Pretty, but you could've at least took pictures of your lunches! :) Glad you had a nice visit.. do you two live near each other?

Susan, that's not the Archbald Pothole is it? Never heard of The Ledges. Where did you eat?

No, that's not the Archbald Pothole. But I have a funny story about it. I homeschooled my son for first grade, and told him he could pick where we went on a field trip. He wanted to see the Archbald Pothole. I had never been there.

We pulled off Rt. 6 and parked the car. As we walked toward the roped-off pothole, we saw two men sitting on a bench, heads down, clutching paper bags. I could tell immediately that they were a couple of drunks, barely awake, with bottles in the paper bags. But what to tell my five-year-old son?

I needn't have worried. He said, somewhat in awe, "Mommy, those men are scientists studying the pothole."

Oh, and we ate in Hawley. Maire and I don't live near each other, but she has a country house in PA. When her DH retires I hope to snag her more often. The last time we had lunch was two or three years ago.

We did have a nice lunch and an even nicer visit. Even though it's been a few years since we last met it seemed as if we were continuing our last conversation. I won't let so much time elapse before meeting again.

We had lunch in the Cocoon, a little cafe which is part of the old silk mill in Hawley. A lot of money has been spent restoring the beautiful bluestone factory and after lunch we wandered through the little shops inside. Susan took the photos from a stone patio overlooking the stream and falls.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hawley Silk Mill

This post was edited by maire_cate on Wed, Jun 26, 13 at 11:27

I thought that you might have gone to Patsel's. I've been there a couple of times. The decor there is incredible.

Oh I completely forgot. Susan gave me a rhubarb cake that she had made - it was delicious. DH and I had some for breakfast with our coffee this morning. Thank you again!

Mare_wbpa - Hawley seems to be about midway between us. My place is just outside Milford (Pike County) and she's NW of Lake Wallenpaupeck. In the fall I might be headed your way- my father's family lived in Sugar Notch and I'm planning on doing some genealogy research in the W.B. Historical society and looking for graves in the cemetery.

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This post was edited by maire_cate on Wed, Jun 26, 13 at 11:46

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This post was edited by maire_cate on Wed, Jun 26, 13 at 11:44

I live about 3 miles from Sugar Notch. As a matter of fact we're in the same school district. Give me a shout when you're planning your visit.

That is close. I've never been to Sugar Notch and initially I had thought I'd make it this time but we had to shorten our vacation. I'll postpone my trip it until we get another week off. I'm hoping for the fall.

Maybe the three of us can rendezvous!

That would be nice. If you've never been to Sugar Notch don't expect much. Its very small with a lot of old houses. Maybe a Pizza place or 2. As the name implies, it's a notch in the landscape.

I like the rendezvous idea!

Oh good - sounds like another nice lunch to look forward to.

Mare- My expectations for Sugar Notch are fairly low. My great grandfather immigrated there to work in the coal mines and it was a poor town then. Now that the mines have closed I gather it's rather a depressed town.

Maybe the place you mentioned - Patsel's? Or another place that's more convenient for everyone.

This post was edited by maire_cate on Wed, Jun 26, 13 at 22:56

Right down the road from Sugar Notch there is one of the few coal breakers that remains standing, it's called The Huber Breaker in Ashley. I don't think they've have made a museum out of it, but they should. You should take a look at it while you're there. You can get a pretty good look at it from the road, don't think you can get any closer.You probably won't see another. I know that Susan lives NW of Wallenpaupack, which is a good distance from Sugar Notch and where I live. We'll have to firm up some plans and come up with someplace that's convenient for all of us.

This post was edited by mare_wbpa on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 11:08

Thanks for the info about the Coal Breaker, I will stop by there.

In the 1900 census my Great Grandparents lived in Sugar Notch with their 6 boys. The 4 oldest were working in the mines - the 18 year old was a mule driver and the other three (ages 14, 11 and 9) were slate pickers. They sat on a wooden bench stooped over a conveyor belt and as the coal passed beneath them they picked up the pieces of slate that was mixed with the anthracite. They worked 10 hours a day 6 days a week and the mortality rate was significant - it wasn't unheard of for a boy to fall onto the belt and then get crushed by the coal breaker.

Sounds like a Dickens novel.

So different from today (we hope!), but not all that long ago, when you think about it.

