Spending Time

During the hot days of the last week, I found myself indoors more than out.  This can be a good thing since I can put a little more effort into doing some of the chores I've been putting off. Passing the clock in the hallway, I started thinking about how long it has been since my grandfather clock has last been running; it has easily been months if not a year. For some reason, it had stopped working after winding.

    The clock is located on a landing in the middle of the stairs. Doing any type of work on it is difficult due to its location. Before I could do anything, I had to remove the top. This is about 12 X 20 X 32 inches and made out of wood, both heavy and awkward. To be removed, it slides off the base. With the little amount of space I had to work with, I was worried that I might bump the wall or slip while I had it over my head. The carpeted top of the stairs provided a perfect spot to place it and I set it there without any problems.

    Setting up the step ladder I climbed up and took a look at the inner workings. There isn’t a lot in there, some shafts, gears and some pulleys. A quick inspection showed me nothing so I repositioned the ladder and moved over to the opposite side and took a look from there.  Almost immediately I saw what I believed was the problem. The chain holding the weight had a kink in it and it had jammed against one of the pulleys. Carefully I reached into the works and lifted the chain. (And the weight attached to it) With a little jiggling, (A professional term) I was able to undo the kink and realign the chain with the pulley. 

    I have no idea how old this clock is, it has been in my house since the 1970’s. It was brought home by my father after his sister, my Aunt Ena died. It had been part of her estate. Today, looking on-line, I found that the maker, Henry Hahn was born in 1754 and died in 1843. His clock making business operated from 1790 through 1820 so that would make this piece a little over 200 years old! It has some scrapes and bumps in it and some of the parts can use a bit of tightening but for the time being, it is still looking good!

    After a little cleaning and giving the pendulum a push, it was working once again. That was a bit of pressure off my shoulders, I was really hoping that I wouldn’t have to take it to a clock repair man! 

    While the top was off, I cleaned both the insides and outsides, removed old cobwebs, washed the glass and waxed the wood. I also cleaned, dusted and waxed the base at the same time! Carefully I put the top back and then stood back and admired my work. I hadn’t done much but I felt good seeing it working again. I guess I could say it was “Time Well Spent”! 

Film Photography ?

We live in a world where consumers can’t keep up with the advances of technology. Products are outdated as we walk out of the store. Cameras become more sophisticated and photographs can be taken and shared with friends and colleagues as fast as the buttons are pushed. The question occasionally comes up…in today’s world, is “film” photography even needed anymore? Is it worth the trouble involved?

    Today’s digital cameras are technical wonders. They can produce sharp exposures, snap pictures at unbelievably high speeds and even ingrain the GPS coordinates into the pictures should you want them. Since everyone has a cell phone in their pocket, they already have access to a great camera. Using your phone, pictures can be made rivaling large format cameras, without the time or trouble. The speed and ease of today’s photography would suggest that manual film cameras are outdated and basically, useless. Outdated, I would agree but useless, about that I’d have to argue.

    To use a film camera, there is a specific process that needs done to produce a useable negative. The film must be loaded into the camera. The camera needs focusing, a proper exposure must be determined, and then after taking the picture, you have to wait until you’ve finished off the rest of the roll before you can see your pictures. There is no “sneak preview”, no screen to check to see if it is good or not.

    Having only a certain amount of exposures per roll, most film photographers tend to limit their shots, choosing carefully what and how they will photograph. Their choices tend to improve over time. Mistakes often happen but this can be used to your advantage, it is another lesson learnt!

    Once the roll has been removed from the camera, it needs to be developed. Sending your film out will take a while, possibly up to a couple weeks, a couple weeks of waiting and wondering how the pictures came out.

    But then, when the pictures or negatives arrive; “Oh, the excitement!” It is time to compare what you envisioned, and what you took; they are often two completely different things!

    Those with a darkroom or their own chemicals can do this process in about an hour. Taking a roll of still wet negatives out of the can is a great experience. Unrolling the negatives and seeing your images is truly exciting! “There they are, the pictures I took and developed myself!” It is a moment that I find, never gets old!

