JUNE/JULY 2017
The Pocono Mountains' Magazine
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Pocono Living M A G A Z I N E
ALL ABOUT THE GAP & ANNUAL GUIDE TO THE DWGNRA
Pocono Magazines August/September 2016
The Pocono Mountains' Magazine
Pocono Magazines, LLC PUBLISHING
Pocono Living Magazine© & Pocono Family Magazine©
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Pocono Living Magazine and Pocono Family Magazine, two regional publications filled with articles, features and photography exploring and capturing the real Pocono Mountains Family living experience. o n o c o P con o Th e Po
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Our publications can be found at many locations throughout the Pocono Mountains region, and are available by subscription.
MAGAZINE DESIGN Smart Blonde Creative WEB DESIGN Smart Blonde Creative FOOD & WINE EDITOR Avize Batalova February/March
2017 The Pocono Mounta
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THE PHOTOGRAPHY
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GRAPHIC DESIGNER Devesh Ramdeo
Complimentary
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DAVE SANDT
PHOTOGRAPHY & ART Veronica Murray Andrei Protsouk David Sandt Lisa Newberry James Chesnick James Smeltz Marlana Holsten Matt Siptroth William McKee Barbara Lewis Linda Zak Nancy Tully Eric Goins Vinzon Lee
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Roseanne Bottone Jamie Bowman Deborah Cofer Kathy Dubin-Uhler Marty Wilson Amy Leiser Suzanne McCool Chelsea McMahon ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Kristen Sebring
On the Cover Our Cover for this issue features a photo of the hiking trails at Childs Park in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area 2 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
The information published in this magazine is believed to be accurate, but in some instances, may represent opinion or judgment. The publication’s providers do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information and shall not be held liable for any loss or damage, directly or indirectly, by or from the information. © 2016 Pocono Magazines. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the expressed written permission of the publisher.
Lowest dose 3D mammography in East Stroudsburg is now available at: St. Luke’s Women’s Imaging Center 239 East Brown Street East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
To learn more, call St. Luke’s InfoLink at 1-866-STLUKES (785-8537) www.sluhn.org
St. Luke’s Individualized Breast Screening Program All breasts are not alike. In fact, 40% of all women have dense breast tissue and may benefit from further testing to supplement mammography. St. Luke’s offers leadingedge breast screening technologies that adapt to each woman’s unique needs, providing a fast, confident diagnosis. Ask your doctor what breast screening is right for you. Physician referral is required for breast services.
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 3
Contributors June/July 2017
MARTIN WILSON
KIMBERLY BLAKER
Delaware Water Gap / P. 6
Finding a Dog to Fit Your Family’s
Martin W. Wilson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of History at East Stroudsburg University where he teaches courses in American History, Pennsylvania History, Urban American History, and the Revolutionary Era on both the undergraduate and graduate level. He lives in Delaware Water Gap with his wife Susan. He is the Curator at the Dutot Museum in Water Gap and a member of the Board of Directors of the Monroe County Historical Association.
JOHN J. DONAHUE
Lifestyle / P. 25 Kimberly Blaker, of Michigan, is a realtor and an author and freelance writer. Her articles have appeared in more than 200 newspapers, parenting and women’s magazines, and other publications throughout the U.S.
DAVID PIERCE
The Golden Age of the
Tock’s Island & The Delaware Water
Water Gap / P. 18
Gap National Recreation Area/ P. 39
John J. Donahue is the longest running superintendent in the fifty year history of Delaware Water Gap NRA and the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River, having managed the parks since 2003. He has also been the superintendent of Big Cypress National Preserve, Desoto National Monument, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, and Thomas Stone National Historic Site. He served as a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Department of Interior and as an Environmental Protection Specialist, a Resource Manager, Interpreter and started with the agency as a Gardener.
David Pierce is writing a book on the creation of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The Stroudsburg High School grad left the area for nearly 25 years before returning in 2000. His journalism career has included reporting for the Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, the Alaska Public Radio Network and the Pocono Record. He served 12 years as editor of the Springville Journal in suburban Buffalo. He has won awards for news stories, editorials and opinion columns. In 2004, Pierce received the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s “most prestigious honor,” the G. Richard Dew Award for journalistic service.
AMY LEISER
JAMIE BOWMAN
Delaware Water Gap Born from Tourism / P. 23 Amy Leiser is a local resident and historian who has been working with the Monroe County Historical Association for 19 years. In addition to the live tours, research assistance, and museum that the organization keeps available, Leiser offers her knowledge and assistance with family charting and genealogy. Visit www.monroehistorical.org
4 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Weed & Feed - Edit/ P. 49 Jamie Bowman is a freelance writer, Penn State graduate, and lifelong resident of the Poconos. A teacher by day and a writer by night, Jamie spends her free time running and cheering for the Nittany Lions on game day.
June/July 2017
What’s Inside 6 Delaware Water Gap 18 The Golden Age of the Water Gap by John J. Donahue
23 Delaware Water Gap Born from Tourism
by Amy Leiser
25 Plan Ahead to Reap the Rewards of a Loving Family Pet
by Kimberly Blaker
31 Guide to the Gap 39 Tock’s Island & The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
by Dave Pierce
47 Make Memories with a Well-Groomed Lawn 52 Banking History of Monroe County
by Amy Leiser
56 In and Around the Poconos 60 Great Grandfather Malachy Michael McCoy
by Boots McCoy
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 5
Delaware Water Gap By: Martin Wilson
A
s a sunflower seed needs fertile earth, an adequate supply of water, mild temperatures, and plenty of sunlight to grow, so too, a resort community, in order to flower, requires specific conditions. For Delaware Water Gap, those conditions existed during the last half of the nineteenth, and the first third of the twentieth centuries. During that period, America’s vacation habits and the limitations of transportation, coupled with the scenic beauty of the area and the entrepreneurial spirit of some local residents, conspired to transform the tiny borough into the heart of one of the most popular inland resort areas in the eastern United States. Each summer during that period its year-round population of about 400 was augmented by approximately 2500 visitors, many of whom stayed the entire season. Life before indoor plumbing, super highways, and air-conditioning is hard to imagine for those of us who did not experience it. Summer, for city dwellers especially, must have been unpleasant and even unhealthful. Depending on individual economic circumstances, urbanites responded to unbearable summer heat in a number of ways. The wealthiest escaped for the entire season to Bar Harbor, Newport, or to other playgrounds of the rich. Working class 6 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
and lower middle class Philadelphians traveled to Atlantic City to enjoy the cool sea breezes and the ever-present holiday atmosphere. For New Yorkers, Coney Island served as the destination of choice every year. Not everyone, though, preferred the excitement and noise of these two seaside playgrounds. Many more prosperous middle-class city dwellers opted for the refreshing mountain air and the scenic beauty of America’s inland resort areas, one of which was Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania.
The settlement of Delaware Water Gap In 1793, when Antoine Dutot arrived in the area with the intention of founding a city, the vicinity just north of the geological formation known as the Delaware Water Gap, had been the site of human habitation for thousands of years. Known as the Minisink by the Lenni-Lenapes, it is estimated that the area was first inhabited by the PaleoIndians as early as 10,000 to 12,000 B.C. When the first white men reached the region in 1614, they encountered the Minsi tribe of the Wolf Clan of the Lenni-Lenape Nation (the Lenni-Lenape were commonly referred to as the Delaware Indians because they ranged from the headwaters of the Delaware River to the shores of the Delaware Bay).
Copper mining ceased in 1664 when the Dutch surrendered New York to the English. The Copper Mine Road continued to be used, though, by Dutch, English, French, and even some Spanish and German settlers who colonized the eastern side of the river north of the Gap. The first settler on the west bank of the Delaware River in the Minisink was Nicolas Depui who, in 1727, moved his family from the Hudson Valley to present day Shawnee. Due to the difficulty of travel through the Gap (the mountains reached right down to the river leaving no room for a road or path), settlers in the Minisink knew little or nothing of settlements to the south. In 1730, Thomas Penn, son of William, sent Nicholas Scull on an expedition from Philadelphia to the Minisink to investigate rumors of settlements there. As a result of Scull’s visit, Depui was required to repurchase land from William Allen (who had obtained it from Penn) that he had previously bought from the Indians. After Scull’s sojourn, settlers from south of the mountains began to travel into the area. (Northern-bound settlers reached the area via Wind Gap.) It was not until the end of the eighteenth century, however, that the flow from the south eclipsed that of the north.
Dutotsburg A settler from present-day Albany, Daniel Brodhead, moved his family to the area in 1737. Settling in presentday East Stroudsburg, Brodhead lent his name to the new town of Dansbury. The Indian wars of mid-eighteenth century led to a thinning of settlers as many moved away to avoid hostilities. By the time another settler, Jacob Stroud, returned to the area after the Revolutionary War, the Indian threat had been eliminated. Stroud was able to acquired several abandoned farms at very little cost. By 1806, he owned so much land that the area in which he lived began to be called Stroudsburg. Delaware Water Gap remained unsettled long after settlements nearby had grown. In 1793, Antoine Dutot, a French plantation owner in Santa Domingo, fled the
Delaware Water Gap
The Minisink was first explored by Europeans in 1614 by three travelers from New Amsterdam who descended from the Hudson River. They were followed in 1620 by a second group of Dutchmen who, in their report, referred to mineral deposits, especially copper, present in the region. At some point subsequent to the 1620 visit, the Dutch started to mine the copper (a reference to copper ore mined in the Minisink appeared in a 1641 journal article originating in the New Netherlands). In order to get the ore from the mines (which still exist about three miles north of the gap on the New Jersey side of the river) to Esopus (Kingston, New York), the mining company built a road connecting the two. It was along this one hundred mile-long road that the first settlers reached the Minisink.
slave uprising there and headed toward Philadelphia. Upon arriving in the Quaker city, Dutot was advised to travel up the Delaware River to the Gap, where he purchased a large tract of land and began to lay out an inland city. He erected a dozen or more wooden buildings, designated a triangular piece of ground for a market, and named the new town after himself. Dutotsburg never became the bustling city its founder had envisioned, however. People moving into the tiny borough built their own houses and Dutot’s structures fell into disrepair. Eventually Dutotsburg became known as the borough of Delaware Water Gap, probably in order to benefit from the inherent advertising benefits associated with the well-known geological formation.
Early Growth of the Resorts
The natural beauty of the Delaware Water Gap proved to be an attraction to people traveling through the area. As early as 1820, visitors began staying in the small town where they roomed with local families in order to enjoy the scenery. Conscious of the possibilities, Dutot began constructing a small hotel overlooking the Delaware River in 1829. By 1832, however, he had run out of money and sold the incomplete building to Samuel Snyder. Snyder enlarged and completed the hotel which he named the Kittatinny. The new structure could accommodate twenty-five people and was filled the first season it opened. William A. Brodhead rented the Kittatinny from 1841 to 1851, when he bought it and increased its capacity to sixty. Over the next fifteen years the Kittatinny’s size was increased on four separate occasions, first under William Brodhead, and, after 1857, under its new manager, Luke W. Brodhead. By 1860, the hotel could accommodate two hundred and fifty guests.
The success of the Kittatinny led to the establishment of other hotels. In addition, families opened their homes to visitors as a means of augmenting their income. At least one private home gradually grew into a full-fledged resort (the River Farm). By the Civil War, Delaware Water Gap’s popularity as a resort area was becoming well-known throughout the northeastern United States. The strained economy of the war years led to a decline in the budding resort industry, but the reconstruction period found city dwellers once again traveling to the Gap. By 1867, the Brainerd, the Lenape, the Glenwood, the River Farm, and the Arlington, had joined the Kittatinny in offering accommodations to visitors. On June 20th, 1872, a new hotel that rivaled the Kittatinny in size and splendor, the Water Gap House, opened its doors.
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Water Gap’s Popularity “Delaware Water Gap was the second largest inland resort town in the United States after the Civil War (ranking behind Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), and its clientele were the upper classes of Philadelphia and New York.” So says one writer about the area. Although such rankings are hard to quantify, it is clear that the Gap enjoyed a national reputation for its resorts and drew prominent financiers, politicians, and society people from the time of the Civil War until World War I. Even a United States President visited the town (Theodore Roosevelt visited the Water Gap House on August 2, 1910). A publisher of world famous guide books in the nineteenth century included Delaware Water Gap among the fifteen scenic marvels of the United States. In 1906, an advertising pamphlet estimated that over one-half million people visited the Gap annually. Unlike today’s vacationer who may stay at a hotel for only one night or perhaps a week, Victorian Americans would often spend an entire season at their favorite resort -- no doubt as a means of escaping the insufferable summer heat in the city. It was the custom among those families who could afford it to pack mom and the kids off to a hotel in the country for the entire summer where the father would join them on weekends. Summer visitors returned to the same resort year after year, calling it their second home. What did the Gap have that attracted city visitors? According to Luke W. Brodhead, one of the managers of the Kittatinny and author of a book about the history and legends of the Gap: The principal sources of amusement and recreation are the rambles over miles of mountain paths with vistas of great beauty opening at frequent intervals; carriage drives in many directions over a picturesque and interesting country; steamboat and rowboat service, and good bass fishing on the river in season and trout fishing in the adjacent streams. “Perhaps the featuring asset of the Gap, aside from its beautiful gorge, through which flows the placid Delaware, is its health giving atmosphere, which permeates everywhere and which in itself has given the region much of its charm and popularity.” This claim was made by an author extolling the beauty of the area in a book published in 1897. Whether the “atmosphere” in the region is any more healthful than anywhere else is, of course, open to debate. Nevertheless, that theme was played repeatedly in advertisements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. “The atmosphere is pure and dry, always cool evenings, and even at mid-day seldom so warm as to be uncomfortable. The whole region 8 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Photo by: Jonathan Ace
is free from mosquitoes or malaria.” (This from an 1895 book.) As early as 1866, the local newspaper, The Jeffersonian Republican , ran a story reporting that the hotels and boarding houses were full; thus city people were escaping the danger of cholera. In 1873, Doctor F. Wilson Hurd decided that Monroe County would be an ideal spot for his Wesley Water Cure. The Water Cure of Experiment Mills (later the Water Gap Sanitarium) was built near the present Quality Inn just off the Marshall’s Creek exit of Rt. 80, and was instrumental in increasing the influx of visitors to the area. For the last quarter of the nineteenth century the Gap’s popularity earned it repeated mention in The New York Times . During the summer season, four to five articles a month appeared in that paper written by a correspondent in the town. In order for families to take advantage of Delaware Water Gap as a vacation spot, good transportation was needed to insure that the patriarch could travel back to the city for the week’s labor. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, good transportation (inland) meant railroads.
