In some of my travels, I came across Unionville, an unincorporated community in Talbot County, MD and a site with a lot of history to tell.

In Unionville, thee historic marker reads: “Unionville: Historic African-American community settled by ex-slaves and free blacks. Many were in the Union Army in the Civil War; the village’s name honors these local soldiers. Unionville grew after the war to nearly 40 buildings with a church and school. In the cemetery are 18 black soldiers who fought for the Union 1863-66.”

The formation of Unionville is widely credited to Ezekiel and his son James M. Cowgill, Quakers who owned nearby Lombardy Plantation. In 1856, they carved out a parcel of land for these veterans described in the sign. Another of Ezekiel’s sons, John Cowgill, who was also a Quaker, served as Captain in Company A, 108th Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry, Army of the Cumberland even though he was a Quaker. The reasons why are not widely known. The Cowgills offered each of the eighteen veterans a plot of land for the rate of one dollar a year for thirty years. The land records show that the Cowgills intended not only to offer land for families but land to build a town. They stipulated in their leases that the plot of land was offered to free African-Americans provided that they would build a church and a school house in their community.

All eighteen settled there and built a community, starting with a church and a school. They named it Cowgilltown after their benefactors. The community grew – most being descendants of these eighteen men.

The first leases variously state that the land was at “Lombardy” or sometimes “Cowgillstown,” but from 1870 onwards the leases read “The Village of Unionville”. Thus the village today is known as “Unionville” in honor of the Union Army that the African-Americans credit with winning their freedom. “Cowgillstown” also stands as a tribute to Ezekiel, John and James M. Cowgill, who championed the cause for justice, freedom, dignity, better living conditions and community for African-Americans during the Civil War and after Emancipation.

Amazing what interesting sites you can discover without straying too far from home (due to the pandemic!)

Mandy

One of the sights visible from the John W. Brown Liberty Ship day-cruise is Fort Carroll. It’s a 3.4 acre artificial (and uninhabited) island and abandoned military fort located literally “within the shadow” of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

The fort was designed by then Brevet-Colonel Robert E. Lee (yes, THAT one) and construction was started in 1848 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Lee’s supervision. The fort was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. Before it was created, the only military defensive structure between Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay was Fort McHenry. Additionally, a lighthouse (now abandoned) was built to aid navigation into Baltimore’s harbor.

Though never completed, and never used as a military fortress, the architecture is quite amazing, featuring curved granite stairs, brick archways, etc. It originally had 350 cannon ports, a blacksmith shop, carpentry shop, and a caretaker’s House. In 1864, it was flooded by torrential rains and declared vulnerable and obsolete. Subsequent uses of the fort included storing mines during the Spanish-American War, holding seamen, and as a pistol range. Most of the steel was salvaged for the war effort and the government abandoned the fort in 1920.

While there have been plans over the past ninety years to redevelop the site, nothing was able to come to fruition and it has fallen into extreme disrepair.  It is essentially an avian wildlife sanctuary.

Another sight which can only be seen from the water: the belly of the 4.4 mile long dual-span Chesapeake Bay Bridge (the one which in summer is often such a major traffic impediment…jammed with traffic headed for the Atlantic beaches). It’s known collectively as the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bay Bridge,

Two parallel bridges currently cross the bay in Maryland — a two-lane eastbound span constructed in 1952 and a three-lane westbound span that opened beside it in 1973. The segments form part of U.S. Routes 50/301.   The original span, opened in 1952, and with a length of 4.3 miles, was the world’s longest continuous over-water steel structure. The parallel span was added in 1973.

Having traveled the bridge hundreds of times over the years, it was interesting to observe the unusual vantage point of its undersides.

Enjoy!

Mandy

About 2 weeks after the previously-published post with the above topic, I was driving south on the major highway up and down the west side of the Delmarva peninsula. What did I see coming up behind me, but a garbage truck from the company who services our house. It slowly passed me, and when I looked up, the passenger in the cab gave me a big smile and a wave.

