Sense of Touching

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge



Hands around Toronto

Tuesday Treasures Around the World

August 2009 - Jim Thorpe PA


This visit was before I started blogging.

What made me look at these photos? A question on Jeopardy and I knew the answer!!
Pennsylvania problems: The players missed three clues about the commonwealth, including ones about its nickname, the Keystone State, and the town named after a 1912 Olympian, Jim Thorpe.

The town changed its name in 1954 from Mauch Chunk to Jim Thorpe, a story that has to rank as one of the most unusual in American history. (Mauch Chunk means Bear Place in the native Munsee-Lenape Native American language).

Reading (like the railroad in Monopoly) Blue Mountain and Northern.

The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad is a regional railroad operating in eastern Pennsylvania, with headquarters located in Port Clinton. In addition to freight service, passenger excursions also run along the RBMN system. The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway (LGSR) is a tourist railroad that operates passenger excursions along the RBMN between Jim Thorpe and Lehigh Gorge State Park. The RBMN also operates passenger excursions from Reading and Port Clinton to Jim Thorpe.

It was designed by Wilson Brothers & Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and built in 1888 by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It is a 1 1/2-story, five bay, red brick building in the Queen Anne style. It features a 3 1/2-story, cylindrical corner tower with a cylindrical roof. It is owned by the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway and served as a visitor center.

The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 1, 1976.

First fire company in Carbon County PA.
Volunteer department, established 1866.
Present building built 1885.
Now a bar, the Marion Hose Co. No. 1., located next to the Opera House.

The Mauch Chunk Opera House also called the Capitol Theater at one time. The theatre was built in 1881 by architect Addison Hutton. Officially opening in 1882 and located in what was known as millionaires row in old Mauch Chunk, as the town was then called.

Asa Packer Mansion
Built in 1861, this Italianate mansion was the crown jewel of the Packer family and home to Asa Packer. This 20-room mansion has an ornate interior with original furnishings. It stands elevated above Broadway and is a reminder of the wealth that the city had during the 19th century. During that time it is said 19 of the country's 26 millionaires had homes in Mauch Chunk.

Asa Packer founded the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and like many wealthy robber-barons of this age, went on to become a philanthropist. He also founded Lehigh University in 1865.

Jim Thorpe is also known as the Switzerland of Pennsylvania. 

Established in 1830 the Hotel Switzerland is the oldest commercial building operating in Jim Thorpe.

The Old Mauch Chunk Historic District (National Register of Historic Places) contains an incredible blend of public and private buildings of exceptional architectural merit, scattered among a background of typical 19th Century commercial and residential structures; all located in spectacular natural setting.

"Stone Row" — This range of 16 houses was built by Asa Packer for the engineers and foreman working on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The exact date is not known but the predate was the 1849 fire.

And the town's relationship to Jim Thorpe?
Who was he?

An Olympic hero controversially stripped of his medals is buried in a town he never visited, that took his name after his death.

 
Our old car!

NO OTHER ATHLETE HAS COME close to Jim Thorpe in all-around versatility. Born in 1887 in Prague, Oklahoma, Thorpe grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation and suffered the loss of his twin brother and both his parents early in life. His incredible skill with every sport he tried propelled him beyond his humble origins and the racial prejudice he faced as an American Indian to a legendary status as one of the 20th century’s most notable athletes.

As a student at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, he was an All-American in football, playing halfback, defender, punter, and place-kicker. He mastered nearly every sport offered at Carlisle, including basketball, lacrosse, tennis, handball, bowling, golf, swimming, hockey, boxing, and gymnastics. He even won a ballroom dancing contest. However, it was in track and field where he really excelled.

At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Thorpe won both the pentathlon and the decathlon, and finished tied in fourth for the high jump and seventh in the long jump. King Gustav V of Sweden congratulated Thorpe by saying “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.” To which Thorpe replied: “Thanks, King.”

Impoverished at his death, his third wife struck an agreement with two Pennsylvania towns desperate for tourism to create a memorial and bury his remains. Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk merged under the new town name of “Jim Thorpe,” and the athlete’s body now rests under a monument in a landscape he never saw, in a town he never visited.

Signs 2

Joining Tom at Signs2.
Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day
Gay NYC Dad

Continuing with pit stops...
a stop (as during a trip) for fuel, food, or rest or for use of a restroom.


January 2016 - Tlaquapaque Mexico

Foto Tunes - Coronavirus Playlist

Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.


In response to these crazy times I will be posting a Coronavirus playlist weekly.


Week 1 playlist
Week 2 playlist
Week 3 playlist
Week 4 playlist

On a more upbeat tone, what do you want to do when we can finally get out?

I am going DOWNTOWN!


Toronto ON

And getting ON THE ROAD AGAIN


2005 Ashford Ireland

Also LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

2012 Nicaragua Central America

This week's parody!

Monday Mural

I'm linking up at Monday Mural


August 2013 - Antigonish Nova Scotia

It's amazing what you can find in your photo archives.

