Lansford Fire and EMS

This is the American Fire Company #1 in Lansford, Carbon County, PA. Carbon County District 15. Across East Patterson Street is Lansford EMS. Their website is old and hasn't been updated since 2007. What I did find there was that they were chartered in 1894 and share their building with the Borough of Lansford. I would say the main building was built in 1906 but I have no idea when the additions were built. The EMS building appears to be an old store front or maybe a garage.

Nothing But Blue Skies

This was the view from the my stand at the rock as I waited in vain for elk to come by. And don't be mesmerized too much by the blue skies, it snowed nearly every day. The day before this we were stuck in the tent until after 10 am because of the poor visibility from snow and fog. It was so worth it.

Nardini Market, Coaldale

Time passes. In Coaldale time passes slow. I remember Nardini's as a kid. Best kielbasa anywhere. We ate it cold at Easter time like ring bologna. This was only a block from Gram's house. There was once a penny candy store on the corner, then Nardini's, Tommy's and then the Angela Theatre. there might have been a few other houses in there. Across the street was the supermarket. There were other penny candy places around town, I looked while I was in town last June to no avail. I think there was one up on High Street in someone's basement. When we got older we could walk the whole way to the Acme in Lansford.

Toots and Lady Lou

Just two of the fishing boats docked in Chincoteague. I think Captain Dan told us the Toots was a monk fishing boat. And Lady Lou, I don't know what she fishes for.

Baltimore's Got a Little Captain

Went to a baseball game and guess who showed up? The Captain! That's right, the O's have got a little captain in them. Top picture is the Captain with the Bird and Zach Britton, one of Baltimore's lefties.

Tern

Not every bird you see at the beach is a seagull. Even when you sit there and say look at all the seagulls some are actually terns. These guys are Forster's Terns (juveniles, I believe). I would catch them hanging out on the  bridge between Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island.

The Bell Comes Down

In case you didn't see these on one of my other sites here are the pictures of Brechbill and Helman taking the bell out of the firehouse. The bell was cast by Henry McShane in Baltimore in 1884 and was raised into the bell tower of the Council House on April 1, 1884. The Council House was torn down and replaced by the Municipal Building in 1928. The bell had a new home, o\ne it would occupy for the next 84 years. In that time the Borough offices moved out and eventually the Police Department moved out. The bell was rung by pulling ropes through a series of pulleys which directed the them down into the engine bay. The clanger only swung in a back and forth motion to ring, the bell itself remained stationary. So you would pull the one rope and ring it against the back of the bell, pull the other rope and ring it against the front. On its final ring on the morning of 9-11-11 it took the fellas a minute or two to get the rhythm down. The bell, in it's day, rang out to alert the volunteers of an emergency or to call them to meeting. Since the house siren came into use the bell only rang out it's toll during passing funerals of fellow fireman. The bell will be restored and get placed on display in the new firehouse when it is finished next spring.

Fonthill, Doylestown, PA

Welcome to Doylestown, PA in the heart of Bucks County. This is Fonthill, a mansion built by Henry Mercer on the outskirts of Doylestown between 1908 and 1910. It is built out of hand mixed concrete and contains 44 rooms, 18 fireplaces, 32 stairwells and 200 plus windows. I took this picture on the day of the big east coast earthquake. Probably less than a half hour before it hit. And this is the picture as I took it, I lightened the shadows a bit, but this looks like it was from Europe somewhere. Read more about Mr. Mercer and all he did here.

Boh Knows Baltimore

This is located inside Oriole Park along the lower concourse near left field. National Bohemian Beer is a Baltimore staple since 1885. Natty Boh was the first beer to be sold in six pack cans in the late 1940's. In 1965 it became the official beer of the Baltimore Orioles. Finally it took almost 20 years to bring it back to Birdland.

