The "Exploring The Wild In Style" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading north out of Lititz, Pennsylvania to make a visit to Cabela's, Inc. in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.  The ride will take about an hour, since we are taking the back roads to take in the scenery.  The store is about a quarter of a million square feet in size and extremely impressive if you are an outdoor's person.  Our chauffeur today is Hal and I am sitting in the rear seat of his Ford Escape with Jeff while Barry plays shotgun for today's trip.  The four of us have known each other for many years, since we taught school together in the Manheim Township School District in Lancaster County.  

Main entrance of Cabela's in Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Hal had been to the store quite a few times while Jeff and Barry have visited a time or two.  Today will be my first visit to the mammoth store that specializes in supplies for hunters and fishermen.  The company, which was recently sold to Bass Pro Shops, does well over 1 billion in sales each year and attracts 60 million visitors a year.  

Stepping into the world of fishing and hunting

The store has over 400 employees who are some of the most interesting and helpful you will ever meet.  Hal told us the story of the place and how the entire area around the store was constructed after Cabela's was completed.  The parking lot is as big as some residential neighborhoods.  Anyone entering for the first time has to be impressed at the size of the place.  Tough to see to the other end due to the immense size of the interior.  If you aren't a fan of stuffed animals and taxidermy, this isn't the place for you.  Has to be a couple of hundred preserved animals of all sizes in the myriad of displays around the store.  The rest of my story will be a visual one to show you the immense size of the place and the quality of products they sell as well as the High Temple of Taxidermy.  I naturally had my camera with me.  I have only identified a few of the photos, since most are easily identifiable and the rest I have forgotten their names.  Enjoy!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on images to enlarge them.

Entering the fresh-water aquarium

Friends from left are Barry, Hal and Jeff

The second level has a lunch room

John, one of many fabulous employees

The end of the journey.  Took almost 2 hours to explore the place.

The "The Demise Of Spiritual Health Care In Lancaster, Pennsylvania" Story

An early photograph of St. Joseph's Hospital.

It was an ordinary day.  Found out I have just outlived the hospital where I was born almost 75 years ago.  The same hospital where my wife was born and our first son was born.  St. Joseph’s Hospital, more recently known as UPMC Pinnacle Lancaster, dates back to 1883 when the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia established the first hospital in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  The building in which the hospital was begun was erected in 1877 by the Brothers of St. John of God.  When the Sisters arrived in Lancaster in 1883 to open the hospital, they had a budget of $2.50 and two apples. 

A picture postcard which featured St. Joseph Hospital.

The building had no electricity, running water or beds.  One sister, Cecilia, placed the two apples on a windowsill one morning near a statue of St. Joseph and asked him to multiply the food for the people who would come for care.  By the end of the day two barrels of apples appeared with a note that read, “To the Sister Cook.”  That was the beginning of a spiritual journey for health care in Lancaster.  The hospital was incorporated in 1885 with 121 patients walking through the door.  By 1891 300 patients could be accommodated at the hospital.  The following century saw a new wing opened for surgery and a school to train nurses. 

An updated St. Joseph Hospital.

By the 1950s new buildings replaced the original structure and five years later daily prayers were delivered over the loud- speakers.  Almost 120 years after the Sisters arrived in Lancaster, St. Joseph had grown into a thriving hospital with a medical staff representing more than 30 medical specialties.  In 1982 comedian Bob Hope made a visit to the hospital to give a benefit performance to try and raise money for upgrades.  In 2000, the hospital’s name was changed to Lancaster Regional Medical Center when Florida-based Health Management Associates Inc. acquired the hospital.  Then in 2014 Tennessee-based Community Health Systems Inc. acquired the hospital.  Since 2000 you could begin to see the deterior- ation of Lancaster’s beloved St. Joseph’s Hospital.  Walls seemed dirty and faded.  Halls seemed dingy and seemed to go nowhere in the maze of rooms and halls.  When my wife made a visit to the hospital with a bout of appendicitis two years ago, a priest made a visit to her room to see how she was doing.  The spiritual part of healing was still part of their program.  

Bob Hope visited St. Joseph's Hospital in 1982.