I cannot find any information on this mural and don't know if it still exists.

Division

One Word Sunday

December 2014 - Abilene TX


In the short space of five months the 12th Armored Division became one of the most feared fighting machines of World War II. Labeled the "Hellcat Division," it was instrumental in capturing 72,000 German soldiers and liberating Nazi death camps. Preserving this history of the 12th Armored Division, the museum serves as a teaching museum for the study of World War II and its impact on the American people. It offers innovative educational programs for children and academic access to historical materials.

Self-Isolation Week 7

April 2020 - Toronto ON

This week's song - Hello Walls

This week's coronavirus playlist.

The week started off on a very sad note. In Nova Scotia the toll from the worst mass shooting in Canada's modern history, a 14-hour rampage over the weekend, has risen to 22 from 19, police say. A RCMP Mountie was also killed.

Another photographic tour of Toronto during these times, some gorgeous shots of my favourite places.

Tuesday - Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Toronto today, as strong winds are expected to last until this evening.
According to the weather agency, strong winds of 70 to 80 km/h are expected to occur today in the wake of a sharp arctic cold front that blasted across the region last night. Environment Canada says the winds will be strong enough to cause isolated power outages and they will slowly diminish by this evening.

And this is what it looked like for a while.

I discovered my geranium flowered!

Some neighbourhood pics from John's walks this week.

Looking west over the Gardiner, normally this would be bumper to bumper.

Looking east towards downtown.

West towards home, we're at the white bridge. All that lakefront and it is so quiet, parking lots closed, benches cordoned off, playgrounds forbidden.

Closer.

Toronto has closed High Park so we can't gather to see the cherry blossoms so here's some photos from previous years. All roads into the park are closed.

Some mundane jobs got done around the house, cleaned the cutlery drawer, rotated the dining room chairs (we each sit at the heads of the table as our office space), hung a picture that has been languishing on the bookcase, scanned some family photos, printed new photo for bathroom.

This is an amazing story! Scotiabank Arena is turning into a giant kitchen to feed the hospital workers.





                                                        LEARNING


Art Gallery of Ontario sends weekly updates #AGOFromHome. This week's lesson was A Landscape of, by and for the senses.




The J Paul Getty Museum asked people to post photos recreating great art pieces.



Dictionary.com adds new coronavirus words. I joined their Facebook page to get the word of the day.

I discovered jigsaw puzzles online and quickly became addicted!

Europeana is offering spot the differences art challenges.

They have also added art jigsaw puzzles along with an article on the invention of the jigsaw.

WATCHING

I started Mad Men, I had seen a few of the first season's episodes but that was it.

John watched a series called Magic City, that I may also watch.

We continued with The Black List, now watching a couple of episodes in the afternoon ( I knit at the same time) to get through all the seasons.

We found some interesting movies.
Once Upon a Time in London 
In the 1930s, organized crime came to England. The Italian Sabinis and English White family in West End dominated the London underworld. Come WWII and Jack "Spot" took over and later Billy Hill.

Acrimony

COOKING

I finally placed my curbside pickup Bulk Barn order, 22 items. Two items for a friend. It wasn't ready when we got there but she prepared it as we waited in the car, it was just nice to be out even though it was really cold. Wednesday is their seniors' discount day.

Of my 22 items, there wasn't any yeast (no surprise), chopped walnuts or pecans or raisins. I asked for 5 kg of gluten free flour but only got 2.5 kg.

Making a payment at the curb.




Speaking of the demand for flour...

I also got my online gluren free flour order!

A great gluten free website.

We then went to Lanzarotta's for produce. Lots of variety, the only thing I couldn't find was bean sprouts. AND note to self: Wednesday is seniors' 10% discount day.

I also got a basil plant. I can't wait to get more herb plants.

This week's menu

Quiche and salad with homemade honey Dijon vinaigrette 
Spanish chicken thighs with carrots and mashed potatoes
Salmon and salad
Leftover quiche and salad
Pork belly and salad with snow peas and strawberries and Asian dressing
NEW skillet teriyaki chicken rice and broccoli. I used chicken thighs - NOT a keeper.
Steak and salad with a great Thai dipping sauce called crying tiger

Recipes to try:
Pho ga from Toronto chef at North Saigon

Sourdough bread without baking equipment.

READING

Read an excellent article about the Mrs. Dalloway comments being circulated on Twitter  during this pandemic. "Mrs. Dalloway said she would disinfect the doorknobs herself."
Another interesting article "The Ripple Effects of the Coronavirus on Immigrant Communities".

THROWBACK TRAVEL

As mentioned last week I am going to go into our archives and pull up some photos from other trips.
Last week I took us to Capistrano where we visited while we were in San Diego for a week.

Since we can't get out we can enjoy some spring flowers from Balboa Park.

LINKING UP WITH

Beth hosts Weekend Cooking where you can post anything food related.

Sunday Salon

Seasons

Say Cheese