After Kent attended a metting at GFE, we left to head north, stopping in Shamokin, PA. Named from an indigenous word meaning "place of eels." Shamokin was founded in 1835 by the coal speculators John C Boyd and Ziba Bird. Industries in the past included anthracite coal-mines, silk and knitting mills, stocking and shirt factories, wagon shops, ironworks, and brickyards. However, since World War II, Shamokin has been in decline. Now the economy is based on service industries such as health care.
Yet, for tourists, there are the murals:
Moose Lodge (511 N Rock Street) |
Transfiguration Ukrainian Catholic Church (1904-1905, by Luaife & Howe) |
Mother Cabrini Catholic Church, formerly St Edward's Catholic Church (1872-1880) claims to be the first church in the world to have electricity, in 1883 |
Housing on Spurzheim Street |
Many abandoned buildings had this "signal flag," which indicates a dangerous building that no one, including and maybe especially fire fighters, should enter |
Shamokin Creek seems to have iron in the water |
Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1898) is dedicated to those from Shamokin who served duing the Civil War |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial (1964) |
The Hiker (1938), official figure of the Spanish- American War Veterans, was erected in tribute to over 200 men from Shamokin who volunteered to fight in that war |
Mural #9: Dick Kashner - Dedication to Youth Sports (2019, by Emma Dailey) recognized C Richard 'Dick' Kashner who was involved in youth baseball for over 50 years |
Stanley Coveleski Monument (1997) honors the Shamokin native who became a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Famer |
Mural #3: Ice Cream (2014, by Claude Harrington, Matt Leavens, and Jeff Tweed) remembers the milk delivery dairies and ice cream shops of Shamokin |
Many homes still had Christmas decorations |
The Shamokin Mission Seventh Day Adventist Church has taken over a former synagogue (c 1875) |
Mural #5: Shamokin Theatres (2016, by Jeff Tweed) depicts three theatres that existed in the 1950s |
Mural #6: Central Drug Store (2013, by Claude Harrington) |
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Egads! We woke up to snow, and it kept coming down as we continued north to Buffalo, where it was sunny and warmer! |
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