Pocono Living Magazine - Dec 2022/Jan 2023

Pocono

Pocono Living Magazine and Pocono Family Magazine, two regional publications filled with articles, features and photography exploring and capturing the real Pocono Mountains living experience.

Our publications can be found at many locations throughout the Pocono Mountains region, and are available by subscription.

PUBLISHING

1929 North 5th Street Stroudsburg, PA 18360 570-424-1000 pmags@ptd.net www.poconomagazines.com

Larry R. Sebring larry@poconomagazines.com

John Anzivino

Gayle C. Brooke Ray Caswell Pat Coyle Randall FitzGerald Ashley Hall Maurice Harmon Susan Hartman Marlana Holsten Ann H. LeFevre

Kimberly Blaker Roseanne Bottone Kathy Dubin-Uhler

Amanda Kuhn

Amy Leiser

Marie Liu

Jamie Marra

ADMINISTRATIVE

Barbara Lewis

Marie Liu

Harry Loud Regina Matarazzo

Janet Mishkin

John L. Moore Michael Murphy Justine Nearhood Roseanna Santaniello Tom Stone

Suzanne McCool Janet Mishkin

John L. Moore Allison Mowatt Jim Werkheiser Kim Williams Marty Wilson

Kristen Sebring Linda Spalluto

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> Photo by Marlana Holsten

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

― Abraham Lincoln

Fought in 1813, the Battle of the Thames saw Americans defeat a force of British and Indians in present-day Ontario, Canada. The Americans later torched the nearby village of Fairfield. Courtesy of the public domain

DELAWARE INDIANS

By John L. Moore

As artist George Catlin traveled along the Missouri River in present-day Kansas during the 1830s, he met Delaware Indians whose ancestors had been evicted from eastern Pennsylvania nearly a century before.

Catlin came upon these Delawares at Fort Leavenworth, a U.S. Army post 1,200 miles west of Stroudsburg. They were among the dozen or so tribes that lived in the region “and who constantly visit this post,” Catlin said.

Born in Wilkes-Barre in 1796, Catlin roamed the West in search of Native Americans to sketch and paint. “I have visited 48 different tribes, the greater part of which I found speaking different languages,” Catlin said.

In 1831, he drew a picture of three Delawares who lived west of the Mississippi River. He identified them as Boda-sín a celebrated chief; Non-on-dáy-gon, a warrior of distinction; and Ah-wee, wife of the chief. The drawing is part of the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

MISSIONARIES TOOK THEIR NATIVE AMERICAN CONVERTS TO CANADA

In the early 1790s, the British commandant at Detroit encouraged Moravian missionaries to establish a mission along the Thames River in Ontario, Canada.

“They built a town, which they called Fairfield,” missionary/ historian John Heckewelder reported.

He visited the new community in 1793. “Some good houses and a chapel were already built,” he said. Even though “the land was covered with wood and brush” when the congregation had arrived a year earlier, the Indians had cleared fields and were already farming. “Their corn and wheat fields promised … good crops,” Heckewelder said.

When the War of 1812 began, the British and the Americans began fighting in the region. In October 1813, British soldiers and Shawnee and Wyandot warriors fought American troops near the mission, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. The

Americans defeated the British. Tecumseh the Shawnee leader was killed.

According to the Canadian Register of Historic Places, “Following the battle, the Americans accused the pacifist residents of Fairfield of hiding English officers. Although the Americans found no evidence of this offense, the village was plundered and burnt to the ground after residents were allowed to escape. The village was subsequently rebuilt on the opposite bank of the Thames River.”

The community still exists as the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown, not far from the town of Thamesville. The reservation, which Canada calls an Indian reserve, is “one of the oldest settlements in the region, as it was founded in 1792,” the nation says on its website. “Some of the first buildings rebuilt after the war continue to stand today; a mission church and home stand as testament to our resiliency.”

 Ernest Mettendorf photo shows the replica of a cabin destroyed when American soldiers burned the Canadian village of Fairfield following the Battle of the Thames in 1813.

The Delawares impressed Catlin. “This tribe originally occupied a great part of the eastern border of Pennsylvania, and great part of the states of New Jersey and Delaware,” he wrote.

In 1742, Pennsylvania’s colonial government and the Iroquois Confederacy forced the Lenape and Munsee Indians to leave the Pocono Mountains and parts of the Delaware River Valley. As they moved west, they became known as the Delawares.

“No other tribe on the continent has been so much moved and jostled about by civilized invasions, and none have retreated so far, or fought their way so desperately, as they have honorably and bravely contended for every foot of the ground they have passed over,” Catlin said.

He said they had wandered “from the banks of the Delaware to the lovely Susquehanna … and to the base of, and over, the Allegheny Mountains, to the Ohio River—to the Illinois and the Mississippi, and at last to the west of the Missouri.”

“No other tribe on the continent has been so much moved and jostled about by civilized invasions, and none have retreated so far, or fought their way so desperately, as they have honorably and bravely contended for every foot of the ground they have passed over.”

Catlin wasn’t the only Easterner who encountered these Indians in the West. Delaware hunters turn up in the pages of a journal that Osborne Russell, a Rocky Mountain trapper originally from Maine, kept in 1836 and 1837. They were working along the Yellowstone River and its tributary, the Bighorn. The rivers flow through Montana and Wyoming.

