The "There's No Way That's Going To Float!" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Sometime back in the 1980s, when our children were...actually children.  We enjoyed yearly summer visits to the Jersey Shore for swimming, building sand castles and walking the boardwalk.  The "We" was myself, my wife Carol and our children Derek, Brynn and Paul, known to most as Tad.  We stayed at a variety of homes in towns such as Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Cape May.  Each town had different features that our children, as well as ourselves, enjoyed.  One day, during a week-long visit to Ocean City, I loaded the family in the car and headed to Cape May to climb the light house and visit Sunset Beach to hunt for Cape May Diamonds.  Had a great time, and while we were there we also had the chance to see the remains of a concrete ship known as the S.S. Atlantus protruding from the ocean off the coast of Sunset Beach.  

The remains of the U.S.S. Atlantus at Sunset Beach

The S.S. Atlantus was one of twelve concrete ships that were built by the Liberty Ship Building Co. in Brunswich, Georgia during and after World War I.  The steamer Atlantus was launched on December 5, 1918 and was the second concrete ship constructed in the World War I emergency fleet.  The ship was just about completed when the war ended, so there was no hurry to finish the ship.  Finally, on May 26 of 1919, the S.S. Atlantus completed her sea trials and sailed to Wilmington, Delaware on her maiden voyage.  The Liberty Ship Building Company was headquartered in Wilmington.  The ship was built for service between New York and the West Indies.  Being the war had recently ended, the ship was used to transport American troops back home from Europe as well as transport coal in New England.  After two years the ship was retired to a salvage yard in Virginia.  So, how can a ship made of concrete not sink?  

The U.S.S. Palo, another concrete ship

Concrete is a mixture of sand and gravel bonded together with a cement to form a solid, heavy mass similar to stone.  Certainly not the same as wood or even steel which became the standard material for large vessels by the end of the 19th century.  The reason for using concrete was that steel was in short supply during the war.  Seems a Norwegian inventor had patented using concrete to make ships in 1912 instead of steel for a ship's hull.  He reasoned that a ship of concrete will float as long as the weight of the water it displaces is more than it's own weight.  It is just a matter of density.  Density of an object is the mass of an object divided by the volume.  In order for a ship to float, the ship must be less dense than the same amount of water.  

Post card showing the Atlantus sinking

When concrete is made in the shape of a ship, with much of the interior empty air, the ship's total volume includes the air.  Air is less dense than water.  And, since the total ship is a combination of air and concrete, the density for the entire ship becomes less that the water, allowing it to float.  Follow that?  Doesn't matter, since I don't think they make ships out of concrete today.  But, back in 1917 and 1918 the British made barges, tugs and fishing boats using concrete.  So, we Americans had to go one better and decided to make a fleet of ocean-going concrete freighters costing 50 million dollars.  

As it appeared a few years ago.

The more they used the freighters, the more they realized they were harder to manipulate as well as construct.  The one big advantage was they needed quite a bit less steel.  So, after the war, when steel was available once again, the concrete ships became obsolete.  One of the 12 was turned into a casino while another became a restaurant.  The most famous, the Atlantus, was brought back to Cape May to be used as part of a dock of a proposed ferry line from Cape May, New Jersey to Cape Henlopen, Delaware.  But the ship broke loose and was grounded off of Sunset Beach, Cape May.  It got stuck in the sand and became too expensive to move, so....yep, it's still there.  And, everytime Carol and I travel to Cape May, we drive out to Sunset Beach to see how much lower it has sunk.  That, plus we like to hunt for Cape May Diamonds.  Even got my brother, Steve, interested so much in the diamonds that he bought a tumbler to help make them clear.  He hasn't become rich...yet!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Honoring Those Who Have Died Of COVID-19" Story.

It was an ordinary day.  Driving north on Route 272 on my way to the appliance store.  The road is also known as Oregon Pike and within 5 minutes I passed a Lancaster County farm known as Oregon Dairy which also  includes a large grocery store.  30 seconds later I noticed to my right, in a grassy field, a multitude of small American flags covering the field from one end to the other, flying freely in the afternoon breeze.  Also, a very large sign that read, "215,000+ We Honor".  Then I remembered reading about it a few days ago in the local newspaper.  Story told about the striking display of flags and banner that were placed on the site by about two dozen friends and family members of Marolyn Davenport, who owns the parcel of ground with her sister Mary Blakinger.  Marolyn had said, "We wanted to honor the hundreds of thousands of people who have died of COVID and wanted to commemorate this to their families, and especially those who have died alone.  