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Transportation to the Gap Roads: As we have seen, the natural barrier of the Blue Mountains led to early settlement of the area by people moving south from the Hudson River valley instead of north from Philadelphia. Prior to 1800, when Abram B. Giles constructed a wagon road through it, the Delaware Water Gap was not considered a practical passage north or south. Only rough Indian trails wound round the base of the mountains on both sides of the river. (A main Indian trail, upon which a road was later built by colonists, wound through what is now called the Wind Gap as it passed over the mountains.) Shortly after Giles completed his road, a visitor traveled the route and described it as a: wagon road leading between the mountain’s edge & the river & which all the labour of the inhabitants have been ineffectual to make more than about 8 feet wide or to clear from excessive roughness as it leads over one rough hillock to another the whole distance. Around 1799, in anticipation of the completion of the road, Benjamin Bonham constructed a small inn along it -- the first in a town later to become famous for its hotels. Antoine Dutot built a road in 1798 from his saw mill, below where the Kittatinny once stood, to the site of his planned city. A few years later he obtained a charter for a toll-road and extended his existing road to the River Farm where it connected with one running from Shawnee to Tatamy Gap. Although he set up a toll-
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gate along the way, he had trouble collecting tolls. In 1823, his road was superseded by one built by the state. In order to meet the needs of the growing county, roads were widen and improved, and stagecoach lines began to operate. By 1846, a passenger and mail stagecoach stopped in Stroudsburg on the way to Milford from Easton three times a week. By that time, the road through the Gap was sufficiently improved to carry stagecoach travel.
Railroads A common ingredient in the success of the towns of Delaware Water Gap, Atlantic City, and Coney Island as resorts was the existence of railroads. The introduction of rail service to these areas resulted in their increased popularity (in fact, Atlantic City did not exist until a rail line was built to the New Jersey shore). In the early nineteenth century, Henry Drinker, owner of large tracts of land in northeastern Pennsylvania, dreamed of a rail line between the coal fields of Lackawanna County and the Delaware Water Gap. Drinker hoped to connect his line with one into New York, thus improving the marketability of the anthracite coal that had been discovered in the valley. It was not until March 11, 1853, however, that the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was formed from the consolidation of two smaller lines. On January 21, 1856, the first train ran from Scranton to the Delaware River five miles below the Gap. 10 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
It could go no further because the Warren Railroad in New Jersey was not yet open. By May 13 of that year, though, trains could travel from Great Bend (north of Scranton) to New York (actually the route terminated at Elizabethport, New Jersey, opposite the northwest tip of Staten Island). The Southern Division of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was officially opened on May 27, 1856. A train leaving New York at 7:30 in the morning arrived in Delaware Water Gap at 1:15 that afternoon, a trip of almost six hours. With the intention of gaining access to a terminal closer to Manhattan, the D.L.& W. signed a lease with the Morris & Essex Railroad on December 10, 1868. The lease provided that the D.L.& W. would take over the Morris and Essex on December 31, 1868; thus Hoboken, right across the Hudson from New York City, became the D.L.& W.’s New York station. A ferry ran from the Hoboken terminal to the foot of Christopher Street, directly across the river in Manhattan, and to the foot of Barclay Street which is further downtown. The changes cut over an hour from the trip to the Water Gap. In 1900, William Truesdale, president of the D.L.& W., perceived that a new route was needed across New Jersey to forestall competitors from gaining the upper hand in passenger traffic. During 1906 and 1907, three studies were conducted to examine the feasibility of shortening the trip from New York to the Gap. It was decided to build a new route from Lake Hopatcong to Slateford, Pennsylvania. The following account, published in a history of the D.L.& W., illustrates the enormity of the new line (commonly called the New Jersey Cut-Off):
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Truesdale staked the future of his railroad on the success of the new line. Finished on December 24, 1911, at a cost of $11,065,511.43, the new route was a fast and smooth downhill run of twenty-eight miles. It cut eleven miles and twenty-seven minutes off the trip from New York. In 1895, it cost $2.55 for a ticket from New York to the Gap. Ten years later, it cost twenty cents less. By 1933, the price was up to $2.82. With faster trains and more efficient scheduling, the time it took the train to reach Water Gap from Barclay Street gradually decreased. In 1959, it took just under three hours. Passenger service on the D.L.& W. ended on January 5, 1970. Another railroad company, the New York, Susquehanna & Western, provided passenger service to the area. Starting on October 24, 1882, the N.Y.,S.& W. ran from Weehawken, New Jersey and stopped in North Water Gap (Minisink Hills), and in Stroudsburg (near the present V.F.W.). The line crossed the Delaware just north of the Route 80 toll bridge (its stone supports can still be seen in the river). N.Y.,S.& W. service to the Poconos ended in 1940. Passenger service from Philadelphia to the Gap was available on the Belvidere-Delaware Railroad (Trenton to Belvidere). Sometime around 1850, the Belvidere-Delaware extended its track to Manuka Chunk where it connected with the Warren Railroad. Passenger service was provided until October 4, 1947. (The line had earlier been absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad.)
Trolleys
Delaware Water Gap
The country to be crossed was anything but level. Valleys and roads ran north and south; the railroad ran east and west. There were to be no grade crossings. The new route would require 28.5 miles of new track, two large viaducts, and a fill three miles long and from 75 to 140 feet high. West of the Pequest fill, as it was named, were six miles of continuous cuts and fills. There were thirteen fills, most of which were about fifty feet high, and with fifteen cuts with the big Cut west of Johnsonburg being a maximum of one hundred feet deep and a mile long.
On July 10, 1907, The Mountain View Line, connecting Delaware Water Gap with existing trolley lines in Stroudsburg, began operations. During the school year, the trolley served as a school bus, charging students fifteen cents each way.
Meanwhile, trackage was being laid south of the Blue Mountain by the Lehigh Valley Traction Company that would eventually reach the Water Gap resorts. In connection with that company, on August 28, 1905, the Bangor and Portland Traction Company entered Portland from the west, having underpassed the Delaware, Lackawanna and Delaware tracks after a three year conflict. Railroad companies were reluctant to allow trolleys, their competitors, to cross rail lines. The plan was to continue the line into Stroudsburg, but the Lehigh and New England Railroad Company refused permission for trolley tracks to be laid across their rails, and the extension to the resorts was abandoned. Tourists from Philadelphia could travel north on the trolley to Nazareth where they had to change cars. From Nazareth they traveled on the Slate Belt Electric Railway Company’s cars to Bangor where they switched cars again to those of the Bangor and Portland Traction Company. At Portland, passengers could ride a bus into Water Gap, or they could take the D.L.& W. The first “Delaware Water Gap Limited” left Chestnut Hill at 9:30 on the morning of July 17, 1908, and reached the Gap six hours and forty minutes later.
Wanting to gain access to the resorts at Water Gap for their “Liberty Bell” route, the Lehigh Valley Traction Company invested $50,000 in the Water Gap and Portland Street Railway Company. On February 21, 1911, portions of the mountain at the narrowest part of the Gap were dynamited to permit space for the tracks. By October, trolleys were running between Stroudsburg and Portland on the newly created Stroudsburg, Water Gap and Portland Railway Company. Open, screen-sided double truck cars painted lemon-yellow were in service in the summer and enclosed cars were used the rest of the year.
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 11
On April 1, 1910, the Lehigh Valley Traction Company announced an arrangement with the Philadelphia and Western Railway Company to use part of its line. The use of this track with its terminal at the 69th Street Station in Upper Darby was part of a larger upgrading of the entire rail system. By 1912, passengers could make the entire trip from Upper Darby to Portland without changing cars. Passengers dined during scheduled dinner stops at hotels in either Allentown, Rittersville, Bethlehem, or Nazareth. Alterations made to the cars on the Water Gap route for the comfort of passengers on the long ride included black leather seats with arm rests; baggage racks; carpeted floors; iced drinking water facilities; a uniformed “tour guide” who pointed out points of interest along the way; and a flashy, newly painted Liberty Bell Limited sign. At Portland, where the Lehigh and New England still refused a right-of-way to the trolley, passengers had to pick up their bags, get off one trolley and walk across the L.N.& E. tracks, and then board another trolley for the ride into Delaware Water Gap. Direct service to Portland was short-lived. Before the 1913 vacation season opened, continuous service on the Water Gap route was canceled. Passengers had to change cars in Allentown. In addition to the Liberty Bell Route, the Delaware Valley Route of the Philadelphia and Easton Transit company ran a trolley from Philadelphia to the Gap between the years 1908 to 1915. The journey took six hours and cost $2.40 round-trip. North of Easton the line was called the Blue Mountain Route and continued in service until November 25, 1926. From Bangor to Portland the route shared L.V.T. Company’s tracks.
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In 1917, the Stroudsburg, Water Gap and Portland Railway Company became the Stroudsburg Traction Company. The growing popularity of the automobile, however, rang the death-knell of the trolleys. On March 20, 1926, the Bangor-Portland was abandoned and the rightof-way was sold to Northhampton County for construction of a new highway between Portland and Mount Bethel. In November of the same year, the lease of the right-of-way between Portland and Water Gap, which was owned by the D.L.& W., was canceled thus ending service between the two towns. Stroudsburg Traction Company ceased operations in 1928 after trying unsuccessfully to compete with growing bus lines. The last trolley in Stroudsburg ran on September 8. In commemoration several hundred people turned out to witness the end of an era. A local band played “The Old Grey Mare Ain’t What She Used To Be.”
The Mountain Echo For a time, beginning in 1879, Delaware Water Gap had its own newspaper. Called The Mountain Echo , the small, seasonal paper focused on activities at the hotels and on local places of interest. The editor was local photographer Jesse A. Graves. One of the services dutifully carried out by the periodical was the listing of all the guests staying at the various resorts.
The Hotels A 1909 guide to summer resorts in the area had this to say about Delaware Water Gap: Its quota of hotels is second to none in the Unites States. They compare favorably with those in any other section
of the country in size and attractiveness and are comparable only to the very finest in the matter or cuisine. It is difficult to accurately determine how many hotels operated in the Gap. A search in surviving pamphlets and newspapers for advertisements reveal evidence of only the larger establishments. In addition, as some hotels changed owners, they also changed names, further clouding the issue. Nevertheless, it is estimated that the town of 400 permanent residents could accommodate over 2500 people. Long-time Water Gap resident Casey Drake remembers that, as a boy, the town was so crowded in the summer that it was often difficult to walk down the street. The two largest and perhaps best known of the hotels were the Kittatinny and the Water Gap House. The Kittatinny was located at the present site of the overlook along Rt. 611 just south of the borough. Part of its foundation still stands beneath the spot from which visitors look out at the Delaware River and the Rt. 80 bridge. The same view was enjoyed by guests of the Kittatinny as they stood on the hotel’s large veranda. In 1874, the Brodhead brothers increased the hotel’s capacity to 275. Then, in 1892, the building was razed to make room for a larger, more elegant New Kittatinny. Able to accommodate 500 guests, the hotel boasted, in addition to spectacular views and cool breezes, the following: Electric lights, elevators, steam heat, running mountain spring water in rooms [and a mountain stream running under the kitchen -- which can still be seen from the Rt. 80 bridge], private baths, etc. Noted for its cuisine and service, and the hotel’s farm gives to the table products “par Excellence.” ...Bell phone 92; telegraph office in hotel, orchestra, social diversions. A 1908 advertisement lists G. Frank Cope as proprietor. Similarly, one from 1917 lists John Purdy Cope as owner. The Water Gap House was located above the Kittatinny on Sunset Hill (so named because when one stands facing east on the hill one can see the shadows on the mountain across the Delaware slowly rise as the sun sets in the West). Opened by Luke W. Brodhead on June 20, 1872, the Water Gap House had first and second story piazzas twelve to fifteen feet wide and 650 feet long looking out over one of the finest views in the area. In keeping with the mores of the times, Brodhead built the hotel with no bar. In 1908, the Water Gap House was completely rebuilt at a cost of over $100,000. John Purdy Cope, its new owner, advertised its attractions in the June 14, 1908 edition of The New York Times:
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JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 13
Capacity, 300. A MOUNTAIN PARADISE; highest altitude, coolest location, always a breeze, no humidity.... Commanding views for 30 miles in every direction of the grandest scenery east of the Rockies. Hotel is surrounded by its magnificent park of Old Shades, Rhododendron, Wild Flowers, Rare Plants, and Fine Lawns. ...entertaining refined, high-class patronage. Running mountain spring water and stationery stands in all rooms. Fifty private tile bats, also public baths. ...Telephones and telegraphs. Solariums and balconies on all floors. Steam heat, open log fireplaces. Electric lights. Hydraulic elevator. Most modern sanitary arrangements. ...Hotel supplied from own greenhouse and farm with early vegetables and poultry. Milk from our own dairy of registered cows. Every outdoor sport and indoor amusement. Orchestra and frequent social functions. Private riding academy with high-class saddle horses and instructors; nine-hole golf links; garage and livery -- all within the grounds. Coaches meet all trains. The Glenwood House opened its doors to summer visitors in 1862 after serving for a while as a boy’s academy. In 1897, it was catering to 200 guests, was opened from May to November, and could boast private balconies on the second floor. A 1909 advertisement 14 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINEŠ JUNE/JULY 2017
claimed a capacity of 400. The Glenwood also supplied its tables with fresh fruits and vegetables from its own farm. Of the old resort-hotels, the Glenwood is the only one still operating as a resort today. (The Central House, now the Deer Head Inn, still functions as a rooming house and its bar enjoys a reputation as something of a jazz mecca.) The Castle Inn opened for business in 1909, and was the last of the great hotels built in the Gap. When it opened it had 112 guest rooms, a ball room, recreation rooms, its own power plant, and its own freezing plant. The Bellevue was known by two other names over the years. First it was the Juniper Grove House, and later it was called the Arlington. As the Bellevue, it could sleep 150 guests and claimed to be the popular hotel for young people. A big selling point for this and some of the other hotels was their proximity to the train station. The hotel located closest to the station was the Delaware House, which was situated just across the street. Open all year, the Delaware House could accommodate 50 people and offered, in addition to the normal activities such as fishing, boating, and bathing, also bowling, pool, and billiards.
