Last Day of Travel for this Leg and a Few Days Break (Day 5, 6, 7 & 8)

We started out just south of Carlisle PA at Western Village RV Park. Yes, it had a very western theme. With road names like Custer Earp and Oakley Drive, what do you think?  It was a quiet, all age RV park with mature trees providing shade, but not too many trees. Each site had a picnic table and fire ring. Funny thing, our neighbors were heading back to Webster NY. The night before our neighbors were heading to Holly NY.

We quickly headed into town and Route 11 took us right through the heart of Dickinson College. It is a private, residential liberal arts college founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School. It was the first college to be founded after the formation of the United States. Dickinson was founded by Benjamin Rush, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. It was originally named "John and Mary's College" in honor of John Dickinson and his wife Mary Norris Dickinson. They donated much of their extensive personal libraries to the new college. Dickinson College is the 16th-oldest college in the United States and it has 12 study centers in other countries.

Any Army officer is familiar with Carlisle Barracks. It is home to the US Army War College. It is the nation’s second-oldest active military base. It chiefly prepares selected officers for high command. Classes were suspended in 1940 during the preparedness mobilization for World War II, and not resumed until a decade later at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for the 1950–51 academic year. The new commandant relocated with the college to Pennsylvania in July 1951 and turned over command to his successor just in time for the arrival of the first Carlisle-based class. At Carlisle, the Army War College has grown steadily as it performs its mission of preparing officers for leadership at the highest levels. The college outgrew its main academic building and transferred to the newly constructed Root Hall in 1967. Two specialized agencies evolved into integral parts of the Army War College: the Strategic Studies Institute, first formed in 1954; and the Military History Institute, established in 1967. The Center for Strategic Leadership, a state-of-the-art war gaming complex that opened in 1994, contributed another dimension to the college and to Carlisle Barracks' history as a distinctive U.S. Army campus.

If you take Route 15 from Harrisburg, you’ll pass by the Susquehanna River a stretch called Dauphin Narrows. Out there in the river stands a brilliant white replica of the Statue of Liberty, proudly standing in all her scaled-down glory on an old stone bridge piling. Distance plays havoc with your sense of scale in this area: Although Dauphin’s Lady Liberty looks tiny, but she is actually 25 feet tall and quite sturdy. She’s also the second replica of the Statue of Liberty to stand in the fast-moving waters. A local lawyer and activist-artist named Gene Stilp put together the first statue with some friends for a bit of a lark to celebrate the original Statue of Liberty’s centennial in the 1980s. When the ersatz replica was finished, they displayed it the closest thing they could find to the plinth on Liberty Island—an old railway bridge piling in the middle of the river. There it stood for years, raising a smile from motorists, until wind and weather finally carried it off in the 1990s. People missed it so much that Stilp and his team built a more durable replacement of wood, metal, and fiberglass, moved it onto the piling by helicopter, and lashed it securely to the plinth with cables. This patriotic example of folk art is always a passing pleasure, however, since it’s almost impossible to see from the nearest town, Dauphin. The best you can manage is a few seconds glimpse as you drive on Route 15 or 322—unless you’re good enough at kayaking to navigate the treacherous waters in that stretch of the river.

In Wormleysburg PA, we started traveling on 11 N and 15N,as they were combined. The town name got me thinking … Why do so many names in Pennsylvania have “burg” in their name? One bit of research says a burg is defined as a fortified town or a self-governing town. In U.S. (originally Pennsylvania, 1718), a burg or borough is often an incorporated town. Another source says the "-burg" ending, comes from German and it means "fort" or "borough.”

In Winfield, PA on August 16, 1782 the murder of Maj. John Lee and several members of his family occurred. It was very cruel and caused much excitement among the people. He lived near what is now the little town of Winfield, on the west side of the river. It was a warm evening, Lee and his family, with a few neighbors, were eating supper. Suddenly a band of Indians burst upon them. Lee was stricken down and scalped, and an old man named Walker shared the same fate. Mrs. Boatman was killed and scalped, and a daughter was also scalped. Two or three escaped. A son of Lee named Robert was returning home, and when he came in sight of the house the Indians were leaving it. He fled to Sunbury and gave the alarm. In the meantime the Indians, retreated up the river, carrying Mrs. Lee and her infant child with them as prisoners. Colonel Hunter hastily collected a party of twenty men and started in pursuit. When they reached the house they found Lee and Miss Boatman still, living. They were sent to Sunbury on litters for treatment, but Lee soon after died. Miss Boatman recovered and lived for many years. The Indians evaded capture and the fate of their prisoners is unknown.

