufactured in 1917 in Waynesboro, which is in south central PA. I was purchased when I was new, and went to work for a threshing crew on the local farms around a small town called New Schaefferstown, in western Berks County.

In 1923 I was purchased by William Stoudt. He used me to thresh the fields from June through August. In the spring and fall he used me at his brother’s farm to run a saw mill. I liked William, because he kept me in the New Schaefferstown area and if I was not working, he would take me to shows or parades in nearby Schaefferstown, Bernville or Shartlesville to show me off and have fun.

In the 1980s, William’s health started to decline, and I got parked outside under a maple tree. When William passed away, I sat under that tree and remembered the fun times I had over the years.

One day in November of 2008, a family friend saw a young fellow that he knew at an auction. While they were talking, my name was brought up, and he thought maybe he and his brother might be interested in purchasing me from the family. He thought they might like to try to get me up and running, so we could have fun going to shows and parades again.

In February of 2009, I met my new owners. They are Ben and David Sonon from Hamburg, PA. They pulled me out from under that maple tree, took me home and put me in a shed. In the summer months they get me out to go to shows, but it is not as fun as before, because when I was sitting out under that tree the weather took its toll on me. I can only movie if something pulls me along, because what you can call my engine (firebox) is bad and it is very expensive to repair.

If you would like to help the Sonon Brothers get me back up and running, so I can have fun and play at places like this under my own power, please make a donation to help them get me better again.”

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Nostalgic Change ...




“I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.”
                  ~ Walt Disney
                     ~ 1901-1966
My vintage Uncle Sam’s 3 Coin Register Bank is displayed on a swing among the autumn leaves on a beautiful late November afternoon at the Bethlehem Rose Garden, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

This bank was my Dad’s when he was a child, and it eventually became my bank when I was kid, and I love it (I hope he doesn’t want it back now!)

First made in 1907, the Uncle Sam’s 3 Coin Register Banks made their way to many kids and adults from the 1920s-1970s. Once you deposit more than 25 cents into its cash register-shaped slot and pull the lever, the money is locked in and only opens in the front when it reaches $10 and the numbers turn over and read 00.00.

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

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Vintage Drive With Taylor & Dean ...



“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”
                      ~ Dr. Seuss
                       (Theodore Seuss Geisel)
                           ~ 1904-1991
Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean are seen driving in Texas ranch land in a scene from the 1956 American epic Western drama film “Giant” in my artistic interpretation of their vintage photo showcased at Charlotte Fay’s Main Street Diner, Slatington, Pennsylvania.

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, is well represented at Charlotte Fay’s, and his music may well be heard playing at this cool and cozy eatery where retro is king.

Other photos on the diner’s walls spotlight retro icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Route 66, and a young Elvis and Johnny Cash posing for a snapshot. There’s also a nod to the New Jersey Seashore and Steel Pier. The large map depicts President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, championed by the then-president when it was formed June 29, 1956.

And of course there’s the tasty food, wonderful to nosh on as you drink in the nostalgic atmosphere. Owner Jason Ruff named the diner after both his great-grandmothers, and uses their recipes.

The menu and atmosphere are the perfect mix to stir up a recipe for success fit for a king.

Background texture by Jai Johnson added for artistic effect.