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The Riverview, also located near the station, had a capacity of 250. The Mountain House could hold eighty guests, and the Forest House could hold 100. These are just some of the hotels located in the Gap (a list follows). Many hotels, while not located in Delaware Water Gap, nevertheless maintained an address in town in hopes of benefiting from the Gap’s popularity. The Karamac, for instance, was located across the river in New Jersey, and yet advertised its Delaware Water Gap address.
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The End of an Era At five o’clock in the afternoon of Thursday, November 11, 1915, workmen, helping to close the Water Gap House for the winter, discovered a fire which had broken out in one of the guest rooms of the hotel. An alarm was sounded and several fire companies responded; but their efforts were in vain. Though a light rain was falling at the time, the entire structure was leveled in only a matter of hours. The loss was estimated at between $150,000 and $200,000. Four days after the fire, it was announced that a new hotel, as large as the Water Gap
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Delaware Water Ga
House, would be built on the same site. The planned hotel was to be fire-proof and, hopefully, would be open for some of the 1916 season. The hotel was never built.
Cope experienced another disaster in 1931, when the Kittatinny burned to the ground. He and his family were awakened at four o’clock on the morning of October 30, by a passing motorist who had seen flames coming from the Kittatinny. By six o’clock, the entire structure was engulfed -- a loss of between $500,000 and $750,000.
Why was neither hotel rebuilt? Over the years the Poconos have continued to be a major resort region. Delaware Water Gap, however, has steadily declined as a resort community. Part of the answer for the Gap’s decline as a resort lay with changing transportation trends; there was a clear symbiotic relationship between the resort and transportation industries in the town and surrounding area. The large hotels were in an ideal location to benefit from the easy access that the rail lines and trolleys provided. The hotels also furnished the varied transportation companies with a “draw” or need for transportation which the various companies were eager to fulfill. As the business of travel matured into the automobile oriented industry of today, however, the demand for the large hotels located on rail lines diminished. The popularity of the automobile after World War I, in part, changed the way people took vacations. No longer tied to the rail system for transportation, a whole new concept of vacationing developed. In 1909, a story in The New York Times anticipated this trend when it reported that a weekend outing with the entire family, stopping for a night’s lodging at some comfortable but not too expensive hotel, was superseding the summer-long separation of the father from his family. The automobile was only part of the answer though. Tough economic times of the 1930’s erected a hurdle that, in combination with other factors mentioned, proved too high for Water Gap’s resorts to overcome. When the resort industry began to expand after World War II, Delaware Water Gap seemed, for the most part, content to let the resurgence pass the town by. Many of the small boarding houses were converted into private residences. Most of the old hotels were either destroyed by fire, were closed, or continued to operate as best they could under changed conditions. Water Gap’s heyday as a resort had come to an end. •
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“We provide people with the opportunity to be inspired”
Golden Age THE
O F T H E W AT E R G A P
By: John J. Donahue
John J. Donahue, Superintendent of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 18 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Fifty-two years ago the United States Congress responded to the grassroots efforts of the people from the Delaware River Valley and abandoned the desecration of the longest undammed river in the Eastern United States. Instead they created the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA) without a dam and or a manmade lake. This event is one of two circumstances that have a direct nexus to the creation of the modern environmental movement. The other event was the Santa Barbara oil spill. Before laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) created the right and the process for citizens to determine the course of Federal projects, our local residents sent a housewife to the Supreme Court to make their case. At the end of the day, the river and the surrounding valley were preserved in perpetuity for future generations. In a shining example of democracy in action, Congress reacted to the will of the people, stopped the Tocks Island Dam project and created
DEWA as a sanctuary for millions of urban, suburban and rural people living within a day’s drive of this very special place. The National Park Service (NPS) was mandated to take the reins and to provide those millions with nature based recreational opportunities and inspiration. The wisdom of that choice reflects the history of this area as a place for the working class to enjoy. When the industrial revolution created an opportunity for vacations for many who were not wealthy, Delaware Water Gap was one of their first destinations. Farms became resorts and people from many different circumstances came to enjoy the nature, bicycling through local history and time on the river. While many national parks were created, in the nineteenth century, in places that could only be reached by railroads and only by those who had the time and money to do so, DEWA was specifically set aside as a people’s park as the legislative history makes clear. That tradition continues today and people stream in from many directions year round for four seasons of fun, solitude and an opportunity to be inspired.
“… people stream in from many directions year round for four seasons of fun, solitude and an opportunity to be inspired.”
Today the park is still a tapestry woven from both natural and cultural resources. The history and archeology of the area are reflected in every mile of road, trail and waterway. The next fifty years is what the park staff are focused on even as we pause to reflect on the past. We are engaged in a Visitor Use Management Plan and soon will begin a Historic Properties Management Plan so the public can help us understand where the next century should take their park. We have a vision of a sustainable operations reflecting the values of natural and historical conservation and creating an easily recognizable identity for this special place that includes education, organizational efficiency and most of all our neighbors as full partners in creating that future. Our dedicated staff personifies the motto: “We provide people with the opportunity to be inspired.” Whatever you find here in this special place that inspires you, we are proud to preserve it for future generations. If they can have the same experience a century from now as you do today we will have been successful in our mission. •
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 19
DINING IN THE POCONOS
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22 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Delaware Water Gap born from tourism
By: Amy Leiser The area that would become the Borough of Delaware Water Gap was founded by Antoine Dutot, a French-born settler who emigrated from Santo Domingo in 1793. Dutot first arrived in Philadelphia where he was encouraged to settle northward along the Delaware River. It was here that he bought large tracts of land and named his settlement, Dutotsburg, after himself. Dutot died in 1841 and did not live to see Delaware Water Gap become the bustling city he had hoped. Delaware Water Gap became a borough on May 31, 1889 when it broke off of Smithfield Township. John F. Barteau was chosen the Chief Burgess at a special election held at the Kittatinny House the following month on June 18. Interestingly, the borough’s fist official name was “Borough of Water Gap;” as it was incorporated in 1889, the names left out the word “Delaware.” The mistake was realized, and Barteau appeared before the courts on August 12, 1889 to rectify the error and amend the title to the “Borough of Delaware Water Gap.” In addition to Dutotsburg, Delaware Water Gap has also been known as “Monroe Square” and “Wolf Hollow.” Because of the stunning landscape and majestic views, the area became an important destination for tourists starting in the 1800s. In fact, Delaware Water Gap was such a famous destination that it became the second largest inland resort in the United States (behind Saratoga Springs) and held the title of the most desirable vacation location in Pennsylvania. The two most famous resorts were the Kittatinny Hotel and the Water Gap House. The Kittatinny Hotel was the earliest hotel in the borough and was built in 1829 by Antoine Dutot. Originally a 25-room structure, the building expanded over the years into a 500-room hotel. The Water Gap House was built in 1872 by Luke W. Brodhead and could accommodate 275 guests. The Glenwood House was built by Rev. Heratio Howell and welcomed 200 guests, and the Riverview House was built by John Blair and
was originally known as the Lenape House. The central House, today known as the Deerhead Inn, was built in 1885 by Samuel Overfield. In 1900, B.F. Skiurm built the Delaware House which featured a bowling alley and was located closest to the train station. Of course, there were many small boarding houses and cottages for rent.
“...the stunning landscape and majestic views, the area became an important destination for tourists starting in the 1800s.” In 1903, the Delaware Water Gap train station was built and featured high ceilings, granite flooring, and chandeliers. This elegant structure welcomed thousands of tourists, and town and rail officials felt it was important to impress the clientele, especially since the Borough of Delaware Water Gap was the “Gateway to the Poconos.” The transportation industry goes hand-in-hand with the tourism industry. The Presbyterian Church of the Mountain was dedicated in 1854, and the first minister was Horatio Howell. The first newspaper in Delaware Water Gap was known as the Mountain Echo, and it was first published in 1879. The first post office was opened in 1806 with Dutot serving as the first postmaster. There is only one cemetery located within the boundaries of Delaware Water Gap. The oldest headstone dates to 1840, and the cemetery is still in use today. During the summer months, Delaware Water Gap’s population swelled with visitors. In the August 21, 1890 edition of the Stroudsburg Times, it was reported that 467 people permanently resided in the Borough. By 2010, that number increased to 746 individuals. Today, the Borough of Delaware Water Gap has the smallest population of residents of any municipality in Monroe County. •
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 23
24 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Finding a Dog to Fit Your Family’s Lifestyle:
Plan ahead to reap the rewards
OF A LOVING FAMILY PET By: Kimberly Blaker
Every year thousands of dogs are turned over to animal shelters because they were given as a gift without first consulting the gift recipient, or families discover they brought home a biter, barker, digger, or jumper. When pets are given away, the pets, their owners, and children all suffer. So before selecting your dog, do your homework. With a little pre-planning, you can find the dog that most closely fits your family’s or recipient’s lifestyle.
• Variety of dogs, variety of nuisances Dogs can create many nuisances some of which are more common in particular breeds. A barking dog helps protect against intruders. But excessive barking can become a problem. Some breeds known for their barking include the Alaskan Malamute, American Water Spaniel, Bassett Hound, Finnish Spitz, Fox and other Terriers, Great Pyrenees, and Miniature Schnauzer. A playful, energetic puppy can make a great playmate for your child. But as your puppy grows, that hyperactivity could become overwhelming. High-strung dogs often jump on people and tear through the house. Certain breeds tend to maintain that high energy level well into their adult size bodies. Such breeds include Airedale Terriers, Boxer, Brittany, Cocker Spaniel, Dalmatian, Golden Retriever, Irish Setter, Jack Russell Terrier, Labrador Retriever, Pointer, and Schnauzer. Dogs dig for many reasons—to bury a bone, to escape from a fenced yard, to keep cool, or out of boredom. A torn-up yard can be the last straw for many dog owners. Diggers include Fox Terriers, Norwich Terrier, and Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen. Dogs can be aggressive for a variety of reasons. Poor breeding, physical abuse, and even disease can cause aggression in a dog. And certain dominant breeds can tend toward aggressiveness if not handled properly. These dogs should be
chosen with caution and the understanding they require strong leadership: Akita, American Pit Bull Terrier, Bulldog, Bullmastiff, Chow Chow, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, Siberian Husky, and Weimaraner. Grooming is another consideration. While it may sound painless, the upkeep of certain breeds can be overwhelming. In addition to keeping claws trimmed and an occasional bath, some dogs require lengthy daily brushing to remove tangles or trapped fur in double coats. High maintenance breeds include the American Eskimo, Cocker Spaniel, Collie, Great Pyrenees, Llaso Apso, Old English Sheepdog, Poodle, Schnauzer, and Terriers.
• Traits to look for in a family dog Finding a dog that’ll be easy for your child to handle and assist in training will reduce many unforeseen problems. Easy trainers include American Water Spaniel, Australian Shepherd, Bichon Frise, Cocker Spaniel, Irish Setter, Italian Greyhound, Maltese, and Shetland Sheepdog.
“Certain breeds tend to maintain
that high energy level well into their adult size bodies.”
Calm, gentle breeds are important for families with small children. Keep in mind that size doesn’t dictate these traits. Gentle breeds you might consider are Bassett Hound, Beagle, Bearded Collie, Chinese Crested, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Newfoundland, and Mastiff. JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 25
Playful and energetic puppies work well for older children who won’t feel threatened by the dog’s full-grown size. These breeds include American Eskimo, Bloodhound, Brittany, Dalmatian, Golden Retriever, Irish Wolfhound, Labrador Retriever, Pointer, Poodle, Saint Bernard, and Schnauzer. There are many other traits to consider in choosing a new dog. Before bringing home your puppy, read a book or articles about the breed that interests you to determine if he’ll fit your family’s lifestyle. For personalized assistance in choosing a breed, go to www.selectsmart.com/DOG/ or one of the many other breed selection sites. You’ll be guided through a series of questions and receive a free personalized list of matches.