Then in 2017 Harrisburg-based Pinnacle- Health acquired the hospital.  And now, after more than 135 years, the hospital on College Ave. is preparing to meet it’s death.  UPMC Pinnacle announced that the beloved hospital in the city of Lancaster will be closed with its services moved to it's sister hospital, UPMC Pinnacle Lititz, formerly known as Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center.  Medicine has become big business and the 214-bed hospital at 250 College Avenue is not as profitable as it should be.  By March those living in the city of Lancaster will have to head to the other side of town to Lancaster General Hospital, now a member of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine) for health care.  Its the same hospital where I recently had my 4th back surgery and had to recover in a small room with another patient that needed 24-hour help and made it extremely difficult to get any sleep. 

The Heart of Lancaster/Pinnacle Health Lititz
Hospital will take over for the old St. Joe's.

The over-crowded Lancaster General will now be overrun with more needy patients.  But, money seems to be everything.....especially in the health field.  The passionate care once administered at St. Joseph’s Hospital has passed away, much like many of its patients.  I don't known which area of St. Joe’s I was born, but they did a good job!  Same goes for my wife and son.  What will become of the place.  Many say it will be razed for a new office building or maybe a retirement community or maybe another shopping center.  I can almost hear those battered walls of St. Joe’s Hospital crying out to all trying to say, "the people of Lancaster need us to remain a medical facility for the needy of the city."  But talk doesn’t trump money.  Always seems to be that way, doesn’t it?  So sad!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Good Read Is Always A Great Gift" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching for a few gifts to add to my Christmas list.  Reading some of the memoir written by Rose Zar, a jewish survivor of World War II.  Her story is unbelievable!  

When Rose was 19 years old, the Nazis invaded her native Poland.  At the urging of her father, who told her to save herself by hiding "in the mouth of the wolf", Rose managed to go underground to get false papers and secretly change her identity to maid and nanny for of all people, a Nazi SS Colonel.  Rose chose a totally different route than many others in her ghetto in Piotrkow, Poland when the Nazis entered by grabbing her suitcase and forged passport and left her family behind.  For most of the next three years she became a Roman Catholic named Wanda Gajda.  Before the war began she had obtained a teaching certificate, but was forced to find menial jobs to survive.  She ended up working as a nanny for an SS commander as she did exactly what her father had advised, hide in plain sight in the home of a Nazi commander as "Fraulein Wanda."  

Rose Zar

Then in 1983 she wrote her memoir and once again used her father's advice by titling it "In the Mouth of the Wolf."  The book was written with Eric A. Kimmel and won the Association of Jewish Libraries' book Award and is now being used to teach about the Holocaust in schools across the United States.  Every Christmas I usually ask for a few books to read and may get a few added to my Kindle.  After reading a few reviews  about "In the mouth of the Wolf" I have placed in on the top of my list, but believe I would enjoy the hardbound book rather than on my Kindle.  It would me more of a collectible for me that way rather than just a fun read on my Kindle.  I do have a few other items on my list such as gift certificates for car washes and glass supplies for my stain glass projects, but the Rose Zar book will be a good read.  Might even be something that you, my readers, would enjoy.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "What Do Chocolate And Teddy Bears Have In Common?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Finishing up the last Hershey candy bar that was left over from Halloween which was the end of October.  We had purchased a very large bag of miniature Hershey bars to give to those who knocked on our door while dressed in their costume.  Well, we had only about a dozen children knock on our door and close to a hundred candy bars....thus, we had to eat them ourselves.  My guess is that many of you also eat Hershey bars.  But, what else can you tell me about Hershey?  Did you know that it is actually a town in south-eastern Pennsylvania that is about a 30 minute drive from my home in Lancaster.  Did you know that they have one of the neatest amusement parks in the United States?  How about....did you you know that they have a minor league ice hockey team known as the Hershey Bears.  Yep!  And on December 2 they did something really special.  They shattered the world record for the teddy bear toss that had previously been held by the Calgary hockey team known as the Hitmen.  In 2015 the Hitmen had collected 28,815 teddy bears which were distributed to children in more than 30 different charities.  This past December 2 the Binghamton Devils, from New York, traveled to Hershey, a Washington Capitals' affiliate, for an American Hockey League game.  Most every fan who paid for a ticket carried at least one stuffed teddy bear which would be thrown on the ice after the first goal by the home team Bears.  