Russell belonged to a brigade of trappers and hunters led by Jim Bridger of the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. Often they had to contend with Blackfoot Indians, who, as Russell’s journal entries show, were hostile to other Indians and whites who came into their territory.

 Indians chase buffalo in this Western scene by painter George Catlin. Courtesy of the public domain

Russell was in Blackfoot territory in September 1836 when “10 Delaware Indians … joined the camp in order to hunt beaver with greater security.”

On Sept. 9, the trappers–Delawares as well as whites–fought a prolonged skirmish with Blackfeet warriors who had surprised two of Bridger’s men as they set traps along a tributary of the Yellowstone. The trappers got away, and “20 whites and Delawares went to scour the brush along the river and fight the Blackfeet,” Russell said. “Having found them, they drove them onto an island and fought them until dark.”

The next spring, Bridger’s company headed west along a tributary of the Big Horn to hunt. On April 4, “four Delawares … were cruising about in the hills hunting buffalo” when they suddenly met “10 or 12 Blackfeet, killed one on the spot, and wounded several more,” Russell wrote. “The Blackfeet then took to their heels and left the victorious Delawares without loss except one horse being slightly wounded in the neck.”

During the 17th-century, two closely related native peoples lived along the Delaware River–the Lenapes and the Munsees,

historian Jean R. Soderlund reports in her 2015 book “Lenape Country, Delaware Valley Society Before William Penn.” The Munsees lived along the upper Delaware, and the Lenapes lived along the lower river, which they called Lenapewihittuck. Their territories spread eastward across present-day New Jersey.

“By the mid-18th century, European colonists referred to both the Lenapes and Munsees as Delawares, a name many of the natives adopted as well,” Soderlund says.

The name “Munsee” lives on in the placename “Minisink,” which in colonial times referred to the lands along both sides of the Delaware River above the Water Gap. It meant “place of the Minsi.” In turn, the Minsi Indians were a band of the Munsees, who “were the most warlike of the Delaware clans,” said George P. Donehoo in his 1928 “Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania.”

Many Delawares migrated to western Pennsylvania during the 1700s to pursue the fur trade after the number of fur-bearing animals in eastern Pennsylvania declined sharply in the late 1600s and early 1700s.

Source: GIS Research and Map Collection, Ball State University

Along the way they met George Washington. In November 1753, he was traveling across western Pennsylvania to meet with native leaders at Logstown, a village on the bank of the Ohio River about 18 miles below present-day Pittsburgh. It was home to a mix of Delawares, Shawnees and Senecas.

“The name ‘Munsee’ lives on in the placename ‘Minisink,’ which in colonial times referred to the lands along both sides of the Delaware River above the Water Gap. It meant “place of the Minsi.”

Learning that Shingas, a Delaware chief that Washington described as “King of the Delawares,” lived nearby, “we called upon him to invite him” to the meeting, Washington wrote. “Shingas attended us to the Logstown” and took part in the meeting.

Photographer Alexander Gardner took this 1867 photo of a farm on the Delaware Indian reservation in Kansas. (Source: Library of Congress.)

“WE HAD PLENTY OF GAME, A RICH AND LARGE COUNTRY”

By November 25, 1750, surveyor Christopher Gist had reached Logstown, a native town inhabited chiefly by Delawares and Shawnee located along the Ohio River about 20 miles below the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers.

“The people in this town began to enquire my business, and, because I did not readily inform them, they began to suspect me, and said I was come to settle the Indian’s lands,” the surveyor wrote in his journal.

These Delawares were the displaced descendants of Indians who had lived along the Delaware and lower Hudson rivers. They had called themselves the Lenni Lenape, which meant “the original people.” Early in the 18th century, they began moving west, first to the Susquehanna River Valley, then over the Alleghenies, and into the Ohio Valley.

Their ancestors had lost vast sections of their homeland to white land speculators, and they had come to associate the appearance of white men using compasses with the eventuality of being forced off their land. These natives objected vigorously when

whites produced compasses and began to make surveys. To draw maps, Gist and other surveyors employed large compasses mounted on tripods.

On a subsequent trip in March 1752, Gist was approached by a Delaware Indian “who spoke good English.” The man explained, “that . . . The Beaver and Captain Oppamylucah, . . . two chiefs of the Delawares, desired to know where the Indian’s land lay, for . . . the French claimed all the land on one side of the River Ohio and the English on the other side.”

A century of dealing with white people had taught these Native Americans to be wary. During the 1600s, their ancestors had lived along the Delaware, close enough to the Atlantic Ocean to go there every summer to harvest shellfish.

As the Delawares moved west across the Allegheny Mountains during the early 1700s, white fur traders followed them. These traders came to sell their merchandise, not to settle. The native hunters and trappers welcomed them.

The Indians needed the goods that traders hauled over the mountains in pack trains: guns, gunpowder, bullets, traps, knives, hatchets, tomahawks, scissors, shoes, shirts, coats, breeches, hats, buttons, beads, and rum. In turn, the traders wanted the beaver, deer, and bear pelts the Indians had to barter.

However, whites who arrived to establish homesteads didn’t receive the same reception. By mid-century, the Ohio Delawares made it clear that whites who came from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other colonies to settle west of the Alleghenies weren’t welcome.

