July 31st, 2008
If you’re looking for a cool way to spend a hot summer night, why not consider dinner and a show in one of Bucks County’s great downtowns? The four historic boroughs of Bristol, Morrisville, New Hope and Yardley are each home to great restaurants and three of the downtowns are fortunate to house fabulous theaters.
Founded in 1986, the Bristol Riverside Theatre, debuts its’ Summer Musicale, Broadway Baby, on August 7th, running through August 17th. This professional Equity theatre is located on historic Radcliffe Street in the heart of downtown Bristol Borough. With spectacular views of the river, the theatre is surrounded by outstanding restaurants and eating establishments. There’s even a great place right across the street with outstanding Italian gelato for after the show! Make sure to visit the website for show schedules and ticket information.
Not far down the road is the historic Borough of Morrisville. Located across the street from the Delaware River levy and within a few yards of the Trenton/Calhoun Street Bridge, The Actors’ NET Theatre of Bucks County was founded in 1996 as an actor-driven, not-for-profit regional theatre company. You won’t want to miss the triumphant return of their signature show, 1776, a free outdoor performance in Williamson Park on August 22nd and 23rd only. (Raindate August 24th) Make sure you stop by one of Morrisville’s great new restaurants prior to or after the show.
Located just a few minutes up Route 32 is the Historic Borough of Yardley. Famous for so many things, but don’t miss a chance to stop by its’ newly opened corner inn which is a great place for pre-show or after-show refreshments. Yardley’s quaint downtown is also home to great restaurants and a beautiful view of the Delaware Canal.
A national landmark, founded in 1939 and rich in theatrical history, the Bucks County Playhouse is located along the Delaware River in the historic Borough of New Hope. Upcoming shows include The Full Monty, August 6th through 31st on the Main Stage and Cinderella, August 1st through 9th, followed by Sleeping Beauty, August 15th & 16th on the Children’s Stage. You’re sure to find whatever you’re seeking in New Hope with its wide variety of dining establishments and eateries.
Don’t miss your opportunity for a great Summer’s evening in the Landmark Towns of Bucks County!
Posted in Landmark Towns
No Comments »
July 21st, 2008
On Friday, the Jacobsburg Historical Society (JHS) hosted the D&L’s board meeting on their grounds in Historic Boulton, PA. JHS staff led tours of the John Joseph Henry House, the Nicholas Hawk gun shop, and the Pennsylvania Long Rifle Museum. They also graciously provided space on the ground floor of the museum for the D&L’s meeting.
In the 1750s, William Henry established himself as one of the premier Pennsylvania Long Rifle makers, and Boulton, which is just north of Nazareth and west of Belfast, became an “industrial plantation,” housing workers and turning out large numbers of firearms, including the famous Henry Rifle. While the JHS celebrates the small arms heritage of Boulton with gunsmithing programs, historical research, and a high-tech museum, the staff also incorporates other Henry family accomplishments into their exhibits: Ann Wood Henry was the first Pennsylvania woman to serve in public office, James Henry drafted the first legislation protecting Pennsylvania’s wetlands and waterways, and William Henry was involved in early steam innovations. For outdoor enthusiasts, the historic site lies within Henry’s Woods, a section of old growth forest that is part of the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center.
The D&L would like to thank the Jacobsburg Historical Society for their hospitality and encourage everyone to visit this historically-important and naturally-beautiful site.
Posted in FYI
No Comments »
July 16th, 2008
If Sunday’s turnout was any indication, the Coal Miners’ Festival at No.9 Mine and Museum is well on its way to becoming a summer-time favorite. Although this was the first year of the festival, over 600 people came out for the eclectic mix of reenactments, vendors, music, and food. No. 9 Mine even broke its record of mine tours given in a day.
This was a huge success that demonstrated the widespread enthusiasm for events that celebrate the cultural and historical legacy of the coal region. It also highlighted the commitment and hard work of the No.9 Mine and its friends, who deserve congratulations for a great festival. We are already looking forward to the second annual!
The Times News wrote a nice article on the festival and took some great photos.
Posted in Events, In the News
No Comments »
July 16th, 2008
The D&L’s economic impact survey is underway at sites across the Corridor and is even generating a little press.
Volunteers have already completed surveying at RiverFest in Wilkes-Barre and at Patch Town Days in Weatherly, and surveying continues at the White Haven, Glen Onoko, Slatington, and Walnutport Trailheads, Crayola Factory, and Historic Bethlehem Partnership. In addition to the D&L volunteers, several of our partner sites have offered to administer surveys on our behalf. Everyone is doing a great job to make this year’s survey a success!
Surveying will continue throughout the summer. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Silas Chamberlin: Silas@DelawareandLehigh.org, 610-923-3548 (ext.222).
Posted in In the News, MGM2
No Comments »
July 10th, 2008
Who could pass up a day of coal sack races, mine tours, polkas, and demonstrations of 19th-century funeral customs? What if we throw in some great food and music?
The first annual Coal Miner’s Heritage Festival will be held this Sunday July 13 at the No.9 Coal Mine and Museum in Lansford, PA. The festival runs from 10 AM to 5 PM, rain or shine.
The schedule of events features a wide variety of demonstrations, crafts, and children’s entertainment that celebrate the history and culture of the Pennsylvania coal region.