Hershey players help collect the teddy bears from the ice.

Hershey player Riley Barber scored a power-play goal in the first period and the bears rained down on the ice.  Those seated close to the ice had to continue to throw the bears that didn't reach the ice by fans close to the top of the Giant Center.  Many of the Bears players helped collect the miniature toy teddy bears while posing for photographs.  They actually moved up the first intermission to the time when the goal was scored since they knew it would take quite a bit of time to collect all the teddy bears.  

When the ice was cleared there was a total of 34,798 stuffed animals donated!  A few fans had also pledged $1 for every stuffed bear which added to the total of donations.  Hershey is a big hockey town having led the league in attendance 11 of the past 12 years by drawing more than 9,000 fans per game.  So now, when you pop a Hershey bar in your mouth you now know that the town is known for something more that chocolate.  It is the record holder for the Teddy Bear toss.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Bringing My Childhood Back To Life!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching for the box of Lincoln Logs that Carol and I had bought for our oldest son in the late 1970s.  

A set of Lincoln Logs from the 1940s.

We spent many hours playing with the simple wooden pieces just as I had spent hours with my father doing the same with the box of Lincoln Logs he had bought for me in the 1940s.  Lincoln Logs were invented sometime around 1916 when John Lloyd Wright was working in Japan with his father.  

This is one of the drawings used to obtain the patent for Lincoln Logs.

The mold for the toy was based on the architecture of the Imperial Hotel in Toyko, which was designed by the inventor's father.  The toy logs weren't marketed until 1918 when John organized The Red Square Toy Company.  A patent was finally issued for the toy logs on August 31, 1920.  He later changed the name of his company to J.L. Wright Manufacturing.  The original set came with directions on how to build Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as Abraham Lincoln's cabin.  It followed other construction type toys such as Tinker Toys and the Erector Set.  

Playskool's 1978 package
of Lincoln Logs.

The current distributor of the toy claims it was named after Abraham Lincoln which is incorrect.  Others claim it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright whose original name was Frank Lincoln Wright, but that too isn't correct.  John Lloyd Wright sold his company to Playskol in 1943 who in turn passed the copyright to Milton Bradley and Hasbro.  It was in 1999 that Lincoln Logs and John Lloyd Wright were entered in the National Toy Hall of Fame.  Today, Lincoln Logs are manufactured in the U.S.A. by K'NEX after having been manufactured for years in China.  Wasn't long after my grandson was born that I too had purchased a set of Lincoln Logs so he and I could play with them when he would visit.  Every time I dig out the round tube of logs and roofing material I reminisce about those days over 60 years ago when I would play with my neighborhood friends building small towns and using our metal cowboys and Indians who would inhabit the places we built.  And now, in 2018, this special toy to me as well as millions of others, has turned 100.  Happy Birthday!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

This is the 2018 Anniversary Tube of Lincoln Logs.  Still the same as when I played with them.

The "A Christmas Trip To The White House" Story

This booklet was given to all guests and tells you what
the decorations mean in each room of the White House.

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to my daughter Brynn about her recent trip to the White House to walk through the White House to see all the Christmas decorations.  Always wished I would have had a chance to see the White House at Christmas, but I guess hearing about it first-hand is the closest I will get to it.  One of Brynn's best friends and neighbors, Terri, lives a few doors from her in the Village of Urbana, Maryland.  Terri is the Assistant Director of Operations at the independent St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland where President Trump's youngest child, Barron, is a 6th grade student at the school which has 580 students in preschool through twelfth grade and was founded in 1978.  

Arriving at the White House in Wahington, D.C.