Home Sweet Yard

I spent an overcast Sunday afternoon perched high up in the stands behind home plate watching the O's play the Angels. The Birds had already taken the first two from the Halos going into this game and then it was announced that Jarrod Weaver would be taking the mound for LA. Not good. At the end of the day he had his 18th win of the season. It was a little odd there. The atmosphere was so laid back. We strolled around the park before the game then headed up the escalator to get a bite to eat and find our seats. Lunch? Well if you know me I just couldn't pass up something called an Old Bay Sausage. That's like two of my favorite food groups. It was good. I wouldn't write home about it. Well I guess I just did. I'd give it 3 out of 5 Mmmmm's.

Important Nesting Area

For just a split second I thought I was going to add to my list of things I've found on the beach. Sea Shells. Check. Seal. Check. Dead Sharks. Check. Foxes. Check. Parts of a pirate ship (Hey, it could have been). Check. Turtles. Negative. While walking the beach at sunrise we came upon this nesting area all cordoned off. We heeded the warnings and did not disturb. Two mornings later there were two biologist sitting here. They asked us to go around behind so we wouldn't leave tracks in the sand that the baby turtles couldn't negotiate. They told us that a few had hatched several days ago and they were waiting for more. For us though, it wasn't meant to be.

Tanker 52 to Water Supply

Here is a video I shot with my Flip camera. Because of the format and size I couldn't upload it directly to the blog so I figured out how to post to YouTube and here it is. There will be more in the future. I hope you all approve. Pictures from this barn fire can be found here.

Soccer Season Begins

That's right Soccer Season has begun. Which means any free time I had is now filled. We are currently in the middle of 7 games in 11 days. I got a new lens. A Canon 70-20 f4. It's nice but Tuesday evening I didn't have my monopod and my arms paid for it. The boys are starting to look pretty good, I hope they work to better themselves and not rest on past victories. Go Ship!

Harrisburg Senators at Play

This game made my fourth baseball game of the year. This time it was our home team the Harrisburg Senators, the AA affiliate of the Washington Nationals. We had missed Bryce Harper playing in Delmarva for the Hagerstown Suns because he had gotten promoted to Harrisburg. Just a day or two before this game he went on the DL. This game matched the Senators against the Eire Seawolves from the Detroit Tiger organization. Altough the Senators were in first place, they dropped this one 0-7. Notice the double play in picture number 4. And some special guests at MetroBank Park on that warm Saturday evening. Yellow and Waldo. Yep, there he is. The ballfield ended up under water after the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee passed by last week. The field sits on an Island in the middle of the Susquehanna River which rose from its normal 5 feet to just over 25 feet. The Senators were forced to play their playoff games on the road and got swept in three games by the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

2011 September 11th Memorial Event at SU

One more 9-11 post, this one is from the memorial event at Shippensburg University put on by the Student Veterans of America. Due to intermittent rain showers the ceremony was held inside Memorial Auditorium. There were speeches by several veterans and dignitaries including the two I have shown here, US Army Sergeant Joshua Lang a combat veteran who now serves in the PA Army National Guard while attending Shippensburg University and Dr. William Ruud, President of Shippensburg University. They started things off with a 21 gun salute and taps and ended with cannon fire. Again this year they filled the area in front of Ezra Lehman Library with flags.

The Barn at the High School, 9-11-2011

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I'm back to barn charm this week (barn charm 10) and I am invoking rule number 1 that reads"1) Post a photograph on your blog taken by you of a barn, any part of a barn, old or new, even if it's in the background." This flag display is in the front yard of the Shippensburg High School. I found out about it when my wife told me she saw it on the evil MyFace. The nearly 3000 flags are in the shape of a dove with the numbers 9 11. Unfortunately I was not able to get a shot from above but I did see some that were. Notice on the 4th picture the dove's head just above the 9. And on the 5th picture is the 11 just below the dove's tail. The best view would be to click on the 4th picture, you may get a sense of it better. The barn is the maintenance and storage building for the high school/middle school grounds crew. It is left over from when this was a farm prior to the middle and high schools being built in 1959 and 1972.