The "More Than Just HO, HO, HO" Story

Hand-made row houses which is where my friend Jerry lived when
he was a child.  You can see him playing in front of his house while
his bike sits along the curb in front of the Yellow Cab.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of my childhood friend Jerry's home on Manheim Ave.  Place seems so much smaller than it did when I was a child.  Probably because it is 1:87 scale!  Yep, it really is that small, since I am standing in Jerry's basement looking at his HO train yard and his old home is part of the layout.  I wrote a story recently detailing Jerry's new addition to his train collection, a pair of diesel-electric engines, but his train yard is more, much more, than the trains that run on the nickel silver tracks.  

A Pennsylvania Railroad electric engine pulls out of
Lancaster Train Station on this HO train yard.

First, I should clear up what HO really means.  When I was a child my dad bought me a Lionel Train set for a Christmas gift when I was 10 years old.  Back in the 1950s "O" gauge miniature railroads, which was what the Lionel set was, were the rage, but in the 1960's HO began to challenge the market dominance of "O" gauge.  The HO designation came about since it's scale is about half that of "O" scale.  

Some of Jerry's many trays of supplies he uses on his train yard.

HO scale layouts are more suited for smaller spaces and tend to cost much less than the "O" scale layouts.  HO trains run on two-rail track which is powered by direct-current.  The locomotives, rolling stock (cars and carriages), buildings and scenery are made by quite a few manufactures in a variety of price brackets.  That being said, Jerry likes to make all his buildings as well as much of his scenery.  He has a few kit buildings which he bought, but most of his structures are hand-crafted such as the entire row of homes where he grew up in Lancaster, PA.  

The scene behind the trains is one of the few things on
Jerry's train yard that he didn't make himself. 

He buys materials to make these structures from hobby shops and catalogues.  He also uses items found in nature to help make his scenery for his train yard.  His entire catenary system (wires above the train tracks that are needed for  real electric engines) is hand-made and actually can be used to run his electric locomotives.  He currently is working on a few more buildings that surrounded his neighborhood near Manheim Ave. which was a block from my childhood home as well as a block from the Lancaster Train Station.  Could be where he began his lifelong love affair with trains.  I have included photos of some of my favorite parts of his train yard so you can see how detailed and realistic an HO scale train yard can be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - click on photos to enlarge.

A car dealership under construction. 

Here a train passes by a church and under a covered bridge, all hand-made.

A woman hangs up wash while her children play nearby.

The old swimming hole.

Hand-made garage with a 1:87 scale red truck similar to Jerry's own real-life truck standing in front of the garage door.

Workers work on a new roof while another worker creates shingles under the porch.

Jerry's Circus has the elephants raising the Bigtop.

More elephants take a break in the shade.

A casting facility that was close to our homes.  It was leveled years ago, but brought back to life in Jerry's train yard. 

People wait for the train at Lancaster Train Station's platform #2.

The "Warming Up The Winter" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sorting through a closet full of prints that Carol and I have purchased throughout our married life, looking for a dozen or so prints that I can take to my church parish hall to hang in the main hallway to give anyone passing through it a glimpse of Caribbean warmth in this born-chilling winter weather we have been experienced this year.  Denny, the church rep responsible for filling the hall with artwork every month got the idea and called me to ask if I could help him fill the hall this month.  Well, I found quite a few that had made their way into the closet as others have taken their place on the walls of our "Beach House".  

Acryllic painted by Lisa on St. Martin

Found one that we had asked an artist to paint for us a half dozen years ago.  She did an OK job and we had it hanging in our bedroom for a few years, but when my wife was retired this past fall, it was relegated to the closet so that one of my photos Carol had hanging in her office could take it's place.  

Guavaberry painting in acrylics.

Another acrylic painting we purchased from an island native in Tortola was recently retired to the closet so we could place a newly purchased print in our bathroom.  Then there's the really large acrylic painting done on a heavy fabric which we purchased at the Marigot open-air market in St. Martin which I removed from the wooden frame so I could roll it up to put in my suitcase.  That acrylic featured a beach with palm trees and a small shack.  Another canvas print that hangs in my office, but will fill the parish house hall,  is filled with guavaberry trees.  I even decided to show a few of the photos that I have taken and framed.  I'm convinced that the artwork will give the hall a feeling of the Caribbean and hopefully create a link between the freezing weather and the upcoming spring season.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "When Cars Were … CARS" Story

From my Reminisce Magazine.