It's a national tragedy."  The group of friends, including some children, "planted" 2,155 flags which represents one for nearly every 100 people who have died of COVID in the United States.  At the time of the story in the newspaper, there were 438 deaths from the virus in Lancaster County and more that 220,000 deaths in the United States as well as 1.12 million deaths in the world.  I pulled over to take a few photographs and was amazed at the amount of cars that noticed the display and honked their horns to recognize the display and send their own messages.  Since that day I have driven past the display a few more times and was amazed by it each time.  More flags will not be added, but Marolyn said, "I think everyone realizes that the deaths are continuing.

 A second story also was posted in the Lancaster Newspaper that day that was delivered by Pennsylvania's Governor Tom Wolfe.  He ordered all commonwealth flags on all commonwealth facilities, public buildings and grounds to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the 2020 Novel Coronavirus pandemic.  He also said, "Too many Pennsylvanians have lost their lives to COVID-19, and unfortunately, many more will die.  Already we have lost friends, parents, grandparents and siblings.  We have lost first responders.  We have lost community members.  Each deserves to be honored individually for their contributions to our commonwealth, but this cruel disease will not give us a respite to mourn.  This virus prevents us from honoring the dead at traditional gatherings.  We cannot have funerals, wakes, or sit shiva.  I hope this flag lowering provides some solace to the grieving families and friends.  And, I hope it serves as a reminder of the reason for the sacrifices Pennsylvanians are making to help their community survive this crisis."

Both these stories and display of flags hopefully will let those who have lost loved ones or suffered with the virus know that we are all thinking of them.  We can only hope that the virus will meet it's end soon!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "A Cousin Named Emory C. Malick" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Day back in 2004 when a woman by the name of Mary Groce sat down with her cousin to sort through old family photographs.  Something we all do from time to time, but not with the same results that Mary experienced that day 16 yers ago.  

Mr. Emory C. Malick

She and her cousin made the most unusual discovery.  Seems that Mary's great-uncle was famous and she didn't know about it.  She also discovered that her great-uncle was black and she is white.  Her great-uncle's name was Emory C. Malick and he was the first African American licensed pilot in history.  Wow, what a discovery.  And...what a pleasant discovery for Mary.  Or...was it?   

His original license.

I found out about Mr. Malick while reading an article in my Lancaster Newspaper written by Mary Ellen Wright.  She told the basics of the story and I began to search for more information to share with you.  Emory studied at the San Diego aviation school of Glenn Curtiss who was one of the founders of the United States aviation industry.  In 1912 he received his pilot's certification.  But, what made his story more interesting to me was the fact that he spent a short period of his life in Lancaster, Pennsylvania around 1910 when he was 28 years old.  At that time he was the house carpenter at the Webber Hotel on East King Street in downtown Lancaster and does appear in the 1910 U.S. Census list as a boarder at the hotel.  Emory also helped build the Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg as well as work on the woodworking of the dining and sleeper cars for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  The article in the Lancaster Newspaper said that Mr. Malick and Harrisburg pilot James McCalley did exhibition flights over Lancaster's Rocky Springs Park in 1912, but I searched the Lancaster newspaper archives and could not find Mr. Malick as part of that exhibition.   When Mary began her study about her relative, she found official records saying that the members of her family were all white, but some of her siblings did have darker skin that others.  It led to her belief that Malick's family was of mixed race, but were light-skinned enough to pass as white.  Seems that no one in her family wanted to talk about their relatives.  It was only after research and consultations with a genealogist in State College, PA that she sent information about her great-uncle to the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum.  All this exposure for her relative led to quite a bit of controversy.  Mary is now in the midst of a fellowship with the Air & Space Museum which will be completed in the near future after everything gets back to normal.  Mary did find information telling of her relative's interest in flying from the time he was a teenager working on a farm along the Susquehanna Fiver.  He would build his own gliders that would take him across the Susquehanna.  In his 20s he began to build biplanes.  After moving to Philadelphia, Emory worked for an aviation company known as Flying Dutchman Air Service which offered flight instruction and aerial photography.  Emory's flying career ended in 1928 when he was involved in a series of plane crashes.  The final crash injured Emory, but killed one of his passengers.  He died in Philadelphia in 1958 when he slipped on a sidewalk.  It wasn't until a month later that his sister, Mary's grandmother, claimed his body. 

