Snow-Capped Pennsylvania German Country ...

 “That grand old poem called Winter.”

    ~ Henry David Thoreau

      ~ 1817 ~ 1862

This authentic Pennsylvania German farmhouse, picturesque 19^th century barn and corn crib paint a peaceful, rural winterscape after a fresh February snowfall at the historic 1756 Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum, Egypt, Pennsylvania.

The Coplay Creek runs through this 31 acre property, which was once part of a 400 acre farm. The centerpiece of the property is a stone farmhouse, built in 1756. A spring house, barn and corn crib are also on the property. The farmhouse is an authentic Pennsylvania German farmhouse and offers an example of Lehigh County agricultural history. The Troxell-Steckel house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

It is the region’s only authentically complete Pennsylvania German farmhouse, resembling its medieval ancestors and giving a captivating glimpse of the area’s farm history.

The Pennsylvania German farmhouse was constructed in 1756 by John Peter Troxell, an immigrant from Germany in search of a better life. When the structure was built, twenty years before the Declaration of Independence was signed, this farm sat on the edge of wilderness. George Washington was only 24 years old, and America was ruled by the King of England. At the time, the house was reported to be the largest residence on the Pennsylvania frontier. The fortress-like masonry walls of this structure are more than two feet thick.

In 1768, John Peter Troxell sold this farm to Peter Steckel, another immigrant from Germany. Pennsylvania Germans were one of the largest immigrant groups in Eastern Pennsylvania. Their traditions enriched American culture.

As someone of Irish-German heritage, I love getting a glimpse into Pennsylvania German history in the area.

This historic site is owned and operated by the Lehigh County Historical Society and is open for seasonal tours and events.

The Troxell-Steckel Farm Museum may also be accessed from the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township.

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20^th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

 

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.

 

Cube & Thread's Pop Of Red ...

 “The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity.”

                     ~ Alberto Giacometti

                             ~ 1901 ~ 1966

                           ~Swiss sculptor

The Cube And Thread brings a bold pop of red to Cedar Creek Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania on a beautiful late May afternoon.

The public sculpture was created by artist Paul Sisko in 1977 and gifted to the city by the late philanthropists Phil (1915 ~ 1997) and Muriel (died 2004) Berman. Phil Berman was the retired owner of the iconic Hess’s Department Store, which he acquired in 1968 and had been headquartered in Allentown.

The Bermans were American art collectors, philanthropists and the founders of the Berman Art Museum at Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Phil’s alma mater.   Phil was the chairman of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Muriel was an honorary member of the board. They endowed many Jewish charities including Hadassah as well as funding the “Philip and Muriel Berman Sculpture Park” in Allentown.

The sculpture is an 11’ x 13.5 ‘ steel and stainless steel piece featuring a large cube with a screw-like element extending from one side. It was restored in 2025 by the Heritage Conservation Collective of Philly. Initially painted red, the sculpture had become rusted and decayed. The restoration involved refinishing the piece and bringing it back to its original vibrancy.

Liberty In Light ...

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

   ~ from the inspiring Inaugural Address of

  President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

  ~ 1917 ~1963

  ~ 35th President of the United States of America

  ~ 1960 ~ 1963

  & U.S. Navy veteran

Liberty’s red hot rays of ravishing light burst across the summer night sky during the 2025 Fourth of July Fireworks set off from J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Happy Birthday, America! Bravo!

How wonderful it would be to have fireworks ~ and the fire of patriotism ~ in our hearts every day!

Bridging The Light Fantastic ...

“Praise the bridge that carried you over.”

   ~ George Colman

   ~ English dramatist

   ~ 1762 ~ 1836

The new programmable LED lights shine on the historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called the Free Bridge, looking toward Phillipsburg, New Jersey during an autumn twilight in late November at the iconic bridge which spans the Delaware River to link Phillipsburg with Easton, Pennsylvania.

The lights were installed as part of a bridge rehabilitation/improvement project that spanned from late 2021 until spring 2023. The bridge is colloquially referred as the “Free Bridge” to distinguish it from the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (previously the Bushkill Street Bridge), a short distance upstream.

I shot this on Thanksgiving Eve, the night prior to the 116^th meeting of the Phillipsburg High School Stateliners and Easton Red Rovers on the football field on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023. The colors were illuminated in a salute to the annual game, which Phillipsburg won the next day 47-12 at Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium, Easton.

The bridge that spans the two states was completed in 1896 and survived massive flooding from Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990 and is one of my very favorite places to photograph.

Historic Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. The historic town of Easton was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and Lehigh River, known as the Forks-Of-The-Delaware. Both are Delaware River Towns.

The Free Bridge can also be seen from across the Delaware River at Delaware Canal State Park, Easton, near the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.