Where The Water Lilies Bloom ...

 “Water Lilies’ is an extension of my life. Without the water the lilies cannot live, as I am without art.”

            ~ Claude Monet

               ~ 1840 ~ 1926

   ~ One of the most famous Western painters of all time, founder of Impressionist painting, creator of the iconic Water Lilies series & a symbol of French painting

Kissed by the summer sun, the loveliness of the pink water lilies dances in the pond on a beautiful mid-July afternoon at Johnson’s Pond Wildlife Park, Schnecksville, North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

A blue-tailed dragonfly can be seen alighting on the bloom at left and in the foreground on the pond.

Water lilies, plants in the genus Nymphaea, are aquatic blooms that grow in ponds and water gardens and are abundant on Johnson’s Pond.

  

This wildlife park provides an environment for bird watching, nature study and trails.

 

Retro Rail ...

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

                ~ Walt Disney

                  ~ 1901 ~ 1966

The Brass Rail sign beckons people to stop in for a cocktail at the Lehigh Street location of the iconic restaurant that has been a longtime staple of the culinary landscape in Allentown, Pennsylvania on a June evening in 2013.

Sadly, The Brass Rail, which opened on Lehigh Street in 1961, shut its doors in June 2022. An Allentown tradition for 91 years, the eatery’s original location on Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown opened in 1931 and closed in 2001.

Founded by Phil Sorrentino, The Brass Rail, known especially for its cheesesteaks, was run by generations of the Sorrentino family and will be missed.

 

Phillipsburg's Soldiers & Sailors ...

“Freedom is the last best hope of earth.”

    ~ Abraham Lincoln

       ~ 1809 ~ 1865

~ 16^th President of the United States of America

           ~ 1861 ~ 1865

 

Its patriotic Americana at its finest as Old Glory billows in the summer breeze as valor is celebrated at the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument on a beautiful early July afternoon at Shappell Park, in the historic downtown of Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

 

The monument was erected in memory of the soldiers & sailors of Phillipsburg and vicinity who served in the Civil War 1861-1865.

 

Phillipsburg, a Delaware River Town, was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area.

 

According to the Phillipsburg Historical Society, The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was dedicated May 10, 1906 and stands at the apex or “point” of what was originally known as the “Town Lot” next to the Lovell School Building; known today as Shappell Park. The monument stands approximately 48 feet high and was built of “Barre Granite” quarried from Vermont at a cost of $5,500.00.

 

For more information on the monument visit http://www.phillipsburgnj.org/boards-commissions/historical-society/.