"Well, THAT doesn't sound good..."
Zoe's right. It might not sound good, but I spent part of my weekend, in...PITHOLE.
Pithole City, Pennsylvania, that is. Though it's not a real place anymore.
Let me explain.
This past weekend, we had a memorial service for my Grandpa who died in February. We waited to have the service because our family is pretty spread out (from Vancouver, BC to around the Washington D.C. area to Florida and everything in between), and it just seemed easier than making everyone travel during the winter months.
And, so we gathered, first, for a memorial service in Neiltown, PA, which is where my Grandpa was born. It is a "blink and you'll miss it town" comprised of about a four-mile radius.
One House. One Church. And, a couple of stubborn pheasants who stood in the road and didn't want to move.
The church had no electricity. No bathroom. It had pot bellied stoves and wide plank floors and probably wasn't much different than it was when my Grandpa went there as a tiny boy.
After the service was over, the whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) caravaned to Pithole City for a picnic.
More accurately, we went to the site of the extinct Pithole City.
My Grandparents were from Titusville, Pennsylvania, which is part of the Pennsylvania Oil Region. Nearby Pithole City was also part of the Pennsylvania Oil Region, in that it was a Boom Town that grew up almost overnight. It was a real place from 1865 to 1868, and then it became a ghost town.
Suddenly, there were 15,000 people living there, trying to get rich quick.
Suddenly, the oil dried up, and they were gone.
Weird.
The Official Sign
The other Official Sign
An Oil Well Replica
A model of the old town
More model
Did you visit ghost town?
I didn't think so.
2 comments:
Darn it! You're right!
I didn't...
Actually, I was so tired today that I forgot to check for your new post until now! =O I don't think that has ever happened before. The saddest story ever!
Pithole...yeah, that doesn't sound so great. I've met some real pitholes in my day.
Those are interesting photos!
Are you kidding? - Out here in the Wild West I am surrounded by Ghost Towns - and the occasional ghost. LOL
How cool it is that your whole family could get together for your grandfather's memorial service in the little town where he was born. I always think that it is a little special to honor the ones we have loved and lost by spending some time in their "history".
By the way, loved the music from your favorite local band on Friday.
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