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my latest edition of Reminisce Magazine.  My wife got me a subscription last year for Christmas, since I often talked about reading the magazine at the dermatologist's office and the hearing aid office.  At times I would even tear a page out of the magazine and bring it home from to share with her.  Neat stories geared toward people who probably have or should have their AARP membership by now.  On page 46 of one of the most recent Reminisce, titled "Bring It All Back", was a story about a car that may seem hard to identify to some, but for those motor heads who knew what every single car looked like during every single year it was made, it's a piece of cake.  Showed a photo of the lemon-lime green car with clues as to what make and model the car might be.  As I looked at the photo it reminded me of a good friend named Bob.  

Studebaker Company's first store in South Bend, IN.

After retiring from teaching I wanted to stay involved somehow with the school district where I taught, but was turned down by the high school principal when I asked if I could continue to do the yearbook.  The next day, Bob, who was the Middle School principal, called and asked if I was interested in doing the MS yearbook.  "You bet!" was my response.  Even left me name my own price for the work.  Well, that was 16 years ago and I am still working on both the Middle School and the new Landis Run Intermediate School yearbooks.  Bob retired about a dozen years ago, but I still think of him often when I start another year of yearbooks.  

Thomas Edison sitting in his electric Studebaker.

He and I would spend hours in his office at school talking about his Studebaker.  He just loved the car.  At one time he had more than one in his garage.  Ever hear of the Studebaker?  It was on February 16, 1852 that Henry and Clement Studebaker opened the H&C Studebaker blacksmith shop in South Bend, Indiana.  Eventually the company became the world's largest manufacturer of wagons and buggies.  In 1902 they introduced an electric car believe it or not.  Thomas Edison purchased the second one they made.  

Studebaker plant in Detroit.

Wasn't until two years later that gas powered models were made.  Eventually the Studebaker gas powered cars were made in Detroit while the horse drawn vehicles were made in South Bend.  In 1911 the company changed their name to Studebaker Corporation.  In 1936 Raymond Loewy Associates joined forces with the company and became the designer.  

Raymond Loewy, Studebaker designer.

His 1939 Studebaker Champion, 1947 Starlight Coupe, 1950 "Bullet Nose", 1953 Starliner Hardtop and the 1963 Avanti were some of the iconic designs he had.  The "Bullet Nose" added a V8 engine in 1951.  Stude- baker's designs were way ahead of the times and eventually led to their poor sales and having to merge with Packard Motor Car Company in 1954.  

The Studebaker "Bullet Nose"

Eventually Packard stopped production in 1958.  Well, I knew right away what type of car was pictured in the Reminisce story.  Even knew the answers to all the other questions.  Then I remembered that I had seen a few vintage Studebakers in a nearby auto store and made a visit to take a few photos.  Spent some time talking with the restorers at Horsepower Unlimited while taking my photos.  Memories from the days when I bought my first couple of cars came flooding back as we talked about restoring the cars from the past.  Loved my motor head days and reliving them through magazine articles, visits to car shows and restorers never get old.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.


The following five photos are of a 1957 Studebaker Silver Hawk with Twin Traction. Click on photos to enlarge.

The following three photos show a 1956 Studebaker President.

The last four photos show a 1955 President Speedster.

   

The "Two Longs, Two Shorts, Two Longs" Story

The lead diesel-electric engine exits the engine house on Jerry's layout.
Click on photos to enlarge them.

It was an ordinary day.  Pushing the button on the controller as the train approached the crossing; two longs on the horn followed by two shorts, followed by two longs.  I'm running Jerry's two new engines that he had just unpacked; #7608 and #7609.  

The detail, including the engineer, is amazing in HO scale.

