Sunday, August 14, 2011
Mak’in Moonshine
Tionestia, Pennsylvania
Last night we heard about the horrible tragedy at the Indiana State Fair. Could have been us….could have been anyone. We also keep thinking about all of the wonderful vendors and fairground workers who put their hearts into the fair – they must be devastated.
Well, we haven’t posted the last couple of days because, frankly, we haven’t done anything to write home about. On Friday, we decided it was time to start heading toward New England where we’re going to visit our Granddaughters! Yea! (and their parents). So we put pedal to metal and from Lake Loramie, Ohio we drove almost to the eastern state line – back roads of course. We really enjoyed the Ohio countryside…stopped at a couple of roadside farmer vegetable stands for lunch…and then headed to an Army Corp of Engineer’s Campground North of Canton, Ohio.
Saturday morning, we didn’t waste anytime…we were back on the road and soon crossed into Pennsylvania. Once again, our goal was an Army Corp campsite on the Shenango River Lake near Hermitage, PA. What a beautiful town…lots of Victorian Homes on quiet streets….mountains always in the background… pure Pennsylvania. We spent the afternoon enjoying the lake and hiking around the campground and then this morning, we broke camp and drove into Hermitage to attend Mass at the Church of Notre Dame.
After Mass we continued our Army Corp of Engineers Hopscotch route …this time we headed into Pennsylvania’s Great Forest Country and the Allegheny National Forest. Our goal today was the small mountain town of Tionesta where my tourist info told me we would be just in time for Tionesta’s annual Indian Festival Days. Super! We are ready for some fun and excitement after 3-days of driving. According to my information, the “Festival” takes over the whole town….lots of food…a carnival….exhibits…vendors…a Festive Occasion – and today was the opening day!
We drove into town and there was a banner over Main Street announcing the Tionesta Indian Festival and an empty Tee-pee standing on the town green. That was it. We drove up and down Main Street – not many people and no festivities. A couple of streets over (there are only a couple of streets in town) Ted spotted some Boy Scouts putting something up so we asked them when the activities started. “Might be something tomorrow but the Carnival starts on Tuesday. What the….even their banner over Main Street said that the Indian Festival runs from Aug. 14 – Aug 21. Oh well. While we were talking with the Boy Scouts we spotted a Lighthouse- of all things – in the middle of the forest overlooking Tionesta Creek. We decided to investigate.
The lighthouse sits on a beautifully landscaped hill on what is called Lighthouse Island. There are two large new looking buildings in front of the lighthouse that are completely empty except for the “For Rent” signs out front. Don’t know what they once were, but a sign explained the beautiful lighthouse in the forest. It is the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse – owned and operated by the Jack and Grace Sherman Family. The lighthouse was built as a beneficial Landmark for the Tionesta Community and to serve as a place to preserve the heritage of the Sherman family. The Sherman’s designed and built the 75-foot high lighthouse. It has 6 floors and a basement. This Tionesta Sherman Memorial Lighthouse is one of 4 Sherman Memorial Lighthouses in Pennsylvania – the other 3 are on Lake Erie.
Since there was noth’in do’in in Tionesta today, we decided head to the Army Corp Campground. Turns out, they were having a Heritage Festival of their own. We spent an enjoyable hour listening to very knowledgeable Park Rangers tell us about life in Pennsylvania’s North Woods back in the day. In particular, we learned how to start a fire with nothing but flint, steel and a bird’s nest….we also learned how to turn small bits of a t-shirt into charcoal. A very patient Game Warden told us about hunting, trapping and how to skin the pelts off a beaver or a mink.
But the most valuable bit of information received today was how to make Moonshine. We learned how to build and operate a backwoods still so that the revenuers will not find it. The still itself is a complicated apparatus involving crocks, barrels, copper pipe and a slops bucket. This is the kind of information I tend to store in my brain till it’s needed…and who knows when that might be.
Tionesta is a one-night stop.
Thanks For Riding Along!
