A Thanksgiving to Remember

I know this holiday has been a major time of reflection. Certainly the entire year of 2020. Made harder with heated pressure of new mandates while trying to balance old traditions and making choices that impact both yourself as well as those around you.

History can add insight or brevity if we are wise enough to pay attention. I found several features that took a glance back at where the entire world was 100 years prior. Making the same hard choices against a pandemic foe that we also knew little about....

It had the exact same National statistics of 200,000 dead since March. Mask mandates with cities in lockdown. Vaccines in stages of trials. The resemblances are uncanny. And yet until this last year, would any of us had dared to ponder these facts? They were also in the 2nd phase of the virus and conversations revolved around how to celebrate the holiday. Stay at Home and Stay Safe.

There was of course the same opposition from retailers who were taking huge hits financially. They had the same masses rallying around Freedom vs imposing restrictions; the Anti-Mask League of San Francisco! So many were arrested that when court citations became overwhelming, it was easier to give up. Resistance from both churches and sports fans. Nothing has apparently changed at all.

I am not here to either choose sides or point fingers. I am merely looking at history to glean what knowledge we should have learned already. If it continues to parallel, they experienced a huge 3rd spike in January after the holidays. One third of the world's population went on to become infected. If you are seeking such a thing as "herd immunity" you are an odds player. In 1918, it was not until 8 months later that the illness finally started to subside. While I am in the middle of this, another 8 mos seems interminable. We need to be smart human beings and mindful of us as a community is all I am saying. Be safe and Be well.

Original source: Thanksgiving 1918
 

Abandoned Pennsylvania

While Pennsylvania has been getting more than it's fair share of the news lately, here is another side of the Keystone State rarely seen.

I know from growing up there - it is a large acreage with centuries of history. It has survived many battlegrounds from Gettysburg and the early days of the Revolutionary War. It has seen the rise and inevitable fall of both the steel and coal industries. There are tales of natural disasters and civil crimes. I had postmarked this feature back at the end of summer. But ironically, now is a notable time to share it at large.

It is a collection of portraits that showcase 21 lost relics of PA history. Some are natural landmarks. Others are defunct factories that flourished and then faded. Others are abandoned cities that no longer exist. I remember seeing these as a child marking a borough - where a fledgling town was built on inspired industry that came, and then left a short decade later. There was often the requisite visit to old Titusville where the original oil industry began and relatives on my dad's side had roots. It is not unusual to sees stretches of abandoned homes tilting on their last legs and ceiling beams. One of the rented apartments we lived in was in this sad state on a last visit back. I have a love/ hate relationship with my heritage there that is also a mix of cherished memories and crumbling history.

Apparently on this official listing; each place still stands and is legally explorable. Coal mines, prisons and even lake resorts. They make for an unusual list of roadside rest stops across a broad landscape of many miles:

A deserted stretch of the PA turnpike that is 13 miles long with 2 tunnels

one of 2 massive blast furnaces at Homestead Steel in Pittsburgh

the infamous Kinzua Dam bridge that was toppled in a fierce tornado

Yellow Dog village in Western PA where a limestone Co. came and went in the 20s

Here is the complete list:

Uncovering PA: Abandoned Places