 As far as the records go, Emory Conrad Malick earned his International Pilot's License #105 on March 20, 1912 while attending the Curtiss School of Aviation on North Island, San Diego, California.  He is listed as the first African American pilot to earn his Federal Airline Transport License #1716 in 1927.  On July 24, 1911 he made his first recorded flight in an engine-powered "airplane" which took place in Seven Points, Pennsylvania.  

On September 5 and 7, 1912 he flew his biplane for a Labor Day celebration near Shamokin, Pennsylvania.  In the summer of 1914 he obtained, assembled.  and improved upon...his own Curtiss "pusher" biplane, when he flew over Selingsgrove, Pennsylvania to the "wonderment of all," thus becoming the first pilot to soar through the skies if Snyder Co. in addition to Northumberland County.  In the Philadelphia area he transported passengers for his Flying Dutchman Air Service and worked in aerial photography with the Aero Service Corporation and Dallin Aerial Surveys.  He was also an airplane mechanic as well as a carpenter and master tile-layer.  An interesting fellow so he was, no matter what color his skin might have been.  I only wish I had been able to do what Emory did in his lifetime.  it was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Using Dental Floss To Save The World" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Reading an online story about honey bees when up popped a story titled "1st 'murder hornet's nest found in US."  Scientists have discovered the first nest of what have been called murder hornets in the state of Washington.  

The Asian Murder Hornet

These hornets are 2 inches long and can decimate entire hives of honeybees and deliver painful stings to people.  Farmers in the northwestern part of the United States rely on honeybees to pollinate various crops including raspberries and blueberries.  The nest was found when a worker for the Washington Agriculture Department caught two of the large hornets in a trap.   Two  more living hornets were captured a day later in another trap.  Entomologists, using dental floss, were able to attach radio trackers to the hornets and this led them to the hornet's nest.  The nest was inside the cavity of a hollow tree on private property.  The property owner gave the Agriculture Department permission to eradicate the nest and remove the tree.  Team members donning protective suits stuffed dense foam padding into a crevice above and below the nest entrance and wrapped the tree with cellophane leaving just a single opening.  They inserted a vacuum hose to remove the hornets.  

Getting ready to vacuum the hornets

85 Asian giant hornets were vacuumed into a special container from the nest and another 13 were captured in a net.  Entomologists will now try to determine if  the nest had begun to produce new queens.  More traps will be set through November in hopes of catching any more of the Asian giant hornets.   The first confirmed detection of the hornet in the U.S. was back in December of 2019.  Since that time about two dozen of the hornets had been trapped, but the discovery of the latest nest was a big help in the fight to eradicate the hornet.  The insect is usually found in China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries.  They recently arrived in North America, being found in Canadian British Columbia  and then the state of Washington.  The trapping and eradication of the nest in Washington State was a big deal, but they are still looking for more.  They are trying to protect devastating attacks on honeybees, which are already under siege from problems like mites, diseases, pesticides and loss of food.  Here's hoping we can stop the spred of the Asian giant hornets before they get a foothold in the United States.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Look Back In Time At Retail In The City Of Lancaster, Pennsylvania" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching for a photo for another story I was writing when I came upon a photograph of a building in Lancaster, Pennsylvania known as Leinbach & Company which was located in downtown Lancaster at 35-47 N. Queen Street.  As I read a bit more, I found that Leinbach & Company was one of seven Lancaster stores from yesteryear that was an independent retailer that served customers over the past century and a half.  I searched some more and found photographs of all seven so I thought I would feature all seven in today's story to show you the magnitude of the businesses that served the town of Lancaster in the past.  

1. Leinbach & Company was a large retail establishment known as the "daylight department store," since it had skylights and an open courtyard.  It was founded in 1893 by W. Scott Leinbach.  in 1898 they had a big sale when 75 dozen H&S corsets were reduced from 89 cents to 59 cents.  Can't imagine how many women, and perhaps a few men, must have mobbed the store that day.  Then in 1938 they reduced the price of "Miss Hollywood" pajamas to 98 cents and also had 30 styles of white shoes "to set the town talking" which were on sale for $1.99 a pair.  Then one day in 1919 the employees of the store honored Mr. Leinbach and his wife at closing time with a loving cup and flowers on the business' anniversary.