As Ackowanothio, a Delaware chief who spoke on behalf of his people living along the Ohio, explained in 1758, the Indians had already sold all of their homelands in the Pennsylvania colony’s eastern region. The whites there had had such a hunger for land that “where one of those people settled, like pigeons, a thousand more would settle.”

When the whites had bought up all the native lands, “we at last jumped over (the) Allegheny Hills, and settled on the waters of Ohio. Here we thought ourselves happy. We had plenty of game, a rich and large country, and a country that the Most High had created for the poor Indians, and not for the white people. How happy did we live here!”

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

 Exterior of the Delaware Nation’s Gold River Casino north of Anadarko, Oklahoma. (Photo courtesy of the casino.)  Lenape chiefs Tishecunk and Lappawinsoe posed for Swedish-American painter Gustavus Hesselius in Philadelphia in 1735.

When the French and Indian War started in 1755, Shingas led war parties against the Pennsylvania settlements. As the war progressed, many Delawares moved farther west, settling in Ohio to be beyond the reach of Pennsylvania soldiers.

By Catlin’s time, they had reached Kansas. “The greater part of them have been for the 50 or 60 years past, residing in Ohio and Indiana,” the artist said. “In these states, their reservations became surrounded by white people, whom they dislike for neighbors, and their lands too valuable for Indians—and the certain consequence has been that they have sold out and taken lands west of the Mississippi.”

“When they settled in Kansas, they went even farther west to pursue the buffalo herds,” C.A. Weslager said in his 1972 book, “The Delaware Indians: A History.”

They learned that other tribes didn’t necessarily welcome them. When Pawnee warriors “ambushed the Delaware hunters,” the newcomers retaliated, Weslager said. A chief “led a party of Delaware warriors to the main Pawnee town on the Platte River in what is now Nebraska and destroyed all the dwellings.”

The Delawares were still in Kansas when the Civil War began. By January 1863, some 170 Delaware men had enlisted in the Union Army. Many served in the Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. At that time, there were 201 men between 18 and 45 on the Kansas reservation.

A year or two after the war ended, the U.S. Department of Indian Affairs persuaded most Delawares to sell their Kansas land to the Missouri River Railroad Company. The government arranged for them to move to Indian Territory between Kansas and Texas, a region that has since become the state of Oklahoma.

There are two federally recognized Delaware tribes in Oklahoma today. The Delaware Tribe of Indians is based in Bartlesville. It also has offices in Caney, Kansas. The Delaware Nation has offices in Anadarko. Its Gold River Casino is a few miles north of Anadarko.

“Reservations became surrounded by white people, whom they dislike for neighbors, and their lands too valuable for Indians—and the certain consequence has been that they have sold out and taken lands west of the Mississippi.”

Delaware Indians also live in Wisconsin on the reservation of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Band of Mohican Indians, headquartered in Bowler, about 60 miles northwest of Green Bay. Its casino, the North Star Mohican Casino Resort, is also located on the reservation.

In 1734, many Mohicans migrated from their Hudson River Valley homeland to western Massachusetts and settled at Stockbridge. They didn’t stay there very long. “Between the year 1785 and 1787, they removed to Oneida, (New York) in the country of the Six Nations,” according to John Heckewelder, the 18th-century Moravian missionary and historian.

The Mohicans eventually moved to Wisconsin where many of their descendants live today. The Mohicans were related to the Munsees, some of whom moved to the reservation. This was long ago, and Munsee descendants still live there.

“Our people left western Massachusetts in the late 1700s,” says Gordon Williams, a 62-year-old truck driver.

“I reside in Bowler, Wis., on the edge of the Stockbridge Munsee Indian Reservation,” says Williams, who is a Mohican rather than a Munsee.

“We’re not Stockbridge Indians,” he says. “We’re Mohicans.”

The reservation’s casino offers table games, slot machines, bingo and other forms of entertainment. It provides “assorted jobs from management down to the lowest ones on the totem pole,” Williams says. Hiring is based on a person’s qualifications rather than ethnicity. Consequently, “some of the people who run the casino are not natives.”

Williams is also a drummer. “I’ve been a powwow drummer since 1994,” he says. “I’ve been around the drum my entire life.”

“We have a family drum, the Gii Taa’se Singers,” Williams says. “We sing contemporary Native American songs and also compose our own songs.”

His family has lived there for many generations.

“My great-grandfather, Eli Williams, went to Kansas and came back. He said it was barren land, and he would not live there.”



In 1831, artist George Catlin he drew a picture of three Delawares who lived west of the Mississippi River. Bod-a-sín, a chief, stands on the right. His wife, Ah-wee, is on the left. Standing in the center is Non-on-dáy-gon, a warrior.