These HO scale engines are so realistic that if you closed your eyes and listened to the horn or bell you'd swear you were sitting in your car at a train crossing listening to a real train approaching.  Jerry's engines are a matching pair of diesel-electric engines that simulate the 1957 to 1958 General Motors Electro Motive Division engines that were manufactured for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  

The controller is used for throttle, lights and sound.

The detail on the miniature engines is amazing with lights, railings and even bolts that you would swear are real.  There is even an engineer sitting inside the lighted cab running the engine.  Each engine has six axles with two wheels each in order to yield greater pulling power with more surface touching the rails.  

The twin engines pull the train past
the reconstructed Lancaster Train Station.

With two engines, one facing backwards, pulling the load it can pull a greater amount of cars than one engine is capable of pulling.  The engines have motors powered with diesel fuel that turn a generator that makes electricity that powers the wheels; that is in real life.  On these miniature engines the power is supplied by direct current operated by a hand-held controller.  The controller acts as a throttle to run the engines as well as a device to add lighting and sound to the engine.  I pushed and held the #2 on the controller to activate the horn while the #1 activated a bell sound that would be used when heading into the station.  A few other things the controller could do were: #3 - coupler clanger, #4 - simulate an air compressor, #5 - revving up the engine, #6 - revving the engine down, #7 - illuminate auxiliary lights, #8 - mute all sounds, #9 - diesel engine start-up.  

#7609 leads the train along the rails on Jerry's HO layout.

When Jerry unpacked his new engines he had to program them before operating them and had to set the one engine to run in reverse since the two engineers face in different directions when they run tandem.  The sound, as I said before, is authentic train noises.  Jerry has a friend who owns a business where he records real locomotive sounds and digitizes the sounds then sells the digital sounds to model train manufacturers.  

This engine is an electric engine. The rear pantograph is
raised to get power from the overhead catenary wires.
Jerry has a catenary system throughout his entire layout
so that he can, if he wishes, run his electric engines using
overhead power.

And, each type of engine has different sounds.  The older steam engines have an entirely different set of sounds than the new engines Jerry just got.  The Electric engines have a different sound than the diesel-electric.  So to have a real authentic train layout you need to have a few of each type of engines on your layout and Jerry has some of all types.  Fun to hear the differences in the engine noise as it would be if you were sitting on a bench in a train station watching the real engines pass through.  Well, I have to get back to work and back the dual engines onto a siding and pick up a dozen or more car carriers so I can take them around the small town at the other end of Jerry's layout.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "The Haut Monde Visit Duffy's Tavern" Story

Duffy's Tavern in Boalsburg, PA

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished ordering a cup of crab bisque, a Duffy- burger, potato salad and a lemonade.  Sitting in an interior room of a building that was built in 1819 in historic Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.  The village was settled in 1806 by Scotch Irish at the foot of Tussey Mountain.  Carol and I are visiting with our friends Jerry and Just Sue who live in nearby State College and  decided to take us to Duffy's Tavern for lunch.  

Duffy's Tavern in the 1800's.

Duffy's was supposed to be one of three taverns that was established in the village for those traveling by stagecoach.  The "gentry", or elite class, were believed to frequent Duffy's Tavern which was built by Colonel James Johnson with his wife Hannah.  In 1934 it was partially destroyed by fire, but later was carefully restored to its original condition.  The walls of the building are 22 inch stone which allegedly tend to keep the interior temperature between 68 and 70 degrees on hot summer days.  

In 1934 Duffy's was almost destroyed by a devastating fire.

At one time the entire second floor was a ballroom which had a hinged panel that was let down at the close of the dance to separate the sleeping quarters so men would be on one side and the women of the other.  Not sure how well that worked, but it makes for a good story!  My crab bisque was very tasty with plenty of crab meat and mildly spicy.  My burger came with cheese and caramelized onions and medium as I requested.  

Part of the second floor at Duffy's Tavern.

