Sunday, October 24, 2010

Wealth and Prosperity in Mauch Chunk/Jim Thorpe PA

All the information that I’m about to post here came from the Mauch Chunck
Historical Society I will include the link to the site. I  did not write any of
this it’s right from the site I’m only barrowing the information from them. I do
not own any of the information that  I’m about to post. Here is the link to the
page where you can find all the information on and where I barrowed the
information from as well :http://mauchchunkhistory.com/home.html

The
victorian Era 1875-1900



Mauch Chunk,
founded in 1818 as a company town, went through a boom period that lasted
through the rest of the century as the importance of anthracite became central
to the American Industrial Revolution and the American way of life. Men of
modest means and men of no means at all came to the town and got swept up in the
success and opportunity the town afforded them. Some became millionaires several
times over. Even those who did not become millionaires did well for themselves –
the tide of prosperity raised nearly all the boats of Mauch Chunk.


This vigorous era
reached its peak in the last quarter of the 19th century. As that era began most
of Mauch Chunk’s “old money” families were still centered here. The next
generation was still young, but they were maturing and not all were destined to
remain in Mauch Chunk.


Industry in Mauch
Chunk bustled and there was plenty of employment in various enterprises. These
included the coal business, three railroads and their attendant shops and yards,
the Lehigh Canal and the boat building enterprises, breweries, construction
companies, two iron plants plus a wire rope mill, two newspapers, a tannery and
a tallow plant. Besides these businesses, Mauch Chunk was also the county seat
and there was a wealth of lawyers along with the clerks and secretaries needed
in the various offices.


During this era
there was an exceptional set of individuals who were the leaders of the town and
industry. Nearly all had made their fortune and fame in the coal and rail
industries and nearly all were millionaires. And in the late 19th century, being
a millionaire truly meant something. They included (in order of when they passed
from the scene):


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1. John Lentz
1793-1875
2. Daniel Bertsch 1801-1877
3. Asa Packer 1805-1879
4.
Charles Albright 1830-1880
5. John Leisenring 1819-1884
6. Harry E. Packer
1850-1884
7. Fisher Hazard 1829-1888
8. Alexander W. Butler
1823-1889
9. Andrew A. Douglas 1818-1890
10. Albert G. Brodhead
1815-1891
11. William Lilly 1821-1893


12. Robert Klotz
1819-1895
13. Charles O. Skeer 1818-1898
14. James I. Blakslee
1815-1901
15. Allen Craig 1835-1902
16. Nathan D. Cortright
1817-1902
17. Francis R. Sayre 1821-1908
18. John C. Dolon
1832-1914
19. Leonard Yaeger 1824-1919
20. John S. Wentz 1838-1919
21.
Mahlon Kemmerer 1843-1925

These were the men
who built the great mansions on Front Hill overlooking the Lehigh. These were
the men who built the townhouses of Millionaire’s Row on Broadway. These were
the “royalty” of old Mauch Chunk.


As time
progressed, these town fathers began to die out and in some cases the next
generation moved on to the bigger ponds of Bethlehem, Philadelphia and New York.
The coal and rail industries would soon start shifting their main offices to the
bigger cities, too. Still, the momentum of prosperity continued to carry the
town along and there was a wave of construction during this final quarter of the
19th century that reshaped the town. It was high times in old Mauch Chunk while
it lasted.


Even as business
shifted elsewhere and the old families faded from the scene, another industry
had been growing, that of tourism. Mauch Chunk had been a tourism town since the
early 1820s when visitors came to see the taming of the wilderness. By the late
years of the century tourism had grown until, for a time, Mauch Chunk was the
2nd


most popular
attraction in the United States – 2nd only to Niagara Falls.