In Lewisburg, PA along the west branch of the Susquehanna River is Bucknell University. It is a private liberal arts college. The university consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Management, and the College of Engineering. Bucknell was founded in 1846, and features programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, engineering, management, education, and music, as well as programs and pre-professional advising that prepare students for study in law and medicine. It has almost 50 majors and over 60 minors. It is primarily an undergraduate school with 3,500 students. Students come from all 50 states and from more than 66 countries. Bucknell’s school mascot is Bucky the Bison. Did you know that there are 8 other colleges that have a Bison as their mascot? Harding University; Howard University; North Dakota State University; Lipscomb University; University of Manitoba; Oklahoma Baptist University; Bethany College and Gallaudet University.

Just south of Williamsport, we are ready to start our climb. This is where we are traveling on 15N. Near the top, we will be in Williamsport PA, home to Little League International. The first Little League Baseball World Series was played in Williamsport in 1947. Carl Stotz, a resident of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, founded Little League Baseball in 1939. He began experimenting with his idea in the summer of 1938 when he gathered his nephews, Jimmy and Major Gehron and their neighborhood friends. They tried different field dimensions over the course of the summer and played several

informal games. The following summer Stotz felt that he was ready to establish what later became Little League Baseball. The first league in Williamsport had just three teams, each sponsored by a different business. The first teams, Jumbo Pretzel, Lycoming Dairy, and Lundy Lumber, were managed by Carl Stotz and two of his friends, George and Bert Bebble. The men, joined by their wives and another couple, formed the first-ever Little League Board of Directors. Stotz' dream of establishing a baseball league for boys to teach fair play and teamwork had come true. The first League game took place on June 6, 1939. Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy, 23-8. Lycoming Dairy came back to claim the league championship. They, the first-half-season champions, defeated Lundy Lumber, the second-half champs, in a best-of-three season-ending series. The following year a second league was formed in Williamsport, and from there Little League Baseball grew to become an international organization of nearly 200,000 teams in every U.S. state and over 80 countries around the world.

If you have ever traveled 15 North or South you have seen the Fry Brother’s Turkey Ranch. The restaurant was opened at the current location on Mothers’ Day in 1939 and specialized in turkey dinners at a time when turkey was a rare delicacy. World War II forced the restaurant’s temporary closing but the brothers continued raising turkeys and kept the market going, raising up to 15,000 turkeys per year for the war effort. After the war they sold the business in the Growers’ Market just three days before the devastating flood of 1946. In the same year they reopened the restaurant, again on Mothers’ Day in 1950. The turkey barns were destroyed in 1970 to make room for the new Route 15 highway, thus ending the era of raising their own turkeys. After the death of Howard Jr. in 2001, Ike and his mother Lois continued to run the family business along with manager Susan Kreger. Ike’s son, Nathan has rejoined the family business. Ike and Nathan represent the fourth and fifth generations of the Fry family to have contributed to the success of the Fry businesses. The restaurant now seats approximately 300 people, is open 364 days a year and serves approximately 100,000 customers per year. Mothers’ Day, 2014, marked the 75th anniversary on top of Steam Valley Mountain.

On Route 15, you come across a road sign that indicates you are at Blossburg Mountain elevation of 2,157 feet. In Zephyrhills, we are about 75 feet above sea level. Wow, we have really traveled a long way and reached new heights! We hit the PA / NY border and realized that gas was actually cheaper in NY than in PA. It never used to be that way! Wow, times are a changing! Not everything is better in NY, the roads are still terrible! For the later part of 15N, it has actually become a four lane highway. Soon it will become interstate 99. We will have to find another two lane road into western NY.

