Pennsylvania Potpourri

I was looking forward to traveling east to see what I could learn about my mom’s hometown in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country. On my way there from Pittsburgh I stopped in Harrisburg, checked out the imposing capitol building, wandered 3rd street which is adorned with several murals and had to stop at a used bookstore when I found a book amidst the hundreds that were completely disorganized on book shelves outside the store that caught my attention – REDSHIFT: Extreme Visions of Speculative Fiction. I got the book and carried on to see more murals.

Lancaster was my next stop and I was under the impression it was my mom’s hometown. Not so, although it was her home county. She was actually born and raised in Intercourse, formerly Cross Keys (1754) until it was identified as a key crossroads for commerce in 1814. Or the name may have been a reflection of the value of social connection in the community. Perhaps both are true. Intercourse is part of Amish Country, which becomes obvious as horse and buggies join the flow of traffic, men work their farms wearing straw hats and working their horses, and women wear long dresses and bonnets, the colors of the bonnets indicating if they are single (black) or married (white). The dresses vary in color, tending toward muted solids reflecting a value of not elevating individual identify and instead emphasizing the community.

I had connected with a cousin, Michelle, that I knew through Facebook and one visit about ten years ago and she graciously responded to my somewhat last-minute outreach. After dinner with Michelle, her husband Dave, her brother/my cousin Terry and his wife Rose, I slept in a big comfy bed for the first time in over a month at her house in West Chester. The next day we headed over to Intercourse to do a little investigating, visiting the cemetery where Michelle’s parents are buried, the property across the street where our mom’s lived, and the cemetery where my grandparents were buried.

The family relationships warrant explanation here. Mom’s parents died when she was three, resulting in her going to live with her aunt and uncle on her father’s side (I don’t yet know where her three siblings went). Michelle’s mom was raised in the same home, the parents being her grandparents. Millie and Barbara were close throughout their lives, although they lived across the country from one another. They stayed in touch and eventually I became Facebook friends with Michelle.

The house had been renovated, if not replaced, and there were two Amish women working in the yard. I so wanted to talk to them to see if I could learn anything about the history of the house, but I knew privacy was important so left it to my imagination to create a story. My sister Sue remembered having been at the house in 1959 for Michelle’s mom’s (Barbara) wedding, one feature of which was the lack of indoor plumbing….the house, not the wedding.

I spent some time at the Lancaster History Museum and Research Center searching newspaper archives, yearbooks, town maps, and directories. I found several newspaper news bits mentioning mom. One reported on a nine year old’s birthday party including the guest list which included Eleanor (Millie is her nickname). There were also items noting when she went off to Navy school in Indiana and when she came home for a 10 day leave. I was delighted to find a tribute to the 100 year anniversary of Intercourse; it included essays kids had written about what their town meant to them. It gave another glimpse into what life might have been like for mom growing up there.

Spending time with Michelle was especially meaningful. I don’t have contact with anyone else in my extended family and it felt really good to make the connection. I had a great time getting to know her, Dave (husband), Danielle (daughter) and Gracie (dog). She did make me run uphill about a quarter of a mile in a mad dash to catch a bus in Philly, but we caught the damn thing! I also got to check out the town of West Chester where they live alongside West Chester University and we took a driving tour around the ginormous King of Prussia Mall. They have a Netflix entertainment center…virtual reality and other activities revolving around their shows. I have to admit, the idea of entering the world of Stranger Things was tempting.

Since I was so close to Maryland and I had only driven through on my way to Harper’s Ferry I decided to drop down to the Susquehanna State Park campground for a few days. I’m surrounded by tall green trees, very vocal birds, and many options for biking and hiking. I discovered at my last campsite that I had done about the stupidest thing of the whole trip in Morgantown, West Virginia, something I’ve never done before. After a bike ride I took off the front wheel to load my bike in the van, went along my merry way and didn’t realize I’d left the wheel behind until three weeks later in Lancaster! Unbelievable! It’s nice to get back on two wheels on trails or the road, although my wrist isn’t yet 100% so I’m taking it easy.

I’m going to Elk Neck State Park for a few days next week, then will travel part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway in Maryland and Delaware, then go north through Pennsylvania into New York. I’ve enjoyed the mix of sites, activities, history, and nature and felt at home in Pennsylvania; I’m sure my family roots here have something to do with that.