John L. Moore

John L. Moore, a retired newspaperman, continues to pursue his lifelong interests in Pennsylvania’s colonial history and archaeology. The Northumberland writer has published 15 non-fiction books about Pennsylvania during the 17th and 18th centuries. His most recent books, “The Outposts” and “Border War” are the sixth and seventh volumes in his ongoing Revolutionary Pennsylvania Series. They are available online at the Sunbury Press Bookstore and Amazon.com. Over the years John has participated in archaeological excavations of Native American sites along the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers. These include the City Island site excavated by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission during the 1990s across from Harrisburg, and a New Jersey State Museum excavation of a site along the Delaware River north of Worthington State Forest in New Jersey in 1963. A professional storyteller, he specializes in telling historically-accurate stories about real people and events in Pennsylvania history. John’s topic today will be the true story of Mary Jemison, a 15-year-old girl kidnapped by Indians during the French and Indian War. She spent the rest of her life as a Native American woman.



Gordon Williams

HOLIDAY SAVVY: SURVIVING THE SEASON WITH YOUR FINANCES INTACT

By Kimberly Blaker

The average American spends roughly $900 on gifts during the holiday season, according to a 2016 study by American Research Group, Inc. Add to this, the holiday cards, decorating, baking, and holiday dinners, and it can add up to a big chunk of change.

For many people, holiday spending sets them back financially for months to follow if not longer. Credit cards make it easy to overspend leaving families to suffer the consequences later. The problem with credit cards isn't just the monthly payments. It's the long-term cost from accrued interest.

So what can you do to ensure you start the new year without new debt?

First, create a holiday budget. Include not only gifts, food, and decorations, but also postage for holiday cards, wrapping supplies, and the babysitter for your shopping trip. Once you've

listed all your expenses, review it, and decide where you can cut some costs.

Gifts to extended family and friends are an excellent place to start. Talk to those you exchange gifts with, and see if they'll agree to forego the gift exchange or else set a dollar limit. Another option for families or groups is to draw names to reduce the number of gifts everyone has to purchase, or hold a white elephant exchange.

Decide in advance on a gift value for each gift recipient. Let's say you've decided on a gift value of $50 for your sister. Now, rather than buying her something on sale for $50 that's worth $75, stick to the value. Buy something on sale for $35 that's worth $50. This is a good place to shave a lot of expense.

Do you usually send out more holiday cards than you receive? Opt instead for a phone call during the holiday season for those

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

you don't talk to often. It'll cost you nothing and have more meaning. Also, mail cards only to those who send you card.

Cut back on the baking. When's the last time you heard someone complain of a shortage of holiday goodies? Probably never. Most of us eat far more than we'd like to just because it's there.

Hold potluck dinners rather than playing head chef if you'll be hosting any parties. Offer to provide just the meat. Then ask everyone to bring a specific type of dish to avoid duplicates.

To eliminate the cost of a babysitter, offer to exchange babysitting with a neighbor, so each of you has the opportunity to shop without the kids.

“Create a holiday budget. Include not only gifts, food, and decorations, but also postage for holiday cards, wrapping supplies, and the babysitter for your shopping trip.”

Plan your shopping before you head out. Do research online to find the best deals on those items on your shopping list. If you can't find a good deal on something, consider an alternative. Also, keep your eyes out for newspaper fliers and check the 'coupon' page of the store websites you plan to shop.

If possible, leave credit cards at home when you go shopping to avoid impulse purchases. Many people spend far more than they plan on by purchasing unnecessary 'bargains' they just can't resist.

Finally, if you do use your credit card, try to make a serious plan to double or triple the monthly payments to reduce the interest you'll pay and to quickly get out of debt.

Kimberly Blaker

Kimberly Blaker is a parenting and lifestyle freelance writer. She also writes a blog, The Young Gma’s Guide to Parenting at www.theyounggma.com.

THE ART OF JOYCE LOVE

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE THE MOUNTAINS FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

Celebrate the holidays surrounded by great company and even better cuisine in the Pocono Mountains. From romantic dinners by candlelight to farm-to-table experiences, our local chefs are serving up something for every palate. Visit PoconoMountains.com to see all of our mouth-watering dining options and make your reservation.

THE PERPETUAL WHITE ELEPHANT

By Roseanne Bottone

WHAT IS A WHITE ELEPHANT?

The origin of this term harkens back to the Kingdom of Siam (present-day Thailand). Traditionally, the King would gift an albino elephant (ergo, the “white” description) to his subjects with whom he was displeased. This was a ruinous “gift” because albino elephants required intensive care and were prohibited from working for their owners. Often this spelled financial disaster for the recipient.

A MODERN DAY GAME

In today’s modern times we’ve turned the idea of a “white elephant” gift into uproarious fun. A white elephant gift exchange between family or friends elicits lots of laughs, teasing, and thievery! The premise of the game is as follows:

1. Set a moderate price limit or range for gift purchases

2. The gift should be a “bad” one but campy or funny – and preferably something cool people might want

3. Everyone brings their wrapped gift to the gathering and anonymously places it in a pile

4. Each participant chooses a number – the higher the number, the better

5. Begin with person number one selecting and unwrapping a gift

6. Person number two can “steal” number one’s gift or select and unwrap a new one from the pile if he/she does not steal

7. Once a gift is stolen, it is “safe” and cannot be stolen again.

8. If a player’s gift is stolen, he/she can select another gift from the pile (which may wind up being stolen again) in the next round

9. A thief may only steal gifts held by people with a lower number

10. This process continues for each person in numerical order

Hopefully, the players will approach this holiday game with a sense of humor and playfulness. A few people will inevitably wind up with their last choice of a gift if they had their druthers. However, voluntary trading (including pleading and cajoling) is allowed.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

A WHITE ELEPHANT ACCIDENT

What happens when the gift giving is supposed to be done in earnest — in other words, the gift is expected to be thoughtful and special, but a pesky white elephant trumpets its way into the exchange?

