The Hatch House

This is the Hatch House at Indian Head Spring. aka Dykeman's Spring. aka The Duck Pond. This building was built in 1870 by George Dykeman to serve as a fish hatchery for trout. This didn't work out so well and it was converted into a creamery which shut down in 1951. And then it sat. And sat. And sat. And this sitting took it's toll. In 1999 the Hatch House, duck pond and the Dykeman Mansion were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. An organization called the Friends of the Hatch House began raising money and finding grants to restore this building and to date the masonry has been restored, the roof fixed, the cupola put in place and most recently the windows have gone up on the second floor. I bet the final piece of the puzzle will be the trout wind vane on the cupola. It doesn't seem like it will be long now.

I took this picture last evening. With how the building sets it is late afternoon until the sun hits the face. And tonight it was looking good. You've seen this Pond here before (This Way Guys) and here (Web Blog) and here (No Fishing)

The Brick Door

I'm not sure if this old building was a mill at one time or not, there is a dam across the road along the spring. At some point there was some remodeling done. There is currently more work going on at this old building. What are the chances that the work will destroy the character of the place? I guess if i owned it I would look at it differently.

Every Stick Could be a Snake

I got restless this morning and decided to go for a walk. While crossing a bridge to a small run I looked downstream then turned and looked upstream towards Indian Head Springs. A small snake caught my eye as he swam across the stream and slithered onto a stick. He was only about 9 or 10 inches long. I snapped a few pictures before he disappeared into the brush. I continued on the trail, but after more than 21 years of working in the field I know one thing, once I see a snake I do nothing but look for another. So much for taking pictures of birds, I was staring at the ground. Like Linus Van Pelt, every stick, every long blade of grass was a Queen Snake. This thought brought a chuckle to me until the stick I was ready to step on darted across the trail. (See first picture) I was lucky to get a picture or two of him since I was shaking from having the ba-jeepers scared out of me. This one was maybe a foot and a half long. The round eye, I guess, tells me he was non-poisonous. Of the two varieties I am aware of he was of the Alive kind.

The Bridge Rebuilt

This is not the picture I intended to post today, but photoshop is locked up right now and could use a IT professional's advice. "Let's shut it down and turn it back on." It's no wonder they make the big bucks. Let's give it a try.

About the bridge; spanning Spring Road across the Big Spring on the outskirts of Newville, PA, it was maybe ten years ago a big truck tried to make the turn onto this bridge and literally blow out this whole side. After a lot of battle to not replace it with a modern slab of concrete the bridge was finally restored to is current look. I like it. I've taken some senior pictures on the structure and probably will in the future.

The Castle Wall

This is a view from the back of Old Main (I think) on the campus of Shippensburg University. SU is one of 14 state universities. Founded as a Normal School in 1871 Old Main is one of the oldest buildings on campus. I can envision John Cleese with his fake mustache and French accent shouting down from atop the tower that my father smelled of elderberries, and then flinging a cow at me. Now that's higher education.

PS (10-5-08) If you have read the comments section you will see I was wrong. This is Horton Hall built in 1894 as a woman's dormitory it currently holds offices and some classrooms. Thanks Sparky, I knew you would correct me if I got it wrong. I know I was back behind the old buildings and didn't remember or couldn't tell which one I was behind.

Header Review 3

It's that time of year again when I review the headers I've used over the past six months. The reason is that these headers do not get saved anywhere on this blog, so I post them twice a year and tell you a bit about them.

• May 2008 - A view from the top of the world. Independence Pass, Colorado, summer 2005.
• June 2008 - This barn is on Bard Road on the outskirts of Shippensburg, PA.
• July 2008 - a bed of lilies along Big Spring on the outskirts of Newville, PA.
• August 2008 - This building has a tobacco ad on the first floor. It's on Prince Street in Lancaster, PA.
• September 2008 - The railroad tracks looking east from Pinola, PA.
• October 2008 - Taken last October on a Sunday drive through the South Mountain. I think these where on Thompson Hollow Road, on the outskirts of Cleversburg, PA.

Fulton County Mail Pouch (PG LXXVII)

This Mail Pouch barn was spotted along Route 30 in Fulton County, PA. about 3.4 miles west of Route 655. What I found out later was that the side towards the camera at the back of the barn also contained a Mail Pouch ad. The wagon shed has a message also but I just can't make it out.

I still need some more guest posters for next month . Drop me a line if you'd like to be a part of this. theoutskirts@pa.net