After lunch I began a self-guided tour of the old tavern to take some photos to share with you.  I asked our waitress about the second floor and the dance hall.  She walked me into another room, moved a small table and opened a wall panel that led to the second floor.  Told me to be extremely careful if I cared to walk the very narrow and steep stairs.  I climbed the stairs and got to see the dance floor and small tables sitting around the circumference of the room.  Can't imagine patrons, laden with a mug of sudsy beer, climbing the stairs without a few accidents.  Neat to think that I ate in, and explored, a tavern where royalty and I'm sure some pretty famous Americans probably ate, drank, danced and slept the night away centuries ago. My guess is that someone in the village probably has a tale about George Washington visiting the village at one time and sleeping at the tavern.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary day.  PS - Following are a few more photos from my trip to Duffy's Tavern.

One of the rather different alcoholic offerings in Duffy's.

The "USGA and the LCC" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with my boss and former high school student of mine, Keith, about renting his house this coming July when the U.S. Women's Open comes to Lancaster, Pennsylvaina.  

This is the heading on the Lancaster Country Club website.

The tournament will be played at the Lancaster Country Club which is directly across the street from his home along Route 23, also known as the New Holland Pike.  He heard that many of the women golfers as well as their caddies and the media, will be looking for housing.  Keith's home would be the perfect location for anyone associated with the tournament.  I suggested he sell parking spaces for the week long event, but he said the access to his back yard might infringe on his neighbor's yard so he can't do that.  He's hoping to list his place on a social media site in order to avoid the daily onslaught of the more than 100,000 people who will attend the event.  A few of his neighbors have already rented their homes for up to $5,000 for the week.  The Lancaster Country Club (LCC) course is a private course on the northeast limits of Lancaster, partly in Manheim Township and partly in East Lampeter Townsip, separated by the Conestoga River.  LCC has 3 beautiful nine hole courses named Meadowcreek, Dogwood and Highlands.  The Open will be contested on what is known as the Old Course which consists of the Meadowcreek and Dogwood nines.  The course, chartered in 1900, was designed by William S. Flynn who is considered to be one of the most significant and influential designers of the "Golden Age" of golf course architecture.

Photo taken at the LCC by Lancaster Newspapers
photographer Jeff Ruppenthal.

 The course consumes 450 acres of prime Lancaster County land with a total distance of 6,840 yards and is a par 70. The course also is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary because of all the wildlife that makes the surrounding area home.  Tickets went on sale in July of last year.  The prices ranged from $75 for a two-day Championship Grounds Pass to $200 for a week-long access pass.  Last June Dan Burton, championship chairman for the USGA, and Jerry Hostetter, general chairman for the U.S. Women's Open, played a round at LCC.  They played the course thinking about what a player in the Open might experience.  Ball flight, pin position, green speed, rough length and green slopes were all thought about.  Hostetter shot a 71 while Burton didn't share his score with the newspaper.  In a little over four months Lancaster will be filled with media and golf enthusiasts from all over the U.S as well as the world.  100,000 of them are expected.  Might have to plan a vacation away from Lancaster for the week.  Hey, I could rent my place for the week to one of the pros.  Wonder if I could pay for my vacation with the proceeds?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Legend In His Time" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just called to wish our nephew Matt good luck this week when he takes his boys and girls high school swimming teams to the Pennsylvania State Championships at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA.  Matt has been coaching both teams for the last six years and this year his girls team is probably the best team he has ever coached.  Speaks highly for his skills as a coach, since he would have had the teams their entire high school career.  Matt coaches at Cocalico High School which is in northern Lancaster County and the school from where he graduated.   He and his wife Katie live in the Cocalico School District in the same house where he grew up.  As a high school student he was involved in football and basketball, excelling in both.  Went to Lebanon Valley College where he took up swimming and swam for all four years, serving as a team captain in his senior year.  Matt's team members just love their coach and have excelled because of his coaching ability.  

Matt's teams celebrate after winning Section II Championships.
They threw their coach in the pool with them.  Matt can be seen
in the middle of everyone with his had in the air and a smile on his face.

