Summer's Sweet Au Revoir ...

“One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter.”

                     ~ Henry David Thoreau

                         ~ 1817-1862

Sunset sweeps across the Kittatinny Ridge on a warm and beautiful last full weekend of summer, my most favorite of seasons, on a September evening along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) 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 Delaware 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.

Historic Faith ...

“I believe in an America where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.”

            ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

                    ~ 1917-1963

~ 35^th President of the United States of America

                ~ 1960-1963

         & U.S. Navy veteran

   ~Address to the greater

       Houston Ministerial Association

           ~  Sept 12, 1960  

The historic First United Church of Christ of Easton stands as a beacon of faith in downtown Easton, Pennsylvania along the Karl Stirner Arts Trail on a beautiful late October afternoon.

The German Reformed Church was originally constructed at Third and Church Streets in 1775-1776 and was the largest building in Easton at the time. The church congregation’s office building, on Church and Sitgreaves Streets, dates from 1778, and was originally Easton’s second school building. The church served as a Revolutionary War hospital, treating wounded soldiers from the Battles at Brooklyn and Brandywine. It was during this time that George Washington came to the church to visit the wounded. The church was also the site of the Indian Treaty Conference in 1777.

The brick portions were designed by Thomas Ustick Walter, who was the architect of the dome of the United States Capitol and later served as President of the American Institute of Architects from 1876-1887. Known today as the First United Church of Christ of Easton, it stands as the oldest existing church building in the city.

The church has a Star of David in honor of Meyer Hart, Easton’s first Jewish citizen and a contributor to the original church building fund.

The Karl Stirner Arts Trail follows the historic and bucolic Bushkill Creek for 1.75 miles. Though the placement of artwork in a transcendent natural setting, the Arts Trail seeks to stir the public imagination and sense of possibility.

The trail is named for Easton sculptor Karl Stirner, who spent 25 years as a mentor and unofficial real estate agent, ushering aspiring artists to Easton.

Light In October ...

“Knowing not grieving remembers a thousand savage and lonely streets.”

                ~ William Faulkner

               ~ 1867-1962

      ~ one of my favorite authors, Southern American author and Nobel Prize Laureate

                 ~ “Light In August”

                        ~ 1932

 I loved the way the late day October sun illuminates this small, lonely tree on a beautiful autumn day along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail) 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 Delaware 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.