A friend related a story about his family’s annual gift exchange. Every year, a rum fruitcake appeared as a gift. I may be an enigma when it comes to this perennial staple; I like them! It’s either love or hate though, and many people do not share my predilection, including every member of my friend’s family! Even so, each Christmas some unlucky sibling, cousin, or in-law unwrapped yet another rum fruitcake. Or was it “another”? My friend’s father became suspicious about this “Groundhog Dayesque” recurrence and surreptitiously carved his tiny initials on the bottom of the tin. Sure enough, the following year, he was able to verify that it was the very same well-preserved fruitcake making the rounds!

We’ve all received the proverbial ugly sweater: a sandwichmaker when we’re on a low-carb diet, a book in a genre we’d never read, décor items inappropriate for our home, clothing items that are not our style, and others. What do we do with these gifts? Surely, we don’t want to thoughtlessly regift them so as to disappoint someone else with our very own version of the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Rum Fruitcake.”

To re-gift your unused and unwanted gifts always use fresh packaging. You might also create your handmade or personalized gift wrap for the new recipient.

NATIONAL REGIFTING DAY

Who knew? This year, the official event will be celebrated on Thursday, December 22, 2022. What’s not to say that someone else wouldn’t like or appreciate the things you don’t want? It requires thoughtfulness to do this right so that everyone is happy. The following four steps for successful regifting comes from the “National Days Today” website (https://www.nationaldaystoday. com/national-re-gifting-day/):

1.

COLLECT AND ASSESS YOUR UNUSED GIFTS TODAY

To celebrate this National Re-Gifting Day, take stock of the gifts you haven’t used for whatever reason. Decide if you want to pass them on.

2.

RE-GIFT TO SOMEONE WHO WOULD ENJOY THE GIFT

Choose your recipient wisely. It is essential to make sure you will give your gift to someone who needs or wants it for this process to be of true value.

3. REPACK THE GIFTS WITH FRESH PACKAGING

To re-gift your unused and unwanted gifts always use fresh packaging. You might also create your handmade or personalized gift wrap for the new recipient.

4. ENCOURAGE THE SPIRIT OF RE-GIFTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Love the concept of re-gifting? Encourage friends and family to re-gift their unused gifts today and hereafter. Use #NationalReGiftingDay and #Re-GiftingDay to share on social media!

OTHER OPTIONS FOR WHITE ELEPHANTS

If an item can’t be returned or exchanged at the store, rather than regifting it to an individual you could:

• Set up a free regifting table for your coworkers to leave unwrapped items for anyone to take

• Have a real white elephant event at work (or with a club group)

• Donate to a charity organization or food pantry

• Sell the item online

• Offer it on “free cycle”

Ask around — you may find someone who likes fruitcake and needs an ugly sweater for an ugly sweater party!

Roseanne Bottone

Roseanne Bottone is a regulatory compliance training instructor, former Peace Corps Volunteer, cancer survivor, grandmother, MBA, and freelance writer. She travels the country teaching business people about environmental and transportation safety regulations, and is a newspaper columnist. She’s a homeowner in East Stroudsburg and lives with her daughter, grandchildren, two cats and a Rottweiler.

HISTORY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CHRISTMAS TREE

By Amy Leiser, Executive Director Monroe County Historical Association

The tradition of bringing evergreen boughs and even whole trees indoors during the winter solstice began in Europe well before there were reliable written records.

These early indoor trees were not adorned with fanciful decorations as Christmas trees are today. Relatively “modern” Christmas tree traditions did not begin until the 16th century — the Protestant reformer Martin Luther is credited with first decorating a small evergreen tree with candles, representing the stars in the sky that twinkled over Bethlehem.

Although the Christmas tree tradition was brought to Pennsylvania by early German colonists, the first documented Christmas tree in our commonwealth belonged to Lancaster resident Matthew Zahn. His 1821 diary entry reads, “Sally & our Thos. & Wm. Hensel was out for Christmas trees, on the hill at Kendrick’s saw mill.”

Throughout the 1800s, the Christmas tree grew in popularity. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of England were featured in the London News in 1846 with an illustration of the royal family standing around a Christmas tree. This picture caused a sensation, and the Christmas tree became instant fashion for others to imitate.

By the late 1800s, the decorated tree movement had hit the United States, and the Christmas tree became commonplace in many American homes.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

The first popular style of American Christmas trees did not look like the typical decorated trees of today. Such trees were 3 to 4 feet tall and stood on a table in the center of the room for all guests to enjoy. Ladies and children would spend hours crafting home-made decorations and ornaments using natural materials. Often, clusters of berries, nuts, pretzels, fruit, paper, raisins, cotton, and cookies adorned the evergreen branches of the tree. Small candles were clipped onto the outermost branches to illuminate the tree and show off the decorations. The candles would only be lit for a few minutes at a time because of the danger of fire.