    The time and effort put into film photography doesn’t necessarily produce better pictures. What it does produce is something that I made myself.  Is it art? That is a truly difficult question to ask but I find it rather easy to answer. To me, yes it is. To an art critic perhaps not, but this doesn’t bother me. The pictures I make are only to satisfy myself. Should others enjoy them when I share them, so much the better. Perhaps this is why I am so critical about my shots and why they rarely meet my expectations, I am my toughest critic!

    Going back to the original question, is film photography necessary or needed anymore, especially since we have such advanced methods of taking and making pictures at our disposal. No, it isn’t really necessary but it is important! It is a part of our (photographers) history. It teaches how light and chemicals work together, it teaches us order and discipline, and how to accept and work through problems.

    As technology increases its width, as AI starts taking over the elementary things for us, maybe we should just allow our computers to “take” our pictures for us. While we are at it, let’s get rid of paper and pens, potters wheels, easels and paints. Our smart machines can produce our art for us, no need to get dirty. The future is here, relax and enjoy it!

    We need to keep doing things which involve using our hands and our minds. We need to continue to make things ourselves. It is a marvelous feeling, one that everyone should experience; making something that you are proud of.

    Film imaging may not be for everyone but it is important to me.  The choice of how you take your pictures is up to you, and no one else. How ever you take your pictures, have fun and keep making your art!

    

The Grand Tour

 Back in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries people of the upper classes would take a journey through Europe, as a sort of an educational rite of passage. They visited historic spots and cities, most often ending up in Italy. Now, in the 21^st century, this custom has fallen away but in an attempt to continue it on, I went along with a couple friends on our own Grand Tour.

    Frank Festa, Bob Davis and I had plans to visit a group of historical structures and sites this week. Though it would only last for a half of a day and we would never leave the state of Pennsylvania, it was still a Grand Tour to us! Frank had compiled a list of old iron furnaces stretching from rt.22 down to rt.30. Starting below the town of Armagh, we would follow rt.711 south to Ligonier. If time allowed, there were three furnaces on the far side of rt.30.

    The list had 10 furnaces on it. Most were still standing while a few were completely gone. Some had been rebuilt and taken care of and some were being taken back by nature. The fun of the trip was seeing what we could find. In a way, we were going back into the 19^th century!

    All of these furnaces had been built in the 1800’s. They are remnants of the early iron industry. The metal made in them was used to make tools and other essentials needed by a growing civilization. The near-by buildings which supported these industries are all gone, if anything only the stone furnaces remain.

    The first furnace we arrived at, the Laurel Hill Furnace, was sitting beside the road! It is huge and to make it even easier for us, it was located on Furnace Lane. This furnace was built in 1845 and went out of blast around 1855-1860. Over the years, the furnace has been well cared for; trees have been removed from it preventing destruction by the roots, a major cause of collapse, though they are starting to re-grow once again. It has four arches, one on each side unlike most furnaces. There was slag all over the ground around it and in the fields across the road. We also located the stone dam that provided power to the water wheel.

    A couple miles further up the road, we found the Baldwin Furnace. This involved a walk of about ¾ mile, uphill of course! Located on a state game land, the furnace is rarely visited. Built in 1810, this has only 2 arches on it, but it has a nice set back. (ledge) The furnace, built 35 years before the Laurel Hill furnace is in rather poor shape. The back side has collapsed, and the chimney has fallen in on itself. 

    The Hanna Furnace was built sometime before 1810. We had references to where it was located but they were written in the 1960’s. There are supposedly, remains still there but we couldn’t find them. We did locate some slag, so we knew we were in the right place. 

    In case you’re wondering what slag is, it is the sludge that accumulates on top of the molten iron in a furnace. It is scrapped off and discarded before the molten iron is poured. It is molten also and often contains air pockets and folds and ripples in it. It often shows layers when broken.

    A mile or two further down the road we came to the Ross Furnace. What makes this furnace interesting is that it sits on a golf course, with a putting green directly in front of it! Built in 1815, it has been well taken care of and is in very good shape. The owners and workers of this furnace played an important part in the Underground Railroad.