Both his boys and girls teams only had 12 members each this year, but he was able to win the Lancaster-Lebanon League Division II titles in both boys and girls divisions.  He is a master at determining which of his swimmers should be placed against the opponents best swimmers.  In post-season his boys team swam in the AA category while his girls team competed in the more difficult AAA category.  The amount of male and female students in the high school determines which category each team had to swim in and since there were more girls in the school than over half of the other schools, they had to go into the higher category.  Didn't seem to matter since his girls team came in second in District III behind powerhouse Hershey High School.  Matt's girls team beat every other girls team in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, a first ever for the school.  

Sidney Evans winning the 500m freestyle at the District Meet.
Photo by Harrisburg Patriot News.

Sidney Evans and Samantha Marino, co-captains of the girls team, each own two individual school records and were on all three of the school's record-setting relay teams.  Both girls are seniors and have been part of the record 24 straight league meet wins, beginning when they were freshmen swimmers. Sidney won a gold medal at the district meet, lapping all other girls while winning the 500 meter freestyle.  Amazing what Matt's teams have been able to accomplish the past few years.  He will definitely miss his senior swimmers after the state meet this weekend, but his coaching skills will surely produce another batch of top-notch swimmers in future years.  Best of luck to my nephew and his swimming teams at the state meet.  It was another extrarordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Prop Age" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Leafing through my Reminisce magazine, looking at the photos and trying to figure which one of the stories I should read first.  I turned another page and there was a painting of an airplane with propellers with "Fly Eastern Airlines" across the fuselage in big red letters. Plane was called the Golden Falcon and may have been the type of plane that my friend and high school classmate piloted while flying for Eastern Airlines.  Naturally had to grab my high school yearbook and check out his photo, since it's been years since I had seen him.  Our class celebrated our 50th reunion three years ago and Dave was listed on the program as being deceased.  No date was listed, but I can sort of remember seeing his obituary in the newspaper in the late 80's or early 90's.  Dave was listed in the yearbook as in the "Academic" curriculum which is where many, who had hopes of going to college, were placed.  He played football for one year, was in the choir for two years, but is best known for something that happened during a class assembly in the high school auditorium.  

1962 graduate Dave Hall

We were assembled for some type of assembly, being told to be still and quiet, when all of a sudden you heard this really loud … psssssssfart.  Well, that took care of the quiet part.  I can sort of remember the entire scene, but my friend Jerry told me that he can still remember it vividly.  Everyone knew it was Dave who did it and really crated a stir.  Don't know what happened after that, but Dave became infamous in one short burst of sour air.  I also remember Dave since his parents owned a restaurant known as Hall's Cafe which was a few blocks from my childhood home on North Queen Street.  Friday evenings were usually spent having one of their famous crab cakes with my mom, dad and brother Steve.  Many times I remember seeing Dave in the restaurant and talking with him.  He was also a great dancer and I can remember many Saturday evening dances at Wohr's Barn near my home.  Dave Wohr was also a member of our high school class and it was his family's barn where the dances were held on the second floor.  Dave graduated and went off to college like many of us did.  I saw him a few times after that and found out he was a pilot for Eastern.  He always loved to fly and he finally got to do it on a big scale.  One of the main reasons I subscribed to Reminisce is to bring back memories of the past, and this story and photo really did it once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Ever Hear of Neffsville?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My boss at the framing gallery where I work part-time came to check on my progress on one of the jobs he had asked me to do when he showed me a small photo that was in the morning newspaper.  

Taylor Kinney and Lady Gaga
Photo from Lancaster Newspapers

Photo of Lady Gaga and her new fiancé Taylor Kinney.  "Oh yeah, I saw that in the paper also," I told him.  "You know that Taylor grew up right here in Neffsville," Keith said.  "He was a neighbor of mine and if you 'Google' Neffsville, it tells you that the notable residents of this small town are Jim Furyk , Don Gehman, Brad Rutter and Taylor Kinney."  Sure enough, when I got home I "Googled" Neffsville and found that what he told me was exactly correct.  Jim Furyk, the professional golfer whom I had as a student at nearby Manheim Township High School, Don Gehman who is a record producer, Brad Rutter who is the 2nd winningest game show contestant in history as well as the #1 winningest winner on Jeopardy and Taylor Kinney listed as an actor (Chicago Fire), model and being engaged to Lady Gaga.  Didn't take long to add that last bit of information to his bio.  Taylor attended Lancaster Mennonite High School in Lancaster instead of nearby Manheim Township High School.  Neffsville was named for the family of Johan Christian Neff who was from Germany and was aboard the ship Lydia when it arrived in Philadelphia on September 19, 1743.  He lived in nearby Lampeter Township with his family.  The elementary school that is in the center of Neffsville, John Henry Neff Elementary School, was named for him.  