• Special Considerations The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 800,000 people, mostly children, are bitten annually severely enough to require medical attention. Infants and small children shouldn’t be left
26 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
alone with a dog. It may be difficult to picture your lovable Fido as capable of hurting your child. However, even the gentlest dogs have been known to bite. Little ones sometimes get too close to a dog while he’s eating or chewing a bone or startle a dog while she’s sleeping. Sometimes, small children hang on dogs, pull their tails, or threaten a dog’s safety. In addition, dogs view their family as part of its pack. A properly trained dog should view adults and older children as alpha (top dog). However, a dog isn’t likely to view a small child in this light and may wield his authority when no one’s around. Apartment living is another consideration. The size dog you choose is important to both your dog’s well being and to maintaining your sanity. High energy and medium to large breeds generally need large areas to romp. Without it, your apartment could become a round-the-clock racetrack. Planning regular walks for these dogs may not be sufficient. You’ll tire long before your dog, and there’ll be occasions when you just won’t be able to accommodate your puppy’s need to exercise.
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If your family has members with bad allergies or asthma, check with your doctor before bringing ANY furred, feathered, or finned pet into your home. Finally, keep in mind that no matter how sincere your child’s intent to care for his new pet, it’s a big responsibility and ultimately, parents take the brunt of the work. The holiday season may not be the best time of year to bring home a new puppy, according to Marta Diffen of the Michigan Humane Society. Families are generally too busy during the holidays to give a new pet the attention it needs. Choose a season when you’ll be able to spend plenty of time with your new dog as she adjusts to her new home.
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The costs of pet ownership should also be weighed out. First, there are the obvious costs such as purchasing pet food and annual vaccinations. Other expenses include licensing, monthly heartworm pills, chew toys, damaged belongings, fencing, training, veterinary expense, grooming, kenneling, and more.
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og A trainepdyddog! is a hap
• Where to find your dog The Humane Society, an animal shelter, or an accidental litter of pups is a great place to find your dog at an affordable price. Giving a home to a dog that might otherwise be put to sleep or caged indefinitely and not contributing to the over population of dogs are good reasons to go this route.
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“No matter how careful you are in selecting your pet, chances are, your puppy will develop a problem or nuisance behavior.” Furthermore, you’ll find mixed breeds, which are less likely to inherit the diseases and disabilities often common in pure breeds. Keep in mind, however, sometimes these dogs are strays or weren’t properly cared for by their original owner. If a dog didn’t receive proper vaccinations, it could be at risk for disease. A dog that was abused by its previous owner could also pose risks. Ask the animal shelter what is known about the dog’s history. Another way to find your new puppy is through a breeder. Taking home a puppy whose history is known and hasn’t been exposed to a poor environment is a plus. However, caution should be used even when buying from a breeder. While most are in the business for their love of the breed, there are exceptions.
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Some breeders are only interested in profits and have little knowledge or concern for good breeding and proper caring of pups. This can lead to dogs with poor temperaments, genetic disorders, or disease. Ask plenty of questions, request references, and ask to see the puppies in their normal environment. According to the American Kennel Club, some things to watch for when selecting your puppy include: a runny nose, watery eyes, fever, or disease in the litter. If any of these conditions are present, look elsewhere. Avoid a puppy that trembles and is shy or one that shows a bad temper. Furthermore, understand that a kennel designated “AKC Reg.” doesn’t mean it has the American Kennel Club’s stamp of approval. It simply means the dogs have been registered. Finally, keep in mind that puppies shouldn’t be removed from their litter before 6 weeks of age, and preferably 8.
Traveling with
PUPPY
For some families, going on vacation without puppy is like leaving a family member behind. Therefore, hotels are beginning to accommodate families who travel with pets. Try one of the following that offers pet friendly services at some or most of its locations:
• Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites by Marriott (800) 228-9290 • Best Western (800) 528-1234 • Hilton (800) 445-8667
• Training Tips No matter how careful you are in selecting your pet, chances are, your puppy will develop a problem or nuisance behavior. Prevention is the first step. Around 6 months, your puppy will be old enough for an obedience course. Teaching your puppy the basics will make it easier to manage problem behaviors. If you can’t take a class, purchase a dog-training manual and stick with it. If your dog shows signs of aggression, talk with a professional trainer or your veterinary. Depending on the cause, there may be a simple solution. But if your child’s safety becomes an issue, your only option may be a new home for your pet. Whether your dog ends up with a new owner or in a shelter, make sure you explain the reason for giving your dog away so it ends up in the proper environment. For other problem behaviors, there are several good books to help tame your dog. When Good Dogs Do Bad Things by Mordecai Siegal and Matthew Margolis offers many helpful techniques. Contrary to popular belief, never hit, kick, or swat a dog with a newspaper. This can lead to aggressiveness or increase already aggressive behavior. Most importantly, try to understand and accept your pet’s imperfections and adjust your home accordingly to reduce aggravations. In time, your dog will accept the household routine and become a part of it. •
• Doubletree Hotels (800) 222-8733. • Embassy Suites Hotels (800) 362-2779 • Holiday Inn (800) 465-4329 • Comfort Inn (877) 424-6423
When puppy must
STAY BEHIND Traveling with your dog isn’t always feasible. When looking for boarding services ask the following questions, depending on your dog’s needs.
• Are kennels heated and cooled? • Are they indoor, outdoor, or accessible to both? • What kind of food is provided? • Is one-on-one playtime or leashed walks offered? • What vaccinations are required?
28 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Summer/Fall 2017
Guide to the Gap
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Your National Park Celebrates 50 Years! The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area was established by Congress on September 1, 1965, to preserve the natural, culture, and scenic resources of the Delaware River Valley and provide opportunities for recreation, education, and enjoyment to the most densely populated region of the nation. Sprung out of the Tocks Island Dam controversy, the last 50 years has solidified Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as a park for the
people. Today, visitors roam a landscape carved by uplift, erosion, and glacial activity that is marked by hemlock and rhododendron-laced ravines, rumbling waterfalls, fertile floodplains and is rich with archaeological evidence and historic narratives. This haven for natural and cultural stories is your place, your park, and we invite you to celebrate with us. JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINEŠ 31
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Located between the Pocono Plateau and Kittatinny Ridge in close proximity to the most densely populated region of the nation, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River preserve the natural, cultural, and scenic resources and values of the Delaware River valley and provide opportunities for resource-based recreation, education, and enjoyment.
Superintendent
The River, the Valley, and You Paddlers slip down the river between low forested mountains; anglers wade the streams; hikers scan the valley from the ridge or peer into the deep Water Gap. The valley has known human hand and voice for over 10,000 years. Abundant plant and wildlife attracted American Indians; floodplains nourished early farmer’s crops; waterfalls drew Victorian vacationers. Today, a 70,000-acre park welcomes you to the enticing Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River.
Millions of years of uplift, erosion, and glacial activity gave us the ridges, Delaware Water Gap, lakes, and streams that flow through hemlock and rhododendron-laced ravines, and the waterfalls that pour off the Pocono Plateau. The crisp, cool air around those waterfalls refreshes the body and the spirit. Steeped in rich history, trails, roads, and traces reveal reminders of times gone scattered throughout the park. The Minsi Path and Minisink Trail converged on a Delaware River island that was once the centerpiece of a large American Indian settlement.
Agricultural fields still in cultivation help preserve the rural landscape predominate in the 18th century. In the 1800s resorts flourished throughout the region where city dwellers arrived by carriage or rail, often spending the entire summer away from the urban heat. The Water Gap became a scenic wonder for fashionable travelers. Today the natural and cultural wonders provide abundant recreational opportunities. Enjoy this rural vacationland.
John J. Donahue Deputy Superintendent Keith Farrar Mailing Address 1978 River Road Bushkill, Pennsylvania 18324 Park Headquarters (570) 426-2452 Website www.nps.gov/dewa Facebook Facebook/DelWaterGapNPS
The National Park Service cares for the special places saved
The park includes 40 miles of the Events held throughout the year 2017 Expanded Amenity Fee Schedule Middle Delaware National Scenic provide glimpses into the past. and Recreation Private Vehicle River. (1-7 Occupants) $10 Additional Occupants
$2 per person
Walk in/bike in
$2/day per person
Annual Park Pass
$45 per vehicle
by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
32 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINEŠ JUNE/JULY 2017
Fees are not charged for persons 15 or younger. Seasonal park passes and America the Beautiful, Senior, and Access passes are available for purchase at Park Headquarters, Kittatinny Point Visitor Center or Dingmans Falls Visitor Center.
Over 100 miles of trails lead to special places.
Picnic area
Canoe launch
Hiking trailhead
Information
Lifeguarded swim area (summer)
MATAMORAS 53
ad
Area within the authorized National Recreation Area boundary also contains wildlife management areas and private land. Respect private property. Other hiking trail
Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail (biking and hiking)
Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail (hiking only)
Ro
Appalachian Trail
The Delaware River is the longest undammed United States river east of the Mississippi, extending 330 miles from Hancock, New York, to the Atlantic Ocean. The Delaware River Water Trail extends nearly 200 miles from Hancock, New York, to Trenton, New Jersey. Like a conventional trail, a water trail is a recreational corridor, but instead of hiking, the water trail is for boats, such as canoes, kayaks and small-motorized watercraft.
R iv
6 209
6
PA. . N.J
MILFORD
46
1 2
Toll bridge
Cliff Park Inn
206
er Riv
d Milfor
209
3
Namanock
Delaw ar
e
4
645
Dingmans FerryAccess
Layton
560
(Fee area)
ad
Toll bridge
640
Dingmans Falls Visitor Center
Bu
sh
ll
d oa
Eshback Access
n
la pa
NATIONAL
Roa d
6
d
AREA
Ro a
Old
Mi
2001
Buttermilk Falls
RECREATION
Toms Creek
ne
Mi l f o r d
P E N N S Y L V A N I A
NPS 615
Blue Mountain Lakes
Bushkill Access (Fee area) 617
Bushkill Bushkill Meeting Center Stillwater
Park Headquarters
Poxono Access
602
Ga
7
is l e
GPS Coordinates
r R d
209
402
State
521
DELAWARE WATER GAP
5
The outstanding natural, cultural, recreation and scenic resources of this part of the Delaware River led it to be designated the Middle Delaware River National Scenic and Recreational River. The Delaware River within this park is mostly flat and calm, perfect for family outings and for the canoeist and kayaker of any skill level.
FOREST
Van Campen Walpack Center Inn
Fal ls R
S TAT E NPS 615
Ap
209
Pocono Environmental Education Center
STOKES
O l d M in e Ro ad
Loch Lomond
ki
560
Peters Valley School of Craft
ia
S
Ro
ke La
Nelden-Roberts Stonehouse Montague
O ld M i n e R oa d
Road
Golf course
il v e r
Caddoo Access
Milford Beach (Fee area)
ch
84
739
Watercraft
er
84
2001
Access Points
6 209
NJ
41.318344, -74.795290
Milford Beach
Boat
PA
41.310434, -74.796484
Namonock Access
Canoe
NJ
41.249946, -74.852460
PA
41.219275, -74.860930
8
Smithfield Beach
Bushkill Access
Canoe Boat
PA PA
41.137431, -74.926558 41.107611, -74.983720
Boat
NJ
ve
Ri
e
Blairstown
ar
209
309 310
80
DELAWARE WATER GAP
N E W
O ld
EAST STROUDSBURG
Boat
PA
1
9
Kittatinny Point
80
THE GAP
94
41.040196, -75.022966
519
80
41.029839, -75.052338
4
Columbia Portland
Kittatinny Point
Canoe
PA
40.969589, -75.129274
NOTE: Hand launch only at Cadoo Access, Namanock Access, Eshback Access, and Kittatinny Point
J E R S E Y
Kittatinny Point Visitor Center Toll bridge
611
Smithfield Beach
521
WORTHINGTON STATE FOREST
M in e
Ro a
d
De
Shawnee on Delaware
611
Poxano Access
Hialeah
la w
BUS
209
Eshbeck Access
d
r
R
Marshalls Creek
Dingmans Ferry Access Boat
(Fee area)
(Fee area)
er
Canoe
Ri v
Cadoo Access
Turtle Beach
611
Toll bridge 46
North 0 0
5 Kilometers 5 Miles
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 33
v e r s i nk
Wheelchair accessible
Ne
Delaware River Water Trail
PORT JERVIS
Ranger station Boat launch
R.
Boating and Canoeing
Lifeguarded swim area (summer)
Canoe launch
Wheelchair accessible Hiking trailhead
Picnic area
ki
ll
S il v e
r
Fal ls
ke La
R
Ro
ad
739
209
Pocono Environmental Education Center
sh
Toll bridge
6 209
2
FOREST
S TAT E
STOKES
Peters Valley School of Craft
560
Rosenkranz Museum Walpack Center
4
er
Nelden-Roberts Stonehouse
Layton
645
640
Van Campen Inn
6
NPS 615
Toll bridge
560
Namanock
206
6 209
PORT JERVIS
Foster-Armstrong House
Montague
1
PA. . N.J
R iv
53
MATAMORAS
DELAWARE WATER GAP
5
209
Loch Lomond
Dingmans Campground
2001
Dingmans Ferry Access (Fee area)
Golf course
84
MILFORD
Milford Beach (Fee area) Cliff Park Inn
Falls 3 Dingmans Visitor Center
George W. Childs Park
84
46
Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail (hiking only)
Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail (biking and hiking)
6
Other hiking trail
Appalachian Trail
Area within the authorized National Recreation Area boundary also contains wildlife management areas and private land. Respect private property.
