soccermom

I'll just bet there are already dead flies, as well as various other insects, in people's compost.

Very interesting! So were Carthaginian fur traders really in PA teaching the Native Americans how to hunt or was this stone somehow transplanted here by some long ago tourist who picked it up and brought it here? It would sure be interesting to know more information. Some questions I would ask would be where this flat stone originally was found in the Reynoldsville area? What flea market was it sold at? Was it sold to someone thinking it had Indian petroglyph markings?

I ran across some very good websites and news headlines on the history of the coal mining industry in our area. Here is a fantastic website on the Eriton Shaft Mine in Sandy Township: http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cleeriton.html Class and Labor: When Singing Hymns for the Union was a Crime in Rossiter PA http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/06/19/348450/-Class-and-Labor:-When-Singing-Hymns-for-the-Union-was-a-Crim DuBois in Mourning Thirteen Victims of Gas Explosion March 24, 1896 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7e9IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gAINAAAAIBAJ&pg=1165,706367&dq=dubois+pa&hl=en 1897 Sep 11, A strike by some 75,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia ended after 10 weeks. Concessions included an eight-hour work day, semi-monthly pay, and the abolition of company stores (which were famous for over charging workers). The day before, about 20 miners were killed when sheriff's deputies opened fire on them in Pennsylvania. (AP, 9/11/97)(MC, 9/11/01) Explosion Wipes Out 21 Lives: Disaster in Coal Mine Near DuBois PA July 17, 1911 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CaMlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TPwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6963,5619720&dq=dubois+pa&hl=en Bodies Recovered in Mine Explosion March 29, 1937 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iKtQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CyIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4161,3175384&dq=dubois+pa&hl=en

No ponds near this train tunnel. There is a pond near the tunnel off the Blinker Parkway.

Isn't that the sad truth!

The Elm Street Program was supposed to help the area which you're talking about. As the downtown gets more and more fixed up, it's hoped that if you fix up the "walking" areas of the downtown, more businesses and more people will follow. I last read about it in February of this year but haven't heard anything since.

It's never too late if the building is still standing. The problem is that people in charge in DuBois have never taken much of an interest in historic preservation. Many of the historic buildings, especially the homes, have been turned into rentals and allowed to deteriorate. If you look at the history of many of the old homes of DuBois, you'll find some really fascinating people lived here. Many years ago, we had a gentlemen that worked in the DuBois area that tried to get people excited about preserving what we have but he just couldn't get those in charge excited. If you look at a town like Brookville, you'll see very few rentals in the prominent neighborhoods but that's what DuBois has become. Hopefully, it's not too late to turn it around. I'm still waiting to see if the Elm Street Program is actually going to take off.

I'll have him dig it out for a photo op. He keeps it put away in a box. We've also found many beautiful fern fossils at Highland. We found a very interesting fossil at Parker Dam which we've never been able to identify. We also have a very large fossil from the DuBois area that looks a lot like the picture on the front of the Fossil Collecting in Pennsylvania book.

Thanks for the link. I've been searching for that book for years. My son and I have a very impression fossil collection from the Highland Tunnel. He found a trilobite and I have several mold and casts. I've driven by the "pit" on Route 119 for many years and never once thought to stop there for a dig. We'll have to give that a try as well. I've been to the rail tunnel across the road, though, and it's not a very pleasant place because it's almost always filled with water.

We love fossil hunting there! Oh, and I've been looking for a copy of that book for years!

Okay, I like the idea of keeping the path on the opposite side of Sandy Lick AWAY from the walkway. Maybe put a trailhead right there where the new footbridge is located. Can you actually see the old rail bed on that side of Sandy Lick? I've never gone the whole way on that side of Maple Avenue. As to the rail bed from the Tunnel to Triangle, that side should be no problem. There's nothing really there. If you walk halfway from the tunnel towards Triangle and cross a small stream to the left of the rail bed and climb a small hill, there's actually an old foundation up in the woods. It looks like it might of been an old car garage or something similar. Does anyone know anything about it? Might be an interesting and historical fact for the trail. I don't have any idea who owns the land through there on either side of the rail bed. It's mostly swampy.

I could see one trailhead maybe near the Triangle Springs baseball field. The line crosses just above there. That might be a good place to start.

Okay, I'm "in" as well. Doesn't the Maple Avenue Bridge go along Shower's Field? Are you looking to tie the trail into the new bridge to the Beaver Meadow Walkway or are you looking at coming out at the mall in a different location?

I believe they did. http://www.kbrhorse.net/signals/southern01.html

1941. I think the car's a Buick, the streetlights look from the 1930s and the flag is probably at half-mast because of Pearl Harbor.

If you go to the library, you can look through the old City Directories and see some of the people that owned the homes. There are also many old postcards available showing these homes when they were first built. I believe the Historic Society has some. It's terrible what has become of some of the historic houses in DuBois. Take a look around Brookville and you'll see pride in their heritage. Many of the original founders of DuBois would be ashamed if they could see their homes now.

This website talks about it and makes it sound like it still exists. http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Jefferson_County/Brookville_Borough.html

Are you sure it's Brookville, PA? There are other Brookvilles out there.

You know, I have been curious about the issue of wells. The drinking water in DuBois has always been very good. Then we hear that water usage is way up and we're going to drill wells. I wonder to myself why water usage would be up when this area hasn't grown and I don't think we're releasing much more than we had in the past. Then we find out that gas drilling companies are buying water from the reservoir. I am, and have always been very concerned about this.

Is the photo attached to the card backing?

They have a haunted walking tour at the historical society in DuBois twice year. They started it last October and had the last one just last week. I've missed them both but hoping to make the one this October. Someone there should be able to tell us about hauntings in the area.

Picture of the tunnel taken this past weekend.

You said it! :clap:

I am pretty sure they are still together and meet at St. Catherine's Church.

There is a doorway halfway through the tunnel that is walled off. Was there a "room" at one time?