2. Sayres, Scheid & Sweeton, 28-30 E. King Street was known by many as the 3-S Store.  It seemed to be one of the "Go-To" stores for good quality men's clothing.  Mister's E.P Sayres, William F. Scheid and J. Frank Sweeton worked together for years at the nearby Williamson and Foster Store which opened in 1907.  Mr. Scheid, the last surviving member of the group died in 1972 at the age of 96.  According to the Lancaster Newspaper's archives, suits and overcoats cost $25-$28 in 1908.  A $50,000 fire in 1909 destroyed a lot of the merchandise.  A popular brand of suit, Kuppenheimer, cost $40-$60 in 1930 and was billed as an investment in good appearance.

3. A. Leaman Futer, 140-42 north Christian Street and East Chestnut Street was a bicycle shop begun by A. Leman Futer the day after his 20th birthday in 1896.  In the 1890's, Futer developed a new style of bike with coaster brakes.  He called it the Futer Flyer.  He and his brother Frank made and sold the bikes for $25 in 1900.  His factory was located. at 140-42 Christian Street.  They later moved the shop to the first block of East Chestnut Street.

 4. John H. Troup Music House, 38-40 W. King Street sold records, phonographs, pianos and other musical instruments as well as offering music lessons.  The business originally opened in the town of Harrisburg, PA.  The Music House was run by the family of Bobby Troup who was a songwriter who was featured in "Route 66."  Bobby left Lancaster to seek his fortune in show business in California and appeared in the 1970s TV show "Emergency."  He went to school with my dad in the late 1910s to early 1920s.  The music house operated from the early 1920s until the 1950s.  In December of 1924 the store carried Brunswick Christmas records for 75 cents apiece and in 1928 you could buy an Ampicl Symphonique baby grand piano for $1,300.  What a deal!

5. The Fahnestock's Store on West King Street stood in the first block of West King Street before it was known as Garvin's Department Store.  In 1851 the store was run by Return E. Fahnestck.  There wan't a better known dry-good's store in downtown Lancaster than Fahnestock's.  Mr. Fahnestock had just about anything you might want in the dry goods line.  His obituary was in the October 2, 1895 copy of the Semi-Weekly New Era and said he was a "fair, honorable and upright guy in his business dealings and his character was without blemish.  His whole life was devoted to business. Mr. Fahnestock was forced to retire in 1883 due to "loss of eyesight."  He sold his store to Milton Thomas Garvin, his former store manager, who continued the business as M.T. Garvin & Co.

6. Winky Dink Toy Store at 16 West King Street was the place to go for holiday gifts in November of 1963 when they first opened.  An ad in the local newspaper told of buying games such as Password, The Barbie Game and Candy Land.  They were all between $1 and $3.  You could also get an Erector Set for $3, Barbie clothes for 66 cents, a football for $2, an Etch-a-Sketch for $4 or the Kenner Give-s-Show Projector for $5.  If you wanted to buy items for schools, churches or workplaces you could see Bill Winkelman.  Ah...now we know where the store got it's name!  I do remember buying many toys for my three children at the store over the years.  Store is on the right side of photo below.

  7. State of Confusion was located at 49 W. King Street in downtown Lancaster.  In 1984 the Cotton sisters, Suzanne and Laura opened the store at the site of the former Manhattan Peanut Stand.  The store catered to fans of punk, New Wave and heavy metal bands.  They sold buttons, wristbands, posters, T-shirts and other related clothing and incidentals.  Suzanne went on to become a fashion designer and later an associate professor and chair of fashion design at Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio.  And... she was a student in my Graphic Arts/Photography classes at Manheim Township High School.  Great girl who liked to dress...well...different!