Information
Boat launch
Ranger station
Road
d Milfor
521
R. v e r s i nk Ne
Park Map and Visitor Centers
er Riv
Delaw ar e
O ld M i n e R oa d
O l d M in e Ro ad
ad Ro
il
Na A ti o p n a p al l a S c c hi e n an ic Tr a
34 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Bu
d oa
Operating Hours
Year-Round Daily 9am – 4:30pm
May 28 to September 3 Sunday 1pm – 4pm, (depending on volunteer availability) May 28 to September 3 Sunday 1pm – 4pm, (depending on volunteer availability)
Pocono Environmental Education Center* Near Dingmans Ferry, PA GPS: 41.17116, -74.9142 (570) 828-2319 peec.org Rosenkrans Museum* Walpack Center, NJ GPS: 41.158867, -74.880463 walpackhistory.org Van Campen Inn* Near Walpack Center, NJ GPS: 41.164648, -74.892164 walpackhistory.org
NPS Headquarters Bushkill, PA GPS: 41.070196,-75.017518 (570) 426-2452
Year-round Monday-Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm Closed Federal holidays
Millbrook Village May 27 to September 3 Millbrook, NJ Saturday & Sunday GPS: 41.073524, -74.963349 10am – 4pm nps.gov/dewa
May to December Daily, 10am – 6pm Thursdays June to August, 12 – 8pm January to April Thursday-Sunday, 10am – 5pm
May 26 to September 4 Wednesday-Sunday, 9am – 5pm Closed Monday & Tuesday
Dingmans Falls Visitor Center Dingmans Ferry, PA GPS: 41.229431, -74.887667 (570) 828-6125 nps.gov/dewa Peters Valley School of Craft* Layton, NJ GPS: 41.196328, -74.850985 (973) 948-5200 petersvalley.org
June 25 to August 26 Sunday 1pm – 4pm (depending on volunteer availability)
Nelden-Roberts Stonehouse* Montague, NJ GPS: 41.29304,-74.791698 (973) 293-3106 montaguehistory.org
Foster-Armstrong House* June 25 to August 26 Montague, NJ Sunday GPS: 41.309053, -74.788919 1pm – 4pm (973) 293-3106 montaguehistory.org
Facility
Park info, wildlife viewing platform; reception area accessible
Park info, exhibits and demos related to1800s lifeways, self-guided tour of select village buildings, trailhead; grounds open daily dawn to dusk
Park info, house tours, and trailhead
Park info, exhibits related to historic Walpack Center; grounds open dawn to dusk
Park info, exhibits related to plants& animals, bookstore, public education, and group programs, trailhead, sensory trail; main facility accessible
Park info, art gallery & store, artist demos, and self-guided village tours on Sat & Sun, fine craft workshops during summer; store accessible
Park info, exhibits related to Dingmans Ravine, bookstore, ranger-led programs, trailhead; visitor center and trail to waterfalls accessible
Park info, exhibits related to Montague area, public programs and tours
Park info, exhibits related to Montague area, public programs and tours; first floor of house is partially accessible
What’s Available?
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 35
BUS
309
310
611
DELAWARE WATER GAP
80
1
Toll bridge
Shawnee on Delaware
209
EAST STROUDSBURG
209
Hialeah
d
(Fee area)
Smithfield Beach
Hidden Lake
209
al
a
ic
a Tr
il
(Fee area)
Turtle Beach
North
0
0
611
THE GAP
4
611
Portland
80
Toll bridge
Columbia
94
46
NPS 615
7
9
617
5 Kilometers 5 Miles
80
N E W
Blairstown
602
Stillwater
519
J E R S E Y
521
Millbrook Village
Mohican Outdoor Center
(Fee area)
Watergate
(permit)
Rivers Bend Group Campsites
AREA
Crater Lake
Buttermilk Falls
RECREATION
NATIONAL
Blue Mountain Lakes
10 Kittatinny Point Visitor Center
WORTHINGTON STATE FOREST
p Ap
8
Bushkill Bushkill Meeting Center
Park Headquarters
Marshalls Creek
(permit)
Poxono Access
Toms Creek
2001
Bushkill Access (Fee area)
er
Ri v
402
Eshback Access Roa d
Valley View Group Campsites
P E N N S Y L V A N I A
M in e
O ld
R
r
ve
Ri
Ro ad
e
ar
aw
De l
Na
n
ia ch
Old
d
Ro a Mi ne
Mi l f o r d en t’ l Sc
r R d
is l e Ga
May 26 to September 4 Friday-Tuesday 9am – 5pm Closed Wednesday & Thursday
*Park facility operated by partner organization
Kittatinny Point Visitor Center Near Columbia, NJ GPS: 40.970202, -75.128278 (908) 496-4458 nps.gov/dewa
Mohican Outdoor Center* Year-round Near Blairstown, NJ Daily GPS: 41.03488, -75.001404 9am – 5pm (908) 362-5670 outdoors.org/lodging/lodges/ mohican
nps.gov/dewa
Park info, bookstore, trailhead, Appalachian National Scenic Trail access, canoe launch; visitor center accessible
Park info, Appalachian National Scenic Trail access, year-round outdoor recreation-related programs, basic lodging and camping facilities
Campgrounds and Campsites RV campground
Picnic area
Canoe launch
Hiking trailhead
Information
Lifeguarded swim area (summer)
Campground
Riv
Area within the authorized National Recreation Area boundary also contains84 wildlife management areas and private land. Respect private property. Appalachian Trail
Other hiking trail
Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail (biking and hiking)
Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail (hiking only) MILFORD
46
Ro
ad
Ranger station Boat launch
er
1 Mashipacong Island, NJ
6 209 PA. . N.J Caddoo Access
84
Milford Beach (Fee area) Toll bridge
Camping in the Park Visitors to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area have opportunities to immerse themselves in an environment of solitude, tranquil natural landscapes, striking river valley scenery, and a substantially undeveloped river corridor that are unmatched among large rivers in the most densely populated region of the United States.
Nelden-Roberts Stonehouse
2001
oad O l d M i ne R
er Riv
Road
Montague
206
Milfor d
2 Namanock Island, NJ 209
Campgrounds/ Campsites
Delaw ar
e
Namanock
739
645
3 Sandyston, NJ
Dingmans Falls Visitor Center
560
Toll bridge
A
640
Mill Creek, PA
Buttermilk Falls
Roa d Bushkill Access (Fee area)
B
Blue Mountain Lakes
Ratcliffs, NJ
12 C 13 11
617
Rivers Bend Group Campsites, NJ (Permit required) Freeman Point, PA
Peters, NJ 209
i sl e Ga
Poxono Access
r R d
Park Headquarters
Smithfield Beach (Fee area)
er
Turtle Beach (Fee area)
36 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINEŠ JUNE/JULY 2017 Ri v
C
Rivers Bend Group 2 Campsites
NJ
41.115366, -74.963938
41.096118, -74.966632
Facilities include various tent and RV sites. See dingmansampground.com for more info. Permits required. These are primitive campsites. Dingmans Campground can be contacted at (570) 828-1551 for Valley View reservations. Contact the National Park Service at (570) 426-2452 for Rivers Bend reservations.
Mashicapong Island
NJ
1
4
41.334419, -74.761520
Namanock Island
NJ
4
6
41.264988, -74.843964
Sandyston
NJ
6
6
41.248880, -74.855515
Dingmans Shallows
PA
1
4
41.185276, -74.880993
Hornbecks
PA
3
4
41.178972, -74.885157
Jerry Lees
PA
2
8
41.153859, -74.908620
Mill Creek
PA
1
8
41.151045, -74.911284
Toms Creek
PA
4
6
41.127015, -74.948574
Ratcliffs
NJ
3
6
41.112459, -74.973252
Bushkill Creek
PA
1
6
41.092099, -74.993005
Peters
NJ
12
6
41.093485, -74.989833
Quinns
NJ
7
6
41.090605, -74.981590
Freeman Point
PA
2
6
41.093276, -74.96757
Quinns, NJ
9
Bushkill Creek, PA
10
NPS 615
Old
Mi
ne
Ro
ad
Milford
Valley View Group Campsites, PA (Permit required)
ia n
ch
7
DELAWARE WATER GAP Eshback Access NATIONAL RECREATION AREA 8
5
1006 Route 209 Dingmans Ferry, PA
River Campsites* State Sites Persons GPS Coordinates Per Site
6
Jerry Lees, PA
Toms Creek, PA
PA
up to 40
521 Walpack Center
Y L V A N I A
Valley View Group 2 Campground
2
FOREST
la
NPS 615
Pocono Environmental Education Center
2001
B
1
S TAT E
pa
209
133
STOKES
Ap
5
Ol d Mi n e Ro ad
Hornbecks, PA
Dingmans Campground1 PA
560
4
Dingmans Shallows, PA
A
Layton
Dingmans Ferry Access (Fee area)
Dingmans Campground, PA
State Sites Persons GPS Coordinates/ Per Site Address
602
*River campsites are for boaters on trips. These are primitive campsites subject to actions of the river and have no amenities. See Page 12 and the separate River Camping Map and Guide for specifics on using these campsites.
McDade Recreation Trail 84
MILFORD
6
46
The McDade Recreational Trail extends most the length of the park and presents views of the river, charming streams, open farm fields, forests, and historic landscapes. The trail offers hikers, bikers, and cross-country skiers areas of varied difficulty, from easy to strenuous.
. PA J. N.
6 209
Milford Beach (Fee area)
Toll bridge
Montague
Pittman Orchard
With trailheads distributed between ½ and 5 miles apart, this trail offers a section for just about any visitor. Additionally, most trailheads are along the park’s free bus route that operates summer weekends.
206
Road
ver Ri
209
2001
White Pines
e Fla t Brook
645
Lit tl
Delawa re
Milford
Conashaugh
560
Layton
739
Dingmans Ferry
2001
Toll bridge
640
Dingmans Falls Visitor Center Dingmans Campground Schneider Farm
Em
Between park headquarters and Bushkill Access, the terrain becomes rolling hills. Numerous structures, foundations, and other traces remain from the once thriving community of Bushkill.
er y
NPS 615 a Ro
209
d
North of Bushkill Access, the trail follows a narrow ribbon of land between US 209 and the river and then continues nearly level through agricultural fields and forests to Schneider Farm.
Pocono Environmental Education Center Jerry Lees
Toms
k
KITT
M il fo r d
Road
ATINNY
Bro o
k
RIDGE
Cr ee
Eshback Access
From Hialeah to Owens trailheads, the trail is mostly flat as it traverses former settlements and farms. From the Owens Trailhead on Freeman Tract Road, the trail switchbacks sharply up the side of the Hogback, or ridge, to the park’s headquarters. Observation decks on the side of the headquarters facility provide wildlife viewing areas.
Eygpt Mills
2001
Trailhead
The next several miles of the trail are dominated by the river to the east and the cliffs to the west, with the trail and US 209 squeezed between in places. From Raymondskill Creek to Milford Beach, the Raymondskill Cliff parallels the nearly flat trail. The northern terminus of the McDade Trail is Milford Beach, a popular recreation site for local residents since 1945. Whether you start from this end, Hialeah, or a point in between, you are sure to find something to fit any mood. Seasonal Restrictions The trail between Pittman Orchard and White Pines Trailhead is closed from December 1st to August 15th yearly for resource protection; most of this section allows hiking ONLY when it is open. Please observe restrictions posted on bulletin boards at these trailheads. River Road may close after snowfalls or heavy rain and wind storms. Freeman Tract Road and Community Drive are township roads with no winter service. SERVICES LEGEND
Information
Drinking Water
Store
Lodging
Restrooms
Picnic Area
Campground
$
Fees
Maps are not in scale to each other; see the mileage bar located at bottom of each map for distances.
Trail Mile/Km
Services
Valley View Group Campsites (permit)
ill F
s all
Bro ok
hk
Ro
ad
Bushkill Access
(Fee area)
Sa Bushkill
Creek
Freem
an T r
ac t
Bushkill Village
Owens
le r R d
Turn Farm
Hi
dd
en La D r i ke ve
G ai s
Riverview
Jackso
n bu r g
h KHeadquarters BusPark il l
209
Milford Beach
31.0mi/50.0km
Pittman Orchard*
28.7mi/46.2km
Conashaugh*
26.0mi/41.9km
White Pines*
24.5mi/39.4km
Schneider Farm
21.4mi/34.4km
Jerry Lees
16.1mi/25.9km
Eshback Access
14.3mi/23.0km
Egypt Mills
12.5mi/20.1km
Bushkill Access
10.1mi/16.3km
Bushkill Village
8.4mi/13.5km
Park Headquarters
6.6mi/10.6km
Owens
5.9mi/9.5km
$
Ro a
d
w
Vancampens
Bu s
$
Smithfield Beach
Turn Farm
5.2mi/8.4km
Riverview
4.6mi/7.4km
Smithfield Beach
2.0mi/3.2km
Hialeah
0.0mi/0.0km
er Ri v
ar e
Hialeah
law
eek
209
De
Cr
Hollow Roa d
(Fee area)
North
0 0
2 Kilometers 2 Miles
$
*Biking is not allowed From Whites Pines through Pittman Orchard; hiking only
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 37
Exploring Old Mine Road Constructed in the mid-1700s, Old Mine Road connected the Hudson River and Philadelphia to the Pahaquarry Mines and provided an important conduit for New Jersey farmers taking crops to area markets, making it one of the oldest commercial roads in the country. Today, Old Mine Road stitches together sections of several roads into the park’s main passage in New Jersey and still retains much of the flavor of 100 years ago, making it a popular driving and biking route. . PA J. N.
6 209
84
6
MILFORD
Montague Grange The National Grange, founded in 1867, is an organization that advocates for rural America and agriculture. The local Montague Grange was founded in 1904 and this Hall was built in 1906. The local group remains active and continues to use the building.
Montague Grange Foster-Armstrong House Minisink Dutch Reformed House
Milford Beach (Fee area)
Toll bridge
Neldon-Roberts Stonehouse Montague
Ol d M in
ver Ri
o ad e R
Westbrook Bell House
Foster-Armstrong House Foster and Armstrong operated a ferry, and the house was used as a tavern and inn for river travelers. The Montague Association for the Restoration of Community History (MARCH) opens the house for tours on summer weekends and for other events.