    Further south we came to the Valley View (or Hillsview) Furnace. I have always enjoyed visiting this furnace since it sits in a cow pasture. If you’re lucky, the cows will be grazing beside it. Sadly, the cows were across the street when we arrived.  This furnace was built 1850 and is falling in on itself. Trees and shrubs are growing on it adding to the destruction. This structure has 4 arches in it like the Laurel Hill furnace. It is built out of field stone making it look much older, and not as stately as some of the other furnaces with quarried and shaped stones.

    Next on Frank’s list was the Oak Grove Furnace. This hadn’t been seen by our sources, they only gave an approximate location. At the far end of a field beside Mill Creek we found an old silo. Supposedly the barn was built over top of where the furnace sat. There was slag in the field but near the silo, the brush was too thick to see anything. A near-by hillside could have been the loading ramp. Frank, being much more skeptical than me thinks it might have been somewhere other than near the silo. We found the silo and some slag, so I consider it as a find!

    After a stop to sample the local cuisine at a near-by Sheetz, we went another mile down the road to a bridge crossing Mill Stream. We searched around in the woods and on both sides of the bridge looking for any remains of the Hermitage Furnace without finding anything. We did find some stacked stones in the stream but figured they were part of an old bridge structure, not the furnace.  

    Below Ligonier we visited the California Furnace. To get there we had to drive across a nice little covered bridge. The furnace site is set up like a small park with picnic tables scattered around in front of the furnace. The top has been rebuilt and I believe at one time, before being rebuilt, the complete furnace was underground. Built in 1853, it has a nice deep stone waterway coming out from beneath the furnace.

    Returning back to rt.30 we went a few more miles up the mountain where we came to Furnace Run Lane. We asked a worker on the property for permission to visit the Washington Furnace but were denied. Too many people have been sneaking down to the stream to fish and the owners don’t appreciate it. We did see some “relics” from the furnace though, a large solidified puddle of iron and some slag were displayed in their driveway.

    We visited a couple RR stations in Ligonier and then headed back north to rt.22 by way of Derry where we stopped to take a few pictures of a train. In another hour, or so, I was back home. I had been gone almost 13 hours.

    We never left the continent, we didn’t cross over the “big pond”, but we did see a lot of history in our journey. Much like the historic spots in Europe, some of these places were well kept and complete with signage while some of the others were only tales passed down from generation to generation. We hadn’t been gone for a month or more and we never made it to Italy, but to celebrate our Grand Tour, I had a plate of spaghetti before hitting the sack!

Searching for Sarah

 In Clarion County, not far from Brady’s Bend, in fact just a few curves up the river were two small towns which owed their existence to the iron furnaces located in them. As is the case with most of the iron furnaces built in Pennsylvania in the 1800’s, after the natural resources were depleted, the industry left and nature reclaimed what was hers. On today’s outing, we were going to see what is left, if anything.

    We were going to roam around the area where the Catfish and Sarah Furnaces once stood. There is only speculation as to where they were, no ruins remain. We were going to see if we, the intrepid explorers that we are, could find anything that countless others had overlooked.

    Frank Festa, Jeff Parsons and I headed north around 8:30 in the morning. The sky was filled with heavy grey clouds, but the forecasters were promising sunny skies later in the day. The weather didn’t concern us much, at least it wasn’t raining!

1976

    Nearing Brady’s Bend, we made a stop in Kaylor. We came to a flat spot in the road where a set of railroad tracks used to cross. Coming out of a valley on one side, they led into a wide area that at one time was filled with tracks. For many years a set of EMD F7s sat here, apparently rusting away. A neighbor who used to work on the railroad told us that they were moved out before the tracks were removed.

1975

    The tracks had been taken out decades ago and what few buildings sat here have been torn down. A chain link fence sits there protecting an empty lot. A cement pad is evident but all signs of the tracks have been removed. New gravel has been spread across the yard covering over the grease and oil spills so common to rail yards. A round house once sat here but that was gone also, hidden from our view.

