Faux Tourism

I constantly find myself surprised at the popularity of destinations that are solely designed to sell products. Places like M&M World in Times Square have the feeling of a tourist destination, but in reality is nothing more than a place to sell M&M products and memorabilia rather than an Enlightenment sense of education and self-improvement. There is a sophistication to these stores, including using smells to directly stimulate the senses of those who enter. Patrons are charged almost as much as a film at the mall cinema for a 30-minute film (complete with 3D and fragrances). This consumer tourism creates an imperative to spend more money by fostering (debatable) nostalgia. Many people readily buy in (pun fully intended).

I took my niece and nephew to Hershey’s Chocolate World – a place that is big on hype, but rather short on intellectual engagement. The gratis ride through a “chocolate factory” gives the air of information and education. Actually, it is a poor substitute for an actual factory. As the ride makes its way through video screens and plastic mock-ups of chocolate producing machinery, a happy voice describes the process of making Hershey products. The narrative is all but drowned out by singing cows that extoll the health benefits of the milk in milk chocolate (“It’s Moo-tritious”). In the penultimate display, the visitor is told to smile for a photograph, which can be purchased in the gift shop. Finally, while exiting the ride, we are told that Hershey’s number one goal is to keep a smile on your face. (All this time I thought it was to make money!)

Call me cynical, but very little attention is paid to Milton Hershey (1857-1945), his inventions or good works. No doubt that there are dissenting views, but the Hershey School (f. 1909) and his model town for employees are certainly admirable. There is a collage of him and his work at the entrance to the ride, but it is overshadowed by lights and noises that beckon the visitor to singing cows, as over-stimulated kids and frustrated parents carelessly walk by. 

Avarice in the shopping aisle

I finished re-reading A Christmas Carol late on Christmas Eve. In the tale, which originally appeared 170 years ago, Dickens paints a picture of the wages of a man’s avarice. Although the story is well known, some of the more interesting points of the narrative are not. Case in point is the author’s commentary on Malthusian views of poor people, which do not figure into modern interpretations of the story. Nevertheless, the central theme of how Scrooge allows his greed to overshadow the spirit of Christmas, or more importantly our duty to our fellow humans, remains central to the message. By the end of the book, Scrooge (as well as the reader) learns that there is more to life than material wealth and that our connection to others is what makes our lives complete.

It seems that we live in a world where our desires for trinkets and gadgets outweigh the feelings and familial connections of those who are not as fortunate. We want to buy our goods when it is convenient for us, whether our actions have consequences or not. Thus, if we want to shop on Thanksgiving, then we expect the stores to be open and enough workers to be there to run the tills to satisfy our demands. Never mind that we could wait a few hours to complete our shopping; or, plan ahead and do our shopping a little early. This year major retail stores broke a taboo by opening on Thanksgiving. The effect is that many people, with a low salaried jobs, were forced to give up a meaningful holiday with their families to service those of us chasing a good deal. In fact, those deals are probably suspect. Now that Thanksgiving Day has been added to the list of shopping days it is hard to imagine that Christmas is not too far behind. Christmas will be the next new major shopping day for people who did not do their shopping before or are looking for post-Christmas sales early. The result will be, despite the rhetorical idea of Christmas as a day to spend with family and loved ones, more people will be forced to come to work to satisfy our avarice. 

A rare sight: Walmart closed

Walking in Fredericksburg

Making new friends in Fredericksburg

Mid-December found us enjoying good food and shopping in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In addition to unique restaurants, there are also a couple of good bookstores for bibliophiles. The town as has been the site for many important historical events, some of which will be explored in future posts. But this time it was a limited visit, I took a long walk around the town and observed some interesting building.

The exploration of Fredericksburg reminded me of an important maxim I share with students: If you want to know a city, you must walk the city. Walking south on Caroline Street, I was surprised at the number of extant eighteenth century homes remained in Fredericksburg.

Walk signal on Caroline Street

The downtown section of the city retains a small-town Americana feel. The pedestrian indicators retain the green “walk” sign that was prevalent when I was a kid.  Old drugstores and businesses with lunch counters are still operating in the center of town as well.

Old Power Station between Caroline Street and
Rappahonnock River

Looking through the power station to the River

A fascinating derelict building on the banks of the Rappahannock River is an abandoned power station for the Virginia Electric and Power Company. The station, which is at the intersection of Ford and Caroline Streets, looks to have been abandoned several years ago.