Suzanne and Laura Cotton

So, there you have a few of the many stores that filled the streets of downtown Lancaster for years and years.  There are probably a hundred or so more, but that will have to wait for another day.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Talent Unlimited!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My wife, Carol, and I am visiting with our daughter Brynn, her husband Dave and grand-daughters Courtney and Camille who live in Mt. Airy, Maryland.  It's been a few months since we have made the journey from our home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit, but we have visited with them when they have made trips to our home in Lancaster.  It seems like an eternity since we have traveled farther than the local grocery store or spent time watching our grandson playing baseball, so we called and said we were going to visit for the day.  Trip is an easy two-hour drive, but much longer than trips around the town of Lancaster or nearby suburbs.  We picked up our 15-yearold grandson at 9:00 AM and off we headed.  We enjoy driving west on historic Route 30 until we reach Rt. 15 which we take south into Maryland.  Not lomg after exiting Rt. 15 we arrived at their home in Maryland with our grandson Caden.  Brynn and her family recently moved into a different home, more in the countryside than than their previous home in a housing community.  They have two dogs and a variety of wild animals that roam the countryside outside their back door.  It is only the second time Carol and I have visited her new home in Mt. Airy, and I spent time going from room to room, admiring the work that she has done in her home.  Brynn is blessed with skills that many others do not have.  

The anchor on our front door.

She enjoys creating signs and hangings made from wood or something similar.  A few years ago she gave us an anchor for our front door on which she had painted the Maryland flag.  She creates items such as this and sells them from her home.  We get quite a few comments about it, especially since we live in Pennsylvania.  On our trip today I was amazed at all the artwork that she has hanging on the walls of her new home.  Some are small while others cover quite a bit of wall space.  Follow along with me as I show you some of the wall-art that she has created.  As you will see, she is talented enough that she could sell some of her work.  All the signs shown here are on the first level.  There are others on the lower level of her home, but I think you can get the idea of her talent with what I have shown you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Her entranceway shows her skills.

As soon as you enter you see this hanging in her family room.  The numbers
shown here are the coordinates where her home is located in the United States..
The sign is approximately 4 feet wide and 2 feet high.

These individual signs hangs in the study and tells the story of her marriage.
Dave is from Rockville, Brynn is from Lancaster, they both graduated from and met at Millersville University and at the time she made the bottom sign, they were living in Urbana, MD.  She will have to make a new one with Mt. Airy on it.

Just a small art box, but still attracts you attention.

I'm not sure if she did this sign with rub-on letters or if
she hand lettered all of them.

Inside one of her cabinets is this rectangular bucket with the names
of those who live in the home.  The top name of Mencarini is painted on.

Hand calligraphy used to make this small sign.

All she needs is a few pieces of wood and her paint to create a piece of art.

A small tripod holds this block of painted wood with rope around the top.

This hangs above the bed in their guest room.

How simple, but with a true meaning.

Each letter is about 12" high.

Above the bed in Dave and Brynn's bedroom.

A few hand-painted signs make one large statement.

The "The Manor" Story

 Preface:  Today's story is published using the font known as "Georgia."  I am still struggling with the new formatt that Blogger is using.  Many who use the blog site have written comments about what they don't like about the new formatt.  I still have some problems, but I am getting better...or so I hope I am.  I used "Trebucket" type font since I began writing this blog in 2009, but the "Trebucket" font no longer looks the same with this new formatt.  How that can be I don't know, but it is.  So I switched to a font known as "Verdana."  Not sure I like that, so I have switched one more time to "Georgia."  I like a font style with serifs, since I find it easier to read.  Hope you are not having problems with access to the stories.  Now all I have to do is figure how to add a label to the story every day.  Still at a loss as to how to do that.

 It was an ordinary day.  Driving past Armstrong Manor on my way to work at Grebinger Gallery in nearby Neffsville, Pennsylvania.  

Map showing location of The Manor

I have driven past the mansion thousands of times in the past.  First it was as a student at Manheim Township Jr. High School and then Senior High School.  My school bus would pass the place twice a day on trips from my home in the last block of North Queen Street to the Jr.-Sr. High School in Neffsville.  I eventually took a teaching job at Manheim Township High School and once again drove past the mansion for just about 35 more years.  Not once did I drive in the lane to the mansion known to me for just about my entire life as Armstrong Manor.  After I retired from teaching at MTHS I continued to drive past the mansion on my trips to Grebinger Gallery as well as trips to the High School where I did the in-house printing as well as the school yearbooks for the Middle School and the Intermediate School.  Well, a few days ago I worked my way back the drive toward what today is known as "The Manor" and is owned by Rodgers & Associates, a financial planning firm.  

What was known as Armstrong Manor at one time.