The first know settlers in Mauch Chunk Jim Thorpe PA

All the information that I’m about to post here came from the Mauch Chunck
Historical Society I will include the link to the site. I  did not write any of
this it’s right from the site I’m only barrowing the information from them. I do
not own any of the information that  I’m about to post. Here is the link to the
page where you can find all the information on and where I barrowed the
information from as well :http://mauchchunkhistory.com/home.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first settlers
of Ol' Mauch Chunk were members of the work crew that came here with White &
Hazard in the fall of 1818.  The "charter" citizens of old Mauch Chunk, besides
White and Hazard, were:



Wilson, John, Coppersmith
Lamon, James,
laborer

Ward, Thomas, laborer
Taylor,
Thomas, machinist
Fulton, John, laborer
Jenkins, John, carpenter       
Spear, James,
laborer
Spear, William,
laborer

Spear, Robert, laborer
Mitchell,
Hezekiah, saddler
McCrea, James, wheelwright
Briggs, William,
mason

Nowlan, Francis, white washer
Zane,
William, carpenter
Cameron, James,
laborer

Flood, John, teacher
Watt, James, laborer
Buzby, Samuel,
blacksmit



These settlers
were soon followed by others, including Nicholas Brink who brought his wife and
children here in early 1819.  Margaret Brink was the first woman in MC and in
April 1819 the first child born in MC was born to the Brinks. 



Most of these
settlers only lived here a short time - most were gone by the mid 1820s.  The
Spears were in MC for a while, but had relocated to other places by time of the
Civil War.  James McCrea is the most interesting since he remained in MC the
rest of his life.  He had the wheelwright shop which occupied the site of what
is now the Marion Hose Co. building.
  He's buried in the MC Cemetery

The birth of Mauch Chunck/ Jim Thorpe PA

All the information that I’m about to post here came from the Mauch Chunck Historical Society I will include the link to the site. I  did not write any of this it’s right from the site I’m only barrowing the information from them. I do not own any of the information that  I’m about to post. Here is the link to the page where you can find all the information on and where I barrowed the information from as well :http://mauchchunkhistory.com/home.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prior to 1818 the place where the Mauch Chunk Creek entered the Lehigh River was
a wild and lonely place. The creek met the river in a wide, rocky estuary known
to the few locals in the area as “Little Spruce Swamp”. Above the swamp, rocks
and boulders choked the stream, creating many pools and ponds as the water
cascaded toward the river. Rhododendrons grew thick on the steep hillsides and
fish and game abounded.
As for the presence of man, there was very
little, but what there was stood out in the wildness of the scene. The site had
been used by the Lehigh Coal Mining Company (LCMC) as a boat landing, but there
was much more activity in this regard about a mile up the river at Lausanne
Landing. The Lausanne Tavern also played host to the officials and laborers of
the LCMC when they were working in the area.
Perhaps the most
noticeable sign of man at Mauch Chunk prior to 1818 was the state road that
paralleled the river. Nicholas Kern, a pioneer of Lehigh Gap, had improved the
old Moravian Road from Lehigh Gap northward to the village of Weissport.
Beginning in 1792 he extended this road north along the river to the base of the
Broad Mountain. It was used mainly to reach the coalmines at Room Run (later
Nesquehoning). Kern was plagued with problems in the construction of this road,
with some of his worst problems located at the swamp at Mauch Chunk Creek. The
details of Kern’s road are not known, but it is likely he constructed a bridge
at the site.


By 1818 great
change was in the wind along the Upper Lehigh. The old LCMC was out of the
picture as a new company – or rather a pair of new companies, entered the scene.
Three partners had taken an interest in mining the coal and getting it to market
– two totally different ventures. To that end, they founded the Lehigh
Navigation Co. to improve the river and, shortly thereafter, the Lehigh Mining
Co., to mine the coal. This allowed backers their choice in what endeavor to
invest in. In a few years the two concerns would merge to form the Lehigh Coal
& Navigation Co.