Walkabout in Middletown

It is not often that I get the opportunity to explore Middletown by foot. We are usually hurrying to catch a train and have just enough time for a cup of coffee or a quick bite to eat; or, on the way home, we have a late supper before driving the rest of the way home. But on this crisp day in November, I had a little time to have lunch and a quick walk around town before catching the train to Philadelphia.

An old SEPTA car in the Middletown &
Hummelstown Railroad museum

My perambulation took me down Union Street to Mill Street, which is where the Amtrak station is located. The building at the corner of Union and Mill has a maker that records the high-water marks of the 1904 and 1972 floods of Swatara Creek. A single railroad line running down the middle of Brown Street leads to a small yard that is now the home of the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad, a museum and excursion railroad. The yard contains many railcars, many of which are in a dilapidated state. Included are several SEPTA cars that look as if there is more rust than metal these days.

Middletown is a particularly old town, the oldest in Dauphin County.  The churches of Middletown are fascinating and the Elks Theatre and Brownstone Café are long-standing institutions in town. Yet, most of focus on buildings and railroads belies the historical significance of this small town in central Pennsylvania.

Middletown Public Library, which was the home of Liberty
Steam Company (fire department)

I stopped in the local library to learn more about local history. The town was on the cusp of greatness, which is little remembered today. During the debates in the House of Representatives about where to locate the national capital in 1789, Representative Goodhue introduced a resolution proposing: “that the permanent seat of Government of the United States ought to be at some convenient place on the east bank of the Susquehanna river, in the State of Pennsylvania, &c.” Later, Mr. Heister proposed that after the words “Susquehanna river” the phrase “between Harrisburg and Middletown inclusive” should be included. C.H. Hutchinson, in his history of Middletown, reports that although members of the House were generally favorable to the amendment, it was defeated. The resolution was taken up by the Senate where all references to the Susquehanna River were struck in favor of establishing the seat of government as Germantown, Pennsylvania. Ultimately sectional differences led to a compromise of placing the capitol on the banks of the Potomac, rather than the Susquehanna. 

Black Friday

There is nothing worse than navigating a parking lot full of people who mistakenly believe that they can buy happiness. 

Tragedy on South Mountain

We sometimes romanticize the past, somehow believing that it was better, gentler and more wholesome than our present age. Despite Steven Pinker’s thesis that life has grown increasingly less violent, it is hard for us to discern that with the constant barrage of depressing and violent news. As evidence, let me point to the following story that life in the past was violent and difficult: There is a sign along the PA233 just outside Centerville, between Carlisle and Shippensburg. A plain blue sign reads:

With no explanation of what tragedy befell these young girls, the sign does not indicate the story of desperation, grief and hunger that eventually led to the erection of the sign. It is also a story of generosity, kindness and concern by many people. Unfortunately, that generosity and kindness came too late for the Noakes family.  

The Babes in the Woods, as they would come to be known, we three girls found on South Mountain. Initial reports indicated that the girls, whose ages were estimate to be about 15, 10 and 7, did not meet with violent deaths; however, later news media reports suggested that they were asphyxiated. The Shippensburg News Chronicle speculated that it might have been an accidental death. The actual story is more gruesome. The three girls were sisters, Norma (aged 12), Dewilla (10) and Cordelia Noakes (8) were from California. They had traveled east with their father Elmo Noakes and their housekeeper-cousin Winifred Pierce (18). Their mother had died some years before and the Winifred, the niece of the mother, had become their caretaker and according to some sources romantically involved with Elmo. The theory developed by the police was that Noakes was penniless and desperate. Rather than allowing his daughter starve, he took their lives.

When the bodies were discovered it created a media sensation. As it proved increasingly difficult to identify the bodies, media reports began to filter across the country to help piece together a story. Sensational stories, gruesome pictures and wild speculation followed. The kind people of the Carlisle area began to treat the young victims reverently, donating money for a proper funeral and burial. Hundreds of people attended a funeral and many wept openly at the young girls' fate.
The police concluded that Elmo and Nora sold their remaining possessions (a winter coat) and bought a rusty gun. Elmo used the gun to kill Nora and then took his own life.

The girls, Nora and Elmo are all buried in Westminster Cemetery in Carlisle. On December 1, several hundred people turned out for the funeral of the young girls in Carlisle. The entire family are buried in Westminster Cemetery in Carlisle. 

Abandoned and Derelict in Hummelstown

There is an interesting house or building in Hummelstown on Middletown Road, near the intersection of Princeton Drive. I would imagine that it dates from the early nineteenth century; however, I do not have any specific information about it yet. This photograph was taken in November 2013.