The property is beautiful with mature trees and shrubs as well as a beautifully manicured lawn.  From the Lititz Pine (Rt. 501) you can see a row of what appear to be motel rooms.  I found out recently that they were placed there in 1966 by the Armstrong Cork Company to provide lodging for visiting employees and customers of Armstrong Cork Company.  I did some searching online as well as using the Archives of Lancaster Newspaper to try and find information about the place that I have finally taken photographs of a few days ago.  All my life, the area around Armstrong Manor has always been known to me as Bloomingdale.  Carol and my traveling friend, Sue, lived in Bloomingdale when she moved to the area in 1959.  

A closer look at The Manor.

I never realized that the area was a farming area until I read a few stories about it.  It seems that the neighborhood known as Bloomingdale grew up around Armstrong Manor.  Originally Armstrong Manor was a farmhouse built in 1866 on a farm known as Bloomingdale.  The property operated as a farm until 1920 when Armstrong Cork Company purchased the Manor to host sales trainees during their 6-month training program at the company's two local manufacturing plants.  The Manor would also provide space for visiting employees and customers to meet.  At one time the grounds even had volleyball courts, horseshoe pits and croquet courses.  "The Manor" as it became known, was meant to have corporate leaders enhancing teamwork, brainstorming, getting to know each other and forming camaraderie.  

The Manor from the rear showing the individual rooms.

It was a unique location...it was comfortable, a beautiful location for relaxation, a great place to meet other people who worked for Armstrong and it had outstanding food!  Eventually a golf course known as "Overlook" was built across SR501 from Armstrong Manor.  The original mansion, or farmhouse, was built by David Locher who was a prosperous local businessman.  He operated a few tanneries on South Prince Street before taking up farming as a trade.  Mr. Locher's farm, Bloomingdale, was a 120 acre farm which had a large herd of blooded Jersey cattle which was the admiration of farming communities for miles around.  He also had a fine stable of four-in-hand Hambletonian breed horses.  In 1848 he married Clememtina Matilda Evans, the daughter of Lancaster merchant Robert Evans.  One of their three sons, Grove Locher, eventually purchased  the Bloomingdale Farm for $21,000 on April 9, 1906.  The farm was devoted to general agriculture operations.  

The sign along Route 501 (Lititz Pike)

Then, on May 29, 1920, Armstrong Cork Company purchased the mansion from Mr. Locher for $26,930.  Sadly,  on April 9, 1933, Grove Locher took his own life with a .22 caliber revolver due to money woes.  Mr. Charles Armstrong felt that a suitable location was needed for proper housing for young men entering the Armstrong sales force.  Most men were hired right out of college and not accustomed to living on their own.  He found what he was looking for in Bloomingdale.  In 1966 Armstrong Manor was enlarged with two-story hotel-style rooms as well as a reception/lounge area.  The remainder of the mansion was remolded and a commercial kitchen was installed.  In November of 2010, Armstrong announced its plan to close Armstrong Manor by the end of the year.  Rodgers & Associates purchased the property in December of 2011.  Today Armstrong Manor is simply "The Manor" and is still as elegant as it was when I first went by the place when I entered Jr. High in 1955.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Lanternfly Vs. Diabolical Ironclad Beetle" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting in the car, waiting for my wife and Snickerdoodle (our large cat) to finish with his visit at the vet's office.  Only one "parent" is allowed to be with the family pet during examinations and treatment.  Seems Snickerdoodle is having a urinary problem and needed a trip to the vet.  He wasn't happy about being stuffed in our pet carrier, but he had no choice.  I helped carry him into the office and went back to the car to wait.  While listening to the radio with the windows down on a beautiful fall afternoon, I noticed movement on the side of the vet's office.  

The spotted lanternfly

There were close to over a hundred spotted lanternflies walking back and forth where the lower stone met the siding on the side of the building.  Seems they had two lanes of traffic, one to go in each direction.  One lane was traveling along the outside of the stone base while another lane was on the bottom edge of the vinyl siding.  It was amazing watching these insects which are about an inch in length with grayish-brown fore wings with black spots and red hind wings with black spots and a white band on the edge of the wing with a black tip.  

