Happy Trails ...

“Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then.

Who cares about the clouds when we’re together?

Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.

Happy trails to you, ‘till we meet again.

Some trails are happy ones,

Others are blue.

It’s the way you ride the trail that counts,

Here’s a happy one for you.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

Happy trails to you, keep smilin’ until then.

Who cares about the clouds when we’re together?

Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.

Happy trails to you, till me meet again.”

               “Happy Trails”

                     ~ by Dale Evans

  ~ theme song for the 1940s & 1950s
   radio program & the 1950s television show

        starring Roy Rogers & Dale Evans

It’s a tale – or perhaps tail – of the trail as this cute little dog enjoys autumn along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) riding on this man’s back as he pedals his bicycle through a beautiful October afternoon at Lehigh Gap.

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.

The Swan's Winter Evening ...

“Those who find beauty in all of nature will find themselves at one with the secrets of life.”

                      ~ L. Wolfe Gilbert

                ~Russian-born American songwriter 

                     of Tin Pan Alley

                      ~ 1886-1970

A beautiful mute swan serenely glides along the pond on an early February evening at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, 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.