Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "Beach in the Woods" Story

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The "Beach in the Woods" Story

It was an ordinary day. Sittin' on my Tommy Bahama beach chair reading my Kindle on the beach in Huntington County, PA. So where is the beach in the mountains just south of State College? It's located at Whipple Dam State Park which is 12 miles south of Happy Valley. Neat little beach about the length of a football field which is part of the Pennsylvania State Park system. The beach borders the 22-acre Whipple Lake which is fed by underground springs, therefore the water is freeezzzinnggg. Made the trip to the beach with my wife and our traveling friends who live in State College, PA, Jerry and Just Sue. The park was originally purchased from the Iroquois Confederation by the Proprietary Government of Pennsylvania on July 6, 1754. Over a hundred years later Osgood M. Whipple purchased a large block of the land and constructed a dam and sawmill downstream of the current park dam. The water was used for the operation of the "up and down" sawmill. In 1897 Whipple closed the business, but the dam remained and is now known as Whipple's Dam. Between 1933 and 1941 the Civilian Conservation Corps built pavilions, roads, beach, and restrooms and eventually in 1987 the area was designated The Whipple Dam Historic District. The crowd today is primarily college students from nearby Penn State University and as I look around I believe I may be the oldest visitor. No....wait! My friend Jerry is a month older than me so he can have the title of "oldest beach bum" today. Sun is shining and there is very little breeze as we all sit, reading and relaxing. I eventually grabbed my camera and drifted away from the rest to snap a few photos of this beautiful area in the midst of thousands and thousands of towering trees. Following is a sampling of my journey around Whipple's Dam. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.