Lopez, Pennsylvania

Lopez, Pennsylvania

I found this explanation for the town's welcome sign:

" Greeting visitors and travelers is a display consisting of a welcome sign, a bench to rest and absorb the scenery, 5 bombs hitting the ground spelling out LOPEZ, an unmanned military drone, and the American flag on a pole.  The sign was given by Helen and sons Gordon and Alan Papke in memory of husband and father Gordon.  The rest was procured and erected by John Borick of Lopez and New Jersey.  These articles were available to John and makes an attractive park display.  It serves as a reminder of the record number of service persons from Lopez that were in World War II. Lopez had the highest percentage of persons in the war in the country.  Just beyond the bombs is the little lake that is the home of our own “Nessy” of the lake, again provided by John Borick and just renovated by Brian McGuire." -  http://lopezpa.com/

#TheAdventuresOfMollyMouse checking out Nessie, in Lopez Pa

Dan remembered that at once of the History Buffs lectures we attended, Lopez was mentioned and referred to as "The Ice Box" of Pennsylvania.  A quick search tells me that the Barrens near State College Pa is the coldest area of Pennsylvania, as recorded by researchers at State College.  Lopez is one of the coldest areas of the state however, and the town is recorded to have had the most snow of any town in the state.

Nessie and the Lopez sign are located on 487 at roughly:

41°27'30.1"N 76°19'51.2"W

It's very near the Colley Township Building. There's a picnic table here, it's a nice  little stop on a road trip. [the nearest public restrooms, that we found, were at the Dandy gas station, in nearby Mildred Pa]

We passed through Lopez while geocaching.  While there we found a geocache at a cemetery near this unique Byzantine Chapel

And one near the Cold Spring.

Lopez began as a lumbering town, with a population of over 1,000 in the 1890s.  It was the only lumbering community in the area that allowed alcohol to be sold, making it a popular town for nearby lumbermen, in areas like Ricketts, to visit on pay day. A clothes pin factory was erected there in 1894, and a variety of general stores and restaurants sprung up to form a town.  

For more information and history of Lopez, check out this site:

http://lopezpa.com/ 

======================

We were originally in this area for the Eyes Of Disrupt Escape Room Geocache. While in the area, we also visited the waterfall near Colley Pa, and then we drove over to Forksville for cheesesteaks at the Forksville store.  Big Mike is the real deal - and it's not unusual for me to plan any trip in this area around a stop here for the best cheesesteaks this side of Philly.  Even better - the store is located right beside a beautiful creek and covered bridge.  :-) 

Also nearby in Mildred Pa, this retired and defanged surface-to-surface MGM-13 Mace Missile sits on the lawn of the McDermott American Legion Post 452.