The Final Voyage

Yesterday, I got a phone call telling me that my former Boy Scoutmaster was in the hospital. While working on his car, he had had a stroke and a severe brain hemorrhage. He was in a coma and wasn't expected to pull through.

Joseph Hartman was a everything a Boy Scout is supposed to be - Trustworthy. Loyal. Helpful. Friendly. Courteous. Kind. Obedient. Cheerful. Thrifty. Brave. Clean. Reverent. He was truly a one of the "good guys". I didn't get a chance to say "goodbye and smooth voyaging."

Last night he crossed over the lake - to the other side.

He leaves his wife, a son and daughter, and many now-full-grown "boys" that have wonderful memories of summer scout camps and weekend trips to the woods.

He was an inveterate car-tinkerer, forever "messing" with some offbeat cars, like a VW Beetle, a VW minibus (the hippie mobile) and lastly a Honda Prius hybrid. He was a modest engineer that watched the computer grow from the days of the vacuum tube with awe and sense of boyish wonder that said, "Oh, this is so neat!"

He taught me how to paddle straight, to be patient... kind... helpful... and showed me the way I wanted to live.

I offer these words to the Great Voyager in the Sky in his honor and in his memory -

For Food, For Raiment,
For Life And Opportunity,
For Sun And Rain,
For Water And Portage Trails,
For Friendship And Fellowship,
We Thank Thee, O Lord.
Amen.

A Thank You from Ryan

I got this wonderful hand made "thank you" card from Alice Kay's gransdon, Ryan (with some help from his mommy.)

What can you say besides, "Awwww..... shucks! You are quite welcome!"

:)

New Years Day With the Birds

About halfway between my house and my parents house, just outside the town of Doylestown, is the Peace Valley Nature Center, located on the end of Lake Galena.

Having been asked to stop at the Doylestown Mennonite Church to see if a certain Godshalk family was buried in the church yard cemetery, I made plans to meet my mom afterwards at the nature center, which is just up the road a piece.


In the quiet stillness, surrounded by old stones, I found the gravestones of William (1781 - 1837) and his wife, Magdalena Kratz Godshalk (1782 - 1868). I've never seen a gravestone quite like this one. The green stone says, "In memory of William Godshalk who died the 12th day of December 1837, aged 56 years (obliterated) month and (obliterated) days. I saw that his wife outlived him by many years.

At the nature center, located on Chapman Road, is a bridge over the Neshaminy Creek.


This bridge, now closed to vehicle traffic, is no spring chicken, having been built in 1886.


From Chapman's Bridge, one can see down the 3-mile long, man made, Lake Galena, created when Bucks County flooded the valley in 1972.

Before that time, much of the lakebed had been part of the village of Leven, the economy of which was based largely on lead ore (known as Galena) mining. Mining of galena (in addition to small amounts of zinc, silver, copper and gold) had been mildly successful since the 1860's.

Down beneath the surface of the water, near the center of the 3-mile long lake, are the long abandoned lead mine shafts and smelting operations.

Water from the lake is used to provide cooling water for the PECO*-owned Limerick Nuclear Power Plant and for augmenting public drinking water supplies. It is also used for recreation by man and by "more than 250 species of birds."

*Philadelphia Electric Co.


The nature center end of the park has miles of trails winding through the woods along the bank of the Neshaminy Creek. Neshaminy is a Native American word that means "the double drinking place," or "where we drink twice".


On New Years Day (and the week later), the recreational folks were out in force, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather - and so were the birds.


I saw a pair of Snow Geese, much to my mom's excitement, as we've never seen them before in Pennsylvania (they cover the empty corn and wheat fields in Maryland when they migrate.)


Lurking around the rocks at the foot of the dam, I spotted a Great Blue Heron. I think this one was actually a little smaller than most as they run to 4 feet tall. They usually eat small fish, though they will feed on a wide range of shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and small birds. Herons locate their food by sight and usually swallow it whole. It is quite a sight to see the lump in their necks as they strive to "get something down."


With a great commotion, a large flock (or brace) of Mallard Ducks took to the air when disturbed by a large raptor. In this case, I think it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk, looking for dinner. I got a blurry shot of the hawk (here).


Circling the lake, we returned to Chapman's Bridge, where the widening of the Neshaminy Creek makes a small pond that holds fish, snakes, and my favorite, turtles. Even unseasonable weather wasn't going to bring the warm sunshine loving turtles out of their winter hibernation, buried in the mud.


As I mentioned, Chapman's Bridge is closed to vehicle traffic. A braided wire, strung between two bollards and into this (un?)fortunate OCHA's head, blocks the road at one end of the bridge. I thought it had pierced ears, but Ladystyx tells me this OCHA is a rare Nordic Viking. My mom thinks it's a University of Texas Longhorn fan. What do you think?


Peeking into the Nature Center's giftshop, I spotted a couple t-shirts that made me laugh loud enough to have the saleswoman come over to see if I was alright. My mom wanted to know if I was taking my medication regularly, like I'm supposed to.

Well... I thought it was funny.

:)

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get

Now while you might think the title of this entry is a "Pennsylvania Dutch" saying, and it well could have been, it was written by Lewis Carroll in his "Alice in Wonderland."

