lhlou.livejournal.comLou of Lock Haven — LiveJournal

? ? LiveJournal Find more Communities RSS Reader Shop Help Log in Log in Join free Join English (en) English (en) Русский (ru) Українська (uk) Français (fr) Português (pt) español (es) Deutsch (de) Italiano (it) Беларуская (be) lhlou —no suspend reasonReadability More lhlou Archive Photos Video Readability Log in No account? Create an account Remember me Forgot password Log in Log in QR code No account? Create an account By logging in to LiveJournal using a third-party service you accept LiveJournal’s User agreement Recent Entries Archive Friends Profile Memories Lou of Lock Haven History isn’t what it used to be. Previous 20 All Good Things: Epilogue Jun. 26th, 2016 at 6:26 PM lhlou So that’s how it ends. At least for now. I’ve kept this blog for eleven years. Through three jobs and countless adventures. And after all these years, I’m happy. I have a family, friends, a career. And I’ve realized, over the last couple of years, that I’ve actually been getting too busy with all of that stuff to blog about it. But maybe one more. Just after I got on the board at Piper, LHPS took a field trip. We got together on a Sunday morning, and went to the Austin Dam ruins. "Guys," I said as we got out of the car,"I’d like to welcome you to the Austin Dam. It burst in 1911, and killed almost eighty people. Some of the survivors moved to Lock Haven afterward, probably causing some hauntings there." ’Wow," said Mille, looking at the giant pieces of the dam that were still standing, towering above us. "And they just left them here?" "Yeah, what are you gonna do with them?" "I take it you already have seen the signs," Theresa said,"Instructing us not to climb on the ruins?" "Yeah, I’ve done it." We walked across the field, toward the huge chunks of the dam. I was with Kara, Theresa, Millie, and Holly, our newest member, promoted from Teen Paranormal. Behind us, I could hear little Paul playing. A few of us stopped to take photos, and we approached the dam. "It’s amazing," said Kara, looking up at the ruins. "Check it out, Holly," I said. "This happened a hundred and five years ago. Some people will tell you that Pennsylvania is boring, but that’s not true. There are a million places to explore." "That’s so awesome," said Holly, smiling. "It is," I said. "There’s always adventures around. Always." We all went to the pavilion. "Everyone enjoy lunch," said Theresa. "We’ve got all kinds of food, don’t be shy." "I brought plates and cups," said Millie. We all gathered around the tables, sitting down. I sat with Paul, who was holding a small tube of bubble stuff. "Bubbas," he said, holding it out to me. "That’s right, bubbles," I agreed, and blew some into the air. He laughed gleefuly. "Gen!" I blew more bubbles. My little boy laughed, delighted. "Gen! Bubba!" I smiled. "Daddy loves you." So that’s how it ends. There are worse ways to go out than sitting with your child, surrounded by your friends. Maybe, eventually, I’ll start another blog. Maybe I’ll get the urge to write about my life again, and begin a new one. But for now, I’m just going to enjoy my life. Or maybe I’ll try something new. A book, a novel. I’ll pretend it’s fiction; who’s going to believe a book about ghosts and buried treasures in a Pennnsylvania community? Some of my adventures might adapt well to a book. And if you happen to see me, maybe at the library or down at Piper, feel free to stop and ask me how it’s going. You never know. Maybe I’ll even share. Leave a comment Share Flag Link All Good Things: Conclusion Jun. 24th, 2016 at 8:27 PM lhlou "You’re wearing it!" Fin smiled when I walked into the Piper Museum. I was wearing my brand-new blue Giwoggle T-shirt. I grinned. "it just came last night. I couldn’t wait to wear it, actually. My kids are gonna love it." "That’s so awesome." "Would you mind putting on coffee?" "I already did." "Thanks. Excellent." I turned to Stacey. "How’s the Fly-In going?" "It’s going well. How was your first board meeting?" "About right, for a board meeting. I spent two hours wondering why I ever wanted to be on the board. But I’ll survive." Stacey grinned. "They’re not all that bad. Have you been in the big C-54 yet?" "My little boy tried to get in the cockpit and fly it last night. Anything you need from me?" "We just got a donation of two Piper Cub tires. If you could take them to the archives and accession them, that would be great. Oh, and by the way...." Stacey handed me a small key on a chain. "Here’s your key to the museum." I smiled. "You have no idea what this means to me." I opened the door to the archives, and turned on the lights. Setting my pack by the desk- My desk-I looked around the room. File cabinets. A line of shelves with artifacts on them. Books about aviation. All my responsibility. I’m back in the museum business . "So what’s on the agenda?" Fin came in behind me. "I’d like to teach you some stuff about archiving and accessioning artifacts during the Fly-In," I said. "And we’ll explore the building together. But I also want to find out about Max Conrad." "Tell me more," said Fin. "Max Conrad was known as the Flying Grandpa," I said. "He began setting world records in his Piper Aztec at age forty-seven, and kept up for most of his life. I’d like to include him on my tour tonight, if I can find out where he lived. And if it’s within walking distance of the library. So we need to do some digging." "I’m in," said Fin. "We have a couple of files on Max Conrad back here," I said. I dug them out, and handed one over. We paged through. I said."Max Conrad was pretty freaking awesome. This guy set records for speed, for distance....I may write a column about him." "That’ll be interesting." "Actually one may not be enough." I looked over one article. "Here’s a story about Conrad crash-landing in Greenland. He went back later and wasn’t able to retrieve his plane, but....Ah. Here we go! Score." "Do tell." "He lost the plane, but he got back his watch....And a Fallon Hotel key." "So...." "So he was living at the Fallon for a while. Which means I have a reachable residence for him, which means I can include it on the tour tonight." "Awesome! I’ll be there." "Good. I sort of missed you last week. Also, there was this bear." Jen came into the archives. "Hey, Lou, we have a question out here. A guy wants to know the difference between a Piper Tri-Pacer and the next line, the Piper Caribbean." "I’m on my way." "Also, we have someone who called about your article on the Last Dogfight, and an author who needs a photo of the prototype for the Piper Seneca." "Wow." said Fin. "You’re in big demand." I smiled. "Yeah," I said. "It feels pretty good." A little later, when the crowd had died down a bit, I walked back into the archives. I sat down at the desk, then turned the chair around to look at the room. This is all my territory, now. It’s a huge archive, full of information and artifacts. And I’m the one they’ve selected to handle it. Not only am I helping out....I’m on the board. I’m in charge. I drank some of my coffee. After all these years....All the adventures....I’m running a museum. I’m one of the people making the decisions. And I’m doing something that I really care about. I’m going to love this place. I stood up and got to work. It’s almost like it’s a happy ending. Current Location: Lock Haven, PA Current Mood: happy Leave a comment Share Flag Link All Good Things: Part Six Jun. 18th, 2016 at 10:09 PM lhlou We boarded the train at nine AM, and left Lock Haven for Bellefonte. Downtown Lock Haven was doing their annual train fundraiser, and guess who had been asked to talk some history? I was sitting with Tif, Michelle, and Paul when we got out of the city. I stood up and headed for the staff car. "Back in a while, guys. Time to go earn my keep." I started at the front car, and worked my way from car to car, telling historical stories. I talked about the time Ulysses S. Grant had a party on a train in Renovo. I talked about the naked sewing machine salesman...