Beautiful Lanternfly caught in a spider's web

Beautiful insect, but has spread invasively in the past few years throughout eastern Pennsylvania, Southwestern New Jersey, eastern Maryland, northern Virginia and northern Delaware Valley.  Many trees in Lancaster County sport adhesive bands around them in an attempt to stop the insects from using the tree as a home for its eggs.  It was great entertainment since I knew I would be waiting at least an hour for Carol and Snickerdoodle to arrive back at the car.  As I watched the spotted lantern fly, I remembered yet another rather unusual insect called the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle that I had been reading about in the past week or so.  What a name for a bug!  This insect is a native to California and has the feature of being able to withstand nearly 40,000 times its body weight.  That means it can be run over by a car and be able to walk off the road afterward.  Unbelievable!!  The insects is built like a tank.  It can't fly like many insects, but stays put and lets its specially designed armor take the abuse until the predator gives up and walks or flies away.  Researchers say that the insect's elytra, the body part that opens and closes on the wings of aerial beetles, have fused together to act as a solid shield for the insect, which can't fly.  It is just about crush-resistant.  The insect's shell adapts to situations such as stretching rather than shattering.  It's also extremely good at playing dead, if needed.  

The Diabolical Ironclad Beetle

The Ironclad is a terrestrial insect, or beetle, so its not lightweight and fast, but built more like a tank.  It can't fly away, so it just stays put and lets it's armored shell take the abuse until the predator gives up.  Researchers found that the shell can withstand a force the same as a 200-pound man enduring the weight of 7.8 million pounds.  You know anyone that can do that?  The elytra is made of chitin, a fibrous material and a protein matrix.  It's exoskeleton contains about 10% more protein by weight than that of a lighter, flying beetle.  Scientists believe that by understanding just what makes the iron beetle so tough will have practical applications for humans such as better designs for aircraft and automobiles.  At present there is research being carried on by the Air Force which may prove to be beneficial for the development of ultra-durable aircraft.  Now that's something than the spotted lantern fly isn't going to do.  I must admit that I enjoy watching my daughter-in-law catch lantern flies when muy wife and I head to our grandson's baseball games.  She uses a small water bottle and when she sees a lanternfly on a light pole, will place the bottle's open top in front of the fly and it will automatically jump into the bottle. By the end of a night-time ballgame, she will have a water bottle filled with the insects.  She's certainly doing her part to protect the eco-system from the predator lanternfly.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Mail Will Get Through!" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  245 years ago, on July 26 of 1775, the United States postal system was established by the Second Continental Congress.  On that day they announced that Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General.  It was Ben who put in place the foundation for many aspects of today's mail system. In 1753, at the time when he was the postmaster of Philadelphia, Ben Franklin became one of two postmasters generals for the colonies.  

Benjamin Franklin

He made numerous improvements to the mail system such as setting up new, more efficient colonial routes and cutting delivery time in half between Philadelphia and New York by having the weekly mail wagon travel both day and night via relay teams.  He also began the first rate chart with standard delivery costs based on distance and weight.  But, in 1774 the British fired Franklin from his postmaster's job because of his revolutionary activities.  Didn't matter since the following year, as I have written earlier, he was named the first Postmaster General of the United States.  He only held the position for a year when he was sent to France as a diplomat.   The Postal System in North America actually began in the late 1600s when mail was carried by friends, merchants and Native Americans to homes and businesses near where they lived.  Most American colonists didn't have a need to send mail.  At the time most correspondence was with letter writers in Britain when mail would arrive from across the Atlantic Ocean and find its way to the recipients months later.   At the time there were no post offices so mail was left at inns and taverns until picked up by it addressees.  In 1673 Governor Francis Lovelace created a monthly postal service between New York and Boston, Mass.  Ten years later William Penn open Pennsylvania's first post office.  Then on July 1, 1863, free mail delivery was authorized in cities where income from local postage as more than sufficient to pay all expenses of the service.  Within a year from it's beginning, free delivery of mail by salaried letter carriers was offered in 65 cities nationwide.  Then in 1902, delivery of special delivery items was made mandatory from offices that were open on Sundays.  1913 saw the start of first and second-class for Post Offices that had to provide for Sunday delivery of special delivery mail.  Today, there are over 40,000 post offices in the United States which deliver 212 billion pieces of mail each year to over 144 million homes and businesses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the American Virgin Islands and America Samoa.  The postal service is the nation's largest civilian employer with half-a-million career workers.  The postal service is a not-for-profit, self-supporting agency that covers its expenses through postage stamps and related products.  Everything from mules to planes are used to deliver the mail today.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - The following photos show mail delivery throughout history.

1910

1914

1940

1961

1961

1964