AGAINST THE AUTUMN WIND--September 26, 2015

Autumn in Pennsylvania is beautiful.   Jerusalem School Road lined on both sides by corn stalks about to be harvested -- September 26, 2015
Pennsylvania in the Fall is absolutely beautiful.   The foliage hasn't begun to turn yet but harvest season is in full swing.   The air is crisp and the breeze is comfortably cool.   My favorite time of year.  It felt great to be out on the bike today after such a long week...not having any real destination in mind.   After meandering through a few neighborhoods in Emigsville I ended up in the miniature community of Glades, PA.   Talk about small town, rural Pennsylvania!  
Talk about a small town...as far as I can tell this is the only public building in Glades, PA -- September 26, 2015
Descending towards the Codorus Creek from Glades I passes a few old stone walls, stone buildings, and a really cool looking mill pond.  Sometimes I wish I could glimpse back in time to see what the area looked like one or two hundred years ago.  

Gravel Road between Saginaw, PA and Mount Wolf, PA -- September 26, 2015
Climbing back towards Manchester I survived the amazing foul smell of the East Manchester Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Just how long CAN someone hold their breathe while cycling!  A right turn onto Jerusalem School Road put me back onto some country roads.  The fresh air was welcome!  By now I had decided that I was going to head down towards Codorus Furnace and then home through Saginaw.  

I've mentioned the furnace a few other times in past blogs.   It was built by William Bennett in 1765 and eventually purchased in 1771 by James Smith, York County resident and signer of the Declaration of Independence.  Codorus Furnace is one of the best preserved iron furnaces in Pennsylvania and is the oldest remaining landmark of the iron industry in York County.  

Rode to Codorus Furnace today -- September 26, 2015


Large pieces of iron ore and salamander (residue left in the bottom of the furnace) line the entrance to Codorus Furnace preventing cars from driving too close -- September 26, 2015


Visible on the hill behind the furnace stack are the remains of the structures that helped service the furnace -- September 26, 2015
From the furnace I passed through Saginaw and then headed towards Gravel Road.   Just recently tarred and chipped I've been avoiding gravel road all summer.  Mainly because I hate pulling tar and gravel off of my bike.  I figured it would be okay today.   Heading up the hill I noticed all the walnuts that had fallen form the trees to the road surface.   My mind went straight back to growing up on South Juliana Street in Bedford, PA.  As a kid we had a walnut tree right in front of the house.   My my brother and I (along with the neighborhood friends Robbie, Beau, and those that I can't remember) would pick up the walnuts and either crack them open to eat them...or throw them across the street to see who had the best arm. Usually they were thrown...and we were in trouble.

Growing up on South Juliana Street in Bedford.   My mother, Kathryn Raymond, had an amazing garden and would allow us to sell her massive cucumbers to people who would stop by.   Left to right...Lacey Henderson,  David Raymond, Jacob Raymond, Beau Henderson -- 1980
Riding through Mount Wolf, and then Manchester, I came to Main Street.   Sitting right on Main Street in Manchester is a brick building that serves today as a Chiropractic office.  What a lot of locals don't know is that the building, constructed in 1816, was once a tavern that hosted  the Marquis de Lafayette on his 1825 and 1826 tour of the United States.    I think that's pretty cool.  

Today the brick building in Manchester is a chiropractic center.   In the 19th century it was a tavern that hosted the Marquis de Lafayette--September 26, 2015
To the best of my knowledge there isn't a historical marker on the building.  I only found this out when a pickup truck accidentally drove into the building and the local newspaper, the York Daily Record, reported on it. 

Only two miles from home my mind turned to the steak I have marinating, the ice cream in the freezer, and the Pirates //Cubs game.   Time to go home to eat and Raise the Jolly Roger! #raiseit 

David A. Raymond -- September 26, 2015


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