We hope to see you and your family on Sunday!
[For more information, see the flyer and full listing of events or contact Dale at 610-377-4063.]
Posted in Events
No Comments »
July 8th, 2008
Although the most ardent naturalists might find it unpalatable, electronic technology is playing an increasingly important role in outdoor recreation. One of the most recent manifestations of this development is geocaching, an activity resembling a treasure hunt conducted by handheld GPS unit. Geocachers stash watertight containers of prizes, or “caches,” at hidden locations, note the coordinates of the cache, and post them to an official website. Others log on, download the coordinates to their GPS units, and seek the hidden treasure. Those lucky enough to find the hidden cache often take something from the container and leave another item in return. Usually, the prize is a small, personal item of little monetary value, but some caches contain geocoins or stamps to serve as proof of your find. Of course, the goal is to find the cache, but the best hiding spots will lead to scenic vistas, seldom-visited sites, and unlikely destinations, making even failed attempts worthwhile.
Geocaching is a relatively new hobby, made possible on May 2, 2000, when the White House announced that high-quality GPS signals, once reserved for military operations and protected for reasons of national security, would henceforth be made available to civilians, drastically increasing the accuracy of handheld GPS units. The next day, a computer consultant named Dave Ulmer, had already placed a bucket in the woods, listed the coordinates online, and started the sport of geocaching, then referred to as the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt.”
As GPS devices have become less expensive and widely accepted, geocaching has grown in popularity. There are currently 13,471 active caches within 100 miles of the D&L offices in Easton, maintained and sought out by devoted enthusiasts. Businesses and organizations have adapted the sport to fit their needs. PP&L uses geocaching as a means of introducing its conservation efforts and business history to the public. In 2007, the Oil Region Alliance launched the Allegheny Geo Trail in western Pennsylvania. The Trail consists of 10-20 caches hidden in 10 counties, and geocachers can earn unique geocoins for finding them. In the process, they experience the natural beauty of the region and visit local businesses.
There is a lifetime of activities to keep you busy across the D&L Corridor, but, if you are looking for a new twist on hiking, biking, or walking, grab your GPS unit and give geocaching a try.
Posted in FYI
No Comments »
July 2nd, 2008
On Tuesday, Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham released a new five-year capital plan that calls for $75.4 million in spending from 2009-2013. Of special note to friends of the D&L, the county has allotted $245,000 for the development of the D&L Trail and $50,000 for the construction of a boat launch at Lehigh Gap Nature Center. The boat launch is part of an ongoing construction project, intended to improve the trailhead at the Center and ease river and trail access to the Lehigh Gap. Cunningham’s plan also includes millions of dollars for agricultural conservation easements and park improvements.
Posted in In the News
No Comments »
July 2nd, 2008
We tend to think of nature and industry as polar opposites. One of the primary narratives of American history is the shift from fear of nature during colonization and expansion west, to its pragmatic and often aggressive consumption, and finally to a paternal respect and appreciation of nature that seeks to limit the excesses of industrialism. Within this narrative, nature is seen as either a hindrance or potential raw material of industry, and industry represents the state of nature conquered. Theoretically, there is little room for a peaceful coexistence.
[View of Bethlehem Steel from the D&L Trail. Photo Courtesy of Will Minehart]
Our greatest proto-environmentalists approached nature from this perspective. Benton MacKaye envisioned the Appalachian Trail as a therapeutic relief valve for Eastern urbanites that would serve to reinforce industrial capitalist society by rejuvenating its adherents. Frederick Law Olmsted planned Central Park as a respite from “the confinement, bustle and monotonous street-division of the city” not a repudiation of it. Although Central Park and the Appalachian Trail provided nature experiences for millions, both projects also reinforced the belief that nature, by definition, was a space free from the infrastructure and ideology of industry.
Lately, however, a variety of projects have embraced industrial sites for their recreational potential and-paradoxically-for their natural beauty. Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord in Germany is a 570-acre park constructed on the site of a Thyssen steel plant that operated until 1985. Visitors to the park climb the old brick and cement walls, promenade on the elevated rail, and relax in large clusters of trees, all in the shadows of dormant smokestacks and pipelines. In Seattle, Gas Works Park was built on the site of a coal and crude oil conversion works. The city turned the boiler house into a picnic shelter and the exhauster-compressor building into a children’s play barn. Closer to home, the South Bethlehem Greenway will be built on an old Norfolk Southern right-of-way and connect the Bethlehem Steel industrial area with Lehigh University and regional greenways.
[Saylor Cement Kilns in Coplay]
Of course, the D&L Trail is our own example of nature and industry in symbiotic coexistence. The Trail follows the old rail beds and towpaths that once fueled the industrialization of America, and the protection and maintenance of the Trail highlights and ensures the permanency of those remnants of industry. Users of the Trail will recognize that watered canals, remnants of locks, rail ballast, and scattered industrial artifacts add to the natural beauty of the Trail rather than detract from it.
[Inactive lock in Freeemansburg]
In this sense, maybe twenty-first century Americans have crafted an enlightened environmental ethic that allows for nature and industry to exist in the same place. Hopefully, in the future we can look at post-industrial sites for their latent potential rather than as a nostalgic reminder of what has been lost.
Posted in History
No Comments »