Barron's mother Melania invited all the teachers, adminis- trators and students to visit the White House and see the Christmas decora- tions.  Terri was able to invite a few friends to go with her so Brynn was off to the White House.  Before she could get into the place she had to provide them with her Social Security number and driver's license ahead of time.  On the date of arrival she had to go through a metal detector and once again show an identification.  Surprisingly she was able to take photographs of just about anything in the rooms she visited.  She emailed me the following photographs that I will in turn show you so you too can see how lavishly the decorations at the White House might be for Christmas.  Remember to click on the images to enlarge them.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Souvenir from the visit to the White House.

The Washington Monument can be seen through one of the windows of the Blue Room in the White House.

One of the decorated Christmas trees in the State Dining Room. 

Chandelier projected on the ceiling in the Grand Foyer.

Red berry trees in the East Colonnade. 

The Vermeil Room.

Decorations in the Library.

The East Room.  Notice the skyline reflected in the mirror from the other side of the room.

Green Room tree with pears, figs, artichokes, tomatoes and wheat.

Regionally themed ornaments in the East Room.

The Gold Star Tree which is the first tree you see in the East Wing when you enter.  It is for service members who have died at home and abroad.  There are iPads on stands where you could leave a message of joy, peace and inspiration for our troops.

Photo of my daughter Brynn as she entered the display.

The White House orchestra.

Greeting cards sent from the White House during Eisenhower's Administration.  Cards from all administrations were also shown. 

One of the state banners on the theme tree.

Looking through a window my daughter could see the soccer net set up for Barron on the White House grounds.

This is the White House and surrounding area done in gingerbread.  It is 225 pounds of gingerbread dough, 110 pounds of pistillate dough, 25 pounds of chocolate and 20 pounds of royal icing.  It is in the State Dining Room and made by the White House pastry team. 

From the left: Brynn, Terri and Shannon.

The "All Good Things Must Come To An End!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Read some disturbing news in the paper and just had to call my friend Jere and tell him about it.  This story all started back in 1959 when Jere and I were 10th grade students at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  My parents wanted me to go to college so I took Algebra and Latin; stuff you use for the rest of your life, right!  Jere took the more conventional courses so he got to meet all the good looking girls and eventually married one of them.  Anyway, when we entered 11th grade we had a new shop teacher, Mr. Lemon, who Jere had for metal shop.  

Mr. R. Dean Lemon, Industrial Arts Teacher.
Taken from my 1962 High School Yearbook.

As life went on we both graduated; me going to Millersville State Teachers College (yep, I made it) and Jere entered the Navy.  After three years I began teaching shop in a nearby school district (they needed shop teachers so bad I didn't have to graduate, but I finished in the following summer) and Jere came home and entered Millersville.  The following year I began teaching at Manheim Township H.S. and eventually Jere began teaching with me.  We were both shop teachers (by now known as Industrial Arts teachers) and one of our co-workers was Mr. Lemon.  We were now able to call him Dean, his first name.  Over the next couple decades we had a great time teaching high school students in the Industrial Department.  But, Mr. Dean Lemon also had a second job which he began in 1959 when we were in 10th grade.  He opened a Christmas Tree stand with another shop teacher, Nevin Frantz.  All started when Dean wanted to buy a tree for himself and the line was so long he decided he could sell trees and make a few extra dollars to supplement his meager teacher's salary.  He asked his friend Nevin if he was interested and in 1959 they ordered 100 trees from a wholesaler for $1.50 each and sold them for $6.00 each.  They opened their stand along the Lititz Pike near Neffsville, PA.  Wasn't long before they outgrew the location and moved nearby to Brook Lawn Farm Market which had a large farmer's retail operation along Lititz Pike during the summer.  During the winter months the stand was empty so Dean rented the place and by now was on his own, since Nevin had moved from the area.  He called it Dean's Trees.  

View from Dean's Herndon tree farm
overlooking the Susquehanna River.

He opened the week-end after Thanks- giving and employed close to a dozen people who worked most every evening as well as weekends.  All three of my children worked for Dean while they were in high school at Manheim Township selling trees and loading them into and onto customers vehicles.  Many of the other shop teachers as well as high school students and his own children worked for Dean.  By now Dean was not only selling trees, but growing and wholesaling them.  He would sell 1,000 to 1,500 eery year between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  He also began growing his own trees for sale and to wholesale on his family's farm in Herndon, Northumberland County, PA.   Well, the disturbing news in the newspaper today was that Dean, finally, after 59 years, had to call it quits.  