Not much later, manufactured holiday ornaments became part of the tradition. The Easton Express advertised Christmas tree ornaments in 1867, while a Pottsville newspaper, in its December 1881 edition, boasted “charming little ornaments can now be bought ready to decorate Christmas trees that it seems almost a waste of time to make them at home.”

to

“The first popular style of American Christmas trees did not look like the typical decorated trees of today. Such trees were 3

4 feet tall and stood on a table in the center of the room for all guests to enjoy.”

This photo, circa 1895, is believed to be the Lesione family of Henryville, proudly posing with their Christmas tree.

As Christmas trees became more and more popular, a demand for artificial, reusable trees arose. The first artificial trees were created in Germany in the 1880s. Concerned about extensive lumbering and the health of their forests, the German people created feather Christmas trees. Feather trees were made out of goose feathers that were dyed to resemble evergreen needles. The feathers were separated at the spine, then held secure using wire to form a branch. The branches of feathers were then inserted into a small wooden pole, representing the tree trunk, to make an “evergreen” Christmas tree. Pennsylvania Germans brought this tradition with them to America, and since then, a vast array of artificial trees in different styles, textures, materials, and even colors have come to decorate many Monroe County homes.

The National Christmas Tree Association maintains data on Americans and their Christmas tree spending habits. In 2014, the group revealed the average cost of a real tree was $39.50, and the average cost of an artificial tree was $63.60.

Households in the United States purchased approximately 26.3 million real Christmas trees with a retail value of $1.04 billion. About 13.9 million artificial trees were purchased with a total retail value of $1.19 billion. Eleven percent of U.S. homes will display both artificial and real Christmas trees this holiday season.

Whichever type or style of Christmas tree you might choose to help you celebrate the holidays, you can find one close to home. Artificial trees can be found at many different retailers. If you are among those who prefer the aroma and beauty of natural trees, you will be happy to know that according to 2012 agricultural census reports, Pennsylvania boasts 31,577 acres of land dedicated to Christmas tree farms. Monroe County has many tree farms which occupy a total of 658 acres.

Amy Leiser

Amy Leiser is a local resident and historian who has been working with the Monroe County Historical Association for 19 years. In addition to the live tours, research assistance, and museum that the organization keeps available, Leiser offers her knowledge and assistance with family charting and genealogy. Visit www.monroehistorical.org

“First, remember that the animals were here before we were.”

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

WILDLIFE FRIENDS AND FOES

By Katherine Uhler

Living in the Pocono Mountains is a dream come true for many of us, young and old, new to the area, or born here. The area is rich with beautiful views, forests, streams, and wildlife. Deer, rabbits, birds, bears, and others are abundant in our region like few others. As appreciative as I am of the creatures with which I share my yard, I also understand how difficult a few individuals can be. Wildlife can become a nuisance and even a danger under certain circumstances and the beginning of Spring brings the majority of problems for homeowners and wildlife. A little understanding can go a long way in preventing some problems while resolving others, allowing for an improved relationship with wildlife.

First, remember that the animals were here before we were. They do not understand, nor need to understand our concept of “property”. Animals live where all their needs are met including access, food, water, shelter, and privacy. Examples of some of these places can include inside your chimney, attic, garage, or under your deck or shed. Animals should never be allowed entry to chimneys, garages or attics. Some can present a danger to wiring (and cause a fire), or damage the home, as well as serving as a possible vector of disease to humans. Creatures living under a deck or shed may be acceptable, in which case, no action needs to be taken.

PREVENTING WILDLIFE ENTRY INTO A HOME

The first line of defense against wildlife home invasion is to inspect the outside of the house each and every year, preferably in the autumn. Every gap or hole that can be found in roof, soffets, eaves, and foundation should be filled. Look for signs, such as teeth or claw marks to determine if entry has been made. Any cracks or small holes should be filled to prevent animals from enlarging them to gain entry. If the residence has an attic, go inside during a bright sunny day and cover any windows with very dark paper or towels. Look for any spots where

you can see light and seal these with expanding foam or steel wool. Do this ONLY if the residence is not currently inhabited by bats or other wildlife. Be sure the dryer vent has a cover that opens only when the dryer is in use. The chimney should have a secure-fitting metal cap, which can be purchased at any hardware store.

If animals are not currently living under the deck or shed, and are not welcome, dig a trench around the shed or deck and staple wire fencing to the deck down to the ground. Bend the fencing to make an “L” shape outward from the ground away from the deck so that digging creatures cannot enter, and cover this with soil.

Be sure all trees have been trimmed back away from the house to prevent squirrels and raccoons from climbing onto the roof and gaining entry.

From “The Family Handyman” September 2000

REMOVING ANIMALS FROM A HOME

It was stated before that all animals need food, water, shelter, and privacy/safety. Removing any of these should make the place they have chosen less comfortable and they should leave. My favorite means of removing wildlife is to reduce their perception of privacy. Light and sound make an area uncomfortable for animals. Simply turning a light on and placing a radio (preferably set on a hard rock or rap station) in an attic or under a crawl space will deter most creatures

“A little understanding can go a long way in preventing some problems while resolving others, allowing for an improved relationship with wildlife.”

and make them find more suitable quarters. Be sure if you are sticking your arms under a crawlspace with a light or radio that the creature is not in residence at that moment. How do we be sure no one is home? Simply find the spot where the creature has gained entry and sprinkle some flour around the area. Check the spot frequently and when you see tracks leading out, but not back in, the critter is probably out getting dinner. Use a flashlight to check the area first, and then place the radio and/ or light under the crawlspace or shed. The volume need not be loud enough for you to hear or to cause your neighbors to call the police! If placing the radio or light in the attic, you need not check to see if anyone is there. Simply make enough noise while entering the attic that the creature hides or leaves from the sudden noise, then set the devices.