Many thoughts went through my mind – had I been driving the antique car, it happens – often. But I wasn’t. He could have been flirting…true. But I suspect that since I hadn’t been wearing a mask when we had the incident at home, and I wasn’t wearing a mask since I was alone in the car, most likely he recognized me…even with the only light during the incident being from the truck’s headlights and even though during the day, he couldn’t see whether I was wearing a dress while driving. Which I wasn’t.

On our next garbage pick-up day, the evidence became clearer… I watched from inside the house in a dark room, with the garage door closed. They not only picked up the garbage, but put the lids with the cans instead of scattering them on the side of the road. If that happens again with the next pickup, it will be clear that my efforts not only saved them from a work-related complaint, but also improved the service to our house.

Update today: they have been attentive to our trash each time since…

A win-win for all, wouldn’t you say?

Mandy

Anyone notice a slight problem within this picture?

No, it’s not the newest iteration of picking up mail for passing Railway Post Office cars… I took this picture in an industrial area of Baltimore back in the late 1980’s. The siding was seldom used, but the picture proves that the US postal service was far from perfect, even back then.

What would happen if a train happened by??? CRUNCH!!!

Enjoy,

Mandy

While I was contemplating dresses being a way to minimize the total number of clothes I take on solo excursions, I found a cute dress in one of what my wife calls my “girly catalogs”. ( The ones she never looks in!)

This dress immediately caught my eye… Its floral design is absolutely gorgeous and undeniably feminine. The colors should work perfectly with browns, blacks, pinks and whites.  My initial impression from the computer screen was “It will be fine.”  I wouldn’t know for sure about the fit till I could try it on, but if it weren’t actually that length shown in the catalog, would it be too short and flirty for someone my age? So I kept going back to it, and trying to decide Yes or No.

There was also no doubt that I would need to try it on to know how it would look on someone of my size and weight (though I’m now down to 199 pounds!  First time in decades.)  And it’s definitely not a matronly style!  A pair of low heels or flat sandals would be perfect with it.  (So would 4” heels – but that’s another story.)  Finally, after many internal debates, I ordered one. It got delivered to the wrong address, extending delivery time quite a bit, but it eventually found its way to me.

What do you ladies think?

My own thoughts are: it’s a silky fabric which likely won’t wrinkle (a plus for traveling), the colors are perfect – and ideal with sandals, such as the brown pair shown, as well as my similar white pair. Black ballet flats and low heels will work as a cooler weather alternative, as will a black purse – with any outfit. And the dress practically demands hot pink nails, with thumbs/big toes and ring fingers/toes in white with pretty flowers on them. I’m going to love wearing it!

The best part is: when I sit down, it’s long enough that my modesty will be protected. I’m so glad I bought it, and am looking forward to being able to wear it on an excursion soon! (Virus, virus go away, and don’t bother to come back some other day…)

Hugs,

Mandy

A quickie today…

Eagles are majestic birds – one pictures them soaring free in the wild blue yonder…well, and also adorning the sides of the Postal Service delivery trucks. (That USPS image has been a bit tarnished lately – but that’s another story.)

A few years back I was driving along a country road and came across this fellow a few yards off the roadside on a slightly misty morning. He was feasting on the remains of some unfortunate creature which had an encounter with either a vehicle on the highway, or a piece of farm equipment.

We all have to eat to live. But IMHO such an opportunistic scene somewhat offsets the image I have of an eagle freely winging across the sky with a fiery sunset unfolding behind it…or even perched majestically in a tree in the woods, watching and awaiting its next meal to scurry across the ground below… This is more like the way turkey vultures get their meals…

When you’re hungry, I guess breakfast is where you find it…

Mandy

A quickie today…

It was another day with a couple of errands to run in a nearby town.  So I took along my pair of heels and wore a traditional everyday outfit: flats with bare ankles, stirrup leggings, turtleneck tunic, sweater under hoodie, and my perennial purse and “now relatively long” fingernails.   First stop was to drop off some stuff at a charity shop, where my heels clicked on the ground as I walked to the drop boxes.  The attendant said “thank you,, Ma’am.”

From there, I was off to the “ship and print store”to make some copies for doing my taxes.  One hundred percent of the time I was addressed as female while in the store.  As I left, with my heels echoing at each step, a man held the door for me as I exited.  “Thank you, sir.”  “You’re welcome, Ma’am.”  No hesitation….