Josiah White,
Erskine Hazard (Philadelphia businessmen) and George Hauto were the three main
partners in this new effort. They first visited the Upper Lehigh in 1817,
returning in spring of 1818 to commence work. White and Hazard recruited 13
laborers for the project and it was decided that the best way to quarter the
workers would be to construct a small fleet of boats that would carry them to
work the different work sites on the Lehigh. White dubbed the fleet “Whitestown
on the Lehigh”. Beginning work at Lausanne Landing, the crew gradually worked
its way down the river, moving rocks and clearing a channel in the river. The
workers were a mix of men – some local mountain people, some brought from
Philadelphia. All were roughnecks and strangers to White and Hazard – some of
dubious background. The partners, working side by side with their crew, were
mindful come payday so as not to be murdered by their employees.


By the fall of
1818 a channel had been cleared on the Lehigh and that work crew was dispersed.
The “Whitestown” boats returned to the Mauch Chunk Creek for the season. For the
next part of the work, White brought in a crew of 18 laborers, men from his
factory in Philadelphia and other men known to him. Along with White, Hazard and
Hauto, these men constitute the “charter citizens of Mauch Chunk”,
the first settlers.


Some were only
short-term residents. Others remained and made a life for themselves in the new
village – some even spending the rest of their lives here. James McCrea became
one of the town’s best-known citizens. Born in Scotland in 1788, the wheelwright
had worked for White at his Philadelphia factory. He remained in Mauch Chunk
plying his trade from 1818 until his death, which came in 1882 at the great age
of 94. For many years his wheelwright shop stood where the Marion Hose Co. now
stands. He is the only charter citizen to be buried in the Mauch Chunk
Cemetery.


During the winter
of 1818-1819 the Whitestown boats remained moored at Mauch Chunk. One of those
boats housed Mauch Chunk’s first family, that of LC&N steward Nicholas
Brink. With the spring thaw of 1819 construction began again and Brink and
family moved from the boat to the first dwelling in the village. This was
located along the creek near where the Navigation building now stands, and
included a large bakery on one side, operated by Nicholas with three of four
helpers. The village grew rapidly in 1819 and soon there were over 600 laborers
to house and feed. Brink’s wife Margaret worked as a cook and was the
housekeeper for the large boarding house adjacent to the Brink home.


Not long after the
Brinks moved into their home, they welcomed a new child into their family. Born
April 21, 1819, he was the first child born in the village and was named in
honor of the three LC&N partners responsible for the founding of the town.
The full name bestowed upon the child was Josiah White Erskine Hazard George F.
A. O. Hauto Brink
His birth was a great cause of celebration for the village
and the laborers made an especially big event of it. Not only were they
celebrating the birth of a child, they were celebrating the new spring, their
hard work, and the firm establishment of the village of Mauch Chunk. A witness
described the celebration thusly,



”The forest was
illuminated with pine torches, plenty of good old and pure whiskey was drank,
and the noise and dancing were so great that it seemed as if the very tops of
the pines had caught the infection and kept time with it by waving to and
fro.”



And
so it was that Old Mauch Chunk was born, carved out of the wilderness as a
company town for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co.

Monday, October 4, 2010

New show I like called IRT Deadliest roads it takes place in India

Anyone that knows me know that I'm not reality TV fan at all but I do have few favorite shows that I do watch one of them is called Ice Road Tuckers the past few seasons it take place in Alaska you can find this show in History channel. History channel now has spin off of this show called IRT'S Deadliest roads it takes place in India, I saw preview for this show for weekend now and I was hooked on it right after seeing the preview of the show I was counting down the days to the show LOL! I was glad to see that they had Lisa on the show driving in India to prove that woman can do it all! Here is little bit about the show it's right from Historychannel.com : here is the link if you would like to check it out yourself :
http://www.history.com/shows/irt-deadliest-roads  now here is what the show is about right from histroychannel.com please keep in mind that I don't own none of this text I'm just borrowing it to inform you.

