A Monday Morning in January

The morning hadn’t offered me anything special, a light snow had fallen during the night, the grass wasn’t even covered. Instead of white, the world outside the window was mostly brown. The roads in the distance were wet; only the glow of the traffic lights added any color to the otherwise dismal scene.

    Sipping the first cup of coffee of the day, I talked with Ann Marie. She told me how wonderful it looked at her house, thick snowflakes and trees outlined in white. We decided to take a ride into the country, away from the city, and see what the weather had brought to others.

    With no real destination in mind, we started off heading in an easterly direction. Avoiding major highways, we basically had the roads to ourselves. Rarely did we have any cars passing or following us; we could take our time and enjoy the views.

    Occasional bursts of snow would hide the scenery from us but they passed quickly. We were treated to fields covered by blankets of snow, tall dark evergreens with white accents on their branches and wooden fences bordering the roads. Every so often we’d see fresh tire tracks cutting across the snow but we didn’t see any livestock or people outside. They were all nice and warm in their enclosures. It was a beautiful day to be out exploring even if the sky was grey.

    A large dump truck pulled in front of us and we took that as a sign to change the road we were on, so when we came to the next intersection, we took it. Left or right didn’t matter, that’s the nice thing about not having to worry about where you’re going.

    We went through woods where everything was outlined in white and went into valleys where it looked as if it hadn’t even snowed at all. We passed houses sitting below high hills, the trees covering them were all different shades of white. The dark buildings stood out against the artistic backdrop.

    In the small community of Salina, we stopped for awhile to investigate an old square chimney. Located in the ruins of a brick manufacturing plant, it sits beside a large pond full of clear water. Pallets and trash can be seen through the water along with a lot of algae. The stack and a small building reflected in the still water. 

    We got out of the car and walked around for awhile. We picked our way across piles of yellow bricks and dried knotweed and took a quick look at what appeared to be an electrical building. Not very large, it had old, vandalized and rusted equipment in it, the windows were all broken. Wooden poles were beside it with crossbeams and insulators on them. Wires no longer connected to anything electrical. The chimney sat in a pile of debris and so, we didn’t get too close to it. What appeared to be a brick opening sat on the other side of a swampy area, we decided to skip visiting it also. (Another time perhaps)

    The plant once belonged to Kier Brothers. Established in the mid 1800’s it was once a major supplier of fire bricks. It eventually was bought by General Refractories Company who ran it until it closed in 1981. 

Approximately 1900

    In 1919, there were 50 men and boys working here, producing 14,000 bricks a day. The bricks were used in industrial furnaces and other high heat applications.

     There were at least two mines at this site where they got fuel and raw materials for the bricks. On an internet site, there was a mention that a mine shaft was right beside the furnace, (see the map above) going in at a 15 degree slope. It eventually went below the surface level of the near-by Kiskiminetas River and needed to be pumped out so that the mining could continue. This might explain the pool of water. In the picture of the chimney and the pond, there appears to be a gated opening underneath the “power” house, this probably is where one of the mines was located. The cold weather started getting to us so we returned to the heat of the car and continued our drive.

    We eventually ended up in the town of Apollo. There we stopped at Dolly’s Diner, an actual old-style diner. Recently moved to the present site from just about a block away, this was just what we needed; a place to get a good meal, with an enjoyable atmosphere.

    We sat at a booth beside the front window, across from the counter. A pair of “regulars” sat in the booth behind us discussing politics and sports. 50’s music played in the background. The coffee came quickly, fresh and dark. We placed our orders and talked about our adventures so far.

    A couple sunny-side up eggs, two slices of bacon and some buttered wheat toast fueled me up for the return trip. The coffee was refilled frequently. As the noon hour approached more customers showed up, we had timed our visit perfectly. After paying our tab we returned to the car satiated and ready for the final leg of our journey.

    The day had been perfect for a drive in the country. In the warmer valleys it had appeared as if no snow had even fallen while on the hilltops it was a winter wonderland. Above the valleys we drove through a country covered in white.

    We found our snow; we visited a “historic” site, ate at an old comfy diner and even saw some “wildlife”! (see the picture above) We made it back home in time to catch an afternoon nap….or maybe I should say, to do some chores. (Yeah, that sounds much better!) Either way, it was great morning!