And lastly, I stopped at a big box store for a quick dash in for one item…and had the same affirming reception.  Hmmmm, I’m beginning to wonder if my heels may have something to do with it?  I guess I’ll have to try wearing them more often!

However, the next day I went in for a pedicure (re-do the white toe nails) and manicure (a pink acrylic fill). To make it easier for the nail tech, I wore capri pants, turtleneck tunic, sandals and my usual other accoutrements. The nail tech always addresses me as “Miss (insert real first name here),” so that was/is no surprise. But I had to run to the post office afterward, and the response there was indeed surprising. No way I could hide my toes – I had to wear sandals to avoid damaging the fresh polish on my toes (and hadn’t brought any closed shoes.) So there I was, on display for all to see…in town, no less. The thirtysomething female clerk gave me a big smile and addressed me as “Ms. (insert real last name here)… Several times. Fortunately I didn’t recognize any of those in line…

Maybe it was the fresh “nails overhaul” which caused it? I guess I’ll never know…but it was nice, and clearly not an issue for the folks waiting in line! I guess I’ll try it again…

Hugs,

Mandy

No, this was not a staged “period equipment” display.

These actual scenes took place in Dormont, PA back in the summer of 1963 or ‘64 – almost 60 years ago. This one is a catenary maintenance truck at a grade crossing.  As school was out for the summer, Mom and I went to Dormont to catch the trolley into Pittsburgh. We lived in the area at that time, and in those days before shopping malls on every corner, she was going to town to buy some new dresses. (Guess who got to tag along to the dress shops and watch while she tried each one on? Perhaps a contributing factor in why I like dresses?) This picture was taken at the trolley line’s Dormont stop!

Of course the tracks traversed a corner of Mt. Lebanon, and I seem to remember went on as far as Castle Shannon, resulting in two route numbers being conjoined, in this case “42/38.”  A radio announcer of the era (Rege Cordic of radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh to be exact) invented the term “flying fraction” because of these conjoined route numbers, which existed on several routes. 

You railfans will recognize the body style of the trolleys.  It’s representative of the streetcars which emanated from a design committee formed in 1929 representing the Presidents of various electric street railways. The Electric Railway Presidents’ Conference Committee, or ERPCC, was tasked with producing a new type of streetcar that would help fend off competition from buses and automobiles. The committee conducted extensive research, prepared a detailed research program, built and tested components, made necessary modifications, and produced a high-performance design that was commonly used in the following decades. The cars were popular because of their distinctive streamlined design and smooth acceleration and braking, sometimes quoted as soft ride. The design patents were held by a business called the Transit Research Corporation, who licensed features to various streetcar manufacturers. The trolleys are still known as PCC cars to this very day.

It turned out that the PCC design was very good. The standard car was 46′ long and 100″ wide with later models 46.5′ long and 108″ wide. Chicago, Detroit, Illinois Terminal, Pacific Electric, and San Francisco had longer cars, as long as 50.5.’ Washington, DC, had shorter cars (44′) because of car house clearances. Many railways altered the car in various ways to fit their own needs, but most cars retained a standard appearance.

Pittsburgh Railways (PRCo) took delivery of PCC #100 in June 1936, the fourth order for a PCC car but the first PCC car delivered and the first in revenue service in the world. Production continued in North America until the early 1950s, with 4978 units built; thousands more PCCs and direct descendants were produced in Europe through the 20th century. The cars were very sturdy and many lasted a long time; well into the 1970s the majority of surviving North American streetcar systems used PCC cars, the systems which closed often selling their cars secondhand to the surviving operators.

A handful still remain in service alongside modern vehicles, though most of the PCC cars functional today are operated by museums and heritage railways.

Is one operating near where you live?

Mandy

Back in September of 2012, wifey and I took an excursion out west, and one of the destinations was Yellowstone National Park. We elected to stay on property at the Old Faithful Inn, which is a destination in, of, and by itself. Beautifully rustic, but yet up to date in services, and we had a great time.