In any event, it is so appropriate - since this entry is about my Christmas.

I had a very nice Christmas - Santa was very good to me. I got seasons two and three of SpongeBob Squarepants on DVD from LadyStyx; the SpongeBob Squarepants book from Kero; a Charles Morgan whaling ship model from ToriZ; and a year's subscription of Flickr from Alice Kay; beautiful cards from many of you (including one from Marmite Toasty!) and nearly 17 hours (I think its 12 DVDs) of movies showing train rides across the USA, a years subscription to Trains magazine and some brand new (gasp!) underwear. I got two other things that have been keeping me pretty busy, one is a heck of a head cold and the other is a new Nook Color electronic book reader.

I'll spare you the details about (and any photos showing) the head cold.


I've been (not so) secretly "coveting" one of these slick devices ever since seeing the one-legged woman down at Rolph's Wharf using hers last spring and summer. All summer long, she would be sitting in the shade somewhere and reading and reading and reading... and finally I asked her about it - and she told me of being able to read thousands of books (and for free!) downloaded from the Internet with it - she lent me her user manual to read so I could "digest" what this little 4 inch by 7 inch by 3/8 inch gadget could do.

Santa must have thought I was a good boy! It was in my stocking Christmas day!

I spent the Christmas weekend at my parent's house in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. As the name implies, this little town is situated on the Delaware River between the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, about ten miles upstream from Trenton, NJ. Each year, there is a reenactment of the crossing:

"General George Washington and men of the Continental Army and militia crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and marched to Trenton, New Jersey. There they attacked and defeated Hessian troops quartered in and around the village. This surprise attack and victory set the stage for Washington's subsequent victories at the Second Battle of Trenton and Princeton."

These victories were the turning point of the American Revolution - "from times that tried men's souls" - to renewed vigor and restored confidence that the war could be won.

I did not see the reenactment (this year). Rather, I was taken to a spot further upstream so that I could walk for several hours.


The Thompson-Neely House, known as the "house of decision" where General George Washington planned and decided to attack Trenton. This house was built in 1702 and served as a hospital for the Continental Army and Militia forces both before (for those ill from disease, exposure, poor nutrition, exhaustion and unhealed wounds) and after the battles of Trenton and Princeton.

Alexander Hamilton was recovering there from illness before the battle (he dragged himself out of sickbed to fight at Trenton), and James Monroe and William Washington (George's cousin) were brought back to the Thompson-Neely House to heal from battle wounds. There were very few "American" casualties at Trenton, 2 killed and 5 wounded.


Christmas morning, the year 2011, was very different from that of 1776. The weather, while cool, was bright and sunny, and I found the nearby towpath of the Delaware Canal deserted. The only movement I saw was of sheep in a pasture. Perhaps you can spot them - I am always reminded of Punkn's sheep when I see a flock of the grass munchers. A close up of the sheep is here.


Up on the hill beyond the Thompson-Neely House is Bowman's Tower.

This tower is built on the site of a lookout that was manned during the American Revolution. The tower itself was not there in 1776, it was built in 1930. It is 125 feet tall, and contains a very narrow staircase and an elevator that takes visitors to an observation deck at the top of the tower.


The tower is lit each night during the holiday season by a white star on each of the four sides. On a clear night, it can be seen as far away as Trenton (14 miles) and is rather haunting to me.


On the grounds of the Thompson-Neely House, is a small cemetery with a number of graves. It is speculated that 40 to 60 soldiers died while in the area and the names of almost all of the soldiers who died at the Thompson-Neely House during the winter encampment of 1776 are unknown.

The only soldier's name that has been passed down through history is that of Captain-Lieutenant James Moore who died on December 25, 1776 of "camp fever" at the Thompson-Neely House.

The Delaware River lies just over the embankment behind the flagpole.


As I walked on the towpath beside both the canal and the Delaware River, alone and lost in thought, I found my head lifted by the strident call of a goose, a "white chin-strap duck" known to others as a Canadian Goose, spoke to me as if to say, "Hey! Look at us! We are reenacting the crossing!" I christened one of the geese, General George Goose, and watched them swim across the river - in conditions that General George Washington might have envied, because for him:

"...the river was icy and the weather severe, the crossing proved dangerous. Two detachments were unable to cross the river, leaving Washington and the 2,400 men under his command alone in the assault. The army [then] marched 9 miles south [in the bitter cold and in the darkness] to Trenton.

The Hessians had lowered their guard, thinking they were safe from the American army, and did not post a sentry. After having a Christmas feast, they fell asleep. Washington's forces caught them off guard and, before the Hessians could resist, they were taken prisoner. Almost two thirds (896) of the 1,500-man garrison was captured and their commander Colonel Johann Rall was killed."

Side notes:

The winter encampment at Valley Forge took place over the winter of 1777–1778, the following year, so there were many more days of difficult fighting ahead for General George Washington and his troops.

There is a Washington Crossing Park in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey across the river - they are two separately run state parks.

Should you wish to visit the park, more information can be found here. Should you wish a tour guide, I'm available at no charge.