    We stopped a mile or two down the road where a brickyard used to sit, the plant was called the Upper Kittanning Brick Company. Like the RR yard, it has long ago disappeared and a new building has been built on the site. Frank is a brick collector and for a while we searched alongside the stream and hillside near the area for any exciting pieces. Stamped bricks are the ones he looks for, proof of where they were manufactured. We found lots of bricks but only one that had anything printing on it, the letters UK B. We took it along with us.

    Since we were passing by it, we stopped at the site of the Great Western Iron Company or The Brady’s Bend Works. A large manufacturing plant used to sit here, complete with 4 huge iron furnaces and a rolling mill. The first furnace was built in 1840 and the complex eventually shut down in 1873. The only things remaining are two of the furnaces, both collapsing in on themselves. Even though they are in poor shape, some parts of the sides are still straight, and the corners are still sharp and in line, showing the skill of the workers who built them, so many years ago.

    From the overlook on top of the hill above East Brady, we could see the twisting Alleghany River below us and the spot we would be heading towards. A couple miles further up the road we turned onto Sarah Furnace Road. A sign stated that there was NO OUTLET! Two miles into our decent we came to a sharp right-hand turn and a parking lot for the Armstrong Trail. We pulled in, parked and got out to do some searching. This was where the community of Catfish was located.

Map from 1877

Catfish Run

    Erected in 1846, the furnace only produced iron for 10 years, going out of blast in 1856. The small community sat around it providing homes and buildings that supported the furnace. The railroad put its tracks in along the shore of the river and probably eradicated any remains that might have been left. Railroad spurs sat here but there was no sign of them either. Coal mining was very big here and everywhere we looked we found pieces of coal. We saw no houses. Over the hillside from where the tracks sat, now The Armstrong Trail, we found some slag in the dirt. I tend to think the furnace sat above where the slag was found, possibly under or just beyond where the tracks were. We climbed over hillsides, across fallen trees and down into creek beds and found only a few bits of slag.

    Just about a 1/2 mile away we drove into the town (?) of Sarah Furnace. Only about 10-15 buildings sit here now including one that was probably the old railroad station. Some look old enough to be from the early 1900’s.

     In 1860, about 4 years after the Catfish Furnace shut down, the Sarah Furnace was built. This continued operations until 1867, a mere 7 years. Much like the Catfish site, the railroad had multiple lines coming through the area. The brush was even thicker here, almost impenetrable.

    Frank had done lots of research using satellite and aerial pictures. He had points along with GPS positions that could possibly be the location of the furnace. We drove down a dirt road only to be blocked by a wide mud puddle, backing up was the only option. We searched around as much as we could but the growth was so thick we couldn’t even see what was10 feet away from us.

    We left the community of Sarah Furnace without finding anything. A search would need to be done in the winter after the leaves had all fallen. We drove further up the "NO OUTLET" road, passing fields and woods, at times the road was just rocks and dirt. We finally returned to rough pavement and then rt.68, a mile away from where we turned in. NO OUTLT, ha!

    Other than some slag, an old, rusted spike and a large Black Rat Snake, we didn’t find much of interest, but we still had a good trip! We really weren’t expecting to find anything but we still enjoyed the search! The skies had cleared and we continuously drove through patches of sweet smelling flowers. I will say this, after scrambling around in the woods, streams and fields in 80 degree weather, I was ready for the shower that waited for me at home and BOY, did it feel good!

Searching for Stones in the North

 Cautiously I entered what appeared to be a large bowl, the dirt was layered with different colors and hues. The surface looked hard but it crumbled as I ran my finger across it. I could easily stamp steps into it should I need to.

    An abandoned cement block building sat near the entrance with a large high tension tower sitting behind. Trash and barrels sat around the building with a half open garage door at its far side. I’d come back to that later.

    The bowl was large, maybe 40 or 50 feet across. It looked as if it had been formed by the wind or by water. A small opening was on one side of it, the edges rounded by time. Glancing inside I saw a small hole in the roof near the back, the light filtering in illuminating the small space, highlighting the variations in the coloring of the surface.