The Old Faithful Inn replaced the Upper Geyser Basin Hotel, also known as the “Shack Hotel”, which had burned down. The Northern Pacific Railroad, in the form of the Yellowstone Park Association operating company, was required by the terms of its concession to build a new hotel no closer than 1/8 mile of Old Faithful, a stipulation the Yellowstone Park Association observed to the letter. An initial design was prepared by architect A.W. Spalding in 1898, producing a design typical of the time, a turreted Queen Anne style hotel. The design was approved by the Park Service, but construction never started. Child instead hired Reamer to design a much more radical building with antecedents in the rustic camps of the Adirondacks.  Design work took place in 1902, and construction started in 1903, with work continuing through the winter to open in 1904. The original cost of the Inn was about $140,000, using materials gathered from within the park. The hotel was furnished for another $25,000. Most of the logs came from a location about 8 miles (13 km) south of Old Faithful, where a temporary sawmill produced boards as needed. Stone came from the Black Sand Basin and from a site along the road to Craig Pass about five miles (8 km) to the east. The unusually-shaped log brackets were collected from the surrounding forests.

The Inn has been expanded and modified several times. In 1913 the East Wing was added to the 120-room original structure, and in 1922 the dining room was enlarged. In 1927-1928 the West Wing was built, and the front of the main building extended. All of these modifications were carried out under the supervision of the original architect, Robert Reamer. A 1927 addition to the dining room has since become home to the Bear Pit Lounge. Installed in 1936 just off the lobby, the first Bear Pit featured carved and inlaid wood panels with humorous scenes involving bears, created at Reamer’s suggestion. When the lounge was converted to a coffee shop, the lounge was relocated to the dining room extension and the panels were replicated in etched glass in 1988. Some of the original panels remain in the snack bar. In 1940 the interior logs were peeled, revealing patterns created by bark beetles, and in 1966 the logs were cleaned and varnished. An automatic fire sprinkler system was added in 1948, together with fire doors in the wings

The facility was closed for the duration of the Second World War  (along with all other hotels in the park) and the park was unprepared for the huge number of visitors in 1946.

On August 17, 1959 the Old Faithful Inn was shaken by the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, which collapsed the dining room fireplace chimney and damaged the huge lobby fireplace, reducing the number of usable hearths from eight to two. The building was partially shaken loose from its foundations, and access to some of the upper levels had to be restricted due to safety concerns. There were no deaths or serious injuries at the Inn as a result of the earthquake. The dining room fireplace was finally rebuilt in 1985, but the outside portion of the lobby fireplace chimney was replaced with a single steel pipe, visible in many exterior photos.

In 1988, the inn was seriously threatened by the North Fork Fire, but was saved by the actions of firefighters, volunteers, and a sprinkler system which was installed on the roof the previous year.

The high-range rooms in the East and West wing additions were renovated in 1993 and 1994. In celebration of the Inn’s centennial in 2004, a major multimillion-dollar renovation project of the original “Old House” started construction with the help of A&E Architects of Missoula, Montana. The project was broken into 3 construction phases with the final phase scheduled for completed in June 2008. 

If you ever have a chance to visit, you should by all means do it. Fascinating sights, friendly people, and a beautiful hotel. Besides, it’s a vacation in a hotbed of natural power and natural wonder. Where else can you stay in a volcanic caldera?

Mandy

…who might be around when you walk into a store!

A few days ago, I walked into the dealership where we bought our car two years back. (I was wearing an everyday outfit of stirrup pants, a turtleneck, bare ankles, ballet flats and purse, and was headed for the service department.) That dealership has had some recent staff turnover, so I expected to encounter more new people. But what was the first thing I hear?

From behind a mask, on a mildly familiar upper face, came “Good Morning, Mr. (Insert last name here) – have you switched brands of cars?” OMG, it was the guy who had sold us our prior car! He had a new job, at a different brand’s dealership! And though we didn’t officially keep in touch, he knows both my wife and I from our prior dealing on a car! We’re probably in his customer list!!!

It”s definitely a small world…and a good example of why I don’t wear dresses locally!

Hugs,

Mandy