We reached our destination for a few days. Charlie’s brothers around Avoca NY. We enjoyed the weekend, for a few days of down time with them. We had fantastic NY fish fry at the Chatterbox in Cohocton, huge ice cream cones from the Twin Kiss in Kanona and tons of laughs and reminiscing! Memorial Day morning, we took time to reflect on the greatest sacrifice so many of our military members have made for us. Then we packed up to make the quick trip to our next temporary home for 7 days, the Hemlock Fair grounds. We traveled up 415 to 15A and then followed that all the way to the fairgrounds, but even on a short trip there is plenty to see!

Route 15A runs along the east side of Hemlock Lake. This is one of the lesser known Finger Lakes. Implemented in August 2010, the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest covers 6,684 acres that encompass Hemlock and Canadice Lakes. These lakes have provided drinking water for the City of Rochester for more than 100 years. To protect water quality, the city acquired much of the property around the lakes. Over the decades, the land reforested, but a few traces of its past, such as stone walls or cottage foundations, remain. Today these two lakes, with their steep, forested, largely undeveloped shorelines and deep clear water, provide visitors a glimpse of the Finger Lakes of the past. Hemlock Lake is also home to the state's oldest nesting bald eagle site, dating back to the early 1960s. The nesting bald eagles of Hemlock Lake have fostered a resurgence of bald eagles throughout New York State. Hemlock Lake, originally known as "O-Neh-Da" which is Seneca for "Lake of Hemlock Trees", is home to the nation's oldest sacramental winery, founded by Bishop McQuaid in 1872. Today, O-Neh-Da Vineyard still remains, making premium natural pure grape wine for churches and foodies alike.

Hemlock Fairgrounds, home to the Hemlock “Little World’s” Fair since 1857. The Hemlock Fair is a caretaker of agricultural history. It maintains historically significant documents, artifacts, traditions, buildings and grounds. Fair history was influenced dramatically by the horse, upon which local farmers depended to plow, plant, harvest, market and pull wagons for work and pleasure. Horses brought the doctor and the mail. Horses pulled "stone boats", sleds onto which farmers tossed rocks to clear farmland. Competitions were held to see which

teams could haul the heaviest loads and these horse pulls continue today as a feature fair event. The Hemlock “Little World’s” Fair originated from horse races or meets. The meets evolved into exhibits of fine breeding of stallions, trotters, teams and carriages, machinery displays, sheep exhibits and agricultural equipment displays. In the mid 1840’s the Town of Livonia hosted a fair. Other fairs started in Honeoye, Richmond and surrounding towns. Hemlock's first fair in 1857 was on Clay Street and was then moved to the Hemlock Lake Park before being established at its present location on Water Street, formally known as the Mutney and Ackley Driving Park. In 1857, Railroad conductor Joe St. Denis gave his famous call to Rochester passengers, "All aboard for the Slab City World's Fair". Slab City was in reference to the plank roads and sawmills, and World's Fair was coined on the basis of no-geographic restrictions for exhibitors. By 1859, Hemlock Fair began including animals, produce, domestics and carpentry and within two years held the record of having the biggest livestock fair in the state. Consolidating as The Hemlock Lake Union Agricultural Society, in 1868, were the fairs of Hemlock, Livonia, Richmond and Honeoye. This was the beginning of what later became known as "The Slab City Fair", "The Little World's Fair", and just plain "Hemlock Fair", an event which has been held every year, except for the period during World War II. In 1871, The Hemlock Lake Union

Agricultural Society was incorporated. In 1963, the fair began on July 17th, the third Tuesday in the month of July, it still begins on that same day each year. The Hemlock Fair started off the new century with a very prestigious award; the Hemlock Fairgrounds was placed on The National Register of Historic Places in July, 2000. The fair is now nationally recognized as contributing to, and preserving the nation's history and heritage. Since 1857, the Hemlock "Little World's" Fair has been educating and entertaining people of all ages, from all walks of life, and from literally all parts of the world. When you think about all the global changes the “Little World" Fair has seen since 1857, it is quite amazing the organization is not only still in existence, but has actually kept growing. Considering it, like most county fairs, consists mainly of volunteers, this is indeed, quite a feat. If you are in the area, check out the Hemlock Fair, July 21 – 25, 2015.