Retired I.A. teachers at Dean's tree farm.  Front is Jeff,
Jere, Dean and LDub.  Rear is Barry, Buzz and Hal.

His 86 years of age, macular degenera- tion and two artificial hips has slowed him down somewhat.  Dean's Trees was a well-known tree stand in Lancaster County with loyal customers from as far away as Delaware, New York and Maryland.  Though he no longer will be selling trees at his tree stand, he will still wholesale trees from his tree farm.  He still has over 10,000 trees that he will have to sell.  A few years ago Dean hosted the Industrial Arts department retirees at his  tree farm in Herndon.  We had a great time with a gorgeous view of his tree farm overlooking the mighty Susquehanna River.  Memories from times past filled the air up on that tree farm that afternoon.  Memories that will never be forgotten.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "An Answer To One Of My Comments" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Back in early October of this year I posted a story about pumpkins and the upcoming celebration of Halloween.  A few days later someone left a comment at the bottom of the story that read: Speaking of Halloween...when did Lancaster City stop having Trick or Treat on Tick Tock Night which was the night before Halloween Day? I was trying to find out the origin of that custom, but the internet is silent on this topic. Thought you may know.  Well I too explored the internet as well as a few books and learned a few things I hadn't known before, but may not have come up with an answer for Sharon, the author of the comment.  Seems that the night before Halloween has a special name, but no one can quite agree on what it may be called.  There are two leading contenders which are mischief night and devil's night.  It seems to depend upon the geographical area or region where you may live as to what you may call the night before Halloween.  My guess is that Sharon already knows this, but for many others, it may be something you never knew before.  To tell you the truth, I had never heard of Tick Tock Night before the comment left on my story.  In Pennsylvania, my home state, as well as neighboring New Jersey, the night before Halloween is known as Mischief night with other locales having cabbage night, devil's eve, gate night, trick night and goosy night.  In other areas the night before Halloween is known as trick night as in trick-or-treat where petty vandalism, such as smashing pumpkins, egging cars and throwing toilet-paper on houses and trees takes place.  In Lancaster when children, up to 12 years of age, head around neighborhoods dressed in costume and carrying a bag or plastic pumpkin, they say to the resident of the home they have approached, "Trick-or-treat".  Thus, if you don't give them a piece of candy or maybe a piece of fruit, they may play a trick on you.  What that may be depends upon how well your house is lit and how old the child may be.  I think it's rather interesting to see an entire tree decorated in toilet paper which seems to happen quite a few places every year in Lancaster.  Now my question is: If you have a special name for the night before Halloween, don't most of those names signify something illegal?  And, do some locations actually publicize this night as if it is expected that children will be wandering around on two successive evenings?  I did learn a few other facts that I can share with you.  Halloween has been celebrated in the United States since the 1800s, since Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their All Hallows' Eve traditions with them.  And a few regional celebrations I've found are:  (1) Holly Eve - Arkansas, Missouri, West Virginia and Pennylvania (even I never knew of this) refer to Halloween as Holly Eve, (2) Poke of Moonshine - Connecticut and South Carolina calls the Jack o' lantern by that name, (3) False Face - Ohio, Connecticut, Mississippi, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas and one more time, Pennsylvania refer to their Halloween mask as a false face. (4) "Help The Poor" or "Soap or Eats" - In California, Ohio and Minnesota may say this when asking for candy.  (5) Goosey Night or Picket Night is held in New Jersey and may refer to getting stuck on a picket fence while running or being goosed, meaning to poke or startle, (6) Corn or Doorbell Night is held in Ohio where throwing shelled corn or ringing the doorbell and running takes place. (7) Moving Night - In Maryland this night is for moving items around on the porch or yard of the person you are visiting for candy. (8) Ticktack Night - Takes place in Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, Kentucky and once again Pennsylvania.  Noisemakers are used when rapping on a door or window to ask for your treat.  So, Sharon, no where did I find Tick Tock Night.  If you ever find information on it, leave me another comment on any of my stories.  I would love to know what it may be.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.