Hainesville
R o ad
Road
Jager
2001
Namanock Alonzo Depue House
are
Milford
209
Dela w
206
739
Layton 560 560
Bevans-Hellwig Kitchen
Toll bridge
Dingmans Ferry
640
Peters Valley
O l d M i n e Ro a d
Dingmans Falls Visitor Center
NPS 615
Van Campen Inn
209
Nelden-Roberts Stonehouse The origins of this small house are obscure, although its construction is attributed to George Nelden, who acquired the property in 1816. The Montague Association for the Restoration of Community History (MARCH) house operates a museum in the house on summer weekends.
Walpack Center
Pompey Ridge Road
Buttermilk Falls
Westbrook Bell House Built by Johannis Westbrook, this is the oldest structure in the recreation area, circa 1701.
Mi n
e
Ro a
d
Crater Lake
NPS 615
Old
2001
Blue Mountain Lakes
Flatbrookville
LV AN
IA
Delaware View House
RS
SY
EY
Millbrook Village
JE
Watergate
Park Headquarters
Alonzo Depue House As with other historic homes along Old Mine Road, the landscape would have been quite different one hundred years ago – open fields, a clear view to the river, and several farm outbuildings.
602
Calno School 209
Ri v
er
Poxono Access
Bevans-Hellwig Kitchen In the late 19th century, this little stone building was the rear kitchen attached to a large farmhouse. Local tradition holds that the original structure was used as a French and Indian War fortification, known as Fort Cramer.
Pahaquarry
Turtle Beach
De
la w
ar e
(Fee area)
Ro ad
WORTHINGTON STATE FOREST
Old Mi ne
Peters Valley Peter Van Ness settled in this area during the late 18th century, and today the hamlet bears his name. In the later 20th century, the village became Peters Valley School of Craft.
94 North
0
1
Namanock While nothing remains today, this was the site of Fort Namanock during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Forts in this time and era were little more than a sturdy stone house with a wooden defensive fence surrounding it.
(Fee area)
NE W
PE NN
Bushkill
Minisink Dutch Reformed Church Dating back to 1737, this is the oldest congregation in the county. The present structure was built in 1899, and tombstones in the cemetery date to 1805.
5 Kilometers
0
38 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
5 Miles
80
Stop in the Craft Store and Gallery for more information on summer weekend self-guided tours. Van Campen Inn This fine colonial home was never intended as an inn in the commercial sense. By law, certain houses along a major roadway were required to house travelers. During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the stout stone walls sheltered 150 people against the threat of Indian attack. The Walpack Historical Society offers tours of the house on most Sundays during the summer. Walpack Center This authentic country village began when Isaac and Jasper Rundle opened the first general store in 1850, and the village followed the same pattern of growth and decline as the other villages. Today, the Walpack Historical Society operates a museum in the First Rosenkrans House on summer weekends. Delaware View House In the early 20th century, many old area farm steads were used as country homes. Samuel Garris purchased this property in 1904, enlarged the house, and operated it as a hunting lodge. Later he leased it to a family that operated it as a boarding house and later as the Flatbrookville Hotel. Millbrook Village In 1832, Abram Garis built a grist mill along Van Campen brook. The mill soon attracted other businesses and by the 1870s, Millbrook was a thriving farm village. However, by 1910, the mill, store and hotel closed their doors. Today, only a handful of original Millbrook buildings remain. Other buildings have been moved from other sites or are newly built to help depict village life in the valley during the late 19th and early 20th century. Several buildings are open on summer weekends. Calno School If you traveled through this area in the late 1800s, you would notice that schools were located in places that would allow students to walk no more than four or five miles to attend. When this school was in operation, there was also a school in Millbrook Village, only 5 miles north. Pahaquarry The Coopermine Trail passes by the foundation of the Pahaquarry Cooper Mine processing mill and mineshafts. Later, this area became a Boy Scout Camp. It was just one of numerous scout and church camps that once existed within the park boundaries. NOTE: Mineshafts are closed to protect critical bat habitat.
Tock’s Island & The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area By: Dave Pierce
T
respective governors and state legislators finalized the project just weeks before the great August 1955 flood wiped out homes and cottages along river tributaries that included the McMichael, Brodhead and Pocono creeks.
But for generations, family farms, full-time residences, part-time summer cottages, and a few inns, boarding houses and small resorts dotted the landscape overlooking the Delaware River. Some 12,000 residents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were forced to give up their properties for today’s 70,000-acre national park.
The flood prompted Congress and President Eisenhower to put the two states’ dam project on hold while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coordinated a multi-agency review of the entire Delaware River Basin’s needs. When the federal review was released in 1962, Congress authorized a new dam at Tocks Island, downstream from Wallpack Bend near Shawnee.
oday’s Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a popular destination for world-class hiking trails, spectacular waterfalls, canoeing and kayaking, taking in historic buildings and sites, or simply enjoying the steep, rocky, tree-lined views from high vistas.
Silt from the river-fed valley enriched the farm soil, but most farmers lived on the surrounding high ridges that spared them from the worst of the great 1955 flood. No one died along the Delaware River but about 100 people died on the river’s tributaries, including 76 who lost their lives on Monroe County’s Broadhead Creek. The deadly flood provided a reprieve for upper Delaware River Valley residents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey who were threatened in 1955 by a two-state proposal to build a dam at Wallpack Bend, near Bushkill, with a 30-mile reservoir for urban water supply. The
The slow post-flood shift in official river basin policy left residents and business owners in limbo. Should they rebuild their flood-ravaged properties, only to have the state or federal governments acquire them for a dam and reservoir within a few years through a forced sale, called eminent domain? Would anyone want to buy their property, knowing the government likely would take possession in a few years? Bushkill businessman Captain Harold Auten raised that issue immediately after the 1955 flood. The retired British Navy officer and U.S.-Australian film JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 39
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distribution executive wanted to know whether to rebuild his Bushkill Manor resort and nearby commercial holdings, or get out of the way of the planned dam. That’s what he told Army Corps Lt. Col. John C.H. Lee in an early 1956 letter. Col. Lee noted Auten had received the British Victoria Cross for his command of an anti-submarine vessel during World War I.
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“The number of people living through a Victoria Cross is far less than those that live through a Congressional Medal of Honor,” Lee told those attending a Pennsylvania and New Jersey legislative forum in early 1956. “He just does not know what to do. He is afraid to rebuild where he is and then have his land condemned, or something of that sort.” Buying out residents after they rebuild would only drive up acquisition costs, Lee said.
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“Something is going to be built there to conserve water, and therefore it seems wise now to face up to the problem of the losses to those residents in the Bushkill area from the August floods and to indemnify them now,” Lee said. “In other words, it makes eventual construction cheaper.” The Pennsylvania Legislature agreed in 1958 to provide $500,000 for property acquisitions from willing sellers who suffered 1955 flood loses. That funding wasn’t nearly enough to meet demand for buyouts. Pennsylvania acquired 17 properties, mostly in Pike County.
But Auten and many of his neighbors were bypassed when it came to buyouts. The fate of his holdings remained in doubt for six years after he died in 1964. The Pennsylvania General Assembly approved legislation in 1982 to donate the 150-acre George Childs State Park, near Dingmans Ferry, to the federal government for inclusion in the national recreation area. The bill also resulted in state transfer – for one dollar – of another 270 acres the state bought from the 17 landowners back in 1958-59, as part of a “hardship” purchase for the eventual dam so those landowners, at least, could immediately move on to new lives.
“The number of people living through a Victoria Cross is far less than those that live through a Congressional Medal of Honor” The federal government, meanwhile, reluctantly agreed in 1961 to form the Delaware River Basin Commission – an unprecedented watershed regulatory agency in which the federal government shares coequal voting power with each of the four member
states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. The states – which pushed for the DRBC’s formation – were represented by their governors. The federal government was represented by the U.S. Interior secretary. Congress still held the most power over Delaware River development decisions, through its ability to fund construction. In 1962, Congress authorized construction of a dam at Tocks Island – about six miles north of Delaware Water Gap. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation creating a national recreation area that would surround the planned 37-mile reservoir for the Tocks Dam. The Army Corps of Engineers was put in charge of all land acquisition. By then, Shawnee mother Nancy Shukaitis – whose family was to be displaced by the Tocks projects – had emerged as a major opposition leader. When Shukaitis testified in early 1965 before a Senate committee considering the national recreation area’s formation, she urged the committee to leave Washington and hold hearings in the Tocks region. “A project of this enormity, representing not only 60,000 acres of privately owned land but affecting more than 100,000 permanent residents in and around the park’s JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 41
perimeter, certainly indicates that one hearing should be held in each of the states concerned before Washington hearings,” she testified. Many residents who wanted to testify were too poor, too old or too tied up with work to go to Washington to express their opinions, Shukaitis said. Subcommittee Chairman Ralph Rivers, D-Alaska, wasn’t impressed. “That committee chairman was so mad,” Shukaitis recalled years later. “He said, ‘Don’t think we’re going to go to every nook and cranny across the country.’” Rivers said the committee nearly always conducted its work in Washington, D. C. “This committee or its predecessors established the Point Ray National Recreation Area in California, the Padre Island Seashore in Texas and the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts without holding hearings outside Washington,” Rivers replied.
“The dam’s eventual defeat was rooted in the politics, division and changing attitudes of the time.” Two days after the Washington hearing, Shukaitis launched a petition drive demanding a Monroe County hearing. More than 600 signatures were collected within three days and sent to Congressman Wayne Aspinall of Colorado, chairman of the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee which had jurisdiction over Rivers’ subcommittee. “We firmly believe that any American citizen whose land is required by the federal government should be given the courtesy of a hearing and has the inalienable right to a hearing,” Shukaitis wrote. “We firmly believe that the Department of Interior should require all its subdepartments to initiate local public hearings as a matter of policy wherever private property and citizens’ rights may be touched, and that these hearings take place before Congressional hearings.” The petition drive was successful and hundreds attended the April 22, 1965 hearing at East Stroudsburg High School. But the national recreation area bill won final approval. The anti-dam campaign picked up steam in 1967 when Shukaitis became the first woman elected a Monroe County commissioner. Her new position gave her more clout when testifying before Congress against funding for the Tocks projects. 42 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Joan Transue Matheson of Dingmans Ferry, Pike County – wife of a retired career officer and engineer in the Army Corps – started an “underground” newspaper dedicated to defeating the dam. Several New Jersey and Pennsylvania residents directly impacted by the projects formed the anti-dam Delaware Valley Conservation Association. (They would lose their homes to forced government acquisition. But they and hundreds of others helped defeat the dam.) Activists that included Casey Kays of Hacketstown, N.J. and Glenn Fisher of East Stroudsburg organized a mass movement to prevent private power companies from using a glacial lake in Worthington Forest, New Jersey called Sunfish Pond as a storage site for a Tocks Island hydroelectric project. Nearly the entire 70,000-acre site – stretching from just south of Delaware Water Gap in Northampton County nearly to Port Jervis, N.Y. – became a national park. Most of Worthington Forest – including Sunfish Pond – remained a New Jersey state forest. The middle and upper Delaware Rivers were granted special federal preservation status. The dam’s eventual defeat was rooted in the politics, division and changing attitudes of the time. The costly Vietnam war of the late 1960s and early 1970s forced Congress to cut spending in nearly all other sectors, including money for the reservoir and park. As land acquisition funds slowed, inflation and land speculation drove up property values, adding to the ultimate project cost. Even as residents were driven from their homes, the Army Corps in 1969 and 1970 offered to temporarily rent 33 properties it had acquired in Monroe County and Warren County, New Jersey to the highest bidder. The Army Corps suspended the rental program about a year after it had begun. But by then, people began occupying abandoned homes without a lease. Others refused to leave when their leases expired. It would take four years and a protracted court battle before armed U.S. Marshalls evicted 65 remaining squatters in February 1974. Contract workers quickly followed to knock down the homes with heavy equipment. Monroe and Warren County voters, meanwhile, voted against the dam in separate, non-binding 1972 referendums. Organizations as diverse as the Sierra Club, hunting and fishing groups, Daughters of the American Revolution and the Student Council On Pollution and Environment (SCOPE) formed a new coalition in 1971 dedicated to defeating the dam. Their efforts were aided by the 1970 enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act, which required an environmental review of any construction project using federal funds. The act required
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an environmental impact statement that included consideration of alternatives to a proposed project. The Delaware River Basin Commission staff authorized a study that recommended building a $362-million network of sewage treatment plants around the perimeter of the federal project, from the Stroudsburgs to Milford, Port Jervis, N.Y., and along the New Jersey portion of federal property down to Delaware Water Gap. The central sewer system was aimed at preventing oxygen-depleting pollution of the reservoir. Matheson derisively called the sewer project “Frankenstein’s john.” • Federal officials demanded that New York State take steps to drastically reduce runoff of cow and chicken manure from upper Delaware River Valley farms, fearing the downstream flow of animal waste would turn the still waters of the proposed reservoir into a putrid green algae field that would destroy plant and animal life. The governors of New Jersey and New York balked at the astronomical cost of complying with these anti-pollution measures. The growing antidam movement also objected to calls by downstream electrical utilities to harness mass quantities of Tocks reservoir waters to cool newly proposed nuclear power plants. In July 1975, the governors voted 3-1 to suspend development of the dam. The federal government’s DRBC representative abstained. Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp was the lone holdout for building the dam. The entire 70,000-acre site, including the planned dam and reservoir, were added to the national recreation area. Congress didn’t officially agree to de authorize the dam and reservoir until 1992. Much of today’s McDade Recreational Trail would be under water if the dam had been built. The vibrant wetlands behind the National Park Service headquarters on River Road, near Fernwood, would have been part of the shoreline of the 37-mile artificial lake. Conversion of the entire acreage to a national recreation area without a dam has forced the National Park Service to manage scores of rural roads and hundreds of decaying structures with a limited budget. A partial foundation is all that remains of a former Lutheran Church camp just north of Shawnee-On-Delaware. An historic brick church along the steep ridge above River Road survives – despite vandalism and one aborted government attempt to demolish it with heavy equipment so that squatters couldn’t occupy it. Pardee’s Beach, once and still a popular Monroe County swimming site, is operated today as Smithfield Beach. Hidden Lake, targeted in the mid-1960s as a private housing development even as the federal government prepared to buy the site for the recreation area, has been converted to a hiking and picnicking area. The Eshback Boat launch in Pike County is named after the late former landowner – a Pennsylvania state legislator – who lost his property to forced government acquisition. Today’s national recreation area exists for the public to enjoy, built on the sacrifices of those who lived there before. • JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 45
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Make Memories
WITH A WELL-GROOMED LAWN Temperatures are rising and Americans are headed outside to enjoy the weather while making lasting memories. From backyard barbecues to flag football games, many families are enjoying the great outdoors more at home. In fact, nearly two-thirds of Americans say some of their favorite memories have occurred right in their own yards, according to a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of TruGreen. The survey also found that Americans spend an average of 12 hours per week in their yards during the summer, but much of that time is spent working to maintain their lawns. “People are living life outside and creating memories right in their own yards during the warmer months of the year,” said Ben Hamza, PhD, TruGreen director of technical operations “To maintain a healthy, green lawn to enjoy all season long, there are several tasks homeowners should do consistently including mowing and watering.” JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 47
Plan for a spectacular season in your own yard with this
LAWN CARE CHECKLIST: Tune up your lawn mower. After sitting idle in your garage or toolshed all winter, your mower will need a little TLC. Check the spark plug, clean or replace the air filter, change the oil and get the blade sharpened. A sharp blade makes mowing easier and causes less damage to your lawn.