Food is another reason animals enter houses. Keep all garbage in sealed garbage cans. If you have a garage, this is where cans should be kept until trash day. Leaving garbage outside the house only lures raccoons, bears and opossums to the yard. One more idea that seems to drive unwanted creatures from attics, crawlspaces, and gardens is predator urine. Placing just a TINY amount of fox or coyote urine (available at Gemplers.

com or local sporting good stores) in a jar lid with a cotton ball will fool the squirrel, groundhog, rabbit or raccoon into thinking a predator is near, and they may skedaddle. Not expensive, but don’t inhale too deeply. This stuff is POTENT.

Live trapping is a commonly performed method of wildlife removal. Humane traps can be purchased or rented from many hardware stores. The positive side of live-trapping is that the animal is captured alive, but if taken far away from its home, it may perish in its new location from competition with “the locals”. If live trapping, please catch the animal, seal the spot where entry was made, and release the creature outside your home.

Also, be sure you are not leaving behind babies that will perish without their mother.

ON OUR SIDE

Wildlife can be beneficial to have on one’s property. My opinion is- anything that eats bugs or mice is okay by me. Bats can eat their own weight in mosquitoes each and every night. That’s a wonderful thing considering that mosquitoes can harbor illnesses such as West Nile Virus. Skunks can decimate populations of

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

grubs destroying your lawn, and one of their favorite foods is the Yellow Jacket. Entire nests of these ground-dwelling pain inflictors can be dug up and consumed by a hungry skunk, much in the way I dig into a fresh pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Raccoons, opossums, hawks and owls make short work of the mice you are feeding at your bird feeder while you sleep. Snakes also reduce rodent populations, and venomous snakes are not common in the Poconos.

KATHY DUBIN-UHLER

Katherine Uhler is the director of the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center. She became a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in 1980 and has been growing the nonprofit, all-volunteer PWREC since. In addition to running the Center with her husband and co-director, Eric, she has earned a Master’s Degree in Wildlife Biology and teaches Ecology at Stroudsburg High School.

A CHRISTMAS MEMORY

By Suzanne McCool

My memory of Monroe County (The Poconos) more than fifty years ago was of forests and farms and beautiful quiet country roads with very little traffic. Growing up in Paradise Township when my sisters and I were young, there were lots of woods filled with evergreens, birches and a variety of other trees, beautiful mountain laurel and lots of rhododendron. The kids in our neighborhood often played in the woods building forts, picking flowers or greens for wreaths, or just generally running around in them and often seeing deer or other wildlife.

I especially remember one crisp, clear winter’s day. There had been a snowfall earlier that week. My sister, Paulette, and I headed out for a walk with our dad, John Fretz. Leafless snow-dusted branches made jagged silhouettes against the blue-gray winter sky. We took the sled, my dad with an ax, and headed into the snowy woods behind our house. We were looking for a Christmas tree. I was probably ten and Paulette was eight years old at the time. Pulling the American Flyer, Daddy broke a trail through the snowy woods with Paulette and me trudging behind. We were probably less than half mile from the house but it seemed really far for our short little legs.

“Soon we saw what we were looking for — the most perfect Christmas tree on earth and just the right size for our living room, not too big or small — just right.”

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay

I recall that all was quiet and almost ethereal that day, the only sounds the plowing of the sled, branches snapping underfoot, and the occasional thump of snow falling from limbs and branches. A rabbit scurried past our track and up ahead in a small clearing stood a doe who somehow avoided the hunters’ guns that year. A ricocheting branch stung Paulette’s cheek and Daddy leaned down and kissed it to make it better.

Soon we saw what we were looking for — the most perfect Christmas tree on earth and just the right size for our living room, not too big or small — just right. In my mind’s eye I could already see it adorned and aglow with lights and tinsel and gaily colored balls and a shining star on top. We would put it in the front window, and it would sit in a big bucket of coal with my mother insisting it be secured with string because of the year our cats climbed the tree and knocked it over. That was when

we lived at Airport Inn, my parent’s hotel in Mount Pocono, before we moved to Paradise Township.

My dad quickly cut the tree and put it on the sled while Paulette and I held it on with our mittened hands. I was so excited because Christmas was my favorite time of the year, not just because of the magic of the season, but because December 25, is my birthday as well! Christmas carols from the record player and Mom greeted us as we dragged the tree up the steps, across the front porch and into the house. My mother had hot chocolate waiting for us and the smell of her freshly baked apple tart wafted though the air. Our cheeks were rosy from the cold as we headed to the fireplace where a cheerful fire was burning to warm our little hands and fingers. Soon the tree trimming would begin!

In my mind’s eye I could already see it adorned and aglow with lights and tinsel and gaily colored balls and a shining star on top.