Collectable Shank's Bottle.

One other person is mentioned in the "Google" entry for Neffsville and that is Neffsville pharmacist Jacob Shank.  He developed Shank's Compound Flavoring of Vanilla Bean in 1899 to help improve the flavor of the medicines he formulated.  The product is still made today and Shank's is now the second largest primary supplier in North America of extracts, flavorings and spices.  The business moved out of Neffsville in 1959 when it was purchased by another company.  The old extract bottles are a collectors prize and feature a label that reads "Shank's Extracts, Neffsville, Pa."  I wonder if Lady Gaga realizes how important the town of Neffsville, where her future husband was born, really is.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "It's Not Really The 'Kissing Disease'" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to someone about a mutual friend who has been diagnosed with the "kissing disease," otherwise known as mononucleosis.  Mono is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus and is spread from person to person by contact.  Even though it is known as the "kissing disease," only a small number of people actually contract it by kissing.  It usually is spread by sharing drinks, coughing on someone or sneezing in someone's face.  And, it can remain in the saliva of a person for up to 18 months.  A high number of infections occur in early childhood and are never diagnosed.  It has been reported that about 95% of adults carry antibodies which means they more than likely had the disease as a child.  The disease causes more serious compilations the older you are when you get it.  My family is a good example of that.  Our oldest son had mono when he was a freshman at Villanova University.  He was diagnosed with it just before Christmas vacation and spent a week in the hospital because of dehydration.  He returned home, but on New Year's day had neck pain and a large lump on his neck so he went to the emergency room.  A lymph node in his neck had become infected so they drained it and placed a tube in it which was attached to a bag placed on his chest.  My wife had to empty the bag periodically.  Really grossed out all who came to see him as well as his family.  He lost quite a bit of weight, but returned to Villanova for the start of the second semester.  Since he was on a baseball scholarship, he began to work out after his return.  Found out he shouldn't have done that when he returned home to show us his shoulder blade in the back.  We took him to the family doctor and he was diagnosed with a winged scapula which means the shoulder blade separated from the muscles in his back.  Took forever to recover, but he ended up having a great freshman year pitching for the Wildcats.  Two years later our daughter, a junior in high school, was diagnosed with mono.  She was feeling ill and began coughing up blood.  Another trip to the doctor and the blood test showed mono.  She missed about two weeks of school while home recuperating.  Then, two years after that our youngest son ended up in the hospital for a few days with mono.  He was so dehydrated he needed quite a few bags of liquid to hydrate him.  He came home and was scheduled to take a trip to England with his church youth group two weeks later.  Never made it, but our assistant minister, who was the youth pastor, allowed him to take the trip to England two years later even though he was no longer in high school.  Then, are you ready for this, in 2012 my wife was diagnosed with mono!  At the age of ... well she was older than the kids when she got it.  We have no idea how she got it, but she was quite ill for a few weeks.  She missed my 50th year high school reunion which I had to attend without her.  A card was passed around to my classmates by another member of my class and I was able to take it home for her to read all the "Get Well" messages.  There is no known treatment except plenty of rest and lots of fluid.  The spleen needs to be protected, since it usually swells with mono.  The spleen is an important part of the blood system and immune system, but can be removed if necessary, because of disease or rupture, usually without many problems.  If you have ever had mono or know someone who has had it, you know how serious it may be.  And, it isn't necessarily spread by "swapping spit" as has always been thought.  As for me, well I'm well aware of what can happen, but hope I may be one of those who had it as a child and never found out.  Heavens, the last thing I need is mono, especially after having just about every other disease, sickness and physical disability in the past few years.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.