See the Poconos from a bird’s eye view at Pocono TreeVentures or soar down the slopes at Blue Lightning. We can help make this a summer you won’t forget!
Clean up debris. If not removed, fallen leaves, sticks, twigs and other debris can smother your lawn and leave it looking unsightly. Clearing debris also makes fertilizer and weed control treatments more effective.
Get a jump on weeds. Pre-emergent herbicides can help fend off annual weeds such as crabgrass before they rear their ugly heads. Preemergents are most effective when the soil reaches weed-germination temperature, about 55 F in the case of crabgrass.
Start mowing. Wait until your grass is about 3 inches tall to start mowing, and don’t cut more than one-third of the grass’ height. Most grass types should be kept at least 2 inches tall; longer, thicker turf helps combat weeds and conserves water in the soil.
Enjoy. Plan a party, host a neighborhood barbecue or simply grab your favorite book and head for the hammock. Relax, recharge and appreciate your own hard work. 48 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
BILLY’S
TIPS
Lawn & Garden
Poke some holes. Lawn aeration helps loosen compacted soil and opens up your lawn to more easily receive water and nutrients. Aeration is one of the best ways to thicken and strengthen your turf and improve the overall health of your lawn.
Apply post-emergents. For weeds that pop up despite your best efforts, you can turn to either selective or nonselective postemergent herbicides. Selective treatments are formulated to kill only targeted weeds; nonselective products will kill any plant they’re applied to, including grass. A TruGreen specialist can assess your weed problem and recommend a tailored post-emergent herbicide solution.
Water. Every lawn requires a good amount of water. Some comes from rainfall, but during hotter, drier months, you’ll likely need to supplement. Aim for about 1 inch of water per week. An easy way to measure is to spread a few empty tuna cans across your lawn as you water. When they’re full, that’s an inch.
Spread fertilizer. Give your yard a boost early in the year with an initial dose of fertilizer. For the first treatment, a light application will do.
For more tips and information to help make your lawn ready for a season filled with memories, visit TruGreen.com. Courtesy of Family Features
Weed and Feed. Sure, it sounds catchy, but what exactly does it mean? Any good landscaper knows it is essential to weed and feed your lawn, specifically when weeds are actively growing. A dose of weed and feed in the winter will have no effect on weeds come spring and summer. Weed and feed should be applied to damp grass, either after rain or from a sprinkler, to ensure that the granules stick to the leafy portions of the weeds. Before administering weed and feed, check the weather report. Only weed and feed your lawn when rain is not in the forecast; at least two days of dry weather is ideal post-application. Additionally, avoid watering your lawn during this time so the leaves can fully absorb the herbicide. In the event of rain or an accidental watering, do not reapply. Too much weed and feed may result in overfeeding and can cause chemical scorching. Two applications per year should do the trick, and always wait at least 30 days between applications. Goodbye weeds, hello luscious lawn! Weed & Feed edited by Jamie Bowman
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First Northern Bank & Trust Co. team supports breast cancer fund. Every Friday is considered “Dress Down” day at all First Northern Bank & Trust branches. Team members pay $1.00 which is matched by headquarters on a quarterly basis; each branch chooses it’s own charity. Recently the Stroudsburg branch donated $132.00 to the Hope for Strength Breast Cancer Fund which will help continue to support the Fund’s mission. For more information, visit hopeforstrength.com
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JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 51
Banking History of Monroe County By: Amy Leiser
This feature is sponsored by First Northern Bank and Trust with 11 branches in the Poconos to serve you better!
T
hese days, banking is convenient. ATMs are practically everywhere, ready to dispense our hard-earned cash. Making a transaction is as simple as clicking an app on our smartphones. Banking in the mid to late 1800s, however, was not quite as easy as it is now. In 1857, the Stroudsburg Bank became the first official bank in Monroe County. Before this time, there were no banking institutions in Monroe County, and local residents had to travel to Easton for their banking needs. Citizens kept their paper and coin at home, hidden away in tin boxes or stuffed in or under their mattresses. Bartering, exchanging goods or services without the use of money, was commonplace. There are many stories of local farmers who traded chicken eggs or sheep’s wool as payment for a doctor’s visit. As local communities grew and “modernized,” citizens demanded secure financial institutions to help control their money. On January 9, 1857, the
52 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Pennsylvania Legislature passed an act to incorporate the Stroudsburg Bank. Five months later, on June 23, Gov. James Pollack authorized the Legislature’s act, officially chartering the bank. By July, the first Board of Directors was elected. Depuy S. Miller served as the president and was joined by fellow board members, Jay Gould, Stephen Kistler, Henry LaBar, Thomas W. Rhodes, Charles D. Brodhead, John Boys, Stroud Hollingshead, Davis Walton, Michael Shoemaker, Charles Saylor, Morris Evans, and William S. White. James H. Stroud was hired as the bank’s cashier, a position he held until 1867. The Stroudsburg Bank’s location at the corner of Main and 7th Streets in downtown Stroudsburg was purchased on February 9, 1858 for $1,100 from James Stroud. The total cost for the three lots and the construction of the building was $5,770.47. Part of the original bank structure was torn down in 1893 but was rebuilt. Until about 1954, further additions and changes were made to the original bank building.
As local communities grew and “modernized,” citizens demanded secure financial institutions to help control their money.
The Stroudsburg Bank officially opened for business on August 17, 1857. The total deposits made on its opening day added to $3,264.59. For 25 years, the Stroudsburg Bank had no competition, and many credit this institution with establishing and supporting the early development of business in Monroe County. The National Bank Act of 1863 sought to turn state-chartered banks into nationally-chartered banks. Passed by the U.S. Congress on February 25, 1863, the act gave banks the ability to register as “national” banks. Until that time, banks were either state banks or were private banks, and the laws and regulations that now govern banking were nonexistent or vague.
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$2 banknote from the Stroudsburg Bank Dated May 1863 The National Bank Act was passed during the Civil War when there was a serious coin shortage. Many banks were printing their own money, and Monroe County merchants were issuing private scripts. Even the Monroe County Commissioners issued loan certificates to help pay for the high cost of the War. With the National Bank Act, uniform regulations were put into place.
The Monroe County Bank did not survive long and was taken over by the First National Bank in Stroudsburg. The First National Bank began on September 29, 1882, and while this bank was not the oldest institution in town, it was the first bank to have been formed after the National Bank Act was passed. Therefore, the bank had the privilege of being able to use the word “first” in its title.
After its first national charter, the Stroudsburg Bank received two additional 15-year charters under the National Banking Act, and on February 4, 1887, the bank’s official name was changed to Stroudsburg National Bank.
Our county’s third bank was also the first official local bank to operate outside of the Borough of Stroudsburg; it was the East Stroudsburg National Bank. It is not surprising that the Borough of East Stroudsburg played a major role in the early banking history in Monroe County. At that time, East Stroudsburg was experiencing faster growth in population, business, and industry because of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad.
The second bank in Monroe County was known as the Monroe County Bank. Located on the 500 block of Stroudsburg’s Main Street, this bank opened on January 2, 1870. The president was Thomas Bell, and the Cashier was Edwin A. Bell. Little information survives on the history of this bank. Reportedly, there was only a sheet of paper in an old ledger containing the entry, “January 2, 1871: First day’s deposits $408.07.”
54 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
The East Stroudsburg National Bank, located at the corner of Washington and South Courtland streets, started on April 17, 1889. Lafayette Westbrook, M.W. Welter, James Harry Shotwell, M. Luther Staples, Frank L. Dennis, and Louis M. Burson served as the bank’s first Board of Directors. The first
president of the East Stroudsburg National Bank was Milton Yetter, who served in this capacity until his death in 1911. The Board hired L.H. Nicholas as the cashier who was employed in that position until 1905. The fourth bank to be established in the area was the Monroe County National Bank. Also located in East Stroudsburg, this bank was positioned on Crystal Street across from the train station. Chartered on August 31, 1900, the bank had as members of its Board of Directors: T.Y. Hoffman; J.S. Schoonover; Jesse R. Smith; Obadiah Zimmerman; Philip Ruster; Wesley Henry; Frederick Fabel; George Rasely, and; Arthur Taylor. The first cashier was N.S. Brittain; he served in the position until 1908. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, there certainly was a need for organized banking in Monroe County, and it is hard to imagine a time before a bank’s services were offered to the public.
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With the continued economic growth of Monroe County, the need for greater commercial banking facilities became apparent.
While citizens certainly took advantage of the new institutions, banking in the 19th century only meant that someone had a safe place to keep his or her money. Banks only offered withdrawal and deposit services. For loans and trust services, residents still had to travel outside Monroe County until 1909 when the Security Trust Company of Stroudsburg was formed.
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With the continued economic growth of Monroe County, the need for greater commercial banking facilities became apparent. Growth in manufacturing, commercial ventures, agriculture, and the tourist industry drove the demand for more financial institutions. Today, hundreds of banks of all sizes are readily available to meets all of the financial needs of Monroe County’s citizens.
JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 55
June 10
Bridge the Gap: Pond Paddle Saturday, 10:00am-12:00pm Free Come join us for a free paddle on our ponds! Beginners are welcome—we will teach you everything you need to know! Dress appropriately—you may get wet. Spaces are limited; call to reserve a canoe or kayak! Funding for this program provided by the William Penn Foundation. www.peec.org
Wildlife exhibits and planetarium shows for explorers of all ages!
June 11
Geology Hike Sunday, 1:00-3:00pm Free for members / $5 for non-members Join Paul Kovalski, aka, Dr. Dinosaur, for a program based on the geology of the area. We’ll take a short hike and talk about rocks, fossils, glacial deposits, and what makes our park unique. www.peec.org
June 18
Edible & Medicinal Plant Walk Sunday, 10:00am-12:00pm $5 Nature provides food & natural remedies for us in the form of many plants. Join us on a hike focused on wild edible & medicinal plants. No collecting will be done in the Park. www.peec.org
June 24
Spring 2017 Hours Wed./Fri./Sat., 10 a.m.– 3 p.m. Adults $6, Children (3–17) $4, Seniors 60+ $4
Children under 3, Members, and ESU students admitted free
Hoeffner Science & Technology Center Normal Street & Ransberry Avenue East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 570.422.2705
www.esu.edu/museum 56 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Get Outdoors at Mt. Nebo Park 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM This 159-acre regional park in East Stroudsburg offers two walking loop trails, a small pond, and lovely views at every time of year. This is a moderate hike, suitable for families — perfect for a morning outdoors in early summer. The park protects local drinking water and the Delaware River. Sponsored by Brodhead Watershed Association. Free, but registration is required. 570 839-1120 or 570 629-2727 info@ brodheadwatershed.org
June 24
Gardening with Native Species Saturday, 1:00-2:30pm Free Join Sheila Salmon, of the Pike County Master Gardeners, as we discuss the best way to make use of native species when planning and planting your garden! www.peec.org
June 24
Get Outdoors at Mt. Nebo Park 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM This 159-acre regional park in East Stroudsburg offers two
In and Around The Poconos walking loop trails, a small pond, and lovely views at every time of year. This is a moderate hike, suitable for families — perfect for a morning outdoors in early summer. The park protects local drinking water and the Delaware River. Sponsored by Brodhead Watershed Association. Free, but registration is required. 570 839-1120 or 570 629-2727 info@brodheadwatershed.org
June 25
Introduction to Blacksmithing Sunday, 10:00am-12:00pm $5 Interested in learning about the trade of blacksmithing? Join William Barrett, of the New Jersey Blacksmiths Association, for a look at the history and basics of blacksmithing. Program will include live demos over a forge. www.peec.org
June 30 - July 3
“Celebration with a Bang” Family Nature Getaway Weekend July 4th Weekend Adults $225 / 25% off ages 7-10 / 50% off ages 4-6 / free under 3 Commuter and day rates available – call for details
Bring your friends and family to experience the best of what PEEC has to offer. Nature hikes, animal presentations, swimming, canoeing, fireworks, campfire and more! Price includes three nights lodging and meals from Friday dinner to Monday lunch. www.peec.org
July 8
Little Eco Explorers: Fish Saturday, 1:00-2:30pm $5 per child A fun hands-on program for young children! Join us for a story, craft, and activity focusing on fish. Call for details. www.peec.org
July 8
Moonlit Drumming Saturday, 6:30-9:30pm $30 adult / $20 child Master drummer, Maxwell Kofi Donkor, is back for another unforgettable experience. Enjoy an introductory lesson and a drumming circle under the moonlit sky around a campfire. Don’t miss this great event! No experience necessary. Program requires a minimum of 15 preregistrations to run. www.peec.org
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BRIDGE THE GAP COME OUT & ENJOY THE PARK!
