Final day in Pennsylvania (Christiana & Strasburg)

 

Before I describe our last day, let me back track for a moment. The Tanger Outlet Stores in Lancaster were very close to where we were staying. I have not been a fan of outlet stores as I assumed "outlet" meant bargain. I have never seen any great bargains at the Tanger Outlet stores in other places. I guess my hopes were too high. That being said, obviously millions of people love them. There were over 65 different stores here and since I was recently looking for better walking shoes, I ran into the Skechers outlet store to see if I could find a pair of shoes. 

What I will say, is the selection was quite large and the odds of getting the shoes in my size were better than other stores I had previously tried at home. I did find a pair. I wasn't thrilled with the price, but I held my nose and bought them. Later I looked up online to see if I saved money from buying them somewhere else. Big deal--$5. I want big bargains. Perhaps if I had time to poke around, I could have found a bargain, but we didn't have the time. Oh, well. I got a better pair of walking shoes and did it quickly.

Our final day we headed to Christiana, PA. At the historical society where they host "Saturday on the Porch" from April through November, 9 am - 12 pm. They have live music and coffee and refreshments. People sit on the porch or bring their lawn chairs. Again, I wish this was something that was offered near us. How nice to start a morning listening to music outside with others on a porch. 

The music was a bonus. We came to hear a presentation on Christiana's claim that they were the birthplace of the Civil War. They were referring to the Christiana Resistance of 1851 (ten years before the Civil War). A Maryland slaveholder came to Christiana with federal marshals to capture several escaped slaves under the Fugitive Slave Act. Pennsylvania was a free state where slavery was illegal, but the Fugitive Slave Act allowed slaveowners to hunt down their slaves in the free states. 

William Parker, a formerly enslaved man who had escaped from Maryland, had a farmhouse that became a refuge for freedom seekers traveling through the Underground Railroad. He was hiding the escaped slaves when the federal marshals came. They refused to surrender the men and in a confrontation, gunfire was exchanged. The slave owner, Edward Gorsuch was killed. Parker's wife sounded an alarm to summon neighbors to help. Eventually, the former slaves escaped and Parker and his family had to abandon their home knowing they would be in danger. Authorities were arresting anyone connected to the event. They escaped with the help of the Underground Railroad and made it to Canada where William Parker lived for the rest of his life. He wrote a memoir called "The Freedman's Story."'

The woman who presented this piece of history was passionate about this because she was a descendant of William Parker. My husband is a Civil War buff. The resistance (also known as the Christiana Riot) certainly was a piece of history that helped build the momentum for the Civil War, but he doesn't feel it should be called the birthplace of the Civil War--his personal opinion. It was another interesting piece of history that we appreciated learning about. 

Our final vacation destination was the Strasburg Railroad Museum. We had visited here in previous years, but since it was near Veteran's Day they were having a special tribute to veterans. There were re-enactors from different wars and musical entertainment. You could tell all the presenters loved what they were doing. I didn't get a picture of the man who had a knife collection and was thrilled to hear that we knew of and lived near to the Collins Company in Collinsville where some of his knives in his displayed collection were manufactured. 

Here is George testing the poor woman's knowledge of the Morse Code. George, always the joker.

We had heard this remarkable story before. There is a documentary: "Sacrifice at Sea: Heroic Story of the Four Chaplains & The SS Dorchester." The four chaplains were: Geroge L. Fox (Methodist), Alexander D. Goode (Rabbi), Clark V. Poling (Dutch Reformed) and John P. Washington (Catholic priest). They were all aboard the SS Dorchester when it was torpedoed on February 3, 1943. There were 902 people aboard the ship. The four chaplains helped organize the survivors, comforted the soldiers and gave away their own life jackets. 230 survived. The chaplains were last seen praying together on the deck as the ship sank--courage, sacrifice and four different faiths coming together. 

In 1961 Congress created the Four Chaplains Medal to honor an act of heroism. The chaplains were awarded it posthumously. 

And thus ends our 51st wedding anniversary trek. We were glad we were able to do it. It was worth the 7 hours of car time (ugh!). Coming home, we only stopped twice. The last stop was at a diner in Danbury. I told George I wasn't cooking when we got home. Could the portions get any bigger? I didn't have to cook the next day either! For reference, that bread is a huge piece too. Spaghetti looked like two pounds! The picture just doesn't do it justice. And now back to planning meals, cooking, catching up with laundry, etc. It was nice while it lasted.

Still there is no place like home.