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Down South -- A Family Vacation (page 2)
After a very pleasant and exciting week we had to reluctantly take our leave and travel on to visit another of Ma's brothers and family in the town of Pomeroy. Our journey took us northerly to the Susquehanna River, which we crossed and then proceeded on to the Capital City of Harrisburg. Much of the way took us along this wide, easy-flowing river. At one place we saw what we were told was the longest stone-arch bridge in the world, at that time.
We were almost at Harrisburg when our old faithful "Lizzie" developed a knock and a "high fever". She did appear to be in great trouble. I guessed that this trip was too much for her small chassis. We were lucky to find a garage with a mechanic who knew just what to do. He went right to work and in three hours had the trouble fixed. It turned out that the problem was quite serious. The oil-line had gotten plugged so that the main bearings of the engine did not get any lubrication. As a result, several bearings had to be replaced and a new oil-line installed. After this operation, and the garage bill paid, we were on our way, once again.
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We had planned to stay in Harrisburg overnight with a friend of Ma's. This three-hour delay made us late in finding the place. However, we did finally arrive, much to their surprise and joy. They were delighted to provide accommodation for the night and a good breakfast in the morning. Promising to call back on our return home, we took our departure and were on our way to Pomeroy and Uncle Sam's. After an all day travel, we arrived, but late for supper. However, true to American hospitality and family love, they were waiting for us and we did enjoy a real down-home Pennsylvania supper, as only Aunt Jessie could cook up.
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The little town of Pomeroy is in the vicinity of Philadelphia. Much of this area was quite familiar to our Mama. The towns of Coatsville, Parksburg, Christiana, Urselton, Westchester, Paradise, Intercourse, Brandywine Manor, Newtown Square, were all just names to me, before this trip. Now, they became realities, because we visited them. They were places where Ma had been at some time or other before her marriage. It was a highlight of this trip for Ma to again visit the Home where she was born and the farm where she played and grew up; and learned farm chores. Of course, we just had to see Philadelphia with its John Wannamaker building with its famous Pipe-organ, and to see William Penn's monument. Everyone was glad to see Mama and her family, and to hear all about our adventurous trip down here.
We were, indeed, quite reluctant to leave and bid Uncle Sam, Aunt Jessie, as well as their children, Conard and Wayne, our fond farewells. They, also, were reluctant to see Aunt Polly, Uncle John and their family of five cousins depart for the "far north" to Canada and Home.
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Our route took us up along and across that vast river, the Susquehanna, to Harrisburg, where we were to spend the night as we had promised, at the home of Ester Saylor. On the way along the river near a heavy-industry town called Steelton, we were able to see the magnitude of a steel operation. It seemed to stretch for miles along the river, adding much pollution along the way. At one place, we even saw them mining coal from the river bottom. We stayed all night at Saylor's and after breakfast left for another leg of our journey.
We took time to stop over in Bloomsburg at Uncle Jesse's. Here, much to the disappointment of brother Bob, our naturalist, artist and scribe for our trip, we just missed seeing a large, wild, black bear that was seen in a nearby field the day before.
From here we followed much the same road as we used coming down. It seemed quite different, though, partly because we were seeing the other side of everything. No two sides of everything are identical. We reached a little place called Campbell, New York (the parent town of the Campbell Soup Co.). The time was getting latish, we were getting hungry and a storm seemed to be brewing, so we decided to start looking for a place to eat and sleep. It turned out that the first man to inquire of was an employee of the Campbell Soup Co. He obligingly allowed us the use of an empty house to sleep and eat in, as well as an empty barn in which to stow the car for the night. We were still in the rural light-fixture area, where oil lamps were still a necessity. However, our lighting needs were met with the use of an oil lamp, supplied by the owner of the house. This generous hospitality was more than matched the next morning while we were preparing breakfast. This same "Yankee man" brought us a whole quart of fresh Jersey milk for our use. All of this surely gave us a good, happy start for the day ahead.
Well, we made an early start on a fresh new day. Everything now seemed brighter; the hills seemed less difficult and the countryside more enjoyable. Even that seven-mile long grade at Springwater did not bother Pa as he had anticipated it would. Old Lizzie chugged up on all four cylinders with apparent ease. Our destination for today was Buffalo, to stay at Uncle Michael's. Well, we arrived there at about six o'clock to learn some sad news that Uncle Michael had met with an accident at work and was in the hospital receiving treatment. This delayed us a day and also gave us more time to visit our cousin Velda.
So, on this final day of this memorable family vacation, we started forth in our trusty Model T, to travel back across the border to Canada. In some ways, we were quite reluctant to leave this new and different country; this country Mama called "Home". We have seen many things to remember. In some parts of rural Pennsylvania, mules were used in place of work horses. Mechanization had not reached there yet. In one or two places, we saw ox teams also being used to pull wagons. We noticed that stone fences seemed to predominate in rural Pennsylvania. Also stone houses were quite common. Although some of the folks seemed quite backward according to our standard, yet they were very friendly and seemed glad to see someone from Canada, their northern neighbour.
After crossing the "border", we hurried on home, through Hamilton, Dundas, Paris, to London. In London, we made a stop for a loaf of bread and a bite of supper. We arrived home at about nine-thirty, tired but happy for having made the trip as successfully as we did. Mama felt renewed in spirit and ready to pitch in where we left off. We children had missed several weeks of school; but we could make it up. The old farm did suffer some loss under the temporary management. It did miss the rightful, guiding hands of Papa and Mama. Life, in general, went on as we gathered up all the loose ends and prepared for the many Autumn chores. We were pleased to learn that Uncle Michael soon recovered from the accident and lived to enjoy many more years of life in the U. S. A.
Next Chapter: Outward And Onward