FREE SEASONAL PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR: Cross Country Skiing, Hiking, Biking, Paddling
570-828-2319
PEEC@PEEC.ORG
PEEC.ORG
Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) 538 Emery Road, Dingmans Ferry, PA 18328
IN THE DELAWARE WATER GAP NATIONAL RECREATION AREA Thank you to the William Penn Foundation for supporting the Bridge the Gap Program!
July 9
Bridge the Gap: Pond Paddle Sunday, 10:00am-12:00pm Free Come join us for a free paddle on our ponds! Beginners are welcome—we will teach you everything you need to know! Dress appropriately—you may get wet. Spaces are limited; call to reserve a canoe or kayak! Funding for this program provided by the William Penn Foundation. www.peec.org
July 9
Frog Frolic Sunday, 1:00-3:00pm $5 per person Join us for a fun afternoon at the ponds and streams! Learn about some of our frog friends as we gently catch and release these hopping amphibians. Wear boots and plan on getting a little wet and muddy! www.peec.org
July 15
FINE ARTS and CRAFT SHOW
To Benefit The Clymer Library and The Tobyhanna Elementary Center PTO Programs
Saturday June 24th 10am to 4pm and Sunday June 25th 10am to 3pm Tobyhanna Elementary Center 398 Old Route 940 Pocono Pines PA 18350 Lunch available for purchase Musical Entertainment • Basket Raffle For Information call:
Clymer Library at (570) 646-0826 ask for Irene or Carol
Get Outdoors on Red Rock Trail to Mt. Sophia 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Part of the Mount Airy trail network, this easy-to-moderate hike includes a spur to a pine grove at the top of Mt. Sophia, 1,300 feet in elevation, and dense stands of native mountain laurel. This conservation land protects Forest Hills Run, Swiftwater Creek, Paradise Creek, and drinking water. Sponsored by Brodhead Watershed Association. Free, but registration is required. 570 839-1120 or 570 629-2727 or email info@brodheadwatershed.org
July 15
Bridge the Gap: Pond Paddle Saturday, 1:00-3:00pm Free Come join us for a free paddle on our ponds! Beginners are welcome—we will teach you everything you need to know! Dress appropriately—you may get wet. Spaces are limited; call to reserve a canoe or kayak! Funding for this program provided by the William Penn Foundation. www.peec.org
July 15
Ecozone Discovery Room! Saturday, 1:00-4:00pm $2 per person Climb into a bald eagle’s nest, crawl into a bat cave, explore a beaver lodge, and dig in a fossil pit! Explore this indoor discovery room and enjoy hands-on exhibits on natural history, sustainability and the local environment. www. peec.org
July 15
Pocono Living www.poconomagazines.com 58 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
Get Outdoors on Red Rock Trail to Mt. Sophia 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Part of the Mount Airy trail network, this easy-to-moderate hike includes a spur to a pine grove at the top of Mt. Sophia, 1,300 feet in elevation, and dense stands of native mountain laurel. This conservation land protects Forest
Hills Run, Swiftwater Creek, Paradise Creek, and drinking water. Sponsored by Brodhead Watershed Association. Free, but registration is required. 570 839-1120 or 570 629-2727 or email info@brodheadwatershed.org
July 16
Gardening with Rain Barrels Sunday, 1:00-3:00pm Free Come out and learn all about rain gardens and how to incorporate the use of rain barrels into your own garden with the Pike County Master Gardeners! www.peec.org
July 22
Dragonfly Walk Saturday, 1:00-3:00pm $5 Learn about the wonderful world of dragonflies! Join David Trently on a search through the fields and around the ponds for dragonflies and butterflies. Call early – spaces fill up fast. www. peec.org
July 23
Edible & Medicinal Plant Walk Sunday, 1:00-3:00pm $5 Nature provides food & natural remedies for us in the form of many plants. Join us on a hike focused on wild edible & medicinal plants. No collecting will be done within the Park. www.peec.org
July 29
Bridge the Gap: Day Paddle Saturday, 9:00am-3:00pm Free Join us for this free paddle down the Delaware! Bring a lunch and a water bottle and dress for the weather. We will provide extra water and snacks. Choose between a canoe or kayak. Registration begins June 29th – Maximum of 25 spaces. Funding for this program provided by the William Penn Foundation. www.peec.org
July 30
Frog Frolic Sunday, 10:00am-12:00pm $5 per person Join us for a fun afternoon at the ponds and streams! Learn about some of our frog friends as we gently catch and release these hopping amphibians. Wear boots and plan on getting a little wet and muddy! www.peec.org
July 30
Ecozone Discovery Room! Sunday, July 30 – 1:00-4:00pm $2 per person Climb into a bald eagle’s nest, crawl into a bat cave, explore a beaver lodge, and dig in a fossil pit! Explore this indoor discovery room and enjoy hands-on exhibits on natural history, sustainability and the local environment. www.peec.org
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JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 59
GREAT GRANDFATHER MALACHY MICHAEL MC COY By: Boots Mc Coy Hi Folks, how it’s been going? Right now I would like to tell you about how the Mc Coy Clan came to live in America and spread all across the lands. It all began with Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather Malachy Michael Mc Coy. It all started something like this: It’s the year 1714 in County Cork, Ireland. Twenty-one year old Malachy Michael Mc Coy stands in front of a tribunal of judges in county court. The senior jurist hands down a sentence; “Malachy Michael Mc Coy, you are hereby sentenced to hang by the neck until dead for the offense of stealing chickens”. Now, you might think that death by hanging is a pretty severe punishment for stealing chickens, except Malachy had been stealing chickens since he was 12 years old. He was really good at stealing chickens. Over the years, he had stolen no less than 200 chickens. Malachy had this thing about chickens. 60 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
When caught, which was often since he was a little slow in both the mind and on his feet, he was sentenced to 30 days, 90 days, 180 days and so on until the judges finally had enough of his thieving behavior. Today it might be said that he was incorrigible, not amenable to treatment, or incapable of rehabilitation, but in those times he was just labeled a worthless scoundrel and scalawag. Therefore, hanging was the best choice for this character. Yet, although Malachy was a little slow, he was also very lucky. While he was sitting and waiting in jail for his date of execution, it was discovered that he and the keeper of the jail were cousins. Of course, at that time in Ireland probably everyone were cousins. Needless to say an “escape” was arranged whereby, under the cover of night and on the eve before his execution, Malachy secretly dug a tunnel under the jail house wall to gain his freedom. No one knew that his cousin, the jailer, gave him the shovel. Malachy quickly made his way across country to the waterfront and stowed away on a cargo ship bound to the new world. Three months later, starving, cold and near dead, Malachy jumps ship in what is now New York harbor. On the dock, he sees a crate of chickens and steals four, (2 in each hand) to help start his life in the new world. Malachy had this thing about chickens, and obviously, his time in jail, near execution and torturous ocean crossing had not made a change in his habits. He immediately ate one chicken, traded another for a room at the inn, and saved the other two for future needs.
Next day, Malachy makes some inquires around town as to where he might find employment and some land for himself. He learns that by going west, to what is today Pennsylvania, he will find settlers eager to take him on as a hired hand. Trading his last 2 chickens, he bought a grub stake and headed west. When he got to his destination, he soon learned that there was a family by the name of Mc Cool farming 3500 acres along a stream called Brodheads Creek and looking for hired help. Sensing he was lucky to come across another Irishman, he quickly made his way along the creek until he came to the Mc Cool homestead. The settlers, Graden & Mary Mc Cool were thrilled to see a fellow from Ireland arrive on their doorstep. And since they had five daughters, but no sons, they were especially happy to see this fine, strapping and handsome young man in front of them who could help with the heavy chores of farming. It also appeared the daughters were very interested. Following a long tradition of indentured servitude, Graden & Mary offered Malachy room & board for seven years of his labor, and at the end of those seven years, they would deed him 500 acres of their lands to have for his own as final payment for his services. So, it was set up that Malachy could take his meals in the main house with the family, but his sleeping quarters would have to be in the barn since there was no room in the house. Now, Graden & Mary’s daughters were simple farm girls and frankly, they had not seen an eligible man like this in all their years on the farm. So, within a fairly short time, the girls would take turns going out to barn after supper each night to “help Malachy finish his chores for the day”. Like I said before, Malachy was a very lucky fellow. Thus in no time, all the girls were carrying babies and later they all bore sons.
Mary was kind of upset that things turned out this way since the girls were not married and such, but Graden, who was a more practical type, was happy to see boys being born to help on the farm and encouraged Malachy to “keep up the good work”. In less than 7 years, Malachy had six children with each of the five daughters for a total of 30 kids, mostly boys too, running around all over the country with the name of Mc Coy. He had finally found something he could do better than stealing chickens. After working for the Mc Cools’ for seven years and earning his own farm, Malachy did not live long thereafter. He died at the early age of 42. Some say from sheer exhaustion. At his funeral, all the Mc Cool daughters stood nearby and cried profusely. So, this is how the Mc Coy clan came to spread out across the lands so quickly. All thanks to a chicken thief who was very, very lucky. Well folks, it’s time to go. I have to make some more moonshine. But thanks for stoppin’ by, and remember … If you’re lucky enough to live in the mountains, you’re lucky enough.
Boots
Illustrations by Bruce Hutchison Boots McCoy is a Pocono native and lives in a log cabin deep in the woods of Canadensis with his dog, “Ginger.” He spends most of his time hunting and fishing, but sometimes when he gets into the homemade whisky from his still, he takes naps that last for three days and nights. JUNE/JULY 2017 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© 61
Pocono Art & Design The Pocono’s best artists & designers helping you build your business!
• Logos • Business Cards • Print Ads • Brochures • Websites • & More New Business Starter Kits from $495 Business Growth Kits from $695 Credit Terms Available
Barrett Paradise Friendly Library Cresco, PA 570-595-7171 www.barrettlibrary.org
Pocono Mountain Public Library Tobyhanna, PA 570-894-8860 www.poconomountpl.org
Clymer Library Pocono Pines, PA 570-646-0826 www.clymerlibrary.org
Western Pocono Community Library Brodheadsville, PA 570-992-7934 www.wpcl.lib.pa.us
Eastern Monroe Public Library Branches Hughes Library (main branch) Stroudsburg, PA 570-421-0800 www.monroepl.org Pocono Township Branch Tannersville, PA 570-629-5858 Smithfield Branch Marshalls Creek, PA 570-223-1881 Bookmobile 570-421-0880 x49
62 POCONO LIVING MAGAZINE© JUNE/JULY 2017
You know your business better than anyone else... we know how to market it! 1929 North Fifth Street, Stroudsburg, PA 18360 570-424-1000 Visa / Mastercard
Pocono Living Magazine
2017 PHOTO CONTEST
ENTER YOUR BEST SHOTS
PHOTO : MARLANA HOLSTEN
Your photos could be seen by more than 26,000 readers when you enter them in Pocono Living Magazine’s Annual Photo Contest. The contest is open to amateur photographers only. (Those who do not earn a majority, over half, of their income as photographers). You may enter up to 15 images in each one of these categories; Wildlife; Children and/or Pets; Historical Structures; Waterfalls, Rivers and Lakes; and Landscapes. Only photographs that are representative of the Pocono Mountains should be submitted. Individual photos should be emailed to: pmags@ptd.net , and must be high resolution, (300 dpi), jpg or tiff files. Winning photos, along with the names and hometowns of each winner, will appear in the October/November 2017 issue of Pocono Living Magazine and on the Pocono Magazines.com website.
PRIZES AWARDED: • 1st Place: $150.00 • 2nd Place: $100.00. • 3rd Place: $50.00. Honorable Mentions: One year subscription to Pocono Living & Pocono Family Magazines. In the event of a tie, prize money will be spilt among the winners.
RULES OF THE CONTEST Contest open to amateur photographers only. Contest opens April 1, 2017 and closes August 1, 2017. Enter electronic files by email to: pmags@ptd.net . Please include your contact information (phone number & email address) with the submission. Each contestant may submit up to a total of 15 photographs in each category. Entered photos must have been taken recently, from January 2012 to present and be of a scene or subject found in the Pocono Mountains only. Categories are: Wildlife, Children and/or Pets, Historic Structures, Waterfalls, Rivers and Lakes, and Landscapes. Judging will take place in August and September 2017 and winners will be notified at that time. Winners will be asked to provide story information about the photo and provide a short bio for publishing in the October/ November 2017 issue of Pocono Living Magazine. Contestants will retain all rights to their photography, but agree that Pocono Magazines, LLC may use their photos from time to time in the magazines that they publish and on the website provided proper credit is given to each photographer. Questions? Email the editor at: pmags@ptd.net
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