I think boys who did that were called "Breaker Boys". Was your Great Grandfather Polish by any chance? My Grandfather emmigrated from Poland, and was a Blacksmith for the mines. My father was a timberman, he shored up the walls of the shafts to help prevent cave ins. He didn;t stay in the mines all of his working life tho. Things were very different then. If you think about how life was then, it makes one grateful for the life we have now.

Pennsylvania can be claimed by so many families who 'passed through' the state all through history. Some of my ancestors farmed in Bradford Co. One of my Rev. War ancestors fought with Washington. He was also once captured by Indians and escaped death by plunging into a river and breathing through a reed as he floated downstream. The family relocated to Wilkes-Barre until the uprising was over and they could return home. There is a small monument to Joseph Elliott on a road along the Susquehanna. (Near Wyalusing?)

There is an aide to Washington buried in the cemetery just a stone's throw from where I live. I don't remember what his name is, but I have been to his grave. Pennsylvania is indeed a very historical state.

Susan, I meant to tell you that the story about your son at the pothole is precious.

Thanks, Mare. I'll never forget it. ;-)

I didn't think we had a family connection to Pennsylvania when we moved here from NYC, but shortly after we arrived my mother-in-law called from Arizona and I told her I'd just gotten home from shopping in Honesdale. "Oh, Honesdale," she said casually. "That's where my mother was born."

Turned out her maternal grandfather was a Methodist minister, and in those days they they were moved around frequently. For a little over a year he was pastor of the United Methodist Church in Honesdale--just long enough for his daughter Louella to be born there.

It's a beautiful church, and I think of him often when I drive past.

Yes - they were Breaker Boys, although the census records them as Slate picker breakers. My father's paternal ancestors immigrated from Ireland, his maternal ancestors came from Scotland and Wales. All of them worked in the mines here in the states.

I haven't had much success researching my Dad's family which is why I'm hoping to find more family names and records in the historical society, their parish records and cemeteries.

Maire, I thought that your ancestors might be Polish since there are a lot of people like me, of Polish decent, in this area. The caretakers house in the cemetery that is just a few hundred feet from where Iive is now a geneological society. They have a website that lists all the cemeteries in the area, and a lot of other info. I was on that site the other day and didn't save it, now I can't find that one specific site. There are a lot of others that take you somewhere else that didn't have all the info that the one I was on had. I'll keep looking and send it to you when I find it again.
I have to ask, How is Maire pronounced?

That's one of the complexities of genealogy I've discovered - sites appear and disappear, links take you to interesting possibilities and then you can't find your way back again. I've bookmarked many web addresses that have folded. It can be frustrating, especially since I'm still a novice at this and I'm sure I've missed valuable leads.

Traditionally in Ireland Maire would be pronounced Moy-ra, however since the Anglicized version is Mary you now hear both pronunciations. The Irish used the name Muire to refer to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and used Maire as the common name for girls. My father wanted the Irish spelling and pronunciation but my Mom wanted the English version - so I'm Mary (but Dad always addressed my cards Maire).

This post was edited by maire_cate on Sun, Jun 30, 13 at 21:10

That's an interesting story about your name. I like it. My name is Mary Ann, but it doesn't take people long to start calling me Mare. I must look like a mare.

I couldn't believe that I couldn't find that site again. I'll find it tho. I'm tenacious.

I lived in Honesdale for a very brief period of time, and my son was christened in the town's Lutheran Church. We lived in an apartment on the outskirts of town.

Mare - you probably already know about this site - but just in case....
I found it while checking a Luzerne Bounty website.
(http://www.luzernecounty.com)

Here is a link that might be useful: Luzerne County Genealogy

This post was edited by maire_cate on Mon, Jul 1, 13 at 18:29

Maire_Cate, thanks for that site, I think that this is the site I was telling you about. It has links to a lot of cemeteries in the area, including a cemetery in Sugar Notch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hanover Green Cemetery

Thanks Mare. I only discovered that site myself a few months ago while researching burial plots in the St. Charles Cemetery in Sugar Notch.

Did you know that Hanover Green was featured on an episode of Ghost Detectives? It's not a show that I watch but I thought you might find it interesting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ghost Detectives

No, I didn't know that, thanks for the link. I never watch that show. Hanover Green Cemetery is supposed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest in this area, it's the one where one of Washington's aids is supposed to be buried. I live a couple of hundred feet from HG Cemetery.