    I was searching for…something, I wasn’t sure what. I knew it was near-by and I knew I would know it when I saw it. Whatever it was I knew it was important! Suddenly a alarm started ringing and I abruptly left my dreams and returned to reality. It wasn’t an alarm; it was my bladder that was calling. Much as I wanted to go back and find whatever I was looking for, I knew it would be useless, my dream and my sleep had been left behind!

    I knew that the idea of sleep was impossible, the alarm beside my bed was set for about an hour later. I knew I would just toss and turn. There was another trip on my calendar and the excitement of it wouldn’t let sleep slip in! I gave up and made some coffee.

    A few hours later, I met Frank Festa and his buddy Jeff at a local gas station. After a cup of coffee and some light BS we loaded my gear into his car and we headed north on rt.8.

    We were going on an iron furnace tour. Frank and Jeff are also “experienced furnace hunters”. We had already been to the furnaces on our list but it was the idea and the excitement of seeing them again and comparing them to how they looked when we were there last, ½ a year or even 10 years ago, that brought on this trip.

    Our first stop was to the east of Harrisville, on Creek Bottom Rd. We parked the car and dropped over the hillside, looking for the Marion Iron Furnace, or what was left of it.

    Entering the woods I was reminded of a tropical rain forest. The ground and branches we passed under were all wet. It was warm and everything was green. Other than the birds chirping, all was silent except for our footsteps. The logs were covered with moss and skunk cabbage was sprouting near the creek. Ferns were everywhere. Our pant legs were drenched almost immediately. Mosses on the rocks made them blend in with everything else, making walking difficult. Moving up the stream I didn’t see the furnace and I started doubting my memory and then I saw it, a large mound of rocks, green like everything else.

    The furnace sits right in front of a water channel built at the same time as the furnace. The Marion furnace is listed as being built around 1848-1850. It produced iron only until 1862. A short distance upstream from the furnace sits the remains of a dam which fed the channel in front of it. I imagine there was a water wheel here at one time.

    Only one opening remains. The rest of it is just a pile of green stones. Above it was the plane of an old road and downstream from it we found both a couple pieces of iron and LOTS of slag. The slag is a byproduct of the iron making process; it needs removed from the top of the molten iron before the iron can be poured into the molds, called pigs.

    We left the furnace and headed NW towards Mercer crossing beautiful farms interspersed with batches of woods. We passed a weird stone structure on our way so naturally; we stopped to look and photograph. We have no idea what it is or was.

    Further on up the road we came to the first of two similarly named furnaces. Which one is really the Iron City Furnace is unknown but for us, I will call the first, Iron City Furnace North and the second, Iron City Furnace South. The two furnaces lie about two miles apart.

    The first, (ICFN) sits near a golf course. It is rather small and looks as if it was built into a hillside. Was it an iron furnace?  There is only one opening visible and has a rather large opening on top. There are no loose stones lying around and no visible slag in the near-by stream. The stones which make up the outside of furnaces are often taken to build other structures after the furnaces are shut down. The topography of the land often changes also, some of the furnace could still be underground, and the small opening could be the top of a much larger opening. (?)

    There is signage which says the furnace was built in 1838 and a bit downstream is a poorly made, plywood waterwheel hung across the stream. The near-by wooden bridges and rope handrails are showing their age and I chose to walk across the stream rather than chance using the bridges.

    The second furnace, (ICFS) isn’t much more than a large pile of stones. Wild rose bushes and other brush cover it, making it hard to get a complete view of it. Several courses of stone can be seen still standing in places and I know from a previous visit that one of the openings is still there, though protected now by fallen sticks and many heavily thorned branches. By forcing your way though the heavy brush, you can see the chimney opening

    The side furthest from the road, probably where the casting opening was has many stones visible, tumbled against one another. On this side there are many pieces of slag lying around on the ground, something we didn’t notice at the previous furnace

    This caused us to think that the first one (ICFN) was a smaller furnace, possibly used to reheat the iron to further form it into shapes to be used elsewhere. The second furnace (ICFS) seems so much larger and has the debris related to iron furnaces scattered around it. We may never know.