I will always remember this one perfect day in my life because within a few years from this day, my father would die from complications from surgery, and my mother would struggle to hold on to our home and to raise my sisters and me. She never remarried, but her youngest sister, our Aunt Audrey, would always be there to help and would always make Christmas special in our lives.

Suzanne is a native of the Poconos and a former schoolteacher and former Monroe County Commissioner. She has recently published her own book, and lives with her husband Terry in Stroudsburg. Today, Suzanne enjoys writing, traveling and visiting her grandchildren.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

4 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR DOG SAFE AS THE DAYS GET SHORTER

Courtesy of BPT

When you think of autumn, you likely picture cozy fires, hot cocoa and piles of colorful leaves. While beautiful, this season can also pose certain dangers to your four-legged friends. During the fall, the days grow shorter, which means less daylight and visibility. As you get ready for fall weather and activities, check out these four tips for keeping your dog safe from light-up gear to wireless fences for dogs.

1. TAKE WALKS DURING THE DAYTIME

During the warmer months, you may have gotten used to taking your furry friend out for walks in the early mornings or late afternoons. However, you'll need to adjust your walk times so drivers can clearly see you and your dog when crossing the street. It may take time for you and your pup to adjust, but it's the easiest way to keep both of you safe.

2. INVEST IN LIGHT-UP AND REFLECTIVE GEAR

If your schedule doesn't allow you to switch up your walk times, you'll need gear to make you visible to motorists. For your canine companion, invest in light-up LED collars and leashes that offer solid or flashing illumination in low light. Reflective collars and vests can be used alone or in addition to light-up gear to keep your pet safe.

As for yourself, you'll need high-visibility clothing to increase your safety during early morning or late evening walks. Check out your local sports outfitter for LED runners' and cyclists' vests. You can also purchase reflective beanies, clip-on lights, light-up belts and other high visibility gear.

“To keep them calm during stressful situations like thunderstorms, fireworks displays, and even vet visits and travel, consider using an anxiety vest.”

3. TRY AN ANXIETY VEST

Some dogs are naturally more excitable, anxious and fearful than others. To keep them calm during stressful situations like thunderstorms, fireworks displays, and even vet visits and travel, consider using an anxiety vest.

An anxiety vest wraps around your dog and applies pressure to its torso. This pressure therapy calms your dog the same way swaddling an infant or hugging someone who is upset does, according to VCA Animal Hospitals. Even if your dog is usually calm, it's a great idea to have an anxiety vest on hand to keep your dog safe and calm during an unexpected, stressful situation.

4. USE ON-THE-GO SAFETY DEVICES

If your yard isn't fenced in, you'll need another way to keep your dog safe, especially if they have a habit of wandering off. While you could put your dog on a long leash, it can easily get tangled and restricts your dog's ability to explore its territory. Also, if you usually keep an eye on your dog while they're out back, it can be more difficult to see them during the darker months.

Consider investing in a Halo Collar, a pet safety device with technology built right into the collar. Co-founded by dog behaviorist Cesar Millan, the collar provides the ultimate boundary training for dogs to allow them to live life safely off-leash. Equipped with smart training and activity tracking, this device gently guides your dog to stay within the invisible fencing boundaries you set within the smartphone app, so your dog is always protected and able to live a safe life off leash. Your dog can roam off-leash but will be reminded to stay within the virtual fence boundary of your yard through vibrations and beeping. It can also be challenging to keep your dog safe when you are not at home. If you're visiting friends and family or taking a trip with your pet, you and your dog may not be familiar with the area or its potential dangers.

When using Halo Collar, you can create up to 20 wireless fences in the app, even without Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. If your dog should escape, the Return Whistle function will guide them back safely to your location. To learn more about how this GPS dog collar device and other accessories can keep your dog safe, visit HaloCollar.com.

Be proactive about your dog's safety. Using these four tips, you can keep your dog safe this autumn.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS

"Is There a Santa Claus?" reprinted from the September 21, 1897, number of The New York Sun.

In 1897, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, a coroner's assistant on Manhattan's Upper West Side, was asked by his then eight-yearold daughter, Virginia O'Hanlon (1889–1971), whether Santa Claus really existed. O'Hanlon suggested she write to The Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper at the time, assuring her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so."[3] In so doing, Dr. O'Hanlon had unwittingly given one of the paper's editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, an opportunity to rise above the simple question and address the philosophical issues behind it.

Church was a war correspondent during the American Civil War, a time that saw great suffering and a corresponding lack of hope and faith in much of society. Although the paper ran the editorial in the seventh place on the page, below even one on the newly invented "chainless bicycle", it was both noticed and well received by readers. According to an anecdote on the radio program The Rest of the Story, Church was a hardened cynic and an atheist who had little patience for superstitious beliefs, did not want to write the editorial, and refused to allow his name to be attached to the piece. [4] More than a century later it is the most reprinted editorial in any newspaper in the English language.[1][2]

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon

115 West Ninety Fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or

children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.

We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise in side, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A thou sand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Our heart care was life-saving.

EDINSON AND NANCY

Two hearts, one choice. Nancy and Edinson never expected they’d both need open-heart surgery – let alone in the same week. Luckily they trusted the only hospital in Monroe County equipped to handle open-heart surgery and complex, high-risk heart attacks. To learn more, visit LVHN.org/Pocono.