 About IRT Deadliest Roads


Three of North America's toughest truck drivers are crossing borders and tackling some of the most extreme roads in one of the world's most unforgiving environments: the Himalayas. Navigating the highways of India--some of the deadliest on the planet--will test everything the drivers have learned in more than 40 years of combined experience. They'll be forced to adapt to road and driver conditions they've never before encountered. Whether it's driving along 1,000-foot-high cliffs, dodging avalanches, failing to communicate in a language they don't understand, facing hostile temperatures or simply driving on the other side of the road, nerves will be tested and lives will be put on the line this season on IRT Deadliest Roads.

Friday, October 1, 2010

How me and other American's like to spend our money

Someone inspired me to write this blog because it got me thinking! US as Americans we love to spend money weather we have it or not it seems like we don't care anymore or maybe that is just me, it seems like all we do it buy stuff that we don't need just because we saw it on TV or someone told us that hey you should try this product it's great and sadly we go out  and spend our money on it half the time we don't use it or might use it one and never aging.

 I know that I'm not along in this department either I'm guilt of spending money on stuff that I don't need I will even openly talk about this right here right now along with what we  Americana's do, eating out we all do this some more then other we chose to do so for many different reasons, me included I have learned that eating out all the time is not good for our health home cooked meals. If we eat out we have to let tip pay for drinks sometimes even refills,pay for appetizer, main meal and desert, that my friends is hefty bill because we love to eat that is part of our problem we have no grasp on portion control. I'm can safely say I have learn portion control thanks to WLS and changing my life around. Once you start to eat at home you will see that you saved money because you don't have to let tip pay for drinks refills none of that stuff! Plus you know what you are putting into your food when you eat out you have no idea what is in your food they can tell you it's one thing but it can be whole neither thing.

After having my WLS done I starting losing weight I was not hungry all the time I didn't know what to spend my free time on so when I was not working and had weekends off I went shopping spending money on new clothes, hand bags, pens, yarn, hair ext ions, as seen on TV stuff, anything that I could get my hands on just like the rest of the people out in the world and I started to spend money I didn't have. Well I got into depression after my operation it didn't stop my spending but made it worse I stopped working out and fell backing to old ways even spending buying more stuff!!! I went to talk to someone who I brought up my spending habits well he told me what I needed to do at that time I didn't want to hear it this kept up for nothing, I'm sure you are wonder what has changed. Well my neighbors went into nursing home friend and I helped cleaned out there home we I ended up with more stuff and but seen how they kept everything and how bad shape some of it was woke me up to see hey you don't need to stuff to be happy and spend that money on that stuff dose not good I can keep that money and spend it on nice trip or vacation somewhere or make improvement to my house.

Well what has changed for me is in the process of helping them out I ended up with new bed room set well it's not brand new but it's in better shape then mine was so I got it. I had to clean my room out which opened my eyes to see how much stuff I have well I ended up throwing somethings out that I no longer need or was not good either, as for my pens well I'm not buying more I'm using what I have till the ink is gone if it don't write I throw it away it makes me feel good to do so because I know I don't need pen collections, hand bags well I'm going through them getting ride of what I don't want or like any more I don't need 50 or more hand bags, shoes well since I lost the weight my feet are smaller I into size 7-71/2 shoes so my size 8's have to go the hard part for me is getting rid of my fat clothes this is another blog about my fat clothes. I have learned that I don't need the newest latest high tech things that are out on the market today either. I'm learning to cut my spending down because things are going up and we don't need stuff to make us happy either. As for yarn well I'm crocheting again making things it comes in hand for baby gifts, birthday's Christmas etc! So the yarn is put to good use.


Us as Americana's need to stop spending money on stuff that we cannot afford we don't need the newest cars, phones,homes,TVs, eating out,etc we need to look at what we have and use that we need to get out take nice walk with our families smells the fresh air we can do things that don't take money like family night, going to state parks, cleaning out our home have yard sales etc. I think if we all can save 1.00 to 20.00 week it will add up to something big and we can spend that on something we need like our debt that we have or  take nice trip or make that home improvement we need. This is just my thought.