    The bible for old iron furnaces hunters written by Myron Sharp and William Thomas, A Guide to the Old Stone Blast Furnaces in Western Pennsylvania, says that the Iron City Furnace was built in 1846 or possibly 1838 and went out of blast by 1865. The directions in it SEEM to be for the second (ICFS) site.

    Our journey then took us further south, not far from Volant below a beautiful waterfall. The Springfield Furnace was built here around 1837 and produced iron until 1862. A sign posted beside it calls it the Seth and Hill Furnace, noting that it was the first furnace built in Mercer County. The furnace remained in use until 1867. It had a huge 18 foot waterwheel that was powered by the water flowing over the falls. Remnants of the waterway can be seen leading towards the furnace when viewed from above.

    The furnace was partially covered in dirt and was later dug out by owners of the property. A jewelry store used to be located above the furnace, some of the items they sold was jewelry made out of the slag found around the area. A brewery sits here now and some of the paths leading to their outdoor seating are covered with crushed slag. Slag is everywhere you look here! The ruins are included in the brewery’s location, a fire ring sits in the mouth of the furnace and Corn-hole boards sit near-by the tables scattered on the patio around it. The area is more an entertainment venue than a historical site.

    The sound of the water pouring over the falls was with us as soon as we opened the car doors. Being a big fan of old iron furnaces, I would have to say that the falls were my favorite thing about this site. Chances are we (AMB and I) will visit here again; the idea of sipping on a mug of beer and sitting by the falls for an hour or two sounds pretty good!

    The next stop was on the edge of McConnell’s Mill State Park, alongside Slippery Rock Creek. This is where perhaps one of the best preserved iron furnaces in Western Pennsylvania sits. The Wilroy furnace was built in 1854. It is very difficult to get to and perhaps this is one of the reasons it is so well preserved. People upstream have the land posted and on the other side is a highway. The stream is wide and rarely shallow enough to cross by foot. This results in a furnace with no trash around it and no graffiti. Someone has kept up with occasional clearing of near-by trees and shrubs and there aren’t any major trees digging their roots in between the stones.

Taken in April of 2022

    The furnace has 5 tiers of stone with three openings. A small bit of stone has fallen from the top but the majority of it remains. I can only hope it will become available to furnace lovers in the future!

    Ann Marie and I have visited it a few times but on this trip we weren’t able to get near it. We had to view it through the trees from the far side of the stream. What little we could see of it still looked magnificent!

    About fifteen miles further south brought us to the far end of the Zelienople Airport. A nice big sign greeted us as we pulled into in a small parking area. A wide path led us into the woods to a pile of rocks which was all that remains of the Bassenheim Iron Furnace. Though the airport is in Butler County, the furnace sits across the county line in Beaver.

    This furnace, built in 1813 was one of the first iron furnaces in Western Pennsylvania. It produced about 5 tons of iron a week during the ten years (+/-) it was in blast. We slipped down the steep hillside beside it to the creek below hoping to be able to see more of it but thick brush covered anything that might be there. We found a couple pieces of slag in the stream but not much more. Above, only the top of the furnace is visible, just a couple courses of rock and that is rapidly becoming overgrown with foliage. Should you want to force your way to the top, the chimney opening can be seen. This was the least exciting furnace we visited.

    From there we headed back to where my car was parked. The trip was a success, we visited one more furnace than what we had planned, the weather was just right for a trip, and the good companionship made it even better! We were on the road for about eight hours; eight hours well spent!

    There is something I find fascinating about finding these remnants of what used to be a thriving community and business. Everything is gone, the buildings, the houses and the machinery. Unlike the past these sites are quiet. Occasionally there are walls still standing, that used to hold equipment, control the earth’s movement or to diverge water but most often, it is only the stones which made up the furnace that